🔊 TTS Settings
Episode 2
Looking closely, I saw that the squirrel was wearing a dainty necktie. A name tag was also neatly fastened to the tie.
[Toko]
So his name is Toko, I guess. It suits his sharp and capable impression really well.
I cautiously spoke to Toko, the squirrel who was waiting for my order.
“Ah, I didn’t actually come here to drink coffee.”
Toko tilted his head.
The other four squirrels standing behind Toko also tilted their heads in unison.
The sight of all the squirrels tilting their heads at the same time was so…
unbearably cute. So much so that I almost forgot all about this strange situation I was in.
A laugh escaped me without me realizing it.
So cute…
But still, I mustn’t forget the purpose of coming here.
Barely suppressing the urge to watch the squirrels all day long, I held out the inheritance document to them.
“My name is Cheon Sol-mo. I’ve inherited this place.”
I didn’t actually think it would be possible to have a serious conversation with the squirrels. It’s more like when you coo and praise a puppy – even if they don’t understand, I just wanted to explain the situation to these little ones.
The squirrels exchanged glances among themselves, going “slurring-” as if communicating. Could they possibly understand what I said? Nah, no way. That can’t be.
-
Creak-
Just then, the wooden door of the cafe opened with a sound, and a person walked in. A middle-aged woman, quite elderly.
Could she be an employee of the Bolbangbang Cafe?
At the appearance of a human, the squirrels busied themselves preparing to welcome the customer.
Judging by the squirrels’ reaction, she seemed to be just an ordinary customer. She was wearing hiking clothes, maybe she stopped by while climbing Mt. Gomasan.
Toko the squirrel quickly scurried over to the human customer to attend to her.
“Hot-co? Co-co?”
This must be their official welcome phrase. I got asked the same question right when I entered the cafe.
The customer looked at the squirrels and gave a warm, generous smile. Then, as if familiar with it, she spoke to Toko
“One iced coffee, please~”
Toko promptly took the order.
“Co-co, one!”
At that, the other four squirrels moved in perfect unison.
And after a short while, a different tiny squirrel, not Toko, came struggling over to the customer, carrying a coffee cup with great effort.
Even the serving was done entirely by the squirrels. Even seeing it with my own eyes, it was so amazing I could hardly believe it.
It looked precarious as he carried the large cup, wobbling as if he might fall any moment, but he managed to deliver it safely without spilling a single drop.
The human customer beamed brightly and took the coffee cup.
“Chuko~ Thanks as always. I’ll enjoy it.”
Then she placed two acorns on her palm and held them out to the squirrel.
Tch tch!”
At that, the squirrel called Chuko swiftly grabbed one acorn with both hands.
And then, poof, he stuffed it into his mouth. His left cheek puffed up instantly.
Chuko grabbed the remaining acorn with both hands and poof, stuffed it into his right cheek. Now both his cheeks were bulging.
Then, with sparkling eyes, Chuko clung to the customer’s hand and acted cute. His tail wagged round and round like a puppy’s tail.
“Oh my, I just can’t win against this little cutie~”
The customer chuckled warmly and held out one more acorn to Chuko.
Chuko crammed the new acorn into his mouth, which already held two. His cheeks were now so puffed up they looked like they might burst.
Ah, now I understand the name of this cafe.
[Ball Bang Bang Cafe]
(Translator’s Note: “cheeks” means “puffed-up cheek.”)
So it means the squirrel employees’ cheeks get puffed up.
The customer leisurely sipped her coffee, looking out at the scenery through the wide, open window.
“I’ll enjoy it and be on my way today too~”
And she left with a satisfied expression.
-
Ding-dong-
I watched the whole process from a corner, utterly fascinated. Could there be another cafe this amazing and adorable?
But still, even if the squirrels are remarkably smart, surely there can’t be absolutely no human employees. Half believing, half doubting, I called out again, louder this time.
“Isn’t there any staff here? Hello? Is nobody here?”
I stood on my tiptoes and peered inside the counter. I looked around, searching for the human employee who should logically be there.
But the one who responded was Toko the squirrel. Toko scurried over and grabbed onto the hem of my pants.
Hmm… it’s so cute, maybe I’ll just play along for a moment.
I smiled gently and asked.
“Ooh~ So, are you the manager of this cafe, Mr. Toko?”
But Toko shook his head side to side.
Huh? The timing of that head shake was a bit odd. It felt like he understood my words and was answering me.
My eyes widening, I leaned down towards Toko and looked closely.
Toko moved his mouth, mumbling a bit, then spoke again, clearly.
“We, all!”
He was pronouncing each word distinctly and accurately. And with such firmness. Who was? A squirrel.
Hey, it’s not just that he takes orders; it seems like we can actually have a conversation. Isn’t he a genius squirrel? If he took an IQ test, he might score higher than most humans.
I went ahead and crouched down completely. Matching Toko’s eye level, I spoke again.
“So you all manage this cafe together?”
Toko nodded vigorously.
“Just among yourselves, the squirrels? Is there no human here at all?”
With a triumphant expression, Toko said firmly.
“Human! Customer!”
Such amazing vocabulary skills.
A squirrel speaking human words? I’ve seen parrots mimic human speech, but I’ve never heard of a talking squirrel. I was genuinely enjoying this unexpected conversation with this adorable creature.
Putting together the earlier situation and Toko’s words, it seems there isn’t a single human employee in this cafe, just the five squirrels.
For a place untouched by human hands, the interior was remarkably clean. Are you saying the squirrels managed all of this?
Wow, these guys really seem like genius smarty-pants.
Toko kept pushing up his glasses, which constantly slid down his nose, with both hands. The glasses were as big as his own body. Toko pushed them up firmly and spoke again decisively.
“We, coffee! Human, acorn!”
At that, the other four squirrels standing behind him all nodded in unison.
“Hmm… so you mean you brew coffee for humans, and in return, you receive acorns?”
Having just witnessed them serving a human customer, I could understand Toko’s words without much difficulty.
“Uh-huh!”
Toko nodded his head up and down emphatically.
Then, with a stern expression, he placed his hands neatly on his hips.
“Squirrel boss, me! Toko”
“Ah, so you’re the boss, Mr. Toko?”
Somehow, I was starting to understand Toko’s telegraphic speech.
The other four squirrels also nodded their heads wildly, as if acknowledging Toko’s words.
I couldn’t stop the corners of my mouth from turning up. Looking at these harmless employees, smiles came naturally.
To be honest, before meeting these employees, I had briefly entertained the pragmatic thought of whether I should close down this commercially borderline cafe.
I completely retract that thought. It was a foolish idea.
Could there possibly be a better inheritance than this in the world?
More than a ten-billion-won building, more than all kinds of precious jewels, I like this small forest cafe many times more. Grandpa, maybe it’s because you never met me, but you really don’t know me well. No matter how happy I might have been, I absolutely had to inherit this cafe. There’s no way I would turn down a place like this. On the contrary, it’s so wonderful I feel like prostrating myself in thanks.
Besides, I had even thought about returning to farming before. I didn’t go because it felt like running away.
But this is managing an inherited property, so it’s perfectly justified. If I live in nature like this with these adorable squirrels, wouldn’t I be able to reclaim a whole, wholesome life for myself?
“I, Cheon Sol-mo, will take over this cafe and do my very best!”
I declared my commitment to running the cafe in a confident voice.
This cheeky Cafe, run by the five squirrels – I’ll take responsibility for it for the rest of my life.
Then suddenly, Chuko, with his bulging cheeks, quickly scampered over to me. One by one, he carefully took out the acorns he had received from the customer earlier from his mouth.
And he handed them all to me. Startled, I found three acorns placed in my palm.
“Why these…?”
““Choo-choo!”
To my bewildered question, Chuko wagged his tail cheerfully, his face bright.
Is he giving me these acorns as a gift? Oh dear, even if you give them to me, I can’t enjoy them as deliciously as you can.
But still, giving away his favorite acorns so willingly as a gift – it’s so endearing. I looked at Chuko and smiled radiantly.
“Thank you, Mr. Chuko.”
Then Chuko, overjoyed, grabbed my hand and rubbed his tiny face against it. I could feel its soft fur.
Just then, Toko the self-proclaimed boss squirrel, held out a mysterious piece of paper to me.
What’s this? I immediately began to read it.
<Bolbangbang Cafe Operation Manual>
It was no coincidence that the names of the Cheon family members sounded similar to ‘Cheonseolmo’ (Korean for red squirrel). Our family has formed a close symbiotic relationship with squirrels for a very long time.
Ah, come to think of it, all our family names sound quite similar to ‘Cheonseonmo’. First of all, my name is like that, and my father is Cheonseonmo The grandfather who left me this cafe as an inheritance is ‘Cheonsulmu’. So this was the story behind it?
But did my father not know about this cafe at all? My parents love animals just as much as I do. If they had come here with me now, they probably would have been overjoyed and delighted.
The fact that you are reading this manual means that you, as a descendant of the Cheon family, have become the new owner of the Bolbangbang Cafe.
I grinned broadly and nodded in agreement. You bet! Now I’m the rightful owner.
Now, I will tell you about the basic duties you must perform as the owner of the cafe.
Oh, looks like there’s some system in place here. Leave it all to me. I read the following points with sparkling eyes.
You shall not accept human currency in exchange for the squirrels’ coffee.
You shall receive the acorns the employees earn and store them safely in one place.
You shall fairly distribute the collected acorns to the employees each month.
If you receive any form of payment other than acorns, you shall consult with the employees and share it appropriately at that time.
Aha, reading the manual made Chuko’s action earlier clear. I need to store the acorns for them. I carefully clutched the three acorns Chuko had given me.
“Yes, I’ll keep them safe.”
“Uh-huh!”
Toko answered confidently. Beside him, chuko also nodded his head vigorously with a satisfied expression.
I continued reading the rest of the manual.
Water the Guiding Tree with care every single day.
“Guiding Tree…? What’s that?”
