When she thought of Min Yujin, she somehow felt angry.

Leaning against the backrest, Arin clenched her fist and spoke with the coldest voice she could muster.

“And frankly, to be honest, isn’t the one who is at risk of a scandal Mr. Ban Jaehyuk, not me? You know, with that woman.”

“That woman?”

As he thought about it, he later made a disappointed expression with an ‘ah’ sound.

“I have nothing to do with Min Yujin.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I have nothing to do with her. If I had any thoughts about trying something with Min Yujin, I would have immediately thought of it when you said ‘that woman.'”
His words were indeed accurate. Nevertheless, an unjust feeling lingered.

“Then, the news…”

She paused before saying anything. If she mentioned watching the news, would he misunderstand and think it was something she was interested in? Such thoughts unexpectedly surged, causing her to hesitantly raise her head.

“The news?”

“I don’t know. I really don’t know. Now.”

For some reason, she felt like she was losing to him in the conversation. Her chest became tight.

“I’ve never once tried forgetting you. I know you won’t believe what I’m saying right now. I hope you believed my sincerity on the day I confided in you… why I had to be like that.”

Arin couldn’t say anything as she thought that she was the only one who could see Jaehyuk. Her heart, beating rapidly, was pounding wildly, crazily, until the moment they parted.

Once again, time passed.

“Strange. Lately…”

It was 1 a.m., the busiest time for Memoria. However, it hadn’t been like that at all lately.

Arin roamed around the quiet shop lost in thought.

“Customers have suddenly decreased. It could be because of my mood, but why does the thought cross my mind that it’s been like this since the neighboring store opened?”

Cheolyong returned after his break with a dark expression.

“Boss.”

“Why? Cheolyong.”

“I’ve been thinking, and you should know about this.”

With a heavy expression, he took out his phone from his pocket and showed it to her.

“This is an internet community created by people who like bread, coffee, and desserts, right? It’s anonymous, but it’s quite famous. People promote a lot here because no one knows who anyone is. From about two weeks ago, bad reviews about our store have been coming up. It seemed to be getting excessive, so I asked the management. But the management said it’s within the acceptable range as it’s more like a review than a malicious post. But no matter how I look at it, it’s not like that. Take a look.”

Recently visited ㅁㅁㄹㅇ because it’s famous, but a bug came out of the scone. I asked the owner to change it, but the attitude was rude.

Isn’t this place just famous by word of mouth?

Isn’t the Le Bang Cookie old? It smells like flour.

The scones are soggy and tasteless, so I won’t come twice.

All you can see are the faces of part-time workers. Unfriendly, not worth waiting to eat.

I used to come here from the beginning when it opened, but now I don’t go because I found a better place nearby. Really highly recommend going there!

Cheolyong’s screen showed posts that were more like negative reviews about Memoria.

Especially the latest post had many comments. The nuance of the comments seemed to agree with the post, and there were comments inquiring about the location.

“And look at this. When I look at this, I get a cheap feeling.”

The screen Cheolyong showed her had a series of praising posts about the newly opened store next door.
Wow, they said it’s the most famous in France, and it really tastes delicious.

The prices are reasonable, and the scones melt gently. The staff is really kind.

There were also comments subtly directing the atmosphere.

“It’s not just here. It’s an internet cafe created by dessert enthusiasts elsewhere. There, too, there have been a lot of posts saying our store is not good lately. Maybe because of that…”

Cheolyong stopped talking, but Arin understood what he was going to say.

It had been a while since the empty store, where customers were gradually not coming, became filled with worries.

“…I’ll look into it too. It seems too much like a coincidence to call it chance.”

What Cheolyong showed her gave her confidence that all of this wasn’t just a mere coincidence.

“Boss, let’s eat first.”

Her feelings became complicated.

“Yes, then please.”

Until then, she hadn’t imagined what would happen afterward.

On the way to have lunch, passing by the newly opened store in the adjacent building, Arin saw a familiar woman inside the cafe.

“What? No way?”

She rubbed her eyes, wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her. But it seemed real.

Then her eyes met with the woman. Instead of being embarrassed, the woman calmly raised the corners of her mouth, even smiling.

“Ha…”

Arin burst into a bitter laugh.

Furthermore, the woman’s appearance, which seemed to foresee or even plan this situation, was absurd and astonishing.

“Was it because of that person? All of this?”

Sometimes, when things are too awkward, words don’t come out, and there’s nothing you can do. That was exactly the situation now.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

The woman, who came out of the store opening the door, confidently approached Arin.

“Why are you here?”

Angry, her voice trembled.

“What? Is it strange for me to be in my own store?”

“Is this store Ms. Min Yujin’s store?”

“Yes. It’s my store. Didn’t you receive the rice cakes? I heard they were all returned.”

As if saying, “What’s wrong with this?” the woman spoke with a confident expression.

Arin was filled with anger. Every puzzle piece scattered in her mind fit together.

“Intentionally…”

Why did a famous bakery from France deliberately open a store next to theirs with the same main product? She had thought it might be a coincidence, but suspicions deepened due to the strangely unfolding situation.

“Did you intentionally open a store next to mine?”

Her hand, looking at Min Yujin, shook.