Chapter 125
"Karis' Karisma Americano is here."
When I try to name the menu myself, it feels like time and space are distorted.
But I desperately held back my laughter to make it the perfect surprise.
"Uh?"
"Huh?"
From the moment we left the kitchen, there was a murmur of laughter among the Seleve.
As I said the name of the menu, the commotion grew louder.
Finally, take off the mask and smile brightly.
"...Omg."
The Seleve at the table where I personally served coffee was so surprised that she couldn't even scream.
She just had her mouth wide open, with a look in her eyes as if she didn't know if this was a dream or reality.
"Omg!"
"Yoon-chul ah!"
"Crazy, is it really Eun-gyu?"
"Am I seeing things wrong?"
The rest of the members also appear to have taken off their masks.
50 Seleve were so in disbelief when they saw their favorites appear before their eyes that they started denying reality.
But as they blinked, the members' faces became clearer and clearer, and soon they screamed out loud in happiness.
"Guys, guys!"
"Wow, he's really handsome."
"Love you!"
The once-quiet café suddenly became chaotic.
Kang Si-yoon, trapped between the cameras, raised both hands and laughed loudly.
"Hahaha! Seleve, Seleve, please wait a moment! There are still people who haven't received their menus, so we'll finish serving them! "
So we barely made it back to the kitchen and quickly grabbed the next tray.
After serving all the food to its owner, there were seven high stools placed in front of the counter.
We bowed to our fans and gave them a group greeting before taking our seats.
"Hello, this is Seleste! "
"Seleve, are you really surprised? "
In response to Song Hyung-bin's question, a thunderous "Yes!" erupted.
Chae Eun-gyu burst into laughter and revealed the truth about this debut event cafe.
"Actually, we started filming a reality program right away. The theme of the program is about giving back to fans. So the first content we prepared was to open a debut event cafe and have time to communicate directly with Seleves. Here, the PD suggested mixing in a surprise."
"Did you expect us to be here? I've been wondering for a while now! "
Kang Si-yoon asked Seleve directly the question he had been anxiously thinking about since yesterday.
Then most of the Seleves shook their heads and responded that they had not expected this at all.
"I thought it would be nice to make a surprise visit in the middle of the day!"
"Wow, you almost got it right! We actually appeared in the middle."
There was one Seleve who had hopes along similar lines.
Kang Si-yoon burst into laughter at the news that our undercover action went undetected.
Heo Yu-bin, standing next to him, also sighed in relief, clearing his throat.
"We've been here since before our cafe opened."
"Okay, okay. Let me ask you the most important question! "
Song Hyung-bin raised his hand, and his eyes sparkled.
"Could you please tell me what was the most delicious menu item you drank or ate today? "
"Oh, this is really important."
"Please be honest! "
At Yoo Min-ha's request to be honest, the 50 Seleves tilted their heads for a moment.
I heard a fan sitting at the table closest to where I was sitting whispering to the table next to them.
"Is there some kind of bet involved since they named them after the kids? "
"Somehow it seems like that? "
They were making this guess.
No one thought that we would create our own menu.
"It was all delicious! "
"Oh, absolutely not all of them. Just pick one! "
"What if I only ordered one menu item? "
"Then I think you should tell us whether the menu was delicious! "
"I'm just a little curious, so should we just hand out pieces of paper and have people vote?"
"Right!"
In Chae Eun-gyu's words, the reality staff waiting nearby busily distributed post-it notes.
Although it was a vote that was held as an event anyway, I gulped and looked at the Seleves.
'The quest success message hasn't appeared yet. I'm sure many people have already tried the coffee I made. That means I'll probably have to confirm it with my own ears.'
The first quest for recovering from system corruption is 'Successfully creating a commemorative cafe menu'.
Looking at the word successful, it seems that the quest clear condition will be completed only if those who drank my Americano personally praise me.
When I tried drinking Americano myself, I didn't feel any major problems.
I wonder if the fans enjoyed it too.
"I now have in my hands a piece of paper with Seleve's evaluation."
"Why are you shaking all of a sudden? "
"Then, we will begin counting the votes."
Song Hyung-bin read the posts one by one with a solemn voice.
"The most delicious menu: Tiramisu cake. It had a subtle coffee flavor and was so good. I regretted not ordering another one."
"This is Yoon-chul's menu."
"This is a completely favorable review."
"Thank you."
When his menu was praised, Ji Yoon-chul straightened his back even more and bowed.
Tiramisu cake was mentioned continuously in the following post-its.
"The tiramisu cake was super delicious! "
"Tiramisu cake."
"Yoon-chul is almost all voted for, isn't it?"
Ji Yoon-chul smiled bashfully with a proud expression.
As he has worked so hard for so long, he must be more than anyone else to welcome the Seleve's praise.
"Best menu: Karis' Americano. It was delicious and not too bitter! "
And finally, my Americano also got some recognition.
And not just once, but several Seleves.
"There are many Seleves who enjoy Americano. Oh, I'm worried. Why hasn't there been any mention of Yuja tea yet? "
"Could it be that there were few people who ordered it in the first place?"
"You shouldn't be saying that already! "
At Heo Yu-bin's words, Yoo Min-ha clutched his chest as if he had been injured.
I smiled slightly as I recalled the situation he had just experienced in the kitchen.
'I felt a little sorry for him.'
Heo Yu-bin's frappe also received a small number of votes, and even Chae Eun-gyu, Song Hyung-bin, and Kang Si-yoon succeeded in receiving votes.
The only one who didn't get a single vote was Yoo Min-ha.
"I'm wondering if I remember it wrong, so I'm asking. Has anyone ordered an espresso? "
Song Hyung-bin confirmed with Seleves again.
Then the fans nodded and added a few words.
"I don't drink espresso very often because it's too bitter! "
"Ah, as expected."
"I didn't order it because I wanted to drink something sweet."
"Oh, I see."
Yoo Minha slumped his shoulders and pouted his lips.
Taking advantage of this gap, Heo Yu-bin revealed the hidden truth.
"Actually, we made it all ourselves! It's a menu with our names on it! So I was really curious to see if Seleves enjoyed it."
"Really?"
"It was so delicious! "
"I thought it was made in this cafe."
Fortunately, our efforts have paid off.
I patted Yoo Min-ha on the shoulder and continued what Heo Yu-bin said.
"If there were members who didn't have any orders, we had to sneak out and serve them. Since there were no espresso orders, Min-ha kept going out to serve them―."
"Ah, somehow! There was someone whose voice sounded familiar, and it was Min-ha! "
"That's right."
"It was still fun, though! In fact, I enjoyed just walking around Seleves in disguise more than making espresso."
Yoo Minha quickly regained his original tension and smiled brightly.
All the post-its have been published, and the system has also settled the quest completion.
[You have successfully completed the linked quest, 'Successfully Create a Commemorative Cafe Menu.']
[Reward: 20 skill points, 1 medium passive skill experience point, 1% system damage recovery]
I checked the new items that came as a reward.
The 'Passive Skill Experience Ticket' is literally an item used to raise the level of a passive skill.
When I went into the passive skill enhancement window that was unlocked after clearing the first grand quest, I saw three empty experience bars.
'The passive skill that should be developed first is.... Of course, it's this skill.'
I used the experience point ticket for the 'Worship and Revere' skill without a second thought.
Then, about a quarter of the empty experience bar turned golden.
'This means that to raise a passive skill from C to B―, I need at least 4 experience points (medium).'
Since it is a skill with really good efficiency, it is not easy to level it up.
The 'System Damage Recovery' gauge displayed in the status window also increased from 0% to 1%.
If I want to finish this within two years... it will take a tremendous amount of effort.
After checking everything I needed, I closed the system window and focused on the event cafe scene again.
We were talking about the time when we were first seen together.
A fan brought up the story of seeing me and Kang Si-yoon in a subway advertisement during the
"Ah, I was so happy at that time. For the first time in my life, I saw my face on the advertisement, and I thought to myself, 'Thank you so much to my fans.'"
"Don't worry, we'll advertise a lot in the future! "
"Then I'll make a surprise visit every time you do it! "
"Will you do a sushi meme then too?"
"Ah, sushi! "
The comment that Kang Si-yoon and I made at the first ranking announcement ceremony.
Appearing with a partner, they were given time to do a brief joke for the camera.
What we did at that time caused a huge reaction among fans.
"I don't know when the ad will be up, so should we do it again now?"
"Okay―!"
Kang Si-yoon looked at me.
A clear signal to move forward together.
I immediately understood his implicit message and stood up.
"Are you ready, Su?"
"Of course, Shi."
We kept our expressions blank and gave each other a thumbs up.
Behind me, I could hear the members struggling to hold back their laughter.
The Seleves, who all turned their cell phone cameras toward the two of us, smiled with satisfaction.
"See, it was good that we did it, right? The fans really liked it."
"... I admit that it turned out well in the end."
"If you listen to me, the rice cake will fall even in your sleep. I also came up with the name of the menu this time!"
Kang Si-yoon proudly said that 'Karis Karisma Americano' was also his work.
I had a feeling he was secretly teasing me, but he seemed really happy, so I just let it go.
The time that followed was also really enjoyable.
It really flowed like a mini-fan meeting, just as we expected.
If there were Seleves who requested hot things from
For example, Heo Yu-bin, who performed the neck carry alone in , sang the high note part again perfectly live.
"Wow!"
"Yubin ripped it again! "
"Heh, heh heh."
Heo Yu-bin, who was showered with compliments from Seleves, blushed slightly and expressed his delight.
"At that time, I came out and rapped!"
Yoo Minha, who showed off powerful dance and rap on stage, also showed a short performance that brought back memories from that time.
And there were Seleves who asked the questions everyone was curious about.
"Hey kids, can you spoil a little bit about your debut song? "
"Oh, a spoiler? "
Chae Eun-gyu turned his gaze to our manager, who was watching the filming site from afar.
Then Hyung raised his thumb and mouthed, "Just a little dance."
"We haven't perfected it yet, so let us just show you a little bit of the dance. Just what it feels like!"
"Does our Yoon-chul want to try it?"
"... Yes. Then, can I just do the first part of the chorus? "
Ji Yoon-chul got up from his seat and, without warning, started doing a popping movement from his chest to his hips.
And then he covered his left eye with his finger, immediately took it off, and even danced the key choreography of our debut song.
"Wow, it's perfect! "
"This can't go any further; you'll get scolded by our manager."
"Yes."
"Oh, guys, just a little more! "
"No! Sorry, but that's the end of the spoiler! "
"Ahhh!"
Seleves expressed regret with their whole bodies.
The event cafe schedule was concluded, with various stories being shared during the remaining time.
"Seleves, be careful on your way in! "
"Eat a good dinner!"
"I love you!"
After exchanging lively greetings until the end, we collapsed on the floor as soon as we heard the slate clap, indicating that filming was over.
"Ughh ..."
"I really think I can sleep like this."
"... My wrist hurts."
"Yoon-chul really had a hard time."
The first event of Seleste's reality program, the Reverse Project, has ended successfully.
No one knew that the next event would be even more difficult.
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