Chapter 2. The Diary App Has Gone Crazy
My heart pounded like it was trying to break out of my chest.
Diary entries from March 6 and March 9.
Dates that hadn't even arrived yet.
It was difficult to dismiss them as a system error when the person described in those entries was clearly me.
Could it be one of those AI hallucinations people kept talking about on the news?
Maybe the app had secretly trained itself on my diary entries and analyzed my behavior patterns.
Otherwise, how could it create such ridiculous fiction that matched my circumstances so perfectly?
But then there was the voice coming from the speaker.
That was definitely my voice.
I had never even heard of an app learning a user's voice like this.
Then...
Had the diary been written by my future self?
I didn't know why, but somehow, it seemed I had gained the ability to see diary entries from the near future.
First... get out of here!
My instincts as someone who had survived ten years in a major corporation screamed a warning.
Returning to the office could wait.
Understanding the situation came first.
If I went back like this, the diary might become reality.
I might personally hand an eight-billion-won lottery ticket to none other than Kim Seokhun.
After calming my racing heart, I called him.
“Why are you calling again? Traffic?”
“No, sir. That's not it.”
“Then why do you sound half-dead?”
There was no such thing as a person who could never lie.
Some people simply tried to live honestly whenever possible.
But if someone faced a crisis or opportunity that could completely change their life, anyone could become a convincing liar.
Maybe I was proving that right now.
A mixture of panic and injustice flowed naturally into my voice, even though I had spent most of my life avoiding lies.
“Well... there was a minor accident. The car behind me hit mine...”
“What? An accident? Are you hurt? Can you still work?”
His concern was painfully obvious.
He wasn't worried about me.
He was worried that if I took time off, his own workload would increase.
“I'm fine physically. But I'll need time to call the insurance company and handle everything. I don't think I'll make it back to the office, so I'll finish work from here today.”
“Ah, damn it. Fine. It's almost closing time anyway. But get your ass in early tomorrow morning. You know how much reporting we have to do, right?”
“...Deputy Manager Kim, I'm sorry, but I think I'll need to take the morning off tomorrow too. I need to put the car into a repair shop. I won't be able to get around otherwise.”
Kim Seokhun openly clicked his tongue.
“Ha... You really know how to cause trouble. Haven't you heard of defensive driving? Seriously... Fine. Come in right after lunch. Got it?”
“Yes, sir.”
For now, I had bought myself time until lunchtime tomorrow.
The moment the call ended, I rested my forehead against the steering wheel and let out a long breath.
Even after returning home, nothing changed.
I couldn't sleep.
I spent almost the entire night awake, playing with my phone.
No matter how many times I listened, it was definitely my voice.
Seven in the morning the next day.
Like someone staking out a suspect, I hid inside my car and watched Étoile Bakery.
I still couldn't believe the future diary.
But until I confirmed whether it was real, I couldn't do anything else.
[Friday, March 6.
The disciplinary committee met today, and for the first time in my life, my salary was reduced.
All because the owner of the Sillim branch made a phone call he didn't need to make.
A three-month pay cut over something like this?
This is supposed to be a company that claims mutual growth is its highest corporate value?
I want to quit right now.]
That was why I had come here so early.
I had to know.
Was this diary really showing the future?
What kind of phone call could possibly cause a disciplinary committee to be held?
I had to stop him.
Even if I had to take his phone away by force.
I wasn't afraid of the pay cut itself.
Even if I had known beforehand, I would have made the same decisions yesterday.
But Kim Seokhun winning the lottery terrified me.
I would rather die than watch the lottery ticket I bought transform that disgusting bastard's life.
The owner had already placed the sign I made yesterday outside like a standing advertisement and was busy preparing for business.
His decision had been much faster than I expected.
No matter how delicious your bread was, without customers, it was nothing more than expensive garbage.
It seemed he had finally understood that.
Good. I was worried he'd stay stubborn.
A little later, the shop's exhaust system started.
A delicious smell drifted into my car.
It wasn't the ordinary toast smell I knew.
Rich butter, salty ham, and strong cheese baking together in an oven.
Did he stay up all night too? That's croque monsieur.
Zooming in with my camera, I saw golden cheese dripping over slices of bread as they were placed one after another into the display.
A light sprinkle of parsley finished them off.
They looked like proper croque monsieur.
Growl.
My empty stomach reacted before anything else.
But I could endure this much.
Something more important was at stake.
If the pay-cut incident written in today's diary really happened, then the eight-billion-won lottery incident was also real.
By the time the delicious smell filled the alley, students who looked like they had only just woken up began gathering around the shop.
“Hey! Is this really only 4,000 won? This is way too fancy for toast. And the coffee smells amazing!”
“Seriously. It's more filling than what cafés sell. Look how thick the ham and cheese are!”
The rumor grew all by itself.
A famous chef trained in France was selling croque monsieur for a cheap price.
Exam students in slippers quickly filled the shop that had once been so empty even flies had avoided it.
The line forming during morning rush hour had an incredible effect.
Not only students, but office workers heading to work and nearby shop owners were drawn in by the smell and joined the line.
Wow... This actually worked?
I couldn't help being impressed.
All I had done was give him a little advice suited to the local market.
But combined with the owner's decisiveness and cooking skill, it had created a miracle in a single day.
About two hours later, the owner came running outside with a flushed face.
He bowed repeatedly and placed another sign out front.
[INGREDIENTS SOLD OUT.
SEE YOU AGAIN AT 5 P.M.]
