Meanwhile, Lisa was hanging around outside The Era. Her camera was dangling on her neck and was holding a pack of chocolate milk on her hand. It's been more than a week since the first time she was in the place. And it wasn't the first time she was hanging around the place.

She's been fighting off the urge to barge inside the cafe and look around. So she chose to stand closer to the glass window to take a peek inside the old cafe from time to time. Hoping to find what she's been looking for for the last few days.

"Can I help you?" a voice of a man from behind her asked Lisa that startled her.

"Uh, no. Not really, ajusshi," Lisa answered and bowed down apprehensively.

"I've seen you hanging around here lately. Are you looking for someone?" the man asked kindly.

Lisa halted her steps and turned around to face the man.

He was wearing a white toque on his head, which was smeared with tomato sauce and grease. He was a sinewy man, with a large belly and a handlebar mustache. He was wearing an apron around his waist and was holding a lit cigarette on his hand and was looking at Lisa with an amount of curiosity. His face was red and his nose was smudged with char. Perhaps he had been staying in the kitchen for years now that it was already normal for him to look like he had been working in a coal mine.

"I was just, uh," Lisa started but couldn't find the proper words for an alibi. "Uhm..."

"Are you a photographer?" the man asked, pointing at the camera. His handlebar mustache quivered when he speaks.

Lisa nodded and held up her camera in front of her.

"Yes, I am," Lisa answered proudly. "Can I take your picture, ajusshi?" she asked.

The man nodded happily and gave Lisa a toothy grin, showing Lisa his set of poor teeth. Lisa grimaced at the sight and prayed that the man wasn't the main person responsible for the food production of The Era. She was thinking about the greasy burgers and fries that she and Chaeyoung ate last week. Although, it was one of the best she's ever eaten. But still...

"Of course!" the man said. "You know, I've been waiting for this day to come. I want to be featured in a food magazine and be interviewed and talk about The Era for the world to read. Are you working for a magazine?"

"Ah, sort of. I'm kind of working on my photo book, actually. It's like a compilation of the photos I have took eversince I started doing photography," Lisa explained.

The man nodded and was about to throw his cigarette in the sidewalk.

"I think it's best if you keep it, ajusshi," Lisa said. "I'll take a photo of you smoking and the façade of the cafe will serve as the background. Can you please sit down in there?" Lisa said, pointing at the trash bin, with the lid that was half open.

The man did as he was told and sat casually atop the garbage bin.

"What about them?" the man asked Lisa, pointing randomly at the passersby who were obscuring his view on Lisa and her camera.

Lisa smiled and positioned herself a couple meters away from the man.

"Don't worry about them, ajusshi. You'll still be the main point. I promise," she said and started clicking away the shutter of her camera.

Lisa as a professional photographer was a perfectionist. She wanted to tell a story through her lens, hoping that in every photograph that she would took would mean something relevant to someone, like an emotion, even if it was only fleeting.

It's in the eyes of the people inside her masterpiece. She wanted to capture the raw emotions being displayed unwillingly through the eyes by her subject. And the man was full of it. So Lisa made sure to capture all of it, one by one, so that when she sits down and scan the set of photos on her camera roll later tonight, she would have to choose the best that would describe the individuality of the man.

"Okay, we're done, ajusshi. Wow, you did great!" Lisa announced happily and the man stood up quickly and tried to take a peek at Lisa's camera screen. But Lisa was quicker to dodge her camera away.

"Can't I look at it? Or should I wait for your photo book?" the man asked.

Lisa laughed. It was always funny whenever her subjects were overeager to look at the RAW copy of their photos. Because usually, people would tend to get disappointed because a RAW image is nothing but a raw image.

"I'm sorry, ajusshi. I'd have to undergo this to post-edits first. Don't worry, I'll send you a copy once it's done," she told the man.

"You promise?" the man asked her.

"Of course," Lisa replied. "Anyway, I have to go now, ajusshi. Thank you for your time!" Lisa said, bowing slightly and waved her long arm above her head as she started to walk away.

"You still haven't told me what you were looking at inside!" the man called out.

And Lisa, who was now few meters away from the man and The Era, stopped and thinking hard.

"Well, damn. He owes me, I guess," Lisa muttered to herself and turned around and walked towards the man.

"I'm actually looking for someone, ajusshi. A...a woman. I saw her once inside The Era. Uhm, jet black hair, cat-like eyes, porcelain skin," Lisa said breathlessly. She wanted to add beautiful to the description but she didn't want to sound weird.

The man furrowed his singed brows and contemplated silently. Lisa could tell that he was trying his best to remember if he saw the woman that Lisa described.

"I can't help you with that," the man said finally after a moment of total silence.

"Oh," was the only sound that came from Lisa's throat. She was hoping that she was closer to finding that woman again. "Right. Don't worry about it, ajusshi. It's not that important, anyway," Lisa said and started walking away, her shoulders were hunched.

"But I know someone who can," the man said. "Come with me," he added and led the way towards the stained glass door of The Era.

Lisa followed the man and was met by the grumpy old waitress, who was now wearing a bright pink apron and a vulgar amount of lipstick.

"Can I get you anything?" the waitress asked Lisa immediately who slightly bowed her head to the waitress.

"You can asked her about your query. She's been here for far too long, she knows practically almost everyone in the area," the man said and pointed the pink-aproned waitress.

"Ask me what, William-nim?" the waitress demanded

"This beautiful lady right here is looking for someone. Maybe you can help her," the man named William answered. "Don't be rude. She did me a favor a while ago," he added sternly and turned to face Lisa. "I have to go now. If you need anything, I'll be in the kitchen," he said and waved his big calloused hand to Lisa.

"Thank you, ajusshi!" Lisa said, bowing her head repeatedly to William, who replied by tipping his toque sideway.

"So, uh, hi?" Lisa started, looking awkward she bowed her head.

The waitress tucked her pen and handy notebook inside the pocket of her bright pink apron, crossed her arms across her chest and squared her shoulders. She then proceed to scan Lisa from head to toe, and rotated lazily around Lisa to get a better look.

"Okay. First of all, don't say hi to me like we're two old friends because we're not friends," she told Lisa.

"O...kay?" Lisa replied reluctantly.

"Second, do not interrupt me when I'm talking. We're not friends," the waitress continued.

"I was just agreeing to your first rule, though," Lisa argued.

"And third, never ever order a chocolate milk ever again in here. We don't offer chocolate milk and the last time you ordered one, somebody from the kitchen had to jog his way towards the nearest store that sells pure chocolate powder because William-nim doesn't settle for anything less."

"Whoa whoa! Chincha? First of all, you could have told me there wasn't a chocolate milk available--,"

"--and disappoint a costumer? No way! William-nim will fry me alive in that huge wok of his--,"

"--then I could have asked for something else--,"

"--I'm not judging you or anything but you really don't look like someone who wants to drink brewed coffee in broad daylight--,"

"--and omo omo omo! You do remember me, then?" Lisa exclaimed in excitement.

The waitress snorted and scoffed.

"Of course, I do, Barbie--,"

"My name is Lisa--,"

"I've been working here for the last two decades of my life," the waitress continued as if she didn't hear Lisa. "My job description was to practically remember every single face inside The Era and attend to their needs. My memory is sharp as a chef's knife and William-nim is taking advantage of it," the waitress said grudgingly.

"So you can help me, right?" Lisa was practically beside herself now.

"Maybe. Maybe not. We'll never know, unless you start asking me the right questions, you know?" She was back to her old grumpy self again, the waitress, Lisa noticed.

"Again, I'm Lisa, by the way," Lisa introduced herself and offered her hand to the waitress.

The waitress just stared at Lisa's hand and back to Lisa's face.

"I heard you the first time, Barbie," the waitress said. "I'm better at remembering faces than names. It's better if we keep our pleasantries to ourselves, don't you think?"

Lisa exhaled her annoyance and dropped her hand.

"Fine. I'm looking for a woman," she told the waitress.

"What sort?" the waitress asked.

"Sort?" Lisa blinked, unsure if she heard the waitress right. "You sort women? That's discrimination!"

"Save me your lecture, Barbie. What sort of a woman are you looking for?" the waitress insisted.

"Fine, I guess? She looked fine to me. She was sitting right there, on that table, that day I was here. Reading a book. A cup of coffee was placed on her table," Lisa said and pointed the lonely table beside the glass window.

"Oh. That woman," the waitress replied, putting an emphasis on the 'that' word.

"You know her?" Lisa asked with excitement.

"I don't. But I know her face. She's a regular," the waitress answered.

"Really?" There was hope, after all. Lisa thought.

"And a boring one. She only orders the same black coffee everytime she's here, which she would never drink, whatever, and would just sit at that table, reading or just looking outside the window with earplugs on her ears."

"How often does she come here?" Lisa asked.

"I don't know. Hmm, almost everyday, especially during weekdays. She's been hanging around for the last five months or so," the waitress said.

"Five months? Wae?"

The waitress scowled at Lisa.

"I don't know, do I? I only serve her her coffee and leave her alone with her books or music or whatever she's into. She stays for a couple of hours and then leaves and comes back again the next day. Or the day after the next. But she hasn't show up for a week now."

"And you still don't know her name?" The balloon of hope inside Lisa's chest have started to deflate slowly.

"Aigoo! I don't ask around for people's name. I ask for their orders and serve them food or coffee or chocolate milk or whatever they want to order." The waitress looked at Lisa sternly when she mentioned chocolate milk. Clearly, she haven't gotten over the trouble that it caused the kitchen staff after Lisa ordered one.

"Do you have any idea where she lives or stuff like that?" asked Lisa, ignoring the waitress' jab.

"No, Barbie. But she's always fetched by a big, shiny, black car every time. Personally, I think she's a chaebol. Someone from the higher class. The way she carries herself and the way those men in black suits would bow to her when they come and pick her up."

Lisa was stunned. The waitress have provided her with an overwhelming information about the woman she was looking for but haven't given her the most integral part-the woman's name. Lisa felt defeated. All hope was gone.

"Thanks. I just, uh, I have to go now. Thank you so much...for everything."

"Why do you look for her, by the way? Are you a hired investigator or something?" the waitress inquired and gave Lisa another assessment from head to toe. The waitress' eyes lingered on her camera.

"Oh, no. I'm a photographer," Lisa said, "See?" pointing her camera. "I kind of took a photo of her that day. I was thinking of giving her a copy," she said and brandished the brown envelope she was holding.

"I could give it to her if she comes back, if you want me to," said the waitress, eyeing the brown envelope suspiciously.

But Lisa shook her head earnestly.

"Thanks, but no. I, uh, I'd like to personally give this to her, you know?" said Lisa.

The waitress just shrugged and took her pen and handy notebook out from her apron's pocket.

"Fine. Suit yourself, then," the waitress muttered as she walked away from Lisa.

Lisa nodded to herself.

"Thank you so much, ajumna! See you around," she said and bowed before heading towards the exit.

But she was caught offguard and almost let out a scream when someone grabbed her arm and literally dragged her outside, beside the trash bin where the ajusshi was sitting a while ago.

"What the--!" Lisa exclaimed.

"Shhh, Barbie! Come here! I have to tell you something," the waitress hissed.

"You could have told me about it inside instead of acting all psycho on me right now, you know?" Lisa said, forgetting the formalities, as she snatched her arm away from the waitress' grip. "Jesus!"

"Well, obviously, I can't, can I?" the waitress said and rolled her eyes. "So, anyway, I think William-nim and that woman you're looking for, know each other."

"How can you tell?"

"I saw them a few times, exchanging friendly looks. And there was one time when I swear I saw William-nim bowed down to that woman. She usually exits through the back door. Where her car and the men in black suits would wait for her. I even heard one time one of her men called her CEO Kim."

The waitress looked excited. Like, she had been waiting for this moment to come and for someone like Lisa to share that information with, Lisa thought while looking at the waitress' face. Now Lisa wasn't even sure anymore if what the waitress had told her was true. Maybe the waitress had been lonely for too long that she started creating stories on her mind based on the customers that she's dealt with. Depending on her like-o-meter.

"What does the ajusshi do, anyway?" Lisa asked out of curiosity.

"William-nim?" asked the waitress who was clearly taken aback by Lisa's lack of interest about what she just told her. "He's the boss, what else? But I guess the woman was the bigger boss, the way William-nim would bow down to her. But do you want to know what I think, personally?"

Lisa would have wanted to say no. That she's not interested anymore, especially about the waitress personal opinion about the woman Lisa was looking for. But the waitress looked giddy, and Lisa didn't want to rain on the parade. So she said, "No. I mean, sure. What is it?"

The waitress inched closer to Lisa. Lisa could almost see the open pores on the waitress' face.

"I think, that the woman you're looking for is a mafia boss. And William-nim was indebted to her so much that he's willing to sell his soul to that woman as payment," whispered the waitress dramatically in Lisa's ears.

"Okay. This is getting really ridiculous," Lisa said, stepping away from the waitress. "I really have to go now. Thanks for the time," she said and started walking away from The Era.

"Did I scare you, Barbie?" the waitress asked loudly, amid the street noise and the bustles. "I was just telling you the truth! Don't look for that woman! She's a mafia boss!"

Lisa exhaled and turned around and said, "No, you didn't! And it's Lisa, by the way," and walked away from the waitress, from The Era, and from the possibility of finding that woman.