<Episode 109>
The moment I arrived at work, Ari brought up Park Seongcheol’s trial results.
“Life imprisonment! He’s going to rot in prison for the rest of his life. And all his assets got confiscated too! Serves him right, don’t you think?”
“Yeah. Even someone like Park Seongcheol can’t escape when the evidence is this clear.”
Even though Park Seongcheol was locked up, he would undoubtedly try to contact people outside who could help him.
But it wouldn’t be easy.
NP Investment Partners, where he had been the largest shareholder, had already gone bankrupt, and all the wealth he had accumulated illegally had been completely seized.
Furthermore, as hunters’ awakening side effects gradually disappeared, the popularity of supplements was bound to decline.
Even if he released Nutrafil, or something similar, it would quickly fail.
“Come to think of it, didn’t Park Seongcheol call you over before and say all sorts of things to you, sis?”
“Yeah, he did. What was it again…? Something about how running a shop as I do was foolish?”
He’d laughed at me, calling me naïve and claiming that if he were in charge, he’d make far more money than I ever could.
Remembering those confident words he’d thrown at me, I shrugged lightly.
The ending of someone who acted so smart?
A cold prison cell.
Ding.
The moment I flipped the sign to Open, customers with reservations began entering one after another.
Everyone looked cheerful, as if they’d all seen the news.
“Life imprisonment, huh? At least he got properly punished.”
“With evidence this clear, of course he did! No matter how much people at the top wanted to protect him, there was no way this time.”
“Just thinking about all the suffering caused by that damn Nutrafil…”
A customer shuddered as if recalling that terrible day.
Then they clapped their hands and looked at me.
“Oh! Boss, did you hear the news? Import restrictions on supplements are finally being lifted.”
“Oh, really?”
“Until now they kept blocking imports with that ridiculous excuse that foreign ingredients weren’t suitable for Korean Awakeners. But you know how it really was, right? It wasn’t about that at all… they were just trying to push Park Seongcheol’s supplements. So now what can they do? They have to rewrite the laws.”
I had expected it to take much longer before the restrictions were lifted, but things moved surprisingly fast.
As the scandal continued to grow, it seemed the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety had decided to quickly sever any connection to Park Seongcheol.
Brushing back shoulder-length hair, the customer spoke with a disgusted expression.
“My brother-in-law is a prosecutor, you know. I heard from him that the political world is in complete chaos right now. Apparently there are tons of people who accepted bribes from Park Seongcheol. It’s honestly sickening.”
“Yeah. Still, I’m glad the investigation seems to be progressing well.”
“It’s all thanks to you, boss. Honestly, do you think nobody knew before this? They probably all had a rough idea among themselves, but kept quiet because they were getting paid. Then you came along and exposed everything!”
“…Well, I suppose that’s true.”
It was true that Park Seongcheol had manipulated things to monopolize Nutrafil sales within Korea.
But if I hadn’t created the side-effect treatment item, perhaps he wouldn’t have resorted to such extreme measures.
If I hadn’t discovered the special effect that restored people to their physical prime…
Just imagining the alternative was terrifying.
‘Still, it’s a relief that Park Seongcheol was properly punished. And the hunters addicted to Nutrafil all recovered safely.’
Not long ago, even the Prosecutor General had personally visited to present me with a plaque of appreciation.
Apparently, they had been investigating Park Seongcheol for quite some time, but because the case involved both the political world and the Hunter Association, they had been forced to proceed cautiously.
I had wondered why things seemed to be moving so quickly.
It appeared the prosecution had been conducting an aggressive investigation behind the scenes.
“Well then, boss, keep up the good work! Fighting!”
“Thank you! Get home safely.”
The customers who had passionately discussed the matter left, and new customers came in.
The downfall of Park Seongcheol, once the Vice Director of the Hunter Management Bureau, had been such a shock that nearly every customer brought it up.
“By the way, I think Ari is even more amazing than you, boss.”
“Me? Why me?”
“My son is the same age as her, but she’s so mature. She runs the shop by herself when you’re busy, makes food like a pro, and I heard she even helped make those Gongjindan items.”
“I’m pretty amazing, you know! Sis says I’m an A+ talent. Awesome, right?”
Ari winked and flashed a V-sign beside her cheek.
The entire shop burst into laughter at her cuteness.
As one customer packed up their fish-cake skewers to leave, they quietly whispered to me:
“My son complains every day about not wanting to go to cram school, but Ari is really incredible. You must be happy to have such a good employee.”
“Of course. Without Ari, things would’ve been much harder for me.”
After the customer left, I looked at Ari as she wiped down the tables.
People always said it was nice that she was so mature.
But sometimes I wished she’d complain and act her age more often.
‘She doesn’t need to become an adult so quickly.’
After a brief moment of thought, I called out to her.
“Ari.”
“Yes, sis?”
“Is there anything you want? Something you’d like to eat, maybe?”
At my question, Ari burst into giggles.
Then she set down her cleaning rag and swayed her shoulders cutely.
“I want a Mini-Ping keychain, sis~”
Mini-Ping was a character merchandise line that had recently become wildly popular again.
The kind of item that was so popular among kids that even having money didn’t guarantee you’d get one.
I shook my head firmly.
“Sorry. That’s impossible. Even if I’m an SS-Rank, I can’t get that.”
“Kyahaha! I’m joking, I’m joking!”
Ari doubled over laughing.
“I’m happiest right now. I like working with you, sis. You pay me well. And most importantly, Grandma isn’t sick anymore! I couldn’t ask for anything else.”
“Still, if you ever need something, tell me. I’ll do whatever I can.”
“Hm… I’ll think about it.”
Nodding, Ari suddenly looked me up and down with a meaningful smile.
“By the way, sis, are you going on a date today? Your outfit seems especially pretty.”
“D-Date? Of course not! I just have plans!”
I hurriedly pretended to adjust my apron while fixing my clothes.
My face instantly grew hot at Ari’s sharp observation.
After all, I was meeting Hyunwoo after work today.
But I swore it wasn’t a date!
‘We’re not even at the stage where we’d call it a date…’
The relationship between Hyunwoo and me was difficult to define.
He had been my childhood crush.
At the same time, he was the person who had saved me when I fell into the water.
Now he was a comfortable and reliable coworker…
And honestly, something more than that.
‘But the problem is that I don’t know how Hyunwoo feels about me.’
Should I just gather my courage and ask him outright?
I considered it, then quickly shook my head.
I didn’t want to make things awkward between us.
Seeing me repeatedly shake my head, Ari nodded knowingly.
“Mmm~ Got it. Have fun on your date, sis!”
“I’m telling you, it’s really not a date.”
After finishing all the reservations and clocking out, I spotted a familiar black sedan waiting in a nearby alley.
Hyunwoo, leaning against the car, noticed me and smiled softly before opening the passenger door.
“Haneul, please get in.”
“Thank you. You haven’t been waiting long, have you?”
“I just arrived myself.”
The moment I got into the car, Hyunwoo’s familiar fresh scent washed over me.
As I fastened my seatbelt, I asked suspiciously:
“By the way, where are we going? It’s not a gate, is it?”
The place he’d taken me to when trying to comfort me after my shop had been shut down due to false accusations?
A gate.
The place we went to in Gangwon Branch?
Also a gate.
And neither location had been remotely peaceful.
I clenched my fists, already preparing to object fiercely if he said we were entering another gate.
“Hahaha! I didn’t realize you disliked gates so much.”
“It’s not that I dislike them. I’m worried. You never know what kind of trouble will happen.”
At my muttering, he covered his mouth with his free hand, the one not holding the steering wheel, and chuckled.
“Fortunately, we’re not going to a gate, so you can relax. We’re only here to pick up an item I commissioned.”
However, when we arrived sometime later, the destination wasn’t a Hunter Market.
Nor was it some large workshop.
Instead, it was an old apartment building surrounded by a strangely eerie atmosphere.
‘Is this really the right place…?’
Comments (0)