<Episode 27>
Why was Hunter Lee Hyunwoo suddenly brought into the conversation?
I could only blink at the unexpected question, and the man let out a low, meaningful hum.
“Are you two still in the stage of slowly getting to know each other? Or is it a deeper relationship than that?”
He had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and thrown out a rude, incomprehensible question.
Hunter Lee Hyunwoo and I weren’t in any kind of relationship, but even if we were, there was no reason for me to answer a stranger.
When I frowned in irritation, he smiled lightly and stepped back half a pace.
“I suppose I introduced myself too late. I’m Park Jaemin, leader of Alpha Team.”
“…Alpha Team?”
“Surely you’re not going to tell me you don’t know who I am.”
He stared at me confidently, like it was impossible for anyone not to recognize him.
And unfortunately, he actually was pretty famous.
He was the captain of the Hunter Management Bureau’s only independent unit, the “G-Alpha Team.”
The hunters working for the Hunter Management Bureau were broadly divided into two categories: support teams and field teams. The Gate Field Management Team that Hunter Lee Hyunwoo belonged to, usually shortened to “field team,” was normally responsible for clearing Gates.
Usually, the field teams were numbered like Field Team 1, Team 2, and so on, but G-Alpha… Alpha Team, for short, was different.
‘Because it was a direct independent team established by the vice director.’
Officially, it was supposed to be a team that broke away from the rigid existing structure and moved in a more innovative direction. Of course, I knew nothing about Gate clearing, so I didn’t really understand what made an “independent team” special.
‘Anyway, the important thing was that Hunter Park Jaemin was ridiculously famous.’
The leader of the Hunter Management Bureau’s only independent team. That title alone was impressive, but on top of that, he was also the son of the bureau’s vice director.
In other words, he was one of those perfect golden boys with both power and talent.
Which made it all the more surprising that someone like him would be interested in such baseless gossip. I clicked my tongue internally.
“Hunter Park Jaemin. I don’t know what kind of rumors you heard, but Hunter Lee Hyunwoo and I are not in that kind of relationship.”
“Really? Then that’s good. I must’ve misunderstood.”
Unlike the abrupt way he had appeared and questioned me, he backed off cleanly.
Or at least, I thought he did.
“Then how about me?”
“…Didn’t we literally just meet?”
He smiled shyly and brushed back the hair that had fallen over his forehead.
“What if I said it was love at first sight… would you believe me?”
Ha. Yeah, right. Love at first sight, my ass.
The eyes saying those words still looked cold as ice.
I turned my head away flatly.
“I’m a realist.”
“Haha! You really are interesting.”
“Hello! I’m here to pick up my bungeoppang reservation–oh?”
Right on cue, a customer arrived to collect their order and blinked in surprise after seeing him.
Apparently, he had no intention of continuing such a shameless conversation in front of other people. He simply left his business card behind and waved lightly.
“See you again sometime.”
And as if that weren’t enough, he even gave me a wink on his way out.
‘…Seriously, what is with that guy?’
The moment he left the shop, the customer’s eyes sparkled.
“That was the Alpha Team leader, right?”
“Yeah. You know him too, Hunter?”
“Of course! He’s incredibly skilled, and everyone says he has a great personality too. I’m so jealous you’re close with Hunter Park Jaemin….”
Clean Gate clears, regular volunteer work, donations, corporate events… apparently, he was this customer’s role model, because they dumped a mountain of unsolicited trivia onto me.
Thanks to that, I learned exactly who the rude man who had suddenly appeared and interrogated me was.
‘G-Alpha Team leader, Hunter Park Jaemin.’
After the customer kindly finished explaining everything and left, I picked up the business card and examined it quietly.
Hayang padded over and leaned against me.
“Don’t get close to that human, nya. His energy feels bad.”
“So you think he’s weird too?”
“He’s beyond weird, nya. My fur’s standing on end.”
Just like Hayang said, her beautiful calico fur was puffed up sharply like a cat confronting something unfamiliar.
Slowly brushing her fur back down, I sank into thought.
‘Love at first sight? Yeah, sure.’
I ripped his business card into pieces and tossed it into the trash.
If Hayang didn’t like him, I shouldn’t get involved with him at all.
“When you run a shop, weird customers are guaranteed to show up eventually.”
I guess this was just the sorrow of being self-employed.
Like the shredded business card in the trash, I quickly erased the strange man from my mind.
***
“Unnie, I’m here! Hello to the kitty too!”
“Tiny human, you’re full of energy this early in the morning, nya.”
Ari’s grandmother had finally been discharged from the hospital.
Which meant today was officially Ari’s first day of work.
The moment Ari said she wanted to start working immediately, I used the Employee Recruitment Ticket right away.
Apparently, employees hired through the Recruitment Ticket could also bless food.
In other words, they could make food that anyone, including awakened individuals, could actually taste.
It seemed the system granted abilities through the mechanism of the “recruitment ticket.”
‘So random people can’t just hand out blessings, huh? The system’s surprisingly strict.’
Still, being able to grant an employee abilities similar to mine was an incredible perk.
I’d been dreading having to handle all the cooking alone forever, but now I felt like I could expand the menu without worry.
“Whoa! So I’m officially a full-time employee now?”
The moment I handed her an apron and hair covering, Ari started bouncing excitedly in place.
At the same time, a status window appeared before my eyes.
—
”Employee Recruitment Complete”
Your tiny little shop has grown this much already. Amazing job!
”Recruitment Celebration Gift:” Shop Upgrade + Random New Menu Unlock Ticket
—
Hold on.
‘Your tiny little shop has grown this much already?’ Was the system mocking me or what?
Grumbling under my breath, I still pressed the claim reward button obediently.
The moment I did, the shop slowly began reconstructing itself like something out of a Transformer movie.
“Whoa! Unnie, the shop’s moving!”
After shifting and rearranging itself for a while, the upgrade finally finished.
“Wow… this is the same shop from before?”
The flimsy stall that had once looked like it would blow away from a strong gust of wind had completely transformed after the upgrade.
The exterior was now made of sturdier materials, and there was even a small entrance door.
Inside the shop, which now resembled a tiny snack bar, was a proper cooking station for making bungeoppang.
‘There’s another new space. What’s this for?’
It was probably related to whatever new menu item had been unlocked.
The only worrying thing was that the menu was random.
‘Though when has anything about this system ever not been random?’
Since I’d never gotten to choose the next menu myself anyway, it probably didn’t matter.
“Should we unlock the new menu right now?”
“Of course! I’m super curious!”
Looking at Ari’s excited face, I clicked the Random New Menu Unlock Ticket without hesitation.
Brrrrring
A strange sound played as a roulette wheel spun rapidly.
Surely it wouldn’t give us some inedible monstrosity, right?
Like mint chocolate bungeoppang or something….
As if completely unaware of my anxiety, the roulette wheel slowly spun to a stop.
And the menu written there was…
—
”Chewy Fish Cake”
: Premium chewy fish cake made from Devil Fish living 250 meters under the sea
”Special Effect:” Self-heating (Cold Resistance +20%)
—
‘…Fish cake?’
Not bungeoppang, but a completely new menu item.
And it even came with a special effect.
“Unnie! What kind of bungeoppang is the new menu?”
“Uh… It’s not bungeoppang. It’s fish cake.”
Hayang tilted her head from the side.
“Fish cake? What’s that, nya?”
“It’s food made by mixing ground fish meat with flour and frying it. But apparently the fish in this case is….”
Devil Fish? Was that even a real fish?
I immediately searched for it and discovered it was actually a monster that lived in Gate Lakes. Apparently, it was extremely rare and difficult to find.
‘…This is safe to eat, right?’
While I was still stunned by the unexpected new menu, a new cooking area suddenly appeared in the empty section of the shop.
Ari gasped and ran toward the transformed space.
“Wow! I guess this is where we boil the fish cake broth!”
“Looks like it. We even got all the ingredients we need… broth, skewers, and fish cake.”
“Can’t we try making it right now?”
Before opening the shop, we decided to test the new menu first.
Thankfully, because it was Ari’s first day, we’d met up early and still had plenty of time before opening.
Helping me, Ari carefully folded and threaded the fish cakes onto skewers until we had thirty fish cake skewers ready.
“First, fill the pot with broth. Once it starts boiling a little, you add the prepared skewers. Easy, right?”
Putting the fish cakes onto the skewers was kind of annoying, but honestly, the cooking process itself was way easier than making bungeoppang.
‘I can probably leave the new menu to Ari.’
Making bungeoppang requires skill to avoid burning it. Even with gloves, the mold got dangerously hot.
But fish cake didn’t need constant attention, so it was much simpler.
I hurriedly added the new menu item to the menu board and made a price tag.
The price was the same as the bungeoppang: 10,000 won per skewer.
And of course, if you bought fish cake, the broth was free!
“Should we open the shop now?”
“Yes! I’ll work super hard! Fighting!”
And it didn’t take long for me to realize exactly what an A+ rank talent was capable of.
“Welcome! Please tell me your name, and I’ll get your bungeoppang right away!”
Wait… she’s already checking the reservation list and processing orders immediately?
I only explained everything to her ten minutes ago!
“And we’re selling a brand-new menu starting today too, so please give it a try!”
Was she even promoting the new menu on top of that?
Even Hayang, who had been lazily sprawled in the back, had gotten up and was watching Ari.
“Did you secretly lock her away somewhere and train her, nya?”
She really was a talent handpicked by the system.
Watching Ari work so enthusiastically, I smiled proudly.
Back then, I had absolutely no idea what was happening behind the shop.
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