How to Win Over an S-Rank Hunter with Bungeoppang Chapter 30

<Episode 30>

 

“Hanyang, did something happen to Sister Haneul yesterday?”

“Yaaawn, who knows, nya.”

“It feels like she’s worried about something….”

I lightly tuned out the whispered conversation behind me as I recalled the discussion from yesterday. No matter how much I thought about it, his last words kept bothering me.

‘Why was he so certain that no one would offer better terms than them?’

There was no way he could control every other investment firm. Which meant there was only one remaining method: make other investors not want to invest in our shop.

In other words, they intended to lower the shop’s value and turn it into a place no one would want to invest in.

‘But I can’t just sit back and let them do whatever they want.’

I quickly listed in my head all the things they could try against our shop. The moment I thought back to my parents’ store, the answer came immediately.

I called out to Ari, who was diligently skewering fish cakes.

“Ari! Let’s close the shop early today and do a big cleaning.”

“A big cleaning all of a sudden? What about today’s reservations if we close early?”

“Don’t worry. I already adjusted them in advance.”

After talking with Assistant Manager Shin yesterday, I felt like we needed countermeasures, so I had already reduced today’s reservations to half the usual amount.

Ari looked puzzled by my sudden proposal, but she still nodded. Around 2 p.m., we quickly cleaned up the shop and hung a “Closed” sign outside.

“Alright. Shall we begin?”

With a determined expression, I put on cleaning gloves and a mask. A rag in one hand, cleaning solution in the other. Good.

Hanyang looked at me with an indifferent expression.

“What wind suddenly blew in to make you clean, nya?”

“Is it preparation for a comfortable future? Hm? Oh, there’s a piece of plastic over there.”

As I picked up the plastic from the floor, Ari muttered, “Preparation for the future?”

Of course, she’d find it strange. I’d suddenly closed the shop and declared we were doing a massive cleaning.

While scrubbing the grill spotless… even though it was already practically grease-free thanks to how carefully we maintained it, I spoke carefully.

“Actually… someone came yesterday saying they wanted to invest in our shop.”

When I briefly shared the conversation from yesterday, Ari’s eyes widened like saucers.

“T-two hundred billion won!?”

“Yeah. They said they might invest even more depending on the situation.”

“Wow….”

The number 20 billion sounded so unreal that Ari hurriedly covered her mouth. Even Ari, who had been indifferent about investments, couldn’t help reacting to such an enormous amount.

Seeing my meaningful expression, her eyes narrowed.

“Don’t tell me you rejected it?”

“…I did.”

“Why would you reject that!?”

Ari raised her voice in outrage. Even then, her hands never stopped wiping down every corner of the shop.

“The contract clauses were too strange. And it doesn’t make sense for such a small shop to suddenly receive that much investment.”

“…Still, it’s twenty billion won. What a waste.”

Listening to the disappointment dripping from Ari’s voice, I smiled.

“Don’t worry. Our shop can grow just fine without investments. We’re a special shop for hunters, remember?”

Ari forced down her lingering regret and nodded. Watching us quietly, Hanyang suddenly asked:

“What does that have to do with cleaning, nya?”

It had everything to do with cleaning. I grinned while holding up the rag.

“You’ll find out soon enough. The power of deep cleaning.”

 

***

 

The next day.

While handing customers their bungeoppang, I nodded as I saw a group approaching from afar.

“They say speak of the tiger, and it appears. They came already.”

“Who came…? Huh? Who are those people?”

As Ari tilted her head in confusion, the cheerful jingle of the bell rang, and a crowd of people in white coats entered the shop. The customers all stared at them with puzzled expressions.

They flashed official IDs at us.

“We received a report regarding unsanitary conditions. We’ll be conducting an inspection, so please cooperate.”

And before we could even respond, they began thoroughly checking the inside of the shop. They rummaged around so roughly that several pieces of equipment clattered to the floor.

“H-hold on! What are you doing!?”

Ari hurriedly tried to stop them, then looked at me with a near-crying expression, asking what we should do.

‘I knew they’d pull something like this.’

I subtly shook my head at Ari to tell her not to worry. Then I actually started guiding them proactively instead.

“This is the area where we cook. The lower compartment here is our storage cabinet. Feel free to look around thoroughly, and let me know if you need anything.”

It was easier to show them the areas from the start rather than letting them rummage through random places.

Before long, they put on white gloves and began swiping through every nook and cranny. They were clearly trying their hardest to find fault with something.

‘Amazing how the pattern never changes.’

The easiest way to damage a restaurant’s reputation was by attacking its “hygiene.” No matter how clean a food business was, it was easy to claim contamination and nitpick.

Back when my parents’ shop had been thriving, inspections had been reported almost every week. When we later found out the reporters were rival businesses and trashy investors, it had been absurd.

‘Thinking about those days makes me angry all over again.’

Those were days when dealing with health inspectors had been harder than running the shop itself. I forcibly curled my lips into a smile.

“Since you’re already here, please inspect thoroughly. Reaaally thoroughly.”

There was one thing worth pointing out here. Just because someone filed a complaint didn’t mean an inspection automatically happened.

So, for them to appear at such a suspiciously convenient time?

There was a very high chance they had an insider helping them.

‘The Item Business Division officials are rotten too.’

I wondered why Assistant Manager Shin had looked so confident. So that was what he was relying on.

Still, I wasn’t especially worried. There was a reason we had spent all day yesterday cleaning the shop.

‘You didn’t expect it to be this spotless, did you?’

The way they whispered among themselves made it obvious they were flustered by the perfect state of the shop. Realizing this wouldn’t work, one man suddenly spotted Hanyang sitting in the corner and pointed.

“Ah! There’s a cat in the shop!”

As if they’d finally found something, they all raised their voices excitedly.

“There’s a cat inside a restaurant! The hygiene here is terrible!”

“Ugh, then cat fur must be getting into all the food…!”

Hanyang stared back at them indifferently, completely unconcerned about being discussed. In the end, I had to step in.

“Please look at this first.”

“Hah, what is this? ‘Don’t worry, our pet doesn’t bite.’?”

As if. And our Hanyang did bite, actually. I shoved a document in front of his face.

“…Permit for accompanying special entities?”

Since there were certification documents for special beings like Hanyang, I’d gotten one in advance. Apparently, they were allowed inside restaurants too.

Ah, and one more thing!

“Hanyang isn’t an ordinary cat, so you don’t need to worry about shedding.”

I removed my glove and lightly brushed through Hanyang’s tri-colored fur. Naturally, not a single strand came off onto my hand.

If Hanyang shed fur like a normal cat, no matter how cute she was, I would’ve kicked her out of the shop.

“See?”

They rapidly alternated their gaze between my hand and Hanyang.

“Hmph, what stupid expressions, nya.”

“Gah! I-it talked!”

“W-what is this cat!?”

Hearing Hanyang’s voice, they recoiled in horror. Of course, I wasn’t done preparing.

“Here are our business license, hygiene training certificate, and item sales permit.”

Before they even asked, I handed over the documents I had already prepared. After awkwardly reviewing them, they finally nodded.

“…You’ve maintained things well. If we find any problems after inspection, we’ll notify you.”

“A-ahem. Let’s go.”

Even as they left, they kept sneaking glances at Hanyang. Once they were gone, the customers who had been holding their breath finally began murmuring.

“An inspection out of nowhere? That scared me.”

“Seriously! I almost choked on my fish cake.”

“What kind of lunatic even reported this place?”

The once-quiet shop instantly became noisy. Amid the flustered customers, Ari whispered to me.

“How did you know we’d get reported?”

“What do you mean, how?”

“You made us clean yesterday. Every single corner! Didn’t you know this would happen?”

I shrugged as I poured batter into the bungeoppang mold.

“Just intuition, I guess? I thought there might be an inspection eventually.”

Of course, that was a lie.

If I hadn’t had experience working at my parents’ shop, we would’ve been completely blindsided. The best solution was always to prevent any potential controversy before it happened.

Swallowing a sigh internally, I comforted Ari with a calm expression. Though she’d worked many part-time jobs, she said this was her first time experiencing something like this and rubbed her chest in relief.

“Still, I’m glad it ended safely.”

“Well, maybe.”

“Why? Do you think the results will turn out badly?”

No.

I just didn’t think this would be the end.

Still, I wasn’t too worried. Everything they were trying to do now was something I’d already experienced at least once before.

Just as I predicted, useless surprise inspections and suspiciously worded articles kept pouring out afterward. Of course, none of it had any effect on the shop.

Except for one question that suddenly appeared during an official interview with a hunter.

 

<Hunter Park Jaemin! There are rumors that an F-rank awakener has been illegally entering gates recently. Is that true?>

 

Wait.

Isn’t that talking about me?