<Episode 37>
“If there’s such a thing as hell, then this must be it.”
I roughly wiped the sweat dripping down my forehead.
“One red bean and one custard, please!”
“Yes! Just a moment~!”
When I opened the mold, perfectly cooked bungeoppang came into view. Using the tongs, I quickly picked them out one by one and placed them on the rack so they could cool to a crisp texture.
Whirr, whirr.
Beside the rack, my precious item, “Packaging Snap-Snap,” was busily moving around while wearing floral-patterned arm sleeves.
But just because I had a packaging item didn’t mean I could relax.
“One red bean and two custards for me!”
“The custard ones will take a little longer!”
Of all times, we had run out of custard bungeoppang. I poured batter into the mold and squeezed in thick amounts of yellow custard cream.
I glanced toward the long line stretching outside.
I felt like I might cry a little.
“Boss! I’d like to order too!”
“Can I get the spicy bungeoppang packaged?”
“I dropped my paper cup! Could I get a new one?”
Ari was also frantically skewering fish cakes onto sticks while responding to customers.
The only one being carefree here was our fat cat, Hanyang.
I swallowed a sigh inwardly.
The reservation system really had been a blessing.
My determination to operate without reservations today crumbled apart barely an hour after opening the shop.
In the end, I shouted.
“From now on, we’re switching back to reservations! Please write your names down in order!”
Once I told everyone except the customers already inside the shop to write their names on the reservation list, the packed crowd slowly started thinning out.
“Never again… I’m never taking walk-in orders again.”
“You made the right choice. This really isn’t it.”
With a face that looked like her soul had left her body, Ari nodded intensely.
“I feel like I’m dying….”
I handed Ari a cold bottle of water.
If Ari hadn’t come to work today, I would’ve had to handle all of this alone. Then I probably would’ve come down with another fever.
“Ari. I’m really happy you’re here. I mean it.”
“Huh? All of a sudden?”
“I was always grateful, but today I’m especially grateful.”
Ari burst into hearty laughter, asking what kind of weird thing that was to say.
After taking a short break, we got back up and started working like machines again.
“The blessings of food are truly endless, nya.”
While we were dying on the inside, only Hanyang hummed happily while grilling bread nearby.
Thankfully, after that, the number of customers became manageable.
“Mmm! This is the taste! No matter what else I eat, nothing tastes like this. Boss, you seriously can’t get sick again.”
A customer who had bitten into her bungeoppang kept giving a thumbs-up. The ring earrings hanging from her ears swayed with her movements.
“Oh! So does that mean you’re staying in the dormitories now, boss?”
“Probably. I haven’t officially signed the contract yet, but I think so.”
Apparently, news that I was staying in the dorms had already spread, because several customers who came by mentioned it knowingly.
After nodding, the customer grumbled.
“But aren’t the dorms way too cramped? It’s nice that they’re close, but wouldn’t it be uncomfortable?”
“Cramped? They’re huge! My old place was only about five pyeong.”
“F-five pyeong?”
The half-eaten spicy bungeoppang slipped from her hand and fell to the floor.
“Ahhh! My bungeoppang!”
Watching the customer stare mournfully at the fallen pastry, I shook my head.
“So that’s why there are empty rooms in the dorms.”
When Lee Hyunwoo Hunter said he’d assign me a better room, I wondered whether that was even possible with so many hunters already living there.
But from what I heard, hunters didn’t seem to prefer staying in the dormitories.
Later that evening, while meeting Lee Hyunwoo Hunter to properly write up the contract, I shared what I’d heard at the shop, and he nodded.
“Awakened individuals tend to be sensitive about their personal space.”
He explained that after awakening, most hunters become highly sensitive to other people’s presence, so cramped dormitory-style housing was basically the worst environment possible for them.
“That’s why most hunters live in detached houses on the outskirts. Dormitories are only used in emergencies.”
“Ahh, now that I think about it, Hunter Ria also said she suffers from insomnia because her senses became too sensitive.”
I vividly remembered how happy she looked after finally getting a long sleep thanks to eating the custard bungeoppang.
“So then, Hunter Lee Hyunwoo, you must live out on the outskirts too?”
“No. I stay in the dormitories.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Why? What do you mean?”
You literally just said hunters can feel everyone else’s presence because their senses are so sharp!
I stared at him as he tilted his head innocently, like he genuinely didn’t understand.
“Aren’t the dorms uncomfortable for you? Since you’d be able to sense other people even more clearly!”
“Ah… It’s fine.”
While looking at the rapidly climbing elevator numbers, he answered indifferently.
“If I can’t sleep, then I just don’t sleep.”
Not sleep? What kind of nonsense was that?
“Huh? What do you mean by–”
Ding.
Before I could ask what he meant, the elevator doors slid open.
The secretary I had met before greeted us with a light bow.
“Hunter Lee Hyunwoo, Ms. Jung Haneul. Your identities have been confirmed. You may proceed inside.”
“Thank you.”
The massive glass doors opened silently.
The Director, whose neatly cut bob hairstyle stopped just below her ears, looked up from her documents.
“…Her presence is no joke.”
I could feel her aura even from far away. Nervousness made me swallow hard.
“Ah! I’ve been waiting for you. Please, have a seat.”
The moment we sat on the sofa, the Director first asked about my condition.
Thankfully, my fever had mostly recovered, and the wound on my neck had healed considerably.
“It’s unfortunate that healing skills don’t work since you weren’t injured inside a gate.”
“Still, the Management Bureau’s medicine is so good that I’m recovering quickly. Thank you for worrying about me.”
The Bureau had provided an ointment-type medicine, and strangely enough, it worked far better than ordinary hospital medicine.
Apparently, it was a medical item created by a production-type hunter.
They said it was an item that reacted to magic power, but it seemed effective even with my tiny amount of mana. Thanks to that, it looked like the wound would heal cleanly without leaving a scar in just a few days.
I thanked her again.
“You don’t need to thank me. Hunter Lee Hyunwoo was the one who prepared it.”
“Of course, I had to take care of her.”
So Hyunwoo Hunter had done that. Honestly, even if he acted otherwise, he was surprisingly considerate.
“Now then, shall we get to the main point?”
The Director lightly clapped her hands to draw our attention.
“The reason I invited you today is that I’d like to officially offer you a position as a hunter under our Management Bureau.”
“A-an official hunter?”
I stammered at the completely unexpected proposal.
As if she’d anticipated my reaction, the Director burst into hearty laughter and handed me a document.
“According to internal regulations, F-ranks normally can’t register as Management Bureau hunters, but we intend to make an exception for Ms. Jung Haneul! We highly value your unique production ability and its effects, which no other awakened individual possesses.”
After lifting her teacup to moisten her throat, the Director slid the document on the table toward me.
“It’s a special employment contract. Since this is the first case like this, even within the Bureau, I drafted it personally. Go ahead and read it.”
Carefully, I picked up the papers.
Alongside the terms stating I would contract as a hunter under the Hunter Management Bureau, the provided benefits were also listed.
“No time limit on dormitory residence? Guaranteed gate access? And if I become Bureau-affiliated, I even get a salary?”
The annual salary listed in the contract was enormous.
I counted the zeros before sucking in a breath.
“If there’s anything else you need, please tell me. I’ll support you as much as possible within my authority.”
“…Is there something you want from me?”
The conditions were almost suspiciously good, and doubt slowly crept into my mind.
At my question, the Director leaned her head back and laughed again.
She really laughed a lot.
“Ahaha! I like that you’re quick-witted. Of course, there’s something we want too.”
“If you’re asking for effective control over my shop’s management rights–”
“Of course not. What I want is simply for Ms. Jung Haneul to continue selling at our Management Bureau.”
Smiling, the Director said that was all she wanted.
“From now on, countless offers will come your way. Some will ask you to relocate overseas, while others may request that you sell only to a select few.”
Then she looked at me and spoke in a firm yet gentle voice.
“I simply hope that Ms. Jung Haneul will continue staying with our Management Bureau. For all our sakes. It’s a simple request, but also the most difficult one.”
The Director shrugged as if that truly was the entirety of her condition.
‘I can’t move overseas right now anyway, especially because of my parents’ shop. And I never had any intention of selling only to a select few from the beginning.’
Without hesitation, I picked up the pen and signed the contract.
Seeing how decisively I acted, the Director smiled in satisfaction.
“You made the right decision.”
After receiving my employment contract, the Director carefully placed it into a document envelope.
Just like that, I officially became a hunter affiliated with the Hunter Management Bureau.
The Director extended her right hand toward me for a handshake.
Smiling, I shook her hand.
“I look forward to working with you, Hunter Haneul. If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Thank you for taking care of me.”
After handing the documents to her secretary, the Director interlocked her fingers and looked at me.
“Good. Then shall we catch the people who dared lay hands on our precious Bureau hunter?”
As soon as documents proving my affiliation were sent to the National Police Agency, authority over the investigation was transferred to the Hunter Management Bureau.
At that moment, the chief secretary approached us carrying a file folder.
“Director, these are the investigation records the police have compiled so far.”
“That was faster than expected. Thank you.”
The Director gave a light nod and flipped through the file.
But the expression on her face while reading the report was unusual.
“…This has become troublesome.”
I accepted the report she handed me.
The first page contained the criminals’ identities, while the bottom section detailed their condition.
But…
“…All of them are dead?”
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