<Episode 53>
As expected of someone with years of restaurant experience, Seah quickly blended into the shop.
“Welcome~”
She greeted customers brightly as they entered, checked reservations, packaged orders, and occasionally went upstairs to wipe down dirty tables.
“See? Hiring Seah Unni was the right choice, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah. Thanks to her, we even have time to chat like this.”
It felt as though efficiency had improved too, since I could focus entirely on making food.
Ari flashed a proud smile, clearly pleased that her recommendation had paid off.
‘Though I think Ari likes Seah more because she’s prettier than for any other reason…’
Well, regardless of the reason, good results were all that mattered.
I nodded in agreement.
As Ari refilled the reduced fish-cake broth, she let out a small giggle.
“By the way, aren’t the customers’ reactions hilarious?”
“Hm? What reactions?”
“Whenever Seah unni talks to them, they freeze up like robots!”
Now that she mentioned it, there had indeed been another noticeable change since Seah joined the staff.
“Welcome. Do you have a reservation?”
“Uwah! Are you… an e-elf?”
“Sir? Is there something you need?”
“Ah! I… needed something… maybe? Hahaha!”
Just as Ari said, people who saw Seah’s face up close suddenly became awkward and stiff.
Of course, there were many attractive people in the Hunter Management Bureau.
Hunter Lee Hyunwoo was a prime example, and Hunter Kang Min, who had once been an idol, wasn’t lacking in looks either.
But hunters were already used to seeing them.
‘They’re always on TV and YouTube, after all.’
Seah, however, had appeared like a comet out of nowhere.
Nobody seemed to have any resistance to her beauty.
As a result, both men and women alike completely lost their composure around her.
“Hahaha! It’s my first time seeing Suhyeon unni this flustered!”
“True. Though everyone will probably get used to it eventually.”
Honestly, I couldn’t really talk.
I’d stammered myself the first time I saw her face.
When she greeted me, it practically looked like she had a halo glowing behind her.
“Your name is… Hunter Kim Suhyeon, correct? Two spicy fish-shaped buns, two custard-filled fish-shaped buns, one fish-cake skewer, and one serving of tteokbokki. I’ll prepare them right away.”
“Ah! Y-yes! Thank you very much!”
With a bright smile, Seah neatly packed the food and handed it over.
The customer who had been malfunctioning like a broken machine left, and more customers soon filled the shop again.
“Boss! Why don’t we sell Sotteok-Sotteok here?”
“The reviews make it sound incredible… Don’t tell me it’s exclusive to the Busan branch?”
Besides the new employee, the other thing customers were obsessed with was the new menu item that had debuted at the Busan branch:
Sotteok-Sotteok.
After seeing reviews on hunter forums and social media, customers kept begging us to release it at the main branch too.
“Of course, we’re going to sell it here too. Just be patient a little longer.”
“I’m getting dizzy from waiting…”
The customers stomped their feet impatiently.
The truth was, there was a reason we couldn’t easily launch the new menu at the main branch.
‘We don’t have enough manpower.’
Seah handled customer service and cleaned the dining area.
I made fish-shaped buns.
Ari handled tteokbokki and fish cakes.
That meant only two people were actually preparing food.
Adding new menu items carelessly wasn’t possible.
Wasn’t Seah a third person?
Well…
I still hadn’t used a Staff Recruitment Ticket on her.
Which meant that even if Seah made food, it would just be ordinary food without any blessing infused into it.
‘It’s better to observe her a little longer before officially hiring her.’
So far, Seah had seemed kind and hardworking.
Still, Hanyang’s cryptic warning lingered in my mind.
What if the thing she wanted was something harmful to our shop?
Hiring wasn’t urgent right now.
There was no harm in watching her a bit longer.
“Unni, are we really not selling Sotteok-Sotteok yet?”
“Why? Do you want to?”
“More than that, I’m curious! The reviews say it’s ridiculously delicious.”
Ari’s eyes sparkled as she spoke.
Despite being an E-rank and barely suffering from awakening side effects, she genuinely loved our shop’s food.
According to her, it had a special flavor that ordinary food simply couldn’t match.
Smiling, I nodded.
“Let’s wait for the right timing and release it then.”
“Wow! Awesome!”
Grinning from ear to ear, Ari quickly skewered fish cakes.
Her hands moved so fast that she wasn’t even looking properly at the skewers, effortlessly threading them with remarkable skill.
‘Though once we launch Sotteok-Sotteok, a whole new labor hell is waiting for us. Is she really okay with that?’
Just like fish-cake skewers, Sotteok-Sotteok had to be assembled by hand.
From what I’d heard, Juhee was enthusiastically skewering them over at the Busan branch.
‘Ari already handles the fish cakes… so I’ll probably be the one doing it.’
Maybe I should check whether Underworld.com sold automated machines.
Shrugging at the thought…
Jingle.
“Welcome– Ah? Hunter Lee Hyunwoo! Long time no see.”
“I stopped by after finishing a Gate operation. I heard the second branch opened. It’s late, but congratulations.”
We exchanged messages frequently, but he’d been so busy with Gate duties lately that we hadn’t seen each other in person.
Seeing him now felt genuinely nice.
“Have you eaten yet? I brought some inari sushi on my way back.”
“I haven’t. Thank you.”
I accepted the heavy bag from his hand.
The shop had been so busy lately that finding time for lunch wasn’t easy.
When that happened, we’d often make do with food brought by customers.
The morning rush had already died down somewhat.
It seemed like there would be enough time for everyone at the shop to share the sushi.
“Ari, could you grab some chopsticks?”
“Yes, unni! Wow, there are salmon toppings on these? They look amazing.”
“Seah! Come eat some inari sushi with us!”
Seah had been tidying tables on the second floor.
When I called her, she said she’d been getting hungry anyway and would come down immediately.
“Hunter Lee Hyunwoo, would you like to join us?”
“It’s alright. I only stopped by to deliver this.”
Even after I offered him a seat, he shook his head.
Apparently, he still had other work waiting for him.
‘You probably wouldn’t be able to taste the sushi anyway… but it’d still be nice if you joined us.’
Food wasn’t just about flavor.
The atmosphere of sharing it mattered too.
I invited him again, but he simply smiled faintly and declined.
‘Maybe I should unlock Inari Sushi as our next menu item. It’s convenient, and you can put all sorts of toppings on it.’
Just as I began opening the packaging…
Seah, who had been coming downstairs, suddenly spotted Lee Hyunwoo and froze in place.
“Ah…!”
The cleaning rag slipped from her hand.
Covering her mouth, she stood completely rigid.
Did something happen?
Startled, I hurried over.
“Seah? Are you alright?”
“No way…”
Her gaze wasn’t on anyone else.
It was fixed entirely on Hunter Lee Hyunwoo.
Staggering slightly, she descended the stairs and approached him.
He remained standing silently.
“…It really is you, oppa. I’ve been searching for you for so long.”
Searching?
For Hunter Lee Hyunwoo?
Why?
At her sudden statement, every customer in the shop stopped talking and turned toward us.
“…You’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
Lee Hyunwoo frowned ever so slightly and stepped back.
As a result, Seah’s carefully extended hand failed to reach him and remained suspended in midair.
Biting her lip tightly, she spoke in a trembling voice choked with tears.
“Did you really forget everything? My face… my voice too?”
Lee Hyunwoo looked toward me as though he were at a loss.
Seah’s legs seemed to give out beneath her.
She slowly sank to the floor and buried her face in her hands.
“I still remember you. Hic… So you really forgot everything. How can you? How could you…?”
Her sobs filled the suddenly silent shop.
Lee Hyunwoo simply looked down at her with his usual impassive eyes.
I rose from my seat to comfort Seah.
At that exact moment…
Still sobbing with her head lowered, she suddenly screamed at the top of her lungs.
“You really don’t remember me? I’m Seah! Yoon Seah! We even promised to get married!”
What?
Marriage?
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