<Episode 81>
“‘Fast response’ received overwhelmingly high ratings. Next was ‘reflects customer requests well’….”
I stared at the tablet with a serious expression. Unfortunately, almost no customers had selected the option saying he had a “bright and positive attitude.” Instead, the miscellaneous section was filled with all kinds of comments.
– The cosplay is seriously awesome.
– I’m really curious how you made that chilly aura! Is it an item?
– Your voice is cool. The best~
“Hmm….”
“What are the results?”
In front of me, Mr. Kim Chasa was waiting for my answer with an unusually tense expression. I smiled and gave him a thumbs-up.
“Congratulations! Positive responses exceeded 90%.”
“Which means….”
“Your internship period is over! You’re now a full-time employee.”
At my words, Mr. Kim Chasa clenched his fist tightly. It had been worth riding around in the food truck with him whenever the shop was quiet.
‘He was only awkward at first. Later on, he got good enough that I practically wasn’t needed anymore.’
More importantly, I really liked how incredibly fast he was at preparing food. At this rate, I wouldn’t have to worry about customer complaints.
“From now on, you can drive the truck yourself and handle deliveries directly. As promised, your pay will be 20% of the daily points earned. That sounds alright, right?”
“I am very satisfied.”
Having realized that each completed delivery brought in quite a decent amount of points, he nodded with a gentle expression.
“Still, working alone must be exhausting. If you happen to know any coworkers who’d be suitable, you could bring them along to work with you…”
“No. I alone am sufficient.”
He coldly rejected my suggestion. Maybe because he was a grim reaper, he seemed to prefer working alone. In any case, that was how the manager, and sole employee… of Branch No. 3, became Grim Reaper Mr. Kim Chasa.
“I’ll be counting on you from now on!”
“…I shall also look forward to working with you.”
Ding!
A cheerful system notification blinked at the bottom of my vision. Out of habit, I opened the window and saw a message saying a request had been completed and points had been deposited.
‘He really works nonstop.’
While flipping over golden-brown fish-shaped pastries, I smiled in satisfaction.
It had already been ten days since Haneul’s Food Truck, also known as Branch No. 3, officially launched. During that time, notifications announcing completed requests had been ringing in the corner of my vision day and night without pause.
At first, I thought it was a system error and even panicked enough to call Mr. Kim Chasa. But the reply I got back was unbelievably dry.
‘Sleep? Such things are only necessary for immature beings.’
…Ah, I see. In other words, the Grim Reaper had become obsessed with the point system and was pedaling away without rest.
‘For me, this is basically a jackpot.’
On top of that, grim reapers apparently had no interest in human currency, making this practically a money duplication exploit. Humming to myself, I minimized the system window out of sight.
That was when I overheard a conversation from customers eating tteokbokki at a nearby table.
“Hey, did you hear the rumor? Apparently, a food truck’s been appearing inside gates lately.”
“A food truck? Is that some kind of new monster? Never heard of it.”
“A monster? No way! It’s the new shop that the owner launched. They say the truck has ‘Haneul’s Food Truck’ written on it.”
A customer chewing a rice cake widened his eyes.
“So you can eat fish-shaped pastries inside the gates now? And tteokbokki too?”
“Exactly! People even uploaded proof photos on the hunter forums. Here, look.”
The customer who received the phone stared so hard at the screen that it looked like he might fall into it.
“Holy crap, this is real. That’s amazing.”
“Right? Even the employee concept is unique. Apparently, he sells food dressed like a grim reaper.”
“Ahh, that marketing is genius. I wanna see him too. Eating tteokbokki inside a gate sounds weirdly romantic.”
After finishing their conversation, the customers turned sparkling eyes toward me at the counter.
“Boss, you really opened a food truck this time, right? How do we encounter it? Do we need reservations?”
I smiled awkwardly and shrugged.
“Umm… if you wish for it desperately enough?”
“Come on, what kind of answer is that?!”
Leaving the customers’ protests behind, I picked up a dishcloth and started cleaning the empty tables. Ever since the food truck started appearing inside gates, customer reactions had become hotter than ever before.
‘Come to think of it, Hangyeol contacted me recently too.’
I chuckled softly while recalling Hangyeol’s desperate text message.
[Noona! Doesn’t the truck come to Gangwon Province? Our team leader’s begging for it to come at least onceㅠㅠ Pleasepleaseplease come to the Gangwon branch too….]
Of course, it wasn’t just the Gangwon branch. Hunters from all over the country were sending requests begging us to visit their regions too.
‘The original purpose of the food truck was to personally visit hunters who were being overlooked.’
But because it moved according to randomly appearing requests, it wasn’t easy to arrive where people actually wanted it at the right time.
‘Hmm, maybe I should go out personally tomorrow for once?’
I turned on my phone and checked the calendar. Starting tomorrow, it was finally the weekend. I immediately sent Han-gyeol a message.
[Are you free tomorrow? If it’s okay, I’ll drive the truck over to the Gangwon branch.]
The reply came back in less than a second. Emoticons were dancing all over the place in excitement.
Since Ari would be off during the weekend, it seemed like I should ask Mr. Kim Chasa to accompany me. Though, since tomorrow wouldn’t be a system-request delivery, I’d probably have to negotiate special overtime pay for him. Maybe adding a few more points than his usual daily amount would do the trick.
“Unni~ We’re out of spicy fish-shaped pastries. Should I make more?”
“No, they’re dangerous, so I’ll do it. Just wait a second!”
Lost in thought for a moment, I hurried into the kitchen at Ari’s voice.
And so, after another hectic day had passed, I found myself in the car heading home. While sitting in the passenger seat, I carefully brought up tomorrow’s plans to Hunter Lee Hyunwoo, who was driving.
“So tomorrow, I’m thinking of taking the truck over to the Gangwon branch. I want to see Hangyeol again and let the Gangwon hunters try the food too.”
“The Gangwon branch, huh….”
Stopped at a traffic light, Lee Hyunwoo tapped the steering wheel thoughtfully.
“Are you going alone?”
“No. I’m planning to go with Mr. Kim Chasa.”
“I see.”
After a moment of silence, he turned his head slightly and glanced at me.
“…Would it perhaps be alright if I came along too?”
“Huh? You too, Hunter?”
“I don’t happen to have any special plans tomorrow. And I’m curious about the Gangwon branch as well.”
I blinked a few times before breaking into a bright smile and nodding enthusiastically. If Lee Hyun-woo came with us, it would feel reassuring. Besides, we shared all our secrets now!
“Of course! Hangyeol would probably be even happier if you came too.”
“That’s a relief.”
The corners of his lips lifted gently. The light changed, and the car began moving smoothly again. While watching the city lights passing by outside the window, I clapped my hands together lightly.
“Oh! Come to think of it, there’s actually a pretty nice café near the Gangwon branch. It’s a café up in the mountains, and the view from the terrace is really beautiful.”
“A café… sounds nice. If we have time after work, perhaps we could stop by for a bit. We could also have dinner at a nearby restaurant.”
“Ah, that sounds like a great idea!”
I nodded vigorously. Even though we were technically going there to work, it somehow felt more like we were going on a trip.
“Then I’ll look up some nearby restaurants as well. I’ll make reservations too.”
“Sounds good. Ah, this is going to be so fun!”
Lee Hyunwoo nodded in satisfaction too. Meanwhile, I had already started thinking about what clothes I should wear tomorrow. Something comfortable enough to move around in, but still pretty…
‘Wait.’
The moment my thoughts reached that point, I suddenly snapped back to reality. Riding far away in a car with Lee Hyunwoo, finishing work, then going to a nice café? Having dinner together too?
‘Isn’t this… basically a date?’
I blinked slowly. Once I became conscious of it, everything started feeling strange.
‘Ugh, no. Don’t overthink this by yourself. We’re just taking a break after work. A date? No way….’
Trying hard to keep my expression under control, I cautiously glanced beside me. I could see Lee Hyunwoo’s profile in the driver’s seat. Passing streetlights illuminated the unmistakable smile lingering on his face.
“I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.”
“…You must really like Gangwon Province?”
At my question, he let out a quiet laugh.
“Haha, who knows? Isn’t it more important who you’re going with rather than the location itself?”
“…What?”
“If I’m with Hunter Haneul, I think even an A-rank gate would be enjoyable.”
What’s enjoyable about a gate…?
I mumbled weakly under my breath before hurriedly lowering my gaze to the floor. My face felt unbearably hot for no reason.
“Hmph.”
At that moment, Hanyang, who had been quietly sitting in the back seat, spoke in a disinterested tone.
“Do not carelessly forget this body’s existence, nya.”
“F-forget you? Never! Not at all!”
Hanyang snorted and sharply turned its head away.
“Your face is red like lava, nya. Aren’t you about to explode?”
“N-no, it’s not! My face just gets red when I’m hot! The heater’s too strong, that’s all!”
“But the heater isn’t on…. Are you hot? Should I open the window a little?”
Lee Hyun-woo asked while fiddling with the dashboard. Seriously, why was this man so oblivious?!
“N-no, it’s fine. I can open it myself!”
Embarrassed, I fanned myself with my hand while hurriedly rolling down the window. From beside me, I could hear Lee Hyunwoo’s low laughter.
The cool night air brushed softly against my cheeks. Everything seemed perfect. Reliable companions, a promise that made my heart flutter, and all the people waiting for our shop’s truck to arrive.
But at the time, I had no idea.
That peaceful-looking delivery tomorrow would become the greatest crisis of my hunter career.
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