Welcome to Dungeon Hotel Chapter 299

293. Even If My Heart Wavers

 

Happy Confectionery

 

Baker Kim Euihae stepped out of the bakery, opening the door beneath the sign adorned with a leaf design.  

 

In order to let the freshly baked bread, cakes, and cookies cool, he had set them out and stepped outside. In the pocket of his white coat was a heavy smartphone.

 

For some reason, his old smartphone felt even heavier today, weighed down by the countless unread messages it held.

 

They were all rent reminder messages.

 

The new landlord had raised the rent by 1.5 times more than what he had anticipated.

 

The original landlady, an elderly woman who used to live next door, was like a neighborly aunt—someone who had known him since childhood, including the tough years he spent growing up under his uncle’s care.

 

Except for one instance during a major economic downturn, the elderly lady had consistently kept his rent frozen at around 80% of the neighborhood’s average monthly rate.

 

Thanks to her, Kim Euihae was able to bake the bread he loved and sell cakes at affordable prices without much difficulty during the rent control period. He even donated treats from time to time to the senior center the landlady attended—

 

If you’re unable to pay the rent by the stated date, please vacate the premises.

 

I’m screwed.

 

Kim Euihae rubbed his dry hands, thinking about the cigarettes he had quit more than 20 years ago.

 

Though the cold air made his breath visible, he didn’t feel like going back inside the shop just yet.

 

Maybe it was because it no longer felt safe in there. 

 

‘Sigh… I heard there are kind landlords in Ganju County who gave huge rent discounts.’

 

He had once heard that the owner of a newly built hotel in Yeongchun-myeon a few years ago had revitalized the entire surrounding business district, claiming the hotel was for both hunters and local residents.

 

Thanks to that, even after Yeongchun Hotel became world-famous, the stores in Yeongchun-myeon were able to continue doing business, and the locals benefited from the tourists.

 

When he was forced to look for a new place due to the sudden rent hike, it wasn’t as if Ganju County hadn’t crossed his mind.

 

However, he had no choice but to give up, as there wasn’t a single vacancy that matched both the rent he could afford and the kind of commercial area he was looking for. 

 

‘What should I do now?’

 

He fiddled with his calculator app for no particular reason, then suddenly looked up.

 

When he looked up, there was a girl staring straight at him.

 

There was a reason he instinctively labeled the person he locked eyes with as a “kid.” 

 

Jet-black hair, pitch-black eyes. A crisp white shirt, neatly pressed trousers, and a matching blazer.

 

As for her height… well, kids these days all grow tall.

 

Her expression looked quite composed, making him wonder if she was an honor student.

 

‘I’ve never seen a uniform like that before?’

 

As if he had forgotten how gloomy he’d just been feeling, he smiled brightly and waved at the girl.

 

He had made up his mind.

 

He figured she must’ve come from a nearby school to buy some cake.

 

“You’re here? Come in. You came to buy a cake, right?”

 

“…Yes?” 

 

The girl looked a little flustered at first, then quickly asked how he knew.

 

“Just because. Uncle knows everything.” 

 

He knew.

 

There were always one or two students each week who stood hesitantly in front of his shop.

 

He sold 10,000-won cakes for struggling students.

 

Even so, some kids didn’t have enough money, or were too worried they’d come up short after spending it—so they couldn’t bring themselves to enter the shop and just stood outside.

 

Even though he had written plenty of posts on social media saying that in such cases, he secretly sold the cakes for just a few thousand won, there were always kids who still hesitated. 

 

He quietly watched from behind as the calm student with a slender figure and an unreadable expression picked out a cake.

 

He was afraid that if he carelessly told her she could pay less, it might hurt her feelings.

 

The student quietly stared at the cake display for a while, then pointed to the small cake at the very end and said.

 

“Um… this one…”

 

Did she pick the smallest one on purpose because she was worried about the price? But it wouldn’t have mattered even if she chose a bigger one.

 

The moment he carefully tried to say that indirectly,

 

“…Please give me everything from that.”

 

“….?”

 

“Then, I suppose you can leave this afternoon’s shift to your part-timer for a bit and have a cup of coffee with me?” 

 

A faint smile appeared on the face of the child with dark eyes.

 

There was power in the smile on the face that was difficult to read.

 

Was it a strange power that made people listen to nonsense? 

 

Before he knew it, his hand that was about to call the part-timer stopped.

 

“No, wait. Who on earth are you to ask me to have coffee with you?”

 

“Oh, me.”

 

The student pulled a small business card out of the pocket of her school uniform blazer.

 

Just as he was wondering why a student would carry a business card, he finally noticed that the name tag pinned to what he had assumed was a school uniform blazer—a navy jacket—was shimmering gold, unlike the typical ones students wore.

 

Yengchun Hotel Owner

 

Lee Junghyo. 

 

“My name is Lee Junghyo, from Yeongchun Hotel. I’d like to offer you a recruitment proposal. And just in case you’re skeptical—let me show you something—”

 

The student—no, the young woman—who had just introduced herself, shyly held out her phone screen with a rather embarrassed look on her face.

 

There, on the screen, was the face of Lee Junghyo—recently ranked number one in the world—printed on the banner that had been hung in front of Ganju County Office not long ago.

 

“…I’m not a fraud. Please… believe me.”

 

Please.

 

Looking at Lee Junghyo’s bright red face, he felt as if he were hearing things—hallucinations echoing in his mind. 

 

There was no way he wouldn’t believe it, right?

 

* * *

 

“Whoa…” 

 

The owner pâtissier of Happy Confectionery, Kim Euihae, looked around the inside of the hotel and reacted far more enthusiastically than I had expected. 

 

The cake boxes that Kim Euihae had brought along in the car were neatly stacked inside the café’s cake display case.

 

Except for the cake meant for the guest in Room 802.

 

‘I should serve the rest as sliced cakes for the guests.’

 

I thought that as I followed behind Kim Euihae, whose eyes were gleaming.

 

“This is my first time in a hotel like this.”

 

He muttered to himself without realizing it, then scratched the back of his head awkwardly when our eyes met.

 

“Ah, I must apologize for earlier. I mistook you for a student, Boss…” 

 

“It’s okay.”

 

A student?

 

It had been over ten years since I graduated, so it was far from the truth—but considering how many middle and high schools were clustered nearby, the misunderstanding was understandable.

 

“You must get a lot of student customers, right?”

 

“Yes. Most of our customers are students—middle schoolers and high schoolers.”

 

So that’s why he greeted me so brightly and told me to come in—he must’ve thought I was a high school student.

 

Until then, his face had looked gloomy, so I wondered if something was wrong—but the way it immediately lit up when he saw me really stuck with me.

 

I wondered if something might be wrong.

 

I heard the new landlord raised the rent. Sounds like a drifter who moved in when rumors started circulating about a second Dungeon Hotel opening in Jeongcheon County.

 

I opened my mouth, remembering that Shim Jiyoon had leaked the information she had obtained through the Information Guild.

 

“Self-employment is hard, right?”

 

To be honest, I did feel it was a bit unfair to push forward using the information I got from Shim Jiyoon… but still, it’s important to promote our business properly.

 

Of course, I’m not going to promote it directly or bluntly. The idea is to slowly make my case through a genuine conversation and shared understanding.

 

“Yes? Oh… Yes, well.”

 

I handed him a cup of Americano at just the right moment.

 

Mood Softener Americano (F)

 

—It makes the mood lighter.

 

It wasn’t anything special, but it was just the right coffee for the situation.

 

Negotiation, at its core, is all about conversation. And the smoother the atmosphere, the better the conversation flows.

 

“I had a hard time too. Making decisions one by one—and taking responsibility for each of them.” 

 

The topic I wanted to talk about came up.

 

Rent.

 

At this point, I made a job offer.

 

“If you run the bakery within Yeongchun Hotel, you won’t have to pay any rent. In fact, we plan to provide a salary and employee benefits.”

 

“So this recruitment offer is…”

 

“Yes, that’s right. We’d love for you to apply as the head pâtissier of our hotel. Would you be interested in going through our hiring process?”

 

Kim Euihae’s eyes widened at the words “head pâtissier.”

 

Even though I had mentioned it was a recruitment offer, he seemed unsure whether she truly meant it. 

 

“The hiring process isn’t anything too grand. We’d just like you to make a cake using the ingredients we’ve prepared. Since we source our supplies through a dedicated shop, some of the ingredients might be a bit unusual…”

 

The general manager chimed in from the side.

 

Yeongchun Bakery planned to source not only basic ingredients like flour and eggs, but also other materials through exclusive shops or farming dungeons.

 

What I was curious about was what kind of cake Kim Euihae would create using those kinds of ingredients.

 

Because right now, the cakes from Happy Confectionery were only good in terms of 

cost-effectiveness.

 

“So you’re saying it’s possible to make cakes using byproducts from dungeons? And that they even have amazing effects?”

 

After listening to our explanation, Kim Euihae asked.

 

The heart of the ‘potential head pâtissier’ wavers greatly.

 

I smiled faintly as I looked at the Mind Communication window.

 

“Yes. That’s right.”

 

I guess Kim Euihae also wanted to make cakes with good ingredients.

 

For a baker, it was a very desirable condition, aside from the huge salary and income.

 

Okay, then…Now…

 

“…I will decline.”

 

“…Yes?”

 

Rejection?

 

I looked up at Kim Euihae’s mind communication window again with bewildered eyes.

 

The heart of the ‘potential head pâtissier’ is shaken greatly.

 

The ‘potential head pâtissier’ imagines the scene of becoming the head pâtissier of the dungeon hotel.

 

Even while thinking that on the inside, he was being so firm outwardly—

 

“I don’t think it suits me.”

 

How can he refuse?

 

I firmly stood up, following Kim Euihae as he rose from his seat.

 

I said this without realizing it.

 

“Aren’t you even a little shaken?”

 

Then Kim Euihae opened his eyes wide and said. 

 

His deeply tanned, wrinkled face made him look much older than his actual age in his 40s, but whenever he made an expression like this, he looked as innocent as a teenager.

 

“No way. My heart wavers, but….”

 

“…?”

 

“Even though my heart wavers, my choice doesn’t change.”

 

Kim Euihae smiled. 

 

The ‘potential head pâtissier’ is feeling relieved.

 

Ah. I feel it…

 

It was a moment when I clenched my fist without realizing it.

 

‘If I don’t catch this guy, I’ll regret it.’

 

Megumi was right.

 

It’s the saying that you really get to know someone when you enter the hiring process.