Chapter 12
Having a Crazy Dream for the First Time in a While
Lee Gijeon was a hunter with strong survival skills. He could not only hunt monsters and roast them to eat, but also distinguish poisonous plants.
At first, food wasn’t much of a problem because of that. The trouble started during team raids.
“I really can’t eat monsters…….”
“Ugh!”
There were more than a few hunters with weak stomachs, and it wasn’t reasonable to keep forcing them.
A hunter’s morale was one of the most important factors in a raid. Keeping hunters in a decent mood was, in itself, essential preparation for fighting monsters.
When under heavy stress, the precision of skill usage dropped.
Meat wasn’t the only issue—plants were the same. The weeds inside dungeons all gave off a foul stench, and hunters with sensitive stomachs couldn’t eat them either.
So once their carried rations ran out, many hunters resorted to drinking only water and practically starving.
But they couldn’t just load up their inventories with food either. Inventory space was limited, and after packing potions, artifacts, and other combat necessities, it was a relief if there was any room left at all.
Even S-rank hunters weren’t given unlimited inventory space.
That was why, during team raids, Gijeon would distribute all the food he brought to the team from the start.
Even so, if a raid lasted more than a week, food inevitably ran short.
Because of this, Gijeon preferred entering dungeons alone—but S-rank hunters registered with the Association were required to form teams for a certain number of dungeon runs. Especially for C-rank and below, solo dungeon entry wasn’t permitted at all.
“Haa… this is tricky.”
No matter how carefully he grilled the meat to mask the monster’s distinct smell, there were limits.
By that point, the smell itself was no longer the issue for the hunters.
They had already witnessed the monster attacking, seen its brutal fangs, and watched streams of filthy saliva dripping from its mouth.
And then, on that fateful day, at the Seo-han Guild office—
For some reason, Gijeon felt an inexplicable urge to keep checking the internet.
“Ah, I’ve got so much work to do. What’s wrong with me?”
It was as if he’d developed a new addiction, constantly being pulled toward it.
“You know we’ve got a meeting later, right? You’re glued to your phone today. Got a date tonight or something?”
Coworkers started teasing him before walking off.
“No, that’s not it.”
“Oh yeah? None? You should go on dates once in a while.”
Left alone at his desk in the office during the middle of the day, Gijeon finally reached the ultimate destination that had been pulling at him.
[Title] I Ate Delicious Food in a Dungeon—Story Time
[Author] ptsd옴
Found a restaurant inside a dungeon. Insanely good. But the owner—
And there it was.
The moment he saw the post, he was hit with a strange sensation, like his head was about to explode.
Right. This was why he couldn’t stop checking the internet.
A restaurant inside a dungeon? Was that even possible?
Half doubtful, half curious, he reread the post carefully—again and again.
There was a comment suggesting that the owner of Happy Restaurant might be an awakened individual, which could explain its connection to the dungeon.
Gijeon wasn’t the type to blindly believe posts or comments online. But if it were true, it meant hunters might no longer be pushed to the brink of starvation inside dungeons.
Really. If the owner truly was awakened—
Excited, Gijeon immediately made a post.
[Title] Is It True That a Restaurant Appears Inside a Dungeon?
[Author] Hunter1
I’d like to get some information.
[0 comments]
That’s when he suddenly remembered—didn’t Seonghun once say that Kang Sori was running a restaurant…?
It might’ve been called Lucky Restaurant.
‘The name’s kind of similar.’
With the thought popping into his head, Gijeon shook it off and decided to wait for the user ptsd옴 to leave a comment.
One summer night.
At S University, an emergency evacuation drill for sudden dungeon outbreaks was underway.
Twenty-one-year-old Sori was searching for a place to hide.
Students wearing ridiculous monster costumes were running around, and those spotted by the “monsters” shrieked with laughter as they fled.
The goal was to hide somewhere without being discovered by monsters until the time limit ran out.
Sori finally found a decent hiding spot—but she wasn’t alone.
“Can’t you scoot over a bit?”
She desperately wanted to sit more comfortably in the cramped space.
“There’s no room.”
A male student replied curtly. Their relationship hadn’t been great to begin with, and Sori felt irritated.
“My butt hurts from being squished.”
“It’s cramped for me too.”
‘Seriously, what a personality.’
She couldn’t understand why she had to end up hiding with this guy of all people.
His name was Lee Gijeon.
At this time, before dating Sori, he wasn’t an awakened hunter yet—unlike the S-rank hunter he would later become.
In Sori’s left field of vision, Gijeon’s arm was annoyingly present.
A rough arm. He’d mentioned going to the beach—his slightly tanned skin was dotted with round raindrops.
‘So annoying.’
There was nothing she liked about him. Everything irritated her—how professors constantly praised him, how girls blushed whenever they met his eyes.
To Sori, all of it was unbearable.
His grades were always higher than hers. By the narrowest margin. For example, if Sori scored a 4.48, Gijeon would get a perfect 5.0.
“Can’t you go hide somewhere else?”
She finally voiced her frustration. She didn’t understand why they had to share this tiny, cave-like space.
“There are monsters right in front of us. You want someone to get an F? Or is this because you lost last semester again?”
This drill was the practical exam for the course Dungeon Survival.
“What? What are you talking about! I just meant if there was a better spot. I didn’t know the monsters were right there.”
She wasn’t a bad person. Sori felt wronged.
As time passed, a torrential downpour began.
“Ugh, I don’t even have an umbrella. My back hurts too—it’s so cramped.”
She complained.
“If real monsters showed up, an umbrella wouldn’t be your biggest concern.”
Gijeon snapped back. Sori shot him a glare.
“You’re really no fun.”
“I know. My mom says I’m boring too.”
“Really? Is your mom fun?”
“Who knows.”
“You don’t know?”
“It’s been a long time since we talked.”
Without thinking, Sori continued the conversation—and ended up making a mistake.
“Why? Do your parents live far away too? You should call them sometimes. You’re still their son—they must be waiting for your call.”
Why she’d poked her nose into his business, she didn’t know. Maybe it was the rain-soaked atmosphere.
“I can’t.”
“Huh?”
“They both passed away. Got caught in a dungeon.”
Gijeon spoke calmly. Sori hesitated, unsure what to say, then cautiously looked up at his profile, guilt written all over her face.
“Ah… I-I’m sorry.”
That was all she could say.
“It’s okay. It was a long time ago.”
“…Yeah.”
She felt like she shouldn’t say anything more. So she stayed quiet, listening to the rain, waiting for the monsters to move away.
The rain showed no sign of stopping, and the air grew colder. She hugged her arms around herself.
“It’s cold……”
She hadn’t meant to say it aloud—it just slipped out. Then Gijeon took off the thin cardigan he was wearing.
Facing the other way, Sori didn’t realize it at first. She only turned her head when she felt a warm weight settling over her shoulders.
“What—what are you doing?”
Only then did she realize he had draped his cardigan over her.
His face was too close.
She could see the clean line of his lips—red and full. His masculine jaw twitched slightly before going still. It was hard to tell what he was thinking.
But she felt like he was slowly being drawn into the moment.
Their eyes met. Gijeon didn’t avoid her gaze—he seemed to take control of it instead. Sori felt overwhelmed by that strange look.
Normally, she would’ve pushed him away. But for some reason, her body wouldn’t move.
His hand, which had placed the cardigan on her shoulders, didn’t pull back. Instead, it slowly moved toward her face.
“Th-thank you……”
She spoke in a barely audible voice. Gijeon’s expression grew more serious—almost lonely.
His large hands gently cupped her face.
“…Are you cold?”
A single question. Sori couldn’t answer.
His face moved closer. Before she knew it, his lips filled her vision. Her heart pounded.
“Sori……”
A voice she had never heard before. Gijeon’s voice was unbearably sweet.
‘Wait… like this?’
But why all of a sudden?
‘Didn’t he hate me?’
Before she could think—
Their lips were about to touch—
“Ahhh!”
Sori screamed and opened her eyes.
She was at home.
She had dreamed about Gijeon. And of all dreams, that kind.
“Is today just cursed or something?”
She muttered, pressing her burning face into her palms.
“It’s been a while since I had a crazy dream.”
She went to wash her face. It felt like she’d gone back to being twenty-one.
It had to be because she’d seen the post Gijeon wrote on the community yesterday. That had to be it.
A memory she’d buried away. Probably polished and softened over time—but one thing was clear.
That day, during the drill, he had—
Beep, beep!
The alarm interrupted her thoughts.
“Oh no—I’m late!”
Sori hastily washed her face, stuffed a piece of bread into her mouth, and rushed out the door.
