Chapter 25
As soon as Minjeong arrived at work, she was met with a heated debate about the possibility of a “self-vanishing dungeon.”
“So… is that even possible?”
“If it’s a D-rank, maybe?”
“No, are you ignoring D-ranks now? Even if we entered a D-rank dungeon right now, we’d all die!”
“It’s not possible, realistically. Isn’t that right?”
Minjeong, holding an iced Americano and just about to open the office door with a tired expression, suddenly felt the lively atmosphere in the room.
What’s this… unfamiliar energy?
“What’s going on?”
Secretary Choi answered Minjeong’s question.
“Ah, apparently a D-rank dungeon appeared yesterday.”
“Really? Where?”
At this point, the mere appearance of a D-rank dungeon wasn’t enough to draw attention anymore.
“Over there… near the 2nd Flyge Dungeon, I heard.”
“Really?”
Minjeong was a little surprised to realize that it was very close to where Sori had been yesterday. She also worried a little—being so close to the city, could there have been any damage?
“Were there any people trapped?”
“No. They checked the CCTV. No one went missing around there at that time.”
“But…”
Minjeong’s eyes widened.
“It seems that dungeon just… disappeared.”
“Disappeared? Not handled by hunters?”
“That’s the problem.”
Secretary Choi scratched his chin.
“No matter what, it was a dungeon… not F-rank but D-rank, right? If someone had gone in to deal with it, a hunter would have been involved.”
“Yes… and?”
“But there’s no record of any registered hunter entering it.”
Minjeong made a thoughtful hmm sound.
“Then maybe an unregistered hunter handled it?”
“Are you serious? You’re saying there’s an ordinary awakened person with power equal to at least B-rank already?”
That would be an even bigger problem, Choi murmured. They hadn’t even properly assessed the scale of ordinary awakened humans. It was known that even to solo-kill the boss of a D-rank dungeon, at least a B-rank was necessary.
“Hmm… it could exist, right?”
“Maybe.”
“I don’t think so, Minjeong.”
Other team members joined in.
“No matter what, there’s no unregistered hunter of that caliber yet. If there were, the hunters would already know.”
“Really?”
Minjeong felt drained just from arriving at work. She gulped down her iced Americano.
“But you can’t just force all ordinary awakened humans to register. That would cause chaos.”
“Some think of it as a sweet self-employed life. Nobody wants to lose their freedom like that.”
Minjeong opened the office door again, iced Americano in hand.
Already feeling exhausted, huh.
“Hey, did you see the red ginkgo leaves?”
“Red ginkgo leaves?”
Minjeong stopped mid-step as she headed out.
“Looks like a ginkgo tree appeared in that dungeon.”
“Wow… the tree must’ve held a serious grudge. That place’s car exhaust was insane.”
Ginkgo leaves? Red?
She recalled the ginkgo leaves stuck to Sori’s shoulder.
Was Sori next to that dungeon too?
She felt relieved—at least she hadn’t been caught up in the dungeon.
It was morning here too.
When Sori arrived at the restaurant, she was set to claim the reward for the boss-killing quest.
It’s best to collect rewards when you have time, anyway. In truth, she was just being lazy and taking it all at once.
You have received the reward for the quest ‘Defeat the Boss of the Newly Appeared D-Rank Dungeon.’
Gained 1000 exp!
Hidden reward obtained: “Boss’s Healing Bath A”!
―The healing energy of the boss penetrates the body, relieving all fatigue from the day.
She received a strange item called the “Boss’s Healing Bath.”
“Is it like a potion?”
She moved her neck and shoulders.
Crack, crack!
“Everything’s completely stiff.”
It had gotten worse since she started hunting monsters.
“I guess I should try a half-body bath with this.”
But she felt a little frustrated. She had even defeated the boss—only to get a healing bath?!
The system seemed to notice her feelings and displayed a message:
D-rank dungeon bosses do not carry many items!
“Oh… I see.”
A bit disappointing, but she understood. But that wasn’t all.
You have received the reward for the quest ‘Defeat the Boss Monster.’
“Ah!”
She had almost forgotten—this quest was exactly why she had taken on the boss in the first place.
Gained 500 exp!
5000 gold received!
Cooking skill obtained: “Taste of Chili B”!
‘Taste of Chili…?’
The system’s naming sense wasn’t great. Was it a skill that sprinkled chili powder everywhere? Sori tilted her head.
Well, I’ll find out soon enough.
The system displayed another message:
Rune Necklace (D) Usage Info
―Helps evade one attack from the Red Ginkgo Tree in the Newly Appeared Dungeon (D)
It seemed the system wanted to tell her everything at once.
Sori remembered the red ginkgo tree smashing itself into the wall.
“Ah!”
So it was thanks to the Rune Necklace!
“It’s a good piece of armor! I should buy more.”
Sori marveled. She wondered if equipping more armor would make her overpowered.
Crises often appear unexpectedly.
The person who disrupted Sori’s leisurely life appeared.
“Ah, I’m starving.”
Just how shameless was Gijun?
Sori greeted him and his party with her mouth half open.
Stop coming… why does he keep showing up…
“Welcome, guests?”
“Oh, are you the owner here?”
The hunters who came with him greeted Sori.
“Yes. I run Happy Restaurant.”
“I’ll have to come by often!”
One hunter flirted a little.
Gijun glared at him.
“Hey, watch yourself.”
“So what?”
Ssss…
“Hahaha…”
Gijun passed by Sori and sat at a table; the hunters followed.
D-table customer mood status:
Mood +50
Mood +30
Mood +40
And lastly, Gijun’s mood:
Mood -80
Just as expected.
What on earth is going on?
Sori handed the menu. Gijun opened it without a word. Every time he came, his mood bottomed out, and she couldn’t understand why he kept showing up.
“Today, I’ll have the Imugi Soup. Okay?”
Gijun read the dish name without any expression. Sori’s eyes landed on his forehead.
Can I just hit him once?
She imagined snapping his forehead. A simulation:
Snap!
And telling him never to appear again. Just thinking about it felt satisfying.
But this was business. She focused.
“Yes, sir. Shall I make all four Imugi Soups?”
“Yes!”
Other hunters answered for him.
“Then I’ll prepare four Imugi Soups.”
“Make them delicious, sis!”
Snap!
The young hunter’s cheeky comment earned him a flick from Gijun.
Sori turned slightly backward at the sound. Unexpectedly, her eyes met Gijun’s.
His gaze was on her. Unwavering.
Thud!
“Ow…”
Unable to look away, she bumped into the corner of the wall while entering the kitchen.
“Tsk, tsk. Watch where you’re going.”
John, eating strawberries on the sink, scolded her.
“Ah, I don’t care. Don’t talk to me. I’m already annoyed.”
From afar, Gijun slightly curled the corner of his mouth in a smirk.
Did he just smile because of me?
Sori thought. He was unpredictable—just a while ago he was in a terrible mood.
But soon, his frown deepened again.
Mood status: -95
Whoa.
Worse than before. What could be the problem with him? Just then, the door jingled again.
“Three people here!”
“Two people here!”
“Boss, are you open for business?”
What’s going on?
The once-empty Happy Restaurant suddenly became crowded—just after Gijun arrived.
Cha Yoonmin recalled seeing Sori hurrying earlier. Something about her coming from a dead-end alley had bothered him.
He had also heard about the creation and mysterious disappearance of the D-rank dungeon last night.
Though it wasn’t reported in the media, hunters who needed to know already did. Yoonmin wasn’t a hunter, but having worked with them, he naturally knew.
It also concerned him that Sori had appeared nearby.
“She just said she was a restaurant owner…”
Yoonmin tilted his head.
Was she caught in the dungeon?
Yet it didn’t make sense that an ordinary person survived without hunters.
He opened his phone and checked Sori’s contact.
Hmm.
He considered asking if she had been caught in the dungeon yesterday.
But after the awkward end to their blind date, it felt shameless to ask. He decided it was probably just coincidence that she was nearby.
He didn’t ask her out after, either—it would’ve felt morally wrong. After all, his curiosity was partly because of the rumors about Happy Restaurant.
It wasn’t that Sori wasn’t attractive. Not love at first sight, but… her naturally rosy cheeks gave her a lively look, her glossy black hair down to her shoulders was charming, and her firm lips drew attention, always looking slightly moist. That made her seem lively yet mysterious.
Should I go apologize or something?
Yoonmin considered lightly.
But one thing nagged him—he had left without tasting Happy Restaurant’s food.
I should’ve at least tried it.
He realized that from the moment Gijun arrived, the calm atmosphere of the restaurant had shattered, and he didn’t feel like eating.
He walked, lost in thought, and eventually realized he was at a familiar spot.
Here it is.
He stood by the window of Happy Restaurant. The interior looked slightly unfamiliar.
“Looks like there are many customers today.”
He had expected few, thinking the prices were high.
Amazing.
Yoonmin murmured.
