Chapter 31
“Have you… been well?”
Ki-jun sat drinking water while staring at the restaurant’s changed interior walls.
Pretending nothing was wrong.
In truth, he had already been surprised before even entering. The sculptures decorating the main entrance had become far more splendid and majestic.
He had known she was an Awakened one, but he hadn’t expected her to level up this quickly.
Maybe she was even more talented than he had thought.
She had said she was merely running the place after receiving it, but perhaps she had simply never mentioned that she was already quite a capable Awakened.
An Awakened person running a restaurant. There were many cases where ordinary Awakened people caused trouble for hunters, so Ki-jun admittedly held a somewhat unfavorable view toward them.
‘But for that Awakened person to be you.’
Ki-jun poured the remaining water into his mouth in one gulp, like alcohol.
The appearance of Happiness Restaurant inside a dungeon had been extremely encouraging news in the hunter world.
Seo-han Guild Leader Choi Moon-soon had said the same.
As time passed, more and more dungeons were growing increasingly complex, and it was impossible to carry all necessary food in one’s inventory.
Then Happiness Restaurant appeared, giving people hope that such problems might finally decrease.
Choi Moon-soon insisted they should form a direct partnership with the restaurant—so that it would connect randomly to dungeons in a way favorable to hunters from the Seo-han Guild.
But to do that, they first had to understand the mechanism: how the connection worked, and whether the Awakened owner could designate it herself.
When he first heard about it from Black Bird, he had been told that the restaurant appeared when someone was both starving and desperate.
But suddenly this time, it was a maze?
Hunters who were starving out of their minds would never be able to break through a maze to get in.
Still, she genuinely seemed unaware of that part. Maybe her level wasn’t high enough yet.
“Phew.”
He let out a long breath.
His grip tightened around the cup. His eyes narrowed slightly. From the kitchen came the sound of her preparing food.
Listening to it, Ki-jun found himself irritated about something else.
He had noticed that Cha Yoon-min seemed interested in her.
‘Was she his type?’
The type he had once described as his ideal sounded very different from her.
Or maybe they had hit it off surprisingly well while talking on that blind date…
Annoying.
Right now, they weren’t anything to each other—just two people who had once shared a past. At best, he was merely her ex-boyfriend.
Yet Ki-jun still couldn’t forget the potion filled with wasabi.
‘That crazy bastard even gave me potion trauma.’
For a hunter, fearing potions was about as fatal a weakness as possible. It had cost him a fortune and a great deal of time to recover.
Cha Yoon-min insisted he hadn’t done it, but Ki-jun believed he was just making excuses.
There was no way he wouldn’t have known.
‘I can’t stand seeing a scheming guy like that next to her.’
Thump.
His hand, brimming with restrained self-control, tapped the table lightly.
* * *
A bigger problem had appeared.
So-ri stared at the Hunter Market in confusion.
“Why isn’t it here?”
John was busy sweeping up scattered Stephanie leaf powder from the floor with his small hands.
“I’m busy to death here. Where on earth is it?”
So-ri was searching for the spice section.
According to the memo left by the former owner, spices could be purchased either from the Hunter Market or the Agora Market.
She didn’t have time to go to the market now. The problem was that the spice section was nowhere to be seen in the Hunter Market either.
“Is it not there?”
John asked leisurely.
“I’ve already cleaned this up.”
“It’s not there! I’ve searched everything and nothing comes up!”
It was an essential spice—what was she supposed to do?
Just then, she noticed a tiny floating line of text.
Hidden Corner is here
How was anyone supposed to notice something written this small? Did they expect people to bring a magnifying glass?
“John, what’s the Hidden Corner?”
John jumped onto the counter and replied immediately.
“Ah, the Hidden Corner is exactly what it sounds like—a hidden corner!”
He placed his wriggling little hands proudly on his hips as he said it.
“….”
At times like this, he was completely useless.
Maybe spices were sold in that Hidden Corner?
She decided to try pressing it.
All kinds of spices are here
Just as she expected, a spice category appeared.
“Thank goodness.”
But the moment she clicked the category—
A large red notification window blocked her vision.
Available from Awakener Level 8.
‘Level 8?’
That was why it was called a Hidden Corner.
So-ri was only Level 6.
“So basically it’s telling low-levels to get lost.”
She desperately needed it right now, and it was infuriating. Still, there was nothing she could do. If she couldn’t get it, she’d have to substitute something similar.
“John! Recommend another spice that goes well with Golden Salad. From what’s here. Hurry!”
At her words, John moved leisurely.
“There’s no time. Hurry.”
“Hmmm.”
He put a finger to his chin and pretended to think.
Soon, he pointed at one spice.
“How about this? Mandragora root. It pairs surprisingly well with the belly meat of a Flame Mole. It has a slightly bitter yet nutty aroma—quite excellent.”
“Really?”
She was a bit doubtful whether to trust him, but there was no time.
The recipe said that without spice, the foul smell of the Flame Mole would remain in the mouth.
“Alright, we’ll go with this.”
After several twists and turns, the Golden Salad was finally complete.
She tasted a little.
Just as John had said, it matched quite well. The Flame Mole’s foul smell was gone, and it had a slightly spicy kick.
As expected, magical spices were powerful.
“Not bad, John.”
When she reluctantly praised him while glancing sideways, John lifted his chin proudly.
“Hmph. Didn’t I say I know these things well?”
With that arrogant expression, he held out one hand boldly.
“What, you want a reward because you did well?”
John nodded vigorously.
Seeing that, So-ri almost burst into laughter.
So cute…
‘No, what am I thinking.’
“Ahem!”
She cleared her throat and turned away.
“Later.”
“At least I can expect Dignity Raspberries, right? This time I’d like two boxes…”
‘Geez, look at this guy. What was I even thinking?’
Pretending not to hear, So-ri headed out to serve Ki-jun.
Ki-jun had already finished his water and was staring intensely at So-ri as she approached.
In the enlarged, luxurious restaurant interior, only the sound of her footsteps echoed.
Her heart pounded loudly, but she tried not to think about it.
This was the first time since the day they broke up that he had looked straight at her like this.
“Golden Salad is ready.”
Her face felt hot, but she endured it and placed the dish in front of him.
“Thanks.”
Ki-jun’s brief reply.
“Should I bring you more water?”
She couldn’t ignore the empty glass.
“Yeah. I’d appreciate that.”
“Just a moment.”
So-ri picked up the empty glass and turned around.
In truth, she also needed a little time.
The quest.
Her head hurt.
‘What kind of greeting am I supposed to say in this atmosphere?’
The system clearly had strange tastes.
But considering the reputation points, she had no choice.
She took a deep breath and calmed herself.
Relax.
With the refilled glass in hand, she walked back toward Ki-jun.
‘I just have to say it, right?’
Thinking about it, the quest didn’t require any particular response.
No matter how Ki-jun answered, as long as she asked if he had been well, the quest would be completed.
Realizing that eased her mind.
“Here, your water.”
Ki-jun was eating the Golden Salad diligently.
She carefully set the glass down.
Now.
So-ri steadied her breath, shut her eyes tightly, and spoke the prepared words.
“…Ha. Ve. You… been. well?”
The tone was slightly mechanical, but still—good enough.
Right?
She slowly opened her eyes, but the expected Quest Complete window did not appear.
Instead, the skill window popped up.
A-Table Guest’s current mood: −100 points!
All she had done was ask if he had been well.
Why did it drop to −100?
Why?
Was that question really so offensive?
Even though it was just for the quest, So-ri couldn’t suppress the emotions rising inside her.
‘Yes, I was the one who suggested breaking up. But is he really still holding onto it that much?’
“Have you been….”
She decided to try saying it again.
At this point, stubbornness kicked in.
“Hk—!”
But the moment she began speaking, Ki-jun suddenly covered his mouth with one hand and hurriedly looked for water.
“The water’s here.”
Only then did Ki-jun lift his head and start gulping it down.
His brows were tightly furrowed.
The skin under his eyes was red. His cheeks too.
“Is it supposed to be like this?”
He asked, gasping for breath.
“W-what?”
What he pointed at was the Golden Salad.
She had tasted it before bringing it. Had something gone wrong?
Was it because she used a different spice?
“It’s spicy… so spicy…!”
Ki-jun gasped, repeating the same words.
‘Oh no.’
So-ri panicked.
It had been a little spicy, yes—but she hadn’t expected it to be this spicy.
Though Ki-jun had always been terrible with spicy food.
Still, was it really that spicy?
To So-ri, it was just at the level of “even soybean paste has a bit of heat.”
This was another big problem.
It really wasn’t intentional. She hoped he wouldn’t misunderstand.
Still, she had to apologize first.
“S-sorry. I think I may have chosen the wrong spice. Should I bring milk? Or sugar?”
