Chapter 36
The boss’s healing bath salts were addictive. Sori wanted to use them morning and night. Normally, she found soaking in a bathtub extremely bothersome. But now, the ever-shrinking bath salts felt endlessly precious.
‘If I use a few more, it’ll be gone…’
Without the boss’s bath salts, how could she endure all this fatigue? She still had to run the restaurant and hunt monsters in her spare time. So, she opened a Hunter Market.
“Bath. Salts.”
But “bath salts” didn’t exist as a category. Maybe they were hidden in a secret corner.
Accessing the hidden corner required certain criteria—depending on the field and level.
“…I guess I should use them sparingly.”
Middle Manager John offered advice:
“Why worry? Those byproducts can be obtained again if you hunt other monsters.”
“Really?”
John shrugged, as if it was obvious. The problem, of course, was that hunting a boss meant managing fatigue and keeping up with restaurant work. Sori thought it might be time to hire a part-timer. Once she did, her fatigue would lessen, and someone could manage the restaurant while she hunted the boss.
‘How far I’ve come.’
Sori remembered when she first came to apply as a part-timer. Now she was the one hiring. She felt proud.
Meanwhile, John had already put on a perfect crown for some reason and was blocking Sori’s path.
“Where do you even get these props, Middle Manager?”
He was even stroking an imaginary mustache. Sori found it hilarious.
“I have a treasure vault of my own.”
“Really?”
She had no idea he had such a hobby.
“Will you show me next time?”
John shook his head firmly.
“It’s a private, personal place. No one has entered except me.”
“So far, maybe. But someone could enter in the future, right?”
Sori thought she could be the first visitor.
“You’re quite confident, Awakener.”
“It’s not illegal, though?”
“Hmph.”
John looked displeased. Sori decided to stop teasing him.
“By the way, why are you wearing a crown today?”
“It’s a promotion gift from myself to myself.”
John smirked.
“Wow, you really enjoy work, huh?”
“You enjoy it too, don’t you, Awakener?”
“Me?”
John nodded. Sori thought about it.
‘Do I enjoy working?’
Back when she had a regular office job, she would never have agreed. But now… she couldn’t completely deny it.
“It’s my restaurant. That’s why, I guess. But you’re even more amazing—you don’t own this restaurant, yet you enjoy it too.”
“It could become mine.”
John casually gave a strange answer.
“What do you mean, it could become yours? Happy Restaurant? This place?”
It made no sense. Even if she loved John, giving away the restaurant was a different matter. Seeing Sori’s reaction, John laughed heartily.
“What? Why are you laughing all of a sudden?”
“Just teasing, Awakener! Can’t believe you fell for it.”
He shook his head and hung on the fridge, clearly thirsty. Sori opened it for him.
“…Even helpers can play tricks, huh?”
Sensing the hint, John grabbed a glass and quickly ran off. Sori lost interest and changed the topic.
“Minjung is coming today.”
“Minjung? Who’s that?”
“My friend who came before—the day the monster appeared.”
“She’s coming back despite the monster threat?”
John’s eyes widened.
“Of course, she doesn’t know. I took care of it secretly.”
John’s eyes grew even bigger.
“Oh, Awakener, you really do have excellent skills!”
“Do you think I wouldn’t?”
From morning, their teasing continued endlessly.
That afternoon, after a wave of customers, Minjung entered the restaurant and gasped continuously.
“Wow, when did you remodel this? It wasn’t like this when I came last. It can’t have been long.”
“Yeah… I guess.”
“Wow, amazing. The sculptures, the plants… Look at this climbing flower! Totally gorgeous, right? Aren’t these tropical? Incredible.”
Sori exhaled. She kept track in her calendar of how much food the sculptures and plants needed. Sculptures needed nutrient paste every three days; plants needed feeding too.
Still, seeing the guests so amazed made her glad—it wasn’t just about spending money.
“Want some tea?”
Sori led Minjung to her seat.
Despite her praise, Minjung’s mood score wasn’t very high.
“Still, I’m happy to see you.”
Minjung said her mood improved. Perhaps because of Hong Mari. She brewed lemon tea and sipped while speaking.
“By the way, where did you see Hong Mari?”
As expected, Minjung asked about Hong Mari first.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.’
Sori thought. She didn’t want to worsen her friend’s mood. That could explain why Minjung’s mood score wasn’t very high.
“Just saw her passing by.”
“Oh? Did you say hi?”
“No, I didn’t. I just thought it looked like her face.”
“Oh?”
Minjung paused, took a breath, and waited for Sori to continue.
“So…”
After a moment, she resumed speaking:
“I didn’t tell you at the time because you were having a hard time. I purposely didn’t.”
“Ah.”
It was the time after she had broken up with Gijun. Sori understood. Minjung’s intentions were just to comfort her. But then Minjung revealed something unexpected:
“I also found out that she’s totally into another guy now.”
“Into another guy?”
Minjung leaned closer and whispered:
“Yeah. Number one on the ranking. Your ex-boyfriend.”
“What? Really?”
Was Sori shocked? Maybe a little.
“Yeah, she keeps asking to join his team.”
“Really?”
Sori reacted calmly. But strangely, her heart started beating faster. She had a question lingering in her mind:
‘Does Gijun like Hong Mari too?’
She shook her head.
‘What does that have to do with me?’
“Anyway, Gijun seems indifferent.”
“Oh…”
“You okay? Are you fine?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Eventually, Minjung noticed Sori’s reaction and naturally changed the conversation to the restaurant.
“How’s the restaurant?”
Sori chuckled.
“It’s going really well. I’ve been a bit tired these past few days. I’m thinking about hiring a part-timer.”
“Oh, that’s great! Congratulations! When’s your day off? We should go drink champagne! So, when will you post the job ad?”
Minjung happily congratulated Sori.
“Not decided yet. If we have a part-timer, I’ll have to manage them too. I’m still inexperienced; not sure I can handle that.”
“Hmm. But you need people. Just post the ad. See who comes, and decide later. Not a bad idea.”
Minjung strongly encouraged posting the ad.
“Maybe I should?”
<Part-time Job Recruitment Ad>
Happy Restaurant is looking for team members!
In less than a day after posting the short ad, an unexpected person appeared wanting to work part-time.
“I heard you were hiring, so I came. This place changed a lot, huh? Did you remodel?”
Bowing politely, it was none other than Cha Yunmin.
“Well… yes, we did a little remodeling.”
Sori stammered. Cha Yunmin smiled gently.
“Ah, so that’s why. It looks completely different! Feels like a hotel restaurant now.”
After a quick tour, Cha Yunmin got to the point:
“I’ve been a bit free lately. I saw your ad, and I thought this is perfect. I want to help. That’s why I came.”
Her words about being free didn’t seem believable. She was a dedicated Blue Guild hunter making potions. Surely she wasn’t really free.
“Alright… but we can’t pay that much…”
Sori couldn’t understand why someone like Cha Yunmin would want to work part-time instead of spending her time researching potions. Why come here?
“I really want to work here, Sori. Don’t look at me so skeptically.”
Cha Yunmin’s eyes were earnest.
“I-I’ll think about it.”
It felt uncomfortable. After all, they had even been on a blind date.
“No rush. I’m not expecting you to hire me right away.”
She took a step back.
“Please consider it positively, Sori?”
With a smile, she disappeared.
“I wasn’t planning to hire her.”
Sori muttered to herself as Cha Yunmin walked away.
Suddenly, what’s up with Cha Yunmin? I posted the ad…
Minjung: Cha Yunmin? That person suddenly…?
She came saying she wants to work part-time?
Minjung: Really???
Sori wasn’t the only one surprised.
