Chapter 27
It wasn’t the first time she’d felt there was something between the two of them. Even on the day of the blind date, there had been a strange tension in the air.
“Seems like they’ve known each other for a while.”
Cha Yoonmin thought this. But it didn’t seem like they were deliberately showing it.
“Could they have dated before?”
She quietly savored her Golden Salad while sneaking glances at them. Especially Gijun’s gaze toward her—it was strangely different from usual.
His attention, however, was more on Sori than on Gijun. Why her, of all people? What kind of charm does she have… probably only S-rank level…
“What a shame.”
Cha Yoonmin concluded this small thought while putting a piece of Fire Mole’s belly into her mouth.
It felt awkward. Sori was startled to find that Gijun’s low voice near her ear sounded oddly familiar, almost like a lie.
She immediately covered her ears with her hands and, deliberately showing a wary expression, asked Gijun:
“Got something to say?”
Gijun furrowed his brow briefly as he saw her push him away.
“Not a good time right now. Can I come back after dinner?”
He meant to see her personally after work. Sori didn’t feel like it. Why would someone coming to eat have something to talk about? She was irritated.
“It’s work-related.”
Gijun added a small hint, as if reading her mind.
“Work-related?”
He nodded affirmatively. Sori took a step back. What work could there possibly be between the two of them? She wanted to ask, but she was too busy to argue.
“Then come around 7:30.”
“Got it.”
Gijun lifted the corner of his mouth slightly and stepped back. He looked sly, as if he’d accomplished his goal.
D-Table guest mood: -70 points
Her mood remained low.
Gijun soon left with his party, muttering about having a meeting. Once most of the whirlwind guests were gone, Cha Yoonmin stood at the counter.
“Uh, wait a moment!”
Sori rushed to the counter, giving a businesslike smile.
“You’re really busy.”
Cha Yoonmin spoke.
“Yes… it’s been a bit like that today.”
Sori answered with an awkward smile.
“Do you come here often?”
Cha Yoonmin asked.
“Huh?”
Sori blinked in surprise. Cha Yoonmin pointed to the table Gijun had been sitting at.
“I mean the hunter, Lee Gijun.”
“Oh…”
Sori recalled that they had said the two knew each other already. Ah… of all people, why someone she already knows? A foreboding feeling that this might be troublesome in the future washed over her.
“Well… I don’t think he comes often. Just sometimes. That’ll be 280 Gold.”
She intentionally gave the price to end the conversation.
Cha Yoonmin paid without protest, but Sori didn’t leave immediately.
“You seem really busy. Aren’t you short-handed?”
“Short-handed? Ah, just today. If it were constant, I’d hire more people…”
“I see. Must have been a special event, then.”
“Looks like it.”
Cha Yoonmin turned away with a disappointed expression.
“Thank you!”
“I’ll come again.”
Even so, she made sure to promise to come again.
The once-busy restaurant finally quieted down past 2:30 PM.
“Phew.”
It felt like she could finally breathe. Sori went back to the kitchen and pulled water from the fridge.
“Looks like you earned quite a bit today, Awakener!”
John, savoring a Shine Muscat grape, teased in a playful voice.
“Oh, really?”
Sori checked her balance.
10,410 Gold
Wow. That’s impressive. Thinking about it, she really had made a lot. Her balance had passed 10,000 Gold… over 100 million! One hundred million! She pinched her cheek.
“Ouch.”
She knew it was real, but a little rite of passage was necessary. It was real. She was really one step closer to becoming a top-tier Awakener.
“Finally, Kang Sori with 100 million!”
Sori jumped around cheering while John watched her with exasperation.
“You really are reckless, Awakener! You need to be calm, like me.”
Then he stuffed two Shine Muscat grapes into his cheeks, and even pushed a third one in while mumbling:
“Iyemattagiroamgoomsuitani!”
He could have just said it after eating. Thankfully, the system interpreted it:
Being able to eat the Mighty Strawberry to your heart’s content!
Sori thought. Couldn’t you at least open your mouth properly?
“Calm, huh? You might want to start with yourself.”
“Grrr!”
John glared at Sori. Even with that, the corners of his mouth showed pure delight from the grapes.
Let her enjoy the grapes, Sori thought. She shoved the last Shine Muscat into her mouth and demanded:
“Eating these makes me naturally think of the Mighty Raspberries.”
She was flustered. How could all that fit into such a small stomach?
“What are Mighty Raspberries?”
John’s cute smile was meaningful. He stood up, the tiny spikes on his body shaking like reeds. Spreading his arms wide, he spoke solemnly, like delivering a declaration:
Mighty Raspberries are the fruits of the great garden that provide the essential nutrients for my source of power. Eating them even restores energy I didn’t have…
“Ah, got it, got it!”
Sori immediately opened the Hunter Market.
Mighty Raspberries – 500 Gold
Her mouth dropped open.
“John… you’re really going too far now.”
John ignored her and just scratched his ear. He had started treating her openly like a big spender!
7:45 PM
As promised, Gijun appeared. This time he was almost fully in a suit, except without a tie.
Through the loosened top button, his necklace was visible. Sori remembered how he had once said he didn’t like wearing necklaces.
“Hmph. Guess it’s fine now.”
Strangely, she felt a little grumpy inside.
“Welcome.”
She greeted him professionally, pretending nothing was wrong.
“Why so angry?”
Gijun seemed to see through Sori’s mood. She furrowed her brow. After all, they used to always be together, and it annoyed her how much he still seemed to know about her.
“I’m not angry.”
It was true. She wasn’t angry. Just… over the necklace. A trivial thing.
“So, what did you want to say? Get to the point. I’m busy. Because of someone.”
Sori was organizing the desk.
“Because of someone?”
Gijun looked confused. She narrowed her eyes.
“Yes. Because of you. Today’s all this busy work.”
“What did I do?”
“Are you going to keep asking? You brought people here saying it was delicious. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”
Did he really want to see her this busy? She stopped herself from asking. What would it matter anyway?
“I didn’t force anyone here. Just because it’s popular, why blame me?”
Gijun replied nonchalantly.
‘So it’s because my cooking level improved?’
Sori felt a little better hearing that, though she couldn’t show it. She cleared her throat and focused.
“Ah, fine. Anyway, what is it you need?”
“The dungeon.”
Gijun spoke seriously.
“The dungeon?”
Sori felt a little uneasy.
“Did you know hunters can see this restaurant from the dungeon?”
Gijun really had come for work. Hearing the main point, she relaxed. But… he came all this way just for that?
Sori touched her chin thoughtfully. Recently, no hunter guests had come from the dungeon. She’d assumed there were no hungry hunters there lately.
“Why is that?”
“Do many hunters come from the dungeon?”
“Well… it’s only recently opened.”
That was true.
“Can you explain how the dungeon connects to here?”
“Explain?”
Gijun nodded.
“A few days ago, a hunter was barely rescued from the dungeon. He didn’t seem to notice this place. The Awakener who told me before…”
“Someone who came here?”
“Yes. Anyway, they said because they wished so strongly, they could see it.”
“I don’t know anything. I’m just continuing what the boss left behind.”
It was true she didn’t know.
Then Gijun stepped closer, eyes sharp. Sori stepped back.
“You’re an Awakener, right?”
Gijun smiled mysteriously. Sori was slightly flustered. Maybe it was impossible to hide being an Awakener from an S-rank hunter. Could they sense her magic? Or did they just guess with their hunter instincts?
Either way, Sori knew she could no longer hide it. Gijun seemed to know everything. She had only tried to hide it to avoid trouble.
Gijun, rumored to uphold principles strictly, could soon monitor her through the Dungeon Administration HQ.
But…
“Well, so what are you going to do about it?”
She wouldn’t just back down.
