Chapter 3
John Is Not a Pet
Should she have seen it coming when a rundown, modest shop offered 20,000 won per hour?
Still… no one usually expects this kind of ending, right? It’s not even a suspicious place.
Sori was startled, but she forced herself to stay calm.
Haa—
A long, suppressed sigh slipped out, heavy with tension.
“So that’s it. That bastard of a manager was just trying to offload a failing shop and run, and I fell for it, huh?”
Sori tried to calm her boiling frustration, grabbed her bag, and headed toward the door, pretending nothing had happened.
No way. I’m not going to get caught up in some disaster.
She was planning to report the manager missing once she got outside.
…but it was already too late.
Bang!
The moment she reached for the restaurant door, it slammed shut as if a violent gust of wind had hit it.
Was it the wind?
She tugged at the door—it didn’t budge.
“This door shouldn’t be doing this!”
Panicked, she remembered the back door and cautiously moved toward the kitchen side.
Luckily, this one’s open.
Her face lit up instantly.
But just then, the back door slammed shut too. There was no chance to stop it, and no matter how hard she pulled, it wouldn’t open.
In an instant, she was trapped inside the restaurant.
Sori, dumbfounded at the absurdity of it all, yelled toward the empty air.
“This damn restaurant! Open the door! I’ll report you to the police for holding me hostage!”
Apparently, this magically charged restaurant was siding with the former manager.
She opened her phone and dialed 112.
At that moment, a whirlwind stirred inside the sealed restaurant. Startled, Sori dropped her phone and fell hard on her butt.
“Ow!”
As she held her sore backside, something appeared before her eyes:
Congratulations! Your awakening is ready!
A system window had appeared.
“Huh? Awakening? Now?”
Sori stared at the floating system window, mouth slightly open.
What kind of chaotic development is this?
Bam-bam-bam-bam!
Trumpets sounded from nowhere, fireworks exploded, and thin confetti stuck to Sori’s shoulders.
Applause!
Clap-clap-clap-clap!
Even this insane system window could generate applause.
Silence.
Yet she remained blank, unresponsive.
…Applause!
The system sent applause again.
Another silence.
The system paused briefly, then appeared again with a spinning hourglass and a new message:
…Analyzing the traits of the awakened…
It seemed to be the stage where her awakening title would be determined.
Please…
She clenched her hands.
After hearing countless recent cases—including the notorious department head—her illusions about awakening had long since been shattered.
She had seen many awakenings where people developed dark circles down to their jaws just to complete a quest.
Please, give me a title that lets me live comfortably. Please, please!
That was all she wanted.
Please tell me running a restaurant isn’t the awakening trait… It can’t be. Surely not. The timing of the manager leaving today must be just a coincidence… Yeah, a coincidence!
If the quest turned out to be “attract a thousand customers to this old restaurant,” she might have even bitten her own tongue.
Finally, the chime rang.
Unfortunately, traits could not be determined!
“What?”
We grant the neutral awakening title “Restaurant Owner” to the awakened Sori.
Congratulations! You have awakened as Restaurant Owner (Lv.1).
Basic Item — Happy Restaurant
“This is insane. That manager was really in on it? That scam…!”
Sori, newly awakened, roared, shaking the restaurant with her shout.
After a long roar, she realized something.
Awakening had already happened. Getting mad at the manager now would be a waste of energy.
It was time to focus on what she could do.
Finally calming herself, Sori voiced her dissatisfaction at the system.
“No way. There’s no one else with such a clear trait like me?”
She crossed her arms, pouting at the system window.
Restaurant Owner who makes money even with no customers—something like that should come out, system!
She even gave examples, basically asking for a free ride.
At last, the system acknowledged her trait and offered some compromise:
We will provide an assistant to help with your awakening life!
The system couldn’t change her awakening title, so Sori decided to plead.
“An assistant, you say? Hoh… Couldn’t you just change my title again?”
She closed her eyes and bit her lip.
Ugh, how embarrassing.
Her cheeks flushed. She really shouldn’t be doing things like this.
The system ignored her coquettish tone and sent the next message:
The assistant is waiting by the well. Check it out →
Sori touched her warm cheeks and read the message. She didn’t know who the assistant was, only that they were waiting by a well.
Well? Is there even a well in this restaurant?
She thought hard, tilting her head.
I don’t think there was a well…
Still, the glowing arrow from the system caught her attention.
It seemed she just needed to follow the direction it pointed.
Creak-creak. She stepped slowly, the wooden floor groaning under her weight.
←
→
She followed the arrows as they changed directions.
Finally,
↓
She reached the arrow pointing at the floor. Surprisingly, it was just a carpeted area with nothing unusual.
Where exactly was she supposed to go?
Sori muttered to herself, as if the system could hear her.
But there was no response.
“Is something under here?”
When stuck, a direct approach sometimes helps. So Sori looked carefully beneath the carpet.
Thunk. Thunk.
The floor sounded hollow. She tapped elsewhere, producing a heavier sound—clearly different from where the arrow pointed.
The arrow didn’t lie. The manager had never mentioned a secret area, but there it was.
Like in the movies, Sori lifted the carpet.
Thump-thump.
Her heart raced. Sure enough, she found a metal handle.
Square gaps surrounded it, with light seeping through.
She immediately understood she had to open it.
Her excitement felt like setting off on an adventure.
“Awakening is more fun than I expected…”
She muttered dangerously as she grabbed the handle.
“Ah, it’s so bright.”
The strong light from below made her squint, shielding her eyes with both hands.
A ladder-like makeshift stairway appeared.
Ladder?
She glanced at the arrow again—it still shone, pointing downward.
After a moment, her eyes adjusted. She decided to descend.
Tap-tap-tap.
Carefully, she stepped down the ladder, alert and cautious.
“Where… am I?”
Her jaw dropped.
It was a place completely invisible from the outside.
Could this be what they call a paradise on earth? The sky was an impossibly clear blue, the clouds vivid as if painted.
Ssshhh—
She heard running water. Looking around, she saw a distant waterfall.
Chirp-chirp-chirp-chirp.
Birds sang, and the tall palm-like trees all seemed over ten meters high.
There were plants and animals.
Yet the initial awe began to feel slightly off, almost uncomfortable.
She didn’t feel like staying long.
Could this be a dungeon? Sori wondered. It wasn’t an impossible idea—the Happy Restaurant was right next to a dungeon, after all.
“I want to get out of here quickly. Where’s the well? Why isn’t the arrow showing anymore?”
She searched around but found nothing. The sun here was harsh, and exhausted, she rested in the shade of a palm tree while looking for the well.
“Ah, this is exhausting. Cancel the fun part!”
As she leaned on the tree, something suddenly fell at high speed from above.
Right above her face.
“Ahhh!”
She screamed loud enough to scare the birds away. Pain made her flail.
She threw the object away from her face immediately.
“Kiiiiiii!”
The object made a noise too.
“What the hell is this…?”
It wasn’t just an object—it was an animal. It landed in a nearby tree fruit and got stuck there.
It was a tiny, wriggling hedgehog.
Congratulations! You have found your assistant!
“Ugh, this is ridiculous. That’s not an assistant—it’s a pet! And this isn’t even a well?”
Her face flushed again. The system wasted no time sending the next message:
Assistant Name: John
Role: Provides general support for restaurant operations.
Note: Communication is possible once a contract is formed with the awakened.
Special: Providing favorite foods increases the quality of assistance.
※John is not a pet.
Not a pet, but she still had to provide food. Sori realized she was gradually getting sucked into the system’s game.
