IFTD 38

Chapter 38

“I’m a regular there too.”

Calling the two of them at the same time because she was short on time had been a mistake. Minjeong regretted her careless decision. She hadn’t expected them to start growling at each other even here.

The wasabi potion incident that happened in the tutorial dungeon.
Minjeong wasn’t completely unaware of it.

And they were acting like this because of that?

Wasn’t that just an accident?

Minjeong tilted her head. As far as people knew, it had simply been an accident—wasabi had gotten mixed in by mistake.

But apparently it hadn’t seemed that way to Kijun.

So he’s been suspicious this whole time?

But Cha Yoon-min had no reason to go that far.

This is such a headache.

“Didn’t I say back then that I couldn’t believe that?” Kijun shot back.

“So that’s why you hate me so much?” Cha Yoon-min asked.

“I’m not sure you have enough presence in my life for me to call it hate,” Kijun replied sarcastically.

Cha Yoon-min’s brows tightened as he was about to fire back, but Minjeong stood up and stopped them with her hand.

“Uh… I didn’t call you here to talk about personal matters.”

“I didn’t intend to either, Ms. Minjeong,” Cha Yoon-min replied with a wronged expression.

There were people watching them from outside—team leaders, managers from other teams. Feeling their stares, Minjeong hurriedly ended the investigation.

“Let’s stop here for today. If we need anything else, I’ll contact you again. Separately.”

Clack.

Kijun placed the pen he had been holding on the table without hesitation.

“Whew—.”

Cha Yoon-min whistled lightly and left first.

“Did you call us together on purpose?”

Kijun asked Minjeong with a displeased tone.

“No. I was just short on time. Really.”

“Is that so?”

It seemed like Kijun still had more to say, but after glancing at the people watching outside, he walked out quickly.

It seemed like things had ended there.

But Kijun overheard something again.

Cha Yoon-min had been waiting in the hallway and was talking to Minjeong.

“Ms. Minjeong. Did you hear? I applied after seeing the recruitment notice at Sori’s restaurant.”

“Oh. You did…?”

Minjeong answered awkwardly, conscious of Kijun walking right behind her.

Is Cha Yoon-min doing this on purpose too?

She felt like she had become an awkward wedge stuck between the two of them.

“Looks like you hadn’t heard yet.”

“No, I hadn’t.”

She was about to end the conversation quickly when Cha Yoon-min added one more line.

“I told them I really want to work there. I asked them to consider it positively.”

“Hoho. I see. But I’m busy right now—can we talk about it later?”

Minjeong felt as if lasers were shooting into the back of her head. She just wanted to escape the situation.

“Yes, of course.”

Cha Yoon-min simply smiled brightly, seemingly unaware of her discomfort.

“Well then. Thanks for today. Take care going home. Ah—Kijun too.”

Click, click.

Minjeong hurried back to the office, leaving Kijun and Cha Yoon-min alone in the awkward hallway.

Kijun spoke first.

“Did the Happy Restaurant post a recruitment notice?”

His tone still dripping with sarcasm.

“Yes, it did,” Cha Yoon-min answered with a smile.
“It seemed very busy, and I was worried. I wanted to help.”

“Trying to make up for that failed blind date?”

“Not necessarily. I’m a little disappointed you see me as such a pathetic guy.”

Cha Yoon-min smiled again, lifting the corner of his lips even higher this time. He pretended to be calm, but his eyes were filled with caution.

“Would you be interested in working for our guild?”

Kijun suddenly threw out an offer—asking if he wanted to work for the Seohan Guild.

Cha Yoon-min’s face stiffened.

“I’m not sure what you mean, Hunter Lee Kijun.”

“You looked free, so I thought maybe you needed more work.”

“Did I ever say I was free?”

Cha Yoon-min let out a dry laugh.

“Ah, my mistake. I thought you might be so free that you had time to worry about strange places. It’d be such a waste to let that talent rot, wouldn’t it?”

This time, Kijun smiled slightly.

“Helping make food that hunters eat is also helpful for me.”

Cha Yoon-min replied seriously.

Kijun didn’t back down.

“I see. When you put it that way, it makes sense. I don’t know much about it, but I suppose you could even put potions in food. Ah—if you plan to add wasabi too, could you let me know in advance? I’m a regular there as well.”

He muttered the words quickly like a whisper and passed by Cha Yoon-min’s shoulder.

Cha Yoon-min could only let out an incredulous sigh.

Character Status

Basic Information

Name: Kang Sori (26)
Class: Restaurant Owner (Expanded) (Lv.6)
Strength: 12
Stamina: 8
Cooking: 11
Luck: 14

“Hmm.”

Is level 6 actually that high?

Sori thought for a moment. Even though she had achieved several achievements and received customers steadily, her level hadn’t increased.

“I’m not expecting something like becoming an S-rank hunter…”

She grumbled to John.

“But it would be nice if I could at least buy spices directly from the Hunter Market.”

“Then receive more customers,” John replied.

“I’m already getting plenty! That’s why I use boss bath bombs every day. I can’t survive without them.”

“Yaaawn!”

John yawned as if he barely cared.

“You’re not even listening, are you?”

Sori kept complaining, so he replied irritably.

“It’s easy to solve, yet you’re worrying about it. I don’t understand, Awakened one.”

“By getting more customers?”

That’s exhausting.

Her brows furrowed.

“If you don’t like that, then just kill more monsters. Preferably bosses—Aaaargh! Wh-what are you doing?!”

John was suddenly caught firmly in Sori’s hands.

She stretched his cheeks sideways, squeezed them back, and stretched them again repeatedly. John flailed his arms and legs.

“Try saying useless things again.”

John had a very loose mouth.

Restaurant business has started.

Ding-ding.

As soon as the system window appeared, a customer arrived.

“Welcome!”

Sori quickly hid John behind her and greeted the guest energetically.

“You’ve been well?”

It was Lee Kijun.

Today he hadn’t come from a dungeon—he came from outside. Unlike before, he was dressed very neatly, almost like he was heading to a business seminar.

“…Did you come to eat?”

“Yeah.”

She heard he was busy, but apparently not.

Sori felt even more uncomfortable seeing him again.

It was definitely because of the condition he had mentioned before.

“Why do you look so reluctant?”

Kijun asked innocently with clear eyes while leaning slightly closer to her, his hands still in his pockets.

Why is he acting like this all of a sudden?

It felt burdensome.

“Isn’t everything ready yet?”

“…No. Sit here.”

Sori guided him to a table.

Immediately, his mood status appeared.

Customer at Table C — Current Mood: -100 (MAX)!

Huh?

She thought he seemed to be in a good mood today. His voice sounded lighter than before. His face wasn’t even frowning.

Then why was his mood so bad again?

Or maybe… does his mood just plummet whenever he comes here?

If that was the case, it made even less sense.

Could he have come here to make me buy him food again?

She suddenly panicked. Her heart pounded.

I should refuse today.

She wasn’t mentally prepared yet.

To sit face-to-face with her ex-boyfriend and eat a meal.

“Golden Salad.”

As if unaware of her thoughts, Kijun immediately flipped through the menu and ordered.

“You’re eating that again?”

“Yeah. This time I want to try the proper version.”

“Alright.”

Sori grabbed the menu and quickly turned away.

She didn’t understand why he kept coming when there were no other customers. It almost felt like he was doing it on purpose to make her uncomfortable.

“Are you sure I can eat it properly this time?”

His voice came from behind her again.

She turned back with a smile.

“Last time we ran out of spices. I bought more. That won’t happen again.”

“…Okay.”

Kijun nodded calmly.

Later, the dish was finished.

Sori brought it to him.

“Golden Salad.”

“Thanks.”

Kijun carefully scooped some and tasted it.

“Is it okay?”