According to what he heard, the young man was said to be the second cousin eight times removed of the owner's grandnephew at the hangover soup restaurant. Because of the Rift, he lost his entire family and was searching for surviving relatives when he barely managed to find his grandmother. With nowhere else to turn, he ended up helping out at the only blood relative's restaurant he had left in the world.
In truth, Bae Won-woo half-listened to the young man's tragic and grand backstory. A story of losing one's entire family and surviving alone wasn't even that unusual.
However, everyone praised the young man as an unprecedentedly devoted grandson. These days, young people either prepare for the hunter civil service exam in Noryangjin or aim for non-awakened positions in hunter guilds. No matter how much of a family business it was, who would work at such a shabby hangover soup restaurant!
Because of this, Bae Won-woo and the other hunters viewed the young man with great favor. In fact, even they felt guilty about how much they ate, thinking it was too much for the grandmother to handle alone. The healthy and robust young man was efficient at his work, easily carrying several earthenware bowls at a time.
"He seemed like someone who had worked in a hangover soup restaurant for 30 years."
Considering his appearance and his family background, it was definitely his first time working in such a restaurant, yet his serving skills were extraordinary. Since he started working, the turnover rate of tables had definitely increased, and they weren't scolded by the grandmother for eating too much! For the hunters who liked to eat quickly and a lot, his arrival was welcome news.
However, recently it seemed like the young man was running the restaurant alone. When asked subtly, it seemed that the grandmother's legs weren't in good condition. It was a pity.
"Welcome."
The young man bowed his head and greeted them, and Bae Won-woo responded with a friendly smile and looked for an empty seat. The only remaining seat was across from a lone diner at a table for two, but fortunately, the person occupying the seat was a hunter Bae Won-woo knew. He was as much of a regular as Bae Won-woo, and they had built up quite a bit of internal familiarity from meeting at least every other day. Bae Won-woo asked good-naturedly.
"Mind if I sit here?"
"Go ahead. You timed it well before the waiting line got too long."
"Of course."
They naturally exchanged greetings and small talk as Bae Won-woo joined the table and briefly observed his surroundings. To gather the information the guild leader requested, he nonchalantly brought it up into the air.
"By the way… Where do they use soju aprons these days?"
His voice wavered slightly at the end, but Bae Won-woo thought he had brought it up quite naturally. The hunter across from him widened his eyes and asked back.
"Excuse me? Soju aprons? All of a sudden?"
"Well, um, I was just curious."
As he casually mentioned it, the people at nearby tables also chimed in, adding to the conversation.
"Don't they usually use them in restaurants to prevent food from splashing on your clothes when you wear white?"
"That's right."
"Yeah. You see them in restaurants, hanging on the wall for customers to use."
"I went to a chicken rib place in front of Maduk Guild recently, and they had them there too. It's certified as a delicious place on HunterNet, and it really was good."
"Wow, I went there once but gave up because the waiting line was too long."
"If you go there on a Friday evening, you might see Maduk Guild members having a gathering."
Feeling a sense of pride as he watched the hunters happily talk about food, Bae Won-woo suddenly thought. Isn't this a restaurant too? Didn't they also provide aprons to prevent red broth from splashing? As he looked around, he saw a black apron dangling on a lattice-shaped hanger on the wall.
Yes, like that. Just as Bae Won-woo's eyes sparkled with recognition, the young man came over with kimchi and radish kimchi and placed them on the table. Then he pulled out a pen and a new receipt from the apron pocket…
…an apron!
Bae Won-woo felt a flash of realization cross his mind. Didn't this diligent part-timer always wear an apron? The apron the young man was wearing had the Cham Soju logo boldly printed on the chest.
…a soju brand apron?
"One hangover soup, right? Should I bring a lot of chili peppers?"
Bae Won-woo was so mesmerized that he forgot to respond, staring at the young man as if in a trance.
Come to think of it, when he first saw him, he wondered what an actor was doing in a hangover soup restaurant. His appearance was strikingly handsome, with sharp but clear black eyes and neatly trimmed black hair. Enough to make you wonder, 'How can such a beautiful and handsome person be in such a shabby place?' Momentarily, Bae Won-woo squinted his eyes.
'Huh?'
The part-timer's hair… wasn't it… somewhat different? The round crown of his head under the fluorescent light looked much lighter than black today.
'If it's gray hair…'
Somehow… didn't it match the description Lee Sa-young gave? He said it was a rare gray color and that the person was quite good-looking. Even gray hair is uncommon!
"Sir?"
This is a hangover soup restaurant, so… they must have a ladle, right? Bae Won-woo unconsciously looked around.
"Sir."
"Hunter Bae?"
Bae Won-woo snapped out of it only when the hunter he was dining with called his name. Two pairs of eyes were looking at him strangely. Bae Won-woo nodded awkwardly with a sheepish smile.
"Uh, yes. That's right. A lot of chili peppers, please."
"Okay. Just a moment."
Clicking the pen, the young man turned and headed to the kitchen. Bae Won-woo watched his back blankly, then shook his head vigorously. No way, it can't be. Why would Lee Sa-young be looking for a part-timer at a hangover soup restaurant? There's no way they've even met or crossed paths.
…But just in case?
Bae Won-woo kept glancing towards the kitchen where the young man went, considering the slight possibility. But soon,
"Your hangover soup is here."
The last trace of doubt in his mind melted away with the steaming hangover soup. Bae Won-woo smiled contentedly and finished the bowl cleanly before energetically shouting.
"One more bowl!"
***
"Pado Guild Blind Post"
[※ Please use manners while posting!]
[※ Posts that don't follow the rules may be deleted without notice.]
Title: [Anonymous] Why is the guild atmosphere so tense today?
I can barely breathe.
Comments (12)
—Why do you think so?
—Did you see 2401 today?
⤷No, I was late today. Why?
⤷Well, if you had seen him, you wouldn't be posting this.
⤷I just saw him, and he looked seriously pissed. His face was twisted. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
⤷He always wears a gas mask, how can you tell?
⤷You can tell by the vibe.
⤷How can you tell?
—240 is being 240 again…
—240 is heading to the 11th-floor meeting room soon. Avoid him if you can.
⤷Thanks, anonymous from the secretary's office!
Title: [Anonymous] When 240 is in a bad mood,
It feels like the building's temperature drops by about 3 degrees.
Can't he just work from home on bad days?
Damn, it's so cold.
Comments (7)
—I bought a heating artifact from the Hunter Market for days like this ㅋㅋㅋ It's warm.
⤷Does living as a Pado Guild member mean you need both a detox and a heating artifact? Tough life.
⤷If you have one, let's organize a group buy—;;;
⤷They should supply hot packs on days like this. That's guild welfare.
—How does 240 lower the ambient temperature without being an ice ability user?
⤷There's speculation it's a skill or trait. No one really knows the reason.
⤷S-grades must have skills like that.
A week after the dungeon bid meeting, the entire guild was buzzing with the bad mood of Lee Sa-young. His mood was plummeting like a free-falling gyro drop. Even though his expression was completely hidden behind his gas mask, the ominous aura around him was so palpable that it was impossible to ignore.
What had happened was beyond the understanding of Lee Sa-young, or indeed anyone knowledgeable about hunters in Korea.
South Korea is a country that prides itself on its excellent database of personal information. When gates first opened and awakened individuals appeared, the government quickly established the Awakened Management Bureau and created the concept of 'public servant hunters' under state jurisdiction. It took less than a few years to systematically manage all awakeners' information.
The reason Lee Sa-young had let the suspicious 'Hyung' go so easily was because of his trust in this database. From the moment they parted, he was certain that the man was at least an A-grade hunter. It was impossible to completely hide abilities from an S-grade like himself.
Hunters who concealed their powers usually received a B-grade rating and lived comfortably, so 'Hyung' was likely pretending to be a B-grade publicly.
Anyone B-grade or higher would surely be registered in the database. Based on this judgment, Lee Sa-young instructed Seo Min-gi to check the Awakened Database and report back. Given his abilities, he had no doubt it would succeed. But after a few days, Seo Min-gi returned with dreadful news.
"I got caught by Jung Bin-nim."
It was the worst possible news. As a habit, Lee Sa-young rubbed the crumpled business card with his fingertips and massaged his forehead.
"Your abilities are specialized in stealth, and you're ranked 33rd, right?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"So how did you get caught?"
"Well, that's because Jung Bin-nim is ranked 3rd and he's S-grade… Oh, no."
Seo Min-gi quickly swallowed back his words, but it was too late. Lee Sa-young's languid voice sarcastically cut in.
"I'm ranked 1st and S-grade. So, you're saying Jung Bin is scary, but I'm not?"
"No, Guild Leader. You're really scary."
"What did Jung Bin say?"
"Well… he said…"
Seo Min-gi mumbled gloomily.
"He said you should visit the Awakened Management Bureau in person. He thinks a meeting is necessary…"
"Shit."
Because of this, today Lee Sa-young ended up arriving late to work and personally visiting the Awakened Management Bureau. While enduring Jung Bin's constant nagging from one ear and out the other, he diligently scoured through the Awakened Database. Throughout his search, Jung Bin kept saying,
"Lee Sa-young-ssi, the Awakened Database shouldn't be used for personal gain."
"Are you listening? I said you can't do that."
"Hunter Lee Sa-young, could you at least pretend to listen?"
Despite all this nagging, he didn't stop searching.
"If that person isn't registered here, it means there's at least a B-grade unregistered awakener walking around freely. Don't you want to confirm that?"
With Lee Sa-young's reasoning, even the stern Jung Bin fell silent.
Thus, while preparing to be reprimanded and indeed getting reprimanded, they searched every possible place, but found no information whatsoever.
South Korea's pride, the Awakened Database, did not have 'Hyung'.
Just in case, they checked all the way down to F-grade three times, but the face he encountered that day was nowhere to be seen. He even looked through it again in reverse order, thinking it might differ from the ID photos, but it was the same.
Both men were in shock for the same reason.
An unregistered awakener exist in South Korea?