Reassured that the store was intact, Cha Eui-jae headed to the kitchen to check on the broth. Though it had reduced a bit… it was still manageable. Lee Sa-young, who had followed behind him, peeked over Cha Eui-jae's shoulder.
"What are you doing?"
"Be quiet."
Although Cha Eui-jae didn't particularly follow any religion, today he decided to thank Buddha. He remembered the warm smile painted on Seo Min-gi's fan. And he also recalled the terrible things he had done to Buddha. After silently expressing his gratitude and apologies multiple times, he slowly opened his eyes.
"You don't look like a religious person, yet here you are."
"Shut up, it's just for today."
"So a fake believer."
Cha Eui-jae silently prayed for forgiveness for Lee Sa-young's disrespect, not for Lee Sa-young's sake but to avoid any misfortune that might befall him standing nearby.
Stepping out of the kitchen, Cha Eui-jae grabbed an apron and began preparing for the business. He called out to Lee Sa-young.
"Hey."
"Lee Sa-young."
Darn it… Cha Eui-jae glanced briefly at the gas mask but complied with Lee Sa-young's request, remembering the favor of being quickly brought here.
"Lee Sa-young, don't touch anything in the kitchen."
"Can't I even look around?"
"Do you want to be responsible for a mass poisoning at a hangover soup restaurant?"
"I'm wearing a gas mask and gloves."
Lee Sa-young wiggled his fingers, showing off the black leather gloves, but obediently left the kitchen. Cha Eui-jae glanced at his back and began pulling out the necessary ingredients.
"Lee Sa-young—"
"Yes, what?"
"What time is it now?"
"4:40."
"…"
"Hyung?"
20 minutes until opening?
Cha Eui-jae slowly surveyed the kitchen. The evening shift was much busier than the morning. Recently, they had been hosting debates about J at the hangover soup restaurant, which increased the customer traffic significantly. After a brief moment of composure, he looked at Lee Sa-young standing in the hall.
He had an awful thought: 'Would it be okay since he's wearing a gas mask and gloves?' Cha Eui-jae shook his head vigorously. The potential disaster and the fact that Lee Sa-young might be disastrous in the kitchen couldn't be ignored. Lee Sa-young likely understood this and had willingly stepped out of the way.
Just as Cha Eui-jae was lamenting the potential downfall of his diligent operation principles at the hangover soup restaurant, someone exclaimed.
"Hey— I'm back."
"…"
"This is the hangover soup restaurant that the Vice-Guild Leader frequents! Congratulations on escaping safely from the field, customer!"
A round figure popped out from Cha Eui-jae's shadow. Seo Min-gi's lively appearance, with a hand shading his eyes as he looked around, captivated Cha Eui-jae. He urgently grabbed Seo Min-gi's wrist.
"Seo Min-gi-ssi."
"Yes."
"Can you handle a knife?"
"Excuse me?"
"No, it's fine if you can't. As an A-grade, you should be decent enough."
"Customer, that might be a generalization error."
Seo Min-gi timidly protested but was ignored by the monstrous hangover soup restaurant employee, Cha Eui-jae. He slammed down a wooden cutting board and a knife with a loud thud and gestured to Seo Min-gi.
"Chop these cheongyang peppers and put them in this container."
"Excuse me?"
"You can get an apron from over there."
"Excuse me? Okay."
"If you start tearing up, I'll lend you some goggles, but for now, just chop. We don't have time."
As Cha Eui-jae's eyes blazed while giving detailed instructions, Seo Min-gi, still confused, realized there was no escape and nodded hesitantly.
"Could you put down the knife while you speak?"
"Are you afraid I'll stab you?"
"…"
"It's more efficient to prepare for business than to wipe your blood, so let's move quickly."
Apparently, this customer had a knack for saying scary things casually. But Seo Min-gi, a man of perseverance, had one more duty to fulfill.
"Customer, could you lift the curse of weakening before we start?"
"It won't affect the business. We'll do it tonight."
Hearing that made Seo Min-gi almost collapse again. He had no idea why, but the image of his ruthless boss's dark gas mask overlapped with the customer's face who nonchalantly ordered him to work overtime.
Seo Min-gi pulled out a long, rectangular piece of leather from his pocket, indicating he had a scroll.
"If you cut here in the middle with that knife…"
"This is a kitchen knife."
"…Then use something else, please."
Cha Eui-jae bent slightly and retrieved a small pair of scissors from inside. It was part of Park Ha-eun's stationery set and had been conveniently used as a parcel opener. The handle had a cute ribbon pattern, contrasting with the stern face of the busy restaurant worker.
Snip—
As the leather was cut, Cha Eui-jae felt noticeably lighter.
He looked at Seo Min-gi to see if it was okay now, and Seo Min-gi nodded vigorously and quickly put on an apron from a basket in the corner of the kitchen. Cha Eui-jae also washed his hands thoroughly and put on a sanitary hat, apron, and gloves.
It was fortunate that he had set the rice cooker before heading to the center. He opened the rice cooker and began scooping rice into stainless steel bowls.
[Unique Trait: Hands of a Master (S+) activated.]
[You have reached the maximum proficiency of the trait.]
Cha Eui-jae frowned. Maximum proficiency or not, he had no time to deal with a white notification window in such a hurry.
'Don't obstruct my view.'
Ignoring the system notification, he continued to scoop rice diligently. Suddenly, fireworks burst in front of his eyes.
[Congratulations! You have unlocked a new trait!]
[You have acquired the trait: Battle Integrated into Life (S).]
A person who gains a new trait while scooping rice. That was Cha Eui-jae. He unexpectedly obtained an S-grade trait that every hunter longed for, but his expression was anything but pleased. It was suspicious, and he had no time to check its details with the opening of the store imminent.
'Don't bother me and disappear.'
The system, perhaps knowing this, kindly displayed an explanation.
[Trait: Battle Integrated into Life (S)]
[For you, household chores are a battle. A trait for those who cannot give up on either housework or combat. When performing actions classified as housework, your attack power, attack speed, and agility increase.]
It was too good to ignore. Cha Eui-jae paused his rapid rice scooping.
'Actions classified as housework?'
Housework would include cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. So… Cha Eui-jae looked at the rice scoop in his hand. Cooking is housework. It was natural that scooping rice into bowls to set the table was included in housework.
[Trait: Battle Integrated into Life (S) activated.]
The notification confirmed he was correct. His hand holding the wooden scoop felt lighter. With this trait, opening the store at 5 PM seemed possible! He resumed scooping rice, his hand moving as if dancing.
Meanwhile, behind him, Seo Min-gi was near tears, agonizing over the question: "How big should I chop the cheongyang peppers?" He wished he had an example to follow, but all he had was a cutting board, cheongyang peppers, and a knife. Just as he decided to remove the stems, clad in nitrile gloves, he felt a chill down his spine.
'There's something…'
The intensity and pressure were overwhelming, making it impossible to look back. He was sure only the customer was behind him, but how could the atmosphere change so drastically? Was the customer so furious about potentially missing the opening time? Could it be he was planning to deal with him for not performing well?
He needed to confirm, but the overwhelming intensity was terrifying. Seo Min-gi swallowed hard.
'No! No matter how angry he is, he won't kill me.'
Didn't Cha Eui-jae himself say it was more efficient to prepare for business than to kill him? Though slightly distorted, the meaning was similar. The intense aura was growing stronger. Trusting in the customer's words, Seo Min-gi cautiously turned his head. And,
Seo Min-gi's mouth fell open.
'Oh…'
Cha Eui-jae was still scooping rice from the industrial rice cooker.
Tatatatatatatatatata—
But very quickly. So fast his arms seemed to multiply!
'…Asura1?'
It seemed a golden halo was shining behind him. He looked like he was performing a dance with a rice scoop, not a knife. Finishing, Cha Eui-jae sent the rice bowls flying like shurikens. Tatatatatata. Every bowl landed perfectly on the table. If the producer of Master of Living Skills saw this, they would beg him to appear on their show.
'Is this… the hangover soup pro?'
It felt too precious to witness alone! This should be recorded for posterity. Just as Seo Min-gi subtly reached for his phone, he heard a voice.
"Seo Min-gi."
"Yes, cus… Guild Leader?"
Startled, Seo Min-gi jumped in place. At the boundary between the kitchen and the hall stood an incongruous figure, Lee Sa-young. Although he had escaped with the customer, Seo Min-gi didn't expect him to be in the restaurant, leaving him stammering.
"Why not do the job properly?"
"Still, I don't know how finely to cut these…"
Seo Min-gi stammered, and a small sigh came from behind the gas mask. He was genuinely wondering if he needed to master more than 30 skills required to run a hangover soup restaurant.
"That rice."
"Excuse me?"
"Move it."
When Lee Sa-young pointed to the warming cupboard, Seo Min-gi quickly moved towards the mountain of rice bowls. The hangover soup restaurant part-timer, who had become a crazy master of household chores, focused solely on his tasks without any small complaints. As Seo Min-gi put all the rice bowls in the warming cupboard, he wiped his tears with his sleeve and spoke with a hint of frustration.
"But, well… I did get the job done quickly."
"I matched the grade you requested perfectly. This time, without any mistakes."
"Mhm, good job."
Seo Min-gi froze in shock, having been prepared to vent about his daily suffering under a tyrannical boss. He looked disbelieving and finally managed to ask again.
"Excuse me? I didn't hear you well?"
But the gas mask, which had been facing him just a moment ago, had already turned towards the customer. Seo Min-gi felt a wave of gratitude, realizing that small miracles do happen, even in his guild life.