Chapter 6
Hyangsuk’s Side Dish Shop (6)
“Ah…”
Lee Hera blushed slightly at the involuntary gasp that escaped her lips.
“It looks so delicious that I couldn’t help myself. I-I’ve never seen green onion kimchi this glossy before…!”
Bright red seasoning coated the vivid green scallions, giving them a beautiful sheen.
“I added some plum syrup.”
“Wow… Just adding plum syrup makes that much of a difference…?”
“Of course!”
Lee Hera swallowed once more before carefully picking up a piece of green onion kimchi with her chopsticks. That tiny movement seemed to happen in slow motion.
It had been a year.
A whole year since I had served my cooking to a customer.
…I hope she likes it.
Then—
Crunch!
The crisp sound echoed through the quiet shop.
The scallions were so fresh that they sounded like delicate crackers breaking apart in her mouth.
Lee Hera’s eyes widened.
“Mmm…! It’s… it’s delicious?!”
Her tired voice rose an octave.
The exhaustion faded from her face, replaced by bright excitement.
“Thank goodness! I was so nervous you wouldn’t like it!”
Looking at the now-empty tasting dish, she said in amazement,
“How… how could this not be delicious? It tastes even better than… than my mom’s cooking….”
There couldn’t have been higher praise.
Her face radiated genuine happiness.
Now’s my chance.
Holding the container of kimchi tightly, I asked,
“Would you like me to pack some of this green onion kimchi for you? It’s on the house.”
Lee Hera hesitated.
“B-But… weren’t you planning to sell this at your shop? You don’t have to….”
“No, it’s fine. I actually made it for myself.”
Even then, she waved her hands, insisting it wasn’t necessary.
But sharing a little homemade food with someone who looked exhausted wasn’t a big deal to me.
Without hesitation, I took out a small plastic container, carefully packed it full of kimchi, snapped the lid shut, and wrote the shop’s name on top with a marker.
Hyangsuk’s Side Dish Shop
I placed the container into a black plastic bag and handed it to her.
“Spicy food is great for relieving stress. On your way home, stop by a convenience store and grab a pack of jjajang ramen. It’ll be amazing with this.”
Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.
This time, Lee Hera accepted the bag without refusing.
“Thank you… I’ll definitely come back to buy side dishes next time….”
I quickly waved both hands.
“You don’t have to buy anything. Just enjoy it.”
“Ah… O-Okay then… I hope your business does well… Boss.”
Boss?
Hearing someone call me Boss made an involuntary smile spread across my face.
“No, thank you for coming today! I hope the rest of your day goes well!”
Her eyes shimmered with emotion.
“Goodbye!”
“Yes… You too… Boss….”
After bowing politely, Lee Hera quietly left the shop.
That was basically my first customer!
Success!
“Nyyaaaaanng!”
I turned toward the sound.
Unable to wait any longer, Haetae had apparently come looking for me and was now sitting atop the counter.
“Why did you take so long? I’m starving!”
“Oh! Sorry, sorry! A customer came.”
Haetae had been thumping the counter with his tail in annoyance, but the moment he heard the word customer, his ears perked up.
“Did you see anything unusual about the customer?”
“Actually, yes! It was kind of like the status windows for the crops.”
Back in the kitchen, I placed a green onion on the cutting board and explained everything that had happened.
“There was a ‘More Info’ window floating over her head. I was going to ask you first, but I decided to try it myself.”
“How did it go?”
“Well… She said it was delicious, so I guess it worked? Was that what Grandma meant by doing good deeds?”
“That’s right. And there’s proof.”
Haetae crawled into an old cardboard box sitting in the corner of the shop and started digging around.
Only his round little butt stuck out.
I almost burst out laughing.
After rustling around for quite a while, he emerged covered in a bit of dust, carrying something in his mouth.
“Found it.”
“What is that?”
“A Praise Sticker Board.”
Drawn on the board was a lunchbox.
It looked incredibly old, yet the colors remained vivid.
“A praise sticker?”
“Whenever you perform a good deed, not only will a notification appear, but a praise sticker gets added here too.”
“Really?”
The board was still empty.
But somehow…
I already knew.
One day, every lunchbox on that board would be filled with praise stickers.
“We can look at it later. Hurry up and start cooking!”
I trimmed the green onions and opened two packs of jjajang ramen.
Haetae’s tail immediately started wagging wildly.
He really wanted to eat.
Laughing, I held my palm up in front of him.
“Be patient, Haetae.”
I poured olive oil into the wok and stir-fried finely chopped green onions.
Sizzle!
The fragrant aroma of scallion oil quickly filled the kitchen.
Let’s make instant jjajang ramen taste like restaurant jjajangmyeon…!
It was my favorite budget recipe.
“Nyaaaaanng!”
…Though I should probably hurry.
Otherwise those soft little jelly paws might slap my face again.
Later That Evening
“Ugh… I’m exhausted. What a day….”
After arriving home, Lee Hera placed the black plastic bag into the refrigerator and collapsed onto her bed.
She had spent another day getting scolded by her department manager.
How long had she rested?
Grrrr…
Her stomach growled loudly.
She hadn’t eaten lunch properly because she’d spent the whole day walking on eggshells around her boss.
Checking the time…
It was already past nine o’clock.
Too late—and she was far too tired—to cook anything elaborate.
Maybe I’ll make some fried rice…
Then she remembered the side dish shop she’d visited earlier.
“Spicy food is great for relieving stress. Stop by a convenience store and buy some jjajang ramen on your way home. It’ll taste amazing together.”
She got up and opened the bag.
“Hyangsuk’s Side Dish Shop.”
The shop’s name was written in cute handwriting on the plastic container.
“The owner’s handwriting is adorable….”
Without hesitation, she opened the lid.
The spicy aroma of the green onion kimchi instantly reminded her of the sample she’d eaten earlier, making her mouth water.
She placed a pot of water on the stove.
While waiting for it to boil…
“Maybe… just one piece…”
Before she even finished speaking, her chopsticks had already moved.
Crunch.
As she chewed, the pounding headache that had tormented her all day melted away.
Even her manager’s cruel words and the exhaustion from endless overtime seemed to disappear.
What…? I feel like all my stress is disappearing…
She looked down at the kimchi.
Maybe it’s because spicy food really does relieve stress… just like the owner said.
“Ah… my nose is running.”
Once the water began boiling, she quickly added the noodles.
“Hurry… hurry.”
She couldn’t wait to eat them with the kimchi.
When only a little broth remained, she added the sauce packet and stir-fried the noodles until the thick black sauce coated every strand.
She carried the pot straight to the dining table and set it on top of an old magazine.
Steam rose from the jjajang ramen.
She wrapped a glossy strand of green onion kimchi around a mouthful of noodles.
The shiny black noodles.
The spicy red kimchi.
There wasn’t even time to admire them.
She shoved the entire bite into her mouth.
She had only wanted to satisfy her hunger…
But the moment she chewed—
An entirely different world unfolded.
The savory sweetness of the black bean sauce.
The refreshing, spicy crunch of the kimchi.
The perfect harmony exploded across her tongue.
It felt as though brilliant colors had suddenly been splashed across a world that had always been black and white.
“Ah….”
Only then did Lee Hera stop eating for a moment and quietly savor the lingering taste.
And suddenly—
Tears spilled down her cheeks like a broken dam.
“…Sob….”
She must have been under far more stress than she’d realized.
To find this much comfort in nothing more than a bowl of instant noodles and green onion kimchi…
It felt both pathetic…
…and heartbreaking.
“I wanted to do well….”
It was her first job.
More than anyone else, she had wanted to succeed.
But reality had been nothing like she expected.
Every single day her manager sneered,
“Hera, I thought you were capable. You can’t even do something this simple? We only hired you because you’re pretty. Tsk.”
Her coworkers never helped her.
She couldn’t even tell her parents about the verbal abuse.
Because they always said,
“Everyone keeps congratulating us because our daughter got into such a great company. I’ve never been happier.”
“That company must have amazing benefits. Look how healthy and happy our daughter looks.”
“How could I tell them… how miserable I really am?”
The only thing comforting her now…
…was the green onion kimchi given to her by a side dish shop owner she’d only just met.
She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand.
Then continued eating.
She had to eat.
She had to regain her strength.
“Maybe… I should quit….”
…She had endured it for three and a half years.
She had tried her best.
Now…
She wanted to stop.
And she still had a future ahead of her.
A future waiting for her to move toward.
One Week Later
The next week flew by in a blur.
Preparing all the paperwork needed to open the shop felt like trying to decipher an alien language.
“So much preparation… for more preparation… for even MORE preparation…!”
Does it ever end?!
The moment I finally sat down, I collapsed face-first onto the shop table.
“Already exhausted?”
I turned my head slightly.
“…When did you get here?”
“I was sitting on my pedestal. I heard your footsteps and came.”
Haetae pressed one paw against my cheek.
“Hey… How did Grandma sell side dishes?”
I wanted to run the shop the same way she had.
I remembered bits and pieces…
But ten years had passed.
The memories had grown fuzzy.
“She just sold them.”
…Just sold them?
I looked at Haetae in confusion.
“What do you mean, just?”
“Nothing special. She sold seasonal side dishes, and whenever regular customers wanted something, she’d make it fresh on the spot.”
“That’s more like a restaurant.”
“Exactly.”
So…
Grandma really had cooked whatever each customer wanted.
She was incredible.
Seeing my expression, Haetae smirked.
“Think you can’t do it?”
“…?”
“Think… you… can’t?”
…Grandma did it.
“Hah!”
“Nya?”
“I can do it too. Don’t underestimate me.”
Haetae patted my cheek.
“Good deeds always bring blessings.”
“Really?”
“Of course. If you do good, good fortune comes back to you.”
“How?”
Instead of answering, Haetae looked toward the shop window.
“Just wait.”
“Why? Is someone coming?”
Sure enough…
Someone was peeking through the front window.
But the Preparing to Open sign was still hanging outside.
There shouldn’t have been any customers.
I quickly jumped to my feet.
“Hello…? Can I help you?”
Setting Haetae down, I opened the door—
And my eyes widened.
It was the woman who had become my very first customer a week ago.
Since no notification about completing the Good Deed Quest had appeared, I’d secretly worried that maybe she hadn’t liked the kimchi after all…
But she came back!
“Um… Boss… Is your shop still not open yet?”
“I’m still getting everything ready!”
“When… when are you opening?”
“Probably in three days!”
“Th-Then… this is for you….”
With trembling hands, Lee Hera held out a paper shopping bag.
“What is this…?”
I looked inside.
Several brand-new aprons.
Perfect for running the shop.
“Y-You didn’t have to do this!”
Her face turned bright red as she lowered her head.
“I… I quit my job…. It’s thanks to you.”
“Thanks… to me?”
“It was my first job, so… I didn’t have the courage. My parents were so proud I worked at a famous company… My coworkers just told me everyone lives like this… So I kept forcing myself to endure it….”
She paused.
“But every day I became more exhausted. Then… after eating the green onion kimchi you gave me… somehow I found the courage. We only get one life, right? There’s no reason to spend it suffering forever. There has to be somewhere better… Thank you… Boss.”
Instead of saying you’re welcome…
I simply took both of her hands.
“I think that courage came from you. All I did was give it a little push.”
Holding back tears, she smiled.
“Even so… thank you.”
“I’m just really, really happy to hear your good news. There’s not much I can do for you, but…”
I glanced around before lowering my voice.
“If you come to the shop, I’ll secretly give you one extra side dish for free. But don’t tell anyone.”
Lee Hera wiped the corner of her eye and smiled brightly.
“I won’t tell anyone!”
As she left, I packed her some seasoned rapeseed greens and more green onion kimchi.
“Take care!”
Watching her walk away slowly made my heart feel strangely warm.
This… is what life is all about.
Helping each other.
Comforting each other.
“Come over here.”
Haetae beckoned with his chubby paw beneath the Praise Sticker Board.
“What?”
“Watch the very first praise sticker.”
At that moment…
The board began glowing softly.
A gentle breeze stirred the air.
A transparent hand slowly appeared out of thin air.
The ghostly hand carefully pressed a single Green Onion Kimchi Praise Sticker onto the board.
[You have earned Good Deed Points. Detailed Shop Information has been unlocked.]
“Unlocked?”
As if answering my question, a sparkling information window unfolded before my eyes.
Han Jigu
Local Reputation: 10
Word of your shop is spreading through the neighborhood.
Divine Reputation: 1
The gods and ■■ have begun taking an interest in your shop.
Good Deed Points: 1
Reward requirements not yet met.
Shop Status
Today’s Customers: 1 / 10
Regular Customers: 1
I stared blankly at the information window.
“What is… this?”
Haetae lightly smacked my calf with his paw.
“Congratulations on your first good deed.”
“Wow…! So that means… I really succeeded?”
Overwhelmed with joy, I grabbed Haetae and showered his face with kisses.
“Nya! Nyaaaaanng! Get away from me!”
“Hahahaha!”
That…
…was the very first good deed.
