WOSCH 02

Chapter – 02

Fortunately, I was told that I could choose whatever food I wanted.

“Hmm… What would be good?”

Actually, there weren’t many menu options I could make in this old, cramped shop.

Since it was located by the roadside, it would be best to have something people could eat casually while passing by, and judging by the structure of the shop, anything with a complicated cooking process would be impossible.

And since it was winter, the food that fit the season perfectly was—

“Bungeoppang, of course, right?”

The moment I finished thinking, the system window displayed a new message accompanied by a flashy firework effect.

Menu ‘Bungeoppang’ selection complete!

You have received a ‘Beginner’s Bungeoppang Kit.’

⇒ Receive

Feeling somewhat dazed, I clicked ‘Receive,’ and a notification appeared saying that ‘Old Bungeoppang Mold,’ ‘Bungeoppang Batter,’ ‘Sweet Red Bean Paste,’ and ‘Cooking Oil’ had been added to my inventory.

“You got a present, nya?”

“I got the basic ingredients for making bungeoppang. Hold on a second.”

I opened my inventory and checked how the icons for the ingredients were displayed, then clicked ‘Details’ on the materials I had just received.

And that was when I realized something incredible.

The bungeoppang mold was merely an old two-slot mold, but amazingly, the rest of the ingredients stated that they could be automatically refilled.

Automatic refill?

Then does that mean the ingredient cost is free?

“No way…!”

So this was why people had been going on and on about awakening!

Unable to contain my joy, I waved my hands excitedly through the air.

“Seriously, you’re that happy, nya?”

“Of course! Do you have any idea how important reducing costs is in running a business?”

Yeah, so what if the shop was a little old? I could just work hard, make the food, and sell it!

Excited by the free ingredients, I started enthusiastically running through every possible positive scenario in my head.

“All right! What else is there to life? You just have to give it a shot!”

I burned with motivation.

For some reason, I had a feeling that everything would work out.

And that feeling was, as always, completely wrong.

“Isn’t this seriously too much?!”

I had spent all of last night practicing making bungeoppang and opened the shop first thing in the morning, yet there wasn’t a single person passing by.

So much for things going well.

The only things I could see in front of me were a few fallen leaves rolling along in the wind with a whoosh-.

“I think the location really is the problem.”

At my words, the cat yawned indifferently.

It seemed completely unconcerned, despite being the one who had insisted that I start my business here.

“Business is this bad. Are you sure you can still grant my wish?”

“You’re really impatient, nya.”

“It’s not that I’m impatient…!”

I raised my voice in frustration, but the cat merely stretched, saying that I just needed to wait.

Ugh, fine. As long as my wish comes true, that’s all I care about. Whether the business fails or not!

That was when it happened.

“Hello. How much is the bungeoppang?”

“Oh! Hello. It’s one thousand won each!”

“It’s been such a long time since I’ve had bungeoppang. Right?”

“Yeah, it has. We’ll take two, please!”

Two hours after opening.

Fortunately, a couple passing by approached the shop and showed some interest.

My very first order!

I put the most beautifully baked bungeoppang into a bag and handed it over, but the female customer tilted her head in confusion.

“But do you only have red bean bungeoppang?”

“For now, red bean bungeoppang is the only kind I can make.”

“Ah… That’s too bad. Thank you. I hope you sell a lot!”

After my first customers left, I stared at the bungeoppang.

It is a little disappointing to only have red bean bungeoppang.

Bungeoppang was supposed to come in two classic varieties: red bean and custard.

But the system had been stingy enough to give me only the ingredients for red bean bungeoppang.

To make matters worse, there was a condition for unlocking the next menu.

A whopping 500 sales.

“Still, that means I only have 498 left… Huh? Why didn’t the number go down?”

I had definitely sold two, but the system still displayed ‘0/500.’

Had I done something wrong?

I blinked at the incomprehensible system window, and the cat, which had been lying in the corner of the shop, suddenly sprang to its feet.

“Whoa! What’s wrong?”

“Finally, a customer has arrived, nya.”

“A customer? Where?”

Following its gaze, I saw someone approaching from far away.

“We have to give food to that human, nya!”

“Th-that person?”

He looked intimidating at first glance.

He had a huge build and a thick, shaggy beard. He was wearing a suit without an outer coat despite the cold weather, and the sunglasses he wore made him look even more frightening.

I awkwardly shook my head.

“He definitely looks like an Awakened…”

“It absolutely has to be that human, nya. Hurry up and go, nya!”

When I hesitated, the cat began repeatedly pressing against my leg with its paws.

“Stop hesitating like a sluggish grub, nya!”

“Argh! If it weren’t for my wish!”

Reluctantly, I put a freshly golden-brown bungeoppang into a bag and ran after him.

He walked so quickly that he had already gotten quite far away in that short amount of time.

“Excuse me, wait!!!”

At my call, he stopped and slowly turned around.

He was built like a mountain, and I had to tilt my head back quite a bit just to look up at him.

“What is it?”

“Ah, uh, well, I opened my shop today!”

After hesitating for a moment, I held out the bag of bungeoppang to him.

He pushed up his sunglasses and looked at the bag.

“I wanted to give you one as a grand opening gift…”

“A grand opening gift?”

“Yes! Just try it and see how it tastes.”

At my words, he slowly shook his head.

“I’m a Hunter. My sense of taste is duller than other people’s, so I don’t think I’m a suitable person for sampling.”

With that, he gave me a slight bow and was about to turn around.

I hurriedly stopped him.

“Just once! Could you please try it just once?”

I hadn’t sold a single one today…

I had been baking them diligently all day…

And it was even my first day after opening.

When I muttered dejectedly, he scratched his head awkwardly before eventually accepting the bungeoppang.

“…I really just have to eat it, right?”

“Yes! Of course! Please eat it without feeling pressured!”

He let out a small sigh, took out the bungeoppang, and cautiously took a bite.

Crack-!

The crispy shell shattered with a crunchy sound and disappeared into his mouth.

At the same time, he let out a low exclamation.

“…This can’t be.”

What was wrong?

Had the inside not cooked properly?

Was the outside too crispy?

“It’s unbelievably delicious!!!”

“Huh? D-delicious?”

Before I even had time to understand his reaction, he suddenly started running toward my shop.

I hurriedly chased after him, only to see him grabbing the freshly baked bungeoppang from the shelf and stuffing it into his mouth.

“Uwooooh! Delicious!”

Making strange sounds of delight, he frantically held bungeoppang in both hands and devoured them.

The bungeoppang on the shelf disappeared at an incredible speed.

“Um… Would you like me to bake some more?”

“Yes! Please!”

A passerby stopped awkwardly, as though they had witnessed something they absolutely should not have seen, then hurriedly turned around and disappeared.

A shaggy-bearded man holding bungeoppang in both hands and frantically eating them…

Yeah, I suppose it does look pretty frightening.

I gave an awkward smile and poured batter into the mold.

After some time, he finished off all the bungeoppang that had been there and gave me an embarrassed smile.

“Ha-ha, I seem to have done nothing but eat like a madman.”

“Not at all. It’s nice to see someone enjoying the food so much.”

“It’s the first time I’ve tasted something this good since awakening… By the way, you’re a crafting-type Hunter. I didn’t realize.”

“Huh? Crafting-type?”

It was the first time I had ever heard of that.

But I couldn’t exactly say no, so I cautiously nodded.

“I’m Yoon Kang-hyuk, the head of the Security Management Team. I work on the first floor of the Management Bureau, so we might run into each other when you pass by later.”

“Ah, I’m Jeong Ha-neul. Nice to meet you.”

No wonder he had such an impressive physique…

He was a security officer working at the Management Bureau.

And not just any officer.

He was the team leader.

“Oh, it’s already this late. I should get going.”

After checking the time, he frowned and pulled out a large wad of money from his wallet before handing it to me.

“W-wait! This is way too much!”

“This is a token of my appreciation. I really enjoyed the food. Well, then.”

After giving me a light nod, he disappeared.

I stood there in a daze.

I slowly looked back and forth between the bills in my hand and the completely empty shelf before swallowing hard.

So, right now, this meant—

“Hunters can actually taste food?”

The dulling of their sense of taste that came as an inevitable side effect of awakening had supposedly never been cured by any item.

But the fact that Hunters could eat my bungeoppang meant…

“This is absolutely huge!”

Eureka.

Unbelievable.

This was freaking insane.

A calculator seemed to start whirring inside my head.

“All right, I need to rethink my sales strategy from the ground up!”

I hurriedly cleaned up the shop, shouted ‘Return,’ and went back home.

First, I needed to change my target customers.

Instead of non-Awakened people who happened to pass by near the Management Bureau, my target would be Awakened people—in other words, Hunters.

And I raised the price from one thousand won each to ten thousand won.

Since these weren’t ordinary bungeoppang but items, it was only natural that they should cost that much.

“I need to make a new price sign, and mark them as being for Awakened people…”

I hummed happily as I checked over the changes, but then an important thought suddenly occurred to me.

How was I supposed to advertise to Hunters that the bungeoppang from my shop were actually items?

“Stopping random passersby like I did today is way too inefficient…”

No matter how good a product was, it was useless if people didn’t know about it.

Hmm.

I flopped down onto my bed and thought about it.

There had to be a good way…

If they just eat it once, everyone will recognize its true value.

Wait.

If they only needed to eat it once…

A brilliant idea suddenly popped into my head.

A free tasting event at the Hunter Management Bureau.

Let’s do it.