October 22nd, 2023
A few days after the commotion.
I was serving hangover soup to the zombies who came in as soon as I opened the shop as usual, when I noticed a strange man pacing in front of the door. He was wearing a pressed cap and a thick jumper with the words ‘delivery’ written on it.
‘What is this?’
Ha-eun, grandmother, and I buy most of the things we need at the supermarket ourselves. We don’t even sell hangover soup for delivery, which means there’s no way a delivery man would come here. I stuck my hand in the apron pocket and opened the door. The delivery man, who was standing at the door, spotted him and exclaimed.
“Are you Cha Ui-jae who works at a hajang-guk soup?”
My eyes narrowed as I heard my name come out of a stranger’s mouth.
“…what’s the matter?”
The delivery man smiled brightly and pointed to the truck covered in black tents.
“A wreath has been delivered for Cha Ui-jae.”
“What?”
My eyes widened at the unthinkable. The delivery man took a large wreath from the truck and put it down in front of the door of the haejang-guk house. On the long pink cloth, the following words were written in cursive script.
‘The doors of HB Guild, a family, are always wide open -HB Guild’s HR Team Leader Han Min-jun’
Team leader Han is a person who occasionally came to Haejang-guk house and asked me to join a few times. A guild member once said that he was aiming for me. Of course, I refused everything on the pretext that I wasn’t an awakened, but he had persistently asked me if I would like to join the guild since the general selection process was good.
‘You’re going to promote the guild at a haejang-guk house… and eat it raw?’
Before I could look up, the delivery man took a second wreath out of the truck. How many wreaths did you get? I looked inside the truck with a bewildered expression. Fortunately, this seemed to be the last time.
The wreath taken out this time is the same size as the previous one, but there were a few flowers. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the delivery man stacked three bags of rice underneath it. This time, the wreath read.
‘Congratulations on your awakening, part-timer – Ranked 6th in Korea, HB Guild’s Honeybee’
My eyes shook wildly when I saw a sudden celebration of awakening. I pointed carefully at the rice bag.
“This… What’s this?”
“Ah, this is a rice wreath, sent by the HB Guild.”
For some reason, there was a hint of pride in the deliveryman’s voice. At a loss for words, I stared blankly at the two wreaths that had taken over the customers’ waiting area.
‘…What is this? New business interruption?’
Should I take a picture and report it this time? After all, I had met Jung-bin, his autograph was in the shop, and he had even learnt my name. I had nothing to lose if I didn’t hesitate to report it to the Awakening Management Bureau as a hunter.
Some paper and ballpoint pens were passed to me, as I was mesmerized in front of the attack of the wreath. The delivery man kindly pressed the ballpoint pen and said,
“We’re getting the recipient’s signature for confirmation. Please sign it.”
After eating the hangover soup, some of the hunters who escaped from zombies state felt a commotion and pulled their necks out of the door. And with that good vision, he had checked the words on the wreath, a bearded hunter shouted loudly.
“Part-timer! You’re awake?”
Fucking hell, I’m done. I clenched my teeth.
The haejang-guk house which had been engulfed in silence for a while, quickly became noisy again. Zombies came stampede to the door and clung to it and began to rumble.
“The part-timer woke up?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Wow, is that a wreath sent by Honeybee?”
“Look at Team Manager Han’s persistence and sent the wreath right away. What a poisonous bastard.”
“I see you even registered!”
“Wow, congratulations! What grade did you get?”
“Our part-timer was amazing even before waking up, so I’m guessing a B.”
Instead of congratulating him, the hunters tried to estimate his grade, but the conversation soon turned to the most important topic.
“…Wait a minute. If the part-timer joins the guild, who will run the haejang-guk house?”
“Wouldn’t the grandmother do it?”
“It’s been a while since she’s been working because her legs hurt.”
“You’re not closing the haejang-guk house, are you?”
“Why don’t you get a new part-time worker?”
Bang! Suddenly, the sound of something being slammed down silenced them.
“You bastards, don’t talk so loudly in front of a just-awakened person, don’t you know the rules of the hunter world!”
“That’s right, didn’t you see the news the other day, one of the new awakened just smashed a building, so let’s be careful, too much noise will make the new awakened uneasy.”
This is a bombshell. The loud voices dropped to a whisper, but the words came through all too clearly to my ears. A puffy voice could be heard clearly through the hushed atmosphere.
“…You’re a part-timer? We’re here to help you get settled in, that’s what seniors do.”
Hunter J, once everyone’s idol, has to put up with being treated like a newbie by the cranky juniors. I quickly scribble a line on the receipt to dismiss the delivery man who caused all the fuss. Hopefully, this will solve all the problems.
However, my hardships and adversity did not end so easily, so from the day after the wreath arrived, a crazy situation began to occur continuously as if waiting.
First. When I opened the door wide to ventilate the ingredients during preparation time after finishing my lunch hour business, something terrible was hanging in front of my eyes.
Part-timer’s wake-up celebration of a proud hangover soup restaurant
-All the regulars at Haejang-guk house-
I stared blankly at the colorful banner hanging in front of the haejang-guk house, between the electricity pole and the tree. I was going to check the names and faces of what kind of guys hung this up, but I can’t believe they hid behind an anonymous name called a regular at a hangover soup restaurant. It’s cowardly… I called Nexby for the first time in a long time.
“Hi Nexby, please search if it’s okay to remove the banner.”
-Search to see if the banner can be removed.
-Even if it is an illegal banner, if a member of the public removes it arbitrarily, they can be punished for property damage under the Criminal Code.
If that’s illegal, why am I being punished! I grabbed my head.
Second. A day after the banner incident, it was time to prepare the materials again.
‘…What happened?’
At 2:10 p.m., which is normally the time to put up the ‘If you’re here before 5pm, get lost’ –which doesn’t actually say this- sign and get ready for the evening business. However, I had to sit quietly at the counter without putting up a sign, let alone preparing for the business. Because,
“Okay, Hunters, please stand in a line, and show the new hunter the orderly behavior of our senior hunters!”
[Trait Pokerface (B) activates]
There was a very long line in front of me. A newcomer of the Crack Management Agency organized the line by waving a safety rod. Memories of the very distant past crept back. Before the crack day broke, a video of a popular idol’s fan signing event, which I saw on YouTube, looked roughly like this.
‘I’d rather kill a hundred monsters.’
I had to suffer from the illusion that I’d became an idol. The corners of my mouth twitched.
“I heard you awakened, part-timer. It’s a wake-up gift.”
A huge hunter like a Russian brown bear shyly offered a small pink box. Behind him, I could see a few more hunters with their heads drooping like enoki mushrooms. All of them looked excited as if they were expecting a reaction. I accepted the box with a soulless smile. On the wrapping paper, in a sentimental font, were the words.
‘Gift box for the newly awakened ♥’
It was the No. 1 product in the hunter category of the messenger gift menu that I looked at when I was bored. It’s just like a trick. I calmly unwrapped the ribbon and opened the lid. A card with a bouquet of flowers was placed in the center.
For you, my dear… Congratulations on your awakening.
‘Congratulations… I’m a little late.’
Congratulations on an awakening after 11 years. Tucked neatly under the message card was an entry-level potion kit. I took out a red potion the size of my finger and checked the information.
[Rehabilitation potion (C)
restore 10% of one’s physical strength when used]
Healing potions are a multi-purpose tool, and if I’d had one in the rift not too long ago, I could have fought like I had in the past. I tucked the potion into my inventory and bowed my head.
“Thank you for the gift.”
“Oh, no! Please continue to make delicious hangover soup.”
The Russian brown bear scratched its head and slowly fell back. Enoki mushroom hunters patted him on the back and cheered. The righteous man placed the box on the table that someone brought next to him. Before I knew it, the pile of gifts was piled up like a small hill. The next to arrive was Honeybee, her shiny blonde hair flying.
“Did you get the wreath? Yeah, it’s sitting out front. My HB guild sent it first, didn’t they?”
Dressed in a gilded leather jacket and sunglasses, she rested a gift wrapped in golden wrapping paper on the counter. Next to her stood a stern-looking man in a neat suit and glasses. He’s the team leader. He bowed, and Honeybee smiled.
“Congratulations on your awakening. This is a gift. We’re colleagues now.”
“Wreaths are enough, but you’re giving me gifts. It’s all right.”
I gave an exemplary answer as if I was reading a Korean book. Honestly, it was burdensome. Honeybee, however, waved her hands as if to open them quickly with a proud face.
“Oh, it’s not expensive, so go ahead and open it.”
I carefully tore off the shiny gold wrapping paper. Inside was…
‘Change Your Colour! Kraken Ink.’
“Change Your Colour! Volcanic Magma.’
“Change Your Colour! Queen Bee Royal Jelly’
This was the hunter’s hair dye advertised by Honeybee. High-grade hair dye made from dungeon byproducts for hunters with strong hair. The black color in particular contained 0.0001% kraken ink and cost a million won each!
Even though my wallet would never allow me to buy it, I was impressed with the advertising model who could afford it.
“Well, even a part-timer may want to change his image. Try it and let me know if you like it. I can always give you more. If you don’t, I’ll sell it at the tomato market.”
With that, I no longer had to go through three bottles of regular squid ink hair dye! It was like a halo shining behind Honeybee’s shiny blonde.
October 22nd, 2023
A few days after the commotion.
I was serving hangover soup to the zombies who came in as soon as I opened the shop as usual, when I noticed a strange man pacing in front of the door. He was wearing a pressed cap and a thick jumper with the words ‘delivery’ written on it.
‘What is this?’
Ha-eun, grandmother, and I buy most of the things we need at the supermarket ourselves. We don’t even sell hangover soup for delivery, which means there’s no way a delivery man would come here. I stuck my hand in the apron pocket and opened the door. The delivery man, who was standing at the door, spotted him and exclaimed.
“Are you Cha Ui-jae who works at a hajang-guk soup?”
My eyes narrowed as I heard my name come out of a stranger’s mouth.
“…what’s the matter?”
The delivery man smiled brightly and pointed to the truck covered in black tents.
“A wreath has been delivered for Cha Ui-jae.”
“What?”
My eyes widened at the unthinkable. The delivery man took a large wreath from the truck and put it down in front of the door of the haejang-guk house. On the long pink cloth, the following words were written in cursive script.
‘The doors of HB Guild, a family, are always wide open -HB Guild’s HR Team Leader Han Min-jun’
Team leader Han is a person who occasionally came to Haejang-guk house and asked me to join a few times. A guild member once said that he was aiming for me. Of course, I refused everything on the pretext that I wasn’t an awakened, but he had persistently asked me if I would like to join the guild since the general selection process was good.
‘You’re going to promote the guild at a haejang-guk house… and eat it raw?’
Before I could look up, the delivery man took a second wreath out of the truck. How many wreaths did you get? I looked inside the truck with a bewildered expression. Fortunately, this seemed to be the last time.
The wreath taken out this time is the same size as the previous one, but there were a few flowers. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the delivery man stacked three bags of rice underneath it. This time, the wreath read.
‘Congratulations on your awakening, part-timer – Ranked 6th in Korea, HB Guild’s Honeybee’
My eyes shook wildly when I saw a sudden celebration of awakening. I pointed carefully at the rice bag.
“This… What’s this?”
“Ah, this is a rice wreath, sent by the HB Guild.”
For some reason, there was a hint of pride in the deliveryman’s voice. At a loss for words, I stared blankly at the two wreaths that had taken over the customers’ waiting area.
‘…What is this? New business interruption?’
Should I take a picture and report it this time? After all, I had met Jung-bin, his autograph was in the shop, and he had even learnt my name. I had nothing to lose if I didn’t hesitate to report it to the Awakening Management Bureau as a hunter.
Some paper and ballpoint pens were passed to me, as I was mesmerized in front of the attack of the wreath. The delivery man kindly pressed the ballpoint pen and said,
“We’re getting the recipient’s signature for confirmation. Please sign it.”
After eating the hangover soup, some of the hunters who escaped from zombies state felt a commotion and pulled their necks out of the door. And with that good vision, he had checked the words on the wreath, a bearded hunter shouted loudly.
“Part-timer! You’re awake?”
Fucking hell, I’m done. I clenched my teeth.
The haejang-guk house which had been engulfed in silence for a while, quickly became noisy again. Zombies came stampede to the door and clung to it and began to rumble.
“The part-timer woke up?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Wow, is that a wreath sent by Honeybee?”
“Look at Team Manager Han’s persistence and sent the wreath right away. What a poisonous bastard.”
“I see you even registered!”
“Wow, congratulations! What grade did you get?”
“Our part-timer was amazing even before waking up, so I’m guessing a B.”
Instead of congratulating him, the hunters tried to estimate his grade, but the conversation soon turned to the most important topic.
“…Wait a minute. If the part-timer joins the guild, who will run the haejang-guk house?”
“Wouldn’t the grandmother do it?”
“It’s been a while since she’s been working because her legs hurt.”
“You’re not closing the haejang-guk house, are you?”
“Why don’t you get a new part-time worker?”
Bang! Suddenly, the sound of something being slammed down silenced them.
“You bastards, don’t talk so loudly in front of a just-awakened person, don’t you know the rules of the hunter world!”
“That’s right, didn’t you see the news the other day, one of the new awakened just smashed a building, so let’s be careful, too much noise will make the new awakened uneasy.”
This is a bombshell. The loud voices dropped to a whisper, but the words came through all too clearly to my ears. A puffy voice could be heard clearly through the hushed atmosphere.
“…You’re a part-timer? We’re here to help you get settled in, that’s what seniors do.”
Hunter J, once everyone’s idol, has to put up with being treated like a newbie by the cranky juniors. I quickly scribble a line on the receipt to dismiss the delivery man who caused all the fuss. Hopefully, this will solve all the problems.
However, my hardships and adversity did not end so easily, so from the day after the wreath arrived, a crazy situation began to occur continuously as if waiting.
First. When I opened the door wide to ventilate the ingredients during preparation time after finishing my lunch hour business, something terrible was hanging in front of my eyes.
Part-timer’s wake-up celebration of a proud hangover soup restaurant
-All the regulars at Haejang-guk house-
I stared blankly at the colorful banner hanging in front of the haejang-guk house, between the electricity pole and the tree. I was going to check the names and faces of what kind of guys hung this up, but I can’t believe they hid behind an anonymous name called a regular at a hangover soup restaurant. It’s cowardly… I called Nexby for the first time in a long time.
“Hi Nexby, please search if it’s okay to remove the banner.”
-Search to see if the banner can be removed.
-Even if it is an illegal banner, if a member of the public removes it arbitrarily, they can be punished for property damage under the Criminal Code.
If that’s illegal, why am I being punished! I grabbed my head.
Second. A day after the banner incident, it was time to prepare the materials again.
‘…What happened?’
At 2:10 p.m., which is normally the time to put up the ‘If you’re here before 5pm, get lost’ –which doesn’t actually say this- sign and get ready for the evening business. However, I had to sit quietly at the counter without putting up a sign, let alone preparing for the business. Because,
“Okay, Hunters, please stand in a line, and show the new hunter the orderly behavior of our senior hunters!”
[Trait Pokerface (B) activates]
There was a very long line in front of me. A newcomer of the Crack Management Agency organized the line by waving a safety rod. Memories of the very distant past crept back. Before the crack day broke, a video of a popular idol’s fan signing event, which I saw on YouTube, looked roughly like this.
‘I’d rather kill a hundred monsters.’
I had to suffer from the illusion that I’d became an idol. The corners of my mouth twitched.
“I heard you awakened, part-timer. It’s a wake-up gift.”
A huge hunter like a Russian brown bear shyly offered a small pink box. Behind him, I could see a few more hunters with their heads drooping like enoki mushrooms. All of them looked excited as if they were expecting a reaction. I accepted the box with a soulless smile. On the wrapping paper, in a sentimental font, were the words.
‘Gift box for the newly awakened ♥’
It was the No. 1 product in the hunter category of the messenger gift menu that I looked at when I was bored. It’s just like a trick. I calmly unwrapped the ribbon and opened the lid. A card with a bouquet of flowers was placed in the center.
For you, my dear… Congratulations on your awakening.
‘Congratulations… I’m a little late.’
Congratulations on an awakening after 11 years. Tucked neatly under the message card was an entry-level potion kit. I took out a red potion the size of my finger and checked the information.
[Rehabilitation potion (C)
restore 10% of one’s physical strength when used]
Healing potions are a multi-purpose tool, and if I’d had one in the rift not too long ago, I could have fought like I had in the past. I tucked the potion into my inventory and bowed my head.
“Thank you for the gift.”
“Oh, no! Please continue to make delicious hangover soup.”
The Russian brown bear scratched its head and slowly fell back. Enoki mushroom hunters patted him on the back and cheered. The righteous man placed the box on the table that someone brought next to him. Before I knew it, the pile of gifts was piled up like a small hill. The next to arrive was Honeybee, her shiny blonde hair flying.
“Did you get the wreath? Yeah, it’s sitting out front. My HB guild sent it first, didn’t they?”
Dressed in a gilded leather jacket and sunglasses, she rested a gift wrapped in golden wrapping paper on the counter. Next to her stood a stern-looking man in a neat suit and glasses. He’s the team leader. He bowed, and Honeybee smiled.
“Congratulations on your awakening. This is a gift. We’re colleagues now.”
“Wreaths are enough, but you’re giving me gifts. It’s all right.”
I gave an exemplary answer as if I was reading a Korean book. Honestly, it was burdensome. Honeybee, however, waved her hands as if to open them quickly with a proud face.
“Oh, it’s not expensive, so go ahead and open it.”
I carefully tore off the shiny gold wrapping paper. Inside was…
‘Change Your Colour! Kraken Ink.’
“Change Your Colour! Volcanic Magma.’
“Change Your Colour! Queen Bee Royal Jelly’
This was the hunter’s hair dye advertised by Honeybee. High-grade hair dye made from dungeon byproducts for hunters with strong hair. The black color in particular contained 0.0001% kraken ink and cost a million won each!
Even though my wallet would never allow me to buy it, I was impressed with the advertising model who could afford it.
“Well, even a part-timer may want to change his image. Try it and let me know if you like it. I can always give you more. If you don’t, I’ll sell it at the tomato market.”
With that, I no longer had to go through three bottles of regular squid ink hair dye! It was like a halo shining behind Honeybee’s shiny blonde.
