Chapter 34
Cha Mu-jin seemed almost convinced that Hong Man-gi was somehow absorbing or copying the abilities of dead Hunters.
Hong Man-gi remained silent for a moment.
His thoughts moved quickly.
How should he answer?
There was too much circumstantial evidence to deny everything.
But he also could not tell Cha Mu-jin the truth.
After thinking for a moment, Hong Man-gi finally spoke.
"Combat is about survival, Team Leader Cha."
"If you want to survive, you have to watch, learn, and copy. There are countless combat videos online, and when I joined parties as a low-rank Hunter, I watched how other Hunters moved and adapted those things in my own way. When you're fighting desperately, maybe hidden potential you didn't know about can awaken too."
Hong Man-gi tried to move past the situation with a vague answer.
It was not exactly a direct lie.
However, it cleverly hid the core of the truth.
Cha Mu-jin did not seem satisfied, but he did not continue questioning him.
He slowly stood up.
"Understood. For now, I'll choose to believe what you've said, Hunter Hong Man-gi."
He walked toward the entrance of the food cart.
Then he suddenly looked back and left one final warning.
"Actually, the Inspection Department isn't the only group watching you. There may be higher-ranking people inside the Association, or perhaps forces outside the Association."
His words carried a deep and cold warning.
Cha Mu-jin looked directly into Hong Man-gi's eyes and continued.
"They won't care about procedures or regulations the way we do. To them, you may be an extremely interesting 'research subject,' or someone with high 'use value.' I'm warning you in advance as the Team Leader of the Hunter Association's Inspection Department."
After saying that, Cha Mu-jin quietly disappeared into the darkness.
[Jingle]
The sound of the bell remained inside the food cart like an echo.
Hong Man-gi stood alone and stared blankly at the entrance where Cha Mu-jin had disappeared.
The Association's internal surveillance.
And the existence of unknown outside forces.
'This might become annoying....'
Hong Man-gi realized that he might be in a far more complicated and dangerous situation than he had imagined.
But then,
'So what?'
Hong Man-gi turned off all the old light bulbs inside the food cart.
'Talking all that useless nonsense... Tch.'
Growl.
Perhaps he was slightly hungry.
Hong Man-gi rubbed his stomach.
* * *
Unlike the darkness that had swept through the previous night, the sky the next morning was clear.
Hong Man-gi headed toward the food cart a little earlier than usual.
Lee Yu-han walked beside him.
He looked somewhat nervous, but could not hide his excitement.
Today was the first time the two of them would shop for ingredients together.
"Hunter Hong Man-gi, where are we shopping today? The fish market? Or maybe the Hunter-only market near the Type-C dungeon around Gyeryong Station?"
Lee Yu-han asked with curious eyes.
There was obvious admiration in his voice for the Hunter-only market, somewhere he could never have dreamed of entering back when he lived as an F-rank Hunter.
Hong Man-gi chuckled.
"No. Today we're just going to the large supermarket nearby. Rather than special ingredients, I want to strengthen our basic menu a little more."
"Ah! Yes!"
Lee Yu-han looked slightly disappointed, but quickly nodded.
He trusted that Hong Man-gi always had a reason behind his decisions.
"The weather's really nice today."
"Right?"
The two walked together toward a large food supermarket.
Even though it was still early, the spacious and clean store was already fairly crowded with shoppers.
While pushing a cart through the fresh food section, Lee Yu-han carefully spoke to Hong Man-gi.
"Um, Hunter Hong Man-gi. Are you planning to keep running only the food cart forever?"
The question was sudden, but serious.
Hong Man-gi stopped pushing the cart and looked at Lee Yu-han.
"Hmm? Why are you suddenly asking that?"
"Well, I was just thinking. There will be rainy days and snowy days. A food cart is affected heavily by the weather, and business hours are mostly limited to evenings. I thought maybe it would be better if we had a more stable place."
Lee Yu-han carefully shared his thoughts.
His words seemed to carry both concern for Hong Man-gi and a desire to see the food cart continue for a long time.
'Hmm....'
Hong Man-gi thought about what Lee Yu-han had said.
He was not wrong.
The food cart definitely had limits.
Weather restrictions.
Time restrictions.
And now, there was also the variable of the Association watching him.
Just like Cha Mu-jin had warned, the Association could eventually use inspection or regulations as an excuse to make it difficult for him to continue operating the food cart.
'A shop....'
Hong Man-gi had vaguely thought about it before.
A larger and more comfortable place where he could serve more kinds of food and provide comfort and rest to even more people.
The only problem was that he did not know whether the souls of Hunters heading to the afterlife would still be able to find him there.
Because of that, he could not make a careless decision.
There was also the immediate problem of money.
He did not have enough to rent a proper shop.
And there were still practical limitations from having lived as an F-rank Hunter, even though he was now D-rank.
So he had never created a detailed plan.
"A shop would be nice."
Hong Man-gi muttered.
"If we got one near a dungeon... it would cost quite a lot. There's no way I can afford it with the money I have right now."
At that moment, Lee Yu-han's eyes lit up.
"Hunter Hong Man-gi! Then what about going into a dungeon?"
"A dungeon?"
"Yes! Once Mr. Kang Jae-min returns, the three of us can challenge a proper dungeon again! If we enter another BX-rank or higher dungeon like last time and get good mana stones or items, couldn't we sell them and use the money to open a shop? I'm not sure how much help I'll be, but...."
Lee Yu-han's suggestion was fairly convincing.
The profit, items, and experience they had gained from clearing BX-01 could definitely serve as a foundation for their next challenge.
And they had Kang Jae-min, a reliable B-rank damage dealer.
Hong Man-gi himself had grown considerably.
Even Lee Yu-han was developing.
With the teamwork of the three, clearing an even higher-ranked dungeon might not be impossible.
Most importantly, Hong Man-gi himself had gained another new ability.
'Yeah. That's one possibility.'
Hong Man-gi nodded.
Even just to avoid the Association's interference, having a stable location was becoming increasingly necessary.
And if they could earn that place by clearing dungeons, they could achieve both Hunter growth and money for the shop at the same time.
"Good. Let's do it."
Hong Man-gi spoke decisively.
"In a few days, once Kang Jae-min returns, the three of us will team up again. Our target will be a BX-0 rank dungeon. We'll make a big score there and get ourselves a small shop."
"Gulp! BX-0 rank is right below an A-rank dungeon! I'm excited and terrified, but yes! Let's do it!"
A bright smile spread across Lee Yu-han's face.
Now that they had a new goal, his eyes shone even more brightly.
The two began pushing the cart again.
Their steps felt much lighter and happier than before.
A new goal, opening their own shop.
That alone brought fresh energy into their hearts.
* * *
A while later,
the two finished shopping and left the supermarket checkout area.
They sat down in a small cafeteria near the entrance.
With one hot coffee and one cold coffee in front of them, Hong Man-gi began thinking about that evening's menu.
"Hmm. We've bought most of the basic ingredients. What should we make today? Yesterday we served ramen to Mr. Park Si-hoon, so if another spirit comes today, I'd like to try something different."
"You also do normal business when ordinary people or Hunters come, right?"
"Yeah. For them, it's literally just business."
"Then Hunter Hong Man-gi, have you thought about developing another new menu?"
Lee Yu-han asked after taking a sip of coffee.
"A new menu? Like what?"
"Well, if we're going to open a proper shop soon, maybe we need something aimed at younger people too. You know, younger Hunters in the MZ generation."
Lee Yu-han hesitated briefly, then his eyes sparkled.
"What about 'Mala Chicken Skewer Topping Tteokbokki'?"
"Mala chicken skewer... tteokbokki?"
Hong Man-gi tilted his head at the unfamiliar combination.
"Yes!"
Lee Yu-han enthusiastically explained.
"Mala is really popular among younger Hunters these days! But mala tang and mala xiang guo are getting a little ordinary, and they're also inconvenient to sell from a food cart. So we take chicken skewers covered in mala seasoning and place them on top of the delicious soupy tteokbokki we were already planning to sell!"
He spoke passionately while gesturing with his hands as if the food were already in front of them.
"Think about it, Hunter Hong Man-gi! Spicy-sweet soupy tteokbokki with chewy rice cakes and fish cakes, then soft chicken skewers coated in that numbing, addictive mala flavor. It would look amazing too! Imagine a huge chicken skewer sitting right on top of bright red tteokbokki sauce. People could take photos and post them on social media...."
"Yu-han."
"Yes?"
"You're secretly quite a foodie, aren't you?"
"Not secretly. I'm a complete foodie."
Hong Man-gi listened and imagined the dish in his head.
'Tteokbokki... that's one of the foundations of a food cart. We can keep the basics.'
'Mala chicken skewers... that definitely fits current trends. Spicy, sweet, salty, and numbing. Young people would probably love something that intense.'
'The appearance? Chicken skewers on top of tteokbokki. That's fresh and eye-catching. If people post photos on social media, it could advertise itself....'
'And in terms of practicality, we can prepare the chicken skewers in advance. We were already planning to make tteokbokki anyway, and it isn't difficult. Cooking time would be short, food cost should be manageable, and the ingredients are easy to store.'
The more Hong Man-gi thought about it, the more specific and realistic Lee Yu-han's idea seemed.
It considered not only flavor, but current trends and operational efficiency too.
"Wow, Yu-han. You actually have talent for this kind of thing."
Hong Man-gi said in admiration.
"Hehe. Like I said, I'm a complete foodie. I just like eating, so I think about different combinations sometimes."
Lee Yu-han smiled shyly.
"No, this is seriously a good idea."
Hong Man-gi made a quick decision.
"Good. This will be tonight's menu. 'Mala Chicken Skewer Topping Tteokbokki'!"
He immediately began thinking about the ingredients they would need.
'Rice cakes, fish cakes, green onion, and onion are already bought. Chicken thigh meat, mala sauce, skewers... and....'
Then he said,
"Yu-han, sorry, but we're going back inside the supermarket. We need to buy chicken, mala sauce, and a few other things."
"Yes! Sounds good! I'm really good at grilling chicken skewers too!"
"How?"
"I worked a part-time job doing it before. Hehe."
Lee Yu-han answered confidently.
His face was filled with excitement over developing a new menu and pride that his idea had been accepted.
The two put down their coffees and headed back into the supermarket.
Their steps felt incredibly light, filled with hope for both the new menu and their future shop.
