Chapter 42. The First Hero (36)
Just as Malko had hoped, nothing terrible happened.
When Hae-reun saw Dean miming eating, she raised both arms and made a big circle over her head.
A few of the children exchanged looks.
Then several of them ran over.
"Uh... aren't we betraying them?"
"What betrayal? We're just here to eat."
"But... if we do this..."
Pien had appeared without Malko noticing.
"Are you trying to use 'betrayal' as an excuse because you're not actually confident about eating?"
Malko immediately bristled.
"I'm confident! I can eat quite a lot!"
"Then that's fine."
Pien glanced at Dean.
"But Dean has to pay if he wants to eat."
"I can eat a lot too!"
"Unfortunately, I only need one big eater, and Malko already has that role. There's nothing for you to do."
Malko's shoulders drooped.
If Dean hadn't come, I'd still be panicking over whether I should keep eating or not.
He even got permission from Director Hae-reun, so everyone knows it's okay...
His thoughts kept circling.
How could he help Dean?
What could he do?
In the end, Malko made a decision.
"If I don't eat, will you let Dean eat instead?"
"Hey! That's not okay."
Dean immediately stepped forward.
"What do I have to do if I want to eat too?"
"Dean!"
Malko was frustrated.
Dean didn't even realize Malko was trying to help him.
Instead, he stubbornly made things harder.
Pien tilted her head.
"What do you think would make me let you eat?"
Malko had expected her to flatly refuse.
Now that she'd asked instead, his head went blank.
He needed to say something.
Anything.
But nothing came to mind.
Dean stepped in again before he could think.
"I'll serve customers."
"We will too!"
"Me too!"
"I don't know what they're selling, but I want to try the food at the new restaurant!"
The moment Dean spoke, the other children piled on.
They were curious about the Rice Ball Guild's restaurant and clearly wanted to eat there.
Pien smiled.
"Will you be satisfied with just food?"
"Yes!"
A few Rice Ball Guild members suddenly stood up.
"Wait. What happens to the wages we were supposed to earn?"
The atmosphere changed instantly.
The children froze.
Those guild members were supposed to handle serving.
Pien lowered her voice so only they could hear.
"If you don't work today, I'll still pay you half your daily wage right now."
Some accepted immediately.
Others did not.
"Not taking it?"
"I'll agree for eighty percent."
"You can see that some people already accepted half, can't you?"
"If you don't give me eighty percent, I'm working."
"Fine. Then I'll assume you're working."
"Wait!"
The guild member's face twisted.
This wasn't what he'd expected.
He had just lost a chance to earn easy money while taking the day off.
Pien didn't take back things she'd already said.
If someone wanted her to change her offer, they needed to bring something worth changing it for.
None of the guild members had anything like that.
"You said you'd serve, right?"
"Yes!"
"Then I'll give you food and pay you according to how much work you do."
"Waaaah!"
"Pretty noona is the best!"
"Hey..."
Pien raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? What's with that expression? Are you saying I'm not pretty?"
"N-No! You're pretty!"
As the children started praising Pien's appearance, Malko became curious.
He whispered to Dean.
"Does she look pretty to you? She looks scary to me."
"I think she'd be pretty if she took off her glasses."
"Really?"
Pien clapped once.
"Malko and Dean, follow me. Pretty noona will explain what you'll be doing."
"You said I don't need to come?"
Park Seokdu frowned.
"This is Rice Ball Guild business."
Pien's face floated through his mind.
That look of hers, like she saw everything from above, filled his thoughts.
"Let's see how well she does."
They were opening the restaurant today.
Results would show soon enough.
As Park Seokdu walked through the crowd, he overheard people talking about Wild Pig Kalguksu.
"Did you try the new menu? I don't know how Wild Pig Soup tastes that different just because they put kalguksu noodles in it."
"Really? That different?"
"Of course. You won't understand until you try it."
"Still, isn't it basically just Wild Pig Soup with boiled noodles added?"
"I'm telling you, it's different."
"You said the same thing when you ate bread with Wild Pig Soup."
"That was different too."
"Then you're basically saying the noodles are different, but not in some completely new way."
"No! I'm telling you it's strange! And delicious!"
"Okay, okay. Why are you getting angry? You're listening because you're curious too. It'll be your first time eating it as well."
"Don't eat it then!"
"What? We came here to eat."
"I said don't eat it!"
"Fine. Then there's something else that caught my attention earlier."
"What?"
Park Seokdu, who had been listening from nearby, became curious too.
Almost as if enchanted, the two men turned away from the Original Wild Pig Soup restaurant.
They headed toward Pien's dumpling shop instead.
"Waaaaah!"
"How many plates is that already?!"
"How good are those dumplings?"
"One more dumpling!"
"I ordered ages ago! When's mine coming?!"
They're selling dumplings?
Park Seokdu entered the shop.
Only then did he realize the kid who bragged about eating really could eat.
Ten empty plates were stacked in front of him.
And Malko still looked hungry.
He kept eating dumplings happily.
"Hello. Did you come to eat too, Guild Master?"
"Huh? Why are you kids here?"
"We're only serving today."
"Why?"
Dean looked confused by Park Seokdu's expression.
Why is he asking that?
After thinking for a moment, Dean realized they were talking past each other.
There wasn't much he could do about that.
So he answered honestly.
"Pretty noona told us to."
"She isn't pretty. She's sharp-faced and vicious."
Pien spoke without looking up.
"You still didn't say I'm ugly, Guild Master Park Seokdu."
"You knew how to cook?"
Park Seokdu found the sight unfamiliar.
Pien's hands were covered in flour.
She was rolling dumpling wrappers.
A filling with a high meat ratio went inside.
Then she shaped them into round dumplings.
The finished dumplings went into steamers.
