About Miracles (3)

"Thank you. Thank you…… I don't even know what's going on, but I truly thank you. I mean it."

I had been standing there, smiling for a long while, when the old man came up to me.

Every word of thanks that followed was packed with genuine feeling.

The old woman, catching on a beat late, was no different. Regardless of age, the way they both bowed their heads in heartfelt gratitude was, to me, a warm greeting all its own.

And perhaps that greeting became yet another small miracle for me.

Ding—

……Huh.

I had earned titles one after another. That had never happened in my previous life. It was astonishing.

But what mattered most to me here was not the rewards.

With a soft rustle of will, I dismissed the notifications with a glance and set about fixing both of them in my eyes — those two who had come to look so very much alike. Just looking at them was enough to fill me with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠quiet satisfaction.

A short while later, hoping to spare them any further sense of obligation, I offered a bit more explanation.

"If you go into the kitchen, there's still some stew left."

"That precious stuff?"

"Precious? Not at all."

"No. After it gave us a miracle like that…… how could it not be precious?"

"Haha. The miracle was one you two made yourselves. You have to eat every last bit of the leftover stew. You must. Understood? That's how the effect lasts all the way through."

"……The effect."

"Yes. The effect."

"I understand."

"Then we're good. Heh. And if you run out, just say the word again."

"After something like this, how am I supposed to ask that of you?"

"Come on — you really should. It's best if you keep eating it for a while."

"How could we accept something like this…… No, before that, what even is this…… Heavens…… Heh heh."

The old man was uncomfortable with the weight of it. But he did not refuse. It was not something he could refuse — not when it was his wife, not himself, who was the one affected.

"Sir. This is the important time. Don't worry about anything else — just make sure you take care of her meals."

"……Thank you. I'll keep my mouth shut about it."

"Haha. Good."

As he spoke, the old man lifted his index finger to his lips — the quiet promise to say nothing. That was him, all right.

Sharp as ever.

As if I wouldn't understand what he meant: that he would keep tightly sealed any word about the miracle my cooking had worked. It was his own way of looking out for me.

Truth be told, I wouldn't have minded if he went around talking about it.

Who would believe him? And even if they did, it wouldn't matter.

Even if someone tried to use my ability for something underhanded, I wouldn't care. I was confident I could stop it with my own hands. In this world, with no hunters but me, I prided myself on being able to handle any ordinary threat. That was why I had done what I did in the first place. If the secret came out someday, I would deal with it then.

"As for how to repay you……"

"Repay me? I did this because I was glad the two of you were here like this. That's all."

"Then aren't we the only ones who benefit?"

"That's right. It's far too good a thing for just us……"

"Then that's enough."

Even while we talked, the old man kept hold of my hand.

After being held there for a long time, I finally stepped outside the house.

Whew……

Only then did I feel how thoroughly drained I was. My body sagged, heavy and spent. Of course it did — from prepping the ingredients, reinforcing them, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all the way through finishing the dish, the process had been long. I simply hadn't shown it, not wanting to make them feel burdened. Even for me, it hadn't been easy.

"Heh heh heh……"

And yet, even so, laughter kept spilling from my lips. The walk home felt good. No — I should say the whole world felt good. My chest was warm.

Nice. So nice.

Ever since awakening, I had seemed to live at my ease. But in one corner of my heart, a loneliness had always remained. A regret carried over from my previous life, you could call it. Lost comrades. Long hardship. Hunger. Unhappiness. All of it had been packed tight into my chest.

Trauma, or being bound to the past — either way, it doesn't matter.

I had thought it a regret I would carry for life. A knot I would never undo, no matter how much I smiled and chattered and found joy in running the stall. That heavy ache lodged deep in my chest……

……It was so good. Good enough to think about again and again.

In the moment I had brought warmth to those two, it had clearly faded. The elderly couple might have believed they were the ones who received a gift. But perhaps the one who received the gift was me. That moment had been such a wonderful present.

"Good. So good."

So of course I had to laugh. I could go home full of happiness, again and again. It was the day I unraveled one small piece of a regret I had carried for so many years.

"What, something good happen?"

"There is, is there?"

Jinwoo had been watching me with open curiosity — maybe because I'd been humming ever since we opened for business, and that struck him as odd.

"What is it? If it's something good, tell me too."

"Even if I told you, you wouldn't get it."

"Aw, that's mean."

"Hey now. Mean? Knowing would only get you hurt."

To understand this, you'd have to live through the apocalypse. And telling someone to go through that was the same as telling them to die. Of course he wouldn't know. No — he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shouldn't know.

Even so, Jinwoo had sharp instincts in other directions.

"Ah! Is it because those two came by for the first time in a while?"

"Half right."

"Aw, that sounds fully right."

"Let's say it is."

Jinwoo was correct. The two of them had been there since early dawn.

I nearly jumped — they were standing there before I'd even opened the truck.

Before I could open the door, they had handed me a carefully wrapped bundle.

"Sirs, it's cold — you could have come later……"

"Heh heh. Then we might have missed you."

"When you get old, you don't sleep much anyway. And for some reason I feel full of energy, so it's fine."

"I'm glad. But this is……"

"Jujube tea."

"My wife started simmering it hard the moment you left."

"She didn't just simmer it. He helped at her side the whole time. Kept saying his hands couldn't get hurt, and sat there trimming the jujubes for ages, you know?"

"Ahem……"

"I'll drink it gratefully."

Two thermoses of jujube tea, made by their own hands. Carefully prepared jujube tea. I sipped it. With every swallow, a pleasant warmth followed.

"That stuff — you really won't give me even one sip?"

"No. Absolutely not."

"So mean!"

"Heh. I already poured you a coffee today, didn't I?"

"Tch."

"You don't seem to appreciate how precious this is. Should I take it back?"

"I'm sorry, hyung-nim!"

"That's more like it. Heh."

For the record, I hadn't even touched coffee today — I'd gone straight for the tea. The tea was hot. So hot it felt like it burned in my chest. It was good.

"Ahh……"

Along with the jujube tea, the two of them had kept saying this wasn't enough, that I should just name anything I needed. But for me, this jujube tea was repayment enough.

"Welcome!"

"Could we get a bowl?"

"Of course!"

And so today's business began. The first customers were the two elders.

Time flowed by quickly. Before I knew it, a week had passed. The weather was fine, business was good, and the days kept turning out so well that I couldn't stop smiling.

Customers kept increasing — and so did the work. Handing out waiting tickets. Prepping the food. Roasting beans. There was a lot to do.

Do I really need to hire help?

What I had once mentioned as a joke — putting a part-timer on the food truck — was swelling into a real concern.

I have to make a choice.

There was too much work. Even for me, this pace wouldn't hold. If I wanted to keep serving customers food of the same quality every day, I needed more hands soon.

And it wasn't only about manpower.

I started takeout as a stopgap, but……

What I truly wanted was a restaurant. Even this food truck was only a step along the way. In that sense—

Time to expand both the staff and the shop.

The next stage after the food truck. It was time to start thinking seriously about securing a storefront for a real food business.

Money's not the problem.

Fortunately, I had enough capital to call it ammunition. Roughly five hundred customers came every day — the absolute limit of the prep work I could handle alone. Each of them took one cup ramen at three thousand won. Daily sales sat around 1.5 million won.

Subtract the food truck rental and the higher-than-expected cost of ingredients, and what was left for me was about eight hundred thousand won. That came to roughly 24 million won in net profit a month.

Whoa. Looking at it like this, it's actually insane.

Monthly net profit in the twenty-millions. That figure included my own labor cost for grinding day and night without rest — and even so, it was an amount that made me click my tongue in disbelief.

With this kind of money…… hmm……

A few more months of saving and I could cover the deposit easily enough. And I had already registered the food truck as a business.

It's nearly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠three months in — loans should start coming through, right?

With daily sales on record, a business loan was within reach. I still qualified as a small business owner, so with any luck I could secure one at a decent rate.

Put my own money toward the deposit, take out a partial loan for remodeling…… It'll be tight, but not impossible.

The question now was where to put the shop. When I first started the food truck, I hadn't given the location much thought, but—

If possible, I'd like it near this food truck.

This place had become something of a nest for me. The thought that it would be good to stay here only grew more certain.

"Take this."

"Oh, come on. You really don't have to keep bringing me things."

"Hyung-nim. If you don't need it, then just one cup for me too……"

"Take your coffee and shut it!"

"Tch…… Just give me the waiting tickets. I'll hand them out today."

"……Tch. Clever little— Half a cup for you today too?"

"Heh heh. See? I knew you'd give me some. Tickets, hurry. With half a cup."

"I can't win against this kid. I really can't."

"Only just figured that out? Whoops — I'm off."

The regulars who came so diligently. The easy affection that clung between them. All of it held onto me with stubborn warmth.

"Heh heh. Nice to see. Anyway, take it already."

"I still have some from yesterday. Well — he took half of that, but still."

"So you should accept it. Heh heh."

"Then I'll drink it gratefully."

"Do that. And is there anything you need?"

"If you keep asking me what I need, I won't even take the jujube tea next time."

"Ahem…… Fine. Fine. Stubborn one."

"I understand how you feel, but as you can see, business is going extremely well. I keep wishing every day could be like today."

"Is that so? Heh heh. I just worry a young fellow like you is working himself too hard."

"It's not hard work. Heh."

"Then that's settled. Two bowls later, as usual."

"Yes! I'll make them especially good! See you when we open."

"Heh heh. Thank you."

"I'm the one who should be thanking you!"

And it wasn't only the regulars.

"One bowl for me!"

"One for me too! Spicy today!"

"Yes! Order received! Spicy cup ramen here. And this is the black garlic stamina ramen."

Customers who came clutching their precious waiting tickets. There was no way they weren't precious too.

Every one of them is.

Each and every person was a good customer to me. Someone might say I was playing at being too kind, but—

Try living through the apocalypse for a month. No — just ten days.

I would swear to it. A reality where survival is urgent every second. The struggles and arguments that break out inside it. One wrong step and you're off a cliff. Live that apocalypse life for even ten days, and your values change. The happiness found in peace that seems like nothing at all. A single "thank you," a single "I'm grateful." Every one of those becomes precious. I knew that the way you know a truth.

I'll have to do prep again after closing today. And before we open, I should at least hire a part-timer. Maybe talk to Jinwoo first?

So I would keep going — if only to hold onto this happiness. To protect it. I kept the ramen bubbling, and kept my attention on everything around me.

Huh……?

And something caught on that sense of mine.

Who are those people? Well, well — Boss Bang is out there.

Strangers mixed with a familiar face. The one who grated most on my nerves was, of course, Boss Bang. He must have known I was looking, yet he quietly averted his eyes. Instead, he was busily guiding the unfamiliar people toward me.

Hmm…… All of them dressed pretty sharp.

The strangers were all in suits. Suits — clothes the owners around here, for whom mobility mattered, rarely wore. Meaning they weren't people from this side of the business. Boss Bang, looking uncharacteristically friendly, was pointing around at various places as if giving a tour, while a few of the suited men had pulled out notebooks and were slowly writing something down.

Shall I listen in on what they're saying……?

Softly, carefully — without stopping my cooking — I turned my ears toward them.