Chicken Dreams Crushed by a Tiny Tummy
Chicken... chicken!
Item shipped to buyer.
The Hunter Association's ultra-high-speed delivery system dropped a small parcel right onto her office desk the instant payment cleared.
"Haa..."
Kim Hyunah let out a hollow laugh as she opened the box.
A cheap Lock & Lock container, clearly picked up from some market stall. Inside sat rows of plump, round loaves of Morning Bread.
"I must be more exhausted than I thought... buying something like this."
With a deep sigh, she picked up one loaf.
"Might as well try it."
The moment she brought it to her lips, a violent wave of buttery aroma hit her, making her hand freeze.
Even though it had been baked some time ago, the bread still held a strangely warm glow.
The heat felt fresh from the oven, stirring up an inexplicable anticipation.
Enchanted by the irresistible scent, Kim Hyunah took a bite.
Crunch!
The crisp crust shattered, filling her mouth with moist, tender crumb.
"Holy... this is Morning Bread..?"
Her eyes widened in shock.
No time to chew. It melted like cotton candy, releasing a subtle sweetness and nutty depth from the flour.
Nothing like any Morning Bread she'd ever tasted.
"Wha... huh...?"
The instant it slid down her throat, a warm energy bloomed from her stomach, surging through her veins to every corner of her body.
The crushing headache that had plagued her melted away like snow. Her heavy shoulders felt as light as feathers.
Her bloodshot eyes, strained from sleepless nights conquering the Tower, sparkled with renewed vitality.
"Wha... this is..."
In disbelief, Kim Hyunah touched her face with trembling hands.
It was real.
The fatigue— that horrific chronic exhaustion— had vanished dramatically.
"Insane..."
Grabbing the remaining loaf, she bolted out of the office.
In the hallway shuffled Kang Sujin, a guild member with dark circles drooping to her chin from awakener drug side effects, zombie-like.
"Hey, Sujin! Eat this quick!"
"...Huh? Team leader, my stomach's off, I can't eat bre—mmph?!"
Kim Hyunah shoved the Morning Bread straight into Sujin's mouth.
Sujin chewed and swallowed. Focus returned to her eyes, color flooded her corpse-pale face, and they bulged wide.
"Huh...? Team leader. What is this?! I suddenly feel so light! All that fatigue from before is gone!"
"...No way... it's real."
Watching Sujin's transformation, Kim Hyunah's mind raced.
This could be a match made in heaven.
Reducing fatigue this much with zero side effects, just from cheap Morning Bread? Unheard of.
Like a madwoman, she yanked out her phone and fired off texts to the seller, Baek Arang, at machine-gun speed.
Riiiing! Riiiing! Riiiing!
"Gyaah?!"
My phone buzzed nonstop like a maniac.
I checked the flood of texts and freaked out.
Dozens of messages. Right from the first deal, I'd landed a crazy buyer.
My tiger ears flattened in fear.
With shaky hands, I cautiously typed a reply. Ignoring her would just make things worse later.
I swallowed hard and replied.
Why's she acting like this?
Desperation seeped through the screen like it was touching my skin.
She must've felt the full effect of my bread...
Perfect. I could build my rep steadily like this.
A guild meant solid endorsement for my goods too.
"Two... two hundred?!"
My jaw dropped.
Not twenty— two hundred? Impossible right now.
My apartment oven maxed at ten per batch. Two hundred meant glued to it nonstop.
"Gasp... five hundred?"
I double-checked my eyes.
Not fifty— five million per loaf?!
My tail thrashed wildly as my brain calculator spun.
Five million times two hundred... one billion?!
Snap!
My whipping tail went rigid.
Flattened ears perked up. My heart pounded loud.
Capitalism's sweetness melted my brain.
I texted casually, playing it cool.
Can't look too desperate in a deal...
Read receipt, but no reply.
"Oh no... too pushy?"
She was dropping a billion easy, though... and probably hooked on my bread's effects...
My tail fluttered anxiously— then a text arrived.
Genuine emotion dripped from the words. Then the next ones nearly stopped my breath.
Ding!
A bank alert popped up from the Association-registered account.
"One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand... million... ten million... hundred million..?"
I nearly dropped my phone.
Way too big for a "token." My tail spun like a helicopter in glee.
I'd become someone getting 100 million won as a gesture.
"I've really made it..."
TS sucked, felt unfair... but earning unreal cash like this? Maybe not so bad.
Couldn't just sit. Had to keep the dopamine flowing.
"Chicken... definitely chicken... the most expensive one."
I ordered the priciest chicken without hesitation— normally too shaky to even look.
Top-tier bird plus sides pushed past 100,000 won, but who am I? Bread-earning billionaire girl.
Time for some luxury.
Ding-dong!
"Delivery!"
It was here! Chicken...!
Hearing the driver's footsteps fade, I cracked the door and reverently carried the holy vessel inside.
Plopping on the living room floor, I unpacked and faced the glistening deity.
The oily fried batter scent hit like a wave.
I grabbed a sturdy drumstick with both hands.
"Haa... haa..."
Crunch!
Juices exploded, flooding my mouth.
"Hnggh— so good..."
Bliss.
Tears of joy welled as I demolished two drumsticks in seconds.
Now wings.
Emboldened, I reached for the third piece.
Gurgle, urk.
"Huh...?"
A heavy fullness surged from my gut.
Stomach packed tight with chicken.
No room left.
I stared blankly at my belly.
Under the loose tee, my pale tummy poked out a bit.
"Ah..."
Forgot.
I'm not my old burly guy self— I'm a 15-year-old kid now.
But 15's prime eating age!
Why full after two drumsticks..?
"This... this can't be real...?"
Dazed, I eyed the chicken box.
Minus two drumsticks, still pristine.
Stomach screamed stop, but my soul wept for more.
100 million in the bank, 1 billion tomorrow— so what?
If my gut's only two-drumstick sized.
"Waaah! My chicken... I used to finish a whole bird..."
Money won, stomach lost.
I sniffled pathetically before the cooling luxury feast, cursing my puny gut.
My limp tail on the floor mirrored my mood.