One Table (1)
Yujin's situation had been resolved without a hitch.
Yuri had woken up, and the Association President had backed down without so much as a peep.
The revenge had been a complete success. She'd leaked the recordings to every journalist she knew and handed in her resignation.
It was the typical fate of a whistleblower. No organization on earth would leave someone who'd blown the whistle from the inside alone. The one silver lining, if you could call it that, was that Yujin was an A-rank hunter — she had plenty of ways to make a living.
Once everything was over, she'd cried for a long time, thanking me for saving her only little sister.
My own eyes had welled up without me meaning them to. I had a little sister of my own, so I could guess just how much Yujin had been through.
I sincerely hoped her future would be a bright one.
And so everything had been wrapped up neatly. Except…
"Wait. You were serious?"
"Pardon?"
"…An A-rank hunter is working a part-time job at a noodle shop?"
I genuinely hadn't expected her to show up at my door. I'd already given her a rather magnificent send-off: From now on, live however you want. Make a lot of money and pay me back in cash.
And yet there she was, first thing in the morning, clocking in wearing a maid outfit.
"And what's so strange about that?"
"All of it. Every last bit."
I stared at her like she'd grown a second head, but Yujin didn't so much as blink.
"I see. In that case, I'll start by wiping down the tables, so if you could get the kitchen ready for opening, Boss…"
"I can't pay you much."
"Excuse me?"
"Money."
I hated being the one to say it, but as things stood, I was in no position to take responsibility for anyone besides Chaewon.
A few days ago I'd received ten billion won from the Association President, but that money already had a purpose of its own.
I should at least get this out in the open.
A noodle shop. The upside was the high table turnover. The downside was that the profit margins weren't exactly fat.
In any small business, labor was always the biggest expense. A noodle shop was the kind of operation that had no real reason to hire anyone at all.
"You can't even pay the government-mandated minimum wage…? If that's how it is, Boss, then that's how it is. But if you could find it in your heart to take a little pity on my sorry situation."
"Minimum wage I can do. The problem is, Ms. Yujin, you're not exactly your average part-timer. For Yuri's sake alone I ought to be paying you properly — I just don't have the room for it. Don't go painting me as some kind of sweatshop boss."
Yujin nodded without a shred of hesitation. I went still as a rock.
"……"
"That was a joke."
A faint smile crossed Yujin's face. I let out a sigh.
"You said you were going to get Yuri into the Academy."
She'd suffered from Mana Addiction, but she'd been completely cured. There was nothing standing in the way of her life as a hunter. If anything, thanks to the elixir I'd used on her, she was in far better shape than before.
The Academy, however, ate money. Even setting aside the tuition itself, once you factored in dungeon practicum fees and the cost of accessories, a part-time job wouldn't cut it. You'd be stretched thin even working at a major corporation.
"How are you planning to live on that kind of pay?"
"Truthfully, I've put quite a bit of money aside."
"I know perfectly well how pathetic a civil servant's salary is. How much could you possibly have saved?"
"I've always taken an interest in investing."
"Oh, come on, that's the most ridiculous—"
Instead of answering, Yujin unlocked an app and held out her phone. A window of red stock quotes filled the screen. The market had a way of feeding even the smallest investors when the tide was in, so I didn't think much of it at first.
…?
"This is what I grew from ten million won. I had a knack for stocks long before I ever became a hunter. As you know, after that recent incident the market went through the roof, and I rode that wave for all it was worth. Given my returns, sending Yuri to the Academy won't be a problem. I'll have more than enough left over."
How many zeros is that?
Four-point-six billion. That was what it said, clear as day.
They weren't kidding when they said the ones who already have money just keep piling it on.
That was the only thought that crossed my mind.
"You have no shame."
"Pardon?"
"Someone sitting on that kind of money wants to collect a paycheck? Do you have any idea how hard it is for small business owners these days…"
I hunched my shoulders and put on my most pitiful face.
"I didn't think you were that kind of person, Ms. Yujin. That's really too much. Even squeezing the liver out of a flea has its limits."
"If you'd like, I could grow your money as well, Boss."
I dropped the act instantly, broke into a wide grin, and grabbed Yujin's hands.
"I'll leave it all in your capable hands, teacher."
…If I wanted to keep feeding Chaewon all the good stuff, I had to hustle, didn't I?
"You've worked hard."
I finished the dishes and stepped out into the dining room. Yujin was still cleaning, and I could see her face from across the floor. She looked over at me, wiping the sweat from her brow. She looked exhausted, and I couldn't blame her. Today had been genuinely busy.
Business being good is great, but…
It had been another booming day. So many customers I almost wondered if this was even allowed.
But people were animals who, the moment they stood up, wanted to sit down, and the moment they sat down, wanted to lie down.
I'd run into a problem I never could have imagined.
Namely:
This is harder than taking down a final boss. I'm dying. I'm actually dying.
It was brutal.
A packed house was a blessing, sure, but not getting a single minute to breathe was killing me.
On top of that, Saerom had gone back to her original duties, which meant even Yujin — an A-rank hunter — was worn down to the bone.
"Should we hire one more person?"
"A pretty woman in her early twenties willing to work in a maid outfit for minimum wage? You could search until your eyes fell out and you wouldn't find one."
"…Was that a dig at me?"
"I'll be fine on my own. I may not look it, but I am an A-rank hunter."
Work didn't care about that, though. Being A-rank meant the physical side wasn't hard — it didn't do a thing for mental stamina.
Hmm. This isn't going to work.
I checked today's revenue at the counter and sank into thought.
Roughly five million won. After margins, about two million.
I was certain that was the absolute ceiling of what a noodle shop could pull in.
It was a lot of money, no question.
But for the amount of suffering involved, the pay was small.
I was an S-rank hunter, and my part-timer Yujin was A-rank.
If the two of us spent a month running dungeons, we'd clear tens of billions without breaking a sweat.
Talk about a creative economy.
A wave of self-loathing hit me. I clutched my head and slumped against the table.
Maybe I should just make money some other way and take it easy with the noodle shop?
Honestly, succeeding as a noodle shop wasn't the point.
This was about undoing the mistakes of my previous life. Not being a hunter. Running a noodle shop. Not letting things fall apart with my little sister.
…There was no real reason the noodle shop itself had to be a roaring success. Franchising was an option, but I had no desire to go that far. This noodle flavor only existed because of my Craftsmanship trait. You couldn't just copy the recipe and get the same result.
"Boss. Please get up. You have a dinner appointment with the young lady this evening."
I mumbled into the table, still stuck to it like a tick.
"Right. That's tonight. Sia's coming too, isn't she?"
"Yes. I took one look at the young lady's face earlier and I can say with certainty that she is very much looking forward to it. If you're late, she will be extremely upset."
I had plans this evening. Plans with Chaewon. The kind you did not break.
Yujin and me, plus Chaewon and Sia. The four of us were going out to eat. Sia had said she wanted to treat us.
"Hmm."
"I'll go change first."
"You're not exhausted, Ms. Yujin?"
The question slipped out of me. Yujin smiled faintly.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't."
She pulled out her phone and sent me something.
A chat log between her and Yuri.
"That's a relief."
"…You may not realize this, Seonghun, but I consider this a debt I could spend my whole life trying to repay and still come up short. So please don't worry about me."
Yujin bowed her head once, deeply, and headed for the changing room.
I sat in a chair and turned the problem over in my mind.
Isn't there a more efficient way to run this noodle shop?
I wracked my brain, but nothing useful came to me.
It was a problem I could afford to think about slowly, anyway.
I had ten billion won sitting around, after all.
For now, the important thing was not being late.
A restaurant where a chandelier glowed with a soft, understated light.
"Oppa, you're here?!"
"Hello."
Yujin and I arrived at the appointed place.
"Oh, you got here first. Have you been waiting long?"
"Nope, we just got here too."
Chaewon and Sia really had only just arrived — they were still unpacking their things.
Yujin and I made the appropriate noises of greeting and sat down.
What a peculiar place.
The interior was luxurious, and strangely enough, there was only a single table in the entire restaurant.
Had they rented out the whole place?
"Weird, right? They call this a one-table restaurant."
It was my little sister Chaewon who cleared up my confusion.
"One-table?"
"Yep! They don't take more than one party at a time."
…Then how do they even turn a profit?
I picked up the menu with a puzzled look.
…!
I rubbed my eyes.
Four hundred and fifty thousand won.
I'd have to sell about fifty bowls of noodles to match that.
It felt like someone had smacked me in the back of the head.
Something clicked into place all at once.
This is it. This was the answer all along.
A way to show off my cooking and receive a fair price for it.
A way to pay Yujin more than minimum wage.
I made up my mind then and there. Starting tomorrow, the shop's entire operating policy was going to change.
"Please, eat as much as you like. Don't worry about it."
Sia said it with a bright little smile.
"Thanks. But you're not overdoing it, are you?"
"You've treated me so many times. And this much really isn't a problem."
"Alright."
Even so, it was a sum that was hard not to feel guilty about.
I knew Sia was rich, but she was still on an allowance, wasn't she?
Listen to me, worrying about nothing.
I let out a dry little laugh and dropped the thought.
It really was a pointless concern.
She was SJ's daughter, after all.
Sia flicked her fingers once.
Two men in white chef's coats approached the table.
"Please prepare the meal."
They nodded as if they'd been waiting for the word and headed off toward the distant kitchen.
"Sia, that was so cool!"
Chaewon's eyes sparkled.
A short while later.
"The course you ordered this evening. From the left: cream of mushroom soup, white fish paired with an orange-yuzu sauce, sirloin steak garnished with truffle, and Couline pasta prepared by our Italian chef."
The four of us looked down at the food, still steaming.
"It looks so good…"
"Eat plenty, Chaewon."
"Thanks! You're seriously the best friend ever."
A faint smile touched Sia's lips.
She's got herself a good friend.
I watched the two of them, feeling warm.
They said a friend was more precious than anything else in the world.
A little cheesy, maybe, but there wasn't a thing wrong with it.
"Thank you for inviting me along this evening as well."
That came from Yujin, sitting beside me.
"Not at all. I heard the news. That you've become Oppa's girlfriend."
"Yes. That's how it turned out."
"Congratulations. Although I hear you don't actually know all that much about Seonghun Oppa."
"That's the fun of dating, isn't it? Getting to know each other."
"There isn't some secret, is there? Something along the lines of… circumstances you can't talk about, for instance."
"This is a relationship between two adults. Unspeakable secrets and circumstances come with the territory, don't they?"
In front of the kids… what is she even saying.
I stared at Yujin in disbelief, but she just smiled brightly and ducked my gaze.
"That was a joke. There are no secrets."
"You're a man of many secrets, though. The sudden part-time job included."
Sia looked at me.
The events of a few days ago surfaced in my mind.
…She knows, doesn't she.
I'd had a vague sense of it already.
The reason she'd invited us to dinner tonight.
She wanted to pin down exactly who I was.
I had a feeling this was going to be an uncomfortable meal.
I put on an awkward smile and picked up my knife.
"P-prove it."
Chaewon's voice was trembling.
"Prove it?"
"Prove that you're actually dating!"
"Since when does dating come with proof?"
"I-it does! L-like physical affection, or…"
"Excuse me?"
A rare flicker of panic crossed Yujin's face.
Why is Chaewon acting like this?
The answer wasn't hard to find.
It was all because of those damn K-dramas.
I was starting to think I needed to wipe television dramas off the face of the earth.
Turning a perfectly innocent kid who didn't know any better into this?
"Hey, Han Chaewon! What do you think you're saying?"
I looked at Chaewon with the most serious expression I could muster.
When you were disciplining someone, you had to make the mistake absolutely clear.
I was going to scold her so thoroughly she'd never say anything like that again.
That was when it happened.
"It's alright. We can just show her."
Yujin snatched up my hand.
"…!"
And then, gently, she laced her fingers through mine.
"Th-this should be enough, right?"
Yujin's face had gone red.
I looked at her, startled — but she was acting the part of my girlfriend for my sake.
I couldn't let any panic show.
I lifted our joined hands high above the table.
This should be enough to satisfy Chaewon.
How about that, little sister.
No more complaints.
"Are you kidding? You have to kiss, obviously."
I stood up from my seat without a word.
Apparently, Chaewon was due for a complete mental overhaul tonight.