Round Table Restaurant (2)

"Must be nice, having a girlfriend."

"Huh...? Yeah, I guess it is."

Back home, I was looking up one-table restaurants.

Not a single place doing it as a noodle shop.

Which, of course, made sense. A little digging told me that a one-table restaurant was the kind of establishment where a chef staked their entire pride. There was no reason whatsoever to convert a noodle shop into one.

"Are you texting someone? You don't even look at my face when you talk to me anymore."

Chaewon's voice. I set my phone down for a moment.

She was lying beside the bed, staring at me with a face full of sulk.

I got along well with my little sister. If anything, Chaewon seemed especially given to acting spoiled — she was already a high schooler, and she still came into her brother's room to pull this kind of thing.

Honestly, in my previous life, I'd found it annoying. And after I became a Hunter, Chaewon never came to my room at all. I'd been secretly disappointed about that.

Good thing I found her again this time around.

"?"

I stared at her, and Chaewon blinked.

Usually, when she came to my room like this, it was about school. I asked her about it.

"By the way, how's school going these days?"

Chaewon glared at me for a moment, then let the strength drain from her eyes, sighed, and spoke.

"...I don't know. There's no point. The teacher hates me."

"What kind of son of a—"

Whoops. Almost dropped a real swear. She was in the bloom of her youth, the age when she ought to hear nothing but kind words. I couldn't let that slip.

"What happened?"

"...He told me if I don't have talent, I should at least put in the effort. I was trying hard."

"That teacher bastard said that?"

"Yeah. Isn't that too much?"

"Name."

"Huh?"

"What's that teacher's name. I'll go find him and tear his limbs—"

Chaewon clapped a hand over my mouth.

"Bad words!"

"......"

I quietly pulled my arm back and asked again.

"Who is it? That teacher."

"Why do you want to know. You're not going to show up and pick a fight, are you?"

"That's exactly what I'm going to do."

"...You can't. Then I'll get marked even worse. You know if you get singled out at the academy, it's hard to even get a job. I just have to endure it, even if it's hard. What else am I supposed to do?"

Looking into Chaewon's sad eyes, something in my chest gave way.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Naturally, I had no intention of letting this slide.

Sia will tell me.

I had the Yoo Sia card, after all. I even had an artifact that could tempt her. I planned to offer it properly and ask.

It's about time to get started anyway.

In my previous life, I had opposed Chaewon's dream of becoming a Hunter with everything I had.

...It wasn't only because being a Hunter was dangerous. The biggest reason was Chaewon's talent.

My little sister wasn't completely without ability as a Hunter. She just wasn't outstanding. She'd make it to the mid-to-upper tier, most likely.

That was the problem. Mediocre talent. I knew exactly how dangerous that was.

If she'd had no talent at all, she would have just drifted through low-level dungeons, and I wouldn't have worried much. But Chaewon had the makings of a B-rank Hunter.

...And B-rank was the rank that died the most in dungeons.

There was no way I could have allowed it.

But I had seen how that decision turned out. This time, I intended to make Chaewon's dream come true.

Of course, the precautions were going to be thorough.

I would take that mediocre talent and turn it into something solid. Not a genius, maybe — but a prodigy, at the very least. That was a firm resolution. The noodle shop was more or less under control, so the timing was right to start.

I'd be damned if I sat back and watched my little sister live her life being looked down on.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Chaewon."

"Yeah?"

"You trust your brother, right?"

"...Yeah. I do."

Chaewon buried her face in the pillow.

"But why?"

"That training you do. I want to watch."

"...Huh? Why?"

"I know it's considered rude among Hunters, but I want to see my little sister looking cool."

A little embarrassing, saying it out loud. Chaewon snapped her head up and stared at me.

Something about her reaction was off. Her pupils shook without mercy.

And then—

"Absolutely not!"

"...?"

She bolted. Just scrambled off the bed and fled.

I watched her go with a bewildered look on my face, then muttered to myself.

"She's definitely hiding something."

"A one-table restaurant?"

"Yes. I already called the interior designer. Spent a bit of money."

"...Boss. Perhaps."

Yujin spoke with a blank look on her face.

"Did you get shot in the head?"

"Come on, I can dodge a bullet at least."

"......"

She seemed to have lost the ability to form words. I scratched my head and asked again.

"Ahem. Is it that bad?"

"I never cease to be astonished by your business sense, Boss."

"I do have a talent for business, yeah."

A crease formed between Yujin's brows.

"That is not what I meant."

She sighed.

I folded my arms, mildly intrigued, and listened.

"Boss. I humbly dare to inquire — what dishes can you actually cook?"

"Noodles."

"...I know that."

"Ramen."

"...And?"

"That's it?"

"You're supposed to be a restaurant owner."

"Ah, I can grill meat pretty well too."

I was being sincere. Most of what I cooked for Chaewon was meal kits, store-bought side dishes, and meat.

That was the truth of it. My hands were skilled, but the dishes I actually knew how to make were extremely limited.

Yujin looked at me as if I had grown a second head.

"...Do you know what a one-table restaurant even is?"

"They have all kinds of menus. I didn't see any that only do one thing."

"Of course they don't. It's a restaurant where the chef stakes their pride. And you're going to run one of those...? I guarantee it will go under within twenty days. Even if I showed up in a bikini instead of a maid outfit, that would not save it."

"Ten billion won."

I played the cheat key immediately.

"Yujin. Haven't you ever been curious?"

"...Excuse me?"

"Why an S-rank Hunter is running a mere noodle shop."

"......"

Of course she had been curious.

She had simply been waiting until I chose to speak.

Yujin was the considerate type, after all.

"Money isn't the goal. I just wanted to live an ordinary life. While supporting our Chaewon."

"...You mean."

"Yes. With ten billion won, the money problem is solved. So I'm just maintaining the pretext."

"I understand, Boss. So you had a purpose all along."

"Well... I wouldn't go so far as to call it a purpose. I just want to loaf around and eat. I've gotten way too busy lately."

Yujin smiled softly.

"Well, at this rate you wouldn't even have time to help people. It must have been a serious obstacle to your plans of secretly helping others, Boss."

"Excuse me?"

The conversation was taking a very strange turn.

Yujin looked proud of herself, clenching her fist with the air of someone making a solemn vow.

"I'll do everything I can with my meager abilities to be of help."

"No, I—"

"Then my role is first to convince the young lady. Leave that to me. A one-table noodle shop is an absurd idea, but I'll research it as thoroughly as I can."

I guess this is a case of the interpretation being better than the dream.

She was having another ridiculous misunderstanding. Did she think I was Batman or something?

Still... well. Good was good, wasn't it? The path to the conclusion had been bizarre, but what I actually wanted was exactly that — for my little sister to accept the one-table restaurant.

So I decided to just let her misunderstand. I smiled, awkwardly.

Inside a high-rise building with the city spread out below at a glance, a man sat in his chair, brow furrowed.

Just who the hell is this guy.

A few months ago.

A mysterious Hunter had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stormed into AH Group headquarters out of nowhere and killed his blood relative, Park Taeseong.

He had assumed it was SJ Group's doing, furious over the attempt on Yoo Sia.

But SJ Group storming a headquarters without evidence and killing an S-rank Hunter on the way out was not a thing that happened.

Yoo Tae-sung wouldn't do that.

This was Yoo Tae-sung they were talking about.

Even when family was involved, he was not a fool who moved on mere suspicion.

That was the point they had exploited when they ordered Yoo Sia killed.

Then who the hell was it?

Had they caught on to the plan?

His brother had been an S-rank Hunter who used telekinesis.

Even other corporations' S-rank Hunters couldn't kill him easily.

According to the witnesses, his neck had simply burst, with no resistance at all.

Just how.

He had even considered other Hunters in the telekinesis class.

But in a small country like Korea, there was no one with stronger telekinesis than his brother.

Park Museong ground his teeth until they creaked.

Whoever it was, this was a clear provocation against him. He had to have his revenge.

They had killed his brother and wrecked the AH headquarters he had poured so much into.

"Director! We found him!"

Someone burst through the door.

"Finally. You found him."

A smile formed at the corner of the man's mouth.

AH Group Director Park Museong.

He had given orders to search intensively for the Hunter who had attacked AH headquarters a few months ago.

"Yes! I'll brief you now."

"Who is it. Which group did this?"

"...Well."

"Speak in three seconds."

"The guy... doesn't belong to any group."

"What?"

Park Museong's eyes narrowed.

"I mean it literally. He isn't a Hunter.... He's running an ordinary noodle shop."

"You'd better not be messing with me. Some noodle-shop moron killed my brother?"

"It's hard to believe, but... it's true. We found him through the testimony of the taxi driver he rode with."

"A taxi driver?"

"Yes. He wasn't wearing a mask inside the taxi."

"And you expect me to believe that?"

"It's confirmed information."

Park Museong looked at him with that mountain-like build of his, then nodded.

"You know better than anyone what happens to you if this information is wrong."

"...Yes. I know."

"But it's strange."

Park Museong pulled out a cigarette.

"Sir?"

"He showed up at headquarters wearing a mask. But he didn't even put one on in the taxi?"

"...I find that strange as well, but thanks to that, we found him."

"You stupid bastard!"

Park Museong hurled the ashtray past the man's side.

"I-I'm sorry."

Park Museong's expression hardened.

"This is a provocation."

"...A provocation, sir?"

"He deliberately left a gap. Left a clue so we'd find him."

"But if that were the case... there wouldn't be a reason to wear a mask in the first place, would there?"

"So he wouldn't be exposed to the media. He set it up so that we could still find him."

"...!"

"Get a car ready. Now. I don't care who this guy is. He's going to pay the price for killing my brother."

Park Museong's brow furrowed so hard it looked painful.

"We've laid the marble for now. The rest of the interior work will take all week."

I handed a drink to the interior worker, who was dripping with sweat.

"Thank you for your hard work. Looking forward to seeing it through."

"Yes, I'll see you tomorrow."

The worker smiled and headed out through the entrance.

I looked at the now-empty noodle shop.

Is this for real.

They had only laid the marble, and already the place had a somewhat luxurious feel to it.

For a one-table restaurant, the food mattered — but so did the interior.

In a sense, we were already halfway there.

Can't get used to the smell, though.

Probably because of the marble on the floor. It smelled like a brand-new house.

I stretched and stepped outside for some air.

"Lots of people out."

All kinds of people were walking around. Most of them around Chaewon's age.

A thought occurred to me, unbidden.

Should I even open an academy?

Leave the noodle shop to Yujin, and build an academy just for Chaewon.

A snort of laughter escaped me.

That's ridiculous.

Having a lot of money made every kind of thought pop into your head.

I put the idea away and was about to head back inside when—

A sports car came to a screaming halt on the road in front of the shop.

A moment later, a burly man in sunglasses climbed out of the car.

I've seen this guy somewhere.

The silhouette was familiar. But with the sunglasses on, I couldn't be sure.

The man strode toward the shop in long, heavy steps.

A customer?

Before I knew it, he was standing right in front of me, stopping dead.

"Are you a customer? I'm sorry, but we're under interior construction. We open next week."

The man's face had gone ice-cold.

"Bullshit."

He grabbed me by the collar without a word of warning and hurled me into the shop.

The glass exploded inward with a crash, shards flying in every direction.

Damn it!

I twisted in midair and landed lightly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on the floor.

"Why did you kill Taeseong?"

The big man walked steadily into the shop.

Looks like Park Taeseong's brother had shown up.

Didn't recognize him because of the sunglasses.

Park Museong.

An ice-ability user.

He had risen to an executive position at AH Group at a young age on the back of that power.

But like Park Taeseong, he belonged to the trash category.

The kind of guy who looked at the lives of ordinary people without abilities the way you'd look at ants.

I dusted off my rear and opened my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mouth.

"A bastard worse than an ant deserved to die."

"What?"

"Didn't you hear me? I said he deserved to die."

Park Museong's face began to twist.

"That's all you've got?"

I nodded and went on.

"But today, you broke something more valuable than Park Taeseong's life."

"What a load of crap."

"See the floor?"

"Marble. So what?"

I shouted, making no effort to hide my rage.

"Don't you see the crack? I installed this today."

An ice longsword formed in his hand.

"You son of a bitch! You're saying that's more valuable than my brother's life? You won't die easy."

"Hold it. Choose."

"...?"

"Die, or pay for the damages."

I said it coldly, without a hint of a smile.

"Pay for the damages? Fuck off! My brother's life—"