A Returnee's First Meal Must Be Special
Dring~
A chime rang out as the convenience store door swung open.
"Welcome~"
A part-timer in her early twenties with warm, amiable eyes greeted me with a polite bow.
I gave her a slight nod in return.
It brought back memories of my days as the Heavenly Demon. Seeing ordinary folks always reminded me of the common believers back then. In the barren expanse of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, they had toiled day in and day out, tilling the rocky soil to produce food.
It was only because of their sweat that useless martial artists like me could eat. Soldiers might serve a state purpose, but martial artists were another matter entirely.
That was not my own philosophy, mind you—it was the belief of my close friend, the previous Heavenly Demon. And I had agreed with him wholeheartedly.
During my reign as the Heavenly Demon, I had grown so homesick for modern food that I tried recreating all sorts of dishes. Naturally, I did not cook them myself; I had expert chefs handle the kitchen. There was hardly any ingredient in the Central Plains that could not be procured. Chili peppers were absent, but there was mala, which delivered a similar tongue-numbing heat.
Yes, exactly like the mala in malatang.
At any rate, one of my favorite dishes had been instant ramen. The cooks deep-fried noodles in oil and rolled them into broth laced with mala. It tasted decent enough, but could it ever hold a candle to the real thing?
With trembling hands, I picked up a cup of instant ramen—no, make that two.
And then, I reached for something that even the supreme martial art, the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, could never hope to manifest: a carbonated beverage!
A cola, no less.
I grabbed the can. It was icy cold. How long had it been since I held such chilled cola? How sweet would it taste? But then...
"...Zero? What on earth is 'zero'?"
Ah, whatever. I decided to buy it anyway.
It felt a bit lonely having only ramen and soda, so I rummaged through the shelves and picked out a triangular kimbap and a sausage hot bar as well.
Thunk.
Miraculously, I remembered that in this world, one had to pay before eating. That was thanks to digging up the self I had been before taking up the mantle of the Heavenly Demon. Had I not, I might have inhaled the food right off the shelves on the spot, and anyone who dared object would have been reduced to a handful of bloody mist.
...Man, thinking back, during my Demonic Realm days, I really wasn't even human, was I?
Fortunately, I was now a benevolent(?) Heavenly Demon who cherished his subjects.
"...How much?"
"Pardon?"
"Ahem. How much is it?"
I needed to fix my speech habits quickly.
The part-timer gave me a look that asked why I was in such a rush, but she promptly scanned the barcodes.
Beep—!
Beep!
"...That'll be ten thousand won."
I pulled a wallet from my pocket. It was something my loyal subordinate, Gremory, had prepared for me. She had assured me it contained the safest currency on Earth, usable anywhere across the globe. I opened the wallet.
...Huh?
The bills looked familiar, yet they were not Korean won.
They were US dollars.
"...Would it be possible to pay with this?"
"Oh my? Dollars? Aigoo, mister, that's a bit tough. When am I supposed to go exchange this for just one small purchase...?"
Fair point. But why had Gremory prepared dollars? Ah. It hit me. I never told her I was returning to South Korea. I had simply told her I was "heading back."
From her perspective, not knowing where I would end up, preparing US dollars—the world's primary reserve currency—made the most sense. If this had been some developing nation instead of Korea, it probably would have passed without a hitch.
Silently, I pulled out a crisp one-hundred-dollar bill.
I was not sure of the current exchange rate, but if my memory served, it hovered around 1,200 won per dollar. That ought to make running an errand to the bank well worth her trouble.
"Oh my? A hundred dollars? Hmmm, that's really pushing it. It's way too much. Hey, mister, do you even live around here?"
I had no idea where I was.
"What is the name of this city?"
"Huh? Are you a foreigner? Chinese? Japanese?"
"I have lived abroad for a long time."
Understanding washed over her face.
"I thought your intonation sounded a bit odd. Ah, whatever, let's call it doing a service for the country. Just take it, mister. On the house. Go exchange your money at a bank tomorrow. It's pretty hard to buy everyday stuff with dollars in Korea unless you're making huge purchases."
The clerk grinned cheekily and slid the ramen toward me.
"Thank you. But taking it for free doesn't sit right with me, so keep this as a souvenir."
I slipped a ten-dollar bill onto the counter.
"Hehehe, real dollars! Alright, I'll keep it as a souvenir then."
Her smile felt strangely familiar, yet nothing concrete came to mind.
While waiting after pouring hot water into the ramen, the clerk ambled over and shared a few details. Apparently, this was a small southern municipality called Mujin City, located quite far from the capital area.
Then the memory clicked into place.
Mount Jiri lay right nearby. And Muhaksa Temple, nestled deep within that mountain, was what I considered my hometown.
Three minutes passed. The noodles were ready.
Ding—!
Right on cue, the microwave finished heating the hot bar. I brought it over, its savory aroma teasing my nose.
I popped the tab of the cola.
Psssshh!
Now, time to feast.
I blew on the steaming noodles a few times and slurped them into my mouth, eagerly anticipating that springy, delicious chew—
Chomp, chomp...
...Huh?
I took a bite of the hot bar.
Rich, savory meat juices... Huh?
I took a sip of the soda.
Sweet, icy-cool... Huh?
I spat it out.
It tasted atrocious.
W-Wait? Had two thousand years ruined my sense of taste? Or had something gone terribly wrong with Earth?
Why the hell did everything taste like garbage?!
The hot bar was sickeningly fishy. The ramen had the limp, soggy texture of noodles left soaking for an hour. Even the cola's sweetness tasted watery and hollow.
TGIF—Friday night excitement was a luxury for other people. At least, it was for Yeonhee.
Every penny counted. Who had time to go partying?
Lately, circumstances at Muhaksa Temple had been dire. Ten years ago, the Gates opened, plunging the world into something straight out of a webtoon. Awakenings happened, Gates were cleared... All fine and dandy, but none of it mattered to her. Yeonhee was not an awakened hunter. She was merely an orphan raised at a Buddhist temple.
Her only brother had vanished ten years ago. Just vanished into thin air.
Having come of age, he had said he was heading out to find work. He bowed to the Monk and stepped out of the temple gates.
I'll be back before your birthday. I'll buy you that frog plushie you love.
With only those parting words, he never returned.
She had wanted to search for him, but the world was in utter chaos. Gate Breaks erupted left and right. Thousands of people perished daily. Bodies torn beyond recognition by demonic beasts littered the streets, impossible to identify. In such a world, a missing person report was pushed to the bottom of the pile.
As one year became two, and two became three, both the Monk and Yeonhee gradually learned to let Jinhyuk go. Life went on for the living, after all. That was how it was for Yeonhee, and for the younger kids at the temple.
At least, that was how it appeared on the surface.
Still, if her brother was alive, they would meet again someday. Until then, she had to work hard. She had never possessed a knack for studying, so the moment she entered high school, she began taking part-time jobs. The Monk had scrimped to rent a tiny studio room so she could attend school, but she had to cover her own rent and living expenses.
And then, out of nowhere, a miracle happened.
On her seventeenth birthday, a stunning woman with fiery scarlet hair casually handed her a scratch-off lottery ticket.
A birthday present, she had called it. Yeonhee had just chuckled and taken it.
It won the jackpot—500 million won!
After much deliberation, she used the money to take over this convenience store and secured a modest jeonse lease on an apartment with the rest. Three years had passed since then. She was twenty now.
Today, she was the store's boss, managing three part-time employees. But tonight, one of them called in sick, forcing her to cover the shift herself.
"...Haah, kids these days. Skipping work the second they feel a little under the weather? What are they thinking? Back in my day, even if you were sick..."
Dring—!
The convenience store door opened.
On pure reflex, she loaded her greeting and fired.
"Welcome~"
A man looking to be in his early thirties walked in. He had cool, sharp eyes that seemed to carry some untold history, a gaze laden with profound melancholy. And how on earth were a man's hands so white?
His complexion was fair and luminous, as if he had never seen a ray of sunlight in his life. Though his prominent features gave him the air of someone in his early thirties, with a bit of grooming he could easily pass for twenty-something.
The man brought two cup ramens, a hot bar, and a cola to the counter. She rang them up.
...Wait, US dollars? Damn it. Running out to exchange this was going to be a headache.
She exchanged a few words with him. He seemed like an overseas Korean or a foreigner who had lived abroad for years. Putting everything else aside... she kind of liked him.
Yeonhee caught herself with a start.
Perhaps because of her brother, she had always felt drawn to older men. Growing up without a father's warmth, her brother had filled that void, which naturally led her to see mature men as romantic prospects rather than boys her own age. Yet this man did not quite fit that mold either. Even so, her heart fluttered unbidden.
What is this? Love at first sight? Aaaargh, you crazy girl, you're doing it again!
Pulling herself together, she decided to let him have the food, playing the patriotic card to keep it cool.
...Wait, why were her eyes welling up?
Something surged in her chest. She hastily dabbed at the tears.
All of a sudden, she missed her brother. The brother who disappeared ten years ago. Was he dead? Or alive? That jerk. If he was dead, the least he could do was show up as a ghost! Gates were breaking open, hunters were running around everywhere—surely he could manage that much!
Wiping away her tears, she touched up her makeup. Come to think of it, she had not put on her uniform vest yet. She slipped into the vest bearing her name tag: [Seo Yeonhee].
What was that tear-inducing man doing now...? Huh? Did he—no, did that bastard just spit out his ramen?!
Didn't he know how precious food was? In this day and age, even bland, tasteless food was a luxury!
Ever since the Gates opened, frequent mana erosion had mutated the crops. Livestock had suffered the same fate. The food was edible, but it tasted awful. That was why convenience store junk food was actually so popular—all the heavy artificial seasoning helped mask the dry, fishy aftertaste.
"...I think this has spoiled. Please exchange it."
"What?"
"The taste is off."
"Huh? Mister, is there something wrong with your tongue? Seriously... The expiration date is miles away. What are you talking about? Here, let me see."
Munch, munch. Gulp.
She broke off a tiny piece of the hot bar and swallowed.
What was he on about? It just tasted fishy like usual. You ate hot bars for the fishy taste!
Then Yeonhee recalled that he had spent a long time abroad.
Ah, could foreign countries have places with less mana contamination? Is that why?
Fine. She would play the patriot one more time. It was strange that someone like this still existed in this era, but what needed explaining needed explaining. Yeonhee pulled out her smartphone and showed him video clips about mana erosion, Gates, and awakened hunters.
The man watched each video with wide, stunned eyes.
"I-I see. So that's why the food tastes like garbage?"
"Yeah. Exactly. Honestly, I can't even remember the last time I had real, unpolluted food. Rich folks supposedly eat produce grown in uncontaminated zones, but that stuff costs an arm and a leg."
"............"
The man's gaze slowly shifted toward her.
What now? Hah, men, seriously? Look here, mister, I'm barely twenty years old, basically a kid, okay? Back off! She fired a warning glare with her eyes.
...Wait, why was he crying?
She panicked. She had just been tearing up herself, and now this grown man was crying too.
"...Is that name your real name? Yeonhee... Seo Yeonhee. C-Could it be... Muhaksa Temple?"
"Huh? How do you know that? Did you run a background check on me?!"
A sudden jolt of fear struck Yeonhee. The initial fluttering attraction and sentimental warmth evaporated in a flash. This was not her first rodeo. Running a convenience store from a young age, she had dealt with plenty of creeps clinging to her. People said it was because she was pretty and told her to be flattered, but from her perspective, it was downright terrifying.
"...You don't recognize me. Then again, I don't even remember what my own face used to look like. Forgive my intrusion."
With those parting words, the man turned and walked straight out of the store.
"...Ugh, seriously, what is his deal?"
What was this lingering, uncomfortable feeling? And then she spotted something even worse.
"Aaah! That jerk didn't even clean up after himself!!"
Well, whatever. Bear it, bear it. Earning someone else's money was never easy.
Eight hours of work a day. Monthly net profit: between 8 and 9 million won. Even after taxes, roughly 7 million or more. Thinking about this month's earnings brought the silly grin right back to her face.
Just a little bit more savings... and she would be able to restore the Monk's eyesight.
Degradation of physical functions due to mana erosion—treating it required an astronomical sum of money. The initial therapy cost alone was staggering. To raise those funds, Yeonhee had been battling tooth and nail despite her tender age.