The Shop Manager's Visit
“Just who… is this person?”
The manager of the shop district management office sat in silence, unable to erase the puzzled look on his face after ending his call with Jungwoo.
He simply couldn’t understand it.
Wasn’t the man just an ordinary person with no power to speak of?
Yet Park Geon-su had shown the pair an extraordinarily favorable attitude.
‘Issuing a single stall permit shouldn’t be difficult, should it?’
Of course it wasn’t difficult.
It was only made to seem difficult so that certain people could extract what they wanted in return.
‘The permit itself isn’t hard to obtain, but as you know, a stall has no building of its own.’
While the permit was simple enough, securing an actual spot to set up was an entirely different matter.
Every popular stall location had its reasons for being so.
Without a building of their own, vendors had to operate in front of someone else’s property, which required the building owner’s or merchant’s permission.
Obtaining those permissions was extra work the management office preferred to avoid.
After all, there was no reason to clash with wealthy building owners over penniless vendors.
But Park Geon-su was one of the wealthiest men around.
No one in the shop district possessed more than he did.
And then came the decisive remark.
‘What does the location matter? We can set it up in front of my building.’
‘You mean the guild building?’
‘If that’s the case… then surely…’
‘Exactly. That place.’
Park Geon-su owned several buildings. One housed his guild, another stood in the city center where ordinary citizens shopped, and the last—the most valuable—was the massive structure in the shop district itself, commonly referred to as the “Lounge.”
Though the building was so enormous that not every part belonged to him, that hardly mattered.
The stalls near it operated on an entirely different level from ordinary ones.
Just as shops had their own hierarchy, so did stalls.
Only those with powerful connections and backing could hope to set up in front of the Lounge.
‘Ah, I understand.’
‘And provide them with the basic necessities. Report any expenses directly to me.’
‘Yes, sir. I will.’
With that, Park Geon-su departed.
“Should I… look into them separately?”
Why was he showing such concern for this ordinary father and daughter? And why insist on keeping even this instruction secret?
“No. If word gets out and I’m caught, it’s over. I only have one year left in my term. One wrong move at the end and everything collapses.”
Still, he couldn’t simply ignore the matter.
He didn’t need to know why Park Geon-su cared about them, but he did need to know what they required.
“The elder has never made a request like this before… Could they be…!”
Perhaps an unacknowledged son or granddaughter?
‘That must be it. It has to be!’
Otherwise, none of it made sense. Park Geon-su was not the sort of man who would even meet ordinary people like them.
“Ah, this isn’t the time to sit around.”
The manager burst out of his office and called to his staff.
“Everyone, get ready! We’re going out.”
The sudden field assignment caught the employees off guard; they had never seen their usually unmotivated superior so energized.
“What are you all standing there for? Team leaders, come with me.”
With the manager urging them on, an impromptu field trip was scheduled—one whose true purpose only he knew.
Because it was so unusual, preparations were completed in record time.
The manager and his staff, visibly excited, arrived at their destination: Seona’s Restaurant.
“Um, Manager.”
“What.”
“Is this… the field assignment location?”
“It is. Remember the man who came in earlier with a little girl?”
“Ah, you mean that angelic child?”
“Wait, the place with that adorable kid is here?”
The staff’s initial reluctance toward the unexpected outing vanished the moment they learned the little girl was here. Earlier, work and the presence of other colleagues had kept them from voicing their honest impressions.
Most of them had daughters or sons of their own, or had raised children that age into capable adults.
“So the assignment is related to the stall permit for that father and daughter, then.”
“A stall… Unfortunately, that won’t be easy…”
“Ah, I haven’t told you yet. The permit’s already been approved. The location’s been decided too.”
“Really? Where is it?”
They had assumed not even the permit would be granted, let alone a spot.
“The Lounge.”
“Excuse me?”
“The Lounge…?”
Before anyone could recover from their shock, one of the staff noticed the standing signboard at the restaurant entrance.
“Oh, look at that. It says today’s special is…”
The surprise lasted only a moment. Everyone gathered around the sign and saw the words “Today’s Menu” alongside an unexpected item: lunchboxes.
“Lunchboxes, huh. The stall is supposed to sell lunchboxes, so we might as well try them.”
“Oh, really? My goodness, lunchboxes…”
“Heh, it’s nothing fancy, but somehow it warms the heart.”
“It does. Simple but filling food for hunters before and after gate raids.”
“Enough chatting. Let’s head inside.”
The manager entered first. With the chime of the door, a narration drifted from somewhere inside.
—When the arctic hare eats…
Seia sat with her round little back to them, completely absorbed in a documentary about hares.
“……”
She was cute. No, she was downright adorable.
They hadn’t had a proper look earlier while discussing the stall request, but now they couldn’t believe how precious she was.
“Ah! Welcome! This is Seona’s Restaurant!”
Earlier, Seia had been too engrossed in the documentary to notice the chime or footsteps, but today was different.
She felt a sense of duty. Some customers even called her the little boss, and she believed there were things she could do for the restaurant—things she had to do.
With a determined “heave-ho,” Seia climbed down from her seat and greeted the guests herself. The staff, who had already been charmed by the sight of her round little head, now wore expressions of pure enchantment.
“Ah, welcome… Oh, Manager?”
“Ahem, good to see you.”
“Scary mister…!”
At the words “scary mister,” every team member’s gaze snapped toward their superior.
“H-huh? Ah, no, why… Haha. That’s not true. Uncle was just very busy, that’s all.”
“Weally…?”
“Of course! Absolutely!”
He tried to force a smile, but it seemed unnecessary. Watching Seia’s slightly skeptical gaze, he was reminded of—
—And the natural enemy of this arctic hare…
The narration happened to play at that exact moment.
Yes. She looked exactly like that wary arctic hare on screen.
“What brings you here…?”
“Ah, well, there were a few things regarding the permit I wanted to confirm in person…”
“Didn’t you already mention everything over the phone?”
“There are still some details to check, so I came directly. Think of it as… a simple interview.”
“An interview… I see.”
“I couldn’t mention it earlier, but the stall location has been set in front of the Lounge.”
The Lounge.
Jungwoo knew the place well. If anyone were asked to name the tallest, largest building in the area, everyone would point to the Lounge.
“The Lounge…?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I don’t know much about these things, but I understand what it means to set up a stall in front of the Lounge.”
“Haha. That’s why I said over the phone that you were lucky.”
It was the kind of opportunity that couldn’t be explained away with a single word like “luck.”
Something felt off, but Jungwoo doubted he’d get an answer even if he asked. He simply nodded.
“I really am lucky.”
“And that luck doesn’t end there.”
“What do you mean…?”
This was the result of the manager wracking his brain the entire way from the office to the restaurant.
“There’s a support program available for ordinary citizens.”
“A support… program?”
“Yes. After all, this shop district has far more hunters than ordinary people.”
“Something like that existed?”
“I didn’t know either. It was created a long time ago, but no one’s ever used it, so it’s been completely forgotten.”
The manager’s expression suggested he wasn’t lying.
“If that’s true… then I really am fortunate.”
“Haha. Exactly. That’s what I’m saying.”
“Did you bring your staff along just to tell me about this?”
Jungwoo’s eyes were filled with gratitude. The manager, reminded of his earlier attitude, cleared his throat and looked away.
“Ah, don’t worry about it. Why don’t you try one of the lunchboxes? It’d be perfect for deciding what to sell. I’ll make them right now.”
“Oh, no need. We should pay. How much are you planning to charge per box?”
“I was thinking around ten thousand won.”
Ten thousand won.
That price might seem steep for a single lunchbox, but Jungwoo was confident. If the price didn’t match an ordinary lunchbox, then the contents wouldn’t be ordinary either.
“Well, these days even delivery food starts at ten thousand won, so it’s reasonable.”
“If you’re unsure, please try it and give me your honest opinion.”
“Understood.”
While Jungwoo and the manager talked, Seia was basking in the staff’s adoration.
“What’s your name?”
A female employee in her thirties gazed at Seia with boundless affection.
“Seia is Seia.”
“Hehe. Seia, is it? What’s your family name?”
“Family name?”
The only “family name” Seia knew was the kind that meant a grand mansion.
“Yes. The one character that comes before your name.”
“Ohh. It’s Lee. Lee.”
“Your name is pretty too, Seia.”
“Unnie’s pretty too!”
“Oh my?”
“Her mouth’s gonna split from smiling so much.”
“Is it? It already has.”
Just as her colleagues said, the team leader’s grin stretched ear to ear.
Honestly, she had never felt particularly envious of anyone before, but right now she envied Seia’s father, who was chatting with her superior.
“Alright, everyone, let’s sit down.”
The manager returned after finishing his conversation with Jungwoo.
“It’s almost lunchtime anyway. We’ll be tasting the lunchboxes that’ll be sold at the stall ourselves.”
Just how good would Seona’s Restaurant turn out to be?
Would the food live up to the warmth of their first impression?