The Scent of Home
The stall hadn't even officially opened for business yet, but people were already glancing over with curious eyes.
Hunters passed through this street more often than they went home.
“Lunchboxes?”
“Do you know what that owner does?”
“No, I’ve never seen him before.”
“Doesn’t look like a hunter either…”
To those who knew what function the stall had served until now, Jungwoo and Seia’s ordinary appearance felt strangely special.
“Are you hungry?”
Seia nodded.
“First, let’s adjust the height…”
The lunchboxes could be eaten immediately after opening the lid.
Jungwoo was adjusting the chair height so Seia could eat comfortably when—
“Oh, a little kid?”
“What the— she’s super cute.”
“Haha, she looks like a mole popping out.”
Seia, who had been hidden beneath the stall, gradually rose into view as the chair height was adjusted. Just like a mole in a whack-a-mole game, she slowly emerged, only to freeze with a startled expression when she realized how many eyes were watching her.
“It’s okay. Daddy’s right here.”
Those were the most reassuring words in the world to Seia.
As long as her dad was there, there was nothing to fear and nothing too difficult for her.
Just as they were about to open the lunchbox lids and begin their meal, the chairman they had met earlier approached.
“Mr. Jungwoo?”
“Ah, yes. Chairman.”
“The title ‘Chairman’ feels a bit stiff. Just call me Inwook. It’s more comfortable that way.”
“Ah, understood. Mr. Inwook.”
Perhaps because of the age difference, the casual “-ssi” didn’t roll off his tongue easily.
“Well, call me whatever you like. Could I get seven lunchboxes?”
“Seven?”
“You’re new here, and we haven’t eaten yet either.”
“Of course. Seven is no problem.”
All you had to do was take them. That was the beauty of lunchboxes.
“Thank you for the meal.”
“Oh, and if you bring the containers back, I’ll refund two thousand won per one.”
“Oh, really?”
Even considering that, the lunchboxes still felt quite affordable to the chairman.
“Then, we’ll enjoy them.”
“Yes. Thank you for being our first customers.”
Once the chairman left with seven lunchboxes in hand, it was finally time for Jungwoo and Seia to eat—and to start their real promotion.
When they opened the lunchbox lids on the stall, the dishes appeared, still carrying the exact warmth they had when first prepared.
Cold foods like kimchi stayed cold.
Hot foods like rice and other side dishes stayed hot.
Each one preserved its proper temperature perfectly.
“Let’s eat—”
“Let’s eeeat—”
People’s gazes were drawn to the warmth and aroma of the food in the lunchboxes, but Seia was already smacking her lips as if she had forgotten all about them.
Maybe it was because she was closest to that scent and warmth.
“Ah! Daddy! It’s that thing!”
“What thing?”
“Ssambap!”
Suddenly, the first day came to mind.
The very first customer at Seona’s Restaurant before it had even opened, and the ssam that looked like a giant dumpling that Seia had made herself.
Today’s Seia was different.
The reason was simple.
Because this one was for her.
“……”
A strange sense of betrayal washed over him.
She had given customers and her dad enormous ssams that were hard to fit in one bite, yet now she was wrapping them with refined elegance, like some kind of noble lady.
She split the lettuce in half, placed a modest amount of rice and side dishes inside.
Last time it had been a massive king dumpling, but this time it was the size of a regular water dumpling.
“Our Seia… sure knows how to make ssam, huh?”
“Hehe. Seia can do everything well!”
Seeing her giggle so adorably, it was clear she remembered what had happened on the first day too.
For Jungwoo and Seia, the contents of these lunchboxes were familiar.
They were the same dishes he used to make for her before opening the restaurant, and Seia had always eaten them with delight.
But for the hunters, it was different.
Strong hunters spent a lot of money on their meals.
Weaker hunters, on the other hand, didn’t.
To them, eating was simply a means to gain the energy needed to move.
They had no luxury to savor flavors or enjoy the experience.
That was probably why the street vendors selling dishes made from magic beast meat sold so well, even if they weren’t particularly tasty.
Of course, some people did enjoy the taste.
There were naturally places that served proper Korean set meals too.
But hunters were the kind of people who found even the time spent entering a restaurant, ordering, and waiting for the food to come out too precious to waste.
When they weren’t clearing gates, they trained, crafted equipment from harvested magic stones, or sold them.
They were people with too many things to do.
Even if they didn’t have to, those who had lived that way couldn’t easily break the habit.
“That smells good.”
“Wow, how long has it been since I smelled something like this?”
All the nearby restaurants required you to go inside to eat.
And those doors weren’t ordinary ones—they were mostly used by hunters.
The only places where the aroma of freshly cooked food wafted out were those selling magic beast meat dishes.
Those smells were what they encountered every day.
So familiar they had almost become tiresome.
And now, here was a scent from familiar memories.
“Hey, is that little kid eating one of the lunchboxes they’re selling?”
“No way. It’s probably just using the same container.”
Jungwoo didn’t miss the conversation the hunters were having nearby.
“Actually, she’s eating exactly what we’re selling.”
“Oh… really?”
It was the most trustworthy scene one could show people.
Food that you could feed your own child.
There was no clearer sign of trust than that.
It wasn’t that he had brought Seia along with that in mind.
From the beginning, Jungwoo and Seia were inseparable.
“I have to go clear a gate later. Should I try just one?”
“Me too. I’m getting a little sick of eating goblin meat every day.”
“A little? I’m already exhausted. Those goblin bastards even make their meat smell weird.”
It wasn’t some new or special dish.
Just the kind of food they used to eat as children.
The kind they still ate from time to time.
“Give me three lunchboxes.”
“Here you are. Thank you. The spoon and chopsticks are inside.”
After paying, the hunters sat down at the table right in front of the stall and opened their lunchboxes.
It was exactly the same as what the child had been eating.
“Wow, just smell that.”
“Looks good.”
“Ugh, now I want soju.”
“If you want to die inside the gate, go ahead and have a drink—”
The table turned out to have a bigger effect on the stall’s business than expected.
By the time Jungwoo and Seia had nearly finished their meal, the customers who started eating created an endless stream of delicious aromas.
“Whoa, damn. This is good.”
“This bean sprout soup is so refreshing.”
“…Should I get another one?”
Maybe because they were hunters, they finished their meals in no time.
And they still felt like it wasn’t quite enough.
It wasn’t that the portions were small.
They had simply eaten a lot.
“I—I want more.”
“Let’s eat. We’ve got time, right?”
“We can just eat it right away anyway.”
That was one of the greatest advantages of lunchboxes.
Plus, they preserved the warmth perfectly, so you could eat them immediately after opening.
“We’ll take three more… Oh, and we’ll return the containers.”
“Thank you.”
How long had they even been open? Already thirteen lunchboxes had been sold.
Since they had eaten two themselves, only ten remained.
“Excuse me, are the lunchboxes good?”
Hunters passing by asked as well.
Of course, they weren’t asking Jungwoo.
They were asking the other hunters who were wolfing down their lunchboxes on the terrace.
“Mmph, mmph.”
With their mouths full, they were saying something, but it wasn’t easy to understand.
Maybe they needed to call a hunter with language abilities?
But the thumbs-up they gave after swallowing made the meaning of their earlier words perfectly clear.
“Must be good, huh?”
“Yeah. Let’s get some next time.”
“…Now. Let’s eat now.”
“Unnie? We just ate.”
“No, we have to eat now.”
With an almost possessed look in her eyes, the older sister strode toward the stall.
There, Seia was waiting—having just wrapped her last ssam, popping it into her mouth with a blissful expression as she chewed.
“Hoo… hoo… Hello?”
“Hewwo!”
Even with her cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk, Seia never skipped a greeting.
The customer waited patiently until Seia finished chewing.
“Yes, yes. Is it good?”
“Yes! It’s dewisious. Pretty unnie, you should eat it too.”
It was Seia’s trademark.
Whenever she saw a pretty older girl, “pretty unnie” came out automatically.
How many people had fallen for that one phrase?
The customer was no exception.
“Hah… hah…”
The customer clutched her chest and let out a soft groan.
“Are you okay? Does it hurt?”
At Seia’s worried gaze, the customer suddenly wanted to see more of that expression.
But she couldn’t worry the child.
“No, no. I’m just happy. Really happy.”
“Hehe, that’s a relief.”
“…Boss. One lunchbox, please.”
“Unnie, what about me?”
“……?”
The older sister, who had been completely out of it, snapped back to reality at her younger sister’s question.
Hadn’t she just been scolding her for wanting to eat again?
“T-two, please.”
“Yes. Enjoy your meal!”
“Bye. I’ll come again, okay?”
“Okay! Pretty unnie!”
The younger sister dragged her older sister away, whose feet seemed reluctant to leave.
Luckily the terrace was empty, so they could eat there.
“How can she be that cute?”
“…Right? She’s seriously adorable.”
“The boss is handsome too. Their mom must be really beautiful, huh?”
“Well, probably. Let’s eat first.”
It was a somewhat—actually, very—impulsive purchase.
She had been debating whether to buy one or not, but after hearing the others talk, it did seem like they were saying it was delicious.
‘I’m not even that hungry…’
She could eat it later, but carrying the lunchbox around until then would be inconvenient.
So she decided to just eat it now.
The older sister had already opened the lid and was smacking her lips.
“Unnie, aren’t you full?”
“Yeah. After seeing our little angel, I don’t feel full anymore.”
“…Isn’t it usually the opposite?”
Shouldn’t seeing something cute make you lose your appetite?
And wasn’t that better…?
It was full of questions, but if her sister liked it that much, what could she say?
“Just like the little angel did earlier—”
She made a ssam with lettuce, a perfect amount of side dishes, and rice—essentially a spicy pork ssambap.
“Oh, wow. This is good. No, it’s seriously delicious.”
“…Really?”
Her older sister usually had rather cheap tastes.
So she had taken a bite with equal parts suspicion and anticipation.
‘…It really is good?’
It was genuinely delicious.
Even though she hadn’t been hungry, she wanted more.
Thanks to the customers eating on the terrace, the indirect mukbang never stopped.
It looked delicious, and the smell was wonderful.
When she checked how much time had passed, only about twenty minutes had gone by.
Only eight lunchboxes remained.
She had written the operating hours clearly on the display stand, along with a note that they would return in the evening. Maybe they could sell out the evening batch too?
They said a good start was half the battle. And it had been a great start.
It felt fulfilling.
The fact that people were enjoying the food.
The fact that they were looking at Seia so fondly.
And then, a welcome guest appeared before Jungwoo and Seia.