A Sparkling Encounter
The shop was bustling with customers browsing the wares, just as expected.
Even though it catered to hunters, it wasn’t all that different from an ordinary store. The only distinction lay in the items it stocked.
Truthfully, no matter how special the goods were, Jungwoo didn’t know much about them. As long as the material didn’t tear easily and folded without trouble, anything would do.
“Welcome.”
A staff member approached Jungwoo with a smile. While other customers wandered freely, an employee had been assigned specifically to Jungwoo and Seia.
“Hello.”
“Hellooo–”
The staff member smiled warmly at Seia’s polite bow, then stepped aside with a slight tilt of the body.
“Is there something you’re looking for?”
“Ah, well…”
Would it be all right to say they were looking for something to fold into ddakji? Jungwoo had planned to simply browse until he found something suitable.
“Seia wants to fold ddakji!”
Seia answered for him. Worried her father might have forgotten, she stepped forward first.
“Ddakji? Let me see if it’s the kind I’m thinking of…”
There were many varieties of ddakji. The old-fashioned kind you folded yourself, and later versions printed with cartoon characters.
“I think it’s the first kind. We’re going to fold them ourselves.”
“Ah, in that case, we have just the thing.”
Following the staff member, they arrived at a section already crowded with people. Thin materials with various properties were quite popular.
“Since it’s a form of paper folding, something sturdy yet easy to fold would be ideal.”
“Yes, exactly. Thank you.”
Thanks to the staff member’s recommendation, Jungwoo found a promising option—thin like paper, yet strong and flexible.
“This should be perfect.”
“Yes, it looks just right.”
“Wow! It’s so soft!”
Seia had already begun poking the mysterious paper with her fingers, fascinated.
“Haha. Feel free to touch it as much as you like. Here.”
The staff member tore off a small piece and handed it to her with a smile.
“Um…”
Seia glanced up at Jungwoo. He had never explicitly told her not to accept things from strangers, but she had watched him closely over time. He never accepted gifts lightly—except for candy or snacks.
“It’s all right. Just remember to say thank you.”
“Yeees! Thank youuu–”
“Haha. Now I understand why you said that.”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, never mind. How many sheets would you like?”
Jungwoo couldn’t quite grasp the meaning, but it didn’t sound negative, so he simply stated the amount they needed.
“Five sheets, please.”
“Of course. One moment, please.”
With practiced hands, the staff member cut the thin, sturdy paper and guided them to the counter. After wrapping the purchase neatly, he held the box up and gently blew on the ribbon tied around it. The ribbon shimmered and began to glow softly.
“Here you are.”
The staff member handed the box to Seia rather than Jungwoo. It was light and the perfect size for her small hands.
Or so it seemed at first. When he brought it closer, it looked just a little large for her after all.
“It’s so prettyyy…”
“Haha. Would you like me to make the other things sparkle too?”
“Oh! Really?!”
“Of course.”
“Please, please do it!”
The staff member’s magic gently enveloped Seia, warm and comforting without being overwhelming. Soon, her clothes began to shimmer just like the ribbon on the gift box.
“Wooow…!”
“Do you like it?”
“It’s so beautiful!”
Seia’s outfit glowed with a soft, radiant light. She had worn her usual brown clothes today, but paired with the autumn season, the shimmering fabric gave her an almost regal air.
“Don’t worry—the effect washes out.”
“Thank you. We’ll come again.”
“Please do visit anytime.”
As Jungwoo and Seia left, another staff member approached the one who had served them.
“Manager, why did you handle that yourself?”
“Because it had to be done. And you don’t need to know anything more.”
The manager answered with his usual friendly smile, but his sharp tone left the other employee unable to ask further questions.
Seia, clearly delighted by the sparkling effect, hurried out of the shop with quick little steps, clutching the box in both hands.
Jungwoo and Seia stepped out into the corridor, their footsteps light with excitement. All that remained was to return to the restaurant.
‘Right. We were supposed to make a bet.’
He had planned to challenge Seia before opening for business, but once sales began, there had been no time. It seemed such things required a certain level of experience.
“Daddyyy! Look at this. Seia’s sparkling so much!”
Even after leaving the shop, Seia couldn’t stop admiring the glow.
“You’re right. Our Seia was already pretty, but now she’s even prettier.”
“Heheh.”
Her eyes curved into adorable crescents whenever she smiled.
The bet could wait until later. It looked like Seia had forgotten about it too.
‘…But can I even win?’
The more he thought about it, the less likely victory seemed. Almost everything they had sold today had been thanks to Seia. While Jungwoo’s abilities far surpassed hers, even his skills couldn’t compete with her charm.
‘Isn’t this unfair…?’
Could anything be more unfair than this? If Seia stood at the stall later holding lunchboxes in both hands and called out “Unnie!”, every female hunter would surely open her wallet. Male hunters wouldn’t be immune either. A single “Ahjussi!” would be enough to loosen anyone’s purse strings.
With that thought, the outcome of their bet already felt decided.
“Daddyyy.”
“Hm?”
“Can you fold ddakji well?”
“Of course. I used to make them too, you know.”
When Jungwoo was young, smartphones hadn’t been everywhere. Many of his friends didn’t even have cell phones. After school, they would head to the neighborhood stationery store to buy cheap snacks for a hundred or three hundred won. They would play arcade games out front or run around the playground. Recess was much the same—girls played gonggi or chased boys who teased them, while boys played marbles, cards, or ddakji.
‘It’s funny how those old memories are coming back.’
And the person he wanted to share even a fragment of those memories with was none other than Seia. It filled him with joy—and a quiet sense of pride.
Maybe they should try other games too. Gonggi, marbles, and the like.
They were nearly out of the lounge when something on the opposite wall caught Jungwoo’s eye—a large mirror covering an entire section of the wall. Their reflections appeared side by side.
“Seia.”
“Yeees?”
“Want to go look in the mirror?”
“Yes! Let’s gooo!”
She had clearly been wanting to see it too—her own reflection in the sparkling clothes.
They stood together before the mirror. Jungwoo’s gaze never left Seia, and Seia’s eyes remained fixed on herself.
“How do you look?”
“So prettyyy…”
Whether seen directly or through the mirror, she was endlessly adorable. Seia twirled and swayed, turning the shimmer into waves of light that danced across her clothes. To Jungwoo, it looked like a tiny aurora.
“Let’s come back and see it again sometime, all right?”
“Yeees. Will it sparkle then too?”
“Hmm, I’m not sure. If we only come to see the sparkles, maybe that’s all we’ll end up looking for.”
“Oh!”
Seia seemed to understand the gentle reminder that the staff member wouldn’t always be there to make things glow.
“What a good girl. Now let’s really go.”
“Yeees! Home!”
Only then did father and daughter leave the lounge behind.
And someone had been watching them the entire time.
“They sold every single lunchbox, I hear.”
“Indeed. Not one left. They expected it to take two hours, but it seems they finished a little over thirty minutes in.”
Jungwoo and Seia had only visited the first floor, but the conversation was taking place on the lounge’s highest level. The lounge was the largest hub for hunters coming and going, and rumor had it that anything was possible within its walls.
From the top floor, one could observe everything happening below—specific individuals or entire areas alike.
Seong Ye-eun and Park Geon-su sat in the opulent upper level, watching the first floor unfold. They had been watching for quite some time.
“Didn’t I tell you? I said they’d sell out quickly.”
“I suppose I agreed with that assessment…”
“You said it would take about an hour, Guild Leader.”
“Well… that’s true enough.”
Park Geon-su had half a mind to buy everything himself and distribute the lunchboxes to the lounge staff. But that wasn’t the kind of help they wanted. He could create opportunities, yet he wouldn’t hand them the results.
Fortunately, the father and daughter—and especially the child’s father—were stronger than anyone. It was their first time doing something like this; they could have been nervous or struggled, but they had done remarkably well.
“That’s why I said we should have someone buy the lunchboxes for us.”
“Hoho. What’s there to worry about? We can simply go and eat there ourselves. Isn’t that right?”
“Well… I suppose that’s true.”
“Since we’re on the subject, how about lunch?”
“Let’s do that.”
Seong Ye-eun didn’t notice the sharp glint in Park Geon-su’s eyes.
“Shall we go, then?”
“Hoho, it’s the first time I’ve seen you this eager. Very well. Let’s be off.”
What should they order today? There were still quite a few menu items they hadn’t tried. He had heard that last time the special was ttukbaegi bulgogi.
Seong Ye-eun’s thoughts grew deeper, but unfortunately, her dilemma wouldn’t be resolved by lunchtime.
“This place is…”
“You know it too, don’t you?”
Provan Restaurant.
It was their destination for lunch—a place counted among the top three restaurants in the area.