Chapter 45: Packaged Food

Grrrrk~

My stomach clock roared loudly from my belly.

“Ahem, I’m hungry. I’m about to eat now, but is there anyone who hasn’t eaten yet?”

“Could you wait about ten more minutes? The President said he’d like to join you for a meal and will be visiting soon.”

“Huh? Oh, then I’ll wait.”

“You must’ve had an empty stomach for a while, so soothe it by drinking plenty of water.”

Park Janghyeon gave advice that was even more thoughtful than my own plan of just whipping something up simply.

Hmm, he’s right.

I filled my stomach somewhat with water and waited.

Only after my stomach grumbled exactly five more times did the President arrive.

“It’s been a while. I heard you were asleep for several days and was worried.”

“Hello… Whoa?!”

The bags filling the President’s hands immediately caught my attention.

That subtle aroma…!!

“Aren’t you being a little too obvious about staring at the food? You really must be starving. Hahaha.”

“Ah, sorry. I guess my eyes lost control after starving for a few days. Haha.”

The President chuckled and began setting out the food he’d brought.

With every box he took out, the corners of my lips curled up before I realized it.

-You look truly happy.

Dish after dish was laid out, and the table filled up in an instant.

“Pizza! Plus chicken, pasta, and even fruit. Wow… it all looks delicious.”

“I assume no one’s eaten yet? Let’s have it together.”

The President, Park Janghyeon, Jinsu, and Kasia all took their seats at the table.

I was so hungry, my hand shook as it reached for a slice of pizza.

Hoo, this looks amazing!

But just as I picked up a slice, the President quickly snatched it away.

“Eh?! What are you doing…?”

It was such an absurd situation I couldn’t even manage my expression as I glared at the President.

Yet, he didn’t care about my angry stare, rummaging for something else instead.

“Ahh. Here’s yours. You said your stomach’s empty, right? If you eat such heavy food like this, you’ll get sick.”

The President began listing off abalone porridge, vegetable porridge, pumpkin porridge, chicken porridge, beef porridge—all for me to choose from.

Apparently, he didn’t know my preference, so he prepared everything.

“…Excuse me?”

“Just have some porridge. You can eat tasty things from the next meal onward.”

“Heo………”

It felt like my world was collapsing.

Seeing my face, the others burst out laughing.

You’re all laughing when I’m suffering over porridge?! Is that funny to you?!

-Eat your porridge, will you. I’ll try these instead. The smell is just too good. Mmm~

“Kasia is right. Brother, just enjoy watching us eat deliciously! Hahaha.”

“Eeeek!”

Now Kasia and Jinsu were even teasing me.

So irritating, I could barely keep from trembling.

“Come now, let’s eat. I bought simple stuff on purpose.”

With that, everyone picked their desired dishes and began to eat.

Especially the President—he took the slice of pizza he’d snatched from me and bit right in.

I thought he was a good person, but I was mistaken.

“This isn’t being frugal, this is just cruel… Potato pizza looks so good…”

Looking over the various porridges, my appetite vanished.

Still, if I had to eat, I’d choose the chicken porridge…

Sigh.

Spoonful of porridge, stare at the pizza, eat.

Spoonful of porridge, look at the chicken, eat.

In a few spoonfuls, I finished the chicken porridge clean.

Clack!

Sssss—

“Gasp! Cola!”

The crisp, refreshing sound of a cola being opened made its way to Jinsu’s lips.

Gulp.

I stared so hard that I swallowed unconsciously.

“Cola should be fine, right? I filled up on chicken porridge, so I’m not on an empty stomach anymore.”

Right on cue, Kasia smoothly slid the cola just out of my reach.

Ugh… Traitor…!

Whether I was shaking or not, Kasia was busy tasting all the new foods.

-This thing called pizza, it’s delicious. All sorts of ingredients with different flavors piled atop soft bread create such variety. My tongue is delighted! And this end part. Even the end is tasty. The cheese inside stretches so much!

Kasia marveled, tugging a long string of cheese from the pizza crust as she took a bite.

I—I want just one bite!

“Kasia, try the pasta too. I never noticed before, but the President has good taste! To think he’d buy all these kinds of food.”

The President shot Jinsu a look as if to say, ‘What’s this guy’s deal?’

But Jinsu didn’t care at all.

He even stopped Kasia from using chopsticks on the pasta, kindly explaining how to eat it with a fork and spoon.

“This is called cream pasta. You mix the noodles with the cream sauce before eating.”

He twirled the pasta with fork and spoon, making a bite-sized portion, and offered it to Kasia.

• Ah. Let me try myself.

Kasia politely declined and practiced herself.

It wasn’t a difficult technique, so she quickly succeeded. After taking a bite, her expression showed surprise.

• Ohh. This is good too. The noodles are soaked in rich, savory sauce and have a heavy texture.

After pizza, Kasia must have found the cream pasta heavy, so she gulped down the cola.

“Come to think of it, everything’s a bit rich. I do like rich food, though.”

Ding-dong~! Ding-dong~!

Who could that be? I’m not expecting anyone.

Could it be reporters again?!

Before opening the door, I peered through the peephole…

Dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-ding-dong~!

“It’s Minjun.”

The only person who rings the bell like that is my little brother.

Well, of course he wouldn’t miss out on a gathering like this.

When I opened the door, Minjun came in first, followed by Han Suyeon.

Han Suyeon held up what she’d brought, shaking it as if to show us.

“Oh! Is that tteokbokki? Sometimes you show some real sense!”

The essential spicy food to balance out all these rich dishes.

Jinsu welcomed it, but Kasia and I didn’t.

• Hmm. That’s spicy.

“Ah… I love tteokbokki too.”

“Huh? Why, Minho?”

When Han Suyeon heard that I couldn’t have spicy food after starving for days, she looked disappointed.

“I even waited in line at a famous spot to get this… what a shame.”

“We can eat it.”

“I didn’t buy it for you, Dad.”

Han Suyeon snapped back, and the President muttered with a sulky face.

“So much for raising a daughter… Ahem.”

He really does get soft in front of his daughter.

Noticing my gaze, the President changed the subject.

“Aren’t you curious why I suddenly showed up?”

“I was wondering, since you must be busy, what brought you all the way out here?”

“Well, the TV… Ah, there it is. Would you turn it on for a moment?”

I found the Remote Control and turned on the TV.

The President naturally took the Remote Control and switched to the News Channel.

• Just a week ago, we discovered that the mysterious race called the Elf truly exists.

And today, surprisingly, a bill allowing their immigration to Korea has passed the National Assembly.

This historic moment marks a new relationship between humans and the Elf.

The Elf are a mysterious race…

“It’s a little late, but it passed as expected.”

“Wow… Finally. You came in person to show me. Thank you. You worked hard.”

“I thought I’d check in and visit anyway. Sorry for being late. Whenever you’re ready, let them know they can immigrate.”

Now all that’s left is for the Elf to move to Korea.

The land is prepared, and if they learn to farm, self-sufficiency won’t be too difficult.

‘The plan is perfect for now…

But preparations aren’t completely finished yet.

“There’s just one thing I’m worried about.”

“You mean reporters? Or that Guild?”

“Yes, that too. And also that Yeongjin Jeon guy.”

“Ahh. Since the location was revealed, we’ve been concerned about that as well. We’ll keep you under guard until things settle down.”

If anyone in the country holds the highest authority, it’s the President. His promise is reassuring and reliable.

“And as for that Yeongjin Jeon bastard—we’ve found his trail. We should be able to catch him soon, so don’t worry.”

“But then the curse might cause more trouble, so I’ll prepare some Porti Root just in case.”

“That’s fine. Go ahead and profit by selling it to a strong group as planned. I’ll take Porti myself. Heh heh.”

The President winked one eye mischievously like a child about to play a prank.

This too was a form of consideration.

Grateful, I met the President’s gaze and smiled.

“What are you doing?”

Just then, Minjun jumped up as if discovering something and walked to the sofa.

He knelt down and poked at something.

“Why’s there a cat at your place?”

• Hiss! Meow!

It was Heuknyang, who had come in through the hole in the front door.

“I call her Heuknyang. Haven’t you seen her before?”

“Heuknyang? Now you’re raising a cat too?”

“Yeah. Didn’t you see the doghouse out front? I have Hindungi as well.”

“You’re running a whole animal farm.”

Minjun shrugged and returned to his seat.

“I kept seeing it prowling around hungry, probably eyeing the chickens. Figured it’s better to feed it myself than have it go after them.”

Although I say I’m raising them, I let them roam free, so we don’t cross paths that often.

Still, when she comes in, she sticks to the sofa, and she always finishes her food, so I don’t really worry.

Kkaetokwatsyong~

‘Who could it be? No one contacts me except for the people gathered here.’

After disappearing for over three years, I had no one to keep in touch with.

[Minho, please reply when you’re able to talk.]

Ah, there is one.

Kim Sang-hyun.

I excused myself and took the call.

Just a simple congratulations on the passage of the Elf Immigration Act.

“Thank you. Oh, I meant to mention—could you check if any strong groups are interested in ocean pollution?”

It was the problem the Merfolk had told me about when I met them before.

But it was an issue beyond what an individual could solve, so I’d planned to ask the government, corporations, or environmental groups for help.

Since he called, it was a good chance to pass it on.

“I have friends who live in the ocean, but they say it’s so full of trash they can’t live there anymore.”

Before I knew it, everyone nearby was listening to my conversation.

Kim Sang-hyun said he’d look into it and hung up.

-Friends who live in the ocean? Isn’t the ocean full of water? How do you have friends there?

“Kasia, do you know about a race called Merfolk?”

Jinsu, having apparently met Merfolk too, brought it up faster than I did.

Now that I think about it, Kasia had read Dwarf language at the recovery party.

Kasia seemed to be searching her memory, her eyes dimming and lips tightening.

-I remember now. Yes, a race that lives in water. We lived in the forest, so we hardly interacted, but I recall hearing stories of such a people.

“That time, the squid?”

Minjun remembered too.

“Yeah. We met by chance again at the beach, and that’s when I heard their story.”

At that moment, the President casually remarked,

“Are you some sort of magnet for other races? First Elf, now Merfolk. Ordinary people can’t even meet them, but you’ve already encountered two.”

Come to think of it… They don’t know, but I recently met a Dwarf, too.

So that makes Elf, Merfolk, and Dwarf—a total of three different races I’ve met.

“Now that you mention it, the Merfolk said they live on the East Coast… They’ll be neighbors with the Elf who immigrate here.”

“Guess we should start cleaning up the trash from the East Sea first, then?”

“That sounds like the best idea.”

“So, the Merfolk will be living in Korea too? Not that it matters. This law isn’t just for Elf immigration, but for all races. I’ll help as a formal greeting in advance.”

As expected of the Superhuman Association President, he promised to help in ways ordinary people couldn’t.

He said he’d mobilize water-related superhumans en masse.

The President called someone, put them on speaker, and immediately asked,

“Hey, Secretary Kim. How many water-related superhumans do we have at the Association right now? Really? Any abilities that could help clean up ocean trash?”

Secretary Kim must be highly competent.

He reported everything the President wanted without any delay.

Apparently, there was a Hunter who could control the flow of water, and another who could freeze even seawater.

“Good. If there are any others who could help, make a list.”

The President hung up and stood.

“You all heard, right? Time for me to go. Call me when you’re ready. See you next time.”

Once the President left, the Hunters began to buzz.

“Wow~ I’ve never seen Dad take such initiative before.”

“Really? He always seemed hardworking to me.”

Both in the hospital and regarding the Elf immigration.

He never dragged his feet, did he?

Hearing my words, Jinsu tilted his head thoughtfully, then clapped his hands.

“Maybe it’s because of you, brother? He wants to keep a good relationship with you…”

“Oh, come on, I’m not that important!”

I waved it off, but I felt it too, if only vaguely.

My power was starting to shine more and more.