Hyejin stared back and forth between the résumé and the man smiling brightly in front of her, momentarily at a loss for words.
Then she suddenly glanced at the clock.
Only about one minute remained of the promised five.
Focus, focus.
She decided to think it through one more time.
She still wanted to cook and sell warm things like soup or stew at the convenience store.
But if she hired someone as high-class as Cha Seojun as a mere part-timer, wouldn’t she have to negotiate a corporate-level salary instead of an hourly pay?
Then she wondered what Suho would say if he saw this.
Giving only Seojun a higher rate wouldn’t be fair.
And I’m worried whether he’ll get along with Suho-ssi…
From her countless part-time experiences, harmony between part-timers was important too.
Even if they worked different shifts, they’d still run into each other often.
If one was outgoing and the other introverted and shy, they might end up frustrating each other.
That would mean stress.
And hiring two people who’d stress each other out wasn’t the right choice for a manager.
No matter how shift-based the store was, she couldn’t leave the entire convenience store to a Cooking Master alone.
The sole reason to hire him was to make food to sell.
Of course she had no intention of working him 24 hours, but he would definitely have more freedom than the other part-timers.
“This place may look small, but it actually gets pretty busy. Especially mornings.”
“I see.”
Normal convenience stores were busier in the morning when people were heading to work rather than heading home.
The same went for inside the dungeon.
Many hunters bought necessary items before heading deeper in.
Some came with huge backpacks and stocked up on toilet paper, wet wipes, antidote potions, or bandages that perfectly regenerated torn flesh.
There were even hunters who hoarded food along with daily necessities.
Some ate bread or other snacks at the outdoor tables before leaving, because eating while walking around was dangerous when you had to fight monsters at any moment.
But would those busy hunters really take the time to sit and eat freshly cooked food if the store started offering it?
Hyejin briefly worried whether all her ideas were actually impossible.
Whew.
And if she were to be a little more honest and personal, she kept wondering whether Seojun was the right person for this job.
Because Seojun was the chef her father had adored and looked up to.
Hyejin knew all too well how passionately her late father, who once dreamed of becoming a chef, had followed Seojun’s broadcasts and books.
That made it even harder to decide lightly.
Was it really right to have that amazing chef cook instant convenience-store food?
But there was no more time to agonize.
She couldn’t decide hastily either.
The quest reward glimmered temptingly before her eyes, yet Hyejin had already made up her mind.
She would postpone the decision.
“To be completely honest, Seojun-ssi… I don’t think I can hire you right now.”
At Hyejin’s firm words, Seojun’s mouth fell open in shock before he hurriedly asked,
“May, may I ask why?”
“I’m sorry, but a sudden doubt hit me. Is it really right to hire someone of your caliber as a convenience-store part-timer? I can’t pay you what that hotel paid you, and I’m not capable enough to treat you like a regular part-timer. I’m just barely running this one little store.”
Hyejin laid out her worries as honestly as possible, but Seojun’s face hardened; he clearly wasn’t convinced.
He seemed to search for words.
“That… that won’t do.”
“…Pardon?”
“This place is my last hope.”
There wasn’t a single trace of pretense in Seojun’s voice. He truly saw this store as his final lifeline.
“I’m not as great as you think, Manager-nim, and I haven’t lived some glamorous life either. Even before the dungeon gates appeared, my life had already hit rock bottom.”
“What do you mean?”
“There were just… too many people who hated me. I thought if I ignored it and stayed quiet, things would get better, but only later did I realize that by not responding clearly was what ruined everything.”
Only then did Hyejin remember.
The time before the dungeon gates burst open felt like ancient history now, so she had forgotten the old gossip.
Back then, public opinion about Seojun had been the absolute worst.
Malicious comments poured in every day, and articles tearing him down appeared nonstop.
Hyejin hadn’t known the exact reason; she had been too busy surviving to dig into celebrity scandals.
“From your expression, it seems you already knew.”
“Not the details…”
“It might sound like an excuse, but I’ve always taken cooking seriously. I want you to know that.”
Hyejin could tell he wasn’t lying. She had seen plenty of people ruined by malicious attacks.
Maybe this place really was his last hope.
When Seojun finished speaking and hung his head without another word, Hyejin cautiously called,
“Seojun-ssi?”
“Ah, yes.”
His face was heavily shadowed when he looked up. Hyejin gazed at him worriedly, then fetched an energy drink from the fridge.
“It’s absolutely not because you’re lacking or because I don’t like you. I just thought hiring you here would be wasting your talent. You’re the best chef in the entire country, after all.”
She offered what comfort she could, guessing how he must feel.
Knowing his circumstances didn’t make reversing her decision easy.
She handed him the drink, slipped out of the staff room, and went to Asha.
“Asha, what do I do?”
Hyejin asked with a thoroughly dejected face.
Asha kept a stern expression but raised one dainty paw and patted Hyejin’s shoulder as if to say she understood.
“Well, nothing to be done. If you need time.”
『Interview time has ended. Will you hire Hunter Cha Seojun? YES / NO』
The blinking system window appeared again. Hyejin whispered,
“Not yet.”
『That is not a valid answer. If you do not select a valid answer, the convenience store will receive a penalty.』
“What? A penalty?”
Hyejin jerked her head up and leaned toward the window.
What the hell, nobody told me about penalties!
“I never thought you’d fail a quest, so I didn’t mention it. If you fail a system quest, the store gets a penalty, same as in games. Could be forced closure for a set time, forced reduction in customer traffic, all food suddenly disappearing and tanking sales… all sorts of random penalties.”
“You should’ve told me sooner!”
Just then,
Hyejin froze like stone at the shock of the penalty.
『Quest Failure Penalty: For the next hour, the convenience store will vanish to a place customers cannot find.』
“W-What does that even mean!?”
Asha shook her head and explained.
“In simple terms, even if people want to come, the store becomes invisible to them.”
This is insane.
As despair washed over Hyejin, the front door burst open and four men in brown vests walked in.
“Your order has arrived!”
“Ah—yes? Oh, oh, right, today is the day…”
“Isn’t this the furniture order?”
“Yes, you said you’d deliver by this afternoon.”
Hyejin’s eyes flicked to the wall clock. 9 a.m. She had thought there was plenty of time until afternoon, but they had only promised “by afternoon,” so morning delivery was perfectly possible.
She had completely forgotten about the furniture delivery while distracted by Seojun’s interview.
“Where would you like these? We heard there’s a staff room about ten pyeong big inside the store. That should be enough for everything. May we take a look first?”
The delivery crew was unbelievably polite and friendly, far more so than the receptionists at SS-rank crafter companies.
Hyejin showed them the staff room, intending to talk to Seojun again afterward, but his previously dark face had brightened dramatically.
His gaze was fixed on the kitchen fixtures being carried in.
“I’ll help too!”
Before Hyejin could stop him, Seojun rushed over and helped the workers lift the sink.
Then he let out an exclamation at the new cutting boards and knives.
“To think I’d get to use cutting boards and knives of this quality…”
In an instant, the man who had come for an interview had turned back into an ordinary chef, eyes sparkling.
To a chef like him, cutting boards and knives were practically life itself.
“Um, Seojun-ssi…”
“Yes? Ah, sorry. How did you manage to get these? I heard there’s a company run by SS-rank crafters, but I was told normal people can’t even step inside. I only ever looked at them on the community boards. I’m an SS-rank hunter, but my wallet is completely empty.”
“Haha, right… anyway, Seojun-ssi.”
He looked like an excited child in front of the knives and boards; Hyejin opened and closed her mouth several times, unable to speak.
Seeing her troubled expression, Seojun gradually returned to normal.
He gave a gentle nod as if to say she didn’t have to say anything.
“Understood. I’ll take it as failing the interview and leave now.”
That was exactly what Hyejin had meant to say, yet the moment he turned to leave, she suddenly felt she couldn’t let him go like this.
Shouldn’t she at least give him a proper chance?
“No, wait!”
Seojun stopped just as he was about to step outside.
At that moment, one of the delivery men approached Hyejin.
“We’ve finished setting everything up. Water pipes and sink are connected, ready for immediate use. The ‘specially ordered hunter-grade cooking tools’ that Lady Asha requested are all stored away too. Plates, frying pans, toaster, oven, pots, cups, everything is in the cabinets.”
“Please note: they only show their full effects when used by a Cooking Master. If a non-Cooking Master hunter uses them, they’ll function like ordinary civilian cookware.”
“Thank you!”
Are items bought from an S-craft workshop just different? Even the speed is SS-rank.
After signing the receipt and seeing the crew out, Hyejin turned back to Seojun.
“Seojun-ssi, I suddenly have a craving for an omelette. I’ll buy the ingredients. Could you make one for me?”
“Huh? All of a sudden?”
Seojun looked baffled at the abrupt request, but his eyes kept darting toward the staff-room kitchen. His hands twitched, his pupils dancing.
Seeing that, Hyejin smiled again and added,
“I know this is selfish, but I really, really want to taste your cooking at least once. This isn’t a test, just a request from a fan. Pretty please?”
Seojun finally understood what she was doing.
She was giving him, someone who hadn’t been able to cook in far too long, a kitchen, and one equipped with the very SS-rank tools he had only dreamed of.
He let out a small sigh and answered,
“Alright. I’ll make it for you.”
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