By Zephyria Black hair and a white scarf. A mask so iconic, it was impossible not to recognize who it was supposed to be.
‘Isn’t this a violation of portrait rights?’
To anyone who saw it, this was clearly a character depiction of Hunter J, Cha Eui-jae himself. Should this be called a violation of portrait rights, or a violation of mask copyright? Were they just using his likeness so freely because they thought he was dead?
To be fair, J hadn’t only appeared in this book. Whether everyone thought it was fine to use his image since he was dead, or because he was just a convenient figure to insert when explaining the post-Day of the Rift era, J was the second most frequently appearing figure in all sorts of media, right after Jung-bin.
When he appeared on broadcasts and such, he didn’t really think much of it, but seeing it printed in a place like this felt strangely unsettling. Maybe he should have set up a foundation with the royalties back when he hit S-rank as a commemoration. Feeling troubled, Eui-jae clicked his tongue, then gestured for Ha-eun to head to the checkout counter.
“That’ll be thirty thousand won.”
‘That’s the price of two bowls of Hangover Soup.’
Calmly pulling out cash from his wallet to pay, Eui-jae exited the bookstore holding the book in one hand and Ha-eun’s hand in the other.
After the Day of the Rift, prices had skyrocketed as if piercing through the roof. The Hangover Soup sold at Grandmother’s long-established restaurant used to be seven thousand won, but due to rising ingredient costs, the price had increased to fifteen thousand won, though even that was considered very cheap compared to the local prices. Maybe that’s why Hunters flocked there so much…. Those guys with all their money.
“Uncle.”
“Yeah?”
His train of thought halted at her sudden call. Ha-eun pointed at Eui-jae’s other hand with her finger.
“I’ll carry the book.”
Since one book wasn’t too heavy for a child to carry, he readily handed it over. Ha-eun let go of her uncle’s hand she was holding and carefully cradled the book in both arms. She seemed elated, having gotten something she wanted.
“Where are we going now?”
“Where do you mean, ‘where’? I’m taking you home, then I’m going to the restaurant to prepare for the evening service.”
“Hmph. Boring.”
Answering without a moment’s hesitation, Ha-eun pouted her lips. She seemed to want to go to the restaurant with him, but Eui-jae shrugged his shoulders as if to say there was nothing he could be done.
“I can’t have you there in the evening; there’s too much to prepare. I’ll buy you ice cream, so go home and eat it with Grandmother.”
“…Okay.”
He patted her round head as she reluctantly nodded, and they walked side by side. Despite everything, Ha-eun, who walked clinging tightly to his side, was undeniably cute, so Eui-jae placed a hand on her small shoulder.
Cha Eui-jae, not Hunter J but a part-timer at the Hangover Soup Restaurant, had to cook another bowl of Hangover Soup for the Hunters today. The daily routine of the Hangover Soup Restaurant was as follows.
6 AM: The restaurant opens. Then, Hunters who’ve run through up to five rounds of company dinners all night come to the restaurant for a sixth round, or Hunters soaked in overtime, softened to a pulp, cling to the door like barnacles before scurrying in to grab seats. The customers during this time were, for the most part, literal zombies. They’d even place orders like,
“U-aeh.”
“Okay. Two Hangover Soups.”
In that manner…. Eui-jae even started thinking he should take up zombie simultaneous interpretation as a third job.
After the zombie customers finished their meals and staggered out, relatively normal customers would start arriving. Most were people coming for breakfast before work. Although they were also draped in their own layers of fatigue, they were at least a step up.
Then came lunchtime, from 11:30 AM to 2 PM. This was the period with the best table turnover rate. The customers arriving then were, of course, eight or nine out of ten Hunters, who would swarm in like a high tide and recede like an ebb tide.
During this time, if an emergency call came in, there were sometimes Hunters who’d abandon their half-eaten Hangover Soup and scramble out in a panic. Whenever that happened, the surrounding Hunters would all gaze after their retreating figures with a shared sense of pity. A tragic Hunter forced to leave behind rabbit-like Hangover Soup… because that could very well be them tomorrow.
Once the storm of lunchtime was over, Eui-jae would promptly hang a “Preparation Time” sign on the door. Taking a break was essential when dealing with Hunters, who had voracious appetites. During this time, he would go pick up Ha-eun from school, tackle the piled-up dishes, prepare ingredients, and get ready for the evening service.
Finally, the evening shift from 5 PM to 10 PM. Lunchtime was hectic too, but honestly, the Hangover Soup Restaurant operated even more frantically in the evening. While most aspects weren’t much different from the earlier hours, dealing with Hunters who threw tantrums, begging to sell them just one more bottle of soju, was no ordinary nuisance.
Seeing them hide empty bottles just to drink one more made him sigh involuntarily. Their repertoire was all the same, and their only trick was stashing them in their Inventory. He wondered about the psychology of ordering soju when, unless it was alcohol specifically for Awakened, they couldn’t even get drunk anyway. Eui-jae simply couldn’t understand it.
“Phew….”
And now, 10:20 PM. After brandishing a stainless steel soup ladle to chase out the last customer lingering, refusing to leave, the restaurant returned to the tranquility of a long-established shop, as if it had never been bustling. Eui-jae, who had been clearing the tables, straightened his back for a moment and let out a long sigh. Another day of living diligently….
After finishing wiping the tables, sweeping the floor, and doing the dishes, he picked up the basket of whole garlic from the kitchen corner and came to sit at the table right next to the counter. Since he primarily lived in the attached warehouse/single room of the Hangover Soup Restaurant, closing up and opening preparations naturally fell to him.
Rustle, rustle. As he skillfully peeled the garlic, a thought suddenly occurred to Eui-jae.
‘Living like this isn’t so bad.’
A life where he didn’t have to be summoned here and there by calls from the Management Bureau, didn’t have to wrestle with Monsters, and could just sit still peeling garlic…. There couldn’t be a more luxurious life than this. Perhaps this was the life he had been yearning for all along….
Despite leading such a relatively peaceful daily life, Eui-jae’s recent worry was Grandmother’s leg health. Her mobility had become noticeably more difficult over the past month, so lately, Eui-jae was handling most of the restaurant work. She really needed to go to the hospital for a check-up. What if she needed surgery?
Eui-jae let out a soft sigh. The restaurant business was so busy that taking a single day off wasn’t easy, and arranging the surgery fee was an even bigger problem. J had lived comfortably without money worries, but Cha Eui-jae did not. That’s because, after deciding to live quietly, he had donated all the money he had to the West Sea Rift Foundation. Even with the monthly sponsorship money he added, it fell far short of covering surgery costs.
Frowning, he peeled the garlic skin and sank into thought.
‘If it really comes to it, I’ll just run a Dungeon in secret… and try to sell something.’
Since byproducts from Dungeons generally fetched a decent price, it might help with the surgery fees. Just as Eui-jae was pondering in his head which place to break into and how, the counter phone rang, unusually for this hour. Eui-jae picked up the receiver, cradling it on his shoulder, and continued peeling garlic.
“Yes, this is the Hangover Soup Restaurant.”
He often got calls asking if delivery was possible, so, as always, he planned to answer that they were already closed for the day and didn’t offer delivery anyway, then hang up. But the unexpected voice that came next made his fingers freeze mid-action.
―Oh dear, Eui-jae….
“Grandmother?”
It was Grandmother. The slight tremor at the end of her voice suggested the situation wasn’t normal. Eui-jae held his breath and waited for her next words. A moment later, Grandmother’s voice came through the receiver.
―Ha-eun has disappeared.
“What? Ha-eun is missing?”
Flustered, Eui-jae quickly adjusted his grip on the receiver. Grandmother, seemingly unable to calm down, continued urgently.
―Ha-eun went somewhere and isn’t here, oh dear. I don’t know when she went out, not a mouse or a bird knows. The world is so scary these days, ah, for a child to go out alone….
Eui-jae glanced at the clock. 10:20 PM. It was far too late for an elementary school lower-grader to be wandering around alone. A dreadful “what if” thought abruptly popped into his head, but he forcefully pushed it away.
“I’ll contact the police first. And I’ll go out and look for her too, so please rest for now. It’ll be nothing.”
After putting down the knife and garlic, Eui-jae deliberately spoke brightly. Grandmother asked worriedly.
―Oh my, child…. Are you really okay?
“I’m fine, really. Please don’t worry too much.”
―Be careful. Ha-eun probably couldn’t have gone that far, right? Eui-jae, you too, don’t wander around too late, come back quickly, be safe. Understood?
“Yes. I’ll contact you again later.”
After hanging up, the image of Ha-eun, happy after buying the book, came to mind. Eui-jae’s face, as he prepared to go out, was stiff, unlike his voice from just moments before. Saying “it’ll be nothing” was also to reassure himself.
Eui-jae, having put on a mask, strode out the door and stepped outside. Then he locked the door and hung the red “Closed” sign. The night air was quite chilly.