By Zephyria The heavy strawberry-patterned shopping basket swung.
Twelve years had passed since the Day of the Rift, and now, with the Whitehole and System gone.
The great Hunter era that had replaced the 5th Industrial Revolution had come to a shabby end.
The era when over 80% of children dreamed of becoming Hunters, Dungeon Slime ASMR videos were trending, and idle Hunters were doing unboxing broadcasts with A-grade longswords…
…had passed, and Hunters had gone from being objects of admiration to nuisances.
“Hunters? What Hunters? Those guys are lucky if they don’t starve to death.”
“There are too many Hunter thugs. It’s scary.”
“I can’t even go down an alleyway anymore. They’re always waiting in shady places to shake you down.”
That was right. Even the great generals who once commanded an era become unemployed, scratching their bellies in peaceful times. Former Hunters and current unemployed people who had lost their means of making money wandered around looking for a way to survive. However, many failed to adapt to the changed world and turned to crime.
The Awakened Management Bureau’s posters and hotlines for recruiting new Awakened had been replaced with numbers for reporting criminals, and the existing crime reporting number, 555, was discarded. The bookstore’s bestseller corner had also been turned upside down.
1st Place: 『The Fall of the Hunters, Is the General Public Not Responsible?』
2nd Place: 『Secrets to Getting Rich with Just One Book』
3rd Place: 『The Hunter Era~The Fall of the Era~』
[Report Awakened Crime at 777!]
[The Awakened Management Bureau Keeps You Safe.]
In the new poster, Jung-bin was crossing his arms and staring straight ahead with a trustworthy face. The young man stared at Jung-bin’s poster on the wall before walking away. Just then, his phone rang. The gray-haired young man put the phone to his ear.
“Hello.”
―Where are you now?
A blunt voice rang out. Eui-jae, wearing a white sweatshirt, jeans, and sneakers, suppressed a snicker.
“I’m on my way with the cooking oil. I’m in front of the bookstore now. I’ll be there soon, why?”
―Hurry up. I want to kill all these crazy brats.
The sound of boisterous voices mixed faintly behind the sulky voice. No, you can’t knead it like that! Take your hands off, you idiots! Don’t make it so obvious that you’ve never made Rice Cake before. These guys are no help at all…. Pfft, Eui-jae covered his mouth with his hand to stifle the laughter.
“See? I told you to let me come with you.”
―Ugh, I don’t know. Just hurry up.
“Okay.”
Eui-jae struggled to hold back the slowly rising corners of his mouth as he walked. His steps were light.
After returning from the source of Doomsday, Cha Eui-jae did not publicly reveal that he was J. Since Awakened and everything else were disappearing anyway, what was the point of revealing it? It would only add to the chaos.
Instead, he returned to the Hangover Soup Restaurant. The place where he felt most comfortable. To his first home, which he had established after an 8-year hiatus. Also, he decided not to hide his identity from the people he often saw at the Hangover Soup Restaurant and while working as J.
A month after the System’s disappearance, Eui-jae reopened the Hangover Soup Restaurant.
The first customers who came after the opening were Bae Won-woo, Kang Ji-soo, and Lee Sa-young. Well, it was only natural since Eui-jae had contacted Sa-young. Bae Won-woo shook Eui-jae’s hand roughly with a face full of emotion.
‘Oh, Part-timer. The world is a mess, but I’m glad you’re alive, really!’
‘Haha, I’m glad you’re safe too, Bae Won-woo-ssi.’
‘Of course, I’m nothing if not strong.’
He patted his chest and laughed loudly. Sa-young, standing behind him, watched the reunion with great interest. At that moment, the sliding door of the Hangover Soup Restaurant opened roughly. It was Honeybee, who had also been contacted by Eui-jae.
She raised her eyebrows when she saw Bae Won-woo and Eui-jae shaking hands.
‘What, does this clueless guy know too?’
‘Huh? Know what?’
‘Huh? That Part-timer is J.’
‘…….’
‘…….’
Eui-jae would never forget the expression Bae Won-woo made at that moment.
Eui-jae shook the shopping basket and called someone else. The slightly long ringing tone stopped, and the other person finally answered the phone.
―…Eui-jae, is that you? What brings you here?
It was Ham Seok-jeong. Eui-jae greeted her in a seemingly bright voice.
“I was just wondering how you were doing. I wanted to say hello for Chuseok.”
Ham Seok-jeong did not answer. After imprisoning Song Jo-heon and Matthew, she took full responsibility for Doomsday and stepped down from her position as Director. And she was living alone in the house left by Eui-jae’s aunt, Park Hye-kyung. Quietly, like someone waiting for the day they would die.
Eui-jae understood her feelings. Still, he didn’t want to leave her alone.
“Today, I’m making Rice Cake and frying pancakes with people at the Hangover Soup Restaurant. I’ll bring you some.”
―…You don’t have to bother. Enjoy yourselves.
“How can I do that?”
He paused for a moment, took a breath, and looked up. The clear blue autumn sky was reflected in his blue eyes.
“I just want to eat holiday food and talk about my aunt together.”
―…….
“That’s what I want to do.”
A small sigh flowed from the other side of the phone.
―Alright, call me before you come.
“Yes, I will.”
Eui-jae hung up the phone and took a breath. And then, he started running lightly. His gray hair fluttered wildly.
Screech, Eui-jae opened the sliding door of the Hangover Soup Restaurant.
“I’m back.”
“Oh, Part-timer is here?”
“Part-timer~ He’s not doing his job properly.”
“Part-timer!”
Greetings poured out from all directions. And then, a black shadow standing like a shadow next to the door snatched the strawberry-patterned shopping basket from Eui-jae’s arm. It was Lee Sa-young, with a sulky face. Eui-jae chuckled.
“Why? Are you going to check what I bought?”
“Just looking. Hurry up and wash your hands and put on an apron. These guys are a mess without you.”
Sa-young replied briefly and took out the items Eui-jae had bought one by one. Large-capacity cooking oil, rice flour, sesame seeds, honey….
Eui-jae went into the kitchen and looked around the restaurant. The Hangover Soup Restaurant was already bustling, and the savory smell of oil filled the air instead of the spicy smell. If the previous Hangover Soup Restaurant was a hidden old restaurant and popular spot only for Hunters, the current Hangover Soup Restaurant was….
Like a community center. A community center for Hunters.
At Eui-jae’s suggestion to spend the holidays together, the regular Hunters of the Hangover Soup Restaurant came running right away. Gyu-Gyu, who had been staying overseas to monitor overseas trends, had also quickly entered the country and was on his way.
“Hey, are you not coating the flour properly?”
Yang Hye-jin, a Hunter affiliated with the Rift Management Bureau, no, now that it’s merged with the Awakened Management Bureau. Affiliated with the Management Bureau anyway. Anyway, the civil servant Yang Hye-jin, wearing a floral apron, sat casually and glared at her younger brother, Mackerel.
“Why are you doing it so carelessly? Are you from the seafood market? Huh?”
“Well… I thought we were making Rice Cake, so why do I have to sit in front of the oil?”
His younger brother, Mackerel, grumbled, but he sat demurely in his shirt and slacks, coating the pollock with flour and egg. A conger eel swimming next to him disappeared with a shocked look on its face after seeing its own kind wearing flour clothes.
The Mackerel Brothers had returned to the Noryangjin Fish Market after the Dungeon disappeared. And they declared their retirement as informants. The reason was Mackerel Hyung’s ability. Maintaining and forming his territory required a huge amount of Mana Stone, but now that Mana Stone supply was impossible, he was practically a civilian. In the end, the brothers decided to take over their mother, Jang Mi-ran’s, Rose Seafood.
Min-gi Seo, who skillfully sliced zucchini with his nimble hands, pushed up his sunglasses with his palm.
“It’s because of the owner’s theory that the holidays should smell like oil.”
Min-gi Seo transferred from the Wave Guild to the Awakened Management Bureau. The Wave Guild was practically disbanded except for the research team. He heard rumors that Jung-bin was working him to the bone.
“He’s such a boomer, a boomer.”
Choi Goyo, Romantic Opener, asked while shaping the meat patties into circles.
“Little Mackerel-ssi, where did your Hyung go?”
“Oh, there are too many people, so he’s lying down in that side room.”
Choi Goyo was affiliated with the Wave Guild, but he did not work as a Hunter. Instead, with the help of former test taker Yoon Ga-eul, he started studying for the college entrance exam. He had originally planned to live his whole life as an Awakened, playing and eating, but now he was going to find his own way to survive, even now.
Eui-jae put on a soju apron like a pro and tied the knot tightly behind his back. When Eui-jae came out of the kitchen, Sa-young followed right behind him. He glanced back at Sa-young.
“Aren’t you going to do anything?”
Instead of answering, Sa-young held up his hands. And he wiggled his black fingers. Should I put Poison in the food? It was a movement that seemed to be protesting. In the past, he would have flicked him on the forehead, but now even that look seemed cute.
‘This is a problem.’
Eui-jae sighed and looked around at the people with Sa-young hanging on his back. Younger brother Mackerel and Hunter Yang Hye-jin were coating the food with flour and egg and frying it, Min-gi Seo was skillfully slicing zucchini and various vegetables with both hands, Choi Goyo was shaping the meat patties into circles, and Bae Won-woo and Kang Ji-soo were sticking skewers into the ingredients for the skewers.
Bae Won-woo, sticking skewers one by one with his hands as big as pot lids, was especially touching. He was still affiliated with the Wave Guild, but he was currently working as an instructor at his Hyung’s taekwondo gym. He said he wasn’t his brother. Eui-jae trembled with betrayal when he first heard it.
“Vice Guild Leader, stop breaking the skewers.”
“I can’t help it, you crazy brat.”
Kang Ji-soo had returned to university. Her ability and major were related to horticulture, so she would be able to adapt quickly and live a new life.
At that moment, he felt a presence at the door.
“We’re here, J! Ah, no… Eui-jae-nim? Uh, um.”
“Call me whatever you’re comfortable with, Student Ga-eul.”
“Ah, yes!”
Ga-eul scratched her head and smiled. Yoon Ga-eul, who had faced the Monster alone, survived the moment of desperation when the Monster disappeared. Fortunately, her injuries were not serious, and she became a hero at school. In addition, she had entered the university she wanted and was now a freshman. She stepped aside slightly from the door.
“Oh, Hong Ye-seong-ssi came with me too! I met him in front of here.”
“Hiii~”
Hong Ye-seong suddenly poked his head out and waved his hand. He had a white eye patch on his left eye, but his face was bright. He entered the store casually, wearing a white fleece with dirt on it and green sweatpants.
“Oh, that looks delicious.”
Then he quickly picked up a piece of pollock that younger brother Mackerel had fried and ate it. Younger brother Mackerel smiled awkwardly with chopsticks in his hand.
“You’re only going to eat that… right?”
“It’s delicious? Can I eat more?”
“Are you sure about that!”
A scuffle broke out. Haa, I knew this would happen. Eui-jae shook his head.