Goblin Library - Chapter 118

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 118.

The Dung Carrier Goblin laughed as he watched Yu Tae-poong and Lee Gang-jin observing each other in silence.
“You two seeing each other for the first time?”
“Pardon?”
“Pardon?”
The Dung Carrier Goblin added something as the two men answered simultaneously.
“You’ve been staring at each other for quite a while.”
At that, Yu Tae-poong and Lee Gang-jin laughed and looked at each other.
“I’ve never met someone who works with a Goblin before.”
“I’ve never met someone who works with a ghost before.”
Lee Gang-jin, who had exchanged a laugh with Yu Tae-poong at their similar responses, spoke.
“Since you’ve come to our restaurant, let me start by bringing out some side dishes. If you need more, just ask, and if it’s inconvenient to call me, there are side dishes up front that you can help yourselves to.”
With that, he brought out the side dishes and arranged them on the table.
“The main dishes will be ready shortly, so please wait a moment.”
Yu Tae-poong was about to say something more to Lee Gang-jin as he walked away, but suddenly the sound of the wind chime caught his attention and he turned his head.
A few customers were entering the restaurant.
“Welcome.”
Yu Tae-poong watched Lee Gang-jin greet the customers with a smile, looking somewhat regretful, and picked up a piece of cucumber kimchi with his chopsticks, placing it in his mouth.
Crunch! Crunch!
The crispy cucumber kimchi tasted absolutely delicious.
“This is really tasty.”
At Yu Tae-poong’s words, the Dung Carrier Goblin also ate some cucumber kimchi and nodded his head.
“This ghost has a good hand for cooking.”
“A ghost?”
“Didn’t you say the head chef is a ghost? So a ghost must have made it.”
At the Dung Carrier Goblin’s words, Yu Tae-poong hesitated. The fact that a ghost had made it made him feel slightly uncomfortable.
But he soon shook his head.
“As long as it tastes good, that’s all that matters.”
Yu Tae-poong finished eating the cucumber kimchi with a smile and tried the other side dishes as well, nodding his head.
“Wow, all the other side dishes are delicious too.”
Lee Gang-jin approached, apparently having heard Yu Tae-poong’s murmur.
“Our Yong-su is a head chef from Korea’s finest restaurant.”
“A head chef… you mean a cook?”
“In the old days, cooks were called head chefs. Since we specialize in traditional cuisine, they call cooks head chefs there. The taste is good, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it’s truly delicious.”
“Yong-su must be in a good mood. Oh! The food is ready now.”
Lee Gang-jin pulled back the curtain that separated the kitchen from the dining area and went inside, then emerged shortly after with the dishes.
“Your food is ready. Pork bean sprout kimchi stew and squid stir-fried meat.”
“The food came out quickly.”
“Stir-fries don’t take long to cook, and for stews, once they’re seventy percent done, you just need to bring them to a quick boil at the end. Please enjoy your meal.”
As Lee Gang-jin turned with a smile to attend to another table, Yu Tae-poong scooped up some stew and took a bite.
Then he smiled.
“The broth is excellent. Because of the bean sprouts, it’s not as rich as typical kimchi stew, but it has a refreshing taste.”
“Try wrapping the meat and bean sprouts together. It tastes great.”
Following the Dung Carrier Goblin’s suggestion, Yu Tae-poong placed meat, bean sprouts, and kimchi together in his mouth.
“Delicious.”
As Yu Tae-poong spoke, Lee Gang-jin passed by and offered a comment.
“It tastes even better if you take a spoonful with the broth all together.”
“I understand.”
He tried it the way Lee Gang-jin suggested and nodded in approval.
“It tastes so much better when the broth comes in at the same time. The seasoning really comes through.”
“Right?”
The Dung Carrier Goblin turned toward the kitchen and called out loudly.
“Chef, the taste is absolutely wonderful!”
A few customers sitting nearby laughed.
“Is this your first time here?”
“Yes.”
“The food here is really delicious.”
“We’ve been regular lunch customers here for two years.”
Hearing that they’d been regular lunch customers for two years, Yu Tae-poong smiled and nodded, then picked up some squid stir-fried meat.
As Yu Tae-poong chewed the squid, a smile naturally spread across his face.
“This place is really a hidden gem.”
In response to Yu Tae-poong’s words, the Dung Carrier Goblin also picked up squid and meat together, took a bite, and nodded.
“It’s delicious. But why is the squid so tender?”
“Right? Squid usually has quite a firm texture, but this… it’s like…”
Unable to quite describe the texture, Yu Tae-poong picked up another piece of squid and ate it, finishing his thought appropriately.
“Anyway, it’s incredibly soft.”
Just as the Dung Carrier Goblin turned to call out to the kitchen again, the door opened and a flood of customers poured in all at once.
Seeing the dining hall suddenly fill with customers, the Dung Carrier Goblin closed his mouth.
Watching Lee Gang-jin frantically attend to the incoming customers, it didn’t seem like the right time to ask.
So the Dung Carrier Goblin and Yu Tae-poong focused back on their food, when Lee Gang-jin quietly approached them.
“I’m sorry to ask, but would you mind sharing a table?”
“Sharing a table?”
Yu Tae-poong looked at him with confusion, and Lee Gang-jin smiled as he explained.
“Since many office workers come to our restaurant and lunch hours are short, we ask customers to share tables so that as many people as possible can eat and leave.”
Hearing Lee Gang-jin’s explanation, Yu Tae-poong looked around. There were no empty seats.
Even the empty seats at the table where the three of them had been sitting were now occupied by other customers, making it completely full.
It seemed that since the two of them were first-time visitors and Goblins were new to this place, the staff had avoided seating other customers at their table as much as possible. But now that no other empty seats remained, they appeared to have asked about sharing.
“If that’s the rule here, we should follow it.”
As Yu Tae-poong pushed the side dishes and main course to the side, the Dung Carrier Goblin also shifted over to make room.
“But how do you calculate the bill for the food?”
Normally the restaurant calculated by table, but with shared seating, that would be difficult, so I was asking.
Lee Gang-jin answered with a smile.
“At our restaurant, you pay what you think is fair. Just eat and pay whatever amount you’d like.”
“Ah, right. But doesn’t that mean some people leave without paying?”
“They probably don’t have the money.”
“And that’s okay?”
“Well, that’s….”
Mid-sentence, Lee Gang-jin glanced toward the kitchen and quickly excused himself.
“I’ll explain later….”
Then he quickly began receiving dishes from the kitchen area and serving them rapidly.
After finishing the service, Lee Gang-jin hurried to the entrance and ushered two new customers inside.
“Please sit here. I know sharing a table is inconvenient, but please make yourselves comfortable.”
“It’s fine. Table-sharing is the national rule here anyway… excuse us.”
The customer who entered with a smile bowed respectfully to Yu Tae-poong and the Dung Carrier Goblin, then spoke.
“I’ll have the kimchi stew, and my friend will have the spicy braised pork.”
“Understood.”
Lee Gang-jin called out the order.
“Kimchi stew, spicy braised pork. Ah, the spicy braised pork—heat level 7.”
Then Lee Gang-jin looked at the person who ordered the spicy braised pork.
“Level 7 spice, correct?”
“Gang-jin really does remember our customers’ tastes well.”
“You have to remember customers’ preferences to run a proper business. Let me bring you the side dishes.”
As Lee Gang-jin brought out the side dish bowls and set them down, Yu Tae-poong resumed eating deliciously.
The Dung Carrier Goblin glanced at the nearly empty kimchi stew bowl and said.
“How about we order one more kimchi stew?”
“Another kimchi stew?”
“I really love the bean sprouts in the kimchi stew. Let’s order another one with extra bean sprouts.”
At the Dung Carrier Goblin’s words, the customer next to us chimed in with a laugh.
“You can just ask for a refill of that.”
“They refill the bean sprouts from the kimchi stew?”
“They refill the meat, so why wouldn’t they refill the bean sprouts?”
Then the customer looked at Lee Gang-jin.
“This customer wants more of the bean sprouts from the kimchi stew?”
“Really? Just a moment. Yong-su, bring some extra bean sprouts from the kimchi stew.”
Yu Tae-poong, who had been staring blankly at how the order was being placed, heard the customer say with a smile.
“Everything here can be refilled.”
“Really?”
“Of course. But if I feel like I’ve eaten too much, I just put a bit more money in that donation box over there.”
“So how much do you usually put in?”
“Usually….”
The customer smacked his lips and spoke softly.
“I put in about 5,000 won.”
“5,000 won?”
“Can a working person spend a lot of money on lunch? And since it’s a home-style restaurant, that seems about right.”
Of course, at any ordinary home-style restaurant, that price might be reasonable. But here, in the heart of Gangnam, famous for its expensive real estate… finding a 5,000 won meal would be difficult.
As if pricked by his conscience, the customer added by way of explanation.
“Ah, but on days when I eat a lot, I put in more.”
“No, I think 5,000 won is fair for a lunch meal too.”
“Right. But these days, there’s nowhere in this area where you can eat for 5,000 won. Plus, since this is Gangnam, even sundae soup costs 10,000 won.”
Smiling, the customer picked up a piece of cucumber kimchi and ate it.
“But here, you can pay what you want, the food is delicious, and the side dishes and main courses change every day, so you don’t even have to choose a menu.”
“That’s right. The price is good, but honestly, the changing menu is the best part. For office workers, deciding what to eat for lunch is the biggest concern.”
“Exactly. That’s why this place is a hotspot for Gangnam office workers.”
As they talked, Lee Gang-jin came out with the food.
“Kimchi stew and stir-fried pork. Enjoy your meal.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank you for coming.”
Smiling, Lee Gang-jin glanced around and then went over to a table that had run out of side dishes, bringing them fresh ones.
Watching Lee Gang-jin attend to the side dishes at each table, Yu Tae-poong nodded and began eating.
From the situation, it seemed difficult to have a conversation during business hours. It would be better for them to finish eating quickly and leave, for the owner’s sake and the other customers’.
After finishing their meal deliciously, Yu Tae-poong and the Dung Carrier Goblin stood up.
“Thank you for the meal.”
At Yu Tae-poong’s words, Lee Gang-jin smiled and greeted them.
“I wanted to talk more… but I’m quite busy right now. Ah! Will you come back later? It’ll be quieter at 2 o’clock.”
“I wanted to talk too. So can we come back at 2?”
“Please do. I have a lot of questions too.”
Yu Tae-poong nodded and dropped two 10,000 won bills into the acrylic donation box.
“Thank you for the meal.”
Yu Tae-poong and the Dung Carrier Goblin left Han-kki Restaurant.
Then Yu Tae-poong looked at the Han-kki Restaurant sign.
“It’s a nice place.”
“The Afterlife Restaurant is a good restaurant.”
“It is.”
Yu Tae-poong, who had been nodding, suddenly exclaimed as if remembering something.
“Ah! Let’s go to the Goblin Library. I’m curious what Oh Mi-hee ate for lunch.”
I had read about visiting Han-kki Restaurant and came to see it out of interest, but that content was from an earlier part.
That’s why I couldn’t meet Oh Mi-hee right now.

Yu Tae-poong, who had been reading Oh Mi-hee’s book, glanced at the Dung Carrier Goblin when his phone alarm showed 2 o’clock.
“Let’s go, hyung.”
At Yu Tae-poong’s words, the Dung Carrier Goblin laughed.
“The book isn’t holding your attention?”
“I want to talk with Lee Gang-jin.”
“Why?”
“Because… I feel like we’re colleagues.”
“Colleagues?”
“A sense of kinship with someone who has one foot in this world and one foot in that other world?”
The Dung Carrier Goblin asked at Yu Tae-poong’s rather lengthy expression of kinship.
“Isn’t Ok-ja the same?”
“The Jeonju Jeon Owner communicates with that other world, but doesn’t actually work there.”
The Dung Carrier Goblin laughed and rose to his feet.
“Right. Let’s go. Come on.”
Whoooosh!
As the Dung Carrier Goblin opened the door, Yu Tae-poong could see the Gangnam Street he had just come from.
Stepping out onto Gangnam Street, Yu Tae-poong arrived at the Han-kki Restaurant with the Dung Carrier Goblin.
Ding!
The pleasant chime of the bell rang, but the door didn’t open.
“Huh?”
Yu Tae-poong turned the door handle again in confusion, and Lee Gang-jin’s voice came from inside.
“Yu Tae-poong?”
“Yes.”
“Just a moment.”
Click.
The lock disengaged and the door opened as Lee Gang-jin welcomed him.
“Come in.”
“You lock the door during break time, I see…”
My words trailed off as my face went rigid.
“What?”
Several snacks were floating suspended in the air, moving gently. A beverage can floated there as well.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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