How to Seduce S-Class Hunters with Bungeoppang - Chapter 28

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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 28】
A woman bundled in a thick, ankle-length padded coat with a scarf wrapped snugly around her neck and fluffy gloves adorning her hands waddled toward the shop.
“Brr… it’s so cold.”
Her name was Seo Min-ha. She was a C-rank Hunter who wielded water. Whether due to her abilities or her natural constitution, winter brought her unbearable pain as if her entire body were freezing solid.
Yet she had ventured out into the dark dawn without sunlight for a reason—to taste the new menu item at Ha-neul’s Fish-Shaped Pastry Shop: fish cake.
‘This time it’s not fish-shaped pastries but an entirely new menu. They say it boosts cold resistance?’
The street vendor stall that had appeared like a comet in front of the Management Bureau had become a beacon of light and salt for Hunters who had lost their senses. There was a legendary saying: anyone could eat the fish-shaped pastries once, but no one ate them just once. And now, that very shop had released a new menu item that supposedly increased cold resistance.
‘This food was made for me—I absolutely have to try it!’
Seo Min-ha sniffled and waited eagerly for her turn. Though she’d come out relatively early, the area in front of the shop was swarming with diligent Hunters.
“This shop just keeps getting stronger. It’s really something.”
“They say the shop itself is an item. Still, we’re lucky. The daily reservation quota has increased too.”
She listened to the chatter while scanning her Hunter Watch against the reservation system. Just as people said, the dilapidated street stall that had been falling apart at first had been remodeled into a respectable shop.
Well, in a world where Gates suddenly opened in the sky and monsters covered in hundreds of eyeballs poured out, a shop growing bigger was hardly surprising. The real problem lay elsewhere.
“…Even coming this early, I’m number 152.”
The shop’s popularity had intensified the competition for reservations. Seo Min-ha clicked her tongue at her assigned number. Still, at this position, she should be able to eat before noon.
‘I really hope the effect is good.’
Just as she’d anticipated, an alarm arrived shortly after 11 AM notifying her that her reserved menu was ready. She quickly checked her watch and hurried out of the office.
“Welcome! If you could tell me your name, I’ll bring your food.”
As she entered, a staff member greeted her cheerfully. She gave her name and found a seat in a corner.
‘Before, I had to stand in line on the street to eat, but now there’s even an indoor space.’
The shop bustled with customers picking up fish-shaped pastries and others inquiring about reservation schedules.
“Here’s your reserved fish cake. The broth is complimentary, so just let me know if you’d like more.”
Before her now sat a steaming bowl of fish cake and a paper cup filled with pale brown broth. The staff member even winked, mentioning the broth could be refilled.
‘What an energetic staff member.’
She’d heard through the grapevine that the shop was hiring. Many people had interviewed for a while, yet no one had been hired, which had drawn attention. Then one day, a new employee suddenly appeared.
She’d asked the employee’s age out of curiosity, as they looked younger than expected, and learned they were seventeen. Watching the employee respond kindly to each customer, she carefully bit into the still-steaming fish cake.
“Mmm, delicious!”
The first sensation was the chewy texture. Unlike the fish cake she knew, this one was springy and chewy, made from different ingredients.
Next came the rich taste of fish. Not cheap flour, but the refined flavor of premium fish. The subtle sweetness that gently caressed her tongue was exquisite. With fish cake like this, she felt she could eat it daily even without the effect.
“Should I try the broth too?”
She carefully blew on the pale brown broth before sipping it. The hot liquid slid down her throat. Before she knew it, she’d drunk several cups and asked the staff member for a refill.
“It’s gotten a bit warm inside.”
Strangely, her stomach felt warm and heat rose to her face. As she fanned herself with her hand, she noticed a man beside her sweating profusely.
“Whew—the new menu’s effect is quite good, isn’t it? The heat really rises up!”
The man who insisted on wearing sunglasses even indoors was Yoon Kang-hyuk, the Security Management Team Leader Hunter. He’d looked intimidating when she’d seen him at the Management Bureau lobby, but his image was different outside.
He’d been a regular since the shop first opened, but lately he complained that it had become too popular to get a meal.
“Still, with new menus coming out like this every time, my palate stays happy! Haha!”
He laughed heartily and called the staff member for a broth refill. The employee’s expression turned cold—apparently he’d already refilled many times.
‘I was skeptical, but it really works?’
My toes, which had been tingling and numb until moments ago, felt perfectly fine now. Even my finger joints, which had ached from the cold, had become supple as if oiled.
“…An innovative item like this limited to one per person?”
Apparently, the fish-shaped pastries could now be baked in batches using a six-mold pan, but the skewered fish cakes had to be threaded by hand, which limited the quantity.
Sure enough, in one corner, an employee was busily threading fish cakes onto skewers. The Talking Cat beside them seemed to be chattering away with complaints.
“Your hands are slow, meow. You need to thread them faster so more humans can eat, meow.”
“Ugh, why do you talk so much!”
After watching the oddly peaceful scene, she tidied up and stepped outside. Unlike before, the biting winter wind no longer felt painful. If anything, her scarf felt a bit stifling.
“Perfect. I’m definitely making a reservation for tomorrow too.”
I’d probably be going to bed late again tonight, but such trivial matters no longer bothered me. Just as I was about to set an alarm on my Hunter Watch, a message popup appeared.
[Sun Jun Team Leader: A new Gate terrain simulation just came out. Want to do a mock battle together at 4?]
“Hmm. A mock battle…”
On days I wasn’t deployed to Gates, I usually reviewed the team’s tactical reports or trained my physical and mana control at the Training Ground.
But the Leader’s message had just added a new schedule. It was combat training to adapt to the new Gate terrain.
“Sure. Why not give it a shot!”
Normally, just thinking about such a schedule would exhaust me, but today my steps felt surprisingly light.
The warm fish cakes I’d eaten earlier still seemed to be warming my insides.
* * *
“Finally done with business! You worked hard, Ari.”
“Phew! You too, Sister.”
“Good work, meow~”
Ever since Ari started, our pace had definitely picked up. With Ari handling customer service and new products, I could focus solely on baking the fish-shaped pastries.
“How does she work so well? It’s amazing.”
“I think the part-time jobs I did secretly during school helped.”
Wedding halls, chicken restaurants, comic cafes, convenience stores—Ari smiled proudly, saying she’d done every kind of part-time job imaginable.
“That’s only natural if you’re going to help me work, meow!”
“Sigh, you’re such a nag.”
Ha-nyang and Ari bickered, but they’d clearly grown quite close. Especially Ha-nyang, who became noticeably happier as customer numbers increased. Right now, she was stuck to Ari’s side like glue.
“Tomorrow’s the day you’re taking Grandmother to the hospital, right?”
“Yes! The doctor said if everything looks good tomorrow, she won’t need to come back for a while.”
“She’ll be fine. The surgery went well anyway. I’ll make sure to head to the hospital on time too.”
On Saturday, Grandmother had a checkup at the hospital, so I’d decided to go with her. After Ari chattered away about eating something delicious together tomorrow and left, I walked slowly with Ha-nyang.
“It’s good that Ari adapted so well, isn’t it?”
“We hired a very good employee, meow.”
“You should give Ari some of that praise too.”
Ha-nyang walked ahead with a sullen expression. She seemed embarrassed to compliment Ari directly. Looking at her, Ha-nyang really wasn’t very honest either.
“Sister! Ha-neul Sister!”
From a distance, someone called out to me urgently. Looking toward the voice, I spotted a familiar pink-haired figure. It was Kang Min Hunter.
“Sister! Are you done with work now?”
“Yes. I just finished seeing Ari off. What about you, Kang Min Hunter?”
“I’m about to head out too. But Sister! Does your shop not accept investments?”
Investments? What investments all of a sudden?
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, I faltered, and Kang Min Hunter scratched his head with an amused laugh.
“Well, most craftspeople usually receive significant investment. But the items you make are so much better, aren’t they? That’s why it occurred to me.”
“Ah, I see. I haven’t really given much thought to investment yet.”
Come to think of it, customers had been frequenting the Shop lately, asking if I had any plans to seek investment.
‘Hmm. Something feels off.’
How could everyone suddenly be asking similar questions? I sensed something amiss and asked Kang Min Hunter directly.
“Is there a rumor going around that I’m going to receive investment?”
“Oh, no, that’s not it. It’s just that people keep talking about it on the Hunter Forum.”
When I asked what they were saying, Kang Min Hunter immediately showed me a post from the Hunter Forum.
Title: Fish-Shaped Pastry) But seriously, why won’t she take investment?
If I were a creator, I’d take anyone, but it’s such a waste to let your abilities rot away.
-Right? That’s what I’m saying. The Shop Owner just doesn’t seem to know how to do business
└Wouldn’t it be good if someone took the initiative and let her know?
-With all this talk going on, she must have already gotten offers
└That’s not necessarily true
└Just because someone gets investment doesn’t mean they have to brag about it. Leave her alone;
Even B-tier creators got investments recently, I guess that’s why I can’t as an F-tier creator.
-It’s gone beyond disappointment now, I’m actually angry. Why can’t she utilize what she’s capable of? Is she lacking in intelligence?
Right from the first page, I could see posts about our Shop. The anonymous comments had moved beyond lamenting my lack of investment to openly mocking me as foolish.
As I scrolled through the comments indifferently, I asked Kang Min Hunter a question.
“Does this kind of talk come up often?”
“Uh… well, now that you mention it, it does seem like it’s been popping up unusually frequently lately.”
I searched for “investment” and scanned through the posts. Then I finally found one particular post.
Title: The Fish-Shaped Pastry Shop Owner’s Truly Unfair Situation
Other creators make garbage items and still get funding pouring in from big companies, but the Shop Owner does manual labor all day in this run-down shop lol it’s so sad
-What? Really?
Honestly, the items are good, but they seem clueless about how to do business lol
Who would invest in F-grade? Are Large Corporations stupid?
└It’s not about the rank that matters, it’s about the items. Even A-rank craftspeople can’t make what she does
Now that I think about it, that’s true. I’d be rich right away if I got investment funding.
Starting from this post, whether our Shop would receive investment became a hot topic. Every time the fervor seemed to cool, someone would bring up the subject again—as if they were hoping I would see these posts.
‘This has the scent of a familiar operation.’

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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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