How to Seduce S-Class Hunters with Bungeoppang - Chapter 51
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 51
@huterking
Visited the Branch 2 that opened at the back of the Management Bureau. I’ve been up for three days straight, and I have zero regrets
@fishbread
Absolutely insane the crucian carp is dancing in my mouth
@cat_HANYANG
You must eat the tteok-hotteok. If you don’t, it’s a national disaster (crying Ha-nyang emoticon)
@gategetout
Taking one bite of tteokbokki and feeling like I’ve gone back to before my awakening… It brings back memories of elementary school, and tears just keep flowing for no reason…
The man scrolling through Social Media with an impassive expression suddenly furrowed his brow.
“…That’s a bit much.”
His name was Choi Baek-ho. Six months ago, he’d awakened as a D-rank Hunter—a rookie among the ranks. His seniors had clamored so loudly that they’d all pulled an all-nighter to secure a reservation at the Shop, but honestly, he’d never cared much about the place.
“Why does food matter so much? I can just starve if I need to.”
He’d always been someone with serious taste buds—or rather, a complete lack of interest in food. Even if awakening had dulled his sense of taste as a side effect, it made little difference to him.
But there was something far more important to him than any side effect,
―Splat!
“Ugh, is that bird droppings?”
and that was the simple fact that he possessed absolutely no luck whatsoever.
He tripped over a stone at least once a day, and whenever he walked down the street, bird droppings would fall on him. It was fortunate he was a production-class Hunter; had he needed to enter a Gate, he would’ve been dead long ago.
The nickname that stuck to him was Black Tiger. His seniors insisted his Luck stat had burned so intensely it had turned pitch black—a humiliating moniker if there ever was one.
“Hey! Black Tiger. Got hit by bird droppings again?”
“You’ve got some nerve. Didn’t it happen the day before yesterday too?”
“That wasn’t bird droppings—someone was spraying water from above.”
“Ahahahaha! Right, that’s what it was.”
He pulled out a wet wipe from his pocket and roughly wiped away the droppings, when his seniors approached from behind and slung their arms around his shoulders.
“That’s heavy. Let’s clean it up, shall we?”
“You punk, acting all dignified! You know it’s almost our turn, right? Man, I’m so excited. How good can it possibly be?”
“The reviews say it’s insane.”
His seniors launched into heated debates about which types of fish cakes they’d reserved, how the combination of tteokbokki and fish cakes was the ultimate truth, and so on.
“By the way, Black Tiger, what did you reserve?”
“I reserved the tteok-hotteok.”
“Ah, that new menu item?”
Choi Baek-ho nodded quietly.
He had no interest in the other menu items, but that new menu—the tteok-hotteok that was getting an early preview at the Busan Branch—had captured his attention entirely.
‘I remember eating it at a rest stop when I was young.’
Back in middle school, he’d submitted an experiential learning request to his school and gone on a family trip to Geoje Island with everyone.
It happened to be peak season, so they’d spent over five hours stuck on the road during their first family trip. Without time for lunch, they’d all eaten tteok-hotteok at a rest stop, and it had been so delicious.
The moment he saw ‘tteok-hotteok’ written in the reservation system, he’d pressed it without hesitation because of that memory.
“I was curious about that too. Do I get a bite when you receive it?”
“Sure, whatever you’d like.”
“You’re still tight-lipped as always. Ah! The reserved food is ready. Let’s go pick it up.”
Baek-ho was dragged along by his seniors, stumbling over a rock in the process.
“Welcome. May I have the name for the reservation?”
“I’m Kim Seok-hyun. This is Lee Dong-min, and this is….”
“Choi Baek-ho.”
The man checking the reservation names nodded.
“One moment, please. Gong Ju-hee, could you drizzle some sauce on the tteokbokki skewers? Hyun-woo, please pack up the tteokbokki and fish cakes.”
Hair swept back to expose half his forehead, sharp eyes with a slightly raised gaze—a man who seemed more suited to a business suit than a street food shop apron.
‘His skill at grilling fish-shaped pastries is no joke.’
Despite his cold appearance, the way he flipped the fish-shaped pastries with a serious expression was anything but ordinary.
I’d heard he’d suddenly quit a famous pharmaceutical company and applied to become a manager here. Was his name Gong Ju-won?
“Oppa… no, Manager! Here are the tteokbokki skewers.”
A beautiful woman with voluminous waves and sharp, cat-like eyes awkwardly corrected her form of address.
“Gong Ju-hee, you….”
“I’m trying, okay?”
The man finally let out a long sigh and nodded.
“Right, you’ll get used to it eventually.”
“Manager. The tteokbokki and fish cakes are packaged and ready.”
“Thank you, Soo-chan.”
Finally, all their orders were complete.
“Here’s your food. Be careful with the fish-shaped pastries—they’re hot.”
“Oh, the aroma! Thank you!”
“We hope you enjoy it. We’ll be back!”
“…Thank you.”
After bowing politely, I was about to leave when the senior ahead of me pointed at the shop’s menu board.
“Hey, look at that. The tteokbokki skewers have an effect of ‘Luck +20%’.”
“Wow, that’s exactly what our Baek-ho needs!”
“That’s enough. Luck is….”
While it wasn’t an official stat displayed on status windows, among Hunters in the crafting profession, the ‘luck stat’ was paramount.
It was a profession that required handling delicate magical stones. One small mistake could cause an explosion or ruin precious items.
‘It’s all superstition anyway. It won’t help, obviously.’
I’d bought items before that supposedly boosted Baek-ho’s luck. But the effects were nearly zero. In fact, it felt like my luck got worse afterward.
Grumbling to myself, I sat on a bench and took a casual bite of the tteokbokki skewer.
‘Oh…!’
The taste I remembered from the rest stop. Crispy fried rice cake and chewy sausage. And the sweet and spicy sauce wrapping around it all.
No, it actually seemed even more delicious than what I remembered.
“Wow, these red bean fish-shaped pastries are seriously incredible. You can really taste the red bean pieces!”
“The tteokbokki is so delicious it brings tears to your eyes. Man, how long has it been since I’ve tasted something like this….”
My seniors were already stuffing their mouths with the food and exclaiming in delight. This time, I carefully balanced the ratio of rice cake and sausage and took another bite.
Then, someone shouted from far away.
“Hey! Watch out over there!”
A stone flew toward him. But wait—this wasn’t a Gate, just an ordinary street. Why was a rock flying at him?
Normally, D-rank Hunters would dodge such projectiles without breaking a sweat, but he was different. The unlucky icon that he was, even if he tried to block it, he’d definitely get hit somewhere—
“Huh…?”
He stared blankly at the stone that had landed perfectly in his palm.
“I’m so sorry! My friends and I were just playing around… You’re not hurt, are you?”
“I’m fine.”
What kind of game throws stones anyway? Regardless, once the apologetic woman disappeared, his colleagues made a fuss.
“Lee Yeol, what’s going on? You actually caught something?”
“Does the luck effect actually work?”
Could it really be true?
Baek-ho stared blankly at the stone in his hand before slipping it into his pocket. I’ll keep this as a memento.
“I’ll head inside first. Take your time eating.”
“Hey! Haven’t you tried the fish-shaped pastries? They’re delicious!”
“No thanks. Not interested.”
He brushed off his outer jacket and stood up, looking at the half-eaten skewer in his hand.
The trash bin was two meters away. Given how strong the wind was blowing today, the chances of it actually landing inside were extremely low.
‘But somehow, I have a good feeling about this.’
After hesitating for a moment, he tossed the broken skewer toward the trash bin. But true to form, even the direction he threw it was problematic—
—whoosh
The wind blew and elegantly settled the skewer into the trash bin.
“Oh, nice one, Baek-ho.”
“It really does seem to work, doesn’t it?”
Once might be coincidence, but twice was not. Could luck really be smiling upon him?
He gazed at Ha-neul’s Shop, where crowds of people were gathered, and changed direction.
“Hey, aren’t you heading to the office? Where are you going?”
“I’m going to set up a tent ahead of time. I think I need to eat one more before strengthening items tomorrow.”
He resolved that he would absolutely enjoy this luck again tomorrow. And thus, a devoted regular customer of Ha-neul’s Shop Branch 2 was born.
* * *
On that historic day when the Busan Branch 2 opened with great success, what was I doing?
‘…What does this even mean?’
Water I hadn’t swallowed yet dribbled down the corner of my mouth. I stared blankly at the popup before my eyes, not even noticing my T-shirt getting wet.
Tremendous Achievement! The customers at Branch 2 are satisfied with Ha-neul’s Shop’s items.
Condition Completed: Successful Opening of Branch 2
Ha-neul’s Shop will transition to autonomous operation mode. All restricted functions have been unlocked.
-New Feature: Menu Shop
-Reward: 1 Employee Recruitment Voucher
…Autonomous operation mode?
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————