The Chef From the Apocalypse Enters the Food Industry - Chapter 63

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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 63. An Unexpected Encounter
A glint. The lens caught the light and reflected it. No doubt about it. A camera.
‘The sudden health inspection was suspicious, and I had a feeling something was off. So that was it. Lucky I caught them.’
I leaned the broom against the wall and moved silently across the floor.
Stealthy movements. I crept through the shadows, treading carefully in the darkness.
I could make out a crouched silhouette in the distance.
A suspicious figure in a black hat with a mask pulled down low!
‘Got you! You bastard!’
I suddenly closed the distance between us.
Normally in a situation like this, the person would startle and run away.
Especially if they were the type to peer into someone else’s store with a camera lens.
But then.
“Huh?”
Whoosh. The person sensed my presence.
I expected them to flee, but what happened instead?
They lifted their head from the darkness and stood up abruptly.
“Oh, perfect timing.”
I was the one caught off guard.
Rather than running, they were approaching me with a bright expression, taking confident strides.
The unexpected pattern startled me.
The suspicious intruder who had crept up to my face in the darkness had a smaller frame than me.
“Could we talk for a moment?”
“…Who are you?”
“I have something I think would be perfect if you could help me with it. I was planning to visit you anyway, so this works out great.”
“Me?”
“Yes! I really needed your help!”
…Was this person not trying to interfere with my business?
Their attitude was far too confident for that.
For someone who had been spying on my restaurant, their audacity was breathtaking.
As I stood there frowning in exasperation, the woman gestured toward the restaurant door with her chin.
“Let’s not do this out here. Should we go inside and talk?”
Moreover, she was inviting me in as if it were her own store, and it seemed the roles of customer and owner had been reversed.
This was a person with a very strong presence.
“…”
“Oh right. If we’re going to talk together, I should take off this mask. It’s an occupational habit.”
Click. The woman reached up and pulled the mask down from her face.
The darkness lifted, and her bare face was revealed.
Bold, sharp eyes. A characteristic bright smile with only one corner of her mouth curled upward.
“…Huh?”
Seeing her, I couldn’t help but let out a dumbfounded sound.
* * *
“I need your help.”
Lee Ra-hee asked for assistance with complete confidence.
‘What is she doing here…’
Lee Ra-hee.
Memories of her came flooding back like a tidal wave.
Even in that hellish Apocalypse, she was one of the rare few whose sense of justice remained unwavering.
One of those fools whose heart never changed, even as the world crumbled around her.
Yet because she was a fool, she shone all the brighter.
-Brother, is there no food today?
-Brother, I saved another person. Can you give me some food? Oh, you said I already took in someone? So that’s a no? Hehe. I knew you’d say that!
Before despair could consume me.
She was the one who always guided me toward the light.
Lee Ra-hee was someone who gave energy to those around her simply by existing.
‘I wonder why she always followed me around calling me brother. I never did figure out the reason.’
Whenever we met, we’d end up bickering.
‘Haran was there too back then.’
Where did she keep getting such severe injuries from?
She’d show up covered in blood and immediately start demanding food.
-Give me food. Food!
-…Where did you get hurt this time?
-Hehe. People are the scariest, you know.
-Sigh. Wait a moment. I’ll make some soon.
-I’m full!
-You recover fast, don’t you?
Then she’d regain her strength and head back out.
Why did she do it?
Even when no one acknowledged her efforts.
When I asked why she kept moving forward despite the losses.
Her answer was always the same.
-It’s just because. It’s fine even if no one recognizes it.
Just because.
That’s what she always said.
When I’d casually remark.
-You did well.
-Puhehe.
-Don’t laugh like that.
-Why? Does it bother you?
-It gets to me.
-…Damn it!
Just a single word of praise, and he’d chuckle, gain strength, and dash back out to save more people.
He was the kind of person who carried the scent of humanity—the sort who kept the world from completely collapsing, who endured to the very end.
And now that person stands before my eyes.
Moreover, asking for my help without preamble.
‘In my past life, except for asking for food, he never once asked for help, even facing death.’
A foolish one who tried to bear everything alone, even while dying.
And now he’s the one asking for help first.
‘He’s changed?’
That realization brought me deep relief first.
The thought that this small, delicate person has learned to ask others for help in this world.
And then came a sense of obligation.
‘I have to hear this.’
Whatever else might be true, his story was worth listening to.
I set down the broom and nodded.
“Come on in. I was just about to brew some tea anyway.”
“Oh! Thank you so much, Owner!”
We moved inside the store.
Once I poured her a warm cup of tea, she pulled off her hat and began her story in earnest.
Her true identity. And the scheme being orchestrated around this restaurant.
The story was brief, but the shock was immense.
“So you’re saying you’re a ruffian who catches ruffians?”
“Yes! A kind of cleaner, you could say? Also known as a shadow hunter. Oh, and by the way, that sanitation inspection video I uploaded a few days ago—that was me too. I filmed it from that corner over there!”
“I see. But that wasn’t the same account as the ruffian hunter one, was it?”
“It’s an alt account. An alt. Hehe.”
In that instant, the puzzle pieces in my mind clicked into place.
The creator of that video that had flustered the municipal office workers.
So it was this person all along.
No wonder the video quality wasn’t amateur work.
“Don’t get the wrong idea. I didn’t come here to rob your store.”
“I know.”
“Ooh. Confident, aren’t you?”
That tacky exclamation is still the same.
“Of course I’m confident. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“That’s true. Looking at it any way, there’s nothing to worry about. But right now, a bunch of rats are swarming toward your store. Real vicious ones too?”
“Anyone who fabricates crimes against the innocent has to be vicious.”
“Exactly! Real bas… anyway, dirty bastards they are.”
She gave me several examples after that. They were quite something.
‘They really are vicious.’
Inflating tiny flaws into something filthy is just the basics.
Creating things that don’t exist to attack with is also part of their playbook.
So these kinds of people are on my side.
‘I know exactly who they are.’
I could figure out who the attacker was, but that’s a matter for later anyway.
First, I asked Ra-hee right in front of me.
“So you want to be bait for me?”
“Exactly! Let’s use the store as a trap and sweep up all those bastards at once. What do you think?”
“Hmm….”
She proposed an alliance, her eyes sparkling.
Throughout the conversation, I had to suppress the laughter bubbling up inside me.
‘This is quite entertaining.’
Even without memories, one’s essence doesn’t disappear.
In my past life, I hunted down traitors who preyed on humans and saved people.
In this life, I hunt ruffians instead.
‘That’s so Ra-hee.’
There was no reason not to help her.
No, if it was an alliance with this one, I wanted to participate actively.
“Sounds good. Let’s do it—that hunt.”
I accepted readily.
It was Ra-hee who was taken aback by my quick acceptance.
“Huh? Really? You’re just saying okay without even suspecting me?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“You trust me right away without knowing who I am?”
To her bewildered question, I answered without hesitation.
“Your face is a guarantee.”
“…Pardon?”
Ra-hee’s face twisted oddly.
Flustered by the sudden compliment(?), her ears flushed slightly red.
“What, what is it. Are you a face person?”
“Not at all.”
“Then what exactly…”
“Don’t tell me… you think you’re pretty…”
“Stop!”
“Haha. Then let me put it differently. It’s intuition. You just seem trustworthy somehow.”
“Wow. This owner really knows how to toy with people! But you’re right. I am trustworthy.”
“Then isn’t it settled?”
“Ugh. Something feels off about this.”
“You were the one who made the proposal, weren’t you? So you’re not going to do it?”
“…Fine! I’m in!”
Despite her grumbling, she didn’t seem to dislike it.
I’d found a partner from my past life. Or rather, a partner for this life now.
‘How strange… the bonds between people.’
* * *
“Team Leader Lee. When did our relationship begin?”
A cold voice. Jang On-gyu gazed down at the glittering cityscape beyond the window as he spoke.
Lee Chae-min, the Promotions Team Leader standing behind him, swallowed hard.
“We’re entering our seventh year together, sir.”
“Seven years. That’s been quite long, hasn’t it?”
“…Yes. I’ve always been grateful. Thanks to you, I…”
“So now, rest well.”
“Pardon?”
In that instant, Lee Chae-min’s heart sank.
“…I think I misheard you.”
“I mean it literally. You’ve worked hard all this time. Don’t come in for a while. Or rather, feel free to rest permanently.”
“Sir!”
A dismissal.
So light and ruthless in its delivery.
Lee Chae-min’s face drained of all color.
His trembling legs gave way beneath him.
“S-sir! What do you mean! What did I do wrong…?”
“Quiet.”
Jang On-gyu turned slowly.
His eyes were murky, devoid of emotion.
Eyes he had never shown before.
At that gaze, Lee Chae-min’s breath caught.
“I spent my own money promoting that bastard’s store, and you dragged my name through the mud. Is that really just a ‘mistake’? The word seems far too light.”
“Sir, that’s…”
I wasn’t the only one who failed.
You did too. You failed as well.
So why am I…?
Before Lee Chae-min’s thoughts could continue, resolve took hold first.
“Pack your things.”
Lee Chae-min desperately clung to the moment.
If I’m fired like this?
I’ll be blacklisted in this industry in an instant.
“S-sir! Please give me another chance!”
“Another chance?”
“Yes! Just one more, just one more chance, and I swear I’ll…”
Watching the pathetic Lee Chae-min, Jang On-gyu’s lips curled into a bitter smile.

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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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