They Told Me to Build Good Karma by Selling Side Dishes - Chapter 1

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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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1. Hyang-suk’s Side Dish Shop (1)

The tail end of spring, heralding the arrival of sweltering summer.

Beyond the Hospital Room window, verdant leaves swayed in gentle silence.

I held out a piece of melon pierced on my fork toward Grandmother.

“Grandmother, this melon is sweet. Try it.”

Grandmother turned her head slowly and took a bite of the melon.

“Ji-gu.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“How much longer are you going to live like an unemployed person?”
“…Well, I’m not sure.”

I had been wanting to find a job soon. After a full year of idleness, my body felt restless. Grandmother studied me intently, then dropped her words like a stone.

“Are you never going to cook again?”
“Not yet? I don’t know. Whether I will or won’t.”
“Then how about our granddaughter takes over this old woman’s shop?”

I nearly spat out the melon I was eating.

“Wait, Grandmother, what did you say?”
“I’ve been thinking it would be nice if our granddaughter inherited Hyang-suk’s Side Dish Shop.”
“…Me?”
“A woman who worked as a sous chef at a restaurant—what’s the problem?”
“No, that’s not…”

I trailed off.

“Give it a try.”

With that, Grandmother casually popped a slice of melon into her mouth.

The crisp, refreshing crunch echoed through the Hospital Room, followed by silence.

‘Why… all of a sudden?’

I barely managed to steady my wavering thoughts.

Grandmother had always been so happy, like a child, handing out side dishes to customers. The thought of her closing Hyang-suk’s Side Dish Shop was something I could never accept.

Before I knew it, Grandmother’s warm hand had gently covered my clenched fist.

“You understand, don’t you.”
“….”
“That Grandmother can’t run the side dish shop anymore.”

I understood. I did understand. I spoke slowly, avoiding her gaze.

“The doctor said you’d be fine, Grandmother….”
“Ji-gu.”
“No, I don’t want to hear it. Just eat your melon, Grandmother.”

I really didn’t want to hear this. I withdrew my hand from hers and was about to stand up.

“Would you do it if it were Grandmother’s wish?”
“…!”

…She knew I couldn’t refuse when she said that!

“Grandmother!”

Grandmother quietly tapped the chair armrest a couple of times with her palm. At that sound, I tensed my eyes to keep from crying and looked at her.

“Come, sit back down.”
“…Even if I sit back down, you won’t listen to what I have to say anyway.”
“My only family left is our puppy—why wouldn’t I listen to you?”

The sweetness of the melon that had lingered in my mouth was long gone.

I sat back down and looked at my grandmother.

“…Why are you going this far? There’s no reason I have to run a side dish shop, is there? I just… I wish you’d reopen Hyang-suk’s Side Dish Shop instead.”

Grandmother spoke at last.

“It’s simply the right time.”
“…The right time?”

I couldn’t understand what she meant at all.

“No, but what’s the reason you’re going this far?”
“It’s just… it would be such a waste. To leave it like that.”

…I do think it would be a shame to let the side dish shop go.

“You’re what matters most to me. You come first.”

Grandmother smiled warmly.

“That’s right, you’re truly all I have.”
“If I’m all you have, then listen to what I’m saying.”

Please. I gazed at my grandmother’s face without speaking.

“Alright, I understand. But promise me you’ll keep this one promise?”
“What is it?”
“Later, when I’m gone… go to the Shop’s Back Door….”
“Don’t say such things. What do you mean about the Shop’s Back Door….”
“Oh, never mind, never mind. Much later…. If I go far away.”

Then, without waiting for my response, Grandmother opened a hospital drawer and pulled out a bag. From it, she withdrew an old, blackened key and held it out to me.

“This. It’s the key to the Shop’s Back Door.”
“Huh, what…?”
“When that time comes, you’ll understand everything—why I wanted to entrust the shop to you.”

I lowered my head and stared at the old key resting in my grandmother’s hand. Seeing it, a memory from the past suddenly surfaced.

It was around the time my parents passed away and my grandmother had just opened her shop.

That day, I was heading toward the Shop’s Back Door to pick up a paper crane that had fallen outside the window when my grandmother came rushing over and blocked my path. She firmly emphasized several times that I must never go near the Shop’s Back Door.

“I understand. So you’re saying I’ll find out if I go, right…?”
“Yes.”

Without hesitation, I reached out and grasped the worn key.

Click.

The cold, heavy metal settled into my palm. Strangely, such a small key felt impossibly heavy.

I never imagined I would take out this key again so soon.

***

One month later.

My grandmother’s funeral passed in a blur. In the empty mourning hall after all the visitors had left, I couldn’t even remember how much I had cried.

Time flowed indifferently, and before I knew it, a month had passed. Now I stood lingering outside the shop. Like a child procrastinating on homework, I couldn’t muster the courage to open that door.

But I could no longer run away. It was my grandmother’s final request.

[Hyang-suk’s Side Dish Shop]

I looked up at the worn sign with its peeling paint still clinging to it. My vision blurred again, so I lowered my head and muttered.

“…What on earth could be at the Shop’s Back Door.”

I lifted my head and pulled open the shop door. Creak—as soon as it opened, a cloud of dust burst out from inside.

“Cough.”

The dust stung my nose instantly, and I caught my breath.

“Ugh, dust!”

I stepped inside and immediately broke into a fit of coughing, covering my nose with my hand.

It seemed dust had accumulated over the long period the shop had been closed. Even the slightest movement sent particles swirling through the air.

I glanced around the shop. My eyes fell upon the disorganized tables, the empty side dish display case, and the counter worn smooth by my grandmother’s hands.

The atmosphere of this old shop stirred an inexplicable nostalgia within me.

Everything remained frozen in time. Everything except my grandmother.

“I miss you, Grandmother.”

I immediately opened the commercial refrigerator in the kitchen.

‘My grandmother was such a neat freak, I’ve heard.’

Though empty, the gleaming interior spoke volumes about her meticulous nature. Just as I was about to close the door,

Thud, thud, thud, thud—

A sound like something tapping came from the bottom of the refrigerator.

‘What on earth…?’

I jumped back in surprise, my eyes fixed on the source of the noise. Soon, the sound ceased.

“Goodness, must be the old appliance creaking.”

I moved toward the Shop’s Back Door at the rear of the shop. As I stood before it, I tilted my head in confusion.

‘Did she really hide some treasure back here?’

I inserted the key into the Shop’s Back Door, turned it, and pulled the door wide open.

“…What is this?”

I couldn’t believe my eyes at the sight that unfolded before me.

An alien landscape stretched beyond the threshold—a swirling vortex of black curtains so surreal it seemed impossible to exist in reality.

As if spreading pitch-black darkness like watercolor across a canvas, nothing lay visible beyond that veil. Yet strangely, I felt no fear.

“…Is this, then… Grandmother’s treasure?”

Rather, like a sudden downpour upon parched earth, the refreshing scent of soil and grass drifted from beyond the curtain, tickling the tip of my nose.

‘That familiar fragrance I always caught on Grandmother’s body….’

I summoned my courage and extended my foot into the black veil. My foot slipped through without resistance, feeling nothing at all.

‘There’s nothing there…?’

I wiggled my foot up and down once more, but it met nothing solid.

‘Let me go through.’

I pushed my entire body through and cautiously opened my eyes. In that instant, my vision filled with a small garden nestled deep within a forest.

In the heart of an expansive woodland, a well-tended vegetable patch caught my eye, alongside a charming little cat statue standing guard beside it. It was the sort of secret place one might find in a fairy tale.

Upon witnessing this landscape that felt anything but real, my throat moved up and down.

“…Worth hiding away, indeed.”

In this space where only forest existed, even the air felt different. Instead of the city’s acrid haze, the air that seeped deep into my lungs was refreshingly pure. This was because both sun and moon hung simultaneously in the sky.

“Wow….”

I stepped toward the small garden.

[Bracken Fern]
[Fatsia Shoots]
[Rapeseed]
[Carrot]
[Potato]

The garden bore small markers that appeared to be written in Grandmother’s own hand.

“Rapeseed, carrot, potato….”

But something felt off. The crops were planted only one or two of each variety.

Wasn’t it typical for vegetable gardens to have multiple types of crops, with several of each kind?

I snapped off a rapeseed leaf that first caught my eye. The moment the scent touched my nose—sharp and intoxicating—my eyes flew wide open. It was far more fragrant than any organic ingredient I’d ever handled at the Restaurant.

“The smell is absolutely insane.”

Working as a sous chef at the Restaurant had trained my senses; I could judge freshness by aroma and color alone. This was top-tier—no, beyond that.

That’s when it happened.

“…What?”

Where I’d snapped the rapeseed, the stem shot upward as if time were accelerating, and a new leaf unfurled.

In the blink of an eye, the rapeseed had completely restored itself.

“I’ve seen this in mobile games before…”

Curious, I snapped it again, and once more the stem sprouted from that same spot.

How many times did I repeat this?

Before long, my hands trembled slightly as I clutched a handful of rapeseed leaves. I muttered in a daze.

“Now I understand why she kept this hidden.”

I held the rapeseed in my palm, my mind racing. Come to think of it, rapeseed, carrots, and potatoes didn’t have overlapping growing seasons.

The crops in this garden grew regardless of time or season.

Gulp.

I swallowed involuntarily. Just imagining cooking with these ingredients made my mouth water.

‘Was Grandmother asking me to run Hyang-suk’s Side Dish Shop because of this…?’

Because of these materials?

I was just about to rise and explore this place a bit further.

“…Huh?”

The eyes of a stone cat statue placed near the vegetable garden blinked slowly, beginning to shimmer with life. Gradually, the gray stone figure transformed into Cheese Cat.

‘…It transformed into Cheese Cat?’

And it was a statue!

I swallowed hard, unable to tear my eyes away from the surreal spectacle unfolding before me.

‘Is this really happening?’

Cheese Cat settled leisurely onto the grass. The creature, who had been licking his soft front paws with ease, slowly lifted his head.

And golden eyes pierced directly through my gaze. As if he had been waiting for me all along.

“Finally, you’ve arrived?”

What?

I doubted my own ears at the unfamiliar voice. There was no one else here but me.

“Are you… talking?”

Unbothered by my bewildered response, the cat spoke once more in a clear voice.

“You’ve come far too late.”
“…Too late?”
“Yes, I have been waiting.”

The cat who had been sitting on the grass slowly walked toward me and came to a stop before my feet.

A round-faced cat speaking human words.

“For Hyang-suk’s granddaughter.”

Meow—

The cat’s words seemed to repeat like the droning cry of cicadas on a sweltering summer day.

“A cat… how is it talking?”

At my bewildered muttering, the cat stopped licking its front paws and replied with an air of indifference.

“That’s just prejudice, meow.”

I’ve lost my mind.

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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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