They Told Me to Build Good Karma by Selling Side Dishes - Chapter 25

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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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25. Cucumber Kimchi (1)

***

Something was off.

Strange occurrences had been happening since yesterday.

The bathroom faucet had turned on by itself, and water was gushing from the sink. A series of unsettling omens continued to manifest.

It was happening now too.

Outside, rain poured down as if the sky itself had split open.

Ding—

The shop door opened. Drenched from the downpour, Oh Jong-hee stepped inside, his clothes soaked through.

“Ah… hello.”

Water droplets fell from Oh Jong-hee’s wet hair onto the floor as he caught his breath.

“There’s quite a bit of rain outside.”
“Yes. It’s strange—it’s only raining in this neighborhood….”

Oh Jong-hee adjusted his glasses and replied with candid sincerity.

‘…Only raining in this neighborhood?’

I glanced outside the shop without thinking. Beyond the alley’s end, the scenery changed dramatically. The distant sky was impossibly clear. The boundary where the rain fell was as sharp as if drawn by a blade.

‘This really is like the opening of a horror film.’

“Boss. Could you ring up my side dishes?”

I tilted my head in confusion as I returned to the counter.

“Oh? You’re buying quite a lot today. Seaweed soup, dried pollack side dish, stir-fried potato strips, seasoned radish greens, garlic chive squid jeotgal, crispy red pepper….”

I swept up every new side dish that had come out.

“Since there’s been so much rain, I wanted to stock up in advance.”

Oh Jong-hee pointed to the crispy red pepper and continued matter-of-factly.

“The pepper is crispy and spicy, making it an excellent drinking snack.”
“You drink alcohol?”
“Occasionally beer when work gets busy.”

Even the act of drinking beer seemed like just another part of his work routine, delivered with such composure. I carefully packed the side dishes into a bag and placed it on the counter.

“Be careful in the rain. See you next time.”
“Yes. I’ll see you next time. Best of luck with sales. I look forward to more side dishes.”

Oh Jong-hee adjusted the bag neatly in his grip and opened the door. That was precisely when the rain came pouring into the shop.

Splash—!

Water suddenly gushed from the faucet as if a massive water demon had opened its jaws wide. This wasn’t a simple malfunction. I rushed into the Kitchen and forcefully turned the faucet shut.

“Sigh….”

…This feels like an Evil Spirit’s doing.

“Sniff sniff.”

Just then, a low snort sounded at my feet. Hae-tae, having shaken off the water clinging to his body without hesitation, pressed his nose to the floor and walked off somewhere.

“There’s a flood over there… huh?”

Hae-tae headed unexpectedly toward beneath the Refrigerator. He tapped the floor with his front paws and spoke.

“There’s paper here.”
“Beneath there…?”

I hurriedly reached beneath the Refrigerator and pulled the paper from the cold water. The paper was already so waterlogged that the characters were barely legible.

In that moment, the faintly blurred ink marks trembled as if being drawn toward somewhere, swaying gently.

But then, each character found its proper place and began forming distinct, clear letters.

===========
[Side Dish Order]
Requester: Water Ghost
Ordered Side Dish: Cucumber Kimchi
Reason: A dish I wish to serve with gratitude and appreciation
Required Conditions: 1) Use ‘S’-grade cucumbers. 2) I want the taste of days long past.
Reward: Good Karma ‘2’ Points
===========

A question suddenly occurred to me.

This was an order form—a side dish order form, after all.

‘Was “worn” really the right word to use?’

Yellow stains from the paper drying after being soaked in water were scattered across its surface. It carried an aura as though it had been struck directly by the passage of time itself.

“Hae-tae, did the bottom of our Refrigerator come open?”
“It was too noisy to tell, meow.”

Then when did this arrive?

Today, I hadn’t heard the usual ‘tapping’ sound from the Refrigerator at all.

“That one did it, meow.”

Hae-tae pointed with wet front paws toward a dark corner. I followed the direction of his gaze. There, a black mass of fur floated upon the water.

“What is that…?”

It looked like some kind of rotted aquatic plant.

“It’s probably the Water Ghost, meow.”

…Water… a ghost?

“You mean the Water Ghost I know?”
“That’s right, meow.”

So that’s why you turned the faucet like that?

“Who’s going to pay for the water bill?!”

At my outburst, the black tuft of fur flinched and trembled. I grabbed a rolling pin from nearby and gently poked the black tuft with it.

“Huh?!”

The tuft of fur flinched but didn’t really resist.

“So what you’re saying, Hae-tae, is that this black tuft of fur is the Water Ghost’s hair.”
“That’s right, meow.”

This time the letters formed with slightly more urgent movements. As the characters were inscribed, the surrounding water trembled in small vibrations.

– I. have. been. waiting. since. yesterday.
“How have you been waiting?”

The letters on the water’s surface crumpled roughly before forming again.

– I. kept. sending. signals.

A day replayed in my mind—from yesterday to today. How much I had…!

“Wait… you’re telling me that since this morning, you’ve been the one turning on the faucet and flooding the Kitchen like it was the Han River?”
– Yes.
“Are you insane?”
– ?

A question mark? Why a question mark?

“Don’t you know how exhausted I’ve been because of you? I finished cleaning and was about to head upstairs to rest when you turned on the water again, and I had to clean all over again!”

At my scolding, the tuft of fur trembled apologetically.

– Sorry…

Splash, splash, splash—

Water poured from the faucet with such force that the apples paled in comparison. The torrent swept across the Kitchen floor in an instant, sloshing violently.

“You said you were sorry! Why are you turning it on again!”
– Those are tears.
“This is insane!”
– Sob, sob, sob, sob.
“Alright, alright! Stop crying! Cut it out!”

The volume of water gushing from the faucet doubled. With each “cut it out,” the water rising on the Kitchen floor came to a halt.

“Sigh…”

My neck had grown stiff. I pressed my face against Hae-tae’s fur in my arms to calm myself.

‘I think I’m going to survive this.’

Hae-tae pushed my cheek away with a front paw as if displeased, but…

“I know you’re sorry, and I understand. But can you drain the water from the Kitchen first? That way I can make the cucumber kimchi you ordered.”

At this, Hae-tae lifted his head and spoke.

“The Water Ghost needs water to be free. That’s why it’s on the Kitchen floor.”
“So the Water Ghost stays on the Kitchen floor because there’s water there?”

Hae-tae nodded. But I couldn’t leave water pooling on the Kitchen floor indefinitely. I might step on it as I passed through.

“So it just needs to be in water…”

That was simple enough.

I brought over a mixing bowl, filled it with water, and held it out in front of the Water Ghost.

“Get in here.”

Hae-tae and the Water Ghost tilted their heads at the sight of the mixing bowl.

“You want us to go in there?”
– ?

What else?

“Keep the water running? You’re not paying the water bill anyway.”
– Understood.

The black fur writhed and contracted, gathering into a palm-sized clump. Then, as if understanding, it moved toward the mixing bowl on its own.

‘They said they wanted stuffed cucumber kimchi.’

Stuffed cucumber kimchi only needs cucumbers prepared, and ten minutes is enough.

“Should we go?”
“To the Dimensional Space?”

I nodded at Hae-tae’s suggestion.

“We need to bring good cucumbers first before we can start.”

***

Unlike the reality where the Water Ghost had deliberately summoned rain, the Dimensional Space greeted me with a gentle autumn breeze.

“Autumn arrived quickly.”

Having witnessed the Dimensional Space’s summer, this autumn landscape felt strikingly unfamiliar to me.

“Soon the leaves will start falling one by one.”

And indeed, the leaves began to fall one by one. Drifting between the trees, they trembled gently with the wind before settling slowly to the ground.

“Wow…”

I had been gazing at the autumn scenery for quite some time.

“Ah!”

A strand of hair that had escaped from the mixing bowl slapped against the back of my hand.

“What’s wrong?”
– Work.

Words surfaced across my vision, and I snapped back to attention.

“Right, right. I should get back to work.”

I’d been so absorbed in the view that I’d forgotten. I set down the mixing bowl containing the Water Ghost and Hae-tae on the ground, then wove between the rows of the Vegetable Garden, searching for a perfectly ripe cucumber.

“There’s one over there, meow.”
“Over there?”

Following Hae-tae’s gesture, I turned my head and spotted a cucumber with a deep verdant hue, stretching straight and true.

A truly delicious cucumber must possess a rich, vibrant color throughout, with evenly distributed and densely packed surface bumps. Yet it should maintain a perfect firmness without being mushy.

“Not too sharp, and not too soft either….”

I cradled the cucumber gently in my palm, turning it over repeatedly in my hands.

“Stop touching it, meow!”
“But… no matter how many times I look, there’s always something new to discover?”
“You’ll wear the cucumber down, meow.”

Despite Hae-tae’s reproach, I didn’t let go easily.

“It looks good though.”
“Pick it, meow.”
“Okay.”

And so I did.

[Cucumber with Exceptional Fragrance (A)]
[Cucumber with Exquisite Flavor (A)]

I received quite a good grade. Just as I was about to set the harvested cucumber down on the ground, I spoke to the Water Ghost.

“Hold this for me.”
– H-hold?
“Yeah. You can just grip it with your hair.”

Since the mixing bowl was filled with water, it would keep the cucumber cool.

– P-possible.

The strands of hair floating in the water gradually separated, and the Water Ghost grasped the cucumber I was holding as carefully as if standing guard.

– L-like this?
“Yeah. Just keep holding it like that!”
– K-keep going?
“Yep. Keep going~.”

I let out a soft laugh watching the Water Ghost, seemingly bewildered, twist its hair into a question mark. The fear that had gripped me seemed to be melting away.

“You’re the only human who’d tease a Water Ghost like this, meow.”
“Is that so? I guess we’re getting closer now.”
“Hmmm, meow?”

Hae-tae, eyes narrowed to slits, glanced at me. It was as if he were savoring me with his gaze.

“Why… why are you looking at me like that?”
“Just wondering why you trust so easily, meow.”

He seemed to be commenting on the way I was treating the Water Ghost.

“It’s not that I trust easily…”
“Meow?”
“Because you’re here, I can let my guard down.”
“Ha! You’ve got a smooth tongue, meow.”

I shot back with a glib smile and harvested a few more cucumbers.

[Cucumber with Blemishes (C)]
[Slightly Wilted Cucumber (C)]
[Cucumber Infused with Sacred Water (S)]

Finally, an S-grade cucumber had appeared.

“Your harvesting technique has become quite skillful, meow.”
“And who do I have to thank for that?”
“Me, of course, meow.”

I wiped my sweat-dampened forehead.

– Not… done yet?

The Water Ghost’s voice jolted me back to awareness. I stopped my relentless hands from picking cucumbers and slowly turned my head.

“Puhahaha…!”

Laughter burst forth at the sight before me. The Water Ghost was buried in the pile of harvested cucumbers, hair whipping in all directions. It looked exactly like a radish wedged between kimchi leaves, thrashing about among the cucumbers.

‘Oh no, I shouldn’t be laughing.’

– Get… me… out.
“Sorry, sorry, I took too long.”

I wiped away tears that had begun to form and carefully untangled the Water Ghost’s hair from the cucumbers.

“There, all done!”
– Thank… you.

Looking back and forth between the quirky Water Ghost and Hae-tae, I raised my left arm high and shouted loudly.

“Let’s go make cucumber kimchi!”

Hae-tae and the Water Ghost responded in unison.

– Let’s… go.
“Meowwww!”

A small chorus echoed through the Dimensional Space.

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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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