[Web Notification] Our Card, Mr. Hong * Cheol, Total Payment Amount on 9/22: 22,000,000 won. Please check the amounts by account.
Hong Soo-Cheol frowned at the sudden text message. 22 million won. It made him grimace, wanting to kick himself for last month’s extravagance. He grabbed his phone instead of setting up the tripod.
“Hmm. I’ve spent quite a lot.”
He thought he should have bought a luxury car or something. Most of it was spent on entertainment expenses. That’s why they say if a sparrow tries to follow a stork, it’ll break its legs.
Since becoming a YouTuber and inadvertently befriending a silver-spoon, Hong Soo-Cheol had been spending money like water.
But it was okay back then. Money wasn’t a problem. Do you know how much a YouTuber with 500,000 subscribers earns monthly? It varies, but it’s in the millions of won. Add to that the revenue from back-end advertisements coming in…
“Ha, those were the days.”
Hong Soo-Cheol laughed bitterly. He longed for those days when he could spend money like water.
It had been five months since he fell into a downward spiral amidst the back-end advertisement controversy.
Of the carefully collected 500,000 subscribers, 350,000 had left, and he was currently in a slump without any incoming revenue. He wished he had saved some money for times like these.
Around that time, he received a call from his cousin.
“Hey, Soo Cheol. Aren’t you coming back?”
“I’m thinking about it. Why all of a sudden?”
“Why? Just want to give you a tip.”
“A tip? What are you talking about?”
“After taking a few months off, you’ve lost your touch. I’ll give you a job, so grab onto it and get back on your feet. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“You want me to work? Oh, bro. I can’t. If I get caught this time, it’s really over for me.”
“That’s only if you get caught.”
“….”
“Hey, forget it if you don’t want to. Repay the money you borrowed last week. I’ll stop bothering you if you do, and I’ll find someone else.”
“Oh, here we go again. Who hasn’t done that? Where are you? I’ll come right now. Just give me the address.”
That was why Hong Soo-Cheol ended up at Dok Family Restaurant. Because he was feeling a pinch in his wallet. And it wasn’t particularly difficult work either. It just didn’t sit well with his pride to go back to doing what he used to.
Suddenly, a voice shattered Hong Soo-Cheol’s thoughts.
“Your order of Cockatrice Porridge is ready.”
It was one of the staff members. Setting aside his tripod, he replied,
“Oh, yes. Please bring it here.”
“Be careful, it’s hot.”
‘The savory scent of sesame oil filled the air. The presentation wasn’t bad either. But what’s the point?’
‘I’m sorry in advance. Why did you choose to set up a restaurant here of all places? Tsk.’
Turning around, Hong Soo-Cheol clasped his hands together, almost like a prayer, as he looked at the staff member. Perhaps he should start apologizing in advance.
“I’m currently at ‘Dok Restaurant,’ which was featured on Seoul Foodstagram. They change their menu every day here. Today, I’ll be trying the Cockatrice Porridge.”
The video recording began. Hong Soo-Cheol naturally murmured to himself as he filmed the Cockatrice Porridge placed on the table.
“Now, do you see? The glistening texture isn’t bad visually. I’m curious about the taste. Let me try it right away.”
There needs to be buildup in the process. Introducing parasites right at the beginning is something only amateurs do. No matter how much you edit, it won’t look natural. So, about half needs to be eaten.
Finally, Hong Soo-Cheol lifted the spoon. Then, he took a big bite of the porridge spread out before him.
“Wow, it’s hot.”
His throat felt like it was burning, but the taste was excellent. The smooth texture combined with the distinct flavor of the Cockatrice exploded in his mouth.
He wanted to savor the taste a bit more, but the porridge was already sliding down his throat.
“Is this porridge?”
Hong Soo-Cheol’s eyes widened in surprise. Why wouldn’t they? To him, porridge was nothing more and nothing less than hospital food.
So, he had found it amusing. Especially considering what his cousin, Hong Taek-gi, had said. That it was a restaurant that started back-end advertising as soon as it opened. He didn’t think food made at such a place would be particularly delicious.
But as he ate, Hong Soo-Cheol came to realize something. This was simply a restaurant where taste was the main factor.
‘Oh, they must be using really good ingredients. Damn it. Hong Taek-gi, you sly fox. I bet he didn’t even come here.’
By this point, anxiety began to creep in. Understandably so, because there was a contradiction in the plan he had devised.
Originally, the scenario he had concocted was like this.
A restaurant that gained fleeting fame on social media. There’s a reason for the cheap prices. They could sell at such low prices because they used monster meat from the Waste Mountain. The parasite Hong Soo-Cheol discovered while eating was evidence of that.
But using such good ingredients would be troublesome.
“Sigh, what am I supposed to do?”
Hong Soo-Cheol grumbled. Yet, he didn’t stop eating. The taste was just too mind-blowing. Normally, he would have put in the parasite by now, but for some reason, the taste was too irresistible to stop.
A moment later.
He had intended to take just one more spoonful, but before he knew it, the plate was empty. Seeing that, Hong Soo-Cheol blinked his eyes several times and made up his mind.
“Ugh, whatever! I’ll just deal with the consequences.”
What’s scarier than the credit card bill anyway? Hong Soo-Cheol decided to stick to his original plan. He finally called the staff over.
“Excuse me. You said additional orders were possible, right? Please bring me one more serving.”
[We are currently on a break. We will be back at 6 PM after preparing the ingredients.]
Seeing the note saying that all the prepared ingredients were already used up, it seemed they were quite busy even during lunchtime today. As if to prove that, there were plates scattered all over the empty tables. They probably didn’t even have time to clear them away.
As if belatedly trying to tidy up the tables, Yeona emerged with a towel. Seeing her, Jong-sik, who had been watching from outside, opened the door to the restaurant.
“Oh! Uncle, you’ve already unloaded everything?”
“Yeah, it’s all unloaded.”
“You did it really quickly. But what about Uncle Trigo?”
“He’s still on the second floor. He’s checking the ordered materials and said he’ll tidy up himself.”
“Hmm. You must be hungry…. It’s still lunchtime, right?”
Yeona asked, and Jong-sik lightly nodded. Then Yeona approached Jong-sik with a towel in hand and whispered.
“Hey, there’s one customer left, so let’s all have lunch together when you go. Dad and I haven’t eaten yet.”
“Got it. And since I’ll take care of the rest, give me the towel and wipe off some sweat.”
He was bothered by the sweat beads forming on his forehead. Jong-sik snatched the towel from Yeona’s hand.
“Uh, are you sure?”
“I’m fine. Your face says ‘I’m tired.'”
“Ugh, lies. I’m not tired at all!”
“Enough, go outside and get some fresh air. You can just bring this to the sink. Right?”
“Ugh.”
Yeona pouted her lips and rolled her eyes. She seemed to want a break. Just then, she asked if she could go and take a quick look at the garden. Jong-sik, with a displeased expression, responded.
“What? You’re still not going out?”
There was another reason why Jong-sik sent Yeona away. The excuse of needing to get some fresh air was merely an excuse.
The truth was, he had been keeping an eye on that man like a hawk since earlier.
It wasn’t just the embarrassment of being left alone. The man, or rather the rat, seemed to have hidden intentions.
If asked how he knew, he could answer like this. Each person emits an aura from their body, and depending on the situation, that aura manifests differently.
The aura emanating from that rat’s body right now was extremely sinister. With his sensitive senses, Jong-sik couldn’t possibly overlook it.
As he cleared the table, Jong-sik courteously addressed the man.
“Hmm. It’s pretty good. But there’s a slight meaty smell. Still, it’s not bad for the price.”
The man murmured to himself, rolling his eyes once.
As Jong-sik cleared the table, the man glanced at him and quickly reached into his pocket.
Eventually, a parasite crawled out of his hand. He confidently dropped two chubby bugs into the dish.
And Jong-sik had been observing the entire situation.
‘What is that crazy guy up to?’
Finally, when he scooped up a spoonful of the contaminated porridge, Jong-sik intervened.
“You have an unusual appetite. Do you like those bugs? They’re parasites that cling to rotten monster meat.”
The man’s hand holding the spoon trembled at Jong-sik’s words. His pupils dilated as he turned to look at Jong-sik.
“Bugs? Wha-What are you talking about!”
“Hmm. It’s more suspicious that you’re offering lame excuses.”
With a click, Jong-sik locked the door, startling Hong Soo-cheol, who raised his voice.
“What are you doing right now!”
“Just wait a moment. It’s not good for a young girl to see this kind of thing.”
For educational purposes. This kind of thing! Hong Soo-cheol’s imagination conjured up horrifying scenes. Deciding it wasn’t safe to stay here, he hastily got up from his seat.
“Is it okay to treat customers who came to eat like this? Just give me the bill.”
“Is it okay? I haven’t done anything yet.”
Jong-sik turned around after locking the door and looked at Hong Soo-cheol. Hong Soo-cheol’s legs were trembling as their gazes met.
“That guy is definitely a hunter.”
Even though I haven’t done anything, my body trembles like this just from facing him. Hong Soo-cheol could instinctively tell.
“Don’t shout.”
“If you keep this up, I’ll ca—call the police.”
“Let’s resolve this like civilized person, okay? Stop creating trouble and just sit down for now.”
“I-I’ve finished eating, so…”
“I said, sit down.”
“Yes.”
Hong Soo-cheol, who was about to sit down on the chair, fell flat on the floor. It seemed he couldn’t control his loosened legs.
At that moment, perhaps hearing the commotion, Jong-pal, who was in the kitchen, appeared. He was in the midst of handling ingredients, holding a sharp knife in his hand.
“What’s going on…”
“No, this customer was putting bugs into the porridge you made and filming it with a camera. So when I tried to talk to him, this happened.”
Jong-pal shot Hong Soo-cheol a piercing glare. In that moment, Hong Soo-cheol wanted to kill his cousin, Hong Taek-gi.
‘Is that guy a hunter too? That Hong Taek-gi, damn it. Who does he want to kill! Did he send me here to work in a place like this?’
Hong Soo-cheol felt like he was about to pass out.
