‘It was a snack of memories.’
‘When I think back on the distant past, I see my brother offering me a hotdog.’
‘It was probably when I was in elementary school.’
‘I remember longing for the hotdogs sold in front of the school.’
“Do you really want to eat that?”
“Yeah. I wonder what it tastes like? Ugh. It must be delicious! Don’t you want to eat, brother?”
“It looks tasteless. No thanks.”
After saying that, it didn’t take long for my brother to bring me a hotdog.
“Wow! Brother, did you steal it?”
“This makes me look like a thief. I bought it with money.”
“R-really? Where did you get the money?”
“Shh. Stop asking and eat quickly. It’s annoying if other kids see.”
“What about you?”
“I already ate, so eat quickly. It was delicious.”
“Yay!”
‘I never actually ate it.’
‘But back then, I believed it. Because I was young.’
‘Maybe I pretended not to know even though I did.’
‘Anyway, the first hotdog I tasted was a whole new world.’
“It’s the best! So, so delicious.”
‘After that, my brother often bought hotdogs. He hid them deep in his bag so the kids at the orphanage wouldn’t notice.’
‘Inside my elementary school brother’s bag were colorful flyers. And inside them were hotdogs.’
‘Looking back now, my brother probably distributed flyers like that.’
‘Anyway, since then, hotdogs became Jong-pal’s favorite snack.’
‘Because it was his favorite snack, he often made it for his daughter Yeona. But they couldn’t eat it like before.’
‘And now, he was making it for his brother, no, his family.’
‘Now I can eat in peace.’
With that thought, he made the dough.
He mixed strong flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Then he mixed eggs and warm water to finish the dough. The hotdogs were practically done now.
While waiting for the dough to ferment, he prepared the rest of the ingredients.
Jong-pal started skewering lightly cooked sausages and mozzarella cheese onto wooden sticks.
Some hotdogs had a whole sausage skewered, while others had half a sausage and half mozzarella cheese.
Having prepared the ingredients, Jong-pal felt a somewhat regretful feeling.
“It seems like I still need to wait a bit longer for the fermentation.”
In that case, it seemed like he could add one more thing. Besides, his brother, Jong-sik, liked potatoes.
With a sly grin, Jong-pal moved his hands busily, and a trace of divine power emanated from the tip of the knife he held.
By the time the last ingredient, ‘potatoes,’ was ready, the well-fermented hotdog dough was complete.
“It’s been a while since I made it, but it turned out well. I was nervous for no reason.”
The dough, swollen with air, looked exceptionally elastic.
Jong-pal covered the sausage skewers with the dough blanket he had made.
The fatter the hotdog, the tastier it is. Anyone who has eaten a lot knows that. Jong-pal, who knew it better than anyone, so he coats the dough in batter, meticulously coating it with bread crumbs as a final step.
Imagining the family members who would enjoy eating it, he began pouring cooking oil into the frying pan.
Meanwhile, the family gathered in the dining hall of the Dok’s family’s restaurant. They chatted lively, like a baby bird waiting for its mother. The topic of conversation was undoubtedly hotdogs.
Yeona and Jong-sik reminisced about Jong-pal.
“Wow, it’s been so long since Dad made hotdogs. Oh, that brings back memories!”
“Jong-pal used to love hotdogs so much. I wonder if he still does?”
“Huh. Dad? He used to make them often, but I’ve never seen him eat one?”
“That’s strange. He used to whine so much for hotdogs when he was little. Did his taste change over time?”
“Hmm. Is that so? Anyway, Dad’s hotdogs are really delicious. Haeli will definitely love them too!”
“I bet she will. I bought it for her.”
Haeli and Trigo swallowed their saliva, imagining the taste that couldn’t be described.
“Hehe. Let’s eat hotdogs together.”
“Grrr. I’m looking forward to how delicious hotdogs will be.”
“Actually, hotdogs have no taste.”
How much time had passed?
-Sizzle.
The sound of something delicious reached Jong-sik’s ears. It was the sound of hotdogs frying.
That meant…
“They’ll be ready soon.”
Sure enough, Jong-pal soon emerged from the kitchen, carrying a tray.
“Everyone waited for a long time, right? Hotdogs taste best when they’re hot. Eat up. Oh, and the ones with ketchup and mustard sprayed in a straight line are cheese hotdogs, and the ones with zigzag lines are sausage hotdogs. Choose whichever you like and enjoy.”
As Jong-pal finished speaking, the four of them grabbed the hotdogs fiercely.
Jong-sik chose the potato hotdog, Yeona went for the sausage hotdog, Haeli took the cheese hotdog, and Trigo grabbed the nearest hotdog.
They all took a big bite of their chosen hotdogs.
“It’s so delicious even though it’s hot.”
“I knew it would be. Delicious. Jong-pal, sit down and eat quickly. You used to love hotdogs, right?”
“Yeah. I should.”
“Wow, Dad really loved hotdogs? But why haven’t you been eating them all this time?”
“Exactly.”
Then Trigo and Haeli exclaimed in surprise at the cheese that stretched like caramel.
“Wow, aaah.”
“Whoa? W-what’s this?”
Then, after a moment, they slurped up the stretched cheese.
The crunchy bread crumbs coated with sweet sugar and tangy sauce, followed by the savory cheese entering their mouths.
The true essence of the K-snack, the hotdog, began to show in their mouths.
Haeli’s eyes welled up with tears for a moment. Cancel the statement that it’s tasteless!
“Th-this is… the best in the world!”
Trigo was no different. He used a phrase he recently learned.
“This awesome bitch hits different, right? Hehehe!”
“Awesome?”
“It’s a phrase used when you eat something very delicious. So, we can definitely call this ‘awesome bitch’!”
Children pick up things very quickly. Moreover, Haeli is a dragon. She absorbed unfamiliar words like a sponge and quickly learned to use them.
“Hehe, awesome bitch!”
And just as that phrase finished…
Yeona, in charge of childcare, burst out loudly.
“Huh? Trigo, where on earth did you hear such words! Haeli, that’s a bad word. You shouldn’t say that.”
“I heard it on the radio? A bitch. Sweet taste? Dog… .”
“Ahh! “Samchoon!”
“Hi-Hi. “It’s a bitch~”
Words that stick to your mouth.
Haeli said those words again as he took another bite of the hot dog, and Yeona touched her throbbing head.
Jong-sik with a heavy heart started to pat Jong-pal in the shoulder. The reason was Jong-sik’s business trip.
“Do we really have to leave right away?”
“Yeah. We should go after just eating the hotdogs.”
There was constant urging and pressing from Nam Woojong, the chairman, to hurry up and leave.
When he asked me to hurry up and go with him, he said, “I will follow you soon, so just tell me the place.”
‘This was a bid to buy time. And with the time I earned, I was able to eat hot dogs.’
“How long has it been since you got home, and now you have to go on another business trip? Phew. If you could refuse, you should. I know my brother is strong, but I’m still worried.”
Refusing was impossible, given the tremendous favor offered.
Moreover, the expeditionary force must be intact to stop the impending disasters. They must all be safe.
“What’s the big deal about refusing? And don’t worry too much. This won’t take long.”
“Where exactly are you going?”
“Well, it’s a long story, but just think of it as finding someone or something like that.”
“…I see.”
“Yeah. So don’t worry too much about trivial things, and take care of him for a while. Yeona will manage well on her own, but still….”
Jong-sik winked at Haeli, and Jong-pal sighed and lowered his head.
“That’s obvious. I’ll take good care of her as if she were my own niece. I’ll just think about my brother’s safety. Oh, and wait a moment! It’ll only take a moment, so don’t leave and wait here.”
Then Jong-pal hurriedly went into the kitchen.
A moment later.
Jong-pal came out with a tightly packed lunchbox. His hands were so big that it looked more like a metal lunchbox than a regular one.
“I should be able to send you off after feeding you hotdogs. I made some bulgogi and hastily made some kimbap today. I put plenty in, so you can eat it in the car.”
“Wow. That’s awesome. I’ll enjoy it.”
With that, Jong-sik got up from his seat.
It was time to leave the house that smelled of people and head to the battlefield.
“I’ll finish up a job real quick and come back, so take care, everyone. Especially you, little Haeli. Listen to your sister, Yeona.”
“…Sniff.”
“Take care. Brother. While you’re away, I’ll make sure the blacksmith’s work is finished properly.”
“I’ll take good care of Haeli. Don’t worry and come back safely.”
Although Haeli showed signs of disappointment during this process, it was an inevitable duty.
The longer you delay, the harder it is to part ways. Without looking back, Jong-sik left the restaurant, holding the metal lunchbox.
He took a step forward, and in an instant, the scenery changed.
Meanwhile, at that moment.
Kang Chang-soo and the other Korean-American hunters were experiencing a taste of death. It was because of the unfamiliar environment of the dungeon they encountered for the first time.
The prophet Ramus had said that the dungeon’s rank was B-grade. Based on this, they confidently entered the dungeon.
After all, wasn’t the leader of the raid team, Kang Chang-soo, an S-grade hunter? And not only him, but also renowned hunters and elites were included in the raid team.
So their morale was sky-high.
However, as days passed—one, two, three—their morale began to wane gradually.
The dungeon, dark and straight as an arrow.
Suddenly, a loud boom reverberated. This was the culprit that shattered their morale.
“Here we go again. Tanks!”
At Kang Chang-soo’s command, the tanks swiftly deployed their barriers.
The black rain pouring down with each earthquake. It was a makeshift measure to block it.
Those hit by the black rain inevitably saw dreadful illusions, and Kang Chang-soo had a duty to prevent that.
“Even if you see something, it’s not real! We’re here to hunt monsters, not to be struck by our blind comrades’ swords. So, everyone, get your heads straight!”
As he spoke, a monster blocked their path.
The raid team closed their eyes tightly.
Kang Chang-soo felt a sense of frustration.
But there was no room for doubt.
“We fight while maintaining a large formation until the rain stops. Move as one with the tanks. Remember, defense is the best offense.”
He gave the command in a harsh tone.
At the same time, he thought.
“What if Captain Dok Jong-sik were here? Would things have been different?”
It was unknowable.
But strangely, Captain Dok Jong-sik came to mind.
He had a strange intuition that there might be a solution with him.
“…So that’s why no one was able to come back?”
And indeed, that was the truth.
