First day of the Unified Defense Training.
Everyone was doing their best in their assigned tasks. Dok Jong-pal was no exception.
Where was he now?
He was in the Healing Guild headquarters, in the underground second floor, in the kitchen.
Considering the large-scale cooking required, a spacious area was needed. That’s why Jong-pal had commuted to the Healing Guild headquarters.
He would have to commute here without a break for the next week.
It was his mission to prepare lunch boxes for the training hunters.
As a side note, two employees from Dok’s restaurant also commuted here.
Together with dozens of chefs, they were responsible for handling the various ingredients.
“Boss, the onions and green onions are all prepped.”
“Yeah. Start with the onions.”
It was the same situation even now. Peeled onions were being placed on the narrow kitchen counter.
After a moment.
Tap-tap, tap-tap-tap, tap.
With swords in both hands, Jong-pal struck the counter like he was beating a drum.
In an instant, his skill, [Swift Blade], was imbued with divine power, and the onions were diced in no time.
The speed of his movements was astounding, and the kitchen staff couldn’t help but marvel with their mouths wide open.
“…Ch-chopping takes an hour, but dicing is done in an instant.”
“It’s not just about speed. Look at the diced onions.”
“They’re evenly cut, aren’t they?”
“He used to be a hunter, after all. It’s definitely different.”
Even though the chefs were skilled with knives, compared to hunters, they were like fledglings.
Seeing it firsthand, it was nothing short of astonishing.
On the other hand, Employee 1 and Employee 2 had indifferent expressions.
For them, it wasn’t their first time witnessing such a scene.
They silently carried out their tasks. Gathering the finely diced onions and slicing the green onions.
Once again, the green onions were diced in an instant. They repeated the same task several times.
How much time had passed since then?
Jong-pal set down the knife he had been holding.
“I think we’ve finished preparing the ingredients.”
As he said this, he glanced at the clock. The ingredient preparation was finished earlier than expected.
“Let’s take a short break before we start cooking.”
He suggested taking a break. Of course, they could start cooking right away, but he didn’t feel like it. He wanted to deliver the freshly prepared meal.
“Would you like some coffee while you’re resting?”
The chefs gathered around Jong-pal. Their excitement from witnessing Jong-pal’s skills hadn’t settled yet.
“Great job!”
“You did amazing. Honestly, I was a little, just a little, anxious when I agreed to take on this much work alone. But, cough! Turns out, my worries were for nothing.”
Jong-pal humbly replied.
“No, it’s because you all helped that we finished early. I couldn’t have done it alone.”
…!
Perhaps it was because of his modest answer.
‘He sees people without prejudice.’
‘He’s not a show-off.’
‘His personality is as great as his skills.’
Dealing with Jong-pal became much easier.
The distance that once felt distant seemed to have greatly reduced. Thanks to that, they could easily ask trivial questions.
“But I’m just curious about something, if you don’t mind me asking.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Today’s lunch menu. Was there a reason you chose those dishes?”
Jong-pal responded as if it was no big deal to him.
“Oh, that? Actually, it’s because it’s my older brother’s favorite food. That’s why I chose that menu.”
Jong-sik’s all-time favorite food, the undisputed number one. The first menu for lunchboxes was ‘Kimchi Fried Rice’.
***
Around that time, at the Sangwon-dong shelter.
The healing guild members, who had completed their terrain recognition training, gathered together and chatted leisurely.
They paid no mind to the glances from the Chinese hunters. They weren’t worth paying attention to.
“Oh, I’m hungry.”
“Boss Dok, can you tell us today’s lunch menu?”
“Yeah! I’m curious too.”
They exchanged conversations while simply waiting for the lunchboxes to arrive. The topic of conversation was the lunch menu.
“Unfortunately, I don’t know.”
“Oh, come on! Even though Boss Dok is making it?”
“I asked, but he didn’t tell me. But I have a rough idea of what it might be.”
The eyes of the dungeon strategy team members lingered on Jong-sik’s lips.
“Oh, what is it?”
“Um, please let it be a Korean dish!”
“I hope it’s something with a hot broth.”
The previous day, Jong-pal had said something like this to him. He said he would make it with the ingredient his brother likes the most. So, today’s menu would be…
“It’s probably something related to kimchi.”
“Kimchi?”
“He said he would use his favorite ingredient.”
“And that’s kimchi?”
Jong-sik nodded. Upon hearing that, the strategy team members started listing foods related to kimchi.
“There are plenty! Kimchi fried rice, kimchi stew, kimchi pasta, kimchi jjim, and so on.”
Rice, soup, stew, steamed dishes, grilled dishes, and stir-fried dishes.
No dish made with kimchi was tasteless.
They salivated again, imagining the lunchboxes that would soon be delivered, amidst a cheerful atmosphere.
***
Watching them was Sun-hong, who was dispatched from China.
“If Little Korea dares to confront Big China, we need to show them what happens.”
He sharpened his words, which was a declaration of war.
And all the Chinese team members agreed. They were in a highly excited state.
“Yes, we must crush them so they never dare to challenge us again.”
“We need to retaliate for the insults we received. Should we start with that arrogant girl?”
Usually, whenever they encountered hunters from other countries, they engaged in a mock fight to assert their dominance.
However, there was an order to restrain themselves this time.
“Are you talking about Team Average? I agree!”
“I’ll step up.”
In the midst of the heated atmosphere,
Someone interjected, injecting a note of caution.
“General Gong, shouldn’t we report to the headquarters first? We shouldn’t act hastily. You haven’t forgotten what the Prime Minister said, have you?”
The heated atmosphere cooled down in an instant.
A reminder of the directive not to stir up unnecessary trouble while observing all training methods.
That reminder suddenly came to mind.
“How could I forget? It’s a command from the sky-like headquarters. Pawan, don’t worry. We have no intention of causing trouble first.”
Sun-hong remembered it clearly. So, he meticulously observed all the training the Little Korea folks underwent, enduring even Pyeong-ari’s provocations.
But what were the results? It wasn’t a training worth enduring humiliation for.
It couldn’t even be called training. It was just like a local hangout.
Moreover, the training’s purpose was just as ridiculous.
“Wasting hunter resources just to evacuate residents is not fitting for a superpower like China. There was no need to learn from it. In other words, there was no need to endure humiliation.”
Sun-yang narrowed her eyebrows and asked, “Brother, do we have any tricks up our sleeves?”
Sun-hong responded as if there were no issues at all. “I told you. We have no intention of causing trouble first.”
“…!”
“Then do you plan to provoke them into challenging us first?”
“It won’t be easy. Moreover, most of them are healers.”
“Not all of them.”
Sun-hong glanced at a few individuals: Baek Ho-dam, Seo Sang-ho, Dok Jong-sik, and Su Seon-hwa. He intended to take them as examples.
“Koreans are all cowards. They won’t voluntarily provoke a challenge unless absolutely necessary… Do you have any ideas?”
“No. I need to think about it. Koreans have a tendency to make a big deal out of small things. We can use that to our advantage.”
Sun-hong’s eyes narrowed.
At that moment, a delivery van pulled up to the shelter. Eventually, the door opened, and a man inside shouted loudly, “Food’s here!”
The shelter erupted into excitement at his announcement.
“Wow! Lunchboxes, lunchboxes!”
“Finally, we get to eat!”
“What? Haven’t you been to Dok’s restaurant?”
“Why wouldn’t I have! Of course, I’ve been there! Three times, in fact. But two times, it was closed on the days I went because it was market day, and the other time, they ran out of ingredients, so I had to settle for bokkeum. So, I thought we weren’t meant to be together…”
“What? You cried?”
“Of course not. …Hmph.”
“This guy. Would you cry if you ate?”
It was all because of the delivered lunchboxes. The expressions of those waiting for their meals were all the same.
They were all fixated on the lunchboxes, swallowing their saliva.
It was understandable. They were finally going to taste Dok Jong-sik’s famous dishes that they had only heard rumors about!
They couldn’t contain their excitement.
“Since we brought plenty, feel free to come back if you need more after eating.”
“Nice!”
“Please line up properly. Oh, and today’s menu is kimchi fried rice.”
“Kimchi fried rice? Nice.”
“It’s my favorite menu!”
On the other hand, the expressions of the Chinese watching them were icy cold.
The Korean hunters eagerly grabbing their lunchboxes seemed like obedient dogs to them.
“Look at those eager puppies running for their food. They’re happier than at our Happy Home, aren’t they?”
“Aren’t Koreans known as a people who live and die by rice?”
“Even if it tasted decent, I could understand, but really.”
Sun-yang shook her head.
Objectively, Korean food is decent. But the combat lunchboxes provided to hunters were lacking.
Last time, during a business trip to Korea, she personally confirmed the taste.
The lunchbox was so unsatisfactory that it was hard to even recall. Seeing Korean hunters rushing to eat such lunchboxes was truly laughable.
“Let’s go out to eat.”
So Sun-yang refused to eat the lunchbox. Her colleagues agreed.
“Let’s find a Chinese restaurant.”
“Great! Let’s have some hot pot.”
But Sun-hong, her brother, had a different idea.
“No need to go out.”
“What?”
“Brother, what are you saying? We said we should order delivery.”
“No. Let’s eat the lunchbox too.”
Why on earth would they do that?
The four of them looked at Sun-hong with expressions of incomprehension.
Then Sun-hong smirked and revealed his hidden intentions. Sun-hong had a plan all along.
Next, the gaze of Sun-yang and the other three fell on Sun-hong. Sun-hong was satisfied with the plan he had laid out.
“Oh, was that the plan? Hehe. Nice!”
“Come to think of it, there’s no need to go far.”
They walked towards the delivery truck.
Sun-hong, holding the lunchboxes, shouted loudly.
“It’s rice cooked with kimchi. Indeed, Korea is a country overflowing with consideration. They prepared Chinese food for us!”
The Chinese followed up with remarks.
“Oh my, really? It’s food made with kimchi! Who would have thought we’d be eating traditional Chinese food here.”
“Is there a skilled chef here? I want to express my gratitude, but since they’re not here…”
“Let’s just express our gratitude to our fellow Koreans, then.”
Sun-yang wrapped her other hand around her fist, a gesture of thanks in Chinese style.
At that moment, the atmosphere in the shelter turned chilly, as if cold water had been poured over it.
