~Chapter 8~
Don’t Mess With Food
Lee Seojin and Seorina exited the Field.
“Shall we settle the earnings?” Seorina asked.
Seojin opened his inventory, which was full of monster loot exchanged for food sales.
He handed all of it to Seorina.
“Ten steel ant mandibles, two queen steel ant mandibles, thirty-three fire rabbit forelegs, eight unicorn chicken horns…”
Seorina checked the loot while calculating the value using a smartphone app.
“That totals 1.9 million won. After deducting the 20% agent fee and 10% partner cut, that leaves 1.33 million won.”
“Wait. The agent fee comes after your 10% partner cut, right? So I get 1.368 million won.”
“Oh—! You’re right. Sorry!”
She took out an envelope of cash and handed it to Seojin, who returned 2,000 won in change.
Holding the thick wad of cash, Seojin felt emotional.
“What’s your name?” Seorina asked.
“My name?”
“Yes. We’re business partners now. I can’t keep calling you ‘Hey.’ I’m Seorina.”
She clearly intended to keep working with Seojin.
Thanks to her, he could plate his food nicely and sell it for a higher price. He didn’t mind the partnership at all.
“I’m Lee Seojin.”
“We already exchanged numbers during the loot transaction, right?”
“Yes.”
Seojin edited his phone contact, changing “Agent” to “Seorina.”
“If you ever run low on plates, contact me. I’ll make a bunch for you.”
“I’ll do that.”
“Alright then.”
With no lingering hesitation, Seorina turned and walked away.
Seojin watched her back for a moment, then headed home.
* * *
It takes about 15 minutes to walk from the Safe Zone to the fire rabbit habitat in the Field—and the same to return.
Back home, Seojin sat on the sofa and drank a glass of water.
“So strange…”
In the early days of the Field, awakened beings were cautious when entering or exiting.
Since the Field and Earth shared geographic coordinates, there were concerns that one might rematerialize inside buildings or walls and die.
But such accidents never happened.
The coordinates were auto-adjusted to prevent overlap with buildings or people.
In the kitchen, Seojin opened his inventory.
Since Field conditions weren’t yet suitable for cooking, he still had to cook dishes like fried eggs, rolled omelets, and lizard tail roast at home.
Among his ingredients, something unfamiliar stood out: a crude dagger made from monster bone.
Though sharp, it could only handle the weakest monsters.
A hunter had exchanged it for food, obsessed with Seojin’s proper cooking.
Seojin didn’t mind—he needed a knife anyway.
He tried slicing a lizard tail.
Srrrk… Srrrk…
“Oh…”
Sharper than expected. Well, it was meant to be a weapon.
“If only someone made frying pans…”
That, and fire, were the real issues.
Fire-based skills were rare. Even a simple lighter would help—but Seojin shook his head.
“Trees in the Field emit toxins when cut.”
So no firewood. That ruled out open flames.
Unless he met someone with a fire skill, Field cooking was impossible.
“For now, I’ll just finish this.”
Sizzle…
He grilled lizard tail in oil.
* * *
“Phew…”
By the time he finished cooking, it was 1 a.m.
This time, he added freshly diced scallions from the Field to his egg rolls.
The aromatic flavor and crisp texture enhanced the taste. He couldn’t wait to see the hunters’ reactions tomorrow.
But for now, he was too excited to sleep.
Also, he hadn’t eaten properly after work and was starving.
“Maybe… I’ll treat myself tonight.”
After a moment’s thought, Seojin opened a delivery app.
He ordered chicken and beer—luxuries he hadn’t had in months due to a tight wallet.
* * *
Crunch!
“Mmm…”
He bit into a perfectly fried chicken drumstick. The crispy skin burst with savory juice.
The slightly spicy coating crunched down to the last bite, while the meat inside was unbelievably tender.
“This is it…”
Was there any country that could rival Korea’s fried chicken?
After months of abstinence, it almost brought tears to his eyes.
Chicken was addicting. Just the smell when opening the box could ruin your self-control.
And after months of denial, the taste hit like a nicotine rush after quitting smoking.
Seojin devoured the drumstick and took a long chug of cold beer.
Gulp, gulp—
“Ahhh…”
If the chicken brought tears, the beer numbed his brain.
The fizzy carbonation cut through the greasiness like a cleanse.
“So good…”
He couldn’t say anything else.
Chicken and beer—one of the ultimate cheat codes in the food world.
He grabbed a piece of yangnyeom (sweet-spicy) chicken.
He loved both fried and sauced varieties. A half-and-half box was heaven.
Crunch!
Even the sauce-coated ones stayed crispy.
Munch, munch—gulp!
“Ssshh—!”
Then he opened the complimentary cola and drank deeply.
Gulp, gulp—huff…
Chicken and beer were unbeatable, but chicken and cola was a close second.
Back to the fried piece—he added pickled radish.
It was the perfect partner: tangy and refreshing.
This place also gave old-school cabbage salad with ketchup and mayo—a rare find these days.
Crunchy cabbage and “ketchyo” sauce? Chef’s kiss.
With the salad and radish cutting through the richness, Seojin could eat endlessly.
He had waited so long for this moment and savored every bite.
* * *
The next morning, as Seojin arrived at the restaurant, the owner Cho Sang-man greeted him warmly.
“Oh, Seojin! You’re here?”
He had never spoken so cheerfully before.
“Uh… Yes. Hello.”
Seojin responded flatly as usual.
Normally, Cho would complain about Seojin being curt.
But not today. He was like a different person.
“You’re so reliable, Seojin. You’ve never been late once. Most people slip up now and then, but you’re solid!”
“Thank you…”
Uncertain how to respond, Seojin bowed and tried to head into the kitchen.
But Cho hurried after him.
“Hey, Seojin, could you make me that egg rice again?”
“Egg rice?”
“It was amazing yesterday. I tried to recreate it at home, but it just wasn’t the same.”
So that was why he was acting so friendly.
But making egg rice wasn’t hard, and if it smoothed things over, why not?
“Now?”
“No, around 10:30 is good.”
“Okay.”
“Hehehe~”
Cho walked off, humming.
* * *
At 10:25, Seojin began frying eggs.
Of course, regular eggs wouldn’t do. He secretly pulled out pig-nosed lizard eggs from his inventory.
If I cook it the same as yesterday, it’ll be fine.
Just then, Head Chef Yoon Tae-an, busy with his own prep, glanced over.
“Seojin, what are you doing?”
“Frying eggs.”
“No, I mean—why?”
“Boss wanted egg rice.”
“What?”
Yoon’s face twisted with disbelief.
He snatched the frying pan from Seojin.
“Hey! It’s not done yet—”
“It’s fine.”
Not fine. By Seojin’s standards, it needed 10 more seconds.
That might sound minor, but eggs are sensitive. Even a second matters.
Yoon ignored him, plated the egg, and added rice on top.
“I’ll make it today. You rest.”
The thought of losing to a mere egg rice dish drove him mad.
He planned to show Cho something even better today.
He carefully added soy sauce and sesame oil, mixing the rice thoroughly.
Seojin just watched.
* * *
“Here you go, Boss.”
Cho looked at the bowl of egg rice with a frown.
“Why did the head chef bring this? I asked Seojin…”
“Ah, I just wanted to show you my ultimate egg rice. Please try it.”
Cho hesitated, then picked up his spoon.
Dining hall staffer Jang Youngshim watched too, curious about his reaction.
Seojin peeked out from the kitchen.
Chomp, chew… gulp!
Cho tasted a bite.
“How is it? Better than Seojin’s, right?” Yoon asked.
He expected an easy win.
But Cho slowly shook his head.
“…Sorry, but no. It’s not as good.”
“What?”
Pfft!
Yoon flinched, and Youngshim barely stifled a laugh. She had always disliked Yoon’s arrogance.
“Boss!”
Yoon raised his voice, pointing at Seojin with a forced grin.
“Ha! You’re joking, right? No way Seojin’s egg rice is better than mine.”
Cho stared at him and said firmly:
“Yoon… I don’t joke about food.”
