Chapter 33 – A Personal Chef Offer

“Do you like the work you are doing now?”

Hee-na rolled her eyes at the sudden question. Was this a new type of loyalty test?

“I like it very much. Everyone is kind, the salary comes in regularly, there’s not much overtime, and allowances are applied without omission. The Blue Dragon Guild is a really good place to work. On top of that, it’s a regular position where there’s almost no chance of getting fired. I like that the most. I’m exactly suited to be an office worker.”

Hee-na praised aspects of the Blue Dragon Guild as if she were facing an interviewer. Then she saw a faint wrinkle forming between Kang Jin-hyun’s eyebrows.

‘So this much is not enough?’

It was just as she was about to continue painting the Blue Dragon Guild in gold while tongue-clicking at Kang Jin-hyun’s intentions.

“If I offer you double the wages you receive now, would you be willing to resign from the Blue Dragon Guild?”

Hee-na’s mouth gaped open at those thunderbolt-like words.

‘Did he find out that I lost that… Piece of Space? Is he telling me to take money and get lost?’

It was to the point that she had such thoughts.

“Pardon? W-What do you mean by that?”

When she asked with a face turned pale, Kang Jin-hyun calmed Hee-na down.

“Ah, you must have been flustered by me suddenly bringing up such a story. So what I meant was that I will give you double the wages you received at the Blue Dragon Guild, so please become my personal dedicated chef.”

“A chef?”

A cleaner is a cleaner, but a chef?

Hee-na wore a bewildered expression at the sudden proposal. However, Kang Jin-hyun was extremely serious.

“Since I awakened as an S-class Hunter, I don’t know how long it has been since I’ve eaten food this delicious. I want to hire you, Miss Hee-na, as my personal chef. If there is anything you want besides money, you may request as much as you like.”

It was an incredibly attractive proposal. The salary was double, anything she wanted, and on top of that, the work she had to do was just preparing meals!

However, that made it even more suspicious. Hee-na was someone who would tap even a stone bridge before crossing, and only cross after seeing someone else cross first.

There was always some risk in things that accompanied such excessive rewards.

Like her brother Hee-won’s Hunter work, for example. In any case, entering a dungeon was something you had to risk your life for, which was why the price was expensive.

Hee-na’s conspiracy-theory brain worked after a long time.

‘There must be some risk in this too!’

“If it’s difficult to prepare three meals, you can just prepare two meals. Or shall we work 5 days a week? No… if you pack a lunch box in advance like this, even 4 days a week is possible. If the money doesn’t satisfy you, shall we make the salary three times what you receive now?”

Perhaps anxious at Hee-na’s silence, Kang Jin-hyun kept attaching preposterous conditions. Unfortunately, however, the more he did so, the deeper Hee-na’s suspicions became.

She felt a bit sorry to attach such an expression to an S-class Hunter… but it was because he looked like a pure swindler.

In any case, one of the truths of the world that Hee-na, who grew up tough without parents, knew for sure was ‘There is no kindness without a price!’

Of course, she thought it made sense if he really enjoyed the food made with her hand-taste, but…

“You are offering me such great conditions just for food?”

It was a slightly odd question to ask for Hee-na, who believed that housing, food, and sleep were the most important things in the world.

However, there was no reason for Kang Jin-hyun, one of the world’s leading S-class Hunters, to show such a low posture to Hee-na, who was merely a D-class Homemaker, because of food.

At least, in Hee-na’s opinion.

“It is not just food. Do not speak so lowly of the food you made, Miss Hee-na!”

Kang Jin-hyun firmly defended Hee-na’s lunch box. It could be seen that he had no intention of tolerating even Hee-na, who made the food, if she disparaged the lunch box.

Hee-na sweat slightly and replied.

“Ah, yes. Food is indeed important. Koreans live by the power of rice, after all.”

In fact, Hee-na also possessed a skill called ‘Power of Rice.’

“That’s right. Food is really important. The mood of the day is determined by what the lunch menu is, and eating delicious food makes me think it was good to be alive. However, it has been too long since I forgot such joy of gastronomy.”

The corners of Kang Jin-hyun’s eyes became moist.

‘Oh dear.’

Hee-na groaned.

She had come carrying a gourmet tactic, but here he was trying to captivate her mind with a handsome face tactic and a touching story. At this rate, she wouldn’t even be able to bring up the main point.

Hee-na shouted urgently.

“Wait a moment!”

“Yes. Please speak.”

Kang Jin-hyun sat upright and looked into Hee-na’s eyes. His black pupils were extremely deep.

“As for that matter, I’ll think about it slowly, so can we start with another topic first?”

Hee-na coaxed Kang Jin-hyun gently.

Kang Jin-hyun raised his eyebrows. He seemed to be weighing Hee-na’s proposal internally.

“…Let’s do that. However, you will have to answer in advance by when you will think it over.”

The man was particular beyond words. His black eyes were burning quietly yet intensely.

“By when will you think it over, Miss Hee-na?”

“O-One month.”

Under his pressure, Hee-na stammered without realizing it. For reference, the number one month was a deadline that popped out without any thought.

“One month… Understood. I also agree that one has to watch for about a month to grasp the opponent. An enemy and an ally must be grasped correctly.”

She thought he was a man of few words, but Kang Jin-hyun seemed to have found his voice after eating Hee-na’s lunch box. He kept muttering words one after another.

The contents seemed to be to calm himself down rather than speaking to Hee-na.

It was because he had eyes that looked as if he would snatch and carry away the person in front of him right now otherwise.

A chill ran down Hee-na’s back at the strange madness he exuded.

The obsessive gaze exuded by the S-class combat Hunter was enough to threaten the instincts of Hee-na, who was of the herbivore type.

Then, in an instant, Kang Jin-hyun returned to a plain expression.

“I was unable to control my energy for a moment. My apologies.”

As he reined in his energy, the heavy atmosphere became light in an instant.

‘So the atmosphere can become this scary because of greed for food.’

Hee-na swallowed her saliva.

“Anyway… if you have a main point, please speak. I will listen.”

Kang Jin-hyun folded his arms as if telling her to speak at ease.

Hee-na brought out the words she prepared.

Whether it was a fortune or misfortune, the tension had completely subsided thanks to Kang Jin-hyun’s proposal of a dedicated chef earlier.

“Do remember the dirty coin-like piece we touched when the two of us fell into the dungeon last time?”

“Ah. I remember. The one that wasn’t wiped clean in my hand, but was wiped clean in your hand, Miss Hee-na… I believe it was bound to you because of that.”

Perhaps because it was an event from a few days ago, he remembered it quite accurately.

“The thing is… a problem arose.”

“What is it?”

Hee-na confessed honestly.

“I lost that piece. I raise a snail at home, and while watching the snail climb on top of that piece and wriggle, it just disappeared.”

Although the facts were slightly concealed and distorted, she spoke as honestly as possible within the limits of what she could answer.

“So you raise a pet snail, Miss Hee-na, and that snail ran away with that coin-like piece?”

“…Yes. It’s similar.”

The problem was that hearing it from someone else’s mouth made it sound truly bizarre.

“It is a unique story.”

Was it because he had the experience of witnessing scenes beyond common sense in all kinds of dungeons?

Fortunately, Kang Jin-hyun only made a curious expression, and did not nitpick at Hee-na’s excuse.

‘Who knew it would feel so fortunate for Hunter Kang Jin-hyun to have some non-commonsensical parts.’

Hee-na wriggled her fingers and continued speaking.

“But that piece was discovered by the dungeon raid team, and belongs to the Blue Dragon Guild… I came to tell you in advance because I thought it might become a problem. Honestly, packing the food was a bribe to ask you to look kindly on my mistake.”

Woo Min-ah had tipped her off to roughly settle the matter while Kang Jin-hyun was distracted by food.

However, she had to change the strategy due to an unexpected problem. It was because he acted as if his ears couldn’t hear any sound due to being too absorbed in eating the lunch box.

He cleared the lunch box like a person who had starved for almost a week. There was no way Hee-na’s faint ‘Excuse me… would you listen to me for a moment…?’ could be heard.

Because of that, Hee-na ended up making this awkward confession right in front of Kang Jin-hyun.

Hee-na swallowed her saliva repeatedly while waiting for Kang Jin-hyun’s sentence. Her mouth kept drying up. Hee-na lowered her head deeply.

‘Since they said he is a person clear in distinguishing public and private, maybe a bribe like this won’t work. Should I have just ignored it and passed by until he brought it up first? Did I just make the matter bigger for nothing?’

It was around the time her vision spun with all kinds of thoughts.

A low laugh was heard.

At least Hee-na didn’t laugh, and since there were only the two of them in this room, there was only one person who could laugh.

When she raised her head abruptly and looked up at Kang Jin-hyun, a smile hung gently on his lips.

If Woo Min-ah had been watching, it was a moment she would have asked, ‘Why are you smirking?’

However, because Hee-na was not Woo Min-ah, she asked politely.

“What is it?”

“I’m sorry for laughing suddenly, Miss Hee-na. It’s funny to think of trying to gloss over a mistake with food, and it’s also surprising to think that I fell for such a tactic.”

It was a welcome sound to hear. Hee-na’s mouth gaped wide.

“Does that mean?”

The Homemaker of the Dungeon