Chapter 55 – Madeleines and Meat

Honestly, the madeleines were so delicious that it was hard to believe they were her first attempt.

Perhaps because preparing meals felt like doing something routine, it rarely brought her much excitement, but preparing desserts like bread made her feel strangely happy. It was a slightly different kind of fulfillment compared to making Korean food.

‘I guess this is why people bake.’

She felt like she might develop a new hobby in the future.

“Since you made it, how could it not be delicious!”

Woo Min-ah swallowed hard and took out a madeleine. The well-risen madeleine, with its cute belly protruding, looked even more mouth-watering.

“Let’s eat together.”

When Woo Min-ah offered the madeleine to her first, Hee-na waved her hand.

“I ate at home before coming, so I’m fine. Unnie, you have it all.”

“…Really?”

At that, Woo Min-ah’s eyes sparkled with joy. She seemed secretly pleased to have the food Hee-na made all to herself.

Seeing the usually jovial and easygoing Woo Min-ah reluctant to share something with others made her feel good rather than disappointed.

‘It means she likes my food that much.’

From the maker’s perspective, it was a secretly rewarding thing.

Hee-na sipped the warm and sweet mix coffee as she watched Woo Min-ah finish off the madeleines.

Woo Min-ah, munching on the fluffy madeleine, suddenly raised her head.

“Hee-na, want to go eat something delicious today? It’s on me.”

Since she was on vacation with nothing to do anyway, Hee-na accepted Woo Min-ah’s proposal.

“Then shall we go eat meat? I’ll grill it for you.”

When she habitually brought up meat, Woo Min-ah grinned.

“Hehe, anything is fine, but meat grilled by you is even better. Then, Unnie is buying beef!”

“Oh, that sounds delicious…”

Hee-na swallowed hard as she recalled the meat restaurant she had visited with Woo Min-ah last time.

They said it was a high-end Hanwoo restaurant, and the meat quality was incredible. On top of that, when Hee-na’s ‘This Is the True Taste of Homemade Food’ skill was applied, a fantastic flavor unfolded, to the point that she temporarily lost strength in her hands.

In the end, Hee-na and Woo Min-ah scraped and ate up the beef to the point of running the restaurant out of meat. They ate so much that the restaurant even gave them a discount.

“But it was too expensive there… and you paid for that too, Unnie.”

Hee-na recalled the massive meat bill from that day. It was an amount too expensive to be considered labor cost for grilling meat.

Woo Min-ah snapped her fingers at Hee-na, who was hesitating with ordinary citizen-like worries, telling her to snap out of it.

“I am Woo Min-ah, the Dungeon Raid Team Leader of the Blue Dragon Guild. Forget about meat, I can even buy you the restaurant.”

The voice was so reliable and cool that Hee-na admired her sincerely.

“Unnie, you’re truly amazing.”

“No. Your cooking is even more amazing.”

It was when they were complimenting each other and having a quiet conversation.

Woo Min-ah’s eyes suddenly sharpened, and a click sound was heard.

“Unnie? What’s wrong?”

Hee-na was bewildered by the sudden change in momentum.

Woo Min-ah gestured for Hee-na to remain seated and quickly opened the office door. The door opened with a loud, rough bang.

Woo Min-ah spoke in a chilling voice she had never used before.

“Who is it? Eavesdropping like a rat… Huh?”

But that was only momentary. This was because she quickly recognized the identity of the person standing at the door.

“Huh?”

Watching the scene anxiously, Hee-na also opened her eyes wide in turn. The opponent was someone Hee-na also knew well.

It was Hunter Kang Jin-hyun.

“…Kang Jin-hyun? What are you doing in front of my office? And what’s with that expression?”

He stood in front of Woo Min-ah’s office with a devastated expression. Even if he had been stabbed by a trusted colleague, he wouldn’t wear such a betrayed face.

“Hunter Kang Jin-hyun?”

Hee-na also quietly stood up and peeked out from behind Woo Min-ah. At that, Kang Jin-hyun’s trembling eyes locked onto Hee-na.

“I was actually planning to visit you… But is something wrong? Your expression…”

“Hee-na.”

Kang Jin-hyun looked down at Hee-na with moist eyes.

At that look, her heart dropped. Even though she had done nothing wrong, she felt like she should apologize.

“W-What’s the matter?”

“My chest hurts.”

“Pardon?”

Could an S-class Hunter also get arrhythmia or something? Hee-na was extremely flustered.

‘Should I call 119? Or should I call a healer?’

It was when she was in a bustle.

“While you rejected me, you habitually do this with Hunter Woo Min-ah…”

“What is he talking about.”

The momentum of Woo Min-ah, who had been extremely tense from the unusual aura, suddenly died down.

However, since Kang Jin-hyun was looking only at Hee-na from the start, he had no interest in Woo Min-ah’s reaction.

“I guess I really don’t measure up to your standards, Hee-na…”

As he went on to say such bizarre things, Hee-na was shocked and grabbed Kang Jin-hyun’s arm.

“Excuse me, Hunter Kang Jin-hyun! Wait a moment!”

“Please call me Jin-hyun. Don’t you call Hunter Woo Min-ah close terms like Unnie?”

She didn’t know what he wanted. Moreover, Kang Jin-hyun’s words were enough to attract the attention of the surrounding people.

Fortunately, there weren’t very many pedestrians walking along the corridor, but everyone who passed glanced at Kang Jin-hyun and Hee-na. It was incredibly nerve-wracking.

“Excuse me, I don’t know what’s going on, but could you please come inside to talk about this?”

When she pulled his arm further, Kang Jin-hyun was obediently dragged into Woo Min-ah’s office.

Clack!

Woo Min-ah set a cup of mix coffee down in front of Kang Jin-hyun. Kang Jin-hyun quietly looked down at the paper cup. His appearance somehow looked rather pitiful.

Despite being one of the strongest Hunters in the world, looking as sorrowful as an abandoned puppy was quite a skill if it could be called one.

“Hey, has your excitement cooled down a bit?”

Woo Min-ah asked as she plopped down in her chair.

“…”

Kang Jin-hyun did not answer. He only glanced at Woo Min-ah. A faint hostility lingered in his sharply honed gaze.

“What, why are you looking at me like that?”

Woo Min-ah pointed her finger at Kang Jin-hyun.

“…”

Once again, Kang Jin-hyun did not answer. Thanks to that, the atmosphere was beyond awkward; it felt as if a cold wind was blowing.

Hee-na rolled her eyes here and there at the strange current flowing between the two high-rank Hunters. It was incredibly uncomfortable.

She felt it would rather be better to have a one-on-one interview with the Guild Leader.

“Um… I brought some food, would you like some?”

Anyway, a little snack was always best for thawing an awkward atmosphere. Hee-na pulled out the madeleines she had brought for Kang Jin-hyun’s share and pushed them in front of him.

“Well, I tried baking a little, and as I made them, the quantity multiplied… So I brought some to take care of the people around. This is for you, Hunter Kang Jin-hyun—no, Jin-hyun. I was planning to visit you to give them anyway, but you came to find me like this. Haha.”

Haha, an awkward laugh rang out in Woo Min-ah’s office.

“Thank you for thinking of me, Hee-na.”

Fortunately, Kang Jin-hyun responded to Hee-na.

In a much softer atmosphere, Hee-na asked carefully.

“Are you upset right now because Unnie Min-ah and I go out to eat meat with just the two of us?”

She didn’t want to believe that could be the case, but this was the only thing she could think of.

“…Yes, that is also part of the reason.”

Once the mouth he had held firmly shut opened, Kang Jin-hyun began to pour out his story smoothly.

He had replied belatedly after seeing Hee-na’s message. However, when no response came no matter how much time passed, he began to wander the building searching for Hee-na’s presence.

Finding the trace of Hee-na, who was practically a civilian, was a piece of cake for S-class Hunter Kang Jin-hyun.

And Kang Jin-hyun found out that the place where Hee-na’s traces finally led was Woo Min-ah’s office.

“I did not intend to eavesdrop. I was about to knock, but the sound of conversation just drifted out.”

Kang Jin-hyun excused himself, saying he didn’t eavesdrop on the conversation on purpose. Then he said the content of their conversation was so shocking that his focus was greatly disrupted.

“So that’s why your presence was caught? If you hid on purpose, there’s no way I would be able to find you.”

Woo Min-ah scratched her cheek, as if she finally understood now.

“But what is so shocking about the two of us eating grilled meat together that even your attention got disrupted?”

When she asked with an expression of genuine incomprehension, Kang Jin-hyun’s complexion darkened.

“…That is none of Hunter Woo Min-ah’s business.”

“What? You sulky guy!”

Kang Jin-hyun ignored Woo Min-ah’s words, looking visibly sulky.

“Now, now. Calm down.”

Hee-na made an effort to prevent conflict between the major executives of the Blue Dragon Guild.

Somehow, she felt like she was stopping a children’s fight… but it must be an illusion.

“Jin-hyun, why were you so hurt by the fact that the two of us eat meat?”

When she unwrapped a madeleine, put it in his hand, and asked, Kang Jin-hyun obediently opened his mouth.

“Since you didn’t accept my request, I thought you were the same with everyone… but hearing that you were already in such a relationship with Hunter Woo Min-ah made the area near my heart throb and my mind go blank.”

“Hey, you know that sounds really weird, right?”