NOVEL NEXT WORLD Welcome to Dungeon Hotel
Chapter 184
As I pondered over such thoughts while munching on side dishes, Dads face suddenly flashed before my eyes.
“Oh, you startled me!” In Dad’s hand was a dish of beautifully plated fried oysters, a skill he had learned when working at an izakaya. “Because you seem to have no appetite. In times like these, you need to eat well.” Dad put down the fried oysters in front of me. I look like I have no appetite? I looked down at my empty bowl of oyster rice soup, finishing every last drop of the broth. “What kind of times are these?” Dad quietly avoided my eyes. Ah. I didn’t mention anything about Han Woohyun to Dad, but he must have already heard of it. The answer came from somewhere else. “It was the day after you drank a lot.” It was the manager. The manager poured some oyster rice soup broth into my empty bowl. “The day after drinking, it’s soup, not fried food.” Is that so? But I didn’t really have a hangover. As Han Woohyun said before, it was impossible to get drunk after awakening. However, it seems that Aunt Misoon and Heeyoung were quite drunk yesterday. ‘Should we carve ‘Woohyun ♡ Junghyo’ too?’ Yesterday, I stopped by Aunt Misoon Workshop to pick up products to display at the pop-up store. But at that moment, Aunt was making gauntlets to give to Han Woohyun. So, I blurted it out impulsively. ‘We broke up.’ ‘Huh? Why? Are you tired of Han Woohyun? I thought he was okay though. It’s kind of cute.’ Of course, it was kind of funny that she thought I dumped him. Aunt Heeyoung, who was visiting, seemed to have the same thoughts. ‘So what? There are many handsome men in this world. If our baby is happy, she can always meet someone else and then come back.’ ‘Mhm… So you too…’ Aunt Misoon was about to say something, but then she noticed my reaction and quickly changed the subject. ‘Anyway, why?’ At the word “why…”, I recalled Han Woohyun’s last words. ‘You too will be broken because of me.’ Even at the moment of saying those words, Han Woohyun’s communication window was filled with all kinds of regret and pain. So, it’s just a ‘so-so’ reason. It was as if there was no reason. ‘Well, I don’t know either.’ I smiled slightly. Seeing this, the expressions of the Aunts became mysterious. ‘Your expression…’ ‘What did Han Woohyun do wrong? Should we catch him now?’ ‘Shall we just say that Han Woohyun cheated and that’s why you broke up? Then, I think your Uncles will scold Han Woohyun.’ As soon as those words were spoken, Aunt Heeyoung, who was sitting next to me, frowned. ‘Your Aunts would scold him too.’ ‘Engineers are always the strongest!’ It seemed like the first time I’d seen Aunt Heeyoung and Misoon so united, especially when they were sober. Even drinking that much alcohol was unusual for them. Thanks to them, even though I didn’t get drunk, I was quite tired. But it felt rewarding to hear from Yoojun that Han Woohyun got a good scolding from the uncles today. Yoojun must have had as bad taste as the lawyer, so he sent me a photo of Han Woohyun stuck on the office wall. The photo is really. It came out pretty. I looked at that photo over and over again. I don’t think there will be any way to see Woohyun’s face for the time being. That day, after Han Woohyun told me to break up and left, I called him. When he receives a phone call, the first thing to do is apologize. My mistake was not to discuss family matters with Han Woohyun in advance. Therefore… But Han Woohyun wasn’t angry. He’s not angry, it’s just— Ah, I don’t know. Even though Mind Communication revealed Han Woohyun’s feelings, why can’t I still persuade him? – I can’t answer the phone right now… Han Woohyun didn’t answer the phone. I called again and again, but all I heard was the same voice. I can’t answer the phone right now. He hadn’t blocked my number. He deliberately ignored the call. Because I consistently received messages asking me to text in case of urgent business. Funny enough, I felt like I knew Han Woohyun’s feelings as well. He’s afraid I’ll be calling for something really urgent. I guess he was afraid of such a time, so he couldn’t bring himself to block me. ‘Crazy brat…’ It was too bad that Uncles only pinned him to the wall like that. They should have just dropped him from the building. Then he might forget about suggesting a breakup and come back to me. Thinking that perhaps I was the truly insane one, I emptied the bowl of oyster soup once again and began chewing on the fried oysters. I felt empty inside. However… It’s oysters again. The fried oysters were crispy on the outside and had the texture of soft, well-cooked oysters on the inside. It was quite delicious. The problem was that there were too many oysters on the table these days. The reason was the yacht tour course, which is popular with Dungeon Hotel guests these days. “The guests donate oysters they gather from the Dragon Palace, so the oysters keep piling up. What should we do?” The manager, who seemed to be thinking the same thing as me, looked at the fried oysters with a tired face and said, “Even if we eat all of this now, there’s still another bucket left.” “Wouldn’t it be okay if I brought some to the Yonggung Sashimi restaurant?” The manager responded to Dad’s words with a grin. “I already brought one bucket.” “Ah…” It was like that. These days, oysters have been piling up in the hotel. The positive response from the freshman student council members during the yacht tour, where they gathered oysters, led us to offer oyster-picking experiences to guests after that. The oysters near the Dragon Palace were fresh and tasty, and as the Dragon King’s illness gradually improved, the quantity increased. “You seem to be feeling much better.” The doctor of Jeongcheon-gun came last time, and after examining the Dragon King, she said the illness seemed almost cured. Thanks to that, there were plenty of delicious and plump oysters growing near the Dragon Palace. The guests excitedly dug it up, ate about half of it at the hotel, and donated half of it to the hotel. “…Do they get fined for leaving oysters behind?” “We’ve already been receiving it for a few days, but they paid the fine and left it behind.” The manager shook her head at Lim Sehwan’s idea. “I feel guilty because the oysters are in too good a condition to just throw them away.” The manager muttered with a bored expression on her face while eating fried oysters. It was like that. The plump and fragrant oysters without any fishy smell were in such good condition that it was truly good. Even after the Dragon King’s illness was cured, the effect continued. Plump Oyster (F) —It stimulates the appetite. !Note! When you encounter the ‘Ultimate Recipe’, new effects are created. ‘When you encounter the ultimate recipe, a new effect is created?’ Just in case, I tried adding oysters to the seaweed soup recipe given to me by the head of the women’s association, and it really created a new effect. Seaweed Soup with Oysters (E) —It stimulates the appetite. —Recovery speed is 150% faster. It was an oyster that was too precious to just throw away. So I kept collecting them, and every time oysters piled up in the hotel, not only did I worry about the freshness of the ingredients, but the amount of side dish consumption dropped significantly. Thanks to that, the various types of kimchi that Han Woohyun made are still on this table. And more than anything, as the oysters piled up, I felt like something was accumulating inside me. I said while glaring at the watery kimchi that Han Woohyun had made. “It won’t work. Let’s find a place to deliver these oysters.” I need to get rid of these oysters right away. “Deliver?” “Yes. What if we prepare them as oyster pancakes for sale?” The manager’s eyes sparkled at my words. It was the look in the eyes of an S-class marketer. “Do you think… this would be a big hit if we did something like home shopping?” As I looked into those eyes, I could already see myself appearing on a home shopping channel broadcast and doing a promotion with Geumdong eating a large spoonful of salted fish oysters. But before that, shouldn’t we first find the ‘ultimate recipe’ to cook oysters well? With that thought in mind, I put aside my worries about Han Woohyun, even if only for a moment. I received a DM from my SNS friend, Jan Schultz. ✉loveeugene —Can I go to the hotel coffee shop in a few days? —Eugene said she wanted to check out the hotel. Eugene was the name of Jan Schultz’s grandson. And Eugene was a very young baby. But Eugene said she wanted to come to the Dungeon Hotel…? ✉loveeugene —Actually, I also want to go. —Ah, and I was thinking of bringing one or two other companions. Is that okay? Companions? * * * “It makes my heart flutter to have a world-class ranker come to my office.” Shim Jiyoon placed the sweet iced tea in front of Han Woohyun with an expression on her face that showed no excitement at all. “How did you know I like sweets?” “There are many ways. Recently, at Hanwoon Guild, people ordered a lot of sweets. But why did you lose weight? Have you had a hard time?” Shim Jiyoon knew everything and said it. ‘I heard he has been living a mess since breaking up with the boss.’ Shim Jiyoon listened to every aspect of Han Woohyun’s daily life, which included volunteering for dangerous raids despite the risks involved, actions that went beyond what could be simply described as ‘reckless’. Did they say that he doesn’t eat properly and only craves sweets like he’s addicted? So that’s why he looks so gaunt. ‘There are a few scratches on his face.’ The more she listened, the more it reminded her of Hunter Han Woohyun from Baekho. Han Woohyun went on raids again and again like a money-crazed person, and didn’t sleep or eat properly. In those days, it seemed like Han Woohyun’s purpose wasn’t just about earning money by killing monsters, but rather, it was about slowly killing himself in that way. But Han Woohyun now probably looks worse than then. His eyes were empty back then, but now there was a strange life in them. “So you were investigating my background.” “I feel a little sad when you say things like that…Please think that I have done my best to bring back to Baekho the person my foolish father missed.” “It doesn’t matter. That’s why I came here, for your valuable information.” Han Woohyun’s voice was rough. Seeing everything in such a mess, Shim Jiyoon herself felt strange. She doesn’t think he was this shaken even when the Baekho Guild used unfair contracts and family-related weaknesses to capture Han Woohyun. He actually didn’t seem to be afraid of being broken. It’s almost like he can’t control himself right now. Shim Jiyoon stopped watching Han Woohyun with some interest. Yoojun said that Hunter Han Woohyun made a ‘big mistake’ and their relationship ended. Hunter Han Woohyun dared to dump the Dungeon Hotel owner. Furthermore, it was heard within the Hanwoon Guild that even Hunter Han Minhyuk raised his voice at Han Woohyun, supporting Yoojun’s claim. “I didn’t ask you to act like this. Did you think this is what I wanted?” So, while she felt resentful toward Han Woohyun, it now seems that, no matter how she looks at it, he’s the one who got dumped. And he’s also the one falling apart from the pain of the breakup. So, is what Han Woohyun wants to ask for now also information about the hotel boss? For reconciliation? “I know you’ve been selling information about my family to Junghyo. Sell that information to me now, not Junghyo.” “…Yes?” However, the words that came out of Han Woohyun’s mouth were unexpected. “I guess you were paid for the information in the form of hotel reservation tickets or hotel food?” Moreover, surprisingly, he sees right through this. A person who seemed to have no interest in life. While Shim Jiyoon was laughing, Han Woohyun said, “This is the value of my information.” Inside the envelope handed out by Han Woohyun were several accounting documents. Documents related to past attempts by the Baekho Guild to embezzle funds to a US account. The remnants of the past that even Shim Jiyoon could not find until the end. “Were you holding something like this?” “Chairman Shim liked taking me around. I think he let his guard down.” Shim Jiyoon felt a chill down her spine. Even though it was old news, if this were to leak to the media, it would be material significant enough to put the guild’s PR team on high alert for a while. So now… this is a threat. A threat from Han Woohyun, who seemed like a simple person in the world. “Are you so worried about me continuously selling information to the boss?” “No.” “Then?” “The people who were my family… I want to ruin them. I want to make sure they never rise again. Because those people have already exposed me to so many things and know very well where my weaknesses are, they will continue to target Junghyo. I want to bring them down to the brink of destruction so they’ll never dare even think of Junghyo again.” Han Woohyun’s face turned cold. It was a face she had never seen before, even when she was catching S-class monsters with him. Whatever the case, Shim Jiyoon had no way to refuse the offer. “Let me call Jun and treat your wounds.” In response to Shim Jiyoon’s words, Han Woohyun briefly stroked his face. It was as if he had just realized that there was a scratch. “It’s okay.” “If a world-class ranker goes around like that, there’s going to be a rumor that he’s getting beaten up, right?” “It doesn’t matter. There are people who would enjoy hearing such rumors.” Han Woohyun touched his chapped lips and replied before getting up from his seat. His face was reflected as he stood in front of the elevator doors directly connected to the office. His appearance was quite a mess, and it was understandable why Yoojun and Shim Jiyoon crumpled their faces as soon as they saw him. ‘Do you think you’ll be satisfied with this?’ Soon the elevator door opened. Hello! You can also buy the advanced chapter in Ko-fi now, just click the ko-fi button and look for the title of the novel in shop. Thank you for your support!
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