Episode 2. Stranger (2)

A-0128109 The Gate incident was immediately known to the world.

In the past, the government and the Awakened Association controlled the media regarding incidents related to the Gate, but the side effects were greater than expected.

In particular, the damage from the great clash in the Land of the Dead 10 years ago seemed to have become more serious due to media control.

If the media had not been controlled at the time, ordinary people would not have been innocent victims.

Afterwards, as the regime changed, the government appeased public sentiment by having reporters access the gate.

Each media outlet covered the A-0128109 Gate incident as a headline.

[A-0128109 What really happened at the gate?] [S-class awakener Lee Shin, "This is impossible if you are not a zero-level awakener."] [United States and China, "It was not done by a zero-level awakened on our side."] [Republic of Korea Is this a country that now has zero-level awakened people?] [Awakened Association "There are no press conferences scheduled yet."]The world was in an uproar, but regardless, young chef Suntae Yoo, 35 years old, was working hard on his wok, frying black bean paste.

A two-story house located a bit far from downtown Seoul.

'Yangchungak (陽春閣)', a Chinese restaurant located on the first floor of the house.

The place famous for its famous Jjajangmyeon restaurant was Yoo Sun-tae's workplace.

It was approaching 2pm, the end of lunch hour, but it was still crowded.

"Here's a bowl of Jajangmyeon!"

"yes!"

"Here, please give me some more pickled radish!"

"yes yes! going!"

Yoo Sun-tae's wife, Lim So-young, who had a bit of personality, frantically carried food and pickled radish.

As lunch time slowly passed, people began to leave one by one.

Only then did Yoo Sun-tae, who was in the steamy kitchen, come out, get cold water from the water purifier, and take a shot.

"Ha! Cool! After all, cold water is the best!"

"You had a hard time."

"You had a hard time."

Looking at each other with loving eyes, they were a young couple who had opened a Chinese restaurant for five years.

rattle.

At that time, the door opened and a young male customer came in.

"welcome!"

"ah! "It's been a while since you came here?"

The guest sat down on a chair and sighed.

"Because I have a lot of work to do these days."

"I heard a gate appeared in the Land of the Dead?"

The customer shook his head in response to Yoo Sun-tae's question.

"Don't say anything! Because of that, the association is in chaos, and I've been working overtime for two nights, so I feel like I'm going to die... … ."

"Oh my-!"

"I only caught the Red Dragon guild. Why are gates created? If I meet the guy who created the gate, I just want to grab him by the collar and beat him up! shit!"

His name is Baek Eun-ho.

He was a B-class awakened person and an employee of the Awakened Association.

"Oh, please give me a small piece of Jjajangmyeon!"

"Please wait!"

Yu Sun-tae went into the kitchen, took out the wok, put it on the fire, and started frying the black bean paste.

The world has changed a lot since he was young.

When he was ten years old, twenty-five years ago, he thought about the demonic beasts falling from the sky.

Ah, this is the apocalypse I saw in the book!

But it was a catastrophe, not an end.

As soon as the gate and the demonic beasts appeared, the awakened people appeared and started hunting the demonic beasts.

The land that was once full of demonic beasts was able to be regained through the unity of the Awakened Association, the Hunter Guild, and the people.

There were still demonic beasts deep in the mountains or under the sea, but this was at a speed that could not be found anywhere else in the world.

The world saw this and called it the second Miracle of the Han River.

Because there are still many countries that have not regained their land.

Anyway, when the demon beasts died, they left behind magic stones and corpses, and the magic stones were used as an alternative energy source, leading to several revolutionary developments.

The kitchen utensils that Yu Sun-tae is using now are also a product of magic stones and do not require gas or electricity.

However, nothing has yet been revealed about the cause of the gate.

widely-!

"Jjajangmyeon is here!"

"thank you!"

When I placed the finished Jjajangmyeon in front of Baek Eun-ho, he looked happy.

He mixed the Jjajangmyeon, rolled it up with chopsticks, and put it in his mouth.

Slurp-!

"ha!"

Baek Eun-ho said with admiration.

"It's delicious as expected!"

"Thank you for liking our jjajangmyeon so much."

"Sometimes when I go into the gate for research, I feel like I'm going crazy because I want to eat this Jjajangmyeon, but it can't be delivered inside the gate, right?"

"ha ha ha."

"It's a joke, a joke."

After Baek Eun-ho, who had finished eating Jjajangmyeon while exchanging various stories, was called and returned, the inside of the store became quiet again.

It was then.

Jing-!

The door opened roughly and someone came in.

He was a young man with a motorcycle helmet, Gu Sang-ok, who was in charge of delivering Yang Chungak.

"Good job."

As soon as Yoo Sun-tae finished speaking, Koo Sang-ok put down the iron bag roughly.

Taang-!

And he said, throwing down his motorcycle helmet.

"As of today, we will stop delivering."

Yoo Sun-tae and Lim So-young were surprised by Koo Sang-ok's unexpected words and asked.

"no! What does that mean? "You suddenly quit your job?"

"why? "What happened?"

"Because it's hard."

"what? Still, what if I suddenly quit today like this? "Why not just do it for a month, or even just a week?"

"You don't like it?"

Yoo Sun-tae and Lim So-young were seething inside at that rude tone.

In fact, Koo Sang-ok was never a delivery man I liked.

There was no way he could look nice when he openly joked around.

I tried to save the other delivery man, but strangely I couldn't.

However, if the Chinese restaurant did not deliver, sales would be cut in half, so they had no choice but to hire Koo Sang-ok.

"Then how can it not be done for just three days?"

"You can't. "My boss is begging me this much, so if you give me a raise in salary, I'll think about something."

Now Gu Sang-ok's true feelings have finally come out.

In the end, it's about asking for a raise in salary.

At those words, the colors of Yu Sun-tae and Lim So-young's faces changed.

Raising Koo Sang-ok's salary was quite a daunting task.

As my daughter grew older, living expenses began to increase.

In fact, Koo Sang-ok's salary was not low, but rather high.

Even though delivery work is not easy due to the security situation worsening due to gates and demonic beasts, the number of delivery workers at a typical Chinese restaurant is almost twice as high.

Nevertheless, Koo Sang-ok was not satisfied.

Yoo Sun-tae knew people like Koo Sang-ok well. This guy was not satisfied.

Someday, I will have to resort to unreasonable demands for a raise in salary again!

In that case, it would be better to nip it in the bud now.

"i get it."

Koo Sang-ok asked with a face full of greed.

"Good thinking! Could you please raise it by about 300,000 won? … ."

"What are you talking about? "You said you were quitting?"

"yes?"

"Thank you for your hard work. "I will calculate your salary by today and transfer it to your account."

Koo Sang-ok's face distorted mercilessly.

"You said you were quitting? So, why do you look like that when I tell you to stop?"

Yoo Sun-tae is a soft and gentle person, and has been obediently accepting Gu Sang-ok's life until now.

However, his wife Lim So-young knew very well that once he made up his mind, it would be difficult to stop him.

"You've had a hard time."

"Well, that, that… … ."

"Next time, I'll see you as a guest."

Gu Sang-ok snorted at Lim So-young's remark.

"Do you think you can easily find another delivery person?"

Yu Sun-tae frowned.

"That's my problem, why do you care?"

"joy! We'll see. "I'm sure you'll regret it."

"Whether I wait and see or just watch, I hope it gets out quickly. "I have to prepare for dinner."

bang!

With a red face, Koo Sang-ok kicked the metal bag next to her for no reason, opened the store door, and left.

"You're gone… … ."

"yes. "I'm gone."

Although they were relieved to see Koo Sang-ok's back, they soon had no choice but to think about practical concerns.

"Whoa, what about delivery starting tomorrow?"

"I can't help it. "I have to say that we can't deliver until someone is saved."

Considering the salary Koo Sang-ok had received so far, it was worth accepting that she would not be able to deliver for a month or two.

Yu Sun-tae took out a piece of paper and wrote a job advertisement.

Looking for a part-time job

Those who can deliver

Accommodation and meals available

Salary negotiable

I put it up in front of the store and prayed.

'Please, please let me find a good delivery man this time!'

* * *

Kang So, who came around the place where the silver pagoda was located, was amazed at the cars running on the smooth and cool road.

"How can a carriage move on its own when it is not pulled by horses?"

I laughed out loud as I looked at the tall building and the colorful electronic display board.

"her-! Is this a different world? The picture on the signboard changes in the blink of an eye! "What kind of harmony is this?"

As I looked at the people walking around, I noticed that although their clothes were similar to what I was used to, the colors and materials were clearly different.

He decided to observe people to find out about where he was.

This was the method used by Kang So when he was active as an assassin, and it was the best way to find out about the place.

Although it was an unfamiliar language to use here, there was no problem understanding people's words and reading their writing.

It was thanks to the magic I learned from him after helping a strangely dressed man who came from the West a long time ago.

The man said that he was a man who wandered the world to spread the word of the God he believed in.

The biggest obstacle to missionary work is language, so this is a technique created to eliminate the language barrier, and he told me that it was the only thing he could give in return.

'I forgot about it because I didn't have to use it in the midfield, but I never thought it would be so useful! 'I should be thankful to that Saekmokin.'

The advantage of this unknown technique is that it changes any language into a language you know.

The downside is.

"On your face... … Did you get it right? "Look at how tight my face is?"

"Ho ho ho! This new gold boosts anti-aging power... … "I guess it was because I applied it."

Because all languages ​​are converted into languages ​​you know, sometimes things may be conveyed strangely, and languages ​​whose meaning you do not know can only be heard in the language of that country.

'What does it mean to increase the anti-aging power of gold?'

I saw a picture of two women having a conversation.

The picture shining brilliantly in gold was a cosmetic product advertised by a top-selling actress.

It was written in shiny letters underneath it.

[Turn back time on your skin. Gold Anti-Aging Power Lifting Cream.]Unlike the sound that was automatically translated into a language known to the person using the spell, the text could be read as is.

Since it is written in Korean, not English, it is also read in Korean.

'Is it like rouge? … 'It's a really long name.'

Kang So shook his head.

It was gorgeous and fun to look at, but my mind was racing, I was dizzy and felt like I was going to panic.

bread-! Bang bang!

Buuuung-!

"hey! "Why would you handle it like that?"

Knock knock! Knock knock-!

"sorry! Hang in there! I'll be going soon!"

Amid the countless waves of information flowing through his senses that transcended human limitations, Kang So felt the urge to block his ears for the first time in his life.

'It's safe to say this is torture, but the people who live here are amazing! 'What a nonchalant expression!'

* * *

Through two days of observation, Jiang Su was able to understand quite a lot about this world.

First of all, this world was also a place where you had to have money to live. You had to have money to eat or wear clothes.

And it seemed like it was a place that paid more attention to cleanliness than the place I was in, and it was a place full of various convenient items that I couldn't even imagine.

During the observation, Jiang So was reassured by the fact that Chinese characters were also used here.

'It doesn't seem any different from where I used to live!'

But still, he couldn't figure out how to return to the central area where he lived.

'He'll be worried if he finds out I'm gone... … .'

There were many people walking on the streets, but Kangso was a stranger in this unfamiliar land.