The Day You Go Is the Market Day

A few days after the commotion.

Cha Eui-jae was serving hangover soup to the zombies who had come as soon as he opened the shop, when he noticed a strange man loitering at the door. The man was wearing a cap pulled down low and a thick jacket with "Delivery" written on it.

'What's this?'

Park Ha-eun, grandmother, and Cha Eui-jae usually bought most of what they needed directly from the mart, and they didn't do delivery sales of hangover soup. There was no reason for a delivery person to visit the hangover soup restaurant. Cha Eui-jae put his hand in the pocket of his apron and opened the door with a clatter.

The delivery person, who had been loitering, noticed Cha Eui-jae and exclaimed.

"Are you Cha Eui-jae, who works at the hangover soup restaurant?"

Cha Eui-jae's eyes narrowed as his name came out of the stranger's mouth without warning.

"…What is it?"

The delivery person smiled brightly and pointed to a truck covered with a black tarp.

"I've got a flower wreath delivery for Cha Eui-jae."

"Pardon?"

Cha Eui-jae's eyes widened at the unexpected statement. The delivery person took out a large flower wreath from the truck and set it down in front of the hangover soup restaurant door. The long pink ribbon had the following message written in Gothic font:

[Like family— The doors of HB Guild are always open. Han Min-joon, HB Guild HR Manager]

Team Leader Han. He was someone who occasionally came to the hangover soup restaurant and had tried to recruit Cha Eui-jae several times. It was said among guild members that he had his eyes on Cha Eui-jae. Cha Eui-jae had always turned him down with the excuse that he wasn't an Awakener, but Team Leader Han had persistently asked if he would consider joining through the regular process. Cha Eui-jae frowned.

'Are they trying to promote the guild at my hangover soup restaurant? …They're shameless!'

Before he could fully grasp his indignation, the delivery person took out a second flower wreath from the truck. How many wreaths were delivered? Cha Eui-jae, with a bewildered expression, checked inside the truck. Fortunately, it seemed this was the last one.

This flower wreath was the same size as the first but had fewer flowers. Just as Cha Eui-jae thought it seemed more modest, the delivery person stacked three sacks of rice under it. The second flower wreath read:

[Congratulations on your Awakening, my fan ♥ From HB Guild's Honeybee, ranked 6th in Korea]

Cha Eui-jae's eyes trembled violently at the unexpected congratulatory message for his Awakening. He pointed cautiously at the sacks of rice.

"What… what is all this?"

"Ah, these are rice flower wreaths. They were sent by the HB Guild."

The delivery person's voice seemed to carry a sense of pride. Rice flower wreaths, really… Cha Eui-jae was at a loss for words, staring blankly at the two wreaths occupying the customer waiting area.

'…Is this some kind of new business disruption tactic?'

Should he take a photo and report it this time? He had already met Jung Bin many times, and Jung Bin's signature was posted inside the shop. Given that Jung Bin already knew Cha Eui-jae's name, he had nothing to lose by reporting this Hunter harassment to the Awakened Management Bureau.

As he was still in a daze from the wreath assault, a piece of paper and a pen were thrust in front of him. The delivery person kindly clicked the pen and said,

"We need a signature from the recipient for confirmation. Please sign here."

Several Hunters, who had escaped from being zombies after consuming hangover soup, noticed the commotion and stuck their heads out the door. With their excellent eyesight, they seemed to have read the message on the wreath, and one unshaven Hunter shouted gruffly,

"Hey, part-timer! Did you Awaken?"

Oh no, he was screwed. Cha Eui-jae gritted his teeth.

The hangover soup restaurant, which had been briefly engulfed in silence, quickly became noisy again. Zombies crowded around the door, chattering noisily.

"The part-timer Awakened?"

"Why didn't you tell us!"

"Whoa, is that wreath from Honeybee?"

"Team Leader Han has been eyeing him for a while, and now he sent a wreath immediately. That's intense."

"So he's registered then!"

"Wow, congrats! What grade did you get?"

"Our part-timer was amazing even before Awakening. He must've gotten at least a B-grade."

While congratulating him, the Hunters started speculating about his grade, soon moving on to the most important topic.

"…Wait a minute, if the part-timer joins a guild, who will run the hangover soup restaurant?"

"Won't his grandmother do it?"

"His grandmother's legs have been hurting, and the part-timer has been working alone for a while."

"No way, they're not closing the hangover soup restaurant, right?"

"Maybe they'll hire a new part-timer?"

Bang! The sudden loud noise quieted everyone down.

"Hey, don't make so much noise in front of a newly Awakened person! Don't you know the Hunter world's unspoken rule?"

"Yeah, didn't you see the news recently? A newly Awakened person demolished a building. Loud noises can make them anxious, so be careful."

They were treating him like a bomb. The noisy voices quickly hushed, but Cha Eui-jae heard everything clearly. Amid the hushed atmosphere, one proud voice stood out.

"…Isn't the part-timer one of us? We should help him adjust. That's what seniors do."

Cha Eui-jae, who was once the idol of everyone, now had to endure being treated like a fledgling by juniors. He scribbled his signature carelessly on the receipt to quickly send the delivery person, the cause of all this chaos, on his way, hoping this would resolve everything.

However, Cha Eui-jae's hardships were far from over, as a series of absurd situations awaited him from the very next day.

First Incident:

After a hectic lunch service, Cha Eui-jae opened the door wide during the ingredient preparation time to ventilate the place. What he saw was horrifying.

[Congratulations on the Awakening of our proud hangover soup restaurant part-timer]

[From the regulars of the hangover soup restaurant]

He stared blankly at the colorful banner strung between the electric pole and the tree in front of the hangover soup restaurant. Who had put up such a thing? He wanted to find out their names and faces, but they hid behind the anonymity of "the regulars." Cowards. Cha Eui-jae summoned Nexby for the first time in a while.

"Hi Nexby, search if it's okay to remove a banner."

—Searching if it's okay to remove a banner.

—Even if the banner is illegal, removing it without permission can be considered property damage according to the law.

Why would he get punished for removing an illegal banner? Cha Eui-jae clutched his head in frustration.

Second Incident:

A day after the banner incident, during the ingredient preparation time again.

'…How did it come to this?'

At 2:10 PM, he should have been preparing for the dinner service with the sign "If you came before 5, please leave" (not the actual message). But instead, he was sitting quietly on a cart. Because,

"Everyone, line up! Show the orderliness of senior Hunters in front of a newly Awakened!"

[Trait: Poker Face (B) activated.]

A long line had formed in front of him. A new Hunter from the Rift Management Bureau was shaking a safety bar, organizing the line. Memories from a distant past resurfaced. It reminded him of a popular idol's fan signing event he had once seen on YouTube before the Rift Incident.

'I'd rather fight a hundred monsters.'

Cha Eui-jae felt as if he were an idol and his stiff mouth twitched in a forced smile.

"I heard you Awakened, part-timer. Here's a gift for you."

A Hunter, as big as a Russian bear, shyly handed him a small pink box. Behind him were several more Hunters, peeking like enoki mushrooms. They all had expectant faces. Cha Eui-jae accepted the box with a lifeless smile. The wrapping paper had an emotional message in a fancy font.

[A gift box for the newly Awakened ♥]

It was the top-ranked item in the Hunter category of the messenger's gift shop, which he had browsed out of boredom. It seemed like just a marketing scheme. Cha Eui-jae calmly untied the ribbon and opened the lid. A card with a flower bouquet illustration was neatly placed in the center.

[For you… Congratulations on your Awakening.]

'The congratulation is… a bit late.'

It was a congratulation on his Awakening after 11 years. Under the message card was a neatly arranged set of basic potion kits. Cha Eui-jae took out a small red potion and checked the information.

[Basic Health Recovery Potion (C)]

[Restores 10% of health upon use.]

Well, more potions were always welcome. If he had had potions during the recent rift incident, he could have fought like he used to. Cha Eui-jae put the potion in his inventory and bowed his head.

"Thank you for the congratulations and the gift."

"Oh, no! Please continue to make delicious hangover soup."

The Russian bear scratched his head and slowly stepped back. The enoki mushroom hunters patted his back and cheered. Cha Eui-jae placed the box on a table that someone had brought next to him. The pile of gifts had already formed a small mound. The next person in line was Honeybee, with her shiny blonde hair flowing.

"Did you receive the flower wreath? I saw it placed nicely in front. Our HB Guild sent it first, right?"

She placed a gift wrapped in golden paper on the counter. Standing next to her was a strict-looking man in a neat suit and glasses, Team Leader Han. He nodded politely, and Honeybee smiled brightly.

"Congratulations on your awakening. This is a gift. We're colleagues now."

"The wreath was more than enough. You really didn't have to bring a gift."

Cha Eui-jae responded with a textbook answer, reading it like a Korean language textbook. Honestly, he felt burdened. However, Honeybee waved her hand as if urging him to open the gift.

"Oh, it's not expensive, so just open it."

Cha Eui-jae carefully unwrapped the sparkling golden wrapping paper. Inside the packaging were…

[Change Your Color! Kraken Ink Black]

[Change Your Color! Volcanic Magma Red]

[Change Your Color! Queen Bee Royal Jelly Yellow]

These were the hunter-specific hair dyes that Honeybee advertised. They were high-quality dyes made from dungeon byproducts, strong enough even for the resilient hair of hunters. Especially the black one, which contained 0.0001% Kraken ink and cost a million won each!

Cha Eui-jae's financial situation meant he could never afford such items, yet here they were. It made him realize just how impressive an advertising model Honeybee was.

"Well, an employee might also want an image change. Try it out, and if you like it, let me know. I can give you more anytime. If you don't use it, you can sell it on Tomato Market."

With these, he wouldn't need to use three bottles of regular squid ink hair dye anymore! Honeybee's shining blonde hair seemed to be glowing with a halo.