A few days after the riots.

I was serving hangover soup to the zombies who came in as soon as I opened the shop as usual, when I noticed a strange man walking in front of the door. He was wearing a pressed cap and a thick sweater with the words 'Delivery' written on it.

What is this?

Ha-eun, Grandma and I buy most of the things we need at the supermarket ourselves. We don't even sell hangover soup for delivery, so there's no way a delivery person would come here. I put my hand in my apron pocket and opened the door. The delivery man standing at the door saw him and called out.

"Are you Cha Ui-jae, who works at Hajang-guk Soup?

My eyes narrowed when I heard my name coming out of a stranger's mouth.

"What's the matter?"

The delivery man smiled brightly and pointed to the truck covered with black tents.

"A wreath was delivered for Cha Ui-jae."

"What?"

My eyes widened at the unthinkable. The delivery man took a large wreath from the truck and placed it in front of the door of Haejang-guk House. On the long pink cloth were the following words written in cursive script

The doors of HB Guild, a family, are always wide open - HB Guild HR Team Leader Han Min-jun'.

Team leader Han was a person who occasionally came to Haejang-guk House and asked me to join a few times. One guild member once said that he had his sights set on me. Of course, I refused, saying that I wasn't an Awakened, but he kept asking me to join the guild because the general selection process was good.

You want to promote the guild in a Haejang-guk house... and eat it raw?

Before I could look up, the delivery man took another wreath from the truck. How many wreaths were there? I looked into the truck with a puzzled expression. Fortunately, it seemed to be the last time.

The wreath taken out this time was the same size as the previous one, but there were fewer flowers. As if that wasn't bad enough, the delivery man stacked three sacks of rice underneath it. This time the wreath read.

Congratulations on your awakening, part-timer - Ranked 6th in Korea, HB Guild's Honeybee'.

My eyes shook wildly when I saw a sudden awakening celebration. I pointed at the rice bag carefully.

"This... What is this?"

"Ah, this is a rice wreath sent by the HB Guild."

For some reason, there was a hint of pride in the delivery man's voice. At a loss for words, I stared blankly at the two wreaths that had taken over the customer waiting area.

What is this? Another business interruption?

Should I take a picture and report it this time? After all, I had met Jung-bin, his autograph was in the store, and he had even learned my name. I had nothing to lose if I didn't hesitate to report it to the Awakening Management Bureau as a hunter.

Some paper and pens were handed to me as I was hypnotized before the wreath attack. The deliverer kindly pressed the pen and said,

"We will get the recipient's signature for confirmation. Please sign."
 

After eating the hangover soup, some of the hunters who had escaped from the zombie state felt a commotion and pulled their necks out of the door. A bearded hunter with good eyesight, who had checked the words on the wreath, shouted loudly.

"Part-timer! You're awake?"

Damn it, I'm done. I gritted my teeth.

The Haejang-guk house, which had been silent for a while, quickly became noisy again. Zombies rushed to the door, clinging to it and beginning to rumble.

"The part-timer woke up?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Wow, is that a wreath sent by Honeybee?"

"Look at Team Leader Han's persistence in sending the wreath right away. What a poisonous bastard."

"I see you even registered!"

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

"Our part-timer was amazing even before he woke up, so I guess a B."

Instead of congratulating him, the hunters tried to guess his grade, but the conversation soon turned to the most important topic.

"Wait a minute. If the part-timer joins the guild, who will run Haejang-guk House?"

"Won't Grandma do it?"

"She hasn't worked for a while because her legs hurt."

"You're not closing Haejang-guk House, are you?"

"Why don't you get a new part-time worker?"

Bang! Suddenly, they were silenced by the sound of something being slammed down.

"You bastards, don't talk so loudly in front of a newly awakened person, don't you know the rules of the hunter world?"

"That's right, didn't you see the news the other day, one of the newly awakened just smashed a building, so let's be careful, too much noise will make the newly awakened uncomfortable."

This is a bombshell. The loud voices faded to whispers, but the words came through all too clearly to my ears. A booming voice could be heard clearly through the hushed atmosphere.

"...You're a part-timer? We're here to help you settle in, that's what seniors do."

Hunter J, once everyone's idol, is being treated like a rookie by the cranky juniors. I quickly scribble a line on the receipt to fire the delivery guy who caused all the trouble. Hopefully, this will solve all my problems.

However, my troubles and adversities did not end so easily, and from the day after the wreath arrived, a crazy situation began to unfold, as if I had been waiting.

First. When I opened the door wide to ventilate the ingredients during the preparation time after finishing my lunchtime business, something terrible hung in front of my eyes.

Part-timer's wake-up party of a proud hangover soup restaurant
-All the regulars at Haejang-guk House

I stared blankly at the colorful banner hanging between the electric pole and the tree in front of Haejang-guk House. I wanted to check the names and faces of the people who hung it up, but I can't believe they hid behind an anonymous name like a regular at a hangover soup restaurant. It's cowardly... I called Nexby for the first time in a long time.

"Hi Nexby, please check if it's okay to remove the banner."

-Search to see if the banner can be removed.

-Even if it is an illegal banner, if a member of the public arbitrarily removes it, they can be punished for property damage under the Criminal Code.

If it's illegal, why am I being punished? I grabbed my head.

Second. One day after the banner incident, it was time to prepare the materials again.

What happened?

At 2:10 p.m., which is usually the time to put up the 'If you're here before 5 p.m., get lost' sign - which doesn't actually say that - and get ready for the evening business. However, I had to sit quietly at the counter without putting up a sign, let alone getting ready for business. Because,

"Okay, hunters, please stand in line and show the new hunter the proper behavior of our senior hunters!"

[Trait Pokerface (B) activated].

There was a very long line in front of me. A newcomer to the Crack Management Agency was organizing the line by waving a safety pole. Memories of the very distant past crept back. Before the crack day began, a video I saw on YouTube of a popular idol's autograph session went something like this.

I'd rather kill a hundred monsters.

I was suffering from the illusion that I'd become an idol. The corners of my mouth twitched.

"I heard you woke up, part-timer. It's a wake-up gift."

A huge hunter, like a Russian brown bear, shyly offered a small pink box. Behind him, I could see several more hunters, their heads hanging like enoki mushrooms. They all looked excited, as if expecting a reaction. I accepted the box with a soulless smile. On the wrapping paper, in a sentimental font, were the words.

'Gift box for the newly awakened ♥'.

It was the No. 1 product in the Hunter category of the Messenger Gift Menu that I looked at when I was bored. It's like a trick. I calmly unwrapped the ribbon and opened the lid. In the center was a card with a bouquet of flowers.

For you, my dear... Congratulations on your awakening.

Congratulations... I'm a little late.

Congratulations on awakening after 11 years. Tucked neatly under the message card was a starter potion kit. I took out a finger-sized red potion and checked the information.

[Rehabilitation Potion (C)
Restores 10% of physical strength when used]

Healing potions are a versatile tool, and if I'd had one in the rift not too long ago, I could have fought like I used to. I placed the potion in my inventory and bowed my head.

"Thank you for the gift."

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

The Russian brown bear scratched his head and slowly fell back. The Enoki mushroom hunters patted him on the back and cheered. The righteous man placed the box on the table someone had brought next to him. Before I knew it, the pile of gifts was piled up like a small mountain. Next to arrive was Honeybee, her shiny blonde hair flying.

"Did you get the wreath? Yes, it's right outside. My HB guild sent it first, didn't they?"

Dressed in a gold leather jacket and sunglasses, she placed a gift wrapped in gold paper on the counter. Next to her stood a stern looking man in a neat suit and glasses. He is the team leader. He bowed and Honeybee smiled.

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

"Wreaths are enough, but you're giving me gifts. It's okay."

I gave an exemplary response as if I were reading a Korean book. Honestly, it was a burden. Honeybee, however, waved her hands as if to open them quickly with a proud face.

"Oh, it's not expensive, so go ahead and open it."

I carefully tore off the shiny gold wrapping paper. Inside was...

'Change Your Color! Kraken Ink.

'Change Your Color! Volcanic Magma.

"Change Your Color! Queen Bee Royal Jelly'.

This was the hunter hair dye advertised by Honeybee. High-quality hair dye made from dungeon by-products for hunters with strong hair. Especially the black color contained 0.0001% octopus ink and cost a million won each!

Although my wallet would never allow me to buy it, I was impressed by the model who could afford it.

"Well, even a part-timer might want to change his image. Try it and tell me if you like it. I can always give you more. If not, I'll sell it at the tomato market."

With that, I no longer had to go through three bottles of regular squid ink hair dye! It was like a halo shining behind Honeybee's glossy blonde.