SSS-Grade Cafe in Front of The Dungeon

SSS-Grade Cafe in Front of The Dungeon — Side Story 15

Translated by cabinfourtranslations.

“Did the circuit breaker go down? Hold on a moment.”

Lee Soojin opened the circuit breaker panel to check inside. However, the overcurrent breaker had not tripped. Looking outside, the other stores in the market had electricity.

“Hmm …. is this the only place with a problem?”

“I’ll go check outside.”

We inspected the store inside and out but couldn’t find the problem. Since we couldn’t run the bingsu machine, business naturally came to a halt. As we put our heads together to find a solution, Lee Soojin smiled gently and said,

“ Okay, that’s it. We’re closed for the day.”

“But … I’m sure we can fix it soon.”

“Haha, you guys have helped enough. Since the electricity still isn’t coming on, there must have been a broken wire somewhere. I’ll take care of it, so you guys can head back and rest now.”

Lee Soojin looked really relaxed, so we decided to take her word for it.

“Send my regards to Seokmin. Thank you.”

She was sincere.

***

At the bustling entrance of a market in downtown Gangneung, reporter Choi Sera clenched her fist tightly and shouted, “……It’s coming! This time, I really can smell it.”

“Is it the smell of steaming potatoes?”

“No! I’m telling you, I smell a scoop!”

“You haven’t given up yet?” Lee Jikyung asked impatiently.

Choi Sera and Lee Jikyung spent the entire day visiting various places, gathering reports on the activities of the hunters who had come to Gangneung.

To summarize their findings….

Monsters were being thoroughly washed at the ranch, students were cleaning up broken duck boats, and Hunters were going swimming and picking up trash on the beach. …….

It’s heartwarming. The problem was that it was only heartwarming.

People want news that’s thrilling and shocking. So, bland stories, like steamed potatoes without salt, weren’t worth broadcasting as news.

Lee Jikyung tried to persuade Choi Sera in a soothing tone, “Let’s stop and have a plate of sashimi before heading back up. Don’t you think we could spin this into some heartwarming news? Everyone loves a heartwarming story.”

“Hmm…..”

“It looks like the sashimi restaurant over there is famous. I checked on the map app, and it has high ratings. They say the side dishes are great too. Oh, and I heard they’re also serving sweet corn for dessert.”

“Hmmm…..”

Choi Sera crossed her arms and fell into thought. Lee Jikyung’s suggestion sounded quite tempting. She had a hunch that continuing the investigation wouldn’t lead to any noteworthy scoop. It seemed like everyone had really come to enjoy their summer vacation. On top of that, she was starting to get hungry.

That’s right. Modern people are exposed to too much stimulation. Sometimes, it’s good to do a dopamine detox by watching some heartwarming news.

Originally, she had planned to break free from Hunter TV as soon as possible, but suddenly being an office worker felt like a better option. It was stable, and with business trip expenses, she could even have sashimi.

Just as Choi Sera was about to pretend to reluctantly accept Lee Jikyung’s suggestion…

“That’s right, Sera-noonim, the company called me earlier.”

“What was it?”

“They said the receipts for last month’s business trip didn’t match, so you need to submit new ones.”

Choi Sera touched her forehead with her hand.

The events of last month had long since faded from her memory. When she returned to the company, she’d be cornered by the meticulous person in charge, forced to match the numbers on the receipts. It was truly a dreadful prospect.

Okay, she decided.

“……As expected, the scoop is at the scene!”

“Suddenly?”

“Sashimi, what sashimi? Let’s go out and do some reporting. We’re not going back until we get a scoop!”

“Ugh, I’ll just head back first … Eek, I’m going, I’m going.”

Lee Jikyung hurried his steps to follow Choi Sera, who was urging him forward with a wave of her hand a few steps ahead.

“Noonim, why did we come to the market anyway? There shouldn’t be any hunters in the market.”

“I have a tip I got through my own sources. There’s a store in this market worth investigating.”

“That tip, isn’t it just from the YouTube channel you watch, Noonim?”

“Hohoho … This time, it’s really a scoop. It should be somewhere around here……”

Then something strange happened.

Inside the bustling market, the only store Choi Sera was aiming for had its lights turned off. From what she overheard from people around, it seemed that only this store had suddenly experienced a power outage.

“Hmm … so only that place has power outage.”

This time she really felt her hair stand on end. There must be a hidden reason for this sudden power outage.

“Uh, Noonim, where are you going?”

Choi Sera moved as if guided by a strong intuition. She sneaked to the back of the store and opened the switchboard door.

And then, she was startled.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

“What’s going on?! Eek, this can’

“Hu ….. HUAAAAAAAAAH!”

There was a horror there that she never wanted to encounter again in her life.

***

[You can collect the reward at the designated location. Please go to the designated location.

Check location ? Click]

Interestingly, the reward for this quest couldn’t be received directly. I had to go to a specific location. After going around completing quests here and there, now I had to move again to receive the reward. This system was seriously demanding.

Seriously, if it’s nothing special, just wait and see.

The location indicated by the system was the beach right in front of the accommodation. It was also about the time it was getting dark, so I was about to head back to the resort when Choi Yichan called to me.

“Rieul-ah, I’m going to have dinner with Jiwoon-hyung, do you want to join us?”

“Umh … no, I’ll go back first.”

“Why? Are you busy?”

“Not exactly … I’m just curious about what Yoohyun-ssi is doing, and I was thinking about having dinner with him.”

“You still have a great relationship with him. I’m jealous.”

“A

Despite what he said, his expression was neutral, and the smile on his lips held no shadow. Choi Yichan didn’t try to hold me back and saw me off instead.

It had been a while since I had started getting along comfortably with Choi Yichan again.

For a while, he avoided me to the point it was kind of sad, but one day we happened to run into each other, and he was the first to greet me. He admitted that he had liked me at one point, but said that he had managed to move on.

He’s a long-time friend and a good person. After regressing and accidentally becoming a Cafe Owner, the reason I first felt the need to do something was undoubtedly to save Choi Yichan.

I waved to Choi Yichan and headed back to the resort.

***

“….Yoohyun-ssi!”

The beach bathed in a red sunset. Not far from the resort entrance, Ki Yoohyun was standing still. It seemed like he had been waiting for me to return. He stared at me, smiled with his eyes narrowed, and tilted his head, looking puzzled.

“Rieul-ssi…..? It seems like a lot has happened.”

It must have been strange for him to see me, the person who had planned to do nothing all day and take a nap, appear looking exhausted. I approached him and smiled bitterly.

“Yeah … there were some things that happened.”

“I was actually looking for Rieul-ssi. But you weren’t in your room, so I just stepped out.”

“Huh? Is something wrong?”

“There’s nothing wrong, I just wanted to see if you’d like to have dinner together. Are you busy right now?”

In the corner of my vision, a quest reward notification blinked. What kind of item could the quest reward be….?

….Hmm, let’s think about it later.

The scenery is stunning, my body is tired, and the person I love is asking me to have a meal together. It’s a waste of time to think about systems right now.

We headed toward a restaurant not far from the beach. It was a place that served various seafood dishes. As we sat down and placed the food in front of us, hunger hit me late. While eating, I began to tell Ki Yoohyun about what had happened today.

“You must have been busy all day. I’ve been waiting here for Rieul-ssi to wake up.”

“Think of it as karma for loving a workaholic woman.”

I swear I was joking. This was the perfect time for a good laugh, but he just looked at me with those tender eyes.

“Alright. I’ll just think of it as fate.”

“No, it was just a joke. I don’t actually mean that I’m obsessed with work.”

After finishing the meal, instead of heading straight back to the resort, we took a walk along the beach for a while.

This was the first truly relaxing vacation moment I had since arriving here. It felt like the exhaustion from the hectic day was being washed away by the sound of the waves.

We found a suitable spot on the beach and sat side by side. The midday heat had subsided, but there were still quite a few people enjoying swimming.

“Come to think of it, I often spend time at the beach with Yoohyun-ssi.”

“It would be nice to go to the mountains next year.”

“I didn’t mean that I want to go hiking.”

“……

I held Ki Yoohyun’s hand for a moment, then rested my head on his shoulder. He was slightly startled, but he didn’t move and continued to give me his shoulder.

The comfortable position made me feel sleepy. I asked in a drowsy voice, “Yoohyun-ssi, where did you go today?”

“I felt something strange, so I went to check on it for a moment.”

“Something strange? What is it?”

“How should I put it … I saw a specific ether pattern that could potentially summon an ancient creature.”

An ancient creature? Was it something like the ancient that appeared at Ash’s school? It wasn’t much compared to its grand name.

I looked around while resting my head on his shoulder. I could see Hunters here and there, enjoying a walk or a swim. It was a peaceful tourist beach, with no drunks or troublemakers.

“Aren’t you worrying too much? There are Hunters everywhere, and we’ve come all the way out here. Nothing’s likely to happen.”

Ki Yoohyun hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded at my words. As he moved, his hair brushed against my forehead.

“Haha, I guess that might be true.”

“Right? So … just stay like this for a moment.”

We stared at each other for a moment, not saying anything.

With the ocean dyed in the hues of the sunset before me, my mind felt at ease. The salty sea breeze and the rhythmic sound of waves were both pleasant. It was a scenery that washed away all my complicated thoughts.

After sitting there for a while, I lifted my head from his shoulder. My hand was still resting on his. His hand, feeling slightly cool, gently enveloped mine.

Suddenly, something I wanted to say to him came to mind. It was something I’d meant to say when we started dating, but with so much going on, I never got the chance.

“Yoohyun-ssi, I have something to tell you.”

“….Tell me.”

Ki Yoohyun turned his head and looked at me. His black eyes, framed by long eyelashes, glowed with a gentle light.

As expected, his face was handsome as always. I thought I would get used to it if I looked at his face often and for a long time, but that wasn’t the case at all. Every time I saw him, my heart still raced.

Oops, I almost got distracted by his good looks. Feeling my cheeks heat up, I cleared my throat awkwardly and then got to the point.

“How about we start speaking casually?”

He didn’t answer, just blinked. It was as if he hadn’t expected it.

“I’ll drop the formalities, so Yoohyun-ssi should drop it too.”

That’s right. Before or after we started dating, the way Ki Yoohyun and I called each other didn’t change.

It’s not that I disliked it or thought it’s a bad thing. Ki Yoohyun would never say something like, “Since I’m older, I’ll speak casually to you“, and I liked that about him.

Still, since we would be together for a long time, I thought it might be nice to change how we address each other.

I smiled sweetly, trying to convince him, “Isn’t it okay? It’s not like we’re suddenly calling each other ‘honey‘ or ‘darling‘, this much should be fine…..”

Ki Yoohyun hesitated for a moment before turning his gaze away from me. Even under the evening glow, his earlobes were red enough to be noticeable.

“If that’s what you want to do, Rieul-ssi, that’s fine with me.”

“See, there you go again.”

He pursed his lips in embarrassment, then turned the arrow on me.

“Then, how about you drop the formality first, Rieul-ssi?”

“Okay.”

It was good that I answered so quickly, but….

“I … I mean, haha……”

In the beautiful summer vacation spot, the person I like was looking at me. When I tried to call him, suddenly my lips wouldn’t move.

Beyond Ki Yoohyun’s shoulder, I could see the beautiful beach slowly sinking into darkness. To shake off my nervousness, I briefly turned my gaze to the scenery. There were a young man and woman.

Uh, is that person Choi Sera, the reporter from HunterTV? I’ve seen her on television before…..

“Yoo … Yoohyun-ssi, Yoohyun-ssi!”

“Haha, you’re calling me like that again, Rieul-ssi.”

“Now is not the time for that. Look behind you, behind you!”

“Huh, behind?”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

Reporter Choi Sera of HunterTV screamed and started running towards us at a frightening speed.

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Translator’s Corner:

The real reward is Ki Yoohyun, so true ….