CHAPTER 59: A HEARTY BREAKFAST

"GOOD MORNING, Hyung."

Yool stretched his arms and greeted Ahyeon back. "Good morning, Ahyeonnie."

"Have you slept well, Hyung?" Ahyeon asked nervously. "D-Does our guild’s accommodations up to your standards?"

Yep, Yool had spent the night with the Fall Guild.

The Fall Guild wasn’t as big as the Four Seasons (aka the guilds owned by the Big 4). But the Fall Guild’s Main Headquarters was a 15-story building.

The first TEN floor of the guild’s building was the biggest restaurant in Korea.

It was called ’Nom Nom Restaurant.’

[Yep, the name literally means ’yum, yum’ or delicious in English. Something you’d say playfully if the food is great. Yep, that’s how thoughtless the name of the restaurant appears to be. But, yep, the food served in Nom Nom Restaurant is really yum, yum.]

Moreover, the restaurant could seat 5,000 diners and they employed a whooping 1,500 staff members.

Only a few floors were available for Civilians, though.

The other floors were for Awakened People only. Apparently, only the "VIPs of the VIPs" were seated on the 10th floor– the top floor of the Nom Nom Restaurant. The higher your status was in the Awakened world, the higher the floor you’d get seated.

[So, Awakened People easily get humbled when dining at the Nom Nom Restaurant.]

"Hyung?"

"Ah, sorry. I spaced out a bit," Yool said lazily. "I just can’t believe that I get to enter the Fall Guild even though I’m not a member."

To be precise, Yool and Ahyeon were staying in the penthouse located on the 14th floor.

It was the living space of the Fall Guild’s second most important member.

"Ahyeonnie, Yool-ssi, breakfast is ready."

It was Ryung Dae– the VIP Head Chef of the Fall Guild.

[And the owner of this penthouse.]

"Chef Ryung, thank you for letting us stay in your penthouse," Yool said, bowing to the chef. "I mean it."

"It was Geon’s request, so I couldn’t turn it down."

Right.

Yesterday, Geon drove Ahyeon and Yool to the Fall Guild.

Then the director of the National Guide Center told them to come to Wonhee’s penthouse and stay there until the issue regarding Song Moonho was solved.

[So, Ahyeonnie and I will head to Wony’s penthouse later.]

"And it’s not like I’d let that bastard Song Moonho harm one of our best Hunters," Ryung Dae said while patting Ahyeon’s back. "Ahyeonnie is one of our precious Hunters here at the Fall Guild."

Ahyeon’s face turned red as if he was embarrassed.

Actually, Yool had always wondered why the Fall Guild treated Ahyeon like a VIP.

[I’m not demeaning Ahyeon in any way. But it’s rare for a guild, even among those small ones, to place a high value on C-Class Hunters when they have B-Class Hunters and above.]

But whatever.

[It’s a good thing that Ahyeon is treated well in his guild.]

Yool didn’t want to question things that wouldn’t pose a problem, and he was already distracted by the food that he saw when they entered the dining hall. "Wow. Are you expecting other guests, Chef Ryung?"

It was a feast.

The food spread on the long table was enough to feed at least ten mouths, but there were only three of them there.

"It’s just for us, Yool-ssi," Ryung Dae said, laughing. "Ahyeonnie eats a lot."

Once again, Ahyeon’s face turned red from embarrassment.

"I already know that," Yool said because he had eaten with Ahyeon so many times already. "But I still think this is too much, Chef."

"Yool-ssi, have you eaten monster meat before?"

"Yes, Chef."

"But have you eaten monster meat that I cooked?"

Yool shook his head. "Not yet, Chef. Ahyeon would try to share his lunchbox with me, but I refused since I was traumatized by the monster meat I’ve had before."

"I-It was because Hyung bought a monster dish from a q-questionable restaurant," Ahyeon said, pouting. "Hyung could be a c-cheapstake sometimes..."

Yool became defensive. "Well, food at the Nom Nom Restaurant is expensive for a jobless Civilian like me." He wasn’t really jobless, but his side hustle was a secret that only Wonhee and Ahyeon knew about. "No offense, Chef."

"None taken," Ryung Dae said. "The Guild Master and I have been trying this and that to make our food more affordable to the Civilians. But it’s hard to do so since monster meat is hard to procure. Plus, there are annoying pests trying to stop us from achieving our goal. Rest assured, we’re doing our best to lower the price of the monster dishes."

Well, it wouldn’t be easy to do so.

Most Awakened People, especially the ones who were already rich before the Outbreak, made monster dishes a luxury cuisine for profit.

[I bet those people are getting in the way of the Fall Guild.]

"I’ll be cheering you on, Chef," Yool said, raising his clenched hands. "Fighting."

Ryung Dae chuckled. "Thank you, Yool-ssi," the chef said, then he pointed at the table with his hands politely. "Anyway, I prepared a feast because I’m sure you won’t be able to stop eating once you taste my dish."

Oho.

"Yool Hyung is a picky eater, but I’m sure you’ll love Chef Ryung’s cooking," Ahyeon said, going as far as giving Yool a thumbs up. "I guarantee that, Hyung. Chef Ryung is the best chef in the country."

Oho?

"I’m hyped," Yool said. "Shall we eat now?"

Yool and Ahyeon then turned to Ryung Dae.

After all, the chef was the oldest person there.

[Physically.]

Hence, Yool and Ahyeon could only start eating once Ryung Dae, the oldest person there, had taken the first bite.

"Alright," Ryung Dae said, picking up his chopsticks. "Let’s eat, kids."

Only after Ryung Dae had taken his first bite did Yool and Ahyeon pick up their chopsticks.

[Let’s taste the dish that looks like bulgogi first.]

Yool took a bite of the monster dish that looked like bulgogi, and then he almost shed tears when the savory thing melted in his mouth. "Chef Ryung, Yool-ah, this is the best meat I’ve ever had in my life."

Both as Gong Yool and Ong Yool.

Ahyeon smiled and nodded. "I knew you’d say that, Hyung."

"Heh," Ryung Dae only smirked as if he had already expected Yool’s reaction. "Anyway, can I open the TV while we eat? Since I spend most time in the kitchen and the dining hall, I placed a TV here."

Yool and Ahyeon only gave Ryung Dae a thumbs up because the two of them were busy stuffing their mouths with good food.

They weren’t being rude.

In fact, the chef smiled as if he took it as a compliment.

Ryung Dae then picked up the remote control on the island counter behind him, then he fumbled on it.

What Yool thought was a simple divider opened up and showed the flat-screen TV hidden in there, facing the dining table. It looked like Ryung Dae wasn’t lying when he said he spent most time either in the kitchen or the dining hall.

Surprisingly, Ryung Dae tuned in to the news channel.

The clear voice of the reporter reading the news echoed in the dining hall.

"Breaking news! An S-Grade dungeon cracked open, spitting out Hunter Graham who suddenly went on a rampage!"

What the f...!

Yool and Ahyeon immediately got up from their seats while drinking water to shove down the food in their throats.

[But my informant said Graham is set to leave the dungeon tomorrow!]

The reporter wasn’t done shocking them yet, though.

"Guide Ahn Kisoo, who’s expected to soothe Hunter Graham at this dangerous time, is currently in critical condition after getting fatally shot as soon as he got out of the Summer Guild Headquarters!"

"Kids!" Ryung Dae shouted. "Where the hell are you going?"

"W-Wony Noona!" Ahyeon said, panicking. "We need to get Wony Noona. Sorry, Chef!"

Yool clicked his tongue, annoyed at himself.

[Did Ahn Kisoo get shot because I changed the plot?!]

***

IT WAS a good thing that Wonhee woke up early.

Since she was meeting up with her older siblings today, she dolled up as soon as she woke up. And then she checked her phone to watch the news while waiting for Yejun to wake up.

That was when she heard the back-to-back bad news.

"Yejun-ah, wake up!" Wonhee said while shaking Yejun’s shoulder. "Please bring me to Hunter Graham!"

Unfortunately, Graham didn’t budge.

Her Status Window suddenly popped up in front of her.

30 minutes left before Hwang Yejun wakes up!

"Chu Wonhee, Hwang Yejun cannot wake up until the time is up," Tannie, who appeared sitting on top of Yejun’s stomach, said. "If Hwang Yejun wakes up when he hasn’t completed his eight hours of sleep today, then you’ll fail your mission."

Oh, right.

Wonhee almost forgot about that. "T-Then I have no choice but to leave without Yejun."

As if on cue, her Status Window popped up again.

This time, the Status Window was red instead of its usual blue color.

Emergency Alert!

Hunter Graham is on a rampage!

Stop him!

"Tannie, please stay here and inform Yejun of what happened once he wakes up," Wonhee said in a hurry, then she quickly stood up and ran towards the door. "I’ll bring you snacks if I come back alive!"

"You can’t die!" Tannie complained lightly. "You’re the only person in the world who can handle the Big 4, Chu Wonhee!"

She didn’t really hear what Tannie said because she was in a hurry.

[Should I drive there?]

The news said the exact location of where Graham was, after ll.

[Yeah, I should drive.]

She grabbed her car keys and ran towards the door...

... and the door opened before she could even touch the knob.

Yool and Ahyeon greeted her.

"Wony-ah!"

"Noona!"

"Yool-ah, Ahyeonnie," Wonhee said, grabbing Yool and Ahyeon’s hands. "Let’s go!"

***

IT FELT like Wonhee was in hell.

Everyone around her was burning.

But it wasn’t only the heat that was hurting her at the moment.

Wonhee’s arm was broken, and the culprit was standing in front of her while looking down at her with glowing red eyes. "Graham-ssi..."

Yes, it was Graham who broke Wonhee’s arm– and he was clearly out of his mind!

[I didn’t expect this outcome when I left the penthouse thirty minutes ago...]

***

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