Seoul (16)

Fortunately, Kim Min-hyuk was able to persuade Hochi. He didn’t dissuade or stop him from going outside. He just prevented him from taking the wrong way, saying he would bring him to a delicious restaurant he knew.

However, Kim Min-hyuk felt he had overcome one big crisis.

If Hochi had gone outside and walked down the street, gazing and searching around for different kinds of restaurants… It would have gotten crazy to the point where Kim Min-hyuk didn’t even want to imagine the situation that would take place after that.

Kim Min-hyuk took Hochi, Seregia, and Yong-yong to a nearby Korean restaurant.

He had been there quite a few times before. They had seats in individual rooms, so they wouldn’t have to encounter other customers.

They weren’t concerned about spreading rumors because of the thorough training the employees there received.

Fortunately, it was not mealtime, so they never ran into anyone else in the restaurant. However, they had no choice but to interact with the staff who guided the group to the room.

And so, they chatted a little bit.

“Isn’t that him?”

“I think you’re right.”

“Hey, he’s the guild leader. I’ve been to the guild before. I’m sure it’s that guy.”

“How interesting. People like that live in their own world.”

Of course, Kim Min-hyuk had to eat to live. The others didn’t have to.

Kim Min-hyuk was also an Awakened, so he could hear the staff’s murmurs from the room’s corner. The others must have heard it, but they went into the assigned room without a care.

Kim Min-hyuk came out separately and asked the manager not to spread rumors on SNS. The manager assured him that it would not happen, but Kim Min-hyuk was dubious.

After talking to the manager, Kim Min-hyuk entered the room late, and Hochi was already ordering food.

“From here to here, please,” Hochi said, dragging his finger from the menu’s first to last page.

The puzzled waitress looked at Kim Min-hyuk instead of Hochi.

Kim Min-hyuk asked Hochi on behalf of the employee’s innermost thoughts. “…Are you planning on eating everything?”

“Of course.”

Hochi was sure. Kim Min-hyuk was about to ask the employees to bring everything, but then he remembered some course menus on the menu.

Even if they ate all day, they couldn’t possibly finish.

Hochi said with a smile as the waitress went out, “Ha! I wanted to give it a try.”

Kim Min-hyuk murmured inwardly, “I knew it.”

So instead of ordering the whole menu, he just let them order to their tastes.

“Good job,” Seregia praised Hochi.

Her posture was upright.

Seregia, who enjoyed sprawling across the sofa, seemed annoyed by how she had to sit upright.

“But at this rate…”

Kim Min-hyuk thought it was a relief that nothing had gone astray. Accidents could have happened many times, just coming this far.

Fortunately, so far, everyone had been calm, not creating any major accidents, either because of their desire for delicious food or because of the excitement of coming outside.

Come to think of it, Yong-yong was exceptionally quiet.

“Uncle.”

“Yes, Yong-yong?”

Just in time, Yong-yong called out to Hochi. Kim Min-hyuk was most worried about Yong-yong.

Children often made a fuss in restaurants.

If Yong-yong brought out the mantis, it wouldn’t end up simply as a disturbance, but something far worse.

“Can’t we have the mantis with us?” Yong-yong said, pointing to the mantis trapped in the box.

Hochi readily gave consent.

“Yes, you can. Let’s eat together.”

‘No!’ Kim Min-hyuk wanted to shout out aloud.

Sitting side by side with a G-class monster? Kim Min-hyuk wouldn’t be able to bury it no matter how much he paid onlookers and reporters.

But before Kim Min-hyuk could even open his mouth to persuade them, Yong-yong had already taken the mantis out.

Kim Min-hyuk couldn’t bring himself to tell the child to put it back.

* * *

The food came out, and the meal was more peaceful than Kim Min-hyuk thought it would be. It was especially impressive to see the mantis eating with manners.

“You eat human food well,” Hochi commented.

“I usually eat everything nicely,” the mantis answered.

The fact that it was eating with etiquette was a big blessing. It’d be even better if humans weren’t part of its diet.

Anyway, they were all enjoying the food, and Hochi had fun eating.

Seregia and the mantis really ate well.

Whenever Yong-yong became interested in the employee serving the food, Kim Min-hyuk’s whole body froze, succumbing to a terror, but it never turned into a big problem.

Of course, Kim Min-hyuk was not able to eat properly because of his nervousness and anxiety.

He was nervously chewing on his food when the door opened again.

He thought there might be a new dish that a waitress was bringing in, but instead, an old man entered.

The old man introduced himself as the store’s owner and thrust a pen and paper at Hochi.

“I’m sorry, but may I ask for your autograph? I’ve been a fan since you were a professional gamer.”

Hochi picked up the pen and paper and thought for a moment. He didn’t say that he wasn’t Ho-jae.

He was not Ho-jae, but his clone, but it was more troublesome to explain that he was a completely different being.

It would just make them more confused by explaining.

‘Ah, how am I supposed to sign?’

Hochi didn’t even know how to sign autographs. He grabbed the pen.

Hochi was somewhat excited.

Suddenly, someone took the pen away from Hochi, who had been thrilled and was debating how to sign it.

“What are you doing?”

It was Lee Ho-jae. He snatched the pen away, signed the page, and returned it to the owner.

“When did you come?” Hochi asked with a hoarse voice.

“Just now. This man asked me to sign.”

Then the owner talked to Ho-jae for a while. He really felt like a true fan.

“Of course. I went there during the finals. At that time…”

When they heard that, they could tell the owner was a real fan.

The two briefly talked about the past.

The owner looked really stoked. He apologized for interrupting the meal, and left at the right time.

“What a surprise,” Kim Min-hyuk commented.

When Lee Ho-jae appeared and took away the pen, Kim Min-hyuk could feel his heart pounding once again.

He was worried that he might beat the owner up, but he had acted more rational than Kim Min-hyuk had expected.

“Why on earth did you think of this as a surprise?” Lee Ho-jae questioned as if it felt unfair.

Hochi, Seregia, and even Yong-yong looked surprised.

Yong-yong even looked a bit dazed.

Lee Ho-jae stroked Yong-yong’s head and told Kim Min-hyuk next to him. “You asked me to work, but then why are you working?”

Then he reached out and picked up a braised short ribs and disappeared again.

It was a sudden exit, just like his unexpected entrance.

It had been a short visit, but Lee Ho-jae’s appearance had made a big impact on the table.

He disappeared with a handful of braised short ribs.

Hochi and Seregia’s eyes were glued on the braised short ribs bowl.

Cheng!

The two chopsticks clashed in the air.

“You’ll yield this to me, won’t you? I haven’t tried any of it yet.”

“No.”

While watching the two of them swinging their chopsticks in a silly fight, Kim Min-hyuk called in an employee to order another braised short ribs.

He thought to himself, “…I can’t do this. If he leaves them alone with me, I’ll die of stress first.”

Lee Ho-jae had told Kim Min-hyuk to ask Hochi to do whatever he wanted. But Kim Min-hyuk had no intention of doing so.

It would have been good if they had just stayed calm in the flat, but Hochi and the rest didn’t want to do that .

If they were going to behave like this, he should have never let them out. He was sure there would be trouble somewhere.

Or maybe Kim Min-hyuk himself would explode under stress.

Kim Min-hyuk decided it was better to let Ho-jae get to work.

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