Do Not Be Kind to Guests

“Aren’t you going to answer the phone?!”

The silence of the office was shattered by the Team Leader’s roar.

Officer Kim sprang from his seat like a bullet and rushed toward the emergency line.

Reaching the area behind the Deputy Team Leader, Officer Kim took a deep breath and lifted the receiver.

I focused more intensely than ever before.

“Hunter Department of Seoul, Republic of Korea. How may I… Yes, understood! Please take measures to keep citizens as far away from the dungeon as possible. The Hunter Department will move out immediately!”

Having received the situation report, Officer Kim covered the mouthpiece with his hand and scanned the office.

Perhaps because it was the first report in two weeks, the tension was at an all-time high.

I wiped my palms, which had grown damp, against my pants.

“Dungeons have manifested in Sector C-9 and Sector F-3. Both are Rank C in scale and difficulty!”

It was my first time experiencing two dungeons appearing simultaneously.

My butt hovered restlessly over my seat as I watched everyone move urgently under the Team Leader’s command.

“Officer Han, go to Sector F immediately! Officer Park, send out the emergency disaster alerts and then join him!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Officer Kim, send out the cooperation requests and come with me to Sector C!”

“Understood!”

The moment the words left the Team Leader’s mouth, Officer Han stormed out of the office.

Everyone followed their orders, handling their respective tasks with lightning speed.

Officer Park, having finished the emergency texts, rushed out, followed shortly by Officer Kim after he completed the handwritten cooperation requests.

Seeing the Team Leader jump straight out of the open window, I stood up and headed toward the relay station.

“…….”

I hadn’t expected two dungeons at once, but it was a massive relief that the scale and difficulty were low.

I pressed the buttons on the relay station in sequence and responded to the Deputy Team Leader’s call.

“Ha-neul.”

“Yes, Deputy Team Leader.”

“It’s probably too late to cancel the food, isn’t it?”

“Ah.”

Now that I thought about it, we had ordered lunch.

If it were right after placing the order, it might be different, but canceling when the delivery time was so close felt disrespectful.

I called just in case, but the food had already left the restaurant.

My shoulders slumped.

“It seems they’ve already departed.”

“I see.”

“Everyone will be starving once the dungeons are cleared. Let’s set aside the food that can be stored.”

“Yes.”

Noodles couldn’t be saved, but the sweet and sour pork and the omelet rice could.

I planned to organize those as soon as the food arrived.

After finishing up at the relay station and pressing the final buttons, I reported the status immediately.

“Relay station and network are live!”

“Delivery!”

I wondered if timing could ever be more exquisite.

The Chinese food deliveryman arrived the exact moment the relay station was activated.

I pulled out the corporate card I had tucked into my shirt pocket and spoke to him.

“Thank you for your hard work. You can leave the food over here.”

“Yes! Oh, and I brought some fried dumplings as a service.”

“…Haha. Thank you.”

Under any other circumstances, I would have welcomed the dumplings.

I smiled back at the deliveryman as he finished setting things up and handed him the card.

“Thank you. Please order from our restaurant often.”

“Yes, have a wonderful day.”

After the payment went through, the deliveryman took back his card and walked out of the office with a light step.

I followed him to the door to see him off, and after confirming he had boarded the elevator, I turned to go back inside. Or rather, I tried to.

“Excuse me.”

“Hiccup!”

Goodness.

A strange voice echoed in the hallway.

It didn’t come from the direction I was looking, but from the opposite side—right behind my back.

I slowly turned my body.

“Oh, well….”

I hadn’t even realized someone was there, despite the distance being so close.

My eyes met a broad white chest right in front of my nose, and I slowly stepped back to assess the person who had spoken.

Now that there was some distance, I realized just how tall the man was.

I found myself internally marveling at the blue eyes looking down at me from a head’s height above.

I had seen many shades of blue in my life, but I had never seen a color like the one in this man’s eyes.

I stared blankly at those blue eyes that seemed laced with silver before snapping back to my senses.

“How can I help you?”

It seemed I had stared too intensely at a total stranger.

I looked away briefly and then looked back, finally taking in his full appearance.

I couldn’t help but admire him.

He was tall, but his face was so striking it practically overshadowed his height.

A sharp, high-bridged nose, dark eyebrows, slightly upturned eyes, and red lips.

To top it off, his face was small enough to be described as the size of a fist; I honestly wondered if he was a celebrity.

“Is this the Seoul City Hall Hunter Department?”

“Ah, yes. That’s right.”

Since there wasn’t even a small nameplate, people looking for the Hunter Department almost always got lost.

I had been the same way.

Recalling when I was first assigned here, I spoke more warmly.

“What business brings you here?”

“I’m here to collect Hunter Kim Se-hyun’s cooperation fee.”

“Ah!”

Coming at this timing was almost unfair.

Thinking of the office currently reeking of food, I couldn’t have been more embarrassed.

I tried my best to maintain my composure and stepped aside.

“Please, come in. We were actually expecting you.”

Ideally, I wanted to greet Kim Se-hyun’s representative while looking professional.

But since things had turned out this way, it seemed the only way I could be helpful was to process the work quickly.

The man seemed to look at me for a moment before passing by me into the office.

My jaw dropped at the sight of him.

“Wow.”

He was handsome from the front, but his profile was truly breathtaking.

His features were so distinct and brilliantly arranged that they seemed to bloom on his face; I finally understood why people said you could feel full just by looking at a handsome face.

Perhaps because I was looking at someone with perfect physical proportions and flawless looks, my heart showed no signs of calming down.

After taking several deep breaths to soothe my nerves, I entered the office.

I went straight to my desk and pulled out the documents related to the cooperation fee, then smiled at the man standing awkwardly and pointed toward the round table.

“You can check the details over there….”

Normally, I would have finished my sentence and moved to the table.

I would have served coffee to the person reviewing the documents, offered some snacks, and done my absolute best.

However, I found myself scanning the round table, which was currently so crowded that it would be a struggle to even place a single paper cup on it.

Gurgle.

What… was that sound?

The only person on the team whose stomach could make a sound that loud was the Team Leader.

Since he wasn’t here, there shouldn’t have been anyone capable of such a noise.

Naturally, I looked toward the Deputy Team Leader, but he just shook his head the moment our eyes met.

At that, I slowly turned my gaze toward Kim Se-hyun’s man, feeling a sense of dread.

“…….”

The man, who had been glancing at the documents until a moment ago, was now staring at the food on the round table.

His gaze as he meticulously examined the dishes couldn’t have been more solemn.

I tentatively called out to the guest.

“Excuse me.”

Gurgle-gurgle.

“Yes.”

As if he had been waiting for me to call him, his stomach let out a loud, rumbling response the second I finished speaking.

He replied half a beat late, meeting my eyes only briefly.

His gaze slowly drifted sideways again, eventually landing on the food.

Seeing his Adam’s apple bob up and down, I spoke on impulse.

“If you haven’t had lunch yet, would you like to eat with us?”

“With you, you mean?”

Even to my own ears, it was an unexpected proposal.

The man’s eyes grew wide as he looked at me.

Noticing his blue eyes trembling slightly, I urged him once more.

“The thing is, we ordered food but an incident occurred on-site. We have a lot of food left over. Ah, it just arrived, so the noodles haven’t gone soft yet. If you’re okay with it, please feel free to eat.”

“Please, have some.”

If there was another person eating, the amount of leftover food would decrease significantly.

Furthermore, this was a chance to treat someone connected to Kim Se-hyun to something much better than coffee and snacks.

Realizing my intent, the Deputy Team Leader also chimed in, telling him to eat before leaving.

The man’s hesitation grew, but only for a moment.

“What is your name?”

When he asked for my name with such bright, sparkling eyes, I couldn’t help but answer.

I fidgeted with my fingers and replied.

“It’s Yeon Ha-neul.”

“Yeon, Ha-neul.”

Thump, thump.

He was simply repeating my name to himself.

My heart had no business racing like this.

After murmuring the name several times, the corner of his mouth curved upward.

It was almost as if he could hear the sound of my heart.

Vigor surged into his previously dull blue eyes.

I wondered if I had ever seen eyes that shone so brilliantly.

After staring at the guest in silence for a moment, I looked at the Deputy Team Leader as the man took a seat at the table.

“Eat first. Don’t worry about this side.”

“If you need anything, please let me know immediately.”

“Will do.”

It weighed on my mind that I was eating while a Rank C dungeon was active.

I also needed to check the CCTV.

But that worry was short-lived.

Once the Deputy Team Leader moved to my desk, wearing a different earbud in each ear, I felt much more at ease.

“Yeon Ha-neul-ssi.”

“Yes, guest.”

Ah, right—I had only shown him to his seat.

I quickly sat down opposite him and watched as he scanned the food on the table.

“What should I eat?”

“Ah! You can eat anything you like.”

It didn’t matter what he chose.

However, I secretly hoped he would focus on the noodles.

I wondered what he would pick, and his hand moved toward the bowl of jjamppong.

I moved my own hands alongside his and spoke.

“You can eat a l—”

Even if someone ate a lot, there was usually a limit.

However, seeing him unwrapping the jjamppong, jajangmyeon, omelet rice, and sweet and sour pork all at once, I was rendered speechless.

The guest, sensing my gaze, looked at me.

I let out an awkward laugh.

“Please, eat as much as you want. You can eat it all.”

“…All of it?”

The guest’s eyes widened at the suggestion that he could eat everything.

It was as if he was hearing something he had never heard before.

He scanned the food again and met my eyes once more.

I nodded.

“Yes.”

He looked like someone waiting for permission.

I wondered if it was really necessary to open every single dish, but seeing him move his hands so excitedly, I couldn’t say a word.

“I’ll eat well, Ha-neul-ssi.”

“…Please enjoy your meal.”

With a promise to eat well, the man picked up his chopsticks and put the jjamppong noodles into his mouth.

As if a vacuum cleaner had been switched on, the noodles vanished into his mouth in steady streams.

“Ha-neul-ssi, please eat.”

Right, now wasn’t the time to be staring at this man blankly. Eating quickly and returning to my post was the priority. I hurriedly moved my chopsticks.