Chapter 10

Chapter 9 - The Food Truck Owner in the Dungeon (10/302)

Chapter 9 - The Food Truck Owner in the Dungeon

Ji-eun pressed the door lock code and entered the dark house, taking off her shoes. As she did, Kkamangi, who had darted into the house, said with a hint of surprise.

"Owner, your house is so clean."

"I clean every day!"

It had been six years since Ji-eun started living alone after her grandmother passed away.

When she learned cooking from her grandmother, she would often lay out ingredients in the kitchen and ponder what to cook.

When her grandmother was alive, the kitchen was the place she paid the most attention to. The four-person dining table in the kitchen was never fully occupied, but even so, she never felt lonely when eating with her grandmother.

Now that she was alone, the loneliness became unbearable when she prepared and ate a grand meal, so Ji-eun rarely ate at home.

Ji-eun slumped into one of the four chairs and bent down to pick up Kkamangi.

"Welcome home."

"I'm hungry."

The time had already passed, and it was almost evening.

She had spent the whole day preparing and cooking food, doing the dishes, and sorting the garbage.

After finishing the cleaning of the kitchen counter, Ji-eun was actually quite tired.

Usually, she would only eat simple foods like cereal or ramen at home, but today was different.

It was a special day, as she had brought a pet (albeit a hidden spirit) into her home for the first time.

Since Kkamangi could eat sandwiches like a human and didn't have any particular dietary restrictions, Ji-eun pondered what to cook for Kkamangi.

"What should I make? I don't know what kind of food would be easy for you to eat since you're in a cat form."

"I'm not an ordinary cat. Think of me as a human."

"Huh?"

"I ate the sandwich with my hands because I naturally learned from seeing you do it."

"So, if I use a spoon or chopsticks, you can follow along?"

"Of course. There's nothing a hidden spirit can't do."

Despite this, the image of a cat using a spoon to eat soup and chopsticks to pick up side dishes was so absurd that Ji-eun burst out laughing.

"What is that?"

"Sniff. I can barely smell any food in this house."

Indeed, there was almost nothing in the refrigerator.

Feeling hungry herself after Kkamangi mentioned it, Ji-eun opened the refrigerator out of hope, but the only thing left was a sealed container of kimchi.

Since she had almost stopped cooking at home after deciding on the types of food to sell at the food truck and practicing packaging, it was a natural outcome.

"Ugh..."

"Did you only live in this house? What did you eat all this time?"

"Actually, I don't really cook for myself... Oh, right!"

She remembered that she had a lot of tomatoes and bacon left in her inventory.

Originally, she had planned to make this dish for Joo-hyuk, but she had put it on hold, thinking that miso soup would go better with egg sushi.

Since she still had the leftover egg from the sandwich, she decided to make a soft rye bread, scrambled eggs, and a bacon tomato stew.

As she thought about it, her hunger grew.

She immediately got up, took out a cutting board, filled a pot with water, and turned on the gas stove.

"Oh, you're cooking again?"

"Yeah, tonight's menu is a tomato bacon stew."

Whoosh!

Perhaps because it had been a while since she last used the gas stove at home, the ignition sound was a bit prolonged before the flame finally rose. While the water was boiling to blanch the tomatoes, she needed to prepare them.

"Hmm... What should I do?"

"What's the matter?"

"The tomatoes are a bit tricky."

Ji-eun placed ten sliced tomatoes from her inventory on the cutting board and fell into thought.

It was a bit difficult to blanch the tomatoes that were already sliced for the sandwich.

"Hmm, but I can probably strain them."

"Good idea!"

Ji-eun focused on peeling the skin off the tomatoes, biting her lip unconsciously.

After peeling all the skins, she took out a strainer and neatly placed the tomatoes on it.

As the water started to boil, she gently dipped the strainer with the tomatoes into the water, blanched them, and then transferred them to a bowl of cold water.

For the sandwich, she had left the skins on to maintain the crunchy texture, but for the stew, which needed to be soft, it was best to remove the skins.

She put the peeled tomatoes into a blender and added two large spoons of sugar.

Next, she opened the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator and secured two unpeeled onions, carrots, and potatoes, smiling.

While mushrooms would have added a better texture, it was a miracle that she had these vegetables left for the stew.

"I don't like vegetables. I want meat."

Kkamangi pouted at the vegetables in Ji-eun's hands, but it was unacceptable to cook without a balanced diet.

Ji-eun turned on the tap and thoroughly washed the carrots, onions, and potatoes before skillfully peeling the potatoes.

In no time, she had peeled both potatoes and started cutting them into cubes.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The sound of the knife hitting the cutting board was satisfying.

After cutting the carrots into the same shape and size, she quickly sliced the onions.

With the white, yellow, and orange vegetables arranged on the cutting board, she immediately took out a frying pan and retrieved butter and bacon from her inventory.

She sprinkled grape seed oil in the frying pan and melted the butter first. Once the butter was properly melted, she started frying the bite-sized bacon, which she had slightly drained with a kitchen towel.

The savory smell made Kkamangi purr happily. Seeing this, Ji-eun, who was frying the bacon, suddenly looked serious and lifted her head.

"Right! I almost forgot that!"

"What? Why are you so surprised?!"

"Garlic!"

She almost forgot the garlic, which is essential in Korean cooking.

Fortunately, she found a container of minced garlic in her inventory.

Once the bacon was slightly cooked, she added two spoons of garlic to the frying pan. After infusing the oil with the garlic aroma, she transferred the cut onions, carrots, and potatoes into the pan.

Sizzle!

The sound of the ingredients frying echoed in the kitchen.

Using a wooden spatula, she gently stirred to prevent the oil from splattering and to ensure the ingredients didn't stick and burn.

After lightly coating the pot with oil, she transferred the ingredients to a bowl and added enough water to cover the fried vegetables and bacon, bringing it to a boil.

As the water started to bubble, Ji-eun checked the potatoes and carrots with a fork and nodded.

"Good, this is perfect!"

She poured the blended tomatoes from the blender into the pot and retrieved more tomato slices from her inventory to peel.

As the stew started to boil again, she added four unpeeled tomatoes and looked at the clock.

There were about 10 minutes left.

She needed to wait until the broth thickened and the last added tomatoes became soft and mashed.

She also cut the rye bread into slices, toasted it, and placed the egg yolk in a bowl on the dining table.

"You've only been here for less than a day, but you're really quick."

"Really? I didn't notice."

"You seem to work quickly on your own."

"Thanks, Kkamangi. Just a little longer."

A moment later, Ji-eun opened the pot lid and tasted the stew with a small plate. She then added salt and pepper, stirred to prevent sticking, and closed the lid again.

Turning to Kkamangi with an open hand, she said,

"Five minutes left!"

After five minutes, she put on thick cooking gloves and carried the thickened tomato stew to the dining table. Kkamangi cleverly pushed the pot stand with his paw.

She placed the pot on the stand, opened the lid, and the steaming tomato bacon stew was revealed.

"Be careful, it's hot."

"Got it."

As she was about to take a spoon, she remembered Kkamangi's words and placed a spoon and a plate in front of Kkamangi, half-doubting. However, she soon had to laugh at the sight of Kkamangi holding the spoon with his paws, blowing on the stew, and eating it.

"Haha. You're so cute!"

"Ugh... It's too hot to eat! But it's delicious!"

Kkamangi's ability to follow her actions, even down to blowing to cool the food, was both adorable and hilarious, making Ji-eun laugh heartily for the first time at home.

The stew, with a tomato base, had an exotic flavor, but the garlic-infused bacon added a familiar meat taste, making it a Korean-style modified stew.

Ji-eun's face lit up as she enjoyed the bite-sized bacon, the soft potatoes, and the tender carrots, all mixed with the rich broth.

The tangy flavor and the well-infused vegetables with bacon and tomato sauce brought back her appetite.

Most importantly, eating with someone else at home made the meal even more enjoyable.

"You should eat the vegetables too."

Ji-eun placed potatoes and carrots on Kkamangi's plate, which only had bread, bacon, and tomato stew. Kkamangi looked at her with a reproachful gaze, and she pretended to be strict before clicking on the tutorial reward notification that had been bothering her.

- You have gained access to the Hunter Market auction house.

- You have obtained 100 skill points.

- You have obtained a Skill/Item Draw Ticket (Unique 1 time).

Among these, the [Skill/Item Draw Ticket (Unique 1 time)] caught her eye.

She was in a great mood because she had gained a higher-level draw ticket for completing the tutorial much faster than the given time.

Ji-eun's mind drifted to Joo-hyuk, who had helped her complete the tutorial quickly.

"By the way, I wonder if he's okay."

Thinking about Joo-hyuk, who was alone in the fourth floor of the dungeon, she dipped a piece of bread in the stew and took a bite, then nervously brought out the draw ticket from her inventory.

"I wonder what I'll get."

The draw ticket on the table was a small wooden box and a key. It seemed to be a system where you turn the key to open the wooden box.

It was a tense moment, the first time she was drawing a skill or item since her awakening.

"Don't get your hopes up."

"Huh?"

Kkamangi, who was chewing on a mouthful of bacon, said,

"Anyway, you won't get anything really good from the tutorial draw ticket."

"Really?"

"Just think of it as something that helps with early level-ups or quest progress. It's literally beginner's equipment."

After hearing Kkamangi's explanation, Ji-eun, who had been hoping for a good item or skill, scratched her head.

As Kkamangi said, the probability of getting a good item right after completing the class change and tutorial was very low.

'...But just in case.'

Despite this, Ji-eun couldn't hide her anticipation, and her eyes were fixed on the wooden box.

Many dishes she had practiced came to mind. She had modified and practiced countless recipes!

She couldn't predict the taste of any dish until she actually tried it.

You never know until you try.

Swallowing the bread and taking a sip of water, Ji-eun took a deep breath and, without hesitation, inserted the key into the lock of the box and turned it.