After returning from a three-night, four-day trip, Kang Hanul had a somewhat uneasy expression. Normally, he would be delighted that the tedious overseas trip was over, but this time, he wasn’t. The reason was…
“It’s been a while since I was last in Korea.”
“Phew, I can’t believe you followed me all the way here…”
Kang Hanul glanced back at Ino Junichi, who was walking behind him. He never expected that an Level 8 awakened one, busy with official matters, would actually follow him.
‘Boasting was a mistake!’
But there was no helping it. He wanted to show those arrogant guys that there was someone above them. Kang Hanul’s plan worked perfectly, resulting in Junichi coming to Korea.
“Hahaha! Why the long face, my friend?”
“Hmph! Friend? Since when were we friends?”
“Come on, don’t be like that. I came all the way to Korea to see you. Isn’t it a bit harsh to be so cold?”
Kang Hanul grimaced and walked ahead briskly, but somehow, Junichi managed to keep the distance between them constant.
“Hahaha! Cute guy!”
“Shut up.”
No matter how much he disliked him, Junichi was still an Level 8 awakened one, revered as a hero in Japan.
To make a call he had been postponing, Kang Hanul took out his phone and searched through his contacts.
“Hmm…”
After confirming Han Seok-jun’s name, he hesitated for a moment but then pressed the call button. By now, Han Seok-jun should have returned from his business trip to China.
Ring ring… Click!
– Hello, this is Team 2 Leader.
“……”
Kang Hanul frowned and massaged his forehead, even though he was the one who made the call. Sensing something odd, Han Seok-jun asked again.
– Team 2 Leader?
“Brother, I brought Junichi with me.”
– ……?
Han Seok-jun’s bewildered expression was evident over the phone. It was understandable, given that Ino Junichi’s stature was beyond that of a mere awakened one.
– Could you repeat that, Team 2 Leader? The reception doesn’t seem good.
“Sorry, brother. You heard right.”
– ……How did you end up bringing Junichi with you?
“Technically, he followed me. I’m sorry, Guild Leader.”
Kang Hanul quickly changed his tone to assert his innocence, but Han Seok-jun wasn’t paying attention to that. He was more concerned about how to handle Junichi’s presence.
– Just bring him to the guild.
“Understood, Guild Leader.”
After obediently ending the call, Kang Hanul glanced back. Junichi was smiling brightly, indifferent to everything.
“Sigh.”
* * *
“Oh my, how have you been, my dear?”
As soon as Ara saw her, my mother’s face lit up, and she came out to greet her with open arms. It was clear that her son no longer occupied her thoughts. It was a bit disheartening.
“Great Lord! It’s been a while!”
Ara cheerfully lifted one hand in greeting, holding a teddy bear in the other. The bear was actually Star Bear, Gomgom, disguised as a stuffed toy. To avoid separation from Ara, Gomgom had been ordered to pretend to be a toy, and surprisingly, it had shown remarkable acting skills.
“Let Grandma give you a hug, sweetie. There you go.”
“Mom, your way of speaking has become very grandmotherly.”
“I am a grandmother, after all.”
Mother smiled as she firmly hugged Ara. Gomgom, hanging from Ara’s hand, was doing its best to act like a stuffed toy.
“Oh my, but this teddy bear is almost as big as Ara! Such a cute doll, Ara.”
“It is cute.”
Nodding in agreement, Ara lifted Gomgom and hugged it close. As Gomgom drooped in her arms, I started to get confused myself, wondering if it was actually a real stuffed toy.
“Brother, you’re here?”
“Oh, Jae-seong. You’re here too. That’s a relief.”
“…A relief?”
“Yeah. Can you cook something?”
“Suddenly showing up and asking me to cook, really?”
Jae-seong clicked his tongue in annoyance but didn’t refuse. When I took out the freshly harvested sweet potatoes from the bag, both of their eyes widened in surprise.
“What are these?”
“They’re sweet potatoes.”
“But they look almost like pumpkins.”
As they inspected the sweet potatoes closely, I told them about today’s plans.
“We’re going to an orphanage today.”
“Orphanage? Why an orphanage?”
“I happened to make a connection there last time, so I decided to visit. But I didn’t want to go empty-handed, so I was hoping for some help from you and Mom.”
Mother nodded enthusiastically, her face lighting up. With her kind heart, she always loved helping others, and my words seemed to have piqued her interest.
“Wait, you want the two of us to cook for everyone at the orphanage?”
“I’ll help too.”
“I will also help!”
Jae-seong was momentarily stunned by Ara’s and my words. Then he sighed deeply and grabbed the sweet potatoes.
“Do you know how many people there are?”
“There are 62 children and 5 teachers.”
“Then let’s assume about 80 people, to be safe.”
“Yeah. Thanks, Jae-seong.”
With that, the preparation and cooking of the sweet potatoes began in earnest. I followed Jae-seong’s instructions as best as I could, but watching him work, it was clear he was on a different level.
‘Professional chefs are really something else.’
From chopping to basic ingredient preparation, his movements were precise and clean, showcasing what a true professional was. While Mom was also skilled, Jae-seong’s expertise was in a league of its own.
“Yes, that’s it. Well done.”
Mom, half-relying on Jae-seong, clapped her hands in delight as she played house with Ara. Ara, with a serious expression, focused on peeling the sweet potatoes, looking incredibly adorable.
Beep beep beep beep-
“Oh? Ara, I think your aunt is here.”
“Aunt?”
While Ara tilted her head at the unfamiliar word, Seon-ah, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, came in and looked surprised to see us.
“What? Kyu-seong oppa is here? Oh my! Hello, Ara!”
Seon-ah, who usually seemed so stoic around me, turned into a bubbly girl, running over to Ara with excitement.
Ara, who had been seriously peeling sweet potatoes, brightened up and waved her hand.
“It’s Lee Seon-ah!”
“Oh, oh. Our Ara is home. Let Auntie give you a hug.”
Seon-ah lifted Ara up and rubbed her cheeks against hers.
“Hey, you’ll wear her cheeks out.”
“Whatever. You just keep doing what you were doing.”
Seon-ah carried Ara away, as if to signal not to interfere. Meanwhile, Jae-seong started making sweet potato candies.
“Brother, do we have other ingredients?”
“I brought some.”
“We can’t just make candies, so get the other stuff out too.”
“Okay.”
While Ara was temporarily in Seon-ah’s care, Mom also got busy helping. With her assistance, we quickly picked up the pace and made various dishes.
“We can pack these to go, right?”
“Yes.”
Bokkeum had reached level 3 by now. Its appearance had slightly changed, now looking like it was carrying a travel backpack.
‘Mark2 got a straw hat, Poispois turned purple, and Bokkeum has a backpack.’
It was almost certain now that reaching level 3 caused a change in appearance. It was also time to start considering level 4. I needed to level up Mark2 to 4 before entering the Dungeon of Gluttony.
“The candies are done.”
“Wow, it smells amazing.”
Jae-seong plated the candies with great patience, swallowing his saliva repeatedly. Mom had already picked one up and was about to eat it.
Thud.
“Mom?”
“Mom?! What happened?”
Jae-seong quickly supported Mom, who had suddenly sat down. When I rushed over, she looked at us with a dazed expression.
“It’s delicious.”
“……”
“You scared us.”
I was genuinely scared. I thought something had gone terribly wrong with the candies.
“No, really! It’s delicious!”
“Okay, okay.”
Mom shouted as if wondering why we didn’t understand her emotions. At her shout, Seon-ah came out of the room, carrying Ara in her arms.
“Wow! It smells delicious! This is sweet potato candies, right? But the smell is a bit different from last time.”
“Candies! candies!”
Ara was very excited. Even Gomgom, in Ara’s arms, was twitching its nose, but thankfully, no one seemed to notice.
“Try it! Hurry!”
“Yes, yes. I got it.”
The smell was really good. The dishes we made before usually lost their aroma after cooking, but this one kept emitting a subtle honey scent.
“Let’s try it first.”
“Candies!”
Ara, unable to contain her excitement, wriggled out of Seon-ah’s arms. Still holding Gomgom, she ran over to the plate of candies.
“Shall we taste it?”
“Candieeeee!!”
Ara was the first to try the candies. She then sat down with a blissful expression, savoring the taste.
“Hehehe, hehehe.”
Apart from her slightly strange laughter, she seemed fine.
“Let’s try it too.”
We carefully blew on the hot candies and took a bite.
Pop!
Huh? What’s this? Suddenly, fireworks went off. My vision flashed, but I soon realized it was my imagination.
‘The flavor exploded!’
The taste of the sweet potato burst forth.
Meanwhile, a subtle honey or floral scent continued to swirl inside, not missing a beat. The sweetness and nuttiness, combined with the indescribably rich flavor of the sweet potato, melted away smoothly.
“Ah?”
Before I knew it, a large piece of candies had disappeared in my mouth. It melted like cotton candy, leaving a creamy aftertaste lingering in my mouth.
“Amazing! Amazing!”
“This isn’t my cooking skill. This is…”
As Seon-ah exclaimed and Jae-seong looked bewildered, I grabbed another piece.
Pop!
I thought the second bite would be less impressive, but I was mistaken. Now I understood why Mom had suddenly sat down.
Gulp!
The texture of the candies melted away again, and my hand kept reaching for more. Once again, the flavor explosion hit!
Our family devoured the candies in a frenzy. Even Gomgom was stealthily eating the candies, unnoticed by anyone.
Clatter-
“Huh? It’s all gone?”
The empty plate stared back at us. Startled, we exchanged glances and quickly sprang into action.
More candies! We wanted more candies!
“Candies!!”
Ara roared, sweeping through the room with frenzied excitement.
* * *
Ring ring- Click!
“Hello? Kyu-seong?”
“Yes, So-yeon.”
“Ah, have you left already?”
“I was about to head out.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. An important guest just arrived at the guild, so it might take a bit longer. You can go ahead without me, but if you’d rather not go alone, I’ll call you later.”
“Got it. I have some time to kill, so I’ll wait.”
“Great, see you later then.”
After ending the call, I looked around and saw my family sprawled on the floor. All of them had full bellies, while Gomgom, who hadn’t been able to eat as much, was licking a piece of candies in its hand.
“…Can we really take this with us?”
I started to worry about the overwhelming power of the candies.
Cliche Novel 
It will make the children happy?
But will anything else ever be tasty again?
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