Gang Kyung-heon, the team leader of the Awakeners Headquarters Management Team, adjusted his attire and checked his appearance once more.
“Team Leader, this is already the third time.”
Park Soo-yeon, the leader of the investigation team who came with him, said a word to Gang Kyung-heon, who then awkwardly smiled and nodded.
“I must be nervous without realizing it.”
“What are you so nervous about? It’s just a greeting anyway.”
“…If we mess up the greeting, Awakener Lee Kyu-seong might not think well of us. If that happens, and a disappointed Awakener Lee Kyu-seong goes abroad, the scenario would be…”
“Team Leader, you’re overthinking it.”
Though they both held the same team leader position, they spoke casually due to their senior-junior relationship. At that moment, Jeon Young-joo, the headquarters director, appeared beside them.
“Have you arrived, Director?”
“Let’s go right away.”
The three of them then got into the vehicle and headed to the Ara Hongryeon Guild first. Their destination was Yangju, where Kyu-seong was located, but they were scheduled to meet Guild Leader Han Seok-jun and Ara Hongryeon Team 1 Leader first. Even though it was dawn, the convoy crossed through the terrifying heart of Seoul and finally arrived at Ara Hongryeon.
“Welcome.”
“Oh, there was no need for you to come out to meet us. It’s been a while, Guild Leader.”
Han Seok-jun greeted them with a warm smile, and Jeon Young-joo promptly got out of the car to greet him. The other two team leaders quickly followed suit to greet him as well.
“It’s only natural to greet the Director when they arrive.”
“Haha. Thank you. It’s been a while, Team Leader Jeong So-yeon?”
“Yes, it’s been a while, Director Jeon Young-joo.”
After a brief introduction, two members from Ara Hongryeon also boarded the same vehicle. Then, they immediately set off for Yangju.
“I can’t tell you how fortunate we feel to have you both with us. We’ve only heard stories, so we’re not quite sure what kind of person Awakener Lee Kyu-seong is…”
“He’s a humble person, and he has a warm heart.”
“He seems like a really good person.”
Despite Han Seok-jun’s words, the staff from the Awakeners Headquarters considered it to be formal flattery. In the meantime, Jeong So-yeon interjected.
“Recently, there haven’t been any signs, but is there a particular reason why you suddenly want to meet our Kyu-seong?”
“Ah, I’ve been meaning to contact you for a while due to my busy schedule but missed the timing.”
Team Leader Gang Kyung-heon skillfully defended the question. However, Jeong So-yeon wasn’t entirely convinced.
“Is something happening at the Awakeners Headquarters? Can’t you give us a little hint since we’re meeting Kyu-seong anyway?”
“What do you mean by ‘something’? Well, there’s always a mountain of work, isn’t there? We just wanted to confirm how well the Ara Hongryeon Guild is doing lately, thinking that Awakener Lee Kyu-seong might have a significant influence, so we reached out for a courtesy visit.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
Since her reputation as the youngest level 6 awakener, Jeong So-yeon had often interacted with the Awakeners Headquarters, allowing her to speak more casually. Gang Kyung-heon also skillfully evaded Jeong So-yeon’s questions with wit and concealed his true intentions.
Meanwhile, Han Seok-jun, who was observing their conversation from the side, had a subtle gleam in his eyes.
“As I mentioned before, our Kyu-seong is incredibly humble and a good person.”
“Huh? Yes.”
People were puzzled as to why Han Seok-jun suddenly repeated himself, and they looked at him.
Then Han Seok-jun smiled and continued speaking.
“You probably won’t have to worry about the things you’re concerned about. Instead of trying to deceive, just approach with sincerity.”
The staff from the Awakeners Headquarters felt as if they had been caught off guard. The comment about Kyu-seong being humble seemed to imply that there was no chance he would go abroad due to greed. Han Seok-jun’s words, as if he saw through everything, brought a moment of silence in the vehicle.
***
“How is it?”
“Adorable!”
Dressed up, wearing tiger pajamas, and with Mammon’s hairpin, Ara smiled brightly in front of the mirror. It seemed like if I left now, I could arrive at the meeting place on time, so I finished preparing as well.
“Shall we go?”
“Yes!”
We greeted the kids and headed outside. We soon hailed a taxi and headed to a familiar place. There was still about 30 minutes left until the meeting time. But waiting at the meeting place wouldn’t be a problem since the location was none other than the main house.
‘I contacted the Guild Leader again and asked to meet at our house.’
It seemed unnecessary, but right after the call, my mother said she wanted to personally serve dishes made with my ingredients. Although it would be hard on my mother, I thought it was a good idea, so I immediately changed the meeting place to our house.
The guests might feel a bit burdened. But it’s not like I could serve dishes made with my ingredients at a restaurant!
‘I really want them to eat it!’
To a simple person like me, government officials and others felt like great people. They might laugh if I told them this directly, but how can I help what I feel?
When we entered the house, not only my mother but also Seon-ah was there. I didn’t see my father around.
“Ara is here!”
Seon-ah, who was in the kitchen, ran barefoot. Then, seeing Ara in tiger pajamas, she clutched her heart and collapsed on the spot.
Does it not hurt?
“Oof, so strong…”
“Seon-ah Seon-ah! Are you alright!!!”
Ara dashed over and, copying something she had seen somewhere, started mimicking CPR. Seon-ah, hearing this, pretended to faint again with a sigh.
Shouldn’t you at least close your eyes if you’re pretending to be dead?
“Seon-ah Seon-ah!!!”
Because of Ara’s wail, my mother eventually came out of the kitchen.
“Oh my, is our Ara here?”
“Great Lord, Lord! Seon-ah Seon-ah is in trouble!”
“Our puppy, Seon-ah, is fine. Since everything that Kyu-seong requested yesterday is ready, shall we have a taste?”
“Dog treat!”
Ara’s eyes sparkled.
However, she quickly regained her composure, clutching Seon-ah and lamenting.
“This cannot be! Seon-ah Seon-ah~!!”
“Hey, Seon-ah, stop teasing our Ara and get up to help Mom.”
Even when I nudged her with my foot, Seon-ah didn’t respond, but her eyes were wide open, staring at Ara.
I told her to close her eyes if she was pretending to be dead, right?
I sighed and went to check on the completed dog treat.
“Oh.”
It was neatly cut into long jerky-like strips. It looked like dried pollack that had been shredded. When I touched it, it was hard. The dehydrator next to it was still running, drying more dog treats.
‘I did make quite a bit.’
I used up all the milk and agar powder I had bought without thinking. I figured our Woofy could probably eat this amount for years.
The hard texture reminded me of jerky or dried pollack. I wanted to try it too.
Chewy!
The texture was not as hard as I had expected. It was somewhere between chewy and hard, and that was strangely addictive.
‘I think dogs would really like this.’
It was tasty. Well, it couldn’t not be tasty. As I chewed the dog treat, like biting into a hard caramel, Seon-ah suddenly appeared.
“Are you a dog, brother?”
“Want to try some?”
“A dog treat?”
“It’s good.”
Then, Ara, who was delighted that she had revived Seon-ah, and my mother, who was praising Ara, came over.
“You can eat it since it’s made with milk. Mom tried it too, and it was delicious.”
“What? Mom ate it too?”
Seon-ah received the dog treat I handed her and contemplated it seriously.
At first, I felt the same way, but since it was made into a hard solid instead of a liquid, the resistance lessened.
“It’s just called a dog treat, but think of it as jerky. Or you could even think of it as caramel.”
There were various flavors: carrot, paprika, tomato, sweet potato, and a nutty version. Trying each one, they all had a healthy feel, with a noticeable lack of strong sweetness.
“It would be fine to make these as snacks for people, too.”
Ara, too, was already munching on a dog treat in each hand.
“Mmm! It’s tasty!”
“The ones that aren’t fully dried feel like pudding. Later, it might be nice to make pudding-like desserts with your produce, Kyu-seong.”
“Please do, Mother.”
Desserts are more labor-intensive than expected. So please make them for us. I am a bad child who wants to be spoiled.
“Mmm~! This is better than expected. It’s just like Ma*chu.”
“Ma*chu?”
Ah, that fruit-flavored caramel? It was less intense than that, with a slightly tougher texture. But just because it was less intense didn’t mean it was less tasty. After all, it had my produce in it.
As we enjoyed the mysterious dog treat party, I received a text from Jeong So-yeon.
-We left earlier and have about 30 minutes left!
Oh, this isn’t the time for this.
I immediately replied with a thank you and helped my mother prepare food in the kitchen.
Before I knew it, my cooking skills had improved quite a bit. Of course, I couldn’t compare to Jae-seong or my mother, but I had to make food for our kids often.
‘Of course, most of the time, they fill their stomachs with raw, unprepared produce…’
Even so, my occasional cooking helped improve my skills significantly.
The dishes started coming together. Today’s main menu was nutty potato noodles, with side dishes like stir-fried eggplant, stir-fried tomato and eggs, and a salad with paprika, carrots, and cucumbers.
All were made with produce, not items, so there was no difference in taste, and I was curious to see their reactions.
When all the cooking was finished, I received a call saying they had arrived.
“I’ll go out and greet the guests.”
“Alright.”
Ara and I went out to find a black magic stone vehicle parked. After parking, Guild Leader Han Seok-jun and Jeong So-yeon were the first to get out.
“Hello.”
“Greetings!”
The two spotted us, and greeted us with bright smiles.
“It’s been a while! The carrot soup was delicious!”
“Haha. It’s nice to see you again so soon, Kyu-seong.”
The two greeted us warmly, but then showed a hint of concern.
“But is it really alright for us to intrude on your family home, Kyu-seong?”
“It’s no intrusion. And besides, I wanted to share something delicious with you both and with the guests we’re meeting for the first time today…”
Ara nodded in agreement.
“Delicious things are meant to be shared!”
“Oh my, Ara is still so cute. What are these clothes? Where did you find such adorable, charming clothes?!”
Jeong So-yeon was seeing Ara’s tiger pajamas… or rather, the full-body armor of a tiger king, for the first time. We hadn’t met in a while.
As Ara and Jeong So-yeon were chatting affectionately, I saw the staff from the Awakeners Headquarters getting out of the parked vehicle.
All dressed in black suits, they made me feel a bit intimidated.
“Ah, hello. I’m Lee Kyu-seong.”
As I carefully greeted them, their eyes widened, and they approached me hurriedly.
“Hello! I am Jeon Young-joo, the director of the Awakeners Headquarters!”
“I am Gang Kyung-heon, the management team leader!”
“I am Park Soo-yeon, the investigation team leader!”
What, what is this? The military?
Startled by their heavily formal introductions, I nodded, but my mind went blank again as I began to process it.
“Um, did you just say you are the director…?”
“Yes, I am Director Jeon Young-joo.”
Director?
Director…
Director?!
Looking again, I recognized the face. This person occasionally appeared on TV! Isn’t that a vice-minister level official?!
And recalling their introductions, the other two were also referred to as team leaders.
Two team leaders and even the director? What on earth are they here to discuss directly?
“I am Ara! Welcome!”
Ara’s greeting echoed gently in my ears.
Cliche Novel 