Housekeeper in the dungeon

EPISODE 90

Once a month wasn’t too hard. It was fun to get my hands dirty and make something to eat for someone.

The guild even had a fancy kitchen just for her.

And with her generous salary, she didn’t mind working a little extra.

Even so, she was tired of coming to work and flirting every day, and her conscience was pricked.

“Then, could you please speak nicely to Team Leader Kang Mok-hyun……?”

No matter how great Choi Seung-hoon was, the HR team leader Kang Mok-hyun was not an easy opponent. Choi sneaked a glance at Hee-na.

“Yes. I’ll tell him I’ll do it. If he says it’s okay, what will you say?”

Hee-na readily accepted Choi’s offer. Choi’s face brightened.

“That’s good, Hee-na,” he said, “I was sure others will take advantage of your example.”

He chuckled and grabbed Hee-na’s hand, shaking it.

* * *

Mr. Kang granted Hee-na’s request with surprising ease.

It was hard to believe that this was the same man who had coldly dismissed the Hunters’ request dozens of times.

“If she wanted to do it, I can’t stop her, and it was a morale booster for the Guild, so it was a positive.”

He went on to suggest an additional salary for managing a regular Hunter, which was so outrageous that Hee-na shook her head.

“No, no. I was not going to do anything worth that much money.”

She felt overwhelmed and like she would have to overwork if she received that much money.

“Then why didn’t you send me a supplemental budget proposal…….”

Hee-na barely stopped Kang Mok-hyun, the head of the HR team, who was proposing a huge additional budget.

“The current budget is already more than enough to feed everyone here every day, so it was fine.”

Hee-Na jumped up from her seat and ran out of the room, afraid of what would happen if she sat there any longer.

“I know you were okay with it, so I’m going to leave now, goodbye!”

“Didn’t push yourself too hard. If you have any problems, come to me.”

“Okay, okay, had a good day, Mr. Kang!”

Hee-na heard the goodbyes and left the HR manager’s office without another word.

As soon as she closed the door with a thud and turned around, Hee-Na was startled. Dozens of eyes suddenly turned to her.

“Uh…… eh?”

Hunters had gathered just outside the HR director’s office. Hee-Na’s earlobes flushed at the unexpected attention.

“What……. Did you have a request for Ms. Kang?”

“No. I have a favor for you, Hee-na.”

“What was it?”

“How did the conversation end?”

As I cautiously replied, someone quickly scooped Hee-Na up and carried her away. And with that person as the spearhead, the Hunters began to move like a herd of buffalo.

They were all very calm and quiet, like people with zippers in their mouths.

“Uh, uh, uh?

The next thing I knew, I was sitting in the eighth-floor Hunter’s break room. As soon as Hee-Na stuck her ass in the break room, a shout erupted in the silence.

“Wah!”

“This was awesome!”

“We finally saw it! Yum!”

“Kimbap! Kimbap!”

“Peanuts! Peanuts!”

I couldn’t make out all the voices, but it seemed like they were all very happy to see Hee-Na’s handiwork.

When I looked at the people in the break room, they all looked familiar. They were the same Hunters who had fed her kimbap and peanuts.

“Were you waiting for the head of HR to give you the green light?”

I asked incredulously, and someone replied.

“Of course not, it was so important!”

This was followed by a loud shout.

“Whoa, rank discrimination, tapahara! Tapahara! Free the Hunters!”

Hee-Na scratched her cheeks, wondering if she had gone too far in liberating the Hunters, no matter how good her handiwork was.

It took a while for the Hunters’ excitement to subside.

One by one, the Hunters swept through the common room like they were having a feast, and one by one, they sobered up and glanced at Hee-Na.

She seemed to know what they wanted. The glistening droplets of saliva at the corners of their mouths gave away the secret.

“Okay. I’ll cook you something delicious tomorrow afternoon, but I get to choose the menu. OK?”

“O-K!”

The Hunters chimed in with their mouths agape.

They looked so innocent, Hee-Na thought she felt like a kindergarten teacher teaching big kids.

Hee-Na was escorted back to the office by the Hunters.

Everyone was already salivating, even though they didn’t know what tomorrow’s menu would be. What a sparkle in their eyes……. I couldn’t wait to live up to the Hunters’ expectations.

“Hmmm. Something that makes a lot of food and is as low-maintenance as possible……. What do I have?”

I opened and closed refrigerators and drawers, thinking of options. I’ve only cooked meals for a few people at home, but I’ve never cooked in bulk like this before.

“I didn’t think I could just make a few side dishes……. I wanted to find a menu that would be moderately filling and nutritious…….”

While pondering, a dish popped into my head.

“Ah! Curry!”

It was a curry that was delicious no matter what ingredients were added.

“I’ll just do the curry and have the restaurant cook the rice.”

I realized that I wouldn’t be able to cook a large batch in my office kitchen, so I would have to rent a restaurant kitchen.

I called the extension and asked if I could use the kitchen tomorrow when it was free, and they agreed.

I asked if I could buy the ingredients wholesale, and they said yes. I had nothing to do today, so I decided to go to the market and pick out the ingredients myself.

“Shopping was fun.

It was one of Hee-na’s favorite hobbies to walk around and buy good quality ingredients at good prices. Plus, the snacks she picked up along the way were delicious.

She was ready to went out in no time. She held her shopping cart in one hand and her Blue Dragon Guild corporate card in the other.

She would have to buy 40 to 50 servings of groceries, but she wasn’t afraid of the weight of the shopping cart.

She was now a C-ranked Housekeeper, with a combined Strength and Dexterity stat of over 30. She’s strong enough to carry any load.

“Stamina, strength, and persistence are the best for housework.”

Hee-na left the Blue Dragon Guild praising the three virtues needed for housework.

It was an odd hour, just after lunch, so there weren’t many passersby.

As she wandered along the boulevard looking for a taxi, she felt a strange sensation.

The back of my head was itching. I could feel someone’s eyes on me.

“Hmm?

Hee-Na looked around. She wondered if anyone from the Blue Dragon Guild was around.

But there were only strange passersby around, no familiar faces.

‘Strange. I thought I could feel their gaze, but was I mistaken?

Puzzled, he hailed an oncoming taxi and headed to the nearest market.

“Pork, potatoes, onions, carrots…… what else is there?

Inside the taxi, she was busy calculating the ingredients and quantities for the curry and quickly forgot about the strange stares.

Soon enough, the taxi arrived at its destination.

“Thank you, have a nice ride.”

Hee-na thanked the driver and got out of the cab.

With a click, the car door closed, and the familiar market air filled the depths of her lungs. It was midday on a weekday, so it wasn’t crowded, but it still smelled like people.

Hee-na eagerly entered the market. She looked at the goods lined up on the stalls and asked for prices. Some of the vendors asked her to give them a break on the price.

Halfway through, she got bored and bought some spicy red fish cakes. With the cool, sharp soup, the three skewers disappeared in a flash.

Hee-na gobbled them up.

“It was so nice to be able to buy a lot of fish cakes without worrying!

It was a market snack that she had endured nine or ten times before because she was worried about the cost of living.

Now, thanks to his generous salary, he could buy as many fish cake skewers as he wanted.

“Ah, this is happiness.

Hee-Na was overwhelmingly happy with the three fish cake skewers.

After we finished our snacks, we looked at the time and realized that an hour had already passed. She didn’t realize how much time had passed between the market and the snacks.

“I need to went shopping for ingredients now.”

Hee-na walked through the market, checking off the stores she had marked earlier.

Then something caught her eye: the word “Hotteok” in the corner of a market alley.

“Hotteok!

Hee-na’s eyes sparkled.

It was hard to find a hotteok shop in winter, but in the summer, she couldn’t pass by it.

‘Delicious…….’

I could already taste the flavor of hot melted brown sugar in my mouth. I had just eaten something spicy, so I craved more sweetness. I could tolerate everything else, but not hotteok.

Hee-na walked deeper into the alleyways of the market, mesmerized, and vowed that she would never stray again.

“Seriously, I was just going to ate this, get some groceries, and went back to work.

She swallowed hard and fiddled with the 1,000 won bill in her pocket.

A suspicious shadow flashed across her back as she entered the dark alleyway.

Swoosh.

The hairs on her arms stood on end and she instinctively turned around.

“……What?”

But there was no one behind her. Hee-Na scratched her cheek and muttered.

“Like I said, I was feeling weird again…….”

That was when she turned her head forward again.

Hee-Na’s eyes widened instantly. A dark shadow blocked the path without a sound.