Chapter 12: The Lottery Drawing

That night, Kang Jin was watching another live broadcast on his phone.

“We will now draw this week’s lottery numbers.”

“Yes! Alright! Let’s start! Start already!” With anticipation, Kang Jin listened to the announcer’s voice coming from his phone while holding onto his lottery ticket.

“The first number is… 41!”

“The second number is… 23!”

Kang Jin excitedly alternated between checking the numbers drawn and those written on his ticket. The first two matched perfectly, but his face fell as soon as the next number was called out.

“The third number is… 18!”

It doesn’t match?

The third number differed from what he had purchased. And so did the subsequent numbers, one after another…

“…and finally, the last lucky number! Number 7!”

As the announcer spoke, the winning lottery numbers scrolled across the bottom of the screen:

[7, 18, 23, 26, 41, 44.]

Kang Jin glanced between the numbers on the TV and his ticket.

[7, 14, 17, 23, 41, 42,]

He bit his lip as he studied the ticket. Out of the ghost’s suggested numbers, only three matched.

It wasn’t entirely worthless; matching three numbers meant he won five thousand won. However… Kang Jin had been aiming for first prize.

“Are you playing with me?” Realizing he’d been tricked by the maiden ghost, Kang Jin stuffed the lottery ticket back into his pocket and headed to the kitchen.

“You ghosts… just wait until I’m ready.” Grinding his teeth internally, Kang Jin retrieved copious amounts of chili peppers and garlic from the refrigerator.

The ghosts were attracted by food smells, and virgin ghosts supposedly liked peppers and garlic. Kang Jin then took out his cooking practice manual.

“You little rascals, I’ll show you what spicy means.”

He quickly flipped through the recipes and selected two dishes.

[Spicy Pork Stir-fry]

[Garlic Flakes]

To make garlic flakes, he thinly sliced garlic cloves and fried them at low temperature. For the spicy pork stir-fry, he needed to create chili oil.

“Consuming fresh chili or chili powder is not as beneficial as consuming chili oil. Chili oil not only strengthens digestion but also adds flavor and aroma when used in various dishes.”

Kang Jin nodded after reading about making chili oil. The cooking practice manual provided explanations beyond just how to cook; it included health benefits for each ingredient.

Following the instructions, Kang Jin poured oil into a frying pan and turned on the stove. Once it heated up to the right temperature, he added peppers and pepper flakes to make chili oil.

Ding!

“We’re here!”

“It smells delicious today.”

Kang Jin watched as two women entered his shop. On the table already sat the stir-fried pork with chili peppers and garlic flakes that he had prepared earlier.

“Wow! Did you know we were coming over tonight?”

Smiling, Kang Jin joined them at the table.

Tak!

As Kang Jin placed down the lottery ticket, Lee Hye-sun curiously inspected the paper.

“A lottery ticket?”

“I bought the numbers you called out.”

Lee Hye-sun laughed while glancing between Kang Jin and the ticket.

“You actually bought this?”

“You actually bought it? Hey! You said this was for dinner!”

Lee Hye-sun laughed at Kang Jin’s remark.

“I just called out random numbers. I’m not a fortune-teller, you know? And even if someone could predict lottery numbers, would they tell others instead of buying them themselves?”

Still smiling, Lee Hye-sun put down the paper.

“So did you win anything?”

“A few fifth prizes.”

“Fifth prize? That’s five thousand won each, and since you played five games, that makes twenty-five thousand won total. So technically, we’ve paid for our meal as promised.” She grinned at Kang Jin.

“What’s the problem then? It’s not like I gave you losing numbers; these are all fifth-prize winners.”

“But it wasn’t first prize.”

“How greedy can you get? Were you expecting to receive several billion won worth of food?”

“Well…” Kang Jin couldn’t respond. Upon reflection, she was right; expecting billions for just one meal made him greedier than a thief. Even if they were ghosts, it still wasn’t justified.

Kang Jin sighed and pursed his lips as he clutched the lottery ticket.

If I paid five thousand won and got back fifty million… Darn it!

Despite considering it profitable, the disappointment felt immense, leaving him feeling quite crestfallen.

As Kang Jin smacked his lips in regret, he glanced at Lee Hye-sun’s group, realizing something he hadn’t considered earlier due to his frustration:

There are… three Maiden Ghosts.

Gulp!

He found himself sitting across from three maiden ghosts.

“Go ahead… Enjoy your meal.”

Lee Hye-sun smiled as Kang Jin subtly stood up.

“Rookie, go get some soju.”

“Yes, sis.” Jong Myunghee got up and retrieved a bottle from the fridge as Kang Hanna turned to Kang Jin.

“I hope you enjoy your dinner, dear brother.”

“U-uh-huh…”

Kang Hanna glanced at Lee Hye-sun when she heard his response.

“You’re amazing, by the way! You just called out random numbers, but three of them were lottery winners!”

“I know, right? If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have bothered visiting my nieces’ dreams…”

“Can you really enter people’s dreams?”

“It was just a figure of speech. It’s not like I’m hundreds of years old or anything,” Lee Hye-sun replied with a laugh while pouring herself another shot of soju and enjoying it with some snacks.

In the kitchen, Kang Jin strained to listen to their conversation.

What kind of nonsense is this? People say lottery winners had their numbers whispered to them by dead grandfathers, but it’s all bullshit.

Lee Hye-sun didn’t call out these numbers due to any mystical reason; she simply picked at random and called them as they came.

Kang Jin glanced discreetly around the room. The three maiden ghosts were chatting while drinking soju and eating snacks.

From this perspective, they seem quite ordinary…

At first, he was angry, then scared. But now, he felt pity for these pathetic creatures. His fear began to dissipate slightly. As Kang Jin continued observing the ghosts, he heard the sound of a door opening.

Creak!

Huh?

He turned his head to see four female customers entering through the door.

“Sis!” When Lee Hye-sun raised her hand, one of the women entering nodded at her.

“It’s been a while.”

“I haven’t seen you around lately?”

“I went to meditate deep in the mountains since it was summer.”

“Wow, traveling and all, you’re amazing, sis!”

“Well, I’m not like you, a mere novice.” As she spoke, the woman pulled up a chair next to the table, and the others joined her by pushing their tables closer together.

Kang Jin hid himself in the kitchen, observing them from afar.

Who are they? Are those virgin ghosts too?

As Kang Jin pondered this, he recalled something Kang Doochi had mentioned:

“Every ghost has its own food preferences. For example, the female ghosts from yesterday liked garlic and chili peppers…”

Oh right! He said virgin ghosts prefer garlic and chili peppers.

Thinking back, Lee Hye-sun had cooked dishes with lots of garlic and chili peppers to summon them. And since ghosts were attracted by smells…other virgin ghosts besides Lee Hye-sun must’ve joined her. It was obvious that these new arrivals looked fiercer than Lee Hye-sun.

“Kang Jin! More snacks over here!” At Lee Hye-sun’s call, Kang Jin swallowed hard and yelled loudly:

“Wait your turn!”

He spoke brusquely to show he wasn’t intimidated but then furtively peeked at the newcomers. While Lee Hye-sun’s group might not mind his attitude, he worried about offending the other women.

The woman addressed as “Sis” glanced toward the kitchen and opened her mouth.

“Please step out for a moment so we can introduce ourselves properly.”

Kang Jin hesitated briefly at being called upon before joining them.

When Kang Jin emerged from the kitchen, she stood up and spoke.

“I used to be like a sister to the mistress of this house.”

The woman appeared to be in her early twenties, younger than Lee Hye-sun. She didn’t seem old enough to have been a mentor figure for Kim Bokrae. However, since she was a ghost…

“I’m Lee Kang-jin, the new manager of One Meal Restaurant.”

“I am Lee Jiseon, originally from Jeonju.”

Shhh!

As soon as Lee Jiseon acknowledged the other women with her, they introduced themselves to Kang Jin and gave slight bows. It seemed they were subordinate virgin ghosts under Lee Jiseon’s command.

After greeting them all, Lee Jiseon rose again.

“Our eldest sister is coming.”

At these words, Lee Hye-sun’s group hastily stood up and checked their outfits, which puzzled Kang Jin.

As Lee Jiseon approached the entrance, the other virgin ghosts lined up behind her in order of rank.

A boss among the virgin ghosts is coming in?

Feeling uneasy at this thought, Kang Jin slowly retreated towards the kitchen when the door opened.

Click!

The sound made Kang Jin turn his head despite his growing fear and curiosity about who could be the boss among these ghostly beings.

Through the doorway…he saw a woman entering.

I feel like I’ve seen her before.

She wore traditional Korean attire called hanbok, appearing to be around thirty years old with modest elegance. Yet, she seemed familiar somehow.

Huh? Isn’t she that girl from the first day?

Although her hanbok and face looked slightly different…she resembled that girl from before. The style of her hanbok was similar to what she wore on their first day, and the overall atmosphere felt familiar.

Swish! Swish!

She gracefully walked over and sat down at an empty seat before opening her mouth.

“Bring me some soju.”

Kang Jin’s suspicion was confirmed by her words, as the other girl had said the same thing on their first day.

It’s definitely her.

Furthermore…Kang Jin realized one more thing: this girl was indeed showing sincerity, just as Kang Jin had suggested earlier.

“If you’re going to wear makeup, at least change your clothes too. Why do you lack effort?”

By following his advice, dressing up with makeup and attire meant to appear older, she demonstrated her earnestness.