Chapter 122

Kang Jin looked at Choi Hocheol with surprise and asked,

“That guy is dead?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… I heard he was hospitalized after getting beaten up but…I didn’t know it was that serious?”

Choi Hocheol clicked his tongue at Kang Jin’s words.

“He couldn’t catch a break because of those ghosts clinging to him.”

“So, he died because of them?”

“The ghosts sensed negative energy from him. His soul just left his body abruptly.”

Kang Jin pursed his lips, acknowledging the truth in Choi Hocheol’s statement.

“What about the female ghosts…?”

At Kang Jin’s question, Choi Hocheol glanced over his shoulder. Following his gaze, Kang Jin noticed the three female ghosts trailing behind, looking haggard and ghostly as their namesake.

The female ghosts approached, stumbling and walking like literal specters. However, there were only three of them.

“What happened to the other three?”

“They died and ascended.”

“Ah… Still, it’s good news.”

“It is indeed… But I feel sorry for these three remaining.”

Following Choi Hocheol’s words, Kang Jin observed the remaining three ghosts. As they walked toward him, they bowed their heads.

“Hello.”

“Hi.”

Kang Jin smiled warmly as he greeted the ghost women who returned his salutations.

“Welcome.”

Then, he discreetly whispered to Choi Hocheol:

“What about that one?”

“I’ve never seen anything like it before either. After it died, soldiers came and took it away.”

“A soldier?”

“Should we call them underworld soldiers as ‘Ghost Troops’? Anyway, once his soul left his body, these soldiers appeared and dragged him away.”

“Weren’t they supposed to stay in this world during their three-day funeral rites?”

“I don’t know; they just came and took him.”

“It seems like he was taken urgently due to his severe sins.”

“That’s what it felt like. The atmosphere was incredibly serious when they hauled him off.” Choi Hocheol frowned, sounding disappointed.

“If only I could have beaten him right after his soul emerged, but they whisked him away before I had the chance.”

Kang Jin nodded at Choi Hocheol’s words and then addressed the female ghosts:

One of them greeted Kang Jin, “Hello, we’ve met before.”

“Ah… Thank you for your help back then,” replied the ghost woman.

Kang Jin pointed to his store and asked, “Is this your first time here?”

“Yes, we came because Hochul said…he would treat us to some delicious food…”

Hearing their response, Kang Jin glanced at his phone. Noticing there were still a few minutes left, he inquired:

“Is there anything specific you’d like to eat?”

“Anything we want?” echoed one of the ghosts.

“Yes.”

The women exchanged looks before one spoke up: “Hochul mentioned that we could eat here too…but can we really dine on human food?”

“Of course! This place serves meals to people like you.”

“Then I’ll have egg omelets with pollock roe.”

As one ghost spoke, Kang Jin noticed the others hesitating before opening their mouths as well.

“I’d like kimchi stew loaded with pork.”

“Spicy soybean paste stew with marinated beef slices for me.”

Kang Jin smiled and nodded at their orders. “I’ll make sure it’s delicious.”

He then turned towards Choi Hocheol.

“Please come inside.”

Kang Jin entered the restaurant, followed by Choi Hocheol, and retrieved a white container from the refrigerator.

Using the water leftover after washing rice makes kimchi and soybean past stews taste better. That’s why he saved this rinse water separately.

Kang Jin poured the rice water into a shallow bowl and placed it on the stove before starting to gather ingredients. He cut open a pollack roe pouch, scraped out its eggs, mixed them with beaten eggs, and started stirring.

Whisk, whisk, whisk!

As Kang Jin cooked, the door opened.

Ding-a-ling!

The chimes sounded as ghosts began entering the restaurant.

“President Kang, did you make kimchi?”

With a smile, Kang Jin nodded at the ghost’s question.

“I made some early this morning.”

“Then give me some fresh kimchi with fried tofu. Please warm up the tofu just slightly.”

“Understood.”

“We’ll have kimchi and tofu too.”

“Do you have boiled pork slices?” asked another ghost.

Kang Jin looked up and replied, “Would you like boiled pork slices, kimchi, and fried tofu today?”

“Great!” Kang Jin nodded at their words and started by putting some water on one side before adding fried tofu to it.

“What should I do?”

Bae Yongsoo had entered with the ghosts. Kang Jin responded,

“Please cut up kimchi and prepare boiled beef slices.”

“I got this.”

As Sung Yongsoo retrieved ingredients for boiled beef from the refrigerator, Kang Jin glanced towards the hall.

On one side of the hall, Choi Hocheol was seated alongside female ghosts. These female ghosts were beautiful. Ghosts usually appeared grotesque outside, but within One Meal Restaurant, they manifested as per their memories of when they were alive. Thus, he could see three female ghosts resembling university students in their early twenties. All three had long straight hair, and possessed innocent yet cute faces.

It seemed this evil bastard had such preferences.

They were at their prime when…

As Kang Jin felt pity for these women, other ghosts started to serve side dishes from bowls placed on one side of the hall. Choi Hocheol followed suit by placing side dishes onto plates and setting them on the table. He then brought soju, pouring each woman a drink.

Kang Jin observed all this while cutting up the egg rolls.

Sshk! Sshk!

His knife neatly sliced through the egg rolls. Afterward, he served them to the female ghosts on a plate.

“Here is your order of egg rolls with pollock roe.”

“Thank you.”

The ghost women spoke as they looked at the egg rolls. The cross-section revealed thin slices of pink pollock roe embedded within, making it look appetizing.

“It looks delicious,” replied one of the female ghosts who ordered it. Kang Jin smiled and said:

“The soybean paste stew and kimchi stew will be ready shortly.”

He then went to the kitchen, retrieved the boiling stews, and brought them out. After placing both dishes on the table along with bowls of rice, Kang Jin pulled up a chair and asked:

“May I join you?”

“Please do.”

With their permission, Kang Jin sat down smiling.

“Go ahead and enjoy your meal.”

The female ghosts nodded slightly and began eating their food. Watching this, Kang Jin poured soju for Choi Hocheol and handed him the cup.

Choi Hocheol poured soju for himself and Kang Jin before taking a sip.

“You were a great help this time. Thank you.”

Kang Jin nodded at Choi Hocheol’s words.

“Hyung went through a lot of trouble.”

“What trouble…?”

Shhh!

Choi Hocheol glanced at the female ghosts.

I’m sorry… I should’ve caught them earlier.

Unable to speak aloud, he communicated with his eyes. Kang Jin picked up on it immediately.

“So how will things be…for you moving forward?” asked Kang Jin.

The female ghosts stopped eating at his question. Having been land-bound spirits attached to that evil man until now, they felt uncertain about their future as ghosts.

In response, Choi Hocheol said:

“I’ll stay with you until your ascension…”

Choi Hocheol looked at the female ghosts. “Are you okay with that?”

“We’re fine with it.”

“To be honest, we were worried and scared about how to live going forward…”

The female ghosts’ response brought a smile to Choi Hocheol’s face as he nodded.

“Well then…I’ll speak casually from now on.”

“That’s fine by me, big bro.”

Hearing them call him big bro made his lips curl up even more. Kang Jin chuckled inwardly at this sight.

Is being a hyung something ingrained in him, whether alive or dead?

Kang Jin shook his head slightly and turned back to observe the ghosts enjoying their meal.

“As I’ve been running this restaurant here, these ghosts have started living their own lives.”

“How so?”

“They watch movies, go shopping at department stores, and enjoy various activities.”

“Really?” The female ghost seemed intrigued by Kang Jin’s description. Since she’d been stuck with that evil land-bound spirit for so long, she had no idea what normal ghosts’ lives were like.

“I’ll make sure to give you a proper tour,” Choi Hocheol assured her with a smile and nod.

“You can trust me.”

“Yes.” As she nodded in response, she took another bite of egg roll before hesitantly speaking up.

“I… I want to go home, but…is it okay if I do?”

Choi Hocheol looked at her sympathetically.

Kang Jin looked at her.

“Do you want to go home?”

Choi Hocheol’s question made Kang Jin lick his lips nervously.

“You must miss your family.”

At Kang Jin’s remark, Choi Hocheol swiftly kicked him under the table. When Kang Jin glanced back, Hocheol subtly shook his head.

‘Oh no…’

Kang Jin understood immediately what this gesture meant. Or rather, he couldn’t help but understand as he heard the sobbing of female ghosts nearby.

“Wahhh! Mom…”

“Sniffle!”

Seeing the ghosts burst into tears at the mention of their families left Kang Jin unsure of how to react, feeling flustered and helpless.

Choi Hocheol nudged Kang Jin again with his foot while giving him a look that clearly said, ‘Why did you say something unnecessary?’

Kang Jin pursed his lips, unsure of what to say. It was indeed his blunder. To ghosts, family… represented beings they missed dearly and longed to see again—just uttering the word brought tears to their eyes.

As Kang Jin looked at Choi Hocheol, he sighed and poured soju for the women sitting before him.

Shhhp! Shhhp!

The clear sound of pouring alcohol caught one ghost’s attention, and she quickly gulped down her shot glass.

Gulp!

After drinking it all in one go, she tasted some kimchi stew and then turned to Choi Hocheol.

“I want to go home.”

Her firm declaration prompted Choi Hocheol to glance around at the other ghosts.

“Is it the same for everyone else?”

“I want to go home.”

“I never told my mom and dad…that I loved them…”

Seeing the sobbing female ghosts, Choi Hocheol responded:

“I understand. I will help you meet your families.”

“Thank you.”

Ding!

As he was conversing with the female ghosts, the door opened with a sound effect of wind chimes. He turned his head to see Kang Doochi entering with a smile.

Thump! Thump!

The ghosts instinctively pushed back their chairs as they stood up at Kang Doochi’s arrival. Kang Doochi chuckled at their reaction.

“Firstly… I do have some business with a few of you today, but don’t worry. It’s just about delivering overdue bills.”

As he spoke, Kang Doochi took out several bills from his bag and looked at the ghosts.

“Hong Sooho!”

When one ghost clumsily approached him, Kang Doochi handed over a bill.

“I’ll see you soon at JS Finance.”

Hong Sooho’s face turned pale at Kang Doochi’s words.

“But I haven’t done anything wrong lately…”

“That can be discussed once you’re at our company, Mr. Taesik Choi.”

Kang Doochi distributed the overdue bills to the ghosts while keeping an eye on Choi Hocheol.

“Mr. Choi Hocheol.”

Caught off guard, Choi Hocheol stared wide-eyed at being addressed directly.

“Me?”

Nodding!

Kang Doochi nodded, and Choi Hocheol hesitantly stood up.

‘I haven’t done anything bad lately?’

When he first became a ghost, he had accumulated some debts by trying various misdeeds. Like many male ghosts, he engaged in several notorious acts. However…he hadn’t done such things recently?

As Choi Hocheol approached cautiously, Kang Doochi pulled out a document. “Lee Soo-mi-ssi, Choi Hyang-soon-ssi, and Wo Mi-jung-ssi have sent money to you.”

The three women mentioned by Kang Doochi were the female ghosts who were dragged away while ascending to heaven. Choi Hocheol looked surprised at the news of receiving money from these ghosts.

“To me?”

“It is a total of 5,140,000 won. If you sign here, it will be deposited.”

Choi Hocheol looked at the document while listening to Kang Doochi’s words. “Money is needed even in the afterlife… I’m fine, so can you return it?”

Kang Doochi looked at Choi Hocheol with curiosity. “For your current situation, Mr. Choi Hocheol, this 5,140,000 won is a large amount.”

“That’s okay. They need it more than me.”

At Choi Hocheol’s response, Kang Doochi smiled wryly.

‘He is an interesting person.’

If debts accumulated, ghosts had to queue up at JS Finance, and if they couldn’t handle their debts, they could be extinguished. Therefore, ghosts didn’t refuse money. Yet Choi Hocheol was rejecting it.