Chapter 132

Kang Jin and Bae Yongsoo watched the newcomer with surprise.

“Is he like the Shinwoo brothers who have connections to this world?” Since even ghosts could enter the shop due to the Shinwoo brothers, if someone had similar abilities, they might be able to order ramen here as well.

“No, not him.”

“What do you mean?”

“You may not know this, but people working for JS Security, like the Shinwoo brothers, possess a unique energy. But I don’t sense that from him.”

“So, just an ordinary person?”

“Yes.”

Hmm…

“How did an ordinary person get inside when it’s crawling with ghosts? Wait, shouldn’t he not even see this place at all?”

Even three ghosts would’ve been enough to prevent regular humans from spotting the store, yet there were countless ghosts present now.

“That’s what I’m saying. How did he get here?”

Bae Yongsoo stared at the man with curiosity and wonder. Kang Jin observed this exchange before glancing around at the other ghosts. It appeared they were equally curious about the newcomer as they kept sneaking peeks at him.

Fortunately, none of them approached or spoke to him. Talking to ordinary people could lead to serious problems for ghosts.

Kang Jin returned his attention to cooking ramen. Boiling instant noodles was something anyone could do, and it was familiar fare to him. In the dormitory where he used to live, ramen, rice, and kimchi had been provided free of charge. As such, he often mixed cooked rice with ramen and kimchi. Having eaten ramen frequently, he knew how to cook it well.

Kang Jin boiled water and added half of the soup packet along with kimchi broth. Then, he sliced two spicy peppers and put them inside before waiting for the noodles to cook.

Suddenly, Kang Jin looked towards the hall.

“How would you like your noodles cooked?”

At Kang Jin’s shout, the man stopped wiping his chopsticks with a napkin and replied,

“Just slightly soft.”

“Yes sir.”

Based on the man’s answer, Kang Jin gently stirred the noodles while lifting and dropping them until they were slightly softened. He then scooped out the noodles into a bowl.

Hwah-ah! Hwah-ah!

After transferring all the noodles, Kang Jin quickly swirled the boiling broth using a ladle. Once it was swirling rapidly, he cracked an egg right at its center.

Whirl-whirl!

As the egg spun around, Kang Jin carefully ladled some broth over the top.

Hwah-ah!

Kang Jin watched as the egg slowly turned white and stopped stirring when it reached his desired consistency. He then poured the broth over the ramen noodles before gently placing the poached egg on top. Seeing that the egg retained its shape without mixing with the broth, he placed kimchi alongside the bowl onto a tray and carried everything out by himself.

“Here’s your ramen.”

The man nodded as Kang Jin set down the bowl, then scooped up some broth with his spoon and took a sip, smiling contentedly afterward.

“Ack!” The spicy flavor of the ramen intensified due to the kimchi broth and hot peppers.

Hwang Minsung groaned but grabbed a large portion of noodles with his chopsticks and slurped them down. They were slightly softer than how he preferred them, but they still tasted delicious. After finishing the noodles, Hwang Minsung gently pressed the chopsticks against the poached egg.

Slosh!

Hwang Minsung smiled as he watched the yolk burst and flow onto his spoon before eating it.

This is what I’m talking about.

The creamy smoothness of the egg yolk balanced out the spiciness in his mouth, making him grin as he continued to eat his ramen.

Slurp! Slurp!

Kang Jin observed Hwang Minsung from where she sat next to Choi Hocheol.

“This is your first time seeing someone enter here, right, hyung?”

“It’s my first time too. How did he get inside?”

One of the female ghosts responded to Choi Hocheol’s murmur.

“But that man seems incredibly wealthy.”

“Wealthy?”

“All the clothes he wears are designer brands.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“You know this stuff well, don’t you, Jung-in?”

“I’m studying fashion design. Wow! That watch looks like it costs around 100 million won.”

“100 million won? What kind of watch costs that much?” Kang Jin was taken aback by this revelation.

Jung-in, with her keen eyes, explained: “It’s handmade by Swiss craftsmen over a hundred days.”

She then gave Hwang Minsung another discreet once-over and added, “If you add up everything he’s wearing, it’d be enough to buy an apartment.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin looked at Hwang Minsung again based on Jung-in’s words.

He’s practically walking around in an entire apartment?

The thought made Kang Jin stare at Hwang Minsung with astonishment.

Hwang Minsung enjoyed his ramen thoroughly before picking up the bowl to sip down every last drop of broth.

“Ahh!” He put the bowl down with the same expression as someone who just shot back a tall glass of draft beer.

“Hwoo!”

Hwang Minsung let out a long sigh and looked contentedly at his empty bowl before popping a piece of kimchi into his mouth.

Crunch!

He smiled as he chewed.

This kimchi is delicious.

Minsung ate another piece, savoring its flavor.

I should’ve asked for rice to go with this ramen.

As he considered how good it would be, his phone rang.

Riiing, riiing!

The smile on Hwang Minsung’s face faded quickly; he didn’t appreciate having this peaceful moment interrupted. He smacked his lips once more before pulling out his cell phone.

Secretary Jang

Seeing Secretary Jang’s name on the screen, Hwang Minsung answered the call.

“What do you want?”

“Sir, where are you now?”

“Why?” It was clear that Minsung wanted to know why anyone needed him.

“I-I couldn’t find you in the restroom.”

“Why?” This time, it implied why anyone would look for him in the restroom.

“President Park is looking for you.”

“Why?” Now he wanted to know why President Park was searching for him.

“He couldn’t find you during the after-party…”

“Aren’t we done with business talk?”

“Well, umm…he said there’s going to be a second round…”

“If President Park arranged it…” Does that mean I have to join him?

As Hwang Minsung’s voice grew colder, his secretary hastily responded.

“No, of course not, sir!”

“Tell President Park that since he already knows my stance on this matter, let’s discuss it again on Monday.”

“Yes, sir.”

Hwang Minsung hung up and spotted his empty ramen bowl. His mood took another nosedive.

Should I have one more serving?

He debated it for a moment before shaking his head. Considering all the alcohol he’d consumed earlier with the snacks, plus this ramen, he had already ingested way too many calories today. With reluctance, he started to get up but paused, puzzled by something.

“Hmm?”

The restaurant that was bustling just moments ago now sat empty except for the owner cleaning dishes.

Was my enjoyment of the ramen distracting others?

Hwang Minsung wondered if people had left because he’d been so engrossed in eating without noticing them depart. He finally stood up.

“It was delicious.”

Kang Jin smiled at Hwang Minsung’s comment.

“I’m not sure if it was to your taste or not.”

“It was delicious! Especially the egg; I really enjoyed that part.”

“I’m glad you liked it.”

“But how did you cook the egg like that?”

“After removing the noodles from the broth, add the egg and gently stir until it spreads out as shown here. Once cooked to your desired doneness, simply pour the broth with the egg over the noodles.”

“Oh…I see.” As he spoke, Hwang Minsung took out his wallet, extracted 10,000 won, and handed it to Kang Jin.

“You only need to pay three thousand won.”

“Then please give me change.”

“Oh!” Kang Jin chuckled at Hwang Minsung’s response.

In movies, rich people eat ramen and insist on paying with exact change…but reality is different.

Kang Jin chuckled to himself before saying aloud, “I thought you were going to give me ten thousand won.”

“You can still pay that if you’d like.”

“No thanks. They say those who love freebies go straight to hell.” Kang Jin then placed Hwang Minsung’s ten-thousand-won bill inside the register and returned thirty thousand won as change.

Hwang Minsung took the thirty thousand won and put it in his wallet while replying, “Enjoy your meal.”

“Thank you, please come again,” Kang Jin responded politely.

With that, Hwang Minsung turned and left the store. As he departed, Kang Jin discreetly glanced sideways. Next to him stood several ghosts curiously watching Hwang Minsung exit the shop.

It was past 1 AM, and with the veil of dawn lifted, Hwang Minsung couldn’t see the ghosts anymore, but they continued to watch him from inside the shop. They found Hwang Minsung fascinating as well—someone who could eat amidst a swarm of ghosts without batting an eye.

“People usually avoid open areas crowded with us during daylight hours… How intriguing.”

“Indeed. What’s up with that?”

“Do you think he’s a shaman?”

“If so, he wouldn’t be able to get this close.”

“That makes sense.”

Kang Jin clapped his hands after listening to their whispers.

“All right, everyone! We’re closed for today. Please come back tomorrow.”

Kang Jin found it intriguing how Hwang Minsung entered his shop, but not enough to warrant further discussion or curiosity.

If he comes back, I can ask him about himself then. If not…there’s no need to worry.

As Kang Jin spoke, the ghosts began leaving one by one. Normally, they would have departed when business hours ended, but their fascination with Hwang Minsung kept them lingering until now.

After seeing off the female ghosts, Kang Jin addressed them:

“Don’t distance yourselves too much from other ghosts; try being friendly instead. They all feel lonely and want companionship.”

“Understood,” nodded the female ghosts.

With that, Kang Jin closed the shop door and immediately started cleaning up the bowls.

By the time Kang Jin finished cleaning up and washing dishes, it was nearing 2 AM.

“Well then, I’ll tell Manbok hyung that you dropped by.”

“When will he be back?”

“I need to run lunch service. So, I’ll return before then.”

While talking with Bae Yongsoo, Kang Jin gathered gift boxes and containers filled with food from the counter. It wasn’t regular business hours, so they couldn’t serve proper meals. However, these containers held festival-like feast items.

With both hands laden, Kang Jin exited the store. He headed towards a nearby building.

In the basement of this building was a billiards hall. Standing at its entrance, Kang Jin placed Kangukchi’s card on the door, which opened as he entered.

Slam!

The door closed behind Kang Jin.

Slam!

Kang Jin opened another door and looked around. As before, countless ghosts and employees of JS Finance were bustling through numerous doors.

As he observed this scene, Kang Jin turned to grab the door handle but suddenly paused.

“I guess even ghosts can eat food from the JS convenience store.”

Although Kang Jin had brought homemade food, it tasted bland like sacrificial offerings. However, the food from the JS convenience store was both palatable for ghosts and delicious.

With that thought, Kang Jin changed direction and headed towards the convenience store.

Kang Jin sighed heavily as he headed towards the convenience store with his hands full of items.

“If I knew this would happen, I wouldn’t have brought any food.”

Muttering to himself, Kang Jin arrived at the convenience store and entered.

“Welcome!”

Kang Jin nodded at the employee’s greeting and placed his belongings on the counter.

“I’ll just leave these here for a moment.”

“Go ahead.”

With the employee’s permission, Kang Jin picked up a basket and started shopping. As he was checking out after buying lunch boxes and snacks, he heard a voice behind him.

“Mr. President!”

Turning around, he saw Kang Doochi smiling at him.

“Doochi!”

“What brings you here?”

“I’m buying gifts for Manbok hyung.”

Kang Jin smiled and pointed to the items on the counter while looking at Kang Doochi.

“What about you, Mr. Doochi?”

“I’m here for some food.”

When Kang Doochi showed him instant ramen noodles, Kang Jin asked,

“Why would you have instant ramen as your meal?”

Kang Doochi sighed before replying,

“Just like in this life, salaries in the afterlife pass through our bank accounts like buses… Ha ha ha! This month, I need to save a bit more.”

“Seeing you, Mr. Doochi… it seems not much changes between this life or the afterlife.”

“People working jobs are similar regardless of this world or the next.” As Kang Jin watched Kang Doochi speak with a smile, he suddenly offered:

“I just so happened to bring some homemade food along. Would you like to share it with the ramen?”

“Homemade food?”

“I prepared some food for Manbok hyung and the elderly folks, but…there’s plenty to share.”

“Then I’m grateful.”

“I’ll wait outside.”

After paying, Kang Jin stepped out of the convenience store, placed her lunchbox on a table outside, and opened it.

“Woah! This looks delicious.” Smiling, Kang Doochi joined her with his ramen.

“Please help yourself,” said Kang Jin.

Kang Doochi unfolded the plastic wrap from around his ramen bowl, placing kimchi and side dishes on top.

“Don’t worry about being too neat.”

“It’s not just for me; I need to keep things clean since this is also for others.”

“That makes sense.”

Despite eating off plastic wrap, Kang Doochi enjoyed his meal heartily. Midway through, he suddenly glanced at Kang Jin.

“Oh! Aren’t you curious about Kang Younggang?”

Kang Jin looked directly at him upon hearing the name. Was Kang Younggang referring to that troublemaker?