Chapter 146

As Kang Jin gave Hwang Minsung a puzzled look, he asked curiously, “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing. Enjoy your meal.” With that, Hwang Minsung nodded and started eating.

Kang Jin had several questions for him but kept silent. Though curious about many things, it wasn’t his place as the restaurant owner to interrogate his patrons. The master of the establishment should make guests feel comfortable, not annoyed or uneasy.

After finishing his meal quietly, Hwang Minsung smiled and nodded appreciatively.

“It’s delicious.”

“Thank you.”

Kang Jin’s response prompted Hwang Minsung to look around the shop again.

“It feels strangely…”

Hwang Minsung trailed off, and Kang Jin glanced at him.

“I feel relaxed here.”

“Maybe it’s because there aren’t any other customers?”

At Kang Jin’s suggestion, Hwang Minsung chuckled and surveyed the surroundings once more.

“You might be right about that.”

With no other patrons present, he could enjoy his meal undisturbed.

“The last time I was here, all the other customers left as soon as I arrived… Is it because of closing time?”

“We continue serving as long as we have guests.”

“Then I must be your last customer tonight.”

However, Kang Jin shook her head in response to Hwang Minsung’s assumption.

“You’re always my most important customer, so please feel free to visit anytime I’m open. Even if it’s two o’clock in the morning, you’ll be welcome here.”

“I appreciate your kind words.”

“It’s my pleasure having you as a guest.”

Kang Jin nodded at Hwang Minsung’s response.

“Did you say this is your last week of internship?”

“Yes.”

“At Taekwang Trading Company?”

Kang Jin affirmed with another nod, prompting Hwang Minsung to ponder for a moment before asking:

“Would you like to become a full-time employee there?”

“A full-time employee?”

“I own some shares in Taekwang Trading Company. If you’d like, I can recommend you to the president for a permanent position.”

Hwang Minsung’s offer caught Kang Jin by surprise.

He must be loaded.

Minsung had previously invested fifteen billion won with Jo Wonsik and took stock instead of cash returns. Now he owned shares in Taekwang Trading Company as well…

How did someone like him become so successful? Isn’t this…unfair?

That’s what crossed Kang Jin’s mind. Some students worked part-time jobs all night just to pay for their tuition, yet here was a big shot who casually threw around fifteen billion won…

As Kang Jin pondered these thoughts, Hwang Minsung spoke up again.

“So how about it?”

Kang Jin looked at Hwang Minsung before shaking his head.

“It’s true that Taekwang is a great company, but…I’m focused on my restaurant.”

“I understand.” Hwang Minsung didn’t argue with Kang Jin’s decision but instead asked…

“Is it possible to make group reservations?”

“Of course! When would you like to book?”

Seeing her bright smile, Hwang Minsung returned it and replied,

“We haven’t decided on a date yet…but I’ll let you know once we do.”

“Thank you. Just so you’re aware, there is a deposit required for reservations.”

Hwang Minsung nodded at Kang Jin’s words and took out his wallet. However, as he was about to withdraw money, Kang Jin shook her head.

“President Jo left some funds here. With this amount, you should be able to dine three more times without charge.”

Hwang Minsung acknowledged her explanation with a nod.

“I should treat you to dinner at least once as thanks for your generosity.”

“And… President Jo hasn’t lost hope about finding a cure for dementia.”

“That sounds like him.”

“Were you aware?”

“President Jo’s grandfather suffered from dementi—” Hwang Minsung paused and looked at Kang Jin.

“By any chance, have you heard President Jo’s personal story?”

Minsung worried he might reveal something Jo Wonsik hadn’t shared with Kang Jin yet.

“Yes, I’ve heard his grandfather had dementia.”

Hwang Minsung nodded at Kang Jin’s response.

“I also lost my mother to dementia.”

“Oh, I see.”

“The sorrow…it never leaves one’s heart.” With that, Hwang Minsung sighed deeply.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Take care.” Kang Jin escorted Hwang Minsung out of his shop and watched him leave before heading back inside.

“Let’s clean up…and then go feed Piggy.”

Kang Jin quickly washed dishes as he cleared tables within the restaurant. Then, he hoisted two twenty-kilogram bags of pig feed onto each shoulder from the stack on the counter. He had purchased rice at JS Convenience Store for himself but bought extra pig feed since it wouldn’t be enough for the wild boar family.

Despite carrying forty kilograms of feed, Kang Jin’s steps were light. Having previously carried forty-kilogram bags of cement up stairs at construction sites, this load was nothing to him.

Klunk!

Kang Jin opened the door to Gangwon Province’s kimchi storage room and scanned his surroundings before shouting loudly:

“Piggy!”

Piggy… Piggy… Piggy…

He surveyed the area as his voice echoed around him.

“I wish Manbok would come on his own.”

Since he had work tomorrow, Kang Jin couldn’t stay long here. It took about an hour’s walk along the mountain trail to reach where Manbok resided, which was impractical given his work schedule. Ideally, it would be best if Manbok sensed his presence and came to meet him, just like last time.

After waiting briefly, Kang Jin took a deep breath and yelled again:

“Pig…”

“Hey, shut up.” Kang Jin turned his head at the sound beside him instead of yelling. There stood Manbok next to him, and he wasn’t alone; the girl ghost was with him as well.

“You’re here?”

“If I’m here, then why all the noise?”

“I have work tomorrow, so it’s hard going back and forth between the village.”

Kang Jin’s words made Manbok click his tongue, glancing down at the feed on the ground.

“You brought food.”

“I thought ten kilograms of rice might not be enough.”

“That makes sense.”

Then, Manbok looked around before asking:

“Where’s ours?”

“I’ll drop this off and go buy some groceries for hyung and noona too.”

It wouldn’t take long to visit the convenience store near JS Finance just outside their door.

“I’ll pick it up on my way back.”

“I couldn’t carry more with these two bags,” Kang Jin explained.

Manbok glanced at the sacks and nodded understandingly.

“Get some chocolate too.”

Kang Jin looked at the girl who chimed in, “I want cola.”

“Got it,” replied Kang Jin.

As he agreed, Manbok pointed towards one side.

“Piggy’s coming.”

Following his gaze, Kang Jin spotted Piggy approaching, which caused unease to surface on his face.

“You scared?” asked Manbok.

Kang Jin licked his lips nervously. “I thought I wouldn’t be… but it feels different than I imagined.”

Kang Jin was somewhat confident that Piggy wouldn’t harm him. After all, he had given it sausages and rice from the JS convenience store before. However, seeing its massive size again made him slightly fearful and cautious despite everything.

At least…it won’t bite someone who feeds it, right?

Believing in the saying “a dog doesn’t bite the hand that feeds,” Kang Jin mustered up the courage to raise his hand.

“Hello.”

Greeting a wild boar felt absurd, but he hoped this would help establish familiarity with the creature so it wouldn’t attack him.

As Kang Jin greeted it, the approaching boar drooled profusely.

I’m not food!

Gulp!

Kang Jin swallowed hard as he imagined Piggy drooling over him like it was about to eat him alive.

Regardless of Kang Jin’s discomfort, Manbok gestured for Piggy to come closer.

“Come here.”

Piggy approached at his beckoning and bowed its head, allowing Manbok to stroke its forehead gently.

“You finished eating your rice?”

Hufff… Huff! Piggy exhaled heavily.

Manbok felt Piggy’s belly while observing its rough breathing.

“Looks like you’re full, so I assume you’ve eaten everything.”

Nod, nod! Piggy nodded and sniffed at Kang Jin.

Sniiff! Sniiff!

Then, it nudged Kang Jin with its head.

Bump! Bump!

The sensation of Piggy’s bristly fur rubbing against his leg felt almost like sandpaper, giving Kang Jin goosebumps. However, he couldn’t push away the friendly gesture from Piggy; rejecting someone trying to be close often leads to distancing oneself, whether dealing with humans or animals.

A chill ran down Kang Jin’s spine, but he couldn’t push away Piggy showing affection towards him. When someone approaches to befriend you and gets rejected, it usually creates distance between people. Although human psychology might differ from animals…their emotions are likely similar.

Whether good or bad, feelings are universal.

So, Kang Jin gently raised his hand and placed it on Piggy’s neck.

Piggy flinched slightly at Kang Jin’s touch, then looked up at him as Kang Jin slowly moved his hand.

“I brought food for you. Food, okay? Got that? It’s food.”

Kang Jin emphasized “food” while pointing at the feed, signaling he meant no harm.

“Here, eat up. Chomp chomp.”

As Kang Jin mimicked eating sounds, Piggy sniffed at the feed with its snout. Seeing it drooling more profusely, Kang Jin tore open one side of the feed bag.

Rip!

With the bag opened, Piggy eagerly started munching on the food. Kang Jin watched contentedly and turned to Manbok.

“It’s quite far from their home, isn’t it?”

“You’ll deliver it for them?”

“They can’t carry it themselves.”

A wild boar without hands would find it challenging to transport the feed bag. If it tried using its mouth, the bag would likely tear from branches and rocks, spilling the contents along the way.

Manbok chuckled and shook his head at Kang Jin’s concern.

“Just leave it here.”

“What about the piglets?”

“They need to come here and eat it themselves. They should be moving soon.”

“I could just…”

“It’s deep within the mountains, hard to reach with human legs.”

“Oh…”

“Then go buy some chocolate.” Kang Jin nodded at Manbok’s words and glanced back at Piggy.

“If we leave this out here, it’ll get wet from rain or snow. I’ll put it under that roof over there.”

The kimchi storage room had a small roof above its entrance, which protected against precipitation. Kang Jin placed the feed bag beneath it.

“When you’re hungry, come here for food.”

Piggy sniffed the feed, then nodded understandingly. As Kang Jin watched, she noticed something peculiar about Piggy’s eyebrows.

Piggy’s eyebrows were unique. The rest of its body was brown and earth-colored, typical for wild boars. However, its eyebrows shimmered silver. It reminded Kang Jin of silver glitter that women use as eye makeup.

I don’t remember them being like this before.

Kang Jin watched Piggy eat while pondering his thoughts, then turned to Manbok.

“Hyung.”

“What?”

“It seems Piggy’s eyebrow color has changed.”

At Kang Jin’s words, Manbok inspected Piggy’s eyebrows and nodded.

“Oh! Yes, they’ve been like this ever since it ate the rice you brought from Oh Village.”

“You mean the rice from Oh Village caused this change?”

“Not just Piggy, but all our livestock and my wife have experienced similar changes.”

Kang Jin’s words made Manbok chuckle as he pointed at Piggy.

“Well, if overeating is considered a side effect, then that’s it.”

Following Manbok’s gaze, Kang Jin observed Piggy with its face buried deep in a feed bag, hastily devouring the contents. Considering there was nothing wrong with eating well, Kang Jin thought aloud:

“Then I guess there’s no real issue?”

“It’s fine,” Manbok replied, gently stroking Piggy’s back while looking at Kang Jin.

“You mentioned you have to go to work tomorrow…?”

“Oh right! Then should I just get some chocolate and cola?” asked Kang Jin.

Manbok nodded, and Kang Jin opened the storage door before heading to JS Finance.

At the convenience store, after purchasing cola and chocolates, Kang Jin approached the employee with a question.

“By any chance, would it be okay for animals here to eat this rice?”

“Animals?”

“A wild boar, specifically.”

The employee raised an eyebrow, slightly puzzled by Kang Jin’s inquiry.

“I’ve seen people feeding rice to spirits instead of pet food in the afterlife.”

“Spirits?”

“Yes, pets raised by souls in the afterlife.”

“Then it shouldn’t harm them if they eat it, right?”

“It should be fine since there’s no poison in it.”

“That’s good.”

As Kang Jin paid and left the store, the employee muttered while watching him depart:

“Well, whether it’s a spirit or wild boar…they’re both animals, so eating it shouldn’t cause any issues, right?”

Unaware of the employee’s comment, Kang Jin returned to the kimchi storage room and handed the chocolate and cola to Manbok and the girl. Items purchased from JS Convenience Store could indeed be brought into the afterlife. Seeing their delighted faces as they held the bags, Kang Jin waved goodbye and headed back to the Divine Shop.

Kang Jin, now accompanied by two ghosts, continued his journey with Piggy.