1.
“This is why I didn't want to hire young kids if I could help it. They have no sense of responsibility. No sense of responsibility.”
He'd hired her because she said she attended a Korean university, though she might have mentioned she was on a leave of absence. If he'd known that beforehand, he wouldn't have hired her.
‘Or maybe not.’
Come to think of it, her face was so pretty that he probably would've hired her even with the higher hourly wage like now.
The middle-aged man clicked his tongue and put his phone in his pocket. He took off his shoes and walked down the hallway.
A vast space divided into sections. Instead of desks, white capsules were arranged in rows. The lighting was dim, and the floor was covered with mats.
It was a space he'd made by investing his extra money because capsule rooms were trending these days. Thanks to pouring in funds, the facilities were the best around.
“Hmm….”
However, there weren't many customers compared to the facilities. Still, thanks to the employee he'd hired recently, the number of people was gradually increasing.
‘Her cooking skills aren't great, but we mostly serve simple things anyway.’
Still, because her face itself was so pretty, middle and high schoolers nearby came specifically to see her.
Just that alone was probably worth the high hourly wage. If customers increased more soon, he'd probably have to raise her wage even more.
‘Didn't she say it takes about 10 minutes to get here?’
He headed to the storage room first, planning to clean. When he'd walked all the way down the hallway and returned to the entrance, the automatic door opened and a woman came inside.
Neat short hair, a porcelain-white face. Her eyes were calm, but she had an unapproachable air about her.
She was wearing a loose shirt and jogger pants, yet even those suited her. It wasn't for nothing that they said the completion of fashion was the face.
“Ms. Hayul. You're already here?”
“Yes. I thought I'd be late, so I ran here.”
He cleared his throat and scratched his head. If he'd known she'd arrive this quickly, he wouldn't have called to nag her.
Above all, seeing that face naturally dissolved his complaints. No wonder there were no complaints during Hayul's shifts.
“Then I'll count on you again today.”
“Yes.”
She bowed her head slightly and went into the kitchen.
2.
Contrary to the boss's urgency, the store was quiet. Thanks to that, there was time to sit at the counter and catch her breath.
‘He said he'd give me the most suitable and outstanding body.’
There was certainly no lie in those words. Moving her body right now wasn't awkward.
Of course, her gender itself changing was a bit much, but this wasn't uncomfortably awkward either. That was probably thanks to her breast size.
‘Aren't these things usually supposed to be impossibly huge?’
In novels I'd read, people who changed gender always had every body part uncomfortably large. My body wasn't like that.
What should stick out stuck out, what should go in went in—it was truly a perfectly balanced body.
Thanks to that, I didn't have difficulty adapting. However, I didn't know what life as a woman would be like from now on.
Actually, this was one thing, but I hadn't expected to have to work immediately upon returning.
‘What on earth is that?’
I quietly looked at the strange egg-shaped machine visible in the distance.
A form that looked like it came straight out of sci-fi. Its exterior was curled round like a giant egg with blue LEDs flickering, and inside was space enough for one person to lie down.
‘So that's a capsule.’
Knowledge surfaced in my mind at that moment.
So that's what a capsule room was. They must call that machine a "capsule." Now that I recognized it, it did look like one.
I slowly stood up and walked toward the machine. A logo reading "Imagine Diver" was visible.
Nearby were a small terminal, a touchpad for ordering food, and a small table. It seemed to be a system where you could enjoy virtual reality and then come outside to eat.
‘It's similar to a PC room.’
Only the machine being used was different. The overall structure was familiar.
But what was puzzling was that VR devices of this level had appeared in just one year.
PCs and VR capsules.
There was an enormous gap between the two technologies, so I suddenly had this thought. Perhaps this place wasn't the world I originally knew.
“Whew.”
More than the fact that I'd become a woman, it was a little scary how unfamiliar the world had become.
I wouldn't care as long as I could see my family, but what if even that had changed? Surely my older sister hadn't become an older brother? Well, that probably hadn't happened. The worst-case scenario would be….
“…No.”
I shook my head and shook off the anxiety rising in my mind.
“Ms. Hayul.”
At the boss's voice from behind, I turned around. He flinched slightly when he saw me, then continued speaking.
“An order came in.”
“Understood.”
The work I had to do here was simple. Just making the incoming food and serving it.
He'd even said he was thinking of hiring additional staff who only cooked. Then I'd just have to carry food and clean.
‘I wonder if it's okay to earn money this easily.’
There wouldn't be many people in the morning anyway, so I could take it easy. I might as well learn about this world while I was at it.
When I entered the kitchen, a notification popped up on the monitor attached to the wall.
【Seat 32】
[1x Spam Kimchi Fried Rice]
[1x Zero Coke]
Kimchi fried rice.
It was a dish I'd eaten often when living alone before going to the other world. Spam was expensive, so I'd added a lot of tuna or other cheap canned ham instead.
I immediately took out a frying pan and turned on the heat. I was moved anew by the gas flame rising from below.
‘So I really did come back.’
I took out green onions and chopped them finely. Next, I prepared the ham by cutting it into small, square, bite-sized pieces.
“As for the kimchi….”
I took out store-bought kimchi and cut it into cubes, like kkakdugi. For this kind of thing, the most important thing was that it didn't feel unpleasant in the mouth.
After preparing the ingredients, I coated the pan with cooking oil and added the green onions.
Chiiiiik—
While making scallion oil, I stir-fried the ham together. Once the spam cooked to some extent, I added the chopped kimchi and turned up the heat high. It was to evaporate the moisture.
The smell rising from the kimchi was very intense. As if magic was imbued in the food, the aroma had depth.
‘Looks delicious….’
Watching the ingredients cook to a golden brown, my mouth watered. With superhuman patience, I held back and began looking for the seasonings.
“Oyster sauce….”
Soy sauce and oyster sauce. And gochugaru to add color. Sugar for a bit of sweetness. I even squeezed in some mayonnaise and mixed it with a spatula.
Finally, I added sesame oil, tore open instant rice, added it in, and stir-fried everything evenly—and that was it.
“Ah. Fried egg.”
It wouldn't feel right without a fried egg on top of fried rice like this.
Tak, tak—
I took out a new pan, poured in plenty of cooking oil, and cracked an egg into it. If you fried it slightly deep-fried style, you could get a Chinese restaurant-style fried egg with crispy whites and a vividly runny yolk.
“Whew.”
I transferred the deliciously made kimchi fried rice into the prepared bowl. Finally, topping it with the fried egg finished it. I put ice in a cup and filled it with Zero Coke.
Beep—
I marked the order complete on the monitor and headed to seat 32.
I could see a man lying beyond the translucent cover. Another capsule visible beside it—probably a couple's seat or something like that.
‘So that's how they're used.’
I set the tray down on the table in front and came out. When I came out into the hallway, the smell of kimchi fried rice was strong. Just as I was returning to the kitchen and about to sit in a chair.
Ding—
A new order came in with an alarm sound. This time it was the same "Spam Kimchi Fried Rice." I stood up to start cooking again, but.
Ding— ding— ding—
“Ah.”
Orders came in one, two, three... four, five... In the blink of an eye, the screen was full.
【Seat 32】
[1x Spicy Ramyeon]
[1x Zero Coke]
【Seat 24】
[1x Spam Kimchi Fried Rice]
[1x Zero Coke]
【Seat 13】
[1x Spam Kimchi Fried Rice]
“…What is this.”
I stared blankly at the screen, then immediately headed to the commercial refrigerator.
Since I'd already done it once, there was no wasted motion in preparing ingredients or my movements. Kimchi fried rice was easy to cook in bulk, so it was actually better.
However, I didn't know why the same orders were coming in so strangely in succession. Could it be because of the smell?
‘But this isn't jajang ramyeon or something—would that even be possible?’
While thinking various thoughts, I diligently continued preparing ingredients.
“Ms. Hayul, are you okay? It seems like a lot of orders came in….”
At the voice coming from beside me, I turned my head. The boss was looking at me with an anxious face.
“Don't look this way and focus. You'll get hurt doing that.”
When our eyes met, he spoke urgently.
“This much is… well, I'm used to it.”
When cooking in the other world, I'd had to prepare far more dishes than this all at once.
It was because of the meal quantities that accompanied their monstrous physical abilities. The amazing thing was that despite eating that much, they never went to the bathroom even once.
‘Didn't they say magic takes care of all physiological phenomena?’
If that hadn't been the case… I stopped thinking there. I didn't want to imagine the rest.
“…Used to it?”
He looked at me with doubtful eyes. It seemed this many orders didn't usually come in.
“Understood. I'll trust you and leave it to you for now. If you need my help, please tell me.”
“Yes.”
*
I quietly looked at the kimchi fried rice in front of me.
There was no ham in it at all, just rice stir-fried with only kimchi. I put an egg on top of it and ate it.
It was a dish I'd often eaten when living with my sister in a cramped studio apartment. I'd eaten it like this because even tuna was too precious. As long as my stomach was full, it didn't matter.
I'd been so out of it since returning to Earth that I hadn't realized it, but now I truly felt that I'd returned to my original world.
‘I wonder what my sister is doing and where she is….’
How had she lived after I disappeared? Had she held my funeral? My sister was a strong person, so she was probably doing well. But that was just my wish.
‘I'll have to go to the house I used to live in as soon as my part-time job ends.’
But would my sister really be at the house I knew? If she wasn't there, where on earth should I go?
Ding— ding—
The notification sound broke my thoughts. I let out a deep sigh and began to move my body busily. For now, I just wanted to focus on cooking.