Our Restaurant is Operating Normally Even in the Apocalypse - Chapter 1

Episode 1. Sundae Soup (1)

A world ruined by the spread of a zombie virus.

A setting you can easily find in web novels, webtoons, or movies.

Does that even make any sense?

They’re nothing more than walking corpses spreading a contagion.

Even if the military and police have become icons of distrust, there’s no way they’d surrender to mere zombies.

“I mean, does this even make sense….”

Everyone thought so.

But the mysterious virus broke out simultaneously all over the world.

Each country’s administration dealt with it lukewarmly, claiming they were watching the situation, and society collapsed rapidly.

The military and police couldn’t move rashly.

Hordes of zombies charged in without rhyme or reason.

Society crumbled fast.

An apocalypse where conscience and humanity became the worst jokes, and survival became the highest virtue.

Most humans were eaten by zombies.

Those who weren’t culled fell into one of two categories:

Either they returned to being primal beasts and regained their wild nature.

Or they were impossibly lucky.

Park Jin-kyung was one of the latter.

Her shop, where she ran a camping supply store, was stocked with various survival tools.

From general camping gear for leisure to maniacal tools for bushcraft aimed at surviving in extreme environments.

Preserved food that would last for years, first-aid medicine for emergencies, and even portable water purification supplies.

Furthermore, her shop was located on the outskirts of the city where only regulars visited.

It was, quite literally, survival by pure luck.

But sadly, her luck was coming to an end.

One year and three months.

She had endured a long time isolated alone.

She lived holding her breath so as not to be discovered by zombies, and avoided contact with other survivors to prepare for any unforeseen incidents.

She only went out minimally to get daily necessities like toilet paper that she couldn’t find in her shop.

But eventually, that rare outing became the problem.

An encounter with a few hungry zombies.

Instead of a dangerous fight, she did her best to run away.

But the hungry zombies eventually tracked the traces she left behind.

The zombies, which had been just a few, soon formed a crowd and surrounded the shopping area.

“I hid so hard….”

In movies or dramas, people were always the scariest thing in an apocalyptic world.

That was absolute nonsense.

People being scary was just a story for experts who had the courage to roam outside and learn survival methods.

For someone like Jin-kyung, who survived on absurd luck, that was too luxurious a statement.

The scariest thing was, in the end, the zombies.

Zombies growling to tear off her flesh.

Soon, the rest of the zombies would likely catch her faint scent and approach her shop.

“I’m going to die anyway….”

Yeah, living like this was tiresome too.

A world where dreams and hope had all disappeared.

Can you call living holed up in a shop, holding your breath to avoid zombies and people, actually living?

“I can’t just die quietly.”

She didn’t want to become a hero by going on a rampage against the zombies.

At the very least, she wanted to leave a trace that a person named Park Jin-kyung had lived in this world.

She wanted to meet her end fighting against the zombies as a human.

With a deep breath, Jin-kyung gripped the heavy fire axe.

She would at least take a few of them with her.

When she finished her resolve and stepped out of the shop door.

“Seeing you all gathered in a swarm, there must be something here, right?”

Something was strange.

A strange man was standing on a field of zombie corpses with their bodies and heads separated and rolling around.

“Oh, I knew there would be a living person left.”

The man was smiling.

With a face that looked more than happy to see her.

“Nice to meet you.”

Jin-kyung’s mind became complicated.

In a world like this, can someone greet her with such a harmless face?

No, before that, what happened to the zombies?

They were swarming just a moment ago….

‘Don’t tell me that man wiped out all the zombies by himself?’

In a situation that defied common sense.

“First, shall we talk while eating something?”

The man smiled brightly, as if something was so good, and offered a meal.

In normal times, Jin-kyung would have refused.

The kindness of a person she didn’t even know.

Especially in a situation where the world had been ruined by zombies, such a good-natured attitude was too dangerous.

But the current Jin-kyung was quite different.

She was too hungry, and she missed people.

“Well, if I were in your shoes, it would be hard to trust me easily. I understand.”

Before Jin-kyung could answer, the man shrugged his shoulders and let out a small sigh.

And immediately after.

“As they say, seeing is believing. You’ll believe it if you see it with your own eyes.”

Clap clap.

In time with the man’s clapping sound echoing in the air.

“W-what is this…!”

The surrounding scenery changed.

Not the street where zombie corpses were rolling around.

But into the appearance of an ordinary restaurant that could be easily found before the world collapsed.

“Welcome to Woori Restaurant, customer. Ah, the restaurant’s name is ‘Woori’ Restaurant. Not the ‘we’ as in you, me, and us.”

With this, Jin-kyung could be sure that she was dreaming.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to understand the situation where a strange man crushed a horde of zombies and the surrounding scenery changed in an instant like magic.

“Hahaha… A restaurant…. Then what kind of shop is this?”

Her voice sounded somewhat deranged.

The man chuckled as if her reaction was funny and asked back.

“There’s no set menu, so just think of it as me taking the orders that customers want and making them on the spot.”

A restaurant that serves according to the customer’s order.

Jin-kyung, who recalled a Japanese drama with a similar setting, burst into a smirk.

Yeah, it’s a dream anyway, what does it matter?

“Then, can I have Sundae-gukbap?”

Jin-kyung, who had been eating only preserved food for over a year, recited the food from her memories that she used to enjoy when the world was normal.

At Jin-kyung’s order, the man nodded.

“Just Sundae? Or with innards mixed in?”

“With innards mixed in….”

“Outside, zombies are growling and tearing apart the innards of living people, but Sundae-gukbap with innards mixed in…. isn’t your taste a bit too grotesque?”

“You said you serve the menu as ordered.”

“Well, what does it matter? It’s food anyway. Then just wait a moment, I’ll make it for you quickly.”

The man chuckled and walked straight into the kitchen.

Jin-kyung slowly looked around the inside of the restaurant.

It looked just like a restaurant that was truly operating normally, as if the world hadn’t collapsed.

The indoor temperature was warm as if the heating was on, and the water bottle the man handed her had cold condensation on it as if it had just been taken out of the refrigerator.

Just as Jin-kyung was slowly examining the interior of the restaurant.

“Here, your ordered Sundae-gukbap is ready, customer.”

A boiling hot earthenware pot.

A milky broth boiled from beef bone and meat scraps.

The seasoning paste placed separately next to it.

Bright red kkakdugi that looked like it had been casually tossed in, and salted shrimp in a neat small dish.

It was the visual of the standard.

Except for just one thing.

“Oops, I forgot the Gukbap-house rule. Wait a second.”

Soon after, onions, chili peppers, and ssamjang were served.

It was truly the Gukbap-house set meal that one could encounter before this world collapsed.

“Yeah…. this is the perfect table.”

Once the final setting was finished, Jin-kyung finally showed a smile of satisfaction.

It was a truly plausible, extremely satisfying dream.

“How about it, shall I bring you a bottle of soju? I have both the Toad brand and the one from that day.”

At the man’s suggestion, Jin-kyung shook her head.

“…I’ll pass on the alcohol.”

It’s a dream.

It has to be a dream.

Otherwise, there’s no way to explain it.

A man casually offering soju with Sundae-gukbap in a world ruined by zombies.

It’s impossible.

Yeah, this is a dream.

A happy dream created by my imagination because I missed this warmth so dearly.

Then there was no reason to hesitate any longer.

She slowly lifted the spoon.

The standard is to start by tasting the pure white broth without anything mixed in.

Jin-kyung brought the spoonful of broth to her lips.

The color of the broth, hanging on the boundary between milky white and transparent.

It was a color that could only be found when beef bones and head meat were boiled together.

The warm broth going down her throat was clean without any gamey smell, and had a deep flavor as if it had been boiled for a long time.

How long had it been?

Since she last felt such a hot, savory taste.

Feeling deep emotion, Jin-kyung immediately started the second round.

The target was the seasoning paste to add spiciness.

And the deep flavor of perilla seed powder.

Some people might enjoy the clear and clean broth taste according to their preference, but Jin-kyung much preferred the broth mixed with the spiciness of the seasoning paste and the nutty taste of perilla seed powder.

“Try the kkakdugi too. It’s embarrassing to say it myself, but it was made really amazingly this time.”

Jin-kyung nodded and lifted her chopsticks again.

Kkakdugi is like an indicator that gauges the overall level of a Gukbap restaurant.

A Gukbap restaurant with delicious kkakdugi can never fail.

Crunch-

The spicy taste with a crisp texture and refreshing feeling that comes from being properly ripened.

Now it was clear.

Although it was a dream, this place was a truly definite delicious restaurant.

The broth that warmly wrapped around her stomach contained a spicy taste that made her feel refreshed even though she hadn’t overindulged in alcohol the day before.

The diverse textures provided by various innard ingredients like lungs, hearts, and head meat.

On top of that, the Sundae that embraced the rich broth and gave a sense of comfort.

Since there was shiny white rice next to it, how could she possibly resist this?

“Kuuuh… I can’t take it anymore.”

It would be a clear crime to just scoop it up with a spoon while having such excellent Gukbap in front of her.

The only way to truly enjoy Gukbap is to gulp down the whole earthenware pot that still has warmth.

Forgetting her dignity, Jin-kyung gulped down the broth like someone quenching their thirst.

As the warm broth went down her throat, a deep ecstasy rushed over her.

“….”

Jin-kyung’s face, which had been filled with the joy of satiety, soon darkened.

“…Why are you crying all of a sudden while eating well?”

“It’s just so sad that this is a dream…. When I wake up, the memory of eating such excellent Gukbap will disappear, and I’ll be left alone again. Avoiding those tiresome zombies, and barely surviving on dry preserved food….”

At Jin-kyung’s complaint, who looked like she was about to burst into tears, the man chuckled.

“Haha, who says this is a dream?”

“A restaurant operating normally in a world devastated by zombies…. It’s not like some web novel or webtoon, so if this isn’t a dream, what is it?”

“Well…, isn’t the world being ruined by zombies also content that can only be found in web novels or webtoons?”

She couldn’t refute it at all.

“Then what on earth is this situation…?”

“What do you mean, what is it? It’s a situation where ‘Woori Restaurant is open for business even in the apocalypse’.”

Jae-hyung answered with a smirk.

Jin-kyung tilted her head as if she couldn’t understand the situation even more at that answer.