Our Restaurant is Operating Normally Even in the Apocalypse - Chapter 5

Episode 5. Shrimp Tempura Udon (1)

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of help….”

The dejected child’s reply.

Jae-hyung hadn’t expected much, so he answered with a smile.

“No, I’m just grateful you enjoyed the chicken.”

It was on the level of finding a needle in a haystack.

“Park Tae-soo in his 40s…. I know an Oh, not a Park, but that probably won’t be of any help, right?”

“Hahaha, that’s a shame. Still, even if the surname is different, since someone with the same name appeared, the person I’m looking for will surely appear soon too.”

However, Jae-hyung did not give up.

“Before I joined this place, there was a teacher who taught science at school, and that fellow said… that this zombie thing is a virus spread on Earth by aliens….”

Aliens, huh….

It was the most novel declaration among all the answers he had heard so far.

“I haven’t seen other survivors. I was rescued by the soldiers as soon as the zombie outbreak occurred, so….”

Finally, after finishing the interview with the last remaining survivor.

Jae-hyung burst into a hearty laugh.

As expected, he hadn’t gained much from the conversations with them.

However, the military secret that Su-seok had told him was one of the clues he hadn’t even thought of.

That was why Jae-hyung could leave with a smile.

“The bullets I made with magic can be used at any time, but the ingredients I distributed will spoil quickly without a refrigerator. So, don’t save them and eat them as quickly as possible.”

Su-seok, who was seeing Jae-hyung off, answered in a serious voice.

“We will never forget the grace you have bestowed upon us, Wizard-nim.”

At that reverent attitude, Jae-hyung chuckled and replied.

“As I said before, don’t take it too seriously. You might be cowering now after being defeated by the zombies, but humanity will rise again before long. I’ll make sure of it. Once the world regains peace, I’ll be able to officially open ‘Woori Restaurant’ as planned. But if I open the shop and there are no customers to visit, how empty would that be?”

“Still….”

“You are all just customers who visited the restaurant in its soft-opening state, who will visit ‘Woori Restaurant’ again after the world is restored. The favor I’m showing you now is just a sales tactic to attract customers. Just think of it that way for now.”

It wasn’t a complete lie.

Because the plan to officially open after cutting down the source of the zombie outbreak and restoring civilization was true.

Seemingly even more moved by this, Su-seok showed the courtesy he had prepared.

“Unit- Attention!”

Disciplined movements moving in unison.

“Salute the Wizard-nim!”

“Loyalty!”

The soldiers’ salute and the survivors’ gratitude.

Leaving that cringeworthy, reverent scene behind, Jae-hyung lightly left the spot.

Gil-ho took out the fire axe he had hanging at his waist.

And quietly counted the number of zombies that came into his view.

‘Two in front, and five or more beyond the corner….’

Roughly estimated, a number just under ten.

Fortunately, the misfortune of having to take out a gun did not occur.

Gil-ho lightly adjusted his grip on the axe handle.

A tool that might have been used for life-saving in a disaster situation if the world hadn’t turned out like this.

Now, that sharp axe blade was being used only to split the skulls of walking corpses, not for the purpose of saving people.

But regrettably.

That fact was not very important to Gil-ho.

Breathing adjusted with a short resolution.

Gil-ho moved his body slowly, killing his presence as much as possible.

If he were to engage in hand-to-hand combat, he would be able to suppress them sufficiently.

However, there was no need to take unnecessary risks.

Because for Gil-ho right now, there was a much more important task remaining than the zombies in front of him.

One step, one step.

A speed slow enough to be compared to a turtle.

Even if it was frustrating, it couldn’t be helped.

Because the reality that had arrived before his eyes was not an action hero movie where one goes on a rampage against zombies.

An extremely cruel and desperate apocalypse survival story.

That was the genre the man named Gil-ho was living in.

Not a thrilling action movie, but a desperate apocalypse disaster story.

That was the genre this Gil-ho was filming.

Until he encountered some crazy lunatic.

A man walking out, shouting loudly as if to show off to the zombies.

That appearance was no different from an eccentric act of sticking one’s head into the jaws of a hungry tiger.

“As expected, now that I’m out of Seoul, the open view is already making my heart feel wider!”

The zombies’ gazes focused in an instant.

At this, the zombies walked toward the strange lunatic with slow movements.

“Oh, are you welcoming me as a tourist? Hahaha, nice to meet you! I just happened to be looking for directions!”

The lunatic raising his voice even more.

Gil-ho, watching his incomprehensible behavior, thought.

‘I don’t know where he lived, but it’s actually fortunate.’

A situation where an unidentified madman is drawing the attention of all the zombies wandering nearby.

From Gil-ho’s perspective, it was a situation where he just needed to quickly escape in this gap.

However.

‘He doesn’t even have a shovel or an axe that one could normally find, let alone a gun…. If he’s thinking of ending his own life, that’s fine, but….’

A world where even one’s own life is considered a luxury, let alone helping a total stranger.

Naturally, he couldn’t risk his life to save that lunatic.

Yes, in his head, he was clearly thinking that.

-…Ajusshi was my hero.

At the faint voice heard in his ears, the man bit his lip hard.

‘I’m not the kind of hero you thought I was…. I just happened to be lucky enough to… you….’

He knew.

That this voice he was hearing now was just an auditory hallucination with no meaning.

But Gil-ho could not defy that voice that was becoming clearer.

-No…. Ajusshi is the hero who saved my life. I believe it. That Ajusshi will make a heroic choice.

Damn it….

He might have been infected by that lunatic’s madness.

Perhaps he couldn’t bear the guilt pressing down on his shoulders anymore and was acting on a whim.

A bad move, going all-in with all his assets on the worst hand.

Even so, Gil-ho could not defy the auditory hallucination he was hearing.

-As expected of Ajusshi…. I believed in you.

Roughly gripping the axe.

Since their gazes are distracted, they won’t be able to rush in all at once; that lunatic is drawing the zombies’ attention, now is the perfect opportunity.

If he strikes them from behind, he would be able to cleanly smash the zombies.

After setting up a strategy that was close to having no plan.

Gil-ho took a step toward the zombies.

“Oh, there was a living human too?”

The lunatic looked at Gil-ho and curled up the corners of his mouth into a grin.

“If you had just roughly looked for an opportunity and ran away, you could have escaped safely. Seeing you rush in to save a total stranger, you must be quite out of your mind too, Ajusshi?”

A laugh with a strange madness flashing in it.

And the hot heat that followed.

Soon, the zombies that were approaching the strange man started to burn.

“What on earth is this….”

The zombies burning helplessly in the flames flickering from the lunatic’s fingertips.

It was an absurd scene, just like watching a fantasy movie.

At this, Gil-ho couldn’t help but think.

That now, not content with auditory hallucinations, he was even seeing visual hallucinations.

However, the scorching heat felt on his skin was telling him.

That this was reality, not some hallucination.

“It seems like things are roughly sorted out…. By the way, you look quite like an expert, Ajusshi; you must have watched some zombie movies?”

Thick magazines wrapped tightly around his hands and feet to prevent being bitten by zombies.

A fire axe boasting extreme efficiency.

Gil-ho’s attire was literally no different from the appearance of an expert optimized for survival.

-See? I was right, wasn’t I? It’s not for nothing that I’ve been consistently watching apocalypse disaster movies, right?

The auditory hallucination now sounding as if it were right next to him.

Gil-ho felt a throbbing headache and raised his axe.

Toward the strange man who had burned them in an instant.

“What on earth is your identity….”

The axe blade, sharpened as if it could split a head at any moment.

The guy chuckled and asked back.

“Given the situation, a relaxed introduction would be a bit much, right? Well, I understand. In your situation, Ajusshi, you’d have no choice but to be wary. So, what… how about it, shall we have a go?”

A smile drawn with a relaxed attitude.

He could instinctively sense it.

That this guy could not be dealt with by mere bladed weapons like an axe.

Even so, Gil-ho did not back down.

“If necessary….”

A firm resolution to brave even death.

Then, the strange man burst into laughter.

“Hahaha, forget it! You’re not a zombie, so how could I kill a living human?”

The flames dying down along with the hearty laughter.

The flames dying down along with the laughter.

The strange man continued speaking with a bright expression, as if nothing had happened.

“Ah, sorry. For a normal survivor, the smell of blood was too strong. I thought you were one of those common thugs who loot other survivors.”

Gil-ho asked in a cautious voice.

“…So what on earth are you?”

The answer that returned along with a shrug.

“Me? A normal restaurant owner.”

It was absurd.

Just what kind of normal restaurant owner in the world could deal with zombies with their bare body….

No, in the first place, does it make any sense for a human to conjure flames from their palm?

Gil-ho asked, looking with suspicious eyes.

“You’re talking nonsense. You do that kind of crazy stuff and call yourself a restaurant owner?”

To his question, the man chuckled and answered.

“Then let me correct myself. How about I explain it as an ‘uncommon’ restaurant owner?”

A clever play on words.

But Gil-ho could not get angry.

If the flames from earlier weren’t a mistake, his life was practically in the hands of this strange man.

“Meeting like this is a fate, so how about we have a slow meal and talk?”

“In this situation, you’re asking to eat out of the blue…?”

“Well, what’s wrong with that? It’s all about eating and living anyway.”

Clap, clap.

Two sounds of clapping echoing in the air.

Soon, the surrounding scenery changed in an instant.

“…It’s like you cast some kind of magic.”

He felt absurd even after saying it himself.

Magic, of all things.

In the world, such an absurd….

“Oh, how did you know?”

A reaction as if he hadn’t expected him to guess the right answer.

The strange man chuckled and introduced himself.

“My name is Park Jae-hyung. On the outside, I look like a normal restaurant owner, but in reality, I’m a wizard hiding my identity!”

Jae-hyung’s voice, which sounded triumphant for some reason.

Gil-ho narrowed his eyes even more and said.

“You didn’t seem to have any intention of hiding your identity….”

“So, how are you going to order?”

“…You really talk like a restaurant owner.”

“Of course. Because I really am a restaurant owner. There’s no fixed menu, and it’s a method where I make whatever food you want on the spot. So first, tell me what food you want to eat the most.”

At Jae-hyung’s relaxed explanation, Gil-ho asked.

“…Can I really order any kind of food?”

In a voice that made it clear to anyone that there was some kind of story behind it.