That a talking cat was involved was a problem that went way beyond mere prejudice.
No matter how I looked at him, he was just an ordinary cat, so what on earth…
“What… are you?”
The cat lifted his head from grooming his fur.
“I am Haetae, the manager of this forest, nyan.”
Stretching his body long and lean, he gave himself a relaxed shake. Then he sauntered over, flopped down in front of me, and swished his tail lazily.
“Haetae?”
“That’s right, nyan.”
The legendary divine beast came to mind, but the cute little cat right in front of me didn’t seem to match that image at all…
“Did Hyangsook tell you to come here, nyan?”
“Yeah. Grandma said that after she passed… I should go to the shop’s back door, so here I am…”
“Then you don’t know anything, nyan?”
“Yeah, nothing at all.”
Haetae narrowed his eyes.
“I know all about you, nyan.”
“How do you know me?”
“Name: Han Jigu. Age: 31. Height: 171 cm. Black belt in Taekwondo, Boxing, and Judo. Personality? A bit airheaded. Used to work as a fine-dining sous-chef, but aren’t your former friends stealing your recipes and running a YouTube channel with them, nyan?”
As all that spilled out of Haetae’s tiny mouth, I was left completely speechless.
“…Uh. Yeah. Isn’t that a bit too much information?”
Haetae sat back down right in front of me as if showing off.
“I am a great divine beast, after all, nyan. So, are you going to run this side dish shop, nyan?”
“That’s…? I don’t know yet. Whether I’ll do it or not.”
“Look at you, hesitating like that, nyan.”
I looked past Haetae toward the vegetable garden and asked, “If I say I won’t do it, what happens to this place?”
Haetae replied matter-of-factly, “I can’t tell you that, nyan.”
He couldn’t tell me?
“Why can’t you say?”
“It’s a matter of contract, nyan.”
A contract? As I was tilting my head in confusion, Haetae continued.
“Anyway, they said they’d come find you right away as soon as Hyangsook’s granddaughter showed up, so you’ll find out soon enough, nyan.”
“Right away? Are they coming here?”
“Just wait quietly, nyan.”
I looked around at his words, but there were only trees and forest in every direction. Who was coming, and how?
“They’re coming right now, nyan!”
No sooner had Haetae spoken than a mist-like white smoke billowed up from beneath my feet. Swallowing my ankles in an instant, the smoke rose to my waist, and the surrounding temperature plummeted into a chilly cold.
Shortly after, a soft dragging sound scraped across the ground, accompanied by low, layered groans.
‘What is this, a horror movie…?!’
Above the hazy ground, a single white figure rose from the floor. Right behind it, another.
With white hair and white suits, they were dressed entirely in pure white from head to toe.
Even their skin was ghostly pale, radiating a strange and eerie aura.
“Hello there.”
The woman reached out her hand first. Her pitch-perfect business demeanor made me instinctively extend my hand to shake it.
“Ah. Hello. It’s okay to touch hands, right?”
“Haha! Yes! It is completely fine to shake hands.”
Her first impression wasn’t bad.
“I should introduce myself first. I am Lee Yeo-ui.”
Next to the woman who introduced herself, the man flashed a bright smile.
“I’m Lee Joo-taek! Wow, it’s so great to meet our new contractor! I look forward to working with you!”
Along with the man’s lively voice, something glinted inside his mouth.
‘Scales?’
…Why on earth did he have scales? Clearly, he wasn’t human.
I carefully chose my words and asked Lee Yeo-ui, “Did you come here to meet me?”
“Yes, that’s correct,” Lee Yeo-ui replied concisely, pulling a tablet out from inside her jacket.
“Why?”
“It is regarding the transfer of the contract made with Ms. Han Hyangsook. Did you really not hear anything about it?”
“No, nothing at all.”
“Oh my, dear me. I knew it. Your grandmother was always so considerate…” Lee Joo-taek chimed in with sympathy, but Lee Yeo-ui ignored him and got straight to the point.
“Hmm… then I suppose I must explain. Ms. Han Jigu, you narrowly escaped death when you were young, isn’t that right?”
“……Huh? Yes, that’s right.”
When I was little, I got into a car accident while on a trip with my parents. Back then, I barely survived.
“How do you think you survived?”
“The doctor said I miraculously… wait.”
The moment I uttered the word ‘miracle,’ it felt like Lee Yeo-ui’s pupils slit vertically for a second… Seeing my expression, she smirked.
“We were the ones who performed that ‘miracle.’ Because Ms. Han Hyangsook desperately begged us to save your life.”
“Then… how did you save me?”
“Excellent question! We set a condition: that Ms. Han Hyangsook accomplish a set amount of good deeds before her life ended. She fulfilled her duty splendidly. Thanks to that, Ms. Han Jigu was able to be reborn with a complete life.”
…I lowered my head and looked down at myself.
‘Grandma protected me…’
Lee Yeo-ui pulled a white envelope from her inner suit pocket and handed it to me.
“Here. This is a letter from Ms. Han Hyangsook.”
“……A letter from Grandma?”
“She summoned us during her life and handed this to us. It is practically her last will and testament.”
“Thank you for holding onto it.”
“Haha, don’t mention it.”
I took the white envelope from Lee Yeo-ui’s hands and pulled out the letter.
[To my precious treasure, my granddaughter Jigu. My little puppy. By the time you read this letter… you must have crossed over through that door. Now you must understand why your grandma was so stubborn about keeping you away from the back door. If you realized all of this was because of you, how much your heart would ache, my sweet girl. That’s why I hid it. So even if you resent your foolish grandma, never, ever blame yourself. I did all of this just to ease my own mind.]
My grip on the paper tightened slightly.
[Even so, the reason your shameless grandma led you to that place is because I wanted you to protect our side dish shop. Please forgive your grandma for leaving first without holding onto it until the end. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.]
Grandma’s feelings bled through every line of the letter. A sharp, emotional ache filled my chest.
‘…She should have just told me from the start.’
It wasn’t as if I was the type to turn down her request; why did she have to take such a long, round-about path?
Smiling softly, I carefully folded the letter and tucked it into my pocket. Then I raised my head to look at Lee Yeo-ui.
“If Ms. Han Jigu does not take over, the side dish shop will vanish.”
“The side dish shop my grandma built up? Just… poof?”
“Yes. That is correct.”
For a moment, my head spun.
Lee Joo-taek glanced at his tablet from the side and chimed in, “Ah, right! We almost forgot the most important part. If you refuse the contract, all causalities stemming from that contract will be erased. To put it simply, even your memories of living here will disappear.”
“Does that mean all my memories with my grandma will be gone?”
“Regrettably, yes.”
Every single memory I shared with my grandmother, wiped out completely?
That was utterly ridiculous.
“If I take over the side dish shop, do I have to accumulate good deeds just like my grandma did?”
“Yes, precisely!”
“How… do I accumulate them?”
Lee Yeo-ui checked her tablet and spoke.
“If Ms. Han Jigu wishes to keep the side dish shop, you must help one hundred people from now on.”
“One hundred people……?”
I instinctively scowled. It was an absurdly small number.
Considering the shop had over ten customers a day, a mere hundred people was nothing. This couldn’t possibly mean just serving a hundred customers. It was an omen that this task would be incredibly tricky and exhausting.
“Now then, Ms. Han Jigu. Will you make your decision?”
I knew I had to do it. Losing my memories of Grandma meant half of my life would be completely negated. But at the same time, I lacked the confidence to shoulder this surreal contract.
Could I really pull it off like Grandma did?
Just then, my tangled, chaotic thoughts snapped clear, as if finding a loose thread.
‘I have to.’
Even if it’s tough, I have to protect it.
Because that was Grandma’s final request to me, and the only way I could continue existing as myself.
“I’ll do it. The side dish shop.”
“A wise choice!”
Lee Yeo-ui and Lee Joo-taek clapped in unison, welcoming my answer. Lee Yeo-ui then presented the tablet to me.
“Are there any clauses you would like to add?”
“Besides the side dish shop?”
“Of course! In addition to extending your life, Ms. Han Hyangsook took out a loan of 1 billion won from us under the pretext of starting and maintaining the business. As the new contractor, you are entitled to equivalent benefits!” Lee Joo-taek explained excitedly, his face lit up.
“1 billion won?!”
“Yes! Once you complete all the good deeds perfectly, the loan will be forgiven anyway, so there’s no need to worry!”
No wonder Grandma always showered me with plenty of allowance money. Finally, all the puzzle pieces were clicking into place.
“I’ll do the same conditions as my grandma.”
“Excellent! Then new contractor Han Jigu will sign under the exact same terms! Please wait just a moment!”
Lee Joo-taek hastily pulled up the contract, scribbled a few edits, and immediately thrust it in front of me.
“Please review the contents of the contract here and sign at the bottom! Haha!”
‘Always read contracts carefully.’
Taking a deep breath, I examined the document meticulously.
‘Nothing really…’
Nothing looked bad.
However, there was a clause stating that all raw ingredients used at Hyangsook’s Side Dish Shop would be supplied by their side.
‘Surely they’re not just giving it to me for free with zero conditions, right?’
As I eyed that clause suspiciously, Lee Yeo-ui spoke up.
“As stated in the contract, ingredients will be provided by our side, so you don’t need to worry.”
“So by ‘ingredients,’ you don’t just mean vegetables, but seafood, meat, seasonings—everything?”
“Correct.”
Seizing the opportunity, I asked right away, “Are you giving those… just like that?”
Lee Yeo-ui leaned her face right up to mine, curling her lips into an exaggerated grin as she whispered, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.”
‘I knew they wouldn’t just give a straight answer.’
Still, without further hesitation, I wrote my name across the tablet screen.
[Han Ji-gu]
“Is that good?”
Lee Yeo-ui nodded.
“The contract has been established.”
With that, a semi-transparent contract floated up from the tablet. It fluttered in midair like a sheet of paper, leaving trailing arcs of light.
At the same time, Lee Yeo-ui and Lee Joo-taek stepped backward. Golden smoke began to billow from the contract, enveloping me completely.
‘It’s like a fantasy novel… wait, no.’
It is a fantasy.
The contract smoothly dissolved right into my body. Lee Yeo-ui spoke calmly.
“Ms. Han Hyangsook’s legacy—meaning this side dish shop—will officially be transferred to your ownership after you complete your good deeds. Until then, it remains under our management.”
Saying those meaningful words, Lee Yeo-ui handed me a small notepad stamped with a scale logo, alongside a business card.
“Just write down the ingredients you need on this notepad and place it at the bottom of the commercial refrigerator.”
“At the bottom? Ah, wait, by any chance…?”
“Pardon? Did something happen?”
“No… earlier when I was looking at the fridge, I heard a pounding sound.”
“Ah, our new employee must have gotten confused with the pathway. We sincerely apologize!”
Lee Joo-taek scratched his head. So that was a passage.
‘…I had no idea that was a passage.’
I swallowed hard.
“Ah, right.”
“And this is our business card.”
A business card?
[Lee Yeo-ui] [444 – 010 – 1111]
It had nothing on it except a name and a phone number. Not even a company name. In an instant, a cold shiver ran down my spine.
‘Why am I suddenly getting goosebumps…?’
“Finished, nyan?”
At the words of Haetae, who had been sitting quietly basking in the sunlight, Lee Yeo-ui and Lee Joo-taek bowed their heads.
“We are finished now.”
Lee Yeo-ui offered a bright smile and added, “If you have any questions after this, just ask Haetae. He will explain everything.”
“The cat?”
“Yes, despite how he looks, he’s an old friend of ours. We will take our leave now.”
Bowing simultaneously, the two vanished into the white smoke.
“Now it’s just the two of us left, nyan. Let me tell you once more: my name is Haetae, so don’t call me ‘cat,’ nyan. And!”
Haetae extended his squishy pink paw into the air and continued.
“You said you’re going to run the side dish shop, nyan.”
“Yeah!”
“There’s no turning back now, nyan!”
At that exact moment, a translucent window popped up in front of my eyes with a crisp ding!
[Tutorial: 1. Harvest 500 Chili Peppers from the Garden (0/500)]
A tutorial… no matter how you looked at it…
“Isn’t this a game window?”
Haetae placed his squishy front paw under his chin and spoke with utmost seriousness.
“To keep it MZ, nyan.”
“MZ?”
“That way it’s actually fun for you, isn’t it, nyan?”
…Now even cats are talking about generational trends.
