I Run a Convenience Store in the Martial Arts World

Gastronome Yu Hwa-yeon.

She had one big problem.

She was born with Innate True Taste (先天眞味), which made her exceptionally sensitive to the taste of food.
Because of this, it was rare for anything to satisfy her tongue unless it was delicious enough to dilate her pupils.

The reason she quit learning martial arts and turned to becoming a gastronome was also because of this Innate True Taste.

Some people envied her ability, but to Hwa-yeon, this ability was like a shackle.

‘Even after trying all the food in the world, nothing satisfies my palate.’

She had sought out renowned master chefs of the Central Plains to taste their cooking,
visited famous inns in the outer martial arts world known for their delicious food,
but everything tasted bad to her.

Some dishes lacked harmony in the ratio of ingredients,
others lacked balance in the proportion of seasonings.
She once found delicious food, but when she visited again, the taste had subtly changed.
After all, being made by human hands, it couldn’t be perfect.

Because of this, some places had banned Gastronome Yu Hwa-yeon.
It was a natural response considering she only gave critical reviews that wounded the pride of master chefs who had devoted their lives to cooking.

The only way she could fill her stomach was with fruit.
With fruit, she didn’t have to worry about the harmony of flavors.

Yu Hwa-yeon wanted to eat delicious food.
Food that embodied the unchanging harmony of all things in the universe.

Dreaming of such a thing, she was walking through the marketplace that day,
when suddenly she heard people whispering.

“What, there’s an inn there?”
“I’m telling you there is. I heard it from the beggars of the Beggar Sect, so it must be true. I heard they have extremely excellent food there.”

What they were saying was more than enough to pique Yu Hwa-yeon’s interest.

“Excuse me.”
“Huh?”
“What did you just say?”
“Oh, about the inn? I just heard it from others.”
“Tell me in detail.”

What Yu Hwa-yeon heard was this:

In a haunted bamboo forest lives a master chef who makes exquisite dishes that embody the harmony of all things in the universe.
Once you taste it, you can’t escape its allure, and while there are people who have never tried it, there’s no one who has tried it just once.

Yu Hwa-yeon immediately prepared to leave.

From the beginning, rumors shouldn’t be trusted.
No matter if they were spread by the beggars of the Beggar Sect, they still passed through people’s mouths, so they were bound to be distorted.
But she had nothing to lose.
For Yu Hwa-yeon, who couldn’t happily savor any dish, this news was like rain during a drought.

“I am Gastronome Yu Hwa-yeon. I heard there’s an ultimate delicacy that embodies the harmony of all things in the universe here, so I came to find it.”

This woman who introduced herself as Hwa-yeon lifted her conical hat with her sword handle and began looking around the convenience store.
Now that her face was revealed, she was extremely pretty.

A high, straight nose.
Cherry-colored lips.
Large eyes with deep, dark black pupils.
An expression full of confidence and dignity.

She might have been slightly lacking to be called a beauty that could topple a nation, but nevertheless, she was beautiful.

She was surprised by the fluorescent lights, which martial artists considered the highest-grade night-luminous pearls,
and she showed surprise once more at the ceiling air conditioner that blew cold air.

But that was it.

For this woman, the overall view of the convenience store wasn’t important.

Sitting in the convenience store’s simple chair, crossing her legs and tapping her foot, she called out.

“Servant. Bring me your most confident dish.”

I don’t know what rumors she heard or where she came from, but her attitude was quite haughty.
Originally, customers should pay first and make their own food.

Well, how would martial artists know that?
I have no choice but to bring it to her myself.

“Um, I have ones for 1 coin, 3 coins, and 5 coins, which would you like?”
“Money is not an issue, so just bring out whatever you’re most confident in.”

What am I most confident in?
Convenience store food is all pretty much the same.

With a disgruntled sigh, I headed to the boxed meal section.

Since she said money wasn’t an issue, should I bring her the most expensive seven-dish boxed meal?

Hmm, no. Not that.
After all, she’s the first official customer who’s paying the proper price, so I should bring her ramen, which is considered the essence of convenience stores.
She said to bring out what I’m most confident in.
Jang Su-cheon also said the hamburger was delicious.
Convenience store food wasn’t completely unsuitable for martial artists’ tastes.

The question is which ramen to bring.

Standing in front of the ramen shelf, I started to ponder.

Honestly, from my perspective, all the ramens here are pretty much the same.
Whether it’s Black Sesame Ramen, Shin Shin Ramen, Oriental Ramen, or Beef Bone Ramen.
They just have slightly different tastes, but they’re all ramen.

After finishing my deliberation, I picked up the Black Sesame Ramen.
This ramen with its rich sesame flavor should be just right.

I unwrapped the packaging and poured hot water in.
Then I approached the dining table inside the convenience store where Hwa-yeon was sitting.

I placed the ramen on the plastic table and said.

“Here you go, customer. That’s 5 coins.”

It’s one of the most expensive ramens.

Hwa-yeon stared intently at the Black Sesame Ramen I had placed down, then tilted her head.

“Is this measly thing really the ultimate delicacy that embodies the harmony of all things in the universe?”

And then, as if displeased, she flicked it with her finger.

Honestly, I didn’t think much of it.
If you don’t want to eat it, then don’t.
But I’ve already opened the packaging, so you still have to pay.

When I remained silent, Hwa-yeon, interpreting my silence in her own way, looked up at me with eyes full of interest.

“What? Did I hurt your pride? What’s with that expression?”

It’s an expression saying hurry up and give me the money.

Seeing my expression still unchanged, Hwa-yeon misinterpreted again.

“Oh ho. Does that mean you’re confident?”

I didn’t say anything.

“I’ve traveled to countless inns, but they all say the same thing. ‘This is our inn’s best dish!’ But among those who say such things, I’ve never seen anyone who actually serves proper food.”

So what?
I didn’t make it.
It’s just a product of a big corporation.
It’s a sodium chunk full of MSG.
Just hurry up and pay me.
Should I paste a sign as big as a door saying “Pay First” in front of the convenience store?

“I wonder how this inn will be different. You probably know my reputation well? Ordinary dishes won’t satisfy my tongue.”

Who exactly are you?

After about 3 minutes had passed, I said.

“If you’re going to eat it, please eat it now…?”
“Fine. I’ll try it, if only to honor the effort put into it.”

Hwa-yeon picked up the chopsticks and opened the ramen lid.
Warm steam rose up.

Just as she was about to use the chopsticks to eat the ramen,
Hwa-yeon’s brow furrowed.

‘What is this? This poor excuse for a dish?’

Hwa-yeon stirred the dried green onion flakes, no bigger than ant anuses, floating on top of the broth.

‘This… is green onion?’

Judging by its appearance, it is indeed green onion.
But why does it look like withered food waste?

Hwa-yeon’s pupils shook violently.

The aroma wafting up was certainly stimulating her appetite.
The saliva pooling in her mouth was proof of that.

‘The smell passes. No, it’s beyond passing. This can’t possibly taste bad. But, the ingredients are a bit…’

Hwa-yeon glanced at where Jung-hyun was standing.
Is this really the dish that the servant is most confident in?

Looking at the servant’s expression, there was no change at all.
Rather, his eyes seemed to be questioning why she wasn’t eating.

“Customer? Why aren’t you eating…? Is there a problem?”

Look at that expression.
As if it can’t help but taste good.
As if asking what the problem is.

There’s no issue with the servant’s confidence.

But in Hwa-yeon’s life experience, all dishes made with ingredients that aren’t fresh have tasted bad.

A strange situation where the desire to eat and the reluctance to eat coexisted.

Fine.

I’ll try it once.

With a determined resolve, Hwa-yeon picked up the chopsticks again.

And carefully picked up the springy noodles.

Slowly she brought them to her mouth.

Hwa-yeon, with her eyes closed, chewed slowly to savor the taste.

‘T-this taste…!!!’

How can such a taste exist?

Hwa-yeon froze her jaw as if she had forgotten that she needed to chew.

‘It’s delicious!’

No.
How can it boast such perfect harmony!

The nutty flavor of sesame was distinctly felt.
The flour noodles had a sweet taste as if a lot of sugar had been added.
The sweet and savory noodles were so springy they could be played like a geomungo, and they harmonized perfectly with the salty and spicy broth without the slightest error.

Unable to believe it, she picked up the noodles again and slurped them up.

Indeed, the same taste.

The spicy broth counteracted the richness of the floating oil, the sweet noodles balanced the spicy broth, the saltiness balanced the sweet noodles, and the richness balanced the salty taste…

Perfect unity of the four elements!

Indeed, the rumors were not unfounded.
This must be the taste that embodies the harmony of all things in the universe!

Despite the clearly not-fresh ingredients, she could even taste the green onion.
How is this possible?

Hwa-yeon, who had been savoring the taste in her mouth for a while as if it was too precious to swallow, finally moved her throat to swallow the food with reluctance.

A warm taste that filled her stomach.

Among all the dishes she had eaten until now, this undoubtedly boasted the best taste.

She had thought that no dish in the world would satisfy her palate.
But this “lamian” was boasting a perfect taste as if denying her entire life so far.

It was the moment when she finally understood the incomprehensible confidence on the servant’s face.

“What is the name of this dish?”
“It’s called ramen.”
“Oh! Lamian (螺麵)! Looking at these spirally dried noodles, the name lamian really suits it.”

Hwa-yeon picked up noodles with her chopsticks again.

Having already tasted it once, her mouth was full of saliva.
Just as she was about to put a mouthful of the steaming ramen into her mouth,

Crack-

The wooden chopsticks Hwa-yeon was holding broke in two.

‘Huh?’

I was startled and looked at the ramen that had fallen to the floor.
What just happened?

Hwa-yeon remained still with her head bowed.
The wooden chopsticks she had been holding were cleanly cut.

As I slowly turned my head to the right,

[Poisoned Flying Dagger]

“Uhhhhgghh!!”

Wasn’t that bubbles rising from the tip of the dagger stuck in the ground!

If that had flown at me?
I would have just died on the spot, right?

As expected, guys with swords are no good.
Even though I let her in as my first customer, not even minutes after she arrived, she’s already attracting poisoned daggers?

Hwa-yeon, looking angry, slammed the shortened wooden chopsticks on the table forcefully and stood up.

“Who is it! Show yourself!”

As she barked out in an angry tone, three figures in black emerged from the dense bamboo forest.

Upon seeing them, Hwa-yeon placed her hand on the sword handle at her waist.

What, why? Are you going to fight? Please don’t fight here!

“Die, Yu Hwa-yeon.”
“How do you know my name? Are you Black Path thugs?”
“No time for questions!”

Soon, a 3-vs-1 fight broke out.
No, why are you suddenly fighting in the middle of eating ramen?

Crash-
Smash-

Ah.
Shit.

My convenience store is getting completely wrecked.

I still have debt, and now it’s going to increase even more.

Please stop fighting.
Can’t you at least explain why you’re fighting before you start?

A man wearing a black mask was pushed past me and into the convenience store.

Crash-

I didn’t bother looking back.
It would only break my heart.

Swoosh-

Another one gets pushed in.

Crunch-

The sound of shelves falling over and items spilling out is all too clear.

A little tear fell.

Thud! Swish!

Yet another one passes in front of me.

THUD! Bzzt-crackle-

THUD? Fucking THUD?

This time I couldn’t help but look back.

Well, well.

The fluorescent lights, considered expensive night-luminous pearls by the martial artists, lost their light.
At the same time, the brightly lit refrigerator too.
The air conditioner too.
The fan too.

All of them.

Because the damn Black Path thug had completely smashed the circuit breaker.

Haha.

“Tsk. Black Path thugs. If you wanted to catch me, you should have brought at least a dozen.”

Casually dusting off her hands, walking over with a refreshed face as if she’d just had a satisfying bowel movement, this fucking woman.

“Innkeeper, please bring me another pair of chopsticks.”

She sits down calmly on the plastic chair again.

This fucking bitch?

I approached her and gripped the table forcefully.

“Get out.”
“Pardon?”
“I said get out! I don’t sell to people like you!”

I flipped over the plastic table.
Thanks to that, the ramen flew up and spilled on the floor.

“Ahhh!! No!! My lamian!!!”

Hwa-yeon falls to the floor with a dumbfounded expression.

I showed her my middle finger.

I’m not accepting sword-carrying people anymore!!