Chapter 33:Money and Talent Pour In

   Chapter 33: Money Meal (1)

Thanks to coordinating the schedule in advance, the date was set.

Saturday, the first week of August.

Time flew by quickly, and the promised day finally arrived. It was the day the families of Lee Shin-woo and Ryu Seong would gather together for lunch.

“It’s been a while since we last saw them.”

Both his father and mother looked quite excited. Perhaps it was because they had been occasionally keeping in touch with Lee Shin-woo’s parents.

“Oppa! Oppa!”

“What?”

His younger siblings were no different.

“You said it was an incredibly, like, super super delicious place, right?”

“Yeah, it’s seriously amazing.”

“I’m so, so excited! My heart’s pounding!”

“Go ahead and get hyped. It’ll be even better than you imagine.”

“Woooh!”

Ryu Hwan’s expression was also bright.

“Hyung, is it really that good?”

“Yeah, it’s insane. You could die while eating and not even notice.”

“No way…”

“Just go and try it for yourself.”

“That’s nice.”

“What is?”

“You seem more relaxed now. Maybe because you’re earning good money these days.”

“You brat, just focus on studying hard. Especially since you want to go into car design. I’ll support you properly, no holding back.”

“…For real?”

“Yeah.”

For a brief moment, a look of hesitation flashed across Ryu Hwan’s face.

But it disappeared in an instant, as if it had been an illusion.

Naturally.

Ryu Seong didn’t notice it and left the house together with his family.

A short while later.

They arrived at the promised Korean restaurant.

“This is the place, right?”

“Yeah, it is.”

Ryu Hyun-ah’s eyes sparkled brightly as she took the lead. Her parents, Ryu Hwan, and Ryu Seong followed behind her. Unable to hide their excited atmosphere, they were just about to open the entrance door when—

*Creak.*

The door opened from the inside first.

“Thank you!”

“Okay, take care.”

Two young children walked out of the restaurant, each hugging two lunch boxes. It was only a brief encounter, but Ryu Seong had a good feeling about whatever had just happened. By the time the kids walked away, the restaurant owner approached and greeted them.

“Welcome. Do you have a reservation?”

“Ah, yes.”

“May I have your name, please?”

“Ryu Seong.”

“Ah, your party is already here. I’ll guide you to them.”

After turning a few corners down the hallway, a private room appeared. When the door opened, Lee Shin-woo and his family were already seated and waiting.

“This is a private room.”

“Thank you.”

Ryu Seong greeted Lee Shin-woo’s parents, while Lee Shin-woo bowed to Ryu Seong’s parents. Soon after, the parents began chatting warmly with each other.

“It really has been a long time.”

“Indeed it has.”

“Have you been exercising lately?”

“Ah, I’ve been going to the gym. Recently, I’ve gotten into screen golf as a hobby.”

The two fathers continued their conversation with gentle smiles, talking about health and sports. Meanwhile, the mothers opened up about skin care and beauty.

“Oh my, you look like you’ve been doing well. Your skin looks even better than the last time I saw you.”

“I only take care of it at home, but I guess it shows.”

“It really does!”

In the meantime, Ryu Seong sat down across from Lee Shin-woo. He could see Lee Shin-woo’s wife and their now four-year-old twins.

“It’s been a while, Myeong-hee.”

“Yes, it really has.”

“Wow, Ha-bin and Ha-min have grown so much.”

“Hellooo~”

“Hey, hello. Eat a lot of delicious food today, okay?”

“Yes!”

They were at that adorable age where just looking at them made you smile.

Of course, people say “terrible twos” extend to four, but from the perspective of someone who only saw them occasionally, they were nothing but incredibly cute.

*Creak.*

The closed door opened, and a server entered. She placed a menu in front of each person and then quietly stepped back, waiting.

“Should I recommend some dishes?”

At Ryu Seong’s words, everyone’s attention turned to him.

“Hm? Sure, of course.”

“If you like Hanwoo (Korean beef), I highly recommend the Hanwoo Sura Sang. I tried it before and it was absolutely incredible. For lamb, the Heaven Sura Sang is great, and for pork, the Field Sura Sang is good. If you want to try multiple kinds of meat, the Mixed Sura Sang would be perfect.”

Everyone nodded and fell into thought.

“Ugh, every menu looks so good!”

Ryu Hyun-ah exclaimed loudly and then slammed her menu shut.

“But meat is still all about beef, right? I’ll go with the Hanwoo Sura Sang!”

“I’ll have the mixed one.”

“Then I’ll take…”

One by one, the orders were placed.

The server listened carefully, checking off each item before approaching to confirm.

“Four Hanwoo Sura Sang, three Mixed Sura Sang, two Heaven Sura Sang. That’s a total of nine servings. Shall I place the order as is?”

“Yes, please.”

“Understood.”

After the order was placed, everyone chatted happily with excited hearts.

The atmosphere was great.

*Good thing.*

Ryu Seong thought the mood would only get better once the food arrived.

Hmm, but more than that…

He kept thinking about the two kids he had seen earlier—the ones carrying lunch boxes. Did this restaurant also sell those? Since they weren’t on the menu, his curiosity grew even stronger.

He glanced around the inside of the private room, but there was nothing to see. In the end, unable to hold back his curiosity, he stood up from his seat. He decided to step outside, using the excuse of going to the bathroom.

*Step, step.*

Just then, a passing server came into view.

“Excuse me, where’s the restroom?”

“Go left down the hallway, then turn left again and you’ll see it.”

“Thank you.”

He walked along the indicated path, carefully scanning the corridor.

That’s when his eyes caught a small sticker on one of the walls.

“‘Kind Influence Restaurant’?”

Just reading the name made him feel warm inside.

At the same time, he realized—this was exactly what he had been looking for.

Now that he thought about it, he had seen something similar on the left side when they first entered the restaurant. At the time, his attention had been stolen by the children, so he hadn’t looked properly.

He could check it now.

He changed direction and headed toward the entrance.

“Ah…!”

Only then did he finally notice the large sticker that he had missed when they first came in.

**[Kind Influence Restaurant]**

*This Kind Influence Restaurant is currently supporting orphaned boys and girls as well as children from food-insecure households. We provide free lunch boxes to these children.*

A quiet sound of admiration escaped his lips.

He never expected a place like this existed.

*I want to help too.*

The moment that thought crossed his mind—

**[Quest Activated!]**

**[Have you ever given someone a proper “money scolding”?]**

**[Even in this harsh world, warm stories continue to flow. Give a “money meal” to those who attach the Kind Influence sticker and perform good deeds unconditionally, without any conditions! If you exceed the goal, you can obtain additional rewards! Note: The same menu item will not be counted multiple times.]**

**[Goal: 0/5]**

**[Time Remaining: 7 days]**

**[Success Reward: Random Card, Good Deed Points.]**

**[Failure Penalty: You will stub your little toe on the corner of something.]**

A pleasant quest had appeared.

“‘Money meal,’ huh.”

It sounded a lot more fun than usual.

Though… the failure penalty somehow felt a bit more brutal than before.

*

When he returned to the private room, the side dishes had already been set on the table.

“Son!”

“Huh?”

His mother greeted him enthusiastically.

“Oppa—!”

“Hyung…!”

His siblings reacted the same way.

“Oh my, this is really…!”

“Ryu Seong, you little punk!”

Not only Lee Shin-woo, but even his family members were looking at Ryu Seong with flushed, excited faces.

*What’s going on?*

As he tilted his head in confusion, Ryu Hyun-ah thrust her chopsticks toward him.

“Hurry up and try it! This is seriously amazing!”

Since she was shoving it at him, he took a bite.

*Ah… mm… As expected…!*

He let out a genuine exclamation of admiration as the flavor hit him.

*So that’s why they were so excited.*

Meanwhile, Ryu Hyun-ah was happily bouncing her shoulders.

“Isn’t it good? Huh? Huh?”

“Ryu Hyun-ah, this is the place I reserved, you know?”

“Oh, right. It is.”

“So? What do you think?”

“Hm?”

“I told you to expect a lot, remember? Is it delicious?”

“Yes! It’s totally insane!”

Ryu Seong turned to look at the elders.

“Is it to your taste?”

“Yes, it’s the best.”

“This place is really wonderful.”

But this was only the beginning.

The main dishes hadn’t even arrived yet.

“I should eat too.”

Ryu Seong sat down properly and picked up his chopsticks.

Let’s see…

The first thing that caught his eye was the butter-grilled shrimp and scallops. He placed some on his small plate and took a bite. The savory flavor and perfect texture of both the shrimp and scallops danced beautifully in his mouth.

*Ooh…!*

The balance was flawless.

Lee Ha-bin and Lee Ha-min were also happily waving their chopsticks with pure joy.

“Mommy, give me this.”

“Me too, me too!”

“Here you go.”

They were eating so enthusiastically, making cute “om nom nom” sounds.

Thanks to that, the enormous amount of food that had seemed enough to break the table was disappearing at a rapid pace. Even so, many more dishes were still waiting their turn. Just as everyone’s stomachs were pleasantly filling up, the main courses finally arrived.

“Ooooooh!”

---

Beautiful cuts of meat were laid out on the grill, proudly displaying their quality. The server personally grilled the meat with great care and placed the perfectly cooked pieces onto each person’s plate. The eyes of everyone tasting the food grew endlessly wide, and after that, conversation completely stopped. They were fully immersed in the act of eating itself.

“Mm… mmph…!”

Only occasional exclamations of delight slipped out as they became lost in the flavor.

*

After eating until they felt like they would burst, they headed to the counter to pay.

“How much is it?”

“Yes, the total comes to 1,757,000 won.”

Even Ryu Seong, who had already expected a high price, was slightly surprised by the amount.

If he felt that way, the others waiting behind him must have been even more shocked.

“One… one million seven hundred…?”

Ryu Hyun-ah and Ryu Hwan nearly froze on the spot. Even their parents flinched. Ryu Seong, however, calmly handed over his smartphone.

*This much? It’s not really a burden.*

“Please pay with this.”

“Yes, sir. Would you like to pay in installments?”

“No, one lump sum please.”

“Ah, understood.”

After the payment was completed, he took his phone back.

**[Quest ‘Have you ever given someone a proper “money scolding”?’ has been updated.]**

**[Donation Goal: 1/5]**

Ryu Seong’s shoulders twitched.

*This counts too?*

It seemed that because the amount was so large, the system recognized it as successfully giving a “money meal.”

“Ahem, we enjoyed the meal very much.”

“Thank you for your hard work!”

On the way out of the restaurant, Lee Shin-woo quietly approached him.

“Are you sure you’re okay? I knew it would be expensive, but wow…”

“I came here knowing that, so it’s fine.”

“Still…”

“It’s alright. I’m really okay.”

“Well, you have made quite a bit from coins and stocks, right?”

“Ahem. You know it’s a secret, yeah?”

“Hehe, I know.”

Afterward, the two families stopped by a nearby café for coffee and promised to meet again soon.

“It was really nice seeing you after so long.”

“Let’s meet again next time.”

It was a truly perfect and clean ending to the gathering.

“Alright, we should head home too.”

“Okay!”

Ryu Seong returned home while still savoring the deep satisfaction he felt that day. He spent the rest of the day doing absolutely nothing, enjoying complete rest. Sometimes, days like this were necessary.

The next day.

Ryu Seong placed Lucky on his lap and searched for information about the “Kind Influence Restaurant” stickers.

A surprising amount of information came up.

“There are more than I thought?”

While gently stroking Lucky’s purring belly, he went through quite a bit of information. Among them, one place caught his eye — a famous sushi restaurant near his house known as a local foodie spot.

*How should I give them a proper money meal?*

It turned out to be more difficult than he expected.

First, he tried calling the restaurant to see about making a donation.

(Hello, this is JMT Sushi.)

“Hello, I’d like to ask something.”

(Yes, please go ahead.)

“You have the Kind Influence sticker posted there, right?”

(Ah, yes. That’s correct.)

“I was thinking of making a donation…”

(A donation?)

“Yes. I saw the sticker and wanted to help.”

(Ahh, that’s very kind of you. But it’s okay. This is something I’m doing purely because I want to. If I start accepting money from others, I feel like the meaning might get distorted. I’ll gratefully accept your kind heart, though.)

“Ah, I guess I thought about it too lightly.”

(Not at all. Just hearing your words is already very much appreciated.)

“Then I’ll come often to eat. It’s in my neighborhood, after all.”

(Oh my, thank you so much.)

“Yes. Take care.”

With that, he ended the call.

“Hmm.”

Even though he had only checked one place, the conversation made it clear that a direct donation felt awkward. To properly give a “money meal,” it seemed better to just buy and eat a large quantity of food.

“Large quantity, huh?”

One idea came to mind.

*That could work.*

He decided to put the plan into action right away.

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