Food Truck Owner Inside the Dungeon

**Dungeon Food Truck Owner Episode 9**

Entering the dark house after entering the door lock password and taking off her shoes, Kamang dashed inside and exclaimed in surprise.

“I clean it diligently every day!”

It had already been six years since Ji-eun had been living alone after her grandmother passed away.

When she learned to cook from her grandmother, they used to lay out ingredients in the kitchen and ponder what to make that day.

When her grandmother was alive, the kitchen was undoubtedly the place she cared about the most. Although the four-person dining table had never been filled, it never felt lonely when she had meals with her grandmother.

Now that she was alone, cooking grand meals only intensified her unbearable loneliness, so she hardly ate at home.

Sitting heavily in one of the four chairs, she bent down and picked up Kamang.

“Welcome to my home.”

It was already quite late, almost evening.

After spending the whole day preparing ingredients, cooking, washing dishes, and sorting trash, Ji-eun was indeed tired.

Normally, she would have eaten something simple like cereal or ramen at home, but today was different.

It was a special day since she had brought a pet (even though it was a hidden spirit) into her home for the first time.

Kamang could eat sandwiches like a person and had no issues with any food, so Ji-eun pondered what to make for him.

“What should I make? Since you’re in a cat form, I’m not sure what food would be easy for you to eat.”

“Really?”

“That means if I use a spoon or chopsticks, you can mimic me?”

Even so, Ji-eun couldn’t imagine a cat using a spoon to sip soup or chopsticks to pick up side dishes, causing her to chuckle.

“What would that even look like?”

Honestly, there was hardly anything in the refrigerator to work with.

Feeling hungry from Kamang’s words, she opened the fridge, hoping to find something, but all that was left was a container of napa cabbage kimchi.

It was no surprise since she had decided on the types of food to sell at the food truck and practiced packaging, leaving her little time to cook at home.

“Hmm…”

“Actually, I haven’t cooked much for myself. Oh, wait!”

She remembered that she had a bunch of tomatoes and bacon left in her inventory.

Originally, she had planned to make this for Juhyuk, but she thought it would be better to pair the egg sushi with miso soup, so she had put off making the tomato stew.

Since there was still some egg filling left from the sandwich, she figured she could make a tomato stew with bacon and enjoy it with soft rye bread and scrambled eggs.

As soon as she thought of this, her hunger began to grow.

She quickly got up and took out the cutting board, and filled a pot with water before turning on the gas.

“Yes, tonight’s dinner is tomato bacon stew.”

Whoosh—!

Since it had been a while since she lit the gas stove at home, the ignition sound lasted a bit longer before it finally flared up. While waiting for the water to boil to blanch the tomatoes, she needed to prepare them.

“Hmmm, what should I do?”

“The tomatoes are a bit tricky.”

She took out ten slices of tomato from her inventory and paused for a moment, contemplating.

It was a bit impractical to blanch the sliced tomatoes meant for the sandwich.

“Well, I can just strain them, I guess.”

Focusing on peeling the tomatoes with a knife, Ji-eun unconsciously bit her lip.

After peeling all the tomato skins, she took out a strainer and placed the tomatoes neatly on top.

As the water started to boil, she gently submerged the tomatoes in the water to blanch them before transferring them immediately to a bowl filled with cold water.

Although she hadn’t peeled the skins for the sandwich to maintain a crunchy texture, for a stew that needed to be soft and flavorful, it was essential to remove the skins.

The peeled tomatoes were quickly placed into a blender, and she added two large spoonfuls of sugar.

Next, she opened the vegetable compartment of the fridge, retrieving unwrapped onions, carrots, and two potatoes, smiling to herself.

It would have been even better with some button mushrooms, but it was a miracle that any vegetables were left for the stew.

Kamang complained about the vegetables in Ji-eun’s hands, but she couldn’t compromise on the balance of nutrients while cooking.

Turning on the sink, she washed the carrots, onions, and potatoes thoroughly before skillfully peeling the potato skins with a peeler.

In no time, she had peeled both potatoes and began to dice them into cubes.

Chop. Chop. Chop.

The sound of the knife hitting the cutting board was pleasing to her ears.

After cutting the carrots into the same shape and size, Ji-eun quickly sliced the onion.

With white, yellow, and orange vegetables beautifully arranged on the cutting board, Ji-eun took out a frying pan and retrieved butter and bacon from her inventory.

She drizzled some grape seed oil into the frying pan and melted the butter first. As the butter blended into the oil perfectly, she immediately began to sauté the one-inch pieces of bacon that had been drained of excess moisture with a paper towel.

The savory aroma made Kamang purr contentedly. Watching him, she suddenly lifted her head with a serious expression.

“Oh no! I forgot something!”

“Garlic!”

Ji-eun almost forgot the garlic. It was unthinkable for Korean cuisine to be without garlic.

Fortunately, she found the container of minced garlic she had stored in her inventory.

As the bacon started to cook, Ji-eun added two spoonfuls of garlic to the frying pan. After infusing the oil with the garlic aroma, she tossed in the chopped onions, carrots, and potatoes.

Sizzle!

The sound of the ingredients frying echoed through the kitchen.

Using a wooden spatula, she carefully stirred the mixture to prevent splattering and to ensure nothing stuck to the bottom.

Next, she lightly coated a pot with oil, transferred the cooked ingredients into it, and poured in enough water to cover the vegetables and bacon before bringing it back to a boil.

Not long after the water started bubbling, Ji-eun tested the potatoes and carrots with chopsticks and nodded.

“Alright, this should be good!”

Then, she poured the blended tomatoes into the pot without leaving a drop behind and began peeling more tomato slices from her inventory.

When the stew began to bubble again, Ji-eun added four unblended tomato pieces and looked at the clock.

There were about 10 minutes left.

Now, all she had to do was wait for the broth to thicken and for the last tomatoes to soften enough to break apart.

She also sliced the rye bread for toasting and prepared the egg filling to place on the table.

“Really? I don’t think so.”

“Thanks, Kamang. Just a little longer.”

A moment later, she lifted the pot lid and tasted the stew with a small plate. After adding salt and pepper for extra seasoning, she stirred it to prevent sticking and closed the lid again.

Turning to Kamang, she spread her arms wide and announced, “Five minutes left!”

After five minutes, she put on thick cooking gloves and carried the thick, reduced tomato stew to the table. Kamang cleverly nudged the potholder with his paw.

Setting the pot down and opening the lid revealed a steaming tomato bacon stew.

“Be careful; it’s hot, okay?”

As she reached for just one spoon, Ji-eun remembered Kamang’s words and set a spoon and a small plate in front of him. Moments later, she couldn’t help but laugh as she watched Kamang grasp the spoon with his paw and scoop the stew, blowing on it to cool it down.

“Haha! You’re so cute!”

The sight of the genius cat imitating her by blowing on the food was both adorable and amusing, making Ji-eun laugh heartily for the first time in a while at home.

Thanks to the tomato base, the stew had an exotic flavor, yet the garlic-infused bacon provided a familiar meaty taste, creating a Korean-style stew.

As Ji-eun took a bite-sized piece of bacon, fluffy potatoes, and tender carrots with a spoonful of broth, a smile spread across her face.

The tangy flavor mixed with the bacon and tomato sauce perfectly infused into the vegetables, rekindling her appetite.

Above all, sharing a meal with someone else instead of being alone heightened her enjoyment.

“You need to eat your vegetables too!”

As she placed potatoes and carrots on Kamang’s plate, which only had bacon and tomato stew, he looked at her with a resentful expression. She feigned a stern look before clicking on the tutorial reward notification that had been bothering her.

[You have gained access to the Hunter Market]

You have gained access to the Hunter Market auction house.

You have earned 100 Skill Points.

You have obtained a Skill/Item Draw Ticket (Unique x1).

Among these, the most eye-catching was the [Skill/Item Draw Ticket (Unique x1)].

Thanks to completing the tutorial ahead of schedule, she felt really good about getting an upgraded draw ticket.

Suddenly recalling Juhyuk’s face, who had helped her clear the tutorial quickly, Ji-eun murmured, “I wonder if he’s doing okay.”

As she thought of Juhyuk, who was alone in the dungeon on the fourth floor, she quickly bit into a piece of bread dipped in stew and, with trembling hands, called up the draw ticket from her inventory.

“I wonder what I’ll get?”

The draw ticket on the table was distinguished by a small wooden box and a key. It seemed like a system where you turned the key to open the wooden box.

This was the thrilling moment of drawing skills and items for the first time since awakening.

“Huh?”

With his cheeks full of bacon, Kamang spoke up.

“Really?”

After hearing Kamang’s explanation, Ji-eun scratched her head, feeling a bit embarrassed for hoping for something great.

As Kamang said, she had just completed her class change and received her tutorial rewards, so the chance of getting something good was very low.

‘…But you never know.’

Still unable to hide her anticipation, Ji-eun’s eyes were fixed on the wooden box.

Many of the dishes she had practiced flashed through her mind. Countless recipes she had modified and practiced!

No dish could be guaranteed to taste good until she tried it herself.

It was impossible to know anything until she saw it through to the end.

Swallowing the piece of bread she had been chewing, Ji-eun took a deep breath, then, without hesitation, inserted the key into the box’s keyhole and turned it.