The aroma of Gilgeori Toast soon filled the air. Bread toasted with margarine, egg, cabbage, ham, and cheese gave off a savory smell that made the people in line even more impatient.
The first order was ready.
"It's still hot. Be careful." Jun-ho handed the toast to the large man who had been standing at the very front.
The man took a bite right away.
Crunch!
His eyes widened.
"This is it!"
He didn't even care that he had nearly burned his tongue.
"Boss, with skills like this, there's no way you should be unemployed! If I ate this every day, I wouldn't get tired of it either."
He stared at the toast in his hand. "This isn't ordinary food. It's like a work of art."
Jun-ho smiled. Then he remembered the Absolute Mastery Archive's explanation about Mastery Points.
Those points could also be earned by sharing knowledge.
Jun-ho decided to give it a try. "Gilgeori Toast developed as one of Korea's street foods."
"The most important thing isn't simply putting egg and cabbage into bread. The griddle's temperature, the ratio of the ingredients, and even the cooking time all have to be balanced."
He explained several basic techniques stored in the Mastery.
But when he finished, the men in front of him were still staring at their respective toasts.
"Boss."
"Yeah?"
"I didn't understand half of what you explained." The big man laughed. "As long as you're the one making it, we'll just eat it."
The others laughed along.
Jun-ho was a little disappointed.
There was no Mastery Points notification.
'So simply explaining it isn't enough. The people listening have to truly understand it, too.'
He went back to work.
"Oh, right."
Jun-ho had almost forgotten something.
"Starting today, one Gilgeori Toast costs 10,000 won."
The line fell silent for a moment.
But the big man immediately pulled out his money.
"Just ten thousand? No problem." He took another bite of the toast. "If it tastes this good, I'd buy it even if it cost more."
Another man nodded.
"Look at that layer of egg. The bread is perfectly crispy, too. Ten thousand won is still worth it."
Jun-ho didn't say anything else.
His hands kept moving.
Expensive or not, the line in front of him had already given him his answer.
At the LUMINA office, several women stood by the window.
"There he is!" Choi Ha-neul pointed toward the street. "Jun-ho-ssi is open."
Park Ji-won looked over as well.
Then her expression changed.
"Why is the line so long?"
Ha-neul immediately slumped into her chair. "I'm hungry..."
Han Seo-yeon looked at her. "You just ate breakfast."
"That has nothing to do with the toast."
Ji-won smiled. "Then use your charm. Go downstairs, steal Jun-ho-ssi away, and make him prepare some special toast for us."
Ha-neul shot back immediately. "Why me? Seo-yeon was the first one to buy from him. You two are a better match."
Seo-yeon laughed.
"Don't drag me into this."
One of their coworkers glanced toward the boss's desk.
"The boss is still here. If we all go down now, we'll definitely get caught."
"Then wait until the line gets a little shorter."
From then on, several LUMINA employees watched the crowd around Jun-ho's cart more often than they watched their own computer screens.
Meanwhile, the line in front of Jun-ho only grew longer. A customer finished three toasts at once before finally clutching his stomach.
"I can't eat another bite."
The people behind him swallowed hard.
"If you're full, move."
"I haven't gotten mine yet!"
Jun-ho worked faster and faster.
One toast after another came off the griddle.
People who had originally been passing by began stopping out of curiosity.
"Is it really that good?"
"It's just toast, right?"
"If it's nothing special, why are people lining up like this?"
A man who had just finished eating heard the comment. He tore off a small piece of his leftover toast. "Try it yourself."
The skeptic took the piece. The moment he bit into it, his expression changed. Without saying a word, he walked to the back of the line.
"I'm buying some, too."
Jun-ho grew even more confident.
'If this keeps up, completing the Reputation mission shouldn't be difficult.'
Some customers even started giving him requests.
"Boss, don't suddenly move somewhere else."
"If you do move, let us know."
"I want to bring this to the office. Maybe my boss will be nicer after eating it."
Jun-ho nearly laughed.
His thoughts began to drift.
He imagined a luxurious auction house.
A man in a suit stood onstage, holding a gavel.
"Up next, Gilgeori Toast made by Lee Jun-ho! Opening bid: one million won!"
"One million!"
"Ten million!"
"One hundred million!"
Jun-ho was just about to break into a wide grin when suddenly—
"The enforcement officers are here!"
His smile vanished instantly.
"What?"
He turned around.
Several district office vehicles stopped not far away.
Uniformed enforcement officers got out one by one.
The street vendors around them immediately panicked.
Some shut off their burners.
Some pushed their carts away.
Others simply abandoned the area.
Jun-ho started moving, too.
"Everyone, sorry! I have to go!" A customer grabbed the side of his cart.
"Wait! My toast isn't finished!"
"Boss, mine isn't either!"
Jun-ho began to sweat. "The enforcement officers are here! Come back tomorrow!"
"No way." The big man from earlier gripped the cart even tighter. "I've been waiting in line for a long time."
"That's right! Finish ours first."
Jun-ho saw the officers drawing closer.
"If I get caught, my cart could be in trouble!"
He let go of the cart and immediately ran.
But after only a few steps—
"Boss!"
Someone grabbed his arm.
Two other customers joined in and held him back.
"Don't go!"
"Our toast isn't finished!"
Jun-ho almost cried.
"Are you customers or my enemies?!"
Before long, several officers arrived.
Their team leader, Choi Min-seok, saw Jun-ho being held by a group of citizens.
He was silent for a moment.
Then he smiled with satisfaction.
"Good." Choi Min-seok gave a thumbs-up. "The citizens are becoming more aware of the rules. They're even helping hold illegal street vendors back now."
Jun-ho stared at the sky without saying a word.