When I woke up this morning, the first thing I saw was a piece of bread.
Not a normal piece of bread.
A flaming piece of bread.
"SPICY!" I shouted, leaping out of bed just as the little red menace proudly held up what could only be described as the cremated remains of a baguette.
"Toast!" Spicy yelled, his tiny claws still glowing faintly. "Made it! For Daddy!"
"...I'm not your dad" I muttered, grabbing the bread with tongs and tossing it into the sink before the apartment burned down.
Spicy puffed his cheeks, the way only a four-year-old could, and crossed his little arms.
"Daddy un-grateful."
I stared at him, groggy, hair a mess, face unshaven.
"...I didn't sign up for this."
From the other room, my mom's voice rang out like the herald of doom.
"Ohhhh, Hanseok! Did Spicy make you breakfast? That's so precious!"
Mom appeared, beaming, holding her phone up like she was about to take fifty photos.
Step-dad followed behind, grumbling.
"That thing's gonna burn the building down one day. You'll see."
And my sister? She leaned against the doorway, sipping MY leftover coffee, smirking.
"Honestly, I like him better than you, oppa."
I groaned.
The day hadn't even started yet.
By the time we got to the store, the chaos had already begun.
The goblins had, once again, stolen aprons from the restaurant side. Except this time, they weren't pretending to be chefs.
No.
They were pretending to be waiters.
Coupon, the so-called leader of the Goblin Coupon Gang, had a bowtie duct-taped to his throat and was balancing three trays of soda on his head while spinning in circles.
Another goblin was standing by the entrance, bowing to everyone who entered, even a random dog that wandered in.
And a third had climbed onto a table, loudly announcing the specials of the day.
"We got BURG-ERRRR" he screeched. "We got FRYZZZ. We got..."
"GET DOWN!" I shouted, dragging him off the table before the crush-girl saw.
Ah, right. Crush-girl.
Seo Mirae.
The only person in this godforsaken building who seemed to know what she was doing. Beautiful, graceful, efficient. She was currently flipping patties like it was second nature.
And, of course, she waved at me with that gentle smile that probably could've made grown men faint.
"Morning, boss" she said warmly. "I think Spicy's already in the kitchen."
My blood froze.
"SPICY?!"
I burst through the kitchen door just in time to see my little "familiar" perched on the counter, his cheeks puffed up with smoke as he stared intently at the fryer.
"Spicy cook fries!" he chirped. "Spicy help!"
"No, no, no!" I lunged forward.
Mirae screamed.
The fryer hissed ominously.
And then...
BOOM.
Grease popped, flames shot up, and I found myself smacking at the fryer with a fire extinguisher while Spicy laughed his tiny head off.
"Daddy funny! White snow spray!"
"...you're grounded."
The rest of the day was no better.
Adventurers stopped by. Some of them thought Spicy was "adorable" and fed him snacks. One nearly lost his eyebrows when Spicy sneezed fire at him.
Dungeon monsters came in too, apparently, word about the restaurant had spread. A slime ordered ramen. A skeleton tried to chew a cheeseburger. A wolf-headed warrior just sat in the corner sipping cola through a straw.
Meanwhile, my family was making everything worse.
Mom kept trying to take family photos in the middle of the dining area.
Step-dad sat at a booth, glaring at every customer like he was preparing to fight them.
And my sister? She kept loudly telling Mirae how "single" I was, while Mirae smiled politely, clearly trying to ignore her.
By mid-afternoon, I was certain I had aged ten years.
That night, when the store finally emptied out and the goblins were passed out in a pile of aprons, I sat at the counter with Spicy curled up in my lap, finally asleep.
And then, the Dungeon appeared.
The air rippled, the lights flickered, and that shadowy figure manifested in the corner like it owned the place.
It tilted its head, watching me silently for a moment.
"...What now?" I asked tiredly.
The Dungeon's voice was low, unreadable.
"Some of your deliveries... were sent today."
I frowned. "Not sent?"
"Orders are being... interfered with."
The Dungeon's form shifted, unsettled.
"Something... watches. Something pries."
Before I could ask more, it looked at Spicy. Its voice softened.
"Be careful what he learns from you."
And then it was gone.
I stared at the empty space, heart thumping. My hand absently ruffled Spicy's head.
"...Yeah" I muttered. "Like I've got time to worry about that when I can barely stop him from deep-frying himself."
But still… I couldn't shake the Dungeon's words.
Orders being interfered with?
Someone was messing with my deliveries.