We headed toward the place where we expected the tasting course to be prepared.
A fancy table. A clean silk tablecloth. Flickering candles.
A neatly presented menu on the table.
[MENU]
Full Course
Quiche made with turkey bacon and fresh eggs
Seasonal gravlax served with arugula
Pufferfish roe with rye bread, butter, and consomme
Choose one
Steamed Dish
Feijoada with pork sausage
Royal cast-iron stew with red deer antler mushrooms
Steamed vinyl wraps with hydrochloric acid-aged rubber bands
Choose one
Grilled Dish
200g grilled galbi with aged kimchi and ginseng
150g grilled plastic raclette with ventricular meat
200g cadmium barbecue served with lather foam
Choose one
Meal
Beef brisket soybean paste stew with nutritious stone pot rice
Petroleum jajangmyeon
Methanol jambalaya
Choose one
Dessert
Apricot tart with vanilla ice cream
Five-colored glass marble tanghulu
Asphalt sherbet
Choose one
We checked the entire menu.
And honestly, we had no idea what to choose. We were hungry and thirsty, and since we didn't know which foods were safe to eat or which could be dangerous, all we wanted was to try everything.
"Please let me know when you've made your selection."
Then, the reindeer-masked attendant spoke to us. Unlike before, dressed as if in a fine restaurant, the formal outfit was rather irritating.
"You don't want to drag this out, do you?"
I nodded slightly at Han Se-hee's words.
Based on the earlier pattern, it was predictable. If it took too long, he'd switch back to speaking informally.
But as expected, there was no way we could figure out which dishes were dangerous just because we participated in the tasting.
"Honestly, all of these could be dangerous food."
"Probably. The contaminated zone is hostile to humans."
They might have set up a very clever trap, and there's no way for us to know.
So… I spoke up.
"I have a question. Does all of this contain meat?"
"Yes. All courses are made with fresh meat supplied from the Coccinus slaughterhouse."
Of course.
It's an event hosted by a butcher. The menu would inevitably include meat.
I prepared to deploy the countermeasure I had been thinking about for a while.
"We're all vegan. We don't eat meat for ethical reasons. So please prepare a menu that contains no meat, poultry, eggs, fish, or dairy at all."
I had decided to become the crazy person looking for vegan options at a butcher shop.
"What are you talking about? This is a butcher shop."
The reindeer-masked attendant said, staring at me quietly.
"Excuse me? This was a butcher shop? The sign outside just said 'Gapsuni's.'"
I was telling the truth. The sign we saw outside only said Gapsuni's.
It was a butcher shop? What would happen if I claimed I didn't know?
"You could tell by looking at what's sold upstairs."
"They only sell things we can't eat, so I thought maybe the tasting would be different."
For the first time, I saw emotion on the reindeer mask's face. It looked like anger, or maybe disbelief.
"Customers."
"Yes?"
I had some leverage.
There are rules in this contaminated zone. As long as we are considered customers, the reindeer-masked attendant does not act hostile or attack.
He only stops treating you as a customer if you don't buy anything for a long time.
And that's when the hostility really begins. But for now…
"We attended the on-site event and the tasting, but there's nothing here we can eat."
We already participated in the event. In other words, we had paid for the tasting.
"Did the tasting notice say it was all meat dishes? No, it didn't."
I recalled the notice posted on the butcher shop wall.
[Enjoy five-course dishes of your choice with Gapsuni's! Tasting in progress]
The notice only mentioned that the courses could be enjoyed by choice.
"I didn't realize these were the only options. Please prepare the courses again according to our tastes."
How would the reindeer-masked attendant respond to this request?
"Our butcher shop—"
"I'm saying I didn't realize this was a butcher shop."
Before he could say more, I cut him off. And the attendant let it slide.
This was tolerable. We were participating in the tasting according to procedure. Moreover, I was insisting that I didn't know the courses were all meat…
It's true that the sign didn't say butcher, and the notice didn't specify meat courses.
"We cannot prepare vegan meals."
I looked at him, incredulous.
"Then are you trying to force-feed us meat?"
This ridiculous argument, surprisingly, was having an effect. Proof? The reindeer-masked attendant wasn't attacking me.
"Exactly. If you can't provide a vegan menu, we can't eat anything here."
Han Se-hee also stood up, supporting my words.
I recalled what Yoo Sang-cheol had said when we entered this contaminated zone.
[There are rules you must follow in a contaminated zone. If you break them, nothing good will happen.]
These rules don't only bind us. Even the menacing reindeer mask before me is controlled by the rules of this zone. Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense.
"Of course, it's true we didn't confirm it was a butcher shop… but it's hard to tell from the outside, isn't it?"
I spoke softly to the reindeer-masked attendant.
There was only one reason: we couldn't be sure if the shop would treat us as customers even when we complained.
So we had to act as polite, well-mannered complaining customers.
"I understand the situation, but this is surprising."
"Same here. But if you force the tasting, won't it hurt your shop's reputation?"
Bringing up the shop's reputation made the reindeer-masked attendant flinch slightly.
Of course.
Why did we come to this contaminated zone in the first place?
When eating pork belly at a restaurant, human body parts were subtly mixed in. According to the police, such incidents happened frequently, and Gapsuni's business cards were always found afterward.
"There's nothing good about damaging your shop's reputation, right?"
"Exactly."
What came to my mind was the incident we experienced while eating pork belly—the situation where a human part was subtly mixed in.
The police said this happened often and Gapsuni's card was always left behind.
Leaving a business card after slipping something into a product?
It's like a promotional event at a bar, offering hangover remedies in front of customers.
'Our meat is good. Try some, and if you like it, come visit.'
The whole series of incidents was basically a marketing campaign. This contaminated zone not only mimicked a shop for promotional purposes, but it also cared about reputation.
The reindeer-masked attendant responded.
"So what would you like, customers?"
"We don't have a preference. We didn't realize it was a butcher shop, and we didn't expect the tasting dishes to be like this. Let's consider it a small misunderstanding and part ways with a smile, shall we?"
We couldn't ask for compensation. That would be walking the fine line between a difficult customer and a regular one.
We were customers now, but if the attendant decided we were troublemakers, we might lose that status.
So… let's settle this.
"Understood. We've learned a lot from today's events and will take measures to prevent this from happening again."
"Thank you."
He would let us leave! I suppressed a shout of joy and thanked the reindeer-masked attendant.
As expected, behaving like a troublemaker wouldn't earn you customer treatment.
"Now, which way should we go?"
Our business here was finished. When the attendant pointed to the wall, a door had appeared where there was none before.
It even said EXIT, politely. We got up, watching him carefully.
One by one, we stepped through the door. After Han Se-hee and Oh Min-hyuk went, I let Yoo Young-cheol go ahead of me.
"Go first."
Yoo Sang-cheol made a questioning noise and looked at me.
"I have a little business to take care of first."
He hesitated briefly, then nodded.
"Alright. You must have your reasons."
He seemed impressed by today's events and went ahead without complaint. Now…
I addressed the reindeer-masked attendant.
"Can I take one of the menus with me?"
"Why?"
Immediately, he asked. And this time, informally. Depending on the reason, my life could hang in the balance.
"Personally, I can't eat it, but the course looks impressive. I'd like to show it to someone who might be interested."
The truth was, leaving empty-handed would give nothing to Director Woo Gi-yeong. This menu was created in the contaminated zone itself, so it had research value.
"You can't take it out."
"I can."
The attendant nodded at my words.
"Very well."
Fortunately, he agreed. After all, I said I'd show it to someone; the shop owner had no reason to refuse. I placed the menu in my inventory.
Now there was nothing else to do. Time to leave.
"Wait."
When I turned toward him, his blood-red eyes were right in front of my nose.
"I remember your face. If you come to the butcher shop again, you'll be considered troublemakers."
A warning never to set foot in Gapsuni's again. It implied death without question if disobeyed.
"Look, we didn't come here on purpose. We won't be coming back. Goodbye."
I bowed and headed for the door.
"Take care."
Even as the shop owner, he still said goodbye to leaving customers. Unbelievable.
Once we stepped outside, the familiar scene unfolded immediately: police controlling the area and patrol cars.
Then, a sudden dizziness hit me.
"Ha, shi… my feet."
After a moment, I recovered from the dizziness and collapsed, my legs giving out. My body and mind felt utterly exhausted.
Sitting there, staring blankly at the sky, I recalled the menu once more.
Now I understood. Which foods were safe, which were deadly.
"What nasty bastards."
There was a reason no one survived. Even if you made it to the stage of choosing courses, death was inevitable.
For the courses, you had to choose the first dish in each of the five courses. All five!
It was like putting a bomb necklace on someone and locking it with the code 11111.
"What kind of brave fool would do that?"
In that situation, would anyone enter 1 five times? You'd hesitate halfway, thinking, "Is this right?" and change it.
The courses were the same.
It was a death sentence. There was no way to survive it normally.
Someone would have died from eating just one wrong item.
"Kim Sang-seon, trainee janitor."
It was Yoo Sang-cheol's voice. He held out his hand toward me.
"Good work. That was impressive."
I took his hand and slowly stood up.
"This was insanely exhausting. Thank you."
Yoo Sang-cheol nodded.
"Cleaning may have failed, but we gained something. Now that we've discovered Gapsuni's true nature, the right janitor will be deployed."
Meaning, someone strong enough to take on the reindeer-masked attendant.
"That's a relief."
"Also, your performance will be reported."
I wasn't sure if that was good or bad. Would it benefit me?
"You're guaranteed a few days of rest. Today was tough for everyone, so that's it."
Good news. I nodded.
And that was the end of the day.