Hunting 1

Eun Ha was nervously tapping her foot rhythmically under the table, unable to avoid the choking sensation that was looming over her as she waited for her order. She was, as the hunter had commanded, inside Delish Cafe, which denied in all respects its name.

She entered alone, as agreed, trying to carry out her mission, but so far, every second she spent in there increased her desire to leave. Remembering her foster mother's bakeshop, Jolly Bakery, and comparing her sweet recollection to this bleak and uncomfortable place, only reinforced the bad feeling.

The Café was located on a gloomy, uninteresting street corner, and was the only open shop in the street at the time of the evening. Its facade looked unfinished and cheap, it had little furniture inside, and the sweets and cakes in the window did not look appetizing, but rather had been there for some time without attracting anyone's appetite.

The menu card looked greasy, and had labels stickers pasted over the original price values. 'It seems like everything is on sale here, but why don't I feel like eating anything?'

Professor Shin had said he was looking for something bad in this cafe. She didn't need further explanation to figure that he believed something bad was happening there. She wasn't sure what to think after listening a bit on the background of that cafe and its owners.

According to the older fairy hunter, a little over a year ago, the couple who owned this cafe used to own a promising small muffin factory. They even got to open two cafes selling fine pastries in Seoul. But a young digital influencer had apparently destroyed the reputation of the muffins and the brand, with a series of videos.

Eun Ha vaguely remembered the case. The muffins brand was gaining market share and Han Dong Won, this famous Instagrammer, claimed in a video that he or someone related to him found a fragment of mouse tail in one of their pastries. He even did lab analysis to prove it, and got support from his followers to file a lawsuit against the company.

Eun Ha didn't follow the case's media covering on it and knew no details, but now learned from her fairy teacher that after trying to reverse the situation, the factory was again charged for containing hazardous chemicals in the composition of the muffins. The lawsuit was still pending, but the factory went bankrupt. The employees also went to court seeking labor reparations, but the owners vanished without a trace. Even the couple's son, who was in the army, was reported to have abruptly deserted.

"But they are here," she had commented, "And they even opened a new cafe. This is fraud, isn't it?"

"It must be illegal, but they have to eat. Human laws are not my concern," the hunter shrugged. "But not long ago, I received a complaint that this area was contaminated and possibly, the food they are serving as well. That means something is very wrong," turning to the fashion designer, he asked, "Can you feel anything?"

"Yeah, I feel I should be in my bed right now, or at least, wearing gloves," she rubbed her hands together, grimacing. Although Eun Ha had been protected by the Hunter's broad shoulders and her beautiful new raincoat on the ride here on his bike, her hands on his waist took all the freezing wind frontside. She didn't bring any gloves because it was still October and she would not have imagined riding a motorcycle at such weather.

"Just order for some tea to warm your hands, when you're inside."

"Aishhh…" 'Could you offer me your scarf, or gently rub my hands…Uhn? So mean…' she thought to herself, but suddenly a realization came to her mind:

"Wait: I'll come in all by myself?"

"If I come in too early, whatever is there will be aware of my presence, and most probably, will flee. I've been here before, and I couldn't find anything, despite all the traces of supernatural influence. Most likely what was here certainly got away with noticing my arrival."

"And I… Isn't that putting your pupil in risk?"

He blinked when she said the word 'pupil' with sincere eyes, cleaned something in the corner of his mouth with the thumb, and made a dismissive gesture,

"No. There's nothing there that would want to hurt you."

"And what's up there?"

"This isn't a class night and you have a lot of "why's" already," he said, picking up a leather duffel bag. "I'm saying you won't get hurt. It won't happen. I just need you to neutralize them, meaning, the humans, for a while. So that I can locate what goes wrong there. If they're only wicked people, or if there's any other sort of influence over there."

"Okay! But… How should I supposed to do that?"

"I need you to think of something. Since you are the only one going to use your magic. I just need them not to notice anything, since it can be pretty weird for humans."

"You mean, like... Knocking them out?"

"It would be on point, yes."

'Wouldn't it be too much? Like, knocking out people out from nowhere…?' she thought, "But I don't know how to do that."

He looked at the other side, noticing a couple who seemed annoyed with each other, mindlessly coming to their direction. The Hunter moved Eun Ha away with one arm before the passing woman bumped into her, and they were ignored by the strangers. The couple entered the cafe.

"You've been creative for over 10 years, creating absurd things to preserve your protégé, and now you tell me you can't think of anything?! Are you slacking off, Jung?!"

"N-no. I'm going, I'm going," she rubbed her hands once more, and lowering her head, crossed the street to the café. 'He is right. It should not be difficult. I'm good at jinxing people. And to top it off, I created a fantastic raincoat and a huge tree too! He is not asking for anything above my capacity. Eun Ha, fighting!' she showed a cheering closed fist to herself, in her way to the cafe entrance.

But now, sitting there, after ordering a cup of tea for the man with the gray hair and dispirited expression, her doubts returned.

With a finger she outlined the the circle-shaped coffee stain on the checkered tablecloth, trying to think of a strategy. She had sat by the window, and saw the couple, who were sitting by the door, aggressively but quietly arguing to one another. Her attention shifted to the annoying noise of a flickering fluorescent light bulb, near the kitchen door.

'Stopping to think of it, this place does seem quite depressing. Is it really supernatural influence? And Hunter Shin said he got a complaint… from who?'

The man Eun Ha thought was the owner, came to bring her order: a cup of tea and a cookie. Eun Ha looked up with a smile to say thank you, but met with a blank and absent look. A little shocked, she looked down at the cup and noticed a not-so-discreet crack in the cheap porcelain.

"Ah, ahjussi!" she was going to ask him to change the cup, but the man had just turned his back and didn't reply to her call. She gave up and just sighed. "What a deplorable place!" she held the cup to warm her hands, but had no desire to drink the liquid from the cracked cup, and ignored the cookie as well.

At the other end, the couple were arguing a bit louder now.

'Aish, can't they argue elsewhere? I'm trying to think of what to do here! I need to 'neutralize' the couple that owns this place. The wife must be in the kitchen, since only the man is out here. What should I do? Can I put the Confectioner to sleep by having him drink tea with a soporific? No, even if I can make a tea with soporific, this is dangerous; otherwise it may not work. And there is the ajuhmma in the kitchen. Should I lure them out somehow? Or maybe cause a mess with the quarrelsome couple over there? Oh, I don't know! Wow, this tea got cold fast, I'm chilling in here!'

The doorbell rang as another customer entered.