Became a Failed Experimental Subject Novel - Chapter 40

“That’s ridiculous. How can someone eat that much and still be hungry?”

It absolutely shouldn’t make sense, yet he piles food high onto his tray again, almost performing a trick. It’s beyond gopbaegi (extra large serving) or gobong-bap (heaped bowl of rice)—this is a special extra-large, extra-heaped serving. This was his 35th plate, but in reality, it should have counted as four times that.

The woman, Yu Hye-na, watched the man return to his seat, then entered the makeshift kitchen behind the serving line where volunteers were busily cooking. She spoke with a strained smile.

“How are the remaining ingredients looking?”
“Th-they’re almost gone… he alone emptied three pots.”
“We always brought plenty… What do we do, Hye-na-ssi?”
“I’ll have to go to the nearest supermarket to get more ingredients. The food quality might suffer, but no one should go hungry today because of him.”

Sighing, Yu Hye-na rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a golden card for Espers. This card, with its fingerprint recognition, could only be used by her, so she had to go herself. Yu Hye-na gestured to the large male volunteers, got into the truck that had brought the food, and went to the nearest supermarket, grabbing vegetables and meat as much as she could see. When Yu Hye-na returned to Black Bear Park after her hurried shopping, she heard even louder cheers from the residents.

“44! 44! 44!”
“Woooah!”

What’s all this commotion? Has he really reached his 44th plate already? Yu Hye-na gasped and rushed into the kitchen to check the situation. The volunteers, sweating as if they were in a popular restaurant rather than a free soup kitchen, looked despairing instead of happy when Yu Hye-na returned.

“Aaaah…! We finally ran out! Of ingredients!”
“No! Let us rest!”
“Ugh… ugh…!”

As the male volunteers dumped more onions, potatoes, and meat next to those who were cooking the last remaining ingredients, the volunteers’ groans grew. For a brief moment, those with quick hands continued cooking and refilled the empty pots. The residents in line received their food one by one, and then, the man, much taller than the other residents, rejoined the line.

Yu Hye-na clenched her fists, composed herself, and approached the man. – “I shouldn’t get angry just because he eats a lot. This person came here because he’s hungry too. Everyone should be able to leave equally, and with a full stomach…”

“H-have you… eaten well?”
“It’s delicious.”

He’s not saying he’s hungry? Right, he should eat well, after eating all that… he must be full now, right? The man, betraying Yu Hye-na’s hopes, stood in line at the serving counter and scooped up more food.

“More… food?”
“I’m eating more.”
“I-is that so…? You’re amazing, truly…?”
“Hmm, this… is called a ‘thumbs up,’ isn’t it?”

At the sight of the man giving a thumbs up, Yu Hye-na’s head began to throb. “Thumbs up,” what nonsense! Even so, isn’t this a bit too much?! As the freshly refilled pot was half-emptied again by the piled-up food, the volunteers sighed, and the residents cheered. And so, once again, this is really the last time, right?

Just one more time, please say it’s the last?

Seriously, please!

“I ate well.”
“Ah, ha, ha, ha…?”

Finally, the man, who had continued to scoop up food, only said he had eaten well much later. Yu Hye-na’s laughter, already past its limit, didn’t seem like a smile at all. As the man put his plate down at the dish return, the residents who had stayed in the soup kitchen even after finishing their meals cheered in unison.

“57! It ended at 57!”
“Ahahaha! Just a little more!”
“Woooah!”
“The best! So cool!”

Yu Hye-na’s eyebrows twitched as she watched the man, who had been patting his stomach with a satisfied expression, suddenly raise his fist. Is he even human? Where did he put all that food? If he were wearing clothes, she might suspect he was secretly hiding it inside, but the man was only wearing old firefighter pants, revealing his muscular upper body. The man, who seemed twice Yu Hye-na’s height, approached her with an admiring voice.

When he stood right in front of her, the man’s imposing size, looking like a mountain, and his clearly defined muscles despite eating so much, made Yu Hye-na blink in surprise.

“You seem to be the manager of this soup kitchen.”
“I’m not the manager… Ugh, wow, ah.”
“Amazing, I never thought I could truly eat until I was full.”
“You’re, finally, full now…? Is that, a full stomach? That?”
“This is the first time I’ve eaten so much delicious food.”

Yu Hye-na unconsciously reached out to the man’s abs, then pulled her hand back as if burned. For a moment, she felt a sense of reward from the man’s sincere voice and innocent eyes. But that only lasted a moment. Thinking about the sheer amount this human had consumed, a greater question overshadowed any sense of reward.

Not asking who someone is was a rule Yu Hye-na set for this soup kitchen. Even criminals, if fed well and sent back, could become diligent workers. Nevertheless, Yu Hye-na found herself wondering what kind of person the man in front of her was. Is he even human? Is this some kind of monster in disguise? Or just a pig? A psychic who awakened the ability to eat a lot?

But that was the end of it for now… Yu Hye-na sighed and offered the same greeting she gave other residents.

“I hope you’ll live vigorously, as much as you ate your fill today.”
“Hmm… you’re not asking for money?”
“No, this is a free soup kitchen for those who are hungry.”
“Truly amazing, it’s really free…!”

Did Yu Hye-na know that this man expressing such emotion was a very rare occurrence? The man, who even opened his mouth and clapped, extended a hand the size of a pot lid to Yu Hye-na. “What’s this?” Yu Hye-na hesitated, then took his hand, and her delicate hand was swung around vigorously by his rough grip.

“You are a very wonderful woman. You are the fourth most wonderful person I have ever seen.”
“No, the fourth isn’t that special, I think?”
“No, the fourth is great. As wonderful as yarikkiri.”
“Yari? Yakitori? Are you talking about chicken skewers…? We didn’t make that today?”

Is he perhaps a bit… lacking? Yu Hye-na, flustered by the incomprehensible conversation, checked her hand, freed from the man’s grasp, to make sure it was okay. His hand is so big. Yu Hye-na suddenly felt like a child again. In the meantime, the man, perhaps afraid she would ask for money, had already distanced himself to the park entrance. He raised his thumb towards Yu Hye-na once more. This time, both thumbs. Yu Hye-na blinked blankly as she watched the man continue to extend his hands and step backward.

“He’s like a typhoon…”

After that, Yu Hye-na nodded silently at the comment made by a volunteer. Just as the volunteer said, he was indeed like a typhoon, though she didn’t know why. He appeared suddenly, devoured all the food, then quickly disappeared. Afterward, it was tough, but bearable.

And he was a man she hoped wouldn’t come back.

“…Surely he won’t come tomorrow.”
“Ahaha… no way.”
“If he ate that much, he’ll be full for a month….”

Yu Hye-na and the volunteers sighed and continued cooking the remaining food. After that, even those who ate a lot only took about three or four bowls. Yu Hye-na smiled even more broadly than usual at them and asked how they were doing.

Thus, the day ended. The very next day, the last day of the weekend, that man appeared again.

“Is that him? He really ate 57 bowls? Is that even possible?”
“Wow! It’s Mr. 57!”
“Mr. 57!”
“H-hee hee hee….”
“What, why is he here again today…? After eating all that yesterday…?”

The man, who appeared brazenly at the soup kitchen, was easily spotted by everyone due to his towering height, even if they didn’t want to see him. Yu Hye-na and the volunteers, who witnessed him, trembled with aching arms. Amidst the residents’ laughter, the man, gulping down the saliva in his mouth, approached Yu Hye-na. Yu Hye-na, with trembling hands, placed a tray in his hand and greeted him.

“Oh, you’ve come again today…?”

The greeting at the soup kitchen ends right there; it’s a rule not to ask for names or identities. However, Yu Hye-na, unable to hold back, parted her lips and asked the man’s name.

“Um, by the way, what’s… your name?”
“Hmm… my name, you ask.”

The man, after a moment of consideration, scratching his shaggy hair, replied.

“I am called Han Mu-ryo.”
“That’s a name that certainly likes ‘free’…”

How can a person’s name be “Free”…? Huh, but it might be a cool name? Yu Hye-na’s thought didn’t last long after handing over the tray.

“Han! Mu! Ryo! Han! Mu! Ryo!”
“Woooah! He eats so well!”
“Manager, I think you’ll have to go shopping again.”
“Ha, ha, ha, ha….”

The volunteers, who had experienced yesterday’s ordeal, cooked quickly, but he ate even faster. He had already consumed 55 bowls, and Yu Hye-na, who had already gone shopping once, prepared to go again immediately. Perhaps the rumor of Han Mu-ryo’s food-fighting show had spread widely in Sector 4, as the number of residents who came for a meal today doubled from the previous day. This was good news for Yu Hye-na, who had been worried about how to draw out those in Sector 4 who still prioritized pride over hunger, or those who didn’t come to the free soup kitchen even when their bodies were hurting.

Free meals and the entertainment of Han Mu-ryo – Yu Hye-na composed herself, thinking she should be happy that the Sector 4 residents were enjoying themselves, and went shopping.

And so, today’s record was 68 bowls. As Han Mu-ryo, patting his stomach, walked out amidst the laughing and chatting residents and placed his empty tray at the dish return, cheers filled the park.

“The best! Han Mu-ryo!”
“The best! The best! The best!”

Amidst the residents’ cheers, Han Mu-ryo closed his eyes and waved his hand, as if admitting he wasn’t the best. Then, Han Mu-ryo approached Yu Hye-na’s side and grabbed her wrist, lifting it up.

“I am not the best… The best is this woman, like yarikkiri!”
“Woooah! Yari, yarikkiri…?”
“What’s that…? Does he mean ‘alluring’ or ‘dingy’?”
“Manager Yu Hye-na isn’t alluring… is she? She’s elegant, isn’t she? Not dingy either…?”

“What is he talking about?” Yu Hye-na, flustered by Han Mu-ryo’s incomprehensible shouts, looked at the residents who were murmuring and looking at each other in confusion. Then, Han Mu-ryo took a deep breath and shouted so loudly that it seemed the park would leave.

“YARIKKIRI!!”
“Woooah! Yarikkiri! Yarikkiri! Yarikkiri!”

Amidst the cheers of something she didn’t understand, Yu Hye-na waved at the residents with a blank expression. And so, the man, who had swept through the soup kitchen like a typhoon, disappeared like one too.

“Whoever he is, he’s an entertaining person!”
“Isn’t yarikkiri that thing? When you finish work, you leave right away?”
“So he’s saying he finished eating, so he’s leaving?”
“Yarikkiri is a good thing!”

Even after the man left, the residents continued to laugh, chat, and eat, enjoying the new form of entertainment. Yu Hye-na, seeing this, thought, “Good is good,” and tidied up the soup kitchen. She hoped he wouldn’t come next week, anyway.
***

The Paradox of Plenty
After discovering the heaven of free, infinite meals, my life changed. I understood why people looked forward to weekends so much, and I learned that weekends truly were happy. Thinking about the weekend makes me happy, even when I eat small portions of tasteless food. It feels good even when the citizens who helped me cling to me unnecessarily, or feed me sleeping-pill-laced meat without getting tired, or when those who have been trying to capture me, who have somehow increased in number again, bother me.

And so, on the weekend following that week, I revisited the utopia that had appeared in Sector 4. Just arriving here made my mouth water… I swallowed my saliva GULP, GULP. I met the eyes of the manager here, a woman, who froze when she saw me.

“What kind of food will there be today?” As I looked past the woman, she approached me with an unusual aura. I sensed her unusual emotions and slowly swallowed the remaining saliva in my mouth.

“…Han Mu-ryo-ssi?”
“Hmm?”
“Han Mu-ryo-ssi… sigh, starting today, please only eat exactly 30 plates.”
“Aaaaaah!”
“Aaaaaah!”

THUMP! My eyes widened in shock, as if I had been hit in a vital spot by Starlight’s attack. I then clenched my fists, thinking that what had to come had finally come. The people standing around me sighed on my behalf, then murmured and nodded.

“I just yelled, but that’s true, isn’t it?”
“This person eats too much. Last week, I had to wait in line for 10 minutes because he ran out of food.”
“Me too, it’s really rare for food to run out here.”
“Did you hear that? If you eat like last week, others will suffer.”

That won’t do. I looked around the soup kitchen, which was clearly filled only with people who couldn’t eat well normally, and slowly nodded my trembling head through the shock. It was actually ridiculous that I had filled my stomach twice, yet this unbearable disappointment…

“So just 30 times, you surely don’t think that’s not a lot, do you? I think it’s strange too, but since I saw you eat that much, this is how much you should eat.”
“Aaah….”

As expected… infinite and free cannot coexist.

As I nodded again, the woman reiterated,

“Just 30 times, Han Mu-ryo-ssi, understood?”
“I am… not Han Mu-ryo.”
“What?”

Today, my newly sparkling world roughly crumbled. Infinite, free… the names that couldn’t be together let go of “infinite.” Yet this place was “free,” that noble word that shone despite its fading light remained.

But I cannot bear this emptiness…