NOVEL NEXT 24
“You came much sooner than I expected.”
I said as I set down a cup of coffee. Han Mi-ae cupped the coffee mug with both hands, her face slightly tense.
As she took a sip of the strong brew, her mind seemed to clear a bit.
“I thought it would take at least three days, or up to ten days at most.”
“…You seemed to consider my visit a foregone conclusion.”
A peculiar look fixed on me. I could feign modesty if necessary, but now was the time to display confidence.
“Of course.”
I continued with a subtle smile.
“You saw real results after following my advice, didn’t you? You might have hesitated, but you couldn’t dismiss it as nonsense.”
To be honest, I wasn’t certain, just had a hunch. But if a dash of MSG could boost trust, it was worth it.
“If you work with me, as I mentioned earlier, I’ll actively support you in various aspects, including business advice, new menu development, store expansion, and staff management.”
As I spoke seriously, Han Mi-ae nodded.
“The profit sharing will work like this…”
I pulled out some documents I had prepared earlier when opening the Hapjae Soup branch. Kim Jong-chun had left them in the supply cabinet after I gave them to him. Who knew they’d come in handy like this?
“It’ll be a retro-style snack shop, like the soup rice place. More than anything, we need a synergy effect where people think, ‘Oh, are these two restaurants related?’ just by looking at them.”
If we could capture that nostalgic, old-fashioned vibe like Hapjae Soup, it would be unique and appealing at first glance.
“We won’t change the menu much, but since it lacks distinctiveness now, we should create at least one signature dish.”
When I ran a snack shop before, I made quite a good menu item by adding a touch of Hong Kong-style cooking.
That was aimed at younger tastes, but here we have a diverse age range, so we need flavors familiar to everyone.
“I’ll arrange a time in a few days to explain the details properly. You can hear more then.”
As I finished speaking, I quickly gauged Han Mi-ae’s reaction.
Even if she had experienced the power of my advice firsthand, this was a different level from just changing the tteokbokki pan and removing kitchen towels from fried foods.
The interior renovation would cost a fortune, and the opportunity cost of closing during that time would be significant.
All while still having to pay monthly rent, which adds considerable pressure.
I explained these aspects in detail. Han Mi-ae listened attentively without showing any irritation, then nodded once more.
“I’ll do it.”
“…Are you sure you want to decide so quickly?”
The situation seemed oddly reversed.
Usually, I’d be the one recommending franchise membership while Han Mi-ae hesitated. Now, I was the one asking if she should reconsider.
But making decisions based on fragmentary thinking often leads to regret. And if she regrets it, she’s less likely to follow my various suggestions willingly.
Taking such a risk was quite burdensome.
“It’s fine.”
But Han Mi-ae’s face was filled with certainty. She looked at me with warm eyes and said,
“I may not have been great at business, but I’ve been at it for quite a while. Even when my children and husband stopped encouraging me and told me to quit, I didn’t give up. I kept showing up to work silently, even when they criticized me for wearing myself out and earning peanuts.”
Knowing how challenging it is myself, I couldn’t help but admire Han Mi-ae’s diligence and perseverance.
That’s why I meddled in the first place. I could clearly see the love and effort she poured into her shop.
“It always felt like I was wandering in a fog. I know there’s no definitive answer in business, but there should at least be some direction… I had to keep walking blindly, unable to distinguish front from back. I tried not to get tired, but inevitably, I did. Being human and all.”
People aren’t made of iron.
It’s impossible not to be affected by grueling work. We just wear down bit by bit.
“Then suddenly, it felt like a streetlight turned on above my head.”
“…My advice wasn’t that remarkable.”
“At least to me, it felt that way.”
The decision to listen to the advice and accept it was entirely Han Mi-ae’s.
I knew all too well how many owners fail to do that. Painfully so.
“Knowing which way to go, what to do… Having at least a minimal sense of direction made me feel much more at ease.”
Han Mi-ae smiled brightly.
“Thanks to that, I’m enjoying running the business again these days. When customers compliment the tteokbokki, it makes my whole day.”
Her smile was so radiant it lifted the mood of anyone who saw it.
“That’s why I could decide without hesitation. Of course, I’ll need to discuss the interior design more with my family.”
Her sheepish grin was endearing.
“I look forward to working with you.”
As Han Mi-ae extended her hand to me, I silently took it.
“…Likewise.”
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“Wow…”
Kim Jong-chun scratched his head, looking at the door Han Mi-ae had just exited.
“You’re starting the next business already?”
“We’ll need to keep an eye on things, but this place seems like it’ll generate stable revenue.”
“It’s great that the shop is growing well, but I’m a bit sad that you’ll be leaving us~.”
Kim Jong-chun said with a sly grin.
“Come on, you don’t mean that. You must have been frustrated with my constant nagging. Now you’re free. You should be happier.”
“What a hurtful thing to say!”
Kim Jong-chun shook his head with exaggerated gestures.
“Our Woo-yeon, you know? She may constantly evaluate taste, check hygiene, manage ingredients, and inspect everything…”
“……”
“But when something unexpected happens, she deals with it right away. It’s like having a powerful army at your back, you know? It makes me feel secure and reassured.”
As a novice owner, it’s unavoidable that he relies on me, but he needs to develop independence as a manager.
Just as Lee In-cheol maintained his position based on the ego he built up from years of running his own place. Even while essentially entrusting his shop to me, he clearly distinguished between his role as the owner and mine as an employee.
‘A lion throws its cubs off a cliff.’
Of course, Kim Jong-chun isn’t my child, nor am I a lion, but still.
Hearing Kim Jong-chun’s words only strengthened my resolve. If I stayed involved in setting up the shop’s initial systems, there was a high chance Kim Jong-chun would become overly dependent on me.
As I took off my apron and tidied up, I said,
“You’ll need to hire more people soon.”
“I guess I’ll need to find someone for the dining area when you move to the other shop.”
“No.”
I immediately countered Kim Jong-chun’s mutter.
“Not for the dining area.”
“Huh?”
“Find someone to work in the kitchen. You should…”
“What?”
Kim Jong-chun tilted his head, puzzled.
It’s understandable, as our positions at the
Kim Jong-chun in the kitchen, Song Woo-yeon in the dining area.
This was our basic setup. Of course, we helped each other out when busy.
So it’s natural for him to be confused when I suddenly want him to manage the dining area. But my basic principle was this:
“Kitchen or dining area. Both are important, but if we had to prioritize… I think the dining area is more crucial.”
“Really?”
“The dining area is where we directly meet customers, right? Remember what I said? The taste of food is only 30%. How the owner treats people in the dining area changes the impression of the entire restaurant.”
This is especially true for neighborhood businesses like ours.
“Besides, you’re good with people, so it’s actually a waste to keep you just in the kitchen. We’re letting your past experience go to waste.”
“Well, that’s true. We’ve been modeling after In-cheol’s place, so I just focused on the kitchen without thinking…”
Kim Jong-chun nodded, then suddenly turned to look at me.
“Wait, then why have I been in charge of the kitchen all this time? You know how to do everything in the kitchen too, Woo-yeon.”
Of course I do. Who do you think standardized this soup rice recipe in the first place?
But despite that, there was a reason I placed Kim Jong-chun in the kitchen.
“It’s an open kitchen, right?”
“Hmm…?”
“People are vulnerable to what they see. That’s why we chose to have this huge broth pot simmering and an open-style kitchen.”
In that sense, me standing in the kitchen wearing a chef’s uniform would be the worst choice.
“No matter how good the taste is, the moment I’m the one making it, the credibility plummets. That’s something I can’t help.”
The colored glasses of prejudice are incredibly powerful. Often enough to deceive the taste buds.
Did you think I didn’t try this before my regression? Even if the taste is similar, or even better, when there’s a young person in the kitchen, you don’t hear many good things.
It’s easy to think that less experience means less skill.
Just imagine a fresh-faced twenty-year-old like me, sweating profusely while preparing soup rice in the kitchen.
‘This soup rice shop uses a green kid as a part-timer. They must lack professionalism… That’s the kind of hasty conclusion people are likely to jump to.’
That was precisely what I wanted to avoid most.
“That’s why I had no choice but to take the dining area while you handled the kitchen. But now that I’m leaving, those constraints disappear. It makes sense to hire someone for the kitchen and have you come out to the dining area.”
“I see…!”
Kim Jong-chun clapped his hands as if suddenly understanding.
“Ugh. I learned all that kitchen work, though. It’s a bit of a shame.”
“That experience is necessary too, so don’t feel too bad about it.”
Any restaurant owner should be able to recreate at least 60% of their shop’s food taste.
Apart from that, working directly in the kitchen to understand the workflow and intensity of the work is also necessary for an owner.
As I consoled Kim Jong-chun, I was already thinking about the next step.
‘The interior renovation costs for
Not to mention the various other expenses we’d incur. In fact, if we took more time, money would accumulate in our account as we shared profits with the owners, but why bother with that?
It can’t be helped.
It’s earlier than expected, but there’s someone I need to meet.