NOVEL NEXT 36
The man’s steps came to a halt.
His gaze remained fixed on the dakbal in the sandwich board. It was as if time had stopped for him alone amidst the passing crowd.
‘But doesn’t this place look kind of similar to the soup rice restaurant?’
When he turned his head to look at the soup rice place he had originally intended to visit, it really did. The warm and traditional atmosphere created by the use of wood made it approachable without being intimidating.
‘Is this run by the same people? A married couple?’
His questions were soon answered. He discovered the name
‘Ah~. They’re part of the same company. Some kind of food empire or something?’
The man nodded to himself in understanding. That explained the similar designs.
‘I’ve never heard of this company before…. Oh, come to think of it, the soup rice place had a branch name written on it too. So it’s a chain. Must be quite a big company then.’
After all, they had built two restaurants like this in no time.
‘Franchises aren’t bad. The taste should be decent enough for the general public.’
With that thought, his apprehension about individual restaurants seemed to dissipate a bit. Individual restaurants are all well and good, but the problem is that when they fail, they can be utterly awful.
‘I’m feeling stressed anyway. Dakbal with some soju…? Mmm~.’
What a perfect combination. The man strode forward with purpose.
Swoosh.
“Welcome~!”
The restaurant was already quite busy with customers. It seemed people had come from all over out of curiosity about the newly opened place.
“How many in your party?”
“Ah, I’m alone…. Huh?”
The man doubted his own eyes.
And for good reason—standing before him was the server he’d often seen at the soup rice restaurant.
‘What’s going on? Are my eyes playing tricks on me?’
He blinked a few times, but the server in front of him didn’t disappear. No, but how could two faces be this similar?
The man’s gaze automatically moved to the server’s name tag.
Song Woo-yeon.
Unfortunately, he had never paid attention to the staff names at the soup rice place, so he couldn’t tell if this was the same person or an uncanny doppelganger.
As the man hesitated, unsure what to do, Song Woo-yeon spoke first with a gentle smile.
“You’re right, I did work part-time at the soup rice place across the street.”
“Ah~! I thought so. I felt like I’d seen you a lot.”
“More customers remember me than I expected.”
“Well, of course. You always took such good care of us.”
The man recalled that was indeed the case. She would refill side dishes without being asked, sensing when they were low, and whenever he stood up to pay, she was already at the counter.
He remembered thinking how efficiently she worked.
“That soup rice place and this one are like sister restaurants. They’re part of the same company. Since this place opened today, I was transferred here.”
“Is that so? You must be working hard.”
“Haha. It’s nothing.”
Song Woo-yeon skillfully set out side dishes and plates while engaging in small talk with the customer.
“Please take a look at the menu and call me when you’re ready to order.”
“Ah, about the dakbal here. How’s the portion size? I’m worried it might be too much for one person.”
“The dakbal portion… Ah, it’s actually being served to the table next to us right now.”
At Song Woo-yeon’s words, the man’s gaze naturally turned to the neighboring table. Sure enough, another server was just bringing out the dakbal.
‘The portion looks good. Great value for money, I’d say.’
Both the soup rice place and here. The man nodded, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
“Alright then. I’ll have that dakbal, and for soju, what kinds do you have….”
Just as he was about to continue his order, an unexpected sound came from the next table.
“Would you like to take a video?”
Video? What’s all this talk about videos?
The man quickly turned his gaze back. Three or four women, clearly college students by the look of them, were seated at the table, holding up their phones.
“Yes!”
“Then I’ll add some cheese for you~.”
And then the server lifted up a large chunk of cheese and began to grate it over the dish.
“!”
It was nothing short of a cheese waterfall!
The cheese stretching down was enough to elicit gasps of wonder on its own.
“Wow~!”
“Oh my god, this is amazing!”
The neighboring table seemed to think so too, constantly exclaiming in admiration while busily moving their phones around.
The dakbal, now blanketed in a warm cheese covering, evoked a strange sense of guilt in those who saw it.
As they say, calories are the combat power of taste.
It was clear that this menu item, drenched in cheese, would be good for neither health nor weight. But still….
The man looked at Song Woo-yeon and said,
“I’ll have the same as that, please.”
“Certainly, one Cheese Waterfall Dakbal coming right up~.”
Song Woo-yeon said with a bright smile.
“What’s that dish called?”
“Should we order that too?”
A buzz of excitement could be felt from the other tables. The man had a sudden realization.
Ah, this place is going to get quite busy from now on.
‘This might be the last time I can get in without waiting.’
So he should fully enjoy today. The man filled his glass alone and toasted the air with a “Cheers~!”
⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱
“Please come again~.”
I bowed deeply to the departing customers. As I straightened up, a complete silence finally fell.
The soft background music came to an abrupt stop.
Han Mi-ae poked her head out from the kitchen and asked,
“Is it over?”
“Yes, it’s really over now.”
“Phew. I don’t even remember how I made the food. It was all such a blur.”
“You did well.”
“Woo-yeon, I don’t know what I would’ve done without you. Do you know how many menu mistakes I almost made? Whew.”
As I consoled Han Mi-ae, who was letting out a deep sigh, I also offered a word to the others who had worked hard today.
“Good work today, everyone.”
Jung Da-on wiped the tired expression off his face and smiled brightly.
“No, it’s fine! You know, the soup rice place was okay because it had a single menu item. But with several menu items here, it gets really confusing.”
You’re still so talkative even when you’re this exhausted. As Jung Da-on showed signs of launching into another stream of words, I quickly changed the subject.
“I was so surprised. Who would’ve thought you were the owner’s son?”
That’s right. It was only today that I found out.
‘When she said her son would come help with serving on his day off, I had objected to relatives helping out…’
But Han Mi-ae persuaded me, saying that since her son had experience working part-time at restaurants, he would do well. That conversation happened just last week.
When I arrived today, lo and behold, there was Jung Da-on standing there.
“At first, I thought Lee In-cheol-nim had sent you.”
“Haha. That’s my line. I was surprised when Mom said she was closing her struggling snack shop and opening a new one, but then to find out that the amazing ‘Song sajangnim’ who even supported the remodeling costs was….”
Jung Da-on trailed off, looking at me.
“I wondered what you two were always whispering about~. You really had me fooled!”
“I wasn’t trying to deceive you, I just didn’t want to create unnecessary tension. You know what I mean, right?”
“Of course. If I had known you were actually higher-ranked than Lee In-cheol-nim, do you think I would have been so casual with you?”
“I’m not really higher-ranked. It’s more accurate to see us as business partners.”
We have a mutually complementary relationship, after all.
It’s a surprising coincidence, but when you think about it, since we all live in the same area, I suppose it’s possible.
“Still, having an experienced worker made things much easier.”
“Hehe. Right?”
Jung Da-on grinned foolishly. That’s right. Using attractive staff is also part of a business strategy.
Usually, it’s a method more commonly used in cafes, though.
“By the way, Boss Han.”
“Hmm?”
I grinned triumphantly at Han Mi-ae, who looked like she was about to collapse.
“Congratulations. It’s a big hit.”
“Huh, what?”
“Today’s sales. Even considering the opening day boost, this far exceeds expectations.”
As I tapped the POS machine while speaking, a pleasantly surprised expression gradually spread across Han Mi-ae’s face.
“Really?!”
“Yes. We’ll need to do a final tally later, but when I roughly calculated it last, it was about eight times your previous sales.”
“Wow…!”
Han Mi-ae let out a short exclamation and then swallowed the rest of her voice.
As she covered her mouth with both hands, the emotions that couldn’t escape found their way out through her eyes.
Plop, plop. Tears created stains on the floor.
“Oh, my. What’s wrong with me? How embarrassing.”
Even her voice, chiding herself unnecessarily, was trembling.
“Aw, Mom’s doing it again~. Why are you crying? It’s such a happy day.”
Jung Da-on smiled kindly as he grabbed a tissue and handed it to her. The way he gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders and patted her back showed this wasn’t his first time doing so.
‘So a son as affectionate as a daughter… really does exist.’
Well, I was a daughter as stoic as a son. So the opposite must certainly exist too.
“You’ve been through so much, Mom. We don’t have to eat dakbal all the time anymore. I’ve been eating nothing but dakbal three meals a day because of your cooking practice, my butt’s on fire~.”
“In-seok-ah, is that really the issue right now?”
“What could be more important than this?”
Jung Da-on and Han Mi-ae exchanged jokes and laughed softly. Jung Da-on continued his playful banter until Han Mi-ae managed a smile through her tears.
“Wait. I’ll get you some water. We can’t have you crying all night.”
Jung Da-on said as he headed towards the kitchen.
“Phew….”
“Feeling a bit better now?”
Han Mi-ae looked straight at me with her reddened eyes in response to my question.
“Woo-yeon.”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to work hard.”
“…….”
Seeing that tearful determination, I was reminded of the distant past.
“I’ll work until my bones break! I’ll definitely pay back the remodeling loan and save up for our son’s wedding fund.”
I think I had similar feelings when I first started working too. It’s been so long that I don’t remember clearly.
“It would be nice if you could fatten my wallet too.”
“Of course!”
I was joking, but she’s taking it too seriously.
“Mom~! Here you go!”
“Thank you, son.”
Han Mi-ae smiled as she took the glass of water Jung Da-on brought back.
“Woo-yeon, you should head home now! We’ll take care of the closing up.”
“…Alright then. Don’t overdo it, and remember that lunch service focuses mainly on tteokbokki, right?”
“Of course~!”
“I’ll be going then.”
I shouldn’t intrude on their mother-son time. I bowed slightly and turned to leave.
Ding.
Just then, a messenger notification popped up on my phone.
[Moon Yu-han: The machine is ready.]