I Regressed and Became Too Good at Brewing - Chapter 23

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 23. The Fate of the Popup Store (3)
“Ah… but that’s something we… perhaps from…? Yes? Yes, yes. Ah…….”
Se Jun’s expression grew stranger with each word spoken into the phone.
And with it, Ha Jeong’s face tensed in sympathy.
“Has something happened? I’ve never seen you look so grim…….”
When Se Jun hung up and began searching the internet with a stricken face, everyone’s anxiety reached a fever pitch.
“What is it? What’s going on?”
She finally stepped closer and asked, but Se Jun offered nothing in reply.
He simply typed “Songhadan” into the search bar as if his life depended on it.
Then.
Ring-ring-ring~
Ring-ring-ring-ring~
Ring-ring-ring~
All the other phones in the office erupted at once.
Calls poured in like a cloudburst during monsoon season—relentless, overwhelming.
“Hello! Yes, yes! Yes-yes-YES?”
“This is Songhadan! Yes! We’re checking on our end too right now!”
They had faced a moment like this before.
<Don’t worry. There are no con artists.>
<If those kinds had shown up, I wouldn’t be drinking my liquor in peace! It ruins the taste!>
<On the contrary, a fine aroma reaches us……>
Mok Tong appeared from nowhere, sipping liquor he’d poured into his right hand.
Beside him, Song Ha adjusted the brim of his hat and opened his mouth.
<It seems my friend has once again forged a felicitous bond.>
“Yeon Woo! Pick up the phones!”
“Right away!”
There was no time to contemplate what Song Ha meant.
He had to rush to answer the phones that wouldn’t stop ringing.
But just before he could reach them, the line went dead.
“Pick it up quick! It dropped!”
And then another call came through.
In the relentless barrage of calls—like an endless relay—he couldn’t gather his wits.
He was reaching for the receiver when—
“Yeon Woo! Look at this!”
Se Jun turned the monitor toward him, having found what he’d been searching for.
On the screen was a single article.
[300 Bottles Sold Out… Korean Gin Creates Sensation at Department Store Popup!]
No—not just one.
[Domestic Premium Traditional Liquor: 300 Bottles Sold Out at First Popup… Consumers Rave “Delicious”]
[Songhadan Traditional Liquor Sells Out Early at Department Store Popup… Word-of-Mouth Spreads]
[Limited 300 Bottles Gone in 10 Minutes… The Power of Korean Spirit]
Articles cascading down the screen like a waterfall.
And leading the charge was—
[Domestic Medicinal Spirit Achieves Sold-Out Success on Debut… Capturing Consumers with Taste and Quality. Interview with Artisan Song Yeon Woo.]
“We made it! We’re huge!”
Se Jun’s beaming laughter accompanied the articles on screen.
And there, plainly written, was a name.
‘Choi Yun Sung’
A smile bloomed unbidden at the corners of my mouth.
* * *
“I expected it, but not quite this fast.”
“You expected it?”
Se Jun started at the matter-of-fact reply and questioned it back.
In truth, this was the first moment they’d been able to talk like this.
It was thanks to Ha Jeong’s decisive action when she could no longer endure the tidal wave of incoming calls.
‘Yank!’
‘Ha… Ha Jeong!’
‘We have to survive first!’
After she’d pulled the phone line, peace had finally descended on the Songhadan office.
One might argue: ‘What if you just rip out the phone line and miss an important call?’ But it didn’t matter.
“I never expected so many calls to come in like this.”
“The orders are absolutely insane.”
“They’re all interview requests.”
Everyone let out a deep sigh.
And with good reason—every call that had come in so far had nothing to do with actual business.
The phones rang only with reporters, who’d gotten hold of the number somehow and were desperate to dig up anything they could.
“So you’re saying only one reporter actually showed up at the Popup Store?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Wow… that’s kind of scary.”
Yet still, each time we refreshed the page, new articles about Songhadan kept appearing.
It was as though the saying were true—that online articles replicate and spread like viral copies.
“Boss! You need to see this!”
Ha Jeong, who’d joined the search for Songhadan articles, thrust her phone at me this time.
What appeared on screen was YouTube.
More precisely, it was Songhadan’s channel—which hadn’t had many videos uploaded yet.
“The comments have exploded!”
“They’re all praise?”
Se Jun and Ha Jeong’s reactions were entirely justified.
Our channel’s most recent video was from the day we’d hosted those residents from Yeongwol.
So comments were still pouring in on footage that was nearly several months old.
– Wow this looks so good
– Do you still make it now?ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– Came here after seeing Su Bin’s video,,,ㅎㅎ Love seeing people contribute to society,,,@—-
“Wait, Su Bin? Who’s that?”
“Oh, the celebrity Jung Su Bin—that’s who they mean.”
“A celebrity? Why on earth would a celebrity—?”
“She stopped by during the Popup Store event.”
“What?”
She was a self-proclaimed and widely-recognized spirits enthusiast, and her YouTube videos were filled with alcohol content.
Though that wasn’t to say she covered nothing but spirits.
Her content took the form of vlogs, with alcohol woven in as the subject matter.
“But apparently this video she just uploaded wasn’t quite like that.”
Checking her channel, there was a freshly edited video that had just gone live.
[The Trending Traditional Spirit Meari! This Time It’s Autumn!]
The video’s content was straightforward.
The main thrust was her describing her feelings during the Open Run, then comparing and tasting all the Meari releases that had come out so far and sharing what she’d experienced.
“This… seems like just a review video?”
“Yeah, definitely feels that way.”
She’d packed a full twenty minutes with talk about spirits, much like any other liquor reviewer.
Yet despite that, the content wasn’t dull.
Jung Su Bin’s personal charm played a role, but her professional expertise shining through in places elevated the whole piece.
“Wow… we didn’t do a shred of promotion, and we’re riding on celebrity luck.”
“Because Songhadan’s spirits are delicious! That’s why it’s possible!”
“I know, but… is there any way to make the most of this opportunity? Or even if not that, it feels like we should give her something in return.”
“But we don’t really have anything to give her, do we?”
Se Jun was right.
Between people, there should never be something one-sided.
If there were, the balance would tip, and everything would crumble.
The one who received would feel burdened, and the one who gave would be troubled.
Hadn’t that been true before my Return as well?
I’d met good people, but my relationships with them had ended poorly.
Because I’d only ever received, and never given anything back in return.
But things are different now, aren’t they?
“There’s plenty we can give her.”
“Excuse me? What do you mean?”
<Tsk-tsk. Come now! Aren’t we far wealthier than that woman?>
<Mok Tong, as I’ve told you countless times, human friends understand wealth differently.>
Mok Tong, pleased that my thinking aligned with his, sprawled out on the floor and laughed.
Behind him, Song Ha let out a low, contented sigh.
In fact, a satisfied smile played at his lips.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to give him something he’d enjoy? We have plenty of it on hand, after all.”
“Pardon? Us?”
“Yes. Quite a lot of it.”
He spoke to Ha Jeong, whose head tilted in confusion.
“What if we gave him alcohol?”
* * *
“Mm-mm, mm-hmm!”
A woman humming continuously.
And a man driving the car she occupied.
While the woman appeared radiant, he stared ahead with eyes that seemed to have surrendered everything.
It was the natural rule to observe while driving, but his expression looked utterly soulless.
The man himself opened his mouth to explain why.
“Su Bin…”
“Yes? What is it?”
“You… you look incredibly happy.”
“Of course! Naturally!”
Su Bin answered with a broad smile, her expression unmarred by a single shadow of doubt.
The man—her Manager—had long since given up trying to make sense of it.
Su Bin had been an idol before turning to acting, and she’d weathered considerable scandal in the process.
‘These days everyone and their dog tries acting.’
‘She’s doing this because it probably won’t work out, isn’t she?’
‘Top on the untrustworthy list.’
On the internet, where petty slander and malice ran rampant, she had been wounded deeply.
And that wound, surely, still lingered in her heart even now that she’d become a successful actress.
Her vacant stare when not filming proved it.
‘Though she seemed fine when she was drinking.’
Jung Su Bin had never been fond of alcohol from the start, despite what the public believed.
If he was being honest, she’d been driven to it out of necessity.
To escape the harsh words that constricted her, she had turned to drink.
‘But something changed at some point.’
When had it been?
It must have been a few months back, when she went to her regular bar to film something for YouTube.
The original plan was simple.
Introduce a few whiskies, and show a calmer side of Su Bin than usual—shifting her image.
But everything changed when the bar owner handed her a single glass.
‘Meari: Autumn, wasn’t it…’
He made a gentle left turn so Su Bin wouldn’t feel uncomfortable, and his thoughts drifted.
One glass of spirits.
The moment she drank it, her eyes lit up.
Not the false vitality she’d been showing all this time, but a genuine spark of being alive.
It must have been from then on.
‘I bought this—here, take some, Manager!’
‘I’m working… Su Bin…’
‘Come on! It’s not strong! One glass is fine! You’re not driving today anyway!’
After she managed to get her hands on Meari: Autumn, she’d bought two bottles at once and started sipping it regularly.
After the bar where she frequented created a signature cocktail built around Meari: Autumn, her after-work destination became as fixed as a habit.
Given that she usually avoided going out, this change was decidedly positive.
‘But for that kind of change to come from alcohol… an actress’s image really does…’
It was in this frame of mind that he heard the news: a Popup Store for Meari: Autumn was opening.
And what do you think Su Bin’s reaction was?
‘Let’s go.’
‘Where?’
‘Seongyeong Department Store. We have to go. No matter what!’
And so he found himself dragged there, conducting an interview he’d never planned on.
He’d even had his cover blown in front of that young man—the one who ran Songhadan—hadn’t he?
‘Fortunately, it seems he let it slide.’
The fact that no sightings of Su Bin had circulated afterward suggested the man kept his silence well.
That’s probably how someone like him—practically a master craftsman—could create a spirit of such fine taste.
‘If I’d seen him on the street, I might’ve asked if he’d ever considered a career in entertainment.’
While he fell short of the “sculpted pretty boy” descriptor, he had a smile that put people at ease.
And for some reason, actions that carried the weight of experience were precisely the sort that won most people over.
Just as he’d thought—if Song Ha weren’t the owner of Songhadan, he probably would’ve asked whether he’d ever considered acting.
But he was a maker of spirits.
And the spirits he created were…….
‘They were delicious…….’
Truly sublime.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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