The Chef From the Apocalypse Enters the Food Industry - Chapter 110

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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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Chapter 110. Recognition
“….”
Jin-woo’s jaw trembled involuntarily.
That had happened this morning.
For some reason, I felt acknowledged.
My chest warmed at that.
I had said I would work hard when I came to the restaurant.
Yet here I was, speaking with such dry sentiment again.
‘…But that’s the older brother I know.’
Still, what could I do.
I would work hard. Harder than anyone else.
* * *
It was around the time the lunch rush was ending.
‘Time for a break soon.’
I had finished all the incoming orders.
The kitchen heat was beginning to settle down.
Buzz—
My phone rang in my pocket.
I checked the screen.
[PD Ga]
‘At this timing?’
He rarely called at this hour—out of consideration for me. Yet here was a call. Something must be up. Or he was in a hurry.
I wiped my hands on a kitchen towel and answered.
“Yes, PD. What brings the call at this hour?”
-Oh Chef! You must be busy, right?
“Well, I’m always busy.”
-Hehe. I’ve contributed to keeping you busy, haven’t I?
“A little?”
-Come on, don’t be like that.
“Haha. But what’s this about?”
-Hold on. Just a moment.
I heard rustling sounds in the background.
The sound of papers being flipped mixed in as well.
It seemed he was calling from the editing room.
-Alright. Let’s get to the point.
“The point. Ah.”
-We decided to do one more final episode, remember? I’d be disappointed if you forgot.
“I remember. I remember. It’s firmly planted in my mind.”
-Hehe. I knew you’d say that. Do you know what we’re doing?
“Merchandising?”
-Tsk. Truly a broadcast monster!
“The monster is PD Ga.”
-Hehe. Regardless, viewers love seeing the commercialization process. The competition ending, the victory, the donation—all of it was great. But the actual process of that dish becoming a product? Coming off the factory line? It’d be such a shame not to show that.
“That’s true. It would be a shame.”
From the viewers’ perspective, they couldn’t help but feel that way.
It would feel like eating delicious food and stopping halfway through. Just like you have to chew and swallow rice thoroughly to the end, the same goes for broadcasts.
And the most important thing here was.
‘If it ends here, I’ll feel unsatisfied too.’
I also found this unsatisfying.
I’d already set up the entire stage. I’d even fired the victory salute itself.
So I had to go all the way to the end and land the final blow.
-You’re okay with being on the broadcast?
“What wouldn’t be okay about it at this point?”
-Haha. As expected, once you make a decision, you’re refreshingly straightforward.
By now, I had no reservations about the broadcast at all.
‘The process is good. And I’m genuinely curious too.’
In fact, there was something I was quite curious about.
How my song seo gwang-eo would come out on the factory line.
Making those dishes isn’t ordinarily easy.
Even accounting for some quality degradation due to mass production, it wouldn’t be a simple dish to implement.
‘It’ll be difficult.’
Quite difficult, I’d imagine.
And there was one more thing.
‘What will I see with the Breakthrough of Gustatory Limits?’
The Breakthrough of Gustatory Limits I’d obtained.
I was curious how it would work when I went to the factory.
‘It’s naturally working fine in small-batch production, after all.’
In the kitchen, it’s working quite well.
Thanks to it, I could boast that the quality of my dishes had risen to another level.
And now a factory where mass production happens?
How could I not be curious?
In fact, from the moment PD Ga mentioned the next episode, this was the first thing that came to mind.
‘How will it turn out?’
It was a natural curiosity from a chef’s perspective.
How faithfully a machine could recreate my recipe and how much of the taste would carry through.
But there was one important thing.
“But he agreed to it too?”
Jang On-gyu, that is.
At this point, he could have refused.
-He will soon. There’s advertising value in it.
“As expected.”
-Oh Tae-sik is very enthusiastic about it. If the commercialization process airs on broadcast, that itself becomes product promotion. There’s no reason to refuse.
“Jang On-gyu isn’t quite as keen?”
-Well, you know how it is. Hehe. But what can he do? When an ally you’ve joined hands with wants to do it, can he really back out?
“Ah, I see….”
It seemed that previously, Jang On-gyu had been the one pulling Oh Tae-sik in.
But this time, it looked like Oh Tae-sik was pulling Jang On-gyu in.
‘Well, that’s how the world works—give and take.’
It was a picture I could understand.
I could also clearly see why Jang On-gyu would agree here.
“Still, it’s rather unexpected, isn’t it?”
-When you think about it carefully, couldn’t you say they’re donating instead of paying advertising fees?
“Do you really think it’ll be just that?”
-Well, there’ll be some funny business involved, of course.
“Funny business.”
It was obvious. They were packaging the embezzlement structure of donation funds as advertising.
When the cameras roll, additional costs arise.
Filming cooperation fees, factory setup costs, safety management fees.
All become line items, and they’re probably planning to deduct those items from the donation funds.
But once the song seo-gwang fish starts selling well, that’ll be nothing but a drop in the bucket.
‘It seems like it’ll come out in other ways too, somehow.’
Oh Tae-sik must have a cost structure document he’s prepared. A few more line items will probably be added to it.
‘Well, I already know about it anyway.’
There was no need to touch it right now.
I’d see it when I went there.
“What will the composition be?”
-We’re taking all the judges to the factory.
“All of them?”
-Yes! Jang Han-su as MC, Lee Sae-rom and Sonny as panelists, Im Ha-yun will participate too. And Representative Han Jae-won as a special guest.
“The full roster.”
-Since it’s the finale, we need to do it properly.
PD Ga’s voice carried conviction.
When this person uses that tone, it means the picture in his head is complete. He’s already marked all the editing points before calling.
When the broadcast shows the commercialization process, the cost structure naturally reveals itself.
The viewers figure it out on their own. That was PD Ga’s way.
He doesn’t expose it directly. He just shows it.
‘Editing is a blade after all.’
A quite compelling picture was taking shape here.
I should give one more affirmative answer here.
“Understood. Let’s do it.”
-Sounds good! I’ll send you the schedule separately. Probably within this week.
“Got it.”
I was about to hang up.
-Oh, right. Kim Seon-woo.
“Yes?”
His tone shifted.
It wasn’t the rapid pace from before. It felt deliberately slower, measured.
-If the response to this goes well, let’s talk about airing it as a full series. It’d be a waste to end it as just a pilot.
“…Yes?”
Before I could even fully comprehend his meaning and respond.
Click—
The line was already dead.
As if he’d dropped the bomb and fled.
‘What did he just say?’
A full series?
A regular broadcast instead of just a pilot?
Wait. What does that even mean?
‘He should’ve explained before hanging up.’
It was typical of PD Ga’s broadcasting style. Dropping hints and vanishing.
‘Though I never expected him to do it to me.’
A full series, huh.
Salvation of Gastronomy.
That program wouldn’t be ending with just the pilot.
‘I can understand it, but… if Jang On-gyu hadn’t disrupted everything from the start, this wouldn’t have happened in the first place.’
Somehow it felt like a task I’d been putting off had come seeking me out on its own.
There was a lot to think about now.
Still, whatever happens, it’s good news.
No matter what unfolds.
‘I’ll handle it well somehow.’
Just as I have until now. Won’t I manage it well?
Brightly. Confidently, that is.
* * *
Jang On-gyu’s office was dimly lit.
“Hmm….”
Only a desk lamp was on.
Street lights lined the view beyond the window.
Jang On-gyu was reviewing documents. A merchandising revenue structure report.
He had much to do, scheming with Oh Tae-sik.
Then his phone rang.
[PD Ga]
That damnable fool—pocketing his own money while doing shoddy work. His name had appeared right on cue.
I wanted to refuse.
But I couldn’t stop here if I wanted to move forward with the project.
“Yes. I received your call.”
-Haha. It’s been a while. You’ve been well, I hope?
Well, thanks to whom have I been suffering? But Jang On-gyu wasn’t foolish enough to say such things aloud.
“Thanks to you, I’ve had some good times.”
-Ah, that’s good to hear. So… you’ve heard, haven’t you?
“Heard what?”
-Come on. Pros shouldn’t play dumb with each other. The factory shoot.
“Ah. The shoot. Yes, I’ve heard.”
-Hehe. How so? It seems you haven’t signed off on it yet.
I’d already received the shooting request email. Some assistant director had submitted it to my office. I just hadn’t responded to it. That’s why he was calling.
I knew.
I couldn’t refuse here either.
“….”
But I could at least take a moment before answering.
I held my silence.
-Hehehey. Why no answer?
PD Ga laughed. Brazenly. No—crudely.
‘…That insolent bastard.’
Jang On-gyu frowned sharply, taking issue with PD Ga’s manners despite the man being older.
And in the end, I gave him the answer he wanted.
“…We’ll do it. The shoot.”
We’ll do it.
At this, PD Ga was overjoyed.
-Exactly! You truly have a generous spirit!
“Indeed.”
-Hehe. Once the shoot date is confirmed, I’ll contact you?
“Yes. Please do. But next time, contact my secretary instead.”
-Oh, oh. Yes. My apologies. My apologies! I’m so sorry!
“…Very well. Do come in.”
-Yes! Rest well! Hehe.
Yet somehow, even as I ended the call.
I remained thoroughly displeased.
Something about it grated on my nerves.
Irritation welled up inside me.
Still, there was only one thing I could do.
Rustle.
Look back at the documents before me.
“…Huff….”
I was determined to see this through to the end.
No matter what PD Ga did!
* * *
At the same moment.
Oh Tae-sik’s Office. This one was even more cramped.
A single laptop and a cup of coffee—that was all that occupied the desk.
Oh Tae-sik opened his laptop the moment he hung up the phone.
An Excel spreadsheet was displayed on the screen.
Factory cost report. A file he’d been working on for days.
“Hmm….”
He pulled up flounder market price data.
He also attached screenshots of news articles.
[Domestic Flounder Prices on the Rise, Aquaculture Farm Shipments Decline]
[Domestic Flounder Affected by Water Temperature Issues…]
News headlines.
‘It’s true that flounder is expensive these days.’
It was in the news. There was evidence.
But the direct-from-source unit price told a different story.
On a bulk contract basis, prices had actually dropped.
Oh Tae-sik added another layer to the distribution chain.
Instead of going directly from the source to the factory, he inserted a middleman wholesaler.
On paper, it was just one additional transit point.
But that single step inflated the price.
A gap emerged between the actual unit cost and the documented unit cost. That gap was profit.
‘Making the truth a bit more truthful, that’s all.’

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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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