The Chef From the Apocalypse Enters the Food Industry - Chapter 119

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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 119. Someone’s Busyness
That’s when Han Jae-won leaned in beside me and spoke.
“So Kim Seon-woo reads it, and someone else moves it—that’s all we need, right? Like you mentioned before.”
“Ah…!”
He meant he could fill that position himself.
By touching the panel directly today, he’d shown he was capable of doing it. It wasn’t just a proposal—it was a demonstration of proof.
‘That’s chilling.’
When I thought about it, this man had gained three advantages just by coming here.
He’d proven himself to me.
He’d surveyed the competitor’s factory, manipulated it, and obtained information.
He’d even advertised himself on broadcast.
‘At minimum, three birds with one stone.’
He’d accomplished something remarkable.
And then, before I knew it, he’d brushed past me and gone to stand beside Jang Han-su, delivering the closing remarks together with him.
* * *
The shoot was over.
The staff were busy organizing the equipment.
-Come on, hurry up! We can leave early if we move fast!
-Hey, wasn’t today smooth though? We finished early anyway, didn’t we?
-Still, leaving even five minutes earlier is better.
-True. I’ll get it done quick!
-Let’s do this.
As the lights went out and the cameras were packed into cases, the atmosphere remained pleasant.
People were gradually filtering out of the factory.
That’s when it happened.
A black sedan pulled into the Factory Parking Lot. Silently, without fanfare.
“Hmm…”
The door opened, and the person who stepped out was Jang On-gyu.
He hadn’t shown his face once during the entire shoot. As if he had no reason to be in a place like this. Even though the factory was clearly his facility.
He hadn’t come while the cameras were rolling.
‘It was intentional.’
Standing in front of the camera makes you an editing target. Jang On-gyu was the kind of person who understood that. So he’d avoided it. He’d figured sending Oh Tae-sik was enough.
‘But what about this?’
He’d surely been receiving reports from Oh Tae-sik throughout the shoot instead of appearing himself. Or from someone else, if not him.
‘Probably in real-time.’
And now that Jang On-gyu had entered the factory.
His coat collar was raised as sharply as the keen glint in his eyes.
“…”
He silently surveyed his surroundings once.
His gaze caught on the production line, then passed over the remnants of packaging materials left on the conveyor belt.
His eyes narrowed. Then, just as quickly, they returned to their usual calm.
What more was he trying to find out here?
He began to move.
Toward one side of the factory.
* * *
In the direction he was heading stood the man often called his partner.
“Jang Han-su.”
His voice echoed through the factory.
Jang Han-su, who had been organizing, turned his head.
“Oh, yes! You’ve arrived?”
“Yes. I came as soon as work ended.”
“I see.”
Jang Han-su appeared pleased. At least on the surface.
“You worked hard today—let’s grab a meal together.”
“A meal?”
His tone was casual.
But it wasn’t casual. It was closer to a command.
“Yes, a meal.”
It would have been different in the past.
Jang Han-su would have been the one to suggest it first—”Representative, shall we grab a meal?”—and that was how it should have been. That’s how it had to be.
But now it was reversed.
Jang On-gyu was the one calling first.
“Ah, Representative.”
Jang Han-su was certainly smiling. But his tone was subtly different.
“I’m afraid today won’t work. I have a prior engagement.”
“A prior engagement?”
“Yes. A prior engagement.”
His words were polite. But they were firm.
He bowed his head slightly in greeting.
It was a business bow. Not the warm, affectionate tone and gesture from before when he used to address the representative.
Jang On-gyu’s smile stiffened ever so slightly.
‘A prior engagement?’
Jang Han-su turned away. He walked toward Seonwoo’s group.
“You’re here? So we’re heading out for that meal now?”
“That’s right. Let’s go!”
“Wow! Will you cook for us again today?”
“That would be nice. Haha.”
Lee Sae-rom said something, and Jang Han-su laughed as he replied.
He blended in naturally. As if that was where he truly belonged.
“….”
Jang On-gyu’s gaze followed that retreating figure. For a long time.
His jaw clenched. He was already grinding his teeth.
* * *
‘This bastard?’
Jang Han-su. A top-tier broadcast MC, someone even Jang On-gyu couldn’t touch carelessly. And yet that very person had simply walked away, claiming a prior engagement.
Jang On-gyu could only stand there, dumbfounded.
Before long, someone else had taken his place beside him.
“Representative.”
“….”
It was Oh Tae-sik.
Even at his call, Jang On-gyu said nothing. He simply kept his mouth shut.
Oh Tae-sik read the atmosphere.
He understood it was a moment where words had no place, so he held his tongue.
“….”
“….”
Jang On-gyu spoke without even looking at Oh Tae-sik.
“Let’s go. Get the car.”
At his single word, Oh Tae-sik followed.
* * *
Inside the car. Even sitting together in the back seat, Jang On-gyu stared only out the window.
“….”
He watched the factory receding in the distance. Oh Tae-sik could only gaze at him blankly.
‘Damn it, where do I even start.’
But he had no leisure to appreciate that view.
Until now, that factory had been his workplace, a beautiful place where he looked after his people and made a decent living.
Now it felt like the complete opposite.
His back had gone rigid because of it.
“Report. No—just report.”
Jang On-gyu spoke first, still gazing out the window.
He wasn’t even using formal speech.
“Yes. During filming, Kim Seon-woo mentioned cost-related figures directly in front of the camera.”
“What figures?”
“Market prices for flounder. Even the per-liter cost of frying oil. He rattled off the market rates like he had them memorized.”
“He memorized that? You think that’s possible?”
“…He did.”
Jang On-gyu slowly turned his head.
He looked at Oh Tae-sik.
His eyes were cold.
“And?”
“By the way, Jang Han-su assisted from the side. He confirmed the market rates.”
“Jang Han-su?”
“Yes. The MC. The Factory Manager struggled to respond in that atmosphere.”
“The Factory Manager spoke up?”
“No. He said nothing. Not with his mouth.”
“There’s a difference between not doing something and being unable to do it.”
A beat of silence hung between us.
“Did he choose not to, or was he unable to?”
Oh Tae-sik’s mouth closed. His answer came a moment too late.
“…He was unable to. You know, sir? The documents we prepared.”
“We?”
“Isn’t that right?”
“….”
Jang On-gyu looked out the window again, his brow furrowing and relaxing repeatedly as if wrestling with his anger.
“There’s more after that, isn’t there?”
So he’d been hearing reports from somewhere all along.
‘But he’s making me say it myself… Ugh… How disgusting.’
Even as Oh Tae-sik thought this, he continued speaking.
“Kim Seon-woo directly tampered with the production line settings.”
“Alone? Is that even possible?”
“No. Han Jae-won was with him.”
Han Jae-won. At that name, Jang On-gyu’s entire body went rigid.
Han Jae-won was someone he despised even more than Kim Seon-woo.
If only that man didn’t exist, his image would be impenetrable.
And hadn’t Han Jae-won already made him suffer by joining the judging panel?
Yet that name surfaced again here.
“Han Jae-won? He helped with this?”
“Yes. He opened the panels, input the data. He even participated in replacing the line.”
“…Tch.”
The silence stretched long.
The Driver glanced at them once in the rearview mirror, then looked away.
“What was the result?”
He already knew, but he was asking anyway.
“A finished product came out. The quality improved compared to before, and the evaluation was positive. So this….”
“That’s enough. Stop.”
He cut him off sharply.
“….”
Oh Tae-sik’s mouth closed.
Cold sweat was trickling down his back again.
Perspiration continued to flow, soaking his entire body. His lips were parched and his throat burned with thirst, but Oh Tae-sik had no way to show it.
Jang On-gyu opened his mouth again.
“I gave you one instruction.”
“Yes.”
“Just follow the documents. That’s all. You understand?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you provoke him? I didn’t ask you to do that.”
“….”
Oh Tae-sik’s head bowed.
He was an executive at the company.
Just recently, he’d even received a director’s title. It meant he’d been promoted. It meant he was on an upward trajectory.
Yet in this car, he was nothing.
Jang On-gyu worked for a different company. There was no direct superior-subordinate relationship between them. And yet it was like this.
Still, his head bowed naturally.
‘Because there’s someone behind this man.’
In truth, Oh Tae-sik wasn’t afraid of Jang On-gyu as an individual.
The Jang Family. That household which controlled half the industry’s distribution. He obeyed because he feared that family.
And at the same time, this was his only lifeline.
‘If this rope breaks, I’m ruined.’
He couldn’t let it break. He had to protect his position.
“I didn’t say not to provoke him, sir.”
“If I have to tell you not to do something, then I’ve made a mistake in how I’m using you.”
A mistake in how I’m using you.
Those words pierced Oh Tae-sik’s chest.
Somewhere along the way, Jang On-gyu had begun treating Oh Tae-sik like a tool. And Oh Tae-sik couldn’t even object.
“I apologize.”
“Never mind. I have another question.”
Jang On-gyu turned his body slightly. For the first time, he looked directly at Oh Tae-sik.
“I noticed there was a selfie stick earlier.”
“Pardon?”
“That camera Sonny or whoever was carrying around. That camera. Not the film crew’s camera. Did you keep track of that?”
“Ah…!”
Oh Tae-sik’s face went rigid.
The scene where he’d yelled at the Factory Manager to open it up.
The scene where he’d shouted to turn on the settings.
All of that could have been captured on Sonny’s selfie stick.
“You didn’t?”
“…I wasn’t able to confirm.”
“Not being able to confirm means everything could have been recorded.”
“….”
Oh Tae-sik’s head bowed even lower.
No answer came.
Jang On-gyu stared out the window again.
Then, in a low voice, he spoke his final words.
“I’ll handle the training.”
“!!!!”
“You just reorganize the documents. Based on the existing unit prices. Don’t waver. If it really doesn’t work, cover it up as a mistake. Understand? Let’s keep it clean.”
“Yes, understood.”
“And.”
A Chef from the Apocalypse Enters the Food Service Industry
Author |
Heunghaeng
Publisher |
Samyang C&C
Editor-in-Chief |
Editorial Department
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Samyang C&C – Dream Books
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UCI |
G720:N+A063-20260206001
Blog |
blog.naver.com/dreambookss
Twitter(X) |
@dreambookss
Submissions |
[email protected]
No part of this book may be used in any form or by any means without the written permission of Samyang C&C – Dream Books.

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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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