The Chef From the Apocalypse Enters the Food Industry - Chapter 131

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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 131. Expansion
In the meantime, I needed to secure my own interests as well.
No, I had to secure them.
I wasn’t about to spend all my time doing favors for others.
I could only help others once I’d taken care of myself first.
‘The question is where the profit comes from.’
Helping people is fine. But business is business.
Without money flowing in, nothing is sustainable.
The restaurant alone generates substantial income.
‘But that’s not enough.’
So while helping others, I needed to find a way to earn money myself.
But squeezing small change from people in difficult circumstances was something I couldn’t do.
No, to be precise—I didn’t want to.
‘What’s the point of making money that way?’
Sure, doing it that way would still help them.
As long as they earned more than the consulting I provided, one could argue that was sufficient.
But that didn’t sit right with me either.
‘If that were the case, I would’ve shaken hands with Han Jae-won from the start.’
The method of earning money just didn’t feel right.
In other words, I’d provide consulting as consulting.
And in the process, I needed to find a way to earn my own money.
That’s when something came to mind.
‘D-dong.’
The D-dong space left over after expanding the restaurant came to me.
The factory building I’d leased in preparation for the future.
‘Now it’s finally time to put it to use.’
If I utilized that space, I could provide consulting while also earning money myself.
And beyond that.
‘If I use that space well, I can gain advertising value too. I’ll be able to draw new customers in a different way than with the skewer shop yesterday.’
And if successful dishes emerge from there?
‘That’s when I call Han Jae-won.’
The next product Han Jae-won mentioned.
I’d be able to produce and demonstrate that product there.
‘The whole picture comes into focus.’
In the end, what mattered was D-dong.
I couldn’t move to the next stage unless my vision became reality there.
‘Should I go take a look?’
My heart stirred at the thought.
I finished the dough and wiped my hands clean.
“Huh? Boss, you’re already done with the dough?”
“Yeah. Just now.”
Jin-woo paused his dishwashing and turned his head.
“What are you doing today?”
“I have something to take care of.”
“Where?”
“I’m going to check out D-dong. Oh, and I’ll swing by the New City District in the evening too.”
“You went there yesterday.”
“Yesterday was the Skewer Restaurant. Today is something different.”
“What is it? You’re always going out alone. Can’t I come with you? I finished all the dishes.”
“Are you disappointed?”
“No… I’m not disappointed.”
“It’s written all over your face. Next time, we’ll go together.”
“Oh. Great!”
Jin-woo pouted slightly.
Still, he didn’t ask further.
It seemed he’d learned to stop at this point lately.
Yet curiosity was plainly visible on his face.
I removed my apron and left the Kitchen.
* * *
Inspecting D-dong didn’t take long.
‘It’s less than a five-minute walk.’
Of course it would be D-dong—it was close enough to be divided into separate buildings.
I pushed open the iron door and stepped inside.
I sat down beside a pillar and opened the snacks I’d brought along.
While eating, I surveyed the space.
“It’s definitely spacious.”
It was spacious. The ceiling was high, and light streamed down from the skylights.
Concrete floors bore the marks where factory machinery had once stood.
‘I can see it now.’
I’ll clear it all out.
Then I’ll work one wall so I can pull out grills and other equipment as needed.
If I set up a tasting area on the opposite side, I could fit a place like the Skewer Restaurant, and still have plenty of room to showcase food from two or three other establishments simultaneously.
This is only possible because D-dong is larger than I expected.
‘Perfect. This will work.’
A space where I can showcase three different foods at once.
This is enough to bring what I’ve envisioned to life.
If I can just make it happen.
‘It goes beyond consulting—I’ll actually be making money.’
And if people from the New City District come here as I’ve planned, the Factory Canteen will thrive too.
The foot traffic overlaps.
‘Killing two birds with one stone—or is it three this time?’
I took another bite of the snack and glanced toward the entrance.
I confirmed the flow: sampling, ordering, and packing all moved in one direction from the entrance.
“That works.”
I crumpled up the kimbap wrapper and stood.
‘I need to clear this space first.’
I’d seen every corner of D-dong.
* * *
After finishing business for the day, I stepped out onto the New City District street.
This time I’d left earlier. I wanted to observe more.
‘Hmm….’
Once I set my mind to surveying the surroundings, I noticed things I’d missed yesterday.
The vacant signs and rental inquiry numbers became starkly visible.
‘I walked right past them without noticing yesterday.’
Four locations immediately caught my eye.
One had been empty so long that even its signboard was gone.
Another had a faded “Temporarily Closed” notice still stuck to it.
‘Looks like it’s been a while.’
Light spilled from a store deeper in the alley.
‘Still open?’
A young couple was working on something together.
The husband was kneading dough while his wife jotted down notes beside him.
The signboard was new.
It appeared to be a kalguksu restaurant.
The fresh smell wafting from it suggested they’d opened recently.
Mid-to-late thirties. They could be the type who’d left office work, or perhaps started after retirement.
His hands kneading the dough weren’t yet practiced.
‘The rhythm’s unsteady, but his expression is serious.’
The place didn’t seem to have many customers either.
“Hmm….”
I found it concerning.
Walking further, I spotted another small soup restaurant.
A young female owner.
She stirred a large pot of broth alone, tilting her head as she caught the aroma, then dipped the ladle back in.
Her expression suggested she couldn’t find the answer.
‘They’re all in similar situations.’
The Skewer Shop Owner was the same way. He could grill, but the sauce wasn’t right.
These shops all lacked something crucial.
They had the pieces, but couldn’t bring them to completion.
For now, observing was enough.
For now, I observed and moved on.
‘This place has potential too.’
* * *
The next day, demolition workers arrived at D-dong.
They were people I’d seen before—the ones who’d done solid work during the expansion of Buildings B and C.
Since they’d proven reliable then, I called them again this time.
“It’s been a while!”
“Ha ha. Yes, it really has.”
“Are you clearing everything out this time? Expanding into this space?”
“It is an expansion of sorts, but it’s a bit different.”
“Oh. What do you mean?”
“Ha ha. Once you clear it out, you’ll understand next time.”
“So we’re starting with the clearing.”
“Yes. Leave only the floor and walls—remove everything else.”
The contractor walked around the space once. He looked surprised at how large it was.
“Given the size, I’d need to block out at least three days.”
“Three days? That’s fine.”
“What about the water pipes? We can preserve them.”
“Please do preserve them. And be careful not to damage them.”
“Of course. Then I’ll start this afternoon.”
“I appreciate it.”
“Ha ha. I should be thanking you!”
The contractor began unloading equipment from the truck. The work moved quickly.
The workers who came in had swift hands.
Crash.
Debris atop the machinery marks was lifted away, and rusted piping was torn out.
I stood by the entrance, watching.
The concrete floor began to reveal itself.
“Boss, there’s another pipe inside. Should we remove this one too?”
“Where?”
“Over there at the end of the wall. Looks like it was the original factory cooling line.”
A cooling line, I see.
‘Hmm. I don’t think I’d have immediate use for it.’
But then again, thinking about it more—
leaving traces that this place was once a factory wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
The marks where small wiring once ran, the remnants of its past.
Preserving those would create quite an interesting aesthetic.
So I indulged in a small whim.
“Don’t remove it.”
“Why not? Aren’t you opening a restaurant here?”
“We should match the interior design style.”
“Ah, I understand! Then I’ll preserve those elements as much as possible.”
“Yep!”
It was a trivial whim. I had no idea how this whim would play out in the future.
Clang, clang, clang— clang—
I could only hear the metallic sounds echoing from inside.
By the time the sun began to set, half the space had been cleared.
Light from the skylights streamed diagonally across the bare concrete floor.
I pulled out my phone from my pocket.
[Han Jae-won]
I paused when I saw that name.
‘Not yet.’
It wouldn’t be too late to tell him after I secured a few restaurants and showed him the results first.
I put the phone away again.
* * *
Afternoon of the third day.
Jin-woo, who had stubbornly followed me, stood in front of D-dong looking up at it.
“Hyung. What are we doing here? It’s been so noisy anyway.”
“Go inside.”
I pushed open the iron door and entered. Jin-woo followed and stopped.
“…Wow.”
A bare concrete floor stretched out before us.
Light streamed down from the skylights between four pillars.
All the debris that had been there yesterday had been cleared away.
The smell of dust still lingered.
Jin-woo looked at me and asked.
“What are you planning to do here?”
There was no point in dragging this out any longer. At least Jin-woo should know what we’d be doing here.
So I answered straightforwardly.
“A pop-up.”
“Huh? A pop-up?”
Jin-woo was greatly surprised by those words.
“Yeah. A pop-up store. You know, right? The kind that opens temporarily for promotional purposes in the short term.”
“I do! But why would we do that? It’s right next to the restaurant.”
“We’re not going to do it. To be precise, other people will.”
“Other people? Who?”
“There are some. Hehe.”
A Chef from the Apocalypse Ventures into the Food Business
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Blockbuster
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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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