The Chef From the Apocalypse Enters the Food Industry - Chapter 14

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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 14. People Don’t Change Easily (1)
“Let’s proceed as planned.”
“Of course. We don’t have any other choice anyway, do we?”
“Right. It’s the best option we have.”
The situation was resolved quickly.
Once the Youth Mall application period opens, we’ll apply for everything.
The flow toward the Food Truck disappearing already seemed inevitable.
There was no other way around it.
Not that I felt no regret.
‘Still, I’ve been running this spot for several months.’
Far from taking losses, I’ve only profited here.
If I didn’t feel regret about leaving such a lucrative location, that would be a lie.
But it’s unavoidable.
‘It’s fine. I was planning to expand soon anyway, right?’
I could simply view this as the timing arriving faster than expected.
Sigh.
One deep breath washed away the regret.
Dwelling on this would only hurt me in the end.
There was only one thing that bothered me.
‘This heaviness in my chest just won’t go away.’
This unease embedded in my instincts.
It simply wouldn’t disappear.
‘Could something be wrong?’
* * *
‘Nothing? Was I mistaken?’
But nothing happened.
That was strange.
Even in my past life’s apocalypse, intuition was crucial.
This instinct had saved my life countless times.
Whenever I avoided places where I felt that unease, things turned out well.
There was one time I ignored that sensation.
‘I nearly crossed the river of death that day.’
After that, I trusted this instinct even more. One could call it blind faith.
This intuition never lies.
Yet now, it seemed nothing would happen.
‘If it’s just my imagination, that’s actually good.’
Besides, even if it is a mistake, it’s not a bad one.
Peace is hundreds of times better than something going wrong.
Perhaps being mistaken is the better outcome.
‘Besides, I have plenty to do anyway.’
I decided to think of it positively.
I pushed aside the heaviness lodged in a corner of my chest for now.
* * *
“Why is he taking so long to show up?”
“Boss!”
“You’re late?”
Business had ended long ago.
Today I had something I needed to prepare in advance.
Jin-woo arrived later than I expected.
“The store closed ages ago. Why are you just getting here now?”
“He held onto me more persistently than I thought.”
“Held onto you? You?”
“Yes. He kept going on about whether I could really work a part-time job in this alley doing things like that. He lectured me for quite a while.”
“Wasn’t he complaining about having no customers before? He even hinted that you should quit.”
“That’s right. If he hadn’t, I would’ve quit already. I’m just doing what I said I would. It’s not like I didn’t tell him beforehand, so why is he acting like this?”
“Is that so?”
“Then it’s just venting.”
“Exactly. Venting. But I listened to him quietly anyway. He must be frustrated too. Business isn’t going well.”
“Tsk. I can understand that much.”
Today’s person was Jin-woo.
He had been working part-time at the Ramen Restaurant owned by Bang Owner.
But starting today, he was quitting the part-time job.
It seemed Bang Owner had seen this coming and given him an earful.
‘His personality, honestly.’
It was purely just venting, nothing more.
But Jin-woo didn’t look particularly upset after hearing it.
He probably let it go in one ear and out the other.
‘He’s a good-natured kid.’
His personality is good too.
‘That’s partly why I wanted to hire him in the first place.’
That’s right. He’s my Food Truck’s first part-time worker.
He agreed to come fill in the labor shortage I face every day.
“So what should I do now?”
“It’s not difficult. You see those trash bags I’ve collected here?”
“Yes.”
“After you finish academy, take all of those and dump them over there. That’s your main job.”
“Oh…! That’s really easy, isn’t it?”
“How could it be? In the morning, you need to come early and hand out the number tickets. You’ll also need to help with some basic prep work. It’ll probably take about an hour or two?”
“That much is totally doable!”
“Is that so?”
“I’ll have time to study too, so honestly, this is better than before!?”
“That’s good. I arranged it that way since you need to attend academy classes.”
“Wow. Unexpected consideration?”
“What, you don’t like it? Don’t be that way.”
“Hehe. I can’t be picky here. Hehe.”
He seemed pleased.
I had no intention of stopping at mere words.
“Brat. Now, let me show you how to sort the trash.”
“I already know how to do that much?”
“Since it’s your first time, I’m showing you anyway.”
“Ooh… so meticulous!”
“Pay attention, you.”
“Yes, sir!”
Jin-woo had helped with the number tickets before, so he’d done it a few times.
But he’d only watched the other tasks, so I explained them thoroughly.
‘Employee training is important work too.’
While teaching, I had to teach properly.
Even part-time work wasn’t something to do half-heartedly.
So I explained at length and showed him the organized items.
Simple sorting was something he’d understand easily enough.
But since there were several things that had to be done differently depending on the region, I had to explain the details carefully.
“This is easy.”
“Right?”
Fortunately, Jin-woo had a knack for work.
He understood quickly too.
“But if the prep work you mentioned is usually like this, couldn’t we pre-set a few things in advance?”
“Really?”
“Yes. I learned a few things working at the Ramen Restaurant anyway.”
So there’s know-how even in that kind of place.
Though I could cook delicious food, I was still a beginner at running a business.
In my past life, I rarely had the chance to cook in large quantities like this.
Perhaps that’s why.
Jin-woo’s following words were quite useful.
“These bowls here, I mean our cups—if we pre-position them here, we can improve the workflow, and also the ingredients you handle freely should go… here, right?”
After observing a few times, Jin-woo even came up with ideas.
‘This guy—an unexpected talent?’
It felt like an unexpected blessing had walked in.
While organizing, he even offered ideas for new workflows.
When I tried applying his suggestion, it worked quite well.
“Oh, this is convenient when I try it. Good idea?”
“Oh. Unexpected praise?”
“You brat. Where did you pick up such strange talk? Anyway, if you’re coming in early starting tomorrow… hm?”
“What’s wrong?”
“No, wait a moment.”
I was about to leave in a good mood.
But wait, this…
-Hey! You still here?
-Why are you still around?
Unexpected voices drifted in.
* * *
‘This isn’t the time for people to be on the street.’
It had been long past business hours.
Even in the Eatery Alley, only drunk stragglers wandered around at this hour.
That’s why I’d been teaching Jin-woo without worry.
But whose voices were these?
There was an unmistakable atmosphere hidden within them that bothered me.
‘Are those Ruffians out there?’
Ruffians. Or as some would call them, hoodlums.
There was a distinctive tone to people whose very bearing was so careless.
That flippant manner of speaking irritated me for some reason.
“Boss. Looks like there are some guys over there.”
“Yeah. Seems like it.”
“Think they’re looking for trouble?”
Jin-woo, like me, seemed to sense something.
This wasn’t something I could just ignore.
The problem was Jin-woo right in front of me.
‘Should I keep Jin-woo out of this?’
I didn’t mind, but Jin-woo would get exhausted if he got tangled up in something like this.
I needed to remove him before he stubbornly insisted on helping.
“Who knows. The mood’s already ruined anyway. Why don’t you take out the trash and head inside?”
“Huh? What about you, boss?”
“I’ll just check what’s going on. It’s around my store anyway.”
“Will you be alright alone, boss?”
“Come on. What could go wrong? Don’t worry.”
“Understood then. See you tomorrow!”
“Yeah.”
I sent Jin-woo off quickly.
‘They’re definitely watching Jin-woo.’
The way their eyes followed Jin-woo as he left.
They seemed to want him gone as well.
There was no need to humor them.
‘Those bastards were asking for trouble.’
I descended from the Food Truck.
-Hey, hey. What’s this? He’s coming this way.
-What are you talking about? Huh? Seriously?
I closed the distance toward the direction of their voices.
They looked barely past adulthood, with hints of ruffian behavior visible beneath their youthful faces.
I approached them slowly and deliberately.
-Hey, should we run?
-Run? That’d look even worse! And what if he comes after us!
-We’ve got more numbers… Eek…!
I let my aura leak out slightly.
An aura tempered by the Apocalypse.
-Hey, why did you suddenly… Eek!
-You too… Gasp…!
How could these cowardly bastards possibly endure this.
Without even realizing it, they began backing away slowly.
-Hey, let’s go. Looks like… today just isn’t our day!
-Y, yeah!
Once one of them provided an excuse.
They began their full retreat.
That was the beginning.
-Eeeeeek!
-He’s coming!
At first they jogged, but soon they broke into a full sprint.
‘You bastards, I’m just standing here watching. Talk about overreacting.’
I couldn’t help but smirk at the sight.
Despite their massive frames, they showed no composure whatsoever.
The sight was utterly ridiculous.
Of course, I had no intention of simply watching from the sidelines.
Ding-
[Activating skill 【Concealment】.]
I followed discreetly behind them.
* * *
‘They’re quite the cowards.’
Even dogs bark when they’re scared enough. These ruffians were certainly scared.
They ran on with their faces pale and drawn.
-Huff… pant…
-Is he gone?
-We’re still not far from the Truck. Keep running.
They kept moving and glancing back over their shoulders.
It was like watching a chase scene unfold.
‘These bastards. They better not be up to anything serious.’
Without my concealment, I would have been spotted for sure.
In any case, they slowed their pace but still took quite a while to get there.
‘They’ve been circling around, but now they’re heading toward the Eatery Alley again?’
After all that wandering, they were actually heading toward the Eatery Alley beside the Food Truck Zone.
The unease I’d tried to suppress came rushing back.
They already had a destination in mind. Without hesitation, they made a beeline straight for one place.
-Alright, we’re here.
-What do we say when we go in?
-We say today wasn’t the day. That he was here the whole time.
-You think he’ll believe that?
-Then what, you don’t think he will?
Standing before what appeared to be their destination, they bickered for quite a while.
-Ah, forget it. Let’s just go in.
-Yeah. What’s he gonna do about it anyway?
Tired of their own argument, they stepped inside.
[Budo Ramen]
It wasn’t a store name I was seeing for the first time. It was Bang Owner’s restaurant.
Faint voices drifted out from within.
‘Huh…? So that’s what it was?’
In that moment, I finally understood what the unease had been about.

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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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