The Chef From the Apocalypse Enters the Food Industry - Chapter 23

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

Chapter 23. Good Customers and Bad Customers (2)
The unexpected visitor was Jang On-gyu, the man called a business genius.
It was unforeseen.
I saw something in his eyes.
‘Desire. In other words, greed.’
He tried to hide it, but he couldn’t.
I could see it clearly.
I asked him with caution.
“It’s possible, but what is this about?”
“I wanted to discuss the Youth Mall storefront from earlier.”
“As you’ve heard, I’ve given up on opening a store at the Youth Mall. I have no intention of raising any objections either.”
“That’s exactly why.”
“Why?”
“Yes. I happened to overhear you saying you had no intention of opening a store specifically at the Youth Mall.”
Was it really a coincidence?
Jang On-gyu’s words didn’t stop.
“I thought I could make you a proposal.”
“What kind of proposal?”
“Why don’t we walk and talk about it?”
He pointed to one side.
Turning my gaze, I saw the opposite side of the Eatery District.
It was the place called the New City District.
‘Right leads to the Eatery District. Left leads to the New City District.’
If the Eatery District was the established master of this place for decades,
then the New City District was a redeveloped complex built by dismantling and reconstructing part of the existing market.
I heard the original plan was to revitalize the complex alongside the Eatery District.
The results were underwhelming.
‘That place ended up in a similar situation to the Food Truck Zone.’
A brief shine, then failure.
I followed him and walked in together.
Not long after entering, Jang On-gyu stopped.
A 5-story building came into view.
“This building here. It looks decent for running a business, doesn’t it?”
“Running a business in this building?”
“Yes. A restaurant business.”
The building had a well-maintained appearance.
It seemed the remodeling had been completed not long ago. The building is good.
The problem is the surroundings.
“It does look quiet for now, though.”
“You mean there’s no foot traffic?”
There were no people around.
“Yes. There really aren’t any, even considering the time of day.”
“Foot traffic depends on how you draw them in—you could fail or succeed. But someone like you, Owner, would definitely be able to draw them.”
“Drawing people in, huh.”
“Are you uncertain?”
Was this a provocation?
‘So this is how he shakes people up.’
Normally, I’d bristle at something like this.
There was no reason not to take the bait.
I answered with an easy smile.
“Uncertain? Hardly. The Food Truck Zone started without a single customer, after all.”
“I thought you’d say that. It should be even easier here, then.”
“So what’s the real reason you came all the way here?”
Then I asked.
Get to the actual business.
As if waiting for that, his proposal came.
“By now, I thought you’d have figured it out. How about we create a massive hit together at this store, right here?”
The tall building filled my vision.
* * *
Three days flew by like an arrow.
In that time, the Youth Mall applicants hadn’t changed.
‘But one thing did change.’
My phone rang frequently.
Jang On-gyu, who had seemed so neat and tidy.
His messages came more often.
[How about we work together if you’re willing?]
[I’ll match whatever conditions you want.]
[You should really think this through carefully.]
[Haven’t you made a decision yet?]
.
.
At first, he sent one a day, then multiple the next day.
By the third day, over ten had come just today alone.
‘I’ve seen this pattern in business before.’
Every message offered me nothing but benefits.
But for some reason, my heart wasn’t interested.
“Hmm….”
It just didn’t appeal to me.
Why? Something felt off.
My instincts were sounding an alarm.
There had been cases like this in the past.
-This is a difficult world. Shouldn’t we try to live together?
-Let’s all do this together!
-I’ll share the food I eat! Let’s do this together!
A prophet who vowed to save lives even in the apocalypse.
It turned out he was the worst cult leader who had sacrificed fellow humans as offerings to survive.
Was it just a coincidence that Jang On-gyu seemed to overlap with him in my mind?
‘My memory is hazy, but somehow his appearance seems similar too? Except for a few scars and burn marks….’
No. No, it wasn’t.
After thinking for a while, I shook my head.
I needed to come to my senses.
I shouldn’t judge a person based on their appearance.
‘It’s not like some parallel universe. How could it be the same person?’
Just because someone looks similar doesn’t mean they have the same nature.
The worlds themselves are different.
Regardless, my gut feeling was bad.
‘A large store….’
On this floor of the 5-story Building, I could easily have my own restaurant.
And the conditions offered were very favorable.
I knew that if I quietly ran a business there for five years, or even just three, I could have a completely independent restaurant of my own.
Yet it didn’t appeal to me.
What could I do about this?
All I had to go on was instinct.
Today, I picked up my heavy phone.
The call connected in less than three seconds.
-Hello?
“Hello. Do you have a moment to talk?”
-Of course!
His voice came through.
He sounded like he was in a good mood.
-You’ve finally made your decision, I see. Haha.
He seemed to think I would accept.
Normally, that would have been the case.
The conditions were too good to refuse.
But my answer this time was already decided.
-You know the conditions, and there really aren’t any better than these. So….
“I’m sorry, but.”
-Hmm?
“I have to decline.”
-Decline?
“Yes.”
A brief silence.
Then came a flustered voice.
-…You won’t regret this?
Had he sensed the firmness in my voice?
He brought up regret.
‘Is this his way of keeping me unsettled until the very end? Amusing.’
His tone suggested all the kindness until now had been nothing but a lie.
I was familiar with this tone.
Dichotomous thinking.
Either ally or enemy.
This was the tone I typically heard from people who lived by only these two categories.
Perhaps with this choice, I had touched a nerve with Jang On-gyu, the man called a business genius. Perhaps I had become his enemy.
Life has a way of hurting or moving us for the most trivial reasons.
‘But this confirms it.’
Because of that, I could be even more certain.
-I don’t usually say things like this, but I’ll ask one last time. Are you truly certain you won’t regret this?
“Yes. I don’t think I’ll regret it.”
To Jang On-gyu’s question, I could answer that I would absolutely not regret this.
What came next was a deep sigh. And then—
-Then there’s nothing to be done. I understand. Go on in.
“Yes. I’ll go—”
A voice dripping with unmistakable hostility.
Click.
Jang On-gyu hung up without even waiting for my response.
I stared at my phone screen for a moment, and suddenly felt it.
“Haha. What is this? It’s actually amusing.”
One part of me realized the three days of agonizing had been pointless.
The other part felt remarkably refreshed.
“When did I start relying on others and worrying about it? From start to finish, doing things with my own hands—that’s who I am.”
I quickly understood why my heart felt so much lighter.
The moment I decided to do it myself, I realized I had taken complete control of my own life.
To say I hadn’t wavered would be a lie.
But now I could be certain.
“I need to do what’s mine.”
After these past few days of decisions, I had become stronger.
* * *
Click.
After hanging up, Jang On-gyu’s face darkened considerably.
“…Damn it.”
“A report for you, sir? What?”
“No, wait. You came to give a report?”
“Yes. It’s time.”
“Let me see it. Right now.”
“Ah, yes!”
The executive secretary who had come to deliver the report wore a startled expression.
It wasn’t often that Jang On-gyu changed his expression like that.
‘Something’s definitely gone wrong.’
As a secretary who had served him for years, I could read the situation well enough.
The image he projected outwardly—a warm business genius.
Behind it lay the cold calculations of a shrewd businessman.
The secretary working right beside him knew this better than anyone.
He was more arrogant than he appeared, and he couldn’t tolerate things going wrong.
Once, that had seemed admirable.
But recently, it had become deeply unsettling.
‘He wasn’t like this at first… He’s changed. He really has.’
Yet I continued to serve him.
Recently, no one dared to provoke Jang On-gyu, so he had no reason to show his anger.
A peace born from the absence of any catalyst for his harsh nature.
“Sigh…”
A continuous stream of sighs throughout the report.
To the secretary, it seemed that brief peace had shattered.
‘From what I hear, it’s about that Food Truck we recruited before. What’s he planning this time?’
Despite the worry.
The secretary maintained a composed demeanor.
There was still work to be done.
Time passed as the secretary continued delivering the status report for the restaurant district being prepared.
* * *
‘First, I need to find a store.’
Every task begins with a single step.
The Food Truck Zone would soon disappear, so I needed to find a store now.
Fortunately, I knew someone knowledgeable in the area.
“Boss.”
The Coffee Truck Owner.
“Yeah? What’s up? Run out of cups?”
“No. We have plenty of cups.”
“Then what?”
“Do you know any real estate agents nearby?”
“Real estate? Ah!”
The boss was quick to catch on.
“So you’re looking for a store!”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then let’s find one together.”
“Huh?!”
This time, I was the one lacking perception.
‘Find one together? What does that mean?’
I struggled to understand what the owner was saying next.
Did I have a blank expression on my face?
The owner laughed as if amused, then gestured for Jang Owner to come over.
Jang Owner, who had been selling buttered squid, came running.
“What’s wrong? Oh! You didn’t already tell him, did you?”
“He brought up real estate, so I figured the timing was perfect and just mentioned it.”
“Ugh, I was going to say it first! You cut in line again! You’re hogging all the good stuff!”
“Haha. Well, that’s how it turned out. So you’re not going to say anything?”
“Of course I will. Since I’m already here, might as well.”
“Kekeke. I couldn’t help it, I’m telling you.”
The two of them clearly had already discussed this.
At this point, I was starting to piece things together in my head.
‘Could it be…’
But I still needed confirmation.
I preferred to be certain about things.
So I asked.
“Did you both give up on the Youth Mall?”
The answer that came back was unexpected.
“Give up?”
“Give up? What are you talking about?”
Huh? What?

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