The Chef From the Apocalypse Enters the Food Industry - Chapter 32

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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 32. Preview
“A story?”
I glanced over his appearance—it was neat and tidy.
His natural impression was kind, but his eyes were sharp. Sharp enough to kill that kindness.
“Ah, please take this first.”
He handed me his business card.
The ornate logo was embroidered on the card, but what mattered were two lines.
Blue Broadcasting Station
Jodeok, Executive Producer
“You’re from a broadcasting station?”
“Haha. Yes, that’s right. We’re Blue Broadcasting Station, a regional broadcaster. For reference, we also work with the regional newspaper.”
“I see.”
A regional broadcasting station.
Though they called themselves a broadcasting station, they likely didn’t produce much in-house.
They probably just aired videos they received from elsewhere.
Why would someone from such a station come looking for me?
“What brings you here?”
“Ah, it’s nothing special. We introduce new restaurants as part of our work.”
“Is that so?”
I wasn’t aware of such a program.
Since I hadn’t been established in this area for long, I didn’t know much about it.
Though my ignorance was obvious, the PD smiled warmly and explained.
“Haha. You don’t seem familiar with it. We have a show called ‘Reckless Restaurant Adventure’ that airs at five o’clock. It’s a regional restaurant introduction program.”
After hearing the explanation, I understood.
A restaurant introduction. If we were featured, it wouldn’t be a bad thing.
It would actually be good.
‘If it’s just a brief mention in a corner of the program, there’s nothing difficult about it.’
It seemed he came to recruit us.
“So you’re here to introduce our restaurant?”
“Haha. Well, that’s the purpose, but we’re still considering you as a candidate.”
“A candidate?”
It wasn’t disrespectful, but—
Did a regional broadcaster really need candidates?
“Yes. I had a meal here alone, and it was delicious. But I can’t make a hasty decision.”
“Hmm. Is that so?”
I wondered if there was any need to mention that.
A question mark formed in my mind.
The PD, seemingly unaware of this, continued with a smiling face.
“Yes. Haha. It’s a broadcast, after all.”
“A broadcast, I understand.”
“Haha. I’m glad you’re quick to understand. Anyway, since it’s on the candidate list, think it over. I’ll be going now.”
What am I supposed to think about?
Isn’t considering candidates the PD’s job, not mine?
I couldn’t understand it at all.
The other person kept smiling, but offered no further explanation.
“Then I’ll wait for your call.”
They only left me with cryptic words until the very end.
* * *
‘Broadcasting, huh….’
Even a short appearance is still broadcasting.
Looking into it, this local station produced quite a few programs of its own.
No matter how much broadcasting has declined compared to before, it would certainly be helpful.
“What are you worrying about?”
“Oh, you’re here, Older Brother?”
“Yeah, I thought we could have a cup of coffee.”
Older Brother gestured to the two cups of coffee in his hands. They were brewed with careful attention.
“Here we go.”
He set one cup in front of me and settled in naturally before asking.
“Something troubling you? Business is going well, and from what I can see, even that Isoo fellow is smiling now? He seemed excited about making authentic Hong Kong cuisine.”
“There’s nothing to worry about inside the store.”
We finished organizing the store once we started serving Hong Kong cuisine.
By lunchtime, the store was packed with customers.
Everyone moved diligently to keep up with the flow.
I’d be more than happy if things continued like this.
“So it’s an outside concern then?”
“Right. Actually, it’s less of a concern and more that I received something like this.”
“What’s this? Hmm, a business card.”
I handed over the business card I’d received.
Then I briefly explained what had happened just before.
As he listened, Older Brother’s expression hardened immediately, and he gave his verdict in one phrase.
“That’s garbage.”
“Pardon?”
Garbage? That’s quite harsh.
Older Brother rarely got angry.
Yet here he was, suddenly furious and calling it garbage.
“Good grief. You still don’t get it?”
“Huh? Get what?”
“Honestly… you know everything about cooking, but why can’t you grasp something like this? It’s like you’ve been living alone on some remote island!”
“Hmm….”
Not an island exactly. But it was something similar.
In any case, as I tried to swallow my awkward cough, the older brother added more explanation.
“A candidate, you said? They told you to think about it and contact them?”
“That’s what seemed strange. Even if you’re going to appear on broadcast, it’s unusual for them not to contact you first, isn’t it?”
“That’s right! Unless it’s a surprise shoot like last time, it should all work that way.”
“So this isn’t normal, then?”
I had sensed something was off. My gut feeling wasn’t good about it. The truth revealed itself quickly.
“They’re asking for money.”
“Pardon?”
“They’re saying they’ll air the broadcast if you pay them.”
“Hmm….”
The reality of it was absurd.
I knew such things weren’t entirely uncommon.
On my days off, I’d been researching various things to shed the skin of my past life.
‘No way, something I’ve only heard about is happening to me?’
But I never thought something like this would happen to me so directly.
“So there’s probably a rate card—ten minutes for this much, twenty minutes for that much, a bigger feature for this much. That sort of thing?”
“To that extent?”
“To that extent! Are broadcasters normal people? They sell by the second!”
“Good grief. So in the end, they’re saying ‘pay us and we’ll air your broadcast’?”
“Exactly!”
Even though a situation had arisen, it wasn’t irreversible.
I thought about it casually and made my decision.
I wouldn’t do it.
There was no need to drag this out.
“Hm? Are you calling right now?”
“Yes. It’s better to end it quickly.”
I called immediately.
Not long after the dial tone, I heard the voice of the PD I’d seen earlier.
-Hello?
“Hello. I’m the owner of the restaurant you visited earlier.”
-The place I visited earlier… hmm… which one?
It seemed he’d been running around busily in the meantime.
“The Factory Canteen.”
-Oh, that place!
My store was commonly called the Factory Canteen.
For reference, our store has quite a unique name.
My store’s name is ‘Table Setting’.
Older Brother’s coffee shop is ‘Sodamcha Roastery’.
Jang Owner’s Hong Kong Restaurant is simply called ‘Hong Kong Restaurant’.
All our names are quite distinctive.
As a result, the regular customers who frequented this place called it the Factory Canteen.
In any case, the PD understood immediately upon hearing this.
-Oh my. Your worries ended quickly, didn’t they?
I could feel him smiling softly through the receiver.
It was the kind of laugh he made when things went his way, with a hint of mockery added—as if to say, “See? You’re the same way.”
“Yes. I resolved it quickly.”
-Well, you see, we have something in the works right now… and, the conditions have changed a bit from before.
“Oh, is that so?”
A fish already caught. His casual shift to informal speech revealed his true nature.
-It’s just that… a little more than usual…
And now a change in conditions too.
This guy was a textbook example of playing hot and cold.
“Those conditions won’t concern me.”
-Huh?
“‘Huh’ is informal speech. You’ve been slipping into informal speech since earlier, so drop that first.”
-Huh? Yes. Yes, yes. But what do you mean the conditions don’t concern you…?
“We’re not going on air.”
-What?
“We’re not going on the broadcast.”
I delivered a complete refusal.
Only then did the other party grow desperate.
-What are you talking about? No, if it’s because I mentioned the conditions, I can do better…
Thinking it was a negotiation tactic, he tried to drag things out by bringing up the conditions again.
There was no need to listen to such pointless talk at length.
“I’m hanging up.”
-Yes. No, if you hang up like that, I…
Beep—
I immediately pressed the end call button.
Looking ahead after that.
“Wow. That feels refreshing!”
Jang Owner, who had been watching me quietly, gave me a double thumbs up with both hands.
* * *
After delivering such a light refusal, it wasn’t long before something happened.
During a short break time.
In the afternoon that had grown quiet except for a few remaining cafe customers, Jang Owner came over with his phone, looking amused.
“Hey. They actually received this?”
“Received what?”
“Take a look.”
A broadcast was streaming through YouTube on his phone.
Since broadcasts these days do live streams through YouTube, I understood that much.
The image contained within it looked quite familiar.
“It’s Bang Owner’s Ramen Restaurant?”
“That’s right. Budo Ramen. Right there. Hehehehe… But look at this. Upper right corner.”
“Wow. This place is an authentic ramen specialty restaurant?”
“Exactly!”
It was common knowledge among those in the know that Bang Owner assembled mass-produced ingredients and sold them.
But to call this place an authentic specialty restaurant.
‘Since there are so many places that just assemble and sell… if this is authentic, then I suppose it is?’
Even an unjust law is still law, so if that’s authentic, then it’s authentic.
The real thing existed elsewhere.
“Puhaha. Look at how they make the broth. What, shark fin going in there? Do they think just throwing in expensive ingredients makes it good?”
“Right? Just tossing in random things doesn’t make it delicious.”
“Ugh. What a waste. What a waste, that stuff isn’t cheap!”
They brought shark fin to make the broth.
Claiming they simmered it for 48 hours straight, they showed the broth-making scene from a distance, going well into the late evening.
Even the full-commitment acting of wiping away sweat streaming down their face with a satisfied expression!
“Wow. Bang Owner should have been an actor instead of running a ramen restaurant!”
“There was real passion in it, real passion!”
“Right. Haha. It was entertaining though.”
If you watched without knowing better, there was truly a master owner who had staked his life on ramen inside that screen.
You could feel that the PD filming from outside the screen had also given their all.
Both Bang Owner and the PD had clearly worked with sharpened blades.
* * *
And after several days passed, the effects became immediately apparent.
“Bang Owner’s store has been booming lately, hasn’t it?”
“Really?”
“Before, there were just flies when you went, but it was quite crowded.”
“So the broadcast really does have an effect.”
The broadcast had saved Bang Owner’s store.
The effect was better than expected.
“See! If even a local broadcast does this much, no wonder everyone is obsessed with media!”
“That does seem to be the case.”
“Tsk. The really important thing is taste. People just don’t understand that.”
“Hahaha. That’s the fundamentals, after all.”
“Right. Without fundamentals, things will eventually fall apart anyway. But still, our customers have decreased a bit too, haven’t they?”
“It’s subtle, but yes?”
“Exactly!”
Our store had definitely experienced a slight decrease in customers.
Since one person eats three meals a day, it made sense that when their ramen restaurant gained customers, we lost some.
Still, I wasn’t particularly worried.
“But there’s no need to worry about it, right? The broadcast effect won’t last long anyway.”
“That’s true!”
After all, the impact from broadcasting was only temporary.
As Jang Owner said, if the fundamental taste wasn’t there, customers would disappear quickly.
So I felt reassured.
Indeed, not long after, the customers who had dropped slightly returned to normal. I also heard that Bang Owner’s place saw a decrease in customers again.
But here’s the thing.
Looking at it now, the regional broadcast was just a preview.
‘…What? What is that?’

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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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