They Told Me to Build Good Karma by Selling Side Dishes - Chapter 107

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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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107. Interview (6)

Do I consider myself a chef?

“What kind of question is that? Why do you have such a serious expression?”
“Me?”
“Yes.”

I showed the questionnaire to Cha Seop.

“Why are you struggling with this?”
“Well, that’s right! I asked because I thought you’d answer quickly, sir…!”

I expected the answer to tumble out as naturally as breathing. But it didn’t. The weight of all the time I’d spent suddenly clung to this question like an unwelcome shadow.

‘So many question marks.’

I set down the fork I’d been holding and drew in a breath.

“Lee Hae-ra. Shall we proceed with the interview?”
“Can we ask the questions as they are…?”

Lee Hae-ra’s voice was cautious.

“It’s fine. The answers might flow naturally once we start asking.”
“Then….”

Lee Hae-ra glanced around the kitchen and shop, as if choosing the location she’d filmed.

“Wouldn’t it be good to film inside the shop over there~?”

Cha Seop offered a solution to the contemplative Lee Hae-ra.

“There?”
“Since you’re the proprietor of a side dish shop, it would be better to show lots of side dishes, right?”

Lee Hae-ra picked up the chair with evident approval and moved it to the center of the shop.

“Right here!”

Cha Seop traced a circle in the air with both arms, equally pleased. Lee Hae-ra secured the camera in place.

“Go ahead.”
“Okay….”

I rose from the chair and checked my face in the mirror. Nothing seemed particularly different, though.

“Your face looks fine,” Hae-tae reassured me, swatting my cheek gently with his tail.

I settled into the chair with proper posture.

“Let’s start with a self-introduction, if you don’t mind.”

As Lee Hae-ra began the interview, I swept my bangs back and answered.

“Hello. I’m Ji-gu, the owner of Hyang-suk’s Side Dish Shop.”

Lee Hae-ra flipped through her question sheet. The rustling of paper seemed unusually loud—probably because I was nervous.

“May I ask what inspired you to start this shop?”
“It was because of my grandmother.”
“Your grandmother?”
“Hyang-suk’s Side Dish Shop was originally run by my grandmother.”
“I have another question for you.”

Lee Hae-ra posed the next question slowly.

“Is there a particular reason you became a chef?”

I fidgeted with my hands resting on my thighs.

“Actually, that wasn’t the case. My grandmother Hyang-suk didn’t want me to become a chef. She forced me into sports instead because I was tall.”

With the camera rolling, I spoke honestly.

“I had no choice but to pursue cooking, and only then did she acknowledge me, but…”
“May I ask why?”
“I think Grandmother believed that anyone standing before the flames grows weary first. Your hands get scarred, your face gets scarred, your heart gets scarred. In our world, kitchen food is taken for granted, so people don’t easily give recognition for it, she said.”

Lee Hae-ra’s lips twitched before drooping downward.

‘Was that… moving?’

“L-let me ask the next question. *clears throat* I will.”
“Yes.”

Lee Hae-ra opened her mouth while looking at the question sheet.

“Why did you decide to participate in the Spring Festival?”

The reason I decided to participate…

“…Hmm.”

It wasn’t quite enough to justify it just to spite the Simple Cooking Chef.

“I came out to promote myself.”
“Ah, promoting the shop?”
“No. Myself.”

At that moment, Cha Seop, who had been listening, spat out his water.

“*cough* *sputter*.”

What was there to be so shocked about?

“Why would you come out to promote yourself?”
“So people will see me and come buy side dishes.”

Lee Hae-ra’s expression went blank.

“After seeing you?”
“I’m confident I can make delicious food for them.”
“What if the food isn’t delicious?”

The question was rather sharp, but I didn’t hesitate. I had learned from two masters, after all.

“I’ll make it delicious for you again.”

I had that much confidence.

“Haha!”

Cha Seop burst into laughter, then waved his hand apologetically.

“That’s not an easy thing to say…”
“Your next question was probably something like, ‘What if the food at the Spring Festival tastes bad?’ wasn’t it?”
“Yes. Right, exactly…”

In competitive situations, it’s all about momentum. I learned that from Seop, but…

“For those who doubt after hearing my answer, please visit my booth. I’ll serve you delicious food.”

That would make them curious, wouldn’t it?

Lee Hae-ra cleared her throat and spoke slowly.

“Then I’ll ask one final question.”
“Yes.”
“Do you consider yourself a chef?”

I let out a short laugh.

“Yes. I am a chef.”

Lee Hae-ra set down her question sheet and applauded, as if confirming I’d handled the conclusion perfectly.

“Excellent, excellent!”
“Did I do well?”
“Yes! Perfect! Perfect. You really felt that wall, didn’t you?”

I stood up with a thumbs up. I watched Lee Hae-ra turning off the camera recording, then glanced at Cha Seop.

“Aren’t you leaving now, Seop?”
“What do you mean, ‘leaving’?”
“You’re such a busy person, yet you’re not going anywhere.”

I untied my apron and stretched luxuriously.

“I didn’t expect you to call me a chef.”

Cha Seop slipped on his coat, looking down at me.

“If I said I wasn’t one, I felt like everyone who cooks would deny that they’re chefs too.”
“….”
“The words ‘chef’ and ‘cook’ aren’t grandiose, are they?”

Strangely, Cha Seop’s response came without the playful rebuttal I’d anticipated. His hands, which had been fastening his coat buttons, stilled. Then he looked at me and smiled softly.

“They’re not grandiose. But those words carry weight—so much that some people reject them. Because it’s hard to prove.”

Cha Seop pulled leather gloves from his coat pocket, and his hands were merciless—scarred with knife marks and burn wounds, rough and weathered.

“But today you looked like a chef. Watching you cook put my mind at ease.”
“You’ve eaten my food before, though.”
“Now that’s backtalk.”

Soft leather gloves ruffled my hair as he passed. I bowed respectfully right there. Hae-tae gripped my head tightly, making it feel constrained.

“What is it?”

His voice carried surprise, as if startled by my sudden politeness.

“Thank you for today, Seop.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“People could have talked behind your back, but you helped me anyway….”

A small sigh fell from above my head.

“Straighten up.”
“Yes? Yes.”

I forced my posture upright.

“Skip the thanks.”
“Pardon?”
“Just do well at the Spring Festival.”

With that, Cha Seop grasped the door handle and spoke one final time.

“I’m not expecting anything.”
“What?! Seop!!”

I watched Cha Seop leave with a smile on his face, then squeezed my eyes shut.

“He’s a scoundrel, meow.”

Just as Hae-tae said—he’s a scoundrel. Absolutely.

“Is there anything else you need, Lee Hae-ra?”
“Oh, no!”

Lee Hae-ra fitted the lens cap onto her camera and zipped her bag all the way up. She placed it inside and lifted her head.

“I need to head back to the Company!”
“The Company? Working late?”
“Yes! I need to edit the footage I shot!”

I frowned.

“Working late makes you hungry. Take something with you.”
“Oh, I… what I ate was plenty!”
“Are you sure?”

I was worried. Working late made eating properly difficult enough as it was.

“Actually… boss… I might say something rude, but…”
“Yes? What is it?”
“…Well, how do I put this. When I heard your answers to the questions, I got the feeling that this shop might not actually be yours.”

…Might not be? I felt my expression tighten slightly.

“Was that so?”
“Yes… I’ll contact you once I upload the edited video. Until then, I might not be able to respond quickly….”
“Just don’t ignore my messages.”
“Yes, yes!”

Lee Hae-ra grabbed her bag and took a few steps before turning back. I adjusted the scarf she’d carelessly draped around her shoulders and stepped back.

“Be careful on the icy paths, and don’t overwork yourself.”
“Yes!”

Lee Hae-ra called out with an energetic voice.

“Boss, fighting for the Spring Festival!”
“You too, Lee Hae-ra!”

Lee Hae-ra waved her hand broadly and disappeared down the alley toward the Company. After confirming her figure was gone, I stepped back inside the shop.

“I’m exhausted….”
“You’re tired, aren’t you?”
“Meowww….”

Having spent the entire day by my side and pushing through the rush of work together, Hae-tae’s body had gone limp. I scooped up Hae-tae from my head and cradled him in my arms.

“Shall we head up?”
“Meow.”

I switched off all the fluorescent lights in the shop and opened the back door, a smile escaping my lips.

“Why are you smiling?”
“Because I’m leaving early today.”

Hae-tae clicked his tongue.

“Besides, I still have to wake up early and make side dishes….”

I forcibly silenced Hae-tae and climbed to the second floor.

“Don’t ruin the mood.”
“Meowww!”

This wretched cat.

***

The days that followed were anything but quiet. They were bustling. No, “crowded” would be the more accurate word.

The moment I opened the shop door, the Twins and Grandmother Myeong-ja would ask when the video was coming out.

‘Still not up?!’
‘…It still hasn’t been released?’
‘That video. The video. I’ve already spread the word to people I know.’
‘Student Cheon-ru and San-bi are waiting too!’

Student Cheon-ru and Student San-bi were indeed waiting. As it turned out, word had already spread throughout the neighborhood that the Spring Festival would be entertaining.

Every regular customer without exception brought up the Spring Festival whenever they saw me. They left messages of encouragement, insisting they would definitely attend the Spring Festival.

‘The Side Dish Shop owner is the best.’
‘I only trust the owner.’
‘Protect our regulars’ pride!’

Now even the regulars’ pride had come into play.

“Pride might be overstating it, don’t you think?”
“You don’t understand, meow.”

I opened the register to check which side dishes had sold out.

“I need to protect the owner’s pride, meow…?”

Hae-tae’s eyes, as he lay on the counter watching me, gleamed with an unusual intensity.

“What.”
“My pride is on the line too, meow.”
“Why is it about pride?”
“Apparently other Seon-eop Shops have gotten word of this, meow.”
“What? I don’t even know who they are.”
“They don’t know you either, meow.”

I didn’t know how the rumor had spread. I withdrew my hand from the register and shook my head.

“What’s this about the Spring Festival?”
“People tend to make a big fuss about these things, you know.”
“…If I don’t at least meet the average, I’ll get pelted with stones, won’t I?”
“I’ll be the one throwing them.”

No, wait….

“You should be on my side.”
“How can food have sides?”
“…You’re a terrible cat.”

I was resting my chin on the counter, lost in thought, when the door opened and Grandmother Myeong-ja appeared.

“The video still hasn’t come out.”
“I came to buy side dishes today.”
“No, you didn’t.”

Grandmother Myeong-ja casually selected some side dishes from the display and approached the counter.

“I heard videos come out really quickly these days.”
“It’s the preparation for the preparation that’s difficult.”
“Then it should be coming out soon? It’s been several days already.”

I stood at the register counting change, then silently checked my smartphone.

“They said they’d contact me when it’s ready, but I still haven’t heard anything.”
“Still no contact?”
“No….”

Grandmother Myeong-ja, who barely visited once or twice a week, had made a special trip to the shop today.

So I wanted to repay her kindness by putting extra care into preparing the side dishes and polishing the shop inside and out until it gleamed. I wasn’t indifferent to all this either.

As the day was drawing to a close, the moment I finished business and pulled the shutter halfway down, my smartphone began buzzing with consecutive notifications.

Ding-ding-ding-ding-ring-!

I casually pulled out my phone from my pocket and checked the screen.

▶[Boss!]
▶[An emoticon of ramen running around]
▶[The video goes up tomorrow at noon!]

The video I’d been waiting for finally appeared.

“Tomorrow at noon?”

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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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