Chapter 178

As Norma exited the park, her knight took her shopping cart and loaded it into the trunk of their car before getting behind the wheel.

“To the company, ma’am.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Once they were on their way, Norma spoke up.

“If a producer creates something but isn’t satisfied with the result, what should be done about it?”

“I suppose you’d have to remake it?”

“But what if it cost a lot of money to make?”

“Well, I’m not sure…but consumers likely wouldn’t appreciate products that even the producers aren’t happy with.”

Norma tapped her forehead at his response and sighed.

“It sounds so simple when talking about the right answers in life.”

“Does it, ma’am?”

“Punish those who do wrong, help those who are good, be filial to your parents, don’t lie…” Norma continued with her list of life’s commandments before sighing heavily again. “The answers are simple…

“But it’s hard living by them.” She took another deep breath and then pulled out her cell phone.

“It’s me. Please convene the board members immediately. Regarding project…Y7, we need to redesign it.”

The knight looked slightly taken aback at this news. The Y7 was due for release during the second half of next year and was set to be their flagship product. To change its design now?

Sir must have much on his mind.

Around eleven o’clock, Jinwoo quietly opened the shop door. He’d come as instructed, arriving early just like she asked yesterday.

“Welcome.” Kang Jin greeted them with a smile. “You’re right on time. I was about to have lunch myself.”

“Um…thank you for yesterday,” said the elder brother as he handed her a bag. Inside were the bowls she had used to pack the mackerel, now clean and neatly stacked.

“Did your mother enjoy it?” The younger brother beamed brightly at Kang Jin’s question.

“She ate the whole fish!”

“It must’ve been delicious then.” Still smiling, Kang Jin gestured toward some seats. “Please sit down first. More customers will arrive soon, so I need to eat quickly.”

As Kang Jin made to enter the kitchen, the older brother hastily spoke up.

“We…”

“Eat with me. Food doesn’t taste good when eaten alone. Come, take a seat.”

When Kang Jin saw his sister grab her brother’s arm and pull him down to sit at the table, he hesitated briefly before joining them with a sigh. He watched as Kang Jin brought over cups of warm herbal tea along with bowls filled with rice and food on plates.

“We’re having marinated pork stir-fry with bean sprout soup today.”

The elder brother respectfully accepted the bowl from Kang Jin with both hands.

“I’ll pay for my meal today.”

“What? Then I shouldn’t eat?”

“Huh?”

“I was planning to join you…but if you’re paying, then you’d be our honored guest, right? How could I eat with an honored guest?” As Kang Jin raised his own bowl, the elder brother looked flustered.

“No, that’s not what—”

Kang Jin chuckled at his reaction and sat back down.

“I’m Lee Kang-jin. And what’s your name?”

“My name is Choi Jonghun, and this is my brother, Choi Jongsu.”

“Well then, let’s eat.” As Kang Jin picked up his spoon to dig in, Choi Jonghun looked at him with confusion on his face.

Assuming he wasn’t stupid, Jonghun knew that Kang Jin’s actions weren’t out of courtesy or because he wanted them to share a meal. When Kang Jin introduced himself and asked for their names, Jonghun had expected more from him.

“You didn’t want to tell us something?”

Kang Jin chuckled at Choi Jonghun’s question. “I already told you. Let’s eat. Go ahead—your hyung made it, but it tastes good.”

He took a big bite of marinated pork.

Slosh!

Watching the sauce drip down Kang Jin’s chin, Choi Jonghun swallowed hard; it certainly looked delicious. He glanced at Choi Jongsu as he picked up his utensils.

“Eat.”

Jongsu had been eyeing the food hungrily anyway, so he immediately dug in.

Choi Jongsu had been eyeing the meat hungrily and started eating his rice with it as soon as he saw this.

Chomp, chomp!

As sauce dripped from Jongsu’s mouth, Choi Jonghun handed him some tissues to wipe himself clean. Watching them silently, Kang Jin finished his meal.

He then loaded up Choi Jonghun’s cart with empty bottles and paper waste.

“And I packed some marinated pork and side dishes for you.” Kang Jin held out a bag toward Choi Jonghun, who waved him off.

“No, thank you.”

“You like my cooking, right?”

“It’s delicious.”

“Then your mom will enjoy it, too!”

Kang Jin’s words brought tears to Choi Jonghun’s eyes. He politely accepted the bag and bowed his head.

“Thank…you.”

Jonghun couldn’t help but feel embarrassed knowing how much his mother would appreciate the food.

“All right, see you tomorrow,” Kang Jin said casually.

“You can drop the formalities, hyung.” Kang Jin smiled and playfully nudged Choi Jonghun’s shoulder at his use of the word hyung for elder brother.

“I wish you’d told me earlier. Then I would’ve spoken casually from the start.”

Caught off guard by this sudden change, Choi Jonghun blinked before breaking out into a grin.

“Yes, sir.”

With that, Choi Jonghun bowed and pulled the cart away. Choi Jongsu also bowed to Kang Jin.

“Hyung, have a good meal!”

“All right. Bye.”

Kang Jin raised his hand as Choi Jongsu pushed the cart from behind. As he watched them leave, Kang Jin turned toward the middle-aged ghost.

“Does your wife feel unwell anywhere?”

“She complains about pain all over.” The middle-aged ghost sounded embarrassed.

“It seems like you’re not fully aware of her condition.”

“Well… Her kids don’t know exactly where she’s hurting because their mother never tells them…”

Kang Jin nodded at the ghost’s words. Since he was attached to one of the children as a land-bound spirit, it made sense that he wouldn’t know much about her situation.

“Thank you again for today.” The middle-aged ghost bowed his head before chasing after the children.

As Kang Jin entered back inside the restaurant, Bae Yongsoo approached him from the dining hall.

“You seemed like you wanted to say something earlier?”

“Say something?”

“Like some kind of advice or such.”

Bae Yongsoo’s words brought a smile to Kang Jin’s face.

“What kind of advice can I give while feeding them lunch?”

“I guess you have a point.”

“Let’s get ready for business.”

Bae Yongsoo nodded and headed towards the kitchen. Kang Jin started clearing away the dishes he had eaten from.

The restaurant was bustling with employees during lunchtime. Besides team members from Overseas Business Team 2 and Export Agency Team 2, several other teams within the company were also present.

Since both teams had praised the food, other department heads and their team members came to try it out as well. Thanks to this, the restaurant was filled with employees from Taekwang Trading Company.

‘We’re fully booked. You’ll have to wait approximately thirty minutes from now on. Thank you for your understanding.’

A message written on the whiteboard outside indicated that they weren’t accepting any more customers. Due to the cold weather, Kang Jin wanted to inform people upfront about the waiting time so they could choose another place if they wished.

In any case, since all the guests arrived at once, he finished serving them quickly. Now, his only tasks were refilling drinks or providing side dishes upon request.

“Ahhh, Manager Lim, this is delicious.” A man from another department spoke up with a smile. This prompted Lim Ho-jin to reply with a grin:

“I thought we would be able to enjoy the food quietly amongst ourselves, but I’m worried Foreman Cha will spread the word.”

“Why me?”

“Because you have that foodie blog.”

“You should share good places with others,” Manager Cha replied.

Director Oh Seong-sil chimed in, “So does this mean the menu will change daily?”

Kang Jin nodded at her question. “I plan to create dishes using the best ingredients available each day.”

“Like omakase?”

“It’s not quite as grandiose as omakase. I simply intend to make the most delicious dish possible with the ingredients on hand.”

Director Oh Seong-sil smiled at Kang Jin’s response. “That is essentially omakase. In Korea, it’s often associated with special chef’s choices at upscale restaurants, but traditionally, Japanese chefs use omakase to serve whatever they feel like preparing.” She continued with a grin.

“You know what, Kang Jin? This is great.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m sure during your time at the company, you witnessed many office workers struggling with deciding where to have lunch.”

“Oh…that’s true.”

When working for a company, choosing their lunch menu was always the biggest concern among employees. Thirty minutes before lunchtime, conversations would start with “What should we eat today?” Yet despite all the deliberation, they usually ended up settling on kimchi stew or hangover soup from Seonji.

“If Kang Jin prepares dishes like omakase here, wouldn’t it be just about showing up and enjoying the meal?”

“That’s true, but…I’m also worried if everyone will enjoy the food served.”

Kang Jin was also concerned about guests not liking his food. His dishes would undoubtedly be tasty and made with care; however, people’s tastes varied, so there might be some who wouldn’t enjoy it.

“Then take pictures of each day’s menu and send them to everyone.”

“Pictures?”

“It seems like our staff usually come first for lunch… If you send photos, those interested can join us, while others can eat elsewhere, right?”

“But that feels too pushy, asking them to come here.”

“Pushy?”

In response to Oh Seong-sil’s concern, Kang Jin repeated what Sung Yongsoo had said earlier. Hearing this, Oh Seong-sil smiled and nodded approvingly.

“You have a point there,” said Jang Seongtae, who was eating next to Oh Seong-sil.

“Then why don’t we create an open chat room?”

“Open chat room?”

“In KakaoTalk, you can make an open chat room where anyone can join. We could post daily menus there, and people can come if they like what’s being served or go elsewhere otherwise.”

“An open chat room?”

Jang Seongtae responded to Kang Jin’s question, “If it’s okay with you, I’ll set it up for you.”

Kang Jin handed his phone to Jang Seongtae, who logged onto KakaoTalk, created an open chat room, and returned the phone.

[One Meal Restaurant]

Seeing the chatroom titled ‘One Meal Restaurant,’ Kang Jin curiously examined his phone.

“How does it look?”

“It looks good. Once you upload food pictures and descriptions, everyone will easily understand.”

Kang Jin then addressed her staff members:

“Starting tomorrow, I’ll post the lunch menu on the chatroom, so please refer to it. The chatroom name is One Meal Restaurant.”

“Oh! That’s great.”

“Understood.”

Nodding at their responses, Kang Jin wrote down the chatroom details at the bottom of the whiteboard. As guests finished their meals and began leaving, she promptly started clearing the hall. By serving new customers first before cleaning up, existing guests would have to sit idly waiting, which often led to frustration due to perceived delays.

Customers couldn’t stand waiting inside the restaurant; they preferred to wait outside. After clearing the hall and transferring dishes to the kitchen, Kang Jin emerged from the store front.

Outside, he spotted people lined up at the entrance. He approached them.

“Excuse me…are you here for our restaurant?”

“Yes, we saw others leaving earlier. Can we come in now?”

“Oh! Please do.”

Kang Jin smiled as customers entered the establishment.

People lining up…it feels like we’ve become quite popular.

He erased the ‘Fully Booked’ sign on the whiteboard. Inside the restaurant, Kang Jin greeted guests with a smile.

“Today’s special from the head chef is marinated pork stir-fry with spicy bean sprout soup.”