Chapter 20: Ramen Debate

Wait… Is there ramen available at the cooking practice room?

As Kang Jin pondered, the Director spoke up.

“Is that okay with everyone?”

Kang Jin shook his head affirmatively.

“Yes, it’s fine for me. How about others?”

“We’ll also have ramen.”

“Me too.”

With the Director ordering ramen, no one else dared to choose differently, resulting in unanimous agreement on ramen. However, the two female employees didn’t seem particularly thrilled. Noticing their expressions, Kang Jin turned to the Director and suggested:

“I think having just ramen might not be ideal for our female colleagues during lunchtime. So, ladies, I propose we serve you the Five-colored Stir-fried Steak and Pumpkin Stir-fried Steak instead.”

The two female employees’ faces brightened at Kang Jin’s suggestion.

“Really?”

“The table next to you is having the mixed grill and pumpkin steak. Is that okay with you?”

The two female employees glanced at the manager’s wife’s table, where she smiled warmly back at them.

“It’s delicious,” said Manager Lee’s wife.

The two women quickly nodded in agreement.

“Then we’ll go with those options.”

Kang Jin turned to the director.

“How would you like your ramen? Spicy?”

“Yes, please. And do you have cold rice?”

“Cold rice?”

“Honestly, when I had lunch here on Saturday, the kimchi was so good. I’ve been craving it since then, thinking how tasty it would be with spicy ramen. Plus, don’t you agree that cold rice pairs perfectly with ramen?”

Kang Jin nodded at Director Kim’s words.

Kimchi with ramen is indeed unbeatable. And if I add cold rice…

As Kang Jin pondered, his mouth began to water involuntarily.

“It sounds delicious,” he said.

The director smiled and replied, “Then I’ll leave it up to you.”

With that, Kang Jin entered the kitchen and quickly pulled out the cooking practice manual.

‘How to cook tasty ramen… Ramen… Ramen…’

His eyes narrowed as he rapidly flipped through the pages.

‘There’s no mention of ramen.’

There was no recipe for ramen in the cooking practice manual. It included noodle dishes like chow mein or jajangmyeon, but not ramen…

‘I suppose ramen isn’t really considered a proper dish…’

Kang Jin decided to cook rice first. He spread it thinly on a tray to cool quickly since there was no leftover cold rice available. While waiting for the rice to chill, he measured out water and heated it over the stove, adding crushed red pepper flakes.

Since there are six men, let’s boil ten servings…

Next, Kang Jin started cooking the stir-fried pork with vegetables and grilled pumpkin steak. Since all ingredients were prepped beforehand, he only needed to sauté them.

Sizzle! Frrshhh!

Using two frying pans simultaneously, Kang Jin soon plated the dishes. The beef had to be cooked quickly before becoming tough, so everything was ready even before the ramen noodles finished boiling.

He then brought out the side dishes, main courses, and rice.

“Food’s ready.”

At Kang Jin’s announcement, female employees looked at the dishes with anticipation. Seeing them take out their phones to snap photos, Kang Jin retreated back into the kitchen.

Noodles…

Although he had finished cooking for the female staff, the crucial ramen remained. Ramen may be easy to prepare, but everyone has different preferences even within the same brand. Some add kimchi, others prefer green onions, and some like eggs. Among those who choose eggs, there are those who scramble it or leave it whole; tastes vary widely.

However, Kang Jin didn’t overthink it. To him, ramen was as common as staple food.

If I boil all ten packets at once… Will they stick together?

Initially planning to cook everything in one pot, Kang Jin reconsidered upon realizing the noodles might clump. He quickly retrieved several smaller pots from a nearby shelf.

Definitely, ramen tastes best when boiled in pots.

With that thought, he placed all ten on the stove. Thankfully, it was a commercial range with multiple burners.

Kang Jin poured boiling water into each pot. He added slightly less water than usual before starting to cook the noodles. As they softened, Kang Jin began chopping onions.

Chop! Chop!

He grimaced at his technique. Earlier, while cooking other dishes, he had effortlessly sliced them ch-ch-ch! But now, he struggled, hacking away chop-chop! Although not as bad as his first day when he’d crushed everything, his current skills were still subpar.

Seriously…my culinary abilities don’t seem to transfer outside of the practice room.

Suddenly, as he glanced between the knife and the practice room, bean sprouts salad (kongnamul-muchim) popped into his mind—it typically includes onions.

“I should make bean sprouts salad.”

Kang Jin blurted out his thoughts as he remembered how to prepare bean sprouts while chopping onions.

Chop-chop-chop! Chop-chop-chop!

The knife swiftly moved, and Kang Jin smiled as it started slicing through the onion.

I never thought of this approach.

He struggled with food preparation using just his skills, but by visualizing dishes from the cooking practice room, he could wield the knife effectively. This meant that even if he didn’t know a particular recipe, he could still create it by intermittently recalling other dishes from the practice room.

Quickly slicing the onions, Kang Jin placed them on top of the ramen bowls. He then turned off the heat and brought the ramen to the table.

“Here’s your ramen. I’ll bring rice right away.”

As Kang Jin spoke, the Director picked up his chopsticks and sniffed the aroma of the ramen.

“Eat up quickly.” With those words, the Director added kimchi to his ramen before taking a bite.

Crunch! Crunch!

“Ahhh! As expected, it’s delicious.”

“I came here yesterday because I wanted kimchi with rice, and it was truly tasty.”

“Kimchi is perfect for ramen. It’s really good, sir.”

Kang Jin smiled at the Director’s words and brought over a bowl of rice.

“Here’s some rice.”

As Kang Jin served him cold rice, the Director noticed Manager An’s wife. She and her friends had already finished eating and were chatting quietly among themselves.

“Should we leave?”

“Not yet.”

It seemed they hesitated to depart while the Director and his husband were still dining. Sensing this, the Director looked at Manager An’s wife.

“It looks like you’re waiting due to us. Please go ahead, Mrs. An.”

“Oh no, don’t worry about us. Enjoy your meal.”

“Hahaha! I tried not to worry about it, but I couldn’t help myself. Besides, I’ll pay for everyone’s meal.”

The director looked at Kang Jin.

“Sir, I will cover these young ladies’ meals.”

“That sounds good.”

With that response from Kang Jin, Director Kim turned to Manager Jang, who was diligently eating his ramen.

“It looks like you’re almost done, Manager Jang. Why don’t you take our guest to a nearby café?”

“What? But…”

Seeing how Manager Jang had barely touched his noodles, Director Kim hinted further.

“You wouldn’t want her friends waiting while she eats alone, would you?” With a meaningful glance, Manager Jang hastily shoveled the remaining noodles into his mouth.

Slurp, slurp!

Manager Jang quickly finished his noodles and added a piece of kimchi before standing up.

“Please take your time and enjoy some coffee.”

“No need. We’ll come back later once you’re done here. Honey, let’s go.”

At Manager Jang’s words, his wife bowed her head respectfully.

“It was delicious.”

“We should bring Daesung and Dae-shik next time,” Director Yoo suggested with a smile.

Mrs. Jang beamed at him. “You remember their names!”

“I’ve known Manager Jang for ten years now. Of course I know their names. Until next time.”

“Yes, sir.”

As soon as Manager Jang left with his family, the director eagerly dug into his ramen. Watching employees eat leftover cold rice while he enjoyed hot ramen…

Seeing Director Kang finishing off the leftover ramen, Manager Kim started clearing the table where the wives had eaten earlier. After cleaning up, he began washing dishes when the director called out to him.

“Yes, sir?” replied Kang Jin.

“Did you enjoy your meal?”

“I know I keep saying this…but nothing beats kimchi and ramen!”

“My apologies for not being able to offer more than just instant noodles.”

“Ha ha ha! If you say that, all our domestic noodle companies will be after you. There’s no better food than ramen - it’s delicious and affordable.” The director chuckled as he glanced at the female employees who were happily sipping their drinks.

“And it looks like you two enjoyed your meals as well, Ms. Se-hee and Jung-eun.”

“It was delicious,” replied one of the female employees with a smile.

Kang Jin chuckled at their response. “Since I saw you taking photos earlier… could we please ask for some promotion if you liked our food?”

“Of course! I’ll share them with all my friends.”

“Thank you very much.”

After exchanging pleasantries, Director Kim took out his wallet and asked,

“By any chance, do you accept cards here?”

“Cards?”

“I wanted to pay cash since the meal was so enjoyable… but unfortunately, I don’t have any on me right now.”

“Just a moment, please.” Kang Jin approached the counter near the entrance upon hearing this. He spotted a card reader there and returned, saying, “Yes, we do accept cards.”

“Then…” The director glanced at the dishes on the table and asked, “How much?”

“At our shop…”

“I know. There’s no fixed price; you accept whatever guests offer. But paying that way would make me uncomfortable.”

“Uncomfortable?” Kang Jin looked puzzled.

“I have a close friend who owns a restaurant. Whenever I dine out, I prefer to support their business. However, my friend refuses to take money from me, insisting it’s unnecessary among friends. Would I still frequent their establishment under those circumstances?”

“No, probably not.”

As a host, one might feel inclined not to charge a close friend. Yet for Director Kim, as a loyal patron, constantly dining without payment became burdensome. In such cases, accepting payment could actually be considerate towards him. Seeing Kang Jin’s understanding expression, the director continued:

In this case, it would become burdensome to visit frequently and thus avoid going altogether. In such situations, accepting payment might be more considerate towards the host.

Seeing that Kang Jin seemed to understand, Director Park continued, “For working professionals like us, enjoying a good lunch is our only respite during the day. That’s why I’d love to come here often.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re not running a charity, so you shouldn’t operate your business this way,” Director Park advised with a smile. “Quality food deserves fair pricing. However…”

He then added jokingly, “It would be great if you could still keep prices low. After all, wouldn’t office workers like us visit more often that way?”

Kang Jin nodded at Director Park’s words and glanced around the dining area before suggesting, “How about three thousand won for ramen and rice, ten thousand won for chapchae stir-fry, and one thousand won for plain rice?”

“10,000 won for the bulgogi and 3,000 won for rice?” Kang Jin asked while looking at the counter.

The Director calculated the total cost and replied, “Isn’t that too low? Even at a fast-food joint, ramen costs over 4,000 won.”

Kang Jin continued to gaze at the counter without acknowledging the Director’s concern. “That amount is sufficient.”

According to the store’s rule, customers dictate the price they wish to pay, not the owner. Hence, Kang Jin addressed his question directly towards the counter as if communicating with ghosts who leave their messages floating in mid-air for him to read.

Is this considered breaking the rules?

As Kang Jin pondered, the Director responded, “If the president insists…”

“Oh… Understood. Then… it’s sixty-four thousand won.” Kang Jin swiped the card presented by Director Kim. Although this was his first time using their card machine at this store, he had plenty of experience with similar machines during previous part-time jobs.

After returning the card, Director Kim smiled and said, “We’ll be back soon.”

As the director left with his employees, Kang Jin pondered for a moment before pulling out his phone to call Shin Suho.

The director is right. Even though I mentioned charging might be difficult from those who can’t see ghosts… there’s no reason not to charge or offer discounts to those who can.

With his decision made, Kang Jin awaited Shin Suho’s response on the other end of the line.