Chapter 39: The Invitation

As it neared quitting time, Assistant Manager Choi Mina approached Kang Jin.

“Kang Jin.”

“Yes?”

“You’re open for dinner tonight, right?”

“Of course.”

“I’d like to make a reservation then.”

“There’s usually no problem finding a table without reservations, you know.”

“But if we reserve ahead, our food will be ready by the time we arrive.”

“That makes sense. What would you like to order?”

“We’ll have three women joining me. Do you have anything both pretty and delicious, like a steak tartare?”

Her request reminded Kang Jin of his cooking practice session earlier.

“I do have a few options… Which cuisine do you prefer?”

“What kind can you offer?”

“I can prepare Western or Korean dishes… Chinese and Japanese as well.”

Choi Mina was surprised at the variety mentioned by Kang Jin.

“You must be quite skilled in the kitchen, Kang Jin.”

“As the owner of a restaurant, I should be. So what type of cuisine would you like?”

“For setting the mood, Western cuisine looks quite elegant, don’t you think?”

Men tend to prioritize taste and quantity over presentation, but Choi Mina seemed more interested in aesthetics as expected of women.

“Then let’s go with Western cuisine… gratin and steak, umm… finishing off with spinach soup.”

“You’re planning it as a course meal?”

“I thought offering multiple dishes would be better than just one for creating ambiance. Or would you prefer a single dish instead?”

“Hmm… No, that’s fine. By any chance, can you make fried meringue?”

“Fried meringue?”

“I saw it online, and it looked delicious.”

Kang Jin mentally recalled fried meringue.

*I remember seeing this in the cooking practice room…

Digging through his memories, he found the recipe for fried meringue.

“Sure, I’ll include fried meringue too.”

“Thank you. Just two servings, please.”

Kang Jin looked puzzled at her request for only two servings.

“I thought you said three people were coming over?”

“They’ll appreciate something both pretty and tasty.”

“Appreciate? Are they drinking alcohol too?”

“It’s just us guys getting together.” Choi Mina smiled brightly before continuing. “How about spicy chicken feet and yukgaejang?”

“Yukgaejang?”

“Our team loves spicy chicken feet and yukgaejang—especially when it’s loaded with bones. And nothing beats having soju with those dishes.”

Kang Jin raised an eyebrow at Choi Mina’s request.

After all that fancy food…you want to end with chicken feet and yukgaejang?

He studied Choi Mina briefly before recalling recipes for chicken feet and yukgaejang. Then he asked:

“With bones or boneless?”

“We’ll settle for boneless if necessary, but of course, it should have bones.”

“What time will you be arriving?”

“After work, I’m grabbing coffee with my colleagues, so we’ll be there by half past six.”

“I understand.”

After Choi Mina returned to her seat, Kang Jin started reviewing some documents.

Once off work, Kang Jin began preparing the dishes as per Choi Mina’s request. Following Sung Yongsoo’s philosophy of serving only the best food to guests, Kang Jin used recipes from the cooking practice room.

He started with yukgaejang since it took the longest time to prepare. First, he had to boil and shred the meat.

With that done, Kang Jin moved on to prepping ingredients for fried meringue. Fried meringue involved continuously whisking egg whites until they formed soft peaks resembling meringue. Then, one simply needed to fry the mixture with added ingredients. Not only was it flavorful but also provided a smooth, fluffy texture.

Having prepared all the ingredients for the meringue, Kang Jin now moved on to prepping those needed for gratin.

The gratin was essentially a mixed gratin dish. This was a recipe Kim Bokrae used when cleaning out his refrigerator. It involved throwing together various leftover ingredients found during the cleanup process and cooking them at once.

Although called gratin, it could be easily described as egg custard without broth. Thus, Kang Jin gathered unused leftovers from the fridge to prepare the dish. Of course, nothing went to waste; it merely resulted in a diverse mix of ingredients.

As Kang Jin busied himself with preparations, Bae Yongsoo stood beside him and asked:

“How will you serve these dishes?”

“It should take around twenty minutes to cook everything except yukgaejang. So, if I start at ten past six, it should be fine, right?”

“All at once?”

“Yes,” replied Kang Jin confidently.

Bae Yongsoo shook his finger as if Kang Jin’s answer was incorrect.

“Wrong.”

“Why?”

“You shouldn’t serve all the dishes simultaneously.”

“But why? In the practice room, they can be prepared concurrently, no?”

The gratin, fried meringue, steak, and spinach soup - although there were four dishes, he had already prepped all the ingredients. Once started, it wouldn’t be difficult to cook them simultaneously, especially with multiple burners available in a restaurant kitchen despite being busy.

Moreover, he had practiced cooking enough to have high proficiency levels for these dishes. It wasn’t difficult at all.

“I can handle it if I cook them simultaneously. However, there is a difference between Korean and Western dining styles.”

“Really?”

“In simple terms, Western meals consist of three stages: appetizer, main course, and dessert.”

“So, we just eat everything…”

“You could eat everything at once…but you shouldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“Food has its ideal serving temperature. Would you like cold yukgaejang?”

“If yukgaejang gets cold, the oil separates, right?”

Kang Jin’s response indicated his dislike for cold yukgaejang.

“How about warm ice cream?”

“If ice cream isn’t cold, it wouldn’t be proper ice cream, would it?”

“That’s right. Anyway, food should be served at its appropriate temperature. Warm dishes should be warm, and cold dishes should be chilled.”

Upon hearing Bae Yongsoo’s words, Kang Jin glanced at the ingredients.

“So what do you suggest?”

“First, serve the fried meringue and gratin. Next, bring out the steak. Lastly, finish with spinach soup. Assume about ten minutes per dish. By the time they finish eating the fried meringue, have all other dishes ready to follow.”

Kang Jin nodded as he listened to Bae Yongsoo’s explanation and checked the time.

‘Still plenty of time left.’

It was currently 6 PM, so there were around ten minutes before they could gradually start serving. As Kang Jin calculated the timing, he suddenly turned to Bae Yongsoo.

“Do you happen to know anything about the grandmother ghost from Shamans’ Hangover Soup?”

“Shaman’s Hangover Soup?”

“It is that old hangover soup place located down the alley.”

“Ah! You mean Mrs. Wo Soon-young.” Bae Yongsoo nodded as if he knew her.

“You know her?” Kang Jin asked.

“Oh yes, quite well. She was friends with our Mrs. Suk.”

“With your Mrs. Suk?”

“Yes, sometimes Mrs. Suk would take employees there and treat them to a bowl of soup. Our Mrs. Suk had a wide network. She frequented restaurants run by renowned chefs in South Korea, which helped build connections.” Sung Yongsoo licked his lips as he spoke about it. Watching him do this made Kang Jin feel uneasy.

He had grown accustomed to Yongsoo’s appearance now… However, despite being used to it, Yongsoo still looked terrifying. His entire face was covered in blood, and licking his lips like that… It gave off the impression of someone who just devoured humans, making Kang Jin slightly fearful.

Blood was dripping from his face, and yet he licked his lips… It made him look like someone who had just devoured another human being. Hence, Kang Jin found it slightly unnerving. He involuntarily squinted at the sight. Had he not grown accustomed to this, he might have screamed out loud.

“Hey, why do you lick your lips so creepily?” To shake off his fear, Kang Jin tried cracking a joke.

Bae Yongsoo wiped the corner of his mouth with his hand, but blood continued to trickle down his chin.

“The hangover soup there is truly delicious… I want some right now.”

“There’s a recipe for hangover soup here as well. Should I make it?”

It would take some time, but if they set aside a weekend, it shouldn’t be too difficult.

However, it shouldn’t be too difficult if they tried again over the weekend.

“Mrs. Kim’s recipes are remarkable, but…when it comes to hangover soup, Mrs. Wo Soon-young is the best. Even our chef, Mrs. Suk, said she couldn’t replicate its deep flavor.”

In response to Bae Yongsoo’s statement, Kang Jin asked:

“You’re aware that she was a ghost grandmother?”

“Yes, I’ve met her several times.” Bae Yongsoo then turned to Kang Jin. “Why do you ask?”

“I noticed she seemed concerned whenever customers left food uneaten at the restaurant.”

Bae Yongsoo nodded and replied, “Indeed, except for those who can’t handle spicy shamans’ hangover soup, anyone with a taste for good food wouldn’t leave any behind there. It’s just too delicious, even when full.”

Bae Yongsoo nodded and continued, “The rookie son inherited the recipe but apparently doesn’t follow his grandmother’s method.”

“What?”

“He seems to be using pre-made broth.”

“Pre-made broth?” Kang Jin looked at Bae Yongsoo, surprised. The most crucial part of any soup dish is its broth. Even for simple fish cake soups, one must first prepare the broth. Yet, the best hangover soup restaurant in South Korea was using store-bought broth?

“Why would they do that?”

“Making bone broth requires significant effort. You need to regulate the heat, skim off the fat constantly, and stay vigilant throughout the process. Plus, there’s the cost of gas.”

“The gas expense is substantial?”

“Of course it takes effort. If I were running this place, I’d let the broth simmer all day…and probably spend at least 20 million won on gas per month.”

“Twenty million won? Why so much?” Kang Jin couldn’t believe it. Even if business was booming, how could they possibly spend that much on gas?

That’s close to two hundred and forty million won annually… That amount of money…

What should we do now?

As Kang Jin struggled with the enormity of the figure, Sung Yongsoo chimed in:

“That’s actually a conservative estimate.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely! When I worked at Woonam Restaurant, our monthly gas bill was typically around thirty million won.”

“It’s incredibly high!”

If the gas bill is already that massive, just imagine their total sales.

While Kang Jin pondered this, Bae Yongsoo continued:

“But if they extract broth from their factory, it’s straightforward. Buying pre-made broth costs less than half of making it themselves.”

“And no need for extra manpower either?”

“Exactly.”

“No wonder the taste changed.”

“I haven’t tried it myself, but…with such inferior broth, the flavor couldn’t help but change.”

“Poor grandmother.”

“She isn’t the only unfortunate ghost out there. Still, she is considered quite high among them.”

“A ghost is a ghost. What do you mean ‘high’ among ghosts?”

“It means she’s a VVIP, personally given a card by the JS Finance branch manager himself.”

Kang Jin was taken aback and looked at Bae Yongsoo in surprise.

“VVIP?”

“You know Che Yongho visited as a VIP before, right? But Mrs. Wo Soon-young is a VVIP.”

“Wow…that’s impressive?”

“Of course. It’s my first time hearing about the branch manager personally delivering a card to a ghost.”

“She must have done many good deeds.”

“Being a JS Finance VVIP says it all.”

Bae Yongsoo’s words left Kang Jin feeling bitter.

“So even someone like her can become a ghost?”

“You think I became a ghost due to my misdeeds? No, it was because of that damn grudge.”

As Sung Yongsoo spoke, his expression hardened. This gave Kang Jin goosebumps.

What brought this on suddenly?

Yongsoo already looked terrifying, and his scowl made him even more frightening.

“Damn it! If only I knew what grudge I held, maybe I could resolve it. F**k!” Bae Yongsoo cursed loudly.

Kang Jin now understood why Yongsoo had frowned. Ghosts didn’t willingly become ghosts; they transformed due to their grudges…their unresolved regrets. However, most ghosts couldn’t move on because they were unaware of their specific grudges.

Bae Yongsoo continued cursing as he left the kitchen.

“Where are you going?”

“I need some air.”

Watching Bae Yongsoo leave the restaurant, Kang Jin sighed deeply.

“I want to help him ascend, but I can’t until I know his grudge. If only it were more apparent like Grandma Wo Soon-young’s…

Unlike other ghosts, Wo Soon-young’s grudge was clear from her actions alone. It became evident through the food she prepared at the restaurant.

Kang Jin shook his head slightly, checked the time, and started preparing eggs for gratin and meringue dishes.

Sizzle! Sizzle!

The meringue bubbled on top of hot oil. Using a ladle, Kang Jin poured oil over the meringue while waiting for it to turn golden brown.

As soon as the meringue turned brown, Kang Jin transferred it onto a plate.

Clunk!

With the fried meringue on the dish, Kang Jin looked towards the hall upon hearing the door open. Choi Mina and another woman entered.