Chapter 43. A Man Blessed With Too Much Work (5)
“Hahaha! Team Leader, did you see that owner’s face yesterday? He was covered in red sauce and couldn’t even open his eyes. Just remembering it makes me feel like ten years of indigestion disappeared!”
Inside the car heading toward Tongyeong.
Jongil, sitting in the passenger seat, still hadn’t calmed down.
He wasn’t exaggerating.
The final fate of the Taean branch owner had been miserable.
After being bombarded with food by furious Chinese tourists, he faced administrative penalties from both the sanitation and building departments.
Then came the Legal Team’s financial treatment.
Completely dazed, he had sat on the floor, covered in the disgusting food he himself had created.
“Still, we were lucky. If all the evidence that part-timer secretly collected had reached the media, the company’s image could’ve been destroyed overnight. The fact that we got hold of it first... Whew. That really was lucky.”
It was true.
But in my opinion, this wasn’t something we could simply move past.
Countless customers visited because they trusted the Seongun name.
If we wanted to repay that trust, proper management had to be carried out even if it required hiring more people.
“Senior Staff Choi. Add something to the workshop report.”
“Yes! Just say the word.”
Senior Staff Choi had been typing away at a report nobody had even asked her to write.
I told her to emphasize the need for responsible franchise management.
“As expected of Team Leader. We didn’t think far enough. By the way, what did the Legal Team lawyer say? They aren’t just giving him a suspension and a fine, right?”
“Don’t worry. He said they’re going to make an example out of him and file every lawsuit they can.”
The matter wasn’t limited to illegal conduct.
The Legal Team planned to immediately seek damages in the tens of billions of won.
“Tens of billions? Wow. They’re going to strip him down to his soul.”
Jongil whistled happily.
The others wore equally relieved smiles.
It felt like we had completely removed the unexpected problem that had suddenly appeared during our trip.
“We’ll finally be able to rest in Tongyeong, right? Surely—mmph!”
I immediately reached over and covered Jongil’s mouth.
“Don’t say things like that. You’ll jinx us.”
“Ah... Understood. But Team Leader, you washed your hands, right?”
“Oh! I haven’t washed them since touching that king crab yesterday.”
“What?! Then when you used the bathroom earlier, you didn’t even—mmph!”
I covered his mouth again.
The team members in the back seat burst into laughter.
I had washed my hands.
The terrible smell just refused to disappear.
Bzzzt.
My smartwatch suddenly vibrated.
I frowned hard and checked my phone.
Don’t tell me there’s another red entry.
Apparently the saying about being startled by a pot lid after seeing a turtle applied perfectly to me.
Fortunately, the screen didn’t show a new diary.
It was a message from the division director.
[The Taean matter will be handled thoroughly. You worked hard.]
Bzzzt.
[Enjoy the remaining time and rest properly. I’ll see you Monday. Where are you headed now?]
Several more messages followed.
Senior Staff Choi looked up from her laptop.
“The division director keeps messaging you. If he’s going to send that many, wouldn’t it be easier to just call?”
“Haha. Maybe. It is a little uncomfortable. Should I reply immediately...?”
Senior Staff Choi stopped me, saying typing while driving was dangerous.
“I’ll answer him for you. I just need to tell him we’re heading to Tongyeong, right?”
“Yeah. But you know the director’s number?”
“What? Ah... During the Creative Village project, he gave it to me. He said I could contact him anytime. Haha. Hahaha.”
I didn’t know why she suddenly laughed so awkwardly.
Still, after that, no more messages came from the director.
Maybe something urgent came up.
In front of Tongyeong Port Passenger Terminal.
Jinhyeok’s car entered the parking lot.
“All right! We’re here. If we came to Tongyeong, we have to eat dazzi. Let’s go!”
After getting out, Jinhyeok led the team toward a shabby restaurant hidden inside an alley.
“What is dazzi? Is that Japanese?”
At Jongil’s question, Jinhyeok slowed down.
“Some say it is, some say it isn’t. The most common theory is that it came from the Japanese word tachinomi, meaning a standing drinking bar. But people here tell a different story.”
“What story?”
“I don’t know if it’s true, but they say it comes from da itji.”
“‘They’ve got everything’?”
“Yeah.”
Oh Ilman pushed up his glasses.
“That explanation seems weak. It sounds more like wordplay than a genuine etymology.”
“Probably. But if you’re a commercial district analyst, which one should you believe?”
“...Excuse me?”
“If the locals call it that, then that becomes the right answer. Who cares where the word really came from? If customers believe the story and come because of it, that story itself becomes part of the product.”
Ilman’s eyes shook slightly behind his glasses.
He had always chased facts supported by data.
Yet Jinhyeok’s answers somehow seemed to move one step beyond that.
“...I learned something again today, Team Leader.”
“Haha. Learned what? Let’s get inside. I’m starving.”
Slide.
The moment they opened the sliding door, the salty scent of the sea washed over them.
“Four people?”
“Yes. Is there somewhere cool we can sit?”
“They’re all the same. Sit wherever.”
The owner answered bluntly and disappeared into the kitchen.
Jongil began grumbling about the terrible service.
Then his mouth fell open.
First came abalone porridge and seasoned vegetables.
Then more dishes rapidly began covering the table.
The seafood looked fresh even at a glance.
“Team Leader, what is all this? We haven’t even ordered yet.”
“That’s how these places work. Just eat.”
Jinhyeok filled everyone’s soju glasses and read the sign on the wall.
[50,000 won per person. Includes two bottles of alcohol.]
“It changed a little. In the past, the drinks were expensive, but side dishes kept coming endlessly for free. Looks like they charge per person now.”
Jongil tilted his head.
“Why did it change? The old way sounds much more romantic.”
“Probably because people drink less than they used to. If customers barely drink but eat mountains of side dishes, the owner loses money.”
“Hmm. Maybe. Still, that’s a shame. It feels like a place that used to sell warmth has started selling a product.”
Jinhyeok chuckled and filled his glass.
“It might be a shame, but they survived. Do you know how many dazzi restaurants disappeared?”
Survival.
That was the only correct answer in this industry.
During ten years of commercial district analysis, Jinhyeok had watched countless stores open and die.
Romance was a word only survivors had the luxury to speak.
“All right! Enough serious talk. Let’s drink. Fill your glasses!”
Jinhyeok raised his cup.
The drinkers’ rampage began.
The most excited person was Oh Ilman, who finally encountered top-quality seafood.
“Team Leader, look at this sea squirt. See how firm and upright the bumps are? That proves it came out of the sea this morning. After even one day, these bumps start collapsing.”
“Oh. Really? What about this sea cucumber?”
“Haha. Sea cucumbers are different. Fresh ones shrink up firmly when you touch them, like this. This place is authentic. Absolutely authentic!”
An impromptu lecture followed as he pointed at dish after dish with his chopsticks.
The sharp eyes that had inspected spoiled seafood in Taean now curved happily in front of truly fresh ingredients.
Iseul stared in fascination.
“Assistant Manager Oh, did you join the wrong company? With this much knowledge, you should be on television.”
“...Ahem. Commercial district analysis suits me.”
Ilman’s ears turned red.
He was surprisingly weak to compliments.
“Wow! Team Leader! Try this! I have no idea what it is, but it’s chewy and amazing!”
Ilman’s ears perked up at Jongil’s words.
Unable to stop himself, he immediately explained.
“It’s raw anchovy salad. Anchovies are difficult to serve without a fishy smell, so this must be extremely fresh too.”
Oh Ilman’s review session started again.
At last, the Commercial District Analysis Team’s trip finally felt like an actual vacation.
Perhaps two hours passed.
Pleasantly buzzed, the team left the restaurant and walked along Tongyeong’s night sea.
“My stomach feels like it’s about to explode, but something’s missing.”
“Right. My mouth feels a little heavy. I want some kind of broth to clean everything out.”
It lacked exactly two percent.
They wandered aimlessly through the alley.
Then—
“Huh? This smell!”
Jongil sniffed like a puppy and pointed into a dark alley.
“Over there! Something smells delicious! Anchovy broth? No... clam broth?”
Unlike Ilman, whose strength was knowledge, Jongil had unusually sharp natural senses.
He disappeared deeper into the alley.
A faint light escaped from beneath an old slate roof.
Inside, an elderly woman was strangely enough boiling broth using both anchovies and clams.
“Grandma noodles? Let’s go, Team Leader! It’s time for carbohydrates!”
The whole team scratched their temples at the same time.
Then they followed Jongil inside.
Jingle.
The moment they pushed the door open, the delicious smell Jongil had noticed filled the air.
Eight round tables.
Not a single customer.
The old woman, boiling broth inside a kitchen filled with hazy steam, looked at the four visitors in surprise.
“Come for noodles?”
“Yes! We’re already full, but if it smells this good, we have to try it. Four bowls, please!”
Soon, four old aluminum bowls were placed on the table.
“They aren’t warm noodles?”
Thin ice floated over a pale, clear broth.
Jinhyeok was the first to lift his bowl.
He drank a mouthful with some doubt.
“...!”
His eyes widened.
The salty yet deeply savory broth slid down his throat.
It instantly washed away the alcohol filling his body.
“What’s wrong? Does it taste strange?”
“Huh? No. The opposite. This broth is insane.”
The others tasted it in their own ways.
Unlike the men, Iseul used a spoon.
Her eyes widened too.
“Whoa. Seriously. How can cold broth taste this deep? Team Leader?”
“How would I know? Assistant Manager Oh?”
“I don’t know either... Anchovies and clams are definitely in it, but those ingredients alone shouldn’t produce this flavor...”
The mysterious cold noodles filled the Commercial District Analysis Team’s already overstuffed stomachs.
Even though they felt ready to burst, they couldn’t stop eating.
A dangerously addictive dish.
Suddenly, Jinhyeok remembered the final course of Halbaekase he had eaten recently.
Cold buckwheat noodles after the meat.
Back then, he had thought they were delicious.
But after tasting this broth, his opinion changed completely.
One bowl capable of washing away every trace of grease after a heavy meat course.
There might not be a better finishing dish anywhere.
Then the Commercial District Analysis Team’s occupational disease appeared.
“If it’s this good, why are there no customers? The interior looks old too, so this place must’ve been here for a long time.”
Jongil suddenly stood and walked toward the old woman sitting near the kitchen.
“Grandma! Why are there no customers? I’ve lived this long and I’ve never had noodles this good!”
At Jongil’s easygoing question, the grandmother wiped her hands on her apron with a bitter expression.
“What good is taste? Young people don’t come around this part anymore. And the regular customers who grew old with me... one by one, they’re passing away.”
She shook the water from her hands and looked at a framed photo on the wall.
Forty years.
That was how long she had served noodles in this same place.
“You probably saw it on the way here. Mine is the only restaurant left in this alley. When they built the new fish market, everyone else moved there.”
“Huh? Then why don’t you move too? With this taste, you’d make a fortune if you picked the right spot.”
The grandmother sighed and slowly shook her head.
“My husband was a fisherman. I know he’s probably dead. But there’s still that foolish part of me that keeps waiting, just in case. The room behind that kitchen is where we lived together too.”
She looked down.
“But I can’t keep doing this much longer. Fewer customers come every year, and I’m behind on the rent. An old woman like me is just becoming a burden.”
After hearing her story, Jinhyeok carefully asked,
“First of all, shouldn’t you raise the price? You boil that broth, cool it, and even freeze it, yet you only charge 4,000 won. That price makes no sense.”
“Hehehe. I know. But I can’t bring myself to do it. When I first opened, the people from the market helped me so much. Everyone was struggling, but they still came to eat my cold noodles even in the middle of winter. I raised two children with the money they gave me.”
Her wrinkled hand stroked an old tray.
“So these noodles aren’t something I created. The people in this neighborhood created them for me. The only ones who still come are customers from those days. How can I charge them more just because I’m struggling? That would be shameless.”
The entire Commercial District Analysis Team’s eyes turned red.
It wasn’t because of the alcohol.
They couldn’t ignore someone who had run a business with a heart worthy of respect only to face such a lonely ending.
After paying the bill and stepping outside, Iseul looked at everyone.
“We... should work, right?”
Completely sober now, the others nodded with more serious expressions than ever.
