Chapter 43
“Assistant Manager Choi!”
Someone called me early in the morning.
I immediately stood.
“Yes?”
Manager Kwon Seunghun walked toward me with a bright expression that clearly meant he had good news.
“It came in!”
I tilted my head.
“What came in?”
“The money.”
“It arrived.”
“The money... from DD Franchise Consulting?”
Manager Kwon nodded hard.
“Yeah.”
“Accounting just confirmed it.”
“One billion won.”
“The advance payment was deposited into WG Food's account.”
“Ah.”
“That's a relief.”
The promised one-billion-won advance payment had entered WG Food's corporate account exactly as agreed.
Only then did I release my first sigh of relief.
Every spark of doubt inside CEO Jeong, Manager Kwon, and the rest of the company would now disappear completely.
Of course...
My relief meant something completely different from theirs.
I had expected the payment to arrive.
Still...
Some part of me had apparently worried they might try something from the very first transfer.
The moment the company's suspicions disappeared...
Everyone moved quickly.
“So the factory agreed to increase purchases of Hanwoo byproducts and sauce ingredients starting today, right?”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
“Full production officially begins today.”
“I'll check again.”
“Good.”
“And did you see that?”
Manager Kwon pointed toward a large paper map attached to the conference room wall.
“What is it?”
It was a map of Korea.
Bongau-tang logos were stuck all over it.
“Bongau-tang gave us the nationwide franchise placement map.”
“Ah.”
“So those are the one hundred and twenty stores?”
“Exactly one hundred and twenty-four.”
“And I got another call this morning.”
“Three more planned franchises were added.”
“Impressive...”
“Exactly.”
“How is this even possible before the official launch?”
“CEO Han Danghyun really must be something incredible.”
“Yeah.”
“He really is... incredible.”
Manager Kwon and I meant completely different things.
How could someone attract this many franchisees nationwide...
Before the brand had even officially launched?
Before a single real sales figure existed?
Just how large a scam was he planning?
People desperate for money.
People desperate to succeed.
He had dug directly into those emotions and manipulated them into opening franchises.
The scale of the fraud made my tongue click.
“They said they'll send us updated franchise progress every morning now.”
“Watching the number increase every day should be satisfying for us too.”
Manager Kwon smiled with anticipation.
“We basically get increased sales while sitting still.”
WG Food seemed to have entered the perfect trajectory toward enormous success.
I smiled back.
Then spoke.
“Manager.”
“The final test batch for the Bongau-tang sauce formula ships from the factory tomorrow.”
“That was fast.”
“Yes.”
“I'd like to personally visit the Honam franchise locations opening at the same time.”
“I want to meet the franchise owners and check whether their kitchen equipment is being installed according to our sauce specifications.”
Manager Kwon tilted his head.
“Doesn't DD Franchise Consulting handle that?”
Strictly speaking...
It was not WG Food's job.
We only needed to produce whatever amount they ordered.
There was no reason for us to meet their franchisees.
But if I wanted to catch their scam...
It was necessary.
“That's true.”
“But I think field checks are important if we want the early distribution network to remain stable.”
“I'd like to quietly visit the stores without going through DD Franchise Consulting first.”
Manager Kwon smiled.
“As expected.”
“Our Assistant Manager Choi is thorough.”
Then he raised his thumb.
“No wonder you're the ace.”
“Most people finish the contract and sit around waiting for purchase orders.”
“You're actually going to check the field yourself.”
“I'd rather be certain.”
“Good.”
“Meet the Honam franchise owners and show them exactly what kind of technical capability WG Food has.”
“Yes.”
“I'll examine everything carefully.”
The center of Gwangju's Sangmu District.
A large banner hung across the storefront on the first floor of a massive building.
[50 Years of Traditional Hanwoo Galbitang
Bongau-tang Gwangju Branch No. 1 Confirmed]
This store would become the main base for the Honam region.
And according to the future article...
Its owner would later become the head of the franchisee association and publicly break down in tears.
Bang! Bang!
Bzzzt.
Behind the large banner...
Interior construction was in full swing.
Hammering and sawing echoed loudly through the site.
Wearing a neat shirt and carrying a file board...
I quietly entered.
At one side of the construction area...
I saw a man in his mid-fifties handing bottled water to workers and wiping sweat from his forehead.
I immediately knew.
He was the owner.
I hurried toward him and bowed.
“Hello, sir.”
“I'm Choi Inwoo, Assistant Manager at WG Food, and I'm overseeing production of the Bongau-tang sauce.”
His eyes widened in surprise.
“Pardon?”
“You must be going through a lot preparing for the opening.”
I quickly handed over my business card.
He looked back and forth between me and the card.
The employees from DD Franchise Consulting had all looked expensive and polished, almost like executives from a huge corporation.
Compared to them...
A young manager from a regional manufacturer had personally come to see him.
He looked both surprised and pleased.
“Ah.”
“WG Food.”
“Assistant Manager Choi.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Yes.”
“Could I speak with you for a moment?”
“Of course.”
He put down the water he was holding.
Then we stepped away from the construction site together so we could speak somewhere quieter.
“WG Food...”
“Isn't that the company that's been in the news lately because of instant rice?”
“Yes.”
“That's right.”
“I remember thinking I didn't even know a company like that existed here in Gwangju.”
“And now we're meeting like this.”
The Sangmu District franchise owner finally smiled brightly.
“Thank you.”
“But what brings you all the way here?”
“The sauce we're manufacturing...”
Before I could finish...
He sighed heavily and started complaining.
“Headquarters just keeps collecting money and barely answers the phone.”
“I never imagined someone from the actual sauce factory would come all the way here in person.”
It seemed his dissatisfaction with headquarters had already started building.
Of course.
A company created for fraud was unlikely to operate properly.
“I've been worried about the kitchen equipment anyway.”
“Your timing is perfect.”
“I have a lot to ask.”
“Actually, that's one reason I came.”
“I wanted to make sure the kitchen setup works properly with our sauce.”
“Good.”
We moved to a temporary table behind the construction site.
He bought me a cup of vending-machine coffee.
Then we sat on plastic chairs.
“If you look here...”
I unfolded the kitchen design drawings I had prepared.
Then I explained the cauldron setup specifications headquarters had provided.
The franchise owner listened carefully.
And as I had hoped...
He gradually began revealing things about headquarters that I had never even asked about.
Exactly as I wanted.
Exactly as I expected.
While everyone at WG Food was intoxicated by dreams of huge success...
I had come here to collect the truth from the franchise owners on the ground.
“Assistant Manager Choi.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I put my entire savings into this.”
“And I took out loans too.”
I remained silent and nodded.
“To be honest, sometimes the things headquarters does make my heart sink.”
“Did something happen?”
“Well...”
“The brand looks flashy.”
“And the sauce tastes incredible, so I signed.”
“But they've already taken more than one hundred million won in cash between the franchise fee and interior costs.”
I frowned.
“Already?”
They had not even delivered the food ingredients or sauces yet.
More than one hundred million won had already been collected purely in franchise fees and interior costs.
For a brand-new restaurant franchise that had not even launched...
Normally, they should have been desperate enough to expand that they might reduce franchise fees entirely.
“They threatened to cancel my contract if I didn't use their designated interior materials.”
“And now they're demanding the first month's logistics deposit in cash too.”
“I haven't paid that yet...”
He took out a cigarette in frustration.
“The other prospective owners around here are furious too.”
“They all say headquarters acts worse than some giant corporation.”
“I can understand why.”
“It's a brand-new franchise, but the starting costs are extremely high.”
On the surface...
The company was selling the glamorous story of one hundred and twenty stores opening nationwide at once.
But underneath...
The franchise owners were already bleeding from headquarters' excessive cash demands and abusive practices.
I drank my coffee and quietly watched the anxiety in his eyes.
This was not yet the right time to expose the scam.
While franchise owners were still trusting headquarters and pouring money into the celebration...
My role was different.
I needed to enter their minds as someone from WG Food they could trust.
That was my plan.
Then...
When the scam finally broke...
WG Food and the many franchise owners could both survive it.
I already had a complete picture in my head.
And I trusted that plan.
“Sir.”
“Large franchise headquarters sometimes expand too aggressively in the beginning and neglect the difficulties faced by the actual store owners.”
“Exactly.”
“But don't worry.”
“Whatever headquarters decides to do, the core sauce responsible for the flavor comes from WG Food.”
“And in the end, the foundation of a restaurant business is taste.”
A faint smile appeared on his face.
“That's true.”
“If the food tastes good, the restaurant can succeed.”
“While your construction continues...”
“If you ever have trouble with headquarters logistics or sauce supply, call my personal number directly.”
“I'll take responsibility and support the franchise owners' businesses.”
His eyes shook at my words.
He clearly felt reassured.
“Assistant Manager Choi.”
“Thank you.”
“Not at all.”
“One sentence from you is a hundred times more reassuring than everything the suits at headquarters have told us.”
“I'll tell the other Gwangju franchise owners about you too.”
“Thank you.”
“I'll give you several more business cards.”
He tucked them into his pocket.
“I'll hand them out when I meet the others.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You've worked hard.”
He gripped my hand tightly.
“Thank you for coming today.”
“Our restaurant's flavor is going to come from WG Food.”
“I look forward to working with you.”
I smiled faintly as we shook hands.
While the scammer Han Danghyun built a glorious castle of sand and celebrated...
I was quietly preparing the foundation that would save every franchise owner once that castle collapsed.
Something that would not fall.
Something solid.
Something strong.
Because things would not go the way that scammer wanted.
