Chapter 48
All one hundred and thirty Bongau-tang stores had opened at the same time.
And from the very beginning...
Everything went crazy.
Countless people had come after seeing the advertisements.
Whether those customers would become regulars...
Or simply try the food once and never return...
No one knew.
But on the first day...
Lines stretched outside every one of the one hundred and thirty stores.
Naturally, the franchise owners began dreaming of success.
One hundred and thirty owners.
Each had started the business for different reasons.
Retirement money.
Their entire life savings.
Money borrowed from relatives.
Homes used as collateral.
Some of them would literally end up on the street if Bongau-tang failed.
Every one of them had entered the restaurant business because they desperately needed a way to survive.
Not a single one was financially comfortable.
Someone already earning plenty of money and opening Bongau-tang as a side business?
Someone simply looking for extra income?
Someone opening the restaurant and planning to let employees operate everything?
Not one.
Why?
Because Han Danghyun had intentionally selected people like this.
Applicants who had money and free time...
People who might have the resources to chase him after he disappeared...
Were rejected.
He had chosen only people who would collapse into despair once they realized they had been scammed.
He never considered that people with nothing left to lose might pursue him anyway.
In his mind...
Once they were buried beneath debt...
Once they still had families to feed...
They would be too busy earning enough money to survive each day to chase him.
That was the kind of scammer Han Danghyun was.
Careful.
Cruel.
WG Food believed it had partnered with a wildly successful franchise that would guarantee profits for years.
The entire company was still celebrating the incredible first-day sales.
But one person at WG Food...
Assistant Manager Choi Inwoo...
Was not looking at the real-time sales rankings.
His eyes remained on the calendar.
When would Han Danghyun disappear?
When would WG Food and the one hundred and thirty franchise owners realize the truth?
When would the fraud article appear?
He was watching and preparing.
At the same time...
A secret group chat used by franchise owners nationwide was exploding with messages.
Customers had flooded the restaurants from the moment they opened.
The POS systems were already showing hundreds, then thousands, then tens of millions of won in sales.
[Daegu Suseong Branch Owner: Business is seriously insane. How is everyone else doing?]
[Busan Haeundae Branch Owner: Same here. The advertising effect seems huge. Not only locals, even tourists are coming. Lunch service nearly killed me.]
[Gangwon Gangneung Branch Owner: It's shocking that this is first-day sales. Headquarters really created an incredible brand.]
[Jeonbuk Jeonju Branch Owner: I thought CEO Han Danghyun looked impressive after seeing the launch event. Turns out he really is incredible.]
[Gwangju Sangmu Branch Owner: I'm so happy every one of us is doing well. Not a single store seems to be struggling!]
[Seoul Jamsil Branch Owner: Exactly. Let's keep this going for years without seeing sales fall!]
[Gyeonggi Ilsan Branch Owner: By the way... did everyone send that money they mentioned during the launch event?]
The group chat suddenly quieted.
During the launch ceremony...
Han Danghyun had demanded that every franchise owner deposit fifty million won during the opening week as a logistics security deposit.
But Choi Inwoo knew how the scam would end.
So he had advised the Sangmu Branch owner to delay payment as long as possible.
The Sangmu Branch owner had already spread the word to all one hundred and thirty branches.
Even so...
Some owners had already paid the fifty million won.
[Seoul Jamsil Branch Owner: The Wangsimni owner isn't in this chat, but I heard he transferred it this morning.]
[Gwangju Sangmu Branch Owner: Really?]
[Seoul Jamsil Branch Owner: Yeah. Headquarters visited all the Seoul branches yesterday evening. They came to our store too, congratulated us on opening... and pressured us to pay.]
[Daegu Suseong Branch Owner: Jamsil, are you going to pay?]
[Seoul Jamsil Branch Owner: I guess I have to. Haah... business is going well, which is great, but I have no idea where I'm supposed to find another fifty million won.]
[Jeonbuk Jeonju Branch Owner: Same here. I'm already buried in debt.]
[Gwangju Sangmu Branch Owner: We all started these stores in difficult circumstances, and it's only the first day. What kind of headquarters demands another fifty million won immediately? Let's hold out like we agreed!]
[Gyeonggi Ilsan Branch Owner: But business is such a huge success. Shouldn't we send it quickly? What if headquarters gets upset because we refuse and starts delaying supplies?]
[Jeonbuk Jeonju Branch Owner: That's true too. At this rate, I'll have to borrow from private lenders...]
[Busan Haeundae Branch Owner: I'm sending it. Everyone should. Money is pouring in. We should trust headquarters, pay the remaining balance quickly, and move on. If we earned this much on the first day, we should accept their demands. What else can we do?]
The owners were blinded by the glamorous illusion created by headquarters.
And by the sales right in front of them.
Before opening...
They had all promised each other they would hold out until the final deadline.
Now...
They were beginning to waver.
The Sangmu Branch owner was still holding firm because of Choi Inwoo's advice.
But even he was becoming psychologically shaken by the overwhelming success.
Some owners had apparently already begun borrowing from private moneylenders, believing they would quickly repay the loans.
Under the glamorous spotlight...
Han Danghyun was slowly tightening the rope around their throats.
The next afternoon.
The atmosphere inside WG Food's office had become slightly subdued.
The office had been celebrating until then.
Assistant Manager Im Jiyeon from Accounting approached Manager Kwon with an anxious expression.
“Um... Manager.”
“Yes, Assistant Manager Im.”
“The payment came in, right?”
“Check the amount and immediately send the payments to our suppliers...”
Before Manager Kwon could finish...
Im Jiyeon sighed.
“Haah.”
“That's not why I'm here.”
“Then what happened?”
“I think you need to look at this.”
She handed him a document.
“Isn't this the payment scheduled from DD Franchise Consulting today?”
“Yes.”
“The second Bongau-tang logistics payment, worth several hundred million won, was supposed to arrive this morning.”
“It still hasn't been deposited.”
Manager Kwon checked the time.
1:30 p.m.
“Ah...”
“Lunch probably just ended.”
“Let's wait a little longer.”
“Yes.”
“Most of the raw-material credit payments were postponed until next week.”
