Chapter 50
WG Food's office.
Everyone had already gone home.
Only silence remained.
And one person.
Me.
Friday evening.
The favorite time of the week for most office workers.
Everyone else had left to enjoy themselves.
But I could not bring myself to leave.
I was too anxious.
Too worried.
This weekend was the most important part.
After the weekend...
Monday would come.
Then Tuesday.
Han Danghyun and his people would leave Korea.
They would disappear overnight.
And once everyone connected to them had been left stunned...
The article would break.
Wednesday.
Before that article appeared...
I needed to complete the final part of my own plan.
I gathered and organized every single document connected to Han Danghyun.
Because I was the only person holding the complete picture.
“This document should be reorganized so it's easier to understand before I hand it over...”
At that moment...
Bzzzt.
My phone vibrated on the desk.
[Caller: Team Leader Oh, DD Franchise Consulting]
“What does he want at this hour?”
Just seeing that name made me feel disgusted now.
I answered.
“Hello?”
“Ah, Assistant Manager Choi.”
“This is Team Leader Oh.”
“Yes.”
“What brings you to call this late?”
“Sorry.”
“I know it's Friday evening.”
“But this is extremely urgent.”
“Ah...”
“What happened?”
His voice sounded hurried.
Something had clearly occurred.
“It's about the final document for that revised mass-production recipe we stamped before.”
“Yes.”
“If I remember correctly, headquarters stamped it and we each kept one copy.”
“That's right.”
“But there's a small mistake in the paperwork.”
“A mistake?”
“Yes.”
“The mixing ratios and the original processing technology information.”
Team Leader Oh rushed through the explanation without taking a breath.
“Could you send us the complete detailed recipe immediately?”
“Did something suddenly happen?”
“CEO Han only just realized we never received the complete recipe.”
“He wants it immediately.”
“Ah...”
“We need the original file.”
“Every processing figure.”
“The exact ratios.”
“The complete mixing calendar.”
“All of it.”
“So you just need the recipe?”
“The recipe needs to be extremely detailed.”
“Exact processing sequence.”
“Exact quantities.”
“Exact mixing ratios.”
“Exactly as you're producing it at the factory right now!”
Headquarters asking for the recipe itself was not strange.
What had been strange...
Was that they had said they did not need it several weeks earlier.
“Yes.”
“Then I'll send the document now...”
Suddenly...
A chilling feeling passed through me.
My sentence trailed off.
My hand stopped over the file.
Wait.
Why were they suddenly asking for the broth recipe?
They had less than a week before filing bankruptcy and leaving Korea.
A few weeks ago...
They had shown no interest whatsoever in the recipe.
And now?
This urgently?
Something was hidden behind this.
Something ugly.
Something filthy.
From the perspective of actual distribution work...
This was an obvious contradiction.
A clear warning sign.
These scammers had never cared even slightly about Bongau-tang's future...
The technology...
Or managing the franchisees.
And yet...
On a Friday evening...
During the opening week's chaos...
While they should be busy settling money and laundering funds...
They were urgently demanding the final technical document containing detailed production figures?
It made no sense.
My mind started turning rapidly.
It did not take long to reach a conclusion.
Because I already knew they were scammers.
There was only one direction my thinking could go.
These filthy bastards.
They're trying to run one last scam before disappearing.
One final score.
Right before they ran.
That had to be it.
But now...
My next move was what mattered.
Asking for the recipe meant they intended to share it somewhere besides WG Food.
In other words...
They were planning to sell it.
And if that happened...
My final plan would collapse.
My entire strategy depended on WG Food being the only manufacturer capable of producing Bongau-tang's broth.
“Assistant Manager Choi.”
“Are you listening?”
“Assistant Manager Choi!”
When I remained silent...
Team Leader Oh shouted more urgently.
“We need the documents right now.”
“Upload them to the shared server or email them immediately.”
“This is urgent!”
His tone sounded like a threat.
There was no reason for him to be this aggressive over a routine request.
That alone made the situation even more suspicious.
“Team Leader Oh.”
“WG Food's original manufacturing-technology documents are among our highest-level confidential materials.”
“We cannot release them externally without proper company approval.”
“What are you talking about?”
“That's our company's broth recipe.”
“How can you refuse to give it to us?”
“That's true.”
“But this isn't the original broth recipe headquarters gave us.”
“This is a modified recipe independently developed by WG Food.”
“Well, that's because the factory nozzles kept clogging...”
“We told you from the beginning that the original headquarters recipe was unsuitable for mass production.”
“But you still forced us to use it.”
“And eventually, exactly what we warned about happened.”
“That's why you changed it and made it work perfectly.”
“Exactly.”
“Which is why the revised recipe is confidential.”
“We have a contract with WG Food.”
“How does it make sense that we don't even know the revised recipe?”
“You didn't ask for it when you stamped the final documents last time.”
“Why suddenly now...?”
Before I could finish...
Team Leader Oh shouted.
“CEO Han and our investors need to review it immediately!”
“Send it now.”
“Otherwise, I can't guarantee what kind of disadvantage WG Food might face.”
“...”
“CEO Han says he's already spoken with CEO Jeong Seonghan.”
“Send it immediately.”
“...Understood.”
The moment the call ended...
I opened the file.
[Bongau-tang Core Ingredient Mixing Chart_Final Original]
The document contained detailed ingredient ratios based on the original manufacturing-process code.
Then...
I began changing those ratios.
This was not some crude attempt to ruin the taste.
A few weeks earlier...
I had spent the entire night with the researchers and plant manager studying the formula.
I knew exactly why the factory nozzles became clogged.
I knew what ingredient ratios and processing sequences caused the mixture to turn into jelly.
I knew how the production line could be crippled.
Anyone with even some experience in the industry would notice the problem the moment they saw the recipe.
They would immediately understand:
If we run our factory with this formula, we're screwed.
So I modified the document accordingly.
Not enough for headquarters itself to realize what I had done.
But enough that if they shared it with another potential victim...
That company's technical staff would recognize the danger and refuse the deal.
I wanted to make sure no one else fell into their trap.
That was the best option I had.
The scammers were approaching their end.
If I suddenly refused to provide the recipe and caused them to panic now...
I could destroy everything I had prepared.
I had to endure.
The finish line was right in front of me.
I sent them the fake recipe.
And hoped...
Again and again...
That whoever received it would refuse to sign.
Saturday afternoon.
Every Bongau-tang kitchen nationwide was overwhelmed by nonstop customers.
All one hundred and thirty stores.
The brand power Han Danghyun had engineered was incredible.
The POS terminals recorded millions of won in sales each day.
And the franchise owners felt deep trust and gratitude toward headquarters for delivering such a tremendous success.
If anything...
That growing trust was becoming a problem.
At this point...
A person might even wonder whether Han Danghyun could have simply continued running Bongau-tang legitimately and made money.
But Han Danghyun had never intended to build long-term wealth from the franchise.
He was not interested in selling golden eggs one at a time.
He wanted to sell the goose.
And besides...
Bongau-tang's franchise structure had been broken from the very beginning.
Everything was a mess.
Interior costs.
Franchise fees.
Food ingredients.
Supplies.
Han Danghyun had lured franchise owners with sweet promises and carefully prepared paperwork.
If he actually stayed in Korea and continued operating Bongau-tang...
The business structure was not sustainable enough for the franchise owners to make proper money in the long term.
And Han Danghyun himself was never the type of person who could survive patiently on golden eggs.
Still...
The franchise owners did not seem to suspect even one percent that he was a fraud.
The only problem...
Was that Team Leader Oh and the other headquarters employees had sacrificed their weekend to pressure franchise owners nationwide with terrifying phone calls.
“Sir, you understand, right?”
“Yes?”
“If the fifty-million-won logistics deposit isn't confirmed by midnight Sunday, every broth truck scheduled for your store on Monday will be canceled.”
“Ah... Team Leader.”
“The thing is...”
“I know you're busy because business is going well.”
“But headquarters has to manage the distribution network too.”
“That's not it.”
“I genuinely have nowhere else to get money.”
“You know that.”
“The store has only been open for five days...”
“Come on, sir.”
“Everyone's in the same situation.”
“If all one hundred and thirty stores pay and yours is the only one that doesn't...”
“That's your problem, isn't it?”
“Team Leader.”
“Please understand my situation.”
“I'll earn the fifty million quickly and pay.”
“Just give me a little more...”
“That's your personal situation.”
“If I make exceptions for everyone's personal problems, then what about my situation?”
“Please consider mine too.”
“Team Leader Oh...”
“Then I'll confirm the payment by Sunday and send the products afterward.”
“Good luck with business!”
Click.
The call ended one-sidedly.
The franchise owner's face had gone pale.
Customers were still lined up outside his restaurant.
But the smile had disappeared from his face.
He was grateful to headquarters for helping his business succeed.
Yet now...
The fear of losing this golden brand because he could not pay on time...
The fear that his business might stop completely...
Was crushing him.
[Seoul Hongdae Branch Owner: Has everyone sent the fifty million won?]
[Gwangju Sangmu Branch Owner: No. We all agreed we'd hold out until the last possible moment before paying. I haven't sent anything.]
[Jeonbuk Jeonju Branch Owner: Ah... I just completed the transfer. So everyone else was still holding out?]
[Gwangju Sangmu Branch Owner: What? You sent it? Why...?]
[Jeonbuk Jeonju Branch Owner: They told me every other franchise had already transferred the money. They threatened me, asking if I wanted to be the only store left without ingredients.]
[Gangwon Gangneung Branch Owner: What? They literally just told me the exact same thing.]
[Seoul Hongdae Branch Owner: So they were saying that to everyone. What are you all going to do?]
[Jeonbuk Jeonju Branch Owner: But it's money we have to send eventually anyway. I'm starting to wonder whether delaying it even matters.]
[Gwangju Sangmu Branch Owner: We were supposed to refuse together and protest headquarters... But now some people have already transferred it...]
[Seoul Hongdae Branch Owner: Business is doing too well. I think making headquarters dislike me would actually hurt more. I'll just clear the remaining payment and focus on business.]
[Daejeon Jung-gu Branch Owner: Same here. If the broth doesn't arrive Monday... that's terrifying. I'd rather borrow another fifty million than turn customers away immediately.]
Messages began appearing in the franchise owners' group chat.
People trusted headquarters completely.
They were transferring cash because they were terrified of interrupting the momentum of their businesses.
The owner of the Gwangju Sangmu Branch anxiously bit his lip.
He had already spoken with Choi Inwoo.
So he could not bring himself to send the money recklessly.
And more importantly...
There was no money left in his account to send.
“Am I going to be the only person who doesn't pay?”
His leg shook as he bit his fingernails.
“What if...”
“What if I'm the only one who doesn't get broth on Monday?”
“That would destroy me.”
“I really don't have anywhere else to get money...”
His anxiety rose to its limit.
He quickly called Choi Inwoo.
“Assistant Manager Choi!”
“Yes, sir.”
“Please help me.”
“I think I need to somehow find emergency money and send it immediately...”
Hearing his trembling voice...
Choi Inwoo answered in a firm, reassuring tone.
“Let's meet tonight.”
“I have a good idea.”
