A Little Secret
A little secret.
"I actually wanted to cook, too."
"Is that so?"
I knew. No one was more sincere about cooking than she was.
"Yes. At the very least, I wanted to work somewhere related to food."
"I see."
"I wanted to study more as well."
I knew that, too. That was why she had gone abroad in the first place.
"But it's a little… difficult."
"Why? You can just do it, can't you?"
"Hehe. It's hard. And I don't even have a job right now… Ah, why did I even say that!"
"Hmm… is that so?"
"Please just forget you heard that."
Even if she put on a brave face, things were hard for her on the inside. She still didn't have the strength to take on that burden with a free heart. And yet she would never ask for help. That was just the kind of person she was.
"Ha-rang."
I called her name as if I were meeting her for the first time today. No—more accurately, I called the name of someone I could no longer treat as a mere "kid."
"Yes?"
"If it wouldn't be too much of an imposition…"
I made my final offer before she left. With that proposal, the party came to a grand close.
There was still one more curtain left to fall.
The closing of the Food Truck Zone.
Boss Bang, who had come out to take a look, let out a scornful snort.
"Hah. Packed as usual today, too!"
Packed. In the past, that sight alone would have been enough to give him an ulcer. Every customer overflowing from that Food Truck Zone could have been his. That was why he had pulled every dirty trick in the book, from the Youth Mall all the way to the competition. Just thinking about the money and connections he had poured into it still made his blood boil.
"You've got some nerve, you know that?"
"Who says I don't? It's burning me up. But it's closing tomorrow, isn't it?"
"That's true enough."
Today was the last day. The Food Truck Zone would vanish, and he would never have to look at it again. That should have been a bright future. And yet, to Boss Bang, it still looked bleak.
"That's not the end of it, though."
"You mean Shinsigaji over there?"
"Yeah. That damn Boss Jang. Business genius, my ass… What kind of genius targets a place like that?"
"It's a real pain, right?"
"Damn right!"
Shinsigaji. Rumors had been flying that a business genius was moving in. Because of that, Boss Bang hadn't even been able to come here for the past month. Any free time he might have spent here had gone into confronting Boss Jang one more time.
"That bastard—wouldn't it have been better if he'd just come into our food alley with us?"
"Exactly. That's all he had to do, so why the hell did he have to worm his way into Shinsigaji?"
They had actually confronted him about it, too. Why Shinsigaji? Wasn't the food alley already there?
"He's a businessman too, I guess. Son of a bitch. Talks a pretty game. What was it? 'There's already a Youth Mall, so if I go there I won't get any attention'? Oh, please…"
"Coexistence, my ass! Coexistence! It's all a pack of lies!"
Boss Jang's official justification had been coexistence—that if he entered the alley's commercial district, he would become a threat. To them, his mere appearance was already a threat. They had been so busy dealing with that they hadn't even made it here. A far greater enemy than the food trucks had arrived!
"But why is this place still overflowing with people right up to the end?"
"Oh, look over there. On the last day of all days, they're handing stuff out for free."
"Free? They're out of their minds."
Deep down, he had come to blow off some steam. He had wanted to at least get a dig in at the Food Truck Zone owners. The place that ought to have reeked of a funeral was practically throwing a festival instead. He couldn't leave it like that.
"Whoa. Free food? Now that I can't pass up."
"What, you planning to go eat without a care again?"
"And you wouldn't? Hey, wouldn't it be great to eat their food and still turn their stomachs while we're at it?"
"Oh. I like that. Let's go. Come on!"
His tactless friend had even come up with a good idea. Free food plus a little sabotage. Nice. This is perfect. Was there a better idea than that? The two of them lined up, practically gleeful. Whether because it was a free giveaway with no payment involved, the line shrank quickly. Right up until then, Boss Bang and the café owner were still in high spirits—until they saw the banner hanging from one side of the food truck.
Food Truck Relocating
A small banner. The problem was what was written on it.
"Food truck relocating? What the hell does that mean?"
"Must be moving somewhere else. It's not like they're quitting the business. And it's not like anyone ever said they were coming into the food alley, either."
"They sure didn't!"
Relocating. Fine. Good riddance. Hadn't they done everything they could to drive them out? But somehow the location looked familiar.
"But this place here… wait, this looks kinda familiar?"
"…Here! This is—!"
Just as Boss Bang was staring at the map, on the verge of realizing where it was—
"The edge of Shinsigaji. The abandoned factory district. Haha."
Kim Sunwu, who had been quietly watching how far they would get on their own, filled them in right away. Beaming as he delivered the news of the move, he left Boss Bang and his friend wearing expressions like they had just chewed on dung.
"Man. People really don't change."
"You're telling me. And that dung-chewing face of theirs—you should've seen it. Heh…"
I couldn't help but feel a little impressed. Still, it was a good day. Everyone was coming, after all. I checked on things right up to the end. And then, at the very end—
"…Are you sure I can really work here?"
Ha-rang had come, too. There was only one answer I could give her.
Of course!
One more of my people had joined us. It was Ha-rang.
The new shop opened.
Three businesses shared a single space, but thanks to the renovated abandoned factory, there was more than enough room. The first floor held the dining tables, while the second floor—originally built for storing materials—was mostly taken up by café seating. We kept the industrial factory atmosphere, and to soften the bleakness we brought in all kinds of plants.
"Hyung, you do know what a plant butler is, right?"
"A plant butler? Of course I do! Aren't I a plant butler?"
"Huh?"
If you cook for people and wait on them, isn't that a food butler?"
People who raised cats called themselves butlers, didn't they? A food butler who cooked and served meals. Whoever coined the word, it suited me perfectly.
"…I don't even know where to start correcting that."
"Heh heh…"
"And why are you laughing, Ha-rang? And why are you sighing?"
Why was I getting this reaction?
"Jin-woo, you were the one who said the place felt too bleak and that we should bring in plants."
"I did, yeah?"
"We brought them in, so what's the problem? Huh? Look over there."
I pointed at one of the plants. Green onions were growing thick and lush.
"Those green onions, soaking up the sun and shooting up. If you use them right, they grow almost infinitely."
Green onions grew better than people thought. Cut off the tops and the remaining roots would send up new stalks again and again. Practically infinite. And if I reinforce them, they last even longer! That wasn't all.
"And what about that lettuce over there? Just watch. That one's infinite, too. Infinite!"
Lettuce also took off once it got going. Later it would grow so aggressively it became hard to deal with. Back in the apocalypse, I couldn't even count how valuable those two ingredients had been. In the end the contamination got too bad and we couldn't grow them anymore, but still!
"Garlic's the same way. Grow them yourself and they make great ingredients."
"No… I don't get how so many different kinds of them aren't even dying in this environment and keep growing so well…"
Well, that was because of my know-how and skills. I didn't mention that much.
"If you raise them well, what's not to like?"
"No, raising them well is fine, but… why is every single one of them something you can eat?"
"The bleakness is gone, isn't it?"
"Well, that's true, but…"
"Then we're good, right?"
"Ah… that isn't what a plant butler…"
I didn't know why he was getting so worked up before we even opened, but—
"Welcome!"
"Oh! Welcome!"
Our first customers had arrived.
"Have we come too early?"
"Not at all. You timed it perfectly."
"That's a relief. You have to make the first sale of the day count, don't you? I made a point of coming!"
They were elderly regulars. The two of them must have gotten ready first thing in the morning; they arrived dressed neatly. I quickly showed them to a table.
"Good to see it. Haha. You've grown quite a lot of this and that, haven't you?"
"A plant butler has to do at least this much."
"A plant butler. Hoho. Yes. These would taste wonderful eaten fresh."
"Right? I knew the elders would understand. I'll have something ready for you shortly."
The elders immediately appreciated the hard work of this plant butler. See… you need to have gone through times when you couldn't eat everything you wanted to really get it. When has Jin-woo ever gone hungry? Tsk tsk. It might have sounded a little like an old man lecturing, but once you'd lived through a hungry past life, you knew there was no garden more beautiful than this. I could only feel sorry for Jin-woo, who didn't know that.
"Jin-woo, let's get the food ready. Ha-rang, please get the serving set up first."
"Yes!"
"Hyung. Later, when you find out, you're going to be so embarrassed…"
"Shh! This is a sacred kitchen. Less talking, more cooking."
"…Ugh."
That particular regret would have to wait. It was time to cook.
All right. Time to show the elders what I can really do.
Even if they hadn't been the elders, they were our first customers, so I had to give it everything I had. I put on my hygiene gear. Sanitary mask and hairnet as standard. A thoroughly sterilized apron, too. With that, the basic equipment for cooking was complete!
Hunting gear ready. Now to look over the game.
I surveyed the ingredients laid out for me. Mountains of ramen sorted by type, and more than twenty kinds of prepped ingredients. Beside them, still more ingredients waiting to be used as fillings filled my vision.
Whoa… it's a treasure vault. A real treasure vault.
A kitchen three times larger than when I had the food truck. The carefully arranged cooking tools gleamed in my eyes. To me, these were the real treasures. Treasures that could make any dish I wanted!
All right. Time to cook with those treasures.
"Let's get started."
"Yes!"