Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Jackpot
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A new post had gone up on Park Su-han's fan cafe.
Recently, thanks to his unusual camping outdoor broadcast, the cafe had been buzzing. All sorts of hilarious moments from that camping stream were still making the rounds as memes.
And one of them starred Kim Haneul.
The scene where he ripped into Park Su-han had blown up so much that memes with his face photoshopped onto a Chihuahua started circulating, earning him the nickname "Chihuahua Bro."
People were checking out his videos through posts uploaded by a user called SkyLover.
The video was packed with killer moments. Thanks to that, Park Su-han's fan cafe was lively even during his break. It was already buzzing from the lingering hype of the outdoor stream, but this fresh bait had new posts popping up nonstop.
Of course, Park Su-han, the cafe manager, wasn't about to miss this hot topic.
In front of a green chroma key screen, Park Su-han fired up his live cam. As the stream started, viewers flooded in.
The chat scrolled by rapidly. Park Su-han glanced at it and spread his arms wide.
"Doesn't the framing feel a bit off today?"
Someone nailed it.
Park Su-han pulled out an item he'd hidden under his chair.
"Ta-da! Today's the Hanwoo Seasoned Short Ribs review!"
Park Su-han chuckled at the mix of right and wrong guesses in chat.
"Quite a few of you caught on. Haneul from that camping trip started YouTube, and it's been blowing up in the cafe lately. If you haven't seen it, I'll drop the link—go check it out."
Kim Haneul's Sky and Kite channel link spread through the room of about 3,500 viewers. Park Su-han confirmed the comments weren't bad and kept streaming.
"Haneul said in his video that aging it a week makes it tastiest. A buddy had some aged nine days, so I grabbed it. Let's start with the marinade."
Park Su-han pulled out all the ingredients Kim Haneul had mentioned: lemon zest, plums, sugar, soy sauce, and more.
Slice. Slice.
He prepped the marinade with unfamiliar motions. No reading chat during knife work—ever since nearly slicing off a finger at camp, he focused solely on the blade.
"Whew. Knife work's tough every time. Now, let's grill."
He laid the meat on two griddles. He poured the uneven marinade mix onto one. A sweet, nutty aroma filled the room.
"Ahh. Nothing beats the smell of grilling meat."
Park Su-han turned down the flame and read chat. Even in mukbang, you had to engage viewers. Small talk until the food was done kept things flowing.
"Yeah, I did. It cracked me up. His praise face and disappointment face are identical—made it hilarious."
Park Su-han knew exactly the "last face" they meant. One of the funniest bits came right to mind.
Bam!
"Of course. Man, I was so stunned by that look, I laughed for ages."
"I'll show you."
Park Su-han paused to capture two screenshots from the video.
The first: Kim Haneul glaring murderously at him for burning the kimchi.
The second: Kim Haneul deboning ribs and placing them on rice for him.
Honey practically dripped from his eyes toward the camera. The smile tugging at his lips, the slight crinkle of his eyes—it was worlds apart from that glare.
"How's this the same guy? Look! Honey dripping from his eyes. Geez, that Chihuahua Bro went too far. Honestly, when he was chopping kimchi, I was scared."
Park Su-han vividly remembered Kim Haneul's glare from back then.
Clearly a fresh-out-of-military twenty-something college kid, younger than him. Yet that gaze made him feel like he was getting chewed out by some big shot.
He'd collabed with a corporate broadcaster once, but Kim Haneul's aura hit harder.
Park Su-han flipped the meat while venting like that.
"The editor's probably his girlfriend. She's gorgeous. Seriously, if Haneul doesn't grow his hair and step up, she's getting snatched."
Chat exploded in seconds. Mostly guys in the audience, and with Chihuahua Bro's quips and faces fresh in mind, curiosity peaked.
Then one chat summed it up.
Before streaming, Park Su-han had messaged Kim Haneul: saw your vid, mind if I recreate? Haneul said sure, and he and Lee Juyeon were lounging in bed watching the stream.
"Ahem. The man himself says knock it off, so I'll focus on cooking."
"Got it. Yes, sir."
Park Su-han flipped diligently. Both batches finished. He'd planned to cook longer, but Haneul's yell killed the flame.
"Hey, Haneul? Is it cooked through? Felt like it needed more."
"...Off. It's off."
Park Su-han smacked his lips and sliced. He showed the cuts to camera.
"Definitely different sheen. Store ribs have bare spots without marinade. Haneul's soaks evenly, deeper color."
Park Su-han, about to take a bite and rave, tilted his head.
He'd researched all the hype pre-stream. Rewatched the video twice, noted all the viral points.
But no Stargram.
"Haneul does Stargram too?"
"Sky and... Kite?"
Park Su-han quickly pulled up Stargram on his PC. He found the account with under 100 followers.
One photo posted there.
"No way... What is this? Same meat?"
Park Su-han kept comparing the photo to his dish.
No wonder—the Stargram pic looked straight out of a Michelin fine-dining spot.
Pure white round plate. Three rib pieces in the center, bones interlocked upright, not flat. Sprinkled parsley on top, marinade artfully plated at the edge.
Like a painting.
"Haneul? Plating aside, the meat's shine is totally different. Did I mess up?"
Another wave of feedback crushed him. Park Su-han threw up his hands.
He laughed it off and changed topics.
"Haha. Pro chef vs. me—who could match? Viewers, hurry and like that post. Visual's killer, right?"
The 3,500 live viewers focused fire. Not everyone liked, but enough did—the algorithm lit up Kim Haneul's post.
Eventually, Oju Foods noticed the shift.
"Huh? What's this."
Na Kyung-mo at Oju Foods' marketing team tilted his head at his monitor. His section chief noticed him staring blankly at the graph.
"Kyung-mo, what're you glued to?"
"Sales spiked outta nowhere. Not huge, but steady since day before yesterday."
"Lemme see."
The chief glanced and tilted his head too.
Sales spikes happened sometimes. But steady rise for days exceeding average meant something external.
"Any ads running?"
"Nah, that was the last. You know—used premium meat, barely spent on promo. Plan was 'win on quality!' Master agreed."
"No ads, but sales up. Master do something?"
"I'll check."
Na Kyung-mo dug in. Four years in big corp promo—he pinpointed it fast.
"Probably this."
"Stargram? Tons of likes."
Chief marveled at views and likes, then froze on the photo.
"This our product? That glossy? Looks like different meat."
"Looks like Sky and Kite refined the recipe. See here..."
Na Kyung-mo summarized the video. Chief stroked his lip reading it.
"Recipe reaction?"
"Good."
The product's sales were meh. Low price, high quality, but skimped promo. Betting on quality backfired—aging issues tanked output.
Too many flaws, middling results.
Now a fix recipe drops. Good buzz, instant sales bump.
Couldn't ignore.
"Ask Oga-eul Master. If ok, hit Sky and Kite. Ask to use recipe. If yes, update the paper recipe in gift sets."