Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Tragedy in the Guise of Opportunity
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They say tragedy appears disguised as opportunity.
"Owner. Let's really make something big together."
Those words rang true. When I clasped the hand extended with the prestige of a massive corporation behind it, I truly believed a rosy future was unfolding before me.
"Pleased to be working with you! I've got a bunch of business ideas I've been mulling over. Oh, how about we start with that one? First off..."
I gazed at his face as I chattered excitedly. It was unmistakably the gleam in a predator's eyes right before swallowing its prey whole.
Riiing. Riiing.
The phone rang long and finally cut off.
"Hello?"
"Kim Lawyer. It's me."
"Ah, Song CEO..."
Kim Young-jun's voice was thick with worry. I could tell the trial results without him even saying it.
Still, I had to ask.
"How'd it go?"
"Well... I'm sorry. We did everything we could, but it wasn't enough to turn things around."
Even though I'd expected it, hearing it straight from him made my chest tighten like it was clogged.
I slowly closed my eyes, then opened them, taking a deep breath.
"The opponent is such a huge corporation, and they registered the trademark first. Proving we were the originals was just too tough."
"...I see."
"It's all my fault for not being up to the task."
"No. I know you put in every effort imaginable. ...I should've paid you a fatter fee. Sorry things didn't work out that way."
"About that fee..."
Kim Young-jun broached the subject cautiously.
"They'll probably demand we cover their litigation costs since we lost. It won't be zero, but I'll try to minimize it as much as possible..."
"Kim Lawyer."
I barely swallowed a hollow laugh threatening to burst out.
"You know I've been cleaned out. They stole all my ideas, and I poured everything into this trial. I have hardly any money left now. Even the house I'm living in is mortgaged."
"......"
"I know struggling more won't change much."
The cold night air brushed my cheek. But my heart was even chillier; I barely registered the cold.
My fingertips had turned red and curled up on their own, but I didn't feel the pain.
"Thanks for everything."
The grueling trial was finally over. Along with the emptiness came a faint sense of liberation.
It felt like I'd finally glimpsed the end of a long, dark tunnel—even if it was my crushing defeat. It was almost refreshing.
Yeah.
I'd done all I could.
I was just about to pull the phone from my ear when Kim Young-jun's voice echoed faintly.
"Song CEO. I've been at this lawyer gig long enough to have some seasoned instincts. And I'm pretty confident in my ability to read people."
His words felt so earnest that I couldn't bring myself to end the call.
"It might sound far-fetched... but Song CEO, in my eyes, you're not the type to crumble like this."
"You're full of sweet talk too, huh? All I heard during trial prep was 'no way,' 'it's impossible.'"
"If I had that kind of silver tongue, I wouldn't have quit a top firm to go solo and struggle like this."
"You've got jokes too."
"I'm dead serious."
I closed my eyes gently. The wind whispered past my ears.
"CEO. There will definitely be other opportunities. So please don't get too down..."
"......"
As I pulled the phone away from my ear, Kim Young-jun's voice grew distant.
"...CEO, ...CEO? Where the hell are you...!"
I ignored the fading voice. I filled my lungs with the dawn air and snapped my eyes open.
「Hyunmu」
"Hah."
The massive electronic billboard blazed with the name of the group I both loved and hated. I'd once seen it as the ultimate business partner in my life, only for it to turn around and snatch everything from me the next moment. I stared at that name endlessly.
Leaning against the waist-high railing, I hung my head low. An endless darkness filled my vision, and a dizzying vertigo surged up from below.
A chill ran down my spine, goosebumps prickling.
"Other opportunities..."
I murmured Kim Lawyer's words softly.
"That'd be nice."
I let out a hollow laugh, then shook my head.
Part of me wanted to let go of life's thread right then, but I still had unfinished business.
"I can't just die alone like this."
I gripped a small USB tightly in my hand. It held all the information I'd gathered while working with Hyunmu.
I'd kept quiet due to the nondisclosure agreement, but cornered like this, I couldn't stay silent anymore.
If this got out, even Hyunmu wouldn't escape unscathed.
"I wonder if Choi Reporter's still up. He'd love a scoop after all this time..."
I was just turning to head down from the rooftop.
Whoosh!
"...Huh?"
Someone shoved my back. My body, leaning on the railing, lost balance and toppled forward.
Whoooosh!
The roaring wind tore at my eardrums.
As I plummeted, the 「Hyunmu」 sign flashed across my vision.
That was my last memory.
"...! ...Yeon! Hey, Song Wooyeon!"
"？!"
I jolted upright, lifting my head. What? Who was calling my name so casually?
A familiar face—the Owner's—appeared before my puzzled eyes.
"Hey, you punk. I told you to wipe down all these tables, didn't I? You're usually quick as a whip—why're you spacing out?"
"Yes?"
"I said wipe these down?"
I stared quietly at the Owner yelling at me.
Owner Lee In-cheol. How could I forget him? He was the starting point of all my ventures.
Sure, he ended up closing shop and retiring after I fell... but.
More shocking than the long-uncontacted Owner Lee In-cheol being here was something else.
"Owner, when did you get such a youthful glow-up?"
He looked at least twenty years younger! He should've been pushing late sixties, but now he seemed barely in his late forties.
Yeah. Just like when we first met.
Back when he was the owner of a small gukbap joint and I was the part-timer working under him.
"What?"
Owner Lee In-cheol looked at me like I was absurd.
"What, am I your buddy? Where do you get off talking so informally?"
"But between us..."
"Fine, you got guts. What are we, anyway? Huh?"
Owner Lee In-cheol pointed at the table in front of me and yelled again.
"I'm the owner, you're the part-timer! You trying to commit mutiny on me now? Business is already dead, I'm pissed enough, and now you too?!"
Owner and part-timer. Owner Lee In-cheol looking a solid twenty years younger. The shop layout identical to before any expansions.
A large calendar on the wall boldly read '2014'.
2014?
A few keywords hit me like lightning, snapping me awake.
'Wait a second. No way...?'
I rushed to the mirror on one wall. I heard Owner Lee In-cheol yelling something beside me, but it didn't register.
"Huh."
I peered intently at my reflection. It wasn't just Owner Lee In-cheol who'd gotten younger. I'd gone back at least twenty years too.
No—exactly to when I started my first part-time gig at this neighborhood gukbap spot. Perfectly!
"No way..."
I muttered softly, touching my face. To check if I was dreaming, I pinched my cheek. It stung.
This was real.
'I came back.'
It finally clicked. I had no idea what to call this movie-like turn of events.
"CEO. There will definitely be other opportunities."
Kim Lawyer's voice echoed in my ears.
Yeah. This was an opportunity.
'A chance to not repeat the same mistakes.'
I clenched my fist tight, and reality finally sank in.
"Not gonna work?!"
"Yes, sir! I'll wipe the tables right now...!"
First things first—get to work!
"Whew. Song Wooyeon. Feels like you're sorry for that little rebellion earlier, huh? Working this hard and all."
Owner Lee In-cheol tossed a casual joke while eyeing the sparkling kitchen. I wiped the sweat from my forehead with my sleeve and finally straightened up.
Oof, my back. Maybe because I'm so young—practically a kid—my muscles are lacking.
"Sorry about earlier; my mouth ran away with me..."
"It's fine, fine. I'm putting up with it 'cause you've been on point this past week!"
His words were gruff, but his face beamed with smiles. Tough talk aside, his heart was always soft and full of affection.
Facing the younger Owner Lee In-cheol brought a rush of fresh emotions.
"Head home already."
"I'll finish up here and go."
"Tch. Just go."
Owner Lee In-cheol waved me off and plopped down on a nearby chair.
"What's the point of cleaning so hard? No customers anyway..."
At his self-mocking mutter, I quietly set down my rag. I'd been wanting to talk about that very thing.
"Wooyeon. Know how much I made today? Exactly 100,000 won. 100,000 won."
Oof. Serious.
Daily sales of 100,000 won meant monthly around 3 million even without days off.
After rent and ingredients, nothing left.
"You're taking the biggest cut here!"
An owner earning less than his part-timer. I'd seen it countless times before regression.
"Sigh. I just don't get it. Huh? Gukbap's delicious, cheap, generous portions. What's the problem?"
What's the problem?
I scanned the shop. Every little thing that caught my eye was a flaw.
Fix this, tweak that, and it'd be worlds better. The regrets piled up.
Of course, back then, it looked like a normal shop interior to my eyes...
But now, I'm different.
Decades in the food industry had transformed me completely.
I wanted to say the real problem was not knowing the problems. But I bit my lip and held back.
"I've poured so much heart into this place... Quitting and leaving hurts."
Owner Lee In-cheol clicked his tongue.
Countless small business owners dream big and start up, but most don't last five years. Harsh reality.
Owner Lee In-cheol's gukbap joint, Integrity Hall, was one of those failures.
The difference, though...
"Owner. I've got something to say."
Was that I—Song Wooyeon—was right here.
"What if I said I could triple—no, tenfold—the sales?"
Me, with over twenty years grinding in the food biz.