Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Franchise Proposal
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"Contract terms...?"
Lee In-cheol muttered under his breath.
"Over the past three months, I think I've more than proven my abilities."
Lee In-cheol nodded readily. It wasn't just about boosting sales tenfold.
From managing the restaurant to dealing with customers—every bit of know-how I'd passed on was priceless, something money couldn't buy.
'Though before, we built that experience together with the owner.'
It wasn't just old sentiments making me go through all this trouble.
I'd poured my whole life into building my company, only for [The Song] to crumble in an instant. That's why I'd put extra effort into making this place its new starting point.
"Most restaurant owners dream of running three or four shops. And honestly, it's a solid choice in terms of profit margins."
To exaggerate a bit, whether you're running three shops or five, the pure profit landing in your pocket doesn't differ much.
Because as the number of locations grows, you need managers to handle them. Even with experienced hires, setting up the environment to fit each spot takes a ton of handover work.
And that's not even the end of it.
It's only natural for diligent people to get lazy over time. No matter how much equity or incentives you offer, expecting true ownership from them is absurd.
They'll resent you—the owner who does all the heavy lifting but swoops in occasionally to take more than half the sales.
Sure, there are exceptions. People who work with real ownership mentality.
'But most of them end up opening their own places after a while.'
Anyway, expecting ownership from someone who's not the real boss is nonsense. I'd learned that the hard way through experience.
So, what's the solution?
Simple. To make someone feel true ownership—like this place is their shop—make them the actual owner.
In other words, turn them into a franchisee.
"I have no intention of stopping at just three or four shops."
"......"
"I want to turn [Hapjae Neighborhood Gukbap 0212] into a franchise. Make it a brand."
I figured it might sound pie-in-the-sky, but Lee In-cheol's gaze was more serious than expected.
I continued with a straight face, no smile.
"You'd be the owner of the first branch. Then we'd bring on people interested in franchising and expand one by one. The recipes are already quantified, so it won't be too hard."
"Song Woo-yeon."
"Yes."
"Were you planning this from the start? Even back when you pushed for quantified recipes?"
"No."
I smiled brightly.
"From the very beginning. The moment I promised you I'd boost sales tenfold in three months—that's when I started thinking about this."
"Huh."
Lee In-cheol let out a hollow laugh. He rubbed his brow with his fingertips, muttering like it was a headache.
"Usually, when someone spouts nonsense like this, it's one of two things: a huge hit or a total flop."
Harsh, but fair.
"If anyone else pulled this in front of me, I'd have called them a con artist and kicked them out on the spot."
I knew he meant it. That's exactly what Lee In-cheol would do.
"But weirdly..."
Lee In-cheol smirked, lifting one corner of his mouth.
"Song Woo-yeon, why does it sound like it'll actually work when you say it?"
"!"
"Franchise or whatever—I don't know the details and don't really care. Profit-sharing was the deal from the start, and..."
As expected. Proving myself over three months of grinding together had paid off big.
"Royalty, or whatever you call it—you'll take a cut.... What about ingredients?"
"We can't do it right away since we're small-scale, but later we'll handle distribution ourselves. It'll be easier for the franchisees too."
"You talk like you've run franchises for decades."
I felt a slight pang of conscience. But Lee In-cheol was just musing aloud and quickly moved on.
"I've overheard other owners talking about franchises sometimes. If the ingredients get ridiculously overpriced, people quit. You don't seem the type, but it could ruin the food's taste."
"Of course."
He nailed the key point.
In franchising, ingredients supply is where the real money comes from.
Most make margins by charging above market price for supplies...
But I had no plans for that.
'There's a way to supply cheaper than market rate and still profit at the company level.'
For now, though—no office, no staff. Future problem.
Lee In-cheol stared into space, crunching numbers, then nodded.
"From the name [Hapjae Neighborhood Gukbap 0212] to the dining hall interior and side dishes—nothing's untouched by your hands. It's embarrassing to even call it my shop anymore."
"You knew."
"You little punk. One compliment and your head swells."
It was the truth!
"I'm not complaining. Without you, I'd still be killing time in an empty shop."
"Haha."
"That's my take. Jong-chun might feel different, so work it out with him."
Lee In-cheol scooted his chair back. He stood abruptly and turned toward the kitchen.
Halfway there, he spun around and tossed out one more line.
"Oh, and don't gouge him too hard! At least for my sake."
"I won't~."
Worried parent.
I watched Lee In-cheol's retreating back, then turned to Kim Jong-chun.
"So. What do you think, sir?"
"...I've been thinking about profit-sharing since In-cheol mentioned it. Similar setup to his shop. But I hadn't gone as far as making it a full franchise with the exact same name. You think on a whole different level, Woo-yeon."
A mix of admiration and a touch of self-reproach.
He might look like a green kid, but inside he's a crafty old fox with decades of savvy—no need to doubt.
"The concerns In-cheol already covered. And your skills? I've seen them up close—no need to say more."
Kim Jong-chun nodded firmly, like he'd made up his mind.
"Looking forward to working with you, Woo-yeon."
I glanced at the hand he extended. Salesman through and through.
I shook it firmly.
"Same here—please take care of me."
Smooth sailing so far. We were already mostly aligned.
Plus, neither Lee In-cheol nor Kim Jong-chun would know the nitty-gritty of franchising.
That's where my experience came in.
The real hurdle...
—Bzzz, bzzzz!
“My One and Only Wife”
"......"
"......"
Silence blanketed the table for a moment.
Yeah. The real deal started now.
Ding-a-ling-.
"I'm home."
Pushing open the door with a greeting, the darkened living room came into view.
After evening service, closing up, and learning recipes, I usually got home around midnight. Shower and bed made it one.
With early mornings for work, I hadn't seen much of the family lately.
Getting home at eleven was rare. Kim Jong-chun figured his wife had every right to be mad.
"Mm, you're back?"
His wife, Park So-in, shuffled out, face heavy with sleep. She'd turned in early.
"The kids?"
"In their rooms, probably. They're busy too—academy homework piled up for tomorrow."
Resentment toward his unappearing kids faded quick. They had their own pressures too, poor things.
Setting down his bag and changing clothes, Park So-in followed him inside.
"Work's been busy lately, huh."
"...Always is this time of year."
"Seems later than last year. And you leave even earlier in the mornings."
"......"
Kim Jong-chun wasn't much of a liar. Better to clam up than stumble awkwardly.
"Take it easy."
Luckily, Park So-in didn't seem to notice anything off.
Dodging that bullet was a relief, but today he had to come clean.
That's why he'd left closing to Song Woo-yeon and Lee In-cheol—to get home early for this.
"Uh... honey."
"Yeah? What?"
"Got something to talk about."
"What is it?"
Park So-in padded over and plopped on the bed. Fatigue still clung to her face.
Kim Jong-chun changed into home clothes and sat beside her.
"Well, uh... Remember that college buddy I mentioned, In-cheol? The one who quit to open a gukbap joint."
"Oh yeah."
"Heard he's doing great lately. Sales over thirty million won."
"Wow, really?"
Park So-in didn't seem too impressed. Kim Jong-chun's throat went dry.
"Impressive, right? Maybe I should've quit and joined him. He asked me to partner up when he left."
"What~? Feeling that way? Work must be rough. Though, yeah—no salary hits thirty million."
"Not exactly..."
Kim Jong-chun hesitated, then squeezed his eyes shut. The words stuck, but they had to come out.
"What if I tried running a business?"
"...What? Out of nowhere."
"Hang on. You're serious?"
"Yeah."
"For real?"
"Yeah."
"Isn't this too rash? You hear about your buddy and suddenly you're wobbling. Business isn't for just anyone! You can barely boil ramen—what makes you think...!"
Anger crept into Park So-in's voice. She saw it as childish nonsense from her husband.
Boiling it down, her point was:
'Quitting a good job? Are you nuts?'
In the end, Kim Jong-chun spilled the truth.
"I got laid off."
"...What?"
"I got laid off."
Tears streamed down his cheeks.