Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Multiplying Sales Tenfold
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"What if I told you I had a way to triple this shop's sales? No, make it ten times over?"
"What kinda pie-in-the-sky nonsense is that?"
Lee In-cheol scratched at one ear as he shot back. It was obvious he thought this was just hot air from some green kid and wasn't really listening.
But I was dead serious.
This place definitely had that kind of potential.
"Let's say such a method exists. Would you pass up a chance to multiply sales by ten?"
"You call that a method?"
Lee In-cheol snorted in disbelief. I grinned and said,
"Owner. Give me one month. In exactly one month, I'll make your sales triple what they are now. And in three months, ten times over."
"What? You little punk, what the hell have you been blabbering about...!"
Lee In-cheol started to bellow, but he flinched when our eyes met. He'd realized there wasn't a hint of a joke in my expression.
"...You mean that?"
"Yes, of course."
"Kid. You helped out in the kitchen a few times and now you're getting delusions of grandeur? The food business ain't that easy!"
Naturally, Lee In-cheol was dismissing my declaration as youthful bravado.
And who could blame him? I was just a guy who'd been part-timing for a week, spouting wild fantasies.
"Owner. You've tried every trick in the book to save this place, right?"
"Of course!"
"But the results were disastrous every time?"
"Urgh...."
"So wouldn't borrowing ideas from a completely new perspective be a good breakthrough?"
There was a good reason I was making this pitch to Lee In-cheol of all people.
"...That does make some sense."
Because he was the kind of guy who'd seriously consider advice even from a fresh-faced kid like me.
'It was the same before I regressed.'
It started with me pointing out little things I noticed while part-timing, offering suggestions one by one.
He'd tell me not to spout nonsense, but after agonizing over it for days, if it seemed sound, he'd tweak the shop bit by bit according to my ideas.
Sales started trending upward, and two years later, he expanded to that bigger spot across the intersection.
'That was my start. But this time, I have no reason to wait two years.'
I needed to bulk up fast.
In this industry, the weak get crushed. I couldn't afford to collapse helplessly before a big corporation again.
'To do that, I need to grow fast enough that no one looks down on me.'
And for that, this [Integrity Hall] had to leap forward in one go.
"Owner. Your sales are barely 100,000 won a day anyway. How much worse can it get?"
"You little...."
"You won't last long like this. You know that better than anyone. So we have to try something before it becomes impossible to recover."
I pressed on boldly, with utter conviction in my voice.
"Just give me three months."
"...."
"If sales are lower after three months, I'll cover the difference myself."
"What?"
Lee In-cheol's face shot up in shock. He clearly hadn't expected me to go this far.
"You said monthly sales are three million won now. Ten million. If we don't hit ten million, I'll make up the shortfall out of my own pocket. You lose nothing that way. Right?"
"W-Well, that's true, but...."
Lee In-cheol looked uncomfortable. The terms were so skewed in his favor it made him suspicious.
A true merchant has to have that kind of wariness. Of course.
"But in exchange."
This was my real point.
"If we actually hit ten million in sales, I get 5% of revenue, and 10% of anything over that."
"Hah."
"What do you say? I need some skin in the game too."
I smiled brightly, and Lee In-cheol let out an exasperated breath.
"Song Woo-yeon.... You're young and don't get it yet."
"Owner."
I cut him off mid-sentence.
Even before regressing, plenty of people looked down on me because of my age. I'd always responded the same way.
"Treat me like a merchant talking to a merchant."
"...!"
Those words seemed to stir something dormant in Lee In-cheol's chest. His eyes changed in an instant, sparkling with new light.
"You cocky brat."
He scolded me verbally, but his expression was dead serious. He'd decided to seriously consider my proposal.
Having butted heads with Owner Lee In-cheol for a good ten years, I could read his stiff face like a book.
"One week. Give me time to think it over. I'll give you an answer in a week."
"Of course."
"Sheesh, tsk. What wind blew this in.... Sigh. Now you've given me a headache."
"You were already burning up inside because business was tanking anyway?"
"If I could argue back...."
Lee In-cheol grumbled irritably and waved me off.
"Now get outta here! My head's spinning because of you. I need to cool off."
"Yes, sir. See you tomorrow!"
I bowed and turned around. The gukbap joint closed at 9 p.m., and it was well past 10 by the time everything was wrapped up.
Walking the dark alley shrouded in night, I let nostalgia wash over me.
'Oh yeah, there was a hardware store here. Wow, that building gets rebuilt soon. Looks super rundown now. Was there a shop like that here?'
Lost in trivial thoughts, I strolled the familiar streets.
The winter I turned twenty, fresh into adulthood.
I stepped into society penniless, with nothing to my name. I'd bounced between part-time gigs even before that, so changing that first digit in my age didn't make much difference.
Heard Seoul paid higher hourly wages, so I grabbed a cheap semi-basement studio and headed up on a whim.
'I could never forget this place.'
The path home cutting through the biting winter wind was still vivid in my mind. Thanks to that, I made it back to my semi-basement without getting lost.
I rummaged in my pocket and found my house key. No fancy door lock—just an old place.
This was the only spot I could afford the deposit with what I'd scraped together part-timing as a student.
Click.
Stepping inside, the room was freezing cold. No different from outside. I let out a hollow laugh.
After barely washing up with icy water, I burrowed into the blankets, and finally, it started to feel real.
I sat at my barely-there desk. Pulled out a blank sheet and pen, and started jotting down whatever came to mind.
「Regression. Twenty years back.... Why? Unknown. Am I dreaming this?」
Tap tap. I tapped the pen on the paper and roughly crossed out the 'Am I dreaming this?' part.
It felt too real for a dream. The chill numbing my toes was something no dream could replicate.
So that meant I really had gone back twenty years....
'Then was that real too? That final push from someone...'
The sensation of fingertips pressing into my back was crystal clear.
'I thought I was alone.'
Was there someone else? Since when? And who?
'...What perfect timing.'
It happened right as I was about to expose Hyunmu's weakness—a murder case. Too exquisitely coincidental for chance.
"Sigh.... Damn. But that's all in the past here."
You can't punish someone for a murder that never happened. I swallowed my rage with a sigh.
No point dwelling on what's already gone.
'What matters is what I do from here.'
I sketched out the rough framework of the future I knew as simply as possible.
Along with the regression, I'd brought countless business secrets—not just know-how, but knowledge of the future too.
'This item trended around then. Died quick after, though.... Oh, that one lasted longer than I thought. And this time....'
Filling page after page, time flew by. Two sheets weren't enough; I grabbed a third.
Scribbling furiously, my chest swelled with emotion.
Yeah. Starting over from scratch.
No mistakes, and way faster than before.
'And above all.'
I stared at the name boldly written in the center of the page.
'This time, I won't go down easy. Hyunmu.'
"Oh, right."
Come to think of it, there was a place I needed to stop by before heading to work tomorrow.
"Yawn~."
I stretched with a massive yawn and scanned the dining area.
As expected, after the lunch rush filled the tables once, it was empty again.
With only five tables in this small shop, turnover rate was key. One lunch service, and the day's sales were basically done.
Which meant I, the part-timer, was killing time in boredom.
"Song Woo-yeon. Tables wiped?"
"Yup."
"Dishes done?"
"All set."
Lee In-cheol eyed me suspiciously, then ran a finger along the shelf in the hall.
"...Clean."
Of course. Hygiene's the basics of any restaurant.
"You seem tired lately. Is restaurant work wearing you out?"
"No way."
I'd done tougher jobs before regressing. Food service always takes a toll on the body.
Can't claim to be in business if this much wears you down.
"It's not that. Before work, I.... No, Owner, have you given it any thought?"
He flinched at my question. Yeah. Time had flown, and the promised week was up.
"Ahem. About that."
Lee In-cheol paused, then slowly opened up.
"...If sales don't improve after three months, we're going back to my way."
"Of course."
"And no changing the food taste!"
He barked suddenly.
"You know how some folks skimp on ingredients to boost margins? I won't stand for that! Better to shut down than half-ass it."
That's why I like this owner.
"Don't worry, Owner."
I grinned.
"I wouldn't do business that way either."
It might boost margins short-term, but long-term, it's a loser.
I'm not planning to flip the place quick. I intend to develop it into the foundation for my grand vision—no way I'd sabotage that.
"So our deal's on?"
I stuck out my hand, and he grabbed it firmly.
"Yeah, you rascal. Go wild—let's see what you got!"
Music to my ears.
Woooong-!
Clang, kwarang...!
Right on cue, a racket of construction noise erupted outside. Lee In-cheol jumped, craning his neck with a face like he might faint.
"Wh-Wh-What's this...!"
I glanced out the window and continued, "Oh yeah."
"First things first, I figured we'd change the sign."
You have no idea how much I hounded them to finish in a week. Every morning before work, I'd drop by the sign shop to check progress.
"You...."
Lee In-cheol stared at me blankly, speechless.
"You said to do it my way. That's cool, right?"
I flashed him a grin.