Chapter 204
Chapter 204
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 204
Chapter Title: Chocolate Budae Jjigae Mania
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[Alleyway Secret Budae Jjigae House New Menu Update.jpg]
(Close-up shot of chocolate budae jjigae)
Overwhelming visuals
→What the hell is this?
→Ugh.
→What did they put in there to make it that color? Budae straight out of hell lololol
→Declaring this the top diet meme of the era. Appetite suppression on point.
[Owner, what do you even think MZ are?]
You see them as lunatics who'd eat chocolate budae jjigae? Right?
→[Exclusive Scoop] MZ lose their taste buds..."I never knew I liked chocolate budae jjigae."
→This is why generational talk sucks. They treat us like aliens, not humans.
→Doesn't MZ include everyone up to late '80s babies? lololol
[???: Do-kyung, come on down!]
(Chocolate budae jjigae meme)
???: Give this a try.
(Do-kyung's shocked face meme)
→That expression is so real lololololol
→The impact is insane.
→Do-kyung's face = every viewer's face.
→Look at her cursing with just her eyes lolololol
[But isn't SYY super young too?]
Says he doesn't get young people's tastes these days, so he leaves it to D.K. lololol
But isn't he super young himself? Same age as D.K., right?
→Her calm, soft-spoken vibe made me forget, but I checked and damn, she's actually young.
→Wait, really? They're the same age??? I figured D.K. was at least five years younger.
→→Listening to her talk, it does feel like she's treating her like a little sis.
→→→No way, I thought it was that older-younger chemistry and was desperately shipping romance...
[I actually made and ate the chocolate budae jjigae]
Saw it on the broadcast, got curious and tried recreating it.
Ingredients are mostly the same as regular budae jjigae, just prep GarX chocolate instead of baked beans.
First, chop up the ingredients neatly...
... (excerpt omitted) ...
And there you have it, done!
(Disastrous-looking chocolate budae jjigae)
How's it look? I even decorated it to match the broadcast as closely as possible.
(Broadcast screenshot meme)
Pretty similar, right?
The real question is the taste, of course. I was dying to know what kind of freak dish it was just from watching, so I made it.
(Spooful-lifting meme)
Bon appétit~.
The moment of truth...
(Chocolate budae jjigae dumped in the sink meme)
Don't ever try this shit, folks.
→What happened to all that effort?
→A real lunatic actually made and ate it lololololololol
→So what did it taste like!!!! You gotta tell us!!!!!
→→(OP) The instant I took a bite, the chocolate sweetness mixed with the budae jjigae saltiness and hit me with total cognitive dissonance. Couldn't tell if I was eating chocolate or budae.
→→→Just like alternating bites of chocolate and budae?
→→→→(OP) Honestly, when the chocolate's hot, it's surprisingly not bad. I kinda get why they hyped it as a new menu item. But right after one bite, you're dying of thirst, and as the chocolate cools, this gross aftertaste kicks in and it turns awful.
→→→Not bad?? I still can't imagine the flavor.
→That color looks straight-up disgusting no matter how many times I see it.
“Pfft.”
I couldn't help but burst out laughing at the post claiming someone had actually made chocolate budae jjigae themselves.
Who would've thought anyone would really go and do it?
‘And Do-kyung's face when she first saw the chocolate budae jjigae has basically turned into a full-on meme.’
I'd figured viewers would like it, but the reaction was even hotter than expected.
“Ah, this thing's been blowing up lately, right?”
That's when someone chimed in from the side. I turned to see it was Im Hye-eun.
She was in the middle of hair styling, bobby pins stuck in place as she looked my way.
“This chocolate budae jjigae. You know YouTubers have been copying it like crazy?”
“Huh? YouTubers?”
“Yeah. It started as a fun challenge—people trying it out—but the views must've been pretty juicy.”
Im Hye-eun pulled up a search for chocolate budae jjigae on her phone and showed me.
A bunch of different YouTubers had huge titles like “The Hot Chocolate Budae Jjigae! I Made It Myself!”
“Not just cooking or mukbang channels—review specialists and even gaming YouTubers. Anyway, it's trending hard~.”
She was right. Seeing several familiar faces meant it really was the hot thing right now.
“Hoo. Really...?”
A good idea hit me.
I scrolled through my contacts and found Choi Mi-sun's number.
“Give me a sec.”
I excused myself from Im Hye-eun and called Choi Mi-sun right away.
Ring ring.
-Hello? Oh my, Song CEO! What's the occasion?
“You doing well, ma'am? I've heard all about it. Business is booming.”
-Don't even get me started. It's all thanks to you, Song CEO. The lines are so long it's getting ridiculous.
Her voice was laced with pure joy despite the complaints. No wonder—going from tumbleweeds to the hottest spot around. She had every reason to be thrilled.
-Hired more part-timers, and Jun-beom's just frying veggie fritters nonstop. Can't believe how many we sell in a day. No time to breathe, but I'm happy as can be.
“Glad to hear you're doing well.”
-It's all because of you, CEO.
I paused for a second at that.
-Without you, CEO, I don't even want to think about it. Feels like I've started a whole new life since meeting you.
Her excited, joyful tone tugged at my throat somehow.
-Thank you so much, Song CEO! I wanted to call and say it, but I knew how busy you are, so...
“......No need.”
I forced a casual tone.
I'd completely turned her life around. Thinking about it like that felt strangely off.
“Anyway, that's actually why I called. Have customers been asking about the chocolate budae jjigae lately?”
-Tons!
Choi Mi-sun jumped right in like she'd been waiting.
-Ever since that broadcast aired, customers keep asking about it. “We're curious—can't you sell the chocolate budae jjigae?” Some famous YouTuber or something? I'm out of the loop, but my son was losing his mind over an autograph~.
“Haha. So what'd you tell them?”
-Absolutely not!
She declared it firmly.
-You told me yourself, CEO—no adding menus. Don't worry about it. We're focusing solely on the veggie fritter budae jjigae...!
“No, that's the thing. How about selling it as a limited event menu?”
-Eh?
She sounded caught off guard by the curveball.
-But you said stick to a single menu.
“Yeah. That's why it'd be an event menu.”
Interest in chocolate budae jjigae was bound to be temporary. It wasn't going to be a steady seller.
“Adding another menu hurts turnover, but limit it to 10 per day, takeout only? That's a different story.”
This wasn't food for the masses.
It was a novelty just for view-chasing YouTubers and influencers. No need to let people eat in or make a ton.
“They're all dying to try the original flavor, right? Think of it as promo plus some extra revenue—easy event menu.”
-W-We can do that?
“Of course. What I meant by 'single menu, stick to the recipe' was no piling on useless sides. This is totally different.”
-Customers have been asking a lot, actually. I was agonizing over it but thought of our deal and decided no dice...
“I'm saying it's officially fine. Go ahead and sell it. I won't take the frame down, so no worries.”
-Aww, thank you!
I could picture her clutching her phone and bowing deeply.
-You care about every little thing. Living this well off your recipe—how can we ever repay you...
“I've told you over and over, right? There's one way to repay me~. Just keep that recipe unchanged.”
-Yes, absolutely!
Choi Mi-sun let out a small laugh. Probably because I always said the same thing.
-So steadfast. Oh shoot—break time's almost over!
“Head back in. Fighting today.”
-Will do~. Thanks again, CEO. Stay healthy!
Click.
Staring at the ended call, I found myself smiling faintly without realizing.
Im Hye-eun, who'd been watching the whole exchange, piped up excitedly.
“Wow, this'll keep the buzz going for a while, huh? 'Original chocolate budae jjigae.' I can practically hear the YouTubers rushing over.”
“Right? We can milk the hype a bit longer this way.”
Just staying relevant was free promo for the shop. Their bodies might ache, but pumping sales now meant stability even after the peak faded.
“PD-nim and CEO-nim—you both have noses like bloodhounds for what the public wants.”
Im Hye-eun teased.
“Why, the guests for this shoot too. I was shocked. No way it's the CEO's...”
“Recording starting soon~. Everyone prepare!”
A staff announcement cut her off.
‘My what?’
I was dying to hear the rest, but Im Hye-eun had to zip it for her unfinished styling.
Hands buzzed around her face, so I gave up on prying.
‘Kinda curious what she's on about, but I'll find out once recording starts.’
No big deal. If Im Hye-eun knew and I didn't, that meant PD Kim Hee-sung was deliberately keeping it from me.
Probably to capture my genuine shock on camera.
In that case, playing dumb was the polite move.
‘Though I wonder if there's actually anything that could shock me.’
Yeah.
There was a time when I was that confident.
“......Huh?”
My eyes went wide as I scanned the person up and down, over and over. Their face didn't change.
I couldn't hold back and muttered to myself.
‘Why the hell are you here...?’