Chapter 63
Chapter 63
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: No Room for Lies
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Owner. I definitely told you this during training too. Everything else is fine."
When you're too angry, your mind cools down instead. The rage that had seemed ready to boil over had settled low, rippling like waves.
"If your cooking skills are lacking, I can give you good recipes. If your technique is insufficient, we can train you. If you don't have business know-how, we can provide manuals. Anyone can do that."
These were all issues that could be fixed with proper training over time.
Sure, innate talent would make it easier to pick up. But that was it.
"But there's just one thing."
I looked at Park Seung-jae, who couldn't even meet my eyes, and continued.
"Dishonesty... that's something we can't help you with."
"......"
"Even if you can't do it, if you're honest about it, headquarters can figure out a way to assist. But if you're just spouting obvious lies right in front of us, what are we supposed to do?"
"...I-it's not a lie."
Park Seung-jae squeezed his eyes shut and shouted.
"I know it's hard to believe, but it's true! Everyone around me kept pushing me to sell yukgaejang too, so I thought I'd try it just for today as a test..."
"And we just happened to show up for inspection today and catch you?"
"Yes, yes. That's it."
Not even a sincere lie.
"Owner. I didn't want to bring this up, but..."
I let out a sigh, then continued in a slightly weary voice.
"We came by earlier. During the day."
"......Pardon?"
"Pretending to be customers."
It took Park Seung-jae a moment to process my words. He stared blankly into space before snapping back and asking,
"......During the day?"
"Yes."
"W-when did you come? You should've said something. If you had..."
"If we had?"
I pointed to the menu on the table and said,
"You would've swapped the menu again and played dumb?"
"......"
"You ordered yukgaejang so naturally from another table. Where's the menu that lists yukgaejang? It looked pretty used for something you supposedly changed today."
With every word I said, Park Seung-jae's face grew paler.
"And the yukgaejang you served like that was pre-made, with a strong off smell from the meat. We left almost all of it. Checking leftovers is basic in this business—did you even do that?"
"......"
"You didn't, did you? If you had, you never would've sold it."
Anyone even slightly sensitive to off smells wouldn't have been able to finish it.
If you'd checked leftovers first, you could've spotted something wrong with the yukgaejang. But you weren't even doing the basics.
Of course. A guy who breaks the contract with headquarters on a whim wasn't going to follow that.
"Making yukgaejang ahead of time—is that a habit from your old shop?"
Park Seung-jae clamped his mouth shut like a clam. He had nothing to say, even if he had ten mouths.
I continued without waiting for a reply.
"That's a terrible habit. What's the upside? Convenience?"
"Yes.... It saves a lot of time, and turnover is better......"
"Don't make excuses with turnover. This method doesn't have any real advantages besides making your life easier."
And even that was barely an upside compared to the downsides.
"You saw how it loses freshness and gets that off smell, right? Taste aside—and taste should never be secondary in a restaurant, but let's say it is for now."
I'd seen plenty of people run shops like this. More than I could count.
When crowds pour in and hands get short, you start prepping food ahead and minimizing your movements.
That's not inherently bad. It's a matter of degree.
Simplifying workflows and cutting time without ruining the flavor is something to encourage.
But not like this.
"You had it piled up in the fridge without a proper lid? Fridges aren't sterile. What were you thinking?"
"......"
"It's a scary world out there. What if a customer eats this and gets sick? Can you handle the fallout, Owner?"
"That's......"
"You didn't even think about it, did you?"
"There haven't been any complaints so far..."
What kind of excuse is that?
"No complaints so far isn't because you're good at this. You just got insanely lucky."
I shot him a sharp glare, and Park Seung-jae started sweating bullets. I could see the beads forming on his forehead.
"If this yukgaejang tastes good and is efficient, why run a gukbap joint? Open a yukgaejang place. No one would complain if you sold it at your own shop. It'd only hurt you."
Assuming hygiene isn't an issue.
"But you slap [The Song] on the sign and flaunt the [Hapjae Neighborhood Gukbap] name, so here I am."
"......"
"If you wanted to do yukgaejang, you should've said so. We could've taken the sign down."
Park Seung-jae just fidgeted with his fingers, unable to speak. At least he had some sense.
If he'd tried to argue back, he'd have faced even fiercer anger.
"And on top of that, you brazenly claim you started selling it today....... Ha."
A hollow laugh escaped me.
"What now? Should I tear this place apart to find the menu with yukgaejang on it before you admit it?"
Park Seung-jae looked at me with trembling eyes. He was much taller, clearly looking down at me, but his gaze felt like he was looking up.
The face of a scared kid.
Not tough enough to own his mistakes, even at his age—he looked just like a student getting scolded by the teacher.
"...I'm sorry."
Park Seung-jae finally hung his head.
"I must've lost my mind for a moment."
Plop.
Tears fell onto his apron, leaving dark spots.
"I'm sorry. ...I'm sorry."
Seeing him apologize in that shrinking voice killed any remaining urge to yell.
I sighed deeply again and ran a hand through my hair.
"......Park Owner. We signed a 10-year contract. To run as a franchise."
"Yes."
"I told you not to worry about the term. If you want to switch to another franchise, go ahead. If you don't like what headquarters does or the brand itself, change anytime."
"......Yes."
"And I said something else along with that. Remember?"
Park Seung-jae's voice trembled messily, choked with tears.
"I remember. Sniff. But in exchange, if we mess up... you'd be merciless......"
"That's right. You remember."
Why would someone like that do this? I clicked my tongue inwardly.
"If you'd just been honest, Owner, it wouldn't have come to this."
I said it, didn't I? Anything else can be fixed. But lies are absolutely forbidden.
"Park Seung-jae Owner."
I called his name softly.
"You've worked hard all this time."
At that, Park Seung-jae collapsed to the floor like he was crumbling. It felt like his heart was shattering.
Tears soaked his face.
Regret is always too late, no matter how quick. It's a shame, but with trust broken, we couldn't keep going.
I walked past Park Seung-jae with heavy steps and headed outside.
Whew.
The cool night air brushed my cheek.
"......"
I wasn't in a great mood either. These situations always left me angry... and empty.
"We'll send the contract termination details separately later," Jo Yi-ruk reported in a tense voice from behind. Maybe because it was his first time seeing something like this—his body was stiff as a board.
I chuckled and patted Jo Yi-ruk's shoulder.
"Pretty shocking, huh?"
"......Honestly, yes. It was."
"You'll see it a lot from now on."
New store oversight was Jo Yi-ruk's job from the start. With tasks not fully divided yet, franchise management fell to him too.
Until we split duties, he'd have to deal with this ugly side.
"The hardest part of franchise management is seeing the worst in people."
"You say it like you've been through it a ton. It must've been your first time too, Owner, but you handled it so decisively and cleanly. Impressive."
I swallowed a hollow laugh. That's how it looked to him. I'd been doing this for decades.
"That guy was one of the franchisees I trained myself. Never dreamed he'd pull something like this. Especially not lie so blatantly just to get out of the moment."
"Right? You wouldn't have hired him if you knew."
My fault for not screening him out. No point blaming others.
People like that exist in the world. All I can do is manage to keep them out as much as possible.
"Let's head in. It's late."
The bright moon looked down on us.
"Tomorrow too? Franchise inspection."
"Have to."
"Scary. Worried it'll happen again."
Seeing people's dark sides is always frightening. But I forced a big smile.
"Tomorrow will be a show too."
"Pardon?"
"It's there tomorrow."
I pointed to one spot on the franchise list.
"Dol Da-ri Branch."
"Yes. But it's not particularly different from the others. Why do you think that?"
I grinned and said,
"You'll see when we get there."