Chapter 77
Chapter 77
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Make vs. Eat with Chaechae
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Hi everyone~! I'm Chaechae!"
Shim Chae-yoon said with a big smile. Through the screen, she continued in an exaggerated tone befitting a proper YouTuber.
"Have you guys seen Naengteol by any chance? I've been totally hooked on it lately! Even though I'm a total klutz who can't cook a thing, watching it makes me want to give it a try! Especially this one!"
Shim Chae-yoon pointed to the side with her hand, and footage appeared. It was a clip from featuring Chinese-style pork noodles.
"This Chinese-style pork noodles! After seeing Chef Song whip it up, I tried it myself... and failed spectacularly."
The footage disappeared, and Shim Chae-yoon faced the camera directly.
"So I brought in a special guest! It's none other than~ Chef Song Woo-yeon!"
Clap clap clap. With the sound of applause effects, Song Woo-yeon appeared from behind. The chat window on the right side of the screen scrolled up rapidly.
"Hi, I'm Song Woo-yeon. Chef feels a bit off, so just call me Owner Song."
His good-natured laugh was captured perfectly.
-Whoa. No way.
-That's really Song Woo-yeon?
-How'd you snag him???
-Who's that guy?
-Song Woo-yeon from Naengteol?
-Casting on another level.
-Is he famous?
Shim Chae-yoon quickly read a few positive reactions.
"Oh, wondering how I got him here? It's such a wild story. Before Binggwa came out, do you remember when they'd give you snowflake bingsu as a service with gukbap? I've been a fan of their snowflake bingsu ever since!"
Shim Chae-yoon's eyes sparkled as she explained how she and Song Woo-yeon knew each other.
"But I legit thought he was just an employee! I was shocked when I found out later he's the owner!"
She tossed in a fun anecdote, and the chat reactions were solid.
With the atmosphere heating up, Shim Chae-yoon finally got to the main point.
"Yes, so today's content with our special guest Owner Song is~! 'Making vs. Eating'!"
"The rules are simple. I make it, and Chaechae eats. First one to tap out from exhaustion loses!"
"The loser donates a million won!"
Song Woo-yeon chuckled in agreement with Shim Chae-yoon's pledge.
"Sounds good. Though I have a feeling I'll lose..."
"No way! Talking smack before we even start?"
"Viewers, Chaechae eats a ton. I've known her since before she started her channel, and every time she came by, my staff went into full alert mode."
He amusingly recounted how the kitchen went into total paralysis, eventually begging her to call ahead next time. Shim Chae-yoon's face turned bright red.
"Oh, so embarrassing~."
"That's how good she is at eating. So she's come prepared today."
Her determined expression drew another wave of laughter from the chat.
"I wasn't sure how much to prep, so I went with 20 servings to start."
"20 servings?!"
"Still worried it might not be enough, so I'm on edge. Oh, but we'll make it one serving at a time, max two."
His tone was dead serious.
"Shall we get started?"
"Yes! Owner Song rented out the kitchen just for today's shoot~."
"It's the spot we use for franchisee training. I'm borrowing it for today, so all the ingredients used in our franchise stores are stocked here."
"Wow, really?"
"But today, I'll mostly pull from the menu coming soon at [Shanghai Point]. Gotta make a living, you know."
He grinned playfully at the camera. The chat scrolled even faster, charmed by his vibe.
"Oh, and heads up—this video includes [Shanghai Point] advertising, so watch accordingly~."
Song Woo-yeon added a quick note, then immediately lit the gas stove.
"First up, the one Chaechae wanted most: Chinese-style pork noodles."
Chop chop chop chop.
He neatly sliced green onions in seconds and tossed them into an oiled wok. His knife skills alone hinted at serious expertise.
Soon, the rest of the ingredients went in, and he started flashy wok tossing.
"Wow~. That wok is huge. I don't think I've ever seen one this close up."
Watching Song Woo-yeon handle a wok nearly as big as his torso drew awed exclamations naturally.
And in no time at all, the Chinese-style pork noodles were done.
Clink.
"Here you go, Chinese-style pork noodles with extra noodles."
"Ooh~! Smells amazing, everyone!"
Shim Chae-yoon beamed excitedly, holding the bowl close to the screen. The steamy vapor fogged up the camera, forcing a quick adjustment.
"Ugh, sorry! Got carried away trying to show it off~. Anyway, let's dig in. The smell is already incredible?"
Slurp.
One slurp with chopsticks vanished half the extra noodles.
"Wow. This is seriously delicious. Everyone, you have to try making this at home. Wow. Wow. Insane."
Shim Chae-yoon gave thumbs-ups nonstop, munching with sauce smeared on her lips. Another slurp sucked up the rest, emptying the bowl.
"All done~."
"Already?"
Song Woo-yeon's stunned face filled the screen.
"What's next?"
Her eyes sparkled expectantly, and Song Woo-yeon suddenly bustled about.
"I came prepared... but this is way faster than expected? I'm still draining the meat. Hang on, let me whip up some fried rice quick."
"Fried rice~! Yum."
Seeing Shim Chae-yoon grin cheekily, Song Woo-yeon's face darkened instantly.
Soon, fried rice, sweet and sour pork, and spicy jjajangmyeon piled up in front of her. And not long after, every plate was scraped clean.
Song Woo-yeon, half-dazed, wok-tossed while asking,
"...Chaechae. How full are you right now? What percent?"
"My stomach?"
Shim Chae-yoon looked puzzled. She'd devoured what would be at least 10 servings for anyone else, with no change in her complexion.
"Hmm... 25%?"
"......"
"Oh, but it's so good I think I can eat more than usual. Nothing's getting old! Maybe 20%?"
"......"
Song Woo-yeon's face filled the screen in close-up. His eyes were utterly vacant.
"...This is gonna be tougher than I thought."
The chat scrolled with sympathy for him.
Beep.
The screen went dark.
"So, how many servings did Shim Chae-yoon end up eating that day?"
Jo Yi-ruk asked with a slightly queasy look.
"...Around 36 servings."
I closed my eyes, recalling that day. I'd suggested it, but it exceeded all imagination—I really thought I was gonna die.
We ran out of the prepped 20 servings midway and had to scramble for more ingredients.
It had been ages since I'd cooked in the kitchen myself. Even with my 20-something stamina, it was brutal.
"Wow. She really ate all that? For real?"
"Yeah. For real."
"Whoa...."
Park Sung-won kept gasping in disbelief. I saw it with my own eyes and could hardly believe it.
"Thanks to you, Owner—the video's blowing up."
No Se-hee beamed. Unlike me, still half-dead from the aftermath, her face glowed radiantly.
"It's already over 1.5 million views. Hit number one in trending videos too."
Wow.
"Shim Chae-yoon's channel, which was hovering around 100k subscribers, has blown past 300k. Total jackpot."
Worth the grind.
"Reactions to [Shanghai Point] are hot too. People want the Chinese-style pork noodles ASAP. Franchisees are thrilled, and it's opening soon."
"Good to hear. They trusted us to open a branch—we had to promote it somehow."
Perfect timing.
Shim Chae-yoon's channel was on the cusp of takeoff, interest in [Chinese-style pork noodles] spiked from Naengteol, and we slotted in a proven-fun format from the future.
'No wonder it's exploding.'
I nodded to myself. No Se-hee cautiously added,
"But you marked it as a paid ad for [Shanghai Point]."
"Oh, right. I asked for that."
"YouTube ad regs aren't that strict, and it was just food provision... Could've skipped it. Kinda regrettable—some might've skipped it thinking 'ad'."
"That's the thing."
Of course she'd say that now. No concept of stealth marketing yet.
But knowing the backlash storm coming later, I wanted zero room for doubt.
I'd told Shim Chae-yoon too: always disclose ads upfront.
Can't have you crashing and burning—hard to find a million-sub YouTuber connection.
"We'll disclose every ad straight-up from now on. No need to stir up trouble."
No Se-hee jotted notes.
"If that's your stance, Owner, company policy will reflect it."
"Yes. Stick to that. Looks like [Shanghai Point] promo's sorted. Progress is smooth, so let's wrap today's meeting..."
"Oh, Owner. One more thing."
Jo Yi-ruk half-stood as he spoke.
"It's about across from ."
"Yeah."
"Heard a new cafe's moving in."
"Oh, really?"
Surprising. Binggwa owns the area—even existing cafes were bailing.
"I found out chatting with the local realtor earlier."
Jo Yi-ruk's face was stiff, unyielding. What gives?
As I wondered, he continued.
"It's gonna be a bingsu specialty shop."
"......?!"
A chill silence fell as Jo Yi-ruk spoke gravely.
"Looks like... a Binggwa copycat."