Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Whole Melon Snowflake Shaved Ice
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“Phew.”
Yang Ji-ah let out a deep breath, clutching her bag strap tightly. It had been a full ten minutes now since she’d started glaring at the doorknob right in front of her.
‘Let’s go!’
She steeled herself and gripped the doorknob firmly. Just as she was about to put some force into opening the door...
‘What do I even say when I go in? Hello? Too cocky. Good day, sir? Too formal?’
Those worries swept through her mind, and in an instant, her body went rigid.
“Ugh...”
She was groaning softly in distress when a familiar voice rang out from behind her.
“Hey? Isn’t that Deputy Yang?”
“?!”
She whipped around in shock, and there stood Song Woo-yeon, eyes round and wide.
“Hup!”
Caught completely off guard by the encounter, Yang Ji-ah hopped in place. Then she promptly bowed her head low.
“Ah, good day?!”
“...? Uh, yeah. Hello.”
She’d blown it!
The two greetings she’d been agonizing over had somehow mashed together into something obnoxiously cheeky. Yang Ji-ah wanted nothing more than to bite her tongue off.
“S-sorry! That’s not what I meant—I was waffling between ‘hello’ and ‘good day, sir,’ and my tongue just twisted up on its own...”
“Oh, gotcha. No need to be that nervous. Team Leader Noh and Deputy Park are inside, but they’re pretty tied up today.”
Ugh. Song Woo-yeon straightened the stack of boxes in his arms and flashed a bright smile.
His tone was gentle, like he was trying to calm her frazzled nerves. With her tension easing a little, she finally noticed the enormous Styrofoam box he had slung over his shoulder.
“Ah. Mind holding the door? Hands are full here.”
“Ah. Sure!”
Yang Ji-ah flung the door wide open and dipped her head in a bow.
“Uh... Deputy Yang. Standing right there makes it kinda hard for me to squeeze past...”
“S-sorrryyy!”
Yang Ji-ah sidestepped, voice half breaking into a sob. With her big, teary eyes trembling—maybe it was the name—she looked just like a frightened baby lamb.
“Haha. No worries. Come on in. Plenty of familiar faces already.”
Song Woo-yeon jerked his chin toward the inside, ushering Yang Ji-ah along.
“Team Leader Noh~. Deputy Yang Ji-ah—the one you’ve been waiting so eagerly for—is here.”
“...! Deputy Yang!”
Noh Se-hee’s head shot up. The spark in her eyes made it clear she had no intention of letting Yang Ji-ah slip away.
Spotting the friendly face, Yang Ji-ah felt her heart settle.
“Section Chief Noh. I’ve missed you...!”
“Same here. You have no idea how much I missed our Deputy Yang. Oh, and just call me Team Leader Noh around here. Deputy, section chief—titles like that don’t carry much weight.”
“Got it!”
“Of course, old habits die hard, so I still slip and call our Park Sang-won ‘Deputy Park’ half the time. Mutual respect with honorifics is the baseline, though.”
“Aha. Yes. Understood.”
Yang Ji-ah nodded furiously as she jotted it all down.
“Welcome aboard, Deputy Yang~.”
Park Sang-won beamed from the side, greeting her warmly.
“And this is our resident veteran, Team Leader Jo Yi-ruk.”
“Good day, sir.”
“Ah, hello!”
Yang Ji-ah bowed at the waist.
“Deputy Yang’ll technically be under me, but we’re all one big team at the end of the day. You’ll be taking directions from Team Leader Jo plenty of times too.”
“Yes! Got it.”
“Please take good care of us.”
Yang Ji-ah kept nodding away. Her curly little bob bounced wildly with every motion.
“President Song seems pretty swamped right now, so I’ll give him a proper greeting later. Looks like we crossed paths out front already, though.”
“Ah, yes. We exchanged quick hellos.”
“Perfect. That’s all it takes. He’s not the type to make a fuss over stuff like that.”
I see. Pretty down-to-earth guy. Yang Ji-ah murmured to herself inwardly.
“That’s greetings covered. So, how’s Hyunmu holding up? You tie everything off okay?”
“Hyunmu...”
Yang Ji-ah’s face drained of color the second the name came up. Noh Se-hee could guess the ordeal from that alone and gazed at her with eyes full of sympathy.
“The rest of the team’s quietly lining up job hunts too. We might all end up together before long... I hope.”
“Really? That means the world. Kinda feels bad they’re going through hell because of me, though...”
“N-no, not at all! Truth is, I never planned to stick around Hyunmu forever anyway... The overtime was brutal, and getting squeezed by all the office politics was exhausting...”
Right. That’s how it was. Recalling the old work vibe, Noh Se-hee felt even sorrier for her.
She herself had just been a pawn in their political tug-of-war, used up and tossed aside. Quitting in a huff had been a godsend in hindsight.
“You’ve been through a lot, Deputy Yang.”
“Section Chief Noh... looks like you’ve been thriving here.”
“Haha. That obvious?”
Noh Se-hee grinned.
“Night and day compared to Hyunmu.”
No tiptoeing around political crap, no bleeding in pointless sales races, no daily bickering with the next team over whose job it was.
“And if anything feels dicey? President just MacGyvers it fixed in seconds flat...”
“Pardon?”
“You’ll get used to it. Stick around and see.”
Noh Se-hee wagged her head side to side.
Speak of the devil. The words had barely left her mouth when Song Woo-yeon threw open the door and hollered.
“Hey, everyone—meeting room?”
“Yes. On it.”
“Yessir~.”
Everyone dropped what they were doing and jumped up, heading for the meeting room. Noh Se-hee grabbed the baffled Yang Ji-ah and dragged her along.
‘What’s going on? Sudden meeting?’
She’d barely stepped foot inside—what could this be? Yang Ji-ah plopped awkwardly into a corner seat.
Maybe this president’s secret hobby was endless pointless meetings. The suspicion bubbled up in the back of her mind.
“Ah, Yang Ji-ah. Perfect—you’re just in time.”
Song Woo-yeon calling her out by name nearly made her choke mid-swallow.
“Y-yes?”
Pulling herself together, she met his cheery grin.
“Needed an outside perspective.”
“Ah, sure. Happy to give my take anytime...”
“Nothing fancy. This is the new menu for our .”
Song Woo-yeon pointed at the Styrofoam box on the table.
“Ah! So that’s what you brought in earlier...”
“Yep. Launching soon, but no ice maker in the office, so whipped it up over at the kitchen. Might grab one for here soon.”
Oh. So that explained it.
She’d been wondering what the deal was with him lugging around that Styrofoam box.
“You might’ve heard—we’ve got competition now. across the street. Copycats... yeah, problem shop all around.”
“Gasp. Got it.”
“Original’s playbook is slim in cases like that. Hang a ‘Eat at the real original spot’ banner or...”
Song Woo-yeon motioned behind him with a grin.
“...drop a new menu they can’t rip off.”
This was big. Not your average new item—a battle-ready special against the rivals.
And he was asking opinion right at the pivotal moment! Yang Ji-ah gulped without thinking.
“Give it a look. Here’s the new menu~.”
Song Woo-yeon grabbed the top of the Styrofoam box. Wisps of dry ice smoke curled out from the seam.
Whoosh!
The lid flipped back,
revealing the new menu everyone had been waiting for.
No one clocked it at first. All they saw was melon flesh bulging proudly over the rind.
It took a moment to register that the whole thing was a melon lid capping the shaved ice.
Pure destructive visuals!
“Whole Melon Snowflake Shaved Ice.”
Song Woo-yeon’s voice laid it out like a narrator. Yang Ji-ah couldn’t tear her eyes away.
“Shaved ice tucked inside. Serve it whole at first for gawking and pics, but we can dice it up if you want. Like so.”
Song Woo-yeon diced the melon into perfect cubes in seconds flat. A mouthwatering melon shaved ice was born.
“Everyone, grab a bite.”
Yang Ji-ah took her spoonful for tasting. Delicious! Looks weren’t everything—the flavor balance was perfection.
“So. Thoughts?”
He just grinned like it was nothing.
After unveiling a shaved ice no one alive had ever dreamed up.
“With this, people’d flock just to snap pics, right?”
“......Yes. Absolutely.”
Yang Ji-ah nudged her glasses up.
“Even I wanna pull out my phone right now. Incredible. Never seen anything like it. ’s the summer launch brand, right? Holding this ace up your sleeve for the reveal? Totally worth it. The injeolmi shaved ice debut was a shock too, but dropping both at once might’ve cooled one of ’em off. Summer peak right now is perfect tim—! Oh no.”
Yang Ji-ah’s face went beet red.
“S-sorry! I ramble when I get excited...!”
“Hahaha. Nah.”
Song Woo-yeon burst out laughing a beat late.
“That’s high praise, right? Best compliment ever. Thanks.”
“N-no, it’s your foresight that’s the real marvel...”
“Hmm. Foresight’s a stretch. Kinda embarrassing.”
Song Woo-yeon scratched the back of his head with a sheepish smile. Huh? Why’s he acting all humble? She figured he’d puff up with pride.
Yang Ji-ah cocked her head in confusion, but Noh Se-hee cleared it up from the side.
“Took one day, Deputy Yang.”
“Huh?”
Noh Se-hee picked up in a half-dead drawl.
“To dream this new menu up, I mean. had zero plans for new items originally.”
“?!”
“But then the copycats showed... and President found out yesterday.”
One day.
A menu this polished, in one single day?
Yang Ji-ah’s jaw dropped in disbelief. Noh Se-hee just shrugged.
“Told you. You’ll see what I mean.”
All geniuses like this? Haha... Noh Se-hee’s deflated tone had Yang Ji-ah staring blankly at Song Woo-yeon before she knew it.
Genius.
The very shape of the word stood before her eyes.