Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Becoming a Brand
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One of the customers in line voiced their puzzlement.
"Huh? But that voice sounds really familiar..."
"!"
At that, I perked up my ears while making toast. Jeong Jun-hwa looked a bit flustered too.
"Where have I heard it before?"
"Definitely someone I know..."
"Ah!"
The customers looked at each other and shouted.
"Jeong Jun-hwa!"
Busted.
'What now?'
If only those two would quietly keep it to themselves and pretend they didn't recognize him. But for people meeting a celebrity for the first time, that was asking too much.
Their eyes sparkling, the two asked Jeong Jun-hwa,
"You're Jeong Jun-hwa, right?!"
"Wow, can I get your autograph?!"
Oh no. Their voices were pretty loud.
At that, the people around started buzzing.
"What? Who's Jeong Jun-hwa?"
"Whoa, yeah, that's him! It's Jeong Jun-hwa!"
The murmurs spread like wildfire in an instant. Even those who had been asking "Who? Who?" quickly glanced at Jeong Jun-hwa at the front and nodded, saying "Yep, that's him!"
His height, towering a full head above everyone else, was working against him big time.
"Uh, no, that's not..."
Jeong Jun-hwa stammered, unable to continue. As the crowd pressed him aggressively with cries of "Autograph! Autograph!", he finally picked up a pen with a woeful expression.
At the same time, a staff member who had been hiding nearby stepped out and shouted.
"Jeong Jun-hwa, you're out!"
What? Out?
'What does that mean? They have disqualifications?'
I'd figured the penalty would be something minor, like a few percent off sales. A total wipeout?
I whipped my head around to look at Jeong Jun-hwa, who scratched the back of his head and continued.
"If your identity gets revealed, you're immediately out..."
You should've told me that from the start!
I paused my busy toast-making hands for a moment. There were still plenty of ingredients piled up, and the line was insanely long.
The citizens lined up way over there started joining the queue one by one upon hearing shouts of "It's Jeong Jun-hwa!" and "Jeong Jun-hwa's selling toast!"
Staring at that sight, I asked in disbelief.
"So... we can't sell any more toast now?"
"Yeah... According to the rules, once your identity's busted, sales stop counting from then on..."
"..."
Unbelievable. Victory was right there.
I stared at the endless line for a moment before blurting out.
"So it's just that additional sales won't count, right?"
"Huh? Uh, yeah."
"Hoo."
I let out a deep sigh, then carefully counted the remaining slices of bread. About 100 left, roughly.
That means I can make 50 more.
"Are you taking the leftover ingredients home?"
"Uh, no?"
"Then just leave them here. I'll finish up."
"Huh?"
When Jeong Jun-hwa asked what I meant, I repeated myself clearly.
"The line's so long. I think we can serve everyone who's already waiting. We've got ingredients left anyway, and they waited so long—how could I just send them away empty-handed?"
"No, but..."
Jeong Jun-hwa looked flustered. My sudden declaration left him unsure how to respond.
"I'm just uncomfortable leaving it like this. This was a promise with the customers—how can I cut it off just because the shoot's over? We've got ingredients left, and it's not even that late yet."
It was only 7 p.m.
"You go ahead. Don't you have more filming? I'll handle returning the food truck and cleaning up. Oh, how many number tickets are left? Just hand out enough for 50 people and..."
"Aw, heck. I'll stay and help too!"
"?"
This time, I was the puzzled one.
Jeong Jun-hwa, why are you...?
"How could I just leave? You're sticking around like this. I'd look like the bad guy if I went alone~!"
He said it playfully, but grinned all the same.
"Let's sell the rest well. I'll make the number tickets, so you handle the orders that came in first."
"Uh, sure. But don't you have more filming?"
"Nah, today's shoot ends here. We'll all meet up tomorrow for the final tally."
Well, if that's the case, fine.
I was doing this out of pure stubbornness—there was no reason for Jeong Jun-hwa to suffer alongside me, so I was a bit baffled.
But Jeong Jun-hwa seemed set on it, striking a fighting pose at me with a "Let's do this!"
I mirrored him back with a "Fighting!"
And so the toast sales continued into the night.
"Alright, our final customer!"
"Woo!"
"This is the 50th and last toast. Enjoy~."
"Thank you!"
"Aw, no problem. Sorry you had to wait so long."
I flashed a grin and teasingly added,
"That's why I put extra peanut butter in there, okay? Watch your blood sugar~."
The customer burst into laughter, bowed, and walked away.
"Hoo."
Finally done. I collapsed into the chair behind me. How long had it been since I'd worked hands-on like this?
With my baby face, scurrying around the kitchen looked off-putting, so unless it was new menu development or training, I hadn't directly managed things like this much.
Food trucks weren't my expertise, but even so, I'd pulled it off decently.
"Good work."
I tossed a word to Jeong Jun-hwa, who was sitting next to me.
After handing out all the number tickets, he'd helped out in the kitchen from my side. The low food truck ceiling forced him to hunch over the whole time.
He'd refill ingredients when I called for them, and otherwise kept the waiting customers entertained with autographs and fan service—that was it.
Even that must've taken a ton of energy.
"I thought I was gonna die... Man, this is no joke."
"Business is never easy."
"I felt it deep in my bones today."
His whining was so funny, I couldn't help but chuckle.
"But thanks to you, we finished earlier than expected. Appreciate it."
"Nah, no biggie. This food truck started because of me—I had to stick it out."
We'd only met in person a couple days, but after today's shared ordeal, he felt closer somehow.
"Let's grab a meal sometime later. I put you through hell with my stubbornness—my treat."
"Aw, no way~. You appeared as a favor to me—I'll buy!"
"Then how about Bong Chef, the root of all this, foots the bill?"
"Sounds good."
We both nodded in agreement, then exchanged bows.
"Good work today~!"
It was finally over.
Even then, I had no idea.
What kind of ripple this broadcast would create.
[Jeong Jun-hwa's toast from Yu Han Challenge is insanely good]
For real, the guy's a madman—go eat it
Spreading this for the public good
[Oh man, that Song guy in this scene looks just like the cotton candy raccoon lol]
You know that meme? The raccoon washing cotton candy lololol
(Image capture from broadcast with subtitle: "So... we can't sell any more toast now?")
This expression lolololol
[But his mindset is next level]
Song something-or-other gave his all
He said he'd sell everything himself even after the show ended because it was a promise to the customers
Real chef vibes ; ;
Honestly, I liked him from Iron Chef too since he nailed Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Western—all above average regardless
Yu Han Challenge made me a huge fan
As I scrolled through the posts, my feelings were oddly mixed.
"This is all about me?"
"Yep, that's what I'm saying!"
Jeong Da-on nodded enthusiastically.
"I watched Yu Han Challenge live too. The broadcast turned out great. You hit number one in sales, then got busted and dropped to last place."
"Didn't know it was last."
I'd exchanged occasional check-ins with Jeong Jun-hwa since, but we weren't close enough for competition results.
Did he avoid mentioning it on purpose? After all that suffering, admitting last place would be awkward.
"I saw it and thought, 'People are gonna react!' So I searched around. Sure enough, tons of posts about you!"
Jeong Da-on was thrilled. Why did he look happier than me?
Honestly, I was clueless about online communities—only knew what Jeong Da-on showed me from his screenshots.
"See, this 'Ito Mot' meme is replacing the cotton candy raccoon one."
"Ito Mot?"
"'Can't sell toast anymore?' This."
"And what's a cotton candy raccoon?"
Explain it properly.
"There's this famous meme. Raccoons have a habit of washing anything in water before eating. So even if you give it cotton candy, it tries to wash it."
"It'd melt."
"That's the funny part."
"?"
What?
Seeing I didn't get it, Jeong Da-on continued impatiently.
"Anyway, the point is, people are paying way more attention than during Iron Chef! And you showed off your knowledge of all kinds of cooking there."
"Yeah."
The chefs would stare wide-eyed whenever I rattled off facts.
"But that's because chefs study their specialties, while I dabble in everything..."
"To viewers, that looks amazing! You've got this image as a 'cooking expert' now."
Ho. Who knew it'd have that effect? I was just answering questions and adding fun trivia.
As I nodded, Jeong Da-on emphasized again.
"Do you know what that means?"
His gaze held equal parts admiration and respect.
"It means 'Song Woo-yeon' himself has become a brand."
That was huge.
The public loves the familiar, and the more they see you, the more they trust you unconsciously.
'Song Woo-yeon' as a brand?
'Not The Song's Song Woo-yeon, but The Song of Song Woo-yeon.'
People choosing the shop because of my face on the sign, not because of The Song.
'That's the exact power I wanted most.'
The power to protect me from Hyunmu. Drawing the public's eyes to me, making them support me.
Luckily, that goal seemed achieved.
"...Time to move to the next stage."
Yeah.
The Song was no longer a small business beneath Hyunmu's notice.
A rookie comet blazing into the food industry. And as far as I knew, they'd...
Come to crush me soon.
'Bring it on.'
I'd been waiting.