The Fired Rival Part-Timer Was an Unexpected Ace
"Hic... Those bitches made me clean the ducts just because I'm tall, yelled at me for bowing too big during greetings and told me to bow even bigger, paid me peanuts while mocking my clothes, let their daughter play on her phone but made the boss wash dishes in the kitchen..."
Imari, the part-timer who had worked at Tasty Grilled Mackerel for 11 months before being falsely fired, launched into a long rant on the rooftop of Bulpae Pochaa. If Bang Aji hadn't held her back, she would've buried her face in Haru's chest and sobbed her heart out, snot and tears flying.
"Aigoo, those kinds of people, huh. Cut it out!! And blow your nose!!"
Before Bang Aji could pull a napkin from her pocket, Imari buried her face in her gray striped short-sleeved shirt and let out a loud phbbbt.
Her hygiene sense is kinda iffy.
"What are you gonna do from now on?"
Haru had a ton on her plate, so she cut straight to the chase.
"Hic! I was part-timing because I had no money, but they even took two months' pay... Guess I'll live off instant ramen. Once things quiet down, maybe a night shift or something."
"No thoughts on getting your stolen wages back?"
"Honestly, those mother and daughter have a lot of pull, so it seems tough."
"What if we helped you out from our shop??"
"Huh???"
"Don't you wanna mess with those bitches even a little??"
"Ugh... Yeah. Deep down, I wanna make every single one of them miserable!!"
Through the sleepy eyes peeking from her hime-cut bangs that half-covered her face, a chilling glint flashed.
"But I can't think of any way to prove my innocence."
"We can find something with expert help."
Strictly speaking, it wasn't exactly expert help.
Search the Cooking Master Korea Gallery for posts from IP (29.113.xx.xx). Especially anything from before Imari started, like 11 months ago.
Got it. It's a huge amount of data, so it'll take a while!
Haru had already latched onto a clue to prove Imari's innocence based on her own judgment. If the daughter at Tasty Grilled Mackerel was clever, there'd be no old traces... but this woman seemed about as sharp as her past life self, Lee Ha-neul—total trash tier—so the odds of a slip-up were high.
Even if we find evidence, we won't use it right away...
"But getting outside help costs money."
"If it's money, you can earn it working at Bulpae Pochaa."
While chatting, Haru watched the first episode featuring Tasty Grilled Mackerel.
"...You're really gonna trust me??"
"Yeah, sure. Our restaurant's hall staff is taking a break anyway."
"But the comments say I'm uglier than the boss's daughter... If they put someone like me on camera, sales might tank..."
"Imari, you had no makeup on and were covered in sweat, right? Now that girl's gonna devolve into full goblin mode."
"They're probably hiring another part-timer and slacking off again."
"Even then, their workload's gonna spike. Your absence is gonna hit hard, I bet??"
Good hall staff fell into two main types. The first was the old-school boss style—like Park Sun-ja and insider Lee Ha-seong—that made customers feel specially treated. The other was the low-presence, efficiency-maxed type that just made guests comfortable, and Imari was that kind.
Haru, with her 50 years in another world, could clearly see Imari silently carrying the team from the unseen angles in the Tasty Grilled Mackerel footage.
"Ehehe... Really? First time anyone's said that... Actually, you looked cool in the video too, Haru. Way better than that boss bitch."
"Ahaha..."
Of course I'm better than that bitch!!!!
Haru felt a slight sting from being compared to a fake veteran like Kim Moon-hee.
"C-Can I start tomorrow?? I got nowhere to go anyway, so treat me like a park restroom toilet scrubber..."
"No."
"Eh??"
A shadow fell over Imari's gloomy face.
"Gotta check with the others first. And... Imari's like a secret weapon."
"Secret weapon??"
"We'll deploy you when Tasty Grilled Mackerel starts blowing up. Rest up till then, polish your skin, buy some clothes. I'll cover the cost... Nah, advance it from your pay."
"Why invest in me like that??"
"To shove it in their faces. If you're broke or they pull some shit, call my number!!"
Haru, who had come up to see Elmu, scored an unexpected win.
With this... once we fill the kitchen, we can run the restaurant full throttle.
Summary: Lee Ha-seong got into a mutual brawl with a supplier buddy and went to the station. Settled as simple assault, but to avoid scandal, he’ll step back for a while. Edited out Chubby’s parts + won’t appear on Health Restaurant anymore. Taking a break from hall duties too.
Haru-chan: “Sigh. Totally treated like trash♥ That’s why they dumped all the returned junk meat on us♥ Public restroom toilet’s got nothing on it♥”
Mesugaki Haru, pre-backed up
Even after Lee Ha-seong's exit, community opinion stayed firmly with Lee Haru and Bulpae Pochaa.
"Damn it..."
Jeong Ji-su, daughter of rival shop Tasty Grilled Mackerel, racked her dim brain post-peak hours, plotting how to trash Bulpae Pochaa.
Part-timer abuse rumors already backfired...
Now with a VPN sub, no IP leak worries.
Bulpae Pochaa quit pressure flopped, but Ji-su got a kick out of Ha-seong (who dumped her before) getting hate, so she stirred that pot.
[Won’t drink with Chubby’s buddies, watching]
[High kick incoming if Bulpae Pochaa shows]
"Ugh, that retarded fat pig bastard... Hope he shrimp-fishes like my bro and croaks."
Soon after gallery bait switched to trashing Ha-seong, a video dropped.
Paused to ring up a group, missed it. Reloaded—post deleted.
Eh, guy’s already toast. Check summary?
Supplier buddy - Mad you didn’t warn about Health Restaurant, flips out
Chubby - Forgot, but obligated to say?
Supplier - Would’ve given good stuff!! Sudden rage
Chubby - Then why give junk if you could do good? (Tension rises)
Supplier - Dodges then suddenly “Your wife miscarried, marriage rocky, cheating with that part-timer (Haru-chan??)?”
Then short clip plays out
Fuck, ends like that?
"Excuse me!!!! Wipe this table again!"
"Saint Chan said hygiene’s good, but nah."
"Sorry! Lots of customers... Ji-su, what’re you doing??"
Ji-su’s head boiled over, break time cut short and chewed out.
Stressed, she fired up NewTube for distractions.
Got a hunter security firm relative?
"Mom. I got another great idea."
The mother-daughter duo, brains full of dragging others down, started overreaching.
Day off, but Haru researched recipes at the restaurant before heading home with Aji’s escort.
Broadcast and online buzz meant Interest Points piled up passively.
Passed 1000... but clone skill needed 4000, so frustratingly stockpiled.
"Finance????"
Suddenly two tasty-looking skills popped up.