Franchise (3)
Franchise (3)
"Haa... I'm so full, so full!"
A-ra, who'd eaten enough to run a restaurant for a day, was sprawled comfortably on the sofa, stuffed.
I poured the oil into a container and set it on the table, then finished washing the greasy dishes, machines, and tools before finally coming out to the living room.
No matter how many times I looked, A-ra's stomach was just fascinating.
Could there be something like a black hole living inside A-ra's stomach?
"Didn't you know every woman has a black hole in her stomach?"
"For real?"
"Yeah. Try touching it."
Looking embarrassed, A-ra's face flushed and she lifted her clothes slightly.
I slowly raised my hand and stroked A-ra's stomach.
She had eaten that much, but far from getting bigger, her stomach actually seemed smaller than when I'd touched it last night?!
Anyone could see that women were equipped with superhuman-level abilities as standard, and all I could do was be astonished.
"My husband is so gullible, way too gullible."
"Well, I didn't actually believe the black hole thing."
No matter how much of a liberal arts student uninterested in science I was, I did know what a black hole was.
Okay... I didn't know it in as much detail as I thought.
I probably only knew it was called a cosmic monster that devours even light.
I had no idea how they formed or anything like that.
Anyway, A-ra seemed happy after eating a ton of the Japanese-style fried food I had made for her.
Come to think of it, there really hadn't been many times I'd prepared food for A-ra on this large of a scale...
"Noona, is there anything else you'd like to eat besides fried food?"
"Hmm... but noona is full right now?"
"No, I mean not today. Tomorrow is fine, or next time..."
"Aha, then noona wants to try fried chicken that Seong-hwan makes."
"Chicken... chicken sounds good."
Once a month, I ordered cold fried chicken for delivery and spent time with A-ra over a glass of beer.
Then it automatically ended with me getting devoured by A-ra, but even that was a good kind of ending, so I liked it...
Alright...
This week, instead of ordering chicken, I'll try frying it myself.
"Noona, you like drumsticks, right?"
"Yeah, drumsticks are the best."
"Then I'll buy a bunch of chicken legs and fry them for you."
"Hehe, I'm really looking forward to it."
Even though A-ra had just eaten fried food moments ago, she was already drooling thinking about the chicken she would eat next time.
I let out a wry smile at the sight and pulled a tissue from the table to wipe A-ra's mouth clean.
*
We sipped cool coffee and waited until our stomachs settled.
When you're full, you're already in a state of satisfaction, so it's hard to expect a neutral opinion to come out.
That's why the best time to evaluate food isn't when you first eat it or right after eating, but after a little time has passed once you've finished.
That way, you can clearly tell which parts were good and which parts were lacking.
"So? How would you rate it at the level of running a restaurant?"
"High-end... I mean, it's excellent enough to put on the menu of an omakase sushi place..."
A-ra, who had eaten at famous establishments where a single meal costs anywhere from tens to over a hundred thousand won, gave her endorsement.
I'd heard that even high-end sushi places served tempura as tsumami...
But doesn't tsumami mean picking it up with your hands?
Fried food would be very hot if you picked it up with your hands.
"But it wasn't completely without flaws either."
"What was it?"
"When I ate the shrimp earlier, the shrimp meat felt a little... clumped together, I guess you could say?"
A-ra said that the shrimp she had eaten at an expensive place before had a sensation of gently loosening like grains of rice when she put it in her mouth.
The flavor and aroma were superior to what she had eaten back then, but the texture had fallen short.
"Then I'll have to try scoring it with a knife from now on."
"Like Novashi shrimp?"
"Yes, this time I didn't score them just in case, when I was frying them."
If I scored each and every small shrimp one by one, the cost would go up.
That would make the food more expensive, and shrimp, the most popular type of fried food, might lose its competitiveness.
While treating A-ra to delicious food, I also wanted to check if there was business viability.
Scoring... scoring, huh...
"Can't you just use Novashi shrimp?"
"Then the quality would inevitably drop."
Novashi shrimp sold commercially meant pre-prepared shrimp.
Since they were sold frozen, unless it was flash-frozen, a drop in quality was the natural result.
It might be sufficient for a bunsik restaurant or a place that sells a variety of foods, but it might be difficult for the fried food specialty shop I was envisioning.
"Hmm..."
"Business really is difficult, isn't it. But noona will always cheer for my husband, so work hard at it."
A-ra pressed my face into her large, soft chest.
In the living room overflowing with the smell of cooking oil, it was the only soft embrace that gave off a cozy and pleasant scent.
***
As I thought about shrimp preparation, I started worrying about where to source the ingredients.
Since I didn't really have connections, how would it be best to secure a supply of high-quality ingredients...
I wished I were at least in Seoul...
"What are you thinking about?"
"Huh... I'm thinking of trying to start a business this time."
"Ohh... with tomahawk steak, which you could call the main feature of your Qtube channel?"
"No... more in the fried food direction."
Since there was no reason to keep it a secret from the curiosity-filled Jeong-hwan, I told him everything.
That Jeong-hwan guy, who specialized in meat, looked slightly intrigued because I was heading toward fried food.
I was planning to fry things like pork, chicken, and beef as well,
but fried food also includes a huge variety of seafood and vegetables.
If anything, meat was only a part of it.
"So? What are you worrying about?"
"I was wondering where to get the ingredients..."
"Are you stupid?"
"Huh?"
Jeong-hwan laughed and plopped down next to me.
It was an expression that seemed to say, 'Is this guy for real?', or rather, an expression that said, 'If no one looks after this idiot, he'll be like this his whole life.'
"You, did you forget what my family's paternal side does?"
"Huh? Jeong-hwan, your family is...................................................Ah."
Right.
Jeong-hwan's paternal family operated the largest fisheries center in Seoul.
How had I completely forgotten that...
I'd said I had no connections, but the best seafood connection in the Republic of Korea was right here.
"Do you also sell prepared shrimp?"
"For frying? Of course, we even have a factory."
"The kind that's already been scored?"
"Hmm, I'm not sure about scoring. But if you ask the factory, they'll probably handle all of that?"
Jeong-hwan said that his family's factory also processed squid and octopus, so there was nothing they couldn't do.
If that was the case, did I even need to look anywhere else?
Couldn't I just leave it all to Jeong-hwan's family and have everything taken care of?
"Jeong-hwan, where should I go for a partnership consultation?"
I was truly fortunate that the guy Jeong-hwan was my friend.
This guy had a remarkable ability to solve my worries in one go every now and then.
"Talk to my mother... no, wait. Do you have time today?"
"I don't have afternoon classes today, so I'm free."
"Then follow me to our center. If we go today, my mom will be there too."
It seemed Jeong-hwan's Mother happened to be at the fisheries center with good timing.
I knew that she was often not there on normal days.
"What have you two been talking about since earlier?"
"This guy Seong-hwan, he said he's starting a business this time."
"A busiiiness? What kind of business?"
"A Japanese-style fried food specialty shop, I think he said."
"Fried food? Now that you mention it, didn't you say to come over next week because you'd make us fried food?"
Lee Min-ho, who never forgot anything related to eating and remembered it well.
I had decided to invite Jeong-hwan, Lee Min-ho, Minji, and Hojun over next week to make them fried food.
In Mom's case, I had set aside time for next week...
I was busier than I thought...
"Hmm... fried food, huh..."
"What's up?"
"Well, I've had fried food a fair bit too, you know? Since I often went to expensive restaurants with my mom."
"Well, I suppose so. You are a chaebol family's son, after all."
Jeong-hwan teasingly picked at Lee Min-ho's words.
Lee Min-ho half-listened and half-ignored him, smiling brightly as he said he was looking forward to the day I made fried food.
*
"Oh my, Seong-hwan and Lee Min-ho are here? Seong-hwan, you put in so much effort being a friend to these two guys."
"Ah! Mom, please!"
"Ahaha... Hello."
Jeong-hwan's mother greeted me with a bright smile, just as ever.
Lee Min-ho, having known Jeong-hwan's mother for nearly 20 years, now seemed accustomed to her greetings.
"What brings you here today? Should I steam some king crab for you?"
"No... actually, yes. Please steam two of them."
Since I was here anyway, it seemed like a good idea to buy some king crab for A-ra to eat.
When I said yes, the lady instructed the manager next to her to steam two king crabs and one snow crab.
The manager, who was very skilled at steaming crabs, took a king crab and a large snow crab out of the tank and put them into the steamer.
I had heard that the manager's monthly salary was 10 million won...
I'd heard she was that capable a person.
"Since A-ra-ssi likes crustaceans that much, Seong-hwan's wallet must not be able to keep up~"
"No... it's not like..."
Wouldn't you have to buy up the entire supply coming in from Siberia to wreck my wallet with king crab?
To drain not only my wallet but A-ra's wallet too, you'd have to bring in the entire global king crab supply.
"Mom, king crab aside, Seong-hwan came because he has something to consult about."
"Consult? Ah! Seong-hwan wants to become my son too?! I'm always welcome, you know?"
"I said! It's not that kind of thing!"
Lee Min-ho's face had turned as red as it could get at his mother's teasing.
To the point where I wondered if Jeong-hwan was the one being steamed, not the king crab.
Jeong-hwan's family really was a lively bunch after all.