Chapter 15
Chapter 15
The busiest time for a restaurant should be dinner.
Lunch was important, too, but it never brought in as much revenue as dinner.
During lunch, most customers were office workers who just ate quickly and left, but dinner was different.
Customers who came to the restaurant to relieve the stress built up from work ordered food and drinks generously. Naturally, sales increased.
Dinner should have been going well, but the shabu-shabu restaurant run by Kim Pan-seok was far from it.
Not even a third of the seats were filled.
It was because of the same-brand franchise just 100 meters away.
Their sabotage and tyranny made running the business incredibly difficult.
It was a fight that Pan-seok expected to lose, but he did not give up or feel defeated.
He didn’t want to show his son a parent who bowed down to tyranny.
He wanted to set an example for his son.
By giving his best to the food, keeping the place clean, and treating each customer sincerely, the number of patrons would naturally increase.
But whenever it seemed like the customers were starting to increase, the other store would launch a discount promotion to take them away.
On top of that, the headquarters often delayed delivering key ingredients that they were supposed to supply. If he could, Pan-seok wanted to cancel the contract, but they were always careful enough to avoid legal trouble, making lawsuits difficult.
If he unilaterally canceled the contract, he would have to pay a penalty of one hundred million won immediately.
And honestly, he didn’t have the money for a lawsuit.
Month by month, barely surviving, paying millions in legal fees was out of the question.
At 7 p.m., peak dinner time, Pan-seok’s chest tightened as he looked at a restaurant that hadn’t even reached a third of its capacity.
His phone alarm went off.
Checking it, he saw the rent and bank loan interest had been withdrawn.
Even though money had left his account, Pan-seok looked relieved.
It hadn’t been unpaid thanks to the money his son, Deok-su, had earned.
The boy had entered as an intern at a securities company and somehow managed to invest successfully, giving him twenty million won.
It wasn’t just the money; it was the thoughtfulness of a child who had plenty he wanted for himself but thought of his parents first.
But to earn such a large sum so soon after starting the company?
“Is he a god of investment?”
Perhaps one day Deok-su could make a name as an investor and become a billionaire.
“It’s entirely possible. Our son is a genius!”
The proud father, Kim Pan-su, wished for Deok-su’s success.
Thanks to the twenty million won from Deok-su, the burden of rent and loan interest eased slightly, but the fundamental problem remained unsolved.
The only solution was to shut down the headquarters’ directly managed store.
But as long as the headquarters didn’t fail, a branch with enormous capital wouldn’t close.
“Right now, I just hope we can operate without worrying about rent or interest…”
That was his dream.
If that were possible, he could run the restaurant aggressively and compete fairly with the direct branch.
With the same promotions, discounts, and—most importantly—sincere service to customers, he could win.
He imagined the moment when the usually empty direct branch was vacant while his own restaurant was packed.
It made him feel good.
“Sigh, time to stop daydreaming and work.”
Pan-su looked around for tasks. That’s when the door opened, and his son came in.
When I entered the restaurant, Mom welcomed me.
“Son! You’re here.”
Seeing me work at another restaurant during the day and then at Dad’s restaurant in the evening had made her heart ache.
But now it was over.
She could finally rest.
I handed her a surprise gift I had been hiding behind my back.
“Mom, here.”
“Oh my, what is this?”
Mom smiled.
Her face, which had looked tired just moments ago, lit up with a bright smile.
“Oh my~ receiving flowers from my son too, I’ll live long to see this day?”
“Uh, uh, I bought it on the way. It was on sale.”
A lie. I had actually paid full price.
Giving flowers for the first time made me feel shy and awkward, so I blurted out a small fib.
But Mom was Mom.
She immediately noticed the lie and chuckled.
“Thank you, son. I don’t even remember the last time I received flowers…”
Her face was filled with another smile as she inhaled the fragrance.
“I’ll buy them more often.”
“No, you should save them. You need to save money too…”
“Deok-su, what about a gift for Dad?”
“Uh…”
Seeing my reaction, Dad looked disappointed.
“I’m fine. I don’t need it… I’m okay. It’s fine if my son only takes care of Mom…”
Dad was clearly sulking.
It would have been a disaster if I hadn’t bought him a gift.
“Wait a moment.”
I took the gift for Dad out of my bag.
“What, what is it?”
“Whiskey. Your favorite whiskey, Dad.”
“Really?”
Dad loved whiskey, but after our financial situation worsened, he hadn’t had any for years.
“It’s not expensive.”
“Does price matter? It’s the thought that counts. Thank you, son! Wow, it’s been so long.”
He hugged the bottle of whiskey with joy.
“But, what’s the special occasion? Suddenly whiskey and flowers…”
A hint of worry flashed across Mom’s face. Probably about money.
She must have thought of our household struggling with rent and loan interest.
But that worry was over now.
“There’s something good that happened.”
“What is it?”
Where should I start?
That I had earned over ten billion won?
Or that I had been hired full-time?
Let’s start with the employment news first.
“Don’t be surprised. I got a full-time position. I’m now an official employee of Mirae Securities!”
“What? Weren’t you still an intern?”
“My mock investment results were so good that my hiring was finalized earlier than others.”
“You got hired because of a mock investment? How well did you do?”
Dad looked puzzled.
“My returns were extremely high. The group chairman himself said I should be hired.”
“Really?”
I hadn’t intended to say this much.
I used to think it was silly for a boy to tell every little detail to his parents.
But I had changed my mind.
Seeing their child succeed was the parents’ joy.
I wanted them to know that their son had been recognized by the company enough for the chairman to hire him personally.
Mom, beside me, also looked astonished.
“Really? The chairman personally?”
“Yes.”
“How much did your return make? Double? Triple?”
I smiled and shook my head.
“Not triple? Ten times?”
“No, four hundred times. To be exact, four hundred thirty times.”
Their eyes widened as if about to tear.
Unbelievable.
“Gasp! Is that really true?”
“You’re our son! I knew you would succeed. Do you remember when you cleaned out your friends’ money in elementary school? I knew it then.”
“Ugh. Why bring that up now?”
Mom pinched Dad’s side.
“Ugh… I mean, I always knew Deok-su would make money.”
“But not by playing games, Dad. Our son is a genius in investments!”
Mom emphasized the word genius. Customers in the restaurant glanced at us and smiled.
‘Wow…’
My face burned.
This was why children don’t brag to their parents.
But I didn’t regret it.
Everyone deserves a day like this in their life.
“We shouldn’t waste it. Today calls for a drink!”
“That’s right. I’ll buy some meat. Let’s grill it after closing the shop.”
“No, let’s eat out.”
I suggested eating out, but my parents wanted to eat at the restaurant.
They seemed concerned about how much I spent on the flowers and whiskey.
“On a day like today, we should eat out. Here, we’d have to prepare and clean up again.”
“Uh, that’s true.”
“Shall we?”
They also secretly wanted to eat out.
After all the customers left and the restaurant closed, we went to a pre-ordered premium beef omakase place.
“Isn’t this too expensive?”
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about money today. I get a good salary now.”
“But… you need to save too. For marriage.”
They always worried about me.
“Don’t worry. Things will get better.”
“Alright, dear. Since we came, let’s enjoy it. Worrying about money would make Deok-su uncomfortable.”
“Yes, Deok-su, I’ll enjoy it.”
Fresh, premium two-plus grade Korean beef was served on the table over charcoal.
Sirloin, tenderloin, short ribs, outside skirt, chuck flap tail, and ribeye melted in my mouth instantly.
I realized what wealth felt like.
My parents looked happy as they ate.
When they seemed sufficiently full, I spoke.
“The rent and loan interest must have been difficult, right?”
“Of course. But thanks to the twenty million won you gave us, we breathed a sigh of relief.”
“Well, actually, during the mock investment, I also invested from my personal account, and it went well. I earned a lot. I want to help.”
“No, keep that money. The twenty million you gave last time was already a big help. We can’t keep relying on you. You need to save too.”
“I’ve saved enough.”
“What? How much did you earn?”
“Shall I pay off the debt first?”
“No! Listen to your father. You know the debt is five hundred million won. Paying a few tens of millions won’t solve it. We need a fundamental solution.”
“It’s not just a few tens of millions.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll pay it off first.”
“No! You’ll get scolded by your dad.”
“Deok-su, it’s fine. Listen to your dad.”
Even though Mom opposed strongly, Dad didn’t care.
“Sorry.”
I took Dad’s phone and opened the securities app on my phone. I transferred 510 million won to Dad’s account.
Pressed ‘repay loan’.
[Loan principal fully repaid.]
A satisfying message.
I handed Dad’s phone back to him to show the screen.
Dad and Mom were shocked.
“What, what just happened?”
“How much did you earn?”
“16 billion won.”
“Huh?”
The amount was so surreal that they were speechless.
“Don’t lie.”
I showed them my account.
“Gasp!”
“Whoa!”
They couldn’t say anything.
I told Dad,
“You can scold me now.”
“Huh?”
“You said you would scold me earlier…”
“Uh, did I?”
He looked away and picked up a soju bottle.
“Now, you’ll get properly scolded.”
Dad poured our glasses full.
We drank it in one go.
“Now that the loan interest is taken care of, how about doing what you always said, Dad?”
“What do you mean?”
“You said you wanted to face them properly, right?”
Until now, the discounts and promotions had taken away our customers.
Dad couldn’t compete with the same promotions due to insufficient funds, so he lost customers.
If he did the same promotion, he wouldn’t lose customers.
Understanding what I meant, Dad looked reluctant.
I pressed further.
“I think it’s worth taking a risk. They are attacking us; we can’t just defend forever. And they say the best defense is a good offense.”
“That may be… but no. Deok-su. One time is enough help.”
I felt a pang of disappointment.
If Dad ran the same promotions, he wouldn’t lose any customers.
I’m not saying this just because he’s my father.
Not all branches of the same franchise taste the same.
Some are good, some are bad.
How carefully they handle the ingredients and cook determines the taste.
Service quality varies too.
Dad’s restaurant survived the headquarters’ interference because he always gave his best.
‘If he goes all in, Dad can win.’
I imagined Dad competing with the direct branch and winning.
At that moment, a strong scent reached my nose.
‘Huh? Where is that scent coming from?’
That meant Dad’s challenge would succeed.
Until now, I only smelled scent when it benefited me.
Dad’s failure could never benefit me.
So this scent meant…!
“Dad, go for it! You can do it.”
“No.”
“I didn’t seriously consider it, just thought about it briefly. I can’t risk your precious money on uncertainty.”
Dad refused again.
He wasn’t confident he could win.
But I was.
Having smelled the scent, I was 100 percent sure of Dad’s victory.
“Just take it.”
“Huh?”
I transferred money into Dad’s account.
“I sent it.”
“Deok-su!”
“It’s not a gift, it’s an investment.”
Dad looked displeased. Mom stepped in.
“Stop and accept it. It’s not a gift; your son is investing. If it succeeds, he’ll get it back.”
“Uh-huh.”
Mom raised her eyebrows at Dad.
Dad flinched.
“Y-Yes.”
“Good job.”
Mom praised him.
Then she asked,
“Deok-su, how much did you invest?”
“1 billion won.”
“What? O-1 billion?”
Mom’s eyes went wide, and Dad looked shocked but quickly composed himself, showing a somewhat solemn expression.
“Deok-su, thank you for investing one billion won in me. Think of it as if you invested in someone else’s business. I’ll do my best.”
“Yes, everything will be fine.”
“Now! Let’s all drink together.”
Mom raised her glass.
We clinked our glasses heartily.
I had smelled the scent, so it would succeed.
We imagined the good things that would come to our family, and our smiles didn’t stop.
After dining out, we returned home.
I showered and lay on the bed, holding my phone.
I debated whether to text my team leader and decided to send it.
I thought they’d want to know the result.
[Thanks to you, my parents are so happy. Flowers, whiskey, total success!!]
I had asked the team leader for gift suggestions since I wasn’t sure what to give. They suggested flowers and whiskey.
As soon as I sent the text, a reply came.
[Really? That’s great! Glad you had a good time with your family. Congrats again on the full-time position♡]
I felt good reading the heart.
‘Oh, a heart…?’
It probably had no meaning, but it felt nice.
I immediately replied.
[Yes, thank you so much for helping me.]
I felt something was missing.
Should I send a heart too?
I typed it, erased it, and sent the message without it.
I didn’t want to get worked up over a meaningless heart.
[Yes, thank you so much for helping me.]
Seeing Deok-su’s text, Kim Yu-ri smiled brightly.
She felt the recommended gifts had made Deok-su and his parents happy.
Of course, it was Deok-su’s full-time employment that truly made them happy.
But it was a shame.
She had considered adding a heart, but he ended it plainly with a period.
‘If you send a heart, reply with a heart!’
The child had no sense.
Anyway, it was a meaningless heart.
Yu-ri decided to ignore it, but she couldn’t help thinking about it.
Over the weekend, I rested and regained my strength.
On Monday at dawn, I ran to the office. The fresh morning air cleared my mind.
I showered at the gym and entered the office.
No one had arrived yet.
Though I was now a full-time employee, my tasks remained the same.
I reviewed events over the weekend, checked reports, and summarized.
“Good morning, Manager.”
“Good morning, Deok-su.”
The manager arrived, followed by the team leader.
“Did everyone have a good weekend?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll start the meeting shortly.”
I sat at the round table in Team 9.
Nothing unusual happened over the weekend.
We reviewed the US and European stock market events ending Saturday dawn and checked today’s events.
Then each recommended sectors likely to rise.
The team leader and manager both said semiconductors would be promising this week, listing their reasons.
‘It’s difficult…’
I barely understood half.
“Ah, Deok-su, you’ll be allocated five hundred million won starting today.”
“Five hundred million?”
“Usually, we start with one hundred million, but you have the capability. Just follow your usual strategy.”
“Yes!”
We returned to our desks and searched for stocks, waiting for the market to open.
Following their advice, I checked the semiconductor sector first.
From integrated semiconductor companies to materials and components, I imagined buying each stock.
Some stocks emitted scent, but faint.
‘Huh?’
I realized that unlike before, I could smell the scent just by thinking.