Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Seongbuk Stream Desperado (3)
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"Oppa! Run!"
"Whoa there, if you run too fast and Yoon-seul falls off, you'll get hurt bad."
"I know!"
Yoon-seul had been excited since the walk to work.
The hand gripping my waist from behind felt tighter than usual. I could tell from that alone.
It had been like this the past few days.
She said she couldn't stand missing 'Boong-boong No. 3' waiting all alone at the shop.
'Gotta get to No. 3 quick.'
She'd even started waking up on her own in the mornings without me nudging her.
An amazing change. Yoon-seul usually struggled with mornings. She rarely jumped out of bed without chocolate as bait.
As always, I parked the bike out front and opened up the shop.
The moment Yoon-seul stepped inside, she greeted Boong-boong No. 3 with intense affection.
Wrapping her whole body around the frame.
"Eung... No. 3... Yoon-seul's here."
Even after cuddling with No. 3 like that, the funny thing was she always came right in to help with lunch prep.
Just like now.
I pulled out the bowl for kneading the pork bulgogi in the kitchen, and Yoon-seul called from the front, "No. 3, see you later! Yoon-seul's gonna help Oppa."
Plod, plod, plod—
She scurried into the kitchen and slipped right under me.
So Yoon-seul chose me over No. 3.
A quiet sense of superiority washed over me.
Knead, knead.
Squish, squish.
Once the big hands and small hands finished the lunch prep work, there was still some time before opening.
Even so, rides on No. 3 were set for break time between lunch and dinner.
Yoon-seul was soothing her longing by sitting primly on the electric bike indoors.
"Nothing to watch, huh."
Before No. 3 came along, I'd have her on my lap reading a picture book. But now she was totally fixated on that thing, leaving me without much to do.
I pulled out my smartphone and opened YouTube.
[Trending Videos]
I didn't really game or watch sports, so the algorithm fed me mostly cooking or parenting stuff.
For killing time, I hit the [Explore] tab's [Trending Videos].
"Huh?"
Out of habit, I scrolled—
Whoa.
"Seongbuk Stream Desperado?"
The thumbnail was a scene from the video, showing a familiar ponytail. And Boong-boong No. 3.
Even the crouched adult man in an apron chasing after.
I couldn't resist tapping the video.
The content and sequence were exactly what I knew.
- Ugh. Ack.
A staccato scream.
- Uwaaaack!
- Pfft... Urk—
They glanced around, then screamed one after another, collapsing on the walking path—two high schoolers.
"Oppa, Yoon-seul's here to save you!"
The brave and cute line.
It captured our playtime at Seongbuk Stream on May 5th perfectly.
"What the heck is this?"
One thing was clear.
None of us had any idea we were being filmed. No one ever mentioned it.
At least our faces were mosaicked—thank goodness. If Yoon-seul's face had shown, I might've been furious.
- Our country's future looks bright!
- Grow up just like this.
Comments like that were likely. Sure enough, the video's comment section was full of praise for Yoon-seul.
[How old is that kid? Adorably cute.]
[Beauty leaking through the mosaic... Am I the only one?]
Good thing it was mosaicked.
[The extras' acting is on point.]
[Baby bro seems sweet too. Plays well.]
Plenty of other little comments too. And the view count...
"1.3 million?!"
It was only four days ago at most. How'd it blow up like this?
Pondering it, the clickbait title probably worked wonders.
[Seongbuk Stream Desperado]
The box-office smash topping reservations that the Big Eater customer mentioned—still No. 1 yesterday.
Copying that movie title pulled in the clicks. And the content even borrowed from the film's plot.
Searching the original movie, sure enough, this short clip topped the related videos.
"No wonder the views are skyrocketing."
But how well it did wasn't that big a deal to me.
The problem was the top-liked comment in the section.
[gotslal22 - Aren't these the Onui Restaurant folks? Pretty sure it's that sibling-run place by Seongbuk Stream.]
From there, comments like 'What food do they sell?' to 'Can I meet the kid from the video at the restaurant?'
All sorts of reactions poured in.
"Should I be happy about this?"
Shop promo at least, so not a bad feeling. But who knew how effective it'd be, or if any commenters would actually show up.
"Just let it be, I guess."
Probably some past customer who left it.
Still, who filmed it? Curious.
The whole video captured movements in fine detail, like it was shot up close.
If they'd been that near, even we would've noticed—we're not idiots.
"A telephoto lens maybe?"
Checking the channel name out of curiosity...
[ekfslal11]
Weird English. Frowning, I decoded it.
"Dal-nim-i?"
Typing Hangul on an English keyboard gives exactly that.
And the top comment's nickname, on closer look...
"Hat-nim-i..."
My head throbbed.
Leaning back in the chair, temple in hand, Yoon-seul looked worried.
"Oppa hurt?"
"Huh? No, Oppa's fine."
"If hurt, tell Yoon-seul."
"Tell Yoon-seul and she'll fix it?"
"Yeah! I'll bring Doctor Teacher on Boong-boong No. 3!"
Her chest puffed out proudly, looking reliable.
I thought about texting the siblings right away but decided to let it slide.
Given their personalities, it surely wasn't malicious.
I figured it'd blow over without issue.
But it seemed to affect customer traffic?
As lunch started, new faces trickled in noticeably.
Regulars were set, so even without names or jobs, their outfits and faces were familiar.
These were total strangers, filling three tables.
"This is rare."
I took orders, set a gas burner on each table. Today's menu was ham-tofu spicy stew—popular with customers.
Maybe the rain yesterday made May feel like early spring, chilly. Probably craving something warming.
- Boss, this the place?
"Yes?"
- That video. The Seongbuk Stream one...
"Ah, yes, that's us. Well, sorta. We didn't film it ourselves."
They seemed embarrassed to bring up a non-food video first.
- Oh, really? The kid's even cuter in person! And Boss, you're so handsome. We came to see the kid~
A middle-aged woman smiled shyly with compliments. I bowed thanks.
- Saw the video. Kid's too cute! It's about 20 minutes from home walking? Comments got me curious. If the food's good, we'll come back sometimes!
"Aha... Yes! Thank you, I'll make it as tasty as possible."
Others felt similar.
Not super close but close enough to drop by.
Smiling in the kitchen as I sliced tofu and spam evenly. Thought the siblings meddled pointlessly, but the effect was better than expected.
Spicy stew's simpler than it seems. Especially with burners on tables.
I layered onions and potatoes at the pot's bottom. Potatoes would thicken the broth as they cooked.
"Key is letting these cook, so bottom layer."
Then stacked tofu and ham alternately in even slices. Poured in broth mixed with gochugaru, mirin, minced garlic, anchovy sauce, etc.
It bubbled up, staining spam and tofu deep red.
Sprinkle green onions on top, and it was table-ready. They'd boil it on the burner.
Customers raved as they ate.
- Whew, so refreshing. Exactly what I wanted.
- Spicy just right, not too hot? Tofu steals the rice.
Checking the tycoon app amid the praise.
[Path of Cooking (LV. 3) - Proficiency 91%]
"Almost there now."
At this rate, the talent would level up within May for sure.
Then we'd roll out 'Daily Special' properly here too—I'd already set the A-frame chalkboard out front.
Today's orders for ham-tofu stew were thanks to that.
[Daily Special: Ham-Tofu Spicy Stew]
Something like that.
"Hmm, but 'Daily Special' feels too generic."
Wish it had a fresh name.
I'd think on it later.
Finishing meals, customers did something unexpected— all identically, like scripted.
- Yoon-seul?
"Yeah, Yoon-seul."
- Want some chocolate?
"Huh?! Really?"
- Saw you love chocolate, so Auntieie brought one.
"Ooh!!"
This repeated several times.
Blame the video.
'Oppa, Yoon-seul kissed the bike! Let's get choco melties.'
Revealed her chocolate love.
So today, chocolates piled up.
Fancy imports (Auntieies brought ones they didn't eat at home) to convenience store 2+1 deals (younger customers).
Grateful—Yoon-seul's chocolate budget saved.
Looking at the kitchen corner stack, Yoon-seul declared.
"Oppa, it's real!"
"Huh? What's real?"
"Yoon-seul's wishes come true! Ate lotsa choco and said cheeks get fat."
Giggling, she poked her plump cheeks happily.
"Then other wishes come true too!"
I hoped so.
From the heart.