The Restaurant
After the meeting, the members went their separate ways.
"You said Dong-ha doesn't have a schedule, right?"
"Yeah. What about you, hyung?"
At Dong-ha's question, Yeon-woo thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"Neither do I. Our actors have to gather back in the conference room this evening anyway. Want to head down to the first floor with Cheol-min-ssaem and grab a meal?"
"Sure, why not? But why are we gathering again?"
"We've got some original content of our own."
That evening, Saebyeol Entertainment's YouTube channel would simultaneously release episodes one and two of their self-produced variety show, Saebyeol Family.
Even though the members had taken part in the filming, none of them had seen the edited version, so they'd agreed to gather in the entertainment company's conference room to watch it together.
"Something about Saebyeol Entertainment just seems fun."
"Does it? Don't you get along with your members?"
At Yeon-woo's question, Dong-ha hurriedly waved his hands.
"Nah, no. Of course I get along great with the members. It's just—usually at actor agencies, even artists under the same company barely know each other. Our agency has both actors and singers, and they don't know each other at all."
"That's how it is for most places."
It was only possible at Saebyeol Entertainment because the actors who'd joined so far had gathered around Yeon-woo as a central figure, drawn together through personal connections.
Of course, the actors' individual temperaments—gentle and easy to get along with—had played a part as well.
"Let's head downstairs for food first. I'll go grab Cheol-min-ssaem. Where's the manager who came with you?"
"Probably went down to the underground parking garage."
"Call him and tell him to come up to the first floor. Let's eat together."
"Yes, sir."
While Dong-ha phoned the manager who'd gone downstairs, Yeon-woo went to fetch Jeong Cheol-min.
"Teacher. Have you tried the restaurant on the first floor? Director Yoon said it's delicious."
"Ah, I have. It was pretty good."
"Want to have a meal with Dong-ha and his manager? You haven't had lunch, right?"
"Didn't get a chance—came in a rush. Sure, let's eat together. It's been a while."
Jang Han-jun, who'd opened a restaurant on the first floor of the Mokhwa Building, had been feeling pretty good about life lately.
After studying cooking in France and returning home, Jang Han-jun had worked at restaurants for years, saved up his money, and opened a place near Yeonnam-dong—only to go completely bankrupt after barely any time in business.
What good was confidence in your food if no customers came through the door in the first place?
Simply being a skilled cook and successfully running a restaurant were entirely different dimensions of the same problem.
Then he'd heard about a spot with cheaper rent than the surrounding area, and an entertainment agency upstairs—figuring it would be a quiet place to do business, he'd relocated. But the neighborhood that had been so quiet when he signed the lease had, even while he was still doing the interior renovations, seen foot traffic balloon exponentially day by day.
At the time, clueless Jang Han-jun had asked the people lining up outside what the reason was, and heard the same answer from everyone.
"This is the bakery Ryu Yeon-woo said was delicious."
Come to think of it, when he'd signed the lease, the real estate agent had mentioned that the agency upstairs was an actors' management company.
So that was Ryu Yeon-woo's agency? Wow… Please, just once, come to my restaurant.
Truth be told, Jang Han-jun only knew Ryu Yeon-woo's name and face—he'd never watched a single one of his works.
He'd been so busy with kitchen work, knowing nothing but cooking, that he never had time for movies or dramas. It wasn't that he'd specifically avoided Yeon-woo's projects; he'd simply built a wall between himself and all video content.
Still, he's a neighbor upstairs. Maybe I should watch some after work.
Technically not a neighbor—he was the building owner of the shop Jang Han-jun ran—but a sudden curiosity had him starting a binge-watch.
Starting with Master Plan, then Sketch, and last night, rubbing his eyes until four in the morning, he'd watched every episode of White Blood.
"Haaah. Maybe I overdid it…"
Seeing Jang Han-jun yawn, his younger brother smacked him on the back.
Lately, with his older brother's business booming, he'd quit his own job to help run the restaurant.
"Hyung, you were up all night watching something. Was it porn?"
"What kind of nonsense is that. I was watching a drama. White Blood."
"That's a meme, you know. The 'What kind of nonsense is that' thing."
At his brother's words, Jang Han-jun shook his head and flicked his brother's forehead with a finger.
"It's not a meme—I said it because you're talking nonsense. Get out there and clear the tables."
"Yes, sir. This humble one shall depart."
Once his brother left, Jang Han-jun slapped both cheeks with a sharp crack and grabbed the frying pan again.
Then, suddenly, his brother came barreling back into the kitchen.
"Hy-hyung!"
"Hey, I told you not to run in the kitchen—you'll kick up dust. You little—"
"No! He's here! He's outside!"
"Who's here?"
His brother's eyes were huge as he pointed toward the dining hall.
"Ryu Yeon-woo is here!"
"What kind of nonsense—trying to fool me again? You pulled that last time too."
"No, I'm serious!"
Jang Han-jun stared at his brother's face for a long moment, then—sensing he was telling the truth—set down the frying pan and peeked out from the kitchen entrance.
A part-timer was taking orders at a table, and seated at that table were Akhenaten, Dipangdal, and Jeong Do-jin from White Blood, which he'd stayed up all night watching.
"H-holy shit!"
He immediately straightened his hygiene cap and chef's coat, then led his trembling legs out into the dining hall.
"Ah, hello. I'm Jang Han-jun, the owner and chef of this restaurant."
Yeon-woo smiled and returned the greeting.
"Hello. Our staff have been telling me so much about how good this restaurant is that I got curious and came down."
"Hah. I-I'm honored! I'll prepare a delicious meal for you."
As he bowed, he glanced outside the restaurant—beyond the glass windows, he could see the silhouettes of people murmuring and gathering.
Jang Han-jun hurried back to the kitchen, trying to calm his racing heart.
He'd been envious of the bakery next door for more than a day or two.
Of course, thanks to the bakery, foot traffic had increased and the surrounding commercial district had come alive, and it was true that he'd been catching those falling crumbs and doing well recently.
No—strictly speaking, it wasn't thanks to the bakery. It was the power of that one young actor sitting at the table.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I have to pour my soul into this.
Meanwhile, Yeon-woo sitting at the table hadn't come down to the first-floor restaurant just to casually fill his stomach either.
Revitalizing the commercial district around here was part of the operation.
The rising value of the Mokhwa Building—of which Yeon-woo was the true owner—was a secondary benefit. The important point was that the more foot traffic there was, the easier it became to blend into the crowd and hide in plain sight.
Sustained reconnaissance or surveillance only works when you can set up and maintain a fixed position.
But the more ordinary people came and went, the harder that became—and psychologically, no one would expect a secret organization's hideout to be tucked inside a thriving commercial district.
In reality, of course, they'd already established the hideout first, then used Yeon-woo's influence to transform the area into a developed commercial zone.
And if the shops that moved into the Mokhwa Building do well, their owners won't change hands.
The chef who'd just come over to greet them had no idea Yeon-woo would know who he was, but the personal information of every shop owner and employee in this building had already been thoroughly investigated by the agents and reported to Yeon-woo through Han Hae-un.
That man's name was Jang Han-jun. Studied cooking in France…
Recalling the background info of everyone working at this restaurant, Yeon-woo nodded.
They'd thoroughly dug into their pasts and confirmed they were clean, so it was best if they stayed put and didn't change.
Who would give up a spot with cheap rent and thriving business?
Jang Han-jun's soul-infused cooking was, as expected, delicious.
Dong-ha, full and satisfied, said goodbye as he walked toward the parked van.
"Hyung. That restaurant is seriously good. I want to bring the members sometime."
"Well. From now on, it'll be hard to eat there without standing in a long line."
At Yeon-woo's words, Jeong Cheol-min and Dong-ha both nodded.
When they'd finished eating and come out, a cloud of people had already swarmed in front of the shop, and it had taken a long while of signing autographs and taking photos before they could get back into the building's parking garage—so they readily agreed.
"Cheol-min-ssaem, Yeon-woo hyung. I'll be heading out then."
"Alright, take care. We'll have another meeting before the CF shoot, so see you then."
"Yes, sir!"
The car carrying Dong-ha left the parking garage, and Yeon-woo came back up to the third floor with Jeong Cheol-min.
Sitting at a table, Jeong Cheol-min sipped his drink and said,
"It'd be perfect if we had a company cafeteria like that restaurant on the first floor."
"A company cafeteria?"
Jeong Cheol-min seemed to remember that Yeon-woo effectively owned half the agency's shares, and waved his hands.
"Hey, hey. I was just saying."
But Yeon-woo stroked his chin, looking across from the café.
The building was quite spacious, so one side of the third floor was used as a café, while the opposite side—awkward to lease out for security reasons—had a temporary wall put up and sat unused.
"Hmm, that doesn't sound bad."
"No, no, I was just talking. The facilities are already more than good enough without a cafeteria."
At Jeong Cheol-min's attempt to stop him, Yeon-woo shook his head.
"Our actors come in whenever they feel like it, but the other staff don't have that luxury. I hear the biggest daily dilemma for office workers is 'What should I eat for lunch?'"
Putting a company cafeteria in the unused space on the third floor would also serve as a solution of sorts to the security vulnerability of staff going in and out of the building every lunch hour.
Yeon-woo stood up and headed toward his business partner, who held the other fifty percent ownership.
"Representative."
"Hmm? Yeon-woo."
Kim Ju-seong, who had been brewing coffee, looked at the menu board as he spoke.
Apparently he thought Yeon-woo had come to order another drink.
"What can I make you? The usual iced americano?"
"No. Please make a company cafeteria."
"…Excuse me?"
Startled by the unexpected order, Kim Ju-seong tilted his head—but once Yeon-woo explained the whole situation, he soon nodded.
"Come to think of it, at lunchtime the entertainment staff sometimes come down to the café to eat delivery food. We have more than enough capital, and that level of employee welfare is something we should have. Sounds good. I'll take care of handling that."
"Thank you, Representative."
Kim Ju-seong wasn't merely the café's manager—he was the co-owner of the company, holding half the shares alongside Yeon-woo.
Even now, Executive Director Yoon Mi-yeon and CEO Jeong Hyeok frequently came by for advice and to report, so he had a thorough grasp of the company's affairs.
"Isn't it about time you headed up? You've got monitoring to do."
"Yes, you're right. Would you like to come up with us, Representative?"
At Yeon-woo's question, Kim Ju-seong smiled and shook his head.
"If I go, who'll make the coffee? I'll watch on my smartphone like the other subscribers."
Just then, Jeong Cheol-min finished his drink, came over to return his cup and tray, and put a hand on Yeon-woo's shoulder.
"Yeon-woo, let's head up. Representative, that was excellent—thank you."
Yeon-woo nodded and went up to the fourth floor with Jeong Cheol-min.
When they entered the large conference room, several staff members and actors had already arrived.
Then Im Jae-uk caught Yeon-woo's eye.
Originally a manager who'd been tormented by Jeon Gi-hun—a Baeksol stooge—before quitting and bouncing between workplaces, until Yeon-woo scouted him.
"Manager Im. Settling into company life alright?"
"Ah, Actor."
As Yeon-woo approached, Im Jae-uk immediately bowed at a full ninety degrees.
Yeon-woo hurriedly caught Im Jae-uk's shoulders and straightened him up.
"Come on, no need to be so formal. We're family here."
"I'll be grateful to Actor Ryu for the rest of my life."
Most people, once their lives improve after receiving help, soon forget the warmth of that gratitude—but among them are those who remain loyal for life to the person who reached out a hand in their darkest hour.
And Im Jae-uk was the latter.
Yeon-woo recognized that look in his eyes immediately.
Out in the field, during operations, you encounter people of that type.
People ready to take a bullet for you.
"It was an easy thing for me. Don't feel too burdened. Just keep working hard at Saebyeol."
At Yeon-woo's words, Im Jae-uk nodded deeply.
"Understood."
Then CEO Jeong Hyeok called for everyone's attention.
"Alright, alright, we're starting. Our first original content."
"The first original content is my interview!"
"Ah, right, of course."
Seeing CEO Jeong Hyeok flustered by Han Byeol's pouty protest, everyone laughed.
And the first episode of Saebyeol Family was released on YouTube.