Hansung Jjapaghetti is Born
"I have a great idea for you all."
"Hehe~ Oh, hello?"
Grandpa had pushed me forward onto my feet. Right in front of all these executives, he wanted me to declare my bold ambitions.
"One more thing..."
Grandpa turned to the executives. "You all know that Lee PhD has been leading Research Team 1 to develop black bean noodles ramen lately, right?"
The executives murmured among themselves. Lee PhD was Hansung Group's go-to problem solver—the man who'd instantly pinpointed the issue with our equipment last time and gotten us through the crisis. Well, in reality, I'd been the one who'd solved it.
"What if I told you the original developer of that black bean noodles ramen wasn't Lee PhD, but my granddaughter right here? Would you believe me?"
"!"
"And that's not all." Grandpa continued candidly, as if laying his innermost thoughts bare. "The equipment problem that Lee PhD fixed? My granddaughter gave him the direction for that too. Thanks to her, we got the production line that was about to grind to a halt up and running again, and Hansung Food managed to avoid massive losses."
Now the executives stared at me in stunned amazement. I was shocked too—I'd never dreamed Grandpa knew about that.
Truly, the chairman of a major corporation is on another level.
"So don't dismiss her just because she's young. Treat her like you'd treat me, Han Seongcheol himself. Got it?"
"Yes, sir!"
The executives answered in unison. Honestly, I'd expected some hazing in a food company this size, but my status as the Han family's one and only precious daughter quashed all those worries in an instant.
"Hehe, please take good care of me."
I bowed politely, and thunderous applause erupted from all around. Especially from that corner where Lee PhD sat—his clapping was the loudest of all.
So what if I'm a parachute hire? Show them your skills, and age is just a number.
I took the child-sized microphone Woo Shijang handed me and drew in a deep breath. Now was the time to show them my real abilities.
"I think we should designate black bean noodles ramen as Hansung Food's next major ramen project."
"Um, Miss Seoyeon?"
A middle-aged man with a gleaming bald pate shot his hand up. He was a director, higher up than a department head.
"Yes?"
"Sorry to interrupt, but black bean noodles ramen is something another company already tried and failed at, isn't it? We'd need a strategy to differentiate from them. Do you have some brilliant insight on that?"
"Ah! I've already prepared for that. It's a bit hard to explain with words alone. Hehe~"
"P-Prepared?"
I'd anticipated this. Before the meeting, I'd instructed Uncle Lee PhD to prepare ten servings of black bean noodles ramen.
The conference room door opened, and people in white lab coats came in, distributing bowls of black bean noodles ramen to the executives. While everyone stared in confusion, Grandpa nonchalantly picked up his chopsticks. The executives exchanged glances, then followed suit, each taking a bite.
"Gasp!"
"I-Is this really black bean noodles ramen?"
"Such a rich, varied flavor in black bean noodles ramen... Did Miss Seoyeon really make this?"
"This is a guaranteed hit! It's on another level from N Company's black bean noodles ramen!"
Grandpa might have been even more thrilled than I was. "Hohoho, of course my granddaughter would deliver something like this. Isn't that right, Woo Shijang?"
"Absolutely. If it weren't for Miss Seoyeon, who knows where we'd be right now..."
Even Woo Shijang, now known as the group's shadow power broker, was backing me fully. As the deep, hearty black bean flavor spread through their mouths, the executives devoured their bowls clean. One even begged for seconds.
It went beyond explosive—it was a sensation.
"The sauce clings perfectly to the noodles. Could the thickness and shape of the noodles be the key?"
"The taste is practically like black bean noodles from a pro restaurant. Way better than the stuff from my local place..."
I glanced sideways, and Dad gave me a covert thumbs-up. With his encouragement, strength surged through my whole body.
I'll make this a total success, no matter what!
I'd created the recipe. I'd set the goal. Now all of Hansung Food's manpower just needed to focus on black bean noodles ramen. Simple.
The project to import Japanese ramen had been a massive flop, saddling us with a 1.5 billion won cumulative deficit. Everyone was racking their brains over how to overcome the crisis when my black bean noodles ramen appeared right on cue. The executives must have felt like heaven itself had sent salvation.
But it's not over yet.
Because the black bean noodles ramen I'd developed was originally N Company's new product in the original timeline.
It'll take some time to fully commercialize. We have to beat them to market.
This was the real showdown.
Hansung Food's cumulative deficit stood at a whopping 1.5 billion won. In an era when a fresh college grad's starting salary was 100,000 won a month—the top-paid lawyers earned 300,000, doctors around 500,000, and a mid-range Seoul apartment cost about 30 million—that kind of deficit was enough to topple the company.
No wonder honey dripped from Grandpa and Dad's eyes.
"Oh, right, Seoyeon."
Grandpa asked me, "This ramen is undeniably your creation. So shouldn't we give it a name?"
Ah! I'd almost forgotten about the name. "Black bean noodles ramen" didn't quite have the right ring.
What should we call it?
It was the first ramen of my own to hit the market, across both lifetimes.
It's made by our Hansung Food, and it's ramen with the rich sauce of black bean noodles.
"Let's call it Hansung Jjapaghetti."
"Hansung Jjapaghetti, eh?"
Grandpa mulled over the name a few times, then nodded. "Hohoho, excellent name. It captures the Hansung brand and the thick, hearty black bean flavor in one bowl. Just hearing it tells you exactly what we're aiming for."
Yippee! Final approval from the ultimate decision-maker, Grandpa.
All that was left was standardizing the recipe for mass production and getting it to market fast.
＊
"Uwweaek!"
"Ugh, little miss. I really can't eat any more."
The nanny dry-heaved at the sight of the ramen. Hansung Jjapaghetti development was going smoothly. The problem? As the original developer, I had to keep taste-testing—and no matter how delicious, eating the same thing every day gets old.
I hadn't touched anything but Hansung Jjapaghetti lately.
Hiiing!
The nanny brought out another bowl. "This is a revised recipe from Lee PhD for you, miss."
Today, Hansung Jjapaghetti looked like the grim reaper, beckoning me to the afterlife.
"Hehe, just say it's delicious. It smells good, at least."
"Sh-Should I?"
The nanny chucked the bowl Lee PhD had brought away with a whoosh.
These days, the worry lines had vanished from Dad's face. Whenever he saw me, he'd fawn helplessly, kissing me more than ever and calling my name at every turn.
The Han family's one and only precious daughter. Adorably doll-like looks that could make dolls weep, plus genius brains. And the top hero who saved Hansung Food to boot.
Dad, Grandpa—everyone kept trying to smother me with kisses whenever they saw me.
"Our Seoyeon's here."
Grandpa had called me to his study. He was deep into his calligraphy phase, brush in hand as he wrote a character.
"Do you know what this means, Seoyeon?"
I took in the neatly inked characters on the white rice paper.
Baekcheokgandu: standing at the tip of a hundred-foot pole. An idiom for being in extreme crisis.
It fit Hansung Food's massive deficit and precarious position like a glove.
"Baekcheokgandu."
"And the meaning?"
"Yes. It means standing at the top of a pole over a hundred feet tall."
"Hohoho, there's nothing our Seoyeon doesn't know. So you even understand why this old man wrote it down?"
I shared my prepared thoughts. "Grandpa, it feels like you're telling me to keep thinking ahead, beyond just making Hansung Jjapaghetti."
"What? Krhahaha!"
Grandpa beckoned me over. I toddled into his arms. The scent of dry ink and aged wood tickled my nose.
"Thanks to our Seoyeon making Hansung Jjapaghetti, this old man's mind is greatly at ease. But I can't guarantee people will buy it in droves."
He was right. Ramen and black bean noodles were fundamentally incompatible concepts from the start.
"In this old man's eyes, my granddaughter must have some clever scheme in mind already, eh?"
"Hehe, for free?"
"Hohoho, what a greedy little thing you've become! Fine. If it pleases this old man, I'll promise a big reward."
If you've developed a product, you need a sales strategy to make it sell. And I knew exactly what that would be.
"Grandpa, I saw on TV—cute kids like me appearing to promote products to people."
"Hmm? So Seoyeon wants to hire a child actor for commercials."
"Yes. But child actors cost money. Dad says the company has none, and I think unnecessary spending is wrong."
"Spending, eh... Hohoho, then?"
"What if I play the child actor on TV? Wouldn't that cost a lot less?"
"...!"
I took after Mom—I was incredibly cute. Sometimes I'd even startle myself in the mirror. How could such a lovable, charming child exist?
Flawless jade-like skin without a single blemish, hair so fine and soft it gleamed like silk in the sunlight.
And not just any child actor, but the noble only daughter of Hansung Group, whispered about throughout the business world. Anyone in broadcasting would come running, drooling.
"Brilliant idea. If we cut ad spending that way, it'll ease the financial burden too."
"Of course. I've even made a song for it."
"Hohoho, made a song? Let this old man hear it."
"Hehe, this song goes..."
I clasped my hands neatly over my belly and started humming. That catchy tune once loved by all.
On Sundays, I'm your Hansung Jjapaghetti chef!