Full-Power Sprint (1)
Grandfather's final words kept echoing in her mind. [Just you wait. The day will come soon when the world truly recognizes the value of this bowl created by Seoyeon.] What did that mean? Surely he hadn't named her as the group's successor....
Her goal was singular: to ensure her family lived prosperously without ever being driven out. To achieve that, she had to earn more money than anyone else. If there was a way to make that kind of cash, she'd pursue it by any means necessary.
"Seoyeon, who are you gonna draw?"
Jeong Hae-won from the rival Hyun-do family asked her daily routine question as art class began. The teacher wrapped up with, "Draw the most precious person in the world!" The kids started transferring the faces that came to mind onto their blank canvases.
Well, Seoyeon's choice was obvious too. An ordinary mansion? Check. Ordinary servants? Check. She drew her grandfather, the chairman of a major domestic conglomerate, in an everyday style. Then she added his children, who were constantly summoned to his study for scoldings, and their anxious wives watching from the sidelines.
This is the true reality of the Han family, she thought.
Hae-won frowned at Seoyeon's drawing. "Seoyeon, your family looks so pitiful."
"But that's the fate of a chaebol family."
"Ugh...."
In that instant, memories of her past life's hardships flashed by like a montage—not coincidence, but destiny. She'd scrambled to earn every penny and save every won. Life before starting her YouTube channel had been pure hell. Up at dawn to start work, collapsing into bed late at night with an exhausted body.
If she hadn't developed new ramen recipes as a hobby, she might have crumbled under the suffocating reality. Her ramen-making hobby went like this: When a new product launched, she'd taste it and replicate it. Once the flavor matched, she'd tweak it to her taste and post recipes on her blog.
How many years had she done that? One day, visitors flooded her blog, and food companies started asking to use her recipes. She naturally charged for them, supplementing her living expenses. That eased her poverty bit by bit, eventually leading her to become a full-time YouTuber.
If not for ramen, I might never have been reborn as the Han family's only daughter.
If she hadn't visited her usual donation spot—the ramen museum—after her pancreatic cancer diagnosis, where would she be now? That mysterious voice at the museum... If a god existed, it would sound like that.
The art teacher stared at Seoyeon's drawing, sweat beading on his forehead. He alternated glances between the picture and her, speechless for a moment.
"S-Seoyeon really, uh, loves her grandfather—no, the chairman—so much?"
Seoyeon just beamed innocently. "Yeah! Grandpa's my favorite person in the world~"
"R-Really? Hohoho, good, very good."
Hae-won, unable to stand it, nudged Seoyeon's side with her elbow. "That's not love; that's hate levels. It's not a grandpa—it's a scary goblin threatening the family!"
But that was the truth. Lately, dissatisfied with his kids' behavior, Grandfather had been more goblin-like than ever. The eldest son, second son, third son—they'd all touched his reverse scale.
Hansung Group's overall sales were disappointingly flat compared to the previous quarter. Excluding food, shipbuilding, steel, machinery, and petrochemical revenues had all dropped.
At lunchtime, Seoyeon unpacked the three-tiered bento her nanny had packed. It was lavish with meat, sausages, and egg patties, plus neatly arranged fresh vegetable side dishes that whetted the appetite just looking at them.
But she was a ramen researcher and developer. Slyly, she pulled out a pack of Hansung Bibim-myeon she'd smuggled in her bag.
"Isn't that bibim-myeon? Even my grandpa's been craving it lately."
"Really?"
"Yeah! He tried the one you made last time and can't forget the taste. Dad said appetites fade with age, but he'd never seen Grandpa so obsessed with food."
Whoa! Hearing that Hyun-do's Chairman Jeong Moon-ju had fallen hard for bibim-myeon brought a strange catharsis. A subtle sense of conquest welled up from deep in her chest.
They faced each other across the desk, sharing side dishes from their bentos. Aside from occasional friends dropping by and saying, "Whoa, you guys pigs or what?" at the spreads, it was a pleasant lunch.
"Oh! Seoyeon, you know about the test next month?"
"Test?"
"Yeah! It's an event-style regional academic competition. Seems like only volunteers for now."
"Huh? You gonna take it, Hae-won unnie?"
"Well, yeah. Grandpa said to for experience."
That might drag Seoyeon in too. Hansung and Hyun-do were rivals, after all. If one participated, the other followed like habit.
"Eeeh...."
"Our school might just be me and you."
The Regional Academic Competition. International olympiads kicked off in the late 1980s. Competitions like this were rare back then, but Yeonhwa Elementary School was different. It had sister-school ties with top overseas institutions and held small exchange contests solving tough problems.
"Teacher said no grade limits. But who else from our school? Just you and me, right?"
"Nah, upper grades have smart unnies and oppas."
"But few study middle school level like us."
"...True."
Seoyeon herself was a top graduate of Korea's top university in her past life. Entering that competition would be like a level 99 maxed-out player crashing a newbie hunting ground, shattering the balance entirely.
"Anyway, you'll join, right Seoyeon?"
"Mmm...."
She brushed it off vaguely. Too much on her plate for a contest.
＊
Hansung Food seemed to face an overwhelming crisis. Screams echoed everywhere.
Day by day, Bibim-myeon sales showed unnatural momentum.
Blah blah.... Newspapers kept reporting the bibim-myeon frenzy nonstop.
Great to sell well, but too well caused problems. Even after acquiring Changbong Food for massive production lines, the bibim-myeon onslaught didn't stop.
"This is bad. We might face a full shortage crisis."
Even Dr. Lee looked flustered. Hansung Food couldn't avoid the dilemma. Every ramen launch was a mega-hit; facilities couldn't keep up.
So many more ramens to release, but facilities already strained....
Her head brimmed with upcoming products, but production lagged. At this rate, she'd buy every factory worldwide.
"No more companies to acquire unless Nongwon or Daehan Yakult hands over their entire ramen divisions."
"Sigh, it's so frustrating I can't sleep. If it flopped, fine—but getting backlash for selling too well? Never saw that coming."
Everyone knew it was a "rich people's problem," but no one laughed. Deep sighs filled the air instead.
"Just hang in there. Something good'll come up."
Seoyeon felt resigned too. Anyone wanna hand over a huge division...?
***
Meaaam, meaaam, maaaayaaaaam!
"Damn, it's hot as hell. What kinda weather is this? Cicadas the only ones excited?"
Jin-su grumbled at his broken fan. He'd kept putting off "Gotta replace it," until late summer hit.
At least sprawling on the cool floor let him catch his ragged breath. He craved his beloved ramen, but all were hot noodles—even a ramen maniac like him hesitated.
"Ugh.... Head to the supermarket for a cold drink?"
Abandoning the fan repair, Jin-su rushed out.
"Hey? Jin-su? No work today?"
"Called in sick with some excuse."
"That bad?"
"Nah, just playing hooky. Work in this heat? I'd melt...."
Grabbing a trendy drink from the fridge, Jin-su headed to checkout. Then he spotted something odd.
"Auntie, what's that? Hansung Bibim-myeon? Hansung dropped another ramen?"
"Yeah, just came in."
"No way, really?"
Bibim-myeon. With Hansung's name stamped big, he had to try it. Yeah! That's lunch!
"Auntie, one Hansung Bibim-myeon—no, make it two!"
Back home, Jin-su boiled hot water as instructed.
'Huh? Boil noodles in hot water, rinse in cold? This kind exists?'
It resembled Hansung Jjapaghetti prep. Following the back-of-pack directions, he boiled, rinsed repeatedly, and shook off water.
"Whoa! Soup's different from Jjapaghetti?"
Snipping the soup packet, he poured the sweet-tangy sauce generously over the noodles.
"Oh! What's this smell?"
Vinegar and seasonings hit his nose; his eyes lit up. Miraculously, his vanished appetite returned.
Gulp! Twirling the glossy red noodles made them even more appetizing.
Unable to resist, Jin-su slurped a mouthful. Saliva flooded as flavors exploded.
Slurrrp—!
"Huuuuh?!"
The intense stimulation made his groin twitch. "M-My god!"
That day, Jin-su discovered the new world of bibim-myeon. Something this tasty wouldn't keep up with demand. Even Jjapaghetti took months to stabilize.
He bolted back to the supermarket.
"What? Jin-su again?"
"Auntie! More Hansung Bibim-myeon left?"
"Five packs. Why?"
"Gimme all of 'em!"
"Huh?"
"Hurry before someone else grabs 'em!"
"O-Okay, here."
"Hehe, thanks! Bye!"
As Jin-su vanished, the auntie looked baffled. "Why buy so much ramen? More's coming anyway...."
She had no idea the Hansung Bibim-myeon craze would sweep every supermarket nationwide.