Convenience Store 24: The Tower of the End 1st - Chapter 90



Only Krnovel

Episode 90 Red Ribbon (2)

“… … ?”

Kim Heechul expresses his doubts as he watches the agent throw out unexpected words.

“That was just a grumble.”

My mother’s hospital bills are deducted from my monthly salary.

It wasn’t that I was sorry, but I once confided in him over a drink about my inability to save money.

“Did I ask you to lend me money when I was drunk?”

“No, that’s not it. I was just wondering if you need money urgently.”

Kim Heechul let out a faint laugh.

“Why? If you say it’s urgent, will you lend it to me?”

“That’s true, but there’s one pretty good one… … .”

Just as the agent was about to quietly bring up the subject.

“Thank you for waiting! I’ll take your order!”

“Hall guests! Please come inside! Come on in!”

The staff’s voice is heard in the cafe.

‘Yeah, I’ve been waiting for such a fucking long time.’

Manager Kim, who had been standing in line to enter the hall, walked forward following the people.

“Hehe, now coming here has become a small pleasure.”

“That’s right, old man. But I’m glad that you’ve started eating well.”

When I heard the voices of the old couple standing in front of me.

Manager Kim looked at them with compassionate eyes.

‘You people… … you are being fooled. You are being fooled, you naive gentlemen.’

Because they are elderly, it seems clear that they are vulnerable to information and have problems with their sense of taste.

But Manager Kim didn’t show it at all.

After all, they are just other people.

“Welcome! You two… … are back again!”

“Haha. I guess it’s because I’m getting older, I’m not getting enough sleep at night.”

“But you should still get a good night’s sleep!”

“These days, I can’t sleep at all if I don’t drink the tea sold here.”

The elderly couple in front of us entered alone while chatting with the staff.

Manager Kim looks up at the Insung Cafe with cold eyes.

‘Inseong Cafe… … you’re screwed.’

The restaurant’s grim reaper descended upon this place today… … .

“Okay, that’s it!”

Suddenly, an employee hangs a red ribbon at the entrance to control entry.

“… … ?”

“The garden is full, so please come for the next session!”

“… … .”

After waiting for another hour, Manager Kim finally entered the hall.

‘Phew… … ‘

He sat down at a randomly empty table and glanced over the menu.

‘Scent of the sea, cup shaved ice, Geoshin tteokbokki, potapade, what the heck? Demon King’s waffle?’

The name sounds plausible.

But Manager Kim laughed inwardly.

‘There should have been one or two places that had a fancy name but average taste.’

Foods made with YouTube and Nerstar in mind.

Besides, how can the food from a place that manipulates the comments be delicious?

‘Ha, I guess I really should try it.’

Still, I guess I’ll have to try it to judge it.

“Excuse me! I’d like to order something here!”

Manager Kim pointed to the menus with the word [Hot] written on them.

“Here, please give me a coffee… … What would you like to drink?”

“I smell the sea.”

“Then, a cup of Inseong Coffee and a cup of Sea Scent each, and… … .”

My gaze scanning the menu caught sight of one item.

“What is this new menu?”

“Oh, that’s the homemade hotcakes the boss made this time. It’s not on the regular menu yet, it’s a test.”

“aha…….”

‘So that’s why it was cheaper than other menus. Because it was a test product… … Well, it’s the perfect menu to test out Inseong Cafe.’

You’ll get a feel for it even if you just try the test product.

You can get a feel for the height of taste this cafe is aiming for just by tasting the food, whether the owner is trying to be at the top or is just another ordinary cafe owner.

‘If you’re just using a store-bought pancake mix, then there’s nothing more to look at.’

Manager Kim looked at the kitchen with eyes of no expectation.

Since the kitchen is close by, your gaze naturally goes to the kitchen.

Choaaaaaaah-

Inside the kitchen, a man is shaking an oddly shaped wok.

‘You use a strangely shaped wok.’

The typical wok is characterized by its concave shape.

The wok the man was using looked a little thinner than a normal wok.

A sneer appears on Kim Heechul’s lips as he watches the scene.

‘Huh, I guess they use a special tool because the taste is lacking.’

It is surprisingly common for restaurants to compete with performance to hide their lack of taste.

This Inseong cafe also seems to be of that type.

Of course. In the first place, there’s no way that a place that manipulates comments would have any skills, right?

Kim Hee-chul, who had roughly finished understanding, turns his head and stares at Agent Lee.

“By the way, what were you trying to say earlier?”

“Huh? Oh, that’s it.”

The agent’s eyes shine sharply.

“Have you ever thought about making money?”

“Money? What money?”

“Just do one simple thing.”

Is it that simple?

If it were that easy to make money, people would all just do simple jobs and live.

Manager Kim’s eyes sink coldly.

“What’s going on?”

“You’re going to eat the food later and write a review, right? I just want you to tweak it a little bit. Just make it taste a little off? That’s easy, right?”

“… … .”

At that moment, many thoughts crossed Kim Heechul’s mind.

And the conclusion I reached.

‘This kid… … where did he get the money from?’

They rate restaurants.

For restaurants, that rating is a double-edged sword that can be both heaven and hell.

That is why it is true that there are many requests to secretly change the evaluation.

but…….

“It’s not like it’s going to work if I just buy it? If I write a crappy evaluation, what’s the point of other guys?”

When multiple evaluators visit a restaurant and evaluate it.

In addition to evaluating food quality, there was also a desire to prevent such outside intervention.

“Don’t worry. Just say okay.”

“… … .”

Kim Heechul reached for his cell phone, feeling troubled.

The agent smiled at him.

“Don’t record.”

‘You’re quick-witted… … ‘

Kim Heechul sighed and opened his mouth.

“Where did you get the offer?”

“It’s hard to say. But it’s obvious. Why would you want to ruin a small cafe like this?”

“Are you trying to forget the recipe? F*ck… … .”

At a glance, it seems clear that there is a large corporation or a famous restaurant behind this agent.

It was quite common for these cafes to be destroyed and recipes stolen.

‘But… is this really a good restaurant? Otherwise, I wouldn’t have tried to steal the recipe.’

My head is in disarray.

This Inseong cafe is a great restaurant and I have to focus on the situation in front of me for now.

“So, how much can I get?”

“One big one.”

Ten million won.

It is by no means a small amount.

No, it was also money that was a great help to him now.

“It’s not really that hard. You just have to give it a bad evaluation.”

“……know.”

“Are you going to do it?”

Kim Heechul couldn’t answer.

‘I want it, but… … .’

The moment he takes that money, it’s like he’s crossing a line he’s never crossed before.

It’s hard to cross a line once, but once you cross it, you keep crossing it.

‘Fuck… … .’

While Kim Heechul was struggling and unable to give an easy answer.

“Thank you for waiting! The coffee and homemade pancakes you ordered are here!”

An employee who had come over before they knew it served plates in front of him and Manager Lee.

“Let’s eat first and then talk.”

“Okay. Think about it while you eat.”

“… … .”

There are many delicious foods in front of you.

But I won’t be able to enjoy my food comfortably because of this agent’s suggestion.

‘Ten million won… That’s almost four months’ salary. Ugh!’

After much thought, Manager Kim picks up the fork.

‘I don’t know! Let’s try it first and then think about it! You only worry about things like that when the food is delicious!’

Do you know?

The food may not taste good.

Then, he could easily earn ten million won without having to sell his conscience!

‘Please don’t taste bad! Please!’

He picked up his fork and poked into the pancake.

* * *

“Sorry, we’re out of test menus! Sorry!”

“I’m so sorry!”

“Oh… … . It looked delicious… … .”

Seon-ah and Soo-jung are busily going around the hall, asking for the guests’ understanding.

‘I can’t help it. It was a test menu.’

In the first place, hotcakes were sold as a test menu.

It was all just to test the abilities attached to the ‘Shield of Life’.

It is uncreative to use a shield only to block attacks.

Some people might use it as a pot lid.

If you get tired of the lid of the pot and turn it over…

Huh?

Is that a Chinese wok?

But it says it has a function to save materials?

Are you a dog?

And as expected.

The reaction wasn’t bad.

‘With this level of reaction, I think it would be okay to just hand over the shield of life to the clone and have him bake hotcakes instead?’

What made this test even more encouraging was that:

The point is that the hotcakes didn’t use any ingredients obtained from the tower.

‘And yet, this is the kind of reaction I get. Hehehe… … I feel like I have more choices.’

Even if it’s not necessarily a hotcake, it’s possible to make various dishes using the Shield of Life.

‘I guess I’ll have to do some more testing, though.’

Of course, what do you think?

As long as it tastes good and the customers respond well, it’s okay.

At that time.

Yeah, yeah-

My phone vibrates.

‘… … It’s an unknown number.’

“Hello? Yes. Oh, yes, yes. I’m sorry. It used to be fine, but now it’s going to be difficult because there aren’t enough seats. Yes.”

Another call was made regarding video filming.

‘I keep getting calls like this these days.’

We receive inquiries about filming from a wide variety of sources, including public broadcasters, BJs who do personal broadcasts, and YouTubers.

Of course, in the past, such video filming was permitted.

This was because uploading the video would help the business of Insung Cafe.

‘But now, why bother?’

Even without the help of advertising, Insung Cafe already has sufficient recognition.

So, I would rather film than have my business disrupted.

It is profitable to sell one more product to one customer during that time.

‘We’ll have to allow video filming later when the space becomes larger.’

Not now.

At least after I buy the building and remodel it entirely into a cafe.

At that time, I was racking my brain for a long time.

“Boss! Boss!”

Seon-ah’s voice is heard.

“Huh? You called?”

“Grandma is looking for you!”

“… … Grandma? Ah.”

When I saw Grandma Okja, I quickly ran towards her.

“Grandma! It’s been a while, Attorney Kim.”

“Yes, it’s been a while.”

After finishing the brief greeting, I looked at them and asked.

“You should have called me in advance! Didn’t you have to wait long?”

“I just stopped by on my way. Why bother talking to the busy store owner?”

“Still.”

Attorney Kim, who was standing next to the grandmother, smiles brightly.

“I just stopped by for a moment while passing by, so don’t worry too much about it.”

“If that’s the case, then that’s fortunate… … .”

Let me look down at Grandma Okja.

My grandmother looks up at me and grumbles.

“Your business has to go well so that my building can sell quickly.”

“Haha, that’s a funny joke.”

This Hansung Building is located in a station-friendly area with a lot of floating population and close to the station.

Even if it’s not me, there must be some rich people secretly targeting this building.

“There must be many other people besides me who want to buy this building?”

“That’s right. But you know. If you’re going to do it, it’s better to have someone you know take the item rather than a complete stranger.”

Grandma Okja continued speaking with a faint smile.

“Besides, I think you’ll be using this building for a long time.”

“aha…….”

‘Is there a story behind this building?’

Did he notice my curiosity?

Attorney Kim speaks slyly.

“I heard that the lady sold clothes there when she was young.”

“Aha, I didn’t know that. Anyway, please wait a moment. I’ll collect it soon.”

“Yeah. There are wads of money waiting in line to come into your store, so you’ll collect them in no time.”

“Yes, I’ll contact you as soon as I get a rough idea.”

After sending Attorney Kim and Grandma Okja away.

I went outside and looked up at the building.

‘beautiful…….’

Of course, it was a bit old and the exterior of the building wasn’t all that pretty.

But so what?

He’s going to be my baby soon, so what if the paint is chipping a little?

‘Ehhhhh… … .’

I looked up at the building for a moment and then went back into the cafe.