Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 290

290

“My face, you mean.”

“My face? What exactly are you saying…”

Shin Young-hoon couldn’t understand what Hyun-sung was talking about. He figured that the ‘face’ Hyun-sung was referring to wasn’t just about looks.

Hyun-sung continued.

“I mean, look at your expression.”

“Expression? Ah, yes…”

Only then did Shin Young-hoon seem to understand what Hyun-sung meant. Hyun-sung wasn’t just talking about appearance, but about the expressions people wear.

Expressions reveal a person’s inner feelings and emotions. What Hyun-sung wanted to point out was the expression of those feelings and emotions.

Hyun-sung said,

“Appearances are easy to change. You can cut your hair, change your clothes, or put on an apron. But a person’s expression doesn’t change overnight. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”

“I think I have a general idea.”

“Of course, I’m sure your expression has darkened because you’ve been having a hard time, but you can’t keep that expression. Don’t forget that your expression is the life of this restaurant.”

“Yes, I understand. I’ll try to greet customers with a brighter expression from now on. I guess my face has become dark without me even realizing it because I’ve been so stressed. I’ll practice in front of the mirror a lot.”

Shin Young-hoon said with determination.

Hyun-sung nodded and continued.

“Good. Let’s finish with the expression issue and move on to the noodle soup problem. First, what’s on the menu right now?”

“Just noodle soup. I planned to only serve noodle soup from the beginning.”

“Why is that?”

“Pardon?”

Shin Young-hoon was taken aback by Hyun-sung’s sudden question and couldn’t answer right away.

Then Hyun-sung spoke again.

“No, I’m not saying it’s bad, but there must have been a reason, right? I want to hear that reason.”

“Ah, yes. I thought you were going to criticize me for only having one item… The reason is simple. Before starting the business, I did some market research, and noodle soup was what people said they would eat the most.”

“Hmm… I see.”

Hyun-sung nodded as if he understood.

Not many people dislike noodle soup. It’s a dish that can appeal to many people without much resistance.

Moreover, this place is right next to the terminal. Even though it’s a rural area, there’s still a decent amount of foot traffic.

Of course, Shin Young-hoon knew this and started his business here.

So, what’s left is the taste of the noodle soup. There’s no need to worry about the taste. After all, Baek Jong-woon’s recipe is in his head now.

But there’s one thing that bothers him. The menu is too simple. No matter how delicious the food is, people will get tired of eating it after a couple of times.

Of course, this wouldn’t be a problem if there were a lot of foot traffic. But this place is just a small town. That means there isn’t enough foot traffic.

So, there’s only one way to solve the problem.

Increase the menu.

There are two ways to increase the menu. One is to increase the variety of food. The other is to make the same food taste different.

Which is better, increasing the variety of food or making the taste different?

Both methods have their pros and cons.

After thinking for a moment, Hyun-sung looked at Shin Young-hoon and said,

“I think we should increase the menu.”

“Increase the menu, you say?”

Shin Young-hoon was frightened by the idea of increasing the menu. The reason is simple. He knows better than anyone that he’s on the verge of ruining his business because he can’t even make one noodle soup properly.

When Shin Young-hoon was surprised, Hyun-sung immediately said,

“Why are you so surprised?”

“As you know, I’m in a situation where I can’t even make one noodle soup properly, so I can’t help but be scared.”

“Don’t worry about that. Whatever menu you decide on, I’ll take responsibility for the taste and teach you.”

Shin Young-hoon felt strange. It was because of Hyun-sung’s confidence.

Of course, he’s asking for a favor because he’s desperate.

But he’s still just a young student. But judging by what he’s saying, he seems confident in any kind of cooking.

Shin Young-hoon tilted his head and said,

“That’s unexpected.”

“Yes? What is?”

“Have you ever learned to cook separately?”

Only then did Hyun-sung realize why Shin Young-hoon said it was unexpected. It must be because of what he said earlier about passing on the taste of any dish.

Since he’s just a high school senior, Shin Young-hoon would naturally have questions.

But it’s not like he has nothing to say.

“Yes, I learned from my mother since I was young. I was very interested in cooking.”

Of course, it’s a lie. But the other person will have no choice but to believe it.

A lie that can’t be verified becomes the truth.

The effect was immediate.

“Ah, I see. That makes sense.”

Shin Young-hoon’s expression brightened a little compared to before, as if his curiosity had been resolved.

Then Hyun-sung immediately continued.

“There are two ways to increase the menu. One of them is…”

Hyun-sung briefly explained how to increase the menu. As soon as Hyun-sung’s explanation was over, Shin Young-hoon immediately opened his mouth.

He seemed to have something to say urgently.

“Wait!”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“I have a question before we increase the menu.”

Hyun-sung looked up at Shin Young-hoon and nodded. He was telling him to go ahead and speak.

Then Shin Young-hoon asked immediately.

“Is there a reason why you’re trying to increase the menu?”

“The reason is simple. It’s because this is a small town.”

“A small town?”

Shin Young-hoon tilted his head. The reason was that he didn’t understand what increasing the menu had to do with a small town.

When Shin Young-hoon made a face that he didn’t understand, Hyun-sung immediately continued.

“To be more precise, it’s because there’s not enough foot traffic. If there were a lot of foot traffic, I wouldn’t have to worry about this.”

“So, you’re saying that we need to increase the menu because there are not enough people. But I don’t understand if it’s because I’m stupid, isn’t it enough if the food is delicious? Whether there are many people or few, aren’t the people who come already decided?”

Sigh!

Hyun-sung couldn’t help but sigh.

Then Shin Young-hoon’s expression momentarily distorted. It was probably a natural reaction. He sighed in front of someone.

Hyun-sung, who belatedly realized his mistake, spoke quickly.

“I’m sorry. I just did it without realizing it…”

“No, it’s my fault for not understanding. Why would the boss be at fault?”

“That’s not it…”

“It’s okay. My situation is too urgent to be proud of something like that. As I said before, I’ve thrown away all unnecessary pride. So, please explain the reason so I can understand.”

Shin Young-hoon was showing that he could easily overlook the situation, even though it was a situation that could have been unpleasant enough.

That’s how seriously he’s taking this situation.

It was an accidental mistake, but Shin Young-hoon’s appearance seemed to show his will to overcome this situation.

Hyun-sung bowed slightly and continued.

“Then I’ll explain again. So…”

Hyun-sung began to explain the reason why he needed to increase the menu. As Hyun-sung’s explanation grew longer, Shin Young-hoon kept nodding and listening to Hyun-sung’s words. And finally, when Hyun-sung’s explanation was over, Shin Young-hoon immediately continued as if he had been waiting.

“Ah, I understand what you mean now. I didn’t realize that people get tired of delicious food too. So, you’re saying we should increase the menu?”

“That’s right. So, what kind of menu do you want, Mr. Shin?”

“I think the second one would be better.”

“The second one means increasing the types of noodle soup, right?”

“Yes, I started with noodle soup from the beginning, so I want to see it through to the end.”

Hyun-sung nodded.

He thought it would be better to increase the types of noodle soup rather than increasing the variety of food. Of course, there are pros and cons to increasing the types of noodle soup, but he thought that if he could bring out the taste properly, the consumer base for noodle soup would be wider.

And there’s another reason.

That’s because of Shin Young-hoon.

Shin Young-hoon’s cooking skills. Hyun-sung judged that Shin Young-hoon wouldn’t be able to handle increasing the variety of food.

Did Shin Young-hoon know that too?

His confession followed.

“To be honest, I’m not confident in other foods.”

“I understand. Let’s go with noodle soup. Anyway, the market research showed that noodle soup was the most popular choice, so let’s go with that.”

Shin Young-hoon nodded as if he was satisfied and immediately continued.

“But how many types of noodle soup are you going to make?”

“I’m only going to make three. If there are too many types, it’ll be too complicated to cook.”

“Is that also because you’re considerate of me?”

His tone seemed to have a thorn in it, but Hyun-sung laughed it off lightly.

“Haha, no. I’m just going to make what people like the most. If there are too many types, it’ll backfire.”

“Is that true?”

Of course, it’s a lie. If he were greedy, he would have to do at least five types. But he thought that three types would be appropriate for Shin Young-hoon, so he did that.

But he can’t tell the truth.

“Of course it’s true. If you can perfect these three, you’ll definitely be a hit. So, don’t worry about anything and just do as I say.”

“Okay. Then what are those three?”

“The first is anchovy noodle soup. It’s the most basic taste.”

“Anchovy noodle soup? So, you mean making the broth with anchovies?”

“No.”

“Pardon?”

Shin Young-hoon’s head turned automatically. He naturally thought that it would be made with anchovy broth, so Shin Young-hoon couldn’t help but be surprised that it wasn’t.

Then Hyun-sung continued.

“There’s a simpler way to make it without broth. Of course, the taste is as good as broth.”

“Is there such a way? What is it?”

“Use anchovy powder.”

It’s a method that Baek Jong-woon taught on TV. It’s easy to cook and the taste is not lacking at all, so there’s no reason to refuse.

“Did you just say anchovy powder?”

“Yes, what’s wrong with that?”

“How are you going to deal with that fishy smell…”

Shin Young-hoon frowned without realizing it. When he was working in the army cafeteria, the thing he hated the most was the unique fishy smell of anchovies whenever he handled them.

“You can stir-fry it.”

“Pardon?”

“The way to get rid of the fishy smell is simple. Just stir-fry it in a frying pan. Then the fishy smell will fly away with the heat.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Shin Young-hoon felt almost empty at Hyun-sung’s explanation, which was too simple.

Hyun-sung continued.

“Make a lot of anchovy powder and add an appropriate amount and boil it each time you cook. And you know that there’s an order to boiling vegetables, right?”

“I just put them all in and boil them at once.”

“That’s what I’m telling you not to do. In that case, the zucchini becomes completely mushy, right?”

Hyun-sung’s voice rose a little.

The reason is because of the noodle soup that Shin Young-hoon boiled earlier.

You can tell how ripe the vegetables are by looking at their color.

But in the noodle soup that Shin Young-hoon boiled, none of the vegetables were showing their true colors. That means he doesn’t know how to boil vegetables.

Hyun-sung couldn’t understand and was angry that someone who was going to run a restaurant didn’t even have that basic knowledge.

Hyun-sung continued.

“So, I have homework for you.”

“Homework?”

“Yes, make the anchovy powder I talked about earlier and boil the noodle soup again. And the most important thing is to bring out the unique color and taste of the vegetables. To do that, there’s naturally an order to boiling the vegetables. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Are you telling me to find that method? Not teaching me…?”

“Yes, of course. I’m sorry, but you can’t open until you find that method, whether it takes a week or a month. Find the best taste. And when you find it, contact me. I’ll come then and teach you the other two noodle soups.”

There’s no choice if the basics aren’t there. Hyun-sung thought that his mission was to make him able to do business properly even if he had to do this.