Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 297

297

The next day, afternoon.

After finishing his classes, Hyun-sung stopped by the butcher shop and headed straight to the knife-cut noodle restaurant.

*Sliding door sound.*

As Hyun-sung opened the door and entered, Shin Young-hoon looked surprised.

“No, what brings you here at this hour?”

“I told you I’d come again this afternoon.”

“Yes, I heard that, but I thought you’d come after closing time.”

Shin Young-hoon couldn’t help but be surprised.

Of course, Hyun-sung had said he would come again this afternoon when he left early yesterday morning. He had assumed that ‘this afternoon’ meant after business hours. That was only natural. His own business would be more important.

But Hyun-sung came straight here after finishing his school classes, not to his own store. So it was only natural that Shin Young-hoon was surprised.

Hyun-sung repeated.

“If we decide on the menu quickly, we can start *yeong-eop* [business/operations] a little earlier, right?”

“That’s true, but…”

Shin Young-hoon couldn’t help but be surprised once again. The reason was what Hyun-sung had said. Hyun-sung said that the reason he came here at this hour, setting aside his own *yeong-eop* [business], was to quickly decide on a new menu.

Of course, deciding on that new menu quickly was also for the purpose of advancing the *yeong-eop* [business] date of someone other than Hyun-sung himself.

Of course, the other person here is Shin Young-hoon himself.

Does that make sense?

Everyone is bound to be selfish. That’s not a flaw, it’s natural. Moreover, if there is no harm to the other party, it is only natural and right to do so.

But what about Hyun-sung now?

Isn’t it the opposite?

He came running like this to advance the *yeong-eop* [business] date of another person, even putting aside his own *yeong-eop* [business].

Not only that, but if you think about it, it was the same last night. He is the kind of person who came running right away without asking why, just because he made a phone call late at night.

And he was just trying to take advantage of such a person…

*Tsseup.*

Shin Young-hoon stroked his chin.

It’s his own habit that comes out when his thoughts are complicated.

Then Hyun-sung’s words followed.

“Did you prepare everything I told you to prepare?”

“Yes, of course. But isn’t the new menu mushroom *kal-guksu* [knife-cut noodles]?”

“It’s similar, but there are a few more letters in front.”

“Yes? What does that mean…”

Shin Young-hoon tilted his head.

Last night, Hyun-sung asked if he liked mushrooms, so he naturally said he liked them. Then he said he would make a menu with those mushrooms.

So what he thought of at first was mushroom *kal-guksu* [knife-cut noodles]. But the strange thing is that the ingredients he was told to prepare were not just mushrooms.

Cabbage and chives, vegetables that Hyun-sung additionally told him to prepare.

And the important thing is that there is more than one type of mushroom. Oyster mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and even enoki mushrooms, three types. On top of that, cabbage and chives, what on earth is he going to make with so many ingredients…

With curiosity, Shin Young-hoon asked again.

“What on earth are you going to make with so many ingredients? And you said there was something else to add, what on earth are you going to add…”

“This is it.”

Hyun-sung put the black bag he was holding on the table.

It was pork belly. But the strange thing was the shape of the pork belly. It wasn’t the shape of ordinary pork belly, but it was thinly rolled up as if it had been shaved with a plane.

Shin Young-hoon asked immediately.

“What is this?”

“As you can see, it’s pork belly.”

“Of course, I know it’s pork belly, but why does it look like this? It’s not like it was shaved with a plane…”

“That’s right.”

“Yes? What do you mean by that?”

Shin Young-hoon tilted his head at Hyun-sung’s words.

Then Hyun-sung smiled and immediately continued.

“This is shaved pork belly.”

“Shaved pork belly?”

Shin Young-hoon couldn’t help but tilt his head once more. It’s because he’s never heard the word shaved pork belly in his life.

Shin Young-hoon asked again.

“Was there such a word?”

“Of course not.”

“Then?”

Shin Young-hoon looked at Hyun-sung with a dumbfounded expression.

Then Hyun-sung said in a relaxed voice, unlike Shin Young-hoon.

“There will be in the future.”

“That means…”

“Yes, I made it for the first time today. And you’re the first customer, boss.”

Of course, it’s a lie.

The first person to use the word shaved pork belly was CEO Baek Jong-woon.

He once became a hot topic by introducing the birth story of shaved pork belly on a broadcast. In the past, he accidentally sliced pork belly with a ham slicing machine, and it came out in a rolled-up form, and a customer who saw this heard the reaction ‘Did you shave it with a plane?’, and from then on, he named it shaved pork belly.

Of course, it’s a memory from his past life, so it’s something that will happen 9 years from now. To be exact, he will apply for the shaved pork belly trademark in August 1996, and he will be officially recognized as a trademark two years later in 1998. Of course, that part will remain the same in the future. He has no intention of stealing even that.

Shin Young-hoon was still dumbfounded.

The name is not important. Whether it’s shaved pork belly or just pork belly, it’s the same pork anyway. The problem is its use.

The use of pork belly.

No matter what, grilling is the top priority for the use of pork belly. But this is a *kal-guksu* [knife-cut noodles] restaurant. He wouldn’t be grilling meat here.

*Kal-guksu* [knife-cut noodles] and pork belly, even if you think about it, it was a combination that didn’t go well together.

Shin Young-hoon asked again.

“You’re not going to put pork belly in the *kal-guksu* [knife-cut noodles], are you?”

“It’s similar.”

“Yes? Similar?”

“The order is important.”

“Order?”

Shin Young-hoon couldn’t understand what he was saying.

Then Hyun-sung said.

“I’ll use the kitchen.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

Shin Young-hoon immediately understood what he meant. He’s saying he’ll show him directly how to use the pork belly. As soon as Shin Young-hoon’s answer fell, Hyun-sung headed straight to the kitchen.

Hyun-sung, who entered the kitchen, put about half of the broth that he had been boiling since morning in a pot and put it on the gas stove.

Then he put the prepared vegetables and mushrooms into the pot. Then he immediately started making a sauce using soy sauce.

‘What is it?’

Shin Young-hoon, who was watching the scene, tilted his head.

The reason was the sauce Hyun-sung was making.

Then Hyun-sung said.

“Watch carefully how to make the sauce.”

“Yes? Ah, yes. But what is that sauce for?”

“You’re going to dip the pork belly in it. The vegetables and mushrooms too.”

At that moment, something flashed through Shin Young-hoon’s mind. He had seen a similar dish on TV sometime. Of course, it wasn’t pork, but beef.

Shin Young-hoon asked immediately.

“Maybe shabu-shabu…?”

“Do you understand now? That’s right. That’s the menu the boss will be selling in the future. It’s shaved pork belly mushroom *kal-guksu* [knife-cut noodles].”

“Shaved pork belly mushroom *kal-guksu* [knife-cut noodles]?”

“Yes, that’s right. You eat the pork belly as shabu-shabu first, and then add the noodles to the broth and boil it as a *ma-mu-ri* [finishing].”

“Ah, yes. But…”

Shin Young-hoon had a question. That was because the ingredients for shabu-shabu were not beef, but pork.

So he asked again immediately.

“Isn’t shabu-shabu made with beef?”

“That’s right.”

“Yes? But?”

“Pork is also possible. And the types of shabu-shabu are surprisingly diverse. It’s different in each country. And the reason I chose pork is because of the characteristics of this store. The reason is…”

Hyun-sung began to explain why he chose pork. When Hyun-sung’s explanation was over, Shin Young-hoon nodded as if he understood and immediately continued.

“So, in the end, it’s the difference in price, right?”

“Of course. Think about it. Would the price be right if you made shabu-shabu with Korean beef in a *kal-guksu* [knife-cut noodles] restaurant? It’s impossible. And the important thing is that if you try it, you’ll know that pork shabu-shabu also tastes very good. Just a moment.”

At that time, the broth in the pot began to boil.

Hyun-sung immediately put the shaved pork belly into the pot. Then he stirred it a few times with chopsticks, took out the meat, and put it on a plate. Of course, he also put the vegetables on it.

“Here, wrap it in vegetables, dip it in sauce, and try it. Try it and then let’s talk.”

Hyun-sung handed the plate to Shin Young-hoon and then started taking out the meat and eating it himself.

After a while.

Hyun-sung asked.

“How is it?”

“It’s really amazing. I really didn’t know it would taste like this. When I eat it with vegetables, there’s no greasy taste at all, and it’s on a different level from the pork belly I’ve been eating so far.”

Shin Young-hoon couldn’t help but be surprised. Maybe it’s because of prejudice, but honestly, he didn’t have much expectation at first. But the moment he ate the meat, all the prejudices he had until now disappeared in an instant.

In a word, it was admiration itself.

The first thing he was surprised at was the tenderness of the meat. Perhaps because of the fat unique to pork belly, the soft taste was truly excellent.

And another surprise was the savory taste. He wondered if it would be greasy, but it wasn’t at all. Rather, he felt the savory taste unique to fat.

Perhaps the reason was the thin thickness of the pork belly. If it was thick, this taste would never have been possible. In the end, the thickness was the key to the taste of pork belly shabu-shabu.

“Shall we put in the noodles now?”

Hyun-sung started putting the noodles in the pot.

*Gulp.*

Shin Young-hoon, who was watching the scene, was already swallowing hard. Even if you just boil *kal-guksu* [knife-cut noodles] in broth, the taste is amazing. But he boiled it with vegetables and mushrooms in that broth. Not only that, but pork belly was also added.

That means the taste of the broth is the best right now. *Kal-guksu* [knife-cut noodles] on top of that…

It was a moment when the taste was fully imaginable without saying anything.

“Try it.”

As soon as Hyun-sung’s words were over, Shin Young-hoon put the noodles on a plate and brought them to his mouth.

*Slurping.*

“……”

No words were needed.

As expected, his expectations were not wrong. The taste of *kal-guksu* [knife-cut noodles], which *geu-dae-ro* [as it is] felt the deep taste of the broth, was the best taste that could be said to be *ye-sul* [art].

After a while.

Two people sitting face to face.

Hyun-sung asked first.

“Is this enough?”

“I have nothing to say but amazing. I’m just amazed at how you came up with this idea. But…”

Shin Young-hoon couldn’t finish his words.

Then Hyun-sung asked immediately.

“Tell me. Is there any problem?”

“I’m worried about how to procure the meat. The kitchen is too small to bring in a machine, and it’s too expensive to buy meat at retail price from the butcher shop. Is there any good way?”

“Of course. Don’t worry about that.”

The first thing Hyun-sung considered was the issue of procuring meat. No matter how good a menu you decide on, if you can’t procure the ingredients, that menu becomes useless.

So he stopped by the butcher shop first before entering the *kal-guksu* [knife-cut noodles] restaurant.

Hyun-sung’s words immediately followed.

“I had the consent of the butcher shop owner. He said he would give me a 20% discount from the retail price. And he said that the price could be adjusted again after a month.”

“The fact that the price can be adjusted again means that the price can be lowered further depending on the amount of meat consumed?”

“That’s right. It could go down another 10%. This is all possible because the butcher shop is right next door. Even if it was a little further away, it would have been impossible. This way, both stores will win-win.”

“Ah, I see. If this place does well, the butcher shop will also be good. Because that means a lot of meat is sold. But how much should I charge? I don’t know the price at all.”

“9,900 won.”

“Yes? 9,900 won? No, if it’s 10,000 won, it’s 10,000 won, and if it’s 9,000 won, it’s 9,000 won, what are you doing *jang-nan* [playing] with the price…”

Shin Young-hoon looked at Hyun-sung with an absurd expression.