Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 584

A week later.

Two people sat facing each other across a table.

On the table between them, a variety of breads were piled high.

Those two people were Hyun-sung and Lee Se-yi, the owner of the bakery.

Hyun-sung picked up a piece of bread and asked,

“Are these the breads that will be sold here from now on?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’ve been touring famous bakeries in Incheon for a week, trying their breads and then trying to recreate them myself.”

“How’s the taste?”

“Of course, I couldn’t make them 100% identical, but I think they’re close enough to sell. And I left out the ones that tasted too different.”

For a week, Lee Se-yi’s job was to tour famous bakeries in Incheon. She researched the most popular breads, bought them, and ate them. Then, she stayed up late trying to replicate those breads.

The thirty or so breads in front of her were the result of that effort.

Tap!

Hyun-sung tore open the bread bag he was holding. He immediately brought the bread to his mouth. It was a crumble bread, commonly called soboro bread [a sweet bread with a crumbly topping].

Munch, munch.

Hyun-sung, while eating the crumble bread, nodded.

“The taste is good?”

“Really? That bread seems easy, but it actually takes a lot of work. The key is making sure the bumpy topping on the surface doesn’t fall off. If you mess up the dough or the temperature, the shape will be ruined and it will crumble easily.”

“You must have put a lot of effort into it this time.”

“Actually, I wasn’t planning on going this far, but what you said after you tasted the bread last time awakened my competitive spirit. I couldn’t stand losing to anyone, not since I was in school.”

It was a week ago.

After solving Yoo Young-seok’s girlfriend problem, the next place he visited was Lee Se-yi’s bakery. It was to taste the breads that she had stopped selling because the customers’ reactions weren’t good.

After tasting them, he realized that the problem wasn’t the customers’ preferences, but the taste of the bread itself.

So, what he said at that time was, ‘If you’re going to make it like this, let’s just give up.’

Of course, he knew it was a bit harsh, but he wanted to jolt her into action. But her reaction surprised him.

She could have been upset, but instead, she said she would try again.

She would go back to the basics, research again, and revive the taste of the bread.

And today, a week later, the taste of the bread was definitely different.

As Hyun-sung nodded, Lee Se-yi continued,

“I stayed up all night about once every two days. Bread doesn’t come out quickly; it needs a ripening period [time for the dough to rise and develop flavor].”

“Still, it seems like you found the taste faster than I thought you would in a week.”

“Look at this hand.”

Lee Se-yi held out her hand in front of Hyun-sung. Her hand was shaking, even when she was still. That meant she had overworked it.

“How much did you knead the dough that your hand is still shaking like that?”

“When I first learned to make bread, my teacher told me that the taste of bread comes from kneading. But I was too lazy, so the taste of my bread was terrible. You pointed that out exactly this time.”

“To be honest, after tasting the bread a week ago, I thought it would be difficult. I thought we wouldn’t be able to compete with Paris Baguette [a popular bakery chain] with that taste. But now, that thought has completely changed. I’m really surprised.”

“It’s all thanks to you. If I were alone, I would have just been a frog in a well [idiom for someone with limited experience], not knowing anything and just going through the process of closing down. But after seeing the taste of other famous bakeries’ bread, as you said, I realized how terrible our bread was. So, I pulled myself together and desperately tried to rediscover the taste of good bread.”

That was probably right.

In his past life, Lee Se-yi ended up closing down in just six months.

At that time, he thought it was only because of the large chain stores, but now he thought it was more than that.

Change.

The conclusion was that she couldn’t survive because she couldn’t adapt.

But now, she had created that change herself.

Hyun-sung nodded and picked up another bread.

“Is this a whipped cream bread?”

“Yes, that’s right. That’s also a popular bread these days.”

“It must be soft?”

“Yes, that’s right. The sweetness and softness of the whipped cream are the key to that bread. Try it!”

Lee Se-yi’s voice was full of energy. That meant she was confident in the taste of the bread.

As expected.

Hyun-sung, who took a bite of the whipped cream bread, couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Oh~~!”

“How is it?”

“It’s so good. It’s much better than any whipped cream bread I’ve ever had. Did you figure out this taste this time too?”

“Yes, that’s right. I found this taste at a bakery in Dongincheon [district in Incheon]. I couldn’t make this taste no matter how hard I tried. But after not giving up and trying, I finally found something similar in five days. But it’s not 100% yet, so I need to practice a little more.”

“You’re amazing.”

Hyun-sung smiled and gave her a thumbs up. Then, Lee Se-yi turned her head slightly as if she was embarrassed and smiled before continuing.

“At first, I was scared and didn’t know what to do because a large chain store was coming in, but now I’m starting to feel confident. After all, the most important thing in a bakery is the taste of the bread.”

“I think so too. If you work a little harder with this, you’ll have a good chance of winning. And just in case, is white the only color for this whipped cream bread?”

“Yes, I saw that the Dongincheon bakery also only had one color. Are there other colors?”

“It’s not that, but I think you can make various colors.”

Until now, the color of whipped cream was only white. But as time goes by, that color also changes in various ways. The variety of colors led to the splendid transformation of cakes.

It was the change in whipped cream that he had seen in his past life.

Hyun-sung continued.

“If you make it with food coloring…….”

“Oh! Wait a minute!”

Lee Se-yi interrupted Hyun-sung. Then, she seemed to think for a moment before continuing.

“That’s right, food coloring! With that, you can make whipped cream in various colors.”

“If you decorate the cake with that…….”

“Wow! That’s great! If that happens, you can make cakes in much more various colors than the current cakes. But are you really a genius?”

“A genius?”

“That’s right, you have nothing to do with this industry, but the fact that you’re thinking about that is amazing. Isn’t it?”

“Is that how it works? Haha…….”

Hyun-sung burst out laughing. After all, Hyun-sung didn’t think of it himself; he just saw it in his past life. But the fact that she praised him as a genius made him laugh.

Lee Se-yi’s eyes twinkled as she continued.

“I’m going to make it as soon as you leave. I feel so good just thinking about it. That way, the cake will be really pretty.”

“Is it time for your abilities to be truly unleashed?”

“My heart is pounding just thinking about it. Actually, my hobby was originally making cakes. I’m going to try again from now on.”

Lee Se-yi’s eyes sparkled more than ever. That was the moment when her passion was revealed. Hyun-sung nodded at the sight and continued.

“And have you thought about the event I told you about?”

“I’ve been thinking about it, but I don’t have anything in particular…….”

“Hmm…….”

Hyun-sung thought for a moment and immediately opened his mouth.

“How about a seventh-anniversary appreciation event?”

“A seventh-anniversary appreciation event?”

“Yes, you said this year is the seventh anniversary of the opening, right? So, you’re holding an appreciation event to thank the customers who have supported you so far. How is it?”

“Hmm…… Won’t people say something? That I’m only doing it because another bakery is coming in after not doing anything for so long.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“It seems too obvious…….”

Lee Se-yi’s voice was weak. Then, Hyun-sung immediately continued.

“What does it matter? And people don’t care about that. From the customer’s point of view, they’ll like it if they receive any kind of benefit. And when competition starts, you create events that didn’t exist before.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course, so you don’t have to worry about that part.”

“Then I’ll do that. But what kind of appreciation event would be good?”

Lee Se-yi’s expression brightened a little. It seemed like her mind had changed once she decided to do it.

“How about a 20% discount event?”

“20%?”

“Yes, I think that would be good, what do you think?”

“So, you’re saying that instead of giving any gifts, we should discount the bread price?”

“Yes, that’s right. I think that would be the most effective.”

“Hmm…….”

Lee Se-yi seemed to think for a moment before continuing.

“I guess that’s right. After all, the best event at a bakery is to discount the bread price.”

“And if you give a colorful cake that you made yourself as a gift to customers who purchase more than a certain amount, it will be great advertising. Not only that, but sales will also increase quite a bit more. How is it?”

“Wow! You’re really a genius. How did you even think of that right away…….”

Lee Se-yi’s eyes sparkled even more. The worried expression she had when she was crying about Paris Baguette coming in was nowhere to be found.

She opened her mouth again.

“How much should the minimum purchase amount be?”

“I think about 30,000 won [approximately $25 USD] would be good, what do you think?”

“Hmm…… 30,000 won seems appropriate.”

“We can put up a banner tomorrow. Paris Baguette will be opening in three days and will be doing some kind of event anyway.”

In fact, a 10% discount event is all Paris Baguette usually offers for their opening event. So, Hyun-sung suggested 20% from the beginning. After all, if you’re going to do it, you have to do it bigger than them.

“Do you know what kind of event they’re having?”

“They’ll probably have a 10% discount event.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes, as far as I know, that’s all Paris Baguette’s opening events are these days.”

“Then we’re going out stronger?”

“That’s right. But they probably won’t care about that. After all, they’ll think we can’t compete with them.”

It’s a kind of superiority.

The act of ignoring ordinary individual stores because they are a large chain store.

But the problem is that it often works in reality.

“So, they’re underestimating us?”

“They have pride in being a large chain store.”

“I guess…….”

Lee Se-yi nodded as if thinking for a moment before continuing.

“To be honest, I’m worried. I’ve gained courage because you’re helping me, but I don’t know if I can really withstand a large chain store.”

“Of course, it won’t be easy. But if you work hard like you are now, you’ll be able to do it. They have weaknesses too.”

“Weaknesses?”

“Yes, first of all, the rent is 1 million won [approximately $800 USD] more than here, and because it’s a chain store, the bread price is more expensive than ordinary individual stores.”

It’s a characteristic of chain stores.

Since the store is larger than other ordinary individual stores, the rent is bound to be expensive. And the bread price is also more expensive than ordinary individual stores.

“Won’t they lower the bread price?”

“They can’t do that. Ordinary individuals can adjust the bread price as they please, but they can’t because the head office sets the bread price. So, it will be advantageous if you use that well.”

“So, you’re saying we should compete with the bread price?”

“There’s no more sure way to compete than that. Of course, the taste of the bread is the most important thing for that. Customers don’t choose bread just because it’s cheap.”

“I guess so. If the taste is similar or better, they’ll look for cheap bread, but if it’s the opposite, they might ignore it just because it’s cheap.”

Lee Se-yi nodded as if acknowledging it. Then, Hyun-sung continued at the sight.

“Yes, that’s right. Besides, you can’t ignore the brand recognition of Paris Baguette.”

“So, you’re saying that the bread taste should be better and the price should be cheaper, even if it’s just a little bit?”

“That’s right. But after eating the bread today, I think it’s definitely possible.”

“Is it really that good?”

“I don’t lie about things like this. Have you already forgotten? What I said about giving up after tasting your bread.”

“Hoho, I guess…….”

Lee Se-yi laughed lightly as if she remembered. She stopped laughing and carefully opened her mouth.

“Um…… Can I ask you one thing?”

“Of course, what is it?”

“Why did you say such harsh things back then? To be honest, I almost collapsed at that time. You said it too harshly. Was there another reason?”

Lee Se-yi’s expression became quite serious.

It seemed that she was quite shocked by what he said about giving up if she was going to make bread like that.

Maybe it’s natural.

After all, he told someone who had been in business for seven years to give up.

“Because of Soo-jung.”

“Our Soo-jung?”

“Yes, I didn’t want to see Soo-jung crying and leaving again.”

“What? What are you talking about? That our Soo-jung is crying and leaving?”

Lee Se-yi tilted her head as if she didn’t know what Hyun-sung was talking about. Then, Hyun-sung immediately opened his mouth.