Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 587

The next day.

Hyun-sung was just passing Isei’s bakery during his morning exercise when it happened.

“Mr. CEO!”

He turned around at the sound of someone calling urgently from behind. It was Isei. Hyun-sung greeted her with a smile.

“Oh? Ms. Isei!”

“Do you have a moment?”

“Now?”

“Yes, it will only take a moment.”

“Um… Okay, I understand.”

After a moment of consideration, Hyun-sung agreed. Isei went inside the store and came out with two bags, handing them to Hyun-sung.

“Please take these.”

“Oh? What’s this?”

“It’s bread.”

“Of course, I know it’s bread. But why are you giving me bread…?”

Of course, he knew it was bread the moment he received it. But Hyun-sung was curious as to why she was giving it to him, especially so early in the morning.

“It’s the first bread out of the oven today. I wanted to give it to you. No, I felt I had to give it to you.”

“To me?”

“Yes, of course. You’re the one who helped me with my business, Mr. CEO. So, I was waiting for you at this hour.”

“Is that so?”

Hyun-sung couldn’t help but be surprised.

It was barely 6 a.m. To bake bread at this hour meant she had been up almost all night.

There could only be one reason.

She had adjusted the business hours.

As expected, the answer came directly from her.

“I changed the business hours.”

“How so?”

“I moved the opening time from 9 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., two and a half hours earlier.”

“What? Two and a half hours? Why?”

“Because of you, Mr. CEO.”

“Me? I never mentioned business hours… What are you talking about?”

Hyun-sung was bewildered. They had talked a lot, but never about business hours.

Then, Isei said something unexpected.

“Differentiation.”

“Differentiation?”

“Yes, you clearly told me that I shouldn’t operate the same way as Paris Baguette, right?”

Of course, he had said that. He had said that since they didn’t have the advantages of a chain store, she shouldn’t operate under the same conditions.

But that was only about the method of operation, not the business hours.

“That’s true, but you moved the business hours two and a half hours earlier because of that?”

“Yes, I thought a lot about it, and I thought that was a definite way to differentiate myself. Anyway, I thought I had to be prepared to that extent to beat Paris Baguette, as you said, so I made the decision after much consideration.”

“But why business hours of all things?”

“I thought that was the most basic thing.”

“Basic?”

Hyun-sung couldn’t easily understand. He had to ask again.

“Why did you think that was basic?”

“The time the bread comes out.”

“The time the bread comes out?”

“Yes, I think the sooner the bread comes out, the more customers will come. Of course, the taste of the bread must be good as a base.”

“So, you’re saying that your idea is to have the taste of the bread as a base and then open early to attract customers?”

Of course, that wasn’t wrong. If the bread tastes good and the store opens early, it’s ideal for the customer.

“Yes, that’s right. But there’s another real reason.”

“Another one?”

“Yes, it’s that the Paris Baguette across the street opens at 7 a.m.”

“So, you set it to 6:30 a.m. to open earlier than them?”

“Yes, that’s right. If I’m going to open early anyway, I thought it would be better to open a little earlier.”

Isei nodded as if it were obvious. Then, she added another piece of information.

“I just learned this, but the Paris Baguette across the street opens at 7 a.m., but the bread arrives at 9 a.m. They can’t adjust that time because the head office has to deliver it, even if they wanted to receive it sooner.”

“I guess so. Each region will have its own delivery time…”

That was obvious. Not all Paris Baguettes can receive bread from the head office at the same time. And the Bupyeong branch has bread delivered at 9 a.m.

Isei continued.

“So, I moved up the time. Among the conditions that can compete with chain stores, the advantage is that I can adjust the time I make bread.”

“Come to think of it, that’s true. Chain stores have to receive bread from the head office anyway, but you can decide for yourself.”

“That’s what I’m saying. So, I made that decision.”

Confidence was evident in Isei’s expression.

Perhaps it was natural. The opening time is only 30 minutes apart, but the actual time the bread is available is two and a half hours apart.

Then, something flashed through Hyun-sung’s mind.

“Does the bread also come out at this time?”

“Yes, of course. But why the bread?”

“I just thought of something. Can I taste the bread right now?”

“Yes, just a moment.”

Isei immediately went inside and came out with a bag of bread, handing it to Hyun-sung.

“It’s warm.”

The bread Isei handed him felt warm, probably because it was freshly baked.

*Thud!*

Hyun-sung immediately opened the bread bag and put a piece of bread in his mouth.

*Munch munch.*

“It’s the best!”

After eating the bread for a moment, Hyun-sung immediately raised his thumb.

The difference in taste from the bread he had eaten before was significant. The soft texture in his mouth, probably because it was freshly baked, and the taste was definitely different from bread that had been sitting for a while.

Hyun-sung took another bite of the bread he was eating and then immediately continued.

“This is it!”

“This?”

“Yes, we’re going to use this bread as the face of the bakery.”

“The face of the bakery?”

Isei stared at him, unsure of what he meant. Then, Hyun-sung elaborated.

“Don’t you know what the face of the bakery means?”

“Of course, I know. But why is that phrase coming up here… No, wait a minute.”

Isei stopped talking and was silent for a moment, pondering Hyun-sung’s words.

After a while, Isei spoke again.

“So, you’re saying that we should use this bread as the signature item of the bakery?”

“Yes, that’s right. We’re going to use this bread as bait. I think this will definitely work.”

“Really?”

“I think so. If bread comes out at this time, people who eat bread in the morning will probably come to the store to buy this bread. Wouldn’t they?”

“If they like bread, they might, because freshly baked bread tastes the best.”

*Clack!*

Hyun-sung snapped his fingers and continued.

“That’s it. So, let’s use that right away. Let’s advertise it as a bakery with delicious, freshly baked bread.”

“Advertise?”

“Yes, put up a big banner outside. First, put the advertising phrase ‘Bakery with delicious, freshly baked bread’ at the top, and then inform people of the time the bread comes out below. Then, there will definitely be a response.”

“Ah, so you’re saying we should do image marketing?”

“It’s kind of like that. And let’s make this bread our representative product. Besides, the bread comes out two and a half hours earlier than Paris Baguette, so the effect will be much bigger than you think.”

That was obvious.

People who usually eat bread for breakfast have no choice but to buy bread the day before because there’s no place that sells bread early, even if they want to buy it fresh.

But from now on, if bread comes out at 6:30 a.m., they don’t have to buy bread the day before and can come out in the morning and buy bread in the best condition.

Then, of course, other breads will be available too, so those breads will be sold as well.

Isei’s expression brightened. She immediately continued.

“Other breads will be available at that time, so they’ll be sold together, right?”

“That’s right, because almost no one will come in the morning and only buy one type of bread.”

“You’re different, Mr. CEO. I was just thinking about opening the door earlier than Paris Baguette, but you’re going one step further and thinking about selling other breads using this early bread.”

“Haha, whatever the reason, it’s good. I have a good feeling.”

“Me too. Then I have to order a banner right away today.”

It was clear how much she liked the idea from Isei’s expression.

Well, it was natural. Instead of being intimidated by a large chain store, she was becoming more actively engaged in business.

And more importantly, there was hope.

Whether a person has hope or not makes a world of difference.

Hyun-sung asked again.

“Then how many times a day does the bread come out?”

“Right now, I’m thinking of baking bread every four hours.”

“Every four hours?”

“Yes, of course, it will be hard work, but the taste of the bread is the best when it’s freshly baked.”

“Then you can maintain the best taste almost all day long?”

“Yes, of course. Usually, the taste of bread is maintained for up to five hours, so that’s the plan.”

“Paris Baguette can’t catch up even if they tried?”

That was obvious. They can’t get bread except for the time the head office delivers it.

Isei was aiming for that.

“That’s right, they can’t get bread unless they bring it from the head office. Maybe bread will arrive about twice, in the morning and evening.”

“On the other hand, you have bread coming out every four hours?”

“Yes, at least two or three times more often. And that’s my winning card.”

*Clap clap.*

Hyun-sung clapped and looked at Isei. Compared to her past self, her change was remarkable. Back then, she just frowned every day because business wasn’t doing well due to Paris Baguette. Then, she eventually closed the door after six months.

But now, that appearance was gone. Instead, hope was seen in her enthusiastic expression.

“I really like your confident look now.”

“It’s all because you actively helped me, Mr. CEO.”

“I didn’t do anything…”

“No, really, if you weren’t there, Sujeong and I would have had no choice but to leave this neighborhood crying, as you said.”

“But now it’s the opposite, so it’s all good. From now on, just keep working hard like you are.”

Isei nodded. Then she took something out of her pocket and handed it to Hyun-sung.

“This.”

“What is this?”

“Sujeong wrote a letter at daycare yesterday.”

“A letter?”

“Yes, but she said she wrote it to you and told me to give it to you…”

“Haha, really?”

Hyun-sung quickly took the letter Isei handed him.

He immediately took the letter from the envelope and started reading it.

After a moment.

“Pfft!”

Hyun-sung couldn’t help but laugh while reading the letter. Isei, who was watching, immediately asked.

“What did Sujeong write?”

“It’s a secret.”

“What? Why?”

“Sujeong wrote it to me, so I have to keep it a secret, right?”

“No, but…”

Isei looked regretful. Hyun-sung laughed again at her.

Then Isei asked again.

“Why are you laughing so much because of what Sujeong wrote?”

“A love letter.”

“What? Really?”

“Yes, it seems Sujeong has a lot of feelings for me. Haha…”

Hyun-sung laughed even louder. Then Isei started urging Hyun-sung, as if she was even more curious. But the more she did, the more he put the letter in his pocket and pretended not to know.

“Are you really going to do this?”

“Sujeong will scold me if she finds out. I’ll be going now…”

Hyun-sung took the bread bag, said goodbye, and left the bakery.

After a while.

Hyun-sung, who was walking alone, couldn’t help but laugh again. It was because of the contents of the letter Yoon Sujeong wrote.

[Video Uncle [referring to Hyun-sung, as she knows him from his video work], wait 15 years. Then I’ll marry you!]

***

That afternoon.

Another banner was hung in front of Isei’s bakery. It advertised the bakery as having delicious, freshly baked bread, with warm bread coming out every four hours, starting at 6:30 a.m.

Ma Sang-gu, the owner of Paris Baguette, was looking at the banner from across the street.

“What is that now?”