SURE 2

“What does it matter if it’s just wishful thinking? If it goes well, we can ride the coattails of a big corporation and grow our business too. If that happens, give all the employees a month-long refresh vacation. So I can go to that Jeju Island I couldn’t go to because of you.”

“Yeonsu. Are you really tired?”

“How did you know? Thanks to someone, I’m damn tired. Ah, shoot, my time is up. This slave is off.”

Yeonsu high-fived the employees from the sales management team who were just coming in, disappeared with his group, and I accepted their greetings and took a deep drag from my cigarette.

I cannot be happy without knowing the details of the collaboration. Assuming we don’t consider the size of the company, when a food company usually sends a proposal, it’s less of a collaboration and more of a product bundling deal. They entice a small, up-and-coming franchise with the promise of increased sales. In reality, when you look into it, we are not collaborators but merely a side dish.

As I said, this was the result of a heart hardened through a moderate amount of social life. Blindly accepting the goodwill of others can be poison.

“…No, wait a minute.”

Thinking about it, the soy sauce that goes into our tteokbokki was a Shinyoon F&B product. As soon as I realized this, the cigarette tasted stale. Just then, my work phone rang. It was Section Chief Han.

“Yes.”

—Mr. CEO, where are you?

“The rooftop. What’s up?”

—The marketing team called for a meeting about the Shinyoon F&B collaboration proposal.

It was just as Yeonsu had predicted. Though I did not expect the call to come so early. It seems Team Leader Im, who had a preliminary look at the proposal, thinks it is worth pursuing.

Unintentionally, today is quite busy. The morning was spent dealing with Yoon Sungjoon’s nonsense, and it seems I will not have a spare moment until I leave work due to the unexpected collaboration proposal in the afternoon.

“Tell them we’ll have a meeting in 15 minutes.”

—Yes.

The sales management team employees, who smoked as if breathing, greeted me and left like a receding tide. I looked up to see only three white-collar workers and myself left on the rooftop. Only then did I leisurely light a second cigarette. In truth, I was not leisurely at all.

I should be happy about a proposal from a large corporation, so why do I only feel uneasy?

Assistant Manager Kim, who was participating in place of the sales management team leader who had gone down to deal with the Hanam branch issue, myself, Marketing Team Leader Im, and CS Team Leader Park gathered for a small meeting. It was a modest meeting considering how excited Yeonsu had been.

“I’ll begin.”

Team Leader Im displayed the proposal sent by Shinyoon F&B.

Shinyoon F&B X Jungwoon’s

“Gah.”

As soon as he saw the proposal cover, Team Leader Park, who was drinking water, started choking. It was understandable. ‘Jungwoon’s’ is the name of our company’s core and largest source of income, the snack shop franchise. It was also the sign I put up with my name on it when I first started the business in the alley. Besides ‘Jungwoon’s’, JW Food’s current business areas were the low-cost coffee specialty brand ‘Affectionate Cafe’ and ‘Jeongdaum’, which collaborated with elderly farmers in the countryside to sell local agricultural products cheaply through mail order.

“Hey, don’t we have a separate CI1) on our website? Why did they use their CI but insist on using our BI2)?”

As Team Leader Park fumed, Team Leader Im smacked his lips with a tsk.

“They’re specifying that they only want to work with the snack shop. Since it’s our company’s main thing.”

The employees, probably unable to bring themselves to say ‘Jungwoon’s’, which has the same name as the CEO, collectively referred to it as the snack shop. This was true even for Team Leader Im (my junior) and Team Leader Park (my friend), whom I had brought in when I started the company.

In any case, there was no reason to pick a fight over that. In fact, it was more comfortable for me that they made a clear distinction. With a snap of my fingers, Team Leader Im turned the page. We did not need the company history and greetings. Snap, snap, snap. After three more snaps, the main proposal was revealed.

The moment I saw the page proposing a collaboration menu called ‘Perilla Leaf Sprinkle Tteokbokki’, which combined Jungwoon’s signature menu, rice tteokbokki, with Shinyoon F&B’s unreleased new product, crispy fried perilla leaves, I tilted my head involuntarily.

I had not expected much, but it was far more trivial than I thought. In the image attached by the Shinyoon side, the round-shaped fried item had a bumpy surface. Is the meat in the picture of the cut-open fried item a meatball? They said this fried item, made by coating a ball of minced meat and egg wash with shredded perilla leaves, then dipping it in a secret batter mixed with cheongyang peppers and perilla leaves before frying, was a novel idea, but I failed to see how. We could easily develop something of that level ourselves.

Silence filled the conference room. Everyone was probably thinking similar thoughts. I, sitting at the head of the table, would have to speak first for communication to be possible, but no matter how I looked at it, this was.

“Lacking in sincerity.”

That was putting it nicely. Assistant Manager Kim and Team Leader Park also nodded in agreement.

“I agree. I mean, it might be super delicious if we try it. But I keep getting the feeling they’re looking down on us.”

“I’m of the same opinion. My team leader would probably react similarly.”

Amidst the flood of criticism, Team Leader Im alone seemed to have a different idea as he crossed his arms.

“That’s why the Shinyoon side gave us the fried item recipe outright. They’re saying if we’re suspicious of the visuals, we should try making it ourselves. Or they said they’d invite us to their R&D lab.”

“So, did you try making it yourself?”

When Team Leader Park asked, Team Leader Im suddenly started looking elsewhere. He looked at the ceiling, then glanced sideways at the conference room door. Then, ahem, ahem, he cleared his throat.

“Yep. Actually, when I checked the ingredients yesterday, I had everything in the fridge. I just bought some beef on my way home from work.”

“What about the tteokbokki? Did you order delivery at home?”

“Ah, Team Leader. We have tons of tteokbokki in our R&D lab. When I spend my own money, I eat from other places.”

It would be nice if he said things like that when the CEO wasn’t around. Seeing that I was just watching quietly, Team Leader Im wiped his nose and said, “Freedom. Delivery is my freedom. You understand, right, Mr. CEO?”

“So, how did it taste?”

“It’s delicious. I just followed the recipe roughly, but you know how there are some tastes that are just guaranteed. And our tteokbokki is on the spicy side, so it definitely tones it down.”

“Don’t forget. We have seven types of fried items too.”

Squid, seaweed rolls, dumplings, sweet potato, egg, vegetable, and boneless chicken. The top seven fried items that had survived dozens of attempts were still going strong. And one more would be added to that.

“That’s why they sent it with the ‘limited time only’ title. They said they want to discuss the profit share in a meeting. They’re so open, yet so conservative. Shall we give it a try?”

“What are your opinions?”

Team Leader Park rolled his pen, and Assistant Manager Kim rolled his eyes. It meant they had nothing particular to say, so I should decide.

“Team Leader Im, do you want to do it?”

When I asked softly, Team Leader Im nodded his head vigorously.

“We have nothing to lose. They’re the ones who revealed the recipe first. On our end, we can just meet them, and if it doesn’t feel right, we can call it off. It’s not like they only sent the proposal to us. Korea is full of snack shops.”

“But something about what Team Leader Im is saying… feels a bit like you’re downplaying us? Where’s your company loyalty?”

“I’m speaking objectively because I have company loyalty.”

“No, for a marketing team, you’re too realistic. You need to have the insight to see the bigger picture.”

“Please don’t fi-fight…”

To Assistant Manager Kim, it might have looked like those two were fighting, but they were just exchanging opinions. I tapped the table with a slow hand and made a decision.

“Set a date. The first meeting will just be to get a feel for things, so tell them to have only one or two people from their side attend. Team Leader Im will go with me.”

“Yeees.”

“But Mr. CEO. If we collaborate with Shinyoon, will they interfere with our recipe? I’m a bit worried since this is my first time dealing with such a big company.”

Team Leader Park’s concern was certainly plausible. I am also fully aware of that point. It is an essential clause that must be specified in the contract.

“We’ll have to negotiate so that doesn’t happen. If it’s impossible, then the deal’s off.”

“Why do I feel like this is a ploy for them to swallow us whole…”

“We’ll find out the answer to that when we meet and talk too.”

“Sigh. Anyway, I hope it turns out well. I hope it’s a pumpkin that rolled in on a vine.”

I feel the same way. Team Leader Im, who had turned off the beam projector, followed me into the break room with his laptop in his arms. As I took out a Couque D’asse from the snacks that the management team had stocked up and made coffee, he asked casually.

“Are you low on sugar? You’re surprisingly nervous, aren’t you, Mr. CEO?”

“Sojung.”

“Yep?”

Since it was just the two of us, I called her by her name instead of her title, and Team Leader Im’s way of speaking also became more relaxed. This was how the old-timers let off a little steam from their stuffy lives.

“When you schedule the meeting, find out the rank of their representative too.”

If the CEO and a team leader are going from our side, and a mere assistant manager comes from Shinyoon F&B, I will take it as them simply testing the waters and leave immediately. Sojung took the coffee I offered and grinned broadly.

“Yep. But we look relatively small and precious, don’t we?”

She really does not need to say things like that in front of me.

—Their marketing team leader, Shin Taeyoon, is coming himself. I asked a friend who works at Shinyoon, and they said he’s a golden parachute. But you can’t ignore him… he’s from a rich family, so his academic background is amazing, and he’s super strict when he works… they say he’s a real jerk. Will we be okay?

Sojung whispered quickly and quietly, as if revealing a secret. Aren’t you already on your way home? I wanted to ask, but I did not, since she might have been on public transport. The important thing was not the family background or personality of the person named Team Leader Shin Taeyoon. It was a matter of whether he looked down on us or not.

“That’s fine, then.”

There was no place to park in the narrow alley, so I parked in a nearby public parking lot and got out. This was the place where I had lived and worked for two years. The alley where the main branch of ‘Jungwoon’s’ is located.

The shabby sign had been changed to a conspicuous yellow one that matched the BI. A cute sign with ‘Jungwoon’s’ written in a round font and a picture of an adorable character, based on my face but completely different from the original, eating tteokbokki. Below it, the fish cakes steaming hot and the specially made, enormous tteokbokki pan are my pride.

An open kitchen is key for a snack shop. Some might keep their distance, citing hygiene, but it was not easy to just walk past the sight of the glistening, bright red tteokbokki. Moreover, when the unique, mouth-watering smell of a snack shop spreads, even if you are full, two people will end up eating a single serving as a snack. That is how human appetite works.

Having the counter right in front of the tteokbokki pan is all part of the sales strategy. As I stood in front of it, my aunt, who was slicing sundae, asked without even looking at me.

“Have you eaten?”

When I started the business, I handed the store over to my only aunt. After my parents passed away, she raised me like her own child, and I had hesitated for half a year, worried that instead of being a good son to her, I would just be adding a burden. It got to the point where my aunt herself stepped in and said, “Give me the store keys! How long do I have to wait! Are you going to hand it over when I’m old and about to die?!” I know it was all for my sake, so I always feel sorry when I come to the main branch.

“No.”

“Go in and sit down. I’ll make you omurice with the leftover ingredients.”

“I’m not eating. My stomach feels heavy. I just came to see you.”

“And you came empty-handed?”

I am not empty-handed. When I showed her the bag of sushi I had hidden behind my back, a barrage of complaints poured out about how sushi would go down so well while selling tteokbokki. A comfortable laugh finally burst out after a long day of being worn down. My aunt is blunt but has a big heart. We are the kind of people who feel at ease even without talking.

As I was watching my aunt roughly slice the sundae, a call came from inside the store.

“Excuse me, ma’am, I’m so sorry, but could I have a little more fish cake broth and pickled radish? It’s too spicy.”

Ah, geez. I placed the sushi bag on the counter and immediately went inside the store. I poured fish cake broth into a bowl and arranged pickled radish prettily in another. I am always ready to listen to customer complaints about the taste.

I placed the bowls on a tray and went over to the customer, a man in a suit who had drained an entire bottle of water because of the spiciness and was making hissing sounds with his mouth. It seemed to be so spicy that his pale face was flushed pink. The tteokbokki plate was about a third empty of a single serving. It was obvious at a glance that he could not handle spicy food.

I placed the pickled radish and fish cake broth in front of the customer and asked.

“Sir, if it’s too spicy, would you like me to add some cheese? We have white milk too.”

The customer looked up at me. The moment our eyes met, I found myself staring at him.

…How can a man be this pretty.

Is this what a face would look like if the Goddess of Childbirth had painstakingly crafted it? From the skin flushed pink from the spiciness, to the faint double eyelids and full eyelashes under neat eyebrows, the high bridge of his nose, and the lips, slightly swollen also from the spiciness. The suit, on the one hand, made him look like a nerdy scholar, but from another angle, it was a face that made him look sensitive and sharp.