Chapter 114

A harmonious home leads to success in all endeavors. This is a saying often found in fancy calligraphy on a frame placed on the living room shelf.

A similar saying is “Cultivate oneself, regulate the family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world,” which shows how much our ancestors valued family.

It really makes you realize how much a nagging family can mess with your nerves.

Anyway.

The reason I suddenly brought this up is because I once again felt how my dad keeps the family harmonious.

[Your dad kept singing about how he really wanted to go to Seoul, so I gave in. I grew up in Seoul, so I don’t really care, but I don’t get why your dad, a country boy from Donghae, is so nostalgic for Seoul.]

“Seoul is the land of opportunity. There’s even an old saying: send horses to Jeju, people to Seoul, and Super Developers to Donghae.”

As I chatted with our Mrs. Lee Joo-hee and my dad, I felt the family bond growing stronger.

Thanks, Dad.

But I won’t take any change.

[Thanks to our daughter, we don’t have to sell our beloved house, but geez. I wonder if your dad feels any guilt living off his kid’s money.]

I actually called him 48 times to make sure he was really okay with it.

Even though he said he was fine, the next day he kept saying, “Yoorim, I think you don’t need the money. I’m grateful, though,” so I showed him the house to settle it.

Thanks, mansion.

You were useful for the first time.

“By the way, Dad’s doing a meat restaurant, right?”

[About that…]

Mom trailed off.

I asked, half-expecting the worst.

“Don’t tell me it’s a sushi place again?”

[No, not that.]

“Then what?”

[He said he wants to open a craft beer shop.]

Here we go again.

I could already guess the mental gymnastics Dad went through to land on a craft beer shop, so I quietly asked Mom for help.

“Please change Dad’s mind.”

[You talk him out of it, Yoorim.]

“Don’t worry.”

Over the phone, I faintly heard, “Yoorim’s dad— Yoorim says to change it—.”

A moment later.

[What’s up, our daughter?]

“Dad.”

[Call me ‘Dad,’ Yoorim…]

“Picking a niche product just because it’s unique, thinking common items won’t last, is like choosing a job no one picks in an RPG.”

[Yoorim, sometimes your analogies are too hard for me.]

“It’s a waste of money, so don’t do it.”

There’s a reason why people avoid certain things.

If he were a master craft beer brewer, maybe, but jumping into it without that expertise was a no-go.

“Dad, you don’t even like beer that much.”

[What are you talking about? I love beer.]

“Nobody says they love something they only have once a year.”

[Really?]

“Dad, stick to the meat restaurant. That’s the only possibility for you.”

At my words, Dad scratched his cheek (even though it wasn’t a video call, I could vividly picture it) and spoke.

[I knew it.]

“Then why were you trying to go off the rails?”

[Just in case. I’ve already prepared everything for the meat restaurant, just like you said.]

“When’s the opening?”

[Soon?]

“If it’s soon, that means the construction’s done and you’re just on standby. Even if I said craft beer was good, you couldn’t change it now. Why were you testing me?”

[I was just checking if you’d like the idea…]

It’s natural to pitch a good idea to the team leader, so I understood Dad’s logic.

It’s just that his method was too sneaky.

Casually floating the idea to Mom to see if it’d fly.

Maybe our family has Japanese blood instead of Russian?

This level of sneakiness has a distinctly Kyoto flavor.

I asked,

“When exactly is the opening?”

[In 3 days?]

“3 days? But you’re still in Donghae?”

[I came down to wrap up some things. We moved to Seoul a while ago.]

You already moved to Seoul?

That happened without me knowing?

“Where did you move to?”

[Found a place near the shop.]

“Good job. When are you coming to Seoul?”

[I’ll head up today. There’s still a lot to prepare.]

“Really?”

I pondered for a moment at Dad’s words.

Then I asked,

“Where exactly is the shop?”

*

Dad’s shop was near Hongik University Station.

A fantastic location, but the rent must be sky-high.

To make a profit here, you’d have to work really hard…

I put away my mental calculator and walked into the shop.

“Yoorim, you’re here?”

Dad greeted me.

I scanned the shop.

It was the day before opening, so it was a bit chaotic.

“Dad, like I said, the quality has to be good if you want me to promote it.”

A Super Developer could help a meat restaurant in countless ways.

I could provide funding, consult on the menu, and even do promotions.

With 3.74 million subscribers, one promotion from me would bring in a flood of customers.

By the way, unrelated to the topic, my channel where I post edited broadcasts has millions of subscribers, but the channel where I post game PVs still has a few hundred thousand.

The views are kinda weird too.

Weird. Wasn’t I a super popular game developer?

Hmm.

Why do broadcast channels do better?

If the people who bought my game had just clicked on the game PV once, it would’ve had tens of millions of views.

“Yoorim?”

“Yes?”

“How much do you have to like it?”

“Just meet my standards. It’s not hard.”

“Yoorim, your standards are the pickiest…”

Muttering softly, Dad brought out the charcoal and placed it in the brazier.

Crackle. Even though it’s still the tail end of summer and hot, the warmth of the charcoal felt oddly welcoming. Like finding charcoal on a freezing day when your hands go numb typing on a keyboard.

Dad skillfully set up the side dishes and sauces, then took out the meat and started grilling.

“Is this a house that grills meat for you?”

“Trying to be, yeah. That’s why I’ll hire a lot of part-timers.”

“The store is unusually big these days. It’s usually small-scale, but you must be confident.”

“I did a lot of research.”

Originally, there are only two things that matter in a meat restaurant.

The quality of the meat and the taste of the sauce.

If you nail those two, the rest can be covered with technique.

Dad flipped the tongs, and the meat sizzled as it cooked.

He grilled it carefully so the juices wouldn’t escape, and as soon as I saw that, I spoke up.

“This is the kind of person who ran a sushi restaurant?”

“Dad’s good at grilling meat, right?”

“Wasn’t exactly a compliment.”

Seriously, why did he run a sushi place?

What a waste of talent.

It’s not like there aren’t meat restaurants in Donghae. If he’d just done that, wouldn’t he have made a fortune by now?

“Here, customer. Dip this pork belly in this sauce, and it’ll be really delicious.”

“Hmm.”

I did as Dad said and dipped the pork belly in the sauce.

“……”

“How is it?”

“Hmm?”

“Not good?”

No, it was delicious. Especially this aged soy sauce—it was amazing, perfectly balanced and made me want to keep eating the meat endlessly.

But there was one thing that puzzled me.

I feel like I’ve had something similar somewhere…

“Dad.”

“Yeah.”

“Did you buy this?”

“…Not exactly, I tried to replicate it.”

“Ah.”

Back then. When I had a dinner gathering with the movie theater part-timers, or more accurately, when we caught that scammer, the sauce at that meat restaurant was similar to this.

Though this sauce feels a bit lighter, if that makes sense. It really brings out the flavor of the meat, so I prefer it more.

“Did you go around researching?”

“That’s the basics, isn’t it?”

“How come someone who knows this much couldn’t run a sushi place?”

“…Seafood just isn’t my thing.”

This is why you should do what you love.

The difference in output between what you like and what you don’t is extreme.

“Pass?”

“Pass. The price isn’t bad either.”

In these times of inflation, a price under 20,000 won is pretty reasonable.

The quality of the meat isn’t the best ever, but for this price range, it’s probably the best you can get.

“Good meat. Where’d you get it?”

“Dad’s friends with the meat distributors.”

“Seriously, why did you run a sushi place?”

Someone who loves meat, adores kimchi stew, and is friends with meat distributors—why, seriously?

It’s one of the three great mysteries of the Han family.

For reference, the first mystery is my eldest uncle, and the second is my grandfather.

“Yoorim, what about you?”

“I’m not a mystery at all.”

What are you talking about?

I’m as transparent as it gets. How am I a mystery?

“Anyway, I’ll go back and promote it. It’s good.”

“Thanks, Yoorim.”

“Oh, by the way, what time exactly are you opening the store tomorrow?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Obviously, I’m going to do a day of part-time work. It’ll help with promotion.”

“Can you? You’re not busy?”

“I’ve got some free time these days, so it’s fine. Think of it as broadcast content.”

If it were the old days, I wouldn’t be able to do this kind of content, but now, after using my ultimate move, I don’t hesitate.

I whispered to Dad.

“With this, we’re a community of fate. If one of us falls, we all fall, so be careful.”

“Yoorim, you’re scaring me.”

“If you’re using the power of Mituyu, you’ll have to handle it.”

*

And so, the day of the store opening arrived.

I showed up at Dad’s store and blinked in surprise.

“Isn’t this Sergeant Han?”

Who would’ve thought I’d meet my military junior here?

I really didn’t see this coming.

“Hello.”

“Is this Sergeant Han’s store?”

“Something like that.”

With the excited woman chatting away behind me, I tilted my head slightly.

So, who are you?