Chapter 237: Making Money (3)

“Huh? It’s done?” The customer waiting for her pizza gasped in surprise. Her companions also blinked their eyes in surprise and stared at the pizzas.

Obviously, no one would bake pizzas beforehand in anticipation of incoming orders, so how could these pizzas be ready, even though it hadn’t been that long since they ordered them? Regardless of their disbelief, the customers saw the steam rising from the freshly-baked pizzas, and they had to believe it.

“Wowsers, look at them. They look great.”

“Why are there so many toppings?”

Park Yu-Min grinned brightly while putting the pizzas down. “Please enjoy.”

“Thank you...”

Park Yu-Min leisurely moved away from the table while eavesdropping.

“I was gonna take some pictures and leave, but... Wow, I gotta say, the quantity is something else. I don't think I'll regret paying a lot for this, you know what I mean?”

“You know how those places run by family members of celebrities usually overcharge for stuff, right? But this place is pretty reasonable, considering the quantity.”

“...Hang on a minute. If we look at the potential cost of making this pizza, I think it's way better than being reasonable. And if it also tastes good, then it'd be pretty much perfect…”

Park Yu-Min's ears perked up. The first group to place an order consisted of three ladies, unlike the next table, which was filled with stinky, thick-headed men. The truth was, a man's evaluation didn't really matter to a pizzeria. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that a pizzeria's success or failure hinged on the favorable evaluation by the womenfolk.

Although one would sometimes see a group of men sitting together to share pizza, most of the clientele for a pizzeria would consist of women.

A female customer picked up a pizza slice while tilting her head. “Don't you think this slice is too big?”

“Nah, the pizza itself is big.”

“You think so?”

The woman holding the pizza slice narrowed her eyes; her gaze was unreadable, doubtful. There was no usual scene of melted cheese dangling off the slice. This left a bit of... a flat impression despite the impressive array of toppings.

'Well, I'll find out once I take a bite.'

The woman bit off a chunk from the slice, and her eyes soon widened in surprise. “Heol? That's crazy!”

Her companion tilted her head and asked, “What's the matter? Is it good?”

“This is so weird, you know? The pizza looks like American-style pizza, but it tastes so clean and light. How do you bake a pizza that it tastes so light?”

“Light and clean? Even though it looks so rich and oily?”

“Go ahead and take a bite. I'm not kidding you.”

Park Yu-Min sneakily clenched his fist.

'Nice!'

The reactions of the female customers were better than he thought. With that, his anxiety over Kang Jin-Ho-baked pizza flew out the window. Park Yu-Min honestly thought it would already be a success to bake 'edible' pizzas, but it seemed like he should revise his opinion now. After all, this sounded like a huge success instead!

'Then again, how could it taste bad?'

A myriad of ingredients was dumped on the pizzas before they were baked with an astonishing level of firepower. No wonder all the way-too-rich oily tastes would get removed from the end product. Using such powerful flames would usually result in only half-baked pizzas with some parts too singed while the rest far too undercooked. However, Kang Jin-Ho utilized his god-like level of control to perform the sorcery of producing evenly-baked pizzas with such roaring flames.

'Seriously, Jin-Ho can be god-like in some weird things...'

Park Yu-Min chuckled to himself, only for his musings to be interrupted by an urgent call.

“Hey, Yu-Min! I'm dying here, man!” Ju Yeong-Gi, in the middle of busy carrying around the completed pizzas, cried out to Park Yu-Min.

“I, I'm coming!” Park Yu-Min sobered up instantly and hurriedly headed to the kitchen. “...Heol?”

He was greeted by the sight of pizzas. The space between the dining area and the kitchen was full of them! Park Yu-Min was gone for only a moment to serve the customers, but Kang Jin-Ho managed to bake many more pizzas in that brief window of time!

“Is he some kind of a pizza-baking machine...?”

No, not even a dedicated machine would be able to bake pizzas this fast. As Park Yu-Min thought, his friend could truly be god-like in some weird things.

Park Yu-Min chuckled and focused on bringing the pizzas to the customers. An empty store with no customers inside had been draining away all of his energy and enthusiasm, but the sight of the jam-packed dining area for the first time ever energized him to no end.

After serving all the customers their pizzas, Park Yu-Min headed back to the kitchen while wiping the sweat off of his forehead. Even though all the orders had been fulfilled, Kang Jin-Ho still hadn't peeked his head out of the kitchen even once.

'I wonder, what is he doing now?' 

Park Yu-Min opened the door and stepped inside the kitchen... Only for his jaw to hit the floor again. “J-Jin-Ho, what are you doing?”

Kang Jin-Ho looked up and stared at his friend. “Mm? I'm tidying up.”

“...Huh.”

Obviously, tidying up was a good thing. Especially for a fast food store, as it would surely get praised for its cleanliness. However, it didn't mean one had to polish the table after preparing the food until it sparkled flawlessly like that...

Even if the table was stainless steel, was it supposed to shine and sparkle to that degree? Park Yu-Min wasn't exaggerating here, the table was sparkling so much it almost blinded him!

'...We chose the wrong business.'

If only they had chosen to go with a car wash that focused on detailing cars... The cars waiting for their turn would have utterly filled up the roads surrounding the store by now!

Kang Jin-Ho polished the table and the various utensils before he started mopping the floor.

“N-no, wait! Jin-Ho!” Park Yu-Min nearly tripped on his feet and urgently called out. Wasn't 'mopping the floor' taking things one step too far?

Ju Yeong-Gi peeked his head from behind Park Yu-Min and scanned the kitchen before loudly tutting away. “That crazy fool, he's starting again!”

“What? Is Jin-Ho usually like that?”

“Well, that guy has the case of one hell of a germaphobe syndrome, see? Most folks with clean-freak tendencies can't stand dirty things around them, right? But that guy ain't like that. He doesn't care about rolling around on the grass or crawling around in the mud during training or while doing base maintenance. But when he sees a spot that needs to be cleaned? He just can't hold himself back on things like that. Back in the military, Jin-Ho chewed out a lot of kids with his syndrome.”

“Heol...”

Kang Jin-Ho didn't seem to care whether Ju Yeong-Gi was hanging out his dirty laundry or not. He was simply focused on mopping the floor with enough zeal to rip the floor tiles clean off.

“...I guess we won't have to worry about the food safety inspections, then.”

***

Customers continued to pour in and out. Despite the fairly-spacious dining area that boasted quite a few tables, the customer turnaround time remained unexpectedly fast–all thanks to how quickly it took Kang Jin-Ho to fulfill the orders.

“How can a pizza be this light-tasting?”

“No, seriously now. It's so crunchy, yet soft, too. Isn't this weird?”

It was encouraging to see the reactions getting more and more positive as time went on. Unfortunately, though... A new problem reared its ugly head.

Kang Jin-Ho emerged from the kitchen to inform his colleagues. “We have run out of ingredients.”

Park Yu-Min panicked slightly. “T-then, we gotta get more!”

“No. Some ingredients will need time to mature first. They can't be used right away even if I get the dough ready.”

“What should we do in that case?”

Ju Yeong-Gi came up with an idea right away. “For now, let's call for a break. If we start maturing those ingredients now, we should be able to use them by evening today.”

“Okay, got it. I'll go tell Eun-Yeong now.” Park Yu-Min turned around. He tried to run outside the store, but he was stopped by Ju Yeong-Gi. His friend then shoved a towel toward Park Yu-Min's sweat-covered face.

Ju Yeong-Gi growled unhappily. “Tell me, won’t the customers lose their appetite after looking at your face?”

“...I'm sorry.”

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“If Jin-Ho is sweating profusely while running around outside, he'll be seen as a driven man passionate about his work. But if it's us? People will tell us to go take a shower!”

“Wowsers... I know that's the reality, but it still kinda pisses me off.”

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“Reality is not supposed to be kind, you dumbass.”

The trio asked the customers for their understanding and called for a break. Kang Eun-Yeong also agreed to stop the concert until evening. The customers who stormed inside the pizzeria poured outside in the blink of an eye after they were done taking selfies, leaving behind only the empty tables in the dining area.

“Kuuuh~!” Ju Yeong-Gi nodded sagely over and over again while observing this turn of events. “Maaan, once we got things rolling for real, we surely made a killing. So, why didn't we have any customers until today?”

“That's because you didn't even know how to get things rolling!” Kang Eun-Yeong testily retorted back at him. She was taking a break in the staff room between the concerts. “In this day and age, who waits for the apples to fall from the tree? You're supposed to climb the dang tree to get the apples if they don't fall, you know!”

“Indeed, Madam. You've taught us something valuable today,” Ju Yeong-Gi jokingly replied to her.

“Aigoo, I'm tired.” Kang Eun-Yeong continued to fix her hair. It was unfortunate but her makeup and hair going astray due to performing outdoors was something no one could prevent. “...Gimme some pizza, too. I wanna know how good it is.”

“Sorry…” Ju Yeong-Gi shook his head. “There's nothing left.”

“Eh? Did you throw away even the leftovers, too?”

“Nope. There were no leftovers. And yeah, I still haven’t tasted the pizzas as well.”

“Huh?!” Kang Eun-Yeong's eyes opened wide to resemble round circles. “Are you seriously telling me that my orabi can cook that well? Even though he couldn't even make ramen to save his life?”

Ju Yeong-Gi looked back at her weirdly. “Oh? And when was that?”

“Mm, maybe around ten years ago?”

“Never mind the changes to the scenery; that's long enough for skyscrapers to get built, Miss Kang.”

“...Even so, that's so bizarre, you know? I mean, he doesn't have the type of meticulous personality necessary for someone to cook, so how...?” Kang Eun-Yeong suspiciously glared at the kitchen before suddenly yelling, “Orabi! Your little sis is dying of starvation! Aigoo!”

“...Got it,” Kang Jin-Ho replied from inside the kitchen.

Kang Eun-Yeong nodded and leaned against her chair while purring like a satisfied kitten.

But then, Ju Yeong-Gi unwisely ran his mouth. “Anyway, I gotta say, I'm sorta in disbelief. Things had been so bad we literally had zero customers, but it got crazy busy just because you sang a couple of random songs?”

“I sang what now?! Who do you think I am? I'm Kang Se-Ah! The Kang Se-Ah!”

“Sure, sure. So, who knew things would turn around this much with dear Miss Kang Se-Ah singing a couple of random songs?”

“...Aigoo, my pitiful life.” Kang Eun-Yeong groaned at length. Why did her brother surround himself with acquaintances who held barely any interest in idols and celebrities? What a mystery. These stinky old men didn't seem to understand how significant it was for a top idol to act as an emcee of a pizzeria’s event. “By this time tomorrow, you will come to realize the importance of my presence.”

“And why is that?”

“You think the business will be this good without me around?! Even a moron can predict that you'll be chasing flies tomorrow!”

“Mm...” Ju Yeong-Gi slowly rubbed his chin.

Kang Eun-Yeong harrumphed. “Unless my orabi serves the customers in the dining area, you'll soon run into a wall with nothing but pizzas. I can already tell that you'll soon be clinging onto my pants, begging me to come back for another concert. Only then will you finally appreciate how incredible I am!”

“...Nah, that won't happen.”

“We'll see!”

Kang Jin-Ho finally emerged from the kitchen with a smile. He smartly placed a pizza down in front of his sister. “You did great. Here.”

“Yup, yup.” Kang Eun-Yeong happily smiled as if her brother's praise greatly pleased her.

Ju Yeong-Gi cocked an eyebrow and stared at Kang Jin-Ho. “Hey, didn't you say something about running out of ingredients earlier?”

“I've reserved enough for us, obviously.”

“...Huh? How weird. You ain't the type to pay attention like this, so how?” Ju Yeong-Gi tutted away before taking a slice of the pizza.

Kang Eun-Yeong yelled, “Hey, that's mine!”

“And how are you planning to eat all this by yourself? It's supposed to be shared, you know?”

“Tsk.” Kang Eun-Yeong tutted before picking up a pizza slice herself. She then took a bite. “...Mm?”

“Ohh?”

The eyes of everyone who tasted Kang Jin-Ho's pizza grew wide in shock and amazement. Park Yu-Min, Ju Yeong-Gi, and Kang Eun-Yeong simultaneously stared at Kang Jin-Ho.

“Wow, how did you do this?”

“What a peculiar experience… It's crunchy but moist inside.”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded slightly while listening to the impressions of his audience.

'The technique also works here, then.'

The secret to his pizza's unique taste wasn't the stone oven nor the temperature of the flames. The truth was... Back in Zhongyuan, Kang Jin-Ho's master had managed to source some of the ingredients and would sometimes bake 'pizzas' using the Blazing Sun Energy Technique and toss them in Kang Jin-Ho's way.

Although the ingredients used were ultimately different, Kang Jin-Ho thought he should also apply the same Blazing Sun Energy Technique to bake his pizzas. And it seemed his creation ended up being rather delicious.

Kang Jin-Ho took a bite of his own pizza.

'...It kind of tastes familiar, I guess.'

His creation was a bit too modern and high-class to make him recall that taste of the past, but this pizza still had some hints of what his master used to bake all those years ago.

Ju Yeong-Gi muttered absentmindedly, “With how delicious this is, I think we could have just relied on our pizzas to win people over, and we would still be in good shape.”

“Yeah, I agree,” said Park Yu-Min.

But then, Kang Eun-Yeong suddenly yelled at them, “You ungrateful brats!”

“...Thank you for all your hard work, dear Miss Idol.”

“Yes, without your help, Miss Se-Ah, we would have been forced to shutter our store. Definitely.”

“Yup, that's more like it.” Kang Eun-Yeong giggled at the retorts before glancing at Kang Jin-Ho. “Seriously, though. Oppa, you won't have as many customers as today from tomorrow. Will that be okay?”

“Yeah, it'll be alright. Actually, there have been way too many customers for us three to cope with today, so we need fewer customers.”

“That shouldn't be the mindset of a store owner, though?” Kang Eun-Yeong sighed but still nodded away anyway. It wasn't as if she could keep making room in her schedule to perform here. The pizzeria would only become a success story after the crazy rush of the initial customers calmed down, and its operations found some stability.

If Kang Eun-Yeong hadn't flipped the agency on its head while crying out, “My oppa's store will close down at this rate!” Today's rescue operation would have never even happened in the first place.

“Yup, having a normal number of customers is for the best.”

Unfortunately for the Kang siblings, they had no idea—no idea that a second Human Wave was about to ram into them—one so big the previous first wave would look puny in comparison.

The curtains of that chaos were slowly opening wide. And...

“What the heck?! Where did everyone go?!” Jo Gyu-Min, half out of his mind after desperately controlling the throng of people outside the store, could only cry out in flabbergast when said people went away almost instantly like a receding tide. “I-I'm starving here, you know!”

Jo Gyu-Min's tearful voice rang into the air as he pounded on the store's door.

“Please, open this door! Mister Jin-Ho! Mister Jin-Hooooo!”

Unfortunately for him, there were no more pizzas to fill up his empty stomach.

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