LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 26
Three days have passed since the announcement about the opening of the YouTube channel.
I moved my feet to a beef restaurant, located a bit away from my house, to meet Park Jae-seong and Yoo Na-yeon, as we had previously discussed.
“…….”
While waiting in front of the shop to go in together, I couldn’t see them at all even after the promised time of 2 PM had passed.
A couple is really late together.
Thinking I should at least contact them, I pulled out my phone which I had put in my pocket, and just then, at exactly 2:10 PM, I saw the two of them crossing the crosswalk.
“Uju, hey!”
“Ugh, that idiot… So bright and cheerful even though they’re late.”
Yoo Na-yeon, approaching with her shoulder-length blonde hair fluttering, cheerfully greeted me, and following her, Park Jae-seong, who stood next to her, asked with a somewhat apologetic look, “Did you wait long?”
“Don’t you guys have any concept of appointment time?”
“Sorry, Na-yeon forgot her phone and we had to go back.”
“Hehe, sorry.”
Seeing Yoo Na-yeon apologize with a face that didn’t look sorry at all, my rising anger subsided.
Her innocent and cheerful personality makes me feel foolish for being upset. That’s probably why we’ve been able to stay close until now.
“Anyway, since you’re here, let’s go in.”
“Yay, meat! Meat!”
“Looks like we’ll have a good feast today.”
Leaving behind the tardiness issue, we moved inside, with the two of them following me with bright expressions.
“Welcome! Do you have a reservation, guests?”
As we opened the sliding door and stepped into the shop, a rather well-built man at the entrance greeted us.
Wow, with a physique like that… He looks more like a bodyguard than a restaurant employee. His facial structure also seems quite rugged, making it feel even more that way.
“Ah, I reserved under Kang Woo-joo.”
“……!?”
I got a little startled for a moment but mentioned the reservation name without showing it.
Then, the employee stood there looking somewhat shocked, staring at me as if confirming something on the POS system next to him.
“Are you really Mr. Kang Woo-joo?”
“Uh? Yes, yes… that’s me.”
What’s going on?
It’s rare for an employee to confirm the name of a reservation twice, but this one’s reaction feels oddly different. People might think I’m a celebrity.
“Finally, he has come!?”
“Ugh, I can finally take off this apron…!”
I heard some hushed voices from the kitchen, but couldn’t catch the details.
Something feels off. Did I come to the wrong kind of place, not a beef restaurant?
“Excuse me. The reserved seats are ready, so please follow me.”
“Ah, yes….”
Seeing how they definitely treat guests well makes it seem like this is truly a beef restaurant. Just looking at the menu laid out shows only beef.
There seems to have been some kind of misunderstanding.
“It seems the owner has changed here.”
While the owner who guided us to the reserved seat went to the kitchen to set the table, Yoo Na-yeon mumbled softly as she looked around the shop.
The owner has changed? That means…
“Have you been here before?”
“Yeah, my aunt treated us here for her promotion. I came to eat with my relatives.”
“Oh, I remember that.”
Even though it was the first I heard of it, Park Jae-seong nodded and started pouring water for us.
Sure, since today I’m serving water, I guess I should get treated like this.
“But it seems the owner has changed since then. The employees also seem quite big….”
“My point exactly. Do they hire employees based on their physique or something?”
I turned my head at Park Jae-seong’s comment to check the employees going back and forth from the kitchen, and it was clear they had exceptional builds.
The smallest-looking person among them was roughly of Park Jae-seong’s build.
Moreover, it’s pretty surprising that there’s only one female employee. Usually, they intentionally hire females to serve in the dining area.
“Guess the new owner came on board. Stop with the useless chatter and let’s choose a menu…. Huh?”
While I was about to hand the menu board over to them, I heard what seemed to be a cart rolling in from somewhere.
I thought it might be going to another table, but considering there were no other guests besides us, I turned my head.
Then I saw—
“W-what is that?”
“Wow, that’s huge.”
A massive chunk of meat, showcasing a brilliant color and appearance, approached us on the cart, looking like something you’d see in a fine dining restaurant.
The presentation was undeniably elegant, with cold smoke emanating from the dry ice placed beside it, ensuring the meat’s freshness.
But why is it coming this way?
“Excuse me.”
The employee, who brought the cart full of meat and side dishes, suddenly started to pile all the food onto our table.
Huh? We haven’t even ordered yet!?
“If we haven’t ordered yet…?”
If there were any other customers, I would have thought they’d brought our order to the wrong table, but since we were the only ones here, that wasn’t the case.
So I cautiously opened my mouth, wondering if there had been a miscommunication between the owner and the employees, and the smiling employee explained to me.
“Oh, this is a service. Our restaurant provides special services to the 10,000th customer.”
“…Excuse me? A service?”
“Wow! Really!?”
Hearing that it was just a service, Yoo Na-yeon cheered, but I was astounded.
I can understand that the 10,000th customer receiving a service is reasonable. But isn’t this a bit excessive for a service? When I think of service, I imagine a drink at most, and maybe a side dish if I leave a review.
They’ve undoubtedly laid out what looks like a main dish-level serving of meat in front of us, leaving me dumbfounded.
Moreover, there’s way too much. Just by looking, it seems enough for about two of us to burst after eating.
Are they really giving this away for free?
“Enjoy your meal. If you need more, please let us know.”
“Wow, thank you!”
“I’ll eat well, sir!”
With a spread that could break the table legs, the employee bowed deeply to say goodbye.
In the meantime, Park Jae-seong and Yoo Na-yeon, merely delighted to enjoy expensive beef for free, stood up to express their gratitude to the employee’s departing back.
By the way, how much is all of this worth?
“Wow, this meat must be really good!”
“The employee mentioned it’s two-star beef.”
“Two-star? Can they really just give this away as service?”
“Seems like a restaurant with excellent service spirits.”
Is it weird that I’m having trouble accepting this situation?
The couple sitting across from me was just staring droolingly at the elegantly marbled beef, while hastily turning to me as if saying, ‘What are you doing not grilling the meat?’
Well, if they ask me to pay, I could just pay. Let’s not worry about anything right now and just eat. This meat looks good.
Sizzle.
“Eat up. Especially you, Na-yeon, since you’ll be working hard later, I’ll make sure you have more.”
As the beef cooked to a suitable level, I decided to give a portion to Yoo Na-yeon, who would be editing with me, and added several pieces onto her plate.
Then, with a playful look, she picked up a piece of meat and dangled it in front of me, as if teasing me.
“Someone might think you’re treating me? Just making sure to flaunt that it’s free service.”
“Hey, if it weren’t for me, we wouldn’t have gotten to enjoy this free beef today!”
“Oh, I didn’t think of that.”
As I firmly rebutted her, she quickly gave in and started eating the beef dipped in sauce.
I feel like a witch from Hansel and Gretel. Somehow it feels like I’m fattening up a slave who’s about to roll under me.
“Hey, hurry up and eat too. Don’t just take care of us.”
“Not really hungry. You guys eat plenty.”
After adding beef to Park Jae-seong’s plate next, it seemed like he was a bit concerned that I was just cooking for myself, so he tried to reach for the tongs, and I coolly responded.
After all, there’s enough meat, so I can fill them up first and eat slowly later.
Above all, it seemed suspicious to just allow someone else to handle the tongs in a meat restaurant. It’s just safer and tastier if I do it myself.
Sizzle. Sizzle.
“……?”
After reasonably splitting portions for the two of them and putting the last piece in my mouth, I heard a cleaning noise next to me and inadvertently turned my gaze.
Then I saw a woman, diligently mopping the floor while keeping her head down. She was the only female employee I noticed when we entered the shop earlier.
But somehow, she feels a bit familiar.
“…Huh?”
I knew it’d be rude to stare at someone I just met, but I couldn’t help but gaze intensely.
The moment she lifted her head after finishing her task, a silly sound escaped me.
Reason being, the person standing before me was none other than…
“……!?”
“Hello. We meet again here, Mr. Cosmo.”
It was Older Sister Seo-ha.
What? Could it be that the place I came to today happens to be the beef restaurant where Older Sister Seo-ha is working part-time?
What are the odds of such a coincidence?