Chapter 1000: It Was Beautiful From Far Away.. (12)

CEO Park Gyuho truly adored NewBlack.

Where else in the world could you find celebrities like these?

They made money, stayed out of trouble, helped the company grow... they were practically his dream and hope incarnate.

But....

CEO Park Gyuho wore a troubled expression.

The world of business is ruthless. These kids need to learn the terror of real customer service.

This absolutely was not because he wanted to vent the humiliation of always shrinking in front of NewBlack.

Not at all.

This was purely for NewBlack’s benefit.

And so, he held up the imaginary strand of hair.

“I’d like to ask again. Are you saying this hair came from me?”

“Pffft-.”

Across from him, Director Jo Gyuhwan choked on his food.

As the director coughed violently and stumbled out of camera range after food went up his nose—

“Hoh.”

The chefs watched the confrontation between NewBlack and CEO Park Gyuho with fascinated expressions.

“This kind of response is really important.”

“It’s a chance to see how they handle customer complaints.”

One of the most common complaints in restaurants—

-There was something in my food!

Just as everyone waited to see how they would respond—

Wooju stopped the younger members with a glance before stepping toward CEO Park Gyuho.

“We sincerely apologize, sir.”

The chefs nodded.

Right. You apologize first.

Whether the complaint felt unfair or not, the important thing was to apologize politely first.

Showing that you understood the customer’s discomfort was the number one rule of handling complaints.

His expression control is good too.

If you smiled carelessly in an attempt to calm the customer down, it could easily backfire.

Then Wooju gave a sorrowful smile.

“I’m truly sorry. You must have been very startled during your meal.......”

Despite his terrible fashion sense, he was famous as a fashion icon purely because of his overwhelming visuals.

A face so beautiful even crying babies stopped crying the moment they saw him!

With his subdued expression and melancholy smile, Wooju looked capable of melting a thousand years of resentment.

The Souffles from the legal team whispered among themselves.

“I think I’d forgive him even if he spilled tteokbokki all over my blanket....”

“Oh no, what do we do.”

For some reason, the atmosphere now resembled an evil bald aristocrat bullying a melancholic young beauty because of class differences.

The gazes around the room looked as though they were staring at trash.

No, what is this.......

CEO Park Gyuho cleared his throat awkwardly.

“...S-So what are you going to do about this?”

“If it’s alright with you, we can prepare a fresh dish for you. Or we can switch it to a different menu item. If you’d prefer, we can also cancel the order and issue a refund.”

“Well....”

CEO Park Gyuho awkwardly continued his difficult-customer act.

“I mean, besides that. Like... you know... bring out a new dish, but also... what was it again....”

The celebrities and employees who had experience working service jobs immediately nodded.

He’s being a nightmare customer!

He wants free food!

Complaining about finding a hair in food was understandable.

But if the restaurant clearly offered compensation and the customer still demanded a replacement meal for free, that meant they weren’t an ordinary customer anymore.

“Uh.......”

CEO Park Gyuho’s thoughts tangled.

Seeing this, Lemon Entertainment’s first singer and famous ballad vocalist Yoon Chanhyuk scratched the side of his head and commented—

“The CEO’s not very good at this. Usually people like that wait until they’ve almost finished eating before saying they found a hair, then demand a refund.”

“Exactly.”

“He messed up because he complained after only one bite.”

No sooner had the veteran part-timer singer finished speaking than testimonies erupted from every direction.

“Right. Then when you remake the food they start suspecting you just gave them the same dish again... then they say seeing the hair ruined their appetite and now they feel like throwing up, so they demand a refund....”

“And the perfect finale is threatening to report the restaurant to the district sanitation office because they ‘know someone there.’”

“Ugh... my trauma.......”

While Lemon Entertainment employees suffered flashbacks from past service jobs—

CEO Park Gyuho, who had never once acted like a nightmare customer in his life, awkwardly cleared his throat and wrapped up the performance.

“...J-Just bring me a new one.”

“Yes, understood. And....”

Wooju signaled to Junghyun with his eyes.

Junghyun, dressed as a waiter, quickly brought over a can of soda and placed it on the table.

“We sincerely apologize. We’ll prepare your replacement meal as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please enjoy a drink while you wait....”

“Ah....”

“Once again, we deeply apologize for the inconvenience.”

Wooju handled everything flawlessly, leaving no room for criticism.

As the situation settled, the famous overseas chefs standing behind them nodded with satisfied smiles.

「A flawless resolution. That’s exactly how I train my staff as well. If there’s contamination in the food, explain how it happened and present compensation options to the customer.」

「The compensation offer wasn’t bad either.」

「More importantly, I’m impressed that despite being beginners, they didn’t let the complaint disrupt the restaurant’s operation.」

One of the things the chefs praised most was the fact that the restaurant had continued running smoothly.

Normally, in situations like this, everyone froze up thinking Wh-What do we do now? like a flock of confused penguins.

But while Wooju handled the situation, the other members instantly returned to their roles.

“Table three! Two hamburger steaks!”

“Yes!”

Jiho, now acting as sous-chef, assisted Biju, while Junghyun handled serving once dishes were complete.

Meanwhile, Ri Hyuk—whose dessert station currently had no orders—naturally stepped in to help with serving.

The chefs began writing notes on their evaluation sheets.

“Workflow runs smoothly....”

“This is pretty good. They’re all doing well.”

“I heard Wooju worked at his grandmother’s diner for one or two years. Apparently he worked there every day before enlisting.”

“Ahhh... his grandmother’s the one who created NewBulbaek, right? No wonder Wooju seems so experienced.”

Amidst the praise, the replacement dish was brought to CEO Park Gyuho.

Everyone watched expectantly.

The company employees stared intensely.

Round two!

How will the CEO respond?!

CEO Park Gyuho took a bite and spoke.

“Mm... perhaps because of the hair earlier, I still feel uneasy. Have you identified where the hair came from?”

“No. Not yet.”

“Hm... this still feels unpleasant.......”

The moment CEO Park Gyuho said that—

Wooju smiled brightly while metaphorical flames ignited in his eyes.

CEO. Are we really doing this?

Hehehe.

In that case.......

Still smiling at CEO Park Gyuho, Wooju elegantly turned toward the crowd and made an announcement.

“Attention, everyone. We currently need to verify whether there may have been a hygiene issue during the cooking process, so dishes served from this point onward may be slightly delayed. We sincerely apologize and ask for your understanding.”

“!”

“!!”

It was a joke that would never work in a real restaurant but was devastatingly effective for variety television.

At the owner’s announcement, the employees’ attitudes instantly changed.

My food is getting delayed.

Absolutely not!

The dozens of people who had just been cheering for CEO Park Gyuho now turned hostile stares toward him.

Dark auras seemed to wriggle upward behind them.

-Take it back....

-CEO... can you really swallow your food right now......?

-Nayoon desperately needs meat. Desperately.......

Gulp.

CEO Park Gyuho swallowed nervously before hurriedly grabbing the hem of Wooju’s shirt.

“W-Wait...!”

“Yes, sir?”

“...I was mistaken.”

“?”

“That hair was actually mine. I sincerely apologize.......”

Everyone burst into laughter at CEO Park Gyuho’s apology.

Only then did Wooju smile sweetly and turn away.

Watching the CEO of Lemon Entertainment crumble under social pressure, the employees looked as though they had achieved enlightenment.

“Come to think of it, if NewBlack opens a restaurant, customers like that probably won’t exist. The entire nation would roast them.”

“Oh. True.”

“Even if there are complaints, people probably wouldn’t try that kind of complaint.”

A restaurant where difficult customers would be publicly immortalized nationwide.

The Lemon Entertainment employees exchanged glances.

“Honestly, I don’t think we need to go that far. You can’t really prepare for customers like that anyway.”

“True.”

“Let’s do something else instead.”

As the employees began redirecting the nature of their complaints—

A department head spoke to the CEO.

“Why’d you do that, sir?”

“No, but.......”

“Oh dear. You took it too far~”

The CEO of Lemon Entertainment felt wronged.

What do you mean why?! You all told me to do it...!

And so, CEO Park Gyuho ended up becoming the sole villain.

One successful serving after another.

As dishes finally started arriving at the tables in earnest, cheers erupted everywhere.

“Wooooow......!”

“It’s hamburger steak!”

The celebrities exclaimed in admiration while raising their phones.

Their hands trembled.

Wow, this is seriously exciting...!

Even while taking photos, they were itching to eat already.

Everyone hurriedly grabbed forks and stared at the hamburger steak before them.

It almost felt like one of those broadcast captions appeared in front of their eyes.

『Special Hamburger Steak』

Taste : ★★★★★

The special hamburger steak NewBlack loved most in America. So delicious that if two people eat it together, both die happy and nobody leaves alive!

It looked incredible from appearance alone.

Customers could choose between rice or burger buns with the hamburger steak.

Most Koreans chose rice, revealing a generous bed of steaming white rice underneath.

On top sat two thick hamburger steaks, steaming beautifully.

And above them rested a soft-boiled egg with a gorgeous yolk that looked ready to burst at the slightest touch.

“Unni... what do I do? I’m so excited.”

“Calm down. Girls. Let’s stay calm.”

Scarlet tried calming each other down while breathing heavily in anticipation.

At a nearby table, TNT member Jang Hanbyul proudly showed off his meal to the members still back at the TJ building.

“Do you see this? In my hands right now rests a masterpiece crafted by Biju and Wooju hyung.”

-Enough already, Jang Hanbyul!

-Do you seriously want us to swear on broadcast one day? Huh?!

-Pack some up for us while we’re still asking nicely!

As TNT’s younger members screamed in protest through the video call while Han Taehyun walked out of the practice room looking genuinely irritated—

The handsome-faced Jang Hanbyul took a bite.

-...W-Well? Tell us how it tastes.

“It definitely carries the flavor they brought back from America, but it’s been adapted perfectly for Korean tastes so you never get tired of it. In other words....”

-Gulp.

“It means it’s delicious. Ahhh. Do you see this? This is what ‘delicious’ looks like.”

-Aaaaaaaaaagh!

While the TNT members wailed because they couldn’t eat it due to not belonging to Lemon Entertainment—

The celebrities and employees were also exclaiming in amazement.

“Wow, this is insanely good...!”

“This might honestly be the best thing I’ve eaten in the last three years. No, seriously... why is it this good? Is it because it’s late-night food?”

“The sauce isn’t greasy!”

The ultimate compliment for American-style food.

The chefs who had been wandering around out of curiosity finally sat down too.

“Excuse me, we’d like to order.”

“Yes!”

As soon as the food was served, the chefs took their first bites.

“!”

“!!”

To be honest, it wasn’t fine dining.

But this humble, working-class hamburger steak had something special.

They called Wooju and Biju over.

「Excellent.」

Dante Cellini wiped his mouth with a napkin as he spoke.

「Even when you’re already full, the food keeps going down effortlessly. I’m especially impressed by how naturally you reinterpreted it into a Korean style.」

「Th-Thank you, Chef!」

Biju’s eyes welled up as he wiped away tears while Wooju patted his shoulder proudly.

Then Chef Cellini continued.

「However, there are a few things I’m curious about.」

「Y-Yes? Like what....」

「For example, the ingredients. If you changed the cut of meat slightly, you could draw out even better flavor.」

A regret regarding ingredients that could improve the taste further.

Wooju answered immediately.

「Ah... we considered that too, but unfortunately.......」

「?」

「There was the issue of ingredient cost. That cut of meat has gotten more expensive lately, so using it would raise our food cost significantly.」

An important issue.

As Dante Cellini nodded in understanding, Wooju continued speaking.

「If production costs rise, then naturally we’d have to increase menu prices as well. But then that becomes a burden on the public’s wallets, and as NewUniverse, whose role is to bring joy to the public....」

「T-That’s enough. I understand.」

He had only suggested trying better ingredients, but somehow he nearly turned into garbage who didn’t care about consumers.

Then another chef spoke up.

「There’s also something I’m curious about in the cooking process. It takes a little more time than your current method, but the flavor would improve.......」

「Ah... yes.」

Wooju smiled wistfully.

「We considered that carefully as well. However, longer cooking times would affect customer satisfaction for those waiting on their meals....」

「Ah...」

「Of course, from the standpoint of pure culinary perfection, you’re absolutely right. But for customers who traveled long distances specifically to eat at the Goblin Restaurant.......」

「S-Stop!」

For some reason, the person asking the question suddenly felt like the bad guy.

The chefs quietly gave up on criticism and simply applauded instead.

You have to be careful.

The moment you let your guard down, you instantly become trash...!

NewBlack’s variety show was one where you couldn’t relax for even a second.

Why do rehearsals exist?

Usually, rehearsals are conducted for the camera directors, production crew, and technical staff.

How should the lights be angled? What should the camera paths look like?

That was their original purpose.

But naturally, rehearsals were also incredibly useful for the people performing.

They minimized trial and error.

In that sense, having a mock experience with company staff had been a good decision for us.

No matter how perfectly you prepared, unexpected problems always appeared in real situations.

“Excuse me!”

“Yes?”

The company employees kept throwing new challenges at us while acting as different kinds of customers.

Manager Hong Seoyeong spoke up.

“I became vegetarian because I wanted to imitate Tosami. About this mushroom burger listed as vegetarian.”

“Yes.”

“I’m vegan. Is it still okay for me to eat?”

“Uh.......”

Vegans were the type of vegetarians who didn’t even consume dairy products like butter.

Just as we froze after realizing vegetarianism had multiple categories—

Customer requests began flying in from every direction.

“Do you have zero-sugar drinks besides regular soda?”

“We have Zero Cola!”

“Mm... I can’t drink caffeine. Do you have any other zero-sugar drinks besides Zero Cola?”

Beverage problems.

Then the Producing Team acted as elderly customers.

“Oh dear~ it’s a bit greasy, so do you have kimchi?”

“One moment please.”

Then there was Hanbyul, who had to return to practice soon.

“Can I get the leftovers packed up, boss?”

“Ah, just a moment.”

“I’m fine, but the guys at the company across the street are causing a fuss... Mr. Han is very upset right now. Extremely upset.”

“I’ll pack up a fresh one for you. Go eat it with the others.”

“Ah... I shouldn’t have picked at mine...!”

Apparently he intended to bring food back for the TNT members, because he had only taken one bite from his hamburger steak.

We packed things generously before sending him off.

“I’m heading out, hyung. Love you!”

“See you later.”

Meanwhile, the employees continued their roleplay.

“My wife’s pregnant, so she probably can’t drink coffee. Do you have any other dessert drinks?”

“Boss! Do you have a kids’ menu?”

“I have a lot of allergies. Could I ask what ingredients are in this?”

Spin spin spin.

My head started spinning.

“Uh.... Uhhhh?”

“Huh?”

At one point, things became so chaotic we occasionally burned dishes slightly.

The kitchen and dining hall, which had initially flowed smoothly, started tangling up from time to time.

Whenever that happened, the younger members looked at me.

“Hyung. What do we do?”

“H-Hold on.”

Even I was starting to panic a little.

There were simply too many customers, and too many different kinds of situations.

When I worked at Grandma’s diner, space limitations meant even our busiest days were maybe one-tenth of this scale.

And most customers were pretty similar too.

But this....

“Waaaaah! Nayoon’s gonna cry! Waaah!”

“Boss! Sing us a song! Just ten seconds since you’re busy?!”

“When’s the food coming? Not trying to pressure you or anything, but we came all the way from Pyongyang~ Ah, I mean Pyeongtaek!”

This was absolute chaos.

We somehow solved things one by one, but it definitely felt like the chefs were going to lecture us afterward.

Biju wiped sweat from his forehead while standing in front of the grill.

“Still, I’m glad nobody else like the CEO showed up again.”

“Seriously.”

“Even though it probably won’t happen... if someone like that does show up again, I should handle it wisely like you did earlier, hyung.......”

Wiping sweat from his forehead, Biju asked me—

“Hyung. What’s the right way to deal with customers like that?”

“There’s no real way to deal with nightmare customers.” ℴℴ𝘮

“Huh?”

“There genuinely isn’t, Biju. You just survive it like a storm passing through.......”

This only went smoothly because it was a variety show and the CEO was playing on easy mode. If someone truly committed to causing problems and started nitpicking every little thing, there was no answer.

“S-So that’s how it is.”

“We’re incredibly lucky because this is a broadcast.”

At the very least, being on television meant we probably wouldn’t encounter real customers like that.

“But honestly, most people calm down if you sincerely apologize.”

“Does ‘apologize’ mean looking them in the eyes and smiling...?”

“Mm... probably?”

“.......”

“?”

While Biju weirdly repeated Junghyun’s words under his breath—“Sweet-potato butterfly......”—

Eventually, after customers finished eating, it became Ri Hyuk’s time.

“Ughhhhh....”

“Ri Hyuk, don’t collapse yet.”

“Stay strong! Pull yourself together, hyung!”

We helped Ri Hyuk make desserts, cleared dishes, washed everything—

And finally wrapped up the temporary restaurant operation.

“Check, please...!”

“Yes!”

After even practicing the payment process—

“Thank you for the meal! We’ll come again!”

“The food was delicious! NewBlack fighting!”

We bowed deeply to the company employees as they continued roleplaying all the way out the door.

And when everyone finally left the restaurant—

“.......”

“.......”

The younger members and I collapsed blankly where we stood.

Then we forced ourselves back up again.

“Ah, it’s not time to rest yet.”

We still had cleanup and dishes left to do.

And before that—

We needed to hear evaluations from the chefs who had observed our restaurant operation all day.

“Y-You all.......”

Chef Kim Hyunwook looked startled at the sight of us.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes....”

“You all look half-dead.......”

“We’re okay. We want to hear the chefs’ evaluations first before finishing the remaining work.”

And so we stood in front of the cameras once again.

Shake shake shake.

Maybe because we had used muscles we normally never used, our entire bodies trembled.

“Now then, NewUniverse... no, NewBlack will hear feedback on today’s restaurant operation.”

At our words, the overseas and Korean chefs stepped forward holding their evaluation sheets.

「The chefs’ evaluation of NewBlack’s restaurant operation.」

Gulp....

「All eight chefs reached the exact same conclusion.」

「!!」

「Chef Dante Cellini will speak on behalf of everyone.」

We stood there stiff with tension.

Then Dante Cellini slowly walked toward us.

And then—

“?”

“??”

He patted our shoulders and smiled warmly.

「You worked hard.」

「......!」

「There’s nothing to criticize.」

At those words, our expressions filled with emotion.

Ah.......

The exhaustion’s melting away.

Just as we smiled, feeling all our hard work had paid off—

Chef Dante Cellini gave a strict yet mischievous smile.

「You did very well. Just continue like this for the three or four days you’ll actually be running the restaurant next week.」

「Pardon? Just like today...?」

「Exactly. Though the real thing will probably be even harder.」

At that moment—

As if by magic, the strength vanished from our legs and all of us collapsed to the floor.

The chefs burst into laughter watching us.

Chef Cellini grinned mischievously.

「Welcome to the world of business, NewBlack.」

「Aaaagh...!」

Everyone burst out laughing at the sight of us collapsed on the floor screaming in despair.