Chapter 1013: It Was Beautiful From Far Away.. (25)

The final day of Goblin Restaurant operations.

For a brief moment, NewBlack once again became a hot topic for commuting to work by boat.

[Today’s Goblin Restaurant lineup revealed]

People casually browsing online as usual suddenly widened their eyes.

Because of the video attached to the post.

‘No way....’

‘This is real?’

The famous chefs were opening popup restaurants along Goblin Street in Gurye County, where NewBlack’s restaurant was located.

And the lineup of chefs was absurd.

[Chef Kim Hyunwook]

One of Korea’s top chefs, famous for operating a highly acclaimed restaurant in Seongsu-dong where reservations had to be made six months in advance.

[Dante Cellini]

A legendary chef famous for Italian cuisine and one of the most successful restaurateurs in the world.

[Bobby Ross]

A top chef specializing in meat dishes such as Southern American cuisine, chicken, and steak.

The chefs’ names instantly shot up the realtime search rankings while the MyTube comments section exploded.

-????

-No but this lineup is insane

-Wowㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ this is literally a dream concert for chefs

-I’m going to Gurye right now

-Excuse me professors.. how the hell did they gather all these people??

-Are those chefs really that famous?

-Not just Korea. They’re chefs that chefs all over the world dream about. If those people personally cooked for you, even Hollywood stars would line up

Interest in the insane lineup didn’t last long.

Because there was something even more important.

“On-site lottery... on-site lottery...... are they doing onsite entry??”

“Ah, should I go right now? It’s two hours away though.”

“Please let there be onsite entry.......”

People jumped out of their seats in excitement and nervously searched “Goblin Restaurant onsite lottery” on their phones.

As the #1 search term changed once again—

those who finished searching let out groans.

“Aaaah......!”

Their excited hearts instantly turned cold.

[Current Goblin Street situation.jpg]

Onsite registration capped at 1000 people.. apparently they’re doing a lottery from there now

No idea how many they’ll let in but sounds like evening entryㅠㅠ

+Edit) Gu Jaeyoung looks scary as hell.. thought he was security at first

Everyone burst into tears.

-ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

-Ah... seriously why are Korean people so fast

-Looked like there were already 200 people there before the announcement even spread.. plus everyone who rushed over afterward signed up for the lottery too

-But don’t they still have to wait until evening anyway??

-“Still”?? With that chef lineup I’d wait until tomorrow nightㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

The atmosphere burned hot.

Scam posts saying “Selling Goblin Street admission tickets~” even started appearing on secondhand marketplaces and Twitter.

Everyone envied the people who won entry.

-I’m so jealousㅠ

-Today is the real legendary dayㅋㅋ getting to see the chefs too

-Heard the buildings on Goblin Street are super pretty too..

-Don’t be jealous.. the people selected today probably fought as Soldier #1 during the Imjin War in their past lives

-ㅠㅠㅠ Thank you for protecting the nationㅠㅠ

But strangely enough, the expressions of the lucky winners everyone envied weren’t particularly bright.

After all, tragedy up close can look like comedy from far away.

Their faces were full of anguish.

“Uh....”

The winners asked their companions,

“Where should we go?”

“.......”

“.......”

There were simply too many choices.

If they only had NewBlack’s restaurant to visit, they would’ve been perfectly happy.

But now, choosing one meant giving up another.

“There’s the option of heading straight to NewBlack’s restaurant first. That place will probably close reservations first anyway.......”

“Still, wouldn’t meeting NewBlack be the best?”

“But there’s a time limit. What if we waste too much time waiting for Goblin Restaurant and end up rushing everything else later?”

Priority number one was naturally NewBlack’s restaurant.

But in case the wait became too long, people were hurriedly organizing second and third choices.

The problem was—

“Look at this video.”

The dishes the chefs planned to showcase today looked absolutely ridiculous.

Dante Cellini’s authentic seafood pasta, Neapolitan pizza, and even gelato desserts.

“I’m more tempted by this platter though.”

“Seriously....”

“Wow, look at those juices.......”

Bobby Ross, one of America’s greatest chefs, was presenting Southern fried chicken dishes and Texas barbecue platters.

As videos of dishes from the various chefs played one after another, deep agony filled the winners’ eyes.

Each person only had a single meal ticket usable across all these countless restaurants.

‘Where should I go?’

The winners started tearing at their hair.

Junghyun entered the kitchen with a tray tucked under his arm.

“Hyung.”

“How is it? Are there lots of people outside?”

“Uh....”

I asked with hopeful eyes.

“Since the other chefs are here today too, our restaurant should have a slightly shorter line, right?”

“Nope. Same as always.”

“Why...?”

“Even if you ask me, I really wouldn’t know.......”

Apparently Goblin Restaurant still had the longest waiting line even after the celebrity chefs opened their own businesses.

I looked toward Biju.

“Biju-ah. The food’s mostly ready now, right?”

“Yes. It’s done.”

The hamburger steaks forming the base for the Bulgogi dishes, along with the Milanesa, had already been prepared in advance.

After checking the state of the kitchen, I spoke to Junghyun and Ri Hyuk.

“Junghyun-ah, Ri Hyuk-ah. Let’s start seating customers.”

“Yes.”

Soon, the sounds of Junghyun and Ri Hyuk guiding guests and seating them at tables echoed from outside the kitchen.

Once the restaurant was more or less full, we all headed out together to greet everyone.

“There are lots of famous chefs here today too, but you still came to our restaurant.”

“Ah~ When else would we ever get to see NewBlack in person~”

The other customers nodded and laughed at one older man’s comment.

We smiled and waved toward the people lingering regretfully outside the gates and fences.

The guests awkwardly bowed back.

The earliest waiting lines still remained packed, but some people farther back could already be seen heading toward the other chefs’ restaurants instead.

“We’ll cook everything deliciously and bring it right out, so please wait just a little bit.”

“Yes!!”

We returned to the kitchen and quickly started cooking again.

Ding dong!

Ding dong!

Ding dong!

Checking the incoming orders appearing on the monitor, Biju and I focused on the hamburger steak dishes.

Jiho carefully plated dishes while speaking.

“Seriously, concerts are like this too. Somehow the final day always turns out best. Everything becomes perfect right at the end.”

“Seriously.”

“That’s why we do finale concerts.”

Then he pointed toward the camera.

“You all know NewBlack is holding another finale concert in Seoul this fall, right? Souffles, please look forward to it~”

The younger members and I waved our gloved hands while wearing cooking masks.

Jiho really was right.

By the final day, everyone kept saying they were exhausted, but they handled everything effortlessly anyway.

Junghyun smoothly guided customers and took orders with impressive intuition.

Ri Hyuk moved back and forth between the kitchen and dining hall updating us on situations while helping Jiho with plating.

Our maknae gathered dishes for washing and quickly handled whatever tasks Biju and I requested.

And Biju—

“Biju-ah. How’s your wrist?”

“I’m okay.”

Biju wore a support band around his wrist to prevent injury while moving the frying pan up and down to stir-fry vegetables.

Fwoooosh—

Sweat dotted his face from the flames surging upward from the stove.

One fallen strand of hair stuck stubbornly to the sweat on the back of his neck.

Biju rotated his wrist while furrowing his brow.

“Ugh.”

“You okay?”

“Yes. I’m okay. Today really feels like the absolute limit though.... If this went on until tomorrow, I think something seriously bad would’ve happened.”

“Be careful.”

Biju smiled and nodded at my words.

“What about you, hyung? Are you okay?”

“I don’t think I’m exactly fine either.”

I’d worried about Biju, but honestly my own condition wasn’t very good either.

“Ugh....”

To the point where I almost regretted doing all that songwriting.

Even though I couldn’t afford to relax mentally, there were moments where zoning out for even a second almost made me nod off standing up.

Thankfully, the younger members helped me through those moments.

Junghyun came over and massaged the back of my neck.

“Hang in there, hyung. You can do this.”

“Yeah. I can do this, Sun Wooju!”

While I clenched my fist and cheered myself on, Ri Hyuk brought me ice-cold bottled water.

And so the business continued.

Whenever children’s meals went out, we provided Rabbit Uncle service too.

We periodically went out together to greet people.

We even sang for elderly customers who had come alone.

Every hour on the hour, we walked outside Goblin Restaurant to wave and shake hands with guests.

Aside from our lunch break, there honestly wasn’t a single moment to rest.

“Just a little more. Three hours until closing!”

“Three hours!”

Jiho had run around so much that he eventually started gagging and sprinted toward the restroom to throw up.

“Two hours left!”

“Two hours!”

Ri Hyuk accidentally cut his hand slightly while making desserts because he was so exhausted.

“Only one hour left now~!”

“One hour!”

We smiled brightly and greeted people outside with “Hello~,” but inside the restaurant, we gradually spoke less and less.

Occasionally our maknae would cheer us up by joking, “Look at me and gain strength!”

“When you’re tired, you need work songs.”

“Let’s play work songs.”

We played a famous MyTube video titled “Work Songs” through the kitchen speakers while cooking.

A playlist mixing second-generation K-pop songs.

Whenever we got tired, we absentmindedly hummed fellow idols’ songs while preparing food.

“What a dang- dang- dang- ding- ding- ding- daeraedaeraedaetdaetdaet~”

“There are no wings for a fall meant for you~ wing wing wing~ Buffalo wing wing~ thank you TeenSpirit sunbaenims~”

“That’s not Buffalo Wing, Jiho... our seniors are going to sue us.”

Humming medleys of legendary K-pop songs, we gradually wrapped up service.

Watching customers stand up and leave while the dining hall slowly emptied out naturally brought smiles to our faces.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

We greeted each departing customer.

Even the guests who had entered through the final onsite lottery were now finishing their meals and leaving one by one.

“Hoo... Biju-ah. Ingredients?”

“We’re almost completely out.”

“So this is really the end?”

“Yes.”

“You did well. Really well.”

As I said that, I opened my arms toward him.

“Biju-ah. Come here.”

“Hyung~!”

“Ahhh, seriously. You worked so hard, my little brother.”

I hugged Biju and swayed side to side happily—

when the maknae suddenly ran over with watery eyes.

“Please hug me too...! I think I’m gonna cry right now.”

“Come here. Jiho, you worked really hard too.”

Once the two joined in, Ri Hyuk and Junghyun quietly wandered over and attached themselves to us like penguins.

The restaurant had grown quiet now that all the customers were gone.

“Huaa.......”

Outside, the sun had already begun setting.

Junghyun raised a hand above his eyes and looked outside.

“I think all the other chefs already finished closing. That line still standing over there is probably for snacks Bobby Ross Chef is selling separately.”

“Should we start wrapping up too? Let’s close down and head outside to greet everyone.”

Just as we were saying that—

the production staff approached us.

“Uh, Wooju-ah.”

“Yes?”

“There are two guests who arrived late.......”

Some guests had entered late, but every other restaurant had already closed.

After thinking it over, we answered.

“Serving them shouldn’t really be difficult. But we’ve almost completely run out of ingredients, so I think you’ll need to ask if that’s okay first.”

“Got it.”

“But how did they end up being late?”

Normally, in situations like this, the production staff would simply say, “Sorry, we can’t due to scheduling,” and cut things off.

The fact they were even being considered meant there was probably a legitimate reason.

“They’re newlyweds, apparently. They got into a minor accident on the way here. They went to the hospital first, then got stuck in traffic coming over....”

“Ah.”

I asked worriedly,

“Then... shouldn’t they be resting instead of coming to a restaurant? Nobody was seriously hurt, right?”

“Yeah. They’re completely fine. We checked because we were worried too.”

“That’s a relief. Then we’ll figure something out.”

Then I turned toward the younger members.

“Let’s take just one more table.”

“Yes~!”

Soon, a married couple in their thirties entered.

The husband wore glasses and gave off the feeling of an office worker, while the wife had a warm and gentle appearance.

The two bowed repeatedly with flustered expressions.

“Uh... w-we thought there were still customers inside.......”

“No, it’s okay.”

“S-Sorry about this.”

“No really, it’s okay. We haven’t even started closing yet.”

We waved off the couple, who kept bowing awkwardly like broken dolls, and asked about their condition.

Thankfully, they said they were completely fine.

Ri Hyuk spoke up.

“Still, you must’ve been pretty shocked today. I don’t think you should drive anymore tonight.”

“Yes, we won’t.”

“You have to promise me. Take it easy and rest tonight.”

“Yes....”

While they spoke, I introduced the menu.

“But we’ve used up most of our ingredients by now. We thought entry was already over, so we accepted customers all the way to the end....”

“Ah.......”

“So aside from Bulgogi Steak, most dishes might be difficult. Would it be okay if we prepared some different dishes instead?”

The husband answered,

“We honestly don’t care what it is. We just really wanted to come here.”

“Then we’ll prepare something delicious for you~”

Back in the kitchen, Biju and I quickly discussed what we could make with the remaining ingredients.

We could still make one serving of Bulgogi Steak.

“Ri Hyuk-ah. Do we still have green onion kimchi? The one Lady Kim Deoksun gave us?”

“We do.”

“Okay.”

It might taste slightly cheap compared to the other menu items, but I had a special jjajang ramyeon recipe I’d perfected over several years.

We stir-fried Pyeongchang Korean beef and onions until fragrant.

The noodles and smoky sauce blended together as hot steam rose upward.

“Wooooow.......”

Jiho breathed warmly into my ear.

“Hyung, can’t we just eat this ourselves?”

“No.” ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

“I was only joking. It just looks so good....”

Meanwhile, Biju quickly prepared several side dishes and additional foods to accompany it.

Then we plated the jjajang ramyeon beautifully and brought the full spread to the couple.

“Wow.......”

“Wooooow.......”

The newlyweds’ eyes widened at the generous table spread.

The husband stared at the jjajang ramyeon and asked,

“W-What is this? Is this... jjajang ramyeon?”

“It is. But with my own special secret recipe added in. Hohoho. This child’s name is.......”

I paused to think for a moment.

“Newni Jjajang.”

“!”

Not only the couple, but even the nearby production staff burst out laughing.

“Please remember it. Newni Jjajang....”

“We’ll remember it forever.”

Watching the two happily pick up their chopsticks, I exchanged smiles with the younger members.

‘Should we close?’

‘Yes.’

At long last—

it was finally time to put an end to the long, long operation of Goblin Restaurant.

“Thank you for the meal!”

“We’re seriously so grateful. Everything was delicious~!”

The final two guests departed.

After greeting them and watching them leave after paying, we high-fived each other.

“Day 4 complete. Business closed.”

A brief silence filled with countless emotions passed between us.

“WAAAAAAAAAH!”

“It’s overrrrrr!”

We hugged each other and jumped around shouting “Yay~ yayayayaya~!”

It felt just like finishing a showcase concert.

Relief and liberation crashed over us from every direction.

The exhaustion that had weighed on us all day completely vanished, and now it felt like we could fly somewhere.

We celebrated with high-fives before cleaning ourselves up at the small sink attached to Goblin Restaurant.

“Are you all ready?”

“Yes.”

Producer Gu Jaeyoung pointed toward the noisy outdoors.

“The stage setup is complete.”

“Yes~!”

After changing into clean T-shirts, we picked up our guitars.

The final schedule of Goblin Street.

Was none other than our performance.

Most of the people who entered during the final timeslot had been selected through the onsite lottery, and since they’d waited nearly an entire day, we thought it would be nice to personally greet them and perform at least one song.

Of course, it wasn’t entirely for the audience’s sake.

‘Kukuku....’

‘Give us your energy.’

We also had a sinister purpose—

healing our exhausted minds and bodies using the audience’s energy.

“Kyaaaah! Kyahah!”

“Ah, so singing and dancing really are this wonderful.”

Laughing happily together, the younger members and I headed outside.

The wide plaza of Goblin Street.

Though the ground was still dirt, a temporary stage had been installed in the center.

Immediately, hundreds of audience members erupted into cheers.

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

The younger members and I grinned from ear to ear.

“As expected.”

“As expected....”

The fact that we felt this happy standing before a stage probably meant we were simply born for it.

Smiling brightly, we waved to the crowd and headed toward the stage.

But then—

“Hmm?”

I suddenly stopped in place.

The younger members looked at me.

“What’s wrong, hyung?”

“No, it’s just....”

It felt like I had forgotten something important.

But I couldn’t figure out what.

While Goblin Restaurant buzzed noisily with celebrity chefs and NewBlack’s restaurant operations—

and every restaurant in Gurye County screamed happily from the unexpected NewBlack boom—

there was one additional place unintentionally overwhelmed with legendary crowds due to NewBlack becoming such a hot topic.

Bustling—

Packed tight—

Looking down at the baekban restaurant outside, which was crowded enough to resemble a zombie siege, Lady Kim Deoksun smiled warmly.

“For fuck’s sake.......”

It was the small ball launched by an absurdly devoted grandson.