Chapter 1015: It Was Beautiful From Far Away.. (27)

After wrapping up the company dinner, we returned to our lodging and were having a late-night after-party with the production staff, surrounded by snacks and soft drinks.

"These snacks are so good."

"Ha... so this is what success tastes like."

The staff watched us stuffing our faces with snacks and clicked their tongues in admiration.

Writer Yang Mihyun took a sip from a can of beer and asked,

"Aren't you full?"

"We're super full, but snack stomach and drink stomach are different, you know. It's not the same as meat."

"That's impressive. Maybe it's because you're all still young. Your stomachs are strong."

The staff, many of whom suffered from stomach problems caused by excessive Americanos, looked genuinely jealous.

I raised my hand.

"I got hospitalized with gastritis in America once."

"Don't say that like it's something to be proud of, hyung...."

The underlings went, "Eeeeing," while the staff burst out laughing.

That was when Director Gu Jaeyoung and several camera directors entered, reeking faintly of cigarette smoke after having been outside.

"Everyone worked incredibly hard."

"Thank you for your hard work! Cheers!"

Beer cans clinked together.

Unlike the company dinner, which had included the visiting chefs, this gathering consisted solely of Newniverse personnel.

As everyone chatted about the countless things that had happened over the past four days, Director Gu, myself, and a few others gathered separately.

While the technical staff reminisced about everything they'd endured, the production team still had things to discuss.

Director Gu chewed on a snack and said,

"Let's have a meeting."

"Okay."

"Well, not exactly a meeting. More like a feedback session... I don't even know what to call it. My brain's all twisted up."

"We're pretty out of it too."

Even so, there was a reason we were doing a project review now.

If we put it off until later, we'd inevitably forget things.

And if we didn't do it today, we'd probably never do it at all.

"First off, we have the total revenue from Goblin Street. Including all the restaurants run by the chefs...."

My brothers and I immediately perked up.

"How much?"

"Did we break a record? A huge record?"

"We were at sixty-three million yesterday, so...."

Everyone waited eagerly to hear the final total after Day Four.

Director Gu held his phone farther away from his face and narrowed his eyes.

"...?"

"Ah. My eyesight's getting worse these days...."

For some reason he even pursed his lips.

My grandmother always made that exact face when she held her phone far away.

While we drummed our hands against the floor in anticipation, Director Gu finally announced,

"Combined with the chefs' restaurants, the total revenue came to 110,766,700 won."

"!"

"!!"

Goblin Restaurant had broken the 110 million won mark.

"Guys!"

"Hyung!"

"We did it!"

We threw our arms around each other and jumped up and down.

Even staff members drinking beer nearby suddenly looked over.

"One hundred million? They broke one hundred million?"

"Woooah!"

They raised their drinks in celebration.

"Drink more! More!"

"It's a happy day~ gotta drink up~"

Meanwhile, my brothers and I still looked stunned.

"Wow...."

"Wooooow...."

It felt like all our hard work had finally paid off.

Ri Hyuk sniffed his T-shirt and his eyes became moist.

"I swear my body doesn't smell like cologne anymore. It smells like hamburger steak."

"Seriously, hyung. I still feel like I can smell hamburger steak inside my nose. Like the smell got stuck in there."

"You worked hard...."

I rubbed Biju's head.

He had probably suffered the most.

"Biju worked harder than anyone."

"Nooo~"

"Seriously, hyung! You worked so hard!"

Everyone praised the head chef of Goblin Restaurant.

Then Director Gu continued,

"The plan now is to subtract operating costs and donate the remaining amount toward the development of Goblin Street in Gurye County."

"Right."

That had already been agreed upon beforehand.

It was one of the things people had been most curious about.

What are you doing with the profits? You're donating them, right? Right??

That sort of atmosphere had formed online.

But in reality, we'd already planned it from the beginning.

Otherwise, we couldn't have charged proper prices.

One of the reasons Goblin Restaurant's revenue was so high was because the prices themselves weren't cheap.

The basic Bulgogi Steak alone cost around eighteen thousand won.

And the average table ordered three Bulgogi dishes plus various sides and desserts.

"Hmm."

Reviewing the accounting documents, Ri Hyuk adjusted his glasses and made a complicated face.

"Even with rent excluded, the net profit isn't actually that high."

"Hmm."

"Normally, restaurants have large fixed costs—electricity, equipment, rent—so the more food they sell, the faster profits rise."

"True."

Just because a restaurant selling one hundred dishes made one million won in profit didn't mean a restaurant selling two hundred dishes would only make two million.

Most of the fixed expenses had already been covered.

Selling another hundred dishes might increase profit to three million instead.

"Wow."

Jiho looked impressed.

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

"Same."

While Jiho and Junghyun laughed together and declared, "We're friends~," Ri Hyuk looked at Biju and me, who were nodding along.

"The point is, our ingredients were way too expensive. Variable costs were enormous."

"True. We deep-fried premium Korean beef into beef cutlets...."

That was why the final profit wasn't particularly large.

At the same time, lowering prices wasn't an option.

NewBlack uses ingredients like that and charges those prices? Then what are regular restaurants even doing?

That reaction would have appeared immediately.

As we talked, Director Gu smiled.

"Anyway, that's the donation plan. Now let me tell you about everything that happened over the past four days."

Through the staff, we finally heard all the things we'd been too busy to notice ourselves.

"Over the last four days, Gurye received more visitors than it had during the previous six months combined."

"Whaaat...."

"Tourism revenue hit an all-time high. Restaurants throughout Gurye County averaged triple their normal sales."

The writers chimed in.

"One guy jokingly said they should build a NewBlack statue."

"We've been checking the market and local restaurants, and the atmosphere is honestly amazing."

"Look at this."

One writer showed us a photo.

A famous baekban restaurant had hung up a sign reading:

[Free Meals for NewBlack Forever]

And it wasn't the only one.

We immediately took photos of the photos.

"Hehehe. We're definitely going."

"Think we won't?"

Most media coverage had also been overwhelmingly positive.

-"Should We Visit Gurye This Summer?" NewBlack's Top 10 Gurye Recommendations

-Goblin Restaurant Revitalizes Local Economy, Merchants Say: "I'd Kiss NewBlack If I Met Them"

-Goblin Restaurant Causes Tourism Boom Across South Jeolla, Economic Impact Estimated at One Trillion Won

We tilted our heads.

"Nearby cities too?"

"Gurye has a limit to how many people it can accommodate, so visitors seem to be spreading to surrounding areas."

"Ah...."

As a result, tourist destinations like Yeosu, Suncheon, Boseong, and Damyang were reportedly seeing huge increases in revenue as well.

People who had initially planned to visit Goblin Restaurant apparently took one look at the crowds and redirected themselves elsewhere.

"That's a relief."

If the benefits hadn't spread beyond Gurye itself, there probably would have been plenty of resentment.

Thankfully, tourism seemed to be benefiting the entire region.

"And this is from online communities...."

"On social media...."

"When we visited the county office, they told us...."

The staff carefully monitored both offline public opinion and online reactions.

This project had been deeply connected to the public from the start.

Since attracting public interest was the whole point, understanding people's reactions was essential.

After hearing all the positive responses, we nodded.

"Hmm."

"Now we should look at the negative reactions."

"Right."

"What percentage are we talking about?"

"Maybe ninety to ten? Honestly, the response has been so positive it feels closer to ninety-three to seven or ninety-two to eight."

Nobody receives praise all the time.

Especially not after creating even more buzz than New Bulgogi Baekban.

Naturally, there would be some criticism.

The staff showed us examples.

-Gurye Tourists Frustrated by Price Gouging: "Didn't Even Get to See NewBlack..."

"What happened?"

"Pretty common stuff. Hotel prices tripled."

"Ah...."

"That happens everywhere. I remember traveling in Germany during Oktoberfest. Hotel prices jumped fivefold."

The examples continued.

-Goblin Restaurant Brings Prosperity to Gurye County, But Is There a Downside?

One newspaper quoted an elderly resident complaining that the previously quiet town had become chaotic.

A television news segment reported:

[Since the announcement that national idol group NewBlack would be running a restaurant, tourism in Gurye County has surged.]

[However, criticism regarding poor civic behavior has also emerged.]

The report ended by focusing on litter scattered throughout the area.

There were countless other reactions as well.

Street vendors from around the country had flooded into Gurye.

A politician publicly suggested that the county mayor might have an improper relationship with our CEO, only to get destroyed by Souffle and later apologize.

There were even weird online posts asking whether it would be possible to visit Gurye and flirt with attractive NewBlack fans.

The usual internet chaos.

"Hmm."

Nothing had truly surfaced as a major issue.

Nobody was openly blaming us.

Still...

"Hmm."

"Hmmmm."

The production team and our members exchanged meaningful looks.

-How does NewBlack stay so popular without getting much hate??

If someone asked that question, we could answer confidently.

Run away.

The moment it looked like criticism might start drifting in our direction, we ran.

That was the secret to popularity.

"I don't think there'll be any problems right now. But with this restaurant special...."

"This should be the last one, right?"

"Yes."

Issues that were still below the surface now would probably explode if we opened another restaurant domestically.

Honestly, given how massively successful Goblin Restaurant had been, most variety shows would immediately start planning a second season.

But—

"Let's stop with restaurants here."

"Good idea."

Director Gu and I exchanged smiles.

Run away.

Let's go!

Director Gu nodded.

"There are endless ways to adapt the concept."

"Exactly."

"It doesn't have to be a restaurant. We could do a cooking special where NewBlack goes somewhere and cooks for people."

"Oooooh."

"For example... the most isolated and difficult place on Earth. Antarctica."

"..."

Director Gu carefully watched our reactions.

"..."

"..."

We deliberately looked away.

The entertainment industry's greatest hyena paced around the room in disappointment.

Our PD stroked his beard and put on an innocent expression.

"This sounds fun though.... Chefs of Antarctica...."

"..."

"Fun... ratings... emotional impact... I think it'd have everything. Surely I'm not the only one who thinks so."

"..."

"I heard January and February are Antarctic summer. Perfect timing. And apparently your CEO confirmed you don't have any schedules then...."

The staff and my brothers all stared at me desperately.

Wooju...!

Hyung!

I swallowed.

"PD."

"Hm? This could seriously be amazi—"

"Let's talk after we hit twenty percent ratings."

"Really...?"

The mountain-bandit-looking variety producer gazed at me with innocent eyes.

I hooked my finger around his.

"It's a promise."

"Okay... wait a second...."

"Huh?"

"I need to record this."

He immediately pulled out a 6mm camera.

Everyone silently looked off into the distance.

Wait....

Why did those distant mountains suddenly look like icebergs?

After finishing filming for Goblin Restaurant—

"Everyone worked hard on this project!"

"Great work!"

While the staff, many still suffering from hangovers, remained behind in Gurye to wrap things up, we finished saying our goodbyes and climbed into the vehicle.

Our destination was obvious.

"Why are we going to Gunsan?"

"I told you yesterday."

I smiled.

"I'm giving Ri Hyuk his present."

"Why is Ri Hyuk's present in Gunsan??"

"You'll see when we get there."

The previous night, I'd asked everyone whether they minded making a brief stop in Gunsan on our way back to Seoul.

The present I'd promised Ri Hyuk.

-I'll give it to you later~

It was finally ready.

Jiho immediately latched onto Biju.

"Hyung, do you know what it is?"

"I don't."

"Really? Thank goodness."

"...?"

"I thought Wooju was only hiding it from me. If even Biju doesn't know, then it's okay."

Junghyun chimed in.

"Maybe I know."

"Hmm...."

Jiho looked at him and shook his head.

"No way."

"..."

"Your acting's terrible, hyung."

"..."

Junghyun sadly crunched on his snack.

Meanwhile, Ri Hyuk spoke confidently.

"I know what it is."

"You do?"

"I know exactly what the gift is."

Our main vocalist looked completely certain.

"It's a song, isn't it?"

"...?"

"You're going to take me somewhere in Gunsan and say, 'Ri Hyuk, I wrote a song about our memories together~' Then you'll give me my solo track. I know the whole plan. You promised to write me one before."

"Uh...."

I hesitated.

"No."

"...No?"

"Nope. Not even close."

"Out of the fifty-two songs you worked on recently, there isn't even one solo song for me?"

"Not at all."

Ri Hyuk blinked.

"Then what is it? Why are you being so secretive?"

"You'll see."

"Ah, this is so frustrating. What kind of gift requires this much secrecy...?"

The interrogation continued.

"According to the NewBlack Family Council, we will now begin the hearing of Sun Wooju. I, Kim Junghyun, will act as chairman."

"I invoke my right to remain silent."

"So noted."

Ri Hyuk poked me in the shoulder with his pointed chin.

Jiho made blatantly fake promises about behaving himself for an entire month if I told him.

I resisted everything and simply smiled.

Eventually everyone wore themselves out and fell asleep.

Then Wonseok, who was driving, spoke up.

"Is this the place?"

"Should be somewhere around here."

We had already entered downtown Gunsan.

The members gradually woke up and stared outside with sleepy fish-like eyes.

A construction barrier had been removed from a site that appeared to be preparing for its grand opening.

"...?"

"??"

I led my confused brothers out of the vehicle.

A modest building stood beside a larger structure, connected by a passageway and surrounded by a beautiful garden.

"This is it."

"...?"

"The gift for Ri Hyuk."

"...??"

Even Ri Hyuk stared at the buildings with a puzzled expression.

I introduced them.

"It's a library."

"A library??"

"Well... where should I start? It began this spring, when I was talking with Cold Brown...."

While watching an NBA game together, Cold Brown had told me something.

-You should use your influence for good. Small things like that accumulate over time. Someday they'll become a shield that protects you. And it feels good too.

Use the influence you possess to do something meaningful.

Maybe you couldn't change the entire world.

But perhaps you could make a small part of it a little better.

A little happier.

That conversation combined with thoughts I'd already been having, leading me to join a new project.

"I wanted to do something good. A bank started a project to build libraries in communities around the country. I participated in the one being built here in Gunsan."

"...But what does that have to do with Ri Hyuk's present?"

"If you donate, they put your name on it."

I pointed.

A plaque stood in front of a cozy annex building.

The polished metal gleamed.

[Seo Ri Hyuk Children's Library]

My brothers' eyes widened.

"Look! It's the Seo Ri Hyuk Children's Library!"

"WOOOOOOOAH!"

Ri Hyuk stood frozen.

His eyes were wide with shock.

I smiled.

"You always say Korea needs more libraries. That people should have easier access to them. So I've been donating to build libraries in our names."

"..."

"You might wonder why Gunsan."

Ri Hyuk stared at me blankly.

I smiled awkwardly.

"You moved to America when you were young. You always said you never really had a hometown in Korea."

"..."

"Sure, you lived in Incheon briefly, but not for long. You moved around so much that you never had any real roots."

Moisture began gathering in Ri Hyuk's eyes.

"Even if it isn't truly your hometown, I wanted you to think of Gunsan—where Grandma and I live—as something like one."

"..."

"Ri Hyuk, I—"

I never got to finish.

Someone suddenly ran toward me and threw himself into my arms.

"...?"

"??"

My brothers and I froze in shock.

Then I heard a tiny voice, mosquito-like, accompanied by a sniffle.

"Thank you."

"Uh... y-yeah."

I awkwardly stammered, completely caught off guard by the sudden display of affection.

Then—

"!"

Why are you the one who's surprised?

After hugging me, Ri Hyuk suddenly looked startled himself and quickly stepped back.

His expression looked like he was about to cry but was desperately holding it in.

He wiped at his eyes.

Meanwhile, the others stared at the sky, silently chanting things like Don't cry. Santa. Santa.

Then—

"But...."

The maknae pointed toward another building.

"The small building says Seo Ri Hyuk Children's Library."

"Yeah."

"Then what's that gigantic building attached to it?"

"Ah. That's...."

"...?"

"Well... you see...."

Beside the modest Seo Ri Hyuk Children's Library stood another library.

A much, much larger one.

I hadn't expected the Seo Ri Hyuk Library reveal to become this emotional.

So I awkwardly trailed off.

At that exact moment, thin clouds drifted aside.

Sunlight poured down.

Shiiiing—

"Huh?"

"Wait!"

The golden letters mounted on the larger building suddenly began shining brilliantly.

A structure so massive that it completely overshadowed the Seo Ri Hyuk Children's Library.

The name gleamed in gold.

[Kim Deoksun Library]

"..."

"..."

The brothers who had looked ready to burst into tears only moments ago slowly turned and stared at me.