Chapter 15: Expansion

After eating a few slices of yuk sashimi, Minjae’s expression brightened a little.

“Hyung, so how’s business these days?”

Minjae asked.

This time, it was my turn to sigh.

“Ha… don’t even get me started.”

“Why? Did something happen?”

“You know Megameat, right?”

“Of course I do. That’s Park Jungnam.”

Minjae did an unfunny impression of Park Jungnam.

As expected, Megameat was always synonymous with Park Jungnam.

“Yeah, it’s a nationwide butcher shop chain. They just opened a store right across from mine not long ago…”

I started to explain the whole story about Megameat.

The 990-won event, the sharp drop in sales, even President Park’s business closing.

“Hul… Then, isn’t your place in danger too, hyung?”

“That’s why I was thinking of starting online sales…”

I also explained the plan to take over President Park’s store.

“I’ve got all the equipment, but money’s the problem. I have no credit…”

Suddenly, Minjae looked up.

“Hyung, should I lend you some?”

“What?”

“I don’t have any severance pay, but I have a little money saved up.”

“Hey, what are you talking about?”

“And my credit’s pretty good.”

Minjae spoke seriously.

“If you need it, hyung…”

“Hey! No way!”

I waved my hands furiously.

“You just lost your job. You need that money to get by.”

“But, hyung…”

“That’s enough. I’m grateful just for the offer.”

Minjae looked a bit disappointed.

“What? Junho, are you doing online sales?”

Uncle Sungjin, who was clearing the table next to us, suddenly chimed in.

“Oh, uncle. We were just…”

“I heard everything as I passed by. You’re taking over President Park’s shop?”

Uncle came over to our table.

“Good thinking. Online is the trend.”

“Uncle, are you doing it too?”

“Of course! Since last year, I’ve been doing same-day delivery for yukhoe and yuk sashimi.”

Minjae and I looked at uncle in surprise.

“Really? You deliver yukhoe?”

“You just need special vacuum packaging. Same-day delivery keeps it fresh.”

Uncle pulled out his phone and showed us.

“Look, our online store. Our online sales have caught up to half of our offline sales.”

“Wow… Three thousand reviews?”

“I’ve grown this much in just a year.”

“That’s amazing.”

“Junho, let me know if you ever need help.”

“Sorry?”

“Packaging know-how, delivery systems… I learned a lot through trial and error over the past year.”

“Really? Could you teach me some?”

“Of course. Just tell me if you decide to do it.”

Uncle spoke seriously.

“Refrigerated delivery is especially tricky. Make a mistake and all the meat goes to waste.”

“What kind of mistakes?”

“The amount of ice packs, the packing order, the box size… You have to calculate everything. And, Junho.”

“Yes, uncle.”

“When you start, I’ll introduce your meat to my customers first.”

“Really?”

“People who order yukhoe love special cuts too. They’re always looking for premium meat.”

Minjae watched in admiration from the side.

“Wow… Then you’ll have initial customers ready…”

“That’s right. Starting is half the battle. But if you do well, you have to sell our yuk sashimi too.”

“Of course I will. Thank you.”

“We’ll see who should be thanking whom.”

Uncle handed me a business card.

“This is the number of our online manager. Call her tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you!”

“No need, I know the quality of your meat well. I wouldn’t introduce it otherwise.”

Uncle patted me on the shoulder.

“Junho, with your eye for choosing meat, you can definitely make it work.”

“But the money…”

“Find a way. It’s too good an opportunity to just let go.”

*****

We left the yukhoe restaurant.

“Hyung, if you really need help, just tell me.”

“Hey… No, it’s fine… Anyway, thanks.”

After sending Minjae off, I walked alone.

Uncle Sungjin was right.

Online was definitely an opportunity.

Orders could come from all over the country.

‘But how…’

My mind was a mess.

President Park’s equipment.

Rising online inquiries.

And my empty bank account.

Minjae’s offer kept echoing in my head.

But I just couldn’t bring myself to accept.

How could I borrow money from an unemployed junior?

‘I have to find another way.’

But what other way was there?

I looked up at the night sky.

I couldn’t see any stars, but I believed the answer had to be somewhere out there.

*****

“So? Is Minjae okay?”

As soon as I came home, my father was waiting in the living room.

“He got fired from his company. The investment dried up…”

“Oh no… That good kid… What a shame.”

Father, too, looked deeply sympathetic.

“But, father…”

I cautiously brought it up.

“Minjae said he’d lend me some money. For taking over President Park’s shop…”

“What?”

Father’s expression turned stone cold.

“Absolutely not!”

“Father… That’s not what I—”

“Junho, do you know the fastest way to lose a friend?”

Father spoke sternly.

“Lending money. Especially for business.”

“…”

“Minjae’s unemployed now, isn’t he? What do you think will happen if you borrow his money?”

Father was right.

“If the business fails? You’ll lose Minjae’s money and your friend too.”

“…”

“Never start a business with someone else’s money. Especially not with money from someone close to you.”

“…”

He was a hundred times right, and I had nothing to say.

I trudged to my room with a sullen face.

*****

Lying on my bed, I stared up at the ceiling.

‘What should I do…’

Online sales were definitely an opportunity.

But I had no money.

I turned down Minjae’s offer, and I couldn’t get a loan in 2025.

Any other ways…

All I could do was sigh.

‘Should I just give up?’

I kept thinking about President Park’s equipment.

Vacuum packer, freezer, packing table…

‘What a waste. Such a waste.’

About thirty minutes passed.

Knock, knock!

“Junho… are you asleep?”

It was my father’s voice.

“I’m not sleeping. Come in.”

Father opened the door and came in.

He was holding something in his hands.

“Uh… hmm… Junho…”

He was stumbling over his words, unlike usual.

“Yes?”

“I… I gave it some thought…”

Father sat at the end of the bed.

After a long hesitation, he pulled something out of his hand.

It was a bankbook.

“What’s this?”

“Sigh…”

Father let out a deep sigh.

“It’s your mom’s… life insurance payout.”

My heart dropped.

“Mom’s insurance money?”

“Yeah… she set it up before she passed…”

Father’s voice trembled slightly.

“Your mom made me promise. Never to use this money even if the butcher shop fails…”

“…”

“She told me to give it to you when you get married.”

Father fiddled with the bankbook.

“You’ll need a house, and wedding money… so I should keep it until then, no matter what…”

“Father, money like this…”

“I know. It’s your mom’s will.”

Father struggled to continue.

“But… seeing how desperately you want this…”

“Father…”

“If your mom were alive, I’m sure she would have said the same.”

He put the bankbook in front of me.

“It’s seventy million won.”

My hands trembled.

It wasn’t even my mother.

It was Jeong Junho’s mother.

But why did my heart ache so much?

“No! Father, I can’t use this money. Your wife… for her child… I mean, for me… anyway, I can’t do it.”

“That’s exactly why I’m giving it to you.”

Father took my hand.

“Your mom’s only wish was for you to do well.”

Tears fell.

I tried not to, but strangely, I couldn’t hold them back.

Meaningless tears streamed down my cheeks.

“More than marriage, getting settled is what’s most important for you.”

Father’s eyes turned red too.

The bankbook felt heavy in my hand.

Seventy million won.

It was Jeong Junho’s mother’s last love.

“I’ll… I’ll definitely succeed.”

“You have to. It’s your mom’s money, so don’t you dare fail.”

Holding the bankbook, I felt as if I could still feel my mother’s warmth.

*****

‘Is this the right thing…?’

I lay on the bed staring at the bankbook.

It wasn’t even my mother.

Not Kim Junho’s mother, but Jeong Junho’s mother.

Was it right for me to accept this money?

‘Should I give it back…?’

A wave of guilt washed over me.

Did I really deserve to receive it?

But father had already made up his mind and given it to me.

Even if I tried to return it now, he wouldn’t take it.

Besides, honestly, seventy million won was a big sum, but what would change even if I gave it back?

I was still struggling because of Megameat, and sales at the shop weren’t going to magically recover.

I gripped the bankbook tight.

‘If I succeed and turn this seventy million into seven billion, that would truly repay the favor.’

‘Mother.’

Jeong Junho’s mother, whose face I didn’t even know.

But now, she was also my mother.

‘Thank you.’

‘I won’t waste this money.’

‘I’ll succeed and make father happy.’

‘And… I’ll finally be a good son to father.’

I said my thanks in my heart.

It was strange.

She wasn’t my mother, but my heart hurt.

Maybe some memory of Jeong Junho lingered somewhere inside me.

If she was watching from somewhere, I’m sure she’d be cheering me on.

I clutched the bankbook to my chest.

‘I’ll do well. I promise I’ll do well.’

Mumbling that to myself, I drifted off to sleep.

*****

A few days later.

Early in the morning, I got the key through the realtor.

A lonely sign reading ‘Youth Butcher Shop’ was still hanging up.

“President Park must have had his own dreams too…”

Father looked at the store with pity.

As we opened the door and went inside, the smell of dust hit us.

It was obvious the place had been empty for weeks.

“The equipment’s cleaner than I thought?”

Vacuum packer, sealer, industrial freezer…

You could see the traces of President Park’s care.

“First, we need to clean up.”

“Yes, you go take care of our shop, father. I’ll handle this alone.”

Just then, Minjae suddenly burst through the door.

“Hyung!”

It was only 9 AM.

“Hey, what are you doing here at this hour?”

“Uh… well…”

Minjae scratched his head.

“I told my parents I was going to work.”

“What?”

“I couldn’t tell them yet. I’m afraid they’d be disappointed…”

Minjae gave a bitter smile.

“So I have nowhere to go… I came to help you, hyung.”

“Go to the library or something. You need to prepare for job hunting, you brat.”

“Prepare for what? There’s nowhere I want to go anyway.”

“What are you talking about? Anyone calling you in?”

“Why are you like this? People do want me.”

Minjae rolled up his sleeves.

“Anyway, let me help clean up! Wow, this dust is something else.”

Minjae coughed as he spoke.

“No kidding. Let’s get some air in here first.”

We flung the windows wide open.

A refreshing breeze blew in.

“Hyung, this vacuum packer looks expensive.”

“Yeah, looks like President Park really invested in this.”

It was a German-made vacuum packer.

A key piece of equipment for online sales.

“How do you use this?”

“I’ve never seen one before. Is there a manual?”

Minjae rummaged through a drawer.

“Ah, here it is! Wow, there’s even a Korean manual.”

“President Park was thorough.”

“Hyung, what are you going to use this space for?”

Minjae looked around the room.

“I’ll use that side for packing, and this side for storage.”

“No offline customers?”

“Nope. Totally online only.”

As we cleaned, I explained my plans.

“When we get orders, we pack them here and send them right out by courier.”

“Oh, so you don’t need a good location for the store?”

“Exactly. Actually, places like this are cheaper to rent, so it’s better.”

Minjae nodded.

“Hyung, have you ever done online sales before?”

“No… that’s what I’m worried about.”

“I worked at an online mall when I was in college…”

Minjae said with a grin.

“I can help out a little.”

“Really? Then, can I count on you until you find a job?”

“Yes. Huh? What’s this?”

He found a box in the corner.

It was labeled ‘Online Sales Manual.’

“Did President Park put this together?”

Inside were pages full of notes.

Packing methods, delivery tips, customer service…

“Wow, this is a real treasure!”

Minjae was impressed.

“President Park must’ve done a lot of research.”

“That’s what makes it even sadder. He was so prepared…”

Every note was evidence of President Park’s hard work.

‘I need to make the most of this.’

“Minjae.”

“Yes?”

“If you have time before you get a job, could you come help out for a while?”

“Really?”

Minjae’s eyes sparkled.

“I’ll pay you properly. And let you handle the online side, just at the start.”

“Hyung… thanks.”

Minjae beamed.

“Wow, I’m lucky to have something to do at a time like this.”

By afternoon, the place looked completely different.

Packing table, scales, label printer…

Everything was in its place.

“Now it really feels like an online butcher shop!”

Minjae said proudly.

“Yeah. Now the real work begins.”

Where one person’s dream had collapsed, a new challenge was beginning for someone else.

Whether it’s 2157 or 2025, the world is always this ironic.

*****

“Huh? The door’s open here?”

While we were cleaning, a familiar voice rang out.

President Choi, President Kim, and President Lee walked in.

“Isn’t that President Jeong’s son?”

“Ah, hello.”

I greeted them, but their faces were stony.

I explained the situation.

“What? You took over President Park’s place?”

President Choi asked with a mocking sneer.

“Yes, I’m going to use it for online sales only.”

“Ha! Online?”

President Kim snorted.

“Trying to start something else where President Park failed?”

“I was hoping we’d get some breathing room now that President Park is gone…”