Chapter 6 : A Transaction of Taste

The sedan from Company R rolled along incredibly smoothly.

“The ride quality is amazing.”

“Right? High-end cars really are on a different level.”

“Chief Manager, how much does this car cost?”

At Yuseong’s question, Chief Choi looked flustered.

Judging by Chairman Lee Woo Do’s attitude, Yuseong’s status must be quite high, but he seemed far more down-to-earth than expected.

“It should be around 800 million won. It’s the Chairman’s beloved car.”

Shin Jia gasped in surprise, and Yuseong nodded.

“That’s about 100 kilograms of pork belly.”

“When you put it like that, it doesn’t sound so expensive.”

Chief Choi struggled to keep up with their conversation.

Yuseong stared out the window at the view of Seoul.

“How did Grandfather end up becoming brothers-in-law with such a chaebol chairman?”

Until he was dragged to the mainland, Yuseong had lived alone on a remote island with Grandfather.

His Grandfather, Baek Uncheon, was originally a world-class chef.

In his youth, he had worked at several Micheline 3-Star Restaurants before returning to Korea to open his own establishment.

The restaurant’s name was ‘Rakshik.’

It was a small restaurant based on Korean cuisine and didn’t receive any Micheline stars due to its size.

However, it was said to have a cult following among those who enjoyed the joy of food.

All of this was before Yuseong was born, so all he knew were the stories Grandfather had told him.

It wasn’t until long after Grandfather passed away that Yuseong realized those stories weren’t exaggerations or boasts.

He found Volume 1 in Grandfather’s notebook.

The reason Grandfather often spoke about the ‘brothers-in-law’ was that Lee Woo Do, Chairman of Cheonghwa Electronics, was that very brother-in-law.

Suddenly, Yuseong asked Chief Choi without warning.

“Is the Chairman celibate?”

“…Huh? Yes, of course. He is celibate.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Yes…”

It had been nearly ten years since meeting Chairman Lee Woo Do in his previous life.

At that time, the Chairman was 83 years old, having retired from the frontline of management and handed over all authority to his children.

Yuseong still remembered how kindly Lee Woo Do treated him despite being bedridden.

“He passed away in less than a year.”

It would have been better if they had met earlier, but when Yuseong met Lee Woo Do, his time was almost up.

“This time is different.”

It was a life lived like a war.

Full of regrets and hardships.

But this life would be different.

“We’ve arrived.”

They reached CH Tower.

Chief Choi personally opened the car door and escorted Yuseong and Shin Jia inside.

Shin Jia kept marveling at the building’s magnificent appearance.

“Wow, it’s huge.”

“Stop acting all confident, just stop.”

Even though Yuseong teased her, Shin Jia was only eager to admire.

Chief Choi smiled broadly and spoke.

“This building is Cheonghwa Electronics itself. It’s like having multiple state-of-the-art automated factories concentrated in one building.”

Indeed, the security was extraordinary for what was supposed to be just an ordinary office.

Armed guards inspected all entrants using various equipment.

“You are VIPs.”

“You may proceed.”

Yet all these procedures were bypassed with a single word from Chief Choi.

It was only now that Yuseong truly felt who he was dealing with.

The elevator Chief Choi escorted them to had no buttons.

“Code 109. Master floor.”

After Chief Choi swiped his card, the elevator smoothly ascended.

The floor-to-ceiling glass windows revealed a panoramic view of Seoul.

Since the Great Cataclysm, most of South Korea’s population had been concentrated in the metropolitan area.

The city was astonishingly crowded with buildings.

Yuseong said nothing as he gazed at the scenery; Shin Jia carefully asked.

“Oppa, are you nervous?”

“…Nervous? I guess so.”

Before Regression, when he met Chairman Lee Woo Do, the Chairman was wearing an oxygen mask.

He wondered how he was now.

“Ding.”

The elevator stopped at the top floor with a cheerful chime.

“This is the floor with the Special Strategic Planning Office and the Chairman’s office. Just follow me.”

But when the doors opened, Chief Choi no longer needed to escort them.

Lee Woo Do himself was waiting right there in front of the elevator.

Yuseong’s body stiffened for a moment.

He had hoped the Chairman would be more refined than before, but this was beyond that.

Despite being 73 years old, the Chairman stood confidently and was not as frail as Yuseong remembered.

The oxygen mask connected to his nose was gone, and the ringing he used to always carry was nowhere in sight.

Only his piercing gaze remained as sharp as ever.

“You’re the Chairman’s grandson, huh? I can tell right away.”

The Chairman extended his hand as if to shake, and Yuseong clasped it.

Then the Chairman pulled him in and embraced him tightly.

“You’ve struggled living alone in this world. Heaven has brought you here.”

Yuseong nodded with a dazed expression.

Beside him, Chief Choi stood with his mouth agape, looking astonished.

He had never seen the coldest, most ruthless chairman act so warmly.

“Come on in.”

The Chairman wrapped an arm around Yuseong’s shoulder and led him inside.

***

While talking in the Chairman’s office, Yuseong felt a strange sensation.

At first, his appearance was different enough that it felt like meeting a different person, but the words Lee Woo Do spoke were ones Yuseong had heard before Regression.

“Everything in this world is fate.”

“Fate?”

“Yes, I’m not talking about luck. I mean destiny. That we and your Grandfather became brothers-in-law, that you and I met like this—that is fate and connection.”

“Wise words.”

“Connections—something I’ve realized after coming this far. Nothing is more precious. In this world, some connections can be severed anytime, but others never break. It’s important to discern which is which.”

“Indeed.”

“You know, whenever I have a serious talk, you act all tough but just brush it off—just like your Grandfather. Ha ha ha.”

Even Yuseong’s indifferent expression seemed adorable to Lee Woo Do.

He laughed, saying the Chairman always reminded him of his brother.

This was exactly the same as the Lee Woo Do he had met in his previous life, which made Yuseong smile.

Meanwhile, only Chief Choi, who knew how cold and fearsome the Chairman really was, wore a stunned expression.

“Chief Choi, show this young lady around the company. Ha ha.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

The Chairman casually sent Chief Choi and Shin Jia away.

Left alone with the Chairman, he wore a serious expression and asked.

“So, how have you been? Living with relatives?”

“No, I lost contact with relatives, so I’ve been living alone.”

“Is that so? What about school?”

“Since I came from the island to the mainland, I’ve been working continuously.”

“Ha…!”

The fact that the only remaining blood relative of the brothers-in-law was living alone—and hadn’t even been able to attend school, instead thrown into the workforce—pained Lee Woo Do.

“If we had contacted each other earlier…”

“It’s okay. I’m quite satisfied with how I’m living now.”

Of course, Yuseong’s life had been a hardship one, unbearable to watch without tears.

But from now on, things would be different.

“So, who is this child?”

“That child lives here in the building.”

“Oh? So your relationship with this child is quite good. Getting along with neighbors is important.”

Lee Woo Do nodded approvingly.

Yuseong added an explanation.

“She’s my assistant. I brought her with me.”

“Assistant?”

“I told you over the phone. She wanted to cook for me.”

“That’s right.”

The Chairman rubbed his hands together with deep emotion.

“I never thought I’d eat Rakshik’s food again in my lifetime.”

“It’s an era where all chefs have disappeared.”

Thirty years had passed since the world changed.

“The profession of ‘chef’ vanished first after the Great Cataclysm.”

“In special cases like yours, Lee Woo Do, chefs who had connections are sometimes invited to cook, but that’s rare.”

“It’s just that I learned from Grandfather by watching him.”

“That’s more than enough. Would you like a glass of wine?”

Yuseong agreed and accepted the glass.

After taking a sip of wine, he bit into an Energy Bar placed on the table.

“So, what are your plans? If you want, I can arrange a position for you in the company. I can’t open a restaurant, but I can do that much.”

Cheonghwa Electronics was now considered a dream workplace for this era.

If the Chairman himself vouched for him, Yuseong could live comfortably for the rest of his life.

A sweet offer.

“Thank you, but I must decline.”

However, Yuseong refused.

“Then, if you don’t want that, there’s no need to work here. I can set you up with a small shop, and you can manage it yourself.”

A shop set up by the Chairman wouldn’t be a hole-in-the-wall.

Though he was the grandson of the brothers-in-law, Yuseong was practically a stranger.

Still, such a generous offer from Lee Woo Do made Yuseong’s heart tighten for a moment.

But he could not accept it either.

“I want to become an explorer.”

“No.”

The Chairman flatly opposed.

“It’s too dangerous. Abyss expeditions are entrusted to the current explorers.”

“That’s not the issue. I have to go into the Abyss.”

“Why on earth must you enter the Abyss?”

“I can’t eat Energy Bars.”

“…What?”

Yuseong explained the allergy he had.

The Chairman looked skeptical.

Nectar fed all of humanity.

No one had ever been reported to be allergic to Nectar before.

“You just ate one, so the symptoms will come on soon.”

Indeed.

A rash appeared visibly on Yuseong’s neck.

Seeing this, Lee Woo Do’s eyes widened.

“After turning twenty, I became unable to live on Energy Bars alone. I almost died from swollen lymph nodes.”

“So that’s why you’re so thin…”

“Yes. I’ve been in and out of the Abyss many times. I survived by eating Abyss monsters and wooden fruit.”

“What?! People die if they eat the wrong Abyss creatures. Do you know how toxic those monsters are?”

“There are many edible things in the Abyss. Even poisonous ones are fine because of my Gift.”

“Edible things? You even have such a Gift?”

“The fact that I’m alive until now proves it.”

It was an unbelievable story.

If it had been someone else, the Chairman would have shouted at them not to speak nonsense.

But seeing the sincerity in Yuseong’s gaze, Lee Woo Do finally accepted it.

“I’ll give you my private ingredient storage. Even if you can’t eat Energy Bars, you should be fine with past food supplies.”

This was also an incredible offer.

Its value was immeasurable, and for Lee Woo Do, a lover of fine cuisine, it was like a treasure.

But even that had its limits.

“What happens after you finish all that?”

“…Hmm.”

Lee Woo Do’s secret storage contained a vast amount of ingredients.

But Yuseong was only twenty-one.

If he relied on that, eventually the storage would run out.

“Then, what is your plan?”

“I have a Gift related to food. I will become stronger and survive beyond the fourth floor. After the fourth floor, food resources become more abundant. I will be able to eat many more things.”

“And…”

“Within ten years, I must clear the Abyss. To bring abundance back to the world. To return a world where everyone doesn’t have to live eating tasteless Energy Bars.”

Lee Woo Do was deeply moved.

What Yuseong claimed was the Chairman’s own dream.

Now at age 73.

His remaining time was unknown but not long.

Before closing his eyes, he wanted to see a world rich with abundance again.

“Help me. As an explorer, I want to request your sponsorship.”

“Absurd. Absurd. Your brother always spoke nonsense like this. No, you’ll die trying. The Abyss is a deadly trap even for top explorers.”

But the Chairman was a man of reason, not one to be swayed just because Yuseong’s words stirred his heart.

“I’m not asking for a favor based on my connection to Grandfather. I’m asking for a business transaction.”

“A transaction? Do you understand what that means?”

When the word ‘transaction’ was brought up, Lee Woo Do’s attitude shifted.

He seemed somewhat displeased.

“Yes. I have to be compensated fairly by Cheonghwa.”

“Explain.”

If Yuseong said even a single falsehood, Lee Woo Do was ready to reprimand him harshly.

Because once he called him ‘Chairman,’ he had to return to being the entrepreneur Lee Woo Do.

“A cultivation method inside the Abyss.”

“…!”

But since the topic Yuseong raised was currently a hot research subject among companies, Lee Woo Do held back his urge to shout.

“As an explorer, what I want to solve after clearing the Abyss is the development of Energy Bars. The secret can only be found inside the Abyss.”

“You mean cultivating Abyss plants?”

“Plants without poison and rich in nutrition.”

This also overlapped with Lee Woo Do’s dream.

He cautiously asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

“Do you have a species in mind?”

“It’s not easy to cultivate in large quantities, but if I figure out the method, there are many fruits that could feed many people. Notably, Cellic, similar to olives, and Cronut, a nut with high calories per weight…”

Countless Abyss fruits flowed from Yuseong’s lips.

All knowledge only understood through meticulous study.

The reason food companies had repeatedly failed was because they kept trying Earth methods. Abyss plants require Abyss methods.

It was hard to believe.

It seemed like boasting or making things up, but Yuseong’s expression held sincerity.

To fool Lee Woo Do’s eyes, one would have to be either incredibly meticulous or telling the truth.

“…I won’t ask how you know this. If you were lying from the start, you could have fabricated anything.”

“By my Grandfather’s honor, it’s true. I can’t eat Energy Bars. These are all things I personally tested and found safe.”

In fact, this was a technology that had been commercialized before becoming rare.

“Then, I’ll ask only one thing.”

Lee Woo Do tried to hide the fact that he was being convinced.

“A contract is necessary in a business transaction. When dealing with someone like you with little credit, collateral and a down payment are required.”

He wanted to teach the young man, whom he already treated like a real grandson, the harsh realities of the world.

“Then, what will you propose to make me agree to a deal? All your words are about the future, so there’s no substance.”

To do business with someone superior in every way, one must show enough charm.

Yuseong confidently replied as if expecting this.

“I told you I have a Gift related to food.”

“Oh?”

“I’ll prove it works even in the Abyss. For that…”

He rolled up his sleeves and took a stance.

“First, let’s eat.”

“Heh.”

“Even Mount Geumgang can wait until after a meal.”

“Uhahaha.”

In the end, the Chairman burst out laughing.