Chapter 13: 990 Won per 100g

Father exclaimed in admiration.

“President Yoo, you’re almost like a professor.”

“That’s what happens after thirty years. Ah, and also…”

President Yoo showed the packaging date.

“Eighteen hours after slaughter. That’s the golden time. Pork spoils faster than beef. After forty-eight hours, the flavor drops off a cliff.”

“So that’s why you have to come in the early morning.”

“Exactly. Everyone comes at dawn to get the freshest cuts.”

President Yoo took out another piece of meat.

“Compare this. This one came in yesterday.”

It was definitely different.

The color looked dull, and the fat was starting to turn a bit yellow.

“See the clear difference?”

“Yes, it’s totally different.”

“That’s why you have to be extra careful with special cuts. There’s less of it, and the flavor is more delicate.”

Now I fully understood why each item was so important.

When it comes to pork, freshness and quality are everything.

“Look, here between the ribs, this small muscle. The knife at exactly forty-five degrees…”

Shk—

With a skilled flick, he separated the cut.

“Even after thirty years, two times out of ten I fail to separate it perfectly. That’s how tricky it is.”

Next up was the jowl meat.

“It’s also called ‘bolsal’—pork cheek, the jowl area.”

He showed me a small chunk.

He gently brought his gloved hand close to it.

[Pork – Bolsal]

Elapsed Time Since Slaughter: 24 hours

Current Freshness: 94/100

Meat Color: Deep Red

Fat Color: White

Location: Cheek Area

Intramuscular Fat: ★★★★☆

Juiciness Retention: ★★★★☆

Tenderness: ★★★★★

Meaty Aroma: ★★★★★

pH Measurement: 5.8

PSE Possibility: None

Notes: The more you chew, the richer the flavor; only 200g per pig

‘It’s practically perfect.’

“This is really unique. How does it taste?”

“It’s chewy yet tender. When you grill it, it has a buttery richness.”

President Yoo whispered conspiratorially.

“To be honest, this is a cut that high-end restaurants always take. The popular chefs are all after it. But business isn’t great these days…”

“How much is it?”

“Karubi-sal is 2,000 won per 100g. Bolsal goes for 1,800 won. I’m giving you a good price.”

“I’ll take ten kilos of each.”

President Yoo was startled.

“Ten kilos each? Can you sell all that?”

“I’ll only sell it to special customers. No way Megameat can get their hands on these cuts.”

President Yoo clapped his hands.

“As expected from Mr. Jeong’s son! Yes, you need to compete with special cuts like these.”

While packing, he said,

“By the way, we’ll be getting ‘maguri’ next week. Let me know if you’re interested.”

“Maguri?”

“You know, the end part of pork belly. Lots of fat, but when grilled it’s crispy—hardcore fans love it.”

“Yes, I know. I’ll give you a call.”

As I was about to leave, President Yoo called out.

“Junho!”

“Yes?”

“Megamart? Those guys will never handle these cuts properly. You made the right call.”

Outside, Father was already waiting.

“What did you buy so much of?”

“Karubi-sal and bolsal. They’re specialty cuts only known to a few.”

“Are you sure you can sell it all?”

I answered with confidence.

“I will sell it. In fact, it won’t be enough.”

On the way back, loading everything onto the truck,

A marketing strategy was already forming in my mind.

*****

Megamart Grand Opening D-1.

“Junho, check out the fridge for a second.”

Father pointed at the packed refrigerator.

“It’s completely different from a month ago.”

He was right.

Before, it was mostly pork belly and shoulder, but now there was a whole section just for specialty cuts.

Hangjeong-sal, karubi-sal, bolsal, maguri…

Each one even had a name tag attached.

Father spoke with a smile.

“Yesterday, even young people came looking for it on purpose. What did they call it… star something?”

“Insta?”

“That’s right, they took photos.”

Now I was completely used to my early morning runs to Majang-dong.

I was in contact with President Yoo almost daily, and President Choi would call first whenever he got good beef.

“I feel like our store finally has a real identity now.”

Father had a cheerful look on his face.

Megamart was already completed.

The red sign gleamed in the evening sunlight.

Tomorrow was the grand opening.

“This month really flew by.”

Just then.

Vrooom—

A white Bentley pulled up in front of Baek Pig.

A man got out from the back seat.

‘That’s Park Jeongnam…’

It was the man I’d seen on TV.

A sturdy build, warm expression.

But somehow, the mood was completely different.

“Hey! What is this?!”

Suddenly, a shout rang out.

“Why is the sign so crooked?!”

The staff tensed up.

“I’m sorry! We’ll fix it right away!”

“We’re opening tomorrow, and this is what I get?!”

Park Jeongnam entered the store.

I watched curiously from a distance.

Through the glass doors, I could see what was happening.

“What’s with these display gaps?! What did I tell you?”

“You said fifteen centimeters…”

“Then you should have measured it with a ruler! Did you eyeball it?!”

A young staff member ran around with a measuring tape.

“And those lights! I told you the meat has to look red!”

“Yes, we set it to 3000K, but…”

“This is 3000K? Adjust it again right now!”

The gentle uncle from TV was nowhere to be seen.

Just then, a middle-aged man in a suit approached.

Probably a head office executive.

“Sir, here’s the business district analysis report.”

Park Jeongnam took the report and skimmed through it.

“Hmm… average neighborhood income is about this much?”

He glanced around.

Old stores, run-down apartments.

“Perfect.”

The executive tilted his head.

“Sorry?”

“It means people here are sensitive to price. They’ll all come running for 1,980 won pork belly.”

Park Jeongnam smiled in satisfaction.

“This kind of neighborhood is perfect. Wealthier areas are a pain—they nitpick about quality and everything.”

“Oh, I see.”

“People here just want it cheap. Pork belly at half price! That’s all it takes.”

He shouted at the staff again.

“Hang the banner bigger! ‘Pork belly 100g 1,980 won’—in red!”

“Yes, sir!”

“And the neighborhood part-timers for tomorrow’s media shoot are ready, right?”

“Yes, we recruited twenty.”

“Make sure they can act the part.”

Park Jeongnam came outside.

Our eyes met briefly as I watched from afar.

He cleared his throat and lowered his voice.

Instead, he slowly looked around the neighborhood.

“That grocery store’s old… that snack shop is tiny…”

He muttered to himself.

“Perfect. In three months, we’ll clear this place out.”

The executive showed him a tablet.

“There are six butcher shops nearby. Half of them are already losing sales…”

“Doesn’t matter. They won’t last anyway.”

He glanced at our store.

“Especially little hole-in-the-walls like that—they won’t last three months.”

As he got into the car, Park Jeongnam made one last remark.

“Don’t forget the ‘Friend of the Common People’ concept for the broadcast tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir!”

The car drove off.

It was a bitter reality.

“Father…”

“Let’s go inside, Junho.”

A heavy silence hung in the air.

“Do they really think our neighborhood is that easy…?”

Father muttered to himself.

“Maybe they think people here will eat just anything.”

It stung.

People in our neighborhood know good meat when they see it.

“But 1,980 won is really cheap, though.”

Father gave a wry smile.

“Yeah. At first, everyone will go. Of course.”

“Right.”

“But Junho, there are always people who know cheap isn’t everything.”

When I turned on the lights, photos on the wall came into view.

Regulars we’d known for thirty years.

First birthdays, weddings, memorials…

Moments our meat had been a part of.

I started to prepare as well.

I typed out a message to our regulars.

[This is Junho’s Butcher Shop. Starting tomorrow, we’ll be selling specialty cuts in earnest. Karubi-sal, bolsal, hangjeong-sal. We’ve prepared a special taste you can’t find anywhere else. Not expensive. We promise honest prices and exceptional flavor.]

Park Jeongnam’s words—‘cheap is all that matters’—kept ringing in my head.

Was it really so?

*****

“Father, look at that…”

Saturday, 10 a.m.

As soon as we opened the store, we saw it.

More than ten people were already lined up in front of Megameat.

[Grand Opening!]

[Today only! Pork Belly 100g for 990 Won!]

[Limited to first 100 customers!]

“What? 990 won?!”

Father took off his glasses and put them back on.

“Not even 1,980 won, but 990 won… That’s less than a third of the cost price.”

I expected something, but not this.

From a distance, the market butcher shops looked gloomy.

Normally, by now on market day, they’d be bustling with customers.

But each butcher stood in front of their store, staring blankly outside.

“Boss, do you have pork belly?”

Even when customers did show up, the answer was always the same.

“Yes, it’s 2,180 won per 100g.”

“Oh… but Megameat is 990 won…”

“They’re doing a one-day event.”

“Then I’ll go there, I guess.”

After this kind of conversation happened a few times, the other butchers looked exhausted.

*****

Around lunchtime, I passed by Megameat.

There were unexpected faces there.

President Kim, President Lee, President Choi…

The very people who had led the price-fixing were now hovering around Megameat.

They were counting the people in line, closely inspecting the displayed meat, taking photos of the price tags.

‘They’re all panicking.’

Our agreement to charge 10% more than 1,980 won meant nothing in the face of 990 won.

My eyes met President Choi’s.

He gave a sheepish nod and hurried off.

3 p.m.

Our store was quiet all day.

Father looked sadly at the empty display.

“In thirty years, it’s the first time we’ve had so few customers on market day.”

“Father.”

I deliberately spoke brightly.

“Just think of today as a holiday.”

“A holiday?”

“Yes. You haven’t had a proper break lately. Megameat gave you a day off.”

Father laughed in disbelief.

“I never wanted a holiday like this.”

“But it’s nice, isn’t it? Sit and have tea, read a book. Talk more.”

I pulled a chair over and sat next to him.

“And, Dad, they can’t do a 990 won event every day.”

“That’s true, but…”

“Today’s just a show. For appearances.”

I pointed out the window.

“Look, they’ve got cameras rolling.”

Father nodded.

“If anything, today made one thing clear.”

“What’s that?”

“We’ll never win on price. You saw the 990 won. They’ll keep discounting.”

“So?”

“We’ll just go a completely different route. Today’s round zero. The real battle starts tomorrow.”

Father patted my shoulder.

“Right. Let’s not get discouraged.”

“Aw, I’m not discouraged. If anything, I’m excited.”

“Excited?”

“Yeah! A fight like this, it’s worth having, isn’t it?”

On the way home,

Oddly enough, I didn’t feel afraid.

‘Tomorrow will be different.’

*****

“Mr. Jeong!”

The laundry shop owner came running, out of breath.

His face was unusually serious.

“What’s going on?”

“Oh, Junho. Did you hear about Mr. Park?”

“Mr. Park?”

The youngest butcher in the market, Mr. Park, a man in his thirties who’d opened a shop just last year.

“He put his store up for sale.”

“What?”

Father stood up in surprise.

“Already?”

“He listed it this morning, I heard. Looks like Megameat yesterday just finished him off.”

Silence fell.

“So quickly, though…”

The laundry shop owner let out a sigh.

“Business was already bad, they say. He opened last year but didn’t have any regulars yet…”

“I see…”

“I guess he gave up after seeing that 990 won yesterday. Poor young guy…”

“Junho, let’s go see Mr. Park.”

Father hurried out the store.

We headed together to Mr. Park’s shop.

‘Youth Butcher Shop’

I’d heard he’d opened around this time last year, full of enthusiasm.

He’d done a clean, modern interior and worked hard at SNS marketing.

But now…

[For Quick Sale]

[No Key Money Required]

[Immediate Takeover Available]

[All Equipment Cheap]

The sign on the glass door fluttered sadly in the wind.

Mr. Park came out.

His young face, barely past thirty, now looked ten years older in just a day.

“Ah, Mr. Jeong…”

“Mr. Park, what is this…”

“I’ve given up. I don’t think I can hold out anymore.”

Mr. Park forced a bitter smile.

“Could a beginner like me really beat Megameat? Better to just cut my losses now…”

It was a harsh reality.

“But isn’t it too hasty?”

Father’s voice was full of regret.

“No. Yesterday’s sales were zero. Not even one customer…”

“It was the same for us.”

“But you’ve got thirty years of regulars. What do I have?”

Mr. Park’s eyes turned red.

“I started with a loan last year… I pay over a million won a month just in repayments. I need at least 100,000 won a day just to scrape by…”

He looked around his shop.

“When I saw the line at Megameat yesterday, I knew it. It’s over.”

“Mr. Park…”

“Please, you two hang in there. This is as far as I go. Oh, and I’m sorry about the other day.”

“What do you mean?”

“The day we talked about matching prices. I knew it was wrong, but with my family depending on me… I’m sorry.”

Mr. Park turned away and went back inside.

Probably to pack up his things.

The first casualty, just two days after Megameat’s opening.