I could see a mood pub inside a food alley. Was this the future where he took the partnership?
When I looked a little more closely, I could see the pub's sign.
[Tri-Color Ice Tteokbokki Pub]
For a second I thought I had misread it.
...What is that.
Tri-color ice tteokbokki?
Is that a name that suits a pub?
When I looked inside the shop, they seemed not to have opened yet, and two men were in the kitchen developing recipes.
One was Mango, and was the other the friend who had offered the partnership?
"Hey, hey, hey, hurry up and put the ice cream on."
"Won't it be too cold if we put it on now?"
"It's ice tteokbokki, so shouldn't it be cold?"
"You think?"
...What is with these people.
Dumb and Dumber?
But the real problem was the fact that the two of them were putting vanilla ice cream on tteokbokki.
Ice cream on top of tteokbokki... does this sell?
"How is it? This right here is vanilla tteokbokki!"
"Hey, but are you sure this really sells?"
"I'm telling you, an ordinary menu can't compete these days."
"Even so, isn't this a cursed dish......."
"There are five pubs in the area alone. It has to be something like this to get people in!"
Their conversation made my head spin.
From what I heard, the friend had offered the partnership, but the cursed dish... no, the tri-color ice cream tteokbokki...?
This was a menu item Mango had proposed.
"If we go under, it's your fault."
"You're the one who said we should go into business together."
"...I didn't know you'd come up with a menu like this."
"Don't worry."
Mango clapped his friend on the shoulder and nodded as if to say, just trust me.
"We were born on different days, but we go out on the same one."
"I don't want to die with you."
"We've got personal rehabilitation, don't we!"
"You crazy bastard......."
Judging by this alone, shouldn't I be stopping the friend rather than stopping Mango?
Telling him not to go into business with Mango.
But the cursed dishes... no, the menu, didn't end there.
Starting with mala-flavored bungeoppang, all sorts of bizarre items were coming out, and I wondered whether I should stop them even now.
For the record, they weren't putting on only vanilla ice cream but chocolate and strawberry too.
Tri-color ice cream tteokbokki, of all things.
"Now let's taste it."
"...You eat it first."
"Hey, if you eat something tasty together with something tasty, doesn't it get even tastier?"
"Why is your tongue so long? Hurry up and eat it."
"Let me get my mind ready."
"Hey, you bastard!"
From their expressions it looked like they might grab each other by the collar any second, but when Mango took a bite of the vanilla ice cream tteokbokki, his eyes went wide.
"What the, why is this good?"
"Good? Has your sense of taste gone to hell?"
"No, it's really good. Try it."
"Sounds like a lie......."
The friend, who had been staring at him suspiciously, took one reluctant bite and his eyes nearly popped out.
"Why is this good!?"
"Hey! I told you to just trust your big brother!"
"......."
Personally I suspected something had gone wrong with both of their palates, but when I checked further into the future, customers were lined up in front of the shop.
The moment I saw that sight, one line came to mind.
'This sells?'
They say you can't see an inch ahead in life, and it seemed to be true.
I could hear the customers standing in line in front of the shop talking, and before I knew it I was listening in.
"They say the tri-color ice cream tteokbokki here is damn good."
"Did I do something wrong to you?"
"No, seriously, it blew up on Rinsta for being really good."
"Why does food keep getting worse......."
Right, right. That's how a normal person reacts.
Nodding, I checked inside the shop, and I could see people genuinely eating with relish.
"What the, this is damn good?"
"When I saw it on Rinsta I thought it was an ad."
"Right! Why is this good!?"
Is it actually good?
When I looked further into the future the scene changed, and inside a broadcasting studio Mango and his friend were doing an interview.
"The tri-color ice cream tteokbokki is all the rage these days. May I ask the two of you for your secret to success?"
At the MC's question the two looked at each other.
And they opened their mouths at the same time.
"I think my friend proposing the partnership was a divine move."
"I think it's thanks to my friend, who readily accepted when I proposed the partnership."
At their answers the MC laughed and asked other questions too, and when the scene changed I saw them making yet another new menu item.
"Should we try putting mint chocolate ice cream on it this time?"
"Are you insane?"
"No, you never know."
"Even so, that one's a no, you bastard......."
"You think?"
But a few days later.
Mint chocolate ice cream tteokbokki came out as a new menu item, and once again a line formed.
"Hey! I told you it would work, didn't I!?"
"Why does this sell!?"
Inside the shop the two were fighting again, and the customers were laughing as they watched.
Ah, now the pieces fit together.
The taste was one thing, but people were coming to watch those two bicker.
Who wouldn't like being shown WWE live right in front of them?
They would come back just for the laughs, and if the food was good on top of that?
Naturally, business couldn't help but do well.
I opened my eyes and spoke.
"Mango."
"Yes."
"It looks like you can go into partnership with your friend."
"Really?"
"But the menu is a little......."
"Huh? I was planning to open a pub, how did you... ah, I'm sorry. You really are the real deal."
"Not at all. Well, in any case, do your best with the tri-color ice tteokbokki."
―Tri-color ice tteokbokki?????
―What is that
―He's going to put ice cream on tteokbokki?
―These crazy bastards lololololol
―Is this for real?
"Wow, I was only thinking about it in my head. How is it? Do I make it well?"
"Yes... well, you do make it well."
"What a relief... honestly, I didn't have any confidence."
I sympathize.
Telling me the tri-color ice cream tteokbokki is going to be a huge hit.
Even if someone urged me to make it, I wouldn't have the confidence either.
―Anon has donated 1,000 won!―
[But didn't his startup idea just get leaked?]
―Anon has donated 1,000 won!―
[What would you say if someone told you to make tri-color ice cream tteokbokki and sell it?]
―Anon has donated 1,000 won!―
[I'd tell them to quit talking crap]
―That's the normal reaction
―I wouldn't do that even if you told me to
―Honestly I don't think it'll go well
―You never know, a station might interview them
...Does the person who just typed that have the gift too?
You're spot on, though?
"You must be very close with the friend who offered the partnership."
"Of course. We've been friends for twenty years."
"Partnerships usually go under. That's the formula."
"Yes......."
At my words his voice turned glum.
"But you're different, Mango."
"Why?"
"Because the two of you really do click."
"Us? We fight every day."
"That's what clicking is."
Don't they see each other every day while fighting every day?
That's what being close is.
―Fighting means they click?
―True, people who are really close fight
―Jinwoo's right
―Then should we fight too?
―Sorry, but who are you?
"The other menu items you're thinking of will do well too."
"Those will work!?"
"I was surprised myself."
I never would have guessed mala bungeoppang would become a popular item.
"But why do they work?"
"Even if you ask me that......."
You're the one making them.
There was plenty I wanted to say, but I won't.
For Mango and his business partner's sake.
Well, this much should be fine.
"Call your friend today. Tell him you'll go into business together."
"Today?"
"That's the only way you get to hear him say later that it was 'thanks to the friend who readily accepted when he proposed the partnership.'"
"That bastard would say something like that!?"
"He did."
"The guy never even says thank you normally......."
Friends don't usually say cheesy things like that to each other, do they?
Anything more could turn into spoilers for his life, so let's stop here.
"You've got this, Mango."
"Thank you."
With a click he left Daincode.
***
The moment Park Junho left Daincode, he called Lee Donghyeon, the friend who had offered him the partnership.
Brrring.
Brrring.
Brrring.
Click.
"What's this about at this hour?"
"Hey. Let's do it."
"What kind of crap are you on about all of a sudden?"
"You're the one who said we should go into business together."
"This bastard decided fast."
At Junho's words, Donghyeon wasn't particularly surprised.
"I offered last week, and it takes you a whole week?"
"Hey, I just got a divination reading from a shaman."
"A shaman?"
"The shaman told me. That this is a guaranteed success."
"You call out of nowhere spouting nonsense. ...So how much did you pay for that reading to be making such big promises?"
"Ten thousand won!"
"......."
At his words, Donghyeon seriously considered hanging up and blocking this bastard.
But the two were friends of twenty years, so they knew each other better than family.
However endlessly light he seemed on the outside, on the inside he had a serious nature.
"If we go under, it's your fault?"
"You're the one who brought up the partnership first, so if we go under it's your fault."
"I didn't expect you to go get a reading from a shaman, you bastard!"
"Forget it, get out here right now. Let's develop the menu."
"That tri-color ice cream tteokbokki you talked about? Are you actually insane?"
"Just trust your big brother! I'm telling you this works!"
Bickering all the while, the two ended up meeting an hour later at the mood pub Donghyeon had signed the lease on.
"When did you sign for the place?"
"The deposit and the monthly rent were cheap, so I locked it in first."
Junho took the apron Donghyeon held out and followed his friend into the kitchen, which was cramped but neatly organized.
The cooking equipment was set up as well.
"And when did you get all this ready?"
When Junho asked, Donghyeon shrugged.
"Apparently the previous owner skipped out in the middle of the night. He left the fixtures behind."
"...Seriously? Lucky."
Or was it? Was it unlucky?
If the previous owner had run off in the night, didn't that mean business had been bad?
"But you had it all ready before you even heard my answer."
"Because I knew that if I asked, you'd do it."
"You crazy bastard......."
At his friend's words, Junho thought to himself.
He was a lunatic himself, but his friend was no slouch either.
But did he know?
That Donghyeon was thinking exactly the same thing.
"Forget it, let's develop the menu."
When Junho took out the tri-color ice cream he had bought on the way, Donghyeon's face filled with doubt.
"Hey, are you sure this really works?"
"The shaman said it works, so it works."
"You're trusting a ten-thousand-won shaman?"
"The amount isn't what matters. Skill is what matters."
Donghyeon let out a sigh and looked around.
"Where's the tteokbokki?"
"I bought the ingredients, so make it."
"...If I'm making this too, then what are you doing?"
"Menu development?"
"I'll kill you."
Donghyeon sighed again.
A few days earlier his ancestors had appeared in his dream and looked at him with pitying eyes, and he never imagined it would turn out like this.
"I'll make the tteokbokki, so put the ice cream in the freezer."
"Oh, did you finally get some motivation?"
"It's not motivation. I want to try it fast and quit if it doesn't work."
"Even if it doesn't work, you can't quit."
"Why?"
"You already put down the deposit."
"You crazy bastard......."
That night the two of them kept tasting tteokbokki topped with all kinds of ice cream until three in the morning.
While marveling at each other, no less.
"Hey, this one's good too?"
"...Is something wrong with our palates?"
"No. The shaman said it works."
"You're going to trust that ten-thousand-won shaman to the end."
"Hey, a shaman isn't about skill, it's about the spirits' power."
"You said skill was what mattered a minute ago......."
At Junho's words, Donghyeon let out a hollow laugh.
But his hands were already opening a new tub of ice cream.
***
"Allow me to bring in the last viewer of the day, Coffee! The password is 1004."
While speaking, I suddenly got curious how many viewers there were, and the moment I looked.
[Viewers: 1,687]
More than before.
...Is this the thrill of success?
"Kim Jinwoo, Superstar of the Universe, and his consultation broadcast! Everyone, please hit subscribe and like just once!"
―Your shoulders shot way up now that you've got more viewers, huh?
―You had eleven viewers not long ago lolololol
―Heard he got famous for being the real deal, guess it hasn't been long?
―Yeah, until recently he was an unemployed guy who got fired from a convenience store
―Hey now! He's still unemployed, thank you very much!
"I am unemployed, but hearing it hurts an unemployed man's feelings, so please keep quiet."
But am I actually unemployed?
With this many viewers, aren't I a top-tier streamer?
I was pondering that when a voice came through.
"Hello."
It was a middle-aged woman's voice, and OrderedOneCupOfCoffee had entered Daincode.
"Good to have you. What's troubling you?"
"I run a small cafe in my neighborhood."
"Yes."
"Business has been so bad lately that at this rate I think I'll have to close down."
―Oh, she's a cafe owner
―Cafes are really struggling these days
―Even franchises are struggling, so private cafes must have it worse
―I run a cafe too and a Satabucks opened right next door
―That's a disaster
"How long has it been?"
"This is my third year."
"Have a lot of cafes opened nearby in that time?"
"Don't get me started. As if three franchise cafes right next door weren't enough, there are two private cafes as well."
So there were a full five coffee shops nearby.
It would definitely be hard.
"One moment."
"Yes."
When I closed my eyes I saw a small cafe, cozy and neat in atmosphere but with few customers.
Behind the counter stood a woman in her mid-fifties, and that was OneCupOfCoffee.
She seemed to run it alone, and the menu was varied and the prices reasonable, but the problem was that there were far too many cafes nearby.
Just then the cafe door opened and a middle-aged man came in, maybe in his fifties.
He was wearing a hat pulled down low, and from the way they greeted each other so naturally he seemed to be a regular.
He ordered a hot americano, sat at the window seat, and opened his laptop bag.
OneCupOfCoffee brewed the coffee with care and brought it over to him.
"Enjoy."
"Thank you."
When the middle-aged man nodded and opened his laptop, I could see the screen, and there was a document file that looked like a screenplay.
When I looked closely, the title was familiar.
I had definitely seen it somewhere.
...Hold on, isn't this the movie that has been the talk of the town lately?
The man of the moment who had pledged to give an interview if the film reached ten million admissions.
A director shrouded in mystery, barely known to the public.
Could that be this man?
The moment I concentrated and checked the future, I found the solution.
"There was a benefactor in your cafe."