Oh Soo-ah nervously waited outside as she wondered what the chairman had to say to her.

“The chairman will see you now,” A secretary had opened the door and motioned for her to go inside. As Soo-ah walked inside, she saw the chairman sitting there with an expression that seemed to never change. She sat down next to the chairman, facing him.

“I am offering you a scholarship to get through university.” Chairman Jang spoke. “After you graduate, I will offer you a position at Jangga. I have no doubt that you will excel.”

Soo-ah sat there, taking in every word. “Why?” She asked. Surely the chairman knew she was close to Park Sae-royi and Mr. Park. After Sae-royi and Geun-won got into the fist fight at schools, things were not the same.

“If you think I’m asking for something in return,” said Chairman Jang, “That’s not the case.” His stare was blank and all business.

Soo-ah looked down on the floor and clenched her fists. “I’m sorry…I can’t agree to this.”

Chairman Jang looked surprised, “What did you say?” His eyebrows raised in astonishment.

“I can’t take the scholarship Mr. Jang,” Soo-ah said as she looked up from the ground and directly at the chairman. She didn’t say another word as she stood up and bowed before turning away and stepped towards the door.

“You won’t get another opportunity.” Chairman Jang said as she still had her back turned against him.

Soo-ah continued to walk out the door.

____

Park Sae-royi swept the floor of his pub as his father continued to hang decorations on the wall. He looked out the window for a moment and was surprised to see Soo-ah walking towards them.

“I’m dropping out of university and coming to work here.” Soo-ah practically demanded as she got to the counter. She was out of breath as she slammed her hands on the counter.

“Soo-ah…” Sae-royi didn’t know how to respond. He patted his hair, not knowing what to think.

Mr. Park stepped down from his ladder and momentarily stopped putting up lights. “What are you talking about Soo-ah? You have a bright future studying at the university.” He smiled, making the situation more light-hearted.

“Mr. Park,” She said, “I want to work here.”

Sae-royi’s heart began to pound faster. He was nervous at the thought of her working here but he didn’t oppose it.

“I’m sure she would be a great addition.” Mr. Park said after some thought. “What do you think Sae-royi?”

“Oh,” Sae-royi snapped out of his thoughts. “Welcome to Danbam, Soo-ah.” He bowed formally.

_____

“Father, you called me in?” Jang Geun-won said as he walked into his father’s office.

“I’ve been thinking Geun-won,” Chairman Jang began, “I’ve had to go to great lengths to protect you when you let that punk Park Sae-royi punch you. I even had to fire one of my best employees, Mr. Park.”

“Father-“ Before Geun-won could say another word, the chairman continued.

“Your reckless actions make it very difficult for me to leave Jangga to you.” Chairman Jang put it bluntly. “Oh, you’re here.” He said as he looked past Geun-won and to someone behind him.

Another man in a suit walked past Geun-won and he instantly recognized him. Geun-won clenched his fist and shouted, “Why did you bring him here!”

“Geun-soo has shown to me that he is more fit to run the company than you are. He has the highest grades and never get in trouble or risk the Jangga name.”

“But he isn’t your legitimate son!” Geun-woo said angrily.

“Do you think I care about that?” Chairman Jang chuckled.

“I will do my best to learn from you and make the company stronger than ever, Father.” Geun-soo bowed at the chairman.

Geun-woo looked at Geun-soo in disgust. “I cannot agree to this!” He stormed out of the house and got into his car and drove into the night.

As Geun-woo left, Geun-soo headed out to follow him.

“Stop, let him do whatever he wants, that reckless fool.” Chairman Jang muttered. “You’re going to take care of this company someday, Geun-soo. You need to focus on that.”

“Yes, Father.” Geun-soo said as he watched from the window, seeing Geun-won get into his car and driving off into the middle of the night.

_____

“I’ll be back soon,” Mr. Park said he left the shop to Sae-royi and Soo-ah. He hopped onto his motorcycle and headed off.

“Why do you want to work here?” Sae-royi asked Soo-ah.

“I think Mr. Park could use the help,” Soo-ah said while wiping a table, not looking at him. “Especially, since you are his son, he won’t get anything done.”

Sae-ro-yi sighed, “Yah, Soo-ah!” He started to say but couldn’t think of a comeback. He muttered to himself and went back to the kitchen to prepare food for the next day.

Soo-ah looked up and smirked.

_____

 

“My stupid father cares more about his company, Jangga, than his own true son!” Geun-won said angrily as he drove down the dark roads. He didn’t pay attention to any obstacles, just speeding as fast as he could down the roads. Until…

“Oh crap!” Geun-won shouted as his car came closer and closer to a motorcyclist. He halted the car by stepping heavily on the brake pad. His car screeched and the crashed into a tree. Geun-won bumped his head into the air bag that was deployed. When he gathered his bearings, he immediately unbuckled his seatbelt and opened his door and got out.

“My car is totaled!” Geun-won yelled to no one in particular. He looked around and saw the motorcycle a few feet ahead and ran towards it. He saw a familiar face groaning in pain. He headed towards the man.

“Mr. Park?” Geun-won noticed the man looked familiar from before. He was Park Sae-royi’s father, the man that had voluntarily resigned from his father’s company after Sae-royi had punched him.

“Aigoo…” Mr. Park moaned in pain as he held his shoulder. He wondered if he had dislocated it.

“Don’t move sir, I will call an ambulance!” Geun-won brought out his phone and frantically called for help.

“Geun-won?” Mr. Park’s vision was blurry and he began to black out.

____

At the hospital, Geun-won waited for news.

“Are you Park Sung-yeol’s family member?” A nurse came up to Geun-won and asked.

“No, just an acquaintance.” Geun-won said with sweat dripping from his forehead.

“Well, he just woke up. Luckily it was nothing serious but he had dislocated his shoulder and broke an arm. He will need to stop work for a few days.” The nurse continued. “Wait sir-“

Without further discussion, Geun-won ran toward Mr. Park’s hospital room.

“Geun-won, I knew it was you.” Mr. Park said but then smiled.

Geun-won was confused but bowed as low as he good, apologizing. “The accident was my fault.”

“Let’s just call it even for getting Sae-royi in trouble.” Mr. Park said nonchalantly and the TV.

“Why are you so calm?” Asked Geun-won after some odd silence. He had sat next to Mr. Park and didn’t have anywhere else to go.

“Well, I figured that you must have had a good reason to be speeding.” Mr. Park said. “Speeding away from Chairman Jang must be something anyone would do.”

“Actually, my father has decided to choose my younger brother over me.” Geun-won started to say. “Sometimes, I think it’s just better to start my own company. And … I’m not sure why I’m telling you this.” He stopped and sighed. “I should go.” But before he could move, Mr. Park had something else to say.

“Don’t worry about your father’s footsteps, that’s what I tell Sae-royi.” Mr. Park chuckled, “But he’s too stubborn to listen to me. Stay in school and become a successful man on your own.”

Geun-won smirked and laughed at Mr. Park. “You don’t know anything about me.” He got up and walked away.

“Ah Sae-royi,” Geun-won gave him sly and annoying smile. “Didn’t think you would even come here.” No matter the situation, they never liked to see each other.

Sae-royi grabbed Geun-won forcefully by the collar, “What did you do to my dad?” A vein could be seen on his forehead.

“Sae-royi stop!” Soo-ah brought him to his senses. She glared at Geun-won but urged Sae-royi to leave it. She shook his shoulder, “That’s enough, alright?”

“It was just an accident, he said he is fine.” Geun-won said before turning away and heading towards the exit.

Geun-won walked off into the night, thinking about what Mr. Park had said to him.

“Dad!” Sae-royi was relieved to see his father just watching TV. “Are you alright?”

“I’m perfectly fine but you’ll have to take care of Danbam for a while.” He said as he pointed to his right arm.

“This is all Jang Geun-won’s fault.” Sae-royi clenched his fist.

“We’ll be okay.” Soo-ah hugged Sae-royi’s arm and tried her best to keep him level-headed.

“Mr. Park, I’m glad you’re okay.” Soo-ah said. “Don’t worry, we will keep the restaurant running strong.”

 

Weeks had gone by and Soo-ah and Sae-royi did their best to keep up the restaurant.

“Sae-royi! Where’s the order!?” Soo-ah frantically called to him. She popped her head in the kitchen and caught Sae-royi reading an article on his phone.

“Oh shoot!” He had realized that he had burnt the food.

Things weren’t working out.

They peaked outside into the restaurant and caught people leaving. Soo-ah face palmed. “What are you reading anyway?”

Sae-royi urgently showed Soo-ah his phone. “We should star on a cooking show! It’ll get DanBam some much needed attention.”

Soo-ah frowned and continued to read the article, “This is only for larger restaurants. We’re only a small pub!” She read a bit further. “We don’t even have four people. That’s the requirement.”

“Whatever…” Sae-royi sighed. They cleaned into the night. It was difficult to run the restaurant as high school students and it was only the two of them with Mr. Park out with the shoulder injury.

 

As Sae-royi got home later that night, he saw his Dad reading through job applications. They had posted flyers, looking for help.

“Ah Sae-royi there you are, I think I found the right person for the job.” Mr. Park said as she sifted through the papers. “They will start tomorrow. Right away.”

“Ah Dad not now, I’m tired.” Sae-royi responded, feeling that there was little hope. “Wait, this means we have enough people to get on the show! We need to start training them right away. Tell them to meet us at 7am sharp.”

Mr. Park chuckled, seeing renewed energy within his son. He walked over to his kitchen examined a couple of seasoning and sauces he had been working on for his tofu soup. He gave it a taste, “Hm seems to be missing something.”

 

“Oh, they’re here!” Soo-ah heard a knock on the door.

“Finally.” Sae-royi stared at his watch. It was just a minute after 7am. “They’re already late.” He walked over to the door and opened it.

“Hi my name is Kim Ton-.” Before the new employee could finish his sentence, they pulled him inside and handed him the script for the show. “Whoa, is this the training book?”

“No, we’re going to be live on TV in one hour. It’s the biggest cooking show in Korea. It’s our best chance to show what Danbam can be.” Sae-royi explained. He sped through his sentences.

“W-what, already?” Toni couldn’t believe what he was walking into. “I haven’t been trained!”

“We’re advertising our Danbam special tofu soup. We’re going to cook it and taste test it on live tv.” Soo-ah explained further to Toni while she was preparing her make up in the mirror. Her speech was just as quick as Sae-royi’s.

Mr. Park walked out of the kitchen and waved Sae-royi over.

“What is it, Dad?” Sae-royi asked.

“The soup isn’t read yet. I’m sure something is missing.” He said as he stirred the pot with his good arm.

“But I stayed up all night making it?” Sae-royi wiped the sweat off his forehead.

“Not to worry, I know someone who could help.” Mr. Park smiled at his son.

 

Geun-won brought a spoon to his mouth and sipped the sauce. “Hmm…” He had an array of different spices from Jangga. He took a few pinches from one of the jars and added it to the sauce he was creating. He tasted it again. “That should do it. It should go well with the tofu soup.” He packed it in a bag and headed out.

“Soo-ah is going to love this addition to the flavor.” Geun-won smiled to himself and he finally arrived at Danbam.

“Ah seriously?” Sae-royi couldn’t believe his dad had invited Geun-won. His face cringed as he saw his enemy walk into the door.

“Oh, you’re here so soon.” Mr. Park smiled and waved at Geun-won to come closer.

“Thank you, Mr. Park,” Geun-won bowed and brought out a jar of spices that he had created. “This should be the missing ingredient.”

Sae-royi didn’t have time to worry about Geun-won becoming part of the team, they were about shoot a live segment. Mr. Park handed him the spices and he headed to towards the kitchen to mix them in. He hoped that his father was right about Geun-won joining.

The camera crew began to shoot the scene. Soo-ah smiled brightly for the camera and began to advertise their best product, the tofu soup. Sae-royi, Geun-won, and Mr. Park all intently watched the scene with a smile on their faces. Soo-ah was the perfect personality to convey the image that they wanted customers to see when they went to Danbam.

“Danbam has the best tofu soup in Itaewon!” Soo-ah said as she took as she ate a spoonful. Then she started coughing.

“Cut!” The director yelled out. They stopped rolling the film.

“Are you okay?” Sae-royi asked and gave Soo-ah some water.

“I’m fine…but all of a sudden I’m a bit dizzy.” Soo-ah said as she started to walk towards the chairs in the back, her legs gave out and she collapsed to the ground. She started to cough uncontrollably.

“Soo-ah!” Sae-royi yelled and ran over to cushion her head in his arms. “Call for help!” Her face turned white and her lips became blue. “Stay with me!” He knew this was serious.

“Sae-royi…” Soo-ah said with the little energy she had before she lost consciousness. Her face was becoming pale and her lips turned blue.

Paramedics entered the pub and pulled Sae-royi away. They started CPR when they found she was unresponsive.

____

 

A few days later, Sae-royi stepped into the kitchen. His eyes were sunken and he wore all black. He had just arrived from Soo-ah’s funeral. He looked around the plates and noticed the bag spices that Geun-woo had brought. Then he something lit within him. He ran out into the rain and searched him down.

“Geun-woo!” Sae-royi yelled out when he saw Geun-woo sitting out in the rain.

“You did this! You killed Soo-ah!” Sae-royi threw a punch on Geun-woo’s face, causing him to fall.

“I did not kill her!” Geun-woo yelled back Sae-royi but was met with another punch. Sae-royi tackled Geun-woo to the ground. His last punch hit ground next to Geun-soo and his fist bled.

“I don’t want to ever see you around here again.” Sae-royi said as the rain dripped down his head. Soo-ah’s voice remained in his head, urging him to keep level-headed.

Geun-woo gathered himself as he saw Sae-royi walk away in the rain.

“Where did you come from?” Geun-soo saw his older brother step into the house. “You better not be messing with that Danbam pub again.”

“Just because you’re the heir to the company, doesn’t mean you’re my boss.” Geun-woo said as he grabbed his brother by the collar.

Geun-soo only smirked. “You just leave Itaewon and never come back. There’s nothing here for you.”

“You know what, you’re right.” Geun-woo pushed his brother away, he went to his room and packed his things. “You can do whatever you want with Jangga, I’m finished.” He stepped outside and drove away once more.

____

After the news of Soo-ah’s death, Danbam stocks plummeted and their public perception caused them to eventually lose business. For the next 7 years, it took Mr. Park and Sae-royi extra efforts to bring the business back to where it once was. They swore off ever serving tofu soup in their customers ever since the incident. They couldn’t bear the painful memory of Soo-ah.

It was 6am in the morning, Sae-royi stood in his kitchen, preparing dishes while Mr. Park managed some paperwork in his office. As he prepped ingredients, he had a flashback of the Jangga spices that were in the kitchen that day. He was sure Geun-won was behind everything but he couldn’t prove it.

His employees started to enter. “Toni, Seung-gwon, Hyun-yi, we need everything ready by 7am.” He said to them and they got right to work.

Soon noon rolled past and the lunch hour rush had finished.

“Great work everyone, dinner is in three hours. Make sure to prep everything before then-“ Sae-royi was interrupted when a familiar man walked into the pub.

“Ah, so this is the famous Danbam.” Chairman Jang stepped inside. “I thought it would have been gone years ago but you did a great job.” He chuckled.

Sae-royi clenched his fist at the sight of the CEO of Jangga. He couldn’t pinpoint it but something told him this man was looking for trouble, coming here.

“Park Sung-yeol” Chairman Jang smiled when he saw his former employee. “I heard your recipe for tofu soup was the best in Itaewon. But I haven’t seen it for a while.”

Mr. Park looked down, “Welcome to Danbam, Mr. Jang. Sae-royi, please help him to a table.”

“A table for three please.” Mr. Jang said.

Geun-soo stepped inside the pub and with him he brought woman that Sae-royi had not seen before.

“This is Danbam? I thought there would be more competition around here.” The woman said. She glanced around the pub. “The advertisement for this place wasn’t so great, maybe I was anticipating too much.” She finally took a moment to look at Sae-royi. I am Jo Yi-seo.”

“Meet my son and future CEO Geun-soo and our new supervisor of the Itaewon restaurant, Jo Yi-seo.” Chairman introduced his team. “Since we’re in the same industry, I thought we would stop by.”

After the three of them sat down and drank some tea, the awkward tense energy permeated the building. Sae-royi couldn’t help but wonder why they were here.

“I would like to order your famous tofu soup.” Chairman Jang said.

“Don’t you know they don’t serve that dish anymore, Father?” Geun-soo said. “They haven’t served it in years. Not since the rumors that said that it was to die for.” He turned to Sae-royi near the end of the sentence.

Sae-royi clenched his fist and a droplet of sweat rolled down his forehead.

“It doesn’t matter, this small pub cannot beat Jangga down the street.” Yi-seo interjected.

“That’s because I put you in charge of that site,” Chairman Jang said, making sure that Sae-royi knew that Jangga was always close by.

The three of them finally ordered their food and the entire staff waited intensely for them to finish and leave.

Before stepping out, Ji-seo handed Sae-royi a business card. “Come and see a real pub.” She smirked.

“Yah, what are you saying!” Seung-kwan started to walk over but Hyun-yi held him back.

Chairman Jang, Geun-soo, and Ji-seo headed out the door and Sae-royi contemplated Danbam’s next step.

____

 

“Do you have time to eat dinner with me?” Yi-seo smiled and stood at the