## Chapter 1441 – 1441. Dark Moon
10:30 AM.
It had been thirty minutes since the grand opening.
In those thirty minutes, not a single customer had visited my store.
My face hardened, and even Karel, my part-timer, quietly watched my expression. I fell into deep thought.
‘What’s gone wrong?’
Before opening the store, I had posted promotional material on the Neo London community forum. I even created a social media account called Yuyu Chicken and posted there as well. I got about 30 likes on my posts.
‘I wasn’t even expecting customers to be lined up and waiting on opening day… but not a single person has come even after 30 minutes.’
To be honest, I hadn’t spent any money on advertising. The most effective method would have been to place an advertisement in the newspaper… but that cost too much. Having spent a lot of money on various things to open the store, newspaper advertising was out of the question.
11:00 AM.
The number of customers who had visited the store so far was zero.
What was the problem?
Like a mage, I used my cold, rational mind to find the cause. There was nothing wrong with the taste of the chicken. I could guarantee that. But in the first place, you need customers to sell chicken.
“Um, boss. This might be presumptuous of me…”
Karel approached me and said. I tried to relax my stiff face.
“It’s okay. Feel free to speak your mind.”
“I think the lack of customers might be because of the location. If it were on a main street, the store would be visible right away… but this is an alleyway.”
“But even so…”
I looked at the front of the store. Through the glass window, I could see the fish and chips shop. It wasn’t exactly packed, but there were quite a few customers.
“That’s a fish and chips shop. It’s practically a symbol of Neo London! Well, I don’t really like it. And that shop seems to have been here for a long time… so they probably have a lot of regulars.”
“…I guess I was expecting too much on the first day.”
The customers from the shop across the street glanced at my store as they left. Was it just my imagination, or were their gazes not very friendly?
‘Why aren’t they coming when I’m even offering a discount for the opening event?’
Wouldn’t they be at least a little curious? About how delicious this chicken is?
“And the chicken is too expensive. It’s at least 1.5 times more expensive than other chicken places.”
“I was originally going to make it twice as expensive, but I lowered the price. I plan to slowly raise the price once the store becomes famous.”
“…Wow. You’re obsessed with money. Trying to make that much profit off chicken… Boss, do you know who the main customers for chicken are?”
Of course, I knew.
Did they think I hadn’t even researched that?
In Neo London, chicken is what poor people turn to when they want fish and chips but need to save money.
“I didn’t consider them as my target customers. Korean chicken will definitely appeal to the upper class.”
“Korean chicken! That’s the problem. What even is ‘Korean’ in the first place?”
“It’s written right there. Korea refers to the ancient nation of Great Korea. Korean chicken means chicken made in the style of Great Korea.”
“Haa. Some novel setting… Does that ancient nation really… exist?”
Karel, who had searched it up online, was shocked. The existence of the ancient nation of Great Korea was clearly documented.
“An ancient nation that existed about 2,000 years ago… Wow. That’s so long ago. How did you find out about the Korean chicken recipe, boss?”
“I just happened to find out.”
“But isn’t chicken all the same? It’s just chicken fried in oil.”
“It’s different. There’s a secret to that simple act of frying…”
*Ding-dong.*
The bell on the store door rang. I quickly turned my head to look at the customer. It was a large, burly man. He scratched his big belly and mumbled while looking at the menu on the wall.
“I’ve come to the chicken place that opened today! Korean chicken? Hmm… It’s more expensive than other chicken, but I’ll try it to see how it’s different from regular chicken. Oh, boss, is it okay if I film?”
If you looked closely, his right eye was a lens. His right eye was a camera.
‘Is he asking for permission after he’s already filming? What an impudent guy.’
I didn’t like it, but there was nothing I could do. He was a customer. If he was a somewhat famous influencer online, it might help the store’s sales.
‘If he asks for it for free because he promoted it, I’ll have to fight him.’
I drew a clear line and answered.
“Yes. Filming is allowed. However, I’d prefer it if our faces weren’t shown.”
“Don’t worry about that. People’s faces are automatically blurred.”
There was such a function? I was impressed by the technology of this world.
“Give me one order of Korean fried chicken and one order of seasoned chicken.”
“Understood. Please wait about 15 minutes.”
I went into the kitchen. I took out the marinated chicken from the refrigerator and coated it with batter. Then, I immediately put it into the fryer.
“Oh? You’re frying the chicken twice?”
“That’s the secret. But why are you in the kitchen?”
“Haha… I felt a little awkward being in the hall. Boss, I looked up that guy, and he’s pretty famous. He seems to be a streamer… He has over 20,000 live viewers right now. Turns out he’s internationally famous.”
“That’s good. This might make my store more famous.”
*Beep beep beep!*
The alarm I had set went off. I took the chicken out of the fryer. One was placed on a plate as is, and the other was tossed in the prepared seasoning sauce.
“…Wow. It’s really different from the chicken I know. It doesn’t look as greasy as I thought…”
“That’s because it’s Korean chicken. I’ll make you a whole one later. For now, go serve the customer. Don’t forget to give him the pickled radish.”
“Yes, sir. Chicken’s coming right up~”
I watched the man from the kitchen. There were two cameras set up on his table. The man was talking to his viewers while looking at the chicken with a solemn expression.
“The Korean chicken is finally here. It looks different from any chicken I’ve ever seen. Chicken usually feels greasy and soggy… but this chicken doesn’t give off that feeling. You all agree, right? Oh, and the smell isn’t too oily either. It’s more like a fragrant smell? Wow, I never thought the day would come when I’d be drooling over chicken… Okay. The most important thing is the taste. I’ll save the seasoned chicken for later and try the fried chicken first.”
He didn’t use utensils. He grabbed a hot drumstick with both hands.
“You have to eat chicken with your hands! You all saw that I washed my hands, right? Okay, here we go!”
He opened his mouth wide and bit into the chicken. *Crunch crunch crunch!* His eyes widened. He exclaimed in amazement before he even finished swallowing the chicken.
“Oh my god! Oh my god! This chicken is insane! Is this the chicken I know? Damn! Neo London has been insulting chickens all this time! We need to bow our heads and apologize to the chickens! We’ve been cooking you wrong all this time!”
He shouted in excitement over the taste of the chicken. Even while he was doing that, his hands were constantly moving to devour the chicken.
“Did the store pay me? Are you crazy? I’m serious about food. Even if it’s a famous restaurant, I’ll say it’s bad if it’s bad. And conversely, I’ll say it’s good if it’s good. Damn. This chicken is so good. Oh, right. The seasoned chicken! There was also seasoned chicken! But before that, let me try these white, square things. I think they’re like pickles… Oh. They’re better than pickles. They make the greasiness go away.”
He ate the pickled radish almost as if he were inhaling it. Then, his hand reached for the seasoned chicken.
“I’m really looking forward to this seasoned chicken. The fried chicken was delicious, so this chicken, which is made with the same base, will definitely be delicious too. Okay, let’s try it!”
His eyes widened and even trembled as he bit into the seasoned chicken drumstick. He let all the strength out of his body and looked up at the ceiling.
“Oh my chicken… I’m going crazy… This is… This is real. It’s so delicious that I feel like crying… This is more delicious than the chicken steak I had at a restaurant in District D. Don’t tell me to stop exaggerating? I’m trying my best not to exaggerate. Because if I overreact… I won’t be able to eat the chicken.”
His mukbang had just begun.
I watched him from the kitchen and couldn’t help but be impressed. He put the chicken into his large mouth and spat it out in 5 seconds, with the bone and meat perfectly separated. It was so clean, it was as if he were a deboning machine. Yet, there was nothing on his lips or clothes. Unlike his pig-like appearance, he ate very politely.
“I’m thirsty from eating. Boss! Cola! Cola… No, give me a can of beer!”
I looked at Karel. The hall was her responsibility.
“He’s calling for you, boss?”
“……”
Since the customer wanted it, I had to go.
He chugged a can of beer and said to me,
“I’d like to do a short interview, is that okay?”
“Of course.”
He asked about Korean chicken, and I explained about the chicken, mentioning the ancient nation of Great Korea. He nodded and exclaimed in admiration. Any nonsense was fine with him. He was already completely captivated by Korean chicken.
“At first, I thought the chicken was too expensive for what it was. But after tasting it, I understand. This chicken is ridiculously cheap! In that sense, I’ll have another order of fried chicken and another order of seasoned chicken!”
He ate four orders of chicken at his seat, paid happily, and left the store.
“…Boss. You’ll make us chicken for lunch, right? The part-time job ad said that lunch and dinner were provided.”
“What kind of chicken?”
“Ah, I want to eat both… What should I do…”
“It’s not on the menu yet, but I’ll make you a half-and-half.”
*Ding-dong.*
The door opened, and a customer came in.
“Ah. This is the place. The place where Fisher came and ate. Give me one order of fried chicken and one order of seasoned chicken!”
Following him, customers began to come.
I smiled and went into the kitchen. Karel started to greet the customers with an ambiguous smile.
Yuyu Chicken was a huge hit from the first day.
