Chapter 1494 Opening for Business (4)

“Awwooo...! All this waiting around doing nothing is killing me!”

Jo Seong-Ho kept scanning his store, his expression filled with anxiety.

All the preparations had been completed. The interior of his cafe was modern, clean and chic. Even the layout of the kitchen was nigh-on perfect. The kitchen staff had been trained extensively so that they could recreate everything on the menu flawlessly. And to make sure, they even had several simulation runs in the past two days, too!

All the employees were kitted out in the franchise’s smart new uniform. And the store was cleaned and polished to the point where even flies might slip and fall. Which made sense, however.

Despite opening a cafe, Jo Seong-Ho came from a martial art background. His stamina and tenacity easily surpassed most average people’s. When someone like that decides to go all-out on cleaning, they could even turn an abandoned house into a nearly new house in no time.

He glanced at the employees. “Everyone, are you all ready?”

“Yes, manager!”

Obviously, he wasn’t the only one in the cafe. The part-timers, hired by the head office and Jo Seong-Ho himself and trained till there was nothing left to learn, stood by his side, ready for the upcoming sortie!

“Fuuuu...!”

Despite all these elements in his favor, Jo Seong-Ho still couldn’t stop being nervous.

Dang it! Why did that dude have to say all those things to us!

The things Lee Hyeon-Su said a few days ago didn’t want to leave Jo Seong-Ho alone. Didn’t that man say the decision on how to support the ones leaving the Assembly depended on the success or failure of this business venture? Jo Seong-Ho was no dummy, so he knew that this matter was not as simple as merely deciding on the future direction of the support.

If the cafe franchisees couldn’t pull their weight, the Martial Assembly might cut off support to all retirees or quitters completely.

And that’s obviously not good.

Such a thing must never be allowed to happen. Not because Jo Seong-Ho wanted the Assembly’s continuous help, though. No, it’d be more correct to say he was scared about his relationship with the Assembly ending for good.

He had already experienced that kind of life for a little while, hadn’t he?

He felt a sense of utter powerlessness while walking out of the Assembly, the place he called home all his life. Then, he was wrecked by the feeling of being alone, this crippling alienation, after realizing that he had no connections and relationships to speak of in this world. And to cap them all off, the prospect of walking alone in this foreign world terrified him to no end.

He didn’t want to feel those things ever again. And, if he could help it, he didn’t want the others to experience those emotions, either.

That meant Jo Song-Ho and other franchisees simply had to give their all from now on.

“Okay! We’re opening the doors!”

“Yes, manager!”

The employees smartly headed to the entrance and opened the cafe.

“Remember, be polite. Be polite!”

Jo Seong-Ho whispered quietly to himself. The employees were all much younger than him, but the franchise head office strongly recommended the franchisees to treat them with respect and use polite speech around them. On the surface, at least, that sounded like a wonderful policy, one where people disregarded age and only respected each other’s humanity, but...!

“Use polite speech and be respectful, you sons of b*tches! You pieces of sh*t have this habit of looking down on people whenever you speak casually! And start coming up with lame dad jokes! And make others feel like crap because you want to mess around! So you better pull your socks up if you don’t wanna watch your store go down the drain! Treat your employees as your seniors! Got that?!”

In reality, it was more like an attempt to eliminate the “When your senior tells you to jump, you ask how high!” boomer culture ingrained deeply in all Martial Assembly members.

Somewhat surprisingly, this policy was accepted with little to no resistance. That was because the franchisees knew themselves better than anyone and freely admitted to being problematic in those points.

That’s why, smile, Jo Seong-Ho! Smile, goddamn it!

“We’ve installed cameras in all the cafes, okay! People in the head office will continuously monitor the feed, so if any bastard dares to scowl or lose his cool? You better believe that our team on standby will set off, arrive at your place in five minutes or less, and drag your sorry ass out to the back alley!”

One or two brave souls protested, saying that such actions violated their human rights, but Lee Hyeon-Su ruthlessly crushed their dissent by saying, “And since when did you have human rights? What kind of dogsh*t nonsense are you on about?”

That kind of response didn’t surprise Jo Seong-Ho, though. One could worry about human rights and whatnot only when their life was comfortable enough, after all!

Hell, as long as the business is good, I don’t care about my rights or whatever.

He knew that the Assembly Master had done so much for the franchisees. However, the franchisees were also taking a huge gamble by investing all of their savings into this franchise.

The people of the Martial Assembly never really understood the concept of managing one’s wealth. They only started saving their earnings after Kang Jin-Ho seized control of the organization. Since that was the case, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they hadn’t been able to save up a lot of money, even though the Assembly had been giving them fairly generous salaries until now.

Long story short... The cafe going out of business equaled Jo Seong-Ho becoming penniless. For obvious reasons, he definitely didn’t want that to happen! However...!

“...? Why? Why aren’t there any customers yet? I mean, we’re open, so... Excuse me, did you put up the open sign yet?” Jo Seong-Ho urgently asked one of the employees.

“Yes, manager. It’s visible from the outside.”

“Really? Then, uh, where are all the customers?”

Crack!

Jo Seong-Ho began chewing on his nails.

“M-manager, it’s only been a minute since we opened.”

“That’s plenty of time, though? So where are all the customers? I mean, there are so many people walking past our store. Should... Should I go outside and try to attract people’s attention?”

“...”

The employees all stared at Jo Seong-Ho, their expressions cramped. Of course they could more or less sympathize with the sentiments of the manager overseeing a newly opened store. Even then, wasn’t this a bit too much?

Jo Seong-Ho looked around in slight panic. “W-wait! Should we leave the door open? I mean, people might not realize that the store is open for business from the open sign alone, right?”

“N-no, manager. I’m sure they can tell just fine.”

“O-oh, I know! How about we start brewing coffee now? The aroma might entice customers to step inside!”

“Manager, please calm down and take a seat over here.”

“Urgh...”

Jo Seong-Ho roughly scratched his head. He didn’t feel this anxious even when undergoing evaluation for a promotion back in the Assembly. That was because he knew there would be a next time even if he flunked the evaluation. But that safety net didn’t exist this time.

And I heard that the ad would only go live in a few days, too...

It felt like his heart shriveled up instantly when he thought about how he’d sit here and do nothing other than chase flies away until the ads finally aired. However, just as his thoughts reached that far...

Clink!

A chime bell went off, and the cafe’s door opened.

“W-welcome!”

Jo Seong-Ho energetically and loudly greeted the customers. Despite being lectured about keeping his volume low to avoid making customers uncomfortable, and always enunciating every word clearly, his happiness at someone finally entering his cafe got the better of him.

Two men had entered. One of them, who had a clearly larger physique, frowned deeply while chatting to his companion. “What the heck, man. You dragged me outside the first thing in the morning, and it’s all for a cup of coffee? I had to drive all the way to your place to pick you up for this?”

The man with a smaller physique grinned and replied, “But you like coffee, don’t you?”

“Wha? What about you, then? I thought you didn’t like coffee.”

“What do you mean? Of course I like it.”

“What the...?” The larger man shook his head, then approached the counter. “Hi. Gimme one Iced Americano. And... Hey, man, what do you want to drink?”

“Mm...” The smaller man grinned softly. “Manager, please give me one Blueberry Yogurt Smoothie. You drink the smoothie, too, Yeong-Gi.”

“Why would I drink a smoothie? I want Iced Americano, dude.”

“Well, you can have both, right?”

“Oii... Maybe you’re sleepwalking right now? It’s still too early in the morning for this, you know?”

“Just drink it, dude. Don’t worry, I’ll pay,” the smaller man chuckled, then turned to look at Jo Seong-Ho again. “By the way, can I place a group order here?”

Jo Seong-Ho’s eyes opened wider. “A g-group order, sir? Y-yes, of course. You can.”

“Great! Is it possible to order twenty smoothies to go, please?”

“Yes, you can definitely do that, sir!”

“Then, I’ll pick them up when we’re ready to leave, so I’d like to order twenty Blueberry Yogurt Smoothies to go, please.”

The larger man blinked his eyes in stupefaction. “Oii, oii... Are you thinking of opening a blueberry farm in your team’s residence or something?”

“A farm? Of course not. Manager, it’s fine, yes?”

“Yes, sir! Definitely! It’ll be ready!”

While energetically replying, Jo Seong-Ho’s eyes trembled softly. Just who was this young man? An angel in disguise, maybe? It was as if pure-white wings were nearly visible behind this young man’s back. To think that his first customer ever would be an angel...

...Uh?

Jo Seong-Ho subtly tilted his head.

“Uh, excuse me...? Sorry about this, but it feels like I’ve seen you before somewhere. Wait, are you... the esport athlete, Park Yu-Min?”

“Oh, uhm...”

The smaller man smiled sheepishly and blushed a little, prompting his companion to nod.

“Yup, this kid is Park Yu-Min.”

Jo Seong-Ho’s expression brightened. “Aha! So it was you! It’s an honor to have you grace our store like this, sir! I’d like to offer you one cup of smoothie on the house as a token of our appreciation, but in return, do you mind giving us an autograph?”

Park Yu-Min smiled and nodded. “No, I don’t mind at all. But I can’t accept a free drink. I’ll pay.”

“I insist, sir. Don’t worry, there aren’t any strings attached, you see?”

“No, I really can’t accept it. I’ll get scolded if I get found out later, you see? Let me pay for the drinks. That will be easier for me.”

“Oh, I see. Then...”

Jo Seong-Ho accepted Park Yu-Min’s card and processed the payment.

“Here is your bell, sir.”

“Okay, thank you.”

Park Yu-Min took the vibration bell and settled down on a table along with his companion. He glanced around the cafe’s interior. “Wow. It’s so pretty in here, isn’t it?”

“And you’re doing something you’ve never done before, too,” the man sat opposite Park Yu-Min while smirking. He was, of course, Ju Yeong-Gi. “Besides, what do you mean, it’s pretty? Since time immemorial, a store’s interior should have a bit of that old-school flavor to it. Like, the old country vibe. Get my drift?”

Park Yu-Min sighed deeply. “Hey, Yeong-Gi?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t get involved in the interior design of the other pizzerias, okay? Please?”

“...”

“This is an earnest piece of advice from your dear friend, so pay attention.”

“...You bastard.”

Jo Yeong-Gi pouted as if he got betrayed by someone close, then looked around the interior himself. All he could see were white and black surfaces and things. What about them was pretty and stuff? He just didn’t get it.

“...? Eh?”

He abruptly remembered something and stared at Park Yu-Min.

“Hold on, hold on. Hey, is this one of those cafes Jin-Ho is running?”

Claaang, shatter!

Ju Yeong-Gi and Park Yu-Min simultaneously turned their heads toward where that glass-shattering noise had come from. That was when they discovered Jo Seong-Ho standing stiffly on the spot behind the counter, his frozen hands trembling noticeably.

“Are you okay, manager?”

“Uh... Ah! I, I apologize. I was, uhm... I’m sorry...!”

While stuttering out an apology, Jo Seong-Ho could feel his heart pounding madly away.

What did that guy say? Jin-Ho? E-eii, I must have made a mistake. Yeah, that must be it.

The two men tilted their heads but stopped paying attention to Jo Seong-Ho.

Ju Yeong-Gi grunted. “And here I was, wondering why you were doing something that’s not your style. Hah... So, this was one of the cafes belonging to Jin-Ho’s company, eh?”

Park Yu-Min nodded. “Yeah, it is. It was the closest one to us.”

“Come on, man. I get you want to help out with his bottom line, but do we have to do this the first thing in the morning? We could’ve come in the evening, you know? And it would have made no difference.”

“But it’d feel different, you know? Think about being the very first customer of this cafe. Doesn’t that make you feel special?”

Ju Yeong-Gi smirked helplessly. For sure, Park Yu-Min was just too nice of a person, and that was a problem. This idiot must’ve anxiously waited for the opening day while worrying about the cafe going bankrupt or some such!

“Fine, fine! Now that we’re here, why don’t we call that bastard, Jin-Ho, over and have him join us?”

Clang, smash!

The two men’s heads shifted over to the kitchen this time.

“Huh? Mister Manager? Is there a problem with your cups?”

Jo Seong-Ho urgently replied, “N-no, not at all, sir! Definitely not! There are no issues with our cups! But we shall rectify it immediately!”

“Rectify?” Ju Yeong-Gi tilted his head. “Were you a soldier not too long ago? You speak like one.”

“No, sir! My sincerest apologies. I apologize! I’m so sorry!”

“...???”

Ju Yeong-Gi and Park Yu-Min stared weirdly at Jo Seong-Ho without realizing that the latter was about to go insane right now.

That bastard? Did that man call the Assembly Master... that bastard?!

The impact from that statement was such that Jo Seong-Ho’s brain had short-circuited for a moment there.

Holy sh*t! To think that word could be used in conjunction with the Assembly Master’s name!

Here he was, thinking that an angel had shown up at his store. As it turned out, however, he was dealing with a demon instead!

That was when Jo Seong-Ho vaguely recalled hearing about one of the Assembly Master’s friends being a pro gamer. To think that pro gamer from the rumors was none other than Park Yu-Min!

F*ck! If they get unhappy about something, anything, I’m dead!

Those two men were super-duper-big fishes!

Who cared about their societal standing? As long as they were the Assembly Master’s friends, they might as well be high-and-mighty lords in Jo Seong-Ho’s view.

That Chief Lee could talk down and even outright abuse martial artists dozens of times stronger than him, all thanks to the Assembly Master’s authority. But those two were not subordinates, but the Assembly Master’s friends. Friends!

While feeling like a slave about to have an audience with the emperor’s close relatives, Jo Seong-Ho focused his entire being on creating the best smoothie he had ever made in his life. Unfortunately for him, however...!

Clink~!

“Aiigooo~~, soooo, this is the new cafe in the neighborhood, eh?”

The cafe’s door opened, and a crowd of well-built men began waltzing inside. The way they strutted around was a textbook local gangster look-at-me behavior.

Jo Seong-Ho’s eyes powerfully quaked. Not because of some thugs waltzing into his store, of course. Even if he was forbidden from relying on his cultivation, one mustn’t forget that he still grew up as a martial artist. Thugs could show up here by a truckload, and he’d still only need his toe to beat their asses up.

No, he was stunned because the group of men entering right now were definitely not thugs!

“Oiii, Mister President Jo~? How is your business going~?”

As a matter of fact, these strutting men were very familiar to Jo Seong-Ho. Because they used to be his former comrades back in his Martial Assembly days!

Jo Seong-Ho completely understood his former comrades strutting around like that. That kind of behavior was in their blood, after all. And he would’ve welcomed them with open arms in any other situation, too. If only there weren’t other customers in this place, that was!

Unfortunately for everyone, though, there was one customer here who was not a fan of thugs strutting around openly.

Ju Yeong-Gi glared at the group. “What the hell? Why the hell is a bunch of gangster losers harassing a cafe so early in the morning? You have a death wish or something?”

“What the f*ck did he say?”

When Ju Yeong-Gi got up with a scowl on his face, the Assembly members all turned toward him and glared menacingly.

“What the hell is wrong with that fool?”

“Yeah! Even though he looks more like a gangster than us!”

“Hey, pal, you hungry? Cuz I’ve got a few knuckle sandwiches to share, you see?”

Hiiiiiieeeeek?! Jo Seong-Ho freaked out grandly. He hurriedly roared out a fake laughter while rushing around the counter. “Ahahahahaha!”

He reached out and grabbed the heads of the nearest Assembly members and began dragging them outside.

“Ouch?! H-hey, man! What’s the matter with you?! Are you crazy!”

Jo Seong-Ho ignored the complaints and continued to laugh loudly. “Ahahahaha! Dear customers, shall we have a chat outside?”

“What the hell! I said, are you crazy?! Let me go!”

“Stop! Talking! Just come with me! Please!”

You crazy bastards! I’m trying to save your asses here, okay! We only opened just now, so why! Why the f*ck are you doing this to me!

Jo Seong-Ho’s silent wail echoed throughout his store.