GIJS

Chapter 177 Where's the division of labor?

"Gun-ja and Yuchan are handling the preparation of the ingredients. Hyun-jae and Tae-woong went to the market to buy supplies. Hyun-su and In-hyuk are cleaning the grill and rearranging the cooking utensils. Lastly, Si-woo, who can speak both English and Spanish, is in charge of promoting the booth."

With the division of labor completed, the boys moved in an orderly fashion, impressing 'The Bulls' clan.

"Wow, wow..."

"In-hyuk, are these your new teammates?"

"You've found a great team!"

"We'll help out too. We just need to move this over here, right?"

With the addition of the leather jacket guys, the work sped up even more.

Slicing meat with the skill of a martial artist, Gun-ja and Yuchan expertly prepared the beef. Their impressive knife work drew the attention of tourists who began to gather around.

"Wow, look at them."

"The good-looking guys handle the knives so well."

As Gun-ja sliced the meat thinly, Yuchan pounded it with the back of his knife to tenderize it. Their impressive knife skills quickly processed the meat that had been piled up like a mountain.

When Gun-ja and Yuchan finished the meat preparation, Hyun-jae and Tae-woong returned on a Harley motorcycle.

"Wow, guys! This motorcycle is insane! Riding on the back, my heart was pounding!"

"Here are the ingredients!"

Gun-ja, receiving the tossed ingredients, started cooking in earnest.

First, he made a marinade and marinated the meat, then prepared an egg wash to coat it.

Once the flavorful marinade had thoroughly soaked into the meat, he coated it in glutinous rice flour, giving it a white, sticky coating.

Next, it was time to coat the meat in the egg wash. Using more egg yolks made it more flavorful. Because Gun-ja had pre-mixed the yolks and whites, the meat was covered in a beautiful yellow coat.

Then came the grilling. Using plenty of oil, he cooked the meat over low heat, making sure it was golden brown on both sides.

The appetizing smell of the grilled meat began to attract tourists.

Meanwhile, Si-woo, having completed the spicy pickled peppers with help from 'The Bulls' members, quickly grabbed the first two pieces of grilled meat. He intended to attract tourists with a taste test.

"Ah, Si-woo! Can I have just one bite?"

"Haha, no way~ You have to serve it hot~"

"Just one piece..."

"Alright, here you go~"

Tae-woong and Hyun-jae's eyes widened as they tasted the meat. It was incredibly delicious, to the point that they couldn't believe it was made on the spot.

"Oh my gosh, what is this! It's amazing!"

"Ah, Gun-ja did it again..."

"Gun-ja! It's so good! I think this is just perfect!"

"Haha, it's the grilled meat I learned directly from my aunt at the Suragan restaurant."

"What's he saying again? Anyway, his humor is really strange."

"Anyway, it's so good! Keep making it!"

The first batch of grilled meat received unanimous approval. Si-woo took the samples and started promoting the booth seriously.

"Come and try our delicious grilled meat~ Crispy and chewy, it's perfect with beer~"

"Grilled meat? I've never heard of it before."

"Haha, you'll fall in love with it after just one bite~"

"Really? I'm curious now."

"Would you like to try a sample?"

"Hmmm, alright then..."

Foreign tourists who tasted the grilled meat all reacted with wide eyes and thumbs up. Moreover, the savory and fatty grilled meat paired perfectly with beer.

"Where can I buy this!?"

"Over there~"

"That booth with the good-looking guys?"

"Haha, that's right~"

"Oh, I have to go!"

Si-woo's promotion was especially popular among female tourists. People quickly began to gather at 'The Bulls' booth, led by the female tourists.

"Give me some grilled meat, grilled meat!"

"Wow, this is so delicious!?"

"I'll take five to go!"

Within two hours of the boys joining, the booth, which had previously been quiet, now buzzed with activity. The original owners of the booth, 'The Bulls' members, watched the scene with reverence, as if they were witnessing a miracle.

"Oh, my God..."

"In-hyuk, your friends are not human. They must be angels sent from above!"

"God answered our prayers. He sent us angels to help us do good!"

"That handsome guy's name was Gun-ja, right?"

"Yes, that's right. Yu Gun-ja."

"Oh, Gun-ja the angel..."

Now, the rough leather jacket guys began referring to Gun-ja as 'Gun-ja the angel'. Not just Gun-ja, but Hyun-jae became Hyun-jae-el, Si-woo became Si-woo-el, and Yuchan became Yuchan-el... all members had '-el' added to their names and were angelicized. Except for Tae-woong.

"Hey Tae-woong, what can we help with?"

"What, why am I just Tae-woong! Damn, call me Tae-woong-el!"

"Haha, Tae-woong-el doesn't really roll off the tongue. Besides, you somehow smell like us."

"Ugh, it's kind of nice but also frustrating?"

"So, what should we do?"

"First, help with grilling the meat. And since we need to prepare a new menu, can you two go to the market and get some new ingredients?"

"Okay, brother!"

"Ha-ha, so now I'm just a brother?"

As soon as the 'The Bulls' members joined in grilling the meat, the speed of cooking increased, and sales took off. The long line in front of the booth smoothly dwindled. The cash box, which had been collecting dust, was soon filled with bills.

"Three more grilled meats! Add one pickled pepper!"

"Okay, it'll be ready in two minutes!"

An hour into the sales, grilled meat continued to sell like hotcakes, showing off its popularity.

"Good job, friends, we've already reached half of our fundraising goal!"

"Haha, we might end up being number one in sales!"

"I heard that the top seller gets a bonus from the organizers. If we donate that money too, it will be even more helpful!"

"Okay, let's aim for first place then!"

With a clear goal in mind, the members' pace picked up. Perhaps due to their survival training from 'Ayuksi', the goal of 'number one' motivated the members even more.

However, there was still plenty of time left until the festival ended.

Moreover, other booths were beginning to pull out their weapons.

As the day slowly darkened, people's attention began to shift elsewhere.

Whoosh—

"Wow—!!"

The Chinese food booth started a fire show. The huge flames coming from a large wok were enough to captivate the audience.

"Kung Pao chicken, Sichuan-style stir-fry! Spicy and tangy, perfect as a beer snack!"

"Kung Pao chicken? I've never heard of that before."

"Isn't that fire show so fascinating? I think I'll head over there."

With the fire show leading, the Chinese food booth began to rapidly take customers away from 'The Bulls'. The 3-meter-high flames looked even more dazzling and spectacular as night fell.

Watching the departing customers, 'The Bulls' members couldn't hide their dismay.

"Uh? Wait, don't go!"

"Damn, what should we do? Should we go and stop them?"

"Absolutely not. Just being here is intimidating enough."

"Ugh, it seems like we won't be able to meet our sales targets..."

"Hmmm..."

After leaving the cooking station to the members, Gun-ja quickly called a meeting. A strategy was needed.

"The problem is the Chinese booth. They've taken many of our customers."

"Ugh, China again? They made things difficult during Dynasty too..."

"But this time, we can't even argue. Technically, the Chinese food booth hasn't done anything wrong."

"Hyun-jae is right. It's not their fault for grabbing attention with a flashy performance. In fact, they seem to have planned their strategy well."

"So what should we do..."

Diagnosis of the problem was quick.

The main reason for the rapid decline in sales was the Chinese booth's fire show.

While the grilled meat was delicious, it lacked visual appeal in its preparation process. Consequently, customers were lured away by the visually stimulating fire show.

"It would be great if we had something visually captivating to draw in customers."

"Hmmm, should we push with Gun-ja and Si-woo's faces?"

"That might not work. From what I see, people here seem to prefer something that stimulates curiosity more."

"Then... how about the muscle man operation?"

"The muscle man operation?"

"Hyuk and I, along with Gun-ja, could show off our bodies while grilling the meat."

"Ugh, I'm against that."

"I don't want to strip without any plot..."

"And even though there were already muscular 'Bulls' members, the booth was still empty."

"Oh, right."

"Isn't the muscle man operation a recipe for disaster?"

"Hmmm..."

While the boys were debating, Manager Lee Yong-jung cautiously joined the conversation.

"Guys."

"Yes, Manager."

"Don't overthink it. You've already helped a lot. I'm sure they're very grateful."

"..."

"The YouTube video footage turned out well, so don't worry about that. If it doesn't work out..."

However, the boys shook their heads resolutely.

"That's not an option."

"Huh?"

"If we're going to do this, we need to go all the way."

"Well, if you say so."

"There must be a good idea out there..."

"Haha, that's right. We're addicted to being number one!"

"Phew... Alright, if that's the case, we'll see it through to the end. Sorry for the weak talk."

"No problem. You're saying this because you care about us, right?"

"Exactly. I saw all the hard work and effort you put into choreography and practice during Dynasty. I didn't want you to suffer here as well..."

"Wait a minute."

"Hmm?"

At that moment, an idea flashed through Gunja's mind.

"What you said is right."

"Hmm? What are you talking about?"

"During the competition, we were always busy creating and practicing choreography."

"That's true, but... what does that have to do with the yukjeon?"

"What if we apply the same concept right now?"

"Hmm?"

"We're cooking yukjeon now, but what we do best is performing."

"Is that so?"

"Grilling the yukjeon, flipping it in mid-air, and serving it to the customers."

"?"

"What if we turn this whole process into a performance?"

"??"

"So, our cooking process itself becomes a show."

"!"

"Imagine seven yukjeon being flipped simultaneously in the air. It sounds funny, but wouldn't it be quite thrilling?"

Inspired by Gunja's new idea, the other six members all snapped their fingers in unison, as if they were performing a coordinated dance.