Chapter 1441

<1441th Chapter> 1441. Dark Moon

10:30 PM.

It’s been 30 minutes since the grand opening.

Not a single customer has visited my shop in these 30 minutes.

My face stiffened like concrete, and part-timer Karell quietly observed my mood. I silently sank into thought.

‘What went wrong?’

Before opening, I posted on the Neo London Community board for promotion. I even created a SNS account called “Youyou Chicken” and shared posts.

I got about 30 likes.

‘I wasn’t expecting a line of customers on opening day, but… no one has shown up after 30 minutes.’

To be honest, I didn’t spend any money on advertising. The surest method would have been placing an ad in the paper, but that costs way too much. With all the expenses from opening the shop, newspaper ads were out of reach for me.

It’s now 11:00 AM.

The number of customers so far: zero.

What’s the problem?

Like a proper wizard, I must analyze this rationally. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the taste of the chicken—that I can guarantee. After all, customers need to come in for it to sell, right?

“Uh… boss, this might be overstepping, but…”

Karell approached me and spoke. I forced myself to relax my hardened expression.

“It’s fine. Speak your mind freely.”

“It seems like the lack of customers might also be due to the location. If we were on the main street, the store would be more visible… but this is an alleyway.”

“Well, that may not entirely explain it…”

I looked toward the front of the store. Through the window, I could see a Fish & Chips shop. It wasn’t exactly bustling, but they had a steady flow of customers.

“That’s a Fish & Chips place. A symbol of Neo London! Not really my thing, but that shop’s been around for a long time… probably has plenty of regulars.”

“I guess I expected too much on opening day.”

Customers leaving the shop across the street glanced at mine as they passed. Their stares felt anything but friendly—was it just me?

‘Even with an opening discount event, why aren’t people coming?’

Don’t they feel curious even once? About how delicious this chicken is.

“And the chicken prices are too high. They’re at least 1.5 times more expensive than other shops.”

“I originally thought about doubling the price, but I lowered it. Once the shop becomes famous, I’ll slowly increase the prices.”

“…Wow. You’re obsessed with money. Trying to hoard wealth through chicken, huh? Boss, do you know who mainly eats chicken?”

I know.

Did I not research this?

In Neo London, chicken is what the poor eat when they want Fish & Chips but need to save money.

“I wasn’t targeting them as customers. Korean fried chicken will surely appeal to the upper class too.”

“Korean fried chicken! That’s the problem. What even is Korean?”


“Isn’t it written there? Korea refers to the ancient nation of Great Korea. Korean chicken means chicken made in the style of Great Korea.”

“Haa… What is this, some novel setting…? An ancient nation like that really… exists?”

Karel, who looked it up on the internet, was utterly shocked. The existence of the ancient nation Great Korea was clearly documented.

“An ancient nation that existed about 2,000 years ago… Wow, that’s way too long ago. How did the boss even know the Korean chicken recipe?”

“It happened by chance.”

“But isn’t all chicken pretty much the same? Frying chicken in oil is all there is to it, right?”

“Not at all. Even in that simple frying process, there are secrets…”

Ding.

The bell hanging on the shop door rang. I swiftly turned my head to look at the customer. It was a bulky male customer. He scratched his large belly while glancing at the menu hanging on the wall and muttered under his breath.

“I’ve come to a chicken shop that just opened today! Korean chicken? Hmm… Though it’s more expensive than other chickens, I’ll give it a try to see what makes it different. Ah, boss, is it okay if I record?”

His right eye, upon closer inspection, had a lens. His right eye was a camera.

“So he’s already recording but asking for permission now? What a rude guy.”

Though it annoyed me, there was nothing I could do. He was a customer after all. If he was a somewhat famous influencer on the internet, it might help the store’s sales.

“If he asks for free food after promoting us, I’ll have to fight him.”

I set my boundaries and answered.

“Yes, you may record. However, we’d prefer our faces not to appear.”

“Don’t worry about that. Human faces are automatically pixelated.”

Is there such a function? I’m amazed by the technology in this world.

“One order each of Korean fried chicken and spicy chicken, please.”

“Understood. Please wait about 15 minutes.”

I went into the kitchen. I took out the marinated chicken from the fridge and coated it with batter before frying it in oil.

“Hmm? You’re frying the chicken twice?”

“That’s the secret. Why are you in the kitchen?”

“Hehe… I felt awkward staying in the dining area. Boss, I looked up this person, and they’re quite famous. They seem to do personal broadcasts… Right now, they have over 20,000 live viewers. Turns out they’re internationally renowned.”

“Good. This might make my shop more famous.”

Beep beep beep!

The alarm I set went off. I took the chicken out of the fryer. I placed one on a plate as is, and tossed the other in the prepared sauce.

“…Wow. This really looks different from the chicken I know. It’s less greasy than I thought…”

“It’s Korean chicken, after all. I’ll make you a whole one later. For now, please serve first. Don’t forget the chicken mustard.”

“Got it! Chicken coming out~”

I kept an eye on the man from the kitchen. Two cameras were set up at his table. While talking to the viewers, the man looked at the served chicken with a serious expression.

“Finally, the Korean chicken has arrived. It looks completely different from the chicken I know. Usually, chicken feels oily and soggy… But this chicken doesn’t give that impression. You guys agree, right? Also, the smell isn’t overly greasy. Instead, it smells fragrant, I guess? Who would’ve thought there’d be a day I’d drool over chicken… Yes, the most important thing is the taste. Let’s keep the spicy chicken aside and try the fried chicken first.”

He didn’t use utensils. He grabbed a hot drumstick with both hands.

“You gotta eat chicken with your hands to enjoy it fully! And yes, these hands are clean…”


You saw it too, right? Alright, here we go!”

He opened his mouth wide and took a huge bite out of the chicken. *Crunch crunch crunch!* His eyes bulged dramatically. Before he could even finish swallowing, exclamations burst forth.

“Oh my god! Oh my god! This chicken is insane! Is this the chicken I knew? Holy crap! Neo London has been insulting chickens all this time! We need to bow our heads and apologize to the chicken! We’ve been cooking you wrong!”

While shouting excitedly, his hands kept moving non-stop, devouring the chicken piece after piece.

“Did someone pay me to say this? Are you crazy? I’m dead serious about food. Even if it’s a famous restaurant, I’ll say it tastes bad if it does. And if it’s good, I’ll say it’s good. Damn, this chicken is so freaking delicious. Oh yeah, there was also the spicy chicken! Let me try these white square things first though. They look like pickles… Whoa. Better than pickles. It cuts through the grease perfectly.”

He practically inhaled the fried chicken drumstick. Next, his hand reached for the spicy chicken.

“This spicy chicken looks promising too. Since the plain fried chicken was amazing, this one made from the same base will definitely be good as well. Let’s see…”

As soon as he bit into the spicy chicken leg, his eyes not only widened but started shaking. He slumped back, staring at the ceiling.

“Oh my chicken… I might just lose my mind… This is real… Really real. It’s so good I feel like crying… The chicken steak I had at the D-sector restaurant doesn’t compare to this. Overreacting? I’m trying really hard not to overdo it. After all, if I overreact too much… I won’t be able to eat more chicken, now would I?”

This was just the beginning of his food broadcast.

I watched him in awe from the kitchen. He stuffed an entire chicken wing into his giant mouth and spat it out five seconds later – bone completely separated from meat, cleaner than any deboning machine. Not a single drop landed on his lips or clothes. Despite looking like a pig, he ate with perfect gentlemanly manners.

“My throat’s getting dry from eating. Boss! Coca-Cola! No, make that a beer!”

I glanced at Karell. Handling the dining area was her job.

“You called for the boss?”

“…”

If the customer wants something, I guess I should bring it.

After chugging down the beer in one shot, he turned to me.

“Can I have a quick interview?”

“Of course.”

He asked about Korean chicken, and I explained while casually mentioning the ancient Great Korea Empire. Whatever nonsense I said didn’t matter – he was already deeply immersed in the world of Korean chicken, nodding and exclaiming in amazement the whole time.

“At first, I thought the price was too high for just chicken. But after tasting it… Now I understand. This chicken is ridiculously underpriced! In that sense, I’ll have another plain fried chicken and a spicy one!”

The man who devoured four whole chickens paid happily and left the store with a satisfied expression.

“…Boss, are you serving chicken for lunch? The job ad said meals included.”

“What kind of chicken?”

“Ah, I want both kinds… What should I do…”

“There’s no such menu item yet, but I’ll make you a half-and-half.”

*Jingle.*

The door opened and a customer walked in.

“Ahh, this is the place. The shop where Fisher came and ate. Give me one plain fried chicken and one spicy chicken!”

More customers started arriving after him.

I smiled slightly and headed back to the kitchen. Karell greeted the customers with an awkward smile.

Yu Yu Chicken hit the jackpot on its very first day.