Park Heung-guk went blank for a moment at Lee Chae-won's suggestion.
'Bag ramen?'
Not the kind you just pour hot water into. She was telling him to boil it in a pot, one bowl at a time.
That would mean some minor kitchen setup, at the very least. And he'd need to get commercial pots, bowls, all of that.
Honestly, kind of a hassle.
So he'd been about to thank her and decline—
"I heard there are machines that boil ramen for you. You could just buy one of those."
"…Oh, really?"
With Chae-won already pushing forward, it felt awkward to flatly say no.
'The cup ramen sales gave us a nice little bump, and that was her idea too.'
After mulling it over, Park Heung-guk finally nodded.
"Sure, it's not like we're doing major renovations. Just bringing in a machine…"
Figuring he had nothing to lose, he went ahead and invested without hesitation.
The result?
"Boss, me too!"
"Is there a side of rice, or—?"
An absolute hit.
Freshly boiled bag ramen was in a completely different league from the flat, watery cup stuff. Springy noodles, an egg yolk dropped right in the center, green onions sliced thin, a little dish of kimchi on the side.
Cup ramen with its lid still on was already enough to tempt people with the smell alone. Imagine what a pot of ramen actually bubbling away could do.
The rich, steaming broth drifted through the whole place, and every nose in the room twitched in unison.
No exaggeration—every single person sitting along the aisle where the ramen was carried out got up and made a beeline for the counter.
'H-holy crap!!'
Two thousand five hundred won a bowl.
Not exactly cheap compared to cup ramen, but the psychology of "if I'm going to eat ramen, I want the real thing" had people snapping it up like crazy.
On the first day, it was genuinely hard to tell whether the place was a PC bang or a restaurant—they were boiling ramen nonstop from open to close.
A whole box of ramen sold out before evening, sending him sprinting to the convenience store more than once.
And the most incredible part of all?
"This is a single day's net profit?"
The margins on ramen were substantial—it was bringing in far more than the hourly computer fees.
The fact that all of this had started with one tiny little girl was nothing short of astonishing.
From that point on, Park Heung-guk was completely wrapped around Chae-won's finger.
"Chae-won, what do you want to drink? Can I get you something?"
"I'm okay. Actually, Boss."
"Yeah? What is it?"
"The PC bang is so dark and gloomy, it kind of scares me. Could you maybe brighten the lights a little?"
"Oh? Yeah, I guess it could feel that way. Hold on, I'll call someone first thing tomorrow."
He'd gone for the dim atmosphere to match the vibe of other PC bangs in the area.
'But do I really need to do that? If I want kids like Chae-won to come, bright is better. Obviously!'
From that day on, Nero PC Bang said goodbye to the dark.
The lighting was swapped out for something bright and cheerful, every corner scrubbed until it gleamed, and the place transformed into the cleanest, most well-lit PC bang in the neighborhood.
He'd figured he might lose some regulars who preferred the moody atmosphere, but in his heart, he'd thought of it as a small gift just for Chae-won.
But then.
"Boss, when's a seat opening up?"
"Do you have two spots free?"
"No reservations, right? Boss?"
'Huh… wait a minute?'
Not just the usual crowd of middle-aged men—college students, young kids, all ages started showing up in greater numbers.
'Chae-won is our lucky totem!'
After the ramen incident, he'd loaded her up with a hundred hours of PC time. What should he do for her this time?
Maybe just give her something to eat every time she came in?
He'd crashed and burned at every business he'd ever tried, and now that he could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, Park Heung-guk couldn't hide the grin spreading across his face.
He walked straight over to where Chae-won was gaming and went to ask if there was anything else she needed.
"Is there anything you need?"
"Yep, yep. Want a hot bar snack? Or should I top up your time again?"
"Hmmmm."
He waited for her answer, fully prepared to give her whatever she asked for.
"Um… well. Could you maybe… do something about the cigarette smell…?"
"S-smoking?"
"Yeah, I don't like the smell…"
Park Heung-guk smacked himself on the forehead.
'Good lord! I never even thought about it.'
Nero PC Bang was now a place for all kinds of people.
Which meant kids like Lee Chae-won were using it too.
Even with the dividers and the ventilation system, secondhand smoke was still unavoidable.
While Park Heung-guk was still reeling from the realization, Chae-won spoke up again.
"Like, a smoking booth or something, and making all the other seats non-smoking… that'd be too hard, right?"
"A booth and… no smoking… That's actually pretty specific. Hmm."
He knew it was bad for kids.
He wanted to follow through, but he hesitated because every other PC bang in the area let people smoke freely wherever they wanted.
Most of his regulars were adults. If he started restricting them… they'd be annoyed.
Worst case, he'd lose them.
'……Still, if Chae-won's asking.'
After wrestling with it, he made his decision.
He walked over to where a cluster of smoking regulars who'd been coming since opening day were sitting.
He needed to explain the situation and ask for their understanding.
"Hey, guys, sorry to bother you… If we switched to all non-smoking seats and set up a separate smoking area, would that be a big inconvenience for you?"
He'd braced himself to get an earful about not knowing how to run a business—
"Nah, it's fine, it's fine."
Unexpectedly, the regulars nodded without any fuss.
"Honestly, with the little ladies around and all the kids we keep seeing—felt a bit off to be puffing away right next to them. That's actually why I moved to the corner."
"Right, secondhand smoke is bad for kids, isn't it? We can just step in and out."
"Oh wow, guys!!"
The regulars, who all knew Chae-won came in regularly, cooperated without a single complaint.
That night, Park Heung-guk soaked his pillow with tears of gratitude.
With the regulars' support behind him, he moved quickly to lead the PC bang's transformation.
No smoking at any seat.
Smoking only inside the designated booth!
Even with giant warning signs plastered everywhere, he went through his share of headaches with people who didn't know the rules, or the shameless ones who'd push back with "the PC bang next door lets you, why can't I?"
And like that, another two months passed.
[Nero PC Bang]
(Rating: 4.8) (130 Reviews)
Nero PC Bang had become the most famous PC bang in the neighborhood.
By banning smoking and building a clean image, it had become a completely different kind of place from the competition.
It was growing beyond a simple PC bang into the local mecca for online gaming.
"How on earth did this happen…?"
Park Heung-guk himself still couldn't quite wrap his head around it.
'All I did was listen to Chae-won.'
Sell ramen, brighten the atmosphere, ban smoking.
Small things. But things nobody else had done.
He seemed to have grasped that finding those gaps was the secret to a successful business.
And the one who'd given him that insight was, today as always, quietly shooting people in the face.
'How am I ever going to repay her…?'
Park Heung-guk studied Lee Chae-won carefully, trying to figure out what he could do for her, and eventually made up his mind.
***
Rustle— rustle—
'Everything is going according to plan!'
I cheered internally as I browsed the bread section at the convenience store.
Because yesterday, the Boss finally said it.
— Chae-won! You're free for life! Use the place as much as you want!
Kiyahoo.
Out of every gold farming win in my life, this one felt the best.
A lifetime free pass to a PC bang, no less.
Maximum results for minimal effort.
Absolutely beautiful!
From my perspective, it wasn't even that big a deal.
Right now PC bangs still have this kind of dark, underground image, sure. But as online gaming grows, they'll shoot up into the mainstream and everything will change anyway.
All I did was help introduce the future PC bang success model a little early.
'Maybe later I'll ask him to build a separate gaming room too.'
If he soundproofed it for tournaments, he could even get game company sponsorships.
And I'd get to use it on the side, naturally.
"Hehehehe."
I'm a genius! The god of profit grinding!
I couldn't help smiling from sheer satisfaction.
"Chae-won."
"Hm?"
I was deep in self-congratulation, happily rummaging through the bread, when Kim Si-yeon spoke up from behind me.
"They're all made in a factory, so they're literally all the same size…"
"Nope."
Not a chance.
The cream buns I was currently comparing, for your information, had little transparent windows in the otherwise opaque packaging where you could peek at the contents.
They tend to get knocked around during delivery, so most of them had burst open—which meant some of the cream had escaped and you'd end up short-changed.
That's why I had to inspect them carefully and pick the one that was still intact.
"…How much of a difference could it even make… It's embarrassing."
"Embarrassing? I'm paying the same amount either way, so I'm going to get the best one I can. Hmph."
"Fine. But don't let anyone see you doing this, okay? Got it?"
"……"
Under Si-yeon's pitying gaze, I stopped rummaging and grabbed the one that looked the most intact.
'Wait, is she being serious? I'm a little hurt, actually.'
I just wanted to eat a good cream bun. Hmph.
I stuck the cream bun in my mouth and headed for the PC bang.
No more worrying about PC bang fees now.
'That was genuinely close.'
I'd actually pulled out one of my Duel King card binders at home and lined everything up to sell.
I was this close to going through with it.
Thankfully.
With the few thousand won I'd been spending every day now saved up, my allowance started to accumulate.
But humans are fickle creatures.
Once I had some breathing room, my eyes started drifting somewhere else.
(Exclusive Weapon Shop)
[AWR – 30,000 Cash]
[Win34 – 20,000 Cash]
[AC-47 – 10,000 Cash]
[SCER-L – 10,000 Cash]
.
.
.
"Mmmmmm."
I want them.
Exclusive weapons are premium items in Dead Zone that let you transform the game's iconic guns into your own personal weapons.
You can customize the look, and the more kills you rack up, the higher the level climbs—basically a "yeah, I've been playing forever" flex.
And on top of that.
With an exclusive weapon, you can trigger a special effect whenever you take someone out.
If you mix and match the right infuriating emotes, you can create a truly horrifying abomination.
The feature was designed to let you make your own personal effect, but veterans have repurposed it into a revenge system. The fact that the developers haven't patched it out means they're okay with it, as far as I'm concerned.
Anyway.
"So expensive…"
I love snipers, so I wanted the AWR or the Win34, but these evil people priced everything by popularity.
Thirty thousand won…
That's a lot of money for an elementary schooler.
'I can't exactly ask for some of the money from those childhood commercials, can I?'
It all went into the stock account already. Nothing I can do about it…
I was sitting there sulking to myself when—
"Hey, c'mon, let's g-go."
"N-no, we're not doing anything!"
"Goodbye!"
There was a commotion nearby, and a group of kids who looked like elementary schoolers bolted out of the place in a panic.
What was that about?
While I was puzzling over it, one of the regular uncles from the back row stood up.
"Huh, I thought they were friends of Chae-won's. Guess not?"
"Who knows? I asked if they wanted a drink and they just ran off."
"Chae-won, do you know those kids?"
"Huh?"
Why are you asking me?
"They were hovering behind you watching your screen. Figured they were friends?"
"Nope."
Never seen the backs of those heads before in my life.
'Hmm.'
These uncles do look a little rough around the edges.
Probably came looking for an open seat and got spooked and bolted.
I understood their feelings completely.
I still have trouble making eye contact with people myself. I was already kind of awkward before, but being a girl made it so much worse.
Still, they're good people who buy me snacks sometimes.
Drrrk—
I tuned back out and pulled my chair in.
Time to game.
.
.
.
Out of nowhere, my homeroom teacher called me in before morning announcements.
"Chae-won, I just wanted to ask—has anything been going on outside of school lately?"
"No? Nothing at all?"
"Right? I trust you, Chae-won."
"???"
Was this the first time my homeroom teacher had ever called me in personally?
Hmm. How unusual.
Being class president really is such a pain.
I shrugged it off and went back to class, spending the day like any other—sitting through lessons, playing Duel King to pass the time.
After lunch, Kim Si-yeon came and sat down next to me.
"Chae-won, Chae-won. I just heard something weird. Can I ask you something?"
"Hm? What?"
What kind of nonsense is she about to hit me with now.
"Are your parents in the mob?"
"Excuse me?"
Si-yeon, whom I trusted, had just said something that was borderline insulting.