Chairman Tak-hyeon Lee read through a magazine article about Ilhyeon Hotel with evident amusement, then read one passage aloud.

“A restaurant rivaling Michelin — the world standard for fine dining — has taken root at Korea’s Ilhyeon Hotel. The food here is world-class, and can be said to have elevated our country’s culinary scene by an entire tier.”

Tak-hyeon Lee lifted his head and asked Chief Secretary Do-beom Hwang,

“Is this Michelin thing really that impressive?”

“I learned about it myself while looking into this. It carries considerable authority, apparently — restaurants are even ranked according to the grades Michelin assigns.”

“But Ilhyeon Hotel’s restaurant hasn’t actually received one of these Michelin stars yet, has it? Doesn’t that mean it isn’t really at that level?”

“Not quite. Most food critics agree it simply hasn’t been listed in the Michelin Guide because Michelin hasn’t come to Korea yet. In terms of quality, they say it would rank among the best even within Michelin’s own standards.”

“So you’re telling me it’s genuinely delicious?”

“Yes. That much, at least, seems certain.”

Hearing Do-beom Hwang’s answer, Tak-hyeon Lee tossed the magazine onto his desk.

Thud.

Beside the magazine that landed on the desk, several similar magazines were already spread out.

Every open page held an article about Ilhyeon Hotel’s restaurants.

Tak-hyeon Lee looked over the magazines spread across his desk and said,

“Did Kim put these out?”

“Yes. I’m told Assistant Manager Jo, a close associate of Director Kim’s, contacted each media outlet directly and handed over the Ilhyeon Hotel story.”

“Handed over the story?”

Tak-hyeon Lee murmured that part of Do-beom Hwang’s answer and asked,

“So you’re saying Kim fed the material to the press himself?”

“Yes. That’s what I’m told.”

“Hah.”

Tak-hyeon Lee let out a light laugh, amused.

Looking down at the spread-open magazines, he said,

“Knowing how to handle the press — he’s something.”

The corners of Tak-hyeon Lee’s mouth rose.

“It’s one thing to simply ask for an article to be written. Directly handing over the story material yourself is a different level entirely.”

“I’m astonished myself at how Director Kim came up with something like this. Anyone unfamiliar with him would think he’d been handling media relations for ten years.”

Do-beom Hwang ran a hand over one of the magazines and continued,

“And it wasn’t released to just one outlet — he broke the story simultaneously across every media outlet at once.”

Do-beom Hwang shook his head, still astonished thinking it over again.

“Usually you just roughly ask a reporter to write something and check it afterward, but Director Kim personally designed everything from the content of the article to the exact timing each outlet would run it. Just in terms of media handling, it feels, as I said, like the work of someone with ten — no, twenty — years of experience.”

Tak-hyeon Lee laughed, amused, listening to Do-beom Hwang’s account.

“Chief Hwang seems to have found this quite impressive. You approve of Kim’s choices this time?”

“More than approve. Honestly, I’d like to pull him straight into the secretariat to work alongside me.”

“Is that so?”

Having worked beside Do-beom Hwang for so long, Tak-hyeon Lee could tell his assessment wasn’t exaggerated.

It wasn’t merely a “well done” — there seemed to be something close to genuine admiration mixed in.

Sensing that in Do-beom Hwang, Tak-hyeon Lee looked down at the magazine once more.

“Interesting. So it really is that delicious?”

Still looking down at the magazine, Tak-hyeon Lee instructed Do-beom Hwang,

“Book a reservation.”

“Where would you like?”

“Let’s try the Chinese restaurant first. Book that one.”

“Understood.”

Listening to Do-beom Hwang’s reply, Tak-hyeon Lee muttered quietly to himself,

“The hotel’s becoming famous for its restaurant… how interesting.”

Tak-hyeon Lee curled up the corners of his mouth and smiled, gazing at the photograph of the chef printed in the magazine.

“Father. How long has it been since we went out like this?”

Gyeong-eun Lee, wearing a delighted expression, hooked her arm through Tak-hyeon Lee’s and walked into the hotel.

Suk-ja Chu followed the two of them into the hotel as well.

Looking the hotel over as she walked in.

“Nothing much different, really.”

Suk-ja Chu clicked her tongue, saying the hotel looked no different from how she remembered it.

“Tsk. Here I thought it had supposedly changed so dramatically… what exactly did Kim do?”

“Mother.”

Arm still linked with Tak-hyeon Lee’s, Gyeong-eun Lee turned and frowned at Suk-ja Chu.

“Don’t be like that. Do you know how hard Seong-ho’s been working for this hotel? Even you heard it had improved, didn’t you? If word reached even your ears, imagine how hard he must have worked. Don’t be so harsh on someone who’s worked this hard.”

“You…”

Suk-ja Chu was about to say something more to Gyeong-eun Lee, but noticed a group approaching them and swallowed her words.

Then she said to Gyeong-eun Lee in a low voice,

“Don’t take your husband’s side quite so much.”

Displeased at the sight of Gyeong-eun Lee defending only Seong-ho Kim, Suk-ja Chu gave her a word of caution, then looked at the general manager, who’d hurried over with an urgent expression.

The general manager bowed deeply to Tak-hyeon Lee in greeting.

“Chairman. You’ve come?”

“Yes. Been a while. Have you been well?”

“Thanks to the chairman’s consideration, I’ve been doing well.”

Tak-hyeon Lee laughed lightly at the general manager’s greeting and looked around the hotel.

“There certainly seem to be more people here than the last time I came.”

“Ever since Director Kim took the hotel in hand, it’s been growing steadily. Every one of Ilhyeon Hotel’s employees is aiming to make this the finest hotel in the country, and we’ll do our best to soon reclaim the title of Korea’s best hotel and present it to you, Chairman.”

“Good.”

Nodding at the general manager’s words, Tak-hyeon Lee looked past him and asked,

“And Director Kim? I hear he’s busy?”

“Yes. He’s currently in a meeting selecting a new supplier for the hotel. He said he’d come straight to the Chinese restaurant once the meeting ends, so allow me to show you the way first.”

“Hahaha. Seems I’ve come at a busy time after all.”

“Not at all. The chairman’s visit is always welcome.”

The general manager bowed deeply to Tak-hyeon Lee and extended a hand forward.

“Then allow me to show you to the restaurant.”

“Let’s go.”

Tak-hyeon Lee nodded and followed the general manager toward the Chinese restaurant.

Upon arriving, not only the executive chef in charge of the Chinese restaurant but even the junior chefs had all come out to greet the visiting Tak-hyeon Lee.

“You’ve gone and done something unnecessary just because I’m coming. General Manager.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“Don’t do this again next time. What will other guests think, seeing this?”

“My apologies. We’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

The general manager apologized to Tak-hyeon Lee and gestured for the standing staff to go back inside.

Then he showed Tak-hyeon Lee to a private room within the restaurant.

Entering the room set off to one side of the Chinese restaurant, Tak-hyeon Lee sat down with a pleased expression.

“Better done than I expected. This closely resembles a restaurant I visited in Beijing.”

Tak-hyeon Lee offered his praise first, satisfied with the appearance of the hotel’s Chinese restaurant.

And immediately placed his order.

“You know my tastes well, General Manager, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. We’ll bring out the jiaozi first, right away.”

“Good.”

The general manager swallowed dryly for a moment.

It was the jiaozi that had made Tak-hyeon Lee stop visiting Ilhyeon Hotel in the first place.

He’d tasted the jiaozi at the Chinese restaurant once and never came back, and it was right around then that Ilhyeon Hotel had begun its decline.

Thinking he couldn’t let that happen again, the general manager bowed and left the room.

Once the general manager had gone, Suk-ja Chu looked around the room and gave a scoffing snort.

“Well… they did make it look decent enough, I suppose.”

“It’s become quite famous among my friends lately too. There was even a feature article in a magazine about it recently — didn’t you see it?”

“What good is delicious food if the hotel serves it? The rooms need to be good. And…”

Suk-ja Chu stopped mid-sentence, glancing at Tak-hyeon Lee.

Worried that too much negative talk might bring down his wrath, Suk-ja Chu held back the many things she wanted to say.

“Never mind. Let’s drop it.”

Gyeong-eun Lee, not wanting to argue with her mother in front of Tak-hyeon Lee either, turned her head in agreement with Suk-ja Chu’s words.

Mother and daughter looked out the window for a moment like that, and shortly after, the door opened as the executive chef himself carried in a plate of jiaozi.

“Here is the jiaozi you ordered, Chairman.”

The executive chef carefully set the plate of jiaozi before the three of them.

Then he stepped back slightly, waiting for Tak-hyeon Lee’s verdict like a student awaiting a grade.

Tak-hyeon Lee examined the jiaozi on the plate from various angles and asked the executive chef,

“Made by hand?”

“Yes. We make 200 a day, everything from the wrapper to the filling, entirely by hand.”

“200 a day means you might miss out if you don’t come early.”

“That’s right. It’s sold in limited quantities, and it sells out entirely during the lunch hour.”

“I see.”

Tak-hyeon Lee nodded and picked up a jiaozi with his chopsticks.

Putting it in his mouth, he began to taste it.

As Tak-hyeon Lee ate, Suk-ja Chu and Gyeong-eun Lee followed suit, putting jiaozi in their own mouths.

“Oh my!”

Gyeong-eun Lee, having put the jiaozi in her mouth, wore a startled expression and covered her mouth with her hand.

Suk-ja Chu, apparently startled too, opened her eyes wide and looked at the executive chef.

Seeing Gyeong-eun Lee’s and Suk-ja Chu’s reactions, the executive chef smiled slightly and explained how the jiaozi they’d just eaten had been made.

“Director Kim instructed us to buy every famous jiaozi from around the country and take them apart, piece by piece, for analysis.”

“Take them apart for analysis?”

Tak-hyeon Lee wiped his mouth with a napkin and looked at the executive chef.

Under his gaze, the executive chef continued explaining.

“We thoroughly analyzed everything — the size of the meat in the filling, the types of vegetables used, even the condition of the water used in the steamer.”

“Every famous dumpling shop in the whole country?”

Just then, the general manager, who’d been listening quietly, chimed in.

“Not just the whole country — we also checked famous dumplings from Taiwan and mainland China itself.”

“You checked Taiwan and China as well?”

Tak-hyeon Lee laughed lightly and looked at Suk-ja Chu and Gyeong-eun Lee seated across from him.

While Tak-hyeon Lee had been talking about how delicious the jiaozi was, Suk-ja Chu and Gyeong-eun Lee had already finished their own servings and were now eyeing the jiaozi still sitting on Tak-hyeon Lee’s plate.

Seeing the two of them instinctively coveting his portion as well, Tak-hyeon Lee gave a short laugh and handed his own plate of jiaozi to Gyeong-eun Lee.

Gyeong-eun Lee took the plate with a delighted expression, then glanced at Suk-ja Chu.

At Suk-ja Chu’s look, asking for a share too, Gyeong-eun Lee, with a reluctant expression, split it in half with her mother and finished off even Tak-hyeon Lee’s jiaozi.

Seeing Tak-hyeon Lee give away his own portion to Gyeong-eun Lee and Suk-ja Chu, the executive chef asked in a worried voice,

“Was it perhaps not to your liking?”

Having heard that Chairman Tak-hyeon Lee was famously particular about food, the executive chef wondered whether even this hadn’t suited his taste.

Tak-hyeon Lee looked at the executive chef, who watched him with a tense expression, and shook his head.

“No. It was very good.”

Having offered his brief verdict, Tak-hyeon Lee instructed the general manager, waiting behind him.

“There’s a Japanese restaurant next door, isn’t there?”

“Yes.”

“Bring a few pieces of sushi from there.”

“Yes, understood.”

The general manager found it strange — Tak-hyeon Lee had come to the Chinese restaurant with a proper reservation, same as any other guest, yet was now suddenly asking for sushi to be brought from the Japanese restaurant.

But setting his doubts aside, the general manager hurried off to the Japanese restaurant.

By the time the general manager returned to Tak-hyeon Lee’s room carrying a plate with five pieces of sushi made by the Japanese restaurant’s executive chef, Seong-ho Kim had already arrived in the room.

Seong-ho Kim rose from his seat, took the plate of sushi from the general manager, and gave him a look of thanks for his trouble.

Then he set the plate down in front of Tak-hyeon Lee and explained the sushi himself.

“For the sushi as well, we researched every famous Japanese restaurant — the thickness and weight of the fish, the stickiness and grain count of the rice, the amount of wasabi used, and even the soy sauce served alongside it — and created the sushi that best suits our own palate.”

Seong-ho Kim personally picked up a pair of chopsticks and held them out to Tak-hyeon Lee.

“Please, have a taste. I think you’ll like it.”

Looking at Seong-ho Kim’s confident expression, Tak-hyeon Lee picked up a piece of sushi.

(End of Chapter 47)