The boss slammed the side dishes onto the table, a sour grimace twisting his features.
"You should smile, Boss," Park Jin-ho said cheerfully. "You'll scare away all the customers with a face like that."
The man’s jaw tightened, and he bit his lip to stifle a retort. Just stay calm, he told himself. Cater to this brat’s whims for one day, and I can avoid the fine.
After all, he’d never have to see him again after today.
Determined to endure, the boss forced his lips into a grotesque smile.
Who speaks to a customer like that? the boss fumed. Just because he’s young, he thinks he can drop all formalities?
"See? Much better when you're smiling," Park Jin-ho said, returning the grin with genuine amusement.
The boss’s smile didn’t reach his eyes; behind it, he was silently cursing the boy’s entire existence.
He spun on his heel and stalked back toward the kitchen, his face flushed with rage.
Watching him go, Park Si-woo leaned closer to his brother. "Hyung, are you sure about this?" he asked, his voice low.
"It's fine," Park Jin-ho said easily. "You don't know the half of what he put me through."
"But what if he tries to get revenge later?"
"A guy like him? Against a player?" Park Jin-ho scoffed. "There haven't been any cases of that yet, but if it happens... I'll just retaliate." He paused, a cold glint in his eye. "No, I'll retaliate ten times worse. He won't have the stomach for a second round."
Soon, the meat arrived—the most expensive sirloin on the menu.
Park Si-woo practically drooled as the rich scent filled the air and the beef sizzled on the grill.
Not just any pork belly, but premium Hanwoo. He could hardly wait for his first taste of such a luxury.
"Go on, hyung, you eat too!"
The brothers began their meal as soon as the boss was out of sight.
"Wow, this is incredible, hyung! Is this really Hanwoo?"
"The best cut," Park Jin-ho confirmed.
"I heard it was good, but I never imagined this," Park Si-woo mumbled through a mouthful of food. "It’s like it's melting on my tongue!"
Park Jin-ho smiled, a picture of satisfaction, and glanced around the restaurant. It was peak dinner time, yet the place was completely empty.
Throughout their meal, he made sure to keep the owner busy.
"Owner! We need more garlic over here!"
A few minutes later: "Owner! More dipping sauce, please!"
And again: "Owner! Another bowl of rice!"
Then: "Owner! Another order of beef tenderloin—"
The owner finally snapped.
"If you were going to order this much, why couldn't you do it all at once?" he roared. "You need to learn some moderation!"
Despite the outburst, Park Jin-ho simply stared back at him, unfazed, savoring every moment of this slow, methodical payback. He was going to enjoy making his old boss understand that the customer is, indeed, always right.
"Are you really this bad at your job, sir?"
The question, delivered so calmly, struck the owner dumb.
"Now, please bring us four more servings of beef tenderloin," Park Jin-ho said. "And be quick about it."
"How much more are you going to eat—"
The owner's protest died in his throat as Park Jin-ho leaned forward. "You still haven't paid me what you owe. Think of this as me running up the tab."
"Oh—no. I'll bring it right away," the man stammered, his anger instantly deflating into fear.
Park Jin-ho had vented all the frustration from the abuse he'd suffered under the man. With each order, the owner was learning a hard lesson about who held the power now.
Ugh! If I can just make it through today… if I can just make it through today…
Ignoring the owner’s private agony, Park Jin-ho and his brother finally finished their feast well after nine o'clock.
They walked out of the restaurant, patting their full stomachs.
"That was amazing, hyung."
Park Jin-ho turned back to face the owner.
"It was a little pricey, but worth every won. Thank you for the meal, sir."
"Uh... yeah. Glad you enjoyed it."
The owner's face was gaunt, the long, stressful meal having taken its toll.
Park Jin-ho just looked at him, clasping his hands together with an almost pleading expression, as if he was truly struggling with what to do next.
A flicker of hope ignited in the owner’s eyes, and his lips stretched into a relieved smile.
"Haha! You mean it? Thank you—"
"Well, I was on my way to file a report," Park Jin-ho said, his expression shifting into a wicked smirk.
The owner's face fell.
"I've already reported you to the labor department, actually. Filed a criminal complaint, too. You should be getting a visit from them soon."
"What—what are you talking about?"
"Once the labor department forces you to pay my back wages, you can consider the cost of tonight's meal as interest," Park Jin-ho explained calmly.
"Good luck with the business. Assuming you still have one after this. Let's go, Si-woo-ah."
The brothers left the restaurant, leaving the owner standing frozen in the doorway, his face a picture of despair.
As they walked, Park Si-woo looked up from his phone. "Hyung, look at this article." He read a comment aloud. "'How could he have played the lottery a hundred times with the same numbers? Is he from the future or something?'"
"Something like that," Park Jin-ho said vaguely.
"Hyung... did you really come from the future? How did you know all those numbers?"
"I dreamed it," Park Jin-ho replied. "It was a very vivid dream."
It was a flimsy explanation, but Park Si-woo didn't press him. The fact that his brother was now a "player" was already more than he could fully process.
"Is it really true?" Park Si-woo asked, his voice hushed. "That eighteen billion people were affected, and only nine billion survived?"
"That's what they're saying. The internet is flooded with articles about it."
After 5:20 a.m. on January 1st, a new reality had dawned. Anyone who experienced sleep paralysis that night simply never woke up, their hearts having stopped in their sleep.
News reports and articles scrambled to cover the unprecedented global event. A few YouTubers screamed conspiracy, but they were drowned out by the sheer, undeniable scale of the tragedy.
It was a truth too horrifying to comprehend, but one everyone was forced to accept.
"You see the whole world in chaos, and you still have trouble believing it?" Park Si-woo muttered to himself. "You have to believe it..."
Park Jin-ho smirked at his brother's words.
"It's hard to believe anything until you've lived through it."
"And things are only going to get more chaotic from here," Park Jin-ho added grimly. "This was just the first round."
With half the population gone, the world was already teetering on the brink. The global economy was in freefall, and social systems were paralyzed.
Some were already calling it the dawn of a new dystopia.
And when players like him began to truly exercise their newfound powers, the chaos would only deepen. That was why Park Jin-ho had to get his hands on as much money as possible, and fast.