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It was 8:40 PM by the time the last team left.

Total visitors: 100 teams.

Total sales: 7.35 million won.

The cast of Monster Restaurant, who had achieved an incredible score, were…

Lying on the floor like corpses.

“…Why are you all like this here?”

“…Probably for the same reason as you.”

“I don’t even have the strength to sit on a chair… I might die like this…”

“My back hurts so much.”

“My feet feel like they’re about to burst.”

Jeong Gyeoul and Kim Cheol-soo were no exception.

“…It feels like when I sparred with Ha-yul all day.”

“If the Awakened Ones look like this after one day of work, how do regular people handle the kitchen? Does that even make sense?”

In truth, it wasn’t so much physical exhaustion as it was mental strain… but that also led to accumulated fatigue.

“Doing this every day? I can’t, no, I won’t!”

“Right… we formed a union.”

“…?”

As Jeong Gyeoul weakly spoke, the heads of those lying like corpses perked up slightly.

“A union?”

“A labor union.”

“…You’re not seriously asking because you don’t know, are you? It’s not a company, it’s a restaurant. Why would there be a union?”

“Hey, whether it’s a restaurant or a company, we’re workers. No discrimination!”

“Right. If it means reducing the workload, I’m all for it. Should we ask for more part-timers? Or maybe limit it to 50 teams a day?”

More part-timers.

Limit to 50 teams a day.

Guaranteed break and meal times.

Guaranteed rest periods.

Everyone’s thoughts were along the same lines.

“…Did you really form a union just for that? Let’s just work on weekends.”

“…Huh?”

“What did you say?”

The contract for Monster Restaurant stipulated that the cast would live together in accommodations for a month while filming.

“Two days a week. Think of it as intense training or death, and work those two days. But take the weekdays off.”

“Definitely… the thought of doing this every day is killing me, but if we get used to it, two days should be manageable.”

Instead of working five weekdays and resting on weekends, it was the opposite.

Resting all week and working on weekends seemed entirely possible.

“Wow, then what do we do on weekdays? I cleared my schedule for a month for this.”

“…Let’s play! We should play! We’re working to play and eat, so let’s play and eat!”

“Do you think the CEO will allow that? Even if we just do light schedules, we could build a building pillar…”

Winter and Yuna’s heads turned sharply.

Their somewhat burdened gazes and gestures were directed at Jeong Gyeoul.

“Gyeoul!”

“What, what’s this all of a sudden?”

“The CEO will definitely think building connections with S-Class Heroes is more important than building pillars for the company. Please, play with us! Or just say you’ll play!”

“That’s not really the issue. You know everything we just said is being broadcast, right?”

“…Ah, no way, would PD Choi sell us out?”

“Besides, taking weekdays off is something that needs to be negotiated with PD Choi first. It’s not decided yet.”

Winter and Yuna were already dreaming of weekdays off, even though negotiations with PD Choi hadn’t even started.

“…If Gyeoul steps up, won’t everything be resolved?”

“Pfft, what are you guys doing? You’re all excited, like beating drums and gongs.”

Monster Restaurant is a program created through contracts between celebrities and the production team.

On a smaller scale, it’s the production team, but on a larger scale, it’s a contract with the broadcasting station.

Without special reasons, they might have to pay a penalty.

Kim Guk-min, knowing that forming a union and moving around wouldn’t easily change things, found the kids cute and amusing.

That was until the assistant director hurriedly brought in PD Choi.

“…What is this?”

“Our Monster Restaurant union demands to eliminate weekday work and only work on weekends.”

“We demand it!”

“…Sigh.”

Seeing Jeong Gyeoul at the forefront, with Winter and Yuna firmly by her sides, PD Choi could only sigh.

“Why is Cheol-soo there too…”

“Gyeoul said to join the union or else…”

“…”

For Kim Cheol-soo, protecting himself from Jeong Gyeoul was far more important than contracts or loyalty to the broadcasting station.

The association president’s line… no, the line led by Jeong Gyeoul, was not to be crossed.

In Korea, or even the world, it was obvious what would happen if someone from the hero industry opposed Jeong Gyeoul.

‘Social burial… no, before that, I might really get buried by Gyeoul.’

PD Choi, knowing the flow, couldn’t say anything to Kim Cheol-soo.

“Sigh… everyone, you’ve been doing broadcasts for more than a day or two, but if you two keep getting dragged around by Gyeoul…”

“Dragged around? We’ve just united our strength by forming a union…”

“Then why did you sign the contract?”

“…Sorry!”

“Everyone, I know you’re tired from today’s work. We expected 100 teams, but we thought there’d be no-shows and mostly 2-person tables. Instead, it was mostly 3-4 person tables, and all 100 teams showed up, making it much harder than we anticipated.”

Because of that, the production team had to step in to help with dishwashing and closing the shop.

Thanks to that, the cast could rest at this time.

Without the production team’s help, cleaning might not have been finished by today.

The hall could’ve been cleaned quickly by the cast, but the kitchen was the problem.

By the last order, it looked like a bomb had hit.

“We’re grateful for that, it saved us.”

“We’re seriously considering adding more staff, and if that’s not possible, we’re thinking of reducing business hours or limiting the number of servings. But weekend business is out of the question.”

“If you bring us a negotiation proposal we can accept, we might consider withdrawing that demand.”

“We need to have a meeting among the production team… how about we talk after Sunday’s business? After that, we’ll operate according to the agreed proposal on weekdays.”

“Then we’ll disband for today. Let’s negotiate again tomorrow.”

“…Yes, union president. Let’s do that.”

Just as the negotiation table seemed to be ending.

“Ah, buying ingredients with coins is a bit much. If you’re not giving us 1% of sales, just provide the ingredients for free.”

“…1% would be 73,500 coins, right?”

“Exactly. If you’re not giving us that, just give us the ingredients for free.”

“Sigh… fine. We’ll provide the ingredients for free.”

Free ingredient supply.

On the first day of forming the union, they handled one issue, showcasing the president’s capabilities.

“Pfft, PD Choi really can’t stand up to Gyeoul.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen PD Choi take such a humble stance in my 8 years of production.”

By now, not just the cast but the production team was watching PD Choi and Jeong Gyeoul’s negotiation table.

Seeing PD Choi being pushed by Jeong Gyeoul, everyone couldn’t help but laugh.

“Those who laughed now will have to sit at the negotiation table with Gyeoul again later.”

“Gasp…”

After that, 0.1% of the total sales of 7.35 million won was credited as coins.

7,350 coins were given to Jeong Gyeoul.

With no ingredients left and no strength to cook, dinner and late-night snacks were replaced with delivery food.

They decided to spend 1,350 coins and save the remaining 6,000.

“Since ingredients are provided for free… we still have 6,000 coins left.”

“…Well, we worked really hard today, right guys?”

“Of course, bro. Seeing you running around earlier, my heart ached. If we’re like this, how much did Cheol-soo suffer? Just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes…”

“Stop it, I’ll take care of it.”

Jeong Gyeoul chuckled as she glanced over the male team.

They looked far from normal.

Even on a day like this, if they only threw a few hundred coins, the male team might rebel against PD Choi like they formed a union.

‘Of course, I could take them down in a second, but if I lose politically, I have no justification.’

Since it’s a variety show, I can’t just beat everyone up.

At times like this, it’s necessary to generously distribute coins to appease them.

As Jeong Gyeoul chuckled without saying anything, Kim Guk-min awkwardly stepped forward.

“…It’s not like we’re doing this for the coins… it’s just, you know… haha.”

It was an obviously awkward laugh.

“Eh, whatever. Let’s just split it half and half.”

“Really? We thought even 1,000 coins would be more than enough.”

“Hey! Why’d you say that! Gyeoul will take care of it!”

“…Bro, weren’t you the one who said if they don’t give us coins, we’ll steal them and run to the male dorm? That if we pretend to be undressing, they won’t come in…”

“Huh? Absolutely not! You must’ve been dreaming while lying down earlier.”

The male team, overjoyed with the 3,000 coins, finally noticed Winter and Yuna’s expressions.

“Are you two okay?”

“What do we have to do? Gyeoul earned it, so she’ll spend it. And she’s so good at managing the household, there’s nothing to say.”

“Right, Gyeoul, we’ll just support you! Go, husband!”

“…A 14-year-old girl has become the head of the household. And with two wives? The household runs smoothly…”

This is the tearful self-employment story of Jeong Gyeoul, the teenage head of the household.

Well, not exactly, but close enough.

 

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