Chapter 351
While happily watching the first guests enjoy their meal, the inside of Selsto Restaurant started to get really busy at 12 o'clock.
"Hyung-nin! Two more guests have arrived!"
"I'll go, I'll go!"
For the first time, Song Hyung-bin and I guided guests to their seats separately.
Kang Si-yoon's long-awaited first order for kimchi stew came in.
"It might be spicy, is that okay?"
"It's okay. I want to try spicy Korean food."
The young Estonian man who ordered kimchi stew cheerfully threw down the gauntlet.
When we studied the recipe in Korea, we adjusted the spiciness to suit the taste of Europeans who don't eat spicy food well.
Still, there must be a unique savory flavor to kimchi stew. I wondered if that customer would enjoy it.
Song Hyung-bin reiterated the orders that came in at the entrance of the serving area.
"Guys, one kimchi stew, three rolls of kimbap, one bibimbap, and two scrambled eggs! You have to count them well!"
"Yes!"
The kitchen was busy at the time.
When many orders came in at once, it was natural that they would be hectic.
There were five people in the kitchen, and Song Hyung-bin and I, who were in charge of the hall, could help out at any time, but we couldn't let our guard down.
"Three kimbap, right, hyung-nim?"
"Yeah!"
In particular, Yoo Min-ha, who was in charge of the kimbap, was very busy.
I left the hall to Song Hyung-bin for a moment and looked at Yoo Min-ha with a worried look.
"Minha, don't touch the side! Once you're behind the order, there's no answer!"
"I, too, know that!"
Yoo Min-ha pressed down on the kimbap while answering Kang Si-yoon's words.
The rule. You have to press down as much as possible so that it doesn't burst when you cut it with a knife.
After brushing sesame oil on the neatly rolled kimbap a few times, all that was left was to cut it into bite-size pieces.
"Good, Min-ha! You did well!"
"Hehe!"
As Yoo Min-ha cut the kimbap into a much neater size than before, Eun-gyu, who was neatly arranging the vegetables on top of the rice, cheered him on.
It felt like the roles had been reversed.
After hearing the compliment, Yoo Min-ha started on the second kimbap with an even more proud face.
"...The egg roll is complete."
In the midst of the commotion, Ji Yoon-chul, who had perfectly finished two scrambled eggs, rang the bell.
Seeing the ketchup generously sprinkled on top of the yellow figure, I realized once again that he had accumulated a lot of cooking experience.
"Yoon-chul, you made it so well?"
"It's about 100 times easier than a tiramisu cake."
Maybe because he started his first dish with a very high level of difficulty, Ji Yoon-chul now seemed to find most things relatively easy.
I walked to the table who had ordered the scrambled eggs and carefully put the plate down.
"The scrambled eggs you ordered are here. They taste even better with ketchup, so try them. The other dishes will be coming out soon, so please wait a little longer."
"Thank you!"
"Yes, if you need anything, please call me anytime."
I smiled and was about to turn back.
My keen hearing allowed me to hear the voices of two female customers whispering.
"The person who just served us is really handsome."
"All the staff here are handsome. The other waiter over there is also handsome."
"Are they actors.........? I should look for them."
"Everyone else looks Asian, but the waiter who came to our table seems to be Estonian."
This is the old town of Tallinn, Estonia.
It's a little far from the Unibet Arena where we had our concert, and there are a lot more locals living here than tourists.
So I expected that relatively few people would recognize us as Seleste right away after seeing our faces.
For the first time, there were people who were curious about our identities.
'I didn't mean to eavesdrop... I heard the conversation more clearly than I thought. This is a big deal.'
I tried my best to keep my expressions in check and looked toward the serving area.
I have to be careful not to raise the corners of my mouth.
The customer who was searching for something on their phone finally found what they wanted and started tapping the hand of the friend sitting in front.
"Hey, hey! I found it! When I typed in Estonian idol, it came right out."
"Really? Oh.......... It was a Korean idol group. They were somehow handsome."
"Look here. They even had a concert in Tallinn a while ago."
"Oh....."
From what I heard from their conversation, the two customers didn't seem to know much about K-pop and idols.
However, perhaps because they had learned the new fact that there was someone who had become an idol in their own country, they kept looking at me.
I tried my best not to pay attention like before, but I couldn't help but feel my skin tingle slightly.
"Do you know that everyone is looking at you?"
"...I am not showing it."
"Estonia is your home ground, after all."
While I was standing still and resting, Song Hyung-bin playfully tapped me.
To be honest, I felt good.
It was natural for me to receive everyone's attention since I was the crown prince.
Before I knew it, the first guests of the historical Selstore had finished their meal and were leaving.
I walked straight to the door and thanked them.
"Did you like the food?"
"It was delicious."
"I think it was the best Korean food I've ever had."
"Haha, thank you. I hope you have a good day."
I felt a sense of pride in my heart.
It was just a one-time content and I will never run a formal restaurant in the future, but I was very happy that they enjoyed the food we made.
However, this sense of satisfaction was short-lived, and at 1-2 p.m., the number of customers increased unexpectedly.
"Two kimchi stews, five kimbap, three egg rolls, four bibimbaps!"
"W-what, five kimbap?"
"Four bibimbaps? That's four, right?"
"Yeah! We have to hurry!"
"What's going on!"
Until just an hour or two ago, there was only silence in the Seleste restaurant.
The past when we said that no customers would come was now insignificant, as all the tables we had prepared were now occupied.
It was literally full.
Kang Si-yoon looked around the Seleste restaurant with a slightly bewildered look.
"How did it end up being full? And on the first day of business?"
"Si-yoon, this isn't the time to be admiring it. There are still two kimchi stews left."
"Hey, if this keeps up, I might have to call you and Hyungbin hyung."
The kitchen was very chaotic, but the hall was no different.
And, requests for more toilet paper or water came from all over the place.
After visiting one table, the finished dish came out, so I had to hurry again.
"The food is here! Enjoy your meal!"
Song Hyungbin, who had a hard time speaking Estonian when he greeted the first customer, was now speaking fluently without any time to stutter.
Since he had so many opportunities to repeat the same words, it seemed that he had no time to be nervous and the things he had practiced were coming out naturally.
Now, I could hear a lot of people talking around me, so I couldn't hear one side of the conversation clearly.
However, I could feel people's gazes wherever I went.
"The kimbap and bibimbap you ordered are here. I recommend mixing them properly since the gochujang can be spicy."
"Thank you!"
Every time I put down food and turned my feet to the other side, I occasionally heard people say things like, "You're handsome," and "You look like a movie star."
Most people didn't realize my identity and just said I was handsome, but three women who came into the restaurant around 2:30 PM were surprised when they saw me greeting them at the counter.
"Welcome."
"Wel-!"
"Wow."
All three of them froze.
I continued to smile faintly and guided them to empty seats.
They all instinctively followed me, but their legs moved automatically and their expressions remained the same.
When I handed them the menu, the customer sitting closest to me blankly stared at my hand with a look of disbelief.
"If you want something simple, I recommend kimbap and egg rolls, and for meals, we have bibimbap and kimchi stew. Please take your time and choose."
"Yes.......... Yes."
"Um, there! But I have a question!"
The only woman who seemed to have recovered from the shock carefully raised her hand.
"May, maybe Seleste...?"
I nodded quietly and smiled again.
The moment their suspicions turned into certainty, the customers couldn't help but be even more surprised.
They would have wanted to jump up from their seats right away, but the photo guide attached to each table seemed to act as a great deterrent.
Song Hyung-bin, who had just received an order from another table and returned to the front of the kitchen, whispered to me in an excited tone.
"Did they find out about it?"
"How did you know?"
"I guessed it after seeing the reaction from far away. I just asked to confirm. Wow, it's really amazing!"
Not in Korea, but in a faraway land.
And in Estonia, a Nordic country that K-pop has barely touched, there's a fan who recognizes you.
"It really makes me think I should work harder."
Before Song Hyungbin's admirable words could even settle in the air, we heard a voice calling for us from table 9.
I snickered and rubbed Song Hyungbin's arm.
"It really is a situation where we have no choice but to work hard."
"That's right."
We went to table 9 wondering what was going on.
"It's been a while since I ordered kimbap, so I was wondering when it would come out."
"Oh, sorry. I'll check right away."
It was definitely a while since the order from table 9 came in, as far as I could remember.
While I was walking to the kitchen, I glanced at the other tables.
The speed at which the food came out seemed to have slowed down overall compared to before.
"Siyoon. Table 9 says that the kimbap hasn't come out yet."
"Kimbap, ki, kimbap, wait a minute! It's almost done!"
Yoo Min-ha's urgent voice was heard from the kimbap corner.
Kang Si-yoon, who had been setting up the trays and cutlery in the distribution area, checked the order forms one by one and neatly summarized the current situation.
"There are six kimbap orders right now, so Min-ha is out of his mind."
"Then now would be a good time to send the hall members to the kitchen."
"It'll be a relief if Hyung-bin hyung comes, but won't it be really hard for you?"
"It's okay. I'll try my best to cover it up, so just put an end to the urgent complaints and send Hyung-bin hyung-nim back."
"I suddenly feel like I've become a private property. Is this right?"
In order to resolve the sudden influx of kimbap orders, the situation has come where the emergency hall members who had been set up have to be deployed.
In the meantime, I have to take sole responsibility for the hall of the Seleste restaurant.
"Whew.........."
I unbuttoned my white shirt sleeves and rolled them up.
If I were an ordinary person who had never worked in a restaurant, I would feel that this situation was very difficult.
I have never worked in a restaurant, either.
But that doesn't mean I'm an ordinary person.
The field of vision should be as wide as possible.
All actions should be quick and simple.
To maximize efficiency with minimal movement and allocate stamina.
Never confusing the table numbers with the faces of the guests.
I set out, thinking in my head the concentration that would satisfy even the Crown Prince sleeping inside me.
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