The first autumn leaf fluttered onto our bakery's doorstep like a burnt-edged warning. Overnight, Seoul had traded its humid misery for crisp air that smelled of roasting sweet potatoes and impending trouble.
I crushed the leaf underfoot as I hauled open the shutters, its crimson veins staining the concrete. Behind me, Taehyun scowled at his phone.
"Moon & Son's rebranding," he said, flipping the screen to show a glossy ad: "Autumn Tradition Reinvented"—featuring maple-glazed mochi donuts suspiciously similar to our hotteok dough.
Dae-ho spat out his cereal. "They wish their donuts could—"
The bell jingled. Three women in identical camel coats marched in, their perfume smothering the scent of our morning bakes.
"Health inspection," said the tallest, flashing a badge. "Routine."
Jeong's mist coiled around my ankles like a leash holding back a guard dog.
The Inspection
They moved with military precision:
Swabbed our mixing bowls (lingering on the honeydew residue)
Measured the fridge temperature three times
Demanded Grandfather's arthritis medication for "testing"
When they left, Taehyun was already texting his Sunyang contacts. "That wasn't the health department."
Dae-ho peered at their "business card" left on the counter. The ink smudged under his thumb. "Moon & Son Quality Assurance Team," he read. "Wow. Subtle."
I pried open the window they'd "accidentally" jammed shut. A slip of paper fluttered out:
STOP MAKING WAVES
Scrawled beneath—a crude fox with its tail cut off.
Jeong's mist turned the color of dried blood.
The Maple Trap
We retaliated at noon.
Taehyun's intel revealed Moon & Son's big plan: a maple syrup "shortage" to justify their synthetic glaze. So we bought out every bottle of real Canadian syrup from Costco (Dae-ho's idea, funded by Taehyun's black credit card).
Our counter-display was brutal in its simplicity:
HAN BAKING'S REAL MAPLE SERIES
Mochi donuts with glaze so thin it crackled like ice
Candied bacon twists dipped in barrel-aged syrup
Free samples with a photo of Moon & Son's ingredient list ("Natural Flavoring (0.001% Maple)")
Customers laughed. Then they bought everything.
The Leak
At closing time, a nervous man in a Moon & Son uniform slipped me a USB drive.
"They're using wood pulp extract," he whispered. "Tastes like maple but… it's literally paper."
The files showed invoices from a Chinese chemical plant and emails joking about "feeding customers trees."
Dae-ho immediately livestreamed it from our rooftop, using a maple leaf as a green-screen.
The Fallout
By dusk:
Viral hashtag: #FakeMaple
Moon & Son's stock dropped 18%
Real maple syrup sales hit a 10-year high in Korea
As the sunset painted the bakery windows amber, we celebrated with maple lattes (Taehyun), bacon twists (Dae-ho), and silent satisfaction (me).
Jeong's mist curled around the empty syrup bottles, his version of a toast.