God-Given Business Genius - Chapter 116

"......."

"......?"

As I leaned forward slightly to examine his face in the silence, I saw tears welling up in Ji Sang-woo's eyes.

"?!"

Why, why is he like this? Was the treatment not going well despite the early detection?

Unable to hide my bewilderment, Ji Sang-woo blurted out in an almost tearful voice:

"My mother had surgery this time."

"!"

"It was liver resection surgery, and they said it went well without complications. ......They said if it had been just a little later, it might have progressed from stage 2 to stage 3. In that case, they would have had to use chemotherapy as well. They also mentioned that given my mother's age, she might not have been able to withstand it physically."

It means they were incredibly fortunate to have discovered it early. Phew. I was startled when he started tearing up, thinking something had gone wrong, but it seems he was choked up with gratitude.

"I'm glad the surgery went well without complications."

"It's all thanks to you, CEO Song!"

"Oh, no. I didn't do anything. It's all thanks to Ji Sang-woo-ssi for not forgetting and taking good care of your mother."

"No, it's not! I've completely quit drinking since then. Even when my friends ask me out for a drink, I just go and have cola!"

Now that's welcome news. It seemed Ji Sang-woo was taking one more step away from alcohol addiction.

"Working hard has improved the store's sales too. Haha."

Ji Sang-woo scratched the back of his head, seemingly embarrassed to talk about sales. There's no need to be so bashful. It's true that the sales trends are good.

"I checked before coming here. Usually, there's a spike right after opening due to the initial buzz, then a drop. But your fluctuations weren't large, and it seems to be rebounding again lately?"

"Gasp. Yes! You've been monitoring all that?!"

"Not everything. I just checked before coming here because it occurred to me. I was going to scold you a bit if the sales were poor."

As I said this with a laugh, Ji Sang-woo laughed along.

"You're joking!"

"Hahaha."

"......You are joking, right?"

I smiled gently and changed the subject.

"Ah. I heard vegetable prices have gone up a lot recently. Are you managing okay? I hear some owners who fail to adjust quantities properly end up buying a bit more from nearby markets?"

"Oh no. I'm placing orders to ensure we don't run short~ Once before, we ran short and I had to rush to the local supermarket to buy some, and I was shocked at the prices!"

"Right? Don't buy at high prices unnecessarily, just let us know. We'll procure more for you additionally."

"Thank you, CEO Song!"

When Ji Sang-woo bowed deeply in gratitude, I waved my hands in protest.

"Oh, please don't do that. I'll get embroiled in a personality controversy."

"Ah! Hahaha. I suppose that could happen."

"Yes. Unless you want to see headlines like 'Song Woo-yeon, Embroiled in Power Abuse Controversy' splashed across tomorrow's newspapers, you don't need to do this."

"Yes. I'll keep that in mind!"

"Well then, you should head in now. You must be busy preparing to open, I've taken up your time unnecessarily."

"Oh, not at all! I'm grateful that you've taken the time to check on us despite your busy schedule."

Ji Sang-woo said with a bright smile. Other franchise owners might find this burdensome. But it seemed sincere, not just lip service, which made it all the more touching.

"Well, I'll visit again when I have time."

Clunk.

As I climbed into the driver's seat of the truck, Ji Sang-woo bowed and called out:

"Yes! Please drive safely~!"

As I started the engine and drove off, I glanced in the rearview mirror and caught a glimpse of Ji Sang-woo's silhouette, waving his hand vigorously until my car disappeared from sight.

Seeing that, I couldn't help but smile.

'Right. I not only know the future, but I can also change it.'

Is it too much to say that I found such hope in Ji Sang-woo's appearance?

Although Kim Jong-chun had changed for the worse, I corrected him. In Ji Sang-woo's case, I rewrote a bad future and guided him onto the right path.

If I keep changing things little by little like this, eventually I should be able to change even the core parts of the future I know.

'I'm rewriting it with my own hands.'

A new future.

To do that, there's a place I need to go first. I drove the car somewhere.

To find the next person to recruit after Jo I-ruk and Roh Se-hee.

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Whoosh.

The scent of the sea filled my lungs. I took a deep breath in and slowly exhaled.

The salty air brushed my nose.

-CEO, before I came here, I lived in a real rural village. It was so rural that there wasn't even a bridge connecting to the mainland, so we had to take a boat that only ran three times a day to go back and forth, you know?

There was something magical about that lively tone that made you want to listen. She said she preferred coffee to alcohol. But that day, for some reason, she insisted on me buying her a drink.

As if enchanted, I found myself heading to a cocktail bar I frequented.

-It's hard to imagine, right? I always sought out the most sophisticated things in the world, things at the cutting edge of trends. Maybe I did that because I hated who I was back then.

That was the first time she told me about her childhood.

A tiny island far down south. Where the sound of waves roared loudly at night, and playing by the sea since childhood was the norm.

Where sun-darkened skin wasn't strange, and people spoke in dialect while laughing and joking, "Don't I sound just like a Seoul person?"

The way she spoke about that hometown was filled with something indistinguishable between regret, longing, and anger.

-I left that place, abandoning my name. Because I......

The gentle voice faded in my memory.

"Hey, you there!"

I heard a voice calling me from afar. Turning my head, I saw someone who looked like a villager waving their hands.

"It's dangerous to stand there like that! The tide comes in quickly here!"

Oh my. I was lost in memories and just enjoying the view. It seems I had been standing on the dock for too long.

I bowed slightly and left the dock.

"What are you doing, young man? You're scaring people. You're not having any bad thoughts, are you?"

As soon as I stepped away, the villager approached and questioned me. I suppose this is the warmth of rural hospitality. I waved my hands and explained.

"No, it's nothing like that. I was just admiring the scenery and didn't mean to cause worry. Thank you. I didn't know the tide came in here."

"Oh my, be careful. I don't recognize your face. Who are you here to see?"

Perhaps because it's a rural village, not a tourist spot. They ask about my business right away. They seem to think I'm here to visit some relative living in this place.

Well, that's not entirely wrong.

I am here to find someone. I spoke with a calm face.

"I'm here to see Baek Jae-ha."

"......Jae-ha?"

Their expression became subtle upon hearing the name. Understandably so.

"Why him? I heard he doesn't have any other relatives. Who are you to be looking for Jae-ha?"

I smiled kindly at their suspicious gaze. There was no benefit in causing ill feelings in this place that's wary of outsiders.

"I'm this kind of person. I came hoping to talk with Jae-ha's parents."

I took out a pre-prepared business card and handed it over. The villager squinted and read it haltingly.

"The Song's... scout?"

It was a fake business card with the company name slightly altered.

"Yes, that's right. I saw what Baek Jae-ha posted on the internet and felt he had talent. If possible, I'd like to meet and talk with his parents directly. Would that be possible?"

I also gave the excuse I had prepared in advance.

There's nothing strange about this. A few months from now, he was scheduled to come to Seoul after receiving an offer from a scout from another company who happened to stumble upon that unremarkable blog.

It won't make much difference to bring forward a future that's coming anyway by a few months.

"......Well, I'll be."

The villager scratched their head with a peculiar expression.

"That kid was always unusual since childhood, and now this. He doesn't have parents, he's living with his aunt. I hear she's his only relative. It's fortunate that they adopted him and raised him like their own child, really."

"Ah, is that so?"

This was a story I had heard from Baek Jae-ha long ago. But it would be suspicious if I showed that I knew, so I pretended to hear it for the first time.

"Follow me for now."

"Thank you."

I bowed politely and followed behind the villager. We walked along unpaved paths.

As we walked along the stone path, I saw a house built on what seemed to be one of the higher points of the island.

A fairly large main house and a small annex that seemed to be used as a storage shed. Various odds and ends were scattered around the yard.

"It's here. Wait a moment."

The villager naturally knocked on the door.

Knock knock knock!

"Woo-jun's mom! Woo-jun's mom! Come out for a bit!"

They called for someone inside with an unfamiliar name. But there was no response.

"Where did she go? Tsk. Wait a bit. She'll be back soon. I'm a busy person too, so I'll be going now."

"Yes. Thank you for your help."

"Sure~"

As I watched the back of the elder who left so coolly disappear completely,

I approached the annex attached to the main house.

It was completely dilapidated, with holes gnawed by mice here and there, and lines of ants marching along in places caught my eye.

But through those small holes, something was glittering.

"Hello?"

A boy looking up at me with eyes mixed with fear and curiosity.

He might be just about twenty.

Calculating backwards, he should be around that age, but he looked unbelievably young for it.

With innovative ideas and bouncing genius, he would later become the number one recruitment target for new menu development teams in the food service industry.......

A partner who built his career at Hyeonmu, then moved to The Song and worked with me for a long time.

Baek Jae-ha.

'You who were once so brilliant.'

The boy in front of my eyes now was so scrawny and unimpressive that it was hard to believe he was the same person I knew.

But even so, the brilliance in his eyes was not at all different from before my regression.