God-Given Business Genius - Chapter 118

Swaying, swaying.

The boat rocked with the waves. The sea breeze brushed past my face. I swept back the hair tickling my cheek with one hand.

Baek Jae-ha was staring at me intently. Without saying a word.

I smiled and spoke first.

"Aren't you curious about anything?"

"......."

"You must have a lot of questions. Tons, even."

"......."

"If you don't want to talk, we can just go on like this."

That wasn't bad either. Despite appearances, I'm a body suffering from overwork. Looking at the sea felt somewhat healing, which was nice.

Perhaps it was because I had just come from seeing people with nauseating, dark intentions. Nature felt more refreshing.

"......Is it real?"

The question Baek Jae-ha finally blurted out after much deliberation was this.

"My blog. Did you really see it?"

Where am I going, what's going to happen to me, I'm scared, it was hard.... There could have been countless things to say.

But Baek Jae-ha chose this question.

"Of course. I saw it all. It was very interesting."

I could clearly see how to win this child's favor. And as it happened, I needed a colleague who shared similar interests.

"Reconstructing foods you've never eaten in your head. I used to do that a lot too. From a very young age."

"Really?"

"Yes. What could that red sauce be? Ketchup? Sriracha? What kind of meat is inside? Pork, beef, chicken? It might even be lamb or duck. ......There was a time when such thoughts filled my head day and night."

When you have lots of food you want to eat but no money, you naturally start using your imagination.

I tried making things on my own clumsily with cheap ingredients I could get. Each time, I only became more curious about what the real thing would taste like.

"But you know, sometimes what you imagine in your head tastes better. Like when you think the red sauce will be spicy, but it turns out to be sweet too."

When I finally saved up money and tried the real thing. Sometimes I was genuinely impressed, but other times I was disappointed.

Thinking, 'What I made tastes better?' 'Mine was more innovative and interesting?' Such thoughts occurred to me.

"......It's the first time. Meeting someone who understands."

"Haha. Is that so?"

"Last time, when I talked to my homeroom teacher during counseling. They said I didn't look like someone who would be so obsessed with food...."

That might be how others see it. Asking why food is so important. Isn't it just consuming nutrients to survive?

But just as seeking beauty is our instinct, so is the desire to eat more delicious food.

"Then, is that true too?"

"What?"

"That you...... came to scout me."

"Of course. I'm a busy person."

It meant I hadn't come to meet Baek Jae-ha out of mere sympathy.

Thud.

The boat had docked at the pier. The boat tilted, and I saw them laying down the gangplank for disembarking.

"Come on, let's go."

I led Baek Jae-ha off the boat.

"......The mainland."

It seemed to be Baek Jae-ha's first time leaving that island. The child looked back with trembling eyes. Beyond the hazy smoke would be Baek Jae-ha's hometown.

"Jae-ha. You don't want to go back there, do you?"

Nod nod.

The child nodded without hesitation.

"I, I wanted to run away. For a very...... long time. But when I tried to get on a boat, the village elders would stop me.... And, I didn't have money for the fare. So I couldn't leave."

"I see. But now you've escaped from there. You're an adult this year, right?"

Nod. The child nodded once more.

"What that means is, from now on, Jae-ha can choose his own life."

It would have been better if I could have come earlier. But I had to wait because of Baek Jae-ha's age and birthday.

If I had come too early, we would have needed permission from his legal guardians, the adoptive parents, to sign the contract, and they wouldn't have left Baek Jae-ha alone once they realized how much he could earn.

'But now it's different. Baek Jae-ha himself will sign the contract directly. And since they received a fake business card, it'll be hard for them to trace which company it is.'

Moreover, judging by the fact that no one recognized me despite seeing my face, they didn't seem to be people familiar with TV either.

Even if they recognized me and came looking, there would be no legal issues since I had handed over the down payment to Baek Jae-ha himself.

"If you want, you can go somewhere else from here and live a different life."

I pointed to the bustling street where people were passing by.

"It might be hard and lonely, but that wouldn't be bad either."

Living an ordinary life is a blessing in its own way, after all.

"Or, you could take my hand."

I held out my empty hand to Baek Jae-ha.

"What will you do? The choice is yours."

I even thought that Baek Jae-ha might disappear into that crowd right now.

We had just met today, I was extremely suspicious, and he didn't know who I really was. To Baek Jae-ha, I was truly an enigmatic figure.

So if Baek Jae-ha wanted, I was prepared to let him go. I had cleared my debt by helping him escape from home, so if our paths crossed again someday, it might lead to a good outcome.

That's what I had decided, but.

Swish.

Baek Jae-ha wiggled his small hand and placed it on top of mine.

"......Don't abandon me."

"I'm not abandoning you. I'm giving you a choice."

Baek Jae-ha gripped my hand tightly. As if he would never let go.

"Do you know what it means to come with me? You'll be working at my company, and all your ideas will become company property. Are you okay with that?"

"I don't mind."

"You understand properly, right?"

"I'm not stupid."

I know that. I know you're not stupid, but rather close to a genius. Baek Jae-ha muttered, still not letting go of my hand.

"I want to go with you."

Remembering my younger self, I felt a lump in my throat.

If only I had had an adult like this back then. Someone who would rescue me from that terrible place and whisper sweet words about my talent.

Perhaps all of this is an act to comfort my younger self.

I answered with a bitter smile.

"......Alright. Let's go together."

I also gripped Baek Jae-ha's hand tightly. We probably looked like siblings, an older sister taking care of her younger brother.

"You must be hungry? Let's eat first. I saw you analyzed Ganpoongi chicken on your blog. We should go to a Chinese restaurant and try Ganpoongi first."

He probably had to watch others order Ganpoongi or sweet and sour pork while he ate the cheapest jajangmyeon when going out for family meals.

Seeing that scene so clearly in my mind made me feel sorry for him first.

At my words, Baek Jae-ha's eyes widened and he lifted his head.

"......! Really?"

"Yes, of course. Let's go quickly."

"Wow!"

I'm not sure why he was so excited about just one Ganpoongi chicken. Baek Jae-ha beamed with a broad smile, looking like he might jump for joy.

Seeing this smile for the first time, I was momentarily surprised, then quickly smiled.

"Don't run! You might get hurt."

"Let's go quickly, quickly!"

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Ugh, I'm tired.

As I was resting, pressing my drying eyes, Chef Jung Ha-neul casually struck up a conversation.

"You look very tired. Is work hard?"

"Ugh. Is it that obvious? It's not that work is hard. Rather than that...... well."

Should I say taking care of a child is hard?

I just smiled vaguely, afraid of the questions that would follow if I spoke frankly. Chef Jung Ha-neul seemed to notice my reluctance to answer and changed the subject.

"Get some shut-eye, even if just for a moment. I'll wake you when we start filming later. You should rest at times like this."

I glanced towards the studio. It was a break we had finally gotten in the middle of recording "Raid the Refrigerator".

"Wow. Chef Song, you're overflowing with composure today too, aren't you?"

Chef Bong Kang-min didn't miss the chance to chime in.

"Everyone else is worrying about what to cook with the ingredients that came out of the refrigerator today~ But Chef Song doesn't need to, right? The composure of being number one?"

"Haha. That's not true. My turn is later anyway, so you'll all use up the good ingredients first."

So I'll humbly make do with the leftover ingredients. Any plans would be completely thrown off anyway, so having no plan is the plan.

"Give it a rest. Chef Song said she's tired, we should let her rest properly during break time."

"What? Chef Song is tired? Why is that?"

Chef Bong Kang-min made an exaggerated gesture, then clapped his hands.

"Ah! Is it because of that? I saw it on social media! Our maknae was telling me about it. Chef Song is doing something interesting again."

"Hmm? What is she doing?"

"Ah, we have to acknowledge that our Chef Jung is technologically challenged. You're so out of touch with recent trends~ Look at this!"

Chef Bong Kang-min flipped through his phone's photo gallery and showed something.

"Here, this! 'Test Store'!"

Ah, that.

I immediately understood what Chef Bong Kang-min was trying to say. That was the project we were currently pushing.

"Oh my. What's this?"

"It's exactly what it sounds like."

I explained to Chef Jung Ha-neul in a kind tone.

"You know how there are menu items that we're unsure will sell well. Maybe they taste good but we're worried about mass appeal, or they're so new that we're concerned customers might feel reluctant."

"Yes, yes."

"I thought it would be good to have a place to experimentally showcase such menu items. We try them out there, and if the response is good, we launch them as official franchise items."

"Oh~ I didn't know there was such a method!"

Chef Jung Ha-neul clapped his hands, marveling at the idea.

"When you actually sell anything, you get a feel for whether it will do well or not."

"Wow. If you're making a test store like this, you must have some experimental menu items in mind?"

"Haha. Quite a few."

"But is it okay? A test store means there's no fixed menu that's sold regularly, right?"

Chef Bong Kang-min asked, seeming puzzled.

"You mean new menu items come out every day? What if you run out of ideas?"

"......Haha."

I grinned.

"I couldn't do it alone."

"Oh?"

"Don't worry. I have a hidden card up my sleeve."

That's right. I have a hidden card.

Baek Jae-ha.