God-Given Business Genius - Chapter 128

Crash!

Smash, thud!

Commotion erupted all around. A nearby table toppled over, scattering spoons and chopsticks across the floor.

Jo I-ruk saw Owner Kim lunging at him as he pushed the table aside. With the fluorescent light behind him, a black silhouette emerged.

It was the flailing gesture of a greedy human. At the end of that hand, a broken green bottle glimmered.

Jo I-ruk turned his head to the side and tightly closed his eyes.

Unconsciously, he raised both arms to shield his head.

'I'm going to get hit!'

With that thought, his body stiffened and wouldn't move. If you're going to hit, just hit. Why break a bottle to make it sharp?

'It'll be a few weeks of injury. If my arm gets hurt, it'll be inconvenient for paperwork. But with the new employee, somehow...'

But something strange happened.

He'd heard that in extreme situations, a person's brain works faster, making everything seem to slow down.

But even so, isn't this taking too long?

It was at that very moment when Jo I-ruk was puzzled.

"Kyaaaaaah!"

Hyun Ye-won let out another shrill scream.

"CEO! Oh, what should we do...!"

CEO?

Jo I-ruk slowly opened his eyes. Then he saw blood dripping to the floor. Drip, drop.

Ah.

Jo I-ruk involuntarily drew in a sharp breath and widened his eyes. He couldn't help it. An entirely unexpected scene was unfolding.

"...CEO."

Song Woo-yeon's back.

As if she had blocked Jo I-ruk and taken the hit from the bottle instead, broken fragments were embedded in her forearm. Blood trickled down her arm, dripping steadily from her middle finger onto the floor.

Jo I-ruk was utterly astonished.

'Why on earth.'

Jo I-ruk had been willing to take the hit. He hadn't expected Owner Kim to grab a bottle, but if taking a hit could turn the situation to their advantage, he was more than willing to endure it.

But Song Woo-yeon had intervened. To protect Jo I-ruk.

"......"

Despite being shorter and having more delicate shoulders.

Today, more than ever, that back view seemed immense.

"B-blood, there's too much blood. We need to call 119...!"

It was when Hyun Ye-won was trembling, unable to even touch Song Woo-yeon's wound.

"Kim Myeong-seok-ssi."

Song Woo-yeon called Owner Kim's name in a low, sunken voice.

"!"

Owner Kim looked at Song Woo-yeon, startled.

Step, step.

As he backed away, he even dropped the bottle he was holding.

Crash!

The blood-stained bottle shattered into several pieces as it hit the floor.

"...W-why did you interfere!"

Owner Kim raised his voice, trembling.

"I-I didn't really intend to hit! I was just trying to scare you...! W-when you suddenly jumped in, I was startled and...!"

Is that supposed to be an excuse? Another spark flew in Jo I-ruk's eyes.

"I-I don't know! If you hadn't suddenly leaped forward, I would have just pretended to swing and that would have been the end of it! I'm not responsible for this!"

"You really...!"

As Jo I-ruk tried to step forward, Song Woo-yeon blocked him.

"...!"

Jo I-ruk finally hesitated.

Song Woo-yeon shook her head and then spoke to Hyun Ye-won beside her.

"Please call 112."

"What? ...Not 119?"

"We'll file a police report and then go to the hospital. At this hour, only the emergency room will be open anyway."

Song Woo-yeon spoke calmly.

Her tone was so composed it was hard to believe she was bleeding profusely from one arm.

If you looked only at their faces, Jo I-ruk's pale complexion and cold sweat made it seem more plausible that he had been the one hit.

"H-hello, is this the police? This is Shanghai Restaurant, Nobeom branch. P-please come quickly! Our CEO, our CEO...!"

Hyun Ye-won's voice could be heard reporting to the police.

"The blood... There's so much of it..."

Hyun Ye-won examined the wound and spoke, almost sobbing. Thinking that this might be too intense a scene for her first field work, Song Woo-yeon forced a smile.

"Kim Myeong-seok-ssi. I told you from the beginning when we signed the franchise agreement. If you don't want to, you can take down the sign and leave anytime."

"......"

Owner Kim looked at Song Woo-yeon with a pale face.

That excessively calm demeanor seemed utterly inhuman. Ruthless. Owner Kim unconsciously muttered.

"If you're not going to follow the headquarters' instructions, you can start your own business under your name. You acknowledge that you repeatedly refused our kitchen inspection requests and even resorted to physical violence like this, right?"

"......"

"If this goes to legal proceedings, it will be very disadvantageous for you, Kim Myeong-seok-ssi. Let's just terminate the franchise agreement and go our separate ways."

Song Woo-yeon added one more thing.

"Ah, the assault is a separate matter."

Owner Kim's eyes became vacant in an instant.

He realized that with his recent mistake, everything had become irreversible.

Thud.

Owner Kim collapsed to the floor.

Over his face, the red light of a police car shone. Through the glass window, a police car could be seen arriving.

It was all over.

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"Ow ow ow ow ow! It hurts! I said it hurts!"

I shouted involuntarily as tears welled up from the pain, but Jo I-ruk showed no mercy. Instead, he firmly gripped my wrist and admonished me.

"You still need to disinfect it. What if it gets infected?"

He's right.

The doctor had strongly advised it. But every time it's disinfected, it hurts so much that my hands and feet become clammy with cold sweat.

I'd probably jump up even in the middle of the night if I heard the word 'disinfect'.

"This is the last part. Just bear with it a little more."

Hoo.......

I barely managed to take a deep breath and closed my eyes tightly.

And the tingling sensation as soon as the cold cotton touched!

"Nnnngh!"

I barely held back a scream, gritting my teeth. It really hurts like hell!

"For someone who's in so much pain, I don't understand why you insisted on filing a police report and going to the hospital. It's done now."

Phew. I finally let out the breath I'd been holding. I thought I was going to die.

"Ugh. At that time, I couldn't think of anything else."

He was clearly a problematic franchisee that needed to be cut off, but if we had unilaterally terminated without a specific reason, there was a high risk of litigation.

So to make it definitive, I filed a report first, and then went to the hospital with the police to quickly obtain an injury diagnosis certificate.

"Well, thanks to that, Kim Myeong-seok-ssi quietly accepted the franchise contract termination, didn't he?"

I heard he accepted the contract termination without much protest, his spirit completely broken. I didn't see it myself, so I'm not sure.

"That's not the important part..."

Jo I-ruk pressed his forehead as if he had a headache. What could be more important than that? This is no ordinary matter.

He doesn't seem to understand, but even with problematic franchisees, it's difficult to cut them off at will. That's the challenge of this franchise business.

"Has there been any separate contact since then?"

"He keeps contacting me to settle the assault case, but I've blocked him."

"You did well."

Jo I-ruk looked as if he was about to devour Kim Myeong-seok. I'm the one who got hit, but he's acting like he's in more pain.

Well, if I hadn't intervened, Jo I-ruk might have been the one hit.

It's horrifying just to imagine.

"Ah, was Hyun Ye-won-ssi not too shocked?"

"...Yes. Of course, she was very frightened that day. You lost that much blood, and there was a risk of infection. But since the prognosis isn't bad, she seems relieved now."

Jo I-ruk continued as if he was letting it slide just this once. Ahem. This is why I don't like overly perceptive subordinates.

"Later, she seemed rather moved. She said she had never seen a superior who would sacrifice themselves for their subordinates like that."

"Haha..."

This person isn't in their right mind either. That's probably why she joined The Song instead of staying at Hyeonmu.

"You don't need to worry. I've made sure to keep it quiet, just in case, and I've also spoken to the police."

"Thank you."

This was the first thing I said to Jo I-ruk after receiving emergency treatment from the doctor. To make sure this incident doesn't leak outside.

'It would be troublesome if unnecessary stories spread.'

If the media makes a fuss about this, it would be awkward for the headquarters in many ways. It might look like we're negligent in managing our franchises.

"...And don't do this kind of thing again in the future."

"Pardon?"

"Stepping in front, I mean."

Jo I-ruk was looking at me with a rather serious face.

"If you had been hit on the head, you could have been seriously injured. It might not have ended with just an injury."

I suppose so.

"There's no one who can replace you at The Song."

"......"

"If someone has to get hit, it should be me. You need to be safe, CEO. That's the way for the company's sake. Do you understand?"

Hmm.

I smiled ambiguously. Seeing my face, Jo I-ruk's eyes narrowed even more fiercely.

Ugh. But...

Unable to withstand his piercing gaze, I finally spoke.

"Your parents would be sad, Team Leader Jo."

"...Pardon?"

"You have family who would be sad if you got hurt."

Unlike me.

Of course, this isn't self-pity about how pitiful I am. I'm just stating an objective fact.

Jo I-ruk has family, and if something were to happen to him, there are many people who would be sad.

"So I thought that maybe it would be better if I got hurt instead... you know?"

Isn't it better to have fewer sad people?

When I calculated coldly, excluding all emotional judgments, it seemed like the better decision no matter how I thought about it.

"......"

Of course, Jo I-ruk didn't seem to agree, his eyes wide open.

Hahah. As I laughed awkwardly, Jo I-ruk pressed his temples as if he had a headache.

"Really. Why would you think such a thing...!"

Nngh.

But when you live alone, you can't help but have these thoughts.

When you're sick alone in an empty house, you wonder if anyone would even hold a funeral if you died, and when you attend a funeral after hearing the news, you wonder who would be the chief mourner at your own funeral.

I doubt Jo I-ruk could understand that loneliness.

"This won't do."

Jo I-ruk spoke as if he had made some decision.

"Please wait a moment."

"Team Leader Jo? Huh?"

Despite my call, Jo I-ruk left without even looking back.

What's this? What on earth is he trying to do?

Not long after, I could understand what Jo I-ruk had done.

"...Oh my."

I couldn't help but gape.