God-Given Business Genius - Chapter 134

Whoosh!

"?!"

The flames suddenly surged upward.

"Ah, hot!"

Do-kyung let out an involuntary scream. It was a dizzying sight. Even as he stepped back, his mouth gaped open at the flames that shot high into the sky.

"Huh."

My face is okay, right? The sudden burst of heat left his skin feeling tingly.

The flames must have singed Do-kyung's bangs, as the hair he touched felt curly. Fortunately, that seemed to be the only damage.

"Phew, phew."

"That was startling."

Not just Do-kyung, but everyone seemed shocked by the sudden incident, their eyes wide as they took a couple of steps back.

Although others were surprised too, no one else appeared to be hurt.

"Oh!"

As the initial shock subsided, the next concern came into focus.

"Th-The chicken!"

At someone's cry, all eyes turned to the chicken. The nicely browning chicken was now in the middle of the flames.

"Aaaah!"

"The meat is burning!"

"Wh-What should we do?!"

They couldn't reach into the roaring flames. Although the fire had subsided a bit, it was still fierce.

If left like this, instead of roast chicken, they'd end up with charred lumps of coal.

"After all the effort we put into catching them!"

Just as Han Dong-woo was stamping his feet in distress,

"One moment, please."

Song Woo-yeon, who had stepped back due to the heat, came forward. Han Dong-woo naturally had to make way for her.

"W-Woo-yeon. What can we do? With the fire this strong..."

"That's right. It could be dangerous. Maybe we should just leave the chicken alone until the flames die down and eat just the clams and crabs... Huh?!"

As Oh Jun-hee's words trailed off,

Instead of explaining, Song Woo-yeon turned the pulley in front of her. What happened next was astonishing.

Creeak, creak.

The metal plate began to rise.

Thanks to this, the chicken was only slightly singed with no other damage. As it reached the top, the flames began to subside gradually.

Creeak, creeak.

While Song Woo-yeon adjusted the chicken's position according to the calming flames, people finally came to their senses.

"Whoa."

"Wh-What on earth is this?!"

"Did this thing... just move?!"

Everyone urged Song Woo-yeon for an explanation, unable to hide their surprise. Song Woo-yeon replied with a slightly embarrassed smile.

"Barbecue fire is difficult to control. So I made it so we could adjust the height of the metal plate, just in case."

A moving metal plate?

Do-kyung muttered to himself that he had never seen anything like this before. She spoke as if it was nothing out of the ordinary, but it certainly wasn't.

Song Woo-yeon spoke with the nonchalance of someone saying "I just picked this up along the way" about something that could easily be a manufacturer's innovative product.

Although Do-kyung was a novice in business, he could tell that Song Woo-yeon's calm demeanor was far from ordinary.

"Huh. There's such a thing?"

"I made it myself. Fire control is always a headache when barbecuing. I wondered if there might be an easier and safer way~ I considered various designs, you know? Like a windmill shape. But it would be difficult to make that here, so I went with the most basic form..."

Song Woo-yeon spoke rapidly before suddenly stopping. Sorry, but Do-kyung had lost track halfway through.

Sensing the blank stares from everyone, Song Woo-yeon continued sheepishly.

"Um. Anyway, it's nothing special. I didn't even know we'd be able to use it right away like this."

As she grinned, Do-kyung couldn't help but let out an impressed "Wow."

Her sparkling eyes shone clearly through her gently curved eyelids. As the saying goes, "A hero is revealed in a moment of crisis." Although she tried not to stand out, her intelligence was unmistakable in her eyes.

That wasn't all.

Usually, she would chime in at the right moments, keeping conversations flowing naturally. But now, she was completely absorbed in this moving grill, forgetting all pretense.

Do-kyung vaguely realized that this was probably closer to Song Woo-yeon's true self.

In other words, 'Culinary Researcher' Song Woo-yeon suited her better than 'TV personality' Song Woo-yeon.

"Amazing..."

Do-kyung couldn't swallow his admiration and mumbled softly.

'Someone passionate about their field is truly impressive like this.'

That thought flashed through Do-kyung's mind.

He thought he was used to seeing shining stars as an idol. But this had a different charm from the sparkle on stage.

Creeak, creak.

"I'll do it."

An Derek said, grabbing the pulley. Song Woo-yeon hesitated for a moment before grinning and saying,

"Then, please do."

Do-kyung watched Song Woo-yeon's back and thought to himself.

'I want to become friends with her.'

Being naturally introverted, he didn't interact much with people outside his group members and agency seniors and juniors.

But Do-kyung had always harbored curiosity about people living in different worlds. Having been a trainee since childhood, he was curious about other ordinary social experiences.

'We're the same age too. ...Wouldn't it be nice to get a bit closer?'

Do-kyung's eyes sparkled as he thought this.

"Wow~ It looks like it's cooked perfectly?!"

"Tonight's dinner is a feast~!"

Oh Jun-hee's cheerful voice ended Do-kyung's reverie. What followed was a joyful dinner time.

Maybe it was because there were two chefs. The first dinner in the jungle was... incredibly delicious.

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"Mmm..."

Do-kyung opened his eyes slowly, letting out a small groan. Spending the night in the makeshift tent Kim Byung-man had built, his back ached from the hard ground despite using a sleeping bag.

"Ugh."

After trying to get some shallow sleep, Do-kyung finally couldn't bear it and sat up. He intended to stretch a bit before trying to sleep again.

With only a few observation cameras on and all the production staff asleep, there wouldn't be anyone watching anyway.

Thinking that the jungle at midnight had its own romance, Do-kyung got up from his spot.

But,

The spot next to him was empty.

'Next to me was... An Derek-hyung, I think.'

Why is it empty? Did he go to the bathroom? Just as he was thinking this, he heard the sound of people talking through the gaps in the poorly constructed wall.

'Who could it be? At this hour.'

Listening more closely, he could catch snippets of conversation.

"......? ...not...?"

Oh. This voice.

Do-kyung's eyes flew open.

It was Song Woo-yeon. And the voice responding was An Derek's.

'What's this? Are they close or something?'

Come to think of it, he seemed to remember Oh Jun-hee watching the two with a knowing smile.

'Surely, the rivals from <Cold Cooking> aren't in that kind of relationship...?!'

Do-kyung held his breath and carefully put his ear to the wall. Now he could hear their voices clearly.

"You knew, didn't you?"

Song Woo-yeon asked abruptly.

An Derek just sat silently. Both were sitting with their backs to him in front of the bonfire, so he couldn't see their faces properly.

"Don't try to deny it. There's no way it could all be coincidence."

"......"

"If you're going to keep pretending not to know, just go back inside and sleep. I came out here looking for some time alone."

What's this conversation about? It didn't seem like a conversation between lovers.

Song Woo-yeon's tone was friendly, but that was it. And An Derek wasn't even responding.

"What are you doing? Why aren't you going back inside?"

When Song Woo-yeon urged him, An Derek finally spoke.

"...Let me see the wound. I want to check if it's serious."

Wound?

What wound? Do-kyung's eyes widened.

"It's not that bad."

"Let me see. I only caught a glimpse before, so I couldn't see it properly. It looked like it was bleeding."

"I think the stitched part opened slightly."

As she spoke, Song Woo-yeon rolled up her sleeve.

Ah!

In the moonlight and firelight, a tightly wrapped bandage was revealed. Do-kyung involuntarily covered his mouth with both hands.

'Wh-When did this happen?!'

He had no idea her arm was injured. There were even reddish stains on the bandage.

It must have been difficult to move with an injury like that. She must have been enduring constant throbbing pain. Yet she never showed it even once...

"It's hard to reach this part. Since you've seen the wound anyway, would you mind helping me disinfect it?"

"......"

An Derek silently watched as Song Woo-yeon unwrapped the bandage. The wound revealed was even more horrific.

What on earth had she done to get injured like this? Her forearm was covered in cuts, with stitches here and there.

An Derek took the alcohol swab and gently wiped Song Woo-yeon's wound.

"Ouch! That hurts."

Song Woo-yeon grumbled, asking him to dab it lightly instead.

"...If it hurts this much, why don't you quit the show?"

An Derek spoke in a stiff tone, with a hint of anger.

Do-kyung nodded in agreement with An Derek's words.

'That's right! If it hurts that much, you should speak up and quit. Who knows what could happen in the jungle if you continue like this?!'

But Song Woo-yeon's reply was:

"The hospital said it would be fine as long as I disinfect it properly."

"I doubt you told them you were planning to go to the jungle."

"...Well, that's true. But I'm fine, there's no fever yet. I promised the production team I'd quit immediately if there are any signs of infection."

An Derek frowned at those words. As they sat facing each other, their profiles were faintly visible.

"Do you insist on this because you don't know how important arms are to a chef? What if something goes wrong?"

"You're helping me, aren't you? To make sure I don't overdo it."

"......"

"Please continue to help me for the remaining time. I want to finish this show properly."

Seeing her grinning face, Do-kyung was left speechless. It seemed An Derek felt the same way.

An Derek hesitated for a moment before carefully speaking.

"...Why are you going this far?"