God-Given Business Genius - Chapter 136

"It's been a while~"

As I entered the office with a bow, all eyes turned towards me. Most were familiar faces, but I also noticed some new employees I hadn't seen before.

The newcomers stared at me with wide eyes, as if they were looking at a celebrity on TV.

It's a bit embarrassing.

My hair was disheveled after just returning from the jungle. I should have used shampoo or treatment there.

"Welcome back."

Jo I-ruk was the first to greet me. Following his lead, others began to speak up one by one.

"Good morning."

Roh Se-hee, sipping her morning coffee.

"Wow, CEO. Hello!"

Yang Ji-a, with a bright smile.

"Oh my, CEO is here~"

Park Sang-won, bowing good-naturedly.

"You're late."

Baek Jae-ha, playfully complaining. And,

"Oh! You're here!"

Hyun Ye-won, who had been busily writing something in a small notepad.

As more greetings followed, I responded with a wave. Whew, it's chaotic. With more people, it's certainly becoming challenging to remember all the names and faces.

Still, they're my employees, so I should know them all. I tried to memorize their faces, making eye contact with each one.

After that, Jo I-ruk stood firmly in front of me, as if he had been waiting for this moment. His gaze seemed somewhat sharp.

Jo I-ruk's eyes briefly scanned my forearm before meeting my gaze again.

"I'm glad to see you've returned safely and in good health."

It was a loaded statement. While it sounded like a simple greeting, to me it seemed to imply:

'Are you satisfied now, having stubbornly gone through with this despite your injured arm... or is it just my exaggeration to interpret it that way?'

Hmm. His gaze is not ordinary. I smiled and replied,

"Of course. I'm fine. Just a bit tired from the long-distance flight."

"That's good to hear."

After this brief exchange with Jo I-ruk, I sensed someone's presence and turned to see Roh Se-hee standing there.

"Hmm."

Her gaze was equally unsettling. Right. Roh Se-hee had also heard about my injury.

'Among the people here, only Team Leader Jo and Team Leader Roh know about the injury, I suppose.'

That's just about right. It's probably better that the management staff knows.

I smiled at Roh Se-hee and waved my arm to show that I was fine now. It had indeed improved a lot, and this level of movement no longer caused any pain.

'See? I'm healthy, right?'

Seeing my expression, Roh Se-hee shook her head as if to say she couldn't deal with this.

"CEO, I heard you went to the jungle?"

Other employees began to join the conversation. Park Sang-won handed me a cup of instant coffee he had just prepared and continued,

"I was so surprised. We only heard it was an external appointment! I didn't expect you to go on a business trip right away."

"Haha... Well, the schedule just ended up that way."

It really was just an external appointment at first. Though it did lead straight to a jungle expedition after being hospitalized.

But there was no need to share that long story now. As I laughed it off vaguely, Park Sang-won brought up another topic.

"How was the jungle?! Where did you go? Oh, am I not supposed to ask that?"

"That's right. There's a confidentiality agreement."

"Aww. That's disappointing. But is there anything you can tell us...?! It's, it's my dream, you know! Surviving on a deserted island, that kind of thing!"

No wonder his interest seemed particularly keen.

"Well, if you ask how it was..."

I closed my mouth and recalled the days spent in the jungle.

It was just a few days in the jungle, but so much had happened during that time. We went through all sorts of hardships.

'Well, fortunately, my arm is fine.'

The minor scratches have almost healed now. An Derek helped discreetly, so I was able to finish without overexerting myself. I should treat him to a meal later as a token of gratitude.

"It was tough, but also fun in its own way. In terms of making delicious food with limited ingredients, it might be similar to <Cold Cooking>."

"I see...!"

"C-CEO. What about Do-kyung?"

Yang Ji-a, her eyes sparkling, jumped in as if she had been waiting for this moment.

"Did Do-kyung go to the jungle too?!"

Ugh. The cast is supposed to be secret too. As I stumbled over my words, unable to give a proper answer, it seemed to be enough of a response for Yang Ji-a's eyes to widen.

"I'm so jealous~! How was it? How is Do-kyung in person?!"

"?"

Yang Ji-a usually addresses me casually, but not to this extent. What's going on?

As I tilted my head in confusion, Park Sang-won blurted out from the side.

"Assistant Manager Yang is a fan, you know. A Do-kyung fan."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yes. An extreme fan at that. Just look at her desk. The background is Do-kyung, the stickers around are all Do-kyung too."

Oh. Now that I look closely, she's clearly a Do-kyung fan. I hadn't noticed before as I only ever glanced at it in passing.

"I just like his music, that's all!"

"Come on. You caused quite a fuss over the concert last time. You listen to music with your ears, why do you need front-row seats? I just don't understand..."

"Hooh."

As Park Sang-won and Yang Ji-a bickered, I inadvertently let out a nasal sound.

Well, that's because...

"Assistant Manager Park, you seem to know a lot about this."

Got you, you rascal.

As I looked at the two of them with half-closed eyes, they both shut their mouths like clams.

"...Hup."

"......"

They looked at each other, breaking out in a cold sweat, before Yang Ji-a hastily began to explain.

"Th-that's because Assistant Manager Park's younger sister is also a Do-kyung fan! He, he, he said he was thinking about a birthday gift for her. As I was giving him advice..."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yes! Yes! That's right!"

Park Sang-won belatedly nodded his head vigorously. Nice try.

I pretended to go along with their flimsy excuse.

"Assistant Manager Park must be very close with his sister. Even worrying about her birthday gift like this."

They thought they could hide an office couple even from the copy machine. In this tiny office, no less.

How long has this been going on? Since Hyeonmu? No, there definitely wasn't this kind of atmosphere back then.

As I was pondering this in my head, Yang Ji-a quickly changed the subject.

"M-more importantly! Did Do-kyung have a hard time in the jungle? I'm worried because he's a picky eater and doesn't eat much. Could you at least tell us that?!"

At that question, I tried to recall Do-kyung in my mind. To be honest, I hadn't had many conversations with him, but being the same age, he seemed to be somewhat comfortable around me.

'I don't really mind how old people are, but it must feel different for him.'

He seemed to rely on me a bit as his only peer. Besides that, what else do I remember...

'...From the second day, he suddenly became shy around me, and kept trying to do this and that for me?'

I'm not sure why. On the morning of the second day, he would startle whenever our eyes met, acting cautious.

Apart from that, his behavior became a bit more proactive, you could say. He probably secured more screen time than on the first day.

I found it a bit puzzling, but I left him be since it was convenient for me not to use my arm. But that could have just been good manners.

"Nothing particularly memorable comes to mind... Another person and I took care of most of the cooking. We always tried to prepare the meals as well as we could, so I don't think there's anything to worry about."

"That's a relief...!"

Yang Ji-a let out a big sigh and then bowed her head.

"Thank you!"

"It's nothing."

She seems to have a bigger problem to solve with her visibly angry boyfriend behind her.

Wanting to avoid getting caught up in troublesome matters, I quickly stepped back.

As I entered my office, Jo I-ruk followed me in. Without any preamble, I got straight to the point.

"Does everyone know?"

"Yes."

"I see. As expected."

"They seem to think their relationship is a secret, so we're pretending not to know."

"......"

Should I call this kind or cruel?

After pondering for a moment, I gave up trying to decide.

"In this recent <Survival Law of the Jungle> filming, was there anything that could potentially cause issues? I was thinking we should prepare a response at the company level."

"Hmm. Nothing really comes to mind. I don't think there's anything particularly noteworthy."

That's what I thought. The content was generally too ordinary.

"Well, we didn't encounter any dangerous animals, nor did we swim in the sea to catch fish directly... We didn't meet any indigenous minority groups either. Really, all we did was hunt for ingredients and cook meals all day."

Would that even be entertaining? I'm not sure how it will be edited, but from my perspective, it seemed like it would just be a series of unremarkable episodes.

There's an idol, a popular actress... An Derek also has quite a fan base from 'Cold Cooking', so the ratings shouldn't be too bad.

"...Is that so?"

Jo I-ruk gave me a doubtful look. But this time, I could confidently assert.

"Yes. I think it will just pass by without much fuss."

"I understand for now."

The 'for now' is a bit irritating, but well, once the broadcast starts, Jo I-ruk will naturally feel at ease too.

'This time, I really didn't do anything special, right?'

That's what I thought.

However, after <Survival Law of the Jungle> aired...

I personally experienced how completely wrong my thoughts had been.

Ring ring!

Ring ring!

"......"

"......"

I was at a loss for words at the sound of phones ringing from all directions.

The other employees standing next to me also had expressions as if their souls had been completely shaken.

"...CEO. Should we answer the phones?"

"No. Let's just leave them."

Responding to each incoming call would paralyze our main business. I even considered cutting the phone lines.

"What on earth is going on?"

Jo I-ruk muttered in a low voice. That's exactly what I want to know. That's the question I want to ask.

The one who answered Jo I-ruk's question was Hyun Ye-won, who had been dealing with those phone calls until just now.

"People are all asking about buying the grill that appeared in <Survival Law of the Jungle>..."

What?