God-Given Business Genius - Chapter 171

Hyun Ye-won stormed out, fuming. The housekeeper who had been helping with the food hurriedly came out and asked:

"Are you leaving already? We haven't even served all the dishes yet."

"...Something urgent came up. I'll be going first."

There was no need to openly display the family discord. Hyun Ye-won took a breath and offered a hasty excuse.

"Even if you're leaving, take some side dishes with you. I made some jangjorim and other banchan. You like those, don't you?"

"I know your cooking skills best, Aunt. ...But I didn't bring my car today. I'll take some next time."

Just as she was about to step out after saying this, she heard:

"Hyun Ye-won."

As she turned around at the voice behind her, suddenly—

"!"

She reflexively caught something flying towards her. Looking at what she caught, it was a car key. One with the familiar logo of an imported luxury car brand.

Raising her gaze, she saw a familiar face. It was Hyun Tae-sung.

Her half-brother, exactly two years older than her.

"Take this and go. It's a company car."

"......"

"Grandfather told me to give it to you. Don't look at me with such a suspicious face, will you?"

At Hyun Tae-sung's words, Hyun Ye-won finally understood with an "Ah." She knew well that without Hyun Mu-jung's orders, Hyun Tae-sung wouldn't voluntarily do anything for her benefit.

"Alright. I'll return the car when I have time later."

"Whatever suits you."

"Aunt, could you please pack some side dishes? I'll gratefully enjoy them."

"Oh my, just wait a moment. I'll pack them for you right away."

As the housekeeper busily began packing the side dishes, Hyun Ye-won and Hyun Tae-sung were left alone in front of the kitchen.

Hyun Ye-won shot a subtle glance at Hyun Tae-sung.

'Why aren't you going back inside?'

Responding to her blatant gaze, Hyun Tae-sung shrugged.

"What's the point of going back in? All I'd see is Mother and Father arguing, right?"

"True."

By now, an intense psychological battle must be unfolding at the dining table. Father trying to insert Hyun Tae-sung into the company, and Mother wanting to create a position for Hyun Ye-won.

They must be employing all sorts of schemes to persuade Hyun Mu-jung.

Just imagining it was exhausting. The most lamentable part was that Hyun Ye-won herself was at the center of it all.

"Still, thanks."

"For what?"

"For telling them you're not interested in <Hyeonmu>. It makes things much easier for me."

Hyun Tae-sung didn't hide his ambition. It was no secret that he was eyeing the position of <Hyeonmu>'s successor. There was nothing particularly surprising about it.

"Think what you want."

When Hyun Ye-won responded indifferently, it seemed to provoke something in Hyun Tae-sung, who frowned deeply.

"Since you're at it, why don't you make it absolutely clear? I'd be grateful if you said you'd leave the family register altogether."

"Haha. Mother would kill me."

"Or you could try convincing Grandfather."

Hyun Tae-sung muttered in a sharp voice.

"I can clearly see that he still considers you the top priority. Can't you see it? Or are you just pretending not to? Because good things will just fall into your lap if you stay still?"

"That's enough. I don't have time to listen to your complaints."

Hyun Ye-won responded with an equally sharp tone.

"If you really want Grandfather to publicly declare you as the successor, you should think about proving yourself. Why are you whining to me?"

"Whining? Is that how this sounds to your ears?"

Hyun Tae-sung didn't back down. His voice continued in a low growl.

"You've always been Grandfather's first choice without any effort. More than me, who's struggling and trying hard. Why? Because you're the daughter of the legal wife and I'm the son of a concubine?"

"Watch your mouth."

"Is there any other reason? I'm older, and I'm the eldest son in the family register. I graduated with a business degree and even studied abroad to learn about company management. And in that time, what about you?"

Hyun Tae-sung glared at Hyun Ye-won with blazing eyes.

"You just graduated from some average Seoul university, in humanities no less, and you've been living however you want. And now what? <The Song>? Of all places, you chose such a hole-in-the-wall..."

"I said, watch your mouth!"

"Hah, forget it. There's a limit to being immature."

Hyun Tae-sung sighed deeply and rubbed his face. After running his hand through his hair, he spoke in an irritated tone.

"Why do you think we all gather once a month for a family meal? Simple bonding? As if. Didn't you hear them deliberately bringing up company management talk?"

"......"

"This is successor training. Without you even realizing it, you're being indoctrinated with information about how the company operates."

Nonsense.

Hyun Ye-won frowned deeply.

"Don't talk such rubbish. Do you have to attach such grandiose reasons to occasional family meals?"

Her words came out sharply, thinking he was nitpicking over nothing. But Hyun Tae-sung didn't back down.

"Hyun Ye-won, do you still not understand our family? 'Family meal'? Does that suit our family at all?"

No. Not at all.

That's what made Hyun Ye-won feel even more miserable.

She continued, with a mocking smile aimed at Hyun Tae-sung:

"You don't know anything."

Just as Hyun Tae-sung finished speaking, the housekeeper came out with a bundle of side dishes.

"Whew. This should be enough. If you need any more side dishes, just let me know anytime."

"...Thank you."

Hyun Ye-won took the side dishes and roughly stuffed the car key into her pocket.

As Hyun Ye-won opened the door and stepped out, Hyun Tae-sung muttered quietly to her back:

"Make your position clear. That's the better path for both you and me."

Clack.

The door closed, and Hyun Ye-won stood there for a moment.

It's strange. She had heard it wasn't that cold today. Why did her heart feel so chilly?

'It's cold.'

Thinking this, Hyun Ye-won walked away with heavy steps.

Oddly enough, a corner of her heart felt utterly empty.

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It was the second filming day of <Song Woo-yeon's Alley Secrets>.

About two weeks had passed since the last filming. Amidst the busy staff bustling around, familiar faces could be seen.

"Oh, CEO Song~!"

I bowed my head in greeting to Im Hye-eun, who was waving her hand enthusiastically. Beside her, Do-kyung was also smiling brightly, welcoming me.

"Have you been well?"

"Oh my. Of course~! CEO Song, did you get home safely after our last wrap-up party? We drank quite a bit, didn't we?"

"I suffered from quite a hangover the next day."

"I knew it~ I thought that might happen."

Im Hye-eun chatted amicably. Not long after, PD Kim Hui-seong appeared and greeted me.

"Chef Song, hello~ Today we're getting into the actual solutions. So, how about it? Are the new recipes ready?"

"Don't worry."

I couldn't hide the smile that involuntarily spread across my face.

"I've brought some very interesting recipes."

"Oh. I'm already excited. You know, you showcased so many amazing menus on <Raid the Refrigerator>."

"I tend to prefer bold presentations."

The problem is that sometimes they're a bit too bold.

When Chef An Derek was beautifully drawing with sauce, I tried to follow along, but due to my disastrous drawing skills, it ended up looking somewhat grotesque.

'I wish they'd stop milking that scene.'

It was still one of the scenes that never failed to appear in <Raid the Refrigerator> legend compilations. How embarrassing.

"For today's filming, we'll do the solutions for the other places first, and end with the army base stew restaurant."

"The filming order has changed a bit from last time?"

"We think the army base stew place will be best positioned towards the end. Since there's a scene of you walking through the alley, Chef Song. If the alley goes from bright to dark, viewers might find it awkward."

In any case, it seemed I just needed to know that the army base stew restaurant would be last. I nodded.

That's not difficult at all.

"Then, I look forward to working with you today~"

"Yes."

"We'll start filming soon!"

Not long after, clap!

The main filming began.

The shoots at the kimbap shop and the tonkatsu restaurant proceeded smoothly.

Time flew by as I talked about customer service techniques, cost ratio calculations, and so on.

And so, all that remained was the highly anticipated Mother and Son Army Base Stew restaurant.

"Well then, shall we go?"

I bowed slightly and walked down the alley towards the army base stew restaurant.

"Oh. They've changed the sign."

The first thing that caught my eye was the new signboard. The sign that had mentioned 'Uijeongbu' was gone, replaced by a new name.

'Mother and Son Army Base Stew', a simple name but intuitive and not bad.

As long as it clearly conveys what the restaurant is selling, that's half the battle won.

It would also be good for people to know it by the same name it will be introduced as on the broadcast.

Nodding in approval, I entered the restaurant.

"Welcome—, oh!"

As soon as I entered, I came face to face with the son of the pair, Park Jun-beom.

I smiled warmly and first asked how he had been.

"Have you been well? Your attire looks neat today."

"Ah, yes... Because of what you said last time. I'm trying my best to dress neatly."

His sheepish smile was quite pleasant to see. The fact that he had maintained this appearance until now was quite remarkable.

"You've done well. It looks much neater."

It felt good, giving an overall sense of increased trustworthiness.

"Oh my, look who it is. CEO Song has arrived!"

The mother of the pair, Choi Mi-seon, said as she came out from the kitchen.

"Owner~ Have you been well? I've been receiving photos of your menu research."

I had heard that Choi Mi-seon was sending photos of her intense new menu development efforts three or four times a week through the production team.

I had looked through them all before the filming started. There were many interesting ideas.

"You have some new menu items in mind, right?"

"Yes, I have a couple of candidates. I've narrowed it down to just a couple after much consideration."

"Well done. Shall we talk more as we eat?"

I was curious about what new menu she had prepared. I had seen some of the ingredients, but I hadn't seen the finished product yet.

"Yes. I'll prepare it now."

After waiting in the dining area for a moment, Choi Mi-seon soon brought out a pot along with a gas burner.

Clack.

The army base stew she set down was... huh?

If my eyes weren't deceiving me, the color and smell of this broth was clearly...

Choi Mi-seon, with a grave expression, introduced the first new menu item.

"It's chocolate army base stew."

Pardon?