God-Given Business Genius - Chapter 182

I hurriedly drove my car. After perfectly parking within the lines, I immediately headed towards the elevator.

10th floor, 9th floor, 8th floor... Today, the descending speed felt unusually slow. I kept checking the time on my phone. I hope I'm not late.

The thought of potentially missing an important event made me feel anxious.

Ding.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, I stepped in. I pressed the designated floor number and repeatedly hit the close button.

After a moment of patience, when the elevator doors opened, I turned right and stood in front of the entrance.

Phew.

Checking the time, it was exactly on the hour. Fortunately, I wasn't late.

Beep beep beep.

After entering the door lock password and opening the door.

"Oh? He's here, he's here!"

"Right on time."

I heard bustling voices and signs of movement from inside. Shortly after, the owners of those voices flocked to the entrance.

"Good work~"

Jung Da-on, who greeted me with a bright smile, and,

"I heard you might be a bit late. You didn't rush, did you?"

Baek Jae-ha, with a worried look.

As I took off my shoes, I confirmed the most important thing first.

"You didn't start the announcement without me, did you?"

"Pfft. Is that the first thing you ask as soon as you arrive?"

"Of course."

"We haven't started yet, so don't worry."

Jung Da-on said with a smirk.

Phew, that's a relief. I couldn't miss this once-in-a-lifetime event.

"What's so important about this..."

Baek Jae-ha muttered, seemingly a bit embarrassed.

"It's extremely important."

"Absolutely."

As we both nodded, Baek Jae-ha sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"Alright. Now that Woo-yeon is here too, shall we start?"

"Wow~"

Jung Da-on and I sat at the living room table, while Baek Jae-ha went into the room. What he brought out was...

A CSAT preliminary score sheet!

"This isn't definitive. There might be marking errors or something."

Baek Jae-ha added, as if making an excuse.

Thump thump.

I felt a painful sensation as if my heart was being squeezed tight. It's understandable, given that this is the result of months of hard work.

Of course, the results wouldn't be as good as those of students who had prepared for much longer.

Since Baek Jae-ha said he had postponed checking his CSAT preliminary scores until now, today was the day Jung Da-on and I had promised to do it together with him.

"I'm so nervous. What should we do?"

"Phew. Okay. I've downloaded the answer sheet."

While Jung Da-on and I were all flustered, Baek Jae-ha remained calm. He sat across from us and took out a red pen.

"Please start with Korean. Type B."

"Alright. Just a moment."

Jung Da-on took a deep breath and started calling out the answers in order.

"Number 1 is 1. Number 2 is 3. Number 3 is 1. Number 4 is..."

Check, check, check, check.

I couldn't believe my eyes. What's going on? It seemed like the preliminary score sheet was being rained on with X marks. Even so, getting the first Korean question wrong seemed a bit much.

After a brief moment of bewilderment, I quickly realized what was wrong by looking at Jung Da-on's phone screen.

"Hey! These are the Type A answers!"

"Oh! You're right!"

No wonder nothing matched. I felt like I aged ten years.

"Sorry. I'll call out Type B answers again. Number 1 is 2, Number 2 is 1, Number 3 is 3..."

Swish, swish, swish.

This time, the rhythm of the pen was different. Seeing the circles accumulating neatly, I felt excited too.

"Number 4 is 5, Number 5 is 4, Number 6 is..."

Jung Da-on's voice continued to resound for quite some time.

⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱

Korean: Grade 2, Mathematics: Grade 3, English: Grade 1, Electives: Grade 3 and Grade 2 respectively.

This was the CSAT score sheet Baek Jae-ha received.

"This is much better than expected, isn't it?"

"Yeah. He seems to have a surprisingly solid foundation."

"I was worried because he started preparing late, but this is a relief. With these scores, isn't it enough to get into a Seoul university?"

I was excitedly chattering, feeling as happy as if it were my own results. What's this? Baek Jae-ha, this guy, I knew he was a genius with cooking ideas, but is he good at studying too?

Feeling newfound admiration, I looked at Baek Jae-ha, who smirked and said,

"I liked class time the most."

Class time?

Isn't that what most students hate the most? As I tilted my head in confusion, Baek Jae-ha briefly added,

"Because no one bullied me then."

"......"

In that answer, I could glimpse the pain he had endured.

Island villages are small and closed-off. What it means to live there without proper guardians to protect you. It was only then that I began to reconsider once more.

"During lunch breaks, I went to the library."

It was a familiar story.

I knew the reason why.

"...Because the troublesome kids became quiet there."

As I muttered quietly, Baek Jae-ha looked slightly surprised. When our eyes met, he smiled gently.

"That's right. That's why I liked the library. I would read various books, or pretend to study while flipping through textbooks. Naturally, I ended up learning things."

How could I not understand that feeling?

I reached out and ruffled Baek Jae-ha's hair vigorously.

"?!"

Seeing his surprised expression, I smiled as wide as I could.

"You've worked hard."

Not just the CSAT preparation, but all those past days. It was because Baek Jae-ha had endured well that he was blossoming today.

You were always meant to bloom. Just as I had seen in my previous life. Even when people trampled on you and spat at you, you remained steadfast.

I merely provided a small support, and already it's bearing such fruit.

That made me truly proud.

"Alright. Shall I show off my skills for a bit? Jae-ha, do you have all the basic ingredients here?"

"Huh? Oh, yes."

"Why are you standing there in a daze? I've come to bring side dishes a few times, but I don't know well. Just give me a brief explanation. I'll make something delicious for you."

I rolled up my sleeves, thinking of dishes I could make on the spot with the available ingredients. Jung Da-on immediately chimed in.

"Wow~! What an honor! A homemade dish by our CEO Song."

"That's right. Consider it a family honor."

"Ah, skip the chicken feet and tteokbokki. I'm tired of eating those at the shop."

"Okay, noted. How about you, Jae-ha?"

I patted his shoulder and asked, and Baek Jae-ha seemed to snap back to reality.

"Yes?"

"I'm asking if there's any food you don't like."

"...Anything is fine."

"Alright. Then."

Looking inside the refrigerator, I found most of the basic ingredients. It seemed like he had been focused on developing new menu items even at home.

Thinking about what would be good for all of us to eat, I blurted out,

"How about jjim-dak?"

[ TN: Jjim-dak (찜닭) is a popular Korean dish that combines braised chicken with a flavorful soy-based sauce, vegetables, and sometimes glass noodles (dangmyeon, 당면). The name translates to "braised chicken" in English, with "jjim" (찜) meaning "braised" or "steamed" and "dak" (닭) meaning "chicken." ]

⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱

Steam rose from the chicken, which was glistening with a deep brown color.

The glass noodles underneath were soaked in the broth, and one could imagine the taste even without eating it.

"Wow, this is insane."

Jung Da-on's eyes sparkled as she licked her lips.

"Let's eat."

As soon as I finished speaking, Jung Da-on started serving the jjim-dak onto small plates. Watching her, I spoke to Baek Jae-ha.

"The break I gave you for working hard on CSAT preparation will end soon. Do you need more? If you want to rest more, I can give you another week."

"No, it's fine. New employees have joined, I can't just be playing around."

Baek Jae-ha replied calmly.

"That's right. You haven't met the new employees yet, right? They're twins, a brother and sister, both very capable. When you start going to school, you'll have even less time. Make full use of them then."

Baek Jae-ha's true ability lay in his 'ideas'. Those ideas, which couldn't be bought even with millions, could actually be produced without Baek Jae-ha having to be in the kitchen.

Han-hae would refine Baek Jae-ha's ideas to fit the year's trends, and Han-byeol would implement them.

What a perfect triangle this was.

"I will."

While we'd need to consult about regular admissions to know exactly which university he'd be attending, as long as it was in Seoul, there wouldn't be any problem balancing work and studies.

Feeling a strange sense of pride, I ruffled Baek Jae-ha's hair once more as he was eating the jjim-dak.

What a praiseworthy kid.

"?"

When Baek Jae-ha looked at me with a puzzled expression, I just grinned.

"This is nice. All of us being together like this."

Doesn't it feel like the end of the year?

Originally, I didn't particularly like winter.

Every winter, I had to curl up shivering in the cold. When I had no money, I had to scrimp on heating costs just to barely make ends meet from month to month.

But now, I wasn't afraid of the coming winter or the approaching cold wave.

"Jae-ha. Shall we go see the first sunrise of the new year, just us?"

"First sunrise...!"

Baek Jae-ha's face lit up slightly. That's right. He probably hasn't properly experienced such family-like events. Just like I hadn't.

"Hey, include me too!"

Jung Da-on interjected, squeezing between us.

"Are you going to leave me out? What about me?! Are you throwing me away like an old shoe now that the CSAT is over?!"

"You should be with Owner Han. Where do you think you're going?"

"How old do you think I am to still be following my parents around? I can spend time with friends too."

Jung Da-on insisted that she absolutely had to come along. She looked ready to secretly follow us if we said no.

Pfft. I couldn't help but smile at her behavior.

"Alright. Then the three of us can go see it."

"Really? Is that a promise?"

"Sure. Don't worry, just get permission from Owner Han."

"O~kay. That's a piece of cake."

Looking at her cheerful face, I thought to myself,

'Each year is different.'

In my previous life, I was busy with meaningless social gatherings with business partners, and last year, although I went to Bong Kang-min's restaurant, I essentially spent it alone.

But now I have friends to spend the end of the year with. Aren't I progressing year by year?

At this rate, in a few more years, I might even have family gatherings.

I think a smile spread across my face because I was pleased with that change.

Ding.

Yes. That was until I received one email.