God-Given Business Genius - Chapter 187

Could she be JC Group's hidden illegitimate child?

'...He must be thinking the same thing.'

It's obvious without even looking. Moreover, his complexion turning pale as he stared at me blankly suggested my prediction had hit the mark.

'Handling Hwang Tae-in is this easy and simple.'

Hwang Tae-in was a follower of money and power. Labels like <Hyeonmu> weren't particularly important to him.

That's probably why he blindly follows Chairman Hyun Jung-hu and his son Hyun Tae-seong.

'In short, he's someone with a clear hierarchy in his mind.'

I just need to shake him once. If I can place myself high enough in Hwang Tae-in's mental hierarchy, he'll lower his tail to me according to the survival strategy he's used until now.

'I've been to this private club before. We were quite close when collaborating with Hyeonmu.'

It means I've also enjoyed the VIP privileges of the club owned by the Hyeonmu chaebol family. Thanks to that, I could pretend to be familiar with this place.

But to Hwang Tae-in, who doesn't know these details, it probably looked like a completely different kind of signal.

'Even Hyun Tae-seong was originally an illegitimate child. And going up one generation, illegitimate children aren't uncommon in chaebol families.'

A CEO of a rapidly successful small to medium-sized enterprise appearing like a comet, incredibly young age, unclear background.

Add to that the familiarity with the private club, and the picture is complete.

Hwang Tae-in swallowed nervously and asked.

"It seems you have a special connection with JC Group."

A special connection, he says.

I had quite a relationship with them before my regression. But now, we were nothing to each other.

'Ah, JC Group's joint investment proposal?'

Of course, it's a lie.

JC Group is currently focused on conquering the global market, somewhat neglecting the domestic market. They wouldn't have time to closely examine a small company like <The Song> in the midst of that.

But that's something I can say because I understand JC Group's internal affairs to some extent.

'If I claim that a proposal came from under the table, Director Hwang Tae-in wouldn't be able to refute it.'

If questioned later, I could just say that while the proposal did come, it fell through during negotiations.

But just the suggestion that JC Group is eyeing us, and the possibility that I might be JC Group's illegitimate child...

<Hyeonmu> becomes more cautious about being forceful.

'It's what they call protecting a shrimp's back in a whale fight. Something like that.'

It's about maintaining balance by using the power struggle between two giant corporations.

"That's right."

I replied with a smile, and Hwang Tae-in's face said, 'I knew it. That explains it.'

He's probably retracing <The Song>'s bizarrely successful path.

When people see something too unrealistic, they tend to want to rationalize it with their own logic. He must be thinking that <The Song>'s success had JC Group as a hidden backer.

'Well, if I were a middle-aged man, he might have considered the possibility that this was bluffing.'

Director Hwang Tae-in must have done negotiations like this countless times. Many companies must have tried to use this strategy.

Yet, the fact that he fell for my scheme so completely...

'Sometimes a youthful face and incredibly young age can be quite useful.'

The power of this outward appearance must have been significant.

I didn't like that it seemed to lower the credibility of what I was saying, but it can be helpful at times like this.

"I see. I understand. I didn't realize."

"Of course. It's confidential, after all."

This implies that the joint investment proposal between JC Group and <The Song> is confidential. It could be interpreted with a slightly different nuance depending on how it's heard.

In any case, I had never explicitly stated with my own mouth that I was JC Group's illegitimate child.

Even if there were a recording device somewhere in this room, my offense would be selling JC Group's name, not pretending to be their illegitimate child.

This is quite a significant difference.

"Ahem. Since JC Group made such a proposal, I can understand why our <Hyeonmu>'s proposal might seem lackluster. We'll review it once more on our end."

"Yes, please do that."

Probably no revised proposal will come back. Who would want to acquire <The Song>, which is essentially JC's hidden subsidiary, at a premium?

But I smiled brightly, pretending to know nothing. Pretending to be oblivious was one of my specialties.

"Well then, let's stop talking about boring business and enjoy some wine, shall we? This is quite an art."

"Hahaha. Yes, let's do that."

Hwang Tae-in raised his wine glass, watching my reactions.

Clink.

As the light sound of glasses touching resonated, I had a feeling while swallowing the fragrant wine.

That the issue of the acquisition would never be brought up again.

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Bang!

Hyun Ye-won slammed the table so hard it made a rough noise. The idle thought crossed my mind that her palm must hurt.

"How on earth did you do it?!"

Right. This must be what she was most curious about, coming to find me right away.

Finding her reaction amusing, I deliberately kept my eyes on the documents and asked nonchalantly.

"Do what?"

"T-This acquisition merger matter!"

"Oh, that. After discussing the details, the conditions were quite poor, so I just refused."

"'Just refused'?!"

Hyun Ye-won looked like she might faint.

"You didn't just refuse! Otherwise, how could that persistent Hyun Tae-seong give up and walk away at once? I know better than anyone that he's not that kind of person."

Well.

Even the great Hyun Tae-seong would have had to let this one go. One wrong move and it could have sparked an all-out war with JC Group.

Of course, since I'm not actually JC Group's illegitimate child, that wouldn't happen. But at least they had to consider that possibility.

"...What on earth did you do for Hyeonmu to remain quiet even after refusing the acquisition merger?"

"Hmm."

"Normally, they should have at least played the media. Or caused disruptions in the supply chain. But neither has happened. This, this is impossible...!"

"What's impossible about it? It's happening right now."

I shrugged my shoulders.

"CEO~!"

Hyun Ye-won called out to me, elongating the last syllable. Her tone suggested she knew exactly what I meant but was asking anyway.

Can't be helped.

I put down the document file and looked straight at Hyun Ye-won.

"Magic stops being magic once you know the trick. I want to preserve your innocence, so just know that I somehow resolved it."

"...!"

"And from now on, if you're thinking of submitting a resignation letter or anything like that, make sure you've thought it over for at least a week before submitting."

"Ugh."

Hyun Ye-won muttered with a gloomy face.

"Back then... I'm sorry. I did it because I felt like I was only causing trouble..."

"Once Hyun Ye-won-ssi joined our company, it's also my duty as the CEO to protect our employees from unjust external attacks."

I continued calmly.

"So next time, don't worry and just talk to me honestly. You did nothing wrong in this case either."

If anyone did wrong, it was that Hyun Tae-seong.

'I wonder how long until the drug scandal breaks? It would be nice if we could move up the timeline a bit...'

While thinking that, I suddenly realized Hyun Ye-won was too quiet. When I turned to look, Hyun Ye-won had her head bowed deeply.

She's not crying, is she?

My heart seemed to sink, but just then Hyun Ye-won lifted her head.

This time, there were no tear marks. Her eyes were slightly red, but more noticeable was her determined expression, as if she had made some decision.

"CEO. I may not like my father very much, but there's one thing he taught me that I try to keep."

"?"

"Repay both kindness and enmity tenfold."

Hyun Ye-won's eyes were so serious as she said this that I couldn't even tell her not to joke.

"Someday, I'll definitely repay this kindness."

"...Well, for that, you'll first need to somehow get rid of Team Leader Jo behind you."

As I pointed behind her, Hyun Ye-won turned her head with a "Huh?" There, Jo I-ruk was glaring at Hyun Ye-won through the window with a face like a yaksha.

"Eek! Oh, now that I think about it, the documents you asked for this morning...! Ahhh!"

Hyun Ye-won jumped up on the spot and dashed out of the CEO's office. Before closing the door, she didn't forget to bow politely.

Click.

After the door closed, I could see Jo I-ruk saying something to Hyun Ye-won through the window.

"Pfft."

She must have forgotten her work while worrying about this issue.

I tapped the desk with my fingertips, smiling pleasantly.

'I'll be looking forward to it, Hyun Ye-won-ssi.'

Because someday, that bumbling Hyeonmu young lady will become my goddess of victory.

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On a day when the cold was biting enough to make fingertips ache.

As soon as I opened the refrigerator, I frowned at the pungent odor that assaulted my nostrils. I took out one of the ingredients neatly stacked and prepared inside.

The moment I brought it to my nose to smell, nausea welled up.

"Ugh!"

I nearly vomited what I had just eaten. I glared at the inside of the refrigerator with burning eyes.

"Owner, have you been serving this to customers as is? Until now?"

I could barely contain my rising anger.

"This is rotten! The smell is so strong. You just leave this in the refrigerator?!"

It was the filming day for what would later become one of the most renowned episodes of <Song Woo-yeon's Alley Secrets>.