God-Given Business Genius - Chapter 201

I closed my eyes tightly and then opened them. Whew. As I let out a deep sigh, it seemed the excitement was subsiding a bit.

A cold wind brushed my cheeks. I stood there blankly for a long time.

'It's okay. Nothing happened.'

While comforting myself like that.

The truth is, the more franchises increase, the harder it becomes to control the franchisees. It's unavoidable.

As the number of franchises grows, various unsavory elements tend to mix in, and there are bound to be low-quality individuals anywhere.

Not just for that reason, but there were countless instances of friction arising from conflicting interests between the headquarters and franchises.

'I'm quite used to it now. I've been burned enough times.'

That's partly why I reacted more sharply to Kim Jong-chun's words.

If I didn't nip it in the bud now, there was no telling how it might come back later. And I knew all too well how easily people's hearts can change.

'This is why it's better to clearly separate business and personal matters.'

There are surely those who disapprove of my being on friendly terms with some franchisees. And incidents like this can happen.

'Still, I'm glad Ahjussi didn't bring this up with bad intentions.'

If Kim Jong-chun had really been thinking far ahead, intending to exploit my weaknesses...

There could have been no more painful betrayal than that.

'Anyone can make mistakes. Moreover, the current Ahjussi is much softer than before the regression.'

The pre-regression Kim Jong-chun, who had been through thick and thin with me, wouldn't have made such a mistake.

It seems walking the smooth path isn't always the right answer.

Still, I gave him a sharp warning, so he probably won't have any foolish thoughts.

'...Will he?'

I felt anxiety rising from within me.

Didn't pre-regression <Hyeonmu> also approach with a friendly face? Moreover, we were quite good business partners.

The despair of being betrayed by someone I trusted so completely...

"......"

Feeling a natural heaviness in my chest, I gripped my clothes tightly. Just imagining it made my breath catch and my breathing quicken.

I felt dizzy and my body swayed. Why am I like this? I even had the illusion that the ground beneath me was sinking.

My limbs were going limp like someone sinking into a swamp.

'Huh?'

It was at that moment.

In an instant, my vision turned black and I completely lost my balance.

It felt like my head was spinning. I vaguely felt my center of gravity tilting sideways.

Thud!

"Woo-yeon!"

"...Huh?"

For a very brief moment when my consciousness faded, when I came to my senses, I felt someone firmly supporting my body.

As I blinked a few times, a familiar face appeared through my blurry vision.

"Jung Da-on?"

As I looked at him in confusion, Jung Da-on slightly furrowed his brow. Could he make such a frowning face? Such a silly thought flashed through my foggy mind.

"What are you doing? It's dangerous."

"Huh?"

"You were standing here for a while, so I was watching to see if something was wrong... If it wasn't for me, you could have been seriously hurt. You know that?"

How long has it been since I've been scolded like this by someone? It was such an unfamiliar situation that I just blinked stupidly.

Jung Da-on pulled me towards him and helped me stand upright again. Looking at the frozen ground, I finally grasped the situation.

'I could have cracked my head on the ice.'

If I had fallen straight down, I might have broken something. I clutched my startled chest.

"Thank you."

"Did something happen? This isn't like you. Why are you acting like this?"

Jung Da-on bent down to match my eye level. He seemed to have noticed that I was still in a daze.

"No. It's nothing like that. Just a little..."

Thinking about what happened with Kim Jong-chun made my head throb again. But I couldn't pour out everything to Jung Da-on, so I brushed it off vaguely.

"I'm just tired. I've been busy lately."

It wasn't a lie. Everyone at <The Song> knew that I was so busy that even two of me wouldn't be enough.

Although Jung Da-on wasn't an employee of <The Song>, he probably knew roughly from what he heard from Han Mi-ae or Baek Jae-ha.

"I was going to go in and rest now. I thought about seeing Han sajang-nim's face before going in, but I can't. You give my regards instead."

I said that and waved my hand casually. Even that felt as laborious as if a heavy weight was tied to my wrist.

Just as I was about to take a step:

"Wait a moment."

Jung Da-on held me back and covered my forehead with his palm.

What's this?

"As I thought."

As I looked up at him with a puzzled face, Jung Da-on had a rather serious expression.

"You have a fever."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. Your forehead is really hot. How long has it been like this?"

Hearing Jung Da-on's words, I touched my forehead with my own hand. Maybe because of the cold wind, it didn't feel that hot.

"It's not though?"

"It's meaningless if you use your own hand!"

He looked like he was about to die of frustration.

"Since when... Hah, never mind. How would you know?"

"Isn't your hand just cold?"

"I'm telling you it's not."

That can't be right. As I kept touching my forehead with my hand, Jung Da-on let out a deep sigh.

"This won't do. I'll take you home. Go in and get some rest."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"I still have paperwork to organize."

I mean, I was planning to meet Kim Jong-chun briefly and then head back to the office. Hearing my words, Jung Da-on asked with a look of disgust.

"It's 1 AM now, you know?"

"Yeah."

"Will the company go bankrupt if you don't finish it today?"

"Well, not exactly, but..."

"Then go home. Your rest is the priority."

Jung Da-on decided the priority on his own.

'Was it because of the fever that my body felt so limp?'

I thought it was because of the ordeal with Kim Jong-chun. Come to think of it, I had been feeling chilly lately.

I haven't been sleeping well recently either. After suffering from overwork, did my physical condition suddenly worsen when the stress exploded earlier?

It was a plausible inference. I nodded and acknowledged it.

"I guess I'm not feeling well."

"Right?"

"But that's not a reason not to go to work."

"......"

Jung Da-on slapped his forehead and pressed his lips tightly.

But I was serious. Work is work, and my body being unwell is a separate matter. Rather, it was my mistake for not taking proper care of myself, so it would be more correct to ensure it doesn't affect my work.

'I've become quite weak.'

To fall ill from just this much overwork. Before the regression, I used to stay up for days, fill in for part-timers who suddenly couldn't come, and then manage inventory on top of that.

'Should I do some physical training?'

I was wondering if I should squeeze out more time from my sleeping hours to make time for exercise, when:

Ring ring ring.

I saw Jung Da-on contacting someone.

"Oh. Jae-ha."

"?"

Calling Baek Jae-ha at this hour? It's time for the new country's children to be in dreamland.

What are you doing, not letting the kid grow? As I frowned, Jung Da-on quickly continued:

"Is now a good time? Sorry for the late hour. But Woo-yeon is being ridiculously stubborn right now. You need to take her away."

"What are you saying,"

"Yeah. We're in front of the soup rice shop. The business isn't over yet so it's hard for me to leave for long. She's not feeling well but insists on going to work, so you must! You must take her home. Got it? Yeah. Come quickly!"

Click.

Jung Da-on hung up the phone and looked at me, saying:

A subtle charisma, unlike usual, could be felt from his brightly smiling face. While I hesitated, Jung Da-on spoke, emphasizing each word:

"When Jae-ha comes, you're going home quietly, okay?"

"I'm really fine, I tell you. It's not bad enough that I can't work."

Feeling like I was about to be sent home without a choice, I tried to protest one more time, but was completely ignored.

"Should I call our mom out here?"

"Ugh."

I knew exactly how Han Mi-ae would react if she came out.

She'd look at me with teary eyes, all worried, and try to send me home with some porridge or health food.

A get-well visit would be the least of it; rumors that I was sick in bed would spread in all directions. Just thinking about the flood of concerned messages made my head throb.

"You'll be good, right?"

Looking at Jung Da-on's brightly smiling face, I could only nod weakly.

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-We never talked about this!

Bang, the sound of a desk being hit startled me awake, chasing away my drowsiness. And I couldn't help but be shocked by the scene unfolding before my eyes.

'That's... me, isn't it?'

Yes. To be precise, it was me from before the regression.

A face slightly older than now was set in a hard expression. A face imbued with depth from the passage of time, eyes glinting with a sharp light, and trembling lips.

The pre-regression me was angry, not caring that my well-tailored suit was getting wrinkled.

-Even if <Hyeonmu> provided a large amount of initial investment capital, it's basically an expansion of our franchise brand's business. So how...!

-CEO Song. It's us who would be in trouble if you change your words now.

I knew this flow of conversation very well. Of course I did, it was a conversation I had gone over thousands, tens of thousands of times.

-Isn't it clearly stated in the contract? 'According to this contract, both parties will initially hold 50% of the shares each, but have the right to secure up to 70% of shares in case of additional investment in the future.'

The man hidden in the shadows asked nonchalantly, crossing his legs.

-So <Hyeonmu> is simply proceeding with additional investment and buying more shares. Is there a problem with that?

There was no way <The Song> could have as much cash liquidity as <Hyeonmu>. This was saying they would snatch away the fruit we had carefully cultivated.

'The back of my head naturally ached.'

Even recalling it now made the back of my head throb.

It was betrayal. A very painful one at that.