God-Given Business Genius - Chapter 202

When <The Song> had grown considerably in size, we began to target overseas markets beyond the domestic one.

It was just as we were expanding our branches one by one, experiencing the foreign markets that differed from the domestic one firsthand.

That's when <Hyeonmu> came with an appetizing proposal.

'It was about establishing a joint venture.'

I was acutely feeling the need for various technologies and approaches for a franchise brand that had already succeeded domestically to succeed overseas as well. Especially when we were frustrated by not being able to overcome that 'guanxi' in China, I can't express how deeply I felt the necessity of connections.

At that time, Hyeonmu, which reached out its hand, felt like a lifeline descending from heaven.

<The Song>'s brand, <Hyeonmu>'s capital and network.

The idea of combining these two to create a new joint venture seemed like a good proposal at first glance.

'The initial shareholding ratio was 50:50.'

I also liked <Hyeonmu>'s attitude of emphasizing equal partnership.

Until they soon revealed their true colors.

I scrutinized the face of the man I could never forget. A face that seemed similar to Hyun Ye-won's, yet not similar at all.

It was Chairman Hyun Jung-hu, the owner of <Hyeonmu>.

Even the wrinkles created by the layers of time looked like glorious medals. If it weren't for his graying hair, he would have looked much younger.

His intelligent gaze, belying his age, seemed to pierce through me. Sometimes when meeting Chairman Hyun Jung-hu, I had to lower my eyes.

'Chairman Hyun Jung-hu... with that kind face, he declared to my face that he would swallow up the company.'

It was the memory of that very day.

The me in my memory asked with a face still not recovered from shock. It was a face wanting to grasp even the slightest hope.

-Additional investment? How much of the shares do you intend to take?

-CEO Song, why do you say it like that? As if I'm making additional investments because I want the shares. It's just that I'm saying I'll invest more capital because it's necessary. You should be grateful, shouldn't you?

-.......

-Other places are in an uproar asking for more budget allocations. Are you this averse even when I say I'll make additional investments?

As I clenched my fist, my nails dug into my palm, causing pain. But I didn't even feel it.

The thought that I might lose the company I had nurtured like my own child, right before my eyes, left no room to feel such things.

-If you want to hold a board meeting, go ahead. ......The result won't be any different though.

-What did you say?

-Haven't you noticed yet? Haha. It means the majority of the board is already on our <Hyeonmu>'s side.

-Th-that's impossible. It can't be......

Ah, this was truly devastating. Because we had certainly filled the board equally with people from our side and Hyeonmu's side.

The fact that the majority was on Hyeonmu's side meant that our people had switched to <Hyeonmu>.

'I thought I had filled it with people I could trust to some extent. It was unbelievable.'

Before that shock could even subside, Hyun Jung-hu delivered the final blow.

-Oh, by the way. The overseas trademark rights are under our joint venture's name. That's quite fortunate.

-Wait, you don't mean......

The me in my memory turned pale. Losing the joint venture was painful enough, but now even the overseas trademark rights were about to fall completely into Hyun Jung-hu's grasp.

-I won't let that happen!

-Oh? That's interesting. What can you do?

Hyun Jung-hu asked in an extremely elegant tone.

-You'll remember that we signed a non-disclosure agreement, an NDA, when we first made the contract? You had already provided all the ideas and recipes then.

-Ugh!

-Or do you intend to let another company intervene? For example, JC? But even collaborating with them would be disclosing secrets bound by the NDA, which would cause legal problems.

It was truly a dilemma.

I couldn't reclaim the company that had already been taken, nor could I retrieve the recipes. And I couldn't even push out <Hyeonmu> by collaborating with another company using my recipes.

Realizing this cruel reality, the me in my memory collapsed in place.

Empty eyes wandered in the air.

My fingertips trembled and my lips were parched dry. Having everything taken away, I could only crumble miserably.

-I think we've talked enough. If you have anything more to say, it would be better to speak through my executive secretary. Now then, I have another schedule after this, so I'll be going.

Hyun Jung-hu stood up.

Still unable to come to my senses, I had to sit in <Hyeonmu>'s reception room for a long time.

'What happened after this, well, there's no need to say.'

It went exactly as Hyun Jung-hu said. <The Song> was in the midst of desperately trying to expand overseas.

But when the joint venture, into which we had poured capital, fell completely into <Hyeonmu>'s grasp, all the investments we had gathered from here and there turned into debt.

'Still, we still had the domestic trademark rights, and the brand value was still alive. There was still hope.'

I tried to somehow salvage the situation with that, but...

A sneer escaped.

'We were pushed out of the market when <Hyeonmu> launched a copy brand. Completely.'

It was because all the know-how and recipes were taken while operating the joint venture. <Hyeonmu> created an upgraded version of <The Song>'s brand based on their distribution network and capital power.

The usual <The Song> could have responded.

But because we were already in a state of cash crunch due to financial strain, the deterioration in sales became a fatal blow.

Grind. Even recalling it now made my teeth grind.

The pre-regression me was completely K.O.'d by <Hyeonmu>. It was an undeniable fact.

'That's why I decided to reveal all of <Hyeonmu>'s wrongdoings, even breaking the NDA and taking legal responsibility.'

Whoosh!

Someone's touch felt on my back. And then the sound of wind brushing past my ear.

I tightly closed my eyes. Perhaps because I thought of death, my chest felt tight and it was hard to breathe.

"......na."

What?

"......? Ak......a. Quickly ......look."

Whose voice is this?

"......look! ......nim,"

It sounds strangely familiar.

Just as I was listening to the unidentified sound.

"Nuna!"

"Woo-yeon!"

As if someone had grabbed my collar and pulled me up to the surface, I returned to reality.

"Heuheok!"

I opened my eyes wide while gasping for air. Keuhup, kek! Perhaps because I was breathing hurriedly, a fit of coughing erupted.

"Heuheok, heuk."

"Nuna, are you really okay?"

"Drink water first. Here, water!"

First, I took the glass of water in front of me and gulped down the cold water. Only then did I start to come to my senses a bit.

The cool dawn air, a foggy head, clothes damp with cold sweat. And judging by the familiar feel of the bedding and the scenery of the bedroom, it seems I was lying on my bed in my room.

Moreover, Baek Jae-ha and Jung Da-on were clinging side by side next to the bed. They both looked pale, as if startled.

'Right. Da-on said I had a fever. So Jae-ha came to get me.'

I remembered up to the point where Baek Jae-ha laid me on the bed, and then rattled around in the kitchen saying he would make some simple porridge.

'Did I fall asleep right away?'

I touched my face with hands still not free from chills. Although there were calluses, it wasn't as rough as before the regression.

It is indeed my younger self. After confirming that, I felt like I could breathe a little easier.

"What happened? I just came because I was worried about your condition after you got off work. You were groaning and muttering something."

"I was making porridge when Da-on hyung came, so we came in together to check on your condition, and we were shocked to see Nuna sweating coldly...!"

So that's how it happened.

Covering my forehead with a cool hand seemed to relieve the fever for a moment. I raised my upper body and leaned against the bed headboard.

"It's nothing."

I barely managed to blurt out a word, moving my parched lips.

"How can it be nothing!"

"I've never seen you make such a face before!"

The response that came back was quite fierce. But it really was nothing.

"I just had a nightmare."

"No, even if it was a nightmare, how can a person be like that......"

Jung Da-on stopped mid-sentence and pressed his lips shut. I guess my face must have been quite a mess.

It's understandable. It was an experience of my world crumbling. I probably had an expression like my heart had been pierced.

"When the body is sick, the mind gets weak too."

Since the regression, although I often thought about it whenever there were conflicts with <Hyeonmu>, I never had such nightmares.

As it wasn't a pleasant feeling to have past wounds reopened, I was thinking that I should indeed add some time for physical training in the future.

"What kind of dream was it to make you like this?"

Baek Jae-ha asked, looking at me with clear eyes.

I could have made up something. Just say it was a dream of being chased by ghosts, or a dream of falling endlessly.

But somehow, I didn't want to do that with these two. So I spoke a pruned version of the truth.

"A dream of the old days."

In terms of time, it would be a future event, but to me, it was a past event, so it was indeed a dream of the old days.

"What kind of old dream?"

"It's all in the past now, so it's okay."

Since I couldn't tell them all the specific details, I chose to be vague here.

It was also an indirect expression that I didn't want to say more.

But something in my words must have provoked Baek Jae-ha, as he leaned his upper body over the bed, getting worked up.

"So why do you always do this, Nuna...!"

"Jae-ha."

Jung Da-on blocked Baek Jae-ha with his hand.

"Woo-yeon is still sick."

"......"

"You calm down too, let's talk about this later."

At Jung Da-on's words, Baek Jae-ha nodded, looking a bit more subdued.

"For now, Woo-yeon, it seems your fever hasn't completely gone down yet, so you should sleep a bit more."

"Mmm."

"Rest well."

Jung Da-on personally closed my eyes and tidied up the disheveled blanket. Finally, he turned off the lights and closed the door, and silence returned to the room.

Yet it didn't feel lonely.

'A delicious smell.'

The aroma of porridge, undoubtedly made by Baek Jae-ha, was spreading in the room. It felt like a warm comfort, somehow making my heart feel at ease.

This time, I felt like I could sleep soundly without any dreams.