God-Given Business Genius - Chapter 213

Hyun Ye-won peeked her head out cautiously.

She couldn't concentrate on her work due to curiosity about what was happening beyond the blinds of the CEO's office.

'Ugh. I hurriedly hid when I saw a familiar face. That man just now, it's definitely him, right?'

Hyun Ye-won recalled the face of a man she had seen before at a social club.

A handsome man with a slightly exotic feel tends to stand out anywhere. Hyun Ye-won unwillingly knew quite a bit about Je Yun-jae's every move.

Even if she didn't want to know, she couldn't help but hear about it from various sources.

'Why on earth did that person come here in person?!'

Unable to understand the reason, Hyun Ye-won clutched her head. Ugh, it felt like another headache was coming on.

"What on earth is going on?"

Hyun Ye-won reflexively answered the voice coming from beside her.

"That's what I'm saying. No matter how I think about it, I have a bad feeling."

"Hmm. Is that so?"

"Of course. That man is famous for having no mercy in his dealings. It's a bit harsh to say, but a company like <The Song>, if that man sets his mind to it, he could easily..."

Wait a minute.

Who am I talking to?

Hyun Ye-won slowly turned her stiffly frozen neck to the side. A pretty face came into view.

It was a face quite different from Je Yun-jae's. Unlike Je Yun-jae's angelic face, this one had a strangely sharp and trendy feel.

A face like this, once seen, is impossible to forget. It couldn't be confused with anyone else.

It was Baek Jae-ha.

"Aaaack?!"

"Shh. Be quiet, please."

Baek Jae-ha, calmly put his index finger to his lips and whispered.

"Wh-why are you here?!"

"Why, you ask."

Baek Jae-ha, answered while glancing at the CEO's office.

"I'm here because I drove CEO here."

"R-really?"

"That person? The eldest son of JC, or whatever."

"Oh, y-yeah. That's right."

"When she suddenly rushed out after receiving a phone call, I wondered what was going on."

Baek Jae-ha, sat down on an empty chair and rested his chin on his hand. He looked visibly bored.

"Everyone's making such a fuss over nothing."

"Nothing?! Don't you know how big of a conglomerate JC is in the F&B industry?"

"I do know."

"You don't seem to. If JC sets its mind to it, <The Song> could become like fallen leaves in autumn, you know?"

"Hmm. Is that so?"

Baek Jae-ha, remained calm despite Hyun Ye-won, Assistant Manager's threatening tone.

"Well, I think our CEO is stronger."

"What?"

"I can't imagine it. Our CEO losing. Even if it's against those JC or Hyeonmu guys."

"...That's."

Hyun Ye-won felt her inner turmoil rapidly calming down.

"You're right about that?"

Song Woo-yeon, CEO, losing? <The Song> collapsing? It was utterly unimaginable. Could such a reality exist? Is this some kind of multiverse or something?

As it felt unreal, her anxiety melted away.

"Stop doing useless things and look at this."

"Useless things?! This is such an important matt... Gasp!"

Hyun Ye-won unknowingly inhaled sharply and pressed close to Baek Jae-ha. Baek Jae-ha, leisurely pulled out his phone from behind and smiled.

"Th-that just now..."

"Yes, that's right."

Baek Jae-ha, grinned and turned on his phone screen again to show her.

"It's a photo of Nuna from middle school."

"Aaaah! Where did you get such a rare item?!"

"I have my ways."

Baek Jae-ha, smugly wiped under his nose.

"You, you, you really...! How did you even think to get a photo from such a fluffy, downy time? Does CEO know about this?"

"I made a secret deal with a middle school classmate. Ah, but I told them it was Nuna who requested it."

"You crafty little..."

Hyun Ye-won trembled, unable to handle the shock.

Then, she jumped at Baek Jae-ha's phone and shouted,

"Share it with me!!"

"No, I can't! Do you know how much trouble I went through to get this!"

"Give it to me too! Give it to meee!"

Bang, crash!

The quiet office became noisy again, briefly filled with energy.

"Both of you, please stop. What are you doing?"

Jo I-ruk felt his stomach burning as he tried to mediate between the two.

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'It worked.'

I secretly swallowed hard. Perhaps because I've meddled with so many things since my regression, it wasn't easy to keep up with these ever-changing events.

Especially Je Yun-jae baring his teeth at me was truly unexpected.

'Despite appearances, we were quite close before my regression.'

Of course, even then, I must have somehow caught his attention due to Je Yun-jae's capricious nature.

The story about Je Yun-jae's cousin, that is, Je Dong-yun, was all heard from Je Yun-jae himself.

The two were secretly hostile to each other, and the conflict began in earnest when Je Yun-jae ended his nomadic life in overseas branches and returned to Korea.

Je Dong-yun must have been quite confident. The domestic public opinion was favorable to Je Dong-yun, after all.

'But that was only for a moment.'

Because.

This man before my eyes, Je Yun-jae... was so capable that Je Dong-yun could hardly keep up with even his footsteps.

The situation quickly tilted. When it became almost certain that Je Yun-jae would gain the upper hand, Je Dong-yun, blinded by greed, made a wrong choice.

He diverted company secrets to Hyeonmu.

As a result, everything from JC's core technologies to planned new product developments and secret ongoing projects was completely exposed.

'It was the first time I saw the great Je Yun-jae so shaken.'

Even thinking about it now makes my body tremble involuntarily. He looked like he could kill someone with just a touch.

Once Hyeonmu got hold of JC's internal data, they began to extend their reach more blatantly.

'Because of that, regardless of the successor structure, we had to run around frantically to save JC.'

It was right then.

When Hyeonmu bared its teeth at <The Song>.

'They probably intended to strike a blow at us, who were friendly with JC from the start.'

While Hyeonmu and JC were openly biting rivals, <The Song> wasn't.

From <The Song>'s perspective, which had just started to stand shoulder to shoulder with large corporations, collaboration with Hyeonmu was an irresistible sweet proposal.

Apart from my personal friendship with Je Yun-jae Hyeonmu was an attractive business partner.

'We shouldn't have done that.'

What's the use of regretting it now? Everything became non-existent with my regression anyway.

Rather than clinging to the past and lamenting on and on, it was more important to figure out how to handle the immediate situation in front of me.

For example, how to gain the trust of Je Yun-jae who couldn't erase the cautious look in front of me.

"So. Now that we've shaken hands, do you still not want to tell me?"

Je Yun-jae said, gently closing his eyes.

"Where on earth did you hear this story? I'm dying of curiosity."

"......"

You told me, you did.

But even if I said this, he wouldn't believe it.

If I said, "The you from before my regression told me," Je Yun-jae would say "I've wasted time with a lunatic" and immediately get up from his seat.

"As far as I know, CEO Song's background isn't enough to hear such high-level information."

Je Yun-jae took a sip of his now cold coffee and continued.

"How about we start our first collaboration from here? Who is that loose-lipped rat?"

"I'm sorry, but I have an obligation to protect my source."

I lied without even wetting my lips. I don't even have any lucky messenger bringing me news.

"You didn't hear it from Hyeonmu?"

"No, I didn't."

"How can I believe you? <The Song> is already Hyeonmu's, you could be pretending not to be in order to trap me."

To think he would openly bring up this possibility. I knew he would be suspicious to this extent, but.

The Je Yun-jae in my memory would have used much more elegant and refined vocabulary to beat around the bush.

'He's still young, I see.'

The more direct tone proved his lack of experience.

"Don't worry. If it's anywhere else, it won't be Hyeonmu that we join hands with."

"Hmm?"

"Rather, we're closer to wanting to give them a proper beating."

At my words, Je Yun-jae smiled with a glint in his eyes.

"You want revenge?"

"Yes."

"You must have lost something precious to Hyeonmu."

"Of course."

A laugh escaped me without realizing.

<The Song> was my life itself. What Hyeonmu did was no different from taking away my entire life.

So I couldn't help but hate them to the point my teeth chattered.

"Strange. It doesn't seem like you're lying, but I'm not naive enough to believe those words at face value."

"I know."

"But..."

Je Yun-jae fell silent for a moment before speaking again.

"It's interesting."

That was enough for now. A bit of interest, shallow curiosity.

"It's rare to see someone so unshaken in front of me. And instead of begging me, you propose a deal? From this small company? It's interesting."

This was close to a cat's feeling of "Oh ho, look at this?" when a cornered mouse bites it.

But that slight impertinence would help the mouse survive longer.

"I want to watch a bit more."

Success, is it?

"Five years."

"...What do you mean by five years?"

"I'll give you five years. Time to grow <The Song>'s size."

Je Yun-jae said with a broad smile.

"Your current level is far from enough. Grow to a size that JC would covet."

That was something I was confident in. To walk a path I've already walked once?

That's not just taking a shortcut. It's no different from riding an escalator.

"Until then, I'll turn a blind eye to this ridiculous illegitimate child rumor."

"!"

That half meant that JC would support <The Song> from behind. Other companies of similar size wouldn't dare touch <The Song>.

It also meant freedom from insignificant checks and pressures.

"Thank you."

I looked at Je Yun-jae with sparkling eyes.

"You won't be disappointed."