Chapter 202
Chapter 202
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 202
Chapter Title: Hyunmu's Betrayal
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By the time [The Song] had grown to a considerable size, we began targeting overseas markets beyond Korea.
It was right around then, as we personally experienced foreign markets—different from those back home—and steadily expanded our branches one by one.
That was when came to us with a tantalizing proposal.
‘It was about establishing a joint venture.’
We were acutely aware that taking our already successful domestic franchise brand overseas required all sorts of expertise and approaches. Especially after we'd been frustrated in China by that damn "connections" system—how deeply we'd realized the need for networks.
Just then, Hyunmu extended a hand, feeling like a lifeline fallen straight from the heavens.
The Song's brand, Hyunmu's capital and networks.
Merging the two to create a new joint venture company seemed like a solid idea at first glance.
‘The initial setup was a 50:50 split in shares.’
I also liked Hyunmu's attitude, emphasizing equal partnership.
Right up until they showed their true colors.
I closely examined the face of a man I could never forget. A face that resembled Hyun Yeowon yet was utterly different.
It was Hyunmu's owner, Chairman Hyun Jeong-hu.
Even the wrinkles stacked layer upon layer by time looked like badges of honor. Without the streaks of gray in his hair, he would have seemed much younger.
His eyes, sharp beyond his years, seemed to pierce right through me. Whenever I met Chairman Hyun Jeong-hu, I sometimes had to lower my gaze.
‘Chairman Hyun Jeong-hu... With that affable face, he declared right in front of me that he'd swallow my company whole.’
It was the memory of that very day.
The me in my memory asked with shock not yet faded from my face. A desperate expression clinging to the slimmest hope.
"Additional investment? How much equity do you plan to take?"
"Song CEO, why phrase it like that? As if I'm investing more capital just to grab shares. It's purely because it's needed, right? You should be grateful instead."
"......"
"Other places throw fits demanding more budget. And here we are, offering extra investment, only to face this resistance?"
I clenched my fist tight, nails digging into my palm with sharp pain. Yet I barely felt it.
The thought that I might lose the company I'd raised like my own child, right before my eyes, left no room for such sensations.
"If you want to hold a board meeting, go ahead. ...Though it won't change the outcome."
"What?"
"Haven't you noticed yet? Haha. It means the majority of the board is already on Hyunmu's side."
"Th-that can't be. No, it can't......"
Ah, that was truly devastating. We'd clearly filled the board half with our people and half with Hyunmu's.
A majority siding with Hyunmu meant our own people had defected to them.
‘I thought I'd filled it with reliable folks. I just couldn't believe it.’
Before the shock even subsided, Chairman Hyun Jeong-hu delivered the final blow.
"Oh, right. The overseas trademarks are under our joint venture's name. Lucky break for us."
"Wait, you don't mean......"
The me in my memory went pale. Losing the joint venture was painful enough, but now the overseas trademarks were falling straight into Chairman Hyun Jeong-hu's hands too.
"I won't let it stay that way!"
"Hoo. I'm curious. What can you even do?"
Chairman Hyun Jeong-hu asked in an exceedingly refined tone.
"You remember the nondisclosure agreement we signed at the initial contract, right? The NDA? You already handed over all your ideas and recipes back then."
"Ugh!"
"Or are you planning to bring in another company? Say, JC or someone. But collaborating with them would mean leaking secrets bound by the NDA, which could land you in legal trouble."
It was a complete dead end.
No way to reclaim the stolen company, no way to retrieve the recipes. And partnering with another firm using my recipes to push out Hyunmu? Impossible too.
Realizing this cruel reality, the me in my memory collapsed right there on the spot.
My vacant eyes wandered into space.
My fingertips trembled, lips parched and dry. Having lost everything, I could only crumble in misery.
"I think that's enough talk. If you have more to say, go through my chief of staff. Now, I have another appointment after this, so I'll be going."
Chairman Hyun Jeong-hu rose from his seat.
Still out of it, I had to sit there in Hyunmu's reception room for a long while.
‘What happened after is no surprise.’
It all unfolded just as Chairman Hyun Jeong-hu said. The Song was pouring everything into overseas expansion.
But with the capital-intensive joint venture falling wholly into Hyunmu's grasp, all the investment funds we'd scraped together turned into debt.
‘At least the domestic trademarks remained, and the brand value was intact. There was still hope.’
I desperately tried to salvage things somehow...
Pfft. A scoff escaped me.
‘Hyunmu launched a copycat brand and crushed us in the market. Completely.’
While running the joint venture, they'd stolen all our know-how and recipes. Leveraging their distribution networks and capital, Hyunmu created an upgraded version of The Song brand.
Under normal circumstances, The Song could have responded.
But already crippled by cash flow issues, the sales drop hit like a fatal wound.
Grit. Even recalling it now ground my teeth.
Pre-regression, I'd been totally KO'd by Hyunmu. An undeniable fact.
‘That's why I resolved to expose all of Hyunmu's misdeeds, even breaking the NDA and facing legal consequences.’
Whoosh!
A hand touching my back. Then the whisper of wind by my ear.
I squeezed my eyes shut. Was it the thought of death? My chest tightened, breathing grew labored.
"......Me."
What?
"......? Evil...... Ah. Hurry...... Look."
Whose voice is this?
"......Look! ......Sir,"
It sounded oddly familiar.
The moment I tuned into the mysterious voice.
"Noona!"
"Wooyeona!"
Someone grabbed my collar and yanked me up from the depths, back to reality.
"Huh!"
I gasped for air, eyes snapping open. Gulp, cough! Coughing fit from gulping breaths.
"Huhk, heuk."
"Noona, you okay?"
"Drink some water first. Here, water!"
I grabbed the glass in front of me and gulped down the cold water. Only then did my senses start returning.
Crisp dawn air, foggy head, sweat-soaked clothes. The familiar bedding and bedroom surroundings told me I was lying in my own bed.
And beside the bed, Baek Jaeha and Jeong Daon were huddled close, both pale with shock.
‘Right. Daon said I had a fever. So Jaeha came to pick me up.’
I remembered Baek Jaeha laying me down, then clattering in the kitchen saying he'd make some porridge.
‘Did I fall asleep right away?’
I touched my face with hands still chilled. Calluses were there, but not as wrecked as pre-regression.
It confirmed I was my younger self. My breathing eased.
"What happened? I came because I was worried about you after work, and you were groaning and mumbling."
"I came in while boiling porridge and checked on you with Jaeha hyung, and noona was sweating bullets... We got scared......!"
So that's what happened.
Cool hand on my forehead eased the fever a bit. I sat up, leaning against the headboard.
"It's nothing."
My parched lips barely managed the words.
"Nothing?!"
"I've never seen you like that!"
The reaction was fierce. But it really was nothing.
"Just a nightmare."
"No, even a nightmare doesn't make someone look like..."
Jeong Daon trailed off, clamping his mouth shut. My face must've been a wreck.
No wonder. It was the experience of my world collapsing. Probably looked like my heart had been pierced.
"Fever weakens the mind."
Post-regression, Hyunmu clashes brought it up sometimes, but never as a nightmare.
Unpleasant to have old wounds ripped open, so I thought I'd add more physical training time ahead.
"What kind of dream was it?"
Baek Jaeha asked, gaze clear and fixed.
I could brush it off. Chased by ghosts, or endlessly falling.
But something made me not want to lie to these two. I shared a trimmed-down truth.
"An old dream."
Future by timeline, but past to me, so old dream fit.
"What old dream?"
"It's all in the past now. I'm fine."
Couldn't spill every detail, so I glossed over it.
A roundabout way of saying I didn't want to talk more.
But something in my words set Baek Jaeha off. He leaned forward on the bed, voice rising.
"So why does noona always have to...!"
"Jaeha."
Jeong Daon blocked him with a hand.
"Wooyeon's still a patient."
"......"
"Calm down. We'll talk later."
At Jeong Daon's words, Baek Jaeha nodded, tension easing a bit.
"For now, Wooyeona, your fever's not fully gone. You should sleep more."
"Mm."
"Rest well."
Jeong Daon gently closed my eyes, straightened the covers. Lights out, door shut—silence returned to the room.
Yet I didn't feel lonely.
‘Delicious smell.’
The aroma of porridge Baek Jaeha must've made filled the room. A warm comfort soothed my heart.
This time, I could sleep deeply, dreamless.