Chapter 134

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 134

Chapter Title: Language Lessons and Rising Loyalties

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I challenged Language Achievement 20.

I took English lessons from tutor Woo Jin-seop alongside Secretary Han Ji-yu.

"That's impressive."

Tutor Woo Jin-seop marveled.

In just twenty days, Jin-seong had mastered the basics of English. It was a massive leap from where he'd started.

"How many hours a day do you study English?"

"About three or four hours."

"Wow, that's a ton!"

"I want to boost my English skills to read English books more efficiently."

One hour of lessons, one hour of review and preview, and over an hour of reading English books. At least three hours a day.

"And Secretary Han..."

Woo Jin-seop's gaze trembled slightly as it turned to Han Ji-yu.

"You're a genius."

Han Ji-yu was a monster in her own right.

If Jin-seong grew at a rate of 1, Han Ji-yu was advancing at over 30.

"No, I'm not."

She shook her head.

Her expression was so impassive it bordered on cold, her tone so curt it felt parched.

Jin-seong read the inner thoughts window and closed it.

Tutor Woo Jin-seop had confessed to Secretary Han Ji-yu and gotten shot down hard.

'The reason Tutor Woo failed is simple. He confessed too rashly without even building any rapport first.'

Han Ji-yu was introverted and extremely shy around strangers.

He could've taken his time fostering a friendship before confessing, and it still wouldn't have been too late.

Even then, it might've been risky—but he rushed it.

'Dodged a bullet there.'

Jin-seong didn't show it, but he felt relieved deep down. There was no way Secretary Han Ji-yu and Tutor Woo Jin-seop would ever get together.

'Secretary Han is too good to give to another guy. Honestly, I want her for myself. I want to make her mine.'

She was pretty, kind, and incredibly capable. A real gem. He didn't want to lose her to some other man.

'Time to build some favorability. Turn it into affection.'

Building favorability was straightforward.

'Just be as kind and considerate as possible.'

As long as he didn't confess prematurely.

'Enough of that. Focus on the lesson.'

Business is business, personal is personal.

When tackling an achievement, he needed to stay laser-focused. Thoughts of Han Ji-yu could wait until after.

The lesson wrapped up.

"Secretary, did you read the book I gave you?"

"Yes, I did."

"What'd you think?"

"...It was informative."

He'd been gifting Han Ji-yu about two books every other day.

With her superior speed-reading, she could finish one in around two hours.

Jin-seong flashed a gentle smile.

"Here you go."

He handed over a paper bag containing books.

"...Th-thank you... Thank you."

"Don't like it?"

"...No. I like it."

Her hands trembled faintly as she took the bag.

"And this too."

He offered a black paper bag as well.

"...Another book?"

She was starting to resent the president a little.

"No, it's a gaming console. I figured you like games."

"...A gaming console?"

"Yeah. Nintendo. Hope it's to your liking?"

"...Wow! Thank you, thank you so much!"

Her voice brightened instantly. A smile bloomed across her face. She couldn't hide her joy.

Han Ji-yu felt like planting a kiss on her boss's cheek.

Jin-seong smiled warmly.

"One big reason YSP is growing so smoothly without any hiccups is your tireless support, Secretary Han. I'm always grateful for your hard work and trust you completely."

"...I'll keep doing my best."

She melted under praise. She was over the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠moon that her boss recognized and commended her efforts.

'Time to hit the gym soon.'

Inside the YSP president's office.

Jin-seong and Team Leader Lee Myung-ho sat on the sofa.

"You're truly amazing."

"Aw, come on. Not really."

"You are. Thanks to your advice, I got rich."

Lee Myung-ho had invested in stocks based on Jin-seong's tip.

He'd gone all-in and hit the jackpot big time.

His assets jumped from 1 billion won to 3.3 billion won.

"Thank you so much."

He was immensely grateful to Jin-seong.

Now he could live without ever worrying about money.

Jin-seong had handed him true financial freedom.

Favorability at 99.

Favorability hit MAX.

Trust was unlocked.

"Team Leader Lee, when do we start recruiting franchisees?"

"Right after the YSP Cheongju Building remodel finishes, we'll kick off full-scale recruitment."

Lee Myung-ho set down his teacup.

"The food factory remodel is nearly done. The warehouse was too small, so we're building a large one next to it."

"We'll run the food factory with maximum hygiene standards. No hygiene scandals on our watch."

"For the CF ad models, we're using Lee Hyun-woo for men and Jung Ha-neul for women."

"Halmae Tteok CF ads and franchise recruitment promos will blast across TV, newspapers, YouTube, and SNS."

"Planning to spend 3 billion won on promotion. Main goal is building awareness to maximize chain store numbers."

They'd bought a building in Cheongju.

Changed the name from Hope Building to YSP Cheongju Building. Basement -3 floors, 10 above ground. Snagged it for exactly 5 billion won.

YSP Cheongju Building was undergoing remodels and tenant prep simultaneously.

1F: Halmae Tteok Branch 3, 2F: YSP Gym Branch 2, 3F: Offices, 4-5F: Studios, 6F: Halmae Tteok R&D and Franchisee Training Center.

"Let's go 3 billion plus 3 billion?"

"Pardon?"

"Bump promo budget to 6 billion won."

"That seems excessive."

"The excess spend builds massive awareness, which draws way more franchises."

Jin-seong's strategy was aggressive:

Promo hard → Build awareness → Open max chains → Generate huge sales → Reinvest profits into promo → Even higher awareness → Even more sales.

"Team Leader Lee, how about franchisee perks up to the 50th or 100th store? Like waiving training fees, partial startup loans, or prime location recommendations."

"Sounds good."

Lee Myung-ho approved of Jin-seong's strategy.

The investment approach was solid, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and so was the win-win with franchisees.

They talked Halmae Tteok for over an hour.

Covered all sorts of topics.

"Team Leader Lee, know much about IT and platforms?"

"No, not really. Not my interest. Why?"

"I've gotten really curious about IT and platforms lately."

He wanted Lee Myung-ho's take on them.

"Hmm, want me to introduce a friend? I'm clueless, but he's a genius in that field."

"Oh? Please do."

"Got it. I'll set something up soon."

"Thanks."

Lee Myung-ho left the office.

"Secretary Han, dig deep into the IT and platform industry for me."

"...Understood."

"Find IT/platform ventures that'd synergize well with our company."

He assigned the task to Han Ji-yu.

'Time to read.'

He opened a book. Today's reading was IT-related.

Cleared the Reading Achievement.

Checked KakaoTalk.

Next, Mi-yeon's KakaoTalk.

Then Ha-yeon's KakaoTalk.

His girlfriends were thriving. Everything going great. Made his heart swell with pride and joy.

'Feels good.'

He waited for Ha-yeon.

"Piggy~"

Ha-yeon threw herself into his arms.

"You're beaming. Good mood?"

"Yup yup. Feels awesome."

Arm in arm, they left the YSP Building.

"President...?"

Someone watched their backs with utter confusion.

"The president... has a girlfriend...?"