God-Given Business Genius

“Ugh, ptooey!”

Yoon Kang-deok spat in front of the building.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing!”

As the security guard rushed out, Yoon Kang-deok stood his ground, his eyes narrowed.

“Fine, I’m leaving, I’m going~!”

“Sheesh, really. Don’t come back!”

As the security guard shouted with a scowl, Yoon Kang-deok grumbled to himself.

‘Who says I’m coming back. Hmph!’

He may have come in person this time, but next time, they’d be the ones seeking him out.

Yoon Kang-deok trembled at the humiliation he’d just endured.

In his 26 or 27 years of business experience, had there ever been a more infuriating incident?

He’d heard a lot about young people these days, but experiencing it firsthand was truly mortifying.

To think that such a green youngster would dare to talk back to an elder with such audacity!

‘The world’s gone to the dogs, I tell you!’

Yoon Kang-deok vented his rising anger by kicking a utility pole lying on the street.

Thud!

“Ow!”

Of course, the pole remained unscathed while his foot throbbed with pain. Yoon Kang-deok glared at the pole, muttering curses as he limped away.

Before long, he arrived at a bustling alley.

The retro exterior exuded a 60s-70s vibe. Each shop was teeming with people. He could see crowds lining up to draw number tickets amidst the sea of humanity.

‘I hear that’s just a waiting area for customers? My, how luxurious.’

Yoon Kang-deok clicked his tongue as he gazed at the café across from the soup restaurant.

How could small business owners like them compete against such formidable capital? Song Woo-yeon’s criticisms had already evaporated from his mind, replaced by blind rage.

Walking a bit further, he came across , bustling with young people. It was famous for some kind of challenge food. No wonder there were always people with cameras, leaving no day peaceful.

And at night, it was packed with people enjoying chicken feet and soju. He could only imagine the piles of money they must be raking in.

‘The tripe place next door only attracts flies!’

Sure, their tripe had a slightly off odor, but isn’t that something everyone who eats tripe puts up with?

To Yoon Kang-deok’s palate, the smell wasn’t even that strong.

‘I heard that Nuclear Chicken Feet or whatever is disgustingly spicy. I don’t understand why people like such things.’

He just couldn’t comprehend it.

Turning his head, he saw a café with a clean exterior.

Snow Flower Bingsu or something. Yoon Kang-deok had tried it once before, and it wasn’t half bad.

Traditional bingsu required crunching through ice crystals, which hurt his teeth and made his gums ache, but this Snow Flower Bingsu melted smoothly in his mouth.

‘That one’s actually tasty.’

Besides, it was the only bingsu place in this alley.

Yoon Kang-deok viewed with a slightly more generous eye. Through the transparent glass windows, he could see the place packed with people.

Feeling a twinge of bitterness, Yoon Kang-deok quickly turned away.

As he hurried past Bingwa, the crowd began to thin out. Peering through the windows of other shops, he saw that while they weren’t completely empty, they weren’t exactly bustling either.

Compared to the scene he’d just witnessed, it left an even more bitter taste in his mouth.

‘Sang-wook’s place over there struggled in the beginning and finally found its footing. Just as it was about to see the light of day, it’s back to square one.’

One step,

‘Are they closed today? Well, vegetable prices have gone up a lot lately.’

One step,

‘The café’s lost all its customers too. Everyone’s just going there now, sheesh.’

With each step, he felt his insides churning. An unbearable mix of anger and jealousy coiled in his gut.

Yoon Kang-deok’s steps halted in front of one shop.

The weathered sign that had accompanied him for years filled his vision. Standing before it, the passage of time seemed irrelevant.

“Oh my, grandfather. Why are you here so late? What about the lunch rush?”

Just then, the owner of the nearby mill poked his head out and asked.

“I was worried you might be sick~”

“Don’t even mention it!”

Yoon Kang-deok exploded.

“Do you have any idea what happened when I went to see those bastards?!”

“Those bastards?”

“Yes! Over there!”

Yoon Kang-deok pointed his index finger at .

“The soup restaurant? Why there?”

“The owner there is completely disrespectful! Looking down on elders, I tell you. Don’t you dare buy anything from there. You hear?!”

Despite Yoon Kang-deok’s outburst, the mill owner’s face remained utterly impassive.

“Is that so?”

“I’ll show those punks! I’ll make sure they can’t do business in this neighborhood, mark my words!”

“……”

“How dare they disrespect our merchants’ association and just do business as they please? Huh? If they’ve taken all our customers, they should at least bow down and apologize. They have no business ethics, none at all!”

The mill owner listened quietly to Yoon Kang-deok’s rant, and when the latter paused to catch his breath, he simply said,

“That owner doesn’t seem like that kind of person.”

“What?!”

“No, aren’t you misunderstanding something? When that soup restaurant first opened, the owner went around handing out rice cakes to everyone in the area, and ever since, he greets people whenever he sees them. He’s so good to everyone.”

Yoon Kang-deok was taken aback by this unexpected response.

“What, are you taking their side over mine now?!”

“Oh, come on. Grandfather, at your age, why are you dividing people into sides? Hm? I’m just saying, isn’t this all a misunderstanding?”

The mill owner muttered to himself, “I’ve never seen anyone give rice cakes to a mill owner before. That gesture was quite touching~”

Yoon Kang-deok’s face turned red as things weren’t going his way, and he raised his voice.

“No, not that owner! I’m talking about the CEO who manages all those shops over there! That person has no manners, I tell you!”

“If that person has no manners, that’s on them. But why should the innocent soup restaurant owner Kim suffer for it?”

“The upper stream must be clean for the lower stream to be clean! Judging by that CEO’s behavior, that soup restaurant owner must be out of his mind too!”

“Come on~ I’m telling you, that soup restaurant owner isn’t that kind of person.”

As the mill owner repeated like a parrot that “he’s not that kind of person,” Yoon Kang-deok thumped his chest in frustration.

“Regardless of what kind of person he is, I can’t stand to see those guys doing business here! Not before I’m six feet under!”

“Sigh. Alright~ Alright. Calm down. Who cares what others say.”

The mill owner shrugged and took a step back. Knowing Yoon Kang-deok’s stubbornness, he figured there was no point in arguing further.

But Yoon Kang-deok didn’t stop there and went even further.

“It’s not just that place! All the shops around there are the same!”

Yoon Kang-deok started cursing all the shops under collectively.

“Huh?! All those shops over there need to go bankrupt to come to their senses!”

At those words, the mill owner, who was about to go back inside, turned around again.

“Now you’re going too far.”

“What?!”

“You know that snack shop is run by Boss Han. You know that, so how can you say such things?”

“Ahem, hem.”

Yoon Kang-deok cleared his throat, seemingly realizing his mistake.

“Do you know how much Boss Han has struggled? And her son is such a filial child, coming to help every day because he’s worried about his mother working too hard. Isn’t that admirable?”

There’s no elder in Korea who dislikes a filial child.

“I heard that ever since meeting the CEO of the company, things have been going smoothly for them. They praise the CEO endlessly, calling them a godsend. I wonder why you’re badmouthing them so much.”

“Well, that’s…”

“You didn’t go there spouting nonsense about the merchants’ association’s opinions or something, did you?”

“It was a motion passed by majority vote at the last merchants’ association meeting, what’s nonsensical about that!”

“It barely passed with 51%! And how many people even attend those meetings? Sheesh, I can’t believe this.”

The mill owner clicked his tongue.

“Anyway, stop talking nonsense and prepare for today’s business. The soup restaurant owner Kim might be an outsider, but the other shop owners are all originally from our alley. If you harbor ill will, it’ll all come back to you~”

“I-ill will? I’m telling you this is the right thing!”

“Yes, yes~”

The mill owner waved his hand dismissively and disappeared inside.

Other shop owners who had peeked out, wondering what the commotion was about due to Yoon Kang-deok’s shouting, now looked at him with strange expressions.

Sensing their gazes, Yoon Kang-deok preemptively lashed out.

“You’re all being taken advantage of, I tell you! I’m personally stepping up to get compensation for the damages, what’s the problem?!”

This prompted responses from those around:

“…Sigh.”

“Come on, let’s not do this, at least for Boss Han’s sake.”

As everyone muttered their piece and retreated into their shops, Yoon Kang-deok was left standing alone.

“Ha!”

Yoon Kang-deok let out a big, hollow laugh. He was dumbfounded. Just moments ago, his heart had swelled with the thought of eradicating that den of evil and upholding justice.

Now, standing alone on the street, he felt utterly pathetic.

“How… how did it come to this…”

Yoon Kang-deok mumbled in bewilderment. His lost voice scattered weakly into the air.

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“I wonder if he’s realized by now.”

I rested my chin on my hand, gazing out the window.

Didn’t I say it?

I’d been thinking this might happen from the very beginning.

-But Woo-yeon, giving things to nearby shops instead of customers… does that really mean anything?

-It does. Quite a lot, actually.

Bit by bit. I waited for the day when all these little things I’d built up would serve as a foundation.

-Greet them with a smile and a friendly attitude. Bow politely to the neighborhood residents when you pass by too.

-Uh, uhm? Even if we don’t know each other?

-Yes. Do it.

All of that would eventually become a shield to protect me.

“Just like now.”

I smiled faintly.

The shops were still doing fine today. Booming, in fact.

I flipped through the documents to the next page.

Now it’s time to move on to the next phase.

To franchise management.