11: Chapter 11 Rejection

The next morning, when Chairman Wang Shunyi arrived at the office, Zhang Junhao was already there.

"Morning." Jun-ho didn't even look up, his eyes fixed on the computer screen.

"Morning." Chairman Wang Shunyi sat down at his desk and turned on his computer.

He thought about it for a moment and decided it was best to reject the acquisition offer first.

Taking out his phone, he sent a text message to Park Chan-hyeok: "Hello, President Park, this is Chairman Wang Shunyi. After careful consideration, I have decided not to accept your acquisition proposal. Thank you for your recognition, and I hope we have the opportunity to cooperate in the future."

After sending it, he placed his phone face down on the desk and started working.

At ten o'clock, person arrived.

"Morning, General Manager Wang, Boss Zhang." Carrying a cup of coffee, she sat down at her workstation and began tapping away at her keyboard.

The office fell silent, leaving only the sound of typing and the occasional conversation.

While responding to customer service messages, Chairman Wang Shunyi's mind wandered. How would Park Chan-hyeok respond? Would he just let it go, or try something else?

These questions circled in his head all day.

At two in the afternoon, his phone rang. It was a landline number.

"Hello."

"Mr. Wang, this is Kim Sung-min from Canhe Foods." The voice on the other end was as polite as ever.

"Hello." Chairman Wang Shunyi's heart skipped a beat.

"I saw your text message," Kim Sung-min said. "President Park asked me to convey that he is very disappointed. He thinks very highly of your brand and greatly admires your ability. He hopes you will reconsider."

"I have already made my decision," Chairman Wang Shunyi said, trying to keep his voice steady. "I appreciate President Park's recognition, but I won't sell."

There was two seconds of silence on the other end.

"Mr. Wang," Kim Sung-min's tone changed, becoming serious, "may I ask you a question?"

"Please go ahead."

"How much profit does your brand make in a month right now?"

Chairman Wang Shunyi frowned but answered anyway, "About five million won."

"Five million," Kim Sung-min repeated. "Mr. Wang, do you realize that five hundred million won is equivalent to a hundred months of your profit? If you put it in the bank, the annual interest alone would be twenty million. Are you sure you won't consider it?"

Chairman Wang Shunyi took a deep breath.

"Manager Kim, I understand what you mean. But I didn't start this business to make a quick buck. Five hundred million is indeed a lot, but my brand is worth more than that price."

"Mr. Wang," Kim Sung-min's voice took on a hint of a warning, "you may not fully understand the competitive landscape of the Korean food industry. Many small businesses start off well, only to be squeezed out by large corporations later on. Canhe has been operating in Korea for over thirty years; we have the channels and the resources. Cooperating with us would make things much smoother for you. If you don't cooperate..."

He paused, leaving the rest unsaid.

But the point was made.

Chairman Wang Shunyi gripped his phone, his voice turning cold. "Manager Kim, I appreciate Canhe's recognition, but I do not accept threats. Please tell President Park that my decision will not change."

"Mr. Wang, you—"

"Goodbye."

He hung up.

He set the phone on the desk, his chest heaving.

As expected, Park Chan-hyeok was not going to let this go easily.

At three in the afternoon, Chairman Wang Shunyi called Jun-ho into the small meeting room and recounted the conversation.

"A threat?" Jun-ho frowned. "What did he say?"

"He just said that if we don't cooperate, we might face many difficulties. He didn't say it explicitly, but the meaning was clear."

Jun-ho was silent for a moment. "What do you think they'll do?"

"I don't know." Chairman Wang Shunyi shook his head. "Maybe they'll choke our supply chain, trip us up in our distribution channels, or use some other means."

"Then what do we do?"

Chairman Wang Shunyi thought for a moment. "First, we need to speed up. Scale up and strengthen ourselves before they can make a move. Second, don't put all our eggs in one basket; diversify risk across multiple channels. Third, keep a close eye on everything and stay alert to market trends."

Jun-ho nodded.

"Any specifics?"

"Offline, we continue expanding to new stores while trying to see if we can get into large chains. Online, besides Coupang, we need to get Gmarket and 11st up and running. Regarding products, we need to push out new items faster. Also, we should consider building an official website and a membership system to reach customers directly."

"All of that takes time and money," Jun-ho said.

"Which is why we have to move even faster." Chairman Wang Shunyi looked at him. "I have a feeling Park Chan-hyeok won't give us much time."

Over the next few days, the team was incredibly busy.

Jun-ho started looking for a factory space. He found a hundred-square-meter place in Seongdong-gu for 1.5 million won a month. It was a bit pricey, but the location was decent and convenient for transportation.

Chairman Wang Shunyi was busy with the online store during the day and went to the night market as usual in the evening. At the same time, he started opening shops on Gmarket and 11st. Sales weren't great yet, but having more windows couldn't hurt.

Kim Dong-xu landed eight more new stores in a week. He also started reaching out to regional managers of large chains to inquire about entry requirements and procedures.

Lee Soo-yeon ramped up promotional efforts across Instagram, YouTube, Xiaohongshu, and TikTok. She organized a 'Spiciness Challenge,' asking netizens to upload videos of themselves eating fire chicken noodles, with the top three most-liked videos winning a year's supply of free fire chicken noodles.

Everything seemed to be moving forward.

But the tension in Chairman Wang Shunyi's mind remained taut.

It is always quietest before the storm.

On Friday night, while he was working his stall at the night market, he encountered a strange man.

A man in a gray suit stood in front of the stall for a long time. He didn't buy anything; he just watched, looking at the customers and occasionally taking a few photos with his phone.

Chairman Wang Shunyi noticed and walked over.

"Hello, can I help you?"

The man looked up and smiled. "It's nothing, just looking around. Your fire chicken noodles are quite popular."

"Thank you."

"By the way, I heard you're from China?"

"Yes."

"Are there similar fire chicken noodles in China?"

"There are. But the brands are different, and the flavors vary as well."

"Oh—" The man nodded. "So, is your recipe your own, or did you buy it from someone else?"

Chairman Wang Shunyi's heart skipped a beat.

"I'm not at liberty to disclose that."

"Understood, understood." The man smiled again. "I won't disturb you further. Good luck with your business."

With that, he turned and left.

Chairman Wang Shunyi watched his back, feeling that something wasn't right.

Who was that guy? Why was he asking about the recipe?

Back at the office, he told Jun-ho about it.

"Gray suit? Asking about the recipe?" Jun-ho frowned. "Could it be someone from Canhe?"

"It's possible. But not necessarily," Chairman Wang Shunyi said. "In any case, we have to be careful."

"What do you plan to do?"

"The recipe must never be leaked. If anyone asks in the future, just say we developed it ourselves and have already applied for a patent. The packaging and production processes must also be kept confidential; don't let outsiders see them."

"Got it. Should we increase security at the factory?"

"Yes. Let's spend a bit more for peace of mind."

The two of them discussed a series of confidentiality measures.

Although they didn't know what Park Chan-hyeok's next move would be, it was better to secure their defenses first.

Over the weekend, Chairman Wang Shunyi received a text from his mother.

"Sunyi, how have you been lately? Are you busy?"

He replied: "I'm doing well, Mom. Work is a bit busy, but things are progressing smoothly. Are you and Dad okay?"

A few minutes later, his mother replied: "We're both fine. Your dad... he actually cares about you a lot, he's just stubborn. Take care of yourself and call us when you have time."

Chairman Wang Shunyi stared at the screen for a long while.

He knew his mother was trying to comfort him. He knew exactly what his father was like.

However, none of that mattered anymore.