Chapter 96

How should I crush them so word gets around that I crushed them well?

I stroked Chaeyeon's hair as she slept, her head on the desk, exhausted from the short but intense sex we'd had after a long time, and I fell into deep, endless thought.

I was planning to naturally stop going ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to the academy after the graduation ceremony and spring break.

But since there were still nearly two months left, I was very conflicted.

I could just crush them without worry and be done with it, but the aftermath would be hard to handle.

Chaeyeon came to the academy to study, so it didn't matter to her, but I just wanted to enjoy a sweet academy life with her.

If I openly crushed Geon Daegeon and his thug gang, it was obvious ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠how the other kids, and even the teachers, would treat me without even needing to see it.

I didn't want that.

When I didn't have this immense wealth and power, I longed for it, but I don't really want to see even people much older than me crawling at my feet.

Well, if they had committed a serious wrongdoing, I might accept it as natural.

But except for a few, that wasn't the case, and since I already had a history of crushing others, how could they treat me comfortably?

"Hmm..."

Then the only way was to either crush them secretly from behind or crush them just enough to make them crawl.

There were really many ways to do that.

Since Geon Daegeon's family seemed a bit well-off, I could simply investigate his parents and apply pressure.

If I had that thought, Geon Daegeon's parents would have no choice but to bow their heads, overwhelmed by the difference in power.

It seemed like a good idea, so I decided to use this method.

Then what about the rest of the rabble?

What about the three girls who spread the malicious rumors?

"I don't know."

How should I crush them?

The more I thought, the more my head hurt.

"Alright. We'll stop here for today. Make sure to do the homework I assigned."

The class ended and the teacher left the classroom.

As if he had been waiting, Geon Daegeon stood up, and his gang moved with him.

"Hey."

".....?"

I was still stroking Chaeyeon's hair as she slept.

I tilted my head at Geon Daegeon's call and looked up.

"You're dating a piece of shit like this? Ridiculous."

He pushed back his bangs and let out a laugh.

"What the hell do you see in him?"

His sudden words pissed me off.

They say people from different worlds can't recognize each other, but we'd just met, and I hadn't done anything, yet he was running his mouth like that, so my fists clenched.

But I held back for now.

I had worked out and built muscle, but while I might handle one-on-one, multiple opponents were impossible.

"Hey. Park Chaeyeon. Hey."

When she didn't wake up no matter how much he called, he reached out his hand, so I grabbed it.

"What?"

"What? I'm her boyfriend."

"You bastard. Stop talking shit."

He laughed, as if it was the first time someone had talked back to him like this.

And then, just as he clenched his fist and raised it as if to hit me,

A phone rang loudly.

Geon Daegeon frowned and pulled out his smartphone from his pocket.

"Yes, Father. I'm at the academy. Yes, yes. What? Right now? Suddenly... Ah, I understand. I'll leave right away."

The one-sided call ended, and he clicked his tongue.

"You're lucky."

He patted my shoulder and left the classroom.

Of course, his gang followed.

"A slut's boyfriend. How amusing."

One of the three girls in the group smirked.

And so the thug gang went outside without even closing the door, despite the cold.

"Yeah. How amusing."

It had been a while since anyone had dared to mess with me.

During school life, no one really bothered me, so it was comfortable, but conversely, when I went out into society at a young age, all sorts of contempt followed.

But those who ignored me were soon busy bowing their heads to me.

Buzz.

This time, my smartphone rang vigorously.

I checked who was calling and felt curious.

"It's the manager. Why is she calling?"

"Ung...?"

She had been sleeping soundly until just now, but my muttering woke her, and she rubbed her eyes and lifted her head.

For reference, I wasn't exactly running a company, but I did have a separate secretary.

There was more work than I thought, so I needed one. So I hired a few people, and luckily, the head secretary was a really capable person.

She handled things on her own when I wasn't needed.

Her judgment was satisfying enough that I wanted to keep her with me for life if possible.

So why did that secretary suddenly call?

"Jihoon... where are you going...?"

Chaeyeon, who had been eavesdropping on the call next to me, carefully asked.

"Ah, yeah. They said I have a meeting."

"......"

She made a sad face, as if she thought I was leaving already when we had just met after a long time, and she hugged me.

"Can't I go too...?"

"It'll be boring, you know?"

Even if Chaeyeon came, she would just sit there blankly doing nothing.

Even if she tried to listen, the conversation would be full of topics too difficult for her to understand yet.

So it would be better for her to just stay here.

The problem was that she was begging with a face that showed she wanted to follow me rather than stay alone at the academy.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Alright. Let's go together."

It'll be boring, but Chaeyeon wants to, and...

Above all, I couldn't leave her alone at an academy full of kids who actively believed the malicious rumors.

So I packed up with Chaeyeon and headed to the teachers' office.

The teacher said one day would be fine, but next time she wouldn't allow it and would contact our parents, and then let us go.

We came outside and spotted a familiar car, so we approached it.

"Get in first."

"Okay."

I opened the back door, helped Chaeyeon in first, then got in myself.

"We'll depart."

"Yes."

The driver, who had a warm impression, had only ever seen Nayeong with me before, and even seeing Chaeyeon for the first time, he said nothing to me.

He had no reason to interfere, and he didn't know how I would react if he did, so it was a wise choice.

"Jihoon..."

Chaeyeon, sitting next to me, tugged at my sleeve.

"Yeah?"

"What should I do...? Can I just sit here? Won't I be a burden?"

Now that she had actually come along, she felt anxious.

It was her first time in a situation like this, and she thought she might cause me harm.

I let out a small laugh and stroked her hair.

"It's fine. You can do whatever you want. But refrain from anything that crosses the line too much."

"Of course. I'm not that stupid."

"Yeah, yeah."

Chaeyeon was very cute.

Maybe because of what happened at the academy, she was acting differently than usual, and I couldn't help but smile.

But still, I couldn't help that the usual Chaeyeon was much better.

I was already captivated by her unique charm.

But sometimes, really sometimes, I wished she would show this side of herself.

"We've arrived."

It didn't take long to arrive.

We got out of the car and were in front of the Daeil Industries headquarters.

Even calling it headquarters, it was much smaller and older than the massive Daeil Industries headquarters I remembered from the future.

"It might take a while, so please rest somewhere."

"Thank you."

I handed the driver 50,000 won in cash and got out of the car.

As soon as we got out, the president of Daeil Industries was there to greet us.

"Long time no see, Stock Emperor. Haha."

Before I knew it, I was being called the Stock Emperor, or 'Stock Emperor-nim' for short.

It wasn't a bad nickname, so I didn't show any discomfort when people called me that.

"Yes. Long time no see, President."

I also greeted him, shaking his hand.

But then.

"Who is this next to you?"

I had heard that the president of Daeil Industries had an only son.

"Ah, this is my son. Haha. Isn't he handsome?"

A boy around my age was staring at me with his eyes wide open and mouth agape in shock.

"Yes. He's very handsome. He looks like he'll make many women cry."

That bastard who made my woman cry. Geon Daegeon was the son of the Daeil Industries president.