Family Gathering at the Event
As I arrived at the venue, Gominji and the rest of the family were already seated. Amid the bustling crowd everywhere, the space around us felt eerily open and quiet, like a void punched through the chaos. It wasn't empty, though—bodyguards and secretaries dotted the area here and there.
"Come on over."
Gominji turned her head with a childish pout that screamed hmph, while Gominyoung greeted me warmly, her eyes burning with intensity. The other aunts and sisters were there too, and even Grandfather nodded at me approvingly. No one sat beside him. Sure, there were plenty of women from the side branches, but it seemed he kept them away from the direct line's spot.
"Greetings again, Grandfather, Aunts."
"Good. Sit down. It'll start soon."
"Yes, sir."
I plopped down in a random seat. Gohayan was right next to me.
"You're here."
"Yes, sis."
She gave a small smile, then lifted her left hand in front of her face. The back of her hand faced me, and the ring on her ring finger caught my eye immediately.
"That...!"
"Yeah. The ring I mentioned before. Pretty, right?"
"Whoa... seeing it in person is totally different."
She smiled even brighter. "Exactly. There's always a huge gap between seeing jewelry in media and seeing it for real."
Excited about her field of expertise, Gohayan kept talking. Her professional knowledge was pretty informative at first, but it started dragging on.
That's when Gohayoung—Gohayan's mom and my aunt—leaned in slyly, eyeing us both. "What's this? You two getting all buddy-buddy? Even wearing rings?"
Gohayan flinched, then turned away from me. "I-it was just business... we talked, and it ended up like this."
"Hmm, business?" For some reason, Gohayoung wore a mischievous grin, like a cat toying with its prey. "Come to think of it~, I might have some business to discuss with my nephew too?"
"Me?"
"Yeees~."
What the hell? What could I possibly have going with Gohayoung right now? Goryeo Group had tons of random subsidiaries, so there was probably something if I dug, but nothing came to mind.
"You've been kicking off a ton of projects lately. But zero loans?"
"Ah."
Right. Loans... For big corporations, financial products like loans are practically mandatory. But I had none. If you stretched it, maybe that massive short-selling spree with Real Production? But even that's cleared now—my debt's at zero. Pure cash only. Every business I'm running is fueled by straight cash, which isn't exactly standard.
Not like I'm going public to suck in investor money either.
It was borderline abnormal, you could say. From Gohayoung's finance perspective, she might think, He's moving too slow.
"For my nephew, I could hook you up cheap~."
"..."
Talking interest rates, huh?
"Th-thanks, Aunt. But I don't need loans yet."
"Hehe. Fair enough? Playing it safe without debt isn't bad. But if you want real efficiency, you'll need my help."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Hey, don't keep it in mind. Don't borrow from Mom, no matter what."
"Oh? What's that supposed to mean?"
Suddenly, Gohayan and Gohayoung started bickering. Gohayan griping about pushing loans on a kid, Gohayoung insisting real entrepreneurs need financial savvy. Honestly, no clue why they were clashing—both had points.
"Borrow and fail to pay? You're done for life that day."
"Ha! Look at her. You think I'd do that to my nephew?"
"I wouldn't put it past you."
Looks like... Gohayoung's got some skeletons too, if her daughter's saying that.
Gominji can't stand up to Gominyoung, but this pair's different. Harmonious? Kinda.
Every Go household had its vibe, apparently. I snuck a glance at Go Seon-ah and Goseonyul's side—Goseonyul's the daughter.
"..."
"..."
Two eerily similar women fiddling with their phones in silence. Our eyes met; Goseonyul indifferently shifted back to her screen, Go Seon-ah gave a slight nod, then did the same. Like mother, like daughter.
Boom.
The lights dimmed. A massive hologram bloomed front and center.
Showtime.
The year-end recap and New Year's resolution presentation kicked off—wrapping up the past year and pledging the next. The hologram, which had plunged the room into darkness, morphed wildly into footage. Stuff like "In 2076, this happened, and Goryeo Group did that, yielding these results."
The shocker: Goryeo Economic Research Institute's estimate for global GDP—120 quintillion won.
Back in the 2020s, Earth's total was around 10-13 quintillion, I think.
Worlds apart from my old one, sure, but still insane. Roughly tenfold growth amid WW3's devastation, endless splits and mergers in a chaotic mess.
And this is post-denomination won...
Current exchange: 67 won to the dollar. Even with the US splintered into three and dollar hegemony crumbled, the won's dominance is nuts. China's shattered into 20, Japan's half-dead from disasters and Chinese strikes, Northeast Asia's coastal belt from Shandong to Korea crammed with billions—crime exploding, inequality maxed—yet rated livable. That's why.
Numbers look big, but Earth's economy's wrecked. Zombie economy, they call it.
Asia at 80 quintillion? We're sucking it all dry.
Of the rest: three US chunks ~28 quintillion, Europe 7, scraps for the world. Population justifies it, but the gap's wild.
Not simple math, though—Asia's not 3x the US or 10x Europe. Infighting eats them up; reunited, their synergy would explode. Can't relax.
Recall the single-China crisis: two Euro blocs checked us simultaneously. Maybe underground reunification talks already.
Europe's fallen to a quarter of the fractured US—crisis mode, no more infighting.
Worst case: three US + two Euros merge like old NATO.
Doubtful, given WW3 betrayals...
But with Asia at 80 quintillion, how much is Goryeo raking?
Vague "Asia-dominating group" talk—no exacts. Maybe 20 quintillion to claim dominance?
No reveal. It skimmed global/Asia GDP, rivals' woes, pumping "We crushed it this year."
Clap, clapclapclap, clapclapclap.
Thunderous applause. Faces swelling with pride, pounding hands. Stirring, with epic music and overwhelming results.
Finally, the grand finale. Upping the pomp.
Pyongyang erupted in fireworks.
"Hohoho."
Grandfather laughed delightedly, clapping. Aunts eyed him pitifully, clapping a beat late; sisters followed, then me fumbling hard, spreading to everyone.
Grandfather stood—domino effect: aunts, sisters, me, rest, standing ovation.
Is this for real? Pro Go debut trumps everything???