Yoo Ha-yeon's Daily Life (3)
On the flight to New York, Seo Ji-yeon witnessed a rare sight.
“Yawn…”
Yoo Ha-yeon, whose eyes always sparkled like that, had gone through every one of the hundreds of documents she'd brought and finally dozed off—if only for a brief moment.
She looks like a real angel up close like this…
The sight of Yoo Ha-yeon sleeping peacefully was that of a girl so breathtakingly beautiful and refined it defied description.
Rustle.
When Seo Ji-yeon lightly stroked her long, graceful arms and delicate, jade-like hands, a wave of embarrassment washed over her. Yoo Ha-yeon's skin was pure white and luminous, tinged with a soft pink glow—nothing at all like Seo Ji-yeon's own comparatively plain body. Sure, Seo Ji-yeon was pretty enough to draw stares from most guys on the street, but the benchmark here was just too damn high.
It wasn't for nothing that Yoo Ha-yeon, who had never dated once, was known as the couple destroyer at Daeha Middle School.
She's a rare species who hardly ever shows up at school anyway, and she gets way too chummy with guys…
Seo Ji-yeon huffed pettily and whipped her head away.
She could picture it all too clearly: Yoo Ha-yeon flashing that playful grin at the boys.
Not even flirting or anything, just… something like that. All while ignoring the one person who actually likes her.
Really, after dragging someone onto a dawn flight and making them suffer…
—“Nah, forget it. I'll give you the notebook as a gift. Make sure you serve the young lady privately too… You get what I mean? Sigh, must be nice being the young lady's age.”
Suddenly recalling Lee Si-hyun's wry smile, Seo Ji-yeon let out a deep sigh and toyed with the notebook she'd gotten from her.
“Sigh, such is my fate.”
She had a feeling she'd spend her whole life getting dragged around by Yoo Ha-yeon.
And the fact that it didn't feel half bad… well, that was the worst part.
The destination Yoo Ha-yeon headed to was a suburb a bit removed from the heart of Wall Street.
It made sense. Aside from a small investment in Alpha Fund, she was just another foreigner with no real ties there.
“Hasn't it been a while since those days, miss? You're quite the public figure now. The foundation promised to keep things under wraps, but… eyes are everywhere.”
Ha Young-il dropped the comment casually.
He's basically asking if it's really okay to move so openly…
Yoo Ha-yeon flashed a small smile and nodded.
“Yeah, yeah. It's intentional, but risky all the same.”
The idea of some shadowy puppet master secretly ruling the world was pure fantasy. Unless you had superhuman powers… no individual could ever beat a collective, let alone a nation.
Authority stems from history and tradition; power from others' recognition. An unknown ruler's power is limited precisely because no one knows about it.
That was why Yoo Ha-yeon actually preferred her current approach.
She had loyal subordinates like Chief Secretary Lee Si-hyun, but that also meant the organization couldn't survive without them.
And yet… competent, obedient underlings with no infighting? Come on, who actually pulls that off?
They only seemed that capable and devoted because she was so exceptional. Her organization was held together solely by her charisma and talent.
Take Seo Ji-yeon—even she wouldn't blindly obey if Yoo Ha-yeon's overwhelming performance ever faltered. She might not leave, but unquestioning loyalty? Gone.
Of course, Lady Ha-yeon wouldn't want that anyway.
Seo Ji-yeon mused to herself. A bad system relies on exceptional individuals; a good one keeps running even with incompetents at the helm.
By that metric, Yoo Ha-yeon's setup was the worst: utterly dependent on its hyper-competent leadership.
And she guessed that Yoo Ha-yeon probably wanted a system that could chug along decently even without her—like Ming Dynasty China back in the day.
There were already examples. Korean chaebols were a prime case. The biggest flaw in their model—owner risk—didn't apply to Yoo Ha-yeon at all, making it perfect for her.
Though she seems to hate chaebols themselves…
Watching Yoo Ha-yeon maintain that enigmatic, playful smile, Seo Ji-yeon groaned inwardly, trying to read her boss's mind.
Thud.
“Alright, let's get to it. How's the stock?”
The young lady propped her arms and chest on the table, eyes gleaming.
The fund manager who ruled Wall Street began his briefing—for her alone.
“…The indices are tanking in the usual panic-sell pattern. Lots of it, but not as bad as expected. Looks like they'll stabilize soon.”
“We went all-in on short positions, right? Sell half the put options for now… Tomorrow, Russia's gonna get volatile on its own. Focus there. I wrote down the details—check those.”
Yoo Ha-yeon knew the news about finally getting repaid on those roughly $100 million in Tsarist-era Russian bonds would drop tomorrow. Not great news, since it meant shelling out more cash. At least paying off old debt would boost their credit rating. That was probably why the Russian government stuck to the decision amid the chaos.
She said the call came way before the coup attempt…
Was this timing planned, or just the 'coincidences' Yoo Ha-yeon always talked about? Who knew.
Coincidentally profiting from the Soviet collapse, coincidentally uncovering the Madoff Fund fraud, coincidentally caught up in the LA riots in a 'lucky' way…
Where did luck end and planning begin?
She reaped harvests from seeds planted who-knows-when, betting big each time. Today was just one of countless such days.
Business as usual for Yoo Ha-yeon.
Pouring rain.
After wrapping up with Ha Young-il, rain poured down on the drive to the Hollywood villa.
Drumming relentlessly!
The downpour hammered the car roof so hard it was deafening.
“Ahahaha! This is awesome! Faster, hit it!”
Yoo Ha-yeon cackled like a maniac. She stepped out now and then, getting soaked, but didn't care—urging the car onward to the villa.
If they'd just flown back to Korea, fine—but barely 18 hours in, and she was raring for more work.
Seo Ji-yeon, who'd only caught catnaps the whole time, was utterly wiped.
“Ugh… Lady, please don't make me go out there… My head's killing me.”
Yoo Ha-yeon tilted her head at that.
“Oh yeah, you're writing my diary, right? Don't put that in there. Yoo Ha-yeon has to always be perfect and beautiful.”
“Yes, ma'am…”
You psycho…
She swallowed the thought, forcing her drooping eyes open and nodding. Messing with Yoo Ha-yeon right now was a bad idea. One wrong move, and she might get dragged into the bath together.
Instead, Seo Ji-yeon vowed to write about today no matter what.
“Miss… Aren't you feeling grimy? You're usually such a neat freak, why now…”
She knew the answer. Yoo Ha-yeon, with her ridiculously picky personality, would sell her pride and tastes cheap when money was involved.
But deeming this no big deal, she nodded.
“Mm, yeah. Let's shower here first. Kinda sticky.”
“…This isn't even a hotel?”
Seo Ji-yeon stared blankly at the family restaurant chain, then freaked when she saw what Yoo Ha-yeon was doing.
Thud.
Yoo Ha-yeon pulled out a check and handed it to the server, then grinned and pointed at her drenched suit.
“Ten grand to use this place. Cool?”
“…Pardon? Ten… Oh, yes! Yes! Of course! Um, food orders…?”
“Nah, just a shower. Hook a hose to the kitchen sink and clear out the back. Hmm. Actually, since we're here, brunch too. Your best stuff. I'll wash up first.”
The server's face went blank.
What did that lady just say…?
“…Yes?”
Seo Ji-yeon, hauling spare suits and gear from the trunk, panted as she tried to stop her.
“M-Miss! Please don't, I beg you…”
.
.
.
Pouring water.
The rain had stopped, but the sound of running water hadn't.
Yoo Ha-yeon had actually showered in the restaurant.
The staff was flustered but didn't refuse. Some eccentric rich weirdo was paying $10,000 to dirty up an empty spot for a bit.
They dragged in every curtain to screen her off… but since she didn't care, it was mostly pointless.
“Life……”
Seo Ji-yeon muttered soullessly, holding the crisply dry-cleaned new suit.
She'd gotten soaked too, inevitably pulled in by Yoo Ha-yeon's hand.
“Phew, knocked another thing off the bucket list today. Feels great, right?”
That's a bucket list item…?
Seo Ji-yeon shook her head at Yoo Ha-yeon casually blow-drying her hair.
“…Not even a little.”
Click.
Grabbing her pen, Seo Ji-yeon started finishing her diary entry.
Looked like the front needed an author's note.
[This is my record of Yoo Ha-yeon's daily life. And if you've read the previous entries, dear reader, you know by now: I am the one who faithfully documents—and points out—even my lady's flaws. Worried my shallow perspective might lead to misinterpretation, I've stuck to plain facts without embellishment. Please don't misunderstand. I swear on my honor and my father's: there are no lies or exaggerations here.]