Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Mai Ryeon (1)
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Mai Ryeon.
In my previous life, the English name Ellen Marshall was far more famous. From around 2020, he became known as the world's richest person...
After that, he went seriously off the rails. He played a big role in my downfall in that life, so to be honest, I hate the guy.
'Who would've thought a war would break out there... damn psycho bastard.'
Mai Ryeon was born to a U.S. serviceman stationed in Korea and a Korean mother. The problem was that his father was just a rich piece of trash.
His backstory is pretty complicated..., but there's no need to go into the nitty-gritty details of the life of the man once called Ellen Marshall in my previous life.
Who gives a damn about that stuff anyway? In the end, I have to solve my own problems.
Sure, I've got a few mental issues myself..., but I think it's better to mutter 'ah, shit, this sucks' and get up to scam someone than to wallow in self-pity in my room, bawling my eyes out.
Anyway, after a rough school life, he dodged the draft and immigrated to the U.S. There, he succeeded one after another in IT, space, electric vehicles, and more..., eventually becoming the world's biggest star.
-Flip.
I held a coffee mug in one hand and flipped through an internet magazine. What I was looking for in the magazine was Mai Ryeon's name.
'It should be around here by now...'
Mai Ryeon had developed his first small game at age thirteen, they said. It was a pretty famous story from my previous life that he'd submitted it to an internet magazine and gotten paid for it.
I planned to make connections with him in middle school, but sooner was better, right?
"Ha-yeon, miss, if you skip breakfast and drink coffee first thing in the morning, you won't grow any taller."
Lee Si-hyeon chimed in from beside me. I grumbled and stretched out my little arms.
"Ugh, it's the weekend, so I slept in. It's such a hassle to eat breakfast when you wake up late."
-Yawn.
I let out a small yawn. I'd been up late reviewing documents last night, so I was still sleepy.
"That's what you get for stalking someone till late. Honestly, it gave me the creeps watching you."
She looked queasy at the stack of documents piled in the corner of the room. It was this year's university freshman roster that I'd devoured in a single day.
"Hey now, shouldn't I at least know the names of the people who'll be under me?"
"...They didn't even consent to that."
Go find consent in the 21st century. Actually, thinking about it, personal info was pretty loose even back then...
'Hmm, it'll all end up in my hands eventually anyway.'
Later on, I'll launch a messenger app and collect everyone's personal data. What a groundbreaking idea.
"Si-hyeon, by the way, there were some omissions in the Daeha Group new hire roster."
When I counted the numbers, they didn't match the newspaper reports. Departments didn't line up either...
"Really? I got everything we could from the Secretary's Office..."
"Who'd you get it from? The Secretary General?"
Lee Si-hyeon shook her head.
"No, he's always too busy to meet with me. I got it from this guy named Han Sang-hyeon in the Secretary's Office."
Ah, I'd heard the name vaguely.
"He's Uncle's guy. I heard his uncle's schoolmates with Uncle Jin-ha."
When grooming heirs in chaebol families, they often assign the kids of trusted executives as personal aides from a young age.
Daeha doesn't have much history, so there aren't many cases. Among the third generation, maybe the secretary that Yoo Seon-jun keeps around is the second son of Secretary General Lee Hak-cheol?
Well, Han Sang-hyeon's uncle isn't on that level. I heard they just happened to meet and got close.
"Oh, is this some kind of check or something?"
Who knows.
"Probably nothing major. He's overstepped before..., or he might just be a stickler for rules. There are omissions from both Uncle Jin-seok's affiliates and Uncle Jin-ha's."
Truth be told, it was pretty arrogant of me to expect the full roster in the first place. That's why I told her to sneak the new hire lists from the welcome party prep team...
"...Yeah, it's a bit suspicious. I heard Han Sang-hyeon isn't direct-line under Uncle Jin-ha. Overzealous loyalty?"
Lee Si-hyeon tilted her head at my words.
"You've been saying 'I heard' a lot lately, but I'm with you almost 24/7 and haven't heard any of that. You're always pulling knowledge from who-knows-where..., did Chairman say something?"
"Where'd I hear it? From Uncle Jin-ha, of course..."
Ah.
...Considering the info came straight from Yoo Jin-ha's mouth, it's not exactly reliable.
Laying the groundwork bit by bit, then twenty years later smirking evilly with 'When exactly did you think Han Sang-hyeon wasn't my man?'
Bean counter who bankrupted the group even after taking over from the chairman, but weirdly skilled at scheming. Wonder why he didn't go into politics.
"Ugh, did he play me? Tch, might get some heavy pushback later."
I kicked my feet in frustration, but that didn't change anything. Si-hyeon should handle that stuff herself anyway.
'Sigh, focus on something else for now.'
Finding Mai Ryeon was more important right now. I needed to know which middle school he went to so I could follow him there.
How long had I been flipping through magazines?
"Hmm..., this is code I wrote."
Sometimes I'd spot code I'd uploaded as a hobby and get a kick out of it.
"This magazine's badmouthing our company... Time to shut it down soon."
I fumed at the nerve of them dissing the game company I'd invested in personally, wasting time until...
I found it.
The code for a shooting game Mai Ryeon had made all by himself.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The moment I spotted that code, I contacted the magazine. Not personally, of course—I went through the game company I'd bought a while back.
It had been four years since I acquired that tiny game studio. And four years is an eternity in this industry.
Semiconductor and electronics performance had quadrupled thanks to Moore's Law..., and knowing the future of gaming, I'd quickly imported hot titles for massive profits.
Thanks to that, I could even rename the company to my taste.
'Pygmalion Soft.' I named it that thinking of making gacha games with beautiful girls later. Ultimately, I plan to expand into AI, but that was the initial idea.
In my previous life, I was so broke I couldn't whale on gacha— this time, I'll go wild.
'Sigh, the title heroine has to be modeled after me, of course. Make her a total cheat character, then tuck the adult content as exclusive DLC on my devices.'
And it wasn't just a fantasy... the company was killing it right now.
With my future knowledge poured in full throttle, it was only natural. We'd even officially licensed Tetris from the Soviets recently.
-Is this some kind of Soviet hypnosis device?
Our CEO joked about it, but Tetris was that legendary. It went beyond a mere game.
Anyway, as a result...
Pygmalion Soft had built a solid reputation in Korea's gaming scene, at least.
The family thought I was just importing the latest games for fun (which was half-true), but my company was already at the cutting edge of the industry.
That's why a random magazine sold Mai Ryeon's personal info without hesitation.
One evening.
-Screech.
A black Benz sped down an alley against the sunset backdrop. Lee Si-hyeon, behind the wheel, skillfully blocked a boy's path home.
"Eek!"
The boy shielded his eyes from the dust whipped up by the wind.
And then—
With a click, the door of the luxury car swung open.
Lee Si-hyeon rolled down the driver's window, rested her elbow on the sill, and spoke.
"The miss is looking for you."
My sunglassed secretary flashed a professional smile and nodded toward the back seat. There sat a super-genius little miss in an oversized custom suit.
Naturally, that miss was Yoo Ha-yeon—me.
"...Who are you?"
Ellen Marshall.
The century's boy genius, just finishing sixth grade elementary, stared at me blankly.
"No time to explain! Get in quick!"
I hid my gleeful inner thoughts and gestured urgently, like it was life or death.
'If you were a guy, I couldn't hold back.'
...Actually, I couldn't hold back even as a girl. Some fantasies don't die.
As the dazed Mai Ryeon climbed into my Benz, Lee Si-hyeon shot me a pitiful look.
"..."
I had no choice if I wanted to make it plausible for me to bring Mai Ryeon along... but that look made me seem like a total weirdo.
Keep it up, and I'll meddle in every dating sim from now on—turn every sporty big sis character into a losing heroine.
For real.