Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Friends Close, Enemies Closer (2)
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Daeha Group's founder, Chairman Yoo Seong-pil, had two heirs.
Eldest son Yoo Jin-seok and second son Yoo Jin-ha.
Of the two, Yoo Jin-ha was the smart one.
How smart? About on par with me in my past life.
...To be honest, just a tad, a tiny bit smarter than past-life me.
Anyway.
This was common knowledge to anyone interested in people—or rather, in Daeha Group.
Unlike Yoo Jin-seok, whose short heyday consisted of just a few childhood anecdotes, Yoo Jin-ha had already published several papers worthy of academic recognition during his college days.
The problem? Yoo Jin-ha's major wasn't in the sciences, or even economics or business—it was straight-up humanities: philosophy.
...How does someone major in philosophy?
If he'd gone to engineering or the natural sciences instead of humanities, Daeha Group in my past life probably wouldn't have lost its spot as the top conglomerate. Philosophy tends to attract the highly intelligent who lack drive, after all.
Anyway, Yoo Jin-ha's sparkling talent got entirely consumed by piercing insights into the world's truths and social structures, causing him to overlook critical flaws in the group's future.
Just like Karl Marx pondered capitalism's end while freeloading at his rich friend's house, Yoo Jin-ha led the cutting-edge semiconductor industry through sheer ignorance of engineering and science.
This was how humanities types typically ruined the world.
Plus, while Marx was at least a great thinker who picked his friends wisely, Yoo Jin-ha had no genius engineer buddies (though he did have a genius engineer nephew) and wasn't particularly outstanding as a manager either.
In short, it was even worse.
For example, back in my past life when I was deep into internet culture... Yoo Jin-ha was getting flak left and right as the empty counter who'd ruined Daeha Group. The stock price was hitting new lows daily.
Memorable was the joke that Chairman Yoo Seong-pil's one mistake was not forcing his second son into engineering school. Come to think of it, it came from someone on a stock forum who'd lost 300 million won, so maybe it wasn't a joke.
Whatever... I don't know what happened after that. Unfortunately, Yoo Jin-ha outlived me.
But where there's loss, there's gain.
The sensitive literary boy Yoo Jin-ha, after enduring the triple whammy of dictatorship, chaebol family traditions, and overseas study, evolved into an ultra-psychopathic, cold-blooded opportunist.
"Oh, Ha-yeon. How's business going these days? I heard you're not just doing securities but department stores too."
Yeah, Yoo Jin-ha was the type to bring up business with an elementary schooler. He even threw genuine probing punches at me now and then, shameless as ever.
Why pick on me?
"Ehehe, I'm still just a kid in school, you know."
-Sidestep.
I tried to slip past naturally, but his positioning was perfect, and the height difference blocked me.
Damn, if not for this hanbok skirt...
"No, if you were just some kid, I wouldn't have said anything. Aren't you the child prodigy of the Daeha family, Ha-yeon? Haha."
Yoo Jin-seok, true to his mediocrity, seemed to think I was just a precocious kid... but Yoo Jin-ha apparently judged I was hiding schemes like him.
Tsk.
Even if I was scheming—which I was—this was inconvenient. No leaks, I hope?
The biggest issue was not knowing how much Yoo Jin-ha knew or didn't know. And he was actively exploiting that ambiguity.
"The department store's just a hobby. Games... yeah, those too. Lately, I've been focusing on Daeha Securities, but it's not easy."
The first two really were hobbies, basically.
But did Yoo Jin-ha think so?
'Cunning people always overthink.'
Luckily, his attention was mostly on Yoo Jin-seok and Chairman Yoo Seong-pil, or I'd have been exposed ages ago.
The same went for them, of course. That’s why I wasn’t playing black-market games for nothing.
The key here wasn't hiding my plans—it was keeping Yoo Jin-ha's focus off me.
So I played the right mix of ordinary and extraordinary kid.
"Japan's bubble just burst, right? Feels like a great opportunity. I pulled out all the real estate investments there ahead of time... Long-term stagnation expected, so lots of money-making chances."
I stared at him with innocent eyes, and he smiled faintly in response.
"Oh, really? If Japan enters a long slump... Dad would love that."
"Ah! Semiconductors, right? If Japanese companies lose competitiveness, Daeha Electronics pulls ahead."
"Exactly. Haha, must be nice holding Daeha Electronics shares. Price is gonna soar."
"Hehe, got lucky."
I flexed my smarts for all I was worth to signal harmlessness, but he didn't budge.
Or rather, he maintained that misty, enigmatic demeanor.
His skill at stacking plans with words no one could pin down was no joke. If I didn't know past-life Yoo Jin-ha, I wouldn't have spotted anything to criticize in his speech.
"...Shall we walk? The Chairman's waiting."
"Yes, Uncle."
-Step.
Yoo Jin-ha and I traded ambiguous words as we slowly headed to the mansion.
"Made any friends lately? Haha, with your level, school life's probably not that fun, huh?"
'He even knows about my isolation? Lying here would raise his guard... How much to reveal?'
I mixed truth and lies just right.
"Yeah... kinda. But I did find a good one. Not quite at my level yet... but pretty smart, so it's nice."
"Huh, that's surprising. A friend who meets your standards."
"Aw, don't praise me like that, Uncle. It's embarrassing."
-Step.
"Come to think of it, that secretary who's always glued to you isn't around."
"Oh, Si-hyeon's probably at the Secretary's Office. Said she was meeting the Secretary General after so long."
"Mm. Secretary General Lee Hak-cheol brought her in, right? With the office so busy these days, not sure if they'll meet."
"Really? Politics keeping them swamped, I guess... Maybe cooking up some slush funds."
-Step.
"Ahaha, that's classified. But it'll settle soon. Dad's coming back soon."
Yoo Jin-ha paused at the mansion entrance, smiled at me.
"Need more secretaries? You seem busy lately."
Sunlight backlit him from behind. Staring at his shadowed face, I slowly shook my head.
"I'm good for now. Si-hyeon handles most things... Plus, I'm pulling some from Daeha Securities. Feels wrong taking more from Grandpa's already busy office."
Weeding out the disloyal was work enough.
I smiled faintly and said to him,
"Hmm... Days like today are inconvenient, though. If you know anyone good, recommend later? My current one's getting on in years; gotta watch her stamina."
"Sure. Bosses who overwork underlings breed resentment. Good you know that."
Sage words.
Body secretaries usually ran three shifts or rotated every year or two. Principle or not, without it, their bodies wore out.
I'd used only Lee Si-hyeon at first, but later added another for two shifts. Impossible if she weren't so tough.
Yoo Jin-ha kindly offered a bomb.
"I know someone. That Han Sang-hyeon I mentioned? Did Chairman's secretary duty, so reliable. Friend's son, trustworthy."
No—from your view trustworthy means untrustworthy to me.
I sighed inwardly.
Couldn't refuse outright.
No choice. Meant to delay, but... time for that project.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Post-surgery, Chairman Yoo Seong-pil looked quite gaunt.
"Hoo... you're here. Ha-yeon."
His personal doctor allowed only one-on-one visits, saying crowds were noisy and bad for the patient.
Naturally, I was dead last in the pecking order.
I approached the grandfather who looked worn from all the visitors.
"Yes, I'm here, Grandpa."
His wrinkled hand suddenly made him seem frail, tugging at my heart.
'...Didn't know I still had feelings like this.'
"Lungs... cough. Hoo... hard to breathe."
Scowling, he stared at me a moment, then blurted,
"Making bank feels good, eh?"
I tilted my head.
"...Pardon?"
"The fund. In America. Made a killing."
I glanced around. Bodyguards, of course.
"... ."
Hm.
Who?
Lots of candidates.