Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: The Start of the 1990s (1)
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Even though all three premises were correct, it didn't particularly pin down what I needed to do or identify the culprit.
‘If I knew who the culprit was, I would've dragged Si-hyeon along and nabbed them ages ago.’
Maybe Chairman Yoo Seong-pil had some connections in New York that even I didn't know about, and he'd heard through them. If so, I'd be in the dark forever.
“...By any chance, could it be other employees from Daeha Securities?”
Lee Si-hyeon raised the question cautiously. It was a fair doubt, but...
“Hmm, who knows. A low-level employee, maybe, but not many people know the details of the Alpha Fund, right? Just a few managers or directors... they know more.”
And if Chairman Yoo Seong-pil knew everything, he would've grilled me harder.
-Clink.
After eating some of the ramen, I set down my chopsticks and sipped the broth. The spicy broth hit just right, all stimulating and satisfying.
“...At first, back when we got to the hotel, I really thought you were gonna bury me for real, miss.”
Lee Si-hyeon wielded her chopsticks carefully to keep broth off her white dress shirt as she spoke. The shirt wasn't as filthy as her pants had been, but after a quick rinse, it clung tight to her body.
Thanks to that, her underwear showed right through the chest area. I stared openly at her explosively full bust and said,
“Yeah? Why, don't you trust me that much?”
“No, it's Shin Ramyun... I figured you were holding a grudge from when I got cocky before...”
Ah, that time?
Our Si-hyeon had a sharp memory too.
“You mean when I said I'd shed a few tears if you died? Nah, that's not worth tears anymore. You'd need Buldak-level betrayal for that.”
I let out a chuckle.
‘She's seriously cute.’
“But what's Buldak...?”
She tilted her head.
“Figure it out. It's a thing.”
-Slurp.
Eating off a folding table on the floor gave it this nostalgic vibe.
The kind of old-school sentiment you don't get in a chaebol household. As I eyed the empty pot, Lee Si-hyeon blushed a bit and tugged her shirt down.
“...Pervert.”
Ah, right—she wasn't wearing anything underneath.
“What're you saying? Nothing to see down there anyway. If there's anything worth looking at, it's up top, not below...”
I had my own now too, anyway. An upgraded version, even.
‘...Upgraded how?’
Functionally? Like I'd ever use it.
My cheeks heated up a little. I pouted and whipped my head away.
“Hmph, whatever.”
“...”
Lee Si-hyeon gave me a strange look for a second, then went back to her chopsticks without a word.
-Clink.
A little time passed.
She glanced at me warily before standing, tidied the pot, and cleared the table.
“Um, miss. If there's another traitor besides me... wouldn't it be one of Grandfather's people? Is it really okay to just sweep them away like you did with me?”
What was this, sulking?
She had a point, though. Sometimes you know about spies but can't root them out. And calling someone the group chairman dispatched a “spy”? Debatable.
It was Grandfather's call from the start, anyway.
But it was fine.
“Ah, Grandfather mentioned it. Said it would've been better if they hadn't slipped up at the end. So... demotion or firing's okay. I've got his go-ahead.”
Unfair from their side, sure...
What could you do? That's life.
If Grandfather took a shine to them, he'd probably just transfer them elsewhere.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Several factors kept us at the hotel one more day.
The biggest was cleanup. It was a stretch to purge your closest subordinate, then claim it was a joke.
Not that many people knew, of course.
So we played it off as a sneaky date. My prickly personality made any odd vibes believable enough.
-Gasp. A love triangle with Young Master Seon-jun...!
...Weird rumors might fly, but it'd be fine.
“...But that doesn't mean you can't buy me new clothes, right?”
Lee Si-hyeon stared blankly at the still-damp laundry.
Figuring a missing top (with bra) beat missing bottoms entirely, she'd stripped off the shirt and tied it around her waist.
Disposable pants? Moneybags.
“Hey, didn't I give you something to cover up top?”
“...”
Lee Si-hyeon had a name tag pinned to her chest. My own handwriting—a priceless treasure. No refusing that.
What'd it say?
(Cheap) No Betrayal All Day (Congrats)
Kya, perfect.
“Feels like something from a back alley...”
-Flutter flutter.
She poked the tag on her chest, sighed, and plopped down.
“You're not gonna pull this at home too, are you? I'd actually get hurt.”
“Wah wah, trash. Si-hyeon, who had no choice but to betray me, hurts more than the betrayed me? Wow, what a nerve. Didn't peg our Si-hyeon for this.”
I fake-cried, and she bit her lip, shaking her head.
“N-no, miss.”
“It's fine. Won't do it at home. Nanny's there—can't stir up awkwardness.”
“Ah...”
Nanny knew next to nothing about me. Zilch on my business dealings, specifically.
Simple reason: more she knew, more danger.
I wasn't some eldritch horror where knowledge drives you mad—“KAAAK, what is this forbidden wisdom?!”—but still, didn't want her fretting over me.
Not like I was up to saintly stuff.
‘Or maybe... Oppa Seon-jun's the real danger. Knowledge itself.’
She'd stare dead serious at UFO articles sometimes. Conspiracy magnet, that one.
Ahem, anyway.
“Si-hyeon, you really worked hard this time.”
“...No, miss.”
Time to gaslight Si-hyeon a touch—pin the blame on her.
“But now I've let you in on it, so watch your words going forward?”
She stared vacantly into space, murmuring at the “No Betrayal All Day” tag.
“...Yes.”
“I worried so much because of our Si-hyeon. Yup, exactly. Let's do better from now on?”
“...Yes.”
Yap yap, hypnosis app.
“Ah! Right. Our Si-hyeon's turning thirty soon, yeah? End of your twenties—wanna catch a movie to celebrate?”
“What movie?”
“The Godfather 3! Huge hit, right?”
Lee Si-hyeon's arms and eyes trembled hard.
“It's, f-fine.”
Ehey, hypnosis app glitched.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Daeha Investment Bank's office.
Employees hustled, analyzing the world economy in flux from German reunification.
[Europe's Fixed Exchange Rate ERM and German Unification: Focus on Potential German Rate Hikes]
‘Phew, still tons left, but better prep early.’
About two years out, finance world's getting a bombshell.
The “Pound Short-Selling Incident.”
I was jumping in. Heck, wasn't that why we toppled the Berlin Wall?
Money aside, this was honor.
Couldn't pass up “The One Who Made the Bank of England Kneel.” Soros milked that title dry.
-Yawn.
I wrapped up my report sloppily and stood.
Good news incoming.
Everyone looked slammed, so I grabbed Si-hyeon—worn out from my antics lately—and spilled.
“A positive twist from someone else's betrayal, not Si-hyeon's! Listen up.”
Lee Si-hyeon, the almost-thirty betrayer who'd never actually betrayed me, eyed me wearily.
“What now?”
“Heard Alpha Fund got unofficial nod from Grandfather?”
“Ah... guess it's safe to go public now.”
“Nah, not that. No direct line to Grandfather, right? Everything funnels through the Secretary General.”
“Then...?”
I flashed Ha Young-il's faxed docs with a flourish.
“Boom~ Grandfather's slush fund!”
“Pardon?”
“Alpha Fund's already mega-famous. No need to broadcast I'm running it—the Daeha Group Chairman investing? Totally normal!”
Asking his granddaughter to grow his cash.
Grandfather sure loved his money.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Daeha Group Chairman's office.
The old man, suited up again after ages, jabbed at a newspaper corner.
“This one. Looks solid. No big spends coming up—park it here.”
The Secretary General eyed the spot curiously and asked,
“Alpha Fund? That's... a hedge fund, isn't it? Government regs block that.”
“Yup. So not group funds. The overseas slush stash? Body's not what it used to be... Making fresh slush is tough now. Roll the well-laundered old stuff hard. Got a good feeling on this.”
Instinct alone for that sum? Sketchy, but...
“Yes, sir.”
He jotted it down, no questions.
Least when Yoo Seong-pil dropped a curveball like this, there was always reason behind it.