Clever Living (1)
Life as the idol of the entire student body at Daeha Middle School was undoubtedly fun, but... you can't just do enjoyable things all the time. After school ended, I headed back to the office.
"Ah, Miss, you're here?"
"Yeah, thanks for the coffee, Yeon-ha."
Choi Yeon-ha naturally handed me a warm cup of coffee and moved the stack of reports and documents from beside her to my desk.
"These are the reports I've culled as much as possible..., ugh, there are still quite a few. I'm sorry."
She bowed her head apologetically.
"It's fine. I'll just skim through them anyway."
"And yet you remember everything after just skimming."
Well, that's because I can memorize everything with a single glance. Having a good head means you can use your time more efficiently—it's great.
Maastricht Treaty concluded a full month later than scheduled. European media express doubts about the euro from the outset, but France and Germany issue successive declarations of support for the treaty. Excerpt from related report...
-Rustle.
"Hmm, still, it looks like the euro will get introduced somehow."
The Maastricht Treaty, the foundational treaty for the European Union (EU). But thanks to the ERM breaking much earlier than expected, the treaty was delayed by over a month compared to the original history. Still, now that it's come to this, they can't just scrap it, so the European Community (EC) nations ultimately resolved to launch the EU. Which means the euro will be introduced too.
"Ah, yes. I'll pass that along."
Choi Yeon-ha dutifully jotted down my words in her notebook. It felt like I was participating in some religious ceremony...
"Uh, well... I might be wrong, so don't take it as set in stone."
"Yes, ma'am. I'll relay that too."
-Bow.
"..."
Wrong. She's not listening to me at all.
Someone once said admiration is the emotion farthest from understanding. Now I get what that means.
"What about Uncle?"
She flinched.
"Well... actually, nothing much."
Choi Yeon-ha glanced at me cautiously. She probably thought she'd get an earful about security matters. Truth be told, the security team handles the most critical work in our company... you know, the usual stuff everyone knows about. Surprisingly, the securities and investment folks don't have much power. I make the money, after all.
"It's good, but... it's still bothering me. Whether our info hasn't been leaked... or if we just don't even know we've been hit."
Tsk. Being a chaebol family means solid infrastructure, which is nice, but the fact that it's not fully ours keeps tripping us up. Grandpa doesn't seem like he'll hand over official succession...
"Sh-should I look into it more?"
"Nah. Given Uncle Jin-ha's personality, even if he knew, he couldn't stop it. Or maybe he's just watching Grandpa's mood."
All I know is what happens after Chairman Yoo Seong-pil dies. Who knows what's going on now. And...
"Heh, anyway, it's fine now. I've spread it around externally."
Why would I bother getting messy in the chaebol power struggles? I don't do that. Later, I'll pick the right moment and use circular shareholdings to crush them. Once I have overwhelming money and power from the center of the world—America—handling a local powerhouse like Korea is a breeze.
"Ah, that thing with Russia and Europe was for that too..."
"Not just that. Oh, while we're on the topic, let me ask. Yeon-ha, how's the situation in Russia?"
"Russia's doing well too. Secretary Chief Lee Si-hyun checked yesterday and confirmed they've solidly secured the oil and energy sectors. They just asked for a bit more funding..."
So that's what the approval documents were for. I nodded and lightly signed the papers.
"Yeah, add another twenty million dollars on top."
"Pardon?"
"It's a bonus. Si-hyun's been working hard, so she deserves that much under-the-table cash... but with her straight-laced personality, she probably wouldn't do it herself. So I have to take care of it."
I smiled brightly after saying that.
"If you work hard too, I'll take care of you automatically, so don't worry. You get what I mean, right?"
Don't embezzle.
"...Yes, ma'am."
"Ahaha, don't get so stiff about it."
-Rustle.
I stroked Yeon-ha's soft cheek. Unlike the other secretaries who've toughened up, she still had that fresh feel—which I liked. Young ones are the best. They hold up even when you work them day and night.
1992 was a relatively peaceful year, aside from the early pound crisis. Peaceful meant I didn't have much to do. I delegated Japan's real estate crash, Russia's hyperinflation and corporate privatizations, dominating Eastern Europe's industries, the merger of Barings Bank and Berlin Bank, and so on, to others while taking it easy. I can't oversee everything forever, after all.
This pace feels just right.
My dream is simply to play and eat forever. I'm not a workaholic. But for sustainable dopamine production and my eternal, unassailable power..., a bit of upfront effort is necessary.
"Sun-jun oppa, sorry, but can I give you one more task?"
"...Right now?"
Yoo Sun-jun asked, squinting tiredly.
"I just got back from the airport. I need to hurry to Joo-eun. You keep piling work on me, so I can't even see my kid."
Glare.
"Tch, after getting my secretary pregnant and stealing her."
Seo Joo-eun was on maternity leave, resting at home. Their place was in Incheon, right? That'd take time to get to and back.
"Well..., should I marry some other family member then?"
True enough. I did feel a bit sorry about that. He could've dated anyone and had his fun, but because of me, his options were limited.
Hmm, wait a sec.
"...So your kid would be my fifth cousin once removed?"
"Yeah, something like that. To her, you're her aunt. She'd call you auntie—happy about that?"
Ugh. Auntie... Auntie... Ah, I'm getting old too. My hands are shaking. Me, at that rank already? Damn.
Come to think of it, I was the youngest. Soon, my other cousins would start getting married in a few years...
"...You okay?"
"F-fine... Probably."
Yoo Sun-jun patted my back to calm me down.
"There, there, relax. So, what's the task?"
"Ah, right. Yeah, that." I muttered, still dazed. What was I going to say...?
"Oh yeah. I was planning to set up a bank in France. Oppa, can you handle it?"
"...France?"
His eyes narrowed. His eyelids twitched slightly, like he sensed something ominous.
"Yeah, there. It has to be completely independent from Barings and Berlin Banks, of course..."
"...You could've said earlier."
"That's why I'm telling you now? No rush. The funds will come via Russia... We have a few banks in Eastern Europe anyway, so we can use those as the skeleton."
Time for my Eastern Europe investments to pay off. Until now, they'd just been earning interest idly...
"Heh, I wondered why you invested there... Another big play in Europe, huh? France this time?"
"Nah. France has a solid economy..., too tough to attack directly like Britain. Gotta scavenge the rot from inside."
Vulture tactics, but I felt no shame. Isn't it the corrupt, rotting companies that should be ashamed? Picking at them is just staying true to capitalist logic.
"...I have no idea what you're scheming back home in Korea. A guy who puts this much effort into overseas too."
Yoo Sun-jun shook his head with a sigh, looking like he'd given up trying to understand. His ambition didn't match his abilities. Without me pushing him, he wouldn't stand out. No wonder he lived so quietly in his past life.
"That..., just wait a bit."
Someday he'll get it. This is my best.
IMF isn't the name of an incident. It's the acronym for the International Monetary Fund, a real international organization. The so-called IMF crisis—the 1997 foreign exchange crisis—refers to borrowing money from the IMF due to a shortage of foreign currency.
Hmm. Let me give an easy example...
The IMF regime is like a doctor. "Aigoo, Korea's dying—please lend us some money!" We go begging. Since our economy's in such bad shape, we hand over the reins in exchange for cash, asking them to build a sound economic structure.
But why does the IMF have such a notorious rep in Korea? Normally, you'd expect the doctor to prescribe something expert after you beg like that. But... what kind of lunatic doctor doesn't even provide care? They smack the patient and say, "Make your own damn crutches or you're done!" That's what the IMF did in the 1997 crisis.
...In the end, Korea ripped off its own arm, fused it with domestically created semiconductors in mid-air, and forged adamantium crutches. Honestly, I couldn't do it myself. So I'll become the undertaker. If it's gonna die anyway, better to make it look pretty, right?