Chapter 191
Chapter 191
Only two days remained until the birthday.
Honestly, even if the kids threw everything they had at persuading me within that window, there simply wasn't enough time. In that sense, receiving the invitations a little late was a relief.
If they had arrived a month ago and I'd been pestered the whole time, it was definitely better to get them at the last minute and only get hassled a little.
Well, anyway, that's beside the point.
There was no rule saying I had to use every invitation. So I didn't have to worry about running out. I could invite my friends, bring their families... that would be enough.
Actually, by this point what bothered me wasn't a matter of whom to invite or not invite.
The real problem was worrying that my friends and their families would come to Sara's birthday party, nominally my birthday party as well, and be disrespected by Sara's relatives.
"You don't need to worry about that."
Hearing my concern, Su-a spoke confidently.
"At a place like that, openly displaying that you dislike someone is actually more shameful."
"...Is that so?"
"Yeah. No matter how much you dislike someone, openly criticizing them in public is something you just don't do. Unless you're genuinely on terrible terms, you at least pretend to be friendly when you meet at an event like this. If you really have something to say, you pull them aside and talk. But if you're meeting someone for the first time, you wouldn't say that kind of thing anyway."
Maybe the kind of "party" I had in mind was the sort you only see in dramas or movies.
"Besides, the other party has no information, right?"
"Oh...."
That's true.
You need to know who someone is before you can badmouth them; if they're a stranger you just exchange greetings and that's the end of it.
"Su-a, you really know your stuff."
Su-a was usually a little lacking in confidence, but it was nice when she clearly laid out things she was knowledgeable about.
At my compliment, Su-a finally blushed.
"A-and, anyway, we'll be glued right to your side... No one would badmouth you in front of the birthday star, the person who's going to lead a company."
And most importantly, Su-a herself would be there.
Even if she wasn't on Yujin Group's level, she was clearly the heiress of one of the top ten companies in Korea. There was no way anyone could disrespect someone in a group that included a girl like her.
"Hmm...."
But even so, the unease didn't fully go away.
Just looking at what Choi Na-kyung had done, if she acted in the shadows and insidiously, it was entirely possible for her to intimidate my friends behind my back.
If not only my friends but their families came, a couple of people would inevitably drift out of my line of sight. I wasn't confident I could shield them from any trouble they might run into.
"Hmm...."
I kept thinking, and then—
"Ah."
I fished out an idea.
"Since it's come to this, why don't we just form a group?"
"Form a group?"
Ha-neul, who'd been listening, asked back.
"I'm talking about creating a group of like-minded people who support me. It won't be an official club or anything, but the more people we have backing each other throughout the party, the better, right?"
Of course, we wouldn't make up a majority of the party, but numbers always have power.
Even someone who looks down on ordinary people and harasses those without money won't openly behave that way when the news is watching. Usually, they do that sort of thing pathetically, in secret, out of sight.
The reason is simple: an angry public is inherently frightening.
No matter how many rich people gather, they're outnumbered by those without money. In a company vote, maybe, but in an election each person gets one equal vote.
This isn't about making a fuss over whether the party the rich support wins or loses.
It's about the fact that politicians can't help but be acutely aware of the common people.
It doesn't take long for a viral, unpleasant incident to face legal consequences. The company's image plummets, and if consumers turn against it and organize a boycott, there's definite damage.
Even if it doesn't explode into a violent wildfire right away, it can smolder for a long time and become the ember that eventually burns the company's foundation.
...Asking exactly how many real-world cases like that exist is meaningless.
Because this place is different from the reality I knew.
In a typical Makjang drama, doesn't the protagonist win in a satisfying fashion?
I looked at Ha-neul tilting her head in confusion and gave a faint smile.
*
"Uh, so, you're giving this to me...?"
The kid taking the invitation with trembling hands, her voice vibrating so much I could feel it, was one of the students who had received money from me at the Disciplinary Committee last time.
"Yeah, that's right. To thank you for helping me back then."
"Uh, ah, um, no...."
The plain-looking girl in glasses couldn't string a sentence together, like a broken machine. I pressed two more invitations into her hands and said,
"Even so, it could be awkward to come alone, so feel free to bring close friends. But you have to decide and let me know today. Tomorrow is my birthday."
"Uh, yeah! I'll definitely let you know!"
"Ah, no."
When I said that, her expression fell immediately. She must have thought that with my "no," I might take the invitations back.
"Let's all just meet up. It'll be better to nail down the list of attendees. We need to gather everyone who'll definitely come and confirm the headcount. Are you free after school?"
"Yeah! I'm free! I don't have anything to do after school anyway!"
A lie.
I'm not saying this because I can see through people's hearts or because I possess some deep insight.
At this school, there are hardly any students who maintain top grades without attending cram schools. Even a scholarship student like this one has to study even harder to keep those grades.
Unless it's someone like Ha-neul who's completely checked out of school, it's obvious that after class you go home and study hard.
Whether by cram school, private tutoring, or self-study.
...Ha-neul, who barely studies and still stays at the top of her class, is the weird one.
...Really unfair when you think about it. Is it because she's the heroine?
But then again, if you put it that way, I'm someone who'd get the same griping if you only looked at my wealth.
I glanced around. Everyone was watching the two of us with greedy eyes.
The invitation in this girl's hand.
To some eyes, this invitation would look like an indulgence, to others a shortcut to success.
Well, it didn't matter how it was seen. It was still bait.
Telling her to gather everyone had been calculated from the start. Because someone could steal the invitation and show up.
Well, even if they did, it didn't matter.
But they absolutely wouldn't be treated as one of "my people."
You might wonder how I could possibly tell anyone apart after just handing out invitations like this...
Well, I'm not handing them out thoughtlessly either.
*
"Whoa...."
As I expected, the invitations mostly circulated among the scholarship students at the school. Almost none of the kids from famous families or the truly wealthy were here.
Surprisingly, there were a few male students, so someone must have brought a boyfriend. Looking at the nametags, there were students from other grades too. It seemed some had brought older sisters or brothers.
...Hmm, I hadn't expected that, but it didn't matter. Money can handle most things, after all. And if the person they brought wasn't a transactional connection but a close one, that was even better for me.
Besides, when it comes to material things or time, you can always manage by throwing money at it.
Most of the kids were staring up at the lobby in wonder. That was only natural; I'd called this my "house," but what was right in front of them was a massive building that could pass for a department store.
Actually, it really had been used as one once, and it nearly was again before they scrapped the plan.
And now, there were an enormous number of tailors flanking me on both sides.
They probably couldn't even tell those people were tailors.
As expected, Yang Hye-in's ability was impressive. No matter how much money you threw around, gathering capable tailors and designers from all over Seoul on such short notice couldn't have been easy.
...Well, only a few hours remained.
There were plenty of tailors, but plenty of outfits to fit. Making them from scratch was impossible, and even altering existing clothes might be tight.
...But, as I said before, money solves a lot of things.
"Now, everyone who's decided to attend."
When I spoke, the eyes of roughly twenty students converged on me.
These kids hadn't brought their families. There weren't many invitations to begin with, and there had been the condition to gather here.
That actually made it better. They were all students from the school.
"There's no official dress code, but so we can clearly tell apart the people I invited, we'll all wear clothes in a matching color. It's a little bothersome, but I'd appreciate your cooperation. You don't need to worry about the cost, of course."
That's right.
A party of the rich with no dress code.
And there, my own people, and only them, would be outfitted in a single, unified color.
That, in itself, would become a silent declaration.
That I clearly distinguish between my people and everyone else.
If they want to disregard me, let them try.
I'll respond immediately.
I may not look it, but I'm one of the richest people in this country.
Strictly speaking, I'm the one with the money, though.
Did you really have to say that right then?
I felt the strength drain from my shoulders.