Chapter 193
Chapter 193
Surprisingly, by an hour before the party, the venue was almost completely set up.
People were bustling about, diligently hauling all sorts of fixtures and furnishings. The party itself was to begin after dinner, so the food being laid out was mostly desserts, or so they said.
"Have all the attendees finished their meals?"
When I asked, Yang Hye-in inclined her head slightly and answered.
"Yes, their meal concluded just now."
If there was one advantage to living in the mansion, it was how spacious it was.
The dining room here was large enough to hold a little over twenty people with room to spare, though there was only the one table, so they couldn't all have eaten together at once.
"......How did you handle the meal preparations?"
"......."
Yang Hye-in offered no reply.
From the look of it, she'd done everything herself again.
Even though I'd told her, this time at least, to leave it to someone else or an outside service, the fact that she acted this way anyway meant it was Yang Hye-in's firm intention. I decided not to press it.
Until she felt she'd fully repaid her debt to me, Yang Hye-in would never stop.
Though I did wish she'd refrain from trying to spoon-feed that person now and then.
"......Well then, let's go."
I had shifted consciousness and taken the front, but even so, I felt a pang of guilt toward that person.
She'd handled all the hardest parts.
Even if it was just a small, quiet party of close friends, I'd meant to step in the second the birthday party began, but...... somehow things had gotten tangled up all the way to this point.
"Ah, Sara!"
So-hee, who'd gathered the attendees in advance, waved at me.
She was wearing a red dress as well. It was a flashy design that left her shoulders bare.
Maybe because her face was pretty and her figure was lovely, the whole atmosphere was different from her usual maid uniform.
Honestly, if she just kept her mouth shut, she could almost pass for a graceful young lady of considerable dignity—no, never mind. Right.
That bleached-out lock of hair gave her a vaguely delinquent air no matter how you looked at her.
Beside So-hee were Ha-neul and Su-a. Both wore dresses in shades of red. Ha-neul had one shoulder bared in a style with somewhat ornate detailing; Su-a's was a sleeveless cut, but the design looked rather demure, not boldly exposing the shoulders.
Both had let down the hair they normally kept tied up.
Hm, these two definitely had a young-lady air about them. The kind where if Yang Hye-in bowed and called them "young lady," it wouldn't feel at all strange.
I was in a red dress as well. Originally this was meant for her, not for me, and since she dislikes overdressing, the ornamentation was minimal.
But it suits her.
Enough that I found myself wondering, maybe next time I should dress her up in a dream.
And then, I also found myself thinking I could lay her down on the bed just like that and savor her reaction.
......Well, anyway.
We four weren't the only ones wearing dresses.
As many people as she had sent invitations to had gathered. The exact headcount was twenty-one. Among them, only a few had received invitations directly from her; the rest had followed in their wake.
Perhaps they hoped to gain something, or rather, simply being here might already be a gain. After all, the impression would remain that they were "people Ye Sa-ra personally invited."
Of course, properly maintaining that impression was on them...... but it was also true that it was an opportunity most people never got.
It felt as though I was finally starting to grasp just how weighty my name, my standing, my money truly were.
Ironically, I'd realized it not so much through my own perception as because she had spoon-fed it to me.
Really, she's an incredible person.
I placed a hand over my chest and felt my heart beating.
This heart was mine, but it was also hers.
......I have to treasure it. With that thought, I absolutely couldn't treat my body carelessly. That was the conclusion I reached.
I wanted to stay together for a long, long time.
And for that, it would be best to maintain the standing I hold for as long as possible.
Now then, first—
Exactly as she had done, I clapped sharply. The people, languid in the brief lull after the meal, all turned their gazes toward me.
Those gazes no longer frightened me.
If anything, the ones who should be afraid weren't me; it was them.
What would unfold from now on, and the futures branching from those events, would excite them and frighten them.
And it was all set to begin, you see, with invitations bearing my name.
"Now, everyone. The party will begin shortly."
Mm.
How should I say this?
First, let's...... Right, let's just be straightforward. The way she always did it.
"Some of you may see this moment today as an opportunity, and some of you may simply have come because you wanted to experience it. But whatever you may think, there is no harm in making an appearance here. Because every single one of you was invited in 'my name.'"
That's right. My name.
That's what matters most.
The sole daughter of former Chairman Ye In-su, who once led Yujin Group.
The heiress who has inherited and is set to inherit the vast bulk of that fortune.
Those facts that she had so badly wanted to teach me and make me understand.
"So, in the one-in-a-million chance...... should anyone fail to recognize you and speak down to you or insult you, use my name. Don't hesitate to wield my name freely here. That said, please don't go attacking the people in red."
At the mention of the red clothing, people glanced around.
They were all people in red.
She'd seriously agonized over whether this choice was a mistake, but I happen to like it.
Pretty or not, embarrassing or not—setting those aside, it's eye-catching.
So what if it doesn't quite suit some people? So what if it stands out too much?
What truly matters, anyway, is that everyone here in red is one of my people.
I can't say what the future holds, but right here, right now, these are the people moving for my sake. The people I personally invited.
Well, a few lucky souls might coast along simply because they happened to be wearing red.
I don't mind.
If I can place any group under my "influence," that's enough.
Wasn't it said that the reason scholarship students at Hwayeong High School tried to latch onto the wealthy ones was to find a path to employment after graduation?
If so, I simply needed to move in a similar way.
The only difference is that I'm capable of moving on a far larger scale than most groups.
"Enjoy the party to your heart's content, but please do not forget one thing."
The surroundings were so quiet that even without raising my voice, everyone here must have heard me clearly.
"That you are all able to be here because I invited you. If you do not forget, I shall not forget, either."
Even if they did forget, it wouldn't matter.
New students would arrive next year, and the year after that.
People can simply be swapped in.
Because I have the "capability" to do so.
......That too was a realization I owed entirely to her.
Once again, I pressed a hand to my chest.
My heart was beating.
Thanks to her, this heart was still beating, even now.
For whose sake I should put this heart to use—wasn't the answer painfully obvious?
Well, I'll use it for myself from time to time, too, I suppose.
"Then everyone, allow me to say this in advance. Thank you for coming to my birthday party. I hope you all enjoy yourselves. If possible, I'd love for it to become a memory you 'won't forget for the rest of your life.'"
I couldn't say who started clapping first.
But at some point, everyone in this waiting room was applauding.
I smiled softly back at all of them.
*
"......Hm."
As if he found it rather intriguing, Ye In-hyeok surveyed the lobby.
He'd known that she had inherited this place, but this was only his second time actually entering. Unlike the last time, when it had appeared terribly bleak, this time it unmistakably gave off the air of a splendid party venue.
The guests hadn't all arrived yet. That was only natural. After all, Ye In-hyeok had been the one to take the lead in organizing this party. Since it was essentially his cousin's daughter's first birthday party, he'd aimed to make it grand, and if she had friends, he'd believed he'd been considerate in a way that wouldn't burden them.......
"Was there a dress code?"
"No. As instructed, we included no such mention."
The secretary beside him answered swiftly.
"Is that so......."
Well, on second glance, most of the people in red had youthful faces. Among the adults...... if he had to say, there was only one—that personal servant he'd seen last time.
"In that case, this must be Sara's idea."
It was a trick used now and then—agreeing that everyone would wear the same outfit, then telling someone something different to cause public embarrassment. Of course, he didn't think Sara was scheming for that.
Rather, this was probably a kind of "protective coloration."
"Far better than I expected. There'll be no need for concern."
Muttering that, Ye In-hyeok looked up at Sara, who stood some distance away.
Wearing a smile full of competitive spirit entirely unlike the last time they'd met; this was the protagonist of the party.
Standing in the middle of the crowd in red, the sight of her could truly be called the picture of a star.