Chapter 9
“Then please look properly—thoroughly—into the list of scandals attached to these trainees.”
But there was something they did not know.
“Scandals, you say?” A subtle shift passed over Secretary Cha’s usually expressionless face.
Se-rang nodded, her mood bright.
If scandals break after the broadcast, it becomes my fault. But if every single scandal is exposed before the broadcast, what happens then? It becomes their fault.
“Do a full background check. Dig into everything. Then let’s put it straight onto Chairman Yeon’s dining table.”
Maybe I should even format it like a news article. Make him feel like he’s glimpsing the future.
Then Chairman Yeon would fly into a rage and flip the entire board upside down for us.
The chairman’s office, located on the top floor of Imperial’s headquarters, was the very heart of the company.
“Chairman. Secretary Cha is here.” Someone knocked on the massive doors.
“Let her in.” Chairman Yeon’s tone was blunt, almost indifferent.
“Good afternoon, Chairman.”
“We see each other every day. Spare me the greetings and get to the point.”
Though the words were curt, the trust behind them made Secretary Cha smile gently.
“This is a gift from Director Yeon.” She said that and handed the documents to Chairman Yeon.
“A… gift?” Just hearing the word sent a chill down his spine.
Up until now, the only “gifts” Yeon Se-rang had ever sent him were expulsion notices, lawsuits, and things like that.
So she had finally come to her senses… or so he had thought.
Looks like it had not even lasted three days.
Not even one.
A shadow crossed Chairman Yeon’s eyes.
“It’s not that kind of thing. I believe it would be worth your time to review it.” Secretary Cha encouraged him with a tone full of conviction.
Had she sensed his thoughts?
“Hm.” Chairman Yeon’s gaze shifted again.
Cha Jeong-hui. Who was she, really?
She was one of the most carefully cultivated talents he had personally raised through his scholarship foundation since childhood. The product of countless efforts to groom the right-hand aide of the next chairman.
Slowly, Chairman Yeon began reading the documents.
And with every page he turned, surprise spread further across his face.
“This… this is the gift Se-rang sent? No, Director Yeon?”
“Yes. This gift was directly ordered by Director Yeon.”
“…!”
Chairman Yeon stared back down at the papers, astonished.
They contained the lists of trainees submitted by the entertainment labels and, laid out with meticulous clarity, the reasons each of them should not be selected.
“You didn’t interfere in this?”
“I obtained the detailed information myself, but without Director Yeon’s instructions, this would not have been possible.” Secretary Cha paused briefly, then added, “You also know, Chairman, that I have absolutely no reason to step in on my own.”
“Well, that’s true. You only went to Se-rang because I told you to.” Chairman Yeon lowered his gaze slowly, then let out a short sigh. “Hah. Just from those profiles, how did Se-rang manage to infer all that? Has she always been able to read faces?”
“Is that a question you require an answer to?”
“Go on.”
“It’s proof that Chairman Yeon’s blood does not stray.”
After all, it was Chairman Yeon Kang-ho himself who had plucked Cha Jeong-hui, once a nobody, and raised her to this position.
Secretary Cha’s eyes wavered slightly.
She had never told Yeon Se-rang this, but she had once worked under every successor candidate.
Yeon Sae-byeok.
Yeon Si-ho.
Even Baek Do-gyeong.
None of the three were weak candidates, but none of them would fully satisfy Chairman Yeon.
Baek Do-gyeong, an outsider, at least possessed exceptional business talent—Yet Cha Jeong-hui felt an unease around him.
Cold-blooded traits were not unusual. Chairman Yeon himself had them. But there was something about Baek Do-gyeong that grated on her. Something that made him unsuitable as a master to serve.
So when she was finally assigned to Yeon Se-rang, Cha Jeong-hui had felt indifferent. She thought of it as one final hardship before serving the next chairman.
At first, Yeon Se-rang had been nothing short of pathetic.
But lately, she was different.
There was something there.
That was as far as Cha Jeong-hui allowed herself to judge.
Something inside Yeon Se-rang was beginning to move.
Of course, it was too early to conclude anything yet…
“So our Se-rang had eyes like that all along….”
“You could continue observing before making a judgment.”
“Of course. It’s only right that Director Yeon is given a fair chance as well.” Murmuring to himself, Chairman Yeon took a deep breath. “I’ll have to step into this one. These fools are too insolent to overlook. I don’t expect fair play, but choosing a strategy that actively damages the company? Idiots. They truly believe the flesh they’re carving away is their own, when in truth, it’s all my flesh.”
“How would you like to proceed?”
“There’s no need to complicate it. Arrange a dinner tonight. All the label heads, and Se-rang as well.”
It was exactly as expected.
Secretary Cha bowed her head.
“You’re preparing the board so Director Yeon can resolve this herself.”
Chairman Yeon nodded, his eyes thoughtful. “If Director Yeon truly wants to jump into this dogfight, the only thing I can do is set the table. She’ll have to eat the meal with her own hands.”
That was true.
Secretary Cha nodded at once. “I’ll notify them immediately.”
Perhaps, this time, the path would become clear.
Who truly deserved to become the next chairman of Imperial.
Inside the parking garage of the luxury villa where Yeon Se-rang lived alone, Se-rang was currently standing with Secretary Cha, choosing which car to take today.
“…Wait. You’re telling me this entire wall of the garage is all my cars?”
I know I’m a chaebol granddaughter, but isn’t this a bit excessive? Why are there cars in every color? This isn’t a closet.
Secretary Cha looked at Se-rang with a peculiar expression.
Her eyes seemed to say, Why are you suddenly saying something strange?
“…Did I really have this many cars? When did I even buy all of these?”
“Well… there are a few that you purchased impulsively while drinking.”
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Secretary Cha understood why Se-rang did not remember.
And Se-rang, in turn, accepted just how insane this body’s past owner had been.
“But isn’t there usually a limit on parking spaces per household? Or does that not apply to expensive places?”
“You’re paying additional fees, Director. Even so, we exceeded the maximum number of parking spaces, so the remaining vehicles are kept at the main family residence.”
“…….”
This is insane…
“Which car would you like to take? Shall we go with the hypercar you usually ride?”
The car Secretary Cha pointed to was a fluorescent yellow vehicle that looked expensive enough to cover the price of an apartment building.
Every time I saw cars like that, I wondered who on earth drove them.
Turns out—It was Yeon Se-rang.
But that car was just too much.
Way too eye-catching.
And also—
“…What exactly is a hypercar?”
I had heard of supercars, sure.
But hypercars?
“It refers to a class one tier above supercars.”
Unbelievable. Seriously…
Se-rang shook her head. “We’re not going out to have fun today. I’m not riding something like that.”
She let out a sigh.
Today’s appointment was a dinner personally arranged by Chairman Yeon.
His response to the “gift” I had sent.
All the Imperial label heads would be there.
It would be a battlefield.
In other words, a place where I needed to keep my head straight and fight.
A hypercar, of all things?
I would be better off going in a tank.
“We should take something more subdued. What’s the cheapest car here?”
“Um…” Secretary Cha scanned the garage, then made an awkward face. “That one would be the most affordable… I suppose.”
The car she pointed to was a domestic luxury sedan.
The only car whose name I actually recognized.
Familiar, at least.
Wait. But that’s still around a hundred million won…
“That car was bought for you without your involvement. Would that be alright? It’s a bit different from what you usually drive, Director.”
Yeah.
Looking at this lineup, I get Yeon Se-rang’s taste now.
Nothing but supercars and hypercars…
“That’s still too much for me.”
“…Pardon?”
“It’s not a car I earned and bought myself. Of course it’s too much for me.”
“…!”
“Still, it feels wrong to keep borrowing your car all the time, Secretary Cha. So… would you be willing to switch cars with me?”