Demon King, Chaebol Third Generation, Baek Ga-eun (1)
“S-status window!”
Nothing happened.
“Status! Info window! M-menu!”
[···]
The goddess was staring at me with pitiful eyes.
“Don’t look at me like that…”
There was no hope in sight.
“Unnie! Is this our house!?”
“Ha-yeon, are you sure this is the right place? We didn’t get it wrong, did we?”
“Hehe, come on in quick!”
After successfully recruiting the hero—no, Hyeon Ha-yeon—the past few days had been a whirlwind with no time to breathe.
First, I took her to the company and formalized the contract. At her mother’s request, I stepped in as her guardian proxy to help with it. Even though it was my own company, I wanted to scrub out any unfavorable clauses, so I pored over the contract with wide eyes. But Choi Dae-pyo had put real effort into it—there wasn’t a single term that disadvantaged Ha-yeon. If anything, the conditions were shockingly generous.
Ha-yeon, sitting beside me, skimmed the contract and waited for my input.
“This is…”
“So, what do you think? Does that give you a sense of my caliber, Kim Cho-in?”
Choi Dae-pyo grinned confidently, awaiting my reaction.
Monthly allowances for transportation, meals, cultural activities—fifty each… and dignity maintenance fees of fifty… What the hell?
“Is this for real?”
Ha-yeon was just entering as a trainee, but they were giving her a full salary on top of everything. Doubting it, I double-checked her contract too, but it matched exactly what I was seeing.
“Hahaha, do I look like a cheapskate to you?”
“…Even so, this is…”
“There are a lot of clauses—take your time reading.”
He reached for his coffee cup, signaling he could wait as long as needed.
Revenue split was standard—the company took a big cut. That would improve once Ha-yeon blew up and we built her value. The rest of the contract? Pure shock value. Housing provided, salary disguised as various expenses, short contract term—even blank spaces for her to add whatever she wanted.
She didn’t have anything to add.
Even Lee Ji-yeon hadn’t gotten treatment like this at the start. This was unprecedented.
I could feel how much expectation Choi Dae-pyo had riding on her.
Good was good. It’d let Ha-yeon focus better, so we signed as-is.
I even helped her family move. They already had the basics at home, so there wasn’t much to pack. Worried the mom and little sister might feel uneasy without their girl-head-of-household in a new place, I showed them around the neighborhood and dropped by almost daily to help with whatever, spending time together to ease her adjustment.
A few days passed like that. Today, I was prepping her debut direction and basic lessons.
A sudden doubt hit me.
Was it okay to focus this much on Ha-yeon?
There were more women from my dreams. The first one worked out, but I decided to ask the goddess about the next ones’ info.
[I was just about to show you the second woman soon anyway.]
“The second one…”
[I shall show you the past of the second woman.]
As the goddess reached out, I thought: How many more do I have to bring in? And I need to make Ha-yeon a success in the meantime. What the hell is this difficulty? Insane—cursing the evil god—light enveloped my body, and consciousness faded.
Warm light cleared my mind bit by bit, and ambient sounds filtered in. The rustle of turning pages, occasional scraping chairs.
Fully alert, my vision filled with endless books. The ceiling soared high, stacked to the brim. At other tables, people studied—scribbling notes, reading—so this had to be a library.
Everyone wore identical uniforms, like school ones. Past me wore one too, sitting with a white-haired woman, reading.
Uniforms… library… school?
The hero had adventures; this time, probably school.
Our wide table was empty otherwise. Other students sat far off, avoiding us.
Learning about this world, I realized something new. Dreams usually stuck to my past POV, but now I could freely look around alongside it!
Progress toward breaking the curse? First time in dozens of past dives I could move my viewpoint freely. Drunk on it, I scanned every corner—until she spoke from beside me.
“I’m tired…”
“…”
“Heyyy~ I’m tiiired~”
“…”
I ignored her completely, not even glancing.
Irritated by my snub, she raised her voice.
“I’m! Tired!..”
“Shall we take a break?”
“Yeah.”
She stood and headed for the door. Past me silently followed.
Seeing her white hair reminded me of Ha-yeon. Hers was deep black, absorbing light. This was snowy white, reflective like eyes. Red next?
Following her, a group stared, whispering—probably trash-talking. We ignored them and left the library.
Observing outside confirmed: school, modern-style structure.
We walked far without a word from her. Her straight, waist-length white hair swayed flawlessly, ghost-like. Eerily familiar, past me trailed just behind.
Finally, she stopped at a small garden with a tall fence. We headed to a bench inside.
She plopped down. “…Ugh, tired.”
“What about afternoon classes?”
“Wanna just stay here.”
“Yes.”
Silence stretched, both lost in thought. Seizing the chance, I shifted view to examine her closely.
Like her hair, even her eyebrows were pale. Albino-like, pigment-deficient. Sleepy half-lidded eyes, yet not small. Tallish from walking. Grace in every step, gesture.
Hard to peg our relationship. Vassal-lord vibe, but info scarce.
Soon, vibration from her clothes.
“Ah… Dad?”
Limp voice, she pulled a fist-sized orb from her pocket—how it fit, mystery, but fantasy world.
She cradled it in both hands. “Yeah, Dad?”
[Daughter, what are you doing skipping class?]
Faint light from the orb, dignified voice emerged.
“Break.”
Her curt reply amused the orb-voice.
[…Looks like you’re with that guy.]
“Yeah.”
“Yes, Demon King.”
I called her “Demon King” toward the orb; she called him “Dad.” Hero next, now Demon King’s daughter?
He asked after her; she answered monosyllabically.
[…Alright, I’ll visit soon. See you then.]
Done talking, he cut off abruptly; light vanished.
Consciousness snapped back. Nothing shown, yet ejected? Too little info.
Sorting what I had, awareness returned. Vision cleared.
A vast grass field like an arena. She beside me; opposite, a group of guys and girls glaring. Crowds outside spectating.
Demon King world—fight? Leader girl stepped forward, glared at her, then me with contempt, raised hand.
“Urgh… I forfeit!”
Crowd murmured. Ignoring, she beside me said casually:
“Lucky she forfeited, huh?”
“Yeah, winning this easy doesn’t feel real.”
“Ah… tired.”
“Congratulations. Let’s head out.”
I dragged her—clinging to my arm, whining—as we left.
Consciousness snapped again.
Impossible to grasp. Too sparse scenes, info.
Just find the white-haired girl? More scenes same: entangled in stuff, resolved absurdly quick, then time with her. No real action from her—just lazy luck?
Hero smashed everything; she lucked out. Ha-yeon showed personality; this one? Lazy, loves time with me.
I was like her chamberlain. Spoiled with me, delegated everything. Longtime secretary vibe.
She: heir Demon King, talented; others praised my competence. Info contradicted appearances—heard from peripherals?
More scenes flew by—four times hero’s volume.
Just now: she became Demon King. Father abdicated voluntarily.
Newly crowned, she looked pleased—rare. Reward for long toil? But she’d hated power before.
I still served beside her.
Vast past, scant useful info. Had to mine more—keep watching.
Vision cleared: opulent room. Gilded ceiling sparkling, white stone floor pristine, pricey ornaments everywhere.
Hand-in-hand with her amid crowds. She in snow-white dress—like wedding gown.
And I walked beside, holding her hand.
…Our wedding?
We’d been glued together forever; made sense. But past me’s face was grim.
“…Hey… XX…”
She called my name—unintelligible noise.
“…My dream’s finally come true…”
Her dream: marriage.
“…Yes.”
I replied, resigned.
We kissed, exchanged rings. She smiled genuinely happy—rare. I smiled back; happy end.
From Demon King’s secretary to husband. Promoted.
…Marrying the Demon King the end?
I’d sensed her long crush, no actions though. Missed something? Rewind—
[…Yunhwan’s Curse has loosened slightly.]
[With my power, you can now view your past from others’ perspectives.]
Others’ view…? Hers too?
[Yes.]
[Nothing special after. Shall I replay from her perspective?]
Please.
Warm light enveloped. Happy us faded; consciousness snapped.
My POV yielded little. Hers might give more. Mind clearing…
I thought there was nothing scary about the Demon King. At worst, long-unrequited pure love? Hero bulldozed; she’d been docile. Nostalgic for that optimism.
“Gueeeh… H-heh, ma… go… hehhe…”
A woman knelt before child-Demon King, begging mercy—teeth all yanked out.