The Youngest Daughter of Shinsegi Group (2)
A mansion in the residential hills of Itaewon.
Chairman Yoo Cheol-myeong, who had adored his youngest daughter beyond reason, bought up any lot that came on the market nearby and tore down the old houses before building anew.
Yoo Hye-kyung had lived here ever since her marriage, right up to the present.
When Min Ah-reum arrived, the housekeeper opened the door for her.
“It’s been a while, miss.”
“Yes. Have you been well?”
Min Ah-reum paused in front of the entryway for a moment.
For some reason, the door felt unfamiliar.
Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I came home, too.
In the past, Min Ah-reum had come home often and made sure her face was seen by the family. She had believed that if she stayed in her mother’s, brother’s, and sister’s good graces, she might get something in return later on.
She had stopped coming around so often after taking charge of MFW.
Once she got busy, her visits naturally grew sparse.
Min Ah-reum stepped inside.
The table was already set, and her family was seated around it.
Yoo Hye-kyung welcomed her youngest daughter warmly.
“You’re here?”
Min Yejin chided her. “You should come home more often.”
“I’m sorry. The traffic was bad.”
Min Ah-reum took her seat.
It had been a while since the family had sat down together like this.
“All right, then. Let’s eat.”
As they ate, a faint awkwardness hung in the air.
Min Yejin said, “The second son of Chairman Choi from Air Korea, Choi Gyeong-cheol, just came back to Korea after finishing his studies overseas. He says he’d like to meet you sometime. When would you be free?”
Min Ah-reum was the youngest daughter of Shinsegi Group. With her own looks and fashion sense being exceptional as well, offers like this came at her from all directions through the family. And Min Ah-reum had never really been able to refuse them.
A good house, a good car, a good job, an unlimited credit card—
everything she enjoyed was only possible because of the support of her family. For that reason, she was expected to pull her weight in return.
To be honest, it wasn’t anything all that extraordinary.
Just meeting for a cup of tea, having a meal, making some small talk…
Even from Min Ah-reum’s perspective, it was a chance to expand her network, and some of the people she met that way did end up becoming friends. Of course, she had no qualms about cutting off anyone who latched on too persistently.
Her sister had asked because she assumed she would naturally accept, but the answer that came back was unexpected.
“I’m not really interested. Please turn him down.”
Min Yejin gave a small start at the flat refusal.
“Why not? He’s capable enough, and he’s easy on the eyes.”
“I don’t have time.”
Min Yejin frowned slightly.
“I already told him you’d meet him, so make time for at least a little while.”
So you made plans without even asking the person involved.
Then again, in the past, she would have simply gone along with whatever they told her to do.
In any business relationship, even a small favor could give you leverage in a later negotiation.
In that sense, Min Ah-reum had always been a very convenient tool. Young men in politics, business, and the legal world all wanted to meet her.
“Give him my number. I’ll explain it to him properly.”
Min Yejin raised her voice. “And how would that make me look?”
“Then how am I supposed to look?”
“……What?”
Min Ah-reum said firmly, “I’m not going to attend those kinds of meetings anymore. And when you make other plans, please ask me first.”
“Why on earth won’t you meet him?”
“I’m seeing someone right now.”
If Min Ah-reum were seeing someone in business circles, word would not have failed to spread. Thinking it must be a lie, Min Yejin shot back, “Who is it?”
“His name is Lee Dong-ho.”
At that, everyone froze.
Min Gijin asked, “Lee Dong-ho… the Korea branch manager of Continue Capital?”
“Yes.”
Continue Capital’s headquarters was on Wall Street in New York. Aside from that, it had exactly one branch: Korea. And the man in charge of that branch was Lee Dong-ho.
The capital handled by that single Korean branch amounted to tens of trillions of won.
Its influence over the business world was enormous, so there was no one in the chaebol circles who did not know Lee Dong-ho’s name.
And yet Min Ah-reum was seeing that man?
Yoo Hye-kyung’s curiosity showed. “How long have you been seeing him?”
“Not long. We’re still getting to know each other.”
Min Yejin deliberately scoffed. “He’s just a salaryman, isn’t he?”
For now, everyone probably thinks that way.
Min Ah-reum knew that Lee Dong-ho would eventually take over the Korean branch. But there was no need to tell them that now.
“Even if he’s a salaryman, isn’t Continue Capital a different story? One word from him could bring down just about any chaebol group.”
That made Min Gijin and Min Yejin flinch.
Continue Capital’s misdeeds in Korea were anything but few. The Hanjeong Group family lost control and was driven out; GL Group suffered massive losses in the process of splitting off GL Chemical and GL Entech; LD Studio’s stock price plunged to less than half of what it had been.
No matter how powerful the chaebol might be in Korea, how many companies could really withstand an attack backed by that kind of capital?
The meal ended amid an awkward silence.
As they drank tea, Yoo Hye-kyung asked, “How’s work these days?”
“It’s going well. We’ve got a lot in the pipeline. We’re also working with Block Valley and Nightlight to prepare a variety of events, including pop-up stores.”
Min Yejin said, “Come to think of it, you did the pop-up store at Rite Mall this time. You didn’t do it there because you didn’t know it was Shinsegi’s competitor, did you?”
The MFW pop-up store held at Rite Mall had been a massive hit.
It was covered in the media, and social media was flooded with proof shots. As people flocked there, Rite Mall enjoyed a very real boost in sales.
Min Ah-reum answered matter-of-factly, “Rite’s terms were much better. If the conditions are similar, of course I’d be willing to do something with Shinsegi Mall, too.”
Min Yejin was dumbfounded.
She had assumed the business with the Rite Group was happening because of Continue Capital’s pressure, but now it turned out it had been Min Ah-reum’s own decision.
“So you turned us down because our terms weren’t good enough?”
“Yes. At those terms, there wouldn’t be much profit on our side. If there’s a better alternative, there’s no reason to accept the worse one.”
“And you don’t even care about Shinsegi Group’s profit?”
“I’m the representative of MFW. So I have to put MFW’s profit first.”
“…….”
Everything Min Ah-reum had been taught, and every connection she had built, had come from the family. Without the Shinsegi Group behind her in the first place, she probably wouldn’t even have been able to secure investment.
And yet she was taking this attitude?
Min Yejin glared at her younger sister. “Who do you think made MFW what it is? Do you really think it could have succeeded if we hadn’t pulled people from Shinsegi Department Store?”
The beginning of MFW had been nothing like an ordinary startup.
It had started with one trillion won in capital from the very beginning, and office space was already prepared in the Continue Building. But to actually get the work done, they needed employees.
When Min Ah-reum left Shinsegi to found her company, she poached a large number of people she had known for years.
That included MDs and designers from fashion brands, of course, but also employees from Shinsegi Department Store.
“Weren’t those all people who agreed to come?”
The people Min Ah-reum took with her were the core working staff, so for a while the company had been in danger of not functioning properly at all.
And yet the two of them had shown no real dissatisfaction.
No—they had actually supported it enthusiastically.
The reason was…
“Because the more I disappear from the group, the bigger the shares for my older brother and sister become.”
From the start, Min Ah-reum had been excluded from the succession battle.
But blood was blood.
If you could keep even one small affiliate from going elsewhere, then of course it was better not to let it go. So when she said she was leaving the group, they had welcomed the idea with both arms open.
And yet… who would have imagined it would grow this large in such a short time?
Department stores, shopping malls, and other offline retail channels could be replaced by plenty of other places even without Shinsegi Group. But MFW was one of a kind.
If they wanted to negotiate in the future, it would be Shinsegi Group that had to bow first.
Min Gijin asked, “What happened with O'Connor Burger? How did Hwaan F&B end up taking the Korea business rights?”
“Vice President Heo Min-woong seems to have worked very hard for it.”
“Did you make sure to pass along exactly what I said?”
“Of course.”
Min Ah-reum recalled her conversation with Han Miru.
I owe you one for what happened with you, so if you ask me for a favor, I’ll help.
Wasn’t that already repaid through MFW?
No. That was simply an investment made after seeing your ability. The debt I owed you at the time still hasn’t been paid off.
Hmm. In that case, no. I was just passing the message along, so don’t worry about it.
Continue Capital was carrying out all kinds of businesses in Korea, and its influence would only keep growing.
There would likely be all sorts of requests coming her way in the future, so Min Ah-reum felt she needed to draw a clear line now, while she still could.
“Miru owes me one thing.”
“A debt?”
“I introduced him to Jaeho oppa once, back when I helped arrange a meeting for him. Miru thinks of that as a debt. That’s why he said he’d help if I ever asked him for a favor again.”
At that, Min Gijin lifted his brows.
“Then why didn’t it work?”
“Because I said it was fine.”
Min Gijin’s expression stiffened.
“So if you’d just asked, it would’ve been done—but you didn’t ask?”
Min Ah-reum said as though it were only natural, “Miru told me he owed me one, and that he would definitely repay it. I couldn’t use that on something as small as this.”
Min Gijin clicked his tongue in disbelief.
“And you believe that? How much do you think a verbal promise is worth?”
Min Ah-reum thought back on everything Han Miru had shown her so far.
For reasons she did not understand, he seemed to think he owed Lee Dong-ho a great debt. Curious, she had asked Lee Dong-ho about it several times, but…
Exactly what debt does Miru think he owes you, oppa?
Ever since our university days, I taught Miru all sorts of things. Maybe he thinks he succeeded thanks to my excellent guidance and mentorship?
…….
He didn’t seem to know the reason himself.
In any case, the price for that debt was the Korean branch of Continue Capital.
At the current valuation, he was willing to hand over an entire company worth tens of trillions of won.
The same was true for his friends.
He had already split off a game company for a friend’s sake and was continuing to support it with capital.
And for Min Ah-reum, he had suggested a metaverse fashion company; for Sung Yoon-ah, a simple payment service company; then invested money in both.
Chairman Yoo Jae-ho, Heo Min-woong, Sung Yoon-ah, Trish O'Connor, and the rest.
Anyone who had helped Han Miru had been repaid with something greater in return.
Min Ah-reum smiled brightly. “Some words are worth nothing at all, but some words are worth tens of trillions. So shouldn’t you save them for when they really matter?”
“…….”
While Min Gijin and Min Yejin were left speechless, Yoo Hye-kyung burst out laughing.
“Ho-ho-ho!”
After laughing for a long while, she looked at her youngest daughter and said, “I thought you were still a child all this time, but our daughter’s all grown up now.”
Watching that, Min Gijin and Min Yejin finally understood.
Up until now, they had thought of Min Ah-reum only as a cute younger sister, and had never once considered that she might become a threat to them.
But not anymore.
The obedient little sister was gone.
All that remained was a formidable rival.