Chapter 4: Gift and Opportunity

“How did you know? About the bombing.”

Those were the first words from Chairman Yu Seongpil.

His wrinkled face was calm. He seemed like a completely different person from the one I saw at the funeral. Even though he must have been very surprised, his voice was deep and stern, and his erect posture and stubborn eyes clearly showed his character.

Is this the true nature of the founder of Daeha Group, who was known as the Iron-Blooded?

I wriggled my feet a bit and then mumbled. I widened my eyes, putting on a surprised expression.

“…Did it really happen? The bombing.”

-Huh.

Was it my imagination? It sounded like I heard a chuckle.

“So, it was a bluff?”

I nodded slightly.

I had planted quite a few seeds. As a child, I wandered around the house, interfering with various things. My grandfather could easily verify them if he wanted to.

Everything had some sense, but it was also far-fetched, and since it was information obtained through future knowledge, there was a good chance it would be correct.

At the time, I was just struggling to survive, but… I’m glad to see that my efforts have paid off.

“Yes. I’m still young, so I thought no one would care even if I was wrong. But if I was right even once… That would be a jackpot.”

Then, Chairman Yu Seongpil clapped his hands and laughed heartily.

“Hahaha! My granddaughter knows how to do business! Yes, when there’s nothing to lose, you should just poke around! This grandpa also ran his business that way when he was young.”

Yes, I knew he would like it.

Wasn’t Yu Seongpil the one who made a contract for a ship when he didn’t even have a shipyard, used the money to build the shipyard, and then built the ship?

“Grandpa, did it turn out okay? That person…”

“Huh? Ah, you didn’t hear? He survived. Kim Haeik.”

Whew.

I let out a sigh of relief.

My gamble succeeded. I was so nervous that I don’t think I can do that again.

“It was a stroke of luck.”

Chairman Yu Seongpil turned to look at the window. He stroked my head with his wrinkled, rough hand and explained the situation at the time.

“The schedule was delayed in the middle, and in the meantime, the commie bastards made a few mistakes. Then, Kim Haeik remembered what you said and brought it up to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Chief of Staff of the National Assembly happened to agree, so he survived.”

The dirge to be played at the mausoleum was being rehearsed again, and the North Korean operative, thinking that the event had started, detonated the bomb.

I went through my memories and realized that what he said was true. The Minister of Foreign Affairs was originally against this visit anyway… And the nice and humorous Chief Shim Seonwoo had an unusually hardened expression from the day before the accident.

In the first place, the fact that an unprecedented bombing occurred meant that the executor planned meticulously and the security of the victim was neglected.

It could be averted by just a single butterfly effect.

“But how did you know? Even if it’s a bluff, you need some basic knowledge, and the more skilled you are at bluffing, the better you are. How did you know about the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?”

…09.

I felt Chairman Yu Seongpil’s sharp gaze. He seemed to think that someone was giving a child strange political ideas.

It would be okay to just answer truthfully.

“…I thought my dad would like it. So I asked around from time to time. Whenever my dad went to work, I was always alone at home… I missed him….”

I acted as if I was very intimidated and hesitated. Just like the kids of that age who grew up reading their parents’ expressions.

“Hic. If I read a lot of difficult books and become smarter, I thought my dad would play with Hayeon for a long time, so….”

Ah, these tears aren’t coming out well.

Fortunately, it seems that the tear ducts of a child’s body are weak. As soon as I concentrated a little, tears began to flow.

“No, why are you crying? I’m not scolding you, Hayeon. Don’t cry, stop. Stop it now.”

The sharp atmosphere disappeared instantly. Chairman Yu Seongpil, ridiculously, was flustered and tried to comfort me.

“Oh my, Jincheol. Leaving a child behind like this… Sigh.”

Seeing this as a good opportunity, I hugged Chairman Yu Seongpil and cried loudly.

“Dad, hic. He came to me in my dream. He was very worried about me and showed me the newspaper from yesterday. It felt strange, but… the adults wouldn’t believe me, sob.”

Even while uttering tearful words, I was a little worried.

Would Yu Seongpil really believe such nonsensical words…?

“Huh. I knew it. Jincheol always complained, but he was a good guy. It seems like he came down for a little bit to do something important before going to the underworld.”

He actually believes it.

I knew it. Even though I helped him survive, he accepted it too easily. It seems that he had already been thinking that way.

He’s thinking that the ghost of the dead Yu Jincheol appeared and told me? That wouldn’t be that strange in the 80s. Besides, the timing was also very coincidental.

In fact, isn’t that not far from the truth? Even I am a kind of ghost.

Damn it. I can’t say that there are no ghosts in the world now.

Chairman Yu Seongpil, who had been patting me and calming me down for a while, asked me in a gentle tone.

“So, my granddaughter. What do you want as a gift?”

As soon as I heard those words, I felt a tingling sensation all over my body.

Am I finally at the starting line?

“A gift…?”

I pretended to know nothing and acted innocent. It would be a little strange to change my expression after just crying.

“If there’s one thing this grandpa believes in, it’s that people die if they don’t eat. If you feed your subordinates well, they’ll trust and follow you well. You saved those great government officials, so of course, you should get a generous reward. Don’t you agree?”

I nodded my little head as I listened to Chairman Yu Seongpil’s words.

Yes, my grandfather knew a thing or two.

“So. What do you want to receive?”

My grandfather looked at me with a warm smile. It seemed like he was looking at a cute and pitiful granddaughter.

For now.

“…?”

There was a moment of silence. I had a few answers prepared, but for some reason, they didn’t come out easily.

Like in the famous conglomerate novels of my past life, I could ask for land in Bundang, or I could ask to be introduced to people and build connections.

But the wish that I consider the best is… just to be by my grandfather’s side. If I can win Yu Seongpil’s heart, I can also get scraps of power from his side.

But.

‘I don’t like it.’

I don’t like it.

What do I want?

Money, power, fame. All of them are things I like.

If I asked for money, Yu Seongpil would give me money. If I asked for power, he would give me power. Fame was something I would earn myself, so it was meaningless…

-Grind.

However, I couldn’t be satisfied with that. I wanted to have more now.

To dominate people, to achieve what I want and desire so easily. People call that power.

I closed my eyes tightly.

‘More. Let’s be more greedy. Let’s not be bound by common sense. When setting impossible goals and implementing plans… act like a madman.’

Why should I choose only one?

The people who move the world all run like madmen to keep up with the flow of time, so that they can stand in front of it and lead the flow. Yu Seongpil, who is standing in front of me, was also one of them.

Let’s come up with a more cunning and exquisite scheme. Gaining one benefit from one action is the method of a low-level player.

“…?”

After organizing my thoughts, I opened my mouth, looking at Yu Seongpil with clear eyes.

“Opportunity. Please give me an opportunity.”

“What kind of opportunity are you talking about?”

“The favors you owe to the government officials, you’re going to get them back, aren’t you? Please share them with me. It’s because of me.”

“Hmm. Hayeon, is this… a deal?”

A deal.

As soon as that word came out, Chairman Yu Seongpil’s atmosphere changed.

From the eyes of a grandfather who cherished his granddaughter to the eyes of a businessman.

“You know that you’re the only one who can cash in on that favor, right? So, to put it simply, it’s a monopoly. And there’s nothing more profitable and petty than a monopoly.”

Monopoly.

That was right. If you can trade favors, you will get a significant profit. And Yu Seongpil was the only person I could trade with right now.

“You’re saying that you’ll monopolize me… getting involved with the government. That’s also a way to put it.”

I opened my mouth and froze for a moment.

I expected it, but his ideas are truly different from ordinary people. It seems that all of his thought circuits are based on the way of a merchant. I need to learn from him.

I pouted my little mouth and grumbled softly.

“You’re too harsh on a six-year-old. Tsk.”

“Hahaha! It was Hayeon who proposed a deal to your grandpa. You’re the only person I, Yu Seongpil, would trade with under these good conditions. So, I’m being very generous.”

Then, Chairman Yu Seongpil, who had instantly returned to being a kind grandfather, stroked my head.

“Hayeon, there’s no need to overdo it. This grandpa was just splashing around in the stream when he was your age. Just the fact that you understood what I said just now is amazing. Okay?”

I nodded and then asked again with a cheeky tone. I didn’t expect to get everything I wanted at once anyway.

“Yes, grandpa. Then, can I come to your room sometimes? I’ll try to persuade you.”

“Hmm. Are you sure you want to receive your gift that late?”

When Yu Seongpil said that, I widened my eyes and shook my head.

“No? I have to get my gift. Please give it to me in cash. In a borrowed-name account so it’s easy to use…”

“Oh my, look at this one. You’re determined to suck your grandpa dry. You should only receive one gift.”

For the first time, a bewildered expression appeared in Yu Seongpil’s eyes. Good, that means it’s still okay.

If favors were tradable items, then it should be possible to put a price on paternal and familial affection as well.

“The gift is what grandpa is giving to me. So, not President Yu Seongpil, but grandpa is giving it to his granddaughter. That’s what a gift is. But stopping the bombing is different, right?”

I continued to explain logically, with a clearer and brighter voice than ever before.

“This is a transaction between Yu Hayeon and President Yu Seongpil, so it’s different. To put it in your words, you’re negotiating the price of a face-to-face meeting with the government officials you monopolize.”

In a normal situation, this would be an absurd act. Who would dare to drag out a negotiation with the chairman of Daeha Group for days?

Even my words had loopholes.

“The fact that I’m making a deal with you is a gift in itself. Don’t you know?”

That’s right. It was a logic that was established under the favor of Yu Seongpil in the first place.

But, conversely, this also meant that it was possible under his favor.

I looked at Yu Seongpil with that meaning.

“But you like it, too, grandpa. Seeing your smart granddaughter.”

So, because of that.

I can do it. Yu Hayeon is Yu Seongpil’s granddaughter. What’s more, because she lost both her parents, the only family she has left is him.

Yu Seongpil, a man born in the 1920s who values family, could not refuse this proposal.

“Okay. I understand. Well, from grandpa’s point of view, it’s not a bad deal either, is it?”

I nodded as hard as I could, until my head felt a little dizzy. The granddaughter, whose baby fat had not yet disappeared, looked at her grandfather with bright eyes.

“Hmm. Okay, I understand. I allow it.”

Finally, Yu Seongpil’s permission was granted, and I smiled softly and bowed my head.

“Thank you.”

“Go now, Hayeon. You didn’t eat much breakfast, so don’t skip lunch. Okay?”

“Yes, grandpa.”

I bowed and closed the door, running back to my room as if flying.

-Squeak.

I opened the door and began rolling around on the bed in the empty room. The meeting with Yu Seongpil had used up too much energy.

Tap, tap.

I buried my face in a large pillow and smiled softly.

“Hehe. Aha, hahaha!”

A smile naturally broke out. I had forgotten about my father’s death for a moment.

Hmm.

Perfect.

I had gained three benefits from the conversation just now.

The first was money. The fact that I had money, especially money that I could use freely, was an encouraging achievement. Since I was a girl, not a boy, I needed Yu Seongpil’s permission to engage in any economic activities.

And the second was that I was able to stay close to Yu Seongpil under the guise of negotiation. He didn’t seem to have considered this, but this was the greatest achievement I had gained.

Being close to a powerful person is a privilege in itself. I knew how big of an opportunity it was to meet with the Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs, but I didn’t mention it…

Perhaps it was because he was my grandfather. From his point of view, a child who lost her parents living under the care of her grandfather is something that doesn’t need to be mentioned, something ‘natural’.

And the final third thing was…

Being able to have a personal relationship with a legendary Senior Secretary of Economic Affairs who was called the “Economic President”.