Chapter 5: Become my disciple

Some people might say this.

They might ask why I, a regressor, am so obsessed with power. They might even ask if the capitalist society doesn’t make everything possible with enough money.

They might wonder if power doesn’t naturally follow after gaining a lot of money and fame through future knowledge… There are people who think that way.

To put it bluntly, they are wrong.

Money is a very important tool. In a capitalist society, if you were to pick the base currency of power, it would be money. Almost all power can be substituted with money.

However… that base currency is based on a violence standard that is guaranteed by violence.

Just like how one ounce of gold could be exchanged for 35 dollars until President Nixon suspended gold convertibility on August 15, 1971, all power presupposes that it can be converted into violence.

And.

The most fundamental condition of a modern state is a monopoly on violence.

Like an ice cream placed under the warm summer sun, all power emanating from money melts away like an illusion in front of the pure and immense power wielded by the state!

The dissolution of the Dongguk Group in 1985, just two years from now, is a famous example of that. When a large company ranked 8th in the business world fell out of favor with the President, it was torn into dozens of pieces in an instant, and literally not even its form remained.

How is that possible? Power is amazing because such absurd things are possible.

I heard that Daeha Group also got a good share of the torn pieces. I wonder if I can get involved in that.

The declaration of suspending the violence-conversion, which is usually euphemistically referred to as civilization or democratization, only began to work properly in the 21st century.

Anyway. The important thing is that it’s the 20th century now. In the 80s, money isn’t as important a value as you think.

Thinking about it again, it’s not a lot of money that I want… It’s the power that is strong and everlasting.

“Ah ha. Hayeon-ah, it’s been a while.”

Looking at Senior Secretary Kim Haeik, who was greeting me with an easygoing smile, I reaffirmed that fact.

***

There was something I slightly miscalculated. I didn’t need my grandfather’s permission to meet with Senior Secretary Kim Haeik in the first place.

As I said before. The state is an institution that monopolizes violence and is the totality of all power. Therefore, a person who can freely express his opinion to the dictator under the Blue House is never inferior to a conglomerate chairman.

“Thanks to you, I survived. Thank you. Thank you so much.”

And, if a child warned him to be careful of a terrorist attack the day before the attack, how many people would forget that?

At least, Senior Secretary Kim Haeik was not that kind of person.

I should have thought about the favor my grandfather received from other government officials and Kim Haeik’s personal position separately. I shook my head, blaming my lack of consideration for lumping them together.

“No, I should be more grateful. You just listened to what a kid said. Actually, you were lucky too. Your schedule was delayed and almost all the bombs failed to detonate, right?”

“No, you were also my luck. If I had listened to the requiem without thinking, that dirge would have been mine. So, is there anything you want from this uncle? According to your grandfather, you’re quite… like him.”

…That doesn’t sound like a compliment.

I glanced up at Kim Haeik and tested the waters.

“Well, you wouldn’t tell me about money or policies even if I asked, would you?”

“Haha. That’s true. If I used my power for personal gain… That would be corruption and irregularities. It’s something a bureaucrat shouldn’t do.”

He replied with a resolute expression. However, I was just making an ambiguous face.

…Except for you, most people would do that.’

Isn’t that what the owner of the Blue House is always doing anyway?

Anyway, he is a righteous and great man in many ways. He even indirectly criticized the president who appointed him to such a core position of power.

Anyway, this is enough to ask.

I looked at him with sparkling eyes and opened my mouth.

“Then. Could you teach me economics?”

This time, it was Senior Secretary Kim Haeik’s turn to be speechless. The fact that he was the economic tutor for President Jeon Doo Gwang was a fairly well-known fact.

Of course, after that, no one besides the president asked him for “that” kind of work. Who would use the Blue House’s Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs as a private tutor?

“Hmm. Perhaps, does that mean it’s not just for once but…”

He asked back if I might be an extraordinary person, but I nodded as it was, affirming his speculation.

“Yes. I want to meet and learn many times. About economics…”

-Huh.

Such a short exclamation came out of his mouth. He seemed genuinely amazed by me.

“I don’t know if you did it knowingly or unknowingly, but if you knew the true meaning of what you just said, you’re truly an amazing genius. I can even call you a prodigy.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“I am a prodigy. I’m pretty smart. It’s an answer that I came up with myself, not something my grandfather hinted at. You’re asking about that, right?”

If I knew what I was doing, I was a genius, and if I didn’t know, then it was most likely Yu Seongpil who had told me. Such a subtle meaning was contained in his words.

Senior Secretary Kim Haeik nodded as if he was caught off guard.

“That’s right. I thought that for a moment. It wasn’t something that would come out of a child’s mouth. I thought that Yu Seongpil was capable of giving such advice to his granddaughter. But, huh. I guess I was wrong, I must have seen him as too cold-blooded. I feel a little sorry.”

Indeed, he has a very accurate eye.

“…Actually, you’re right, sir. You are very accurate. My grandfather probably was trying to give me such advice. As a ‘gift.’ But since the answer I already have can’t be a gift, I received something else instead.”

A personal secretary, a driver, a bodyguard. I received these trivial things. They were my people, not my grandfather’s, but they were there from the beginning, so I didn’t really feel it.

Too bad. I could have gotten more if I had known that Senior Secretary Kim Haeik would personally visit me to thank me.

“…”

He remained silent for a while. Then, with a subtle expression, he answered my request.

It was a response that was wrapped up in all kinds of circumlocutions and political rhetoric, but I could understand it well enough.

“You’d be able to study economics even without me. No, you already know more about economics than most people. Honestly, I don’t understand what your real intention is.”

You know that you don’t need a teacher like me. Could it be that you’re selling information about senior government officials to your grandfather?

“I only know the basics. And… I’m a woman. Even if it were a man, it would be hard for a woman to seize an opportunity. You seem a little different from the other officials, but you know? Our country isn’t all that great.”

You are a liberal who dislikes dictatorships and likes openness, unlike the other officials, right? I am going to resist authoritarianism due to my innate limitations.

“Well, opportunities often come when you live life. Especially since you’re a child of a conglomerate family, you’ll have many opportunities.”

You don’t have to be greedy. And you are also part of the privileged class, aren’t you?

“Hmm. I’m only six years old, so I don’t know, but for me, one year is quite long. Considering the magic of compound interest, isn’t it better to seize opportunities early?”

I’m greedy, so I need to take more.

“Early success is a misfortune. I see you as a genius enough. Why are you in such a hurry?”

It’s good for everyone to stop at a reasonable level. Why are you doing this?

“Originally… families with many children often fight, right? Especially when eating, they all compete with each other to eat delicious things if there are no elders. I want to eat some delicious things too.”

I.

I want to be a conglomerate chairman.

“…You crazy.”

You crazy bastard.

***

The Senior Presidential Secretary for Economic Affairs of the Blue House.

Kim Haeik.

A giant who coordinates Korea’s economy was staring at me.

“Let’s drop the pretense for a moment, Hayeon-ah.”

I shrugged my shoulders and turned my head to face him confidently. It didn’t look that cool because of my childish appearance.

“Do you mean what you just said, sincerely?”

I tilted my head and blinked my innocent eyes.

“Ehh. What do you mean? Hayeon doesn’t understand… Why suddenly, so… I, I don’t know.”

Yeah, I’m not gonna tell you.

What are you gonna do if I don’t tell you?

Kim Haeik stared at me with a blank look for a moment and then put his hand to his forehead. Anyway, he wasn’t someone who would yell at a six-year-old child who had saved his life.

“Hmm. Okay, sigh. I guess I became a little sensitive after surviving death. What am I even doing, towards a child…”

Senior Secretary Kim Haeik was feeling self-loathing, seemingly experiencing a moment of reality check.

‘It’s fun to mess with him using the child shield. Should I stop here?’

I stuck my tongue out a little and then sparkled my eyes again.

“I was lying earlier. Hehe. I want it, honestly? I’ve always wanted to become a great person like my grandfather.”

As I indirectly acknowledged my desire, Senior Secretary Kim Haeik sighed and stroked my head.

“Sigh. You shouldn’t tease adults. How many times have I been surprised today? Really. A true prodigy has emerged from the Yu family. So, why are you telling me this? What if I tell other people about this?”

“It doesn’t matter if you tell them. It’s not like a member of a conglomerate family wanting the chairman’s seat is something new. Besides, there aren’t many people who would seriously believe it right now…”

“Anyway. That’s probably true.”

By this time, Senior Secretary Kim Haeik seemed to have acknowledged that I had a mind beyond a normal adult. The conversations I had with him went deeper, and we began to talk about economics and current events.

“Hmm. Still, I don’t think we should abandon the heavy chemical industry or agricultural support. It’s not a high value-added industry, but we still need to be self-sufficient, don’t we?”

“We can just buy it from abroad anyway. In my prediction, I think that China will grow significantly in the 21st century, so we will become indebted to them.”

“No, the commies are a bit…”

“Ah, and have you still not given up on the real-name financial transaction system? Honestly, I don’t think it’s possible with the current regime.”

“…How did you know that? It’s information that is hard to know unless you’re a minister or vice-minister. No, nevermind. I guess you somehow know. Anyway, don’t say that outside. You’ll be called a subversive.”

“Only you dislike dictatorships that openly? Ah, should I not have said that yet?”

“Cough. Well, it’s not like his excellency doesn’t know. Just don’t say that outside.”

Surprisingly, Senior Secretary Kim Haeik didn’t seem to have much prejudice against me.

Well, as it appears in The Little Prince, adults originally like numbers.

People might say that Yu Hayeon seems a little strange. She keeps saying things I don’t understand and pretends to be smart for no reason. If I say it like that, the adults don’t understand.

Adults never say, “Could that child be from the future?” or, “It seems that a person from the future was reincarnated and born.” Instead, they ask, “What is that child’s IQ?” “How many books has she read?” “How old is she?”

If someone then says, “The child Yu Hayeon has already read textbook in their original language at the age of six!” they’ll clap their hands and laugh, saying, “That’s amazing, a prodigy has emerged!”

Kim Haeik, the Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs at the Blue House, was an adult who was admired by many, but he was also an adult nonetheless. So… he liked geniuses and prodigies.

So much so that he offered to become my direct mentor.

…I didn’t expect this.