Chapter 58: Friends are close, enemies are closer (4)

A fact I know from returning to the past.

Chief of Staff Lee Hakcheol is Yu Jinha’s man.

The reason Yu Jinseok fell in my past life… was because Yu Jinha moved Lee Hakcheol. Because Yu Seonjun’s confidant, the first son of Yu Jinseok, was Lee Hakcheol’s second son.

The very famous Daeha Group succession battle in my past life.

Yu Jinha used the information provided by Lee Seonpyo, who had lived as Yu Seonjun’s confidant all his life, to imprison his nephew Yu Seonjun on drug charges, and, riding that momentum, drove out Yu Jinseok as well.

He is a scary person.

Both my uncle Yu Jinha… and the Chief of Staff.

Memories etched in my mind flow.

Memories about Lee Sihyeon.

[“Ah, I’m also a bit bothered, actually… But it’s polite when meeting important people. I met with the Chief of Staff.”]

[“Aha, so our Sihyeon doesn’t think I’m an important person. Phew, I’m disappointed, Sihyeon. Well, I did think that might be the case… but it’s sad to hear it so directly.”]

[“Wh-what are you saying! Miss!”]

[“Yeah, who is it? Come to think of it, I’ve only heard about your siblings, but I haven’t heard their names. You said there were two, right?”]

[“Ah, the boy is Siu, and the girl is Sia. They’re twins.”]

[“Failed. Tell them to change their names.”]

[“Why? Why?”]

[“How did you know that… did you do a background check?”]

[“Would I not when hiring a secretary who will be my subordinate for life? And I didn’t do it, the Chief of Staff just told me. I don’t know the details.”]

[“Heeh, so our Sihyeon also enjoys traveling with a handsome man? You complained so much when it was with me.”]

[“Ah, no, what are you saying… How could I…”]

[“Yes, yes, actually, you’re not Seonjun Oppa’s type.”]

[“…Yes?”]

[“Ah, is it perhaps my age…”]

[“No, no, it’s more about personality? Something like that.”]

-Thud.

I put the gun under Lee Sihyeon’s chin and grabbed her ponytail to lift her head.

“Even though I gave you so many hints…, are you still testing the waters?”

The person who recommended Lee Sihyeon to me?

Chief of Staff Lee Hakcheol.

And the person who did Lee Sihyeon’s background check?

Also Chief of Staff Lee Hakcheol.

The relationship between Lee Sihyeon and me was entirely handled by the Chief of Staff. It means that he could control my secretary as he pleased if he wanted to.

Even the benefactor of Lee Sihyeon’s life, who directly saved her, was all the Chief of Staff.

And………

Their family names were the same.

I threw a document.

A document that Lee Sihyeon had given me someday.

It was a part of the list of freshmen of prestigious universities accumulated over several years.

“I asked our Sihyeon’s alumni if they knew a person named Lee Sihyeon who was good at sports and pretty.”

Fortunately, her academic background was not forged, and I got some information from Lee Sihyeon’s alumni.

For example, that Lee Sihyeon’s father is actually the younger brother of a very important person.

How did Lee Hakcheol, who is busy taking care of the group, meet a commoner in Seoul, and what made him support her college tuition?

The answer was simple. Lee Hakcheol found a useful niece at the funeral of his estranged delinquent brother.

A very capable spy who can be unconditionally trusted and placed anywhere.

Of course, she wouldn’t have known…

Isn’t that why she’s more capable? Because a spy who doesn’t even know they’re a spy is the one who doesn’t get caught.

“…!”

Lee Sihyeon’s face hardens. I lightly stroked Lee Sihyeon’s cheek.

“I, I—”

Shh.

I covered Lee Sihyeon’s mouth and smiled brightly.

“Sihyeon. Yes, yes, I know what you’re going to say. You’ve already switched to my side, right? You felt something was strange, but you decided to be loyal to Miss. Something like that.”

It’s an answer I’ve already heard indirectly.

That Lee Sihyeon has quite a bit of intention to betray Lee Hakcheol.

[“Isn’t it the same for everyone? What’s so special about life? As I did it, I liked it, and as I did it, I became a little greedy… and I also got another hobby.”]

[“What is it?”]

[“Supporting a little miss who lives for her own greatness? I hope I can do it until I die.”]

[“I thought you weren’t greedy for power, but I was wrong.”]

But, Lee Sihyeon was not a traitor.

Didn’t my grandfather say so? People don’t even know what they want.

In the end, no matter how much she pursued power, she wasn’t a cruel enough person to break the wall of morality. Lee Sihyeon couldn’t forget her uncle who saved her when she was on the edge of a cliff.

Of course…, it’s true that it was wrong not to inform me of that.

“But, you’re mistaken about one thing.”

The secretary’s eyes tremble.

“Why do you decide that? I understand your feelings, but… when I gave you a chance, you should have stopped testing the waters and immediately confessed everything to me and prostrated yourself.”

I understand.

She wouldn’t have wanted to betray. She would have thought it was too much to betray ‘family’ just for the lust for power. It’s not like her uncle was trying to harm me, so giving me the knife to stab her uncle would be something she couldn’t do…

She was mistaken.

I laughed.

Well, the Chief of Staff really picked a good person.

“Testing the waters should be done in moderation, Sihyeon. No matter how much he’s your life’s benefactor… Do you think I gave you 50 million won for nothing? There’s no such thing as a free lunch in the world.”

When someone who has been with you for a long time is nice to you, your heart is bound to waver.

Keep in mind. People are not visual novel characters whose favorability never goes down after reaching 100.

When the body gets distant, so does the heart. Managing the loyalty of subordinates is quite an important issue.

If you don’t manage it, they might betray you later.

“…Ah, uh.”

Sihyeon trembled, completely spaced out. Seeing the always dignified and strong Sihyeon showing such a cute appearance makes me feel sadistic.

I smiled and stroked my secretary’s cheek.

“Well, I’ll give you one more chance. Because I’m merciful.”

That Lee Hakcheol recommended secretary, it’s not for nothing that I accepted her.

Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.

What’s even better is to make your enemy your friend.

“Yes, yes, I’m, I’m sorry, Miss.”

Lee Sihyeon nodded her head frantically without even knowing what she did wrong. Her dress pants were visibly soaked.

“Ahah, our Sihyeon is really cute. It’s okay, it’s okay. Relax.”

I have no intention of killing her.

As Yu Seonjun said, I’m greedy, so I have to have everything.

And originally, taking someone else’s things is more thrilling.

Even though I’m a bit strict about betrayal, I had no intention of killing Lee Sihyeon.

Because, Sihyeon didn’t become a mole of her own volition.

Lee Sihyeon still seemed to not understand the situation, and was washing her pants and underwear in the hotel bathroom with unfocused eyes.

-Splash splash.

“Sihyeon! Stop that and come here and eat some ramen.”

Tears streamed down the face of the secretary, who was wearing only a dress shirt in a bottomless fashion.

“I, I’m not really going to die, right? Like, like a last supper…”

“Sigh, Sihyeon. I can’t kill you at this point, can I? I don’t even have a gun.”

In the first place, if she was a real traitor, I couldn’t handle it this way because of the eyes watching. It’s not like I’m a gangster.

“And everyone knows that you, Sihyeon, follow me around, so if I were to get rid of you, I would have done it quietly as an accidental death. Tsk tsk, I told you to improve your situational judgment. You were startled and spilled everything.”

Even I was more brazen in front of Chairman Yu Seongpil. If you think something has been exposed, you should quickly admit what needs to be admitted and then hide the real secret.

And if your closest person is a traitor, isn’t that proving my incompetence? There may be appropriate adversity in the myth I will create, but there are no ‘flaws’.

“I, I don’t really understand… Why am I a mole…?”

Lee Sihyeon was teary-eyed, as if she was truly wronged.

If Lee Sihyeon was really wronged, it would have ended with just a decrease in loyalty, but this time it was clearly Sihyeon’s fault, so it was okay.

“Yes, yes, it’s okay. I’ll explain it to you step by step.”

As always, I kindly started explaining to Lee Sihyeon.

First. Chief of Staff Lee Hakcheol is on Yu Jinha’s side.

Second. Lee Sihyeon often talks about me to Lee Hakcheol. This is not a fact that she was particularly hiding. Because she tells me she is going to see the Chief of Staff.

Third. However, Lee Sihyeon is consequently Yu Jinha’s mole. Whether Lee Sihyeon wants it or not, the information she speaks goes into Yu Jinha’s ears.

Lee Sihyeon muttered with dazed eyes.

“I didn’t know. Really. U, Uncle… how…”

That’s right.

The Chief of Staff wouldn’t have asked much at this point either. That’s why I thought it was highly likely that it wasn’t Lee Sihyeon, because the Alpha Fund case was confidential no matter who looked at it.

However…, she might have judged that it was okay to inform Chairman Yu Seongpil, not Yu Jinha. I wasn’t sure about that, so I revealed everything directly and confronted Lee Sihyeon.

“I told you. Uncle Yu Jinha is a very smart person.”

I shook my head and patted Sihyeon.

If you don’t know, you’ll be taken advantage of, and even if you know, you can’t do anything about Yu Jinha.

Lee Sihyeon didn’t know she was a traitor. She just wanted to hide that she got in through her relative’s connections.

In fact, Lee Sihyeon didn’t hide the fact that she was indebted to Chief of Staff Lee Hakcheol, or that she often had intimate conversations with the Chief of Staff. Thanks to that, I was able to send Sihyeon on vacation when she might say ‘something that doesn’t seem very important but is actually important’.

And even if you know that Lee Sihyeon is the Chief of Staff’s niece, if you don’t know the connection between Lee Hakcheol and Yu Jinha, you’ll be taken advantage of again. Information that only the chairman should know, or information that is okay to tell the chairman, can be fatal information if it falls into Yu Jinha’s hands.

That’s why I was surprised by Yu Seonjun. I was able to easily figure it out because I knew the facts behind it, but it would have been difficult for Yu Seonjun, who doesn’t know the future, to know that Lee Seonpyo was a mole.

“You were going to keep it a secret until the end, right? Well, I would have done the same if things had gone well. Great power makes miscellaneous conspiracies useless.”

Lee Sihyeon picked at her chopsticks with a dejected look.

“…Yes. I just thought it would be okay. Because I didn’t say anything really important anyway, I only told him facts that the chairman would know… it’s okay.”

If Lee Hakcheol had demanded my secrets, she would have refused, and vice versa.

Lee Sihyeon might have thought that was enough.

I understand, the question of whether you like mom or dad is always difficult. And Sihyeon probably couldn’t have imagined that the two were sharpening their knives behind each other’s backs.

“Yes, yes, that’s a relief. I was worried that I might have misjudged people. Fortunately, Sihyeon wasn’t a traitor from the beginning. Let’s decide that.”

“…Yes?”

“You weren’t my person in the first place? Well. So, you’re going to betray, right?”

I chuckled and asked Lee Sihyeon. The secretary slowly bowed her head.

“……Yes.”

A thrilling sense of depravity ran down my spine. Only now did Lee Sihyeon become a completely trustworthy person.

Good.

It feels good, like I stole someone else’s lover. That’s why managing the loyalty of subordinates is important.

“B, but… since when did you kno-ah, no, did you know?”

It’s too late to put on that act, Sihyeon.

I shrugged.

“Probably from the beginning? I was sure when you recommended your younger brother when I created the Alpha Fund before. It turned out to be a case of a cow stepping back and catching a mouse.”

Showing your younger brother a scene of being openly sexually harassed at work? This is not an easy task. So I was sure.

“So… you told Siu to change his name last time.”

It was half a joke, but half sincere.

“If you cut off all kinship ties and even change your last name, well, I have to believe you.”

But fortunately, Lee Hakcheol didn’t openly try to plant his own person in my company. It’s just that Lee Sihyeon joked like that.

“Sihyeon, and I have a question.”

-Thud.

Lee Sihyeon, who had become completely obedient, stuttered in response.

“Yes? Yes! Tell me anything, Miss.”

“The Alpha Fund case, you know? Ha Youngil working there…, you didn’t tell Chief of Staff Lee Hakcheol, did you?”

“…No.”

Good.

The third premise was also correct.