Chapter 37: Bad Things (1)

1987’s year-end event passed, and thus…

1988’s New Year dawned.

“…I’m 27 now. Even though it’s only the third time I’ve heard it, I already resent the Bosingak bell.”

Under the dusky night sky, we listened to the Bosingak New Year’s bell, lost in thought.

“Hehet. I’m 11, Sihyeon, you’ve gotten old.”

Sihyeon let out a sigh laden with emotion.

“No, and 27 isn’t old! I’m not even thirty…”

“Spinster.”

“Because of you… hmph…, let’s see when you get old, missy.”

I rubbed my sleepy eyes and shook my head.

“If I were your age, you’d be in a coffin.”

“…This cheeky brat.”

“What’s an old lady saying?”

Sihyeon seemed genuinely hurt by that remark, crouching on the floor and muttering.

“That’s too much. I came here even on my day off because of you, missy. Are you going to do this?”

“…Oops. Sorry.”

Come to think of it, today was her day off.

Sihyeon is, after all, employed by me. Giving her a day off is the right thing to do…

“Ah, because of my wicked mistress, I can’t see my family on New Year’s Day. The extra pay will be generous, right?”

Ugh.

I slightly moved my lips, then simply patted Sihyeon’s shoulder.

“Yeah, today’s the day the nanny has her holiday. You’re taking her shift.”

Normally, I would have given her New Year’s off, but today is a very special day.

The nanny took a day off.

“…Ah, I heard that. But could you tell me why she took a day off? That’s not like her.”

“She needs to tend to her child’s grave. She takes a day off once a year during winter. This year, that day happened to be January 1st.”

“…”

Sihyeon was speechless.

“You know? For a woman’s milk to come in, she has to be pregnant. So, she must have had a child.”

“How…”

“Just, well… an accident.”

I changed the subject. Talking about my own flaws… was a bit difficult.

The nanny’s child died because of me. How could I say that?

The nanny didn’t seem to think so, but I couldn’t help but think that way. Because I knew that child was alive and well in my past life.

…Because I found out.

It’s one of the many debts I owe the nanny. There were even heavier debts, so even I, a self-proclaimed trash, could only obediently follow the nanny’s words.

To put it extremely, if the nanny told me to live an ordinary life like a normal woman—getting married, having children—I would have hesitantly nodded.

Fortunately, that didn’t happen.

“Anyway, so you’re taking her shift.”

“Well… I guess I can’t help it. I feel sorry for my siblings, but… I have to tell them I can’t go because I’m taking care of you, missy.”

Sihyeon sighed and shook her head.

“Isn’t today your siblings’ coming-of-age day? You’ll be fine even if you’re not there, they’ll be too busy drinking.”

“In our family, we don’t drink more than one glass a day. My mother made that rule.”

“Why?”

“You know? My father died because of alcohol… I see myself inheriting his eating habits and some other habits eerily. Blood is scary. I didn’t particularly want to be like him, though.”

She laughed bitterly as she said that.

“But are your siblings really your siblings? It doesn’t seem like it’s related to blood…”

-Pfft.

Sihyeon sprayed the water she was drinking. Wiping her mouth with her sleeve, she muttered a curse.

“Sh*t, why do you talk like that?”

“No, you used to be in the mob, right? And you said you have people under you. So, ‘sibling’ means that, right?”

“How did you know that…? Did you investigate me?”

“Of course, I would if I was hiring a secretary for life. And it wasn’t me, my chief of staff told me. I don’t know the details.”

“Hmm, I see. It’s true I have a real sibling. There were people I called my siblings, but… that’s different.”

Sihyeon argued earnestly.

“And I’m not in the mob, I was a model student. It was more like a citizen’s patrol. The law and order was so bad.”

Ah, a citizen’s patrol. They still had those these days.

‘A ‘group’ that handles ‘violence’—isn’t that just a mob?’

“Okay, okay, I understand. Do you still keep in touch with them?”

She gave me a wary look.

“…Why are you asking that? For the record, I’ll refuse if you’re trying to use them as thugs under missy. They’re all good kids. They all went to college with the money you gave them…”

Tsk, what a pity.

In Korea, using gangsters to secretly eliminate competitors is surprisingly difficult. Only a real chaebol chairman can do that…

I thought I could get some disposable knives I could trust, but Sihyeon’s attitude suggests otherwise.

“They must be precious to you.”

“That’s right. I trust missy’s ability, but not her character… The person who says they calmly handle disposing of people is also afraid to sleep alone at night.”

…

“I’m not afraid to sleep alone!”

“Should I go then?”

Huh?

“Th-that’s a bit… Since you’re already here, just sleep here.”

Since the nanny’s not here, at least Sihyeon has to be. If there’s absolutely no one around, I have nightmares…

I can endure it, but I don’t want to have nightmares. My feelings are the most important thing in the world.

‘Hah, exactly how many points did I get for mental illness in my past life? Shouldn’t I have lowered my intelligence or even maxed out my perfect recall?’

Sihyeon, who doesn’t understand my feelings at all, looked down at me like a kid.

“Yes, yes, I understand. You’re already in the fourth grade… Since you say you miss an adult’s embrace, I can’t help it. If missy wants that.”

Tch.

“…Just you wait.”

Sihyeon lifted me up and carried me into the room. I dangled from one of Sihyeon’s arms, watching her prepare the bedding.

‘Actually, I could sleep in the next room…?’

Just knowing that someone is nearby is fine, so I don’t really need to sleep together.

…But now that I’ve already lost face, I might as well get some personal gain.

Ha.

This is unfair. It’s all because of wrong character stats. What kind of suffering is this? What did I do in my past life—

‘Hmm.’

I did do quite a bit…

***

Around Black Monday, Hayeon’s hedge fund began to make a name for itself on Wall Street.

‘Alpha Fund.’

The name I came up with myself. I chose it from many candidates after much deliberation.

It was used to mean that the alpha in the hedge fund’s rate of return was maximized, and during Black Monday, I did maximize the ‘alpha’ of this Alpha Fund.

By the way, other candidates were Elixir, Marionette, Immortal, Midas, etc.

A bit otaku-ish, but whatever. It’s okay if it becomes famous.

Tiger, Renaissance, Millennium—they’re all incredibly famous funds, and no one mocks their names.

Except when the fund goes bankrupt.

“Oh, Happy New Year, missy. Long time no see.”

The day after New Year’s, President Ha Jusung greeted me warmly.

“Yeah, Happy New Year to you too, sir.”

Department stores are department stores, and securities are securities.

Hobbies and work should be kept separate.

“I did create a smokescreen by saying that I was busy running the department store, and everyone is busy these days, so fortunately, my family doesn’t seem to have noticed. Hmm, how long can I hide this?”

This is why I hesitated when I first heard about my recruitment by Hayeon.

The connection with me is too great.

“I’m using a false address and the name ‘Yeong’ only… but if you search the documents, you’ll find everything, so it won’t last long.”

“…Then it’ll be fine.”

“What?”

“I’m not going to bother looking for documents. Except for a few people, no one will care what happened overseas.”

Even if my grandfather knows, he has no reason to attack me, and Jinseok, who is my biggest rival, doesn’t have the ability to do so.

Jinwoo is a bit of a problem because he lived abroad… but they’re more likely to form a united front against Jinseok rather than against me.

“Let’s do some bad things. If the Alpha Fund doesn’t become too famous in our country, that’s good enough.”

“What do you mean?”

Ha Jusung asked innocently. He wouldn’t be unaware of the answer.

He’s just unwilling to do it.

“You know? Create some shell companies, distribute funds, and Hayeon won’t surface. We can also make a white face to keep the Korean media disinterested.”

“…The rate of return is distributed, that’s fine, but is there any reason to do that? The burden is too great compared to the profit.”

Ha Jusung was negative. Daeha Group isn’t Mirae Group, so he probably didn’t think they would fight among themselves. In fact, in my past life, even Jinwoo, who caused the chaos, split the group more gently compared to Mirae Group.

From that standpoint, Ha Jusung’s opinion is clearly valid.

That is, from the perspective of someone who doesn’t know that I will personally stab my family in the back.