Chapter 57: Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer (3)

Let’s think.

How much does Chairman Yu Seongpil know… and from whom and how did he find out?

How much should I say?

‘But Chairman Yu Seongpil doesn’t know the most important fact. Even if everything is revealed here, my safety is secure.’

The problem is that even if Chairman Yu Seongpil doesn’t know, Yu Jinha shouldn’t know…….

My tongue bumps against the edge of my teeth. I carefully gather my words and open my mouth.

“…Fund? What fund?”

The innocent eyes of a young girl turn to the old man. Chairman Yu Seongpil chuckled as if he had noticed my concern.

“Phew, my granddaughter is unnecessarily worried. Even if this Yu Seongpil is old, do you think I can’t even take care of my own limbs? He’s a friend with no ears, so it’s okay, tell me.”

His aged voice pierced my ears.

‘An old man who’s lying in bed because he can’t even muster strength in his hands……’

After a brief irreverent thought, I glanced at the bodyguard. Looking closely, his ear looked a little strange.

Hmm, I thought he was saying he was good at keeping secrets, but after looking a little, it seems like he’s saying he’s physically deaf.

I turned my head back as if nothing had happened and answered naturally.

“Are you talking about Alpha Fund? Hehe, I did make a lot of money.”

Okay, Hayeon. Relax your eyes… Let’s go with cute and lovely.

Yes, yes.

Like a cute granddaughter.

“Yes, 1 billion dollars is a lot. It’s really a lot…”

Chairman Yu Seongpil looked at me with eyes filled with a strange sense of reminiscence.

-Okay, I got some good information.

There are a lot of facts that can be known from this.

Because the Alpha Fund actually made 2 billion dollars. The remaining 1 billion dollars was embezzled by Ha Youngil and moved to Eastern Europe.

‘He doesn’t know about the Eastern European company yet. He knows about the Eastern European government bond investment, though… So, it’s not the most suspicious option for now. But he definitely knows that I created the Alpha Fund. Then, pretending ignorance is counterproductive…….’

I shrugged and answered.

“But I didn’t get much money. Hedge funds usually take 20%, right? Besides, I have to give some to Youngil….”

Hehe.

I laughed freely and gently grabbed my grandfather’s hand. The old man’s rough hand, which was not as cold as I thought, covered my small hand.

Chairman Yu Seongpil shook his head.

“Hayeon, Grandpa is not old yet.”

“……You are old, though? Gee, liar.”

“…It’s, a metaphor, so try to understand. This little girl is good at talking back.”

-Thump.

My grandfather, who flicked my head, took a moment to catch his breath and then continued.

“You, do you plan to leave the Daeha Group?”

“Leave, as in….”

“America. I know the land of Korea is small, but I thought the fence that this grandfather made has grown quite large. Is that too small?”

Chairman Yu Seongpil’s words were simple.

He was asking if I wanted to live freely and run a business in the wide United States, not in the small fence of the Daeha Group, since I was secretly hiding and operating a fund in the United States.

So I answered honestly.

“No, it’s big enough. But it’s not mine. There are already many other people inside the fence… and above all, I live on the edge…, so it’s a little narrow.”

I took a deep breath of relief inwardly and tightened the loosening tension.

Chairman Yu Seongpil doesn’t know that I’m trying to devour the fence as well. Not yet.

‘That’s right. My real plan is double and triple layered with smoke screens, so no one knows.’

However, Chairman Yu Seongpil is the head of the family who can exert a great influence on me anyway. I had to clarify this.

Puffing up my cheeks slightly, I explained, stomping my feet as if I were wronged.

“Originally, I just wanted to live roughly, really. But, hehe. I’m smarter than I thought. I saw the money, and I thought it would be a failure as a manager to pass it up… so I just went for it.”

When I smiled naturally and acted cute in front of the chairman, my grandfather let out a sigh.

“Oh my, look at this kid. Hayeon, do you know this is illegal?”

“I heard it’s legal if you don’t get caught!”

“But this grandfather caught you?”

Tsk.

Chuckling, Chairman Yu Seongpil stroked my head. As if he was proud.

“Well done, you did very well. It’s not easy to manage money in the financial industry, but you really succeeded spectacularly among those Westerners. It would have been better if you hadn’t been caught in the end.”

I asked just in case. It was a surprisingly favorable response, so maybe.

“But how did you find out? I created it very carefully, you know. I made sure to tell President Ha Jusung.”

Chairman Yu Seongpil grinned, pointing his index finger at his eye.

“Do you think your grandfather is blind? Even if I’m in bed, I watch the news and read the newspapers. But, I saw a familiar name, and I saw Ha Youngil’s name, so I looked into it. There are no eternal secrets in the world. Do you understand?”

That’s a valid point.

It was a part that I had been anxious about since long ago. Anyone who knows Ha Youngil can think of the connection with Daeha Group.

‘I thought it would be okay because he was never a member of Daeha Group…’

Like a child who was caught with a secret base that he had worked hard to hide, I asked the remaining questions, and Chairman Yu Seongpil simply dismissed it with a very old-fashioned businessman’s words.

“The head of the family should know the names of his family members, shouldn’t he? Especially, I don’t know about the employees, but if it’s a director level, I roughly know where they came from, what kind of personality they have, and who they have under them.”

-There must be over 30 presidents in Daeha Group.

Well, yes. Unlike me, who was born with Daeha Group from the beginning, Chairman Yu Seongpil built the company from scratch. Most of the directors would be people he recruited or reviewed.

‘I should memorize more diligently.’

I even have perfect memory, so I should know more than a 60-year-old grandfather. With such silly thoughts, I made a renewed resolution.

Cough, cough.

Just then, perhaps because he had spoken for too long, Chairman Yu Seongpil coughed heavily and gasped for breath.

“Oh, Grandfather. Are you alright?”

“Ahem, phew…. It’s nothing. Just a cough. Anyway… I called you because I wanted to hear your thoughts.”

“Ah, I—”

Chairman Yu Seongpil frowned and waved his hand.

“That’s enough. I’ve heard enough, so don’t say any more.”

“Yes?”

“You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep. Especially in front of someone in power. If I weren’t sick, I would have scolded you severely. Do you understand?”

“…I’m sorry.”

With a slightly softened expression, Chairman Yu Seongpil slowly continued.

“And you’re still young. I made a mistake last time. I shouldn’t have thought that childhood thoughts would last long… Anyway, that’s why I’m telling you not to say anything. Because you don’t know your own thoughts.”

…I don’t know my own thoughts.

To some extent, it’s true. I didn’t really expect to become attached to my secretary or subordinates.

“Then, I’ll think about it carefully later and tell you, Grandfather.”

“Yes. I’ve been thinking about this at my age, and people are generally like that. People don’t change, they just didn’t know they were that kind of person. Hayeon, you should also make a decision after gaining enough experience later. Until then, I’ll let you off the hook.”

Bowing my head in gratitude, I asked with a slightly awkward expression.

“But Grandfather. What if I get caught by someone else? The legal issues…”

“You have to take care of that yourself? Well, even if you get caught, I’ll make sure you don’t go to jail, but don’t expect anything more than that.”

So I can’t get away with it scot-free. That’s a shame.

“…Yes.”

“Yes, now go.”

Leaving behind Chairman Yu Seongpil, who continued to cough softly as if he was unwell, I slowly backed out of the room.

After leaving Chairman Yu Seongpil’s room, the holiday event ended rather anticlimactically.

It took too long, and because the central figure, my grandfather, was absent, there was nothing much to talk about.

‘I have to implement the project because of Yu Jinha anyway.’

Fortunately, the preparations were almost complete.

-Beep beep.

I stopped by a payphone in the middle and contacted Seo Ju-eun, then got back in the car.

Since there was some time left before we arrived, I thought deeply in the car.

Actually, there was one thing lacking in Chairman Yu Seongpil’s explanation. Foreign media, including the Wall Street Journal, did not mention Ha Youngil’s name at all during the Japanese bubble burst.

Because Ha Youngil was still using the fake performance ‘Young’ name. Of course, anyone who knows Ha Youngil could have drawn a connection as soon as they heard about a Korean with the name ‘Young’ working at Alpha Fund.

But that’s not Yu Seongpil. My grandfather wouldn’t have been able to get the suspicion that I founded Alpha Fund just by watching the news. Because I set it up that way.

So…, there is someone.

A variable outside of control. Someone who informed Chairman Yu Seongpil that Ha Youngil was working at Alpha Fund…

A traitor.

‘Who is it?’

Let’s break it down deductively, considering the possibilities one by one. After eliminating the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth… as they say.

First premise. Yu Seonjun is not the traitor.

Yu Seonjun doesn’t even know about the existence of Alpha Fund in the first place.

‘It’s a good thing I hid it on purpose. I can trust him more in the future.’

I was worried about the possibility of being exposed to others because Yu Seonjun was originally Yu Jinseok’s son, but it seems he was quite capable.

And the second premise. The directors are not traitors.

If a Daeha Securities director or someone like Ha Jusung had betrayed me, they would have given more information.

Well, this logic wouldn’t apply if Chairman Yu Seongpil called each person one by one and questioned them in detail… Fortunately, Chairman Yu Seongpil didn’t have the physical time to do that.

Because he was in the hospital for a while.

The last third premise…, Lee Sihyeon is not a traitor.

I’ll have to confirm this from now on.

Since I was going to do it today anyway, by advancing the project implementation.

‘Project New World’. I named it with wit, but it’s a shame that it’s a joke that no one in this time period can understand.

-Screech.

The car stopped.

“Huh? Miss, I think we took the wrong way here?”

Lee Sihyeon tilted her head, sitting in the seat next to me. It was a bonus that she sent a reproachful look to the driver.

Well, of course, I had a separate driver. Lee Sihyeon driving my car is a very rare exception.

A chaebol family driver needs to have a few special skills.

For example, being able to drive even with their ears plugged.

“Sihyeon, get out for a moment.”

I called my secretary. It was a thrilling gacha time.

“Yes?”

The secretary opened the car door and stepped outside, questioning. There were still many undeveloped ruins in Seoul, as it was still the 20th century.

-Clank.

A metallic sound came from behind Lee Sihyeon.

It was a pistol that was very, very difficult to obtain in South Korea. I secretly hid it in the car while Sihyeon was out of the country.

Will the card I picked be a dud, or………

A success?

Even though I vaguely knew the result, I couldn’t help but smile a little.

It’s a shame. I was planning to watch the Godfather series with Sihyeon in December and say it nicely while watching the tranquil sunset together.

“Sihyeon, Sihyeon! Ahaha, did you think I wouldn’t know?”

“Now, this… what….”

Lee Sihyeon’s face turned pale. Seo Ju-eun, who was waiting after receiving my call, slowly made Lee Sihyeon kneel next to her and firmly bound her hands.

“I can hear your brain spinning? Ha, our Sihyeon. Answer well. What did Lee Hakcheol say? You know, your uncle.”

I really don’t know if she still thinks she hasn’t been caught.

I actually know that she was Chief of Staff Lee’s mole.