-Chomp.
I chewed on popcorn as I stared intently at the monitor in front of .
“Wow... I didn’t know my sister could do stuff like that. That’s wild.”
Ti really flies. I’ve known her since we were tiny kids, and now she’s acting all feminine like that.
There were plenty of caras I’d set up to control the situation, so voyeurism wasn’t all that difficult. But still...
-Beep.
‘Gotta respect privacy, I guess.’
After Seon-a unni went into the hotel, all the caras turned off. Nothing more to worry about now.
I was curious how the guy would react after finding out he’d just spent the night with a chaebol daughter, but I could check that later.
“...Mission, complete.”
Seo Ji-yeon bowed her head, looking exhausted. She was a great boss who’d generously let thirty of her subordinates take ti off this ti, but she herself hadn’t had even a few hours to rest before having to get back to work.
“You did great. Go get so sleep.”
“...Yes. Then, just a mont...”
She collapsed into sleep the mont her head hit the cushion, and I let out a bitter laugh.
No other word for this but exploitation. I felt a bit guilty, belatedly.
***
anwhile.
July 1st, 1997.
British Hong Kong was returned to the People’s Republic of China.
[Hong Kong ends 156 years of British colonial rule... returns to Chinese sovereignty]
[Midnight handover... Hong Kong embraces historic mont]
[‘One Country, Two Systems’ begins—uncertainty looms over Hong Kong’s freedom and future]
[Union Jack lowered—tears and cheers collide. Last Governor Patten shows deep sorrow]
It was a symbolic event marking the full dissolution of the British Empire... and things had changed enough from the original history that I needed to pay special attention.
In the original tiline, the handover of Hong Kong increased instability in the Asian markets and helped trigger the East Asian financial crisis. I kept an eye on it just in case, but it looked like there really was nowhere lower to fall from where things already stood.
‘Honestly, I could’ve gotten involved and forced things a little, but...’
“Aaaugh... Do we really have to finish this today?”
Seo Ji-yeon, who had just barely gotten so shut-eye, was now groaning in front of a mountain of paperwork, massaging her aching arm.
“Sorry.”
The reason I’ve been trying to hold back lately is simple.
I feel bad for the people getting ground up under .
“But we still have to get this done. You know what’ll happen if the Aqua Capital stuff gets exposed, right?”
“...”
She’d just co back from a job, and now here she was, doing more docunt prep to maintain our alibi.
She’s supposed to take the college entrance exam this year, but she’s juggling student council monitoring, errand-running, and even running a major corporation. No way her body can keep up with that.
“...I’ll help you study next ti. Don’t worry too much about the exam. Honestly, school stuff isn’t even that important. Just take care of the essentials, and for things like the BS Investnt project or studying—pace yourself.”
I glanced at the schedule as I spoke.
I’d even sent her on trips lately to force her to rest, but she still brought books along and studied.
“No! These are grades that stick with for life, I can’t give up on that. And no matter how hard I work, I still can’t compare to you, Miss.”
Hmm.
She’s not wrong.
Even now, I work about twelve hours a day. That’s actually less than before. Back during the foreign exchange crisis and the moratorium days, I was working twenty-hour shifts.
“As the person at the top, I should lead by example, right? And besides, I can blow off steam whenever I want...”
My voice trailed off.
My body is far from a normal human’s—more like a superhuman’s. I need a lot of sleep by nature, but even if I don’t get it, I don’t break down. I can go days without rest and still have clear skin and unfading beauty.
But Ji-yeon isn’t like that. And if nothing else, I don’t want to see the people around aging from stress or dying of overwork.
It can’t be stressed enough: a significant portion of Wall Street fund managers quit—or die—because their bodies can’t take it.
People who’ve mastered economics making the most economically foolish choice imaginable—it’s a paradox. Life is irreversible, and its opportunity cost is infinite.
“Yeah, that’s true. But yesterday, Miss, you were really amazing. I an... I was exhausted, but no one can deny it was a win. Seriously, how do you co up with this stuff?”
I guess she misunderstood my words and gave a satisfied nod.
Well, she’s not wrong.
That was pretty impressive yesterday. The, uh... the sounds were apparently impressive too.
...We forgot the hotel wasn’t soundproof, which ended up being a bit embarrassing.
“Yeah, yesterday I wasn’t the god of gold—I was the god of love. An.”
There’s that famous short story by O. Henry, The Gift of the Magi. In the end, it feels like gold wins. I used to think that in my «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» past life too.
But in this life, my interpretation’s different. Both are necessary. If there wasn’t love in the hearts of both people, no matter how much money was poured in to cause traffic jams, would a confession ever truly happen?
I don’t think so.
“So, you were naked because you were doing a Cupid cosplay?”
“That was just ‘cause it was nightti... You know I usually go around like that anyway, right?”
And besides, Cupid’s originally a guy. Well, I was a guy in my past life, but that’s a separate issue. The god of love is supposed to be a naive little kid.
-Glance.
Yeah, honestly, Ji-yeon fits the Cupid image better.
“...Why are you looking at like that? You’re making nervous.”
“No, don’t worry. I’m not that kind of person.”
Too bad.
***
Later that afternoon.
“Thanks, things went really smoothly thanks to you.”
Yoo Seon-a gave a grateful smile, even as her body clearly hadn’t recovered yet.
“It’s nothing. That’s what family’s for.”
“Haha, I never thought I’d hear you say sothing like that.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“You’ve always seed like soone who didn’t like that kind of thing. Since we were little.”
“...”
Her instincts are sharp.
It’s true—I used to be like that. But emotions honed to a razor edge don’t last long. There’s a reason they say resolutions don’t survive past three days.
Unless there’s a bone-deep agony pushing you, the poison in your heart gets diluted by the waves of the world. Without a resolve strong enough to intoxicate the world and endure pain, it’s hard to stick to your original intent.
Even the strongest thirst for revenge fades. So how could a childhood promise not dissolve?
“...Yeah. I used to be that way. Guess my thoughts changed a bit as I got older.”
...No, that’s an excuse.
I’m not ordinary. I’m soone cursed to be able to replay mories from that day at will.
So no, that feeling from back then hasn’t disappeared. I clawed my way to the top over the past ten years, becoming the richest person in the world. It’s not like I lacked venom.
Sothing else changed my heart.
‘I got... sentintally attached.’
Affection.
I once said that sympathy and kindness are the privileges of the strong.
And now I wield far too much power. Because of that, the little pieces of affection I handed out to these people have grown too large.
Maybe I never should have accepted Yoo Seon-jun.
But then I look at my nephew, laughing gleefully, and that gut-wrenching feeling lts away like snow.
Then, his older sister—my cousin—Yoo Seon-a asked cautiously.
“So what are you going to do now?”
“...About what.”
“Grandpa... you know.”
As if even speaking it aloud was unpleasant, Seon-a hesitated deeply before saying it.
“He’s going to pass away soon... so what are you going to do?”
“...Right.”
Yeah.
Soone’s death leaves a vivid, deep scar in people.
Just like how Seon-a is starting sothing new with soone else, and just like new life is born... there cos a ti when soone must leave this world.
I don’t like it, but I can’t deny it. I’ve already died once, haven’t I? My current life might be unnaturally long, but it’s not infinite either.
If humans lived forever, all their endings would be miserable accidents. So maybe it’s not sothing to mourn...
“I don’t know.”
I thought I understood. But now I’m not sure anymore.
I wasn’t too worried. Even if I didn’t get it right now, I used to be the kind of student who’d forget and relearn things all the ti in my past life.
I’ll learn again.
***
Yeah. I had put things on hold because Seon-a interrupted earlier.
I wasn’t that eager to begin with, so when I spotted Seon-a at Daehwa Group HQ, I rushed over and played a mismatched Cupid role.
It turned out more successful than expected, and I felt proud, but still—I’d strayed from my original goal.
I took a detour, but now I was finally arriving.
-Click.
I shut the car door. This ti, my usual driver wasn’t with . He had more pressing matters to attend to, so Lee Si-hyun, who hadn’t shown up in a while, was driving.
Like old tis.
“...Shall I get you a drink?”
Well, thankfully, I’d t with Seon-a first, so I didn’t need it.
I’ve never had a drink before, and who knows what I might do if I started.
“No thanks. It’s easier to face him sober.”
And drinking at the grave of soone who died in a drunk driving accident? That’d be pushing it.
Si-hyun didn’t respond after hearing my answer.
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