Just because all three premises were correct didn’t an I knew what to do next—or who the culprit was.
‘If I’d known who it was, I would’ve brought them in with Si-hyun already.’
Maybe Chairman Yoo Seong-pil had so unknown connections in New York who told him. If that’s the case, I’d never find out.
“...Could it be one of the other employees at Daehwa Securities?”
Lee Si-hyun cautiously offered a theory. It wasn’t unreasonable, but...
“Mm, I’m not sure. If it’s just a low-level employee, maybe. But there aren’t many people who know the Alpha Fund in detail, right? Only a few departnt heads or director-level people... they know more.”
And if Chairman Yoo Seong-pil knew everything, he would’ve pressed harder.
—Clack.
Having eaten a fair amount of ramyeon, I set down my chopsticks and swallowed the broth. The spicy soup was stimulating in a good way.
“...When I first got to the hotel, I really thought you were going to bury , Miss.”
Si-hyun spoke carefully, eating with precision so as not to spill broth on her white dress shirt. The shirt wasn’t as ssy as her pants had been, but it had gotten dirty too, and she’d rinsed it once in water—now it clung to her body.
Because of that, the shirt’s chest area was completely see-through. Staring directly at her swollen chest, I spoke.
“Mm? Why? Do I seem that untrustworthy to you?”
“No, it’s just... that’s Shin Ramyeon, isn’t it...? I thought maybe you were still holding a grudge over the ti I acted cocky....”
Ahh, that ti?
Our Si-hyun’s got a good mory.
“When I said I’d shed a few tears if you died? It’s fine. A bowl of this won’t make cry anymore. You’d need to bring Buldak at least.”
I chuckled.
‘So damn cute.’
“But... what’s Buldak?”
She tilted her head.
“Just get the idea. It’s a thing.”
—Slurp.
We were sitting on the floor, eating off a folding table, and it gave the scene a bit of a mood.
A kind of old-school vibe you don’t usually get in a chaebol house. When I stared at the aluminum pot, Si-hyun blushed a bit and tugged her shirt down.
“...Pervert.”
Ah, right. She’s not wearing anything underneath.
“What are you even talking about? There’s nothing to see. If I’m going to look, I’d rather look up top, not down there....”
Besides, I’ve got one of those now too. And a better model, at that.
‘...What do you an, “better model”?’
Functionality? Like I’m ever going to use it.
My cheeks tinted red, and I pouted and turned my head away.
“Hmph, whatever.”
“....”
Si-hyun stared at with a strange expression, then silently resud eating.
—Clatter.
A short ti later.
Si-hyun, watching cautiously, got up and started cleaning the table and the pot.
“Um, Miss. If there’s another traitor besides ... wouldn’t they be soone your grandfather sent? Is it okay to just get rid of them like you did ?”
Hmm, was she sulking?
Well, she had a point. Sotis, you can’t even eliminate a spy even when you know who it is. Plus, if it’s soone sent by the chairman of the group, can you even call them a spy?
I an, they’re technically his people.
But it was fine.
“Ah, Grandpa said it himself. It would’ve been better if they hadn’t gotten caught in the end. So... I’m allowed to demote or fire them within reason. I’ve got permission.”
It might feel unfair to the person on the receiving end...
But hey, that’s life.
If Grandpa liked them enough, he’d transfer them to a different departnt or sothing.
***
Thanks to a few circumstances, we stayed another day at the hotel.
The biggest reason was cleanup—after all, it’s a bit much to declare it was all a joke when you’ve just been debating whether to purge your most loyal subordinate.
Not that many people knew about it.
So... we disguised it as a secret date. People already know my personality’s a ss, so even if they find it weird, they’ll just chalk it up.
—Gasp. Then it’s a love triangle with Master Seon-jun...!
...I had a feeling weird rumors were going to spread, but whatever.
“...But, that has nothing to do with not buying new clothes, right?”
Si-hyun stared blankly at her still-damp laundry.
Apparently she decided it was better to go topless with a bra than to stay pantsless, so she’d taken off her shirt and tied it around her waist.
Rich girl using a dress shirt as disposable pants, huh.
“Hey, I gave you sothing to cover your top with, didn’t I?”
“....”
Hanging from Si-hyun’s chest was a placard. A very rare item, handwritten by yours truly. She couldn’t refuse it.
What did it say?
(Congrats) Didn’t Betray All Day (Cheers)
Beautiful.
“I think I saw sothing like this in a back alley once....”
—Flutter flutter.
Tapping the placard hanging on her chest, Si-hyun sighed and sat down.
“You’re not planning to do this at ho too, right? That would really hurt.”
“Wow, trash. So the traitor feels more hurt than the one who got betrayed? I didn’t expect this kind of shalessness from our Si-hyun.”
I fake-sobbed, and Si-hyun bit her lip and shook her head.
“N-No, Miss.”
“It’s fine. I won’t ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) do this at ho. We have a nanny there—I can’t go around creating tension.”
“Ah...”
The nanny knows almost nothing about . More accurately, she has no idea what kind of business I run.
The reason is simple: the more you know, the more dangerous it becos.
It’s not like I’m so eldritch being who drives people mad with forbidden knowledge, but I didn’t want the nanny to worry about .
I an, it’s not like I’m doing anything that honorable.
‘Or... am I? Judging by Seon-jun oppa, maybe the knowledge itself is the dangerous part.’
He looks deadly serious when reading UFO articles. Might have a natural talent for falling into conspiracy theories...
Ahem, anyway.
“Si-hyun, you worked hard this ti.”
“...No, not at all.”
Ti to gaslight her into thinking this was all her fault.
“But now that I’ve told you, you’ll have to be more careful with your words, okay?”
Holding the “Didn’t Betray All Day” sign, Si-hyun blankly stared into the void and muttered,
“...Yes.”
“Because of you, I worried a lot, you know? Mmhm. Let’s do better from now on, okay?”
“...Yes.”
Zap zap, hypnosis app.
“Oh! Right. Si-hyun, you’re turning thirty soon, right? Wanna go see a movie to celebrate the end of your twenties?”
“What movie?”
“The Godfather Part III! It’s super famous, you know?”
Si-hyun’s arms and eyes trembled violently.
“I-It’s fine.”
Aww, hypnosis app wore off.
***
Daehwa Investnt Bank Office.
Employees were busy analyzing the rapidly shifting global economy after German reunification.
[Correlation Between Europe’s Fixed Exchange Rate System (ERM) and German Reunification, Focused on Potential Interest Rate Hikes]
‘Whew, still a long way to go, but I need to start preparing early.’
In about two years, there’s going to be a major event in the finance world.
The infamous “Pound Sterling Short Selling Incident.”
I planned to be part of that. I an, wasn’t the Berlin Wall basically knocked down because German reunification was necessary for this?
Sure, there’s money involved. But this isn’t about money.
It’s about honor.
I’ll never give up the coveted title of “The One Who Brought the Bank of England to Its Knees.” Just look at how much Soros milked that one.
—Stretch.
After finishing my share of the report, I stood up.
Because there was good news.
Seeing everyone busy around , I grabbed poor, exhausted Si-hyun and delivered the joyful update.
“A positive developnt that ca from soone else’s betrayal—not Si-hyun’s! Listen up.”
Lee Si-hyun, the nearly-thirty-year-old traitor who totally didn’t betray , stared at with dead eyes.
“What now...”
“Do you know what it ans that the Alpha Fund received unofficial approval from Grandpa?”
“Ah... so now it’s okay to go public with it?”
“No no, not that. There’s still no direct way to report it to Grandpa. All information goes through the Chief Secretary.”
“Then...?”
I pulled out the docunts Ha Yeong-il had faxed.
“Tada~ Grandpa’s slush fund!”
“...What?”
“The Alpha Fund’s already super famous. Even if I don’t say I’m the one running it, it wouldn’t be weird for soone like the chairman of Daehwa Group to invest!”
Asking his own granddaughter to grow his money.
Seriously, Grandpa really does love money.
***
Chairman’s Office, Daehwa Group.
The old man, once again dressed in a formal suit, pointed to a section of the newspaper.
“Here. This one looks fine. Don’t think I’ll need to spend much money for a while, so put it in here.”
The Chief Secretary looked at his fingertip with a puzzled expression and asked,
“The Alpha Fund? But... isn’t that a hedge fund? We can’t invest because of governnt regulations.”
“Exactly. So not with company money. You know that foreign slush fund? I’m not getting any younger.... It’ll be harder to build up another one, so let’s start investing aggressively with the old, well-laundered money. I’ve got a good feeling about this.”
It was a huge amount to invest just based on a “good feeling”...
“Yes, understood.”
He wrote it down in his planner without questioning it.
At the very least, when Chairman Yoo Seong-pil suddenly said sothing like this, there was always a reason.
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