I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Chaebol Family-Chapter 75: Middle Schooler Yoo Ha-yeon (1)
-Bzzz.
One fine spring day.
I lay dazed on the bed, staring out the window.
What a beautiful day.
Birds chirping, flowers blooming...
‘Uh... What day is it today again...?’
I lifted my head just a little while still lying down, and my eyes met the full-length mirror.
A disheveled beauty with messy hair tilted her head at me.
Judging by the complete sense of freedom all over my body and the fact I was stark naked without a single thread on... it seems I just went to bed without anything on last night.
Why did I do that?
“...”
Ah, right.
Money!
-Bolt upright.
I violently kicked off the covers and checked the date.
It was Saturday.
“Ah, ahaha. Right. Yeah, we had a dinner gathering yesterday. No... since I slept for two days, I guess it was the day before yesterday.”
Reality snapped back into focus.
Right, right. I was so happy, I went out for barbecue with the others.
We almost drank too, but Si-hyun stopped that.
Ah, and for the record—I’m not one of those tyrant bosses who forces employees into a dinner gathering after making them pull overtime.
Then why did I sleep for two days?
I gave the regular staff the day off on Wednesday and had the dinner on Thursday during work hours... but that was just for them. I stayed up all night with Si-hyun on Wednesday too.
So I’d slept like... six hours the entire week? No wonder I passed out for so long to make up for it.
Anyway.
Though the exact date was a bit off, the incident that came to be called “Black Wednesday” in history had passed...
And I had officially become someone who could influence the global order.
The moment that truly hit me—
I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.
“AHAHAHA! Kyahah, this is it! Ah, hahaha...”
What a glorious achievement!
To have crushed the Bank of England and at the same time planted my own bank on British soil!
I’ve already surpassed my past self.
You watching, you pathetic nobody whose name I don’t even remember?
As the trembling in my body died down, a profound sense of satisfaction swelled up.
Who am I?
The one who brought the Bank of England to its knees, the owner of Barings Bank and the Alpha Fund, the shadow ruler of Wall Street.
Yoo Ha-yeon.
Damn.
While I was thrashing around in bed, kicking the blankets in celebration, the door creaked open.
“Young miss, are you awake—KYAA!”
-SLAM!
Choi Yeon-ha flung the door open... and quickly slammed it shut.
I blinked, wondering what her deal was, and then looked down at myself and nodded.
In all the thrashing I’d done on the bed, I’d flung off the blanket that had at least been covering something.
Ugh, so annoying. Why do I even have to wear clothes?
Can’t someone invent a suit that just snaps on with a click or some kind of optical camouflage that makes you look dressed even when you’re not? You see stuff like that all the time in sci-fi movies and novels.
Grumbling, I half-heartedly threw on a negligee and opened the door.
Secretary #3’s face turned bright red as she lowered her head and awkwardly stepped inside.
“Hmm... Come to think of it, did you even knock earlier?”
I beamed with a sweet smile.
Tilting my head while seated in my chair, I watched as Choi Yeon-ha frantically shook her head.
“I-I did! I knocked, but you didn’t say anything, so...”
Ah, I must’ve missed it in all the excitement.
I don’t really care about knocks anyway.
Invading others’ privacy isn’t my concern, and I couldn’t care less if someone invades mine.
What, are you gonna faint because you saw some skin?
I’m not some petty Artemis who shoots Actaeon to death for glimpsing her naked.
That was just her throwing a fit because she didn’t have the clout on Olympus to protect her own purity—me, I’m a certified powerhouse.
“Well, whatever. Did the nanny say anything?”
“No... just told me to take good care of you so you wouldn’t get too tired...”
“Good. I’ll eat in 30 minutes, so take note of that. But I’m guessing you’re here for something more important, right?”
Sure, I boss my secretary around, but for her to be standing outside my door for hours means it’s definitely serious.
As if to confirm it, she bit her lip slightly before answering.
“Um... The Chairman wants to see you.”
Of course.
If he knew about the Alpha Fund, he had to call me.
“Mhm, figured he would. My dear Chairman~”
Humming a little tune, I nodded cheerfully.
Guess I’ll go visit Grandpa today.
“But first, help me get ready. I’m still not great at putting on makeup.”
“Huh? You haven’t even washed your face—oh, wait, you haven’t, but... what the...”
She looked at me like I was some sort of mystical creature.
Even though I’d just woken up, my skin was perfectly clear and radiant.
Jealous?
“Is it even fair for one person to have it all...”
Muttering under her breath, Choi Yeon-ha stared, and I chuckled as I patted her shoulder.
“Ahaha~! Of course it is.”
-Thump.
Propping my foot confidently up on the desk while she worked on my makeup, I calmly admired my reflection and thought back over recent events.
Yep. No matter how you look at it, this is amazing.
***
The first time I’d seen Chairman Yoo Seong-pil in a while, he looked perfectly fine—hard to believe he’d been diagnosed with lung cancer.
“Grandpa! I’m here!”
“Well, well, my Ha-yeon’s come to visit?”
Laughing heartily, Grandpa held out a newspaper to me.
“Look at this. You did this, didn’t you?”
Dozens of articles about the Alpha Fund.
Stories about short-selling the pound printed in multiple languages.
I smiled brightly and nodded.
“Ahaha~ It was so hard, seriously.”
“Phew, I had a hard time too, what with rehab and all.
But thanks to my granddaughter multiplying this old man’s slush fund, my pain vanished! Hahaha.
You must’ve had a rough time too, flying back and forth across the globe.”
Grandpa’s slush fund—which had already been in the billions—ballooned even further after this.
By the end of the year, it’ll probably hit a billion dollars... about one trillion won.
Looking at me like I was his lucky charm, he gave my shoulder a few hearty pats and offered his {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} praise.
“Heh. You’ve really grown, my girl.
Just from looking at you, you seem old enough to get married.
You’ve already become independent... These days, seeing you is what keeps me going.”
Marriage? Absolutely not.
I belong to the world.
“Oh, come on. You know I’m not into that.
Besides, I’m only in seventh grade...”
Grandpa blinked as he looked me up and down.
“Hmm... Must be this old man’s age catching up to me.”
Middle school? You?
He narrowed his eyes, then started counting on his fingers to calculate my age before nodding.
“Right, right, you repeated a year, so first year of middle school.
Being born in January probably adds to the illusion too.
Goodness. I thought you were in high school already.”
I shrugged.
I did mature quickly.
Whether he brought up marriage just out of habit or got embarrassed after remembering my age, Grandpa dropped the subject and changed the topic.
“Ha-yeon, your fund... It’s worth about 20 billion dollars now, right?”
He was treating me like a proper business partner.
I nodded.
When I gave a silent yes, the Chairman asked more directly.
“With that kind of scale...
Ha-yeon, are you planning to move to the U.S.?”
“Well... I’m not sure yet.
First I want to graduate high school, then finish university early and maybe join the fund...”
“Hah. You mean the Alpha Fund? You’re planning to work at your own fund?”
“Yes. Right now, it’s only mine in name.
If I don’t formally tie it to me, things could get messy later.”
The conversation with Grandpa went more smoothly than expected.
I had braced myself for it... but he didn’t mention any of the things I thought he might.
You know, like—Are you planning to take over Daehwa Group?
Are you going to immigrate to the U.S. for good?
Don’t go dragging the eldest grandson into your mess... stuff like that.
As long as I was working in Korea—and especially within Daehwa Group—he would’ve been informed of most things.
Either the kids have tighter lips than I thought, or...
He knows but just chose not to say anything.
Or maybe... he simply likes that his granddaughter keeps growing his money.
That might be it.
A trillion won is no joke, after all.
‘Tch. Dealing with people is such a pain.’
They say you can see ten fathoms into water but not even one into a person’s heart.
No matter how smart I am, there’s no way to know that.
***
And then... about two months later.
The time came.
Middle school entrance ceremony.
“Take care of Russia, Si-hyun!”
“...Yes.”
Lee Si-hyun, the secretary-general who would now suffer in the freezing north, sighed lightly.
Since acquisitions and negotiations with the Red Mafia were serious business, there was no one better suited than Si-hyun.
It was such a dangerous region that I was going to send someone I didn’t care about, but she volunteered.
If she dies, I’ll be sad... but I’m sure she’ll do fine.
She always prioritizes her own safety.
“You take care at middle school too, young miss.
Not that anyone would dare mess with you, which is... exactly why I’m worried.”
“What now?”
Si-hyun smirked and teased me.
“Well... Because of your personality, Miss Yoo Ha-yeon?
No one’s going to guess that a girl this pretty might be quietly dying inside from lack of friends.
If you were even a little more plain or from a normal background, someone might approach you...”
At that, I looked into the mirror to inspect myself.
Tightly-fitted school shirt emphasizing my chest, short skirt, and sheer black stockings.
If I were anyone else, the teacher would’ve scolded me to dress more modestly...
But who am I? A third-generation chaebol heiress.
I’m going to enjoy all the uniform violations I couldn’t get away with in my past life.
“Cute, huh?”
“That’s the problem.
Guys get scared off by girls who are too pretty.
You should maybe tone it down a bit...”
“What, you want me to hide my beauty?”
“....”
Unbelievable.
No, this is just right.
Thus begins the middle school life of Yoo Ha-yeon, age 14!
