Chapter 9 : Chapter 9

When I returned home and asked Yang Hye-in for my smartphone, she hesitated a lot but eventually handed it over.

It seemed she was not simply keeping it for me but was also trying to prevent me from using it recklessly.

…It was probably the chairman's instruction, but considering how easily she handed it over just by me asking, it felt like there was something more behind it.

Perhaps even Ye Sara herself wasn't fully aware of her authority.

Still, it was a bit strange.

After just a month of asking nearby employees, I had a rough idea of how much power Ye Sara held.

If Ye Sara had truly wanted, she could've easily swayed the staff around her.

Just how much gaslighting had she undergone, and how systematically?

Well, I could look into that later.

For now, my priority was understanding the full extent of the power I could wield.

"So… market capitalization… Eugene Electronics."

I grabbed my smartphone, lay on the bed, and began typing each search term one letter at a time.

Yang Hye-in stood nervously by my bedside, probably scared I might search for something weird.

Once, I had attempted stock investment to stretch my measly salary, but all I ended up with was a 50% loss.

A high market capitalization doesn't guarantee that the stock will always rise, nor does a low one mean the company will necessarily be delisted.

Of course, it's true that the higher the market capitalization and the more cash assets a company has, the less likely it is to fail.

Back then, I had briefly studied market capitalization, business rankings, and the primary sectors each company specialized in, at least on a surface level.

When it came to the 'electronics' sector alone, the gap between the top two domestic companies was huge.

As I recall, the market capitalization difference was around 4.5 to 5 times. For reference, the first place had roughly 500 trillion won.

The second place was just under 100 trillion won.

Naturally, I assumed Eugene Electronics, the largest company in the Eugene Group, would have a similar market capitalization.

But it wasn't.

"So… ten, hundred, thousand…?"

As I counted the digits of the long number, I was so shocked that I sat up straight in bed.

The Eugene Group, which confidently held the number one position in Korea's business rankings.

Given that the setting was 'the number one company in Korea,' I naturally thought it was modeled after the actual number one company in Korea.

Of course, the creator did state, 'This is all fictional and has no connection to reality,' but that's what most works say, don't they?

What I had overlooked was that the creator had poured their entire sincerity into the word 'fiction.'

That's right. In this indie game, what was called 'fiction' was, literally, 'fiction.'

The Eugene Group was genuinely different from any company in the reality I had lived in.

"Three thousand six hundred… trillion…?"

Three thousand six hundred trillion won.

That was the market capitalization of the Eugene Group.

"Three thousand six hundred… Did you say three thousand six hundred…?"

I felt dizzy just looking at the number.

No, I think the world's largest computer company had roughly this scale.

Was the model not a Korean company but an American one…?

This is complete overkill! It's one thing to put an absurdly large conglomerate in the story, but how am I supposed to win against a company like this?

In the game, Ye Sara was the one who took all the blame—

Ah.

I see.

Since Ye Sara alone ended up taking all the blame, that's how they managed to wrap things up.

It wasn't about destroying the Eugene Group, but rather about breaking down Ye Sara as an individual.

And in the end, the chairwoman of Eugene Group abandoned Ye Sara.

After that, it didn't matter to her whether Yoon Da-ho broke off or continued his engagement with someone else.

I quickly searched for other subsidiaries of the Eugene Group.

Even if you combined the rest of the subsidiaries, it barely totaled 200 trillion won.

Of course, that alone is an enormous amount, but it paled in comparison to the monstrous scale of Eugene Electronics.

Homyeong Group's top company, Homyeong Electronics, was worth about 150 trillion won.

This wasn't a scale where Homyeong Group could compete.

…So that's why they were so serious about the engagement.

Even while being the heir apparent to the second-largest group in Korea, he bowed his head to me.

Though, he still had quite an attitude, considering.

Well, let's chalk that up to him being an immature kid who hasn't yet learned how to properly bow.

I still don't understand why the chairwoman of Eugene Group insists on marrying me off to the crown prince of Homyeong Group.

As I dig into the other characters, I can start to see their reasoning, but the thoughts of the current chairwoman of Eugene Group, Choi Na-kyung, remain elusive.

…

"Maid."

"Yes, miss."

At my call, Yang Hye-in, who was standing nearby, immediately responded.

"How much of an inheritance did I receive?"

"Yes, you received 5.7% of the stock based on its market value."

…Just from a simple calculation, that's 205 trillion won. That's an asset large enough to run a small country for a year. Even just hearing the figure made me feel dizzy.

"And there are some cash and real estate holdings, but I don't know the exact details. I'm sorry."

"You must know at least some of it, even if not everything. What's the most representative real estate?"

"The most representative property would be… this place."

Yang Hye-in hesitated for a moment, but after seeing me staring up at her, she quietly responded.

"…."

Ah, I see.

Now I understand why the staff in this mansion have no choice but to obey my orders.

Still, I have a question.

When one spouse dies, the property is usually divided between the children and the surviving spouse.

Unless specified in a will, the spouse receives 1.5 shares, and the children 1 share each… or so it said in the search results I just looked up.

Let's make an assumption.

If Ye Sara's father wasn't on good terms with his second wife and knew he would die before her…

Then, he might have secretly transferred significant assets to his only daughter before his death.

…But even then, the question remains.

After his death, the current chairwoman would've realized that the most important assets had all gone to her stepdaughter.

While she couldn't take them by force, she would still manage them as Ye Sara's sole guardian.

Since Ye Sara wasn't yet an adult, she had plenty of time to figure out how to deal with the assets—

Ah.

…I see.

By isolating Ye Sara and confining her like this, she must have been trying to make Ye Sara submit to her.

She intended to break her completely, turning her into a puppet that would obey her every word, so that once she became an adult and could exercise her property rights, she'd do so in the chairwoman's favor.

Was that why she looked so satisfied when I called her 'Chairwoman'?

Maybe she even planned to control Ye Sara by arranging her engagement to Yoon Da-ho.

Maybe even by staining her hands with blood if necessary.

It's terrifying, really.

"Here you go."

"Huh?"

"I'm done."

When I handed over the smartphone, Yang Hye-in hesitantly took it.

She then placed it in the pocket of her maid's apron, hesitated for a moment, and after bowing deeply, backed out of the room.

As always, the door closed silently.

I stretched out on the bed and thought.

First, let's figure out how to use that massive wealth.

Assets gifted more than 10 years before death are excluded from inheritance.

If the 5.7% stock shares and real estate were transferred to Ye Sara's name more than 10 years ago, they wouldn't be included in the inheritance process.

That would mean the current chairwoman has no legal way to use them.

But if I tried to just withdraw the money, she'd do whatever it took to stop me.

There's no guarantee I could even get to the bank.

…Well, I know it's there, but I have no way of getting my hands on it.

There's still time, though.

I can take my time and think it through.

If Ye Sara's father had been thinking ahead, he would have put every safeguard in place.

With that thought, I got up to change my clothes.

*

Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, it was impossible for cars to enter the school grounds.

So, I had to get out and walk from the front gate.

This had nothing to do with how wealthy I was; it was the same for all the other students.

In fact, most of the students at Hwayoung High School lived nearby.

The school was built in an affluent neighborhood, so even though many students came from rich families, the front of the school was never crowded with cars.

The unfortunate part was that after what had happened yesterday at the entrance ceremony, I was sure I was etched deeply into the minds of the students.

Not only had I failed to make friends with any of them, but I had also fought with a student who happened to be my fiancé right in the hallway.

And that fiancé was a pretty boy who would soon steal the hearts of most of the girls in the school.

Though it was just a guess, considering how adults had manipulated things, I was sure they thought I was looking down on them.

Moreover—

"Hi~!"

As I unwillingly trudged into the school grounds, having been seen off by maid Yang Hye-in, someone smacked me on the back, causing me to nearly lose my balance.

"Whoa, wait!"

The person who had slapped me on the back screamed in surprise and quickly grabbed my arm to stop me from falling forward.

"Oh."

But before I could even realize that it was a high school girl holding my arm for the first time in my life, I was reminded of why my left arm had been hurting since yesterday.

It was the same arm Yoon Da-ho had grabbed yesterday, leaving it bruised.

As I winced in pain, the girl who had grabbed my arm jumped back in shock.

I narrowed my eyes to look at her.

…It wasn't a glare.

It was simply because the sun was bright.

"…Yoo Ha-neul."

When I called her name, Yoo Ha-neul, perhaps thinking I was angry, immediately lowered her head and apologized.

"S-Sorry, I came up to you without thinking, didn't I?"

"…No, it's fine."

My back was still sore, my heart was racing from almost falling over, and my left arm was throbbing from being grabbed, but none of these were life-threatening.

"…Really?"

"Yes."

Only after my half-sighing reply did Yoo Ha-neul awkwardly scratch the back of her head.

"Uh, yeah, so… hello?"

And she greeted me again.

I gave Yoo Ha-neul a small smile.

"Hello."

"Can I walk with you?"

"Sure, that's fine."

When I said that, Yoo Ha-neul calmly walked beside me, probably feeling a bit guilty for what she'd done. She didn't say anything for a while.

After walking a few steps, I felt the awkwardness growing and wondered if I should be the one to start a conversation.

"Um, excuse me."

This time, a voice came from the opposite side.

It was a familiar voice.

When I turned around, there stood Lee Soo-ah, who wasn't as dazzling as Yoo Ha-neul but still emitted a soft glow.

Looking slightly nervous, Lee Soo-ah glanced at Yoo Ha-neul standing next to me, her expression slightly startled.

It was understandable that she found it strange for someone to be standing next to me.

But then she quickly shook her head and asked me hesitantly.

"Can I walk beside you, too?"

"Yes, you can."

Does standing beside me require permission?

…Well, come to think of it, if a random man stood next to me without saying anything, I'd probably be freaked out too.

"Thanks. Oh, and…"

As if she had forgotten the most important thing, Lee Soo-ah blushed slightly and spoke to me.

"Hello?"

"Hello."

Is she nervous because I'm the daughter of the number one conglomerate in Korea?

…Then I remembered that the Eugene Group's market capitalization was 3,600 trillion won.

Yeah, I guess she has a reason to be nervous.

"Hello. I'm Yoo Ha-neul. Are you friends with Sara?"

"Sara?"

This absurdly friendly attitude that even startles a human capybara proves that the female lead is indeed the female lead.

Lee Soo-ah looked up at me slightly, as if seeking my approval.

"She's the only one who took a picture with me at my middle school graduation."

When I explained, Lee Soo-ah blushed slightly but smiled brightly.

"Yes, that's right. We're friends. I'm Lee Soo-ah."

Well, I guess it doesn't matter much if she calls us friends.

Friendship isn't something that's made with consent, anyway.

…Of course, if some old man claimed to be my friend after meeting him once, I wouldn't hesitate to report him to the police.

"Really? Then we're friends too."

Yoo Ha-neul smiled and said.

At least, that's what I thought.

I couldn't see her face clearly, but I assumed so.

The two of them lightly shook hands over me.

It could certainly be considered unfortunate to walk between people who don't like me.

But having at least one person to talk to and smile with was better than sitting in the backseat of a car in silence.

At least, that's what I thought to myself.