episode_0059

“Y-Young Master!”

In a surge of panic that nearly led to an accident, Woo Miae came rushing from the far end of the parking lot.

Perhaps they had been waiting in the car with the driver, timed for my commute; both of them panted as they stood by my side.

“Are you alright, Young Master?!”

“I’m fine. As you can see— wait, can’t you tell just by looking? I’m completely unscathed, really?”

It was true that I was in danger of being hit if I had taken half a step more, but Woo Miae was like a mother bird who had witnessed her chick’s accident.

Her heart must have been pounding; she frantically patted my body all over.

She even brushed off my already pressed clothes to tidy my appearance, then unleashed the petty anger gathered between her brows onto Cha Soeun, who was peeking her head out of the red foreign car.

“Third Young Lady, isn’t this going too far?!”

“…Who are you to butt in?”

“I am Woo Miae, Executive Assistant to Young Master Cha Doyeon.

I’ve encountered you several times before at the hotel and with Young Lady Hwaryeon… No, what’s important now is your driver’s dangerous driving.”

Woo Miae stepped forward, protesting loudly.

It was proof of the loyalty that had steadily accumulated between Woo Miae and me.

Additionally, it was probably an emotional outburst because if an accident had occurred, she, who served me, would also have been in a difficult position, but,

“Yeah, shut up.”

“!”

A brief insult, delivered heavily with a faint smile.

After completely taking off the sunglasses resting on her nose bridge, she added, widening her thin, closed eyes to a terrifying extent.

“Ah~ I just remembered.

You were that bitch who dared to talk back to my eldest sister before, weren’t you? A mere servant raised by the Hwaryeong family, how dare you interrupt a conversation between masters?”

“…….”

“If you keep acting up, trusting in Oppa, I’ll kidnap you and rip out your tongue someday, okay?”

Her tone was light, but Cha Soeun’s every word and action were far from a light joke.

Because she actually had the ability to carry them out.

‘My sister, her personality is truly chilling….’

This was the hidden side of Cha Soeun that even I was witnessing for the first time.

It must truly be the real personality of Cha Soeun, who only appears cute on the outside.

A woman whose packaging emitted a pretty, sweet strawberry milk scent, but the more you investigated, the darker her true nature became.

All the sisters of the Hwaryeong family possessed eccentric personalities that made them difficult to deal with.

Except for Cha Hwaryeon, who at least somewhat listened to others, Woo Miae wouldn’t dare confront them.

“Alright, alright, that’s enough.”

I intervened before the atmosphere got even more ruined by that unique female war of nerves.

Raising my arm, in a nuance that suggested I had no intention of fighting unnecessarily, I walked towards the car Soeun was in.

“You said you came to talk to me. Then don’t cause any more commotion and just take me.”

“Young Master!”

“It’s fine.

I know what you’re thinking right now, but nothing’s going to happen.”

Woo Miae, who had now become my closest confidante and loyal subordinate.

The reason Woo Miae strongly kept Cha Soeun in check wasn’t just due to the previous dangerous driving or the war of nerves.

I was also aware of the great danger involved with my own sister, but I couldn’t proceed with the conversation like this, so I quietly got into the car through the door Soeun had opened.

After extending my arm out the window to the driver and Woo Miae, who were standing in the parking lot,

“You can go home today. See you tomorrow.”

““……””

The car then quickly exited the parking lot.

The scenery outside the window sped by noisily, as if someone were chasing after us.

*

“So, why did you specifically come to see me?”

Even as it sped through the city, the interior was quiet and smooth.

Perhaps because it was an electric car, no matter how hard it was driven, I couldn’t hear the engine noise, which was nice.

“Oppa, you’re not really asking because you don’t know, are you?”

With just the two of us, Soeun’s tone was once again laced with a spoonful of sugar.

She giggled beside me, then covered her white teeth with her lips and turned serious as if flipping a switch.

“My company’s value has dropped.”

“…So what?”

“Ha… it’s all because of what you did, Oppa. Suddenly, my second older sister teamed up with you, didn’t she? Or rather, should I say she surrendered herself?”

The massive absorption and merger of Cha Hwaryeon’s affiliates, including .

This was the signal for Hwaryeong Group’s internal division and a new era.

Although the procedures were complicated due to the ownership structure, with Cha Hwaryeon’s active cooperation, all affiliates were set to be absorbed into , and Hwaryeong Group, now slimmed down by the loss of these assets, was on a path of greater decline than before.

This was likely an unexpected outcome for journalists and financial experts.

They probably thought that if this Cha Doyeon, who had been designated as a major headache, were to leave, the company would prosper like in a fairy tale where defeating the villain brings peace, but instead, it was sinking as if deflating.

There was still a show left, but the performance announcement at the shareholders’ meeting must have been remarkably surprising.

“Why? I just have too much money and wanted to take over Noona’s company, what’s the problem?”

“…I just told you.

You and Unnie conspired, and my affiliates’ market capitalization, including stock prices, has already dropped by 24%.”

As soon as money was mentioned, my sister’s tone and expression grew noticeably colder.

“It means my share is shrinking, so shouldn’t you do something about it right away?”

“It’s already in the process of falling apart; what are you going to do?”

“Hmm… Well, I could stop you right now, Oppa—”

She innocently placed her index finger to her lips, drawing out a nasal sound, then,

“Ah! Taking you to the harbor and getting rid of you just like this wouldn’t be bad either ♡”

“…….”

A chilling joke, clearly mixed with genuine intent.

Even among family, not just with those beneath her, severe insults were exchanged.

Cha Soeun, the youngest of the Hwaryeong family.

If one were to describe Soeun’s operational style and charisma as an entrepreneur, it would be pitch-black.

If Cha Hwaryeon resembled her father Cha Seongtaek’s swift drive, then Cha Soeun had learned only from his dark shadows.

For example, let’s assume the given objective is to take an ice cream from a child with a snotty nose.

Cha Hwaryeon would confidently stride over and start by talking to the child.

She would try to persuade them by offering benefits if they gave up the ice cream, and if things didn’t go well, she would throw a tantrum and threaten them, or warn of various disadvantages.

Even if her capabilities were lacking, the second older sister fundamentally had an entrepreneurial mindset.

On the other hand, what about Cha Soeun?

From the start, she would snatch the ice cream from the small, fern-like hand.

If the child cried profusely, appealing in bewilderment and unfairness for it back, she would lean close to their ear and,

“Shut up.”

…she would threaten.

And to ensure the snatched ice cream could never be taken back, she would smear it all over with her own saliva, claiming it as her share, nailing it down.

It might sound absurd, but that’s truly the kind of person she is.

A personality that learned from Cha Seongtaek’s dark side, valuing the objective above all else, regardless of means or methods.

In fact, Cha Soeun doesn’t even recognize the concept of labor unions.

She likely considers them parasites that gnaw away at the company, or mere trash, when operating a business.

Just by looking at the internal atmosphere of , one of her representative affiliates, it’s a black company itself.

Joining a union is unthinkable, and treating employees like mere parts, just as she treated Woo Miae as a servant in the parking lot, is an everyday occurrence, along with semi-mandatory night shifts and verbal abuse.

It’s the worst working environment for laborers, where even mentioning welfare is considered sacrilege.

She has literally eliminated all unnecessary elements in running a business.

It’s a company that operates by tirelessly wringing out the dry rag that is its laborers, with only the name on its signboard.

It’s a disastrous management style that makes one wonder if it’s truly a large corporation, yet no one snitches to the police or files a report with the labor office.

One might mistakenly think this is solely Cha Soeun’s ability, but—

“Hmph… Don’t crawl all over me, you pathetic bitch.”

“!”

Fed up with her pathetic antics, I pointed a finger and blurted out my suppressed true feelings.

“The stock price drop is because you’re running your business like a disaster, that’s why it’s in that state.

Whether or not Second Older Sister’s affiliates pull out, do you even know that First Older Sister increased her market cap value with the announcement of a new flip phone release?”

“…….”

“You inherited so much from Dad, yet for years you haven’t thought about development, only harassing innocent employees and carrying out restructurings, that’s why it’s like this. Isn’t that right?”

Cha Soeun, whose personality utterly detested losing money.

If one were to evaluate the operational policy of the affiliates currently led by Cha Soeun, it’s akin to a dictator who only sees one inch ahead taking the helm.

If the boss’s influence is strong and employees are strictly controlled, it might seem to operate without any issues at first glance, but if the leading boss’s capabilities are pathetic, the momentum stops and the company cannot move forward.

Because within Cha Soeun’s kingdom, only slaves exist.

She had turned it into a third-rate company with no distinct features, one that constantly stagnated due to her inability to lead properly, and would eventually vanish over time.

Of course.

How could talent capable of supporting the company and leading its future possibly emerge in such a rigid environment?

It meant that Cha Soeun had learned not corporate management from Cha Seongtaek, but merely useless tricks.

As an entrepreneur who should be looking to the future and unpacking her bag of strategies, her ability was absolutely dismal.

“…….”

As I pointed out her flaws, Soeun’s expression froze and withered.

She glared fiercely, then parted her dry lips.

“Oppa, you really have changed an abnormal amount—”

“Wait. Let’s properly sort this out first.”

I cut her off bluntly, with an utterly unapologetic face.

I understood perfectly where Cha Soeun’s arrogant posture and confidence came from, so there was no need for a long explanation.

Cha Soeun’s group shares were currently so meager that I could swallow them whole right now.

Therefore, the ship Cha Soeun trusted, and her truly terrifying blade, lay here.

“You’re only openly defying me now because you’re borrowing your husband’s power, aren’t you?”

The only married sister among them.

Moreover, that married person was a very famous fellow.

A man rumored to operate casinos across Asia and be involved with the Yakuza and gangs.

The reason Cha Soeun’s insults, flung everywhere, carried weight was none other than because of that husband.

He was her brother-in-law, who had fallen for Cha Soeun and immediately married her.

“…….”

At this accusation, Soeun wanted to say something, but she folded her arms and glared, as if suppressing it.

“Hmph.”

Then, perhaps as part of their power struggle, she ripped her lips into a grin and barked a command at the driver.

“Stop the car.”

The red car stopped in an unknown park, away from central Seoul, though I didn’t know where we had been heading.

It was clearly her telling me to get out, so when I opened the door and stepped out, Cha Soeun grinned inside and spoke.

“You know, I called you to give you a chance to fix your mistake, Oppa.”

“Oh, really?

I don’t know what you were going to say, but I’m completely uninterested, you know?”

As I mocked her, she shook her long, wavy platinum blonde hair and,

“I was going to let it slide because you’re Oppa, but if our differences of opinion are this strong, there’s nothing I can do.

You took the shares of that other older sister, and now it seems you covet my share too— Alright, I’ll properly take care of both of you ♡”

This was the second declaration of war, following Cha Hwaryeon’s.

Perhaps a final warning, she added one last remark.

“Oppa, you haven’t forgotten what happened before, have you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“When we were little, you know.

When you played around with my doll, I broke your robot’s head to fix your habit, didn’t I? Back then, Mom was so surprised she took you to the hospital.”

Covering her mouth with little chuckles, as if amused by something,

“Since then, Oppa, you’ve been afraid of me, but it seems you’ve forgotten since it was so long ago.”

“…….”

“I guess I’ll have to refresh your memory ♡”

Past anecdotes recounted with innocent frankness.

She rattled them off as if boasting, perhaps having had that crazy streak since childhood.

Of course, these were memories that didn’t exist for me, who had transmigrated.

‘…This kid really does need some education.’

Her eyes gleamed unsettlingly.

I understood why not only her eldest sister but even Mom couldn’t utter a peep around her, but,

*Swoosh.*

“?”

I, on my part, did not back down.

Instead, I stretched my arm forward, clenching and unclenching my hand, as if to grab my impudent sister’s voluminous hair.

“Then if you lose this time, you’ll pay for the robot you broke back then, won’t you?”

A condition I put forth to counter her.

I told her to come at me if she dared.

“……(smirk♡)”

In response, my sister confidently curled the corner of her lips.

She scoffed, as if my challenge was utterly laughable, showing how much she trusted that scoundrel brother-in-law of hers.

*Vroom!*

After that, the car drove away.

“…She really left without even calling me a taxi.”

After telling me to get in, she unceremoniously dropped me off in the middle of nowhere, so I had no choice but to pull out my phone.

“Uh, it’s me. I’m a bit sorry for telling you to go home, but send a car now.

…Yeah, come yourself or not, do whatever you want. More importantly—”

After letting out a deep exhale,

“I guess I’ll have to really throw more money around from now on.

Yeah, because I think I need to deal with that tattooed guy I mentioned before.”

The next boss was announced.

It seemed that this time, rather than fighting my sister one-on-one, I had to eliminate her along with the worm stuck next to her.