I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Chaebol Family-Chapter 106: Travel Training (1)

“Hoo.”

I lightly finished my shower and stared intently at Seo Ji-yeon.

“...I hate you, young lady.”

What’s with her?

I personally gave her a shower—shouldn’t that count for something? Maybe geniuses really can’t understand the thoughts of ordinary people...

“Anyway, let’s eat. Normally I wouldn’t waste time going to a restaurant, but I’m being generous today.”

“Haa... fine, I get it...”

Pouting, Seo Ji-yeon cut into her steak with a slightly sulky expression.

“...”

“The food’s decent.”

“...Of course it is.”

“Why the long face? You’ve got no appetite?”

“Who would have an appetite when everyone’s staring like this... except you, young lady.”

Sure, the staff were whispering, and a few customers were outright gawking... But so what?

Isn’t that a good thing? People admire even the way I eat.

I want to live a life where even just breathing gets me praise and reverence. I don’t want to become one of those Soviet general secretaries who got so addicted to power that they wasted their very life, but I do want to enjoy power to the fullest.

I’ll just have to be careful.

I said “some Soviet general secretary,” but honestly, nearly every dictator suffered from power addiction. They’d start purging talented people and become paranoid. I never want to be that pathetic.

“Ji-yeon, you can rest properly once we get to the villa, so hang in there a little longer. Or just skip school on Monday—it’s what power is for, isn’t it?”

Just to this extent. That’s where I draw the line.

“...Ah. Mm, okay, young lady. But you know I won’t skip school. I’m a model student, unlike you...”

“Yeah, but your grades are worse than mine.”

“T-That’s an unfair comparison! And you’re always borrowing my notes, too...”

Hey, it’s not abuse of power—I pay good money for them. Roughly a million won per page...

It’s pocket change for me, but for Seo Ji-yeon, it’s an insane sum. Honestly, among my cousins, the only one who could waste money like this is Yoo Seon-jun.

Now that I think about it, how rude. I’m paying her so much.

“Hmm, I’ve changed my mind. Ji-yeon, you like movies, right?”

“...I’m sorry! Please, no, young lady... If you make me work in Hollywood, I’ll seriously die.”

“I’m doing the work, not you? Ridiculous. But since you’re pretty, I’ll forgive you.”

“...”

After glancing at me nervously, Seo Ji-yeon quietly asked:

“But why are we going this time?”

I leaned in and whispered:

“Well, I actually had more time than expected before the flight, so I figured I’d just go. I really wanted to drive like crazy in the rain at least once.”

“...Stop copying my whispering. And stop lying. Seriously. What kind of insane woman showers naked in public, goes sleepless, and speeds around in a storm just for fun?”

Well, I did set up partitions, technically.

Though... judging from how she described every detail, she must think it’s plausible. It was half a joke, but it’s kind of sad she took it seriously.

“You know that road we passed earlier? Know what it was?” frёewebηovel.cѳm

“What was it?”

“It’s where my dad died. Same situation—rainy day, reckless driving. He’d had some drinks too.”

I stabbed my fork into the salad and ate it as if it meant nothing.

“...Ugh. When you say stuff like that, it puts me in a really awkward spot.”

Be awkward, then.

I shrugged and smiled sweetly.

“Kidding. As if I’d ever go to a cursed road like that. And he’s not someone I miss all that much anyway.”

“...”

–Clatter.

Maybe the joke went too far—Seo Ji-yeon’s face stiffened, and she quietly resumed eating.

Tick-tock.

Time passed, and since she didn’t seem likely to start talking again, I broke the silence.

“Do you know Crédit Lyonnais?”

Seo Ji-yeon flinched and nodded.

“Huh? Oh, yes. That’s the bank that clashed during the MGM acquisition, right? You said someone else ended up buying it. I heard it’s France’s biggest bank... Is that right?”

“Yup. Even if you combine all of Korea’s banks, it wouldn’t match up. And Baring-Berlin Bank is still a long way off.”

BBB had just finished restructuring and started gathering investor money. It didn’t engage in much shady business and ran relatively stably, so its growth was slower.

They could do aggressive investing—but I left that to Alpha Fund. BBB was delegated to Yoo Seon-jun. I hadn’t really given him detailed directions, but he seemed to be managing fine.

Seo Ji-yeon shot me a suspicious look.

“So, are you going to rip them off next? Hmm... Do you even have a bank in France?”

“Of course I do. I’ve got about $100 million of clean, laundered money sitting there. Speaking of which, Ji-yeon, you really should learn how to launder money properly...”

Since the risk of getting caught and jailed—or getting robbed—is high, you need someone you trust to handle laundering.

Ji-yeon would be perfect. Even if she gets arrested once, she’s young—plenty of time to bounce back.

“...You’re thinking something weird again, aren’t you?”

“Nope. This is completely normal thinking. Anyway, contrary to what you’re imagining, I’m not acquiring Crédit Lyonnais this time. Its debt is just too severe.”

“You usually buy them anyway, then use the size to borrow more. The debt must be really bad, huh?”

Exactly. Normally, I’d just gobble it up even if it’s risky. That’s how I devoured Barings Bank.

But... at least Barings had a debt load I could handle.

Crédit Lyonnais doesn’t. I know the potential gains are bigger, but acquiring it might literally split my guts open.

“Yup, it’s seriously bad. Well over ten billion dollars.”

“...How much?”

After the extent of CL’s insolvency was revealed in 1994, the estimated losses kept rising.

The losses announced at the time were around $10 billion. But after years of deep dives by the French government, the final bailout estimate for CL was...

$25 billion.

To be precise, it’s not even my money—Alpha Fund is only just passing $17 billion. If the hole is $25 billion, even counting interest, lawsuits, and extra costs, that’s absurd. I couldn’t plug it even if I dumped every penny I had.

“Can that even happen? Wouldn’t a bailout fail anyway? In Korea, the government tends to cover corporate defaults... But can France do that? Doesn’t that go against what advanced countries are supposed to do...?”

I folded my arms and nodded.

“Ji-yeon, all humans are the same. The genetic diversity of homo sapiens is incredibly low. You think ‘developed’ country citizens are any different? Oh, I am, of course.”

And the result was predictable.

All those tens of billions in losses? Paid off with French taxpayers’ money.

If someone loses, someone else must gain—it’s the law of the world. Most likely, those gains were quietly shared by the upper brass at the bank and their friends.

I got my cut during the MGM deal too, after all.

So... wouldn’t it be okay to take a little more?

I plan to take just $1 billion or so with a clean conscience through a short position and walk away.

***

That afternoon.

Having uncovered traces of CL’s corruption in Hollywood, I proudly handed the evidence to my lawyer—yes, Quinn Emanuel.

Remember the MGM acquisition?

CL had made a blatantly corrupt deal with MGM, so it was easy to gather evidence. Of course, I was part of that corrupt deal, but let’s gloss over that minor detail.

—“...We guarantee client confidentiality. Yes, of course. CL forced the unfair contract, but still asked for secrecy... Hm, I’ll remember it that way.”

I still recall the sour look Mr. Quinn gave me. His eyes said: How does one person get tangled up in the LA riots, the Madoff fund, and now Crédit Lyonnais?

Well, anyway.

Looking back, it was a lot of work.

I’d focused so heavily on the Madoff fund problem that 1993 ended up flying by.

Ah, I’m already getting nostalgic. The year before, in ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) 1992—when I crushed Barings Bank and succeeded in shorting the pound...

That was fun.

Yup. It was unbelievably fun.

“...So. Why’d you call me here? What now?”

Yoo Seon-jun, who looked like he had just escaped from babysitting, sounded a bit annoyed.

“What do you think? I called you to gamble.”

I thought for sure he’d be happy. He still shows up to those 3rd-gen Daehwa meetups to play hwatu, after all.

But his reaction was lackluster.

“I’m kind of over gambling these days...”

“...?”

What’s wrong with this guy?

Yoo Seon-jun chewed his gum with a tone of disbelief. And apparently, he quit smoking in the meantime, too...

“Why the look? You think I’d abandon my kid and go gambling?”

Well—yeah, kinda.

“Why’d you suddenly become such a good dad...? Ugh, Seo Joo-eun, give me my old brother back! Hey, Yoo Seon-jun! Where’s that guy who used to shove coins at me and yell to go all in?!”

I pouted and grabbed Seon-jun’s shoulders, shaking him wildly.

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