“……”
“……”
The meeting with the fiancé was a disaster.
For better or worse, the fiancé was the same age as Ye Sara. I thought, “What kind of crazy pedo freak is engaged to a middle schooler?” But it turned out to be a unilateral decision made by Ye Sara’s stepmother, regardless of Ye Sara’s opinion.
The other party was the heir of the Homyeong Group. His name? Yoon Da-ho.
Well, thank goodness I already knew that name.
He was one of the male leads in the game the streamer was playing, “if you wish.” Plus, he was part of one of the two routes the streamer had tackled—the male lead route.
Originally, the streamer wasn’t even planning to pursue the male lead but ended up going down this rabbit hole due to picking the wrong choices and messing up stat distributions.
Yeah, it felt like Ye Sara’s struggles in the game were pretty intense. Maybe she thought of him as her fiancé. Regardless of like or dislike, if deemed useless in her stepmother’s puppet show, she’d be tossed aside like trash. Though, it didn’t seem like marriage would guarantee a happy life anyway.
But then, why did Ye Sara appear as a villain in the other male lead route?—I had no idea. I didn’t even know if there was space to intervene, and since the streamer cleared only one male and one female route, I ended up clueless about the finer details.
His hair was neatly arranged. His outfit was sharp and sophisticated. But his demeanor? Arrogant. Yoon Da-ho was pretty much just as described in the game.
Yet, here he was sitting in front of his fiancée with crossed legs, glued to his smartphone. Clearly, he wasn’t happy with his fiancée. But I guess he hadn’t even bothered to ask for her thoughts—he was just swept along by the adults’ calculations.
However, while he might think he’s being cool by ignoring his fiancée, as someone who’d seen a bit of the world, he looked like a spoiled brat sulking. His rude behavior, precariously sitting at the edge of teenage angst, was actually quite refreshing to me.
Because that meant there was no need to continue the conversation.
I had no intention of getting along with him, so naturally, I felt no need to continue the conversation. The only ones sweating bullets were Yang Hye-in standing behind me and that… butler? secretary? Anyway, the middle-aged man behind Yoon Da-ho.
Of course, I wasn’t on my phone. Using a phone during mealtime is just impolite, you know?
Right, it’s definitely impolite.
Especially in front of a magnificent 1++ Hanwoo sirloin steak. I couldn’t just dismiss the life of a Hanwoo that was killed because of selfish human actions.
So, I carved the steak with just enough finesse not to embarrass myself, taking bites into my mouth.
As each tender piece of steak entered, juice burst out with each chew. It seemed the medium-rare steak retained all its succulence.
If I couldn’t enjoy such food right in front of me, what’s the point of being alive?
Since coming into this body, one of the few things I was grateful for was getting delicious dishes no matter what I asked for.
Having a lot of money meant not needing to skimp on food. No matter what dish was made, it was prepared with the best ingredients by top-notch chefs—there’s no way it could taste bad.
The only downside regarding food was that Ye Sara’s stomach seemed a lot smaller than expected. I had a hunch just by looking at her skinny frame, but her appetite was alarmingly small. Since entering Ye Sara’s body, the only full meal I had was the porridge Yang Hye-in fed me on the first day. No matter how hard I tried, I could only leave a little bit of everything else. In fact, this ‘little bit’ was possible because the chef would adjust serving sizes based on my eating capacity. Coming to places like this cafeteria, I left behind far more than just a little.
So, regrettably, I wouldn’t be able to finish this top-grade 1++ Hanwoo sirloin steak.
My brisk chewing slowed, and what had once gone down smoothly started to be a bit of a struggle.
Sadly, it seemed my meal was coming to an end.
Yoon Da-ho, who had been sitting there without saying a word while glued to his smartphone, seemed to be unsatisfied that I was so focused on my steak that I didn’t even care about him.
“So much for eating like a pig…”
He probably intended to finish with something like “Eating a lot,” but he shut his mouth when he glanced at my plate.
Yeah, seeing a plate that had less than a third of a steak eaten wouldn’t let him insult me as a pig or anything. The truth was, I looked normal only because I was bundled up in thick clothing; underneath, it wasn’t odd to say I was “skin and bones.”
I completely understood why the hospital staff suspected domestic abuse.
Was there a mental issue? Something like anorexia? I remember hearing somewhere that if you don’t eat enough, your stomach shrinks, so it seems like Ye Sara would really need to eat a ton to reach her normal weight.
After finishing my meal, I quietly set down the knife and fork in my hands.
“Uh…”
I had truly set them down because I was full, but Yoon Da-ho seemed to think I stopped eating because of his remark.
Yoon Da-ho.
The Homyeong Group his family owned is the second-ranked company in the South Korean business world. Of course, there wasn’t such a company in the world I used to live in. Even if there was, the creator’s warning about having the same name would apply. Even if there was a similar company, it wouldn’t be ranked second.
It was a complete competitor to the Eugene Group, which was chaired by Ye Sara’s stepmother, with overlapping business areas galore. From semiconductors to railroads, electric trains, batteries, smartphones, and home appliances, the relationship between the two companies had been antagonistic for decades.
What could have led to the engagement of the only children from these two companies?
While it didn’t come up clearly in the streamer’s video, since it was one of the routes the streamer took, I did recall a rough plot. There had been talk of the Eugene Group planning to swallow the Homyeong Group whole.
If that’s the case, weren’t they engaged to target each other’s wealth?
To prevent market monopolies, it’s often the case that states block attempts to acquire competitors outright. If one swallows the other, there would be no competition left, and that company would become a dictator controlling the entire market at will.
Thus, they might devise some creative workaround to access each other’s riches.
By inheriting wealth through marriage, or, perhaps the child born from Ye Sara and Yoon Da-ho would inherit both families’ fortunes and merge them…
Of course, the chairwomen of both companies wouldn’t be fools. My side had the whole ‘I’m a girl’ part to deal with. Generally, children take their father’s surname, and if a kid born from Ye Sara and Yoon Da-ho ended up with the surname Yoon, it would appear as if the Eugene Group had absorbed the Homyeong Group.
Conversely, with the Eugene Group being the first in South Korea’s business hierarchy, the Homyeong Group might feel threatened. If Ye Sara and Yoon Da-ho married and had a kid, they might quickly consolidate their opponent’s riches before launching litigation based on the other’s behavior, swaying public opinion in their favor… In that scope, Yoon Da-ho’s rude speech wouldn’t help them at all.
…In the original story, Ye Sara’s personality was downright dysfunctional, so a rough speech probably wouldn’t have been a big deal.
“…Are we done eating?”
In the original game, Yoon Da-ho was the type to curse openly, only to later regret it under the blanket, despite being rather wealthy and having a grim past. Much of his attitude came from his father’s rotting personality, while he also inherited some goodness from his mother… which was the game’s setting.
Yet, Yoon Da-ho was a character who started his connection with the heroine using lines like “The commoners are blocking the road.” Unlike the other two male leads, who had redeemable qualities, he was essentially a character that could be a total bust if the player misstepped in choices.
By arguing something like “Commoners… daring to speak back?” he’d find his way tangled with the heroine, leading to the cliché “You’re the first to treat me like this,” without any minimal stat requirements for his route. Yet, he came off as obnoxious for about 70% of the story, making him a character male players would want to get rid of.
“I can’t eat any more, it won’t go down.”
I replied. I had no intention of impressing anyone anyway, and I definitely hated the whole concept of marrying a guy.
Whether companies merged or not, I couldn’t care less.
Even without maintaining a position as the first in the business world, I’d still live wealthy. I certainly had no intentions of marrying a man I despised—even worse, I wouldn’t marry someone who didn’t align with my sexual orientation and live a miserable life.
…If there had been any way to return, I’d have maintained the status quo, but having been here for a whole month, it seemed I’d have to see through the story’s conclusion in this world.
I honestly had no idea why I fell into this world.
I hadn’t criticized the game or left bad comments for the creators.
…Could it be that I got stuck because I was too lazy to actually play the game and just relied on the streamer’s videos and wiki?
While I pondered over that, Yoon Da-ho seemed to finally look at me properly for the first time.
Though he was just in his mid-teens, like many characters in such stories, Yoon Da-ho appeared taller for his age. His face looked a bit ugly from being too young, but…
“……”
“……”
Yang Hye-in was standing behind me, so I couldn’t tell what expression she had, but at least I could see the expression of the secretary standing behind Yoon Da-ho.
The secretary was sweating bullets.
Yoon Da-ho’s sudden insulting remark and my lack of a positive reaction surely didn’t bode well.
…I genuinely stopped eating because I was full.
“Since we’re out eating, please have a bit more.”
“Why don’t you check your own plate first?”
My reply left Yoon Da-ho at a loss for words.
Naturally, because throughout my meal, he was too busy staring at his phone.
The one who broke dining etiquette first was definitely Yoon Da-ho.
I had no clue how Ye Sara had reacted in the past to make Yoon Da-ho show such extreme rudeness, but since I had no memories, it was of no concern to me. Honestly, everything before January 1st felt like it wasn’t my responsibility. No, it literally wasn’t my responsibility; until that time, the owner of this body wasn’t me but Ye Sara.
Struggling to find an appropriate response, he stood there silent as I rose from my seat.
“Since the meal’s over, I should be able to go back, right?”
“Yes, Miss.”
Yang Hye-in, who had been waiting behind me, sprang into action immediately.
“……”
Yoon Da-ho merely glared at me.
“Well then, enjoy your meal and head home.”
I replied like that, stepping through the door Yang Hye-in opened for me.
*
“What a foolish kid!”
The instant Yoon Da-ho returned home, that was the very sound I heard.
His grandfather, who had long since quit being the chairperson and avoided exposure to the media, called him into his study immediately upon his return.
And the sound I heard was right before Yoon Da-ho could step fully into the room.
Given how frequently this occurred, Yoon Da-ho quickly walked up to stand before the former chairperson.
Smack!
As soon as he took his stance, a fiery sting erupted on his right cheek. Though he was a senior citizen, the man maintained his health through a consistent diet and exercise regimen, so the former chairperson’s hand felt anything but ordinary.
Yoon Da-ho’s pale cheeks began to blush slightly.
“How dare a madman call his own fiancée a pig!”
Yoon Da-ho lifted his gaze slightly. Standing a few steps away from the former chairperson was the secretary who had followed him from today’s meeting.
Maybe he sensed the ‘next chairman’ quality in Yoon Da-ho’s glare, but the secretary’s face turned pale.
“Why are you glaring!”
Smack!
The left cheek received a fiery kiss as well.
With all his strength, the former chairperson slapped his grandson’s face, then paused to catch his breath.
“…The strategy of our opponent seems to have changed.”
Yoon Da-ho candidly responded to his grandfather.
“They were definitely pretending to be weak before—”
“Da-ho.”
Interrupting his grandson in mid-sentence, the former chairperson sighed deeply. Resting a hand on Yoon Da-ho’s shoulder, he slightly bent down and looked into his eyes for a while.
“Da-ho, Da-ho. Of course, it’s true that you were raised that way. There are no pure and kind people in this business. They all calculate their moves based on appearances. What you learned wasn’t wrong.”
But even as he said this, he shook his head.
“However, if you cannot see the entirety of your opponent’s cards, deceiving them is also important. You have learned princely arts, but she’s just a girl abandoned by her stepmother since childhood. It should be easy for you to control her emotions. You know she doesn’t like you. But at least pretend that you do. Usually, those who didn’t grow up with love long for it. Make her love you. Once she does, let her show her cards. You can discard them afterward.”
“……”
Yoon Da-ho stood silently for a while, seemingly mulling over those words before finally answering, “…Understood.”
“I will personally call the chairwoman of the Eugene Group to apologize for what happened today. That woman has been known to distance her adopted daughter so far away that she is literally banished, but still, if she feels strongly about it, she can spin the narrative that her ‘daughter’ was disrespected. After all, she is still an adopted daughter.”
Of course, they wouldn’t casually bring up the topic of breaking off the engagement, especially considering the Eugene Group had their eyes on the wealth of the Homyeong Group. However, it’s still a fact that they are at a disadvantage. In a stalemate where neither side is willing to concede, the one forced to bend is usually at a loss.
In that context, it was much safer for the former chairperson to apologize and settle things then and there.
“…I’m sorry.”
“Good, knowing how to apologize is a good habit. Of course, it shouldn’t be done just anywhere or anyone. Now, you may leave.”
Following his grandfather’s advice, Yoon Da-ho exited the study.
As he left, he recalled Ye Sara’s expression from earlier.
It was sharply different from the eager attempts to engage him she had displayed before. Now, she boldly had her meal and left before him, showing that she wasn’t someone he could just ignore to his heart’s content.
…Was it really true that her previously weak appearance was just an act?
Yoon Da-ho found himself utterly perplexed by the thought.
*
After returning home and flopping down onto my bed for a while, I suddenly heard someone knocking on the door.
Before I could even respond, the door slid open, revealing Yang Hye-in standing there with her hands respectfully holding up a smartphone.
“Miss, there’s a call from the chairwoman.”
“……”
The chairwoman, of course, referred to Ye Sara’s stepmother.
It had been a month since I came here, and that person hadn’t made an appearance or even called.
If she called out of the blue now… Well, it only left one thing to jump to conclusions about. It was probably due to the chaos from today’s meeting.
I took the phone silently, contemplating momentarily. How should I respond when I picked up? Given that I was bound to be reprimanded, it might be best not to offend her any more than necessary. After all, she was the chairwoman of the very top group in South Korea.
“Yes, chairwoman. I’m taking your call.”
In the end, that was how I decided to greet her. I had a feeling she might dislike being called “Mother.”
[……Hmm.]
I wasn’t sure if my response had struck a chord, but I heard a low hum from her end. I couldn’t discern if it was confusion… or perhaps satisfaction.
[I’ve heard of what happened today.]
“Yes.”
[You did well.]
“Excuse me?”
Before I could even question the reasoning behind it, the call abruptly ended.
“……Miss.”
Seeing my shocked expression, Yang Hye-in called my name softly, but I subtly shook my head at her.
“I wasn’t chewed out. In fact, she said I did well.”
Though I replied like that, Yang Hye-in continued to look at me as if I were a forsaken puppy.
