I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Chaebol Family-Chapter 130: The Crumbling Fortress (5)

Seo Ji-yeon spoke as if I’d jumped into this for some short-term profit...

Of course shorting stocks wasn’t the only thing I did after the Sampoong collapse.

“Uuuugh... L-Let go of me...”

I squished my cheeky underling’s soft cheeks in retaliation for her tone, then gave my order.

“Ji-yeon. Start monitoring which related companies are going bankrupt and report back. Persuade their employees and executives to transfer over to our company. And don’t forget to include confidentiality clauses in the contracts.”

“Ah, yes.”

Sampoong Group might have been a major conglomerate, but it had ties with countless other companies. If Sampoong went down, dozens of small and mid-sized firms would certainly follow. And with the current public anger, those laid off wouldn’t easily find good jobs again.

Seo Ji-yeon, nodding along blankly, soon tilted her head in confusion.

“Uh... But how am I supposed to do all that?”

With a dry laugh and a curled lip, I gave a short answer.

“Figure it out. Properly.”

Clutching her head with both hands and shutting her eyes tight, Seo Ji-yeon let out a shriek.

“Aaaah! Don’t do this to me! Miss, I was wrong, okay?!”

“If you’re going to be my secretary, that’s the least you should handle. You think you can live off a six-figure salary without earning it?”

“...You’re not even paying me that much yet. This task isn’t for me, right? You’re telling me to pass it on to someone else, right? Wh-Who should I give it to? The secretary office? Or my dad?”

—Rustle.

I wrote out a check for 100 million won and handed it to her.

“Here. An advance. Tear off whatever scraps you can from Sampoong’s wreckage.”

“....”

Her hands trembled. The soft hands of a high school girl now nearly as tall as me took the paper check.

Without a word, she accepted it and left the room.

***

After Seo Ji-yeon left, I sat alone in the room, staring at a poster taken back in middle school. Bikini-clad Yoo Ha-yeon stood by the sea, waving with a bright smile.

So pretty. Especially those mischievous eyes still tinged with youth, and that teasing curl of the eyelids. The damp, translucent skin... those hips...

God, I’m gorgeous. Honestly, my standards are getting too high. Even if I hadn’t reincarnated, I probably wouldn’t have been able to get married anyway.

Lying on my bed, burying my face and kicking my feet, I suddenly realized I was the only one in the room with that Yoo Ha-yeon poster.

‘Hmph. Ji-yeon took the photo, but I’m the only one in the frame. Next time, I’ll make sure she appears in some too. Seriously, what’s she so embarrassed about all the time?’

I chuckled at the thought of how Seo Ji-yeon would react, then let out a sigh.

“...I wonder if she’ll manage.”

I know better than anyone that I’m a moody, high-maintenance boss. If I didn’t pay absurd amounts of money or if I weren’t the most charming person in the world, it’d be hard to find anyone willing to work for me...

So this was a kind of test for Seo Ji-yeon.

If she pulls through after a few more of these, I’ll keep her on as chief secretary. If she seriously lacks competence, then I’ll have no choice.

Still, I’m fairly sure she’ll pass. I wouldn’t have kept her around if she weren’t that type to begin with. I have a good eye for people.

...Although I don’t trust my own judgment at all, which is why I end up giving such petty tests. If anyone’s to blame, it’s my dead father.

—Click.

Just then, a woman walked into the room.

“Oh, Nanny?”

My eyes lit up. She approached and gently stroked my head.

“Hehe, that’s nice. Do more. Mmm, what is it? You need a favor or something?”

She just smiled softly and shook her head.

“I just stopped by. Wanted to check on my young lady.”

“Mhm! I’m doing fine. I always am, you know that!”

“Oh dear, so many accidents lately... I heard you were even in the paper?”

“Oh, that? Here it is!”

I grinned, making a V with my fingers. There had been an article about me on page five of the newspaper. Not even Sangam Daily—just some paper I had nothing to do with.

No matter how important the work I do overseas, or how incredible the things I pull off, the nanny doesn’t really understand those things. Old-fashioned as she is, she only thinks something’s great if it shows up in a newspaper.

Though, to be fair, I do hide most of the important stuff from her.

“But Miss, what did you do to Ji-yeon? She ran off with this really stiff look on her face.”

“Oh... it’s fine!”

I smiled brightly and waved my hand dismissively.

“It’s not about you being fine, it’s about Ms. Seo Ji-yeon being okay. My sweet young lady, you shouldn’t be mean to the friend who takes care of you even when you don’t have many. She’s a kind girl, looking out for you—and now you’re scolding her so much... I can’t help but worry.”

Oof. That hit the weak spot.

“That’s... not necessary. Hmph. Friends? Most of them are just after my money or my body. And I do have lots of friends, okay?”

—Whip whip.

I shook my head. Sure, I like being desired, but that’s not exactly what friendship is.

“Anyway, Nanny, ever think of remarrying? I know a few decent men in the company’s secretary office...”

“Oh come now, what are you saying... I’m in my mid-thirties already. My princess, I appreciate the sentiment.”

“Thirty’s still fine! Our nanny’s so pretty. And if it’s awkward, you could pick someone in their 30s too. Hm? I’m not forcing you—just saying you could try meeting someone casually.”

It wouldn’t feel great to lose my nanny to someone else, but she deserves her own life too.

But she just smiled sweetly, patting me with a proud look, not entertaining the idea.

“...Tch.”

“Honestly, you wouldn’t like it either, would you? Me remarrying. It’s not like you need a new dad or anything.”

“That’s... true.”

Sometimes, I think it’s okay to be a little selfish. Maybe I’ve been too awful, and that’s why only kind people are left around me.

—‘Well, that’s because any decent person who meets you once runs for the hills...’

I casually ignored what sounded like a hallucinated voice of Seo Ji-yeon.

On second thought, even that cheeky brat is still by my side. I guess I’m surrounded by talent because of my virtues, charm, and generosity, huh?

***

While Yoo Ha-yeon was smiling at herself in the mirror...

The trial, which should have been dragging on for ages, was already nearing its end. Anyone familiar with Korea’s legal system would have been stunned by how fast it moved.

The crimes were obvious to everyone, and with so many prominent figures dead, the legal blade couldn’t exactly sidestep a chaebol just for being rich.

“Th-This is... this is outrageous! How could this happen to me?!”

Unlike the other executives who had their heads hung low, Chairman Lee Jun’s face radiated nothing but fury and indignation. freewēbnoveℓ.com

He had kept that same shameless attitude in every press photo, so this result was, in a way, inevitable.

“What a lunatic... Doesn’t even have shame or sense...”

Of course, public outrage played a big role too. Civilian government support had dropped to 20% and showed no sign of rebounding. There was no way they could view the disaster caused by Sampoong with any tolerance.

Inside the heavy air of the courtroom, the judge delivered the sentence.

“...On charges including involuntary manslaughter and bribery, the defendant is sentenced to seven years and six months in prison.”

—Bang bang bang.

Seven years and six months—the maximum under current law. They’d tacked on bribery to extend what would’ve been a five-year sentence to seven and a half.

Unless the law itself was amended, this was the harshest sentence available. If it had been up to the court, they would’ve given him twenty or thirty years.

“Ah...”

And that meant only one thing: for a chaebol to receive the maximum penalty in a criminal trial... it meant they had been abandoned by both the political and business worlds.

It was a signal that parole or a presidential pardon wasn’t even on the table—and that in civil court, they would face real, crushing penalties, not just symbolic ones.

The remaining Sampoong executives, who no longer cared much for Chairman Lee Jun’s fate, groaned as ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ the implications sank in.

This wasn’t just about their chairman. With the department store destroyed and fines incoming...

Sampoong Group would be utterly wiped out.

Without leaving a trace behind.

.

.

.

The penalties imposed on Sampoong Group were as follows:

Compensation: ₩380 million per deceased victim.

Asset seizure: Full confiscation of Sampoong Group’s ₩300 billion in assets.

***

Where ruins remain, scavengers will gather. But Sampoong Group was so thoroughly destroyed that there was nothing left to pick at.

“...Some people snuck in to steal goods from the department store, but really, there wasn’t much for a corporation to salvage.”

With tired eyes, Seo Ji-yeon murmured.

“Hmm. So that’s your excuse for being incompetent?”

“...I’m sorry, Miss. But objectively speaking, wasn’t it an unreasonable request?”

I replied calmly.

“That just makes it incompetence. You didn’t even realize my request was impossible.”

She flinched. Perhaps she remembered how she’d blindly chased after that 100 million won.

“...Ugh, I guess that’s true.”

Though her body trembled uneasily, I was quite pleased.

“It’s fine. You did scoop up a few companies. What’s the count? I didn’t know our Ji-yeon had a knack for this kind of thing.”

“M-Most of them are just shells—dying husks buried in debt... A-Are you sure this is okay? Just paying off their liabilities might cost over 10 billion won...”

Well, obviously. Their major contracts evaporated. That’s just how companies from this era work.

“Yup, I know. You think I can’t tell at a glance?”

I chuckled, flipping through the documents listing each firm. Even if they weren’t paper companies, they still had value in existing.

Plus, I’d recruited their former employees—laundering capital would be much easier now.

“Uh... So, does that mean you’re forgiving me?”

Seeing me in a good mood, Seo Ji-yeon glanced at me with hopeful eyes. I smiled sweetly... then poked her soft chest with my index finger.

“Aha, nope. Just think about how much it’ll cost to cover those company debts.”

“Um... 2 billion?”

“Rough estimate, including labor costs: ₩5.73 billion. That’s what I came up with.”

“...How do you even—”

Please. I’m Yoo Ha-yeon. Of course I know.

“And now our Ji-yeon’s throwing money around just because I gave her a little authority? Want a spanking?”

I looked at her with wild, passionate eyes. She bit her lip and lay flat on the floor.

“S-Sorry, Miss!”

“Mhm? Nah, it’s fine. Come on, we’re close, aren’t we? Just make sure you report to me next time. If you report first and then spend, it’s all good.”

“Ah...”

Her back looked relaxed, so I sat on her waist and stroked her face.

“But this time, you didn’t report. You’re not like Yeong-il, pulling in hundreds of billions from Wall Street. And you’re not like Si-hyun, meticulous in every detail.”

“....”

Seo Ji-yeon looked up at me with despair-filled eyes.

‘Ah, this is fun.’

This is why I love managing people.

Might as well keep playing like this until Nanny shows up.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel