I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Chaebol Family-Chapter 54: Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer (1)

Now that my tastes have changed, hot coffee really is better.

“Si-hyun... isn’t here, right.”

Sigh.

I wonder if she’s doing okay in Europe, that damn secretary....

Shaking my head, I sprang up and dashed down the stairs. My ever-smiling nanny greeted me warmly.

“Young Miss, did you finish reading the morning paper?”

“Yeah yeah, I read it all. Let’s get ready to head out.”

Today was not only the day Germany reunited, but also Gaecheonjeol, and Chuseok too.

A pretty special day, you might say.

“Now, I’ll help you change, so raise your arms, please.”

– Swish.

I took off the thin pajamas I was wearing and stood in front of the mirror in white underwear.

Clear, pale skin, a curvy body line, long limbs, drowsy eyes.

My half-naked body, now fully exuding femininity, was exposed, and at the nanny’s touch brushing over my bare skin, I let out a short moan.

‘Nn....’

“You’re always so beautiful, Young Miss.”

Thank god I at least had my underwear on. Still, my skin being this sensitive is a real pain.

I answered with a slight curl of my lips, as if it were nothing.

“Yeah, you’re beautiful too, Nanny.”

Smiling innocently as she dressed me up, the nanny looked so young you’d never believe she was a mother in her thirties. Compared to a few years ago, it was like she’d turned back the clock—probably thanks to all the effort I’d put in.

She went through a lot when I was little.

“Hanbok is too difficult to wear... You used the bathroom already, right? You’ll need to be careful when visiting the Chairman’s house.”

Nod nod.

“It’s fine, I’m not a kid. I can handle it on my own.”

I barely even have bodily functions anymore, so it’s okay. Hanbok is ridiculously uncomfortable, but I’m too old now to be wearing diapers again, so I’ll just tough it out.

“Oh my, from where I’m standing, you’re still just a little girl, Young Miss...”

Looking at me with sentimental eyes, the nanny pulled me into a light hug. Her warm embrace calmed me down.

“Ehehe... Being like this feels nice.”

Sometimes I wish my body were still small enough to snuggle up in her arms. Anyway, that’s just how safe and comforted I feel around her.

“Yes yes, we can stay like this a bit longer. Young Miss.”

“...Ugh, saying stuff like that really makes me feel like a kid.”

I stayed in her arms for a while, getting pampered, then brushed some dust off my hair and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

I felt thankful to her. And guilty.

If it weren’t for me, she’d be living a cushy, well-off life....

Yeah, that’s also one of the reasons I’m trying to make a fortune. Unlike her past life, in this one all she has left is the role of my nanny, so I want to let her live in luxury as much as possible...

It’s my way of atoning.

The maximum atonement I can offer without abandoning my beliefs and ambitions.

***

Daehwa Group doesn’t really celebrate holidays much. That’s just the nature of a chaebol family, with everyone tied up in different businesses—their schedules rarely align.

They only just manage to meet at year’s end.

But... this year was a little different.

Having returned from Europe, Yoo Seon-jun said while puffing on a cigarette,

“Grandfather’s sick.”

“...Yeah. That’s why I keep telling you to quit smoking. It’s lung cancer.”

Smoke billowed out around us.

Yoo Seon-jun stared at the cigarette in his hand with conflicted eyes, then flicked it into the ashtray.

“Well... nothing major happened, right?”

I nodded. Thanks to being a chaebol chairman, he got frequent medical checkups, so at least it was caught early.

But medicine still hadn’t advanced much, so a full cure was unlikely.

“A disease with only a 10% survival rate... we’re lucky, really. Anyway, lung cancer’s hereditary, so you need to be extra careful, got it?”

I don’t get what’s so great about smoking, honestly.

In my past life, Chairman Yoo Seong-pil lived to 80... but now? I’m not so sure.

‘It’s probably my fault, again.’

Looking back, it was a dumb thought. Thinking a parent’s lifespan would stay the same even after their child died. He might not even make it to see the 21st century.

It’s a depressing thought. Would it be misfortune or mercy if the only family member I grew fond of dies without ever seeing my betrayal?

‘Maybe it would’ve been better if he lived a little longer.’

Well, I just hope all this is my imagination. I don’t even know what year Chairman Yoo Seong-pil got lung cancer in the original timeline.

But... it was well known that Daehwa family members had weak lungs due to genetic factors.

I looked at Yoo Seon-jun with concern.

“Yeah yeah, got it. So stop looking at me like that. I will quit smoking.”

“Phew, okay. I’m trusting you, alright?”

I sighed and looked around. Si-hyun should be arriving about now...

Ah, there she is.

“Young Miss, long time no see.”

With a slight smile, Lee Si-hyun bowed her head. Unlike the Daehwa blood relatives wearing hanbok, she was dressed properly in a business suit, like a real secretary.

“Did you enjoy your trip?”

“Ah, yes. It was nice.”

“Heeey, going on a trip with a handsome guy makes it nice, huh? You were moaning like you were dying when you traveled with me.”

I poked at her full chest teasingly, and Si-hyun blushed, shaking her head vigorously.

“N-no, that’s not... I couldn’t possibly...”

“Mhm mhm, well, you’re not exactly Seon-jun oppa’s type anyway.”

“...Huh?”

Si-hyun blinked. Then, looking around uncomfortably, she asked in a whisper,

“Ah, is it because of my age...”

Guess she’s been thinking about turning thirty soon. How cute.

“No no, it’s more your personality? Something like that.”

Yoo Seon-jun is kind of conservative—not that it stops him from gambling—and doesn’t like people with strong ambition or hunger for power.

More accurately, he hates opportunists?

Anyway, our Si-hyun isn’t exactly the obedient type. I happen to like that about her though...

Leaving the puzzled Si-hyun behind, I wandered around Chairman Yoo Seong-pil’s house for the first time in a while.

It was still quite the place. The people Grandpa hired had kept the garden and mansion in excellent condition.

“Ah, it’s been a while, sir.”

“Oh my, it’s been a while for me too, Young Miss. You’ve grown so much.”

“Ehehe, I get that a lot.”

I chatted briefly with the gardener and spun around, taking in the scenery. The gardener’s touch was impressive.

Though autumn had started tinting the forest in color, the lawn still shone bright green—nothing much had changed.

Just like Daehwa Group kept running smoothly even after Chairman Yoo Seong-pil collapsed. Even if the autumn of his life brought falling leaves to this vast garden, it would hardly shake the foundation.

But what if the gardener stopped working completely?

At first, it would seem fine. Gardens don’t fall apart right away when left alone.

But eventually... the fortress would crumble, and wild barley would overgrow its ruins.

There’d be no point lamenting over Daehwa’s wreckage after the fact.

That’s why I have to repair the garden before it starts to rot.

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The seasons of my life are always like fresh spring, so frost never settles on my head, and the garden I’ve cultivated will never be colored by autumn.

The dream of an immortal gardener—only I could make that real.

***

There’s a line in the classic film The Godfather Part II that goes:

Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer...

It means the biggest variables must always be within your control.

People may interpret it differently, but at least that’s how I see it.

That’s why I keep trying to make the currency crisis into a controllable bomb. So that things like the butterfly effect can’t touch me.

‘Ah, since I’m going to the U.S. next month, I should go watch Part III with Si-hyun.’

I was tense, so my mind wandered for a moment, but then I took a deep breath and stepped forward.

Yoo Jin-ha adjusted his glasses and looked at me with gentle eyes.

“It’s been a while, Ha-yeon.”

“Yes. Hello, Uncle.”

Smiling with my eyes, I greeted Yoo Jin-ha for the first time in a while.

The future usurper stood before me.