I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Chaebol Family-Chapter 57: Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer (4)

A memory about Lee Si-hyun.

“Ahh, honestly it’s a little annoying for me too... but it’s a matter of etiquette when meeting someone important. I just came back from seeing the Chief Secretary.”

“Aha, so our Si-hyun doesn’t think I’m someone important. Hoo, I’m disappointed, Si-hyun. I mean, I kind of figured you might feel that way, but... hearing it said out loud, it’s sad.”

“Wh-What are you saying, Miss!”

“So, who are they? Now that I think about it, I only heard you mention your siblings, but never their names. You said there were two?”

“Ah, the boy is Si-woo, and the girl is Si-a. They’re twins.”

“Disqualified. Tell them to come back with different names.”

“Why? Why!?”

“How did you know that...? Don’t tell me you looked into me?”

“Well, I’m choosing a secretary I’ll keep as my subordinate for life—wouldn’t I? And it wasn’t even me who did it, the Chief Secretary just told me. I don’t even know the details.”

“Hehh, so our Si-hyun’s all smiles going on a trip with a handsome guy? When you went with me, you acted like you were dying.”

“N-No, not at all... I wouldn’t....”

“Mmhm, but you’re not really Seon-jun oppa’s type.”

“...Excuse me?”

“Oh, is it my age...?”

“No, no, more like personality? Something like that.”

-Clack.

I raised Lee Si-hyun’s head by grabbing her ponytail, pressing the muzzle of my gun under her chin.

“I gave you so many hints... and you’re still testing me?”

The one who recommended Lee Si-hyun to me?

Chief Secretary Lee Hak-cheol.

And the one who investigated her background?

Also Chief Secretary Lee Hak-cheol.

The relationship between me and Lee Si-hyun... all of it passed through the hands of the Chief Secretary. Which means if he wanted, he could manipulate my secretary however he pleased.

Even the person who directly saved Lee Si-hyun’s life—her savior—was the Chief Secretary.

And...

They share the same family origin.

The most uptodat𝓮 n𝒐vels are published on freёnovelkiss.com.

I tossed a document.

One Lee Si-hyun had handed me long ago.

A partial list of incoming students at top universities, compiled over several years.

“I asked one of your classmates... if they knew a sporty, pretty girl named Lee Si-hyun.”

At least her academic records weren’t forged, and I was able to get a few details from her schoolmate.

For instance, that Lee Si-hyun’s father was actually the younger brother of someone quite influential.

How could Lee Hak-cheol, who’s so busy managing the group, have met a woman from the bottom rung of Seoul? What on earth did he see in her to pay for her college tuition?

The answer was simple. At the funeral of a wayward younger brother he’d once cut ties with, Lee Hak-cheol found a usable niece.

A highly competent spy. Someone he could trust unconditionally and plant anywhere.

Of course, she herself wouldn’t have known...

But that’s what made her all the more effective. A spy who doesn’t even realize she’s a spy is the one who never gets caught.

“...!”

Lee Si-hyun’s face stiffened. I gently stroked her cheek.

“I—I...”

Shhh.

I covered her mouth and smiled brightly.

“Si-hyun. Mmhm, I know what you’re trying to say. You’ve already chosen my side, that’s what you want to say, right? That although something felt off... you decided to be loyal to the young miss... something like that.”

I already heard that answer indirectly once.

That Lee Si-hyun was seriously considering betraying Lee Hak-cheol.

“Isn’t that how everyone is? Life’s not some grand thing. You do something long enough, it starts to feel right. You do it long enough, and a bit of ambition grows... and eventually, you even find a new hobby.”

“What hobby?”

“Serving a spoiled little lady who lives for her own brilliance? I hope I get to do it until the day I die.”

“I didn’t think you were the power-hungry type. That’s unexpected.”

But, Lee Si-hyun wasn’t a traitor.

Didn’t Grandpa once say it? People don’t even know what they truly want.

In the end, no matter how much she pursued power, she wasn’t ruthless enough to cut ties of kinship. Lee Si-hyun couldn’t forget the uncle who saved her when she was at the edge of a cliff.

Of course... the fact that she didn’t tell me any of this was, undeniably, a mistake.

“...”

“But you’re making one mistake.”

The secretary’s eyes trembled.

“Who gave you the right to decide that? I understand how you feel... but stop testing me when I’m offering you a chance. Get on your knees and confess everything right now.”

I get it.

She probably didn’t want to betray anyone. She must’ve thought it was too much to betray ‘family’ just for a little ambition. That since her uncle wasn’t trying to harm me, she couldn’t bear to hand me the knife to stab him with...

She must’ve misunderstood.

I smiled.

Seriously, the Chief Secretary has an eye for people.

“Testing me too much isn’t a good idea, Si-hyun. Even if he’s your life’s savior... do you think I gave you fifty million won for no reason? Nothing in this world is free.”

If someone who’s been with you for a long time treats you well, you’re bound to waver eventually.

Let’s not forget. People aren’t visual novel characters who stay at 100 affection once you max them out.

Out of sight, out of mind. Managing a subordinate’s loyalty is an important matter.

If you don’t manage it, they might betray you later.

“...Ah, uh.”

Si-hyun trembled, dazed and frozen. Seeing the always-proud, always-strong Si-hyun act so cute like this... it really makes me want to bully her more.

Smiling, I stroked my secretary’s cheek.

“Well... I’ll give you one more chance. I’m merciful, after all.”

That secretary Lee Hak-cheol recommended—I didn’t accept her for nothing.

Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.

Better yet... turn your enemy into your friend.

“Y-Yes. I-I’m sorry, Miss.”

Lee Si-hyun nodded frantically, not even knowing what she’d done wrong. I could see her suit pants were damp.

“Aha, our Si-hyun is really cute. It’s okay, it’s okay. Relax.”

I don’t plan to kill her.

Like Yoo Seon-jun said, I’m greedy—I can’t rest unless I have everything.

And anyway, stealing what belongs to someone else... always tastes sweeter.

***

Even though I’m a bit harsh when it comes to betrayal, I never planned to kill Lee Si-hyun.

Because... it’s not like Si-hyun became a mole of her own free will.

Si-hyun, still seemingly unable to grasp the situation, was in the hotel bathroom washing her pants and underwear with unfocused eyes.

—Squelch, squelch.

“Si-hyun! Stop that and come eat some ramyeon.”

Tears dripped down from the eyes of my secretary, who wore nothing but a dress shirt like some kind of no-pants fashion model.

“I-I’m not really going to die, right? This isn’t, like, a last supper or anything...?”

“Geez, Si-hyun. At this point, I can’t even kill you, you know? I don’t even have a gun.”

Besides, if she were an actual traitor, I wouldn’t be handling it like this in front of witnesses. It’s not like I’m some gangster.

“Also, everyone knows you’re always following me around. If I did want to get rid of you, I’d have staged an accident. Tsk, tsk, I told you to improve your judgment. You got all scared and just blurted everything out.”

I mean, even I acted more shamelessly in front of Chairman Yoo Seong-pil, didn’t I? If you feel like you’ve been caught, you should quickly admit what you need to and hide the real secret.

And if the closest person to me turns out to be a traitor, that’s just proof of my own incompetence. My future legend might include some fitting hardships, but never a stain.

“I-I honestly don’t understand... Why am I a mole...?”

Si-hyun teared up like she really felt wronged.

If she had been truly innocent, this would’ve just damaged her loyalty and nothing more... but this time, it was her fault, so it was fine.

“Mmhm, it’s okay. I’ll explain it to you step by step.”

Like always, I began to explain things to Si-hyun gently.

First: Chief Secretary Lee Hak-cheol is on Yoo Jin-ha’s side.

Second: Si-hyun often talks about me to Lee Hak-cheol. That’s not even a secret—she literally tells me she’s going to meet with the Chief Secretary.

Third: However... Si-hyun is, in the end, Yoo Jin-ha’s mole. Whether she wants to be or not, the information she gives ends up reaching Yoo Jin-ha.

Si-hyun mumbled with a dazed expression.

“...I didn’t know. Really. U-Uncle... how could he...?”

Exactly.

At this point in time, even the Chief Secretary probably hasn’t asked her too much. That’s why I believed there was a high chance she wasn’t a mole.

The Alpha Fund situation was obviously confidential.

But... she might have thought it was okay to tell Chairman Yoo Seong-pil. That part I wasn’t sure about, which is why I decided to confront her directly and lay everything bare.

“I told you. Uncle Yoo Jin-ha is a very smart man.”

I shook my head and gently patted Si-hyun.

“....”

If you don’t know, you get played. And even if you do know, there’s nothing you can do against someone like Yoo Jin-ha.

Si-hyun didn’t even realize she was a traitor. She just wanted to hide the fact that she got her job through family connections.

She didn’t even try to hide that she was indebted to Lee Hak-cheol, or that she often had private conversations with him. Thanks to that, I was able to send her off on vacation whenever something that didn’t seem important—yet actually was—might come up.

Even knowing Si-hyun was Lee Hak-cheol’s niece, if you don’t know about his connection to Yoo Jin-ha, you’ll still fall into the trap. If information meant only for the Chairman—or safe to tell the Chairman—ends up in Yoo Jin-ha’s hands, it becomes deadly.

That’s why I was so impressed with Yoo Seon-jun. Sure, I figured it out because I already knew what happened later, but for someone like Yoo Seon-jun, who doesn’t even know the future, to realize Lee Seon-pyo was a mole? That’s not easy.

“You were planning to keep it a secret, right? Well, I would’ve done the same if everything had gone smoothly. Real power makes petty schemes meaningless.”

Si-hyun slumped and toyed with her chopsticks.

“...Yes. I just... thought it would be okay. I didn’t tell him anything important anyway. Only stuff the Chairman would be allowed to know... I thought it was fine.”

If Lee Hak-cheol had demanded my secrets, she would’ve refused. And if I’d demanded his, she’d have done the same.

Maybe Si-hyun thought that was enough.

I get it. The question “Do you love your mom or your dad more?” is always a hard one. And Si-hyun probably never imagined those two were secretly sharpening knives for each other behind the scenes.

“Mmhm, good. I was worried I might’ve misjudged you. But it turns out you were never a traitor from the start. Let’s settle on that.”

“...Excuse me?”

“You were never mine to begin with, right? So... are you going to betray me?”

I asked with a smirk. Si-hyun slowly lowered her head.

“...Yes.”

A sharp thrill of betrayal crawled down my spine. Now, at last, Si-hyun had truly become someone I could trust.

Perfect.

It feels like stealing someone’s lover. This is why managing your subordinates’ loyalty is so important.

“B-But... since when did you know— I mean, figure it out?”

It’s too late to try looking cool now, Si-hyun.

I shrugged.

“Probably from the beginning? But I was sure around the time we created the Alpha Fund—when you recommended your brother. It was like catching a rat by accident while walking backward.”

Letting your brother witness you getting sexually harassed at work? That’s not something most people would do. That’s when I was sure.

“So... that’s why you told Si-woo to change his name the other day?”

It was half a joke—but half serious.

“If you completely cut ties and even change your surname, I guess I could trust you.”

But thankfully, Lee Hak-cheol didn’t blatantly try to plant someone in my company. It was just a joke Si-hyun had made.

“Si-hyun, I’ve got one more thing to ask.”

—Tap.

Now totally submissive, Si-hyun replied with a stammer.

“Yes? Yes! Anything, Miss.”

“The Alpha Fund—Ha Yeong-il working there... you didn’t tell Chief Secretary Lee Hak-cheol, did you?”

“...No.”

Good.

The third premise checks out too.