I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Chaebol Family-Chapter 90: The Weight of the Law (2)

There was one thing I was curious about regarding Lee Si-hyun.

Did she perhaps hold a grudge against me? Was there maybe something she wanted to say to Miss Yoo Ha-yeon, who pursued her own desires while straddling the line between law and morality?

I knew that her business trip to Russia was partly for my sake. She had gone far away because staying in the country might’ve caused trouble in the political clash between her two benefactors.

At the same time, I also knew that Lee Si-hyun was someone with both ambition and deep affection. When your body and heart are across distant lands, it’s natural for things to drift. There’s always a chance she might end up prioritizing the subordinates she cared for all this time over her current mistress.

But I didn’t say anything.

Because I trusted her.

***

Screech—

“...What are you doing?”

Squish squish.

I was enjoying Si-hyun’s soft skin in the bath for the first time in a while, but turned my head slightly when a guest arrived.

“Oh, Ba-da, you came? Come in.”

Covering her front with a towel, Ba-da approached the bath hesitantly.

“Who brings a towel into the bath? Here, take this off...”

When I snatched away her towel, Ba-da covered certain parts of herself with both hands and blushed.

“...Pervert.”

Mmm. Looks like there’s a ridiculous misunderstanding going on here.

I glanced up and down at Ba-da’s body and reassured her with a smile.

“Hey, don’t worry so much. You’re way uglier than me.”

“...What?”

Lee Si-hyun sighed and held her forehead.

“...Miss, that’s a bit much, isn’t it?”

“It’s the truth, isn’t it?”

The reason I’d filled my entire inner circle with women was because men couldn’t handle my stunning beauty. Maybe that was different in the past, but not anymore.

If I had to choose between a man or a woman, I’d go with someone at least somewhat similar to me...

But that’s like saying we’re the same just because we both have eyes, a nose, mouth, and ears. Even if Cha Ba-da had top 1% looks, the fact remained unchanged.

Probably.

“That’s the truth?! Hey! Yoo Ha-yeon! You get out too. How dare you humiliate someone like that!”

I shamelessly smirked and got out of the bath just as she said.

Splash—

“Here, enjoy the view. How is it?”

Cha Ba-da bit her lips and shook her head, but still snuck glances at my body. Hmph, just as expected.

“...You really are a crazy pervert. Yoo Ha-yeon, you don’t do this in front of guys too, do you?”

“Sadly, I’m still at an age where I have to care about my public image, so I haven’t tried that yet. Though I am curious.”

“So you mean you will someday?”

“C’mon, obviously I’m joking. A body that’s half-revealed is always more attractive than one fully naked. I’m a slight exception, but still, once you show it off recklessly, it loses value.”

But despite my logical answer, Miss Ba-da continued to look at me with disgust.

Seriously now, instead of being thankful for how close I was treating her, she gives me that insolent glare?

That’s a little unfair.

***

Law is the minimum standard of morality.

That’s something people say.

“So Yoo Ha-yeon, who constantly harasses her friends, has neither law nor morals, huh.”

So then... what should you do if those two—law and morality—come into conflict?

For example, sometimes Miss Yoo Ha-yeon ends up being unfairly accused of public indecency or excessive exposure by Miss Boston Harbor. That’s illegal, yes, but in my standards, not immoral at all.

“...Isn’t that clearly your fault though, Miss?”

Let me just clear up the growing misunderstandings about me—these days, even a woman wearing just a tank top could be summoned to summary court for excessive exposure. Even snide-talking Lee Si-hyun could be seen as a flasher depending on who's looking.

“Still, no one beats Miss Ha-yeon, right?”

I frowned.

“Si-hyun, don’t say that. Look at the core issue, the core.”

I spread out the documents with a rustle and tapped the center.

A reply letter from the NRA—National Rifle Association—was sitting on my desk. It was sent unofficially, so it didn’t have any seals or anything, but it was definitely from them.

“...Honestly, I’m not thrilled. Feels blatantly like political exploitation.”

Lee Si-hyun, who had grown to love firearms more than anyone, began a round of self-loathing, and I decided to cheer her up by explaining my grand plan.

“Ahem, so the key point is... we’re going to make money and gain political influence with this! Super simple, right?”

Clap.

The problem when law and morality clash is simple.

The stronger side wins. To put it precisely: whoever is the strongest at the time determines which to prioritize—law or morality.

...To be even more honest, even if something violates both law and morals, if you are strong enough, you can escape the net of law.

Even if it feels unfair, there’s nothing that can be done.

Law is like a wide and loosely-woven net. It’s like the Heavenly Net of myth. And just as that net is often breached, the law also struggles to catch big fish.

Still, even the Martial Alliance had a reason for activating the Heavenly Net—because law continues to exert invisible pressure on everyone.

That pressure comes from a powerful force called justification.

And right now, that justification clearly belonged to us. I smiled and explained the current situation to Ba-da.

“See? We’ve ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) already pulled one faction to our side. Someone’s finally speaking out to defend the Korean-American community, which had no one on their side. Even if it’s politically motivated... this is genuine support.”

Though not as directly helpful as Lee Si-hyun or Ha Yeong-il, Cha Ba-da, who was fairly smart, furrowed her brow and nodded.

“That’s true. This much alone is enough to clear some of our debt to Koreatown. But... Yoo Ha-yeon, won’t people call you a flip-flopper for this? Are you okay with that?”

“Mm-hmm, that’s a fair point too. Politics has this strange edge to it—when you try to appeal to two opposing sides at once, the outcome is always one of two things.”

You either become a legendary politician like FDR... or you get rejected by both sides.

Usually, it’s the latter.

“Well... I do think I’m lovable enough for everyone, though.”

“But this doesn’t seem like a simple two-way battle anymore. It’s not just shrimp caught between whales, is it?”

“That’s true too.”

I agreed without hesitation.

In this complex American society, there aren’t just two factions. If there were, the same party would always win the presidency.

The division between Republicans and Democrats is only on the surface—there are countless people in between. Right now, the Republican Party is so fragmented, it’s practically a three-party system.

That means, if you're a skilled politician, you can present a logic that convinces not everyone, but at least most people. Because that’s how you win elections.

“Originally, Koreans wouldn’t even have been included in that ‘most.’ Too small in number.”

But now, thanks to my maneuvering, a major Republican donor was on our side.

It’s now my difficult task to satisfy the Korean victims of the riots, the Black community that started the riots, and even the mainstream white population that feels slightly guilty but insists it’s not their fault.

“So, what are you planning to do?”

Lee Si-hyun asked with eyes full of questions. I smiled gently and answered.

“Si-hyun, I may be an amazing person, but... I’m not a superhuman who can do everything alone. And I’m not an idiot who ignores experts better than me.”

I knew. This was beyond my capacity.

To settle this unsavory situation, reduce racial tension without infringing on state autonomy (some southern states still think racism is a state right), gather hundreds of millions of dollars for compensation, and at the same time, reassure the white mainstream that I hadn’t betrayed them...

Even a seasoned politician would struggle.

And yet...

The President of the United States was a seasoned politician. And the fact that it would be difficult for him meant it was something he could do.

Especially with reelection looming.

Click—

[...Rooftop Koreans are not more rioters, but a prime example of righteous self-defense. Though the LAPD failed to protect them, they took up arms and protected themselves, their neighbors, and even public institutions.]

[When government authority fails to protect its citizens, the people have the freedom to take on that role. Therefore, under the Second Amendment, citizens have the right to form militias and defend themselves!]

[We must reflect deeply on the tragedy that occurred within the African-American community, and the United States will appropriately reward the sheriffs who upheld their friendship with California during these four days of unrest.]

.

.

.

In today’s government statement, there were arrogant—but precisely because of that, untouchable—words, from the perspective of the mainstream white population.

“...Huh, to think that great man would praise Koreans like this. You really see all sorts of things in life.”

The Koreatown village chief who had come to represent the Korean-American community blinked and stared silently at the television.

On the screen was the President of the world’s only superpower.