I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Chaebol Family
Chapter 96: The Weight of the Law (8)

This party was specifically a charity party related to the Shoah Foundation.

You could say a charity party is a slightly sanctimonious concept, a kind of event meant to display moral virtue—basically, it's just an excuse to throw money around while pretending to do something nice.

Some people criticize it for feeling like a self-righteous display of morality... but charity is still charity. Honestly, from the perspective of the one receiving the money, they’re not in a position to complain just because the donor is trying to look good.

“...So, today’s party will be just me and Ha Yeong-il.”

Lee Si-hyun looked a bit disappointed.

“Well, it can’t be helped. If I go, the atmosphere will get kind of weird. And putting on a dress is a pain too...”

In Russia, Lee Si-hyun was already too well-known to just attend casually. While she was technically a respectable entrepreneur, from the outside she just looked like another mafia figure. It would definitely be weird for someone like that to show up to a charity party.

“I could probably go if I said I was the chauffeur... What do you think?”

“It’s fine. Now that you’re accompanying me to all these corporate acquisition meetings, you’ve been super busy. It’s a shame you won’t get to see me dressed up... but take some pictures and send them to me later.”

Seeing me smile while demanding photos made her unconsciously smile back.

“Sure, yeah. I’ll take lots of photos. I won’t be dressed that nicely but... still.”

This wasn’t just any event—it was a Holocaust memorial foundation’s charity event, so there was no way I could dress flashily. Most guests would be in understated attire.

“I didn’t want to say it, but... anything you wear will look attractive. Especially you, Miss Ha-yeon.”

“That’s true.”

“But it is a little unfair. I can’t go because I’m classified as a criminal, and yet some real con artists are attending the charity as if they’re saints.”

Lee Si-hyun muttered bitterly.

“What can you do. Bernard Madoff was originally a famous investor, and known for his philanthropy to many organizations.”

“I have no idea why someone running a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme was so obsessed with donating money. Jeez, these scammer bastards are unbelievable. Not that I’m in a position to say anything...”

I winced. The guilt pricked like a thorn, and I ended up muttering a half-hearted excuse.

“That’s exactly why no one suspected his fraud.”

– ‘Would someone who really ran a Ponzi scheme spend money so carelessly like that?’

That was it.

Of course, that’s also a classic technique.

The reason Ponzi schemes are so successful despite being so well-known is because of how they initially earn trust.

Think about it. If someone I barely knew came up to me and asked to borrow ten million dollars, I’d carefully investigate that person before making any decisions.

But what if it were Lee Si-hyun making that request?

Of course I’d give it to her. Because I trust her.

That’s why the method is so frighteningly similar to a con artist’s classic tactics. Trust may be vague and elusive, but once it’s established, it works with terrifying certainty.

...And this is where everything hinges.

The key is intent.

We’ve already seen an example with Lee Si-hyun, so let’s say she lost ten million dollars. I would forgive her—as long as she hadn’t intended to deceive me.

The people who put their money into Madoff’s fund are no different. Even if the fund gave them low returns or losses in the short term, they believed that in the long run, they’d profit.

But what if that foundation of trust... had been a lie from the beginning?

Then that trust becomes betrayal in its most cruel and deliberate form. Even if it came from a kind, respectable neighbor, the moment the illusion shatters, that neighbor becomes someone you wouldn’t mind seeing dead.

If I believed I was the one who had been fooled, it would feel all the more painful. Decades of friendship or trust—what were they even worth? If Lee Si-hyun had betrayed me for real, I might’ve demanded the kind of punishment that would’ve made it into ancient Chinese torture records.

Of course, I’ve done some similar things myself. But at least I never screwed up the opening move. I didn’t start off intending to scam anyone.

...The situation just wasn’t that favorable, that’s all.

Call it an excuse, but back then I wasn’t in my right mind. If someone like Si-hyun had been there to hold me back, maybe I wouldn’t have gone all the way to prison.

‘Ha, what’d I expect. It was all just smoke and mirrors.’

I laughed at myself.

Ah, monstrous. All the good memories might have faded, but that nightmare kept echoing in my head. Even though the main victims had asked for leniency in sentencing...

“...”

Still, that burden continued to weigh on me, even after crossing over into this new life.

.

.

.

Well, it’s an irrelevant story.

Isn’t it a bit much for the current me to carry the burden of the sins committed by some version of me in a past life whose name I don’t even know? Still, because of the continuity of the self, I guess I’m shouldering that heavy burden in their place.

It’s less the “weight of sin”... and more appropriate to call it the “weight of law.”

As I’ve already said, the sins of my past life were settled—but I never forgot the lesson. Just as Madoff wronged the past me, the past me became the moral counterexample to the present me.

Isn’t it a rather instructive story? Law, at its core, is not about punishing criminals—it’s about reforming them. Without the punishment I received back then, this Yoo Ha-yeon, so thoroughly imbued with a sense of morality, wouldn’t have been born.

I truly, sincerely love the “me” of this life.

The Yoo Ha-yeon with no blemishes.

***

Anyway, the charity event proceeded smoothly.

‘I put in so much effort. Obviously, I deserve this.’

As an East Asian, I’d encountered everyday racial discrimination in America. Naturally, those foolish enough to bring that kind of prejudice into a charity event like this wouldn’t even show up in the first place.

Of course, there might be people like Zionists who harbor prejudice against ethnicities outside of Jewish identity, but criminals and unsavory figures rarely linger near the main crowd long enough to get exposed.

Except for one person—Madoff, who had come here with the most impure motive of all.

“Oh my, the famous fund manager from Alpha Fund is here too. I didn’t think someone like you would attend a function like this. Quite the surprise.”

A Jewish man smiled as he said it—not to me, but to Ha Yeong-il. I could see wariness behind the man’s pleasant expression.

Reading between the lines: So your fund only exists to rip people off, and now you’re trying to look charitable?

From someone who understood the context, it sounded like a meaningless jab (though not technically false). Who was mocking who here?

“I’ve recently become interested in issues like this. During the LA riots, seeing the people left behind in neglected neighborhoods... it moved me more than I expected. Haha, wouldn’t most people feel that way?”

Ha Yeong-il responded smoothly. Even businessmen who’d made their names through ruthless tactics in their youth often turned to charity in their later years.

Ha Yeong-il was actually on /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ the more average side of that spectrum.

Knowing that, there wasn’t much Madoff could say in response. Too many eyes were watching for anyone to openly criticize someone else’s act of goodwill.

“Haha, well, I suppose that’s true. It’s always a good thing when more people learn the joy of giving.”

“...Yes. That’s true.”

Both sides carefully avoided getting too religious in their remarks. Almost everyone attending the event was Jewish, and the rest mostly Christian.

That was a notable aspect of this particular event.

“The Shoah Foundation must not be remembered as something solely for the Jewish people. We reject the simplification of any genocide, and we intend for all other genocides—aside from what is traditionally called the Holocaust—to be remembered by historical foundations like this one.

If we only remember the genocide against the Jews and forget those who suffered during other genocides like the Second World War, the mission of this foundation will eventually fade. I was once guilty of that mindset myself.

I am undeniably Jewish, and I do feel a special connection to the genocide that targeted Jews. But unless we overcome that instinct to view all suffering only through a Jewish lens, we cannot truly share this pain.

From a broader ethical perspective, it’s far more reasonable—and effective—to embrace the pain of all humanity as our collective memory. I hope this foundation can bring comfort to every person who has suffered through a genocide.”

–Clap clap clap.

The speech ended, and the sound of applause echoed.

I briefly wondered if even the massacres committed by extremist Zionists would be recorded as genocide... but decided not to think too deeply about it.

I was too busy to waste effort on thoughts like that anyway. And honestly, the very idea of expanding the Holocaust record to include not just Jews but also LGBTQ victims or long-term partner killings was already politically burdensome enough.

‘Tch. So even that sentimental speech turned into something stirring.’

Removing my coat and shrugging off the cold, I exhaled deeply and calmly.

“Um, excuse me, miss. Are you feeling unwell? You seem pale...”

“Oh, no, not at all. I was just a little nervous. Sorry if I startled you. You’re Mr. Madoff, right?”

I smiled brightly and offered Madoff a handshake.

Into his hand, I placed a weight the size of a pinhead...

And the thick, holy curtain of the sky came down at last.

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