I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Chaebol Family
Chapter 98: Blackjack (2)

Late 1992.

I came back from a charity event for the Shoah Foundation and handed over my coat to Si-hyun.

“Yeah, don’t pout... You know you’re the only one I’d make my secretary, right? You do know the secretary position is still official?”

She had only just been promoted to secretary and then rushed off to Russia. Of course she was all over the place, having barely started married life.

That said, I couldn’t just promote any of the recent hires to secretary either...

“Hm, that’s a nice line. Anyway, your current secretary... wasn’t she the girl you’ve been dragging around lately? I remember she was the daughter of some director... what was her name?”

“Seo Ji-yeon? Nah, she’s still too young. Unlike our Si-hyun here, who’s over thirty, she’s just some kid not even halfway through her twenties.”

“...That’s harsh.”

Lee Si-hyun gave a tearful smile.

“Wow, acting like you’re a cold-blooded Russian red mafia boss doesn’t suit you at all.”

Unlike me, who now wore traditional hanbok more often, Si-hyun actually wore masculine formal suits more regularly. Yet even then, with her hair pulled into a ponytail and her tight blouse tucked into sharply cut slacks, she radiated femininity—an unbalanced contrast that... worked well.

Honestly, she looked really good.

“People around me practically use my name as a curse word. You should’ve seen the state of women’s rights in Russia, young lady...”

For someone born in the '60s to talk like that, Russia must really be something. If I hadn’t set up the emergency slush fund...

Even with all her money, a woman like Si-hyun wouldn’t have survived in that environment.

“Still, I’m glad you seem to have adjusted well. Truly.”

She bit her lip at the end, but the bitterness was clearly visible on her face.

“Yeah, that’s how it is. Gather women, organize them, and get paid by zhenih (жених). It’s not glamorous, but there’s pride in it.”

“...Zhenih? A groom?”

She smiled awkwardly as she answered, startled.

“...It means lesbian. It’s mafia slang. Apparently, Russian guys call Catholic schools churches the same way. No idea what the commonality is.”

Ah. She really did get popular with women, huh.

“Hm, anyway, I’ve had to endure a lot.”

“No, miss. You had it much harder today. But more than that... lately I’ve been feeling like I’ve gotten too big, don’t you think?”

“What? Your chest?”

Lee Si-hyun’s face flushed red, and she gave me a light punch.

“W-Why do you keep saying stuff like that? Ah, seriously. Even the thick-headed guys in the next gang over wouldn’t say that to me now...”

“You’ve filled out in height already, so if something’s growing, it’s only in that area. Besides, you’re the type that doesn’t gain fat anywhere else.”

“If you’re going to cut me down for what’s just strict body management, then that’s mean. Anyway, don’t you think I’ve gotten a lot bigger?”

–Clack.

Then, with a teasing grin, Si-hyun pressed me up against the wall. She pulled my collar with one hand as she did so.

“Don’t you think I’ve got enough strength now to pin you down properly, miss?”

The expression on her face, smiling mischievously, looked just like a cartoon villain.

“...”

As I stared her down in silence, she flinched and let go.

“Geez, can’t even joke anymore... So anyway, how did things go with the job?”

Since she hadn’t been at the party, she had no idea what had happened, and now she was looking at me with this amused curiosity, like someone watching a mildly interesting TV show.

That kind of question—classic Si-hyun.

“You know what blackjack is, right?”

“Ha, of course. I know it well. Sometimes I deal instead of roulette. You can’t just let kids run wild at night, so I try to distract them with more wholesome games...”

...That’s just regular roulette, isn’t it? You’re just slapping a “Russian style” label on it, huh?

“Exactly. Until you’re 21, it’s fine to indulge however you want... but go beyond that, and boom—you're busted.”

In technical terms, they call that a burst.

She understood the metaphor instantly.

“So sharp. As expected of our young miss! You never disappoint.”

–Clap clap.

A round of firm applause rang out.

“Well, even blackjack’s a pretty fair game, right? And Madoff—there’s still plenty of chances with him.”

If it’s more than 300 million dollars, you have the right to audit Madoff’s fund...

It sounded simple on paper, but in reality, things didn’t work out that cleanly.

“Of course. Gathering 300 million dollars takes time... If you hide the money in some laundering channel, it trickles in slowly like it’s clogged.”

That part was the real catch. Without a clear deadline, the cash flow into the fund would be slow and irregular.

Madoff probably wouldn’t reach the 300 million mark until the end of 1993 at the earliest. So naturally, he’d schedule things to align with that.

He also couldn’t account for big events like the release of Schindler’s List in the meantime.

“If we’re talking deadlines... Do we give them a week? Or two weeks? Honestly, everyone knows it doesn’t really matter. We just need to make it look like it does.”

If I had set the threshold not at 300 million but at 200 million, maybe it would’ve been even harder to slip the funds in quietly.

“I was a goody-goody student back in school, so I don’t really know, but apparently other people say that. Wow, but miss, you bought a lot, huh?”

–Rustle.

Si-hyun responded casually while sorting through the items I had brought back from the charity event. Spielberg’s film reels, art pieces, jewelry...

“It was a charity party. I’m kind of a collector, right? I figured I was doing good, so I # Nоvеlight # bought a lot at the auction.”

Charity parties often work like this.

Participants donate goods, which other attendees buy through auction, and the proceeds are donated. Whoever came up with it first, it’s still a sleek and efficient system.

“How much did you spend?”

“Not counting the little trinkets here—if we include the rights I gained and the large art pieces... probably around ten million dollars?”

“...Ten billion won? Ha, Madoff’s face must’ve twisted hard.”

It was something that satisfied my desires, my ambitions, and my plans all at once.

—‘100,000 dollars!’

—‘Oh? Do I hear 200,000? Anyone for 200,000 dollars...?’

—‘Unbelievable, 1 million dollars...! Yes! Sold for 1 million dollars!’

Bang.

This was the thrill of an auction.

Fired up by competition, I managed to raise nearly 10 million dollars from that auction alone. One-third of the target amount secured in a flash—Madoff’s face had gone stiff.

“You’re having strange thoughts again... Since we’re on the topic, should we play blackjack with the Trump cards over here?”

“That’s the 100th anniversary commemorative deck, it’s pretty expensive... but sure, why not.”

–Clack.

Si-hyun pulled two joker cards from the deck and tucked them into my cleavage. It was only possible because I hadn’t changed out of the dress I’d worn to the party.

“All right, let’s take the jokers out and start.”

“Mmh, impressive. A refined young lady pulling stunts like this—how crude.”

“Would you prefer I act like a ‘young lady’ all the time?”

That suspicious look that said she’d just taken a hit didn’t sit right with me... but fine. It wasn’t a bad expression either.

Anyway, I won in the end, so that’s what matters.

***

And so—June 1993.

Now in my second year at Myeongsil Middle School, I was savoring the peak of academic life while grinning in satisfaction over Schindler’s List being slotted into distribution exactly as planned.

[“God of Prosperity” Spielberg’s Schindler’s List to open simultaneously in Korea... Expected 8 million tickets in Seoul alone.]

–Rustle.

“Nice, that’s a jackpot. Isn’t that about the same as Jurassic Park’s success in Korea?”

“...Yes, exactly as you predicted, miss.”

It wasn’t the first time this had happened, so Ha Yeong-il simply nodded once and got back to work.

Still, I could tell from his reaction—he was impressed.

“How’s BBB doing?”

“Yes, Madoff’s been in a bit of a rush, so he’s shifting a lot of funds that way. What should we do?”

“Well, do it ‘by the book.’ Oh, of course we’ll take what we’re owed. But everything else—transparent and fair... you get it, right?”

That’s why it’s good to have at least one major bank under your control. Whether you manage them aggressively through legal action or subtly through passive influence, the effect you can exert is tremendous.

Just because we don’t bow to power or bribery, and instead actively go after financial crime—doesn’t that make us corrupt? This has absolutely nothing to do with corruption.

.

.

.

A few days later.

“Three hundred million dollars... Wow, you actually raised it. Then we need to form an audit team by the book... Do we have a qualified person?”

One of the foundation’s directors rubbed his chin. Since the terms had been met quicker than expected, they were short on external personnel originally in charge of accounting.

“I’ll serve as the acting auditor for now.”

Ha Yeong-il smiled slightly and raised his hand. The other directors didn’t know much about Alpha Fund’s ties to Madoff’s fund, but they agreed without question.

“Of course. If it’s Mr. Ha, there won’t be any issues.”

“Huh, it does feel like anti-American sentiment is rising lately. If someone with shady ties takes the job, and they mess with the books, the press could have a field day. Those damn media jackals love dragging our foundation into every scandal, so please, be thorough.”

Just as I trusted Lee Si-hyun and Ha Yeong-il, the directors clearly trusted Madoff. One of the directors began flipping through the documents and muttered:

“Hmm, for now, let’s talk to the legal firm handling Madoff’s fund. Let’s see... Hmm. Freeling & Horovitz? That name sounds familiar.”

I wanted to say something, but since I had no speaking rights at the table, I stayed silent. Meanwhile, the director who seemed to know what this was about clicked his tongue and added:

“Oh, right, apparently they switched firms a while ago. Still, for a fund this large, outsourcing it to a tiny firm does seem suspicious.”

Anyone in the know would immediately raise an eyebrow. But the directors who didn’t notice a thing just laughed and praised his attention to detail.

“Well, it’s about managing a massive amount of money. As expected, Barnard’s being thorough.”

“Andersen, wasn’t that one of the Big Five accounting firms? No need to even send an audit team. Hahaha, I’d be useless going there myself.”

–Clink.

At the mention of a familiar name, I dropped my glass without realizing it.

‘Arthur Andersen?’

This... is starting to escalate.

As expected of Madoff, the master fraudster of high finance, he managed to stage a bold counterattack even under such pressure.

Once an auditor shows up and flips through the accounting books, everything could blow up—so he threw in a high-stakes move.

So what if he brought in a prestigious accounting firm...? It was a solid move. But still, among the five cards in his hand, he drew not the Ace of Spades—but a Joker.

‘All right, let’s see who wins this game.’

He drew a Joker? Then there's no need for a mere brat to try and block the king's advance.