A Genius Speaks with Money

Chapter 32

Seoul, a few days ago.

Min Ki-tae, the 1st Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, entered his office with a tired look after finishing his meeting schedule.

The moment he was about to take a sip of coffee, a secretary cautiously poked their head in with a knock, knock.

“Vice Minister, there is something delivered by quick service. They said you must see it personally.”

Min Ki-tae furrowed his eyebrows slightly.

It was a package he had never ordered.

He received the envelope from the secretary and quietly closed the door.

Vice Minister Min Ki-tae looked closely at the package in his hand.

It had a common appearance, but something was suspicious.

He guessed it would be nothing special, but strangely, his gut feeling was not good.He carefully opened the envelope.

Inside were a small USB and a note.

[File containing the voices of Park Se-dong and Min Ki-tae]

At that moment, Min Ki-tae'

s fingertips began to tremble.

He turned the note over, but nothing was written.

An ominous premonition climbed up his spine.

After taking a deep breath, Min Ki-tae plugged the USB into his laptop.

The file played automatically, and a familiar voice flowed out.

[Play voice file]

“…If Daehan misses this time, there is no opportunity.”

“Do not worry about that. I have someone I know on the PREZO side.”

“Hahaha. As expected, you have wide connections, Vice Minister. If you go home today, you will be able to see a painting worth appreciating.”

The voices flowing from the file were those of President Park Se-dong and Vice Minister Min Ki-tae.

Vice Minister Min Ki-tae'

s face stiffened in an instant.

If the contents of this conversation were revealed, he could not simply brush it off as cooperation or advice.

It was a conversation that contained the circumstances of diplomatic intervention in its entirety.

If it leaked to the outside, he was finished that very day.

The coffee cup was pushed to one side of the desk.

Min Ki-tae leaned his body deep into the chair and looked up at the ceiling.

After letting out a long breath, he slowly closed the laptop.

Harsh words burst out of his mouth.

Then, he rubbed his dry face repeatedly.

After deep consideration on how to hush this matter up, he reached one conclusion.

It would be enough if PREZO simply did not take Daehan'

s side in the first place.

If that happened, even if this matter were revealed, he could just deny it.

He immediately picked up his cell phone.

His fingertips were still trembling.

To survive, he had to move first.

***

Meanwhile, Choi Seo-jun was spending busy days without a moment to breathe after returning from France.

He was out of his mind dealing with pouring inquiries and media responses after the contract with PREZO.

On top of that, as follow-up work piled up, he received dozens of calls a day and moved back and forth to the conference room several times.

In the meantime, I, Lim Hyunjun, was faithfully engaging in school life as usual without any particular incidents.

When classes ended, I would stop by the library, and during breaks, I would laugh and chat with friends.

To anyone watching, I looked no different from any other ordinary high school student.

However, behind that quiet daily life, no one knew that I was preparing the next move faster than anyone else.

It was possible because no one knew that I was the actual representative of HJ Partners.

Furthermore, I, Lim Hyunjun, really enjoyed school life.

The ordinary daily life that I had never enjoyed in my past life felt very precious to me now, like a dream.

Small jokes shared while laughing with friends.

The sound of laughter echoing in the hallway during breaks.

And even the noisiness of lunchtime.

It was a scenery that was too far away for the past Jeong Taeshik.

A life where I always had to live crushed by the weight of reality.

In the days when enduring day by day was everything, I could not even dare to hope for this kind of ordinariness.

Is that why?

These peaceful and warm days were more valuable and precious than anything to me, Lim Hyunjun.

I hoped this peaceful daily life would continue for a long time, but that wish collapsed more vainly than I thought.

My cousin, Lim Hyun-woo, who had disappeared from school for a while after receiving a suspension, had returned.

With a neat school uniform and a face like a model student.

A way of speaking that seemed to show politeness everywhere.

However, I, Lim Hyunjun, knew him better than anyone.

The cold nature hidden behind that appearance and the gaze that looked down on others.

Lim Hyun-woo returned to school with a nonchalant face.

A strange tension soon began to spread among the students.

Those who were close to Hyun-woo welcomed his return, but several people, including Wooseok, avoided him.

I, Lim Hyunjun, felt it instinctively.

That ripples were slowly spreading over the quiet water.

As soon as Lim Hyun-woo returned, he naturally blended into the classroom as if nothing had happened.

He was polite in front of teachers and treated friends more cordially than before.

“Hey, were you bored because I wasn'

t here? Everyone is the same.”

Laughter was tinged in every word, but behind that expression lay a nuance that strangely made people feel uncomfortable.

He was not rude, but he made people feel bad.

It was because of his attitude of subtly trying to climb over people.

Lim Hyun-woo'

s gaze went straight toward me, Lim Hyunjun.

“It has been a while, Lim Hyunjun.”

It could have sounded like a common greeting, but a clear attempt to gain the upper hand was loaded within it.

A few students in the classroom watched while reading the atmosphere.

I, Lim Hyunjun, replied without avoiding his eyes.

“Yeah. I am glad you look healthy.”

“Do I look that way?”

In an instant, the air flowing in the classroom cooled strangely.

Since thorns could be felt in Hyun-woo'

s words, who wouldn'

t know that?

***

When the second semester of the second year began, the atmosphere of the student council president election slowly started to heat up within the school.

Traditionally, as it was the time when third-year students entered preparation for college entrance exams, the student council president was usually elected from among the second-year students.

Both teachers and students began to cautiously read the atmosphere regarding who would become the next student council president.

After much thought, I, Lim Hyunjun, recommended one person.

It was Jang Wooseok.

He was good at sports, and the same went for studying.

Above all, he had a personality that got along well with friends without discriminating.

Furthermore, he had the sincerity to carry out his own work silently.

It was based on the judgment that there was no one more suitable for student council president than him.

“I would like it if Wooseok did it.”

When I, Lim Hyunjun, said that, there were many children among the friends who nodded their heads.

“Yeah, if it'

s Wooseok, it'

s fine. A total leader style.”

“He listens to the kids'

opinions well, so he'

s perfect.”

However, there was a person who broke that atmosphere.

Lim Hyun-woo recommended a somewhat unexpected person.

“I think Nam Ha-rin is better.”

The moment he said those words, the classroom became quiet.

Nam Ha-rin was quiet and spoke little, but she was the owner of noticeable beauty.

And above all, she was also the daughter of Vice Chairman Nam Jae-heon of Daehan Group.

Lim Hyun-woo spoke nonchalantly.

“Ha-rin is also good at everything. If it'

s a student council president, isn'

t a person who is well-equipped in all aspects important?”

At those words, some people nodded their heads.

In fact, if one became the student council president, there were many things to spend money on.

Jang Wooseok would have a harder time in that aspect compared to Nam Ha-rin.

I, Lim Hyunjun, quietly looked at Lim Hyun-woo.

On the surface, he was smiling while saying he recommended her, but a clear calculation was laid within that.

It was a trick to check Jang Wooseok while simultaneously trying to link himself and Nam Ha-rin.

As the student council president election approached, a calm tension like a small wave began to spread within the school.

And in the center of it, two names were mentioned.

Jang Wooseok and Nam Ha-rin.

After Lim Hyun-woo recommended Nam Ha-rin, she began to move quietly.

On the day the official candidate registration was posted on the school bulletin board.

Nam Ha-rin'

s name was also there.

In an instant, the school atmosphere began to split into two.

While I, Lim Hyunjun, was sitting quietly and looking at a textbook, I also carefully read the surroundings.

“I'

m going to vote for Ha-rin. I think the school image will get better that way.”

“Wooseok is also good, though. I think Ha-rin is better.”

Lim Hyun-woo, who was watching that conversation from behind, wore a satisfied smile with his arms crossed.

***

Nam Ha-rin originally had never thought about something like being the student council president.

She did not have a personality that stepped forward, and standing on a stage always made her uncomfortable.

It was comfortable to just live quietly.

However, there was a shadow that always followed behind the name Nam Ha-rin.

The daughter of Vice Chairman Nam Jae-heon of Daehan Group.

The younger sister of the smart brother Nam Ha-jun.

Her brother was a prominent existence to the point that interview requests came in from the media as he entered a prestigious university at the top of his class.

Compared to that, no matter how sincerely Ha-rin lived, she was always treated as just an average daughter in the family.

Occasionally, there were times when her father wordlessly let out a sigh or subtly compared her with her brother.

Those kinds of words used to leave clear scars in Ha-rin'

s heart.

Maybe that was why.

When Lim Hyun-woo recommended her as the student council president, she tried to just laugh it off at first.

However, during the time she tossed and turned for a few nights while agonizing, Ha-rin thought.

If she became the student council president, her parents might look at her a little differently.

So, it was a heart that wanted to try something for the first time, not because someone made her do it.

The moment she quietly received the candidate registration form and wrote her name, her fingertips trembled slightly.

She hid that trembling and quietly waited for the day her name would be hung on the school bulletin board.

Dinner time.

Nam Ha-rin hesitated for a moment while holding her spoon.

The agony of whether to open her mouth or not, which she repeated countless times, rose up to the end of her throat.

A small voice flowed out of her mouth.

“Excuse me….”

Nam Jae-heon slowly lifted his gaze.

Her mother, Choi Yoon-seo, also looked at Ha-rin.

“Ha-rin, what is it?”

“I am thinking of running for the student council president election at school this time.”

In an instant, the air on the dining table became quiet as if it had stopped.

Even the sound of putting down chopsticks was heard exceptionally loudly.

Nam Jae-heon raised his eyebrows slightly at the unexpected words.

“Student council president?”

“Yes.”

Ha-rin'

s head went lower and lower.

“They said they are picking from among the second-year students this time. Recommendations came in, and I also wanted to try it once.”

A short silence flowed, and an unexpected reaction followed.

Nam Jae-heon blurted out indifferently.

However, joy was strangely mixed in those words.

“You thought well.”

Choi Yoon-seo also nodded her head with a smile.

“Oh my, Ha-rin. Is there anything Mom can help you with?”

“How about you go to the school once yourself?”

“Shall I? No. I should do that for Ha-rin.”

While listening to what her parents were saying, Ha-rin felt her heart thump and sink for some reason.

It was the first time.

To say she would do something.

And for her parents to show interest in her.

She realized for the first time that this was exactly what it felt like to be receiving expectations.

However, at the same time, a strange pressure followed.

'

What if I fail?'

Ha-rin quietly took a sip of water.

She felt her fingertips getting colder.

The moment she felt her parents'

gaze for the first time, she could not back down now.

Her cell phone rang.

It was Lim Hyun-woo.

It was him who recommended her for student council president, and now he actively appealed that he would help her.

In her heart, Ha-rin felt reluctant about Hyun-woo for some reason.

Right now, the anxiety that she had to hold onto anyone'

s hand was greater.

The next day, Hyun-woo called Nam Ha-rin separately and gave her a speech draft.

After that day, Ha-rin began to move as Lim Hyun-woo told her.

As her anxiety grew, she began to depend on Hyun-woo.