RE: Player again

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[Chapter 089] [The Duty of That Position (2)]

"Hasn't the time come for the Fairy to choose a man to spend her life with... That's what I think."

"I..."

Around the time 2nd generation Fairy Ha Baek-ryeon had just become an adult.

Until then, marriage proposals from political and business circles that had been postponed because she was young were reaching a point where they could no longer be delayed.

"Fairy. Think of South Korea. If you care about the citizens, you must make a marriage alliance for national stability. Do you want to end up like the evil woman Im Ga-eul who was dethroned and is wandering around the country confined to a pigsty?"

"...Minister Seon U-hwaryeong. I believe I told you before not to speak carelessly about her?"

"...Oh my, I misspoke. This old man's memory isn't good... I apologize, Fairy."

The Minister of the Mana Management Organization at the time and leader of the 3rd generation Twelve Seats essentially looked down on Ha Baek-ryeon who was younger than himself.

And he was very closely intertwined with the interests of political and business circles.

To the point of frequently recommending marriage proposals coming in from political and business circles to her.

"Perhaps there's no man to your liking? Or are there too many men you like, making it difficult to choose?"

"...You're going too far."

"As you know, Fairy, in a world that has been destroyed once, the law that a man must take only one woman as his spouse no longer exists.

Only to have more offspring. Because it was tacitly accepted by society, men no longer face social backlash for taking as many concubines as they want.

But it's not just men who can have multiple partners. Women too can have multiple partners if they meet the conditions.

Fairy, have you heard about the inhumane experiment China committed on Hang-ah's parents? You may have heard the story of Juliet Myron, the in Italy.

If it's the Fairy who can give birth to capable offspring, the citizens of South Korea won't object.

They might even dance naked in the middle of Gwanghwamun Square saying the era of gender equality has come."

"I believe I said I was fine? That I have no intention of making a marriage alliance yet."

"...How strange. At that age you should be interested... Ah, perhaps the Fairy is not confident about spending nights with a partner?" "...Minister Seon U-hwaryeong."

"Since men can take as many concubines as they want... There are many cases where their eyes turn to other women if they fail on the first night." "...Minister."

"But you don't need to worry. The chairman of Dangun Group, Hong Jin-woo, who proposed engagement this time will kindly teach you─"

He couldn't stand it anymore.

who had entered the balcony aiming for when her work ended suddenly parted the curtains and went out to the study.

hid her behind his back and rebuked the old man who couldn't give up women even past seventy.

"─As long as I am this child's guardian, there will never be a case of accepting such proposals."

☆

"...When it comes to sweets, it's definitely Luminous."

"It seems they're saying Luminous has an advantage in the cultural industry, although they went through a slump after changing from Dawn to Luminous." "What about YH?" "Hmm... I'm not sure, but it seems YH is also keeping Luminous in check. I saw them at the last gathering, and they didn't seem to be on good terms."

Luminous Sweet Seongbuk-dong branch.

The two tasted ice cream inside the store where air conditioning was blowing.

The summer limited edition ice cream delivered a taste beyond imagination, just like when they had salivated looking at the photo.

And how about the visuals?

Ha-yang even took photos from various angles before tasting the ice cream.

Luminous's influence seems to have gotten stronger than before the regression.

Eun-ha thought about Luminous Group while talking with Ha-yang.

Lee Byung-in, who was the chairman of Dawn Group before the regression, failed in every business he touched.

As a result, Dawn Group fell behind YH Group which overlapped in business areas.

But in this life, Lee Byung-in was executed, and the situation changed drastically when Lee Jung-in became chairman.

Lee Jung-in, chairman of Luminous Group, sold off several businesses including the hotel business and focused investment on the cultural industry.

As a result, Luminous Group was currently in a situation of reducing its size and increasing density.

"Oh right, did you hear about that?" "That? What?"

Eun-ha suddenly came to his senses.

Eun-ha and Ha-yang were classified as VIPs and had seats inside where people's feet couldn't reach.

The luxurious wallpaper and interior made them feel like they were being treated like royalty.

This was Luminous Group's strategy of managing customer segments separately.

"Jin Se-na, remember her?" "...Jin Se-na? Oh, I know."

A name that suddenly popped up out of nowhere.

It wasn't an unfamiliar name.

Since her name was so similar to Seo-na's, it remained in his memory even if he didn't want to remember.

However, Eun-ha knew that Jin Se-na had been behaving quietly at school after being embarrassed at the 1st year sports day.

She didn't enter the academy...

She must have entered some middle school...

What could be the reason Jin Se-na's name came up?

Eun-ha who tilted his head waited for Jung Ha-yang's answer.

"She got engaged recently."

"...Engaged? With whom?"

Jin Se-na getting engaged.

It was an absurd and unheard of story.

But it wasn't such a rare occurrence.

Engagement, which had no legal binding force, was a tool commonly used strategically by the powerful in this world.

Even if Jin Se-na was 14 years old, people involved in political and business circles often made engagements based on interests at an even younger age.

The problem was who on earth Jin Se-na got engaged to.

Ha-yang wouldn't have brought up the topic with such interest about someone she wasn't close to.

"Well... they say it's Hong Jin-woo oppa." "...What?"

Jung Ha-yang speaking quietly while looking around.

Eun-ha reflexively questioned after hearing that.

An unexpected name had popped up.

He couldn't have imagined that Jin Se-na, heir to KK Pharmaceuticals, and Hong Jin-woo, Dangun Group's direct descendant, would get engaged.

Was there a combination of Dangun Group and KK Group before the regression too?

...No, there wasn't.

In the first place, KK Pharmaceuticals was absorbed by Alice Group...

Eun-ha searched his memories.

Wondering if there had been a similar incident in his previous life.

No memories came to mind.

Before his regression, KK Pharmaceuticals was nothing but food for Jung Seok-hoon who would become Alice Group's 2nd generation chairman.

Moreover, Hong Jin-woo had no shortage of women he kept around, and he had a separate legal wife too.

"Didn't Hong Jin-woo have a fiancée?" "Yeah, he did. I think he was engaged to a child of some newspaper company..."

Ha-yang furrowed her brow and replied as if unsure to his question.

But Eun-ha knew well what kind of engagement she was talking about.

In his previous life, Hong Jin-woo also took the direct descendant of Bright Future Newspaper, one of Korea's top 10 central comprehensive daily newspapers, as his legal wife.

There was no way Dangun Group would have recognized Jin Se-na of KK Pharmaceuticals, who couldn't be of help, as a fiancée.

So Eun-ha opened his mouth hearing the next story.

"Well... they say she's entering as Hong Jin-woo oppa's third fiancée. So it seems the engagement ceremony was held quietly between the two groups." "...No, why?" "I know right..."

As far as Eun-ha remembered, Jin Se-na had strong pride.

There was no way she would have been satisfied with the position of Hong Jin-woo's second concubine.

Even if it was KK Pharmaceuticals, they wouldn't have made a choice that hurt their pride.

So he had doubts.

With what intention and for what purpose that engagement was made.

What's the scheme here.

He couldn't understand.

Should it be considered an alliance between KK Group and Dangun Group?

Even so, the two people who got engaged didn't match each other's level.

Jin Se-na who had almost no influence in KK Group and Hong Jin-woo who already had a fiancée.

The relationship between the two was one that wouldn't be strange if it ended at any time.

"Ha-yang, can you look into that in detail?"

"Hmm... I'll try."

For now, Eun-ha decided to ask Han Seo-yeon or Han Seo-hyun while asking Ha-yang.

Especially Han Seo-yeon would be good at this kind of field.

She likes rumors after all.

Or I could ask Lee Kang-hyuk...

In any case, it shouldn't be information he couldn't obtain.

If he took his time carefully, the day would come when he would eventually find out.

Thinking that, he decided to finish tasting the ice cream.

Just then, he heard the sound of someone walking to the VIP room.

"...This is a place I often come to these days. I heard the Sweet released as a summer limited edition is delicious, so I made a reservation to eat it with you..."

A young man with his bangs swept up revealing his forehead, entering while giving a lengthy explanation.

Although different from the information Eun-ha remembered, there was something about the man that reminded him of YH Group's 2nd generation chairman's eldest son.

His name was definitely Choi Ye-jang, wasn't it?

The young man seemed to know Ha-yang.

Ha-yang recognized him too and gave a light eye greeting.

And─

"..." "Huh?"

The person who entered escorted by the young man was also a familiar face.

Too familiar.

─Han Seo-hyun?

Han Seo-hyun who froze upon making eye contact was right in front of him.

☆

Previously, Han Seo-yeon had mentioned Han Seo-hyun who wasn't present.

She said she wasn't here now because she was performing her duties as a direct descendant.

At that time, Eun-ha vaguely guessed.

Perhaps Han Seo-hyun had a fiancé.

"Are you Eun-ha? There were widespread rumors that Sirius Group discovered someone with surprising skills this year... I heard you trampled the kids at the academy closing party too."

"..."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Choi Ye-jang of YH Group. Let's get along well."

That question was resolved here.

Eun-ha looked up at Choi Ye-jang, YH Group's direct descendant, who was sticking close to Han Seo-hyun.

"...Yes, nice to meet you."

Eun-ha who had been staring intently at Choi Ye-jang for a while shook the hand he extended.

Choi Ye-jang mentioned with a kind smile that he looked forward to getting along well in the future.

He didn't not know the reason.

"I hear you're Seo-hyun's exclusive? Then if Seo-hyun comes to YH Group, you'll come along too, right?"

"That won't happen. Sirius won't let Eun-ha go."

"Why, couldn't you ask, Seo-hyun?"

"What's not possible is not possible."

Meanwhile, Seo-hyun who had been unable to speak upon seeing Eun-ha came to her senses and opened her mouth.

Choi Ye-jang flirted with her but she firmly shook her head.

...The kid's eyes are dead.

Eun-ha closely observed Han Seo-hyun calling Choi Ye-jang oppa.

She had the same face as the day they first met.

A face that seemed to have seen through the world.

Her pupils that couldn't be known what they were reflecting were hazy like pollock eyes sold at the market.

Perhaps even more so.

"..."

The more Eun-ha looked at her, the more he felt like he was sinking lower and lower.

As if falling into an endless abyss.

He didn't like that face.

Although he didn't like it, it couldn't be helped.

He had to accept it.

He had to pretend not to know.

Because this was originally what the world they lived in was like.

He was just in a position to receive her protection, and she was in a position to receive his protection.

They were never equal relationships from the beginning.

The relationship between her and him was a vertical relationship bound by interests.

It just looked equal.

"But you two, is it okay for you to be here at this time? Doesn't the academy say anything?"

"Actually, we came out on an outing permit. Ye-jang oppa, you know this is a secret, right? You can't tell anyone else."

"Well, it doesn't seem like there would be many occasions to build up a debt with you like this, Ha-yang..."

"Oppa. Don't joke around."

"How could I do anything when Seo-hyun adores you so much."

Han Seo-hyun frowned.

Regardless, Choi Ye-jang shrugged his shoulders and continued chatting familiarly with Ha-yang.

Then he glanced at Eun-ha.

"...Then did you two come out on a date? Same as us? We skipped class and came out too..."

"...Oppa."

"Huh? What is it, Seo-hyun?"

Han Seo-hyun had always been someone chased by schedules.

So Eun-ha was inwardly surprised to hear that she skipped class and came out to play with Choi Ye-jang.

Of course, it made sense.

It was an engagement between Sirius Group's direct descendant and YH Group's direct descendant.

If the two were to be joined, the two groups would be able to create synergy effects for each other.

It was a marriage that Han Seo-hyun had to make happen even if she had to take losses, even if she had to entrust her life to him.

That was the duty of a direct descendant, her duty.

"Are we going to keep standing here?" "Ah, right. Sorry. I'll go down and order, so wait at the table first?" "...No, let's go together."

"Okay then."

Choi Ye-jang smiled contentedly.

As if Han Seo-hyun who was 1 year younger than him was cute.

On the contrary, she who placed her hand on the hand he extended showed no emotion.

She just let it flow.

Ha-yang's gaze in this place too.

And Eun-ha's gaze too.

"Kids, have a good time then!"

Choi Ye-jang greeted Eun-ha and Ha-yang with a kind smile.

Ha-yang gently waved her hand in place of Eun-ha who didn't answer.

Soon Choi Ye-jang and Han Seo-hyun went downstairs.

"...Seo-hyun must have it hard too."

Eun-ha who crunched on a cone quietly began speaking.

Ha-yang just smiled awkwardly.

It was natural.

Jung Ha-yang and Han Seo-hyun's circumstances weren't that different either.

Jung Ha-yang was also a direct descendant.

"Ha-yang, aren't you also getting stories from people around you to make an engagement with someone?" "...A lot are coming in. They've been coming in frequently since this year..."

The duties befitting that position given to people living in political and business circles were similar.

If there was a decisive difference between Jung Ha-yang and Han Seo-hyun─

"─But grandfather, dad, and mom told me something."

"What did they say?"

"Alice Group's policy values my happiness more than profits."

"...Is that so?"

Then that's fortunate.

Eun-ha felt relieved seeing Ha-yang smiling brightly.

He didn't want to see the same appearance as Ha Baek-ryeon who suffered from political marriages in his previous life.

He wanted the people inside his fence to have

I wish the people within my fence had happy faces instead of those kinds of faces.

"I want to meet someone I like. No matter who it is, my family said they would welcome anyone I like."

That's why it was a pity.

Because there is no happiness that can be obtained without sacrifice.

Happiness is sometimes something that cannot be achieved without sacrifice, without pretending not to know and moving on.

There were sacrifices that had to be made.

There were things I had to pretend not to know.

"… So that's what happened."

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Eunha muttered as she got up from her seat.

Han Seo-hyun was a 'sacrifice' that she could not do anything about.

"─That's what happened."

In a previous life.

The wife of Choi Ye-jang, a direct descendant of the YH Group, was not a direct descendant of the Sirius Group.