Episode 64

Park Geon, whom I was seeing again after a month, exuded the same heavy presence as before.

When I arrived, he was already sitting across from the dining table, using one hand to work on some documents.

Upon realizing that I had arrived, he pushed the papers into his bag.

"Sit down."

Just like last time, when Park Geon had important discussions with his children, he always did so during a meal.

It was his way of handling two time-consuming tasks at once.

Indeed, he was a man who embodied the spirit of an entrepreneur, with his extreme focus on practicality.

The food at the main house was always delicious, so it wasn't a bad thing for me either. He must have a skilled chef hidden somewhere.

Since coming to this world, my favorite food had become the gratin in the student cafeteria, but the dishes here were also quite the delicacy.

'Today it's ravioli.'

The neatly crafted, square pillow-shaped pasta was arranged on the plate.

They were glossy and plump, looking very appetizing.

It was fun to imagine what might be inside those square pockets of dough.

But that didn't mean I could throw away my manners and attack the food.

I only picked up my utensils after Park Geon had started using his chopsticks.

"...You certainly eat well."

"Because it's delicious. All the food at the main house is."

"And here you were complaining about how dry the ravioli was."

'Wait, this is dry?'

The original Park Yoo-seung must have had an impossibly picky palate.

Or maybe he was just taking out his pent-up frustrations at the dinner table. Either way, it was an ungrateful act.

What was it that he didn't like when he had been living with this kind of food every day?

As someone who had lived a life plagued by poverty and overwork, it was hard for me to understand.

'It's just delicious.'

As I devoured the ravioli like a whirlwind, Park Geon's gaze landed on me, lingering there.

It was a silent signal that it was time to get to the main point.

"You promised to grant me whatever I asked for, didn't you?"

"Because getting first place at Korea University Law School is a meaningful achievement."

Park Geon admitted it.

"Honestly, I didn't think you would actually do it. Considering the ambition and spirit you showed, I was ready to forgive you if you had just maintained a similar ranking as last time."

"But I did it."

"Yes. You did."

Suddenly, Park Geon's eyes flashed sharply.

"So, what is it that you want?"

For a moment, a tension filled the air, as if it had become dry.

'As expected, this was a test too.'

What would I use this valuable opportunity for? A person's ambition is reflected in what they desire.

Values and goals, restraint and spirit, all intersect to determine what is requested.

If you ask for too much, it's recklessness; if you compromise with too little, it's a lack of spirit.

Knowing how to walk the line was also a skill for navigating the world.

That was why Park Geon was asking.

What do you want?

In other words, what is your worth?

Of course, I had an answer that I had already thought of.

"I know that Yu Seong Group invests in various small startups through VC (Venture Capital)."

"That's right. But why are you asking about that?"

"I want you to give me the shares of a company that I specify."

"...What?"

I had to become independent.

Yu Seong Group seemed solid at first glance.

The charismatic leader, Park Geon, was in control of the entire group, and the two siblings who were considered his successors were not incompetent, even if their personalities were unknown.

The status of Yu Seong, a giant group within the top 10 of the business world, seemed like it would last forever.

'But in reality, that's not the case.'

To be precise, Yu Seong Group might last forever, but the Park family wouldn't.

Because they were destined to be caught up in the storms of the latter part of the story and fall together.

I was planning on taking various measures to prevent that, but in the worst-case scenario, I had to create a safe haven for myself.

'If I want to dream, I need money, and if I want to protect my beliefs, I need power.'

The problem was that there was no way to create it.

I was a transmigrator who had fallen into a strange world, not a regressor.

This world was mostly similar to my previous life, with the exception of the settings that appeared in the work, but it wasn't completely the same.

Even the arcade I went to with Lee Ha-roo was in the same location as I remembered from my past life.

But the types and number of games were slightly different, and the owner was also someone I didn't know at all.

Therefore, making money through stocks or coins was out of the question.

Even if something I saw in reality was there, there was no guarantee that it would rise in value the same way.

If I invested money in an uncertain possibility, it would just be gambling.

That was when it struck me.

'Then why don't I invest in something certain?'

"...Which startup are you talking about?"

"It's a company called 'Writing'. They're using generative AI to create chatbots that people can play with."

"They're not a well-known place."

That was true.

Based on my research, Writing's current technology was limited to creating chatbots that could only act as lovers or friends and chat with users.

Their revenue model was limited to charging a certain amount for chatting or displaying ads on side banners.

Moreover, since the AIs were still in their initial models, there were many limitations.

Naturally, they hadn't gained much popularity, and they were just another startup that hadn't received any attention from the media or investors.

But what if I intervened?

"Yu Seong VC owns 40% of Writing's shares. If you combine the shares of the pro-Yu Seong executives, it's more than a majority. With that much, you can influence the direction of the business."

"What are you planning to do with that?"

"I'm going to reorganize Writing into a legal tech development company."

In the future, generative AI and legal services would become inseparable.

I had to start laying the groundwork early, before domestic competitors appeared, and before foreign companies entered the market.

Of course, Writing didn't have any great models or technology right now. But they did have the infrastructure.

They had people who knew how to handle AI, and an environment and system in place for them to work.

It was a situation where they could achieve significant results with just one genius developer or one well-polished prototype.

'And I have both in my hands.'

Lee Ha-roo and the 'Free-Loading' she was refining.

Free-Loading was still a program with many limitations, but it would be a different story if it was given a proper research environment and financial investment.

From the beginning, wasn't Lee Ha-roo's future in legal tech foretold in the original work?

In other words, it was like a lottery ticket with a guaranteed win.

Rather than letting it run wild and stumble, it would be a better choice for Lee Ha-roo to collaborate with a place that could provide her with full support.

I would take control of Writing and turn it into a legal tech research company.

Based on Lee Ha-roo's ideas and technology, and the company's systematic research environment, we would produce results.

That was the picture I was drawing.

"It seems like you've found a promising gem somewhere."

And Park Geon had seen through it at a glance.

"...How did you know?"

"It's not a field that you can approach just by being good at law. If you speak with that much confidence, then you must have other reasons."

'Ha, I can't beat him.'

"Alright. I'll give it to you."

Park Geon made a call somewhere.

Within the group, there was a command and communication system in place that could instantly convey his intentions anywhere and anytime.

The procedures were carried out quickly in places I didn't know about.

My smartphone vibrated with an alert, and a transfer agreement was sent to my email, transferring the ownership of Yu Seong VC's shares in Writing to my name.

"With this, those shares are yours. Use them well."

"Not yet. According to the Commercial Act, if I don't register my name in the shareholder registry, I can't exercise my rights against the company."

"Hah, that's true."

Since it was late, the work at Yu Seong Group was proceeding smoothly, but it would take a bit longer for Writing to change the shareholder registry.

At my remark, Park Geon smiled for the first time.

"Thank you for the meal."

"Are you leaving?"

"Yes. I still have a lot to study."

"Alright."

After saying goodbye to Park Geon and leaving the main house, Choi was waiting for me, having been called out at some point.

It was time to return to my daily life.

* * *

The life of a National Assembly member's aide was always hectic.

It wasn't just a secretarial role of managing the member's schedule.

They had to gather and analyze all kinds of data related to bills and budgets, by going around government ministries, and they were also responsible for election strategies and managing their district.

Of course, one person didn't usually handle everything.

The nine aides that made up the staff divided up the work.

Even with all the tasks split and divided, they were still plagued by late nights and overwork, so how could one person do it all alone?

But the situation at Representative Jung Seok-gyu's office was different.

"Representative, here's the schedule and related materials for this week."

Yang Seong-tae, the chief aide at Representative Jung Seok-gyu's office, reported in a voice that sounded like he was on the verge of death.

"On Tuesday, you have to attend the sponsor party hosted by Yu Seong Group. On Wednesday, you have a meeting with the officials from the Ministry of Economy and Finance regarding the budget, and in the afternoon..."

"Aide Yang."

"Yes, Representative."

Jung Seok-gyu, who had been deeply buried in his armchair, rose to his feet.

Yang Seong-tae felt a bad omen. There was only one thing that happened when Representative Jung called his name and stood up.

"Me. This Jung Seok-gyu."

Yang Seong-tae instinctively covered his head and lowered his body.

"Am I at a level where I have to deal with mere officials? Huh? Tell me."

Crash!

"Tell me!"

As expected, right after that, an ashtray flew towards the space where Yang Seong-tae's head had been.

The ashtray passed by Yang Seong-tae and hit a glass ornament on the wall. Broken pieces of glass scattered everywhere with a sharp, shattering sound.

'He used to play baseball in his youth, and he still has that much power!'

This wasn't the time for that. To calm down Representative Jung, Yang Seong-tae stammered.

"Of course not, Representative. But, it's also true that our approval ratings have only recently started to recover... and it's possible that the Ministry of Economy and Finance is trying to test us..."

A bureaucrat was a 5th-grade public official, which was a very high position.

Especially a bureaucrat at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which held the reins to the national treasury of South Korea, each one had an immense amount of responsibility and power.

However, they were generally not high enough in the hierarchy to deal with a member of the National Assembly, who was at the center of power.

It was a position that was like the lowest rung of the ladder in the core of the organization.

It was understandable that Jung Seok-gyu, as a mid-ranking member of the National Assembly, was greatly insulted that the meeting was with bureaucrats, and not with a director-general.

"It's because you can't do your job properly that this is happening!"

"I, I apologize!"

Yang Seong-tae quickly knelt down and bowed his head.

'...I want to go home.'

Representative Jung Seok-gyu was inherently a very violent person.

In front of the media, he had always packaged himself as a kind person by donating to charities and participating in volunteer activities.

However, in private, like now, he was prone to using abusive language and violence.

Because the other aides couldn't endure this harsh work environment and had all quit, Yang Seong-tae was handling the work that should have been done by several people by himself.

"Haa, haa."

Jung Seok-gyu, barely managing to calm himself down, breathed roughly.

"...Go tell them. Did they think that I, Jung Seok-gyu, was a pushover? If I don't submit bills, they'll be in trouble too."

"Y, yes, sir."

"Don't let them look down on you, Aide Yang. The moment you give in, you don't know how far you'll be pushed back. This is a world where you can't survive if you're soft."

"I will keep that in mind!"

"So, what's the next schedule?"

Jung Seok-gyu had regained his reason. Relieved, Yang Seong-tae hurried to speak.

"Ah, on Wednesday afternoon, you have a special lecture scheduled at Korea University Law School."

"That's right. I did."

Jung Seok-gyu muttered.

Korea University Law School was one of the institutions that he regularly donated to for image-making purposes.

Especially since he was an alumnus of the law department, the predecessor to the law school, he could also use it as a pretext to help his juniors.

"How is that Professor Choi Sung-cheol doing?"

"Yes? Yees, well..."

"Last time I saw him, he was a very likable fellow. He was very flexible, not stiff like most lawyers, and he knew how to read the room. I guess it's because he came from the financial sector."

'I didn't really like that guy.'

There was something about him that gave off a sneaky, opportunistic vibe.

But that wasn't something he could say to the member he was serving, so Yang Seong-tae kept his thoughts to himself.

"So, are you sure you'll be alright?"

Instead, Yang Seong-tae asked.

"There's also that person at Korea University Law School."

"That person?"

"You know, that prosecutor Jang Yong-hwan. From 'that incident' ten years ago..."

"Aide Yang."

"Yes, sir!"

"Let's stop talking about this."

Jung Seok-gyu's voice became chillingly cold, and Yang Seong-tae was startled and shut his mouth.

"And don't worry. There's nothing to be worried about."

Jung Seok-gyu bit his lip.

"If they try to rise up, I'll just stomp them back down."