Chapter 270: Cost and Benefit (2)
Vice President Park Hee-Woo had mentioned that she would sever the alliance between Jang Yun-Jik and Kim Han-Gyo. The gears in Kang Ra-Eun’s head went into overdrive as soon as she heard that. No matter how much power Hee-Woo possessed in the financial world, Ra-Eun found it hard to believe that she alone would be able to influence Chairman Jang Yun-Jik’s decision in any way.
“Do you have a way to change Chairman Jang’s mind, Vice President?” Ra-Eun asked and immediately added, “I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to disparage your abilities.”
She did not want Hee-Woo to get the idea that she was underestimating her. Hee-Woo was a very quick-witted woman, so she also knew very well that Ra-Eun had not said such a thing to undermine her.
- I understand what you’d meant, so you don’t have to worry about it. Like you’d said, I don’t have that kind of power, I’ll admit. However...
Hee-Woo paused for a moment and brought up a certain individual.
- It’d be more than possible for my father.
Hee-Woo’s father was also Ra-Eun’s former father. Park Chan-Gil, the chairman of TP Group, was more than capable of facing Chairman Jang Yun-Jik.
‘Noona aside, Father definitely could.’
But even with that, Ra-Eun could not trust Hee-Woo’s words, because...
“Would your father really do as you want?” Ra-Eun asked.
From what she thought, the answer was most definitely a ‘no’. Chan-Gil was an extremely calculative man; he was the kind of man to weigh the cost and benefit of every single decision he made. He would never take action for things that did not benefit him. Even if it was a request from his children, Ra-Eun could not imagine Chan-Gil taking action simply out of emotion. Hence, Ra-Eun did not believe Hee-Woo in the slightest.
Hee-Woo spoke again after a short silence.
- My little brother had mentioned this too, but you seem to know a lot about our family circumstances, Ra-Eun.
.
“...”
It was Ra-Eun’s turn to stay silent this time. It was not weird at all for Hee-Woo to find it strange. Although she was close to Ra-Eun, she had never once revealed her family circumstances to her. Actually, she had, once, when her little brother had been on her mind. Hee-Woo had let Ra-Eun know very private matters of her life, which had been very unlike her.
That was the only time. After that, Hee-Woo had never once talked to Ra-Eun about what kind of people her parents were, but Ra-Eun seemed to have a very good idea of what their family was like. It was as if Ra-Eun had also been a member of their family.
The gears in Ra-Eun’s head turned quickly to figure out a good excuse, and had finally come up with something.
“I have a very good eye for people. I can more or less tell what kind of personality someone has when I see them.”
- My, really?
Whether this excuse would work or not all depended on what Hee-Woo would say next. Ra-Eun held her breath as she waited for Hee-Woo to talk. Hee-Woo softly laughed.
- Just like I’ve heard.
“I’m sorry?”
- I hear a lot about you whenever I meet people from broadcasting stations. They always talk about how discerning your eye is for people. Every single person you’ve brought into GNF has made it really big.
Many people who had barely been known in the entertainment industry had all risen to stardom after following Ra-Eun’s advice. The best example of this was Han Ga-Ae. Ra-Eun had never gone around bragging about her achievements.
‘I’m sure Chief Jung has been spreading it around like some hero’s tale during drinking parties.’
Ra-Eun did not mind it much since she had never asked him to keep it a secret. She also did not see the need to since having it spread would only raise her value. The benefit outweighed the cost, so Ra-Eun decided to forgive Chief Jung’s blabbermouth, but only limited to drinking parties. She had never expected that decision to help her at a time like this.
- You really are full of surprises, Ra-Eun.
“Ahahaha...”
Ra-Eun could only laugh awkwardly in response.
- In any case, okay. I know what you’re worried about, so I’m thinking of giving you a detailed explanation about what I have in mind... Would you mind giving me a bit of your time? I’d like to explain it to you face to face instead of over the phone.
“Yes, of course.”
Ra-Eun had plenty of time to give since she did not have any productions or TV appearances planned. And with that, they ended the call after agreeing to set a time and place later.
‘It was only a ten-minute call, but I feel exhausted.’
Fatigue swept over her after having been on a call much more information-heavy than she had expected.
***
Since it was an important discussion, they had also set the meeting to sometime very soon. Ra-Eun visited Hee-Woo’s office. Chief Jung and Shin Yu-Bin insisted that they come with her, but Ra-Eun firmly said that she was fine by herself.
‘It’s better if I’m alone.’
Since it had to do with her revenge, having Chief Jung and Yu-Bin there would only bother her.
‘It’s not like having them here would benefit me in any way.’
Rather, Chief Jung and Yu-Bin would obviously be put in a very troubling position if they had gotten involved in Ra-Eun’s revenge.
Ra-Eun got on the elevator to go up to the floor where Hee-Woo’s office was. She headed to the office all too naturally without even having to ask where it was, like it was her own home.
‘I’ve been here too many times to count in my past life.’
That was why she had not even hesitated once during her walk here. Hee-Woo’s chief secretary notified Hee-Woo of Ra-Eun’s arrival. The door opened as soon as she permitted their entry. Hee-Woo tilted her head in confusion after seeing that Ra-Eun was by herself.
“Where are the others?” she asked.
“I came alone. There’s something that we have to discuss before I decide whether or not to star in the production, isn’t there?”
They had talked about it over the phone. Hee-Woo nodded and gestured to the chief secretary to leave them. There were only the two of them in the office now.
Ra-Eun asked first, “How will you make your father take action, Vice President?”
Just then, Hee-Woo brought up a memory of her past that Ra-Eun had no idea about.
“When I was very young... I believe it was around when I was in second grade of elementary school.”
Ra-Eun had not expected to take a trip down Hee-Woo’s memory lane.
“My father asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I actually wanted to go on a trip to the amusement park with him, my mother, and my little brother, but I didn’t tell him that.”
“Why not?”
“Because it was obvious that my father would say no because he was too busy.”
Ra-Eun empathized with Hee-Woo deeply since she also had a similar experience. When Ra-Eun had been a little boy in her past life, she had begged her father to play with her, but he had never once said yes because he was far too busy with work at the company. At the time, Chan-Gil had prioritized TP Group over his family, which had been burned deep into Ra-Eun’s memory.
‘That’s why I hate Father.’
Hee-Woo had come to terms with the reality of their situation a bit faster than Ra-Eun had. Hence, instead of fulfilling her true wish...
“So, I made a deal with my father.”
“A deal?”
“Yes. I’d set up insurance for my future self,” Hee-Woo mentioned as she took out a worn-out piece of paper from her pocket.
“That’s...”
“It’s a ‘wish ticket’ that my father had written himself.”
Hee-Woo had asked her father to write her a wish ticket for her to use when she needed his help in the future. At that time, Chan-Gil had likely thought that Hee-Woo would surely forget about it down the line even if he wrote something like this, so he had agreed without reservation. However, his daughter Park Hee-Woo then had been far more clever and tenacious than he knew.
“I’m not sure if you know this, but my father has two major characteristics. One is that he has a very good memory.”
In other words, Chan-Gil would know exactly where Hee-Woo had gotten the wish ticket and how it had been made.
“And the other is that he never goes back on his word.”
Chan-Gil always made sure to honor his promises since anything otherwise would be a breach of trust.
“Father will have no choice but to fulfill my request.”
The wish ticket that Hee-Woo had invested in at a very young age would finally take effect. Ra-Eun clicked her tongue in her head while looking at her.
‘At such a young age... She’s my noona, but she really is something else.’
Considering she was Chan-Gil’s daughter, Ra-Eun would expect nothing less. However, Ra-Eun was curious about something else as well.
“Why are you trying to get me to star in the production to the point that you have to use that?”
“Because it’s the production of a director that I personally like very much. The plot is really entertaining, and I’m sure it’ll be a huge hit once it releases. Plus, it’ll also satisfy my self-interest.”
Ra-Eun recalled herself back when she had decided to star in a Rail Universe film out of self-interest. Hee-Woo had also made this decision because it coincided with her hobby, so Ra-Eun could understand her choice.
“It’s good for you since you’ll be able to completely destroy Han-Gyo’s connections, and it’s good for me since it’ll satisfy my self-interest. Isn’t it a win-win?” Hee-Woo remarked and once again asked Ra-Eun, “So? Would you like to join forces with me?”
Ra-Eun smiled. “Okay, let’s do it.”
The final act of Ra-Eun’s revenge had begun.
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