I Don’t Want to be a Villainess

“I heard that you’re buying up stocks.”

“……Um….”

At that moment, I lost my words in response to the uncle’s comment while we sat side by side in the reception room sipping tea.

Now that I think about it, I did hand over that task to Team Leader Han Garam. Since then, I haven’t told him not to do it separately, so he’s probably still happily buying stocks to this day.

…He was someone who absolutely loved moving a lot of money at once. Being serious about money, he would probably continue to be thrilled whether the stocks went up or down, right?

And… if he had continued buying up until now, he must have accumulated a significant amount.

But I had intended to rebel against Choi Na-kyung later with this.

Is it about time to tell him to stop?

“Good job.”

But judging by the returned compliment, it seems I hadn’t made a huge mistake after all. Of course, if this person had malevolent intentions, it would be a different story… but blindly suspecting someone is also a dangerous thing to do.

“Consistently buying back our own shares has been known to have a positive long-term effect on stocks. If you buy in large quantities like you, it could be even more effective. It seems that the current reputation among investors and shareholders is quite good.”

Was it so?

Honestly, I haven’t spoken with anyone from the company, so I wouldn’t know. I at least knew that the stocks under Sara’s name were the second most after Choi Na-kyung’s, and as long as Choi Na-kyung didn’t pass them to anyone else, I was well aware that Sara would likely become the owner of Yujin Group next.

Of course, even if we climbed up, it didn’t seem like we would actively manage the company.

Most group heirs are educated in those matters from a young age, but Sara has never received that kind of education. I’ve not, having grown up in an ordinary family.

So, rather than trying to do something ineffectively ourselves, it would be wiser to hire someone competent to handle it.

Well… the problem was finding that ‘competent’ person in the first place.

“Is that so?”

With nothing else to say, I thought I’d better at least nod in agreement.

The issue was that the uncle, who was Sara’s uncle, seemed very pleased with my response.

Did he really have a good reason to be satisfied with my answer just now?

To be honest, I wanted to consult Sua about it… but the people in this room were just me, Ye In-hyuk, the uncle I’ve only seen today, and my personal maid Yang Hye-in.

Ye In-hyuk might prefer to talk one-on-one, but honestly, if asked whom I’d trust more between a stranger and Yang Hye-in, I could only answer that I trust Yang Hye-in more. At least she genuinely helps Sara.

Ha Neul, Sohee, and Sua weren’t allowed in.

In Sua’s case, she was connected to a completely different company. I wondered if this uncle knew about it, as he seemed slightly shocked when he saw Sua’s face.

As for Sohee… it was possible only because I strongly insisted that she be allowed in with Yang Hye-in.

And with Ha Neul, the situation involving Choi Na-kyung still hadn’t been resolved.

…Ah, right, I forgot.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, go ahead. We have plenty of time.”

We may have time, but honestly, I wanted to wrap up this uncomfortable situation quickly.

Rumble.

Sara nodded vigorously in agreement.

Truthfully, Sara didn’t particularly enjoy this conversation either, but… information is crucial. I could later confirm if the information I received today is accurate through Yang Hye-in.

“Could I find out what… your mother, Choi Na-kyung, was working on?”

I almost said Choi Na-kyung’s name before quickly changing it. After all, I’m sitting here in place of Sara. It would be better to use the address she used.

Of course, these days, Sara hadn’t been using the term “mother,” but some older adults think that no matter how reckless the parent is, a child should treat them as a parent. If they’re related to the company, we may end up seeing them several times in the future, and it’d be bad if I made a strange impression unnecessarily.

How many times?

And, as always, Sara, who proudly acts but is an introvert at heart, was startled when she read my thoughts.

…Now you’re really just blurting things out.

What can I do about that?

Well, I say these things knowing that we won’t genuinely get mad at each other while bickering like this.

“Umm…”

The uncle pondered for a moment and then asked, “Did you hear it directly?”

“I didn’t hear it personally.”

Ha Neul still hadn’t told her father about what happened. After that, she hadn’t shown any signs that I should be worried, but…

If I were to fall for that, then I wouldn’t have a reason for having watched the game videos that a streamer posted in my previous life.

Ha Neul is a child just like the game’s protagonist. Someone who would keep to herself and not want to worry her friends by revealing the bad things happening to her.

And if she inherited that trait from her parents, her parents probably didn’t let her know that any of this stuff happened to Ha Neul.

Indeed, she’s a troublesome child in many ways.

Who are you calling troublesome?

…Well, I have no words to counter that.

“But through a few pieces of information, I could tell that your mother has been… troubling some company or person.”

I responded as I didn’t know if it was Ha Neul’s father’s company or if they were directly bothering her father, so I answered that way.

“I see.”

Fortunately, it seemed the uncle had some inkling of what was going on.

“I’m glad you knew.”

However, the response returned was slightly different from what I had expected.

“What?”

When I asked back somewhat confused, the uncle sighed softly and said,

“It’s possible that the incident was the starting point for Choi Na-kyung… your mother to do such a thing.”

“……What?”

I asked again, looking a bit dazed.

*

…So, it seems that Choi Na-kyung had indeed targeted the company where Ha Neul’s father was working.

While Ha Neul’s father isn’t necessarily the president of that company, he holds an important position inside the company. However, he isn’t so vital that the company would collapse without him; he’s in a slightly high managerial role.

Therefore, when Choi Na-kyung acquired this information, she happened to put pressure on the company that was in a trading relationship with Yujin Group.

She grasped at various details, threatened with lawsuits, and subtly pressured Ha Neul’s father to step down.

It was an outrageous act that would send anyone’s common sense flying up into the sky, but Choi Na-kyung did it without hesitation.

The problem is that this isn’t the first time Choi Na-kyung has made a similar blunder.

Previously, she also tarnished the company’s image and caused an important supply chain to disappear, leading Yujin Group into all sorts of trouble.

Then, she just brushed it off with an excuse of prioritizing the company’s gain over her personal feelings… but this time, it’s different. Winning doesn’t bring the company that many benefits and can actually harm the company’s image significantly if it becomes a fuss.

For this reason, this photo actively pressured Choi Na-kyung, and the result was that incident where Choi Na-kyung thought, ‘I’ll give up everything and just take Sara.’

…Well, I kind of expected this level of drama when I heard the story from Sua.

No matter how you think about it, it sounds like a real melodramatic story.

Of course, it was said that the producers intentionally included melodrama elements when making it.

“So… in a way, this is partly our fault as well. I’m sorry.”

As the person who directed that cream-colored gaze towards me apologized, I quickly shook my hand and spoke.

“N-No… It’s not your fault.”

Is this also a calculated move? Are Choi Na-kyung’s opposition deliberately feeding such information to drive a wedge between Sara and Choi Na-kyung?

…Whether it’s the former or the latter, for now, it was beneficial for Sara.

“So… was it for this story that you came to tell me today?”

When I asked, the uncle straightened his back and looked directly at me.

“Yes, that’s part of it. There’s another story I’d like to share as well.”

“…What’s the other one?”

“Sara.”

“Yes?”

The uncle called my name again for some reason, and I responded with a somewhat bewildered expression.

“Your birthday is coming up soon.”

“That’s… right?”

“And I was thinking, how about a small celebration party coinciding with that day? You haven’t been able to meet relatives because of Choi Na-kyung until now. How about attending that day to properly see their faces and greet them?”

He added with a warm smile, “Of course, you can bring your friends. It’s a party to celebrate your birthday, after all. Why don’t you consider inviting the friends you came with today?”

“……Um….”

What can I say?

I was currently feeling a strange realization that things could escalate bizarrely without me having to do anything.

“……I’ll think about it.”

“I hope you think positively about it.”

Once more, the uncle bowed his head towards me.

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