BCTGH CH 06

Chapter – 06

“What I want?”

Haena asked back, caught off guard. Why was he curious about that?

“Yeah.”

What I want… Haena had never really thought about it before, so the question flustered her, but she quickly dove into serious consideration.

Before transmigrating into this novel, she used to wish her parents would come back to life. If that was impossible, she wished that about 1 billion won in cash, post-tax and entirely legally cleared, would just drop from the sky. That would have solved all of Haena’s problems, because back then, every single one of her problems stemmed strictly from money.

But now, everything except money was the problem.

As of right now, she had to endure her childhood among family members who didn’t love her, and she also had to endure grueling successor training—which was bound to be exhausting—to properly inherit the Hongil Group. She certainly had no intention of receiving divorce papers from that stubby little kid later on.

Haena didn’t want to lose what belonged to her to anyone else ever again. She had already lost her parents to a drunk driver, her housing deposit to a scammer, and countless opportunities to poverty.

Right then, a clear objective formed in her mind.

“I want to become someone who doesn’t get things taken away from them.” “Someone who doesn’t get things taken away?” “Yeah.”

Jae-hyun looked at Haena with a peculiar expression. His eyes seemed to say, ‘What on earth have you ever had taken away from you since the day you were born?’ but she decided not to nitpick his reaction.

“So, I’m not going to lose anything.” “I see, Haena.”

Surprisingly, Jae-hyun nodded as if he understood perfectly.

“You and I are quite similar.” “Huh?”

How did the conversation even drift that way?

Haena looked at Jae-hyun, completely bewildered. No, we’re not. You’re the villainous, scheming second male lead. My dream is simply to be a greedy, extra-role, third-generation chaebol.

However, no matter how much Haena shook her head in denial, she couldn’t erase the mysterious, knowing smile that had already settled on Jae-hyun’s face.

“Haena?” “Yes?”

Haena snapped her head up at the sound of her name.

“You need to focus. Let me ask you again. How do you read this sentence?” “Ah… um, The increase in gross domestic product…?” “Excellent reading. You’re so good at this, so why couldn’t you focus?”

Damn it.

When she transmigrated into a third-generation chaebol, she had never anticipated this insane, mind-boggling workload of study. It had already been two weeks since she took over this body. True to her status as a chaebol heiress, Haena’s tutoring schedule was brutally packed. She easily spent over six hours a day studying with various teachers. Korean, English, and Math were just the bare minimum; there was also scientific essay writing, mathematical essay writing, gifted math, English conversation, history, piano, horseback riding, art, and on and on… It was actually faster to count the things Haena wasn’t learning.

There were even two separate coordinators whose sole job was just managing this tutoring schedule.

Life as a third-generation chaebol isn’t easy.

The silver lining was that Hong Haena’s innate abilities hadn’t gone anywhere. Even though Kim Haena had never spoken fluent English in her past life, she was able to answer with flawless English pronunciation. The same went for the other subjects; she was able to display the exact same high-level proficiency as the original Hong Haena.

What a massive relief in the midst of misfortune.

If she had performed at the original Kim Haena’s level, the English tutor would have definitely asked why her accent had suddenly become so stubbornly domestic.

“Alright, let’s read from here again. This part is…”

No, but seriously, isn’t making a seven-year-old read and translate the New York T*mes a bit much? I wouldn’t even understand this if I read it in Korean! Especially since this is the economics section…!

Haena swallowed her urge to cry and studied diligently, exactly as the teacher instructed.

‘Yeah. In my past life, even when I desperately wanted to study, I couldn’t because I lacked both the money and the luxury of time… Let’s work hard in this life until my heart’s content.’

…Think positively. Keep it positive.

“You did wonderfully today, Haena. Usually, you’re always so angry during our lessons. Teacher is so grateful that you didn’t lose your temper even once today.” “Ah, no… it’s fine.”

Isn’t not throwing a tantrum supposed to be the baseline standard? Why is the default personality setting for everyone in this neighborhood so unhinged?

“The next time I see your father, I’ll be sure to tell him that our Haena is studying incredibly hard these days and taking her lessons beautifully.” “Thank you, Teacher.” “Of course. By the way, your father hasn’t been around for quite a while this time, has he?” “Ah…”

Haena scratched her head. To be fair, I haven’t seen him once either since I transmigrated.

“I heard his business trip to London ran a bit long for some reason. But they said he’s returning today!” “Is that so? Um… Haena, are you doing okay lately?” “Yes?” “I mean, are you okay with… seeing your father?”

What is that supposed to mean? Are Hong Haena and her dad on bad terms? Haena hesitated, unable to answer right away.

In truth, Haena was a little worried about meeting Hong Haena’s father. It couldn’t be helped, considering that in the novel <The Chaebol’s Love Way of>, Haena’s dad, Managing Director Hong I-do, was barely ever described. Chairman Hong made frequent appearances, but Managing Director Hong was practically a ghost in the plot.

The sparse information she could recall amounted to this:

Haena’s parents were brought together through an arranged marriage, so there wasn’t a shred of affection between them. When Haena’s mother died in an unfortunate accident, Managing Director Hong distanced himself even further from the family. He had always been a workaholic, but after the tragedy, he buried himself exclusively in expanding the business.

Consequently, Haena grew into a troublemaking child who threw all sorts of tantrums just to get her dad’s attention, which only drove Hong I-do further away. Thus, the father and daughter had become completely estranged.

From what Haena had gathered through reading the novel, it didn’t seem like I-do hated Haena. He simply didn’t make an effort to understand her or give her any attention.

He’s an absolute nightmare of a dad.

She’s still his flesh and blood—isn’t he taking it way too far? Child neglect is a crime, mister.

Haena resolved not to give that arrogant man an ounce of her affection. Of course, she fully intended to prevent their relationship from deteriorating completely. Hong I-do was, after all, the successor who would eventually inherit the Hongil Group. Even if she didn’t need to be showered with fatherly love, she needed to maintain a decent relationship with him to ensure the company would be handed down to her smoothly later on.

‘And I have to inherit the company to live the rest of my life as a wealthy chaebol!’

In this lifetime, she would absolutely never live while worrying about money. She was going to become the top chaebol in South Korea and live in absolute luxury.

Haena reinforced her resolve once more.

‘The moment I inherit Hongil Group, I’ll hire a professional CEO to run everything. I’ll just sit back, scoop up the profits, and never lift a single finger to work.’

She was going to be a wicked chaebol who possessed endless mountains of cash but absolutely zero work ethic.

‘Just you wait, Hongil Group. I will become a tyrannical chairman who never works, pays myself a massive salary, and drives my employees to work hard… Hehehe…’

She was already plotting to become a “wicked” boss who would overwork her employees fiercely—right after giving them massive bonuses and top-tier welfare benefits, of course.

“Then, I’ll see you at this exact time the day after tomorrow. You must finish all the homework I assigned, okay?” “Yes! Goodbye, Teacher.”

Haena escorted her tutor all the way to the front door. But the exact moment the door swung open and the teacher was about to step out, Haena froze on the spot.

“Oh my! Managing Director! I heard you were returning today, but I didn’t expect to run into you like this…!”

With impeccable, almost ridiculous timing, Haena’s dad, Managing Director Hong I-do, was walking right in.

“Ah.”

…And that was his excuse for a greeting.

“You must be Haena’s tutor. Thank you for your hard work.”

Hong I-do spoke with a completely hollow, indifferent voice, utterly devoid of any soul, before holding the door open for her. Haena’s tutor looked deeply moved, apparently mistaking this bare-minimum gesture for incredible manners…

But if you ask me, I think Teacher is moved by Hong I-do’s face, not his manners. Haena muttered inwardly.

How does a kid’s dad look like that?

Even if he hadn’t been born as a second-generation chaebol, he probably could have become a billionaire based entirely on his visuals. It made her wonder if the true privilege in this family wasn’t a silver spoon, but a golden face spoon.

Managing Director Hong I-do was a textbook handsome man who looked like he had stepped straight out of a high-end luxury commercial. Tall stature, perfect proportions, and a sharp, impeccably sculpted face. He looked less like a father and more like a top-tier actor at the absolute peak of his career.

So Haena’s cute but sharp features were inherited from her dad.

They looked remarkably alike, right down to the frosty personality written clearly around the sharp slant of their eyes.

“Hong Haena.” “Yes?”

The front door clicked shut, leaving only Haena and I-do standing alone in the vast foyer.

“What are you doing standing here? Go to your room.” “Huh.”

Is that seriously the very first thing you have to say to your daughter whom you haven’t seen in ages, mister?