It didn’t take long to create an opportunity to approach the law firm.
[Large-scale riot breaks out in Los Angeles, USA... Damage to the Korean community expected to be severe]
[Shocking revelation that LAPD may have steered the riots toward Koreatown. Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces it will send a protest letter to the U.S. immediately...]
I lightly hummed as I read the article about the LA riots.
The justification was perfect, and I could even gain something substantial from it.
“...Miss, did you already know about this?”
Lee Si-hyun looked at me with a meaningful gaze. She had just returned from performing vigilante duties in LA under my orders. It had been a slightly dangerous task, but there was no other choice.
“Hey, hey... Yoo Ha-yeon, what is this? I-is this a riot, or something? Huh?”
Right beside the chief secretary, Miss Cha Ba-da was clinging to her, trembling. She had come to LA for sightseeing just in time and had nearly gotten caught up in the chaos. She was still unable to shake off the shock of the riot, glancing nervously around her.
Ugh, that’s why I told her to bring enough bodyguards.
“It’s fine. This is Hollywood.”
“St-still... Hollywood is part of LA too.”
I gently patted the greenhouse-flower-like young lady, trembling like a leaf, to calm her down.
“Do you know LA is twice the size of Seoul? And... wherever I am, that place is safe. My bodyguards are way more competent than yours.”
As I said that, I gestured toward the exotic people outside the window.
They were former elite Soviet agents from just a few years ago, and they were now working as my bodyguards.
Because Si-hyun paid them a lot of money.
“That... seems to be true.”
Letting out a soft sigh, Cha Ba-da asked me,
“But how did you get people like that? Even at the main house of Mirae Group, there aren’t many of that level...”
...More importantly, the ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) fact that the main house has people like that is even scarier. Why do they have them?
Hiding those inner thoughts, I twisted my lips into a light smile.
“Grandfather gave them to me? I guess he’s planning to entrust me only after deciding he can trust me.”
“Ah... I see. Well, it hasn’t been that long since the Soviet Union collapsed.”
Cha Ba-da accepted it naturally. For bodyguards, trust matters more than skill.
‘Though that’s not exactly true.’
I didn’t tell her that they weren’t originally my bodyguards but were Si-hyun’s subordinates.
Nor did I mention that lately, Lee Si-hyun was more focused on playing mafia in Russia than on doing her secretary duties—and that those agents were essentially no different from gangsters now.
Such behind-the-scenes details didn’t suit a girl like Ba-da, who was more Caribbean emerald sea than Black Sea cold.
“Now that your bodyguards aren’t around... we can have a deeper talk.”
“W-what? Wh-what do you mean? Hey! D-don’t come closer!”
I casually walked up to the chaebol young lady and hugged her tightly.
“Come on now, don’t act so coy. We’re friends, right?”
She was the future of Mirae Group’s future.
I’d raise her diligently and seat her as my puppet CEO.
Smiling softly, I whispered in her ear.
“Ba-da, actually... I have a confession to make.”
The delusional young lady’s face flushed red as she trembled all over.
‘Now’s the right time to tell her, right?’
I hesitated for a moment, but the decision had already been made.
Ba-da wouldn’t sell my information out... probably. For Cha Ba-da, Mirae Group—or more precisely, its current chairman—was worse than a stranger.
‘That place is a mess too.’
Full of birth secrets, political strife, and a jungle where only the strong survive—an utterly fitting den of wolves.
In that regard, Cha Ba-da was a failure. She had a kind heart and tried to throw away her decent background to live like an average person.
I had carefully chosen her using knowledge from my past life, but... if I judged her wrong, so be it.
When recruiting someone, the risk of leaking information is inevitable. Besides, this wasn’t even that critical.
“If I helped you, would you want to get revenge on the chairman?”
Cha Ba-da’s face hardened.
She rejected me on the spot.
“...I don’t know how you figured it out, but that’s never going to happen.”
I shrugged and went back to my work as if nothing had happened. Eyes filled with suspicion turned toward me.
“You think I don’t know bringing in foreign powers to a family feud leads to ruin? And doing it with Daehwa Group’s help, no less—how ridiculous.”
I calmly recited the pre-prepared scenario.
“You don’t have to worry about that. I plan to live independently in the U.S. Grandpa already approved.”
“Something like that. And... you talk about ruin, but isn’t that exactly what you were hoping for?”
She must still be conflicted. That’s fine. Judging from her expression, she was a teenager deep in emotional turmoil.
I’ll just gaslight her a little and use her as a pawn.
“You... is that why you became friends with me?”
To Ba-da, who looked betrayed, I kindly told her the truth.
“That’s a bonus. If it works, great. If not, whatever. Honestly... you’re not that valuable, are you?”
“You, you... you’re seriously awful.”
“I only told the truth.”
“Anyway, my real goal is to build ties with an American law firm. That’s what all this is for...”
Maybe she recalled me talking about immigration to the U.S., because she nodded as if she understood.
“So you’re aiming for the legal sector. Instead of business where your family’s influence could reach, you’re going for something completely separate... You really are impressive.”
Cha Ba-da sighed openly, clearly envious.
“Must be nice, being a genius.”
“Mhm mhm, I feel that all the time too.”
Fitting for a teenager in crisis, Ba-da readily bought into what I was saying. An adult seasoned in the world would know how absurd the dream of escaping from a chaebol family really is.
‘...Though in reality, there are a lot of cases like that, so maybe it’s not that absurd?’
It’s a common story—the younger generation trying to escape the overwhelming shadow of a too-great predecessor.
“In that sense, this LA riot is a great opportunity. It’s connected to the Korean community but also lets me build a reputation in America. The problem is, I’m still a minor...”
I smiled brightly and whispered to Cha Ba-da.
“Actually, I know someone in Alpha Fund.”
The law firm I intended to contact was Quinn Emanuel—currently known as ‘Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Oliver.’
Founded in 1986, it didn’t have much of a name yet, but... it would become quite famous later. It was also the firm that defended Daehwa Group in a lawsuit against Apple. Minor detail, but the founder was known to be interested in Asia.
Not well known now, but capable. No known grudges or biases. It fit my conditions perfectly.
I could raise a new one from scratch, but it’s always better to go with someone who already has a track record.
“...I don’t have any particular connections to LA. More importantly, is there really a need to go through such a roundabout way to find a law firm?”
Ha Yeong-il had lived in the U.S. Northeast since he went to an Ivy League school. LA, on the West Coast, wasn’t really his domain. Naturally, he probably didn’t feel the need to get involved this time.
“Our task isn’t just to expose an ordinary Ponzi scheme and call it a day. Alpha Fund is still new, and we’re short on connections.”
Madoff was a highly respected figure in both the Jewish community and the financial world. If we approached a law firm directly, not only might we lose—we might not even get a chance to fight.
“Besides, law firms usually avoid unwinnable cases. If we want to make them go up against Madoff’s fortress at this stage, we have to pay a matching price.”
I had no intention of paying in cash. I’d offer appropriate fame up front. A victory in a multimillion-dollar damages suit over the LA riots—that kind of reputation would be plenty for a new firm.
Besides, I couldn’t claim the fame anyway, since I needed to stay in the shadows... so it was a practical trade.
Ha Yeong-il nodded, seemingly understanding.
“Understood. So you mean, if we owe them a favor ahead of time, they’ll be more open to harder requests later. ...But storytelling, huh. I’m not good at that, honestly.”
“That’s okay, I’ll just make it up.”
This scenario... was similar to impressing Cha Ba-da by telling her a convincing story. Not even a total lie.
The best liars mix truth and fiction. So, a little bit of truth was needed in this story too.
“The young lady I brought along, Miss Ba-da, got emotionally scarred by the riot and is about to become a human rights activist. If we use that, we’ll get a decent narrative.”
“Hmm... Miss, I’m not doubting you, but. Are you sure about this? She’s from a different family...”
He meant, was it okay to involve her in something this important?
It was a fair concern, so I gave a light smile to reassure him.
“It’s fine. The LA riot issue is actually too big, which makes it easier to hide. Even the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is openly protesting the U.S. government. And Ba-da coming to LA has nothing to do with us.”
Besides, I only met Ba-da about a month ago. Unless someone’s a lunatic who thinks I caused the LA riot... there’s no way they’d suspect me.
Mirae Group has no room for doubt either, since one of their own almost got seriously hurt.
“Who’d suspect us? We just banded together briefly out of ethnic solidarity to support the Korean community. As for the Ponzi scheme stuff... no one knows about it, right?”
I smiled sweetly and poked his suit jacket with my finger.
And so, a few days later—
In the midst of this massive uproar shaking all of America, Ha Yeong-il and I were able to naturally approach the law firm and build a connection.