My birthday is just a day away now.
Honestly, no matter what the kids did to persuade me, time was too short. So in that sense, receiving this invitation a bit late was a blessing.
Thinking back on it, if I had received it a month ago, I would have been nagged by everyone around me the whole time. It’s better to get it just in the nick of time and be a bit less nagged.
Well, anyway, that’s that.
There was no condition that I had to use this invitation. Thanks to that, I won’t run out of invitations. I can invite my friends and their families… that should be enough.
At this point, though, my concerns weren’t about who to invite or not.
What really worried me was whether my friends and their families would get ignored by Sara’s relatives at her birthday party—which, on the surface, is also my birthday party.
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
Sua, who had listened to my worries, confidently replied.
“It would be embarrassing to openly dislike someone in a place like that.”
“…Is that how it is?”
“Yep. No matter how much you dislike someone, you shouldn’t openly criticize them in public. Normally, unless the relationship is really bad, when you meet in a place like this, you at least pretend to be friendly. If there’s something you want to say, you call them aside to talk. Besides, if it’s someone you’re seeing for the first time, there’s no way you’d be saying anything like that.”
Maybe it’s because the kind of ‘party’ I’m imagining only exists in dramas or movies.
“Most of all, you don’t have any information about them, right?”
“Oh…”
That’s true.
You need to know who they are, but if you don’t know them at all, you’ll just exchange greetings and that’s it.
“Sue, you really know this stuff.”
Usually, Sua is a bit lacking in confidence, but I like how she shares her wisdom when it comes to topics she’s sure about.
At my compliment, Sua finally blushed.
“W-Well, anyway, we’re going to stick by your side… You’re the guest of honor at your birthday party, and you can’t just openly talk bad about someone in front of someone who’ll lead a company in the future.”
More than anything, Sua is here.
Even if it’s not at the level of Yujin Group, she’s still the heiress of one of the ten most prominent companies in Korea. There’s no way someone would ignore someone in a group with her included.
“Hmm…”
But still, my unease didn’t completely vanish.
Looking at what Choi Na-kyung has done, if she moves insidiously behind others’ backs, she could definitely intimidate my friends without my knowledge.
If my friends, as well as their families, come, it’s inevitable that one or two of them would have to stray away from my side. I wouldn’t be able to cover up for those people if a quarrel arose.
“Hmm…”
I kept pondering until,
“Ah.”
I came up with an idea.
“Since it’s come to this, should I just create a group?”
“A group?”
Ha Neul, who was listening to my conversation, asked back.
“I mean, a group of people who support me and are somewhat similar. It’s not an official club or anything, but the more support I have during the party, the better, right?”
Of course, it wouldn’t make up a majority of the attendees or anything, but having a ‘majority’ is always a huge strength.
Even if some people ignore the common folks and bully those without money, they wouldn’t just act out in public. Usually, they act like losers behind the scenes, where no one can see.
The reason for this is simple. An angry crowd is already a fearsome entity by itself.
No matter how rich a person is when gathered, they are still fewer in number than those without money. In a company vote, perhaps it could be different, but when it comes to elections, everyone gets exactly one vote equally.
I’m not saying that the party supported by the rich is manipulating things.
What I’m saying is that politicians can’t just ignore the ‘common people.’
It doesn’t take long for some unpleasant incident that has become an issue to be legally punished. When a company’s image plummets and it’s marked by consumers, it can surely receive a blow.
Even if it doesn’t turn into a massive wildfire overnight, it’s entirely possible for a smoldering fire to linger long-term, eventually burning the roots of the company.
…Asking how many such cases exist in reality is meaningless.
This place is different from the reality I knew.
In typical melodramas, don’t the protagonists win easily?
I smiled softly at Ha Neul, who was tilting her head in confusion.
*
“Um, so, are you giving this to me…?”
With trembling hands, the kid received the invitation as if I could feel the vibrations through her voice. She was one of the kids who received money from me during the Disciplinary Committee meeting last time.
“Yep, exactly. I’m grateful you helped me out then.”
“Uh, uh, no…”
Stammering like a broken record, her glasses-clad face couldn’t properly connect her words. I handed her two more invitations.
“Still, it might feel awkward coming alone, so feel free to bring closer friends. Just make sure to decide and let me know today, okay? Because my birthday is tomorrow.”
“Uh, sure! I’ll let you know for sure!”
“Oh, wait.”
As I said that, her expression immediately fell dim. Hearing my ‘oh,’ she might have thought I would take back the invitation.
“Let’s make it a gathering. It’d be better to have a proper list of attendees. We should confirm the number with definite participants. Are you free after school?”
“Yep! I’m free! I don’t have anything to do after school anyway!”
That’s a lie.
It’s not because I have the ability to see into people’s hearts or some sort of insight.
In this school, it’s almost impossible to maintain top grades without attending any after-school sessions. Even scholarship students like her work hard to keep their grades up. If you’re not like Ha Neul, who’s practically disconnected from school, it’s obvious you’d go home and study hard after classes.
Whether you go to an academy, take private lessons, or study alone doesn’t really matter.
…It’s Ha Neul who maintains her top grades doing the bare minimum who is strange.
…It’s really unfair when I think about it. Is it because she’s the protagonist?
Well, if you put it that way, I’d also be someone who’s judged purely by my wealth.
I casually glanced around. Everyone was looking at us with greedy eyes.
The invitation in this kid’s hand.
To someone, this invitation might look like a ticket to redemption, while to another, a shortcut to success.
Well, it doesn’t matter how it looks. It’s still bait.
What I said about gathering was calculated right from the start. Just in case someone tries to steal the invitation and show up.
Well, I wouldn’t really care if they did.
But they would absolutely not be treated like ‘my close associate.’
You could wonder how I might distinguish people like this while throwing invitations around…
Well, I’m not throwing them out thoughtlessly.
*
“Wow….”
Just as I expected, the invitations mainly circulated among scholarship students attending the same school. Almost no signs of children from famous families or true wealthy folk.
Interestingly, I could see a few boys, so maybe someone was called a boyfriend. There were even some nametags from students in different grades. Some kids seemed to have invited their older siblings.
…Hmm, I didn’t see that coming, but it doesn’t really matter. After all, money can solve anything. More than anything, if the kids I’ve brought are not shallow relationships but strong connections, that’s even better for me.
Besides, material or time constraints can be solved with enough money.
Most of the kids were looking up rather eagerly at the lobby where we were gathered. That makes sense; they just stepped into what I call ‘home,’ yet what lies before their eyes resembles a massive department store.
In fact, it’s been used for that many times, and I even had moments where I almost referred to it as such.
And right now, there were an overwhelming number of tailors surrounding me.
They wouldn’t even consider these people to be tailors.
Indeed, Yang Hye-in’s abilities were impressive. No matter how much money you throw around, gathering capable tailors and designers from Seoul overnight is no easy task.
…Well, there are only a few hours left.
There were many tailors, but there were also a lot of outfits to be fitted. It was impossible to create something from scratch from the beginning, and it might even be tight to adjust existing ones.
…But as I mentioned earlier, money tends to be a good problem solver.
“Now, everyone who’s here to partake…”
As I opened my mouth, the gaze of twenty or so students gathered on me.
These kids couldn’t bring in family members. The number of invitations handed out was small, and there were conditions to ‘gather here.’
So, it’s even better. Since they were all students from the same school.
“There’s no dress code, but to distinguish those who were invited, I’d like for you to wear clothes of the same color. It might be a bit troublesome, but I hope for your cooperation. Of course, there’s no need to worry about costs.”
That’s right.
A party of rich people without a dress code.
In that place, ‘my allies’ will wear matching colored outfits.
And it will, in and of itself, be a silent declaration.
I will clearly distinguish between those who are mine and those who are not.
I hope they try to ignore us.
Because I’ll respond immediately.
Even if it looks like this, I’m one of the richest people in this country.
Technically speaking, it’s my money, though.
Did I really need to say that at that timing?
I felt a slight slack in my shoulders.
