The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 118

Pearl Harbor (4)

Salt Lake City, Utah.

The towering skyscrapers under the intense sunlight resembled a mirage in the desert.

At the top floor, two men sat facing each other.

“How was he?”

“He’s a young man with big dreams.”

“Young man?”

“He’s a friend who’s not even twenty years old.”

The one who let out a low groan was Carlo Giannini, the head and owner of Bank of America.

“Hmm. A friend who’s not even twenty years old.”

The old man sitting across from him was Ein Perman, the First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.

“Does age matter?”

“It matters.”

Ein Perman narrowed his brows.

“That’s unexpected. Is age important in doing business?”

“It wasn’t business.”

“Pardon?”

Ein Perman thought Carlo Giannini had asked him to interview Charlie Jung, the CEO of Victoria Corporation, for investment purposes.

However, Carlo Giannini’s answer deviated from his expectations.

“I was thinking of him as a potential groom for Lyra and asked for an evaluation.”

Ein Perman slowly shook his head.

“I don’t think that will work.”

“It would be difficult since he’s still a boy who’s not even twenty years old.”

“That’s not like you, Carlo. Not even investigating the other party’s age.”

“Well… Lyra likes him so much.”

Ein Perman smiled knowingly at his answer.

“Carlo, are you saying your granddaughter’s liking isn’t romantic?”

Carlo Giannini burst into a hearty laugh.

“Hahaha, I misunderstood.”

“It’s nice to see you show such human sides sometimes, Carlo.”

Carlo Giannini’s forehead creased for a moment.

“Ein, I am a very human person. I rejoice, I grieve, I get angry, and I applaud.”

“Is that so?”

“Don’t you often hear that you’re like a machine?”

Ein Perman lightly raised both hands and replied.

“That’s why Canni gets angry every time.”

“Why not show some emotion?”

“Are you saying I should get very angry and sob loudly?”

“That’s not what I mean. Why not laugh a little louder, speak a little louder?”

Ein Perman waved his hand.

“What change are you expecting at my age, well past fifty?”

“You can fix it before you turn seventy.”

“I’ll just live as I am.”

Ein Perman thought too much time had passed to change his attitude towards life.

‘If I could change, I would have already.’

Carlo Giannini crossed his legs and said,

“Since you’re here, let’s talk about the business side as well.”

“Charlie Jung, you mean?”

“What do you think of him in terms of business?”

Ein Perman lowered his voice and replied.

“He’s ambitious and full of confidence. His vision is also quite clear. However, there is one concerning aspect.”

Carlo Giannini raised his right index finger and asked.

“If you’re saying you’re concerned, it must be something we can’t just overlook.”

He trusted Ein Perman’s judgment.

‘Who can I trust if not Ein?’

Because he was the most trustworthy person, he had asked him to assess his beloved granddaughter’s potential husband.

“He had eyes that have never known failure.”

Carlo Giannini let out a long sigh.

“Hoo… Eyes that have never known failure. Ein, wouldn’t that be inevitable?”

Jung Hyun-woo was still a young man who wasn’t even twenty years old. It would be stranger if that young man’s eyes showed the experience of having tasted both the bitter and the sweet.

“Society… no, competitors won’t lower the difficulty level just because the CEO is young.”

He coldly assessed Jung Hyun-woo.

‘As a CEO leading a company, I can’t just excuse him for being young.’

Carlo Giannini had a slightly different opinion.

“If he’s young, he can be that much more progressive.”

“I mentioned earlier that he’s full of confidence.”

“I would say it’s beyond what you mentioned.”

“Carlo, you have a favorable view of him.”

Carlo Giannini raised his tone.

“What about you?”

“I think there are pros and cons.”

“Overall score?”

“Are we grading this with college grades?”

“Just tell me from A to F.”

Ein Perman crossed his arms and closed his eyes. He pondered for a moment before opening his eyes.

“I think B+.”

“That’s stingy.”

“Do you think so?”

“He’s a boy who built a ten-billion-dollar company before he even turned twenty.”

Ein Perman, with his arms still crossed, responded to his words.

“There are rumors that he has a strong backing.”

“The Hilton family, you mean?”

“Yes.”

“But the Hilton family behind him is a distant branch.”

Ein Perman’s eyes narrowed.

“A distant branch, you say?”

“I mean, they’re not direct descendants of Conrad Hilton.”

“In that case…”

“Just because he’s with a Hilton family heiress doesn’t mean we should belittle his efforts and abilities.”

A sneer spread across Ein Perman’s lips.

“Carlo, if you know so much, why didn’t you know his age?”

Carlo Giannini lowered his right hand and replied.

“Everything I just told you was what Lyra told me.”

He meant that Lyra Marine hadn’t told him about Jung Hyun-woo’s age.

“Hahaha, you dote on your granddaughter so much.”

Carlo Giannini puffed up his shoulders at his laughter.

“You look better when you laugh like that.”

Ein Perman stopped laughing and responded to his words.

“It’s been a while since I’ve laughed, thanks to you, Carlo.”

“At least it’s better since you’re laughing.”

“Is Carlo not?”

Carlo Giannini nodded and replied.

“I thought I had found a match for my granddaughter, but that wasn’t the case, was it?”

“If we wait another 3 or 4 years, it would be okay to hold a wedding.”

“I can’t wait.”

“Come to think of it, Lyra’s age is…”

“As you said, if we wait 3 or 4 years, she’ll be over thirty.”

Carlo Giannini thought he had to decide on his granddaughter’s marriage before she turned thirty.

‘It’s already too late, how can I wait another 3 or 4 years?’

Ein Perman thought they could still wait about 3 or 4 years.

“Carlo. If Lyra wants, they can get engaged first and wait to get married. It’s not like there’s a law that says they have to get married before thirty, is there?”

Carlo Giannini extended his right hand forward and said.

“No, I want Lyra to have a wedding within the next 2 years.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s right.”

Ein Perman’s advice ended there. He didn’t want to get involved in the Giannini family’s affairs any further.

“Carlo, I’d like to ask for the letter of recommendation as promised.”

Carlo Giannini lowered his hand and responded to his words.

“Give me the pen. I’ll write it on the spot.”

He received the pen from Ein Perman and straightened his posture.

“You probably think I’m being excessive, right?”

“Slightly.”

“Slightly?”

“Didn’t you give her a few years after graduating college to find a partner? That’s why I thought slightly.”

Ein Perman thought it was commendable that Carlo Giannini didn’t force Lyra Marine into an arranged marriage and gave her time.

‘I couldn’t do that.’

His marriage to Canni Paul was an arranged marriage between the Perman and Paul families, which took place as soon as he graduated from college.

Carlo Giannini seemed to regret that Jung Hyun-woo wasn’t of age.

“It would have been nice if he was a man, not a boy.”

If he was 3 or 4 years older instead of waiting 3 or 4 years on this side, this marriage might have happened.

That’s what he and Ein Perman thought.

* * *

“From today, it’s a week of continuous night shifts?”

Sarah was raising her eyebrows in front of Jung Hyun-woo’s computer.

“Well… I have to go to Hawaii.”

“Hawaii?”

Sarah doubted her ears.

“What did I just hear? Someone who came back from New York last week is going to Hawaii next week?”

Jung Hyun-woo’s voice gradually became smaller.

“I have an appointment.”

“An appointment in Hawaii?”

“It’s a family matter.”

At the word family matter, Sarah’s eyebrows, which had been raised high, lowered.

“Family matter?”

“They can’t come all the way to Boston. So, we set the meeting place in the middle, in Hawaii.”

“Since you’re taking a plane anyway, why not come a few more hours?”

“Conversely, I could go a few hours from here.”

Sarah moved her hands from her waist and crossed her arms.

“Hmm.”

She had lowered her eyebrows for now, but she didn’t seem to like Jung Hyun-woo’s night shifts.

“It’s just this week.”

“Okay. Then I’ll work overtime with you too.”

“What do you mean…”

“That’s the only way to commute together, right?”

Jung Hyun-woo took his hand off the keyboard and said.

“It’s okay to take a taxi.”

“Do you think you can get a taxi easily at that time?”

Unlike New York, the streets of Boston became dark after 9 PM.

“Wouldn’t it be possible to make an appointment in advance?”

“I’ll just go home with you. And go to Hawaii together too.”

“Pardon?”

“While Charlie is taking care of family matters, I’m going to look around Waikiki Beach.”

Jung Hyun-woo scratched his head and responded to her words.

“The meeting place is Pearl Harbor, though?”

“I’ll just book a hotel in Waikiki.”

Sarah didn’t seem to have any intention of following him to Pearl Harbor.

Jung Hyun-woo let out a long sigh at her answer.

“Hoo… I understand.”

Sarah said in a clear voice.

“Tell me the dates. I’ll have Anne book two Hawaii tickets.”

Jung Hyun-woo had no choice but to tell her the dates.

‘Sarah doesn’t change her mind once she makes a decision.’

It was better to go to Hawaii with her than to break her stubbornness.

‘And this isn’t something I need to hide from Sarah in particular.’

Sarah asked as if confirming.

“You’re leaving next Tuesday, right?”

“Yes, I’ll be able to attend the Monday meeting before I go.”

“Okay.”

From that day on, Jung Hyun-woo and Sarah’s night shifts started again.

And the following Tuesday.

The two boarded a plane to Hawaii as planned.

“There are a lot of honeymoon couples.”

As Jung Hyun-woo spoke, looking at the young couples he saw here and there, Sarah raised her tone as she looked at the elderly couple on either side.

“There are probably more elderly people than honeymooners, right?”

“I, is that so?”

Was it because it was a flight to Hawaii?

There were unusually many couples on the plane.

‘Young couples and old couples are about half and half.’

Jung Hyun-woo suddenly wondered how they would look to people.

‘Hmm, we probably look like a younger brother and an older sister to anyone who sees us.’

Sarah was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but she wasn’t youthful.

On the other hand, Jung Hyun-woo was a young-looking Northeast Asian, and his face was also close to being youthful. Because of this, the two looked much older than they actually were in terms of appearance alone.

“Charlie.”

“Yes?”

“Does your family know that you’ve succeeded?”

It was an unexpected question.

Jung Hyun-woo answered her question calmly.

“About one or two people know.”

Sarah narrowed her eyes at his answer.

“So, most of them don’t know?”

“How about Sarah?”

He was asking if her sister, brother, and father knew of her success.

“My father calls me every time I appear in the newspaper or on the news.”

Jung Hyun-woo widened his eyes as if he didn’t know.

“Andrew does?”

Andrew Hilton was Sarah’s father.

The reason he called Andrew Hilton by his name was because it was awkward to call him Mr. Hilton, and Andrew Hilton had allowed him to call him by his first name, not his last name, during Thanksgiving vacation.

Sarah imitated her father’s voice and said.

“Sarah, you’re richer than me now. I knew you’d do it someday. It was worth flying all the way to Boston. He tells me something like that.”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded after hearing her answer.

“Your father is very interested.”

“Isn’t it natural for a father to be interested in his daughter’s business?”

“How about Laura?”

Laura Hilton was Sarah’s sister, a genius physicist and a physics professor at Stanford University.

“Laura calls sometimes too. Come to think of it, Laura said this last time.”

Jung Hyun-woo tilted his head and asked.

“What did she say?”

“She said she found out who asked Richard to write a letter of recommendation for Charlie after meeting Richard.”

The letter of recommendation from Richard Feynman, a Nobel laureate and renowned physicist, had surprised not only Jung Hyun-woo but also the MIT professors.

“So, who asked?”

“Jenny asked.”

“Jenny, you mean…”

“My brother’s fiancée.”

Jenny Olsen.

She was the heiress of the Olsen family and the fiancée of Sarah Hilton’s brother, John Hilton.

Jung Hyun-woo had met her when he visited Sarah’s house.

“Ah, I didn’t know Jenny would care so much.”

“I think she heard about Charlie from my brother.”

“Still, it wouldn’t have been easy to get a letter of recommendation from Richard Feynman.”

Getting a letter of recommendation from a Nobel laureate.

This, as he said, was not an easy task.

Sarah raised her right index finger and said.

“The Olsen family is sponsoring Richard’s research.”

Jung Hyun-woo let out a light exclamation at her words.

“Ah, so…”

“Of course, that’s not all. If Richard’s personality is anything to go by, he would have asked others about Charlie before writing the letter of recommendation.”

The assumption that he would have asked others was close to Sarah’s imagination.

However, Jung Hyun-woo believed her words.

“I envy Sarah.”

Sarah tilted her head at his words.

“Huh?”

“You have a good relationship with your family.”

Sarah scoffed at his weak words.

“Hmph! We just keep in touch.”

She still thought she didn’t have a good relationship with her sister, Laura.

‘My sister was like that in New York too, always doing whatever she wants.’

Jung Hyun-woo responded to her words in a plaintive voice.

“I don’t have anyone here, so I envy Sarah.”

Sarah lowered her voice at his cold tone.

“Ah… Charlie didn’t have any siblings, did he?”

“My parents both passed away early.”

In short, Jung Hyun-woo was an orphan without siblings.

Sarah vividly remembered Jung Hyun-woo’s sharp first impression.

‘He had a look of carrying the burdens of the world on both shoulders.’

She lowered her head and said.

“I’m sorry.”

Jung Hyun-woo shook his hands at her apology and raised his voice.

“No. I asked first. Sarah doesn’t need to apologize.”

“Still.”

“It’s really okay. And I’ve been living alone for a long time.”

Jung Hyun-woo had been alone for a long time.

‘It was like that in the past life too.’

He tried to put on a bright expression and said.

“Besides, I have a sister now.”

“Charlie?”

“Sarah, let’s definitely go to Texas next Thanksgiving.”

Sarah’s main home was in Texas.

Sarah nodded her head greatly at his words.

“Yes, let’s definitely go to Texas this Thanksgiving.”

Before they knew it, the plane had passed over the skies of Boston and was heading west.