The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 48

Became a Billionaire Villain – Heiress of a Conglomerate 02 –

***

A dream of someone who inherited immense wealth.

To be honest, I had never thought about it.

With each day being so busy, how could someone high up in the sky have the luxury to even dream?

If there was someone who thought like that, wouldn’t that person be indulging in a kind of mental luxury?

But now, Jung Hyun-woo had to seriously consider such a luxurious thought.

The conversation between Jung Hyun-woo and Sera continued even after they arrived at the hotel.

They were currently in the hotel lounge, discussing Aria.

“Aria’s dream?”

Sera nodded in response.

“Aria’s dream was to be a teacher. That’s why she taught us too.”

Judging from her saying ‘us,’ it seemed Laura had also been taught by Aria.

‘But the age difference doesn’t seem that significant.’

If she had taught Laura, who was younger, during her university or high school days, it might have been possible.

‘A teacher, that’s quite a modest dream for an heiress of a conglomerate.’

Of course, there was nothing wrong with having a modest dream.

“But did her dream change?”

“She realized it was an unattainable dream.”

Jung Hyun-woo tilted his head.

“An unattainable dream?”

Why would becoming a teacher be an unattainable dream?

Moreover, someone with her wealth could have built her own school to fulfill that dream.

“Yes, an unattainable dream.”

Without Sera’s explanation, Jung Hyun-woo had to find the answer himself.

‘Did her father tell her to take over the family business?’

He didn’t know the Walton family in detail.

‘But I’ve heard that if there are no sons in the family, daughters sometimes take over the management.’

Of course, Aria didn’t fall into that category.

“Is it because of the company?”

“It’s more because of her situation than the company.”

“Is it to take over the family business?”

“No.”

As Jung Hyun-woo tilted his head, she turned her gaze to the window.

Outside the window, it was drizzling.

“Could it be that she couldn’t fulfill her dream because of a political marriage?”

Sera had entered Boston University to reject the constraints of her family.

“That’s not it either.”

“Then what was the reason she couldn’t fulfill her dream?”

“Because she lives in a different world from us.”

Jung Hyun-woo couldn’t understand her words at all.

‘Someone who lives in a different world? Wasn’t Sera also an heiress of a conglomerate?’

If an heiress of a conglomerate said that someone lived in a different world, what kind of existence was Aria?

“She sees things differently from us.”

“What do you mean?”

“She tries to see the essence of things.”

“The essence?”

Sera picked up the glass filled with juice.

“What do we think when we see this glass?”

“We think it’s a glass with juice in it.”

“To put it more simply?”

“A glass with juice in it.”

Sera slightly twisted the question.

“If we consider that this place is a hotel?”

A juice glass placed in a hotel lounge.

“Ah, are you saying that Aria doesn’t think about whether something is expensive at all?”

“That’s right.”

The story was that Aria didn’t think about the price or ownership of anything.

She could have whatever she wanted, and prices were not important to her.

“A teacher isn’t just someone who teaches one plus one equals two. They teach children how to live and the rules of society.”

Someone who doesn’t know society couldn’t teach children about society.

Children questioned everything she taught, and she was shocked that they questioned her words.

“That’s sad.”

“That’s a luxurious sadness.”

After uttering those words, Jung Hyun-woo raised both hands as if he had made a slip of the tongue.

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

Sera slowly shook her head.

“No, everyone would think that way.”

Even the two people having this conversation were not of ordinary status.

One was the heiress of the Hilton family, and the other was the third-generation heir of the Daewoon Group.

But Aria Walton made even them seem ordinary.

Because she was from a global conglomerate.

“So, what happened to Aria?”

“I haven’t met her since then either.”

“Then today…”

“It’s the first time in five years.”

Jung Hyun-woo questioned her words.

“What about her story about Sera’s university entrance?”

Sera had entered university three years ago.

There was a contradiction in her story that the last time she met Aria was five years ago.

“It seems she kept in touch with Laura.”

It meant she was closer to Laura than Sera.

‘So that’s why Laura can stay at her house?’

Jung Hyun-woo nodded.

“That makes sense.”

“Charlie can’t just let stories with different beginnings and endings pass, can he?”

“I have a personality that wants to reassemble mismatched blocks.”

“Is that a characteristic of engineering students?”

“I wonder.”

Sera moistened her lips with juice.

“So, John will take over the New York branch, and Charlie will handle the development directly?”

“Now that the supervision of Zero Space 3 is finished, that’s the plan.”

“What about school?”

MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology] was not an easy school.

“Actually, that’s the biggest problem.”

Sera didn’t have a clear answer either. If she thought about the company, taking a leave of absence was the right decision, but if she thought about her family, continuing school was the right decision.

“I’m going to take a leave of absence.”

Jung Hyun-woo’s eyes widened for a moment.

“Pardon?”

“I realized it for sure after coming to New York. It’s not something I can do while attending school.”

“Are you sure it’s okay?”

She was saying that she would still need a university degree.

“I need a degree to get a job on Wall Street, but I’m already on Wall Street. So, I don’t necessarily need a degree.”

It seemed her thoughts had changed after reading articles about Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.

“Should I take a leave of absence too?”

“Doesn’t your family not want you to take a leave of absence?”

“It’s not just that they don’t want me to, they haven’t even considered it.”

“Then try going a little longer.”

Jung Hyun-woo sighed briefly.

“Hoo, that’s what I’m thinking for now. But this project is not easy.”

The project with JP Morgan was on a completely different scale than making a game like Zero Space 3.

It was about installing a network throughout the United States, so the scale could be said to be at the national level.

‘Was I too greedy?’

After the meeting with JP Morgan, Jung Hyun-woo realized that the project’s scale was beyond imagination.

‘It’s a task of connecting hundreds of branches and thousands of sales offices within the United States.’

Furthermore, hundreds of thousands of households might use the system he created.

‘Opening the future can’t be easy.’

He wore a bitter smile.

“You’re different from the usual Charlie.”

“Yes?”

“You were usually very confident.”

“And now?”

“A sickly pretty boy.”

Jung Hyun-woo’s eyebrows rose.

“Excuse me?”

“Just kidding.”

Even if the pretty boy was a joke, the story that his confidence had dropped seemed to be true.

“Maybe it’s because I met Aria.”

“Is Aria someone above the dream that Charlie wants to achieve?”

Jung Hyun-woo gave a bitter smile.

“Then let’s raise the dream higher.”

“Raise it higher?”

“The number one spot can change at any time.”

It can change at any time.

These words were the same as aiming for the number one spot.

“Charlie.”

“I’m not kidding.”

“Don’t overdo it.”

“If I don’t overdo it, I won’t have ambition.”

Sera liked the confident Jung Hyun-woo. But she didn’t want him to overdo it because of that.

“I think we have our own path.”

She meant that there was no need to overdo it to aim for the world’s number one spot.

“Rather than overdoing it, I think we can reach our goal if we go all the way on the path we are currently on.”

Sera questioned his words.

‘Can we surpass Walmart on the path we are currently on?’

Walmart was not an easy company. The moment she narrowed her brows, Jung Hyun-woo ‘tapped’ the table.

“I’ve decided.”

“What?”

“I need to meet Aria one more time.”

“Why?”

“Walmart is also one of our customers.”

“What do you mean? Our customer?”

“I’m planning to introduce a new system.”

Jung Hyun-woo came up with another business item.

***

Aria’s mansion was in the famous Central Park.

‘Is this Central Park, or the most expensive Midtown 57th Street in the world?’

Excluding royalty and single-person conglomerates, the Walton family had the most money as a family unit.

Aria Walton, as the heiress of the Walton family, had a house on Manhattan’s Midtown 57th Street, the most expensive place in the world.

“At least it’s not a penthouse.”

Sera and Jung Hyun-woo were sitting in the lobby, waiting for Aria’s call.

“Aria doesn’t like high places.”

It meant that she could have a penthouse anytime she wanted.

It was about three minutes of waiting.

A young woman in a suit approached them.

“The young lady said you can come up to the second floor.”

She was a servant of the Hilton family.

“I’m realizing for the first time that there are houses in Manhattan that use servants.”

It wasn’t strange to use servants in the Hilton family’s mansion, but it was rare to see servants being used in the middle of Manhattan.

“We’re here for work today, right?”

Sera confirmed the purpose of her visit once again.

“Of course. I told you in advance.”

“Okay. Let’s go.”

Jung Hyun-woo went up to the second floor with her.

“Welcome.”

Aria greeted the two in a vast living room. It was decorated with furniture influenced by modernism.

Clack.

The sound of placing a teacup down was cheerful.

“Looking at your faces, it doesn’t seem like you’ve come to have a chat after a long time.”

Sera nodded and responded to her words.

“Aria, we came here for work today.”

“Work?”

Jung Hyun-woo bowed deeply.

“We have something to ask of Ms. Walton.”

Aria sighed briefly.

“Haa… Even if it’s for work, I’d like you to call me Aria. I don’t like building emotional walls.”

Jung Hyun-woo changed his title to her request.

“Aria, we came here with a request.”

“Sit down first.”

Aria extended her right hand and offered the two a seat.

Jung Hyun-woo sat on the chair and thought.

‘Does this chair also have an astronomical price tag attached to it?’

Surprisingly, the chair he sat on had an Ikea brand label on it.

‘Ikea? I must be seeing things wrong?’

Ikea couldn’t be called an expensive brand even in the United States.

Not caring about the price.

No, not being aware of the price didn’t mean buying only expensive things.

Aria was the one who would buy Ikea or even cheaper products if she liked them.

For reference, Ikea’s founder, Feodor Ingvar Kamprad, founded the global furniture company Ikea at the young age of 17 and grew Ikea into the world’s number one furniture company by demonstrating outstanding business acumen.

Among global entrepreneurs, there were many cases of demonstrating business talent at such a young age.

Andrew Hilton and Laura Hilton highly regarded Jung Hyun-woo because they knew these anecdotes of conglomerates.

“The one who wants to ask for a favor is Charlie, not Sera, right?”

Sera shook her head and replied.

“No. Charlie and I want to ask together.”

“Together?”

“We are jointly managing a company called Victoria Corporation.”

Aria had a face that said she was hearing it for the first time.

“Victoria Corporation?”

“It’s a company the two of them created together. I introduced Charlie as a business partner yesterday.”

Aria nodded as if she remembered yesterday’s events.

“Come to think of it, that’s right. Sera has decided on her path.”

Her gaze was full of envy.

‘Being able to move towards a dream is truly enviable.’

Aria was a woman who had lost her dream.

“As you said, I’ve decided on my path. I’m thinking of taking a leave of absence from school too.”

“Even school?”

“I think that’s the only way to manage the company.”

Aria could see that Sera’s determination was firm.

“So? What can I help you with?”

She thought the two had come to ask for an investment.

‘Young entrepreneurs are always short on capital.’

If it was a reasonable amount, or if they could present her with a vision, she thought she could give them money.

“Please connect us with Chairman Walton.”

Aria shook her head greatly at Sera’s words.

“That’s not possible.”

“Aria.”

“I don’t want to be involved in my father’s business. I can give you money, but my father is difficult.”

Jung Hyun-woo reached out and grabbed Sera’s arm. It meant that the request was over.

“I understand Aria’s position. Even if an introduction is difficult, could you tell us about Chairman Walton?”

Aria tilted her head at his question.

“About my father?”

“We need to know what kind of person he is to make a deal.”

Aria sighed briefly.

“No matter how much it’s Sera, my father won’t meet you. And my uncle is more deeply involved in the company’s management than my father.”

Walmart was a company founded by her father, Bud Walton, and his brother, Sam Walton.

And his brother, Sam Walton, was more famous than his younger brother, Bud Walton.

“Then I want to hear stories from both of you.”

Aria thought as she looked at Jung Hyun-woo’s shining eyes.

‘This child has a dream.’

The dream he had seemed clearer than Sera’s dream.