The night wore on.
An Auction took place; where several art pieces, historical artefacts, jewellery, and rare items were sold. All the proceeds went to Charities selected by the buyers. It was the opportune time for the wealthy to show off how 'generous' they really were. As a result, even ordinary items ended up being sold for millions, and the Kang Family PR team made sure to capture these moments ready to send out all kinds of glorified press releases the next day.
After the main auction was over, performances from renowned Korean Orchestras and elite students from the Korean National University of Arts, occurred on the stage. People danced, drank and socialised.
I watched these activities from a velvet seat near the raised platform.
Naturally, all the children at the event had gravitated around me. Some from natural curiosity, and others because they were forced to by their parents. This crowd included the children of socialites, politicians and members of KangMung. 16-year-old Mung Bae, 14-year-old Kang Ara (Kang Wook's granddaughter), 17-year-old Kang Beom Seok (Seo faction's grandson), and 16-year-old Kang Chul (Dong faction Grandson); all sat around me.
It was funny seeing a group of teenagers suck up to an 8-year-old.
"So what was the Princess like, are you actually in love?" Kang Chul asked with a smile on his face, bringing out his dimples. Long gone was his baby fat, now he was a dashing teen and I noticed a few girls stealing glances at him. "Regardless of what the press say I don't believe it for a second."
I gave Chul a sly side-eyed look, "What, are you jealous? She is pretty, isn't she?"
Chul went a bit red in the face, "J-j-jealous, why would I be jealous of a freaking eight-year-old. Sure she's pretty but she's a kid! I'm just saying you can admit that you're being forced by the family head, none of us would judge you for that."
I smirked, "Is that what you want me to say? Do you want a bad rumour to spread? I'm sure the people in your faction would love that, but sadly, I'm not being forced."
"I-I wasn't trying to make a rumour though!" Chul pouted, "you used to be so cute but nowadays you say some really jaded stuff." Over the years Kang Chul had somehow managed to remain as childish as the day I'd met him.
Kang Beom Seok laughed and pushed up his thick glasses, "He's not jaded, he's just more mature than you are and he understands how our household works. Don't worry though, we all know you're too dumb to actually try and spread a rumour like that."
The group burst into laughter and Kang Chul's face became even redder with embarrassment, "I'm not dumb!"
"Really?" Kang Ara smirked, "Your mid-term results say otherwise. My Dad even told me not to hang out with you too much because 'stupid is infectious'."
The children burst into more laughter.
I watched with amusement as they pecked at the weakest member like vultures.
As Chul began to tremble and his eyes became wet, I intervened.
"Exam Scores aren't everything" I cut through their malicious giggles and put a comforting hand on Chul's shoulder, "He may not be academically smart, but he paints well. One of his pieces sold tonight for 10 billion ₩ [1], last time I checked all of you were living off your family's reputation and money." I gave a sweet smile, "Don't be so mean to Chul-Ah, one day you might be begging him for favours."
It was Beom Seok's turn to go red in the face.
All the other children didn't know what to say; a burst of uneasy dry laughs spread, along with some nods of agreement. Chul stared at me with big puppy dog eyes, giving me a thumbs-up as he whispered, "You're the best!"
From the corner of my eye, I noticed Beom Seok glaring at me, but I ignored him. I didn't need to be on Beom Seok's good side, I was already the King among this generation, they followed the pace that I set. He was the one that needed to kiss up to me, not the other way around.
While the children smiled and sided with me on the surface, I could smell the envy on their breaths. Beom Seok, especially, was wishing for my downfall. He deeply coveted everything I had, and always made sly and malicious comments behind my back. If I ever made a mistake I knew he would cum with schadenfreude.
Kang Chul was the only one I liked amongst the Kang family children. He did say thoughtless things, but he had no ambition for power and was a rather innocent lamb amongst wolves. Also, I quite enjoyed his art, and we had been able to maintain a good relationship over the years
As expected, Beom Seok grinned, "You're right, Chul is a great artist, and exam results aren't everything, some people can go to elite schools and still end up with a boring career and no money. Sorry Chul, I didn't intend to be mean."
His apology sounded so fake that everyone there felt uncomfortable, but Chul actually smiled and forgave him, "No worries, I know you were only joking."
I rolled my eyes at this exchange and went back to watching the stage. During a pretty dance number, I noticed something in the corner of my eyes that surprised me. Near the exit, Ms Ha-Rin was talking to Min Ho. They spoke briefly and then left Hall together. I wasn't the only one that noticed this, so did Joon-ki, and after quickly downing some wine, he practically chased after them.
What was going on?
I wanted to follow as well, but they had already disappeared and the children were practically keeping me seated while chatting nonsense.
After some time, curiosity got the better of me and I stood up, stretching I said, "I need some fresh air, I'm off for a stroll"
To my surprise, Mung Bae stood up and said, "Let me come too, I need some fresh air."
I raised an eyebrow but I didn't refuse her, "Sure, let's go" I grabbed her hand and headed to the door. Other kids in the group seemed like they also wanted to go with us, but I left with Mung Bae so quickly that they lost their chance.
In a way, it was more lively outside than inside the hall. The lanterns were still brightly lit and servants were wandering around, along with guests who were chatting and drinking under the moon.
No matter where I looked I couldn't see Min Ho, Ms Ha-Rin, or Joon-ki. I was about to aimlessly wander about whilst looking for them, but Mung Bae pulled at my hand, "Can we talk?"
I raised another eyebrow at her, "We're talking now."
She gave a small smile, "You're right....so, I was wondering...can I ask for your advice?"
"My advice about what?"
"I... I want to be the heir to the Mung family...You know women in our families are usually cast aside or treated like ornaments and never taken seriously. My Great Grandmother was the first only female Head of the Mung group, but she had to sacrifice a lot to be treated with respect." She began to ramble, "I've always admired my Great Grandmother, and I'm the only child, and after my Mother died my Dad swore to never remarry... I thought I was guaranteed the position of being head of the family after my Dad, but now my cousins are vying for my spot...and people treat me like I'm invisible. Every day I feel like I'm losing my place, and Dad and Grandpa just tell me that I need to solve my own problems. At this rate, I'll never be able to reach my Great Grandmother's level..."
"Are you going to get to the point?" I sighed; her low voice and all that rambling were getting on my nerves.
"Can we sit down first?", she gestured to a far off bench, it was located in front of another guest house being used by the attendees of the fundraiser.
"Fine" I sighed.
Once we sat down she began pouring her heart out to me, "I want to be the next head of my family. I want to gain so much respect that there is no other option except me. I want to do what you did. You were a Bastard Child, and everyone in Kang Family were against you, and now you're the most influential child in the whole Group, you've made people recognise your name worldwide and you've garnered immeasurable respect and love from the whole household. I want to do what you did! Please teach me!"
I mulled over her request in my brain. It would be bothersome, but strictly speaking, there were many ways she could reach her goals and I could easily put her in my debt. That way when she did inherit her position from her Father, essentially I would be the real leader, and she would be my puppet. I would be in control of both the Kang and the Mung Family.
The offer was tempting.
I was just about to respond to her when the unexpected happened.
A body fell.
The sound of bones breaking on concrete. The splat of a brain turning to mush and popping out of a cracked skull. The oozing of blood.
Mung Bae let out a piercing scream as the body plunged to the ground right in front of us and blood splashed on her pumps. After her loud shriek, she promptly fainted on the bench.
As others who heard the scream began to crowd around, I walked up to the corpse and I peered at the face. It was messy, but I easily recognised him.
It was Kang Joon-ki
[1] 10 billion ₩ is like 8 million USD