How a Salaryman Became an Underworld Boss

However, Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong appeared to hold a different opinion.

“Director Cha, you’re overlooking one detail. We’ve already confiscated approximately 17.5 billion won in cash, luxury real estate, and other assets from the Triad.”

“As far as I know, confiscated cash and property must be turned over to the national treasury. What I’m proposing is distributing the ransom paid for the Triad members among the police officers.”

“If we accept that money, the press will swarm us like a hive of bees and tear us to pieces. That’s absolutely certain.”

At that moment, a brilliant idea flashed through my mind.

If I carried it out, Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong wouldn’t be able to refuse. After quickly organizing my thoughts, I continued.

“Let’s assume I donate one billion won to the police. Would I be allowed to attach certain conditions to that donation?”

“Of course. As many as you like.”

“If I donate one billion won on the condition that it be used exclusively for the welfare of police officers themselves, what would the procedure be?”

“In that case, the funds would naturally go directly to the officers...”

Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong stopped in mid-sentence, as though he had finally understood what I was aiming at.

“Our company will accept the ransom paid for those Triad bastards and then officially donate it to the police. Please use that money to support the rank-and-file officers who work so hard on the front lines.”

“...Director Cha, I sincerely thank you for such extraordinary generosity.”

There was unmistakable sincerity in Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong’s voice.

“Commissioner, I’m sure you know the biblical teaching that the right hand should not know what the left hand is doing?”

“Of course I do. But is it really necessary to go that far?”

“That money was meant for the police from the very beginning anyway.”

“Hahaha!”

Chairman Park Yeongil evidently liked my answer and burst into hearty laughter.

After waiting for his laughter to subside, I addressed Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong once more.

“Commissioner, shall we conclude our discussion regarding the Triad ransom here?”

“Haha, all right. Agreed.”

“I have one more question. What do you intend to do with the real estate confiscated from the gangsters?”

“After all the proper procedures have been completed, it will be auctioned publicly. Why are you asking?”

“To be honest, I was interested in the confiscated properties.”

“I see. Very well, I’ll pay special attention to that.”

At that moment, Chairman Park Yeongil stepped into the conversation, deciding it was necessary to express his opinion.

“Commissioner Choi, those confiscated Triad houses are steeped in misfortune. Sell them at auction as originally planned.”

“But Director Cha just said he was interested.”

“If Director Cha wins those auctions, malicious rumors will almost certainly start spreading. I doubt he’d want to get involved with property carrying that kind of baggage.”

Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong looked at me apologetically.

“Director Cha, I truly feel bad about this.”

“Now that I think about it, Chairman Park is absolutely right. By the way, when will the compensation be transferred?”

“No later than sometime this morning.”

“I understand. Since we’re already talking about compensation, may I ask one more question?”

“Certainly. Ask anything you like.”

“When I receive the compensation, how long do I have before I need to pay taxes on it?”

“That income is tax-exempt. You won’t have to pay anything.”

The saying that nothing is certain except death and taxes suited South Korea perfectly, where tax collection was taken extremely seriously. So at that moment, I had the pleasant feeling that I had unexpectedly saved a fortune.

“There must be a good reason for that?”

“Compensation for damages is a form of government assistance intended to ease the emotional and financial burden on victims and their families. Therefore, it is not subject to taxation.”

“That makes sense now. Oh, there’s one more favor I’d like to ask.”

“Go ahead. I’m listening.”

“Rather than simply transferring the compensation to the families of the witnesses murdered by Li Jiahan, I think it would be better to visit them personally and hand the compensation to them.”

“That completely slipped my mind. Chairman Park, I’m in quite a hurry, so if you’ll excuse me.”

“Of course. Go ahead. I won’t keep you.”

After seeing Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong off, we returned to the conversation we had interrupted.

“Secretary Kang, have you obtained any new information about the Triad?”

“As soon as Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui was released, he immediately flew to Shanghai.”

“Isn’t the Triad’s main headquarters in Macau?”

“It is, but apparently he was afraid of being monitored by the Chinese police.”

“Hmm... That’s a reasonable precaution.”

As I listened to Chairman Park Yeongil and Chief Secretary Kang Inhan talking, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

“Secretary Kang, why did the Chinese government release Vice Chairman Chen so obediently?”

“Officially, he’s registered as the owner of a trading company in Hong Kong.”

“But he personally entered China while escorting Triad members.”

“It has been confirmed that he was merely carrying out Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan’s orders to escort those men back to China.”

“Ah, now I understand the whole scheme. Please continue your discussion with Chairman Park.”

Having satisfied my curiosity, I stepped back, and Chairman Park Yeongil resumed speaking.

“Secretary Kang, who do you think will ultimately become the new head of the Triad?”

“At the moment, Vice Chairman Wei Chen and Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui have completely equal chances.”

“I see. Which one would be more advantageous for us if he became the leader?”

“I haven’t analyzed that issue yet, so I can’t say.”

“Director Cha, tell me what you think.”

After giving my wording a little thought, I answered Chairman Park’s question.

“Personally, I’m rooting for Vice Chairman Wei Chen.”

“And naturally, you have good reasons for that?”

“Because we completely destroyed the Korean branch of the Triad, Vice Chairman Chen’s position has been seriously weakened. On top of that, his only son will spend more than ten years in prison. After everything that’s happened, do you really think he could possibly harbor any warm feelings toward our country?”

“But he swore that none of his Triad members would ever set foot on our soil again.”

“In China, promises made with that kind of solemn oath carry about as much weight as our polite promise to have lunch together someday. Besides, let’s not forget that he’s the Vice Chairman of the Triad.”

“Hmm...”

Chairman Park Yeongil fell into thought in his usual manner, lightly tapping the sofa’s armrest with his fingers.

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan and I remained seated quietly beside him, careful not to interrupt his train of thought.

After some time, he stopped tapping and gave a firm order.

“Maintain strict surveillance. Make sure those Triad gangsters can’t get anywhere near our borders.”

“Yes, sir.”

Leaving Chief Secretary Kang Inhan’s confident reply behind him, Chairman Park turned toward me.

“Do you have any plans for this evening?”

“None at the moment.”

“I’d like to invite you and Hyeonji to a cozy dinner at my home. What do you think?”

“Hyeonji too?”

“If you’re someone dear to me, then Hyeonji is family as well.”

“Thank you for your kindness. I’ll check her schedule and let you know immediately.”

Brrr!

At that moment, the phone lying on the table vibrated violently.

Glancing at the screen, I was surprised to see Tracy’s name.

It was the middle of the night in New York, where she currently was.

The fact that she was calling at such an hour could only mean one thing—something extremely important had happened.

However, answering the call here would be awkward.

Just as I was about to send her a brief apologetic message instead, Chairman Park Yeongil spoke.

“It looks urgent. Answer it. Pretend we’re not here.”

“It’s nothing important. Everything’s fine.”

“I don’t like repeating myself.”

Chairman Park’s voice carried the overwhelming authority capable of suppressing anyone.

Of course, after taking that miraculous herbal tranquilizer, my courage had swelled to unbelievable levels, so it didn’t affect me very much. Still, I decided not to be stubborn and pressed the answer button.

“Hello, Tracy. What happened for you to call this late?”

“Jiham, I’m calling because I have amazing news to share with you!”

“Glad to hear it. Go ahead.”

“My grandfather and Chairman Hudson are planning to fly to South Korea next Wednesday.”

As far as I remembered, the chairman of Bongard Group and Chairman Hudson had originally planned to visit around the middle of the month.

But for some reason, they had moved up their schedule by an entire week.

I asked Tracy whether she knew the reason for such a sudden rush.

“I’m guessing they’re eager to sign the joint venture agreement as soon as possible?”

“That makes sense. Have you already informed the management of Hangang Group about the change of plans?”

“Grandfather made the final decision only a few minutes ago.”

That meant no official notification had been sent yet.

“May I deliver this wonderful news to the management of Hangang Group on behalf of Bongard Group?”

“That’s exactly why I called you first, so you could.”

“Haha, thank you. I understand.”

“I can’t wait to see you again, Jiham.”

At that very moment, my temples began throbbing.

There was a very high probability that Isabella, Chairman Hudson’s niece, would be coming with them.

I already had more than enough on my plate, and now I’d inevitably have to divide my attention between two women.

Given their status, there was no way I could ignore either of them.

How was I supposed to stay calm under those circumstances?

“I can’t wait to see you either.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Just thinking about seeing you again, Tracy, makes my heart race.”

“Ho-ho. All right, I’ll pretend I believe you.”

“I need to pass this news along to Hangang Group, so I have to go.”

Click.

The moment I ended the call, Chairman Park Yeongil, as though he had been waiting for exactly that moment, immediately asked,

“Director Cha, who is this Tracy you were just talking to?”

“She is the granddaughter of the chairman of Bongard Group.”

“Tell me how the two of you met.”

“She attended the language program at Korea University to properly learn Korean. We happened to meet by chance last winter, and that’s how we got acquainted.”

“Do the two of you have a special relationship?”

There was no way I could admit that we had already spent two passionate nights together.

“We just talk on the phone from time to time.”

“And despite having such an ’ordinary’ relationship, she’s the very first person to leak top-secret insider information to you?”

“Well...”

“Are you asking me not to pry into your private life?”

Chairman Park Yeongil immediately grasped the true meaning behind my awkward cough.

“...I won’t deny it, Chairman.”

“Hahaha! Very well, let’s leave it at that. Tell us what you discussed.”

“Representatives from Bongard Group and Endivia will be arriving in South Korea next Wednesday.”

“Secretary Kang, call Chairman Yoon immediately. We need to inform him at once.”

“Secretary Kang, please wait a moment.”

I stopped the chief secretary with a gesture just as he reached for the phone.

“Director Cha, do you have an objection?”

“Informing Hangang Group’s management isn’t our highest priority at the moment.”

That meant we had more important matters to deal with first.

Trying to confirm his guess, Kang Inhan cautiously asked Cha Jiham,

“That’s right. Summon Director Cho and Executive Vice President Ju immediately.”

Kang Inhan used the internal phone to call Executive Director Cho Myeongjeong and Executive Vice President Ju Seongjin.

A few minutes later, both executives entered Chairman Park’s office, breathing heavily.

As soon as they had taken their seats, I immediately addressed Ju Seongjin, who oversaw equity investments.

“Executive Vice President Ju, what’s the current status of our purchases of Hangang Electronics and Endivia shares?”

“We’ve purchased three trillion won worth of Hangang Electronics shares and ten trillion won worth of Endivia shares. At the moment, we’re up six percent on Hangang Electronics and nine percent on Endivia.”

“Excellent work.”

With those words, I shifted my gaze to Executive Director Cho Myeongjeong.

“Do you have reliable contacts among the major prestigious news outlets?”

“Countless ones, but...”

I understood perfectly well why he had hesitated for a second.

“I just received a call from Chairman Bongard’s granddaughter. She informed me that representatives from Endivia...”

Cho Myeongjeong instantly saw through my plan.

The moment news of the joint venture for the exclusive production of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips reached the stock market, the shares of Hangang Electronics and Endivia would soar through the roof.

He himself was eager to leak that explosive news as quickly as possible.

While he frantically considered which journalist should receive the exclusive scoop, I concluded,

“...Make sure this information reaches the most authoritative and influential reporter you can find.”

“It will be done. In your opinion, when would be the best time to release the story?”

“Considering the characteristics of the American stock market, Monday evening next week would be the ideal timing.”

“Understood. I’ll make sure everything is handled perfectly.”

“Executive Vice President Ju, keep a close eye on the stock prices of Endivia and Bongard Group. The moment I give the signal, begin selling immediately.”

“Yes, understood.”

Executive Vice President Ju Seongjin’s confident voice echoed throughout Chairman Park’s office.

“Secretary Kang, now you may inform the management of Hangang Group.”

At that moment, Chairman Park Yeongil offered a suggestion.

“Director Cha, why don’t you personally meet Chairman Yoon and tell him the news yourself?”

I was only an ordinary intern.

If I walked straight into Chairman Yoon Jongu’s office, his secretariat would certainly look at me with suspicion.

I tried to tactfully explain that concern to Chairman Park, but—

“So what?” Chairman Park Yeongil merely snorted dismissively.