How a Salaryman Became an Underworld Boss

“Director Griffin believes Commander Kwak didn’t stay at the Crown Hotel.”

Given the nature of the hotel, people were constantly coming and going.

If Commander Kwak Taesu was in his right mind, he wouldn’t have used a hotel as a hideout.

That was why Director Griffin was skeptical.

However, I couldn’t agree with his opinion.

After all, we had to conceal the fact that Commander Kwak Taesu had fled to South Korea.

“I’m curious why Director Griffin came to that conclusion.”

“The Crown Hotel is located right in the heart of Dandong, where there are a lot of people, and Commander Kwak is an extremely cautious man. For that reason, the chances that he chose the Crown Hotel as his hideout are practically zero.”

“Vice President Cayman, you know the meaning behind the story of ‘Columbus’s Egg,’ don’t you?”

“Are °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° you saying he threw common sense out the window and hid at the Crown Hotel precisely because of that?”

“His escape from North Korea was spontaneous. So we can’t rule out the possibility that he decided to lie low at the Crown Hotel simply to buy himself some time.”

“If that’s the case, he would’ve had to register through an intermediary and take the stairs up to his room. If he never leaves the room, it would be practically impossible to find out that he was staying there.”

To lend more weight to my words, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan chimed in.

“Hmm... That’s a perfectly plausible scenario.”

“I’ve asked Vice Chairman Wei Chen to find out whether that’s actually what happened.”

“How?”

“One of the Triad members works at the Crown Hotel.”

Bzzzt.

Just then, the phone lying on the table vibrated.

I quickly glanced at the screen and saw Vice Chairman Wei Chen’s name.

Knowing why he was calling, I immediately pressed the answer button.

“Vice Chairman Wei, I’m listening.”

[Director Cha, our man checked. Politburo member Liu Peiqi really is staying at the Crown Hotel.]

At that moment, it became clear why a high-ranking officer from North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau had gone to the Crown Hotel.

“I see.”

[The high-ranking RGB officer is Major General Lee Cheolseung.]

“He’s a bigger fish than we expected.”

[Exactly. Why would Major General Lee need to meet with Politburo member Liu?]

‘Why is he asking when he already knows perfectly well?’

“Wouldn’t it be to gather information about Commander Kwak Taesu, who fled North Korea?”

[Judging by the absurd argument you’re making, there’s someone with you, isn’t there?]

If there was one thing Vice Chairman Wei Chen couldn’t be faulted for, it was his quick wits.

“I won’t deny it.”

[Korea Investment employees are tracking Major General Lee Cheolseung’s every move, right?]

“Of course.”

[I’ll keep my phone fully charged, so if anything unexpected happens, call me immediately.]

“Haha. Will do.”

Click.

The moment I hung up, Vice President Cayman spoke as though he had been waiting for exactly that.

“Who did the high-ranking RGB officer meet with?”

“It was Major General Lee Cheolseung, and Politburo member Liu Peiqi is staying at the Crown Hotel.”

“What?!”

Vice President Cayman was openly dumbfounded, clearly not expecting such a development.

“Vice Chairman Wei Chen believes Major General Lee met with Liu Peiqi.”

“I see. But what was the purpose of their meeting?”

As if proving that everyone was thinking along the same lines, Cayman asked the same question Wei Chen had.

Since he was a perceptive man, I decided there was no point in hiding anything.

“I believe there are two reasons. You’ve already heard one of them, haven’t you?”

“Yes, but how would he know anything about Commander Kwak Taesu?”

“He’s one of China’s twenty-five highest-ranking leaders, so there’s a very high chance he would know.”

“I see what you mean. And the second reason must have something to do with the cryptocurrency transaction?”

“That’s what I’m leaning toward as well, but we still need to verify it.”

Vice President Cayman tilted his head thoughtfully.

The only way to obtain evidence of the cryptocurrency transaction between Liu Peiqi and Lee Cheolseung was to hack into a computer.

Of course, Cha Jiham understood that perfectly well too.

Cayman asked what Jiham thought of his assumption.

“Liu Peiqi takes thirty percent of the cryptocurrency in exchange for providing protection to the hackers.”

“Son of a bitch!”

A colorful curse unexpectedly burst from Cayman’s mouth.

His outrage clearly came from how enormous a cut Liu Peiqi was taking for himself.

I needed to clear up his misunderstanding.

“Liu Peiqi converts the cryptocurrency stolen by the hackers into dollars.”

“So that thirty percent also includes the fee for cashing it out?”

“Exactly. If Major General Lee Cheolseung returns to the villa with cash, we can consider the cryptocurrency transaction confirmed.”

Bzzzzzt.

The ringing of the phone in Team Leader Lee Hyeonsol’s hand cut through the silence.

As though he already knew who was calling, he switched to speakerphone and answered.

“Assistant Manager Kim, report. Quickly.”

[The high-ranking RGB officer and his subordinates just appeared in the lobby. They weren’t carrying anything when they went in, but now his subordinates are wheeling two suitcases.]

At that moment, the cryptocurrency transaction between Liu Peiqi and Lee Cheolseung became an obvious fact.

“Describe the size of the suitcases.”

[About seventy centimeters wide, one meter tall, and thirty centimeters deep.]

“Got it.”

[What are your orders?]

Team Leader Lee Hyeonsol looked at me, waiting for confirmation.

I held out my hand, signaling for him to pass me the phone.

Taking it, I spoke to the man on the other end.

“Assistant Manager Kim, this is the Director.”

[Hello, Director! This is Assistant Manager Kim Seongwon.]

“I’m going to give you your assignment now, so listen carefully.”

[Yes, I’m listening.]

“Use your phone to go online and look up information about Politburo member Liu Peiqi.”

[I know who he is.]

“Even better. Stay in the lobby and watch to see if he comes down. He might leave through the underground parking garage, so have another employee cover the garage exit. When he leaves the hotel, report to Team Leader Lee and follow him.”

After finishing my brief conversation with Kim Seongwon, I hung up.

Vice President Cayman immediately perked up.

“Director Cha, don’t we need to follow Major General Lee Cheolseung?”

“He’ll return to Liu Peiqi’s villa, so there’s absolutely no need to tail him.”

“I see. How much do you think is in those suitcases?”

“If they’re hundred-dollar bills, about five million dollars.”

“And since there are two suitcases, that makes ten million?”

“Most likely.”

After answering, I immediately turned to Team Leader Lee Hyeonsol.

“When you apprehend the hackers to send them back to our country, grab Major General Lee Cheolseung as well.”

“Understood. But it would be great if we could storm the villa right while we’re carrying out the operation to capture those bastards.”

I immediately caught the hidden meaning behind Lee Hyeonsol’s answer.

He had his eye on the ten million dollars in cash obtained from converting the cryptocurrency.

“Team Leader Lee, suppose your house caught fire. What would you take out first?”

“Valuables and cash...”

Realizing where I was going with this, Lee Hyeonsol stopped mid-sentence.

“Team Leader Lee, do I need to continue?”

“Of course not.”

“Then let’s think about how we’re going to snatch Politburo member Liu Peiqi.”

“Whaaat?!”

Everyone in the living room was struck speechless.

Liu Peiqi was one of the highest-ranking leaders governing China.

The idea of capturing him sounded so outrageous that their shock was perfectly understandable.

But I already had the logic necessary to convince them, so I wasn’t worried in the slightest.

“We don’t have any evidence that the hackers based at Liu Peiqi’s villa are stealing cryptocurrency. Nor do we have evidence that he converts it into dollars. That’s precisely why we need to take him alive and squeeze the evidence out of him.”

“I understand what you mean, but isn’t that too dangerous?”

I shook my head and answered Vice President Cayman’s question.

“If luck is on our side, snatching Liu Peiqi will be a piece of cake.”

“How so?”

“There’s a good chance he won’t return to Beijing tonight.”

“Why do you think that?”

“He could have sent an intermediary here to exchange the cryptocurrency for dollars. But since he came himself, that means he had another purpose.”

Vice President Cayman seemed to realize what Cha Jiham meant by that “other purpose.”

The Chinese government was undoubtedly keeping a close eye on Commander Kwak Taesu’s escape.

Liu Peiqi had come to Dandong specifically to investigate that escape.

Wanting to confirm his guess, Cayman asked directly.

“You mean Liu Peiqi came to Dandong to investigate Commander Kwak Taesu’s escape?”

“You’re absolutely right, Vice President Cayman.”

“Excellent. I’d like to hear your ideas on exactly how you plan to capture Liu Peiqi.”

To give myself some leeway in case the plan failed, I laid the groundwork first.

“Keep in mind that the plan I’ve come up with isn’t perfect yet.”

“I understand. Let’s hear it.”

“Since Liu Peiqi is a recognizable figure, he’ll try to avoid being seen outside his room.”

“Most likely.”

“Which means there’s a very high chance he’ll have dinner delivered directly to his room.”

“I follow your logic, but how are you going to get inside?”

“If you listen to my conversation with Vice Chairman Wei Chen, you’ll understand.”

I immediately called Wei Chen.

As though he had been waiting for my call, he answered after the very first ring.

[Director Cha, what is it?]

“There’s a very high probability that senior Politburo member Liu Peiqi conducted a cryptocurrency transaction with Major General Lee Cheolseung.”

[I knew it.]

“To confirm it, we’re planning to take Liu Peiqi alive.”

[What?!]

Wei Chen reacted exactly the same way Cayman and the others had.

“We absolutely need to take Liu Peiqi if we want to nail him.”

[We’re thinking along the same lines there, but isn’t this too risky?]

“We’ll interrogate him to obtain evidence, then deliberately let him go.”

[I understand the idea. But is it even possible to capture him?”

“He most likely won’t leave his room.”

I explained my idea for capturing Liu Peiqi to Wei Chen in detail.

“...Have the room service ordered by Liu Peiqi delivered by the Triad member.”

[You want our man to take him?]

Disapproval was clearly audible in Wei Chen’s voice.

“The Triad member only needs to find out how many people are in the room.”

[That’s easy enough. Then who’s going to grab that bastard?]

“We’ll use our own employees.”

[So your people will follow our man inside when he delivers the food?]

“No.”

[Then how are you going to capture him?]

“We’ll go in behind the Triad member when he comes back to collect the empty dishes.”

[Hmm...]

Wei Chen fell silent, clearly thinking something over.

Fortunately, the pause didn’t last long.

[Director Cha, what if the Korea Investment employees shoot our man?]

“Why would you suggest that?”

[Suppose we leave him alive. Liu Peiqi will suspect that Korea Investment employees and our people are working together. Then our involvement in the operation to capture him will come to light.]

“I understand your logic, but we can’t kill the Triad member.”

[For an operation to succeed flawlessly, certain sacrifices have to be made.]

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

Quickly shaping it into a concrete plan, I continued my conversation with Wei Chen.

“Vice Chairman Wei, we’ll shoot the Triad member with a tranquilizer gun, and then...”

Vice Chairman Wei Chen responded with booming laughter, expressing his complete agreement with my proposal.