How a Salaryman Became an Underworld Boss

[”I’ll make sure President Douglas won’t be able to make a single move, so don’t worry.”]

Chairman Gomez sounded completely confident, so worrying any further would only have been unnecessary.

”I’m placing my full trust in you, Chairman Gomez.”

[”Excellent. Now let’s discuss something else.”]

”...Something else?” I asked.

[”What should we do with those Koreans Chairman Bongard brought over?”]

”Those two committed countless crimes in our country. However, Korea’s justice system is too lenient, so there’s a good chance they would receive only a few years in prison at most. That’s precisely why we sent them to the United States—to make them fully atone for everything they’ve done.”

[”Why make things so complicated? Wouldn’t it be simpler to quietly send them to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean?”]

Because of the despicable actions of CEO Kim Mansu and reporter Hong Yeonggi, a famous actress had been driven to suicide. Furthermore, because they sold information to Li Jiahan, the witnesses to the hit-and-run involving Cha Hyeonji had also been murdered. That didn’t even begin to cover the countless other crimes they had committed. Considering everything, they certainly deserved death, but I was only an ordinary man, not a judge.

”If we resort to that, the people who suffered because of them will be left with nothing but emptiness.”

[”I understand what you mean. Very well, then I’ll make sure they experience a living hell instead.”]

”I would be deeply grateful if you did.”

After discussing several more matters with Chairman Gomez, I ended the international call.

”Phew... That’s taken care of.”

Knock. Knock.

While I lay on my bed trying to clear my thoughts, someone knocked, and Cha Hyeonji entered my room.

”Brother, we never bought Mom any clothes. What are we supposed to do now?”

”Ha-ha-ha, don’t worry. Everything’s already under control.”

”What?! You already bought them?”

Cha Hyeonji stared at me with wide eyes.

”What do you think the manager was so persistent about, asking Mom to try on all those outfits?”

”Ah...”

My sister stretched out the sound, apparently understanding everything at once.

”All the outfits Mom tried on will be delivered to our house in a few days.”

”I had no idea! Wait, but I never saw you pay. How did you do it?”

”I transferred the money this afternoon. Just don’t tell Mom.”

”Of course!”

”Now then, shall we head over to Chairman Park’s place for dinner?”

***

”It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Sun Jisuk. I’m Jiham and Hyeonji’s mother.”

”The pleasure is mine. Now I understand why those two are so handsome and beautiful. They clearly take after their mother.”

”Oh my, you’re flattering me.”

”Please, have a seat.”

As soon as we sat down on the sofa, a maid served cold drinks. Chairman Park Yeongil took a sip to quench his thirst before speaking calmly.

”I have no children of my own, so I consider Chief Cha and Hyeonji my own grandson and granddaughter. With that in mind, Mrs. Sun, would you mind if we skipped the formalities?”

”Of course not. I was actually going to ask the same thing. Please speak comfortably with me.”

”Since this is our first meeting, addressing you too casually right away wouldn’t be very polite. Let’s ease into it gradually.”

”All right.”

”If you don’t find it rude, I’d really like to hear about your life.”

”Certainly. While I was still attending university, I passed the civil service examination and began working at the post office in Wonju, Gangwon Province. That was where I met Jiham’s father, and we got married. But when my son was around seven years old, my husband died in an accident.”

Sun Jisuk paused for a moment before continuing.

”I couldn’t leave my children alone while working at the post office, so we moved to my husband’s parents’ home in Taebaek, Gangwon Province. To support the family, I worked at a local restaurant there until recently.”

”I see.”

”But last month the restaurant suddenly closed. I lost my job, and since both my son and daughter kept insisting that I come live with them, I moved to Seoul.”

”You worked there for so many years. Surely they paid you severance?”

”Not a single won. The owner disappeared while running away from his creditors.”

At that moment, Secretary Kang Inhan respectfully but firmly joined the conversation, clearly bringing new information.

”Chairman, we’ve identified the owner of the restaurant. His name is Jang Seokcho.”

”I assume you’ve already found out why the restaurant closed. Am I right?”

”Exactly, Chairman. At the beginning of the year, Director Jang traveled to Macau with some friends, where he fell victim to a gambling scam and lost an enormous amount of money.”

”I see. Continue.”

”While being detained in Macau, Director Jang signed a promissory note before returning to Korea. The leaders of that scam later sold the debt to the Scorpion Gang, which operates illegal gambling houses in Incheon.”

Only then did I fully understand the situation.

Those bastards from the Scorpion Gang, trying to collect money from Jang Seokcho, had repeatedly shown up at the restaurant and terrorized everyone. Unable to withstand the pressure, Director Jang chose the easiest path—he fled and went into hiding. The debt collectors then ransacked the restaurant while searching for him. As a result, the restaurant had to shut down, and my mother was left penniless, never receiving the severance she had honestly earned.

While I was thinking about all this, Secretary Kang Inhan continued his report.

”...We’ve confirmed that Jang flew to the United States. I’ve already contacted the Gomez family and asked them to help locate his exact whereabouts.”

”Good. Have you tracked down the swindlers who cheated him?”

”Since we haven’t been able to question Jang himself yet, we don’t have precise information on them.”

”In that case, can’t we simply squeeze the Scorpion Gang until they talk?”

”That’s exactly what we’re planning to do very soon.”

”Surely Jang isn’t their only victim.”

”Most likely not. There are far too many scam syndicates operating in Macau.”

A question naturally occurred to me.

”Secretary Kang, the Scorpion Gang can’t possibly be the only organization connected to those Macau gambling syndicates, can they?”

”I think the same, Chief.”

”And there’s no way to wipe them all out at once?”

”To do that, we’d first have to completely eliminate every scam syndicate operating directly in Macau, and that’s quite difficult.”

”Hmm... You’re probably right.”

At that moment, Mom looked at me with gentle confusion.

”Jiham, why are you and the Chairman so concerned about this Director Jang and those swindlers?”

Korea Investment effectively controlled the entire country’s underworld. As such, it was our responsibility to eliminate the scum preying on Korean society. But since Mom wasn’t supposed to know anything about that side of my life, her question was perfectly understandable. Even if someone held a knife to my throat, I couldn’t tell her the truth.

”I just want to recover your severance pay from him, Mom.”

”But the restaurant has already closed. Is that even possible?”

”Even if the business is gone, Jang Seokcho is still legally obligated to pay you everything he owes as your employer.”

Bzzz.

At that very moment, Secretary Kang Inhan’s phone vibrated.

After looking at the screen, he immediately realized the call was extremely important and stepped into another room to speak privately. A few minutes later, he returned briskly and reported to Chairman Park.

”Chairman, Team Leader Lee Hyeonsol, who’s currently in China, just called. Go Yeongjun boarded a flight to Macau this morning.”

”That bastard has finally shown his tail. Tell Lee Hyeonsol they are to capture him alive no matter what!”

”Yes, Chairman! It will be done.”

After Secretary Kang’s loud, crisp response, Chairman Park Yeongil turned toward me.

”Chief Cha, do you know who this Go Yeongjun is?”

”Secretary Kang mentioned him briefly before, but I don’t know the full story.”

”Five years ago, that scoundrel patented an animal cloning technology and founded a venture company called K&J Bio. I thought the field had tremendous potential and invested five hundred billion won into the project. However...”

Chairman Park paused, as though merely recalling the events made his blood boil.

”Two years ago, a German biotechnology company sued K&J Bio in the Court of Justice of the European Union for patent theft. Realizing disaster was approaching, that bastard began transferring enormous assets overseas. Eight months ago, he deliberately bankrupted the company and fled to China.”

”Twenty employees from our debt recovery department, led by Team Leader Lee Hyeonsol, are currently pursuing him,” Secretary Kang Inhan added to complete the picture.

”If we catch Director Go, can we recover the money?”

”He transferred more than 1.5 trillion won abroad, so we’ll be able to recover every last penny.”

”I’m sure we aren’t the only victims. The major banks must also be caught up in this.”

”That’s very likely.”

”In that case, we absolutely have to catch him.”

Just then, the maid informed us that dinner was ready.

”Shall we continue this conversation at the table?”

Following Chairman Park into the dining room, Sun Jisuk’s eyes widened in astonishment. It wasn’t surprising—the enormous dining table was overflowing with an unbelievable variety of exquisite dishes.

”Chairman, isn’t this far too much food?”

”You know, once you reach my age, delicious food becomes one of life’s greatest pleasures. Please, help yourselves.”

”Thank you for the meal.”

As we ate and chatted comfortably, Chairman Park suddenly brought up a rather unexpected subject.

”Mrs. Sun, what vegetables are you planning to grow in your garden?”

”I haven’t thought everything through yet, but I absolutely have to plant watermelons.”

”Watermelons?” the old man asked in surprise.

”Yes. Jiham simply loves them.”

”I see. As for me, I love tomatoes. Would there be room for those?”

”Of course! I was planning to plant them as well.”

”Ha-ha-ha!”

Chairman Park laughed wholeheartedly.

***

The next day.

As soon as I arrived at the office and was about to begin my work, Senior Specialist Woo Changhun appeared at my desk. Surprisingly, his face was positively glowing with happiness, which was highly unusual for him. There was no way I could ignore it.

”Did something good happen over the weekend? You’re practically glowing.”

”Oh, absolutely!”

”Care to share?”

”Not here. Let’s go to the break room, and I’ll tell you.”

We moved to the lounge and took a pair of empty chairs.

”All right. I’m listening.”

”Ha-ha! Well, my friend, thanks to our Yun, I made a fortune!”

Only then did I realize what he was talking about.

Some time ago, Woo Changhun had given Yun Sola thirty million won to invest in Bongard Group shares. She had agreed to manage the investment on the condition that she would receive thirty percent of the net profit as commission.

”So what kind of return did Yun get for you?”

”She said it was a full seventy percent!”

For comparison, Korea Investment had achieved a seventy-two percent return, Hangang Group’s fund sixty-five percent, Chairman Bongard himself sixty percent, and Chairman Hudson sixty-five percent. Yet Yun Sola had somehow produced an astonishing seventy percent return.

Genuinely impressed by her investment skills, I continued.

”That’s remarkable. So how much did you end up making?”

”Twenty-one million won.”

Wait a minute.

Woo Changhun had invested thirty million won. A seventy percent return meant a profit of twenty-one million won. After deducting Yun Sola’s thirty percent commission, he should have received only fourteen million seven hundred thousand won.

Did that mean she had generously given him the entire profit?

I cautiously asked why she had suddenly become so generous.

”No, Yun didn’t give up her commission.”

”...Huh? Then how did that happen?”

”I scraped together all my hidden savings and secretly gave her another twenty million won without telling my wife!”

”Ah... I see.”

”So tonight I’m buying! I owe everyone a proper celebration!”

I nearly blurted out, You’d be better off squeezing someone else for that pocket change, but just then Yun Sola walked into the break room.

As soon as she spotted us, she quickly approached our table and sat down in the empty chair.

”What are you two whispering about?”

”I was just telling him how I got rich thanks to you. I’m treating everyone tonight, so make sure you’re free!”

”Actually, someone else should be the one treating everyone today.”

”Are you saying you’re paying?”

”Not at all.”

”Hmm... If not you, then... Cha?”

”You’re quite perceptive.”

Only a very small number of people knew that I was entitled to a fifty-one-billion-five-hundred-million-dollar share of the deal’s profits. Yet Yun Sola’s tone made it obvious she knew exactly what had happened. I definitely needed to find out where she’d gotten that information.

”Yun, why exactly should I be paying for everyone today?” I asked directly, staring at her.

In reality, Yun Sola had learned that Cha Jiham had received an enormous fortune directly from Chairman Yoon Jongu. But if she answered honestly, the family background she had worked so hard to conceal would immediately be exposed. Frantically searching for an excuse, she finally came up with one that sounded believable.

”Isabella told me. Any more questions?”

”Really? Then I can call her right now and verify your story?”

”Oh my... How strange... Summer is still a long way off, yet it’s unbearably hot already!”

Yun Sola began vigorously fanning herself with her hand as though overcome by the heat before hurriedly fleeing the break room.