How a Salaryman Became an Underworld Boss

Monday.

As soon as I arrived at work, I immediately summoned Director Heo Yeongjin and Team Leader Woo Changhun to my office.

But something seemed off. Both employees who entered my office looked utterly exhausted.

I couldn’t pretend not to notice, so I asked Director Heo Yeongjin,

“Director Heo, did you work over the weekend?”

“Work had piled up, so I had to come in.”

“You’re going to work yourself to death at this rate.”

“I’m in good health, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“They say there’s nothing more foolish than putting too much faith in your health.”

“Once we post the recruitment notice this week, things should get a little easier.”

At that moment, the secretary brought in iced coffees for everyone present.

Director Heo Yeongjin and Team Leader Woo Changhun drained theirs in one go, apparently trying to shake off at least some of their accumulated fatigue.

Feeling sorry for them, I asked the secretary to bring them another cup each.

They downed their second iced coffees just as quickly.

Realizing this couldn’t go on, I gave them a stern order.

“As soon as we’re done with this meeting, both of you are going home.”

“We’d love to, but we’re still buried in work. With your permission, we’ll finish the urgent tasks first and then leave.”

“Very well. I’ll allow it.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“Don’t mention it. Now, let’s get to why I called you here.”

“We’re listening.”

“My sister somehow knows the details of our upcoming recruitment. How did that happen?”

Director Heo Yeongjin tilted his head in confusion.

Personnel information was highly confidential, and keeping it secret until the official announcement was a strict rule.

That was precisely why he constantly reminded the HR department employees that leaks were unacceptable.

And yet it turned out that Cha Jiham’s younger sister knew about the recruitment.

Cha Jiham himself was an incredibly tight-lipped man and wouldn’t share such information even with his own sister.

That meant someone from HR must have told her.

“Chief of Staff, did you ask your sister who she heard it from?”

“She said she heard it from Senior Specialist Yun.”

Director Heo immediately realized what was going on.

Cha Jiham suspected either him or Team Leader Woo Changhun of leaking the information to Yun Sola.

If he failed to dispel that suspicion, it could have serious consequences for their positions.

“Chief of Staff, neither of us has even spoken to Senior Specialist Yun on the phone recently.”

“Then who could she have gotten the information from?”

“I can’t say for certain, but there’s a very high chance it came from Chairman Yoon Jongu himself.”

“Chairman Yoon? Don’t tell me...”

As if he had read my thoughts, Director Heo Yeongjin answered without hesitation.

“It’s exactly what you’re thinking. Senior Specialist Yun is Chairman Yoon’s granddaughter.”

“What?!”

Team Leader Woo Changhun shouted in astonishment before I even had a chance to react.

I silently stared at him.

Catching my gaze, he hurriedly apologized for his outburst.

“Ah, my apologies... I was simply caught completely off guard. Forgive my outburst, Chief of Staff.”

“I was just as surprised myself, so don’t worry about it.”

“Thank you for forgiving me. Director Heo, please continue.”

Woo Changhun stepped back, and I turned to Director Heo again.

“And when did you learn this bombshell?”

“Shortly after we returned from our business trip to the United States. Department Director Jeong Sunho told me.”

“And why have you kept quiet about it until now?”

It was because Director Jeong Sunho had ordered him to keep it strictly confidential.

If he told the truth, Jeong Sunho was guaranteed to get an earful from Cha Jiham.

In such a delicate situation, the best course of action was to avoid giving a direct answer and steer around the issue.

“A manager simply has to know how to keep his mouth shut.”

“When you put it that way, I can’t exactly argue with you.”

“In any case, I apologize.”

“It’s fine. Senior Specialist Yun’s ears must be burning today.”

The meaning behind Cha Jiham’s words was simple: it was time to close the subject of Yun Sola.

“Understood.”

“Now, something else. I’ve noticed that the employees who transferred from Korea Investment, Hangang Group, and Bongard Investment Group tend to keep to themselves. Is there any way to bring them together as one KBH Investment team as quickly as possible?”

“We also consider that a serious problem, and we’re planning to establish an organizational integration task force.”

Apparently, we were thinking along the same lines. Director Heo Yeongjin had come up with the same idea.

“Excellent idea. As for the task force, I think it would be appropriate to give its members oversight responsibilities over the employees who transferred from their respective organizations.”

“That sounds like a very good approach.”

“Assign Tracy and Gloria to the task force.”

Team Leader Woo Changhun seemed to have figured out Cha Jiham’s intentions.

Tracy and Gloria had stubbornly insisted on joining the secretariat.

And to knock that idea out of their heads, he had decided to give the task force considerable authority.

While he was lost in thought, the conversation between Jiham and Director Heo continued.

“Did they agree to your proposal?”

“I met with them over the weekend and got their consent.”

“Understood. We’ll establish the organizational integration task force as soon as possible.”

“Take care of it. You’re busy, so you can get back to work.”

No sooner had the dismissed Director Heo Yeongjin and Team Leader Woo Changhun walked out the door than the phone lying on my desk began to vibrate.

Looking at the screen, I saw that Chief Secretary Kang Inhan was calling.

Something struck me as strange. The number displayed on the screen had Switzerland’s country code, 41.

“Mr. Kang, when did you manage to fly to Switzerland?”

[I left yesterday morning.]

Gabriel had hidden 685 diamonds in a secret compartment at his villa in Interlaken.

Seventy-five of them had certificates, but unfortunately, the remaining 610 had no documentation.

Director Jean-Philippe had suggested having the rough diamonds appraised.

Since official certificates were required to sell the diamonds, I had agreed to his proposal.

He had probably informed Kang Inhan that the appraisal was complete, prompting him to fly to Switzerland to collect the jewels.

I decided to check whether my guess was correct.

[The diamond appraisal isn’t finished yet.]

“Then why did you go there?”

[I flew over urgently to buy Gabriel’s villa.]

The Swiss government had determined that the villa in Interlaken had been purchased by Gabriel with proceeds from drug sales.

As a result, the authorities had decided to confiscate the property.

After learning about it, Kang Inhan had hurriedly proposed to Director Jean-Philippe that we buy the villa.

Jean-Philippe, who owed us a great deal, readily agreed to his proposal.

That was why Kang Inhan had rushed to Switzerland—to finalize the transaction.

“Aren’t you rushing things a little? It’s not exactly a top priority.”

The matter of changing ownership of Gabriel’s villa had already come up last Thursday, which was why I raised the issue.

[Director Jean-Philippe himself asked us to complete the purchase as soon as possible.]

“Do you know why he’s in such a hurry?”

[He says that if we buy the villa after the confiscation process is completed, it could give rise to unwanted rumors.]

“But the fact that we’re buying Gabriel’s villa could cause rumors in itself, couldn’t it?”

[To avoid any risk, it was decided not to disclose to the press that the villa belonged to Gabriel.]

“Journalists aren’t idiots. They’ll find out sooner or later anyway.”

[I’ll pass your concerns along to him. And there’s one more thing...]

“I’m listening.”

[As soon as the diamond appraisal is complete, I’m flying straight to Hong Kong.]

I had made a verbal agreement to sell the diamonds to Chairman Zhen Weiliang.

Knowing that, Kang Inhan intended to deliver the stones to Hong Kong.

“That makes sense.”

[Excellent. I’ll see you in Hong Kong soon.]

“Why would I be going there?”

[You’re the owner of the diamonds, Chief of Staff. I’m exhausted, so I’m hanging up.]

Click.

Not wanting to hear my objections, Kang Inhan unilaterally ended the call.

“Still, it wouldn’t hurt to meet Chairman Zhen while I’m there.”

***

Time flew by, and Thursday arrived.

On my way to work, I received a summons from Chairman Park Yeongil.

After receiving permission to enter, I stepped into the Chairman’s office and saw Vice President Cho Myeongsu and Vice President Ju Seongjin sitting on the sofa.

I inclined my head slightly in respect to the owner of the office, who sat at the head of the room, then took an empty seat.

“Cha Jiham, how much do you think we should invest in oil futures?”

“I think the optimal amount would be twenty to thirty billion dollars.”

“Isn’t that a little too small?”

“Korea Investment has no experience trading oil futures. From a risk-management standpoint, it would be reasonable to start with a relatively small amount.”

“If Cha Jiham says so, then that’s what we’ll do. Vice President Ju, you heard him?”

“Yes, Chairman Park.”

Ignoring Vice President Ju Seongjin’s response, Park Yeongil continued.

“Kang Inhan called me a little while ago. He said the diamond appraisal has been completed.”

“Is that so? What was the result?”

“...How should I put this? They were appraised at seven billion dollars.”

Chairman Park Yeongil had offered Chairman Zhen Weiliang the diamonds for six billion dollars.

But contrary to expectations, the appraisal had valued them at seven billion.

That was why Park Yeongil had hesitated before answering my question.

I needed to ease the awkwardness weighing on him.

“Chairman, those diamonds are essentially an unexpected windfall, so there’s no need to worry about the amount.”

“It’s one thing not to worry, but we’re talking about a difference of an entire billion dollars!”

“I hate losing that billion too, but we’ve already given Chairman Zhen our word.”

“Ugh!”

Chairman Park Yeongil let out a heavy sigh and stared at the ceiling in frustration.

“Chairman, I actually think it’s for the best that the appraisal came in higher.”

“Why is that?”

“If the valuation had come in below six billion, Chairman Zhen would have held a serious grudge against us.”

“Hmm... Now that you mention it, you’re right. Fine, let’s drop the subject.”

“All right.”

“By the way, why did you decide to buy Gabriel’s villa?”

I possessed an astronomical fortune.

Thinking that there was no harm in owning a villa of my own, I had accepted Kang Inhan’s proposal.

However, deciding that such an answer would sound far too frivolous, I came up with a different reason.

“I decided to purchase it so our employees could use it while on business trips or vacations in Switzerland.”

“So, as a corporate benefit? And you’re planning to register the villa under our company’s name?”

“That’s right, Chairman.”

“That won’t do.”

I had expected Park Yeongil to approve my proposal.

Contrary to my expectations, however, he objected.

I cautiously asked why.

“Imagine our employees vacationing there. Sooner or later, they’re bound to find out exactly who the company bought the property from.”

The villa we intended to purchase had previously belonged to Gabriel, a Colombian drug lord.

Park Yeongil was worried that this information might eventually reach the employees.

“Chairman, we’re not buying the villa from Gabriel. We’re buying it from the Swiss government.”

“That’s where you’re mistaken. On paper, the transaction will be made directly with Gabriel.”

“But isn’t he in an American prison right now?”

“Director Jean-Philippe personally visited him in prison and obtained power of attorney.”

I had conveyed to Director Jean-Philippe my concerns that purchasing the villa directly from Gabriel could cause rumors.

As a solution, it had been proposed that everything be arranged as though I had personally purchased the property.

In that case, all the Swiss government would have to do was confiscate the money I paid Gabriel.

With things structured that way, the likelihood of rumors arising would be reduced to virtually zero.

“Ah, now I understand what you’re planning.”

“I’m glad you understand the situation. You’ll register Gabriel’s villa as your personal purchase.”

Chairman Park Yeongil brought the matter to a brief and unequivocal conclusion.