novelraw Chapter 122
Chapter 122
A cold winter wind blew at the rooftop railing.
Manager Bae Jeong-su took a deep drag of his cigarette while holding his coffee.
When the smoke scattered into a hazy white, the sound of footsteps was heard from behind.
“Manager Bae!”
Someone called him.
Bae Jeong-su turned his head to check who it was.
While scowling heavily.
They did not say anything to each other.
He merely held out an envelope containing documents.
Seeing how heavy it was, it seemed a lot was inside.“…It just arrived.”
“Will it really be okay?”
A short conversation.
However, tension was fully soaked into the voices.
Bae Jeong-su dropped his cigarette on the floor and crushed it out like an anxious person.
“Everything will be fine.”
The hand clutching the envelope trembled minutely.
It felt like what he held in his hand was his lifeline.
The footsteps gradually moved away.
Silence descended on the rooftop again.
What remained was Bae Jeong-su and the envelope in his hand.
And the bitter coffee.
A cold wind flowed desolately over them.
***
Bae Jeong-su slowly moved his steps toward the office with the envelope.
Sitting in his seat, he finished the cold coffee in one gulp and opened the envelope.
Inside, thick documents were packed.
His gaze turned sharp.
On the first page, the quarterly fund flow under the name of the Hong Kong subsidiary was shown.
What caught his eye was the item called miscellaneous expenses that rose regularly at the end of every quarter.
And a similar amount came back in the next quarter.
“Hmm. Did they siphon off funds and then match them back up.”
He checked and verified them one by one.
Looking at this alone, it was difficult to see it as normal fund execution.
Next was the contract-related documents.
[Overseas Store Renewal Consulting]
Bae Jeong-su flipped through the materials and read the detailed items meticulously.
The more he did, the more he thought it was beyond absurd, to the point of being ridiculous.
‘Even the total renewal cost alone is tens of billions of won. Among those, delegating the design and construction to Starbridge Consulting in Singapore?’
He checked the relevant company immediately.
The moment he saw the results appearing on the monitor screen, his brow furrowed.
[Starbridge Consulting]
The name alone was plausible.
However, the reality was disastrous.
An old commercial building on the outskirts of Singapore.
Moreover, the headquarters was a place where even a sign was not properly attached.
The building, also confirmed via satellite photos, was standing lonesome and desolate with its paint peeling off, and the lower floor was empty.
“What is this?”
Bae Jeong-su muttered and dug deeper.
He could not find a proper contact number, let alone a list of employees.
The thing they had set up as a homepage was also incredibly crude.
“Calling it consulting is just nice words; it is completely a paper company.”
A cynical smile hung on his face.
However, the smile disappeared quickly.
Because the moment he checked the remittance history again, an even bigger shock was waiting.
The records of the past two years came into view at a glance.
The traces of huge sums ranging from several billion won to tens of billions of won flowing steadily and systematically into this ghost company were clear.
The pretexts were also diverse.
[Store renewal consulting fee - 3.5 billion won]
[Local marketing research service fee - 800 million won]
[Professional personnel headhunting commission - 1.2 billion won]
Bae Jeong-su’s hand stopped while reading down one by one.
“Wait….”
He even mobilized a calculator and began tapping.
As he checked by cross-referencing the remittance dates, amounts, and account numbers, a pattern began to appear.
On the surface, they were amounts sent for different reasons, but in reality, the money was all flowing into the same account.
What was even more ridiculous was the next part.
[April 15 - Store interior improvement fee 1.8 billion won]
[May 15 - Store interior improvement fee 1.8 billion won]
[June 15 - Store interior improvement fee 1.8 billion won]
“The exact same amount at one-month intervals… what on earth is this?”
Anger began to mix into Bae Jeong-su’s voice.
This was not at a level called a simple mistake or duplicate processing.
A fund flow that was obviously intentionally designed.
His gaze moved toward the bottom of the contract.
“We confirm that all the above businesses are executed according to the approval of the headquarters' board of directors.”
It was a short but heavy sentence.
In the signature section, names familiar even to him were written in a row.
Bae Jeong-su carefully placed the documents he was holding onto the desk.
“It is a perfectly planned board.”
The puzzle pieces began to fit together in his head.
False contracts made under the name of overseas subsidiaries.
The evidence of hundreds of billions of funds flowing into ghost companies with no substance.
And even clear evidence that the headquarters' executives were involved in the entire process.
‘This… this is not at the level of simple embezzlement.’
Bae Jeong-su’s voice gradually trembled.
Now it was closer to fear than anger.
What he was holding now was not mere documents, but something like a bomb that could shake the entire company.
He held his ballpoint pen and verified while writing down the key items separately.
The tip of his finger trembled minutely, but his expression hardened coldly.
His movements while classifying and inserting the organized documents into a file folder were mechanical.
Gazing at the brown envelope placed on the desk, Bae Jeong-su let out a deep breath.
“Now I understand. Why did the Managing Director tell me to do this?”
To him, this data was not ordinary work.
It was like a time bomb containing the ugly inner side of Taeseong Department Store just as it was.
And the one who held the detonator of that bomb now was himself.
Bae Jeong-su stared at the file folder for a long time and finally picked up his cell phone.
After hesitating for a moment, he made a call.
When he pressed the numbers, someone picked up immediately without even a dial tone.
-Manager Bae, it is me. Did the results come out?
Managing Director Lee Tae-jun’s voice heard from the cell phone was full of expectation that could not be hidden.
Bae Jeong-su moved his dry lips and answered.
“Yes, Managing Director. It has been prepared as you said. I think you should check it immediately; may I visit you now?”
-Good. Come to the office.
The call ended.
Just from Managing Director Lee Tae-jun’s bright voice alone, he was already like a person who held victory in his hand.
Bae Jeong-su moved his steps while packing the file folder full of the corruption of Taeseong Department Store.
What he held in his hand felt unnecessarily heavy.
As he turned his head while pressing the elevator button and the floor where Managing Director Lee Tae-jun’s office was, he felt like his pale face reflected in the mirror was distorted.
Every time he went up floor by floor, his heart also fluctuated along with it.
When he finally reached the destination, the elevator door opened and he busily moved his steps toward the familiar place.
Fortunately, Managing Director Lee Tae-jun’s secretary was not at their seat.
He raised his voice in front of the door.
“Managing Director, it is Bae Jeong-su.”
“Come in!”
Bae Jeong-su put strength into his hand.
As if it were something he should not miss.
The door opened and Managing Director Lee Tae-jun even stood up from his seat and wore a bright smile.
“You have arrived. Manager Bae. I was waiting for you to come.”
After bowing to greet him, Bae Jeong-su handed the file folder to Managing Director Lee Tae-jun.
“This is it, Managing Director. It is the material you mentioned.”
Lee Tae-jun’s gaze flashed for an instant.
Like a child who received a long-awaited gift, he pulled his chair close to the desk.
“Good, let us take a look.”
The moment the file folder was opened, the thickly organized transaction details and contract copies captured his gaze.
Every time Lee Tae-jun flipped a page, he let out a small exclamation.
“Haha, good. This is it. There are many traces where the money spiked every quarter and then came back in. At this level, it cannot even be brushed off as a simple error.”
Bae Jeong-su added an explanation in a calm voice while nodding.
“Yes, that is correct. Upon cross-referencing the remittance details meticulously, there are also records where the same amount was repeatedly sent at one-month intervals. On the surface, it varies with renewal costs, marketing research, and headhunting commissions, but in the end, it all went into the same account.”
Lee Tae-jun showed a satisfied laugh while tapping the documents with his finger.
“Quite perfect. Anyone can see the money was siphoned off intentionally. You really worked hard, Manager Bae.”
“It is not over yet.”
“Is there more than this?”
Bae Jeong-su continued his explanation.
Lee Tae-jun checked by flipping through the documents.
“If you look at that part, there is Starbridge Consulting in Singapore. The name was grand, but the actual address is a shabby building on the outskirts, and there are no proper employees or contact information. It is literally a paper company.”
“Hahahaha!”
Lee Tae-jun threw his body back and burst into a refreshing laugh.
His face was already full of a sense of victory.
“I knew it would be like that! Now they are doing all sorts of things. This is exactly the evidence I wanted!”
However, as Lee Tae-jun liked it more, Bae Jeong-su’s expression gradually hardened.
“Managing Director, this is truly dangerous.”
Lowering his voice, he continued speaking cautiously.
“Even the signatures of the headquarters' executives are included. The board of directors' approval phrase was specified. It seems practically the entire group is involved.”
Lee Tae-jun narrowed his eyes for a moment and then regained his confident smile.
“Dangerous? No, Manager Bae, listen to me carefully. This is an opportunity for us. It is an opportunity given by the heavens.”
He stood up while tapping the desk with his palms.
“If there is clear evidence, President Lim Do-hyun will be able to strike even more powerfully in the meeting room. If it is as you have organized, I will be watching their breath being completely cut off in the meeting room.”
Bae Jeong-su added his words while cautiously taking a step back.
“With this data, it will certainly be so. Still, wouldn't the facts alone be enough? If you push too excessively, you might end up facing a backlash instead.”
Lee Tae-jun pondered Bae Jeong-su’s words for a moment and then looked at him slowly.
“Yes, yes. You must be saying that because you are worried. But do not worry. Do you think I cannot even make that much of a calculation?”
A smile full of victory was still floating on his mouth.
It was as if he were already imagining himself pulling the strings of everything in the meeting room.
Gazing at the documents containing the massive content, Bae Jeong-su muttered low in his mind.
‘It would be lucky if this really works out well… but will it really go only as planned?’
Lee Tae-jun headed straight to President Lim Do-hyun’s office with the file folder he received from Bae Jeong-su.
When he opened the door and entered, Lim Do-hyun was standing by the window with his arms crossed, admiring the outside scenery.
He glanced at the documents Managing Director Lee Tae-jun was holding and spoke.
“Is that what you mentioned?”
“Yes, President.”
Lee Tae-jun handed the file folder to Lim Do-hyun.
A confident smile was hanging on his face.
“As you will see, the fund flow of the overseas subsidiary is quite a spectacle.”
As Lim Do-hyun’s gaze quickly scanned the pages, his eyes became increasingly cold.
“A pattern where the same amount went out and came back every quarter… it is certainly not a normal appearance.”
Lee Tae-jun caught the words as if he had been waiting.
“That is correct. Furthermore, the destination of the remittance is a paper company in Singapore. On the surface, they gave various reasons, but in reality, it is like they were sweeping the money into the same account.”
Managing Director Lee Tae-jun added mockingly.
“In the end, doesn't it mean President Lim Hye-seon is not much different from us? She kept babbling about principles and integrity whenever she opened her mouth, but behind the scenes, what she pocketed is no ordinary amount. Perhaps the method is even dirtier.”
Lim Do-hyun muttered without taking his eyes off the documents.
“Hmm. In the end, she dug her own grave.”
“That is right, President. Now if we just present this, Lim Hye-seon is finished. No one will be able to protect her in the meeting room.”