novelraw Chapter 47 : I Recommend You Exchange It for Dollars
Chapter 47 : I Recommend You Exchange It for Dollars
Chapter 47: I Recommend You Exchange It for Dollars
The next morning.
Before heading to the office, I first visited Yang Sobo’s study. Now that everything had come to an end, I had to report the final results to him and discuss the direction going forward.
“Through this operation, we earned a total profit of around two billion hwan.”
I said this as I placed the prepared documents on his desk.
“After deducting the exchange fees collected by the stock exchange, that leaves us with about one billion seven hundred ninety million hwan. And after subtracting the ten percent reward we promised to President Cheon Sang-do of Mando Securities, the net profit we secured is one billion seven hundred seventy-nine million hwan.”
At my report, a faint glimmer of admiration appeared in Yang Sobo’s usually impassive expression.
“You’ve achieved far greater profits than I expected. How did you manage that when Jeong Tae-soo was shaking up the entire board?”
“Thanks to Deputy Director Jeong’s intervention at the exchange—he exempted the sellers from paying settlement differences—I was able to revise the plan more boldly.”
I then explained in detail everything that had happened while he was away—Jeong Tae-soo’s unilateral interference and how it had led to the operation being revised.
“I heard a brief report through Zhang Wei, but hearing it from you directly is astonishing. In that short time, amidst all those variables, how could you have modified the plan so perfectly and carried it out so flawlessly, I wonder….”
At last, Yang Sobo dropped his indifferent façade and clicked his tongue in admiration.
“It wasn’t all that difficult. I’m sure others thought along similar lines. The difference lies only in whether they had the courage and ability to execute it.”
I replied calmly. Yang Sobo looked at me for a moment, then asked what he had probably been most curious about.
“Then why did you give Park Jeong-ho that kind of advice? I heard you told him to donate all his assets to the national treasury.”
As expected, Yang Sobo already knew what had happened yesterday. Proof that his eyes and ears were everywhere.
But since I had anticipated that, I wasn’t surprised and answered evenly.
“Because of Deputy Director Jeong Tae-soo.”
At my firm reply, one of Yang Sobo’s eyebrows twitched. I continued.
“The Jeong Tae-soo I know would never sit idly by and watch all of Park Jeong-ho’s assets flow intact into the national treasury. He would have found a way—any way—to seize that money and turn it into his own secret fund.”
“……”
“I wanted Park Jeong-ho to fall, yes, but I didn’t want his filthy money ending up in the hands of an even greater evil like Jeong Tae-soo. I thought it would be far better for it to be turned over to the state and used to help those who suffered during this crisis.”
Yang Sobo slightly furrowed his brow, then shook his head as though he couldn’t quite understand.
“No matter how I think about it, I can’t make sense of your feelings toward Jeong Tae-soo. There must be something I don’t know, isn’t there?”
His sharp gaze pierced through me like a blade.
“Jeong Tae-soo will find out about this. And when he does, he won’t leave alone the man who interfered with his affairs.”
“Deputy Director Jeong never told me such a plan directly. It’s all just my speculation. Even if he has suspicions, he has no evidence—he can’t touch me. Especially not while he still wants to possess me.”
As long as Jeong Tae-soo desired me, the chance of him harming me directly was low.
The way he subdued people was insidiously thorough—isolating them completely, tormenting those around them, until they had no one left to rely on but him. That was how he chained them.
So he wouldn’t dare resort to something so crude.
“Someone needs to clean up this mess. Even if you combine all of Park Jeong-ho’s stocks, real estate, and assets, it won’t be enough to fully cover the damages. But what matters is that it’s a ‘voluntary donation.’ Even if Jeong Tae-soo disapproves, other government officials will welcome it.”
At my words, Yang Sobo let out a deep sigh and nodded.
“You always think one step ahead. You’re right. Chairman Han would surely welcome Park Jeong-ho’s decision. He’s already secured plenty of political funds through this operation, and now it’s time to recover public sentiment.”
Yang Sobo gave a bitter smile. Ever since he’d shown emotion before me once, he’d started revealing a range of expressions.
“Since Park Jeong-ho threw himself in as the scapegoat, it’s convenient for the government to cut off the tail, and it gives them justification to calm the public’s anger. A perfect picture, really.”
“This matter is now over.”
“No.”
Yang Sobo firmly shook his head. His face turned grave.
“This is only the beginning. Park Jeong-ho will disappear, but on the corpse he leaves behind, a new struggle will begin.”
He was right. With this incident, Director Kang Byung-woo would lose his position, and a new power struggle would erupt over the vacancy.
The stock and financial markets, thrown into chaos by the operation, would suffer for quite some time—and feeding off that confusion, the private loan market would grow grotesquely large.
Jeong Tae-soo would surely try to seize control of the Myeong-dong private loan market through Dan Tae-geon.
And I had to stop that.
“Baek, you’d best keep a low profile for a while.”
“Thank you for the advice. I was planning to leave Seoul for a time anyway—to avoid Jeong Tae-soo’s gaze, and also because I have some other matters to attend to.”
“That matter you asked Deputy Director Noh Gi-tae to handle, I assume?”
“Yes. I asked him to locate someone for me. Once I get word, I plan to move right away.”
Yang Sobo gave a slight nod and called for Zhang Wei. Soon, Zhang Wei opened the door and entered.
“Zhang Wei. Go with Baek and collect the check. And…”
Trailing off for a moment in thought, Yang Sobo looked back at me.
“Your share from this operation will be five hundred million hwan. That should be enough, shouldn’t it?”
I couldn’t help but open my mouth in surprise. I hadn’t expected such a generous reward at all.
After all, I’d already made a huge profit with his support, and this short-selling operation had essentially been an act of assisting him.
As I stood there speechless, Yang Sobo curved his lips faintly and added an explanation.
“So you can make that kind of face too. No one else I know could have achieved the same results. I always believe in rewarding people properly.”
“……Thank you, sir. I’ll make good use of it.”
I bowed deeply with sincerity. Had it been Jeong Tae-soo instead of Yang Sobo, he’d have just tossed me a few scraps and called it generosity.
“What about the two hundred million hwan we set aside for this operation?”
“That…”
After a brief pause, Yang Sobo spoke as if he’d made up his mind.
“That’s yours as well. No need to return it to me.”
“But didn’t you suffer considerable losses because of my plan? Even if Kim Jin-ho was at fault…”
“Yes. And I plan to collect that debt directly from Kim Jin-ho himself.”
“Is that possible? Does he even have that much money left?”
“He’s a bit short.”
Clicking his tongue softly, Yang Sobo’s eyes gleamed like a snake’s.
“Then his relatives can make up the rest. It’s nothing for you to worry about.”
A chill ran down my spine. It meant he intended to squeeze not only Kim Jin-ho but his entire family.
He must have said it deliberately—to remind me what happens to those who betray him.
“Thank you once again. I won’t waste what you’ve given me.”
Yang Sobo nodded and gave Zhang Wei another order.
“Go to Citizens Bank, draw up a five-hundred-million-hwan check, and hand it to Baek. Then cash out all the checks we received from the exchange, and…”
He gave Zhang Wei detailed instructions on how to handle the funds—so detailed that I could almost visualize how the money would be split and moved.
After all orders were given, Yang Sobo turned to me.
“When everything’s wrapped up, we’ll talk again. By then, we should also be able to discuss your younger brother’s trip to America in more concrete terms.”
Ah, finally. I cheered inwardly.
I rose from my seat, bowed deeply in farewell, and left the office with Zhang Wei.
Now, in my hands rested an enormous sum of money—something I had never even imagined possessing.
With this, I intended to build the foundation to stand against Jeong Tae-soo.
To collect the check, I headed to Mando Securities with Zhang Wei.
“Young President, you’ve come?”
When we arrived, Cheon Sang-do was already waiting for us, sipping tea with a relaxed expression.
However, the moment he noticed Zhang Wei standing behind me like a shadow, the smile instantly vanished from his face.
“Oh, Mr. Zhang Wei?”
Cheon Sang-do’s eyes widened in surprise. He jumped to his feet and bowed nearly ninety degrees in greeting.
Zhang Wei, who carried out most of Yang Sobo’s external affairs, was practically Yang Sobo himself in this business world.
Receiving the greeting as if it were a routine matter, Zhang Wei returned a curt nod.
“President Cheon, it’s been a while.”
“Oh my, yes! It’s been a mighty long time indeed. But what brings you to this humble place today?”
“I had some business to attend to.”
I cut in before Cheon Sang-do could continue and got straight to the point.
“Ah, you mean the check.”
Finally snapping back to his senses, Cheon Sang-do took an envelope from his desk drawer. It was the envelope containing the check he’d received from the exchange.
Without checking its contents, I took the envelope and handed it directly to Zhang Wei. While he verified the checks inside, I spoke to Cheon Sang-do.
“President Cheon, you played an important role in this operation. As promised, we’ll give you ten percent of the total profits.”
A flush of joy crossed Cheon Sang-do’s face at my words, but he quickly composed himself and nervously glanced at Zhang Wei.
Seeing the normally affable Cheon Sang-do so tense made me realize once again just how heavy Zhang Wei’s name carried in this world.
After checking the checks, Zhang Wei showed no change in expression as he took out another envelope from his jacket. The envelope, containing a check we’d received earlier from the bank, was placed on the table.
“After deducting the fees, the total might be slightly less than two billion hwan, but we’ve calculated it cleanly at ten percent of the full amount. This is a check for two hundred million hwan.”
At my explanation, Cheon Sang-do looked back and forth between the check on the table, Zhang Wei, and me.
“The reason we didn’t deduct the fees is…”
Before I could add further explanation, Zhang Wei interrupted coldly, his voice sharp as ice.
“From this moment on, President Cheon, erase everything about this operation from your memory. Whether it’s Park Jeong-ho, Jeong Tae-soo, or anyone else—if anyone asks you about this, you say you know nothing. Can you do that?”
At Zhang Wei’s chilling question, Cheon Sang-do stiffened, swallowing hard.
“Mr. Zhang Wei, please don’t frighten him too much. We’re all in the same boat here.”
“It’s better to make things clear.”
“Hmm… Would you mind stepping out for a moment? I have something to discuss privately with President Cheon.”
Zhang Wei nodded, gave Cheon Sang-do a final, sweeping look, and turned to leave the office.
Only after he was gone did Cheon Sang-do relax, exhaling deeply.
“Phew… Every time I see that man, my heart nearly jumps out of my chest.”
“Why are you so afraid of him?”
Cheon Sang-do looked at me with a face that said, Are you really asking that?
“Zhang Wei! Don’t you know how old man Yang Sobo managed to become the loudest name among all the Chinese merchants in this land? Money, sure, but the real reason is that man—Zhang Wei.”
“I do know that, but I didn’t realize you feared him to this extent.”
“Of course I do! The reason I founded a securities company in the first place was because of him! If I’d kept my feet in the private loan business, I figured I’d end up dead by that man’s hand someday, so I came out into the open! You can’t understand that fear unless you’ve lived it!”
Cheon Sang-do grew increasingly agitated, spitting as he spoke passionately. I smiled faintly and changed the subject.
“So, have you given it some thought?”
“You mean that talk about me getting back into private lending?”
With a small groan, Cheon Sang-do spoke in a reluctant tone.
“I thought long and hard about it… and well, I reckon the securities business’ll be in the gutter for a while. But going back to that cursed old line of work again doesn’t sit right with me either.”
I gestured toward the envelope on the table containing the two-hundred-million-hwan check.
“Add that amount to whatever you can recover from winding down your current firm. If there’s still a shortfall, I’ll invest to make up the difference.”
“What? The young president wants to be my backer? Have you already discussed this with old man Yang?”
“Mr. Yang and I are partners, not in a relationship where I need to report and seek permission for every action.”
“What? What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said. I help Mr. Yang with his affairs, but I’m not one of his subordinates.”
Cheon Sang-do’s eyes widened in disbelief. Considering that no one had ever spoken like that before, his reaction was understandable.
“Of course, I plan to maintain a good relationship with Mr. Yang. But I can’t keep helping him forever. I have to walk my own path, don’t you think?”
At my words, Cheon Sang-do fell into deep thought. It was something worth careful consideration—but I couldn’t give him too much time.
“I may be leaving Seoul for a while. So please make your decision and contact me before then.”
“And where should I reach you?”
“I’ll be closing down my current office soon. I’ll find a new one eventually, but not just yet. When you’ve made up your mind, send a messenger to Mr. Yang’s residence.”
Cheon Sang-do nodded heavily.
“All right then. I’ll make up my mind as soon as I can and get in touch.”
“Yes. Then I’ll be going now.”
I turned toward the door, but just before leaving, I stopped and looked back at him.
He had already opened the envelope containing the two-hundred-million-hwan check and was gazing at it with eyes full of rapture.
“Oh, and President Cheon.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“I recommend exchanging all that money into dollars.”
Leaving that final piece of advice behind, I walked out of the office without a shred of hesitation.