It had been about three hours since I finished my call with Lawyer Jin Sang-woo.
‘I hope nothing went wrong.’
I intentionally avoided contacting Chairman Han Seung-ho’s chief of staff, who was currently on-site. It was my own way of being considerate. They were likely busy enough as it was.
*Vrrr!*
Right then, the call I had been waiting for arrived.
“Hello.”
— It—it’s Jin Sang-woo. I did exactly as you said and went through the front entrance instead of the back. I escaped in the waiting van.
“That’s a relief.”
— B—but these people aren’t listening to a word I say! None of them speak Korean!
Of course they wouldn’t. If a crowd of Asians had been openly waiting for him, it would have been impossible to escape in the first place. The other side had eyes too.
‘They certainly handle things thoroughly.’
Feeling somewhat relieved, I spoke into the phone.
“Keep your mouth shut and do exactly as you’re told. You’ll be safe that way.”
— W—wait! You’re just going to hang up? At least explain what the future plan is!
Part of me wanted to keep him anxious a while longer.
‘But if he does something impulsive just when things are going well, it’ll be a headache for me too.’
I decided to provide a little more guidance to the man on the ground.
— Is there even a way for me to survive? Those persistent bastards… they’ll never give up!
“I have a plan. If I had to give it a name, it would be ‘Operation Fake Death’.”
— Operation… Fake Death?
“It’s exactly what it sounds like. We’re going to make it look like you’re already dead so the other side naturally loses interest.”
— That’s easier said than done!
“Well, it’s not exactly a rare occurrence.”
In fact, faking suicides abroad happened quite frequently. There were even instances of it in our own country’s history. A prime example was a legendary pyramid scheme that caused damage in the trillions. That criminal, whose activity spanned nationwide across Daegu, Busan, and Incheon, fled to China after the crime. Then, one day a few years later, news of his sudden passing due to ‘acute myocardial infarction’ arrived from the local authorities.
‘Who would believe that nonsense?’
At the time, he was only in his mid-fifties. In the end, it was a case that left countless victims back home shedding tears of blood.
‘It’s good to remind the public of these events periodically.’
If this operation succeeded, people would naturally be reminded of those cases. Then, they might think of the victims once more and develop a sense of vigilance against fraud.
— T—tell me the specific method!
“I’m sorry, but this plan requires absolute secrecy.”
— Hey! This isn’t just anything; my life is on the line! How does it make sense for me to be kept in the dark about this damn plan!?
“Then what about An Yu-ra, who died by your hand?”
— !
Jin Sang-woo immediately fell silent.
“She must have felt just like you do now—fearful, lonely, and anxious. Actually, looking at the situation, you’re better off. Unlike her, who died after being deceived by you, I at least have no intention of tricking you.”
— I—I… I only handed over the medicine like I was asked. I—I never dreamed it would lead to her death.
“Even after receiving that much money?”
— …
Silence followed once again.
“You know as well as I do, Lawyer. The ‘amount’ of money is naturally included as ‘circumstantial evidence’.”
It was a phrase frequently found in actual court rulings: the statement that ‘within the bounds of social norms,’ the amount in question was unusually large.
“Of course, it will be quite difficult for investigative agencies to uncover the existence of that overseas account… but you never know how the world works. Now, that account has become a trap tightening around your throat.”
— I—I’ll tell you everything! I was wrong! Please, just save me!
…He took the bait. For the record, my calls were set to auto-record. Not that he could even think of pulling anything funny at this point anyway.
‘It’s always better to be certain.’
Regardless, that was that.
“Just keep your mouth shut for now and wait.”
— W—wait, wait! You’re hanging up just like that!? What am I supposed to—!
I hung up without further response. The overwhelming terror of death, lurking who knows where or when—that was the punishment I, not the prosecutor in charge, was dealing him.
***
Assistant Manager Hwang Young-sik felt like his stomach was turning inside out lately.
[Blueberries from Eoreumgol Farm in Goseong sell out day after day! Sekyung Department Store’s Centum Branch screams with joy at skyrocketing sales…]
The neighborhood next door was in a full-blown festival mood. Meanwhile, his own side was just sitting around doing nothing. It hurt even more because he had already approached that same item before.
“Department Manager! Why don’t we just build a farm right next to theirs this time?”
Department Manager Jang Hak-soo let out a sigh. He could easily guess where ‘right next to theirs’ was.
“If Eoreumgol were just any common farm, it wouldn’t have been this big of a hit.”
“But we won’t know unless we try! There’s a saying by the Chairman I used to admire!”
“…What is it?”
“My friend, have you even tried it?”
*Tremble.*
Department Manager Jang Hak-soo’s tightly clenched fist shook violently. If that deceased, admired person were to return, wouldn’t he have said this?
‘Do you think I said that to a fool like you!? If I had someone like you under me, I would have fired you on the spot!’
“Whew…”
Managing to suppress his inner voice, Department Manager Jang Hak-soo maintained a benevolent smile.
“Assistant Manager Hwang.”
“Yes!”
“Did you finish everything I assigned you this morning? I told you to identify trends by season, category, and generation and submit a report.”
Truthfully, he didn’t have high expectations for this either.
‘He’ll probably just scroll through Instagram and take some screenshots.’
In other words, he was just giving the man something to do to keep him busy. Last time he gave a similar order and stole a glance, the guy was grinning like an idiot at photos of some young woman.
‘I wish he’d just shut his mouth.’
Good grief, what a life. How did I end up with someone like this under me?
“Assistant Manager Hwang Young-sik.”
“!?”
Just then, a savior appeared from an unexpected place. It was an official who had come down from the top floor of the building.
“Isn’t that the CEO’s secretary…?”
“Oh? Secretary Kim, what brings you here?”
Assistant Manager Hwang Young-sik immediately showed interest.
“Did you come to see me? Ah, this is quite awkward. I’m in the middle of work right now…”
“The CEO has asked you to come up for a moment.”
“Eh? Wh— No, the CEO?”
“Yes.”
“I mean, she could have just said what she wanted over the phone, why come all the way here…”
After muttering with a foolish expression for a moment, Assistant Manager Hwang Young-sik suddenly smirked as if he understood.
“Our Secretary Kim, you were shy.”
“…”
“You actually came because you wanted to see my face, right?”
“…”
“Ah, you don’t have to answer. I’ll pretend I didn’t notice! Come on, let’s go!”
Watching the display, Department Manager Jang Hak-soo smiled brightly.
‘I hope he disappears forever.’
***
The top floor of Shinhwa Department Store.
“Sister! Did you call for me?”
Assistant Manager Hwang Young-sik walked straight inside.
“…Oops. Not ‘Sister,’ you’re the CEO. Hahaha…”
Realizing his mistake, Hwang Young-sik tentatively glanced at her. However…
“…”
Surprisingly, there was no reaction. In fact, CEO Hwang Hye-gyeong’s expression was incredibly serious.
“…What is it? Did something happen?”
“…”
“Why aren’t you answering? You’re scaring me… Oh, right! Sister, can you pull some funds for our team? I’m planning to use capital to just crush that damn Eoreumgol farm or whatever it’s called…”
Finally, CEO Hwang Hye-gyeong spoke.
“Some rural farm isn’t what’s important right now.”
“Huh?”
“Father called. He said everyone is to gather at the main house tomorrow evening. That includes you and me.”
“!?”
Assistant Manager Hwang Young-sik’s face instantly turned pale.
“S—suddenly? Why?”
He knew from experience that this kind of development was never good. After all, something similar had happened before.
‘Was it when Father’s slush fund was caught red-handed? It was a situation where it was hard to claim a front man unless it was a blood relative, so I remember my second brother went to prison in his place…’
As a result, he rotted in that boring prison for a full five years. Of course, after he got out, Father demonstratively handed over one of the core affiliates to him.
‘The world out here is so much fun, who would ever want to do time?’
At the very least, he had absolutely no intention of taking anyone’s place.
“Do you have any idea why?”
“…I do.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“You’ve seen the news, haven’t you? That illegitimate girl.”
“Ah! That girl An Yu-ra!”
“It’s Hwang Yu-ra.”
Assistant Manager Hwang Young-sik’s face grew grave.
‘It’s not just a slush fund; he’s looking for a relative to serve time for a murder case?’
Even before heading to the main house, Hwang Young-sik made up his mind.
‘Yeah, no matter what he says, I’m absolutely not doing it.’
***
That evening, a call came from Chairman Han Seung-ho’s chief of staff. I explained the entire future plan to him. At the same time…
— …I see. You are truly impressive. It feels like I’m actually talking to a prosecutor now.
“Was I not one before?”
— Usually, you seem somewhat relaxed… Ah, my apologies.
A smile naturally played on my lips. This wasn’t something I took offense to at all.
‘It means I’m feeling that much more mentally stable.’
Therefore, I intended to protect this peace at all costs. Of course, while I was at it, I would also make sure to reap the seeds of karma I had sown.
“Anyway, the real problem starts after the plan succeeds. In other words, after Lawyer Jin Sang-woo is extradited back to the country.”
— …What specifically are you worried about? If it’s within Korea, we won’t fall behind Shinhwa, so you don’t need to worry…
I shook my head.
“It’s not that kind of problem. I’m going to use a method where the influence of specific powers won’t matter much.”
— …?
“According to my experience so far, there are generally two reactions that those with a lot—especially chaebol chairmen—show right before being detained.”
— I’d like to hear them.
“The first is to simply lie down in a hospital bed, citing old age or a chronic illness. In the old days, they’d call it getting in the wheelchair.”
— …If that’s the first, there must be a second.
Yes. Of course there was.
“That’s what I’m about to go and verify right now.”
— I’m looking forward to it. I’ll wait for your call.
With that, I hung up.
*Ta-da, da-da, thump-clack-clack, thump-clack-clack.*
At this moment, a famous scene from a gambling movie flashed through my mind, complete with its unique sound effects.
‘The cherry blossom card is already in my hand.’
I immediately looked up a recent message and dialed the number. And this was exactly why I had bothered to keep getting involved with the uncomfortable Shinhwa people.
— Oh? Representative Baek?
“…Assistant Manager Hwang Young-sik.”
At the sound of the voice over the receiver, I smiled brightly.
“Why haven’t you been answering my calls?”
— Uh… I was in an important meeting… but, what’s going on?
“We need to talk about our contract again.”
— …Excuse me…?
Just listen to that stupid voice. Is there not a perfect fool right in front of me just waiting to be fleeced?