Chapter 69: The Sweet Trap

Bancroft strode over with heavy steps.

His face was flushed red with alcohol and anger, and madness flickered in his bloodshot eyes.

On the veins bulging from his thick neck, cold sweat or perhaps something else was beaded up.

“You cunning swindler bastard!”

He jabbed his finger at Lee Jun-hyuk.

His finger was trembling.

“Everyone, do not be fooled by that man’s words! He is a notorious liar!”

The crowd started to fall back like waves, murmuring anxiously.

The visitors exchanged uneasy glances, while the reporters quickly raised their cameras, determined not to miss this scoop.

“Click, click!” The shutters clicked in rapid succession, and the tension in the factory reached its peak.

Lee Jun-hyuk stepped forward calmly, moving to the center of the commotion.

“Mr. Bancroft, what brings you here today?”

“What brings me here, you ask!”

Bancroft roared.

His voice echoed throughout the entire factory, making even the distant workers stop what they were doing to look over.

“You spread lies across the United States saying you were building a factory in Boston! You filthy, cunning fraud!”

“I never lied. I only said, ‘the Boston site is under review.’”

Lee Jun-hyuk replied with composure and in a calm voice.

“Under review? Don’t make me laugh! Then why did you sign a contract for the land? I checked with my own eyes!”

Bancroft took another step forward.

His breath reeked strongly of whiskey.

It was obvious he’d been drinking since Saturday morning.

“It was a provisional contract. And when I received better terms elsewhere, I canceled it right away.”

Lee Jun-hyuk answered nonchalantly.

“In business, things don’t always go as planned.”

Bancroft’s face grew even redder.

The veins in his neck looked as if they might burst at any moment.

“You, you cunning yellow monkey!”

At last, he lost all reason and raised his fist high.

In that instant, someone grabbed his arm with a grip as strong as steel.

“That’s enough, sir.”

It was a low, composed voice.

A burly man in a well-tailored suit and fedora had come up at some point and firmly seized Bancroft’s arm.

His grip looked as hard as iron.

“Who are you people? Get out of my way!”

Bancroft twisted and shouted.

“From today, we’re in charge of security for this factory.”

The man replied coolly.

Behind him stood three or four similarly dressed men. All of them were professionals sent by Al Capone from Chicago.

“If you cause a disturbance during a public event, we’ll have to politely escort you out.”

Bancroft gnashed his teeth.

His face was bright red, and his eyes burned with hatred.

“Fine, just wait and see.”

He tried to shake off the man’s grip, but the man didn’t budge an inch.

“Please leave first.”

“Let go of me, you bastard!”

Bancroft struggled.

Eventually, he yanked his arm free, glaring at Lee Jun-hyuk as if he would kill him.

“You, your filthy canned food, all of it is finished! When June 3rd comes… No, before then, I’ll see you crawling before me on your knees!”

He screamed at Lee Jun-hyuk for everyone to hear, pointing his finger accusingly. His voice held not only madness, but a blind conviction in something.

“You think I don’t know about your investment with Ponzi? Just a mere hundred thousand dollars? I invested a hundred times more! Ten million dollars! On June 3rd, I’ll get one and a half million! With that money, I’ll crush you, your factory, everything you own!”

The crowd held their breath.

At the astronomical figure of ten million dollars, everyone seemed shocked, and the reporters began to furiously take notes.

“Impressive. Then I suppose you’ll just have to wait until then.”

Lee Jun-hyuk watched the scene unfold and spoke calmly.

“Of course, that’s if Mr. Ponzi can hold out until then.”

“W-what did you say?”

Bancroft’s expression wavered for an instant.

“It’s nothing. Just that… a return of 50% in 45 days is so good, it almost makes me nervous. There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world, after all.”

“Cowardly yellow-bellied monkey! That’s why you could only invest a measly hundred thousand dollars!”

Bancroft shouted, sneering triumphantly.

“I put in ten million! Do you understand? That’s an amount you Orientals could never even dream of in your lifetime!”

He threw a scornful glance at Lee Jun-hyuk, then turned to his men.

“Let’s go! There’s no reason to stay in this filthy, cheap factory!”

Bancroft marched out, his men hastily following behind. The sound of the factory door slamming echoed like a shout of rage.

A heavy silence followed for a moment.

People seemed dazed by the shock, only looking at one another without saying a word.

Lee Jun-hyuk took a deep breath, then turned toward the guests and bowed his head respectfully.

“I apologize, everyone. It was discourteous to show you such an unpleasant scene while you are our guests.”

He offered a sincere apology.

“That gentleman is an associate from a rival company who envies our success. I would be grateful for your understanding.”

“It’s fine! It’s quite all right!”

Just then, someone shouted in a loud voice.

It was Mrs. Mary O’Neil from Boston. She pushed through the crowd, warmly clasping Lee Jun-hyuk’s hand in both of hers. Hers were rough but warm hands, the kind you’d expect from a woman who’d devoted her life to charity work.

“We trust La Choy! We won’t be shaken by the words of such a rude and uncultured man!”

With her declaration, applause broke out here and there.

At first it was just one or two, but soon everyone in the factory began clapping as if on cue. The thunderous sound of applause filled the whole factory.

“That’s right! If someone like that is bad-mouthing a company, it just makes me trust it even more!”

A housewife shouted, and people burst into cheerful laughter.

“La Choy is the best!”

The clear voice of a young child from the tasting corner rang out.

The icy tension melted away in an instant, and warm smiles returned to everyone’s faces.

“Thank you. Thank you all, truly.”

Lee Jun-hyuk spoke from the heart, struggling to keep his emotions in check.

Walter, the factory manager, came up and whispered in his ear.

“Sir, shall we continue the tour?”

“Yes, of course.”

Lee Jun-hyuk nodded.

“Now, let me show you the heart of La Choy: the packaging process!”

Yoo Il-han called out in a bright voice.

“Someone just called us ‘filthy canned food’—so please, see with your own eyes just how clean our factory really is!”

People laughed as they lined up again, and the factory tour resumed. If anything, the earlier commotion seemed to have brought everyone closer together.

Joseph Bradley, the reporter from the New York Times, approached Lee Jun-hyuk, his gaze sharp as a blade.

He looked certain he’d just landed the scoop of the century.

“That man just now—he was William Bancroft, the railroad tycoon, right?”

“Yes.”

“He just admitted to investing ten million dollars with Ponzi… is that really true?”

“I only heard it as a rumor, but since he admitted it himself just now… I suppose it must be true.”

Lee Jun-hyuk answered cautiously.

The reporter scribbled furiously in his notebook, muttering under his breath.

“This really is… the gamble of the century…”

“And you, President Lee, also invested a hundred thousand dollars?”

The reporter gripped his pen and asked.

“Yes. It was for the Boston factory expansion fund for La Choy.”

Lee Jun-hyuk replied calmly.

“On June 3rd, you’ll both receive huge payouts. Bancroft gets five hundred thousand, and you’ll get one hundred and fifty thousand…”

The reporter spoke meaningfully as he wrote the two amounts side by side.

“I hope so.”

Lee Jun-hyuk gave a vague smile.

“But as they say, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

“Then why did you invest? Even knowing the risk?”

The reporter tilted his head and asked.

“Sometimes, businessmen have to gamble too. But I only bet as much as I can afford to lose, while Mr. Bancroft…”

Lee Jun-hyuk trailed off, looking toward the factory entrance.

The door Bancroft had exited was still slightly ajar.

“He staked everything he had.”

The reporter scribbled quickly, nodding in admiration.

“An interesting contrast. The cautious businessman and the reckless gambler…”

When the tour ended successfully, visitors received a small gift basket at the exit containing three cans of La Choy.

By 3 p.m., most of the guests had left, and Lee Jun-hyuk went up to his office and sank deep into his chair.

“It was a success.”

Robert came in and said.

“Bancroft’s interference actually became our celebration. People are now completely on La Choy’s side.”

“He dug his own grave.”

Lee Jun-hyuk said, gazing out the window.

“But… do you really think Ponzi can pay out one and a half million dollars on June 3rd?”

Robert asked anxiously.

“I wonder. That’s a huge sum, even for Ponzi, it’s got to be a heavy burden now.”

Lee Jun-hyuk smiled meaningfully.

Monday, May 10th.

Over the weekend, newspapers gave wide coverage to the La Choy factory open house event. In particular, Bancroft’s public confession of his ten-million-dollar investment made the front page of the financial section.

“Ten million vs. one hundred thousand—The Duel of the Century”

“Bancroft’s Dangerous Gamble—Will He Succeed?”

“Ponzi Investment Craze—The Light and Dark Sides”

Lee Jun-hyuk read the papers in his office, a satisfied smile on his face. The wave of public opinion was now entirely in his favor.

Knock knock.

“Come in.”

“Sir, here are the orders we received over the weekend. We’ve already sold over thirty thousand cans!”

“That’s good news.”

“And Mr. Petrucci called as well.”

Lee Jun-hyuk picked up the receiver.

“Mr. Lee, I have some amusing news for you.”

Joe Petrucci’s voice sounded cheerful.

“Bancroft went to see Ponzi again. He begged him to pay out some of his profit early—he can’t wait until June 3rd.”

“What did Ponzi say?”

“Of course, he refused. A contract is a contract, he told him. Wait the full forty-five days.”

Lee Jun-hyuk laughed.

It was proof that Bancroft’s anxiety was reaching its peak.

“I suppose so. Ten million dollars—that’s practically all he has.”

It’s true. I hear he even mortgaged all his real estate.”

“Do you really think Ponzi can pay out that kind of money? One and a half million—it’s just too much, isn’t it?”

“We’ll see. I’m curious myself.”

Lee Jun-hyuk replied vaguely, but inside, he already knew the answer.

Thursday, May 20th.

Lee Jun-hyuk headed to Central Park for a date with Catherine. Since he had to leave for Boston the next day, he’d moved up their meeting by a day.

“Is something good happening today?”

Catherine asked, dressed in a light green dress.

“I have to go to Boston for a while tomorrow.”

“Boston? Are you really building a factory there?”

“No, I have some other business.”

Lee Jun-hyuk smiled, but in truth, he was going to meet Ponzi.

“Is it about that investment?”

Catherine asked sharply.

“I saw it in the papers. You invested a hundred thousand dollars… Isn’t that too risky?”

“Don’t worry. I only invested as much as I can afford to lose, even if the worst happens.”

Lee Jun-hyuk tried to reassure her, but Catherine still looked worried.

“Still… fifty percent in forty-five days? That’s too good to be true. It actually makes me uneasy.”

Catherine took Lee Jun-hyuk’s hand. Her hand was warm, trembling slightly with concern for his safety.

“Please be careful. Your safety is more important than money.”

“I understand.”

They strolled slowly along the lakeshore. The sunset gilded the water with gold.

“You said you’re going to Pyongyang in December, right?”

Catherine suddenly asked.

“Yes. I’ll be visiting my family for the first time in seven years.”

“I’m sure they’ll all be so happy. How proud they’ll be to see their brother so successful.”

They sat down on a bench. The gentle spring breeze softly played with their hair.

“Lee Jun-hyuk.”

Catherine spoke in a serious voice.

“When you come back from Pyongyang… will you give me a proper answer then?”

“What answer do you mean?”

Lee Jun-hyuk asked, though he already knew.

“You know.”

Catherine blushed and stood up.

“It’s getting late. I should be heading back.”

“I’ll see you home.”

“It’s fine. I can go by myself.”

Catherine walked a few steps, then turned around once more. The setting sun painted her face beautifully.

“Boston—please, be careful.”