CH127 | VOC

Lee Young-soo, the CEO of Hanyoung Tech, couldn’t believe his sudden streak of good luck.

“What’s going on? Everything is going so smoothly.”

After losing the bid, he had suffered a series of setbacks against Chunha Trading.

His investor, Mr. Han, was also losing patience, and Lee Young-soo was starting to feel the pressure. Then, unexpectedly, a lifeline appeared.

It all started when he started receiving shredded semiconductor waste from Kim In-ha.

His sales exceeded 2 billion won in just one month, just from delivering the shredded waste to the refinery.

He couldn’t even imagine how much Chunha Trading, which monopolized the waste disposal of countless large corporations, had been profiting.

“There’s always a way!”

And the biggest windfall was the defective semiconductors.

Defective products were always profitable.

He had casually asked Kim In-ha if he could get any defective chips, and the result was beyond his expectations.

“…How much is this worth?”

Kim In-ha had brought him 10,000 defective chips just a day after he asked.

And then a buyer named Woo-hyuk had appeared out of nowhere.

“100,000 won per chip… 1 billion won.”

He had made 1 billion won from just 100kg of goods.

It was the same value as gold.

And Kim In-ha had promised to deliver another 50,000 chips soon. It all felt like a dream.

“Finally… my time has come.”

Things that hadn’t worked out despite his best efforts were now falling into place effortlessly.

He made up his mind.

“I’m going to be the king of semiconductors.”

He knew it was risky.

But what wouldn’t he do for money?

“I’m Lee Young-soo! I’ll make a fortune from semiconductors and then escape to the Philippines!”

Just then, his phone rang.

“It’s Mr. Han.”

Mr. Han, his investor, was a major player in the Myeongdong gold market. He had invested in Lee Young-soo, seeing the potential of the electronic scrap business.

Until recently, Lee Young-soo had been dreading his calls, as he had been failing to generate any profits. But now, it was different.

“Hello, Mr. Han.”

[Mr. Lee, I heard the news. You hit the jackpot.]

Lee Young-soo puffed out his chest. “Just earning my keep, sir.”

[Earning your keep? I heard it’s a substantial amount.]

“It’s just the beginning. I’m aiming for bigger things.”

Mr. Han laughed heartily. – That’s my boy! I knew I had a good eye for people.

He had recently called Lee Young-soo a leech, but his voice now was as warm as the spring sunshine.

“I told you, this electronic scrap business is all about the big score. We were just waiting for the right opportunity.”

[I know, I know. You’re the best, Mr. Lee.]

Lee Young-soo said with a smug expression, “Just wait, the next deal will be five times bigger.”

[Five times?!]

“I’ll be getting more and more.”

Mr. Han chuckled, excited about the money. – But Mr. Lee, are you sure about that shredding company and the Chinese buyer? Are they trustworthy?

“Of course. The shredding company is stealing the chips during the process, so there’s no risk of getting caught. And I personally went to Shenzhen and secured the deal with the Chinese buyer. I worked hard for this.”

[Really? But I heard you don’t even have a visa…]

“Does that matter? The Chinese buyer is so eager to get the goods that he’s willing to pay upfront. The demand is high, and there’s no risk of not getting paid. It’s a great deal.”

[That’s true.]

“Anyway, I’ll make sure you get a good return on your investment, so don’t worry.”

[I trust you, Mr. Lee.]

Lee Young-soo hung up the phone and spat.

“Trust me, my ass. That bastard. He’s been hounding me about the money. Once I make a fortune from this, I’ll cut him loose.”

Just as he was cursing Mr. Han, the office door opened, and his accountant rushed in, her face pale.

“Sir!”

Lee Young-soo was startled. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Are we expecting any payments this week?”

“Payments?” He looked puzzled. “I can’t think of anything.”

She hesitated. “W-well, we received a deposit, but the amount is… unbelievable.”

“How much is it?”

She checked again and said in a trembling voice,

“Th-three hundred billion won.”

It was real.

300 billion won had appeared in their account, which had never held more than 10 billion won.

They were speechless.

“…Sir, what should we do?”

“What do you mean, ‘what should we do’?”

“Shouldn’t we report this to the police?”

He glared at her. “Report it?”

“It’s not our money. It could cause trouble later.”

She was right, but he couldn’t resist the temptation.

“…Let’s wait and see.”

“What?”

“Maybe it’s dirty money from a criminal organization. They won’t be able to ask for it back openly, would they?”

She said with a dumbfounded expression, “That’s ridiculous…”

“Why is it ridiculous?! Even if it’s not dirty money, we’re not spending it. We’re just holding onto it until the owner appears. And if the owner doesn’t appear…”

He gulped, his eyes bloodshot.

“…it’s mine.”

He looked around and whispered, “Don’t tell anyone about this. It’s our secret.”

He reassured her. “We’ll return it if the owner appears. We’re just holding onto it for now. What’s wrong with that?”

“That’s true, but…”

“If this works out…”

He made a circle with his thumb and index finger.

“I’ll give you a generous bonus. How about that?”

She hesitated and then nodded slightly.

“Good! Get back to work.”

“Yes, sir.”

After she left, he looked up at the ceiling, smiled brightly, and exclaimed,

“Thank you, God! I’ll work hard!”

The next evening, a daily newspaper published a front-page article about a defective semiconductor leak.

“A large quantity of defective semiconductors from a major domestic corporation leaked out due to equipment manipulation during the shredding process and was smuggled to China through the second-largest waste disposal company in Korea. The chips were sold at half the regular price to Chinese electronics manufacturers at the largest electronics components market in China, undermining the price competitiveness of Korean electronics. Our investigation estimates the transaction volume to be at least 1 trillion won, with new chips being traded at around 100,000 won each.”

I smiled after reading the article. “It’s a well-written article.”

Park Jong-bum agreed. “Such detailed investigation. I’m impressed by the reporters’ resourcefulness. Hehehe.”

I put down the newspaper. “What’s Saseong’s reaction?”

“They’ve called an emergency meeting and are launching an investigation. And…” He smiled slyly. “They can’t just sweep this under the rug now that it’s in the media. They’ll have to file a complaint.”

“Excellent. Where’s Kim In-ha?”

“He should be arriving soon.”

Park Jong-bum and I were waiting for him at a deserted park for a final meeting.

Although we had planned for him to be arrested, and he was aware of it, we still needed to reassure him.

After a long wait, Kim In-ha approached us, accompanied by a heihaizi.

“Welcome, Mr. Kim. You’ve seen the news, right?”

He nodded. “I have. This is just the beginning, right?”

I smiled. “Yes, it is. Are you ready?”

“What’s there to be ready for? I’ll just go to prison quietly.”

“We’re here for a final check. Just in case you’ve had a change of…”

“Don’t worry about that.” He said with a determined expression, “I’m not betraying you. Just pay me what you promised.”

There was no need for further discussion.

I could see the resolve in his eyes, and he could see that I wasn’t going to betray him.

“I colluded with Lee Young-soo of Hanyoung Tech and stole 7 million defective chips, worth 700 billion won. Our net profit is 200 billion won. Right?”

“That’s correct.”

“I’ve been through this before. I’ll just deny it at first and then confess.”

“I trust you.”

Woo-hyuk was my man, and I had an agreement with Kim In-ha. Hanyoung Tech was trapped.

“And I promised you a base payment of 10 billion won, plus a bonus based on your performance.”

“That’s right.”

“Business is good. I’ll give you 30 billion won, including the bonus.”

Kim In-ha smirked. “You know how to handle people, CEO Park.”

He and his brothers had already decided to sell ten years of their lives for money.

They wouldn’t be swayed by Saseong or the prosecution.

And with Hanyoung Tech as the clear culprit, they wouldn’t suspect anyone else.

“30 billion won. I won’t betray you even if I’m threatened at knifepoint.”

I smiled. “This meeting wasn’t just for the final check. I wanted to see you one last time.”

He chuckled. “It wouldn’t be wise for us to be seen together now that the news is out.”

“We won’t be seeing each other for at least ten years.”

“That’s right. At least ten years.”

It wasn’t a short time.

He might have sold ten years of his life for 30 billion won, but it wasn’t an insignificant amount of time.

We had a good relationship, so I wanted to part ways amicably.

“It’s been a pleasure working with you, Mr. Kim. Take care.”

“The pleasure was all mine, CEO Park. I made a lot of money thanks to you. See you in ten years. One last handshake?”

I shook his hand. “Take care of yourself in there.”

As he turned to leave, I said,

“Mr. Kim.”

He turned around. “What?”

“If another opportunity like this arises after you get out in ten years, would you do it again?”

His eyes widened. “Again? After ten years in prison?”

“Yes.”

He thought for a moment and then chuckled. “It won’t be 30 billion won next time. I’ll consider it for 300 billion won.”