CH112 | VOC

Late at night, a faint voice came from a van parked in a dark corner of a deserted highway rest stop.

“They should be here soon…”

The man checking his watch was Oh Jin-mo, a gold wholesaler specializing in the black market.

In the gold trade, legally circulated gold was called “front gold,” while illegally traded gold was called “back gold.” Oh Jin-mo dealt exclusively in back gold.

The past few weeks had been a blessing for him.

Gold was leaking out everywhere, and it was finders keepers.

His earlier complaints about the gold collection campaign hurting his business were long gone. He was now praising it.

He received a cryptic phone call late in the afternoon as he was preparing to leave his office.

“Why are they asking me to prepare such a large sum of money?”

He frequently received calls about stolen gold, so the content of the call wasn’t unusual. But the amount was.

“At least hundreds of millions of won…”

He had dealt with many shell company employees, but the amounts had never been this high.

Usually, it was just a few million won.

The employees couldn’t steal too much at once without being noticed, and the recent increase in security had made it even more difficult.

He was suspicious, but the potential profit was too tempting to resist.

He made a call.

“Hello? Kim?”

[Oh, Jin-mo. What’s up? Did he arrive?]

“Not yet. It’s almost time, so I just wanted to check in.”

[Don’t worry. I’m a professional.]

“This is a large amount…”

“I’m relying on you, Kim.”

Dealing in the black market meant dealing with shady characters, so he always had backup for large transactions.

And having some muscle behind him was also effective when dealing with naive sellers.

He checked on his backup, waiting in a nearby car, and felt reassured.

Just then, he saw a car entering the rest stop.

His eyes gleamed.

“That must be them.”

Having conducted numerous transactions at deserted rest stops in the past few weeks, he could now easily distinguish between travelers and those there for business.

Unlike ordinary cars, which parked as close to the rest stop as possible, this car was slowly driving through the parking lot, circling it.

It was clearly looking for his black van.

The car, after circling the parking lot, spotted his van, turned off its headlights, and slowly approached.

The man who got out of the car was dressed suspiciously.

A bucket hat, a mask, sunglasses, and a long coat on a warm summer night.

Oh Jin-mo clicked his tongue.

“Those amateurs, watching too many movies.”

It was a common occurrence.

They were trying to be discreet, but they were only attracting attention.

The man approached the van and knocked on the window.

Oh Jin-mo rolled down the window.

“Mr. Park?”

The man hadn’t even given his full name.

He nodded, and Oh Jin-mo said,

“The goods?”

The man patted his chest.

“You have it on you? Then get in.”

He let the man into the van and said with a disapproving look,

“Mr. Park, this is your first time, so you might not know, but that suspicious outfit will only attract attention. Dress normally next time. Understand?”

He sighed, seeing the man remain silent.

“Anyway, it’s not important. Let’s see the goods.”

The man said in a low voice,

“…Money.”

“What?”

“Show me the money.”

Oh Jin-mo said with a puzzled expression,

“Don’t worry about the money. Just show me the goods.”

“Money. First.”

“You’re a suspicious one. Fine, I’ll show you.”

He opened a cardboard box on the back seat.

It was filled with stacks of 10,000 won bills.

“Satisfied? Now show me the goods.”

The man nodded and reached inside his coat, pulling out a flat, rectangular object wrapped in newspaper.

Oh Jin-mo unwrapped it and gasped.

“What?”

It was a gold bar, shaped like the Korean flag, fluttering in the wind.

He had bought countless gold items, but he had never seen anything like this.

“This is gold?”

The man nodded. Oh Jin-mo, stunned, hefted the gold bar and then his eyes widened as he turned it over.

“What is this?”

Engraved on the back of the gold bar were the words “Gold Collection Campaign Donation,” followed by a list of names and titles.

And the titles were impressive.

“National Assembly members, association presidents… Park Sol, CEO of Chunha Trading and Park Sol Foundation…?”

Chunha Trading was a well-known name in the black market gold trade.

They were the undisputed leader in the electronic scrap industry, the only company in Korea that produced gold.

Every back gold dealer knew about Chunha Trading and its CEO, Park Sol.

Oh Jin-mo’s eyes wavered.

“What is this…?”

After the transaction, the man left the rest stop, took off his sunglasses and mask, and said,

“It’s hot! So hot!”

It was Park Jong-bum.

“Even at night, a coat? I’m going crazy.”

He took off his bucket hat and coat and fanned himself with his hand.

“I’m not an actor, why do I always have to play these roles?”

He knew that Maru and Park Sol, with their large builds, couldn’t play this role, but he still grumbled.

“I almost died from the heat.”

He regained his composure, took out his phone, and called Park Sol.

[Hello?]

“Sir, I sold it.”

[Hehehe, good work. Is it hot?]

“It’s not just hot, I almost passed out.”

He glanced at the rearview mirror.

“Is that you and Managing Director Kim following me?”

[Yes, it is.]

They wouldn’t let him go alone for such a risky transaction.

They had been waiting at the rest stop, and when they saw him leave, they followed him.

[Please understand. The fewer people who know, the better.]

Park Jong-bum nodded.

Only four people knew about the second Taegeukgi gold bar: the three executives of Chunha Trading and the goldsmith who had crafted it.

And the goldsmith was currently enjoying a free trip to China, under the watchful eyes of Chunha Trading employees.

“Do you think this will work?”

Park Jong-bum had been against the plan from the beginning.

He didn’t think it was necessary to involve another person and create a variable.

What if Oh Jin-mo didn’t bring the gold bar to Chunha Trading and sold it or melted it down instead?

It would have been much simpler to just report it to the media, claiming they had found it.

But Park Sol had insisted.

[You agreed that Oh Jin-mo has to be the witness and the whistleblower.]

“I agree that it’s more effective, but I’m still not sure if it’ll work.”

Park Sol chuckled on the other end of the line.

[Don’t worry. I’ll take care of the rest. That Taegeukgi gold bar will be ours.]

* * *

“This is troublesome.”

Oh Jin-mo returned to his office and looked at the Taegeukgi gold bar with a troubled expression.

It hadn’t taken him long to figure out its origins.

The donation date was engraved on the back, and he found newspaper articles from that day and the following day, which explained the situation.

“So it’s the gold bar donated by the Park Sol Foundation a week ago.”

It was worth at least 400 million won.

He had bought it from “Mr. Park” for 150 million won, so even if he just melted it down and sold it, he would make a 250 million won profit.

But he hesitated.

“I think I can get more out of this…”

Gold dealers weren’t fools.

They knew the risks and implications of the trading companies’ scheme.

And unlike the usual stolen gold, the origin of this Taegeukgi gold bar was clear. It was undeniable evidence, something the trading companies had to keep hidden at all costs.

He was holding a powerful weapon.

“Ugh.”

But that’s why he was so hesitant.

Many people, from the media to the trading companies, would be willing to pay a premium for this gold bar. But could he, a small-time black market gold dealer, handle the consequences?

Absolutely not.

“This could ruin me.”

None of the parties involved, from the National Assembly members and the association presidents to Chunha Trading and the trading companies, were easy opponents.

“How did that guy even steal this? And what were the trading companies doing? How did this end up in my hands?”

He muttered after a long silence,

“Should I sell it to Chunha Trading? They seem like the most reasonable among them. I could ask for a premium and a guarantee of confidentiality…”

Chunha Trading was known for its strict business practices.

Unlike other shady dealers who tried to cheat and manipulate the weight, Chunha Trading was fair and transparent.

And they were also known for their loyalty.

There were stories of people who had been ruined for trying to cheat Chunha Trading and stories of those who had prospered by building a good relationship with them.

They were the best clients, as long as you didn’t try to scam them.

If he used this gold bar to build a relationship with Chunha Trading, they would reward him handsomely. But if Chunha Trading exposed the gold bar and the scheme was revealed, he would be crushed between the giants.

He sighed.

“I’m just a small-time dealer…”

He said hesitantly,

“Should I just melt it down?”

Melting it down was the safest option.

He could maintain his peaceful life and avoid getting involved in this mess.

He said with a hardened expression,

“Yes, let’s melt it down.”

It was a shame to lose the money, but his safety was more important.

He wasn’t a hero, he had no loyalty to anyone.

He was just a small fry, trying to make a living.

Exposing the scheme and jeopardizing his current source of income would be like killing the goose that laid the golden eggs.

It was safer and more profitable to keep quiet and continue receiving stolen gold from the shell companies.

He nodded.

“I’ll melt it down tomorrow.”