Chapter 315: Is There Any Need for That?

I had flown to the Philippines on a business trip for one purpose: to stop North Korea from supplying missiles to Abu Sayyaf.

Our country had provided the Philippines with KGGB kits free of charge so they could bomb the group’s base. The Philippine Air Force equipped its FA-50PH light attack aircraft with KGGB bombs, struck Abu Sayyaf’s stronghold, and practically flattened it, scoring a brilliant victory.

In the process, not only had we managed to capture Carlos alive, but we had also gotten our hands on a considerable amount of spoils.

At the same time, Vice Chairman Wei Chen successfully eliminated his sworn enemy, Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui.

And thanks to the active efforts of Reconnaissance General Bureau Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol, we had even managed to seize the North Korean submarines.

In short, the goals of my trip to the Philippines had been exceeded by a wide margin.

All that remained was to return home with an easy mind.

The only problem was that, because of Saho, I had to fly back on Director Griffin’s private plane.

For some reason, however, Griffin did not seem to be in any hurry to leave today.

I cautiously asked him why we were being delayed.

“Since we’re already here, I’d like to see how Vice Chairman Wei sells the gold to either Politburo member Liu or Deputy Secretary Zhang.”

Director Griffin’s words made it sound as though he intended to fly to Hong Kong.

I had a different opinion.

“Director Griffin, the gold transaction won’t begin until next week at the earliest.”

“Why so late?”

“To properly teach either Politburo member Liu or Deputy Secretary Zhang a lesson, we first need to drive up the global price of gold.”

“Can’t you just discuss it with Chairman Bongard and raise the price immediately?”

“I’d love to, but today and tomorrow are the weekend.”

“Ah, I see...”

Director Griffin nodded in understanding.

“Vice Chairman Wei and Chairman Zhen can handle everything perfectly well without our help. They’ll teach either Politburo member Liu or Deputy Secretary Zhang a lesson they won’t forget.”

Vice Chairman Wei Chen cut in, his voice overflowing with confidence.

“You heard him, Director Griffin.”

“Well, I suppose there’s nothing we can do about it. We’ll leave this afternoon.”

Considering that good news, I turned to Director Santiago.

“I hope you completely eradicate the drug distribution network.”

“We will. We’ll do everything we can.”

Santiago gave me that assurance with unprecedented enthusiasm.

***

Beep-beep-beep-beep.

After returning from my business trip, I entered the code, opened the front door, and went inside.

Cha Hyeonji came out to greet me.

The instant he saw her, Saho leaped up happily and jumped into my sister’s arms.

Gently stroking the cat’s fur, Hyeonji spoke to me in an unexpectedly soft, sugary voice.

“Oppa, welcome home! You must’ve been terribly tired from the trip.”

Cha Hyeonji had never exactly been known for having a gentle personality.

The concepts of aegyo and acting cute simply did not exist in her vocabulary.

So why the hell was she suddenly talking sweetly to me?

“Did the sun rise in the west today or something?”

“Why do you have to start like that? How did things go in the Philippines?”

“Seriously, you’re giving me goosebumps. Stop talking like that, will you?”

“This is why you’re such a stiff and still don’t have a girlfriend!”

“...I’m not a stiff. I’m just busy.”

“You can always make time for a girlfriend, no matter how busy you are.”

“Yeah, yeah. Where’s Mom?”

“She went to check on the restaurant renovations.”

“I see. I already ate dinner, so I’m going up to my room to rest.”

But then I sensed something was off.

Hyeonji, still holding Saho, was following right behind me step for step.

I stopped, turned around, and stared at my sister.

“If you have something to say, just say it.”

“...Well... Oppa, couldn’t you put in a good word for me?”

“I need to know what this is about before I start speaking up for anyone.”

Apparently, Hyeonji had met Yun Sola yesterday afternoon and heard some shocking news during their conversation.

More than ten thousand applicants had applied for one hundred open positions at KBH Investment.

But what shocked her even more was that over three thousand of those applicants held master’s or doctoral degrees from elite overseas universities.

Compared to them, she looked rather unimpressive with nothing more than a bachelor’s degree from Korea’s top university.

Under those circumstances, how was she supposed to get into KBH Investment?

Hyeonji told me everything she had heard from Yun Sola without holding anything back.

“...So basically, there’s no way I’m getting in without your help.”

She had loudly declared more than once that she would get into KBH Investment entirely on her own merits.

Of course, if I pulled some strings, getting my sister hired would be no trouble at all.

But I had already promised Team Leader Heo Yeongjin and Deputy Manager Woo Changhun that the recruitment process would be completely open and transparent.

Helping her now would make my own words meaningless.

Considering that, I could not give in to my sister.

“You know what blind recruitment is, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Our company isn’t going to consider an applicant’s hometown, gender, or educational background when hiring new employees. If you’re the kind of person we need, you’ll get in without any problem. Can I count on you?”

“...Yeah.”

Hyeonji answered without much confidence.

To encourage her, I lightly patted her on the shoulder, picked up my suitcase, and went up to the third floor.

After taking a shower and sitting down on the edge of my bed, I called Yun Sola.

After several rings, her cheerful voice came through the phone.

[It’s been a while. Did you call because you missed me?]

‘When the hell is the pheromone effect from that herbal tranquilizer going to wear off?’

“That’s one reason.”

[Well, that’s one reason. Now tell me the other one.]

“Who told you there was such a flood of applicants for KBH Investment?”

[Senior Specialist Cha, you know perfectly well who my grandfather is, don’t you?]

So she had heard it from Chairman Yoon Jongu.

“Just as I thought.”

[Did you call only to ask me that?]

“No. I don’t mind you spending time with my sister, Senior Specialist Yun. But I’d appreciate it if you didn’t undermine her confidence.”

[I think you’re mistaken, Senior Specialist Cha. Hyeonji isn’t the kind of person who gets discouraged that easily.]

“Well... you’re right about that.”

At that moment, an incoming call from Lee Ujin appeared on the screen.

Thinking the timing was perfect, I apologized to Yun Sola, said goodbye, and switched to the other line.

“How did you know I was back?”

[I heard it from Hyeonji! Happy now?]

“You wouldn’t happen to...”

[You bastard! I told you in plain language that I’m not interested in girls that young!]

Lee Ujin shouted as if he had read my mind.

“I believe you, I believe you.”

[Enough with the bullshit. Let’s go have a drink. It’s been forever since we saw each other!]

“Hell yeah. I’m on my way.”

***

Monday morning.

On my way to the office, Chairman Park Yeongil summoned me.

I hurried to his office and found Chairman Park himself, Chairman Yoon Jongu, and the others already there.

After bowing politely, I sat down on an empty sofa.

A short while later, a secretary served tea to everyone present.

After wetting his throat with tea, Chairman Park Yeongil addressed me in a friendly tone.

“Department Head Cha, you understand why Chairman Yoon and Chief Secretary Song came here, don’t you?”

I grasped the situation immediately.

Chairman Yoon Jongu had come to hear the details of what had happened in the Philippines.

“I understand perfectly.”

“We’re listening. Tell us everything that happened, without leaving anything out.”

“I’ll start with why I went to the Philippines in the first place.”

I gave Chairman Park and the others a complete account of what had happened.

Whenever my explanation required additional details, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan readily filled them in.

So many major events had occurred in such a short period of time that my report dragged on for quite a while.

“...We were able to confirm that Carlos purchased five tons of gold from Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan.”

“You don’t mean someone else with the same name, do you?”

“Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan was appointed ambassador to the Philippines six years ago, and he bought the gold five years ago. It has been confirmed that he purchased it from Reconnaissance General Bureau Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol.”

“Is that true?”

Chairman Park Yeongil asked again in disbelief.

“I heard it personally from Deputy Director Jo.”

“Then there’s no reason to doubt it. Continue.”

“Deputy Secretary Zhang bought the gold from Deputy Director Jo for twelve billion dollars. Then, less than a month later, he resold it to Carlos for only three billion.”

“That’s daylight robbery!”

“I completely agree, Chairman.”

“Vice Chairman Wei and Chairman Zhen plan to sell the five tons of gold seized from Carlos, along with the additional one ton purchased from the Philippine government, to either Politburo member Liu Peiqi or Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan.”

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan joined in.

“Will either of them actually buy the gold?”

“Politburo member Liu has expressed his intention to buy it. We still don’t know about Deputy Secretary Zhang.”

At that point, Chairman Yoon Jongu cut in with a question.

“Department Head Cha, doesn’t Politburo member Liu lack the money to buy six tons of gold?”

“That’s true, but he has no choice except to buy it at any cost.”

“You mean he’ll do whatever it takes to come up with the money?”

“Most likely.”

Brrrr—

At that moment, the phone lying on the table began to vibrate.

As soon as I picked it up to check the screen, Chairman Park Yeongil spoke.

“Who is it?”

“Vice Chairman Wei Chen.”

“Pretend we’re not here and put it on speaker.”

Chairman Park Yeongil’s intention could not have been more obvious.

He wanted to hear my conversation with Vice Chairman Wei Chen.

Now that I understood what he wanted, how could I pretend otherwise?

I immediately switched the phone to speaker mode and answered.

“Yes, Vice Chairman Wei.”

[I’m with Chairman Zhen right now. Chairman Zhen would like to speak with you.]

“Please put him on.”

A moment later, Chairman Zhen Weiliang’s tired voice came through the speaker.

[Department Head Cha, did you get some good rest over the weekend?]

“Yes, I did. But judging by your voice, it doesn’t sound like you can say the same, Chairman Zhen.”

[You’re right, Department Head Cha. Because of Politburo member Liu and Deputy Secretary Zhang, I didn’t get any proper rest at all.]

I could roughly guess what had happened.

Judging by the situation, Chairman Zhen Weiliang had apparently let Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan hear the rumor that he had six tons of gold.

Zhang had then also expressed his desire to buy it.

When Politburo member Liu Peiqi learned about that, he had started hounding Chairman Zhen, demanding that he not sell the gold to anyone else.

Chairman Zhen had then relayed the details of that conversation to Deputy Secretary Zhang...

In the end, both of them had pestered him so relentlessly that he truly had not been able to rest.

To test my guess, I asked directly.

“My guess is that Politburo member Liu and Deputy Secretary Zhang both kept contacting you over the weekend.”

[Your guess is exactly right, Department Head Cha.]

“Could you tell me what the situation is right now?”

[Politburo member Liu asked me to wait until he can raise the money. Deputy Secretary Zhang, on the other hand, keeps insisting that I sell him the gold today.]

The entire purpose of this scheme was to thoroughly teach either Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan or Politburo member Liu Peiqi a lesson.

But for that to work, global gold prices needed to rise by at least ten percent.

The only person capable of pushing the price up that much in such a short period of time was Chairman Bongard.

The main problem was that it was currently Sunday night in the United States.

“Chairman Zhen, we can’t sell the gold today. You understand why, don’t you?”

[I heard from Vice Chairman Wei. Now, let me get to the real reason I called.]

“I’m listening.”

[How high are you planning to raise the price of gold, Department Head Cha?]

“I’m aiming to bring it to around one million dollars per kilogram by Wednesday this week.”

[Can you really raise it that much in only three days?]

Open disbelief filled Chairman Zhen Weiliang’s voice.

“With Chairman Bongard’s financial resources, it’s entirely possible.”

[All right. I understand. Then which of the two should we sell the six tons of gold to?]

“Vice Chairman Wei Chen gave Politburo member Liu priority to purchase it.”

After exchanging a few more words with Chairman Zhen, I ended the call.

As though he had been waiting for that exact moment, Chairman Yoon Jongu immediately turned to me.

“Department Head Cha, is there really any need to ask Chairman Bongard to raise the price of gold?”