Chapter 192: An Offer You Can’t Refuse

“I heard the kids messed things up. I apologize, Chief of Staff.”

“It wasn’t planned. It was a sudden occurrence, so responding was probably difficult. And… it was abroad, wasn’t it? There were also language issues. Don’t worry about it too much.”

Seeing Executive Director Woo Byung-joon’s stiff expression made me more uncomfortable.

“It’s nothing major, so leave it to Team Leader Moon.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“Now then, shall we see what I’ve done wrong in the past, what misdeeds I’ve committed?”

I knew it was nothing, but my palms were sweating.

Woo Byung-joon chuckled softly, pulling a small notebook from his pocket.

“You’re a rather uninteresting person, Chief of Staff.”

That must mean there was nothing significant.

“Your cousins got into all sorts of imaginative trouble once they hit puberty, but you were just focused on your studies… no, completely devoted to them.”

“It sounds like you’re saying I was so focused on work in college that nothing noteworthy came up.”

“Don’t be too sure of yourself.”

Woo Byung-joon smirked and flipped through his notebook.

“Tracking hidden accounts is currently impossible. All domestic accounts are open, and we’ve determined there are no nominee accounts. You’re incredibly wealthy.”

Did this guy just smile? If he’d found hidden accounts, would he have shown such a smile?

“I don’t have any money hidden under other people’s names. Everything I’ve earned has been legitimate, so there’s nothing to hide.”

“Is that so? I’m most suspicious of Miracle Investment in the US, but it’s beyond my capabilities to track, so I gave up.”

“Don’t tell me that? It’s the US. If financial irregularities are discovered, you’ll rot in prison for life. There’s no dirty money.”

“Then it must be legal funds. The question of how much remains… In any case, you don’t have the typical vulnerabilities that most Korean chaebol families possess. I don’t think you’d get caught off guard by anyone with something like that.”

“So, you’re saying there are other ways someone could get leverage over me?”

“There are some minorly unethical things, but nothing that could be used as leverage. Either you’re very good at hiding things, or you’ve been very restrained….”

“Which do you think it is, Executive Director Woo?”

“Wouldn’t you say the former? A young man in his twenties with an exorbitant amount of money. It’s quite difficult to suppress one’s instincts.”

“I have a girlfriend. You know that, right?”

“Are you referring to the future judge who’s going through a grueling schedule at the Judicial Research and Training Institute?”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t it difficult to even meet once a month? It’s almost strange that you confidently call her your girlfriend.”

A peculiar smile played on Woo Byung-joon’s lips as he answered.

“Looks like you found something. You mentioned something ‘minorly unethical,’ right?”

“There’s a ‘ten-per’ club called Mau behind the Sangnok Hall in Gangnam.”

“Pahahaha!”

Laughter is the best way to hide embarrassment.

“You found that? Impressive.”

“I got a little competitive.”

“Huh?”

“I couldn’t believe there was so little to find. My staff couldn’t dig anything up, no matter how much I pushed them. So, I tried a different approach.”

“How so?”

“I followed the person who spends the most time with you.”

“CEO Oh Se-hyun?”

Woo Byung-joon chuckled and nodded.

“It’s his regular haunt. He always uses that place for entertaining….”

“So, in other words, you were convinced that I must be indulging my desires in secret, and you investigated until you found something.”

“Exactly. I thought CEO Oh Se-hyun would be the one to introduce you to that kind of place. And my judgment was correct. You’ve been secretly enjoying it once or twice a month.”

“And that’s not enough to use as leverage?”

“No. This is all the dirt I could dig up. I can confidently say that no one else could find more than this.”

The purpose of this wasn’t to find my weaknesses and patch them up. It was to see if there was anything that could be used to counterattack when I went after my uncle’s weaknesses.

This confirms there’s no chance of a counterattack.

And another thing—it was to assess Executive Director Woo Byung-joon’s abilities… though it’s a bit ambiguous.

Finding Mau is surprising, but it’s not something you’d call exceptional.

“Then let’s move on to the next task.”

“I’ve already started. We’re investigating three key personnel who worked in the management support division at Soonyang Construction at that time.”

“Take this into account as well. Focus on the people in charge during December 1997 and January 1998.”

Executive Director Woo Byung-joon’s eyes gleamed.

“How did you know that?”

“There were traces in the accounts. That’s how I found out.”

“Could it be from Malaysia…?”

“Yes.”

“I see. So, it wasn’t a vacation after all.”

“It was a vacation. Finding that out was a bonus.”

Woo Byung-joon put his notebook away and stood up.

“I’ll give you the first report in ten days. Unless there are unforeseen issues that require more time.”

“It’s not urgent, so don’t rush too much.”

“It’s best to handle things quickly and accurately. I’ll make sure rushing doesn’t cause me to miss the key points.”

I already knew the outcome.

Hundreds of billions of won in company funds were embezzled. The only thing left is to secure the evidence… no, to secure the witness, and that witness will bring the evidence.

When should I use Vice-chairman Jin Dong-ki’s weakness?

***

Exactly ten days later, I sat facing Woo Byung-joon in my Yeouido studio apartment.

The documents Executive Director Woo presented had two names on them.

Executive Managing Director Im Jong-yoon.

Department Head Jung Gyu-hwan.

“During the IMF crisis, many people were laid off, but these two were promoted. From director to executive managing director, and from team leader to department head.”

“I see. It’s common sense to cut back on support departments first during tough times….”

Production and sales are the two pillars of manufacturing, so they are lower priority for layoffs, but support departments are easy targets… management, finance, general affairs. These three departments are the first to be laid off when facing deficits or a management crisis.

But for a director and a team leader in an overstaffed support department to get promoted during the IMF crisis? Especially Im Jong-yoon, who jumped two ranks from director to executive managing director.

That means they were either greatly trusted or accomplished something incredibly difficult.

“There was no one else who stood out besides these two.”

“Did you find anything?”

“The construction industry is inherently filled with sand and cement, isn’t it? If we shake off the dust on these two, we could probably build a house.”

Woo Byung-joon flipped through a few data files.

“Executive Managing Director Im Jong-yoon is actually running a manpower supply company. It supplies daily laborers to Soonyang Construction’s apartment construction sites….”

“So, he inflated the number of workers on the payroll?”

“Isn’t that a common way to siphon off money? But this guy was extreme. His older brother is the president of the company, and they’re pocketing billions of won annually.”

Not hundreds of millions, but billions?

This wouldn’t be possible without my uncle’s approval.

“So, it’s safe to say this is Soonyang Construction’s slush fund channel?”

“That’s right, but when the pie is big, there are bound to be some crumbs, wouldn’t you say?”

“You’re saying they’re skimming off a lot without my uncle knowing?”

“Yes. The vice-chairman would probably turn a blind eye to about three to four hundred million won annually. But they pocketed a billion won last year.”

A billion won? This is beyond what can be overlooked.

Even companies have unwritten rules.

A team leader getting a meal or a drink is usually overlooked.

A department head receiving a gift set of ribs during holidays is considered normal.

An executive receiving golf outings is commonplace.

But that’s the limit.

For Executive Managing Director Im Jong-yoon to be so brazen with embezzling money means he’s not relying on Vice-chairman Jin Dong-ki’s trust, but on his weakness. The belief that he can’t be easily ousted because he knows the vice-chairman’s wrongdoings.

He’s a fool.

He doesn’t know how ruthless and terrifying the people in our family can be.

“Executive Managing Director Im Jong-yoon’s finished then. Good. How about Department Head Jung Gyu-hwan?”

“Rumor has it this guy found a treasure chest full of gold bars. His life changed drastically.”

“A so-called rags-to-riches story?”

The lottery hasn’t even started yet. Isn’t it starting next year? So, he didn’t get a windfall from the lottery.

“Yes. He started changing in 1998. He sent his wife and kids to the US, and the kids are attending prestigious private schools in Boston. Most ‘goose fathers’ sell their apartments and move into studio apartments, but Department Head Jung moved into a luxury apartment complex. He also changed his car.”

“The vice-chairman must have given him a hefty sum.”

“That’s right.”

“We can assume he did something shady, and that was the hush money.”

The problem is, even if he did something shady, it can’t be used as leverage. He was just following my uncle’s orders.

“So, what’s Department Head Jung’s dirt?”

“It’s wise not to change your lifestyle even when a large sum of money comes in. But this guy flaunted his wealth to the point where even people in the same department were gossiping. Of course, he also committed bigger indiscretions.”

Executive Director Woo clicked his tongue with a disdainful expression and handed over a photo tucked between the documents.

“A female employee who works on the same floor.”

“An affair?”

“Yes. The first thing he did after sending his wife and kids away was to seduce a pretty female employee. Expensive jewelry, fancy dinners at hotel restaurants, a mid-sized imported sedan. And the rapid promotions demonstrate his ‘ability.’ To a young person just starting their career, everything must seem glamorous.”

“This is quite damaging.”

“Yes. If his wife finds out, the grounds for divorce will be the husband’s infidelity, meaning half his assets will be gone, along with child support. It’s a more frightening weakness than embezzlement.”

Executive Director Woo subtly gauged my reaction.

“Is this not enough?”

“No, it’s plenty. You’ve done a great job.”

“It’s nothing. By the way, what do you plan to do with this pile of dirt?”

“I’ll just sweep the dirt under the bed and pretend I didn’t see it. But I’ll get the price beforehand.”

Woo Byung-joon started looking at me with concern.

“If you’re thinking of meeting them directly and threatening them, it would be better to leave it to me….”

“Threaten them? That’s dangerous for me too. I’m just going to make them an offer. You know the famous line from The Godfather, right?”

“An offer you can’t refuse.”

“Exactly.”

“It’s just semantics. In the movie, that offer was essentially a threat.”

“I’m different. I’m going to make them an offer that will ignite their desires, and they’ll eagerly accept it. Since I’m not threatening them despite knowing their weaknesses, they’ll be grateful and think of me as their benefactor.”

“Could you tell me what kind of offer that is?”

“It’s simple. The two of them have tasted money. Now they won’t be able to stop. I’m going to give them a lot more of that delicious money.”

Woo Byung-joon paused for a moment, deep in thought, before cautiously speaking.

“If I may be so bold, don’t try to get what you want by fulfilling their desires. Make them so afraid that they willingly give you what you need. Fear is a greater force than desire.”

What kind of path has this person walked?

Is this his way of doing things?

Using fear as a weapon to get what you want isn’t something anyone can do.

“Money bows down to even more money. It’s impossible to satisfy all of these guys’ desires.”

“Executive Director Woo.”

“Yes?”

“Fear can be overcome, but desire cannot. Either way, these two will self-destruct because of their greed. I’ll get what I want with money, and my money will only accelerate their self-destruction.”

Woo Byung-joon fell into thought again, then finally smiled faintly.

“It reminds me of Aesop’s fables. In the end, it’s the sunlight that gets the coat off?”

“That’s right. But this story is a bit different. We’re not just taking off their coats, but stripping away their comfortable lives.”

Facing his smile, I smirked as well.

Have I gotten a little closer to this man today?