Chapter 195: Just Nudge the Head, and the Body Will Follow
by xennovel“Just nudge the head, and the body will naturally follow. Turning 100 or 200 million into a billion would have been instantaneous.”
Executive Managing Director Im Jong-yoon’s face was pale, his lips trembling.
Just a little more, just this once.
That’s probably how it started, but as no problems arose, he grew bolder little by little. Embezzling another 300 or 400 million only inflated his courage, eventually ballooning to ten times the initial amount.
If this continues, how much will it grow to in a year?
“The Vice-chairman must know about this, but I can’t understand why he’s keeping silent….”
“H-hey. D-did the Vice-chairman perhaps say something?”
Judging by Executive Managing Director Im’s expression, it was clear that Vice-chairman Jin Dong-ki had embezzled an unacceptable amount.
“Isn’t it scarier that he’s saying nothing? Not issuing warnings or reprimands could mean he’s already preparing appropriate measures.”
“Measures?”
“Are you really so clueless that you’re staring with wide eyes?”
The fear of the unknown is the most terrifying. Countless possibilities were likely swirling in Executive Managing Director Im’s mind right now.
“It’s been quite a while since you last ate Soonyang’s rice… Don’t you know how our family handles things?”
Two years in a plum position allows you to prepare for retirement and acquire a couple of apartments. But that’s the limit. Once you cross the line set by Chairman Jin, you can’t escape severe punishment.
Most of those who overstepped the company’s boundaries were executives.
Their pasts are dredged up, and their private lives are exposed. The ones in charge of this are none other than Soonyang’s informants within the Prosecutor’s Office.
Accounts hidden under family and relatives’ names are uncovered, and secretly purchased land and commercial building documents are placed on their desks.
To avoid legal repercussions, the only way out is to confess everything and retire to the countryside.
If they even try to negotiate by using the company’s corruption as leverage, their family’s safety cannot be guaranteed. This was Chairman Jin’s method of handling things.
Noticing Executive Managing Director Im shudder slightly, as if a wave of fear passed over him, I continued.
“Shall I tell you what I think the inside story is? You probably know something about Vice-chairman Jin Dong-ki’s private dealings. The manpower supply company was either hush money or a prize for your hard work.”
Pretending not to know something I already knew felt stifling.
“But if it were hush money, my uncle’s personality is to just hand over a large sum and be done with it. So, it’s definitely a company set up for you to profit from for generations to come.”
Finally, I looked him straight in the eye and asked.
“Executive Managing Director Im Jong-yoon, what exactly have you done for my uncle?”
“Stop with your baseless speculations. Nothing happened. And if my hyung-nim’s manpower company has excessive profits, I’ll talk to the Vice-chairman directly and fix it! I won’t listen to any more of this nonsense.”
If he ran off to my uncle with that story, it would be a disaster.
I had to stop him from leaving.
“Does this old man still not get it?”
“What? Watch your mouth!”
My provocative tone halted Executive Managing Director Im’s steps.
“The Vice-chairman isn’t the problem right now. Our grandfather… Chairman Jin, is planning to start a group audit. Chief of staff Lee Hak-jae has already begun assembling a special audit team. Understand? The first target of the audit is Soonyang Construction. You know why construction is first, right?”
This wasn’t an external audit. It meant that exceptional individuals who knew the company’s internal affairs better than anyone would be investigating. And, of course, they would start with the construction company, the hotbed of all kinds of corruption.
“Your manpower company will also be a significant blow to Vice-chairman Jin Dong-ki. How could he condone such a company for so many years? Grandfather will be furious.”
“Hey, Jin Do-jun. What exactly do you want? You’re poking here and there… Just tell me what you want! Then….”
Despite his convoluted words, Executive Managing Director Im finally realized that I wanted something specific.
“Clean up and run. Europe? The US? Australia? Anywhere is fine. I’ll arrange it for you.”
“W-what?”
“Executive Managing Director Im, you’re already at the top of your career as an executive managing director, aren’t you? You’re not aiming for the president position at Soonyang Construction, are you? That position is only for experienced individuals who’ve toiled in the rough construction fields. An executive managing director like you, who deals with ledgers, is at the peak with your current position as the head of the management support division. You know that, right?”
He knew the unwritten rule that someone not from the field could never become the president of the construction company.
“Your manpower company also has only a few years left. The day you leave Soonyang, that company will have to close its doors too. Just think of it as bringing your retirement forward a few years and pocket the money.”
He couldn’t answer easily.
He must have been like this when he took a big risk to create Vice-chairman’s slush funds.
He funneled a whopping 50 billion won into a non-existent company. If things went wrong, even as a minor accomplice, he wouldn’t be able to avoid criminal charges.
But he made a bold choice, and as a result, he was sitting on a pile of money.
It was the same now.
For some reason, I was giving him another chance.
He would instinctively know that he had to give up something and take a risk.
“Someone who’s been looking at ledgers for twenty years is slow at calculations. What are you thinking so hard about? The answer should come in ten seconds.”
While Executive Managing Director Im was racking his brain, my mouth was going dry.
What if this man valued his loyalty to Vice-chairman Jin Dong-ki more? What if he told him everything about our conversation? What if he tried to protect the Vice-chairman from my grandfather’s internal audit with all his might?
Everything would fall apart.
But I trusted Executive Managing Director Im Jong-yoon’s greed, who had already embezzled a billion won using the manpower company provided by Vice-chairman Jin Dong-ki, and his desire to make more money.
“Jin Do-jun. You desperately need something. Tell me. What is it?”
“Finished calculating?”
“It seems like the calculation won’t end until I hear what you want.”
Executive Managing Director Im appeared more relaxed. He realized that it was his turn to listen to a proposal, not just a warning.
“During the IMF crisis, you bought a shell company, right? It’s probably a company in South America. You would have given 50 billion won for a company that only exists on paper and written it off as a loss when the country was in chaos. I need all the transaction details for that.”
I saw the most surprised expression on Executive Managing Director Im’s face since we met.
What words would come out of his mouth after that expression?
“Then, can you bury the manpower company issue?”
Fortunately, he was quick-witted.
Everyone within the group knew that I received special affection from my grandfather, and Executive Managing Director Im was no exception.
His tone had already become polite.
“The audit team will find it anyway, so I can’t bury it. But I can make sure it’s not an issue.”
Not making it an issue meant not escalating it into a criminal case using the prosecution.
“Then, how should I handle the manpower company?”
“Dispose of it. To someone powerful enough that no one can investigate the company.”
“You don’t know construction. A manpower company is just a small office. It’s run on connections anyway… Who would buy it?”
“I’ll arrange for HW Construction to buy it. The purchase price will be 2 billion won. Consider it your severance package.”
“HW…? Ah, you mean Dae-ah Construction.”
“And for the time it takes for Vice-chairman Jin Dong-ki to forget about you… spend about five years abroad. Of course, with plenty of money, you can retire completely and just enjoy yourself.”
He still seemed hesitant.
Even if he received 2 billion won, he knew he wouldn’t be able to use it if he couldn’t escape Vice-chairman Jin Dong-ki’s reach.
“If you leave Korea, I’ll erase your tracks. For five years, you can live completely as a non-existent person in a foreign country with beautiful scenery and relax.”
“What’s the reason?”
“What reason?”
“The reason you’re trying to get your hands on Vice-chairman Jin Dong-ki’s weaknesses.”
“Don’t you still understand that the more you know, the more dangerous it becomes? Look at your current situation. You’re suffering because you know the Vice-chairman’s secrets.”
He closed his mouth again. He was contemplating what decision to make.
The most terrifying thing was Chairman Jin’s audit. He had to avoid that and escape the grasp of the betrayed Jin Dong-ki. Money was secondary.
“Get me an employment visa for a place where Dae-ah, no… HW Construction has overseas projects. I’ll hand over the data after I’ve settled abroad, after the manpower company is taken care of, and after receiving the 2 billion won severance pay.”
“Data first.”
“That won’t work.”
I had to show the sharpness of the blade to someone who mistakenly believed they held the reins.
“Give me the data right now. Otherwise, our long conversation has been a complete waste. I don’t like wasting precious time, but what can I do? The last cog has failed to turn.”
He clearly looked flustered.
“Ah, you don’t know yet. Department Head Jung has already handed over the data on the shell company in Europe. That alone is enough, but the more bombs, the better, so I’m also trying to get your data.”
“D-Department Head Jung…?”
“He’s probably flying over the Pacific Ocean right now. He’ll also be spending about five years abroad.”
“T-that can’t be…?”
“Bratislava Resources Development Co., Ltd. Doesn’t that name sound familiar? That’s the company name at the top of the data Department Head Jung gave me… Still don’t believe me?”
It was the name of a shell company in Slovakia. Only three people knew this name.
He had no reason not to believe my words.
He now fully understood that he didn’t hold the reins.
“Do you think I’d trust someone who secretly siphoned off a billion won that my uncle generously allowed him to handle? I don’t want to hear any complaints later about 2 billion won being too little or insufficient. Don’t try to be clever and bring the data. I’ll arrange for you to live in Sydney, Australia, within a month.”
* * *
“I’m sorry, Vice-chairman.”
“Hmm…. Is it really necessary for you to quit? You know how I feel about you.”
Vice-chairman Jin Dong-ki looked over Executive Managing Director Im Jong-yoon, who had his head bowed deeply, and soothed him with a low, calm voice.
“I know very well. That’s why I must quit. I still have some shame.”
“We all need money sometimes, and sometimes we make mistakes. It’s okay.”
“No, sir. I betrayed your grace and committed a terrible act. I’ve thought long and hard about it, and I’m afraid of what I might do if I continue down this path. And….”
Im Jong-yoon subtly observed the Vice-chairman’s expression. Although his expression was gentle, his gaze was sharp.
“Not only my family but even my relatives are going crazy. They’re all trying to get a piece of the pie, as if it’s a pot of honey. It’s becoming too much to handle.”
When he brought up his family, a flash of contempt appeared and disappeared on Vice-chairman Jin Dong-ki’s face.
He had seen this kind of thing countless times. When people from poor families have one successful member, they cling to them like leeches.
From that point on, they’re no longer family or relatives. They transform into ravenous creatures trying to squeeze out even a single ten thousand won bill.
At first, they help these relatives, flaunting their success, but they soon realize they’ve stepped into a swamp they can’t escape. And then, the hell where these ravenous creatures dwell unfolds.