CH109 | VOC

“What? Flip the table?”

“I can’t think of any other way to break through this.” I tapped the table. “I’m not sure if this cartel was formed because of the gold collection campaign or if they orchestrated the campaign, but it’s a tight-knit group. We need a catalyst.”

“A catalyst?”

“Yes. Let’s spread rumors.”

I explained to Maru and Park Jong-bum, who were looking at me blankly,

“The employees at the shell companies are unaware of the scheme. I can’t be sure about all of them, but most of them would be in the dark. The fewer people who know the secret, the better. Spread the rumor among those employees, the gold dealers eager to profit from the gold collection campaign, the fences, the junkyards… Tell them the trading companies are using the collected gold to pocket VAT refunds through shell companies. We need to bring in the supporting cast.”

Park Jong-bum said in alarm,

“That would be like giving away our advantage! A weakness is only a weakness if it’s kept secret. Once it’s exposed, it loses its power! And the trading companies won’t just sit back and watch!”

“I know. That’s why I said we’re flipping the table. We’re creating chaos. What do you think will happen if the shell company employees find out the truth?”

The employees, unaware of the scheme, probably thought they were just transporting accessories or other goods, packaging and delivering the gold.

If they learned about the scam and the true value of the goods they were handling, their reaction would be predictable.

I wasn’t expecting them to be righteous.

“They’ll start pocketing the gold.”

They were handling illegal goods.

Their jobs were insecure, with the company’s imminent closure.

And there were fences eager to profit from the gold collection campaign.

“The gold will keep leaking out, and the fences will start causing trouble. The trading companies will have to react. This is the only way to find a crack in their armor. Let’s create chaos, a situation they can’t control.”

Park Jong-bum said cautiously,

“Do you think it’ll work? It’s all speculation. The trading companies won’t be easily swayed by rumors. They’ll probably just dismiss it as a conspiracy theory and cover it up.”

I nodded in agreement.

“That’s the most likely outcome.”

“Then why are we doing this? And we won’t profit from this. Even if it works, all we’ll get is the satisfaction of screwing over the trading companies.”

I smiled.

“Director Park, do you calculate the trajectory of every grain of rice when you flip a table? Our goal is to create chaos. We don’t have a clear path, so we’re just shaking things up. Who knows? We might get lucky and find an opportunity. And you say we won’t profit? There’s a huge reward waiting for us.”

“A huge reward…?”

I said to Park Jong-bum, who looked puzzled,

“Think of the 100 tons as the cost of bringing in the supporting cast. We’re aiming for the main act. The gold collection campaign is still going strong, isn’t it?”

“Ah!”

What would the government do if the gold market was thrown into chaos?

Even I, the one orchestrating this, couldn’t predict the outcome, but if it became chaotic enough, we might be able to replace the main players.

“No other company has more experience and volume in gold export than us. We’re the perfect candidate to take over the gold collection campaign. We’re more specialized than the trading companies. And I…”

I chuckled.

“I’m a model entrepreneur. I’m the perfect savior to revive the gold collection campaign, which might lose its momentum due to the scandal. And even if this plan fails, what do we have to lose?”

I shrugged.

“We have nothing to lose. Let’s just flip the table and see what happens. It’s like buying a free lottery ticket. You buy it if it’s free, right? You win if you win, and you lose if you lose.”

* * *

Late at night, a shabby car arrived at a deserted rest stop on the highway.

The car circled the parking lot, searching for something, and then slowly approached a black van and stopped.

A man with an anxious expression got out of the car and knocked on the van’s window three times.

The window rolled down, and a man inside said,

“Are you Mr. Woo Gil-soo?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

The man in the van nodded.

“Do you have the goods?”

“Yes.”

The man’s eyes gleamed. “How much?”

“I couldn’t bring much, about 20 pieces…”

The man’s face fell slightly, but he then shook his head.

“It’s a good start. Where are they?”

“In the trunk.”

“Park your car behind my van, with the trunks facing each other. Secrecy is paramount. Once you’re parked, we’ll open the trunks, transfer the goods, and then I’ll inspect them and pay you inside my van.”

“Alright.”

Woo Gil-soo parked his car as instructed.

“On the count of three, we open the trunks and transfer the goods. One, two, three!”

The trunks opened simultaneously. Woo Gil-soo took out a box from his trunk and handed it to the man.

The man quickly closed his trunk. The entire process took less than five seconds.

By the time Woo Gil-soo climbed into the van, the man had already opened the box and was examining the contents.

“Hehehe, this is easy money.”

He took out a gold necklace and said,

“These are in excellent condition. Good work.”

“Are you… sure this is okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“What if we get caught…?”

The man chuckled.

“What can they do? Finders keepers.”

“But…”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Woo. Do you think you’re the only one I’m dealing with? I’ve already had four transactions today.”

“Gasp!”

The man put his arm around Woo Gil-soo’s shoulder.

“You seem worried, Mr. Woo. Let me give you something to ease your mind.”

He took out five bundles of 1 million won.

“Cash never lies.”

“Gulp.”

“Here’s your payment for today.”

Woo Gil-soo took the 5 million won with trembling hands.

“F-five million won…”

“That’s nothing. Someone received 20 million won today.”

“20 million won?!”

“You can do it too, Mr. Woo. How’s the situation at the factory? Can you get more?”

“Well… today… security is tight, so it’ll be noticeable if a large quantity goes missing…”

“I understand. That’s why I prepared this.”

He handed Woo Gil-soo another box.

“Open it.”

“This is…”

The box contained intricately crafted rings.

“They’re fake.”

“Fake?”

“You can swap them with the real ones.”

He continued, coaxing him,

“When else will you have a chance to make this kind of money? Think about your family. You’ve heard the rumors, right? Those shell companies are on borrowed time. If you make 5 million won every day, that’s over 100 million won a month.”

“100 million won…”

“Yes, many people are already making that much. What will you do after the shell company collapses? You need money to start a new life. And they’re the bad guys, exploiting the public’s patriotism for their own profit. This is justice.”

Woo Gil-soo’s face hardened at the word “justice.”

“Justice.”

“Yes, they’re the bad guys, right? You get to earn money and punish the bad guys. And you don’t have to worry about the consequences. They can’t fire you even if they know, they’re not in a position to.”

“…Alright. I’ll bring more tomorrow.”

The man smiled and shook his hand.

“Let’s work hard together.”

After he left, the man scoffed.

“Justice, my ass. A thief is a thief.”

But “justice” was a powerful motivator.

Woo Gil-soo needed a reason to justify his actions, and the man had provided it.

The man calculated his earnings and chuckled.

“We have to move quickly before others take our share.”

With gold dealers, fences, and junkyard owners scrambling for a piece of the pie, all sorts of schemes emerged.

Transactions took place at deserted highway rest stops in the dead of night. Employees at shell companies were bribed to hide gold in the trash. Some even resorted to the classic smuggling tactic of swallowing gold wrapped in plastic. The amount of gold being siphoned off increased exponentially.

The trading companies weren’t negligent.

They had security personnel stationed at the shell companies and installed CCTV cameras to minimize blind spots, but it wasn’t enough.

The biggest problem was the lax security at the shell companies themselves.

Chaebol factories could afford high-tech security systems, but these temporary shell companies didn’t have the resources or the incentive to invest in such measures.

They were disguised as accessory companies, so tight security would have aroused suspicion. Their reliance on manpower was a mistake.

And the employees, knowing they would be fired anyway, were willing to take the risk.

It was said that ten strong men couldn’t stop a single thief, let alone hundreds or thousands.

By the time the trading companies realized what was happening, it was too late.

* * *

“Damn it!”

Song Young-mo, CEO of MG Trading, a subsidiary of MG Group, threw the documents at his secretary.

“How could this happen? What were you doing?!”

The secretary bowed his head. “I apologize.”

“You can’t even manage your employees properly! How much is missing?!”

The secretary mumbled,

“…The counterfeit items are mixed in, so it’s difficult to determine the exact amount, but we estimate about 8% of the total volume.”

“8… 8%?”

MG Trading had been circulating about 20 tons of gold. 8% was 1,600 kg, worth over 32 billion won.

“Those bastards! How dare they! How dare they!”

Song Young-mo clutched his head.

“This is a disaster!”

8%, 32 billion won.

It was a significant amount, but not insurmountable.

They were making a 10% profit from the VAT refunds, and 3% of that went to the overseas partner, so their actual loss from the scheme was about 5 billion won.

It was a painful loss for a trading company, but it wasn’t catastrophic. Yet, Song Young-mo’s face was pale.

“What am I going to do?”

“…The public doesn’t know yet, but it’s an open secret among the dealers. Shouldn’t we stop this now…?”

Song Young-mo said with a hardened expression,

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s not about the money. We’ll continue, even if it means compensating the overseas company.”