Pocket Money, 2 Billion Won +17
Incheon International Airport, Terminal 2.
As the automatic doors slid open, the familiar air of Korea rushed into my lungs.
“Hah···.”
Instead of the dry, scorching wind of the desert, there was cool air heavy with moisture.
Only then did it really feel like I was home.
After I left the arrivals gate, a man in a suit came striding toward us through the crowd.
It was Moon, the head of the chairman’s secretariat.
“You’ve worked hard. Thank you for making the long trip.”
Moon bowed politely.
“Your vehicle is waiting outside. And I’ve also been instructed by the chairman to deliver a message immediately.”
“An instruction?”
Choi Kichul tightened his tie, looking suddenly tense.
Moon checked his tablet PC and recited in a flat voice, “Head of Division Choi Kichul is to return to headquarters immediately. An executive meeting has been convened. The report on the Antonov and the future plan is urgent.”
“What? Right after we get back?”
“Yes. A car is waiting.”
“No, I suffered through the desert too! What am I, some machine part? This is ridiculous!”
Choi Kichul jumped up and down as if wronged, but Moon didn’t budge an inch.
In the end, Kichul was hauled away by the driver waiting outside, his mouth hanging open in protest.
“Then what happens to Director Cho and me?”
As I asked, watching his retreating back, Moon gave a thin smile.
“The two of you have been granted three days of special paid leave.”
“Leave?”
“Yes. His order is that you stay far away from the company and get some proper rest. And also···.”
Moon took a secure phone from his pocket, made a call, then handed it to me.
“It’s the chairman.”
“Ah, yes.”
He’d answered the instant the call connected.
I carefully took the secure phone, drew a breath, and put it to my ear.
“This is Baek Gunwoo, Chairman.”
“Hahaha, Baek. Good work. We got a call from the Saudi Arabian embassy. Seems the report reached the king there, and he was very pleased.”
“Hah, haha··· Thank you for thinking so highly of it, Chairman.”
“Thinking highly of it, my foot. You did well, so of course it looks good. I sent you there because my daughter wasn’t managing things properly and I wanted to give her some momentum, but you went and hit back-to-back grand slams on top of that. Hohoho!”
Chairman Cho’s loud, hearty laughter came through the secure phone.
Hearing how genuinely happy he sounded made me smile too, and then I noticed Cho Yerin standing beside me.
Maybe the chairman’s voice was carrying through the phone, because she was smiling just as broadly as I was.
“Right, let’s save the detailed praise for after you get to work. Have you checked your account yet?”
“···I think the praise has already been more than enough. I haven’t checked it yet.”
“Oh? Then take a look right now. We can’t have this conversation unless you do.”
“Yes, just a moment.”
I took my phone from my pocket and checked the text message.
[Industrial Bank] Deposit Notice
An amount has been deposited into Baek Gunwoo’s account.
■ Deposit amount: 2,000,000,000 won
■ Sender: Hanseo Defense Co., Ltd.
···Oh, my.
At the completely unexpected number, I rubbed at my eyes with the back of my hand.
Then I looked at the phone again, but the scene in front of me still hadn’t changed.
2 billion won.
There was 2 billion won in my account.
“What, you still haven’t checked it?”
“I, I just did, Chairman.”
“Oh? Good. The company handled the taxes and rounded it off neatly to 2 billion. You really did suffer out there.”
“Chairman, that’s quite a large amount. No matter how you slice it, a performance bonus of this size···.”
“Nonsense. Large? What’s large about it? The revenue you brought in from Saudi Arabia—if we’d used a broker, we’d have lost at least 50 billion won in fees alone. You saved us all of that, so this is pocket change. Just think of it as pocket money and spend it.”
The level of calling 2 billion won pocket money.
I barely held back a dry laugh.
“And you, by the way. You’re still living in that cramped little officetel?”
“Pardon? Ah, yes. It’s not inconvenient for living alone.”
“If our ace is living in a place like that, it doesn’t exactly reflect well on me. And the security is weak. Move while you’re at it.”
“Move?”
“Look around for something decent in Pangyo or Gangnam. If you want, I can introduce you to an agent I know. A person works better when the place they rest in is comfortable. Understood?”
The chairman didn’t even wait for my answer before laughing heartily and adding, “And hand the phone to Yerin for a moment.”
I carefully passed the secure phone to Cho Yerin.
“Yes, Dad.”
All throughout the call, Cho Yerin kept glancing at me, smiling with a meaning too obvious to ignore.
“Yes··· The house? Don’t worry about it. I’m very good at that sort of thing. Yes, I understand. I’ll take care of it properly. Yes, I know. Stop worrying, seriously. Yes, yes. I’m hanging up now. Yes.”
The call ended.
Cho Yerin handed the phone back to Moon and grinned.
“Senior, want to head out right away?”
“Head out where?”
“You said you were moving. My dad told me to help you find a place.”
“Now? Right after we land? We can rest and go look tomorrow. No, wait—are you the broker the chairman mentioned?”
“···Ahem.”
Beside us, Moon cleared his throat stiffly.
Only then did I realize my mistake and laugh awkwardly.
I could only speak casually to Cho Yerin in private, when the situation was comfortable.
Oops.
“I’m sorry, Sir. It’s just an old habit from when Director Cho and I were senior and junior···.”
“I’d appreciate it if you’d be more careful from now on, Manager Baek.”
“Yes. I’ll be careful.”
“Careful, my foot. It’s fine. I’m just talking comfortably with someone I’m close to. This isn’t even the office—are you really going to start ordering people around in a private setting too? That’s not very appropriate, is it?”
“I’ll be careful.”
As I gave a light bow, Cho Yerin snapped at Moon on my behalf.
It was an entirely reasonable argument.
This time, Moon bowed his head toward me.
“I apologize, Manager Baek.”
“Oh, no, that’s all right. I understand why you’d say that, Sir.”
“Understand why I’d say that? What’s there to understand? Anyway, why don’t we go take a look right away? You slept well on the way here on the first-class flight, didn’t you? I heard you snoring pretty loudly earlier.”
Cho Yerin came up beside me and nudged my side with her elbow.
I could only laugh awkwardly.
“You heard me snoring?”
“Not badly, just a little. Anyway, if you slept that well, then the right thing now is to go out and look around. You need to adjust to the time difference too, don’t you?”
Cho Yerin lightly hooked her arm through mine and went on, “You’re someone who prints money wherever you go. We can’t just let you live anywhere. Security matters, too.”
“······.”
“What’s the point of sitting around? Let’s take a drive and sweep through Pangyo. I’ll guide you.”
She was so full of momentum that refusal seemed to simply not exist as an option.
Before I knew it, I nodded.
“Then··· should we?”
*
Airport pickup zone.
Moon opened the back door of a black luxury sedan for us.
It was a sleek Genesis G90.
“From today on, this is the dedicated vehicle and driver assigned to Manager Baek. Fuel and maintenance are fully covered, so please use it without worry.”
“Oh···.”
An involuntary murmur slipped from my lips.
It wasn’t just a G90, either; it was the long-wheelbase model with limousine seating.
The moment the back door shut, the noise of the airport was cut off as if it had never existed.
It felt like stepping into a fortress of my own, cut off from the world.
A vehicle like this for a department head—clearly the chairman was serious about backing me up.
Before I even had time to feel the leather seats, the opposite door opened and Cho Yerin slipped inside, saying, “Driver Kim, you can head in first. I’ll ride in this car.”
“Understood, Director.”
The driver, who had come to take Cho Yerin’s bag, bowed and headed back to the other vehicle.
I watched him go and asked, “Director, you’re really going straight there?”
“Of course. Let’s go, driver. To Unjung-dong, Pangyo.”
The car glided forward.
In the silence, with not even the hum of the engine audible, I loosened my tie a little.
Cho Yerin, sitting beside me, hummed to herself as she looked out the window.
Watching her calm profile, a sudden uneasiness flickered through my head.
“By the way.”
“Yes?”
“I saw the approval request not long ago, and the mandatory spare parts inventory rate had been cut to 10 percent. Usually, you keep it at 30.”
“Maybe they were trying to cut storage costs?”
“No. In mechanical terms, that’s like setting the safety factor to 1. The moment an impact comes, it’ll snap right away by design.”
“······.”
“If it’s a vehicle meant to last, you’d never set it up like that. It’s a used car they’re planning to sell off immediately, so they polished up the outside and left the inside hollow.”
“Hey, Senior!”
Cho Yerin grimaced and made a show of covering her ears.
“We’re on vacation, vacation! Is this any time to talk about work?”
“It’s an important issue.”
“That’s a violation of the Labor Standards Act. From now on, company talk is banned. Understood?”
She shot me a sidelong glare and puffed out her lips.
At that point, if I kept going, I really might get reported to the labor office.
All I could do was laugh under my breath and shut up.
The scenery streaming past the window, and Cho Yerin in the seat beside me.
At this point, was I heading to look at a house, or just going out to slack off?
The car was filled with a strange, ambiguous mood.
*
Pangyo Unjung-dong.
A place of clustered luxury townhouses and detached homes, the so-called Beverly Hills of Korea.
The address sent by the real estate agent led to a two-story modern house with high walls and tightly packed CCTV cameras.
“What do you think, Senior? The location’s great, and it’s quiet—perfect, right?”
Cho Yerin was wandering around the yard with obvious excitement.
I stood there with my arms folded and looked up at the house.
It was undeniably nice.
The only problem was that it was far too much house for a man living alone.
“I don’t know. Do I really need a place this big if I’m alone? The garden would be a pain to manage, too. Wouldn’t a mixed-use building near a station or an apartment be better?”
“No, apartments are lame.”
“The convenience amenities are close by, though. The management office handles everything.”
“Aren’t you sick of noise from upstairs neighbors? You’re sensitive, Senior. If someone above you stomps around, you won’t even be able to sleep. And here, your privacy is guaranteed.”
At that, I had nothing to say.
When I thought about the memory of pounding the wall in my cramped little officetel, tormented by the neighbor upstairs stomping around, I found myself nodding without meaning to.
And then there was the possibility that my identity would be exposed because of the Saudi job···.
“Well··· that is true.”
“Right? A detached place is better, I’m telling you.”
Just then, the real estate agent came over with a bright smile.
“Oh my, you two look wonderful together! Even your taste is similar.”
“Ah, yes. The house is nice.”
“You’re newlyweds, aren’t you? Young couples are really looking for this area these days. It’s perfect, perfect. Move in here and your relationship will only get better.”
At the broker’s sudden remark, I flustered and waved my hands.
“Ah, no, that’s not··· we’re not that kind of couple···.”
“Oh my, is that how it looks?”
Cho Yerin, standing beside me, cut me off and burst into laughter.
She glanced up at me with obvious amusement and teased, “Looks like we suit each other, honey?”
“······!”
My face went hot in an instant.
The broker only then seemed to realize she’d overstepped, though she still looked pleased as she waved her hands.
“Oh dear, I’m sorry. You’re just such a handsome young man and pretty young lady that I got carried away. Hohoho! Come on, let’s take a look inside too. The kitchen is absolutely amazing.”
Trying to smooth things over, she took the lead and headed into the entrance.
I coughed and rubbed the back of my reddened neck.
Cho Yerin, finding my reaction hilarious, was practically snickering herself to death.
“You’re not in your early twenties anymore, and you’ve even been married once—why are you so shocked?”
“Hey. There’s a time and place for jokes.”
“I’ve always thought this about you—you really are such a bashful dork.”
With that, she followed after the broker.
It was an afternoon so peaceful and ticklish it felt impossible after returning from a desert that had been like a battlefield.
*
At the same time, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Inside the subway and buses on the way home from work.
The eyes of countless people were fixed on their smartphone screens as if by appointment.
That was because Malaysia’s largest news portals and SNS timelines were all plastered with a single article.
The article was nakedly blunt.
It laid out in detail how Chinese weapons had been reduced to scrap in Saudi Arabia, the hegemon of the Middle East, and how the crisis had been handled by none other than Korean engineers.
The live comments beneath the article were on the verge of explosion.
Public opinion online spread to the offline world in an instant.
In cafés and restaurants alike, people held up their phones and clicked their tongues in disbelief.
“Hey, did you see this? Chinese weapons are complete junk?”
“Seriously. Shouldn’t we rethink that amphibious vehicle contract we’re signing this time?”
The public’s criticism.
The military’s embarrassment.
And the tightly locked bulletin board at North China Industries’ Malaysian branch.
Suspicion toward Chinese weapons spread through Kuala Lumpur like a brushfire riding the fiber-optic lines.
And Hanseo Defense, the one behind all of it, was smiling quietly in the background.