The Taste of Money

Vrrrr—

A call came in on my phone.

Seoul numbers have been hitting my phone a lot lately.

The digits were a little off from last time, so it probably wasn't Jinhan Bank's Gangnam Branch. Where was this one coming from? It might not be spam, so I answered.

"Yes. Who is this?"

I'd made up my mind to change jobs so I wouldn't have to look at Park Seonghun's face, or Lee Somin's — both of them equally rotten. Back then I'd registered my résumé on every recruiting site I could find.

Not a single call in those days. And now, of all times, one shows up.

Their sense of timing was almost impressive. The headhunter kept going.

Hold on. Did affiliates usually try to poach from one another? I'd never even heard of such a thing. I had walked out of a Jinseong Group subsidiary on my own two feet. There was no way another arm of the same group would take me back in.

One person flashed through my mind.

Jayeong... she did this.

Not a word from her after I resigned, and I hadn't expected her to reach me like this.

"I appreciate the offer, but I'll pass. I've got something else in the works."

Usually they hung up once you said no. The way he kept laying it on, inch by inch, turned my guess into certainty. Might as well confirm it. Time to use an ability I'd drawn from the Random Box a while back.

"By any chance, did someone ask you to call?"

"I'm wondering if this offer came at someone else's request."

Of course. I really should have bought her a proper meal before I left. I'd been so buried in investing that I never got around to it.

I'll have to see her sometime and make good on dinner.

I declined a few more times, politely, before I could finally get the headhunter off the line.

Vrrrr—

I hung up and looked at my phone. A message from Dahun was waiting.

Today was the meeting with Section Chief Yoon Seongjun and the branch manager. The day we'd gone out for tonkatsu, Dahun had told me everything that had passed between him and Section Chief Yoon at the bank.

The immutable law of assholes. If Jinseong Planning had Team Leader Park, Jinhan Bank had a man named Yoon Seongjun. A victim complex. An inferiority complex. People pickled in both, convinced that the only way to raise themselves was to cut everyone else down.

People like that needed to be shown something. Just how insignificant they really were.

From the moment the doors opened, Jinhan Bank was on emergency footing.

"A VIP client with five billion won in cash assets alone. Jinhan Bank must present a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trustworthy face at all times. Check every VIP route again and make sure it's spotless."

"Yes, sir."

At the branch manager's order, the staff moved as one. Consider it. How many people in Korea actually held five billion won in pure cash? And that wasn't even the heart of it. A transfer on that scale had landed overnight, which meant — in the branch manager's mind — that somewhere out there sat assets larger still.

If he can shift five billion like it's nothing... he's got at least twice that. Minimum.

At the branch manager's side, Section Chief Yoon Seongjun stood like a court sycophant.

Section Chief Yoon Seongjun...

From the rumors that drifted through the company to the way the man actually worked, there was nothing about him the branch manager particularly liked. He'd fully intended to fail him at the review for promotion to deputy general manager. Then, out of nowhere, Yoon had landed a whale — a whale big enough to overturn, in a single stroke, every target the man had missed until now.

I worried plenty after Assistant Manager Kang left, so this is a relief, if nothing else. Still — where did he find a client like this?

"Is the VIP reception room ready?"

"Of course. We've prepared a range of drinks for the client, and two americanos."

"Two?"

"One iced, one hot. The client's choice."

The branch manager let out a short laugh.

"Not a bad bit of sense."

At the entrance of the Gangnam branch, a G-Wagen was rolling in from a distance.

"That's the VIP vehicle."

The branch manager, who usually ambled, shot outside as if he'd been fired from a gun. Section Chief Yoon planted himself in front of the parking space and waved the G-Wagen in as though he'd just been promoted to valet. A moment later the car was parked, and its driver stepped out. The branch manager came forward and bowed.

"Good afternoon. Might you be Mr. Ju Jinyeong?"

"I am."

"Allow me to introduce myself properly. I'm Kim Mincheol, branch manager of Jinhan Bank's Gangnam Branch."

"Ah, the branch manager. I've heard a great deal about you."

"...About me?"

"Yes. That you're exceptionally sharp, and a rational man."

"Ha ha... You flatter me."

Inwardly, the branch manager was already recalculating.

I knew he wasn't an ordinary man. He already knows about me. Which of the higher-ups is he close to...

He swallowed, and the tension climbed another notch. One slip of the tongue, one story drifting upstairs, and his own performance review would have nothing good to show for it.

"Forgive me for asking... but do you happen to know anyone on the Jinhan Bank side?"

"Hm. Someone I know... Well, I did. He's left now, so I suppose the answer is no."

The branch manager turned that over.

An old boy of the bank?

Wait. The division head resigned at the start of the year. Don't tell me it's him?

And from beside him, Section Chief Yoon Seongjun popped out like a scurrying lackey and bowed his head low.

"A pleasure to meet you. I'm Section Chief Yoon Seongjun. We spoke by phone the other day."

"Ah... so you're Section Chief Yoon. I've heard a great deal about you, too."

"Ha ha, goodness, you're too kind."

Yoon scratched his head as if embarrassed. It didn't last.

"I wasn't complimenting you."

"...Pardon?"

"I said I'd heard a lot. That's all."

"Ah, ha ha — my mistake. I'm sorry. It's hot out. Please, come inside."

"Oh, and this is my first time managing assets like these, so I brought a friend who specializes in the field. That's all right, isn't it?"

"Oh, of course. If he's a specialist friend of yours, Mr. Ju, I can already imagine how impressive he must—"

Thud—

Only then did Dahun open the passenger door and step out. In that instant the branch manager's eyes flew wide. So did Section Chief Yoon's.

"Assistant Manager Kang?"

"Kang Dahun, you little shit—"

Yoon sucked in a breath, the curse already out, and clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Say hello. This is my friend, Kang Dahun. You already know each other, don't you?"

Dahun went to the branch manager first.

"Been well, Branch Manager?"

"What on earth is going on...?"

"Exactly what it looks like. Jinyeong's my brother — close enough that we've got nothing left to hide from each other — and we're working together from here on, so I came along. Figured it was a good chance to see your face again."

"Ha ha... Then that compliment earlier..."

Dahun nodded.

"You are sharp, and you are rational. I told my friend that if it was a bank under your management, he could trust it with his money."

The branch manager caught Dahun's hand and gripped it hard. Even while he was at the company, Dahun had driven the numbers up. Now, even after leaving, he was about to drive them up again. What a magnificent little bastard. If the branch manager could have managed it, he would have adopted him on the spot and called him his own son.

Creak—

While the branch ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠manager and Dahun talked, Section Chief Yoon clenched his fist until the knuckles ground.

How is that bastard...

The VIP reception room. I settled onto a plush, high-end sofa.

So banks have rooms like this.

Whenever I'd come in for ordinary business, I took a number, sat in a chair, and waited for my digits to flash up on the screen. Here, nobody took a number. More than that — the branch manager himself had come out to receive me. I was feeling, all over again, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the weight of the money in my hands.

"What can I get you to drink?"

"It's hot out. A cold coffee, please."

Section Chief Yoon swiftly set a prepared iced coffee on the table in front of me.

"I have to admit, I never imagined our VIP client at Jinhan would turn out to be friends with Dahun."

The branch manager said it while looking at me.

"Ha ha. I almost feel guilty. I asked Dahun to go into business with me, so it feels like I poached a good man out from under you."

The branch manager waved that off.

"Not at all. The useful trees are always the first ones taken. It only means Dahun was that outstanding. Of course, I was sorry to see him go."

I could hear, in the way he said it, how much he had valued Dahun all this time. For the branch manager's sake alone, I wanted to leave my primary account at Jinhan.

The problem is that bastard.

Section Chief Yoon was watching me with an uncomfortable stare. A textbook specimen of the man who kicks down and kisses up.

"If it isn't too forward... might I ask what line of work you're in?"

The branch manager asked it carefully.

"I do a little straightforward investing."

"I see. Young as you are, you seem to have a remarkable eye for the world."

An eye for the world. It was just the Random Box. Without that, I'd still be living as a slave at Jinseong Planning. After a few more exchanges, the branch manager came to the point.

"The funds have come into Jinhan Bank, yes... but might I ask whether you intend to keep us as your primary bank going forward? If you would, I can promise you the best treatment in the industry."

"I'd like to, if only out of regard for you, Branch Manager. But..."

"But?"

Beside me, Dahun took up the thread.

"Here's the thing, Section Chief Yoon. By what route, exactly, did you get a look at Jinyeong's client information?"

Yoon's face locked up at once. The branch manager's eyes flashed as he turned.

"What do you mean by that... well, naturally..."

"The money Jinyeong deposited was moved into that account not long ago, while he was preparing to incorporate. He didn't notify the branch ahead of time. So I find it curious — how did Section Chief Yoon know first, and place the call?"

Yoon started to stammer.

"Ah, the internal system probably detected the change in assets..."

"These days a bank runs on systems like FDS and AML, so unusual transactions get flagged on their own. But you're not in Head Office Compliance. Why were you the one looking?"

The branch manager's face went hard.

"Section Chief Yoon. Don't tell me you opened VIP data in the client information system without authorization."

Flustered, Yoon waved his hands.

"Ah — no. I didn't."

"The access logs will tell us that soon enough. Viewing personal information without a legitimate reason is a clear violation of the Personal Information Protection Act. Leaving Jinyeong's account in a place this untrustworthy... as his friend, I'm a little uncomfortable, Branch Manager."

The branch manager looked at me and bowed his head, slow and deep.

"I am truly sorry. Something like this should never have happened at our branch..."

Dahun and I rose from our seats. And then—

We walked out without a second's hesitation.

Ah.

So this was what money tasted like.