The Weight of the Law (8)
This party was precisely a charity gala for the Shoah Foundation. The very concept of a charity party might feel a bit foreign, but you can think of it as a kind of social ritual. Just handing over cash doesn't have the same flair. Sure, it gets flak for flaunting one's morality..., but even hypocrisy counts as good. Honestly, from the donor's side, you can't help thinking, at least pay up and spout that noble crap.
"...So, for today's party, it'll just be me and Ha Young-il going."
Lee Si-hyun muttered with obvious regret.
"Hoo, no helping it. If I showed up, it'd kill the vibe. And I dread squeezing into a dress anyway...."
Lee Si-hyun had become something of a name in Russia these days, so it couldn't be helped. She was a legit businesswoman at heart, but to outsiders, she screamed mafia boss—hardly the type for a charity gala.
"You could tag along as the chauffeur.... What do you say?"
"Pass. Now that the companies are stabilized, I'm swamped clashing with gangs left and right. Missing you all dolled up stings a bit..., but snap some pics and send them later."
Her smirking demand for photos drew an involuntary smile from me.
"Yeah, sure. I'll take plenty. Won't go overboard on the glam, though... still."
This wasn't some random shindig—it was the Shoah Foundation's Holocaust history event. No one could show up flashy. Everyone would stick to modest attire.
"You always say that..., but you'd look great in anything, Miss Ha-yeon."
"True enough."
"Still, it's infuriating. They treat me like some oligarch and bar me from the party, but the real crook parades around as a philanthropist."
Lee Si-hyun grumbled.
"Can't be helped. Bernard Madoff's been a big-name investor from the start, famous for massive donations to all sorts of causes—a real pillar of character."
"No clue why a Ponzi schemer tosses around hundreds of millions in donations. Sigh, scammers are the scum of the earth. Not that I should talk...."
Ouch. Stung, I offered a defensive explanation.
"That's exactly why his scam flew under the radar for so long."
‘If that guy's really pulling a Ponzi, why blow cash like it's nothing instead of hoarding it?’
Of course, that was textbook playbook. Ponzi schemes thrive despite being infamous precisely because they hook you with trust first.
Think about it. If some rando begged to borrow a hundred million bucks, I'd scrutinize them top to bottom, and if they checked out clean, I'd bury them on some beach pronto. But if Lee Si-hyun made the ask? I'd hand it over, no question. Because I trust her.
Doesn't matter how much it mimics a scammer's MO. Trust is flimsy yet ironclad.
...And that's where everything splits. Intent.
Sticking with the Si-hyun example: Say she took that hundred mil and lost it. I'd forgive her. As long as there was no deceit behind it.
Madoff's investors felt the same. Temporary dips or losses? Fine—they banked on sky-high returns down the line.
But if that foundation, that trust, was bogus from jump? It flips into hatred multiplied tenfold. Your kindly, respectable neighbor turns into someone you'd rip limb from limb.
Dizzying to imagine getting played. Decades of bonds, after all.
I didn't pick Si-hyun as an example for nothing. If she ever actually betrayed me, it'd take something like the human-pig torture from ancient Chinese tales to vent the rage.
Sure, I've pulled similar stunts, but at least I got the first button right. Never meant to scam from the outset.
...The situation just sucked. Sounds like an excuse, but I wasn't in my right mind back then. If someone had reined me in like they do now, I never would've hit the courtroom.
‘Ha, all excuses anyway.’
I mocked myself. Ah, the torment. Why do the good memories fade while those hellish days cling to my brain?
Luckily, the main victims pleaded for leniency, so the sentence stayed light....
"...".
Even so, that weight crushed me beyond the grave.
Eh, irrelevant anyway. It's bullshit for my current self to shoulder crimes from a past-life me I don't even know by name. Continuity of self or not, I'm just bearing that load in his stead. Not the weight of sin... more like the weight of the law.
As I said, past life's sins are squared away. But I haven't forgotten the lesson. Madoff was to past-me what past-me is to present-me: the perfect anti-example.
Real heartwarming stuff, right? Law's core isn't punishment—it's reform. Without that slap back then, the ethically impeccable Miss Yoo Ha-yeon of today wouldn't exist.
I genuinely love this present 'me.' The flawless Yoo Ha-yeon.
Anyway, the gala went off without a hitch.
‘With all the effort I poured in? Obviously.’
Even the casual racism I faced as an Asian in America was scarce. No one dumb enough to spew that here—they wouldn't get invited.
Sure, Zionists might despise non-Jews..., but the organizers had filtered out criminals and agitators. No real headaches.
Except for that one guy: Madoff, here with the purest impure motives.
"Ooh, the famous fund manager from Alpha Fund graces us. Thought you'd skip events like this—quite the surprise."
The smiling Jewish gentleman eyed me—or rather, Ha Young-il—with veiled wariness on his kindly face.
Translation: Aren't you vultures just obsessed with sucking blood?
Absurd, knowing the full story (not that he was wrong).
Who the hell was calling out whom?
"Got interested in these issues lately. Helping folks hit hard by the LA riots..., it left a real mark. Haha, same for everyone, right?"
Ha Young-il fielded it smoothly. Even cutthroat tycoons from his youth play philanthropist in their dotage. Textbook case.
Madoff couldn't push back—too many eyes.
"Hrm, fair point. More folks tasting charity's joy? Something to thank God for."
"...Indeed."
Both toed the line on religious talk. Half the crowd was Jewish, the other Christian. Gala's quirk.
"—The Shoah Foundation mustn't stay a Jewish-only thing. We reject all massacres outright, so other genocides—beyond the so-called Holocaust—will join our archives too. Remembering just the Jewish slaughter? Once WWII survivors are gone, this foundation loses purpose. And it'll be forgotten. Like I once did. I'm Jewish, so the Jewish genocide hits special. But to beat rampant antisemitism, we can't just share pain among ourselves. Appealing to universal morals as a global shared trauma is more logical, more effective. I want this foundation to comfort every genocide survivor."
Wondered if they'd log Zionist massacres too..., but decided not to overthink. Too busy for that, and declaring they'd archive not just Jews but gays and disabled victims already carried heavy politics.
‘Tsk, period syncing up made me all sentimental.’
Shaking off the fluff, I took a slow deep breath.
"Hm, miss over there. You alright? Looking peaky...."
"Aha, no, just nerves. Sorry to worry you. Mr. Madoff, right?"
I flashed a bright smile and offered a handshake. A speck of weight settled into his palm....
And the wide, sparse net of the heavens finally closed in.