Blackjack (2)
End of 1992. After returning from the Shoah Foundation charity event, I soothed Si-hyun.
"Yeah, yeah, don't pout... You know you're the only chief secretary I've got, right? The position's still vacant otherwise."
She'd only just been promoted to chief secretary and already she was off to Russia. At least Seo Joo-eun, who had some seniority, was too wrapped up in her honeymoon bliss to help. And I couldn't exactly promote the new hires straight to chief secretary...
"Hmph, spare me the sweet talk. I hear the next chief secretary's that girl you've been hanging around with lately—the daughter of Director Seo, right? What was her name again?"
"Seo Ji-yeon? Nah, she's got a long way to go. Unlike you, who's over thirty, she's not even hitting twenty-five."
"...That hurts."
Si-hyun pretended to tear up.
"Pfft, not convincing for Russia's Red Mafia oligarch with no blood or tears to spare."
Unlike me, who occasionally wore skirts now, Si-hyun stuck to sharp, masculine suits more often. Yet her ponytail and the chest straining against her dress shirt screamed femininity, creating this delicious imbalance... Honestly, she looked pretty damn hot.
"Around here, the local gangs practically treat me like a saint. You should visit Russia sometime, miss, and see how women's rights are in tatters."
Born in the '60s, and she was saying stuff like that? Russia must be something else right now. Without the connections she'd built ahead of time, even with all her money, a female Asian like Si-hyun would've been dead meat.
"Still, glad you've adapted so well. Really."
I nodded reluctantly, but pride was clear on her face.
"Yes, well... Getting called znyhzh for organizing women into a gang stings a bit, but there's some satisfaction in it."
"...Znyhzh? Like, husbands?"
I tilted my head, and Si-hyun answered awkwardly.
"...It means lesbian. Mafia slang. Anyway, even the Russians call prison 'school,' just like everywhere else. Universal lingo, huh."
Ah. Yeah, she did have that appeal with women.
"Ahem, anyway, good work."
"No, miss, you had the harder night. By the way... I've been thinking lately, haven't I gotten too big?"
"What, your boobs?"
Si-hyun flushed beet red and shook her head vigorously.
"Wh-what kind of talk is that? Ugh, seriously. Even the boss of the neighboring gang won't say that to my face anymore..."
"You're thirty, so no more height growth. What's left to grow besides that? You don't even put on fat anyway."
"It's strict self-discipline, not to be dismissed like that. Anyway, point is, hasn't my faction grown pretty big?"
Thud. Si-hyun grinned playfully and planted a hand on the wall behind me. Her other hand tugged my chin up.
"Like this, I could just snatch you away and you'd never notice, right?"
Her smiling shadow loomed over me.
"...'
I stared at her blankly, and Si-hyun grumbled, releasing the pose.
"Tch, can't even joke around... So, how'd it go at the party?"
She hadn't been there, so she eyed me with eager curiosity, like watching some fun TV show. Guess I had to spill.
"Blackjack—know it?"
"Ha, yeah, I do. Pretty well, actually. Sometimes play a few hands with the crew instead of roulette. Can't ban gambling outright, so might as well keep it clean-ish..."
...That sounded exactly like roulette. No "Russian-style" prefix needed?
"That's the one. You keep hitting till you reach 21—best to stop there. Go over, and boom, you bust."
Pro term's "bust." She got it instantly.
"A trap. Classic you, miss! Never disappoint."
Clap clap. Enthusiastic applause rang out.
"Hey, blackjack's pretty fair, though. Right? Madoff had his shot."
Over $300 million unlocks audit rights for the Madoff Fund... Looks like a kill switch, but it doesn't play out that easy.
"Sure. Takes time to scrape together $300 million... Launder through their money channels, and it'll look legit enough."
That's the real trap. No deadline? Fine. But fund inflows are steady. Madoff probably figures it'll hit by late '93, so he'll schedule around that. Forgetting the Schindler's List bombshell in between.
"Giving a homework deadline of one week or two... Everyone knows it barely matters. We all cram the night before anyway, right?"
Hell, dropping it to $200 million might've made it harder to spot—they'd hustle harder to hide the laundering.
"I was a diligent student, so I wouldn't know. But yeah, that's what they say. Wow, you really splurged at that auction, huh?"
Rustle. Si-hyun replied offhand while sorting the items I'd brought back from the gala: Spielberg's film reels, artwork, jewels...
"Charity party thing. My collection's kinda light anyway? Figured it was for a good cause, so I bid big."
That's how these galas work: attendees donate items, others bid, proceeds go to charity. Whoever invented it was a genius—effective and classy.
"How much?"
"These trinkets aside, plus rights and big art pieces coming later... Roughly ten million bucks?"
"...Ten billion won? Ha, Madoff's face must've been priceless."
Hit all my dreams, desires, and schemes in one go. Perfect.
‘$100,000!’
‘Ooh, $200,000! Going once? Twice? Sold for $200,000!’
‘My God, $1 million...! Yes! Sold for $1 million!’
Kya. Auctions are all about that thrill. I stoked the rivalry, and that one pulled in nearly $100 million— a third of the goal in a flash. Madoff's expression? Masterpiece.
"You're scheming again... Oh, Trump cards here too. Wanna play blackjack while we're at it?"
"That's the Bicycle 100th anniversary pack—pricey stuff... Eh, why not."
Click. Si-hyun pulled two jokers from the deck and slipped them into my cleavage. Possible only because I hadn't changed out of my gala dress.
"Jokers out, let's start."
"Mmm, bold move. Messing with a lady like that—electrifying."
"Only with you, miss?"
Her smug triumph irked me... but it was kinda cute. Especially since I won in the end.
June 1993 again. Now a full-fledged second-year at Daeha Middle School, riding the peak of school life, I finished distributing Schindler's List and smiled in satisfaction.
"Nice, that's a blockbuster. In Korea, it's basically matching Jurassic Park, right?"
"...Indeed. Just as you predicted, miss."
Not the first time, so Ha Young-il just nodded once and dove back into work. Man, his reactions are always so flat.
"BBB's moving along fine?"
"Yes, Madoff seems more desperate—shifting a lot of funds there. Orders?"
"What else? Follow 'procedure.' Oh, take the money first, of course. But transparently, fairly... Got it?"
This is why holding a major bank rocks. Even lax oversight—aggressively or passively nabbing crimes—wields massive influence. We're just staunchly anti-corruption, grabbing financial crooks without bowing to authority or bribes. Totally clean.
......
A few days later.
"$300 million... Damn, it actually hit. Time to assemble the audit team per procedure... Any good candidates?"
The foundation chairman stroked his chin. The condition cleared abruptly, and they were short on external accounting staff.
"I'll dispatch myself as the director."
Ha Young-il raised his hand with a faint smile. The other directors knew Alpha Fund and Madoff Fund weren't chummy, but they nodded along.
"Perfect. Mr. Ha won't raise eyebrows."
"Heh, anti-Semitism's dying down these days, but if a buddy steps up here, they'll cry accounting fraud or money games. Neo-Nazis are watching us for any counterpunch—be thorough."
They trusted Madoff like I trusted Si-hyun or Young-il.
One director rifled through papers.
"Hm, best talk to Madoff Fund's accounting firm first. Let's see... Freeling & Horowitz? Not ringing a bell."
Me neither. What fly-by-night firm is that? Wanted to call it out, but as a silent attendee, I stayed mum.
The director nodded knowingly soon after.
"Ah, they switched recently. Makes sense—a big fund using a small firm looks shady."
To insiders, it screamed last-minute panic. But the blind directors chuckled, praising his diligence.
"Must've fussed over key funds. Bernie’s thorough, as expected."
"Arthur Andersen—one of the Big Five, right? No need for a full audit then. Haha, might as well send me—I'd have nothing to do."
Clink. I nearly dropped my glass at the familiar name.
'Arthur Andersen?' Shit... This is escalating.
Madoff, true scam king, counterpunched hard even in this pinch. Obvious exposure from ledger checks, so he went all-in: rope in a prestige firm. Smart play. Hell, he drew the joker—not even ace of spades—from a five-card deck.
'Fine, let's see who wins.'
Drew the joker? No need for a fool to block the king.