Call In the Boss

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The moment he gave his name, the person on the other end sucked in a sharp breath. Even inside KoreaTV, it seemed, the name Kim Taeyoung had been making the rounds.

Gabjil Secret Art, Chapter One: cut them off and say only what you came to say. Gabjil Secret Art, Chapter Two: drag the boss into the room. Kim Taeyoung had a gift for gabjil, the fine art of throwing one's weight around. He had spent ten years on the receiving end of it. It would have been stranger if he didn't know how.

The call with Deputy Seok ended. The lawyer, who had been listening at his side, spoke up.

"You're going straight there?"

"Yes. Better to finish a thing in one trip."

"Hmm. Then would you mind if I came along? I happen to have a little time."

"If you would, I'd be grateful."

Perhaps it was the doubled retainer, and the success bonus on top of it. The lawyer volunteered the extra hours himself. From where Taeyoung stood, there was nothing in that arrangement to dislike.

In the meantime Deputy Seok's report climbed the chain of command until it reached the head of sales. Ten billion won was riding on it. KoreaTV had naturally read the whole affair as money laundering and left every bit of it to the prosecution, but CoinGodGodGod was insisting he had been cleared.

A call to Prosecutor Choi Hyunwook, who had a little pull, confirmed that a no-charge outcome was in fact likely. Money that was obviously laundered, and yet money the law could not touch. The fee KoreaTV stood to take was four billion won. That was an approval big enough to rise all the way to the sales director, an inside director of the company.

"He's coming right now?"

"I'm sorry."

"What do you have to apologize for? When a whale throws a fit, what's a company man supposed to do about it? More to the point, the file?"

"Here it is."

The sales director skimmed the materials on Kim Taeyoung. Whatever had set this in motion was summarized cleanly, and for something thrown together in a little over ten minutes it was respectable work. Thanks to that, he had the case well in hand.

"A troublesome customer, this one. Announcing outright that he means to launder the money."

Tap, tap. The sales director rapped the desk twice, a habit of his when he was thinking. And when his thoughts had more or less settled, his secretary announced that the guest had arrived.

"Send him in."

The door opened almost before the words were finished, and two men came through: Kim Taeyoung and his lawyer. The sales director rose and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠put on a genial smile.

"How do you do. Park Myeongcheol. Please, have a seat. What would you like to drink?"

"Good to meet you. Kim Taeyoung. This is my lawyer. I'll have coffee. Counselor?"

"I'm fine. I make it a rule not to put anything in my mouth while I'm working."

"Of course. Two coffees, then."

The secretary stepped out and returned with two cups. Coffee in an elegant cup was set down in front of Kim Taeyoung.

"First, allow me to apologize. I was told you were hurt by the discourtesy of one of our staff."

"I'll take the apology afterward. If today's business is actually resolved."

Unlike the person-of-interest interview, here in the sales director's office it was Kim Taeyoung who led. None of this had been planned, so the lawyer had no idea what his client intended. Even so, a lawyer was a great help simply by sitting there.

"Ha ha. When you put it that way, I'm nervous already. What would you like us to do for you?"

"The cash-out, first. As soon as possible. Today, if it can be done. I consider that a right I'm entitled to claim. Isn't that correct, Counselor?"

"Yes. It is. Under the Act on the Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce and related statutes, the client's request is entirely legitimate. Mr. Kim requested the cash-out on December 2, 2025. Under KoreaTV's terms, a cash-out requested from Wednesday of the previous week through Tuesday of the current week is to be honored on Thursday of the current week."

"Understood. We'll do everything we can to process it as quickly as possible. The funds should reach your cash-out account before this evening."

Park Myeongcheol answered without a moment's hesitation. The arithmetic was already finished. Where Kim Taeyoung's money had come from, and how it had been made, did not matter. What mattered was that the prosecution had called it clear of charges. From KoreaTV's side, that was welcome.

Whatever his circumstances, Kim Taeyoung had meant to launder money through KoreaTV. No one knew how much money he actually had. But this was a chance to pocket four billion won for nothing. KoreaTV's annual operating profit ran somewhere between ninety and a hundred billion won. Four billion was four percent of that profit. Serious money.

If it ever came out that they had processed a cash-out anyone could see was laundering, they might catch a certain amount of abuse. It didn't matter. KoreaTV didn't do business on its image in the first place. The image had been on the floor from the start. What mattered was revenue, and results. If the prosecution was going to close the case with no charges, KoreaTV had no reason to hold back. Holding back wouldn't fit the company philosophy, either.

"Good to be talking to someone who understands. I was thinking of demanding every won back and taking my business to another platform."

At the sales director's instant agreement, Kim Taeyoung stood down from battle readiness. For a moment he had thought he might have to unload, right here at KoreaTV, every gabjil technique he had honed over ten years.

"Ha ha. Of course that's how it should be. Korea always listens carefully to what our customers have to say. Is there anything else that's been an inconvenience? If there is, we'll do our very best."

"An inconvenience... In that case, could you assign someone to handle my cash-outs exclusively? It won't be every day, but I expect I'll be cashing out quite a lot."

At that, the sales director's eyes lit.

"Quite a lot. You mean you'll be running more cash-outs on this same scale?"

"Yes. Possibly larger than this."

"Then of course we should. If there isn't a person for it, I'll take the fieldwork on myself to see your cash-outs through."

He had been right to meet Kim Taeyoung halfway. One more ten-billion cash-out and the take would be eight billion won. Eight percent of operating profit. A result like that would not only secure him another term as an inside director. He could start eyeing the president's chair itself.

"And I'd like the coin sponsorship system overhauled, too. The lag when I fire coins is a little irritating. Or you could simply let me buy Moon Balloons with coin outright."

"That's a systems matter, so it can't be fixed on the spot. But we'll do everything we can to find a way."

Whether it would come to anything or not, Kim Taeyoung said everything he wanted from KoreaTV. Each time, the sales director swore he would give it his all and stiffened his resolve. As expected, having money was the greatest thing of all. The sales director of KoreaTV was, by any social measure, a man who had succeeded enormously. In front of Kim Taeyoung he could not so much as twitch.

That evening, the instant the clock struck six, the money landed.

Five billion, eight hundred and two million won, once the 3.3 percent withheld at source was stripped out. With something like six billion coming in, the tax alone came to two hundred million. Next year's comprehensive income tax was going to be monstrous.

So that's why people who make real money never shut up about taxes.

Now that he had paid a pile of it, he understood. It stung, badly. But there was nothing to be done about it. He had to pay in good faith. Otherwise the prosecution, or the National Tax Service, would come knocking again.

That was that. He was rich now, and there was something a rich man was supposed to do.

Flex. The kind of shameless money-burning only people with money got to do. Working at the department store, how many of the upper class had he watched? They never gave a moment's thought to price. He meant to try that kind of shopping for himself. He was getting ready to go out again, bound for the department store, when a call came in. Hwayeon.

Hwayeon whined at him through the phone. She was a serious chaser of money, and her popularity had cooled a great deal from her prime, which was why she was clinging with everything she had to the new money line that had walked in: Kim Taeyoung.

He liked that she called and hung on him, and he found it a nuisance. The two feelings contradicted each other, but that was genuinely how he felt. Having a camgirl like Hwayeon clinging to him did wonders for a man's pride and his confidence. What he didn't like was the way she kept toeing the line, forever on the verge of stepping over it. She was a camgirl he liked. She was not his girlfriend.

She had made the same request over KakaoTalk. An Excel Broadcast booking had come in, and she wanted him to sponsor her so she wouldn't lose face next to the other ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠camgirls.

It wasn't a hard thing to do. There was no whale out there with more money than he had. But he couldn't find a reason he ought to. Firing donations at a personal stream was more fun than an Excel Broadcast, and the back-and-forth was better too.

She threw a tantrum.