The Coin's Ascent
"I've seen a lot of guys under me during my military service, and you seem like someone with a lot on your mind, Chairman."
"Back then, pushing your body was the best way to clear your head."
"There's a special four-week training program starting tomorrow. You should join."
The look in his eyes suggested that refusing wasn't really an option. I agreed. Lately, my days had felt strangely numb. He had a sharp eye for people.
"Understood."
The moment I answered, the door opened and Deputy General Manager Seong rolled in on his wheelchair.
"Good afternoon, Chairman."
"How have you been?"
"Enjoying myself quite a bit."
His face looked brighter than when he'd been at the welfare center. He reminded me of a pigeon that had finally tasted freedom.
"I called you here to check on how you're doing and to hear about the business."
"Everything's running smoothly, but since you asked, I'll give you the details."
"Of course. I came prepared."
He handed me a tablet and opened his laptop, its surface covered in colorful stickers. Why so many?
"We're currently operating around twenty gambling sites. We receive funds through dummy accounts, Luxembourg accounts, and Bahamas accounts, then launder them through GBC."
"Is it working well?"
"Yes. We've been promoting heavily, the sites haven't been taken down, and traffic keeps growing. Our payout rate is holding at around ninety percent."
When I asked what payout rate meant, he explained it was the percentage players received back from their deposits.
"Isn't that too high? Wouldn't customers dislike it?"
I must have sounded ignorant. He smiled faintly.
"Our payout rate is actually on the higher side. That's why people keep coming."
Most competing sites, he said, set theirs in the seventies. He pulled up a revenue chart on the tablet. Ten billion won a month. That meant roughly a hundred billion won in total betting volume.
"This revenue barely covers operating costs."
The sudden confession caught me off guard. Ten billion a month was just maintenance?
He switched to another screen showing a live chart. The ticker read GBC—the coin Seong managed.
"When I drive the price, I usually pull in around five billion won per harvest."
I listened as he explained how the coin moved like a stock. They inflated trading volume through wash trades, drew in outside money, pumped the price, dumped their holdings, then bought back in when it dipped. With enough capital and supply, it was effortless.
"Market cap is currently around one trillion won. We hold roughly thirty percent of the total supply."
"Operating capital sits at about one hundred seventy billion won."
Five hundred billion won under one man's control. A warning bell rang in my head, but I kept my expression neutral. I would need to speak with the executives. I couldn't let him follow the same path as Team Leader Seon.
While Seong continued his lecture on coin manipulation, his laptop chimed.
"What is it?"
"One moment."
His fingers moved so fast they blurred. Then a satisfied smile spread across his face.
"Something I've been working on just got a bite."
"My apologies, Chairman. These things can trigger at any time."
"Go ahead and work. Don't mind me."
He pulled out his phone and made a call.
"Gisu, keep feeding the line. I need to check the reaction."
The one-minute chart climbed, hesitated, then resumed its slow ascent.
"We're a team, right?"
A young voice came through the speaker. Seong looked at me.
"All in or take partial profits?"
"All in," I said.
Seong's eyes gleamed like a predator spotting prey.
"Gisu, the Chairman says all in. We have his approval."
I had no idea what I'd just authorized. It had been pure instinct. Seong rolled his wheelchair closer and handed me the tablet.
"Let's see your luck, Chairman. Press Buy to start."
I tapped the button like scratching a lottery ticket. A confirmation popped up. The chart shot vertically. One minute later the red candles shortened. After five minutes of sideways movement, the price began to slide. Ten minutes later it had dropped roughly twenty percent from the peak.
"That doesn't look good."
"On the contrary, it's perfect."
He pointed at the holdings: thirteen percent ownership, valued at four hundred seventy billion won. The market cap had lost two hundred billion. Adding cash reserves, our position was now worth five hundred seventy billion.
A hundred billion won in under an hour.
"Impressive," I said honestly.
"Now we buy the dip. Let's hope the backers have short tempers."
When I asked what he meant, he explained that true professionals rarely funded their own operations. They used investor money. Once a hundred billion was at stake, impatient backers would demand liquidation. That would flood the market with supply for us to absorb.
Deputy General Manager Seong was more dangerous than he appeared.
"If they had more money than us, they'd swallow us whole."
"Then we shouldn't do this."
"Correct. But we control the order flow. Whether they split their buys or come in one block, the pattern recognition will flag them. Once we mark them, we can track them."
"If someone brings in a trillion won, they'll have to walk away."
A trillion won wasn't pocket change. The odds seemed low.
"At that scale they wouldn't even glance at a coin like ours."
We had enough capital and volume to dominate this alleyway.
"Understood. Enjoy dinner with Gisu tonight. How many people are stationed here?"
"Three, including me. The security team helps with servers and equipment, but the core operators are just the three of us."
Running five hundred billion won with three people felt understaffed.
"If you need more personnel, hire them under your authority. The headcount seems low relative to revenue."
"Thank you. I don't think we'll need many. Too many people only create management headaches."
"Handle it as you see fit. I had hotel food brought in. Eat while you work."
"Understood. I'll head out now."
Once Seong left, I contacted Executive Director Ha and shared my concerns about the amount of capital under Seong's control.
"He's trustworthy, but people change. I'll keep an eye on him." — Executive Director Ha (37.1)
"Still, it's remarkable. You gave the order and sent the funds, and he grew it this much." — Executive Director Ha (37.1)
Indeed. If my memory was correct, we'd only sent about one hundred fifty billion initially.
"Team Leader Lee wants me to complete a month of training before returning. I'll do some exercise while I'm here." — GB (38.5)
"Please take care of Korea while I'm gone." — GB (38.5)
"Safe travels." — Executive Director Ha (37.1)
After ending the call, I stepped outside into lively chatter. Korean voices mixed with the smell of hotel food and alcohol, creating a strangely pleasant atmosphere. Even the local Filipino staff were speaking Korean. Had they been trained, or had they picked it up from mixed families?
Team Leader Lee spotted me and approached.
"Finished?"
When I nodded, he suggested we eat. I was hungry, so I joined the group. The buffet was set up in an open area. Roughly thirty people were gathered—security team members sent from Korea and local organization members.
"These are the friends participating in the upcoming training."
"Quite a few. Looks like about thirty."
"Including us, we're training at platoon strength."
"This friend will be overseeing the entire training."
"Pleasure to meet you. My name is Kang Eun-gyu."
"Nice to meet you."
"These two will assist as training instructors."
"Pleasure. I'm Cheon Hae-min."
"Pleasure. I'm Kim Dong-ho."
"Good to meet you both. I'll be joining the training as well. I look forward to working with you."
After Team Leader Lee sent the three men away, he gave me their backgrounds.
"Sergeant Kang is ex-Marine. He went through jungle training during his service, so the curriculum is solid."
"The other two are from the Special Forces. They're counter-terrorism specialists. They'll teach you well."
The way he phrased it made me feel like I was already dead. Still, I enjoyed the final feast with the local family before training began.