What Happened at the Bank
It had been six years this year since Young-hoon officially entered the working world. Of course, he'd been banking since he enrolled in university, so he'd been in and out of banks for quite a long time. Still, today was the first time he'd ever set foot inside a branch manager's office. Apparently, having a large sum of money made him someone the bank wanted to court as a VIP client.
“Good afternoon. I'm Song Young-rak, branch manager of the Yeouido Branch. I've never seen a check for this amount before. Ah, of course—I have verified the check, and it has been confirmed to be genuine. Would you mind telling me where you came across this check?”
Just as expected, everything Chairman Choi had predicted over yesterday's meal had come true to the letter. He must have anticipated that something like this would happen. Only then did Young-hoon remember the instruction to call him if anything came up at the bank. He dialed the number on the business card Chairman Choi had handed him. Perhaps because spam calls were so rampant these days, no one picked up. Left with no choice, he sent a text message.
I'm at the bank right now, and I remembered what you told me, so I'm reaching out.
You're not answering your phone, so I'm leaving you this message.
Before long, Young-hoon's phone rang.
“Oof, my apologies. I just went and ignored a call from the man who's the savior of my very life. Forgive me, will you.”
“Oh, it's quite all right. Honestly, I tend not to answer calls from numbers I don't recognize. The thing is……”
“Ah, I already know exactly what this is about, so don't you worry. You've got a bank employee in front of you, don't you? Put me on with them for a moment.”
Young-hoon handed the phone over to the branch manager, just as Chairman Choi had asked. Perhaps this sort of thing was routine for him, because the branch manager took the call without asking a single question. After exchanging a few words, he began nodding and bowing his head repeatedly. There was no one standing in front of him, so Young-hoon briefly wondered if the man was groveling a bit too much—but the branch manager's manner was truly deferential. Consistency between word and deed, indeed. With that kind of diligence, it was no wonder he'd risen to the branch manager's seat.
After two or three minutes on the phone, the branch manager handed it back to Young-hoon. Chairman Choi was still on the line.
“Young-hoon, my boy, I've taken care of everything myself, so rest easy. It'll all go through without a hitch. And listen—let's forget that Jang fellow and have a meal together, just the two of us. I know a great place.”
“Yes, understood. Thank you for looking after this, and I'll call you later today as promised.”
“Good. You'd better not forget—you have to call me. If it's your call, I'll set everything else aside.”
“Yes, sir. Have a good rest of your day, then.”
A little after Young-hoon hung up, a call came through to the branch manager's office. The manager snatched up the receiver in a fluster. From the fragments Young-hoon could overhear, it sounded like something about the bank president. Young-hoon let his mind chew on the situation. Chairman Choi had surely asked for this branch's name and the branch manager's name, then called the president at headquarters. The implication was obvious: a man named Kim Young-hoon was at the Yeouido Branch right now—treat him well. A man of Chairman Choi's stature would certainly have a hotline straight to the bank president installed. So the call Young-hoon had just overheard must have been from the president himself. Something like: extend him the utmost courtesy.
While Young-hoon was lost in these thoughts, the branch manager hung up the phone. And Song Young-rak, branch manager, was beside himself with anxiety. When the female employee had first come in saying a customer had presented a 100-billion-won check, he'd assumed it was a mistake. But the moment he heard the issuing bank confirm the check was genuine, an uncontrollable thrill surged through him—hope that he might land a major client. He'd hurried out to the counter to find a young man in his late twenties sitting there, and promptly ushered him into his own office.
The check was unquestionably genuine, but one hurdle remained: he was obligated to ask how the customer had come to possess it. It was standard procedure in the operations manual—though frankly, he found it hard to believe the young man before him really held one hundred billion won. So he had asked, politely. And what happened? The man didn't answer the question at all; he just picked up his phone and called someone else. And here was the ridiculous part: when the other party didn't pick up, he looked flustered, sent a text instead—and immediately got a call back. He exchanged a few words with the caller, then handed the phone over. After a brief exchange, Manager Song was dumbfounded. He'd never even seen the man's face, had never once spoken with him, and yet this stranger announced, out of nowhere, that he was Choi Min-yong. But the name wasn't unfamiliar. Casting his mind back, of all the Choi Min-yongs he knew of, only one man had that kind of unshakable presence: the Cash King. Thinking it might actually be him, he was about to ask for confirmation when the man beat him to it, asking for the branch name and the manager's name instead. Flustered, Song answered—and was told the bank president would be receiving a call. What kind of nonsense was that? And sure enough, the president called at once, instructing him to receive the gentleman with the greatest possible courtesy, as he was a VVIP client.
There was nothing left to think about.
“Sir, please—have I committed some misstep? If so, I beg you to forgive me with a generous heart.”
Young-hoon was every bit as dumbfounded by the branch manager's obsequious manner. He felt as though the whole conversation had ended without him lifting a finger.
“No, nothing of the sort happened at all. But I did step out of work for this… would it be possible to process the deposit a little faster?”
The moment he heard that, the branch manager buzzed an employee on the intercom and issued immediate instructions.
“Forgive an impertinent question, but—might I ask what your relationship is with Chairman Choi Min-yong?”
Young-hoon had expected the question, of course. But to avoid inviting any needless misunderstanding, it seemed best to keep things as vague as possible.
“Just one of my acquaintances among my clients. Would you like me to go into detail?”
The branch manager's tail curled between his legs at once.
“Eep—no, no, of course not. Please, think nothing of it……”
Meanwhile, the employee came in with the passbook and deposit slip, announcing that the transfer was complete. Young-hoon left the bank under the branch manager's fervent send-off. The whole walk back to the office, he felt as if he were walking on clouds. He was now a bona fide hundred-billion-won asset holder. The whole world seemed to belong to him. Even his memory of being run ragged by that Hong Dae-ri bastard all morning melted away like spring snow. Back at his desk in the office, he found himself grinning for no reason. Just thinking about having one hundred billion won in cash made him feel like he could skip meals for days and still be full.
Park Dae-ri fired off a KakaoTalk message in a flash.
At that very moment, Chairman Jang was in the VIP suite at Chunghyo General Hospital, deep in conversation with the hospital director, the head of the Comprehensive Screening Center, and Dr. Choi Tae-su.
“Chairman, compared to last September, you have become remarkably younger. There is nothing at all wrong with your body. Every single result came back at the level of a man in his early fifties. You scored better than I did, so it seems the saying that age is just a number is truly accurate.”
“Hehehe, much obliged. You flatter me.”
“Not at all. It is simply the truth. By the way, Chairman—might I ask whether the elixir I requested could be obtained?”
“Hmm, as it happens, that's exactly why I came all this way. Would you two give us the room for a moment?”
At the director's instruction, the head of the screening center and Dr. Choi Tae-su filed out of the VIP suite. Only then did Chairman Jang broach the matter in confidence.
“Director Park, you know Chairman Choi well, don't you?”
“Of course. He's a VIP guest of our hospital. But why do you ask about Chairman Choi all of a sudden…?”
“That man took the elixir yesterday and bought a bottle at 30 billion won apiece. And I happen to know your mother is ill—how could I just stand by and watch? So I pleaded your case with the owner of the elixir, and we settled on 20 billion. I'll set up the appointment for tomorrow, so have the money ready and keep your evening free.”
“Ah! Thank you so much, Chairman. I'm eternally in your debt.”
“I'll call you tomorrow, then. Consider it done.”
He had expected it, but he hadn't imagined the full checkup results would be this good. It wasn't just Chairman Jang's own subjective feeling—the results were hard scientific figures, so there was no choice but to believe them. Which meant tomorrow's appointment would proceed without a hitch. As he was leaving the hospital, a call came in from Lee Ki-jin.
“Hey there, Ki-jin. Did you get home all right yesterday?”
“Yes, Chairman. I trust you're doing well, too? You said your checkup results were coming out today, so I called because I was curious.”
“Me? Hehe, why would you worry about that? Anyway, I just came out of the hospital, and the results came out wonderfully. So I'm in an excellent mood. But I don't suppose that's why you called, is it?”
“Ha, you can fool a ghost, but never you, Chairman. The thing is, this evening my brother-in-law and I were planning to go see the house you gifted me, but I don't really know where it is.”
“Hold on—don't hang up, wait a moment. Secretary Byun! About that villa I gave Ki-jin—text the address to him, and leave the house keys with the management office. You heard me, didn't you, Ki-jin?”
“Yes, loud and clear. Thank you so much, Chairman.”
“By the way, has that Choi fellow's money come in? How much?”
“500 billion won came in today, and you're set to deposit another 500 billion within a few days under the operating funds line.”
“Really? Should I bump the amount up, then?”
“Please don't. It's already more than we can manage. If a good opportunity comes along later, I'll take you up on it then. Once again, my sincerest thanks, Chairman.”
“Hehe, no—I'm the grateful one. All right, then, take care.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
After finishing the call with Ki-jin, Chairman Jang turned to Secretary Byun as though something had just occurred to him.
“Secretary Byun, is the car being arranged?”
“Yes, it's being looked into. But I believe we'll need to hear Young-hoon's opinion first.”
“Do that, then. Driver Cho, take the car around to Pyeongchang-dong… and Secretary Byun, you get off here, wrap up the paperwork, and head home. See you at the office tomorrow.”
“Understood, Chairman. I'll see you tomorrow.”
It was only just before quitting time that Manager Kim finally completed the structure of the report. He submitted the finished report to Deputy General Manager Cho, who issued a few minor revisions and then walked straight out of the office the moment the clock struck. As if planning to wrap up the report and leave himself, Manager Kim slipped into overtime mode. He was the type who never made things hard on others. He generally tried to handle everything himself, so having anyone else stay behind in a situation like this was actually more of a burden than a help. Knowing this all too well, Young-hoon and Park Dae-ri shuffled around furtively before slipping out of the office.
To make his seven o'clock appointment without being late, Young-hoon took the subway to Sinsa-dong. When he arrived at the meeting place, Su-jin hadn't shown up yet. His cousin and her husband greeted him warmly; they seemed absolutely delighted about moving to Gangnam.
“Welcome, Young-hoon. And thank you. Thanks to you, your big sister here is moving up to Gangnam.”
“Oh, please—how is any of it my doing? It's all thanks to my brother-in-law. Isn't that right, brother-in-law?”
“That much is true. If I hadn't introduced Chairman Jang to my brother-in-law here, breaking into Gangnam wouldn't have been so easy for us.”
Ki-jin preened to his heart's content in front of his wife. If not for an opportunity like this, when else could he show off as a husband? The three of them chatted in a bright, cheerful mood.
Before long, a young woman walked into the meeting place. Around 170 centimeters tall, with a somewhat cute face. Not a jaw-dropping beauty, but the kind of charming, likable young woman whose appeal grew the longer you looked at her. It was Su-jin, Young-hoon's youngest sister.