Chapter 265: Why the Diamonds Need to Be Sold as Quickly as Possible

After returning from my business trip to Switzerland, I received word from Hangang Group's Human Resources Department that I had officially been dismissed.

So starting today, I was supposed to report to KBH Investment, whose headquarters were located in the Korea Investment building.

However, on my way to work, Chairman Park Yeongil summoned me.

Because of that, I didn't even get a chance to set foot inside my newly renovated CEO's office at KBH Investment and headed straight to the Chairman's office instead.

After receiving permission to enter, I stepped inside and was met with an unexpected sight.

Hangang Group Chairman Yoon Jongu and his Chief Secretary, Song Dosok, were sitting in the armchairs.

While I hesitated in the doorway, trying to figure out what was going on, Chairman Park Yeongil spoke first.

"Director Cha, I'm sure you already know perfectly well why Chairman Yoon is here."

In other words, Yoon Jongu had come to hear firsthand about what had happened in Switzerland.

After politely bowing to Chairman Park and the others, I sat down in an empty chair, and Yoon Jongu addressed me in a friendly tone.

"Director Cha, I heard you had quite a rough time in Switzerland?"

"It wasn't just me. The employees of Korea Investment, the National Intelligence Service, the CIA, and Switzerland's Federal Intelligence Service all had a hard time as well."

"Of course. The FIS is Switzerland's intelligence service, correct?"

"That's right, Chairman Yoon."

"Well then, let's hear in detail exactly what happened over there."

"The purpose of my trip to Switzerland was to find Commander Kwak Taesu's only son, who had disappeared."

I explained only the most important events of the Swiss operation to Yoon Jongu and the others.

Whenever my explanation required clarification, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan immediately filled in the details.

Since so much had happened in such a short period of time, our conversation dragged on.

"...Director Jean-Philippe promised to personally take charge of appraising the diamonds."

"Why did Gabriel need to buy diamonds in the first place?" Yoon Jongu asked.

"If you fill a single box with hundred-dollar bills, it can hold about four million dollars," I replied. "To store five billion dollars, you'd need two hundred such boxes. But if it were diamonds worth the same amount, five boxes would be enough."

"On top of that, I imagine he also had investment purposes in mind," Kang Inhan, who was standing behind me, added.

"Hmm, I see. Have all the diamonds been cut?"

"Of the 685 stones, 615 are still rough diamonds."

"And what are you planning to do with the uncut diamonds?"

"We intend to sell them as soon as the appraisal is complete."

Chairman Yoon Jongu didn't quite understand my answer.

After all, if the rough diamonds were cut, they could be sold for considerably more.

I surely knew that as well, yet I was still planning to sell them in their raw state.

Yoon Jongu directly asked why I had made that decision.

"There are several reasons, but the biggest one is lab-grown diamonds."

"Lab-grown? What's that?"

"Natural diamonds form in the Earth's mantle over hundreds of millions of years. Lab-grown diamonds, on the other hand, are artificially produced in laboratories from small diamond seeds."

"So, simply put, they're artificial diamonds."

"Exactly. Lab-grown diamonds have physical, chemical, and optical properties that are completely identical to those of natural diamonds. At the same time, they're about eighty-five percent cheaper."

"But they're still artificial stones, aren't they?"

"Of course. However, consumer demand is increasingly shifting toward them. Just a few years ago, lab-grown diamonds accounted for only around two percent of the jewelry market, but last year that figure had already risen to twenty percent."

I paused briefly to catch my breath before continuing.

"Jewelry industry experts predict that within the next few years, lab-grown diamonds will account for fifty percent of the market. Under those circumstances, there's no reason for us to hold on to natural diamonds for long."

"Hmm, I see."

At that moment, Chairman Park Yeongil joined the conversation with a question of his own.

"Director Cha, how are you planning to sell them?"

"I haven't given it much thought yet."

"In that case, I'll sell those diamonds myself."

"How?"

"Director Cha, you know who Chairman Zhen Weiliang is, don't you?"

"If you mean your friend who runs a major business in Hong Kong, then yes, I do."

"I'll call Chairman Zhen right now. You listen."

Chairman Park Yeongil took out his phone and dialed Zhen Weiliang's number. Judging by the ringing coming through the speaker, he intended to put the call on speakerphone.

After several rings, Zhen Weiliang's cheerful voice came through.

"[Park, why are you calling me this early in the morning?]"

"You appeared in my dream last night, so I thought I'd give you a call."

"[You wanted to check whether I was still alive?]"

"Well, I won't deny it."

"[When I die, you'll get a notice, so don't worry. Get a grip on yourself.]"

"Whatever you say. Since we're already on the phone, how about we talk business?"

"[I knew it. All right, spit it out. What are you trying to unload on me?]"

"I recently bought 685 natural diamonds from an anonymous client."

"[What? How many did you say you scooped up?!]"

Chairman Zhen Weiliang's astonished shout filled the entire office.

"You know the scale I operate on. If you want them, I can let you have them at a discount."

"[I'd sooner trust my dog than anything you say.]"

Chairman Park Yeongil decided to throw out some bait to fully reel Zhen Weiliang in.

"Of the 685 diamonds, 615 are rough."

"[Oh! Is that so?]"

"If you cut those diamonds and put them on the market, you could make a killing, couldn't you?"

"[Of course! So how much are you going to knock off what you paid for them? Ten percent?]"

"You might as well tell me to give them to you for free."

"[All right, all right. How about fifteen percent?]"

"Let's not drag this out. Twenty percent, and we have a deal?"

"[Hmm...]"

Chairman Zhen Weiliang hesitated as though considering something.

Fortunately, the silence didn't last long.

"[Park, how much did you pay for those diamonds yourself?]"

"Five billion dollars."

"[Ha! Are you screwing with me?!]"

Zhen Weiliang's furious voice thundered from the speaker.

Chairman Park Yeongil knew perfectly well why he had exploded.

If Zhen accepted the offer, the average price of each diamond would come to 8.75 million dollars. Thinking that Park was trying to fleece him, he had naturally lost his temper.

And there was only one way to clear up his misunderstanding.

"You know Director Cha Jiham, don't you?" Park Yeongil asked.

"[Why ask such a stupid question?]"

"I'm handing the phone to Director Cha. Talk to him."

Taking the phone from Chairman Park, I spoke to Zhen Weiliang.

"Chairman Zhen, how have you been?"

"[Getting by. Director Cha, were you the one who bought the diamonds?]"

In truth, I hadn't bought anything. I had merely received my share of Gabriel's hidden treasure. But there was no need to tell him the truth.

"That's right, Chairman Zhen."

"[I think you overpaid for those diamonds.]"

"Among the stones we purchased are 335 rare fancy-colored diamonds. In addition, more than a hundred of the rough diamonds weigh over two hundred to three hundred carats."

"[Oh? In that case, you definitely weren't ripped off.]"

"I completely agree."

"[And when can we make the deal?]"

"The Swiss government is currently appraising them. As soon as that's finished, I'll contact you immediately."

"[Director Cha, a verbal agreement is still an agreement.]"

There was a clear implication behind Zhen Weiliang's words: Don't even think about selling those diamonds to someone else.

"I understand perfectly. I'll hand the phone back to Chairman Park."

Chairman Park Yeongil exchanged a few more words with Zhen Weiliang before ending the call.

The moment he did, Yoon Jongu spoke in a dissatisfied tone.

"Chairman Park, aren't we selling the diamonds too cheaply?"

Park Yeongil looked at Yoon Jongu in puzzlement before turning his gaze toward me.

Understanding his silent request, I answered without hesitation.

"Since we received the diamonds for free as part of the division of the assets, the exact sale price isn't particularly important."

"That's true, but isn't six billion dollars a little too cheap?"

"The lab-grown diamond market is expanding rapidly, so it's in our best interest to sell the natural stones as quickly as possible."

"If Director Cha himself says so, then I have nothing more to add."

Ignoring Yoon Jongu's response, I turned to Chief Secretary Kang Inhan.

"Ask Director Jean-Philippe to complete the diamond appraisal as quickly as possible."

"Understood," Kang Inhan replied briefly before taking out his phone and leaving the office.

After watching him leave, I continued.

"Of the assets Gabriel and his people accumulated through the drug trade, our country received 102 billion dollars in cash, 16 billion dollars in securities, and approximately five billion dollars' worth of diamonds."

"Whoa! That's an enormous amount of money! And what are you planning to do with the cash and securities?"

"We'll give ten billion dollars to the National Intelligence Service and five billion dollars to Kwak Cheolhun."

"Isn't the NIS getting too little?"

"I discussed the matter thoroughly with NIS Director Om Giyeon," I explained. "He firmly insisted that even ten billion dollars was too much for them. So I had no choice but to agree to his proposal."

I openly recounted my conversation with the intelligence director to Yoon Jongu.

"Well, if he's refusing it himself, there's nothing you can do. But why are you giving five billion dollars to Kwak Cheolhun?"

"If Antonio's men hadn't kidnapped Gabriel's son and Kwak Cheolhun, we never would have received such an enormous share."

"That's true, but the amount still seems excessive."

"Commander Kwak Taesu intends to use that money to overthrow Kim Jonghun's regime."

"Hmm... If that's what it's for, then I have no objections."

As soon as Yoon Jongu nodded, Kang Inhan returned to the office.

Taking an empty chair, he reported,

"Director Cha, they promised to finish the appraisal within ten days at the latest."

"Kang Inhan, keep this matter under constant supervision."

"Understood. As soon as the appraisal is complete, I'll personally fly to Switzerland."

"Let's do that."

With that settled, I returned to my conversation with Yoon Jongu.

"Chairman Yoon, how much do we owe you for renting your private jet?"

"You might as well rob a beggar of his last pennies," he snorted.

"You know how enormous a sum we received from dividing the assets."

"Let's drop the subject."

Seeing how adamant Yoon Jongu was and knowing his personality, I decided to back down.

"All right. Now I'll tell you what happened at Kim Jonghun's eldest son's house."

"He has a son?"

"It was confirmed that he has an illegitimate child. His name is Kim Juchol, and he's thirteen years old."

"I see."

"We learned that Kim Juchol enrolled at an international school in Zurich, Switzerland, three years ago."

Kang Inhan and I took turns explaining to Yoon Jongu and the others the details of the incident at Kim Juchol's house.

"...We sold the gold bars seized from his house to the CIA and the FIS."

"All nine billion dollars received from the gold sale was handed over to the special cyberwarfare unit."

"Commander Kwak and Deputy Director Cho must have been thrilled."

"I won't deny it."

At that moment, I noticed Chief Secretary Song Dosok's expression suddenly darken.

Realizing that something was troubling him, I immediately asked,

"Chief Secretary Song, is something bothering you?"

"What are we going to do if Kim Jonghun, whose gold was stolen, decides to retaliate against our country?"

"North Korea believes that the people who robbed Kim Juchol's house were CIA agents."

"Why would they believe that?"

"Director Griffin personally contacted North Korean Ambassador to Switzerland Kim Jonghyeok and told him outright that the CIA had taken the gold."

"And the North Koreans actually believed that?"

Song Dosok looked extremely worried, so I needed to reassure him.

"To prepare for the worst-case scenario, we didn't leave a single fingerprint inside Kim Juchol's house. The CIA operatives, on the other hand, left traces all over the place."

"Hmm. Then there shouldn't be any problems."

Song Dosok's voice quickly returned to normal.