Chapter 284: I Sincerely Thank You for Your Kindness

I relayed my conversation with Vice Chairman Tang Guochang to Director Griffin without leaving anything out.

“...Chairman Xi wouldn’t even look at the diamonds Politburo member Liu presented to him.”

[Oh, so that’s how it turned out.]

“His hopes of securing a seat on the Standing Committee were crushed, so he must have smashed his entire office to pieces out of frustration.”

[If I were in his shoes, I would have done exactly the same thing. But tell me, won’t he start taking his anger out on Chairman Zhen now?]

Director Griffin reacted exactly the same way Chairman Zhen Weiliang had, as though everyone’s thoughts naturally followed the same path.

“We have a comprehensive plan prepared for that possibility.”

[Then there’s nothing to worry about. I’ll see you soon in the Philippines.]

The question, ‘Do I really have to go there?’ rose all the way to my throat and lingered on the tip of my tongue, but the circumstances weren’t exactly conducive to saying it out loud.

“I’ll look forward to seeing you. I have a lot to take care of, so I’ll have to say goodbye for now.”

Click.

The moment I hung up, Vice Chairman Wei Chen, as though he had been waiting for precisely that moment, spoke to me again.

“Directorate Chief Cha, what do you think that bastard Liu will do now?”

Bzzzz—

Just as I was about to answer Vice Chairman Wei Chen’s question, my phone began vibrating.

I pulled it out of my pocket and looked at the screen. Chairman Zhen Weiliang was calling.

The reason for his call was painfully obvious, so I excused myself to Vice Chairman Wei Chen and answered.

“Chairman Zhen, I’m listening.”

[Directorate Chief Cha, have you reached the airport yet?]

“We haven’t arrived yet because traffic is heavy, but...”

I deliberately trailed off, trying to feel out what Chairman Zhen Weiliang was thinking.

[That bastard Liu just called me and threw a massive fit, screaming at the top of his lungs. Do you know what happened?]

“Exactly what we predicted yesterday.”

[I knew it. So how should we deal with his attacks?]

Deep anxiety was evident in Chairman Zhen Weiliang’s voice.

“As I told you yesterday, the best approach is to fight back by showing him the diamond sales contract. But if he keeps harassing you, simply buy the diamonds back from him.”

[But weren’t the diamonds presented to Chairman Xi Jinping?]

“Chairman Xi said he didn’t even want to see them and rejected them with disgust.”

[Ah, so that’s why the bastard was practically foaming at the mouth when he came after me?]

“You’re absolutely right, Chairman Zhen.”

[Assuming we buy the diamonds back from him, how much should we offer?]

“Paul Bachmann is well aware of the explosive growth of the lab-grown diamond market. Taking that factor into account, he appraised the lot at seven billion dollars. That’s the figure you should use when buying the gemstones back.”

[But will that bastard agree to sell the diamonds for seven billion dollars?]

‘Jeez~ Do I really have to spoon-feed him everything again?’

“Politburo member Liu is currently in an extremely dangerous position—right on the edge of the blade you’re holding over him, Chairman Zhen.”

[Haha. I understand what you’re getting at.]

After talking with Chairman Zhen Weiliang about a few other things, I ended the call.

Vice Chairman Wei Chen, who had been listening closely, asked curiously,

“If he buys the diamonds back for seven billion dollars, Chairman Zhen won’t make any profit, will he?”

I shook my head, disagreeing with Vice Chairman Wei Chen.

“Chairman Zhen sold the diamonds to Politburo member Liu for fifteen billion dollars. Of that, six and a half billion went to us and Vice Chairman Tang. That leaves Chairman Zhen with eight and a half billion dollars. Even if he buys the diamonds back for seven billion, he’ll still come out roughly one and a half billion dollars ahead.”

I paused to catch my breath before continuing.

“Even with the artificial diamond market growing, the natural diamond market isn’t going to disappear. If the rough diamonds are cut and sold individually, they should bring in at least another one to two billion dollars.”

“That’s more than enough profit.”

“Vice Chairman Wei, would you like to act as an intermediary in the transaction?”

At that moment, Director Pan Kai, who apparently had been itching to speak, joined the conversation.

“Directorate Chief Cha, what do we do if Politburo member Liu repays the three billion dollars he borrowed from Vice Chairman Wei Chen?”

“Is getting your own money back supposed to be a bad thing?”

“The truth is, we’ve set our sights on MGM Macau, the hotel owned by Director Liu Haoran.”

“Is there a particular reason?”

“It houses the largest casino in Macau.”

“Ah, now I understand what you’re thinking. If I were Politburo member Liu, I wouldn’t repay the three billion dollars.”

“I’m curious. Why do you think that?”

“He’s desperately clinging to his hopes of getting a seat on the Standing Committee, so he’ll scrape together every last penny he can to try bribing Chairman Xi Jinping again. But no matter how hard he tries, he’ll never get that Standing Committee seat.”

“Are you saying the bribe he can offer Chairman Xi will be too small?”

“That’s part of it, but more importantly, he’s already fallen out of Chairman Xi’s favor.”

“Ah, now I understand.”

After Director Pan Kai, Vice Chairman Wei Chen addressed me.

“Directorate Chief Cha, surely that bastard himself knows that he’s fallen out of Chairman Xi’s favor?”

“Of course he does.”

“What if he tries to prepare an even larger bribe to turn Chairman Xi’s anger into favor?”

“That’s probably exactly what he’ll try to do. But he won’t be able to obtain any additional funds.”

“Why not?”

“As far as he knows, former CEO Go Yeongjun has an enormous amount of money. He’s probably counting on taking Go Yeongjun’s money and using it to bribe Chairman Xi. Unfortunately for him, former CEO Go is already resting deep at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.”

“Oh...”

Vice Chairman Wei Chen nodded in understanding and fell silent.

As we talked, our car eventually pulled up at Hong Kong International Airport.

After saying goodbye to Vice Chairman Wei Chen, Director Pan Kai, and Director Lee Menghong, we headed toward the departure area.

My eventful three-day business trip to Hong Kong was coming to an end.

***

Beep, beep, beep.

The moment I unlocked the front door and stepped inside, Saho launched himself at me like lightning and buried his head against my chest.

Stroking Saho’s head, I asked how he had been doing.

Saho shook his head.

Apparently, during the three days we hadn’t seen each other, Cha Hyeonji had turned him into a complete outcast.

Just as I was about to console the cat, my sister heard the noise and came downstairs from the second floor.

The instant Saho saw her, he shot her a vicious glare.

Naturally, my sister wasn’t about to tolerate that kind of attitude.

Without another word, she flicked Saho on the forehead and snapped threateningly,

“What are you staring at, you little punk!”

Normally, Saho would have bared his fangs and growled.

But for some reason, this time the cat merely clamped his mouth shut and made the most pitiful face imaginable.

To figure out what was going on, I called out to Cha Hyeonji.

“Tell me what Saho did.”

“That little troublemaker went hunting for moles and completely destroyed the garden bed Mom worked so hard to grow!”

I nodded in understanding and turned toward the cat.

“Sorry, Saho, but I can’t take your side this time.”

“......”

“Saho, do you know the best way to get rid of stress?”

“...Meowrr?”

“That means stop taking your stress out at home. Go up the hill behind the house and hunt squirrels.”

The instant I said that, Saho leaped out of my arms and shot into the yard like a bullet.

“Oppa, Saho really is a cat, right?”

“Why ask when you already know? By the way, where’s Mom?”

“Some women she used to work with at the restaurant came to see her, so she went out to meet them.”

“I see. I’m going to my room.”

“Wait!”

I had barely taken a step when Cha Hyeonji called after me.

“What? Do you still have something to ask me?”

“You went all the way to Hong Kong. Don’t tell me you came back empty-handed?”

When I returned from my business trip to Switzerland, FIS Director Jean-Philippe had given me a suitcase as a gift.

When I opened it at home, I found it stuffed with expensive designer goods.

Cha Hyeonji apparently assumed I had brought back another pile of luxury gifts this time.

“You dummy. Nothing in this world is free. Have you forgotten what happens when you get greedy for freebies?”

I answered indifferently, picked up my suitcase, and went up to the third floor.

Bzzzz—

The moment I opened my bedroom door and stepped inside, the phone in my pocket vibrated again.

I pulled it out and looked at the screen. NIS Director Om Giyeon was calling.

Sitting down on the edge of my bed, I answered.

“Director Om, I’m listening.”

[Directorate Chief Cha, are you back in Korea already?]

“Of course. I just got home.”

[Since you flew first class, you can’t be too tired, can you?]

Director Om Giyeon’s words were clearly an invitation to meet immediately.

‘I’m going to get chewed out either way. Might as well get it over with sooner rather than later.’

“Where should I go?”

[Come to the safe house where Reconnaissance General Bureau Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol is staying.]

“Understood. I’ll leave right now.”

***

“Directorate Chief Cha, come on in.”

The moment I stepped out of the elevator, NIS Director Om Giyeon, who had been waiting for me, immediately spoke.

“Why didn’t you wait inside?”

“How could I greet such an honored guest any other way?”

“Haha. Is that so?”

I gave an awkward laugh, exchanged greetings with Reconnaissance General Bureau Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol, Commander Kwak Taesu, and the others, then entered the safe house.

The place, which had once felt rather bleak, now had a warm, homey atmosphere thanks to the furniture that had been brought in.

As soon as we sat down, NIS Director Om Giyeon got straight to the point.

“Directorate Chief Cha, could you tell us what happened during your trip to Hong Kong?”

“I decided to sell the diamonds that belonged to Gabriel to Chairman Zhen Weiliang.”

Without concealing anything, I told NIS Director Om Giyeon and the others what had happened during the trip.

However, I said nothing about the details I considered too sensitive.

“...Chairman Zhen sold the diamonds to Politburo member Liu Peiqi.”

“Why did he buy them?”

“He intended to present them as a gift to Chairman Xi Jinping. You already know why, so I won’t go into the details.”

“That’s fine. So, did Chairman Xi accept the gift?”

“Vice Chairman Tang Guochang got one step ahead of him and leaked information about lab-grown diamonds to Chairman Xi’s personal secretary. After receiving the report from his secretary, Chairman Xi tore Politburo member Liu apart when he came trying to curry favor.”

“Hahaha!”

NIS Director Om Giyeon burst into loud laughter, clearly delighted by the news.

The others present also couldn’t hold back their broad smiles and joined in the laughter.

Once the laughter died down, I continued.

“After that, Politburo member Liu began desperately trying to return the diamonds to Chairman Zhen.”

“And what does Chairman Zhen think?”

“He thinks Liu doesn’t have a chance in hell.”

“But can Chairman Zhen withstand the pressure from him?”

“We already have a comprehensive plan prepared for that.”

NIS Director Om Giyeon’s remaining worries disappeared completely.

And no wonder. Cha Jiham’s voice carried absolute confidence.

“All right, let’s finish the discussion about the diamonds and move on to something else.”

“I’m listening.”

“What should we do with the cryptocurrency we seized?”

With my help, Reconnaissance General Bureau Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol had taken 2.5 billion dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency from Politburo member Liu Peiqi.

That was the money NIS Director Om Giyeon was asking about now.

“As far as I knew, Deputy Director Jo was supposed to use it however he saw fit.”

NIS Director Om Giyeon turned his gaze toward Reconnaissance General Bureau Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol.

As though reading his thoughts, Jo Ilcheol immediately spoke.

“Without Directorate Chief Cha’s help, we never would have been able to seize that cryptocurrency. Therefore, I propose giving half of it to Directorate Chief Cha.”

‘I’d rather lick a grain of rice stuck to a beggar’s bowl than take that money.’

“I already possess an astronomical fortune. I don’t even know what to do with the money I already have, so what use would I have for half of your cryptocurrency? Use that money to help our starving brethren in North Korea.”

At that moment, something unexpected happened.

The North Koreans, led by Reconnaissance General Bureau Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol, all rose from their seats at once.

They bowed deeply to me with profound respect and expressed their gratitude.

“I sincerely thank you for your kindness, Directorate Chief Cha.”