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CH26 | VOC
🕑 Added 2025-01-28 03:30:01 +0000 UTC"What are you talking about? You're saying we can do the circuit board thing? That it's possible to process them?"
Park Jong-bum's voice on the other end of the line was frantic.
—It's not just that, we can extract gold from the boards! Gold! Copper! Everything! It's on a whole different level compared to the Korean smelters that only extract copper! They say a single CPU can yield at least 0.2 to 0.5 grams of gold! At the current market price, that's 2,000 to 5,000 won. Per CPU! They say almost all boards, except for the really cheap ones, contain gold.
My mind was blown.
"Is that true? You're saying we can extract gold from boards? And that there's that much gold in a single CPU?"
—It's true! We need to act fast. I visited them right when they started their business in Japan. They're planning to send salespeople to Korea soon, so time is of the essence! Once their salespeople start spreading the word in Korea, the prices of boards and electronic scrap will go through the roof! We need to secure at least exclusive rights in Korea, even if we have to pay a premium!
My heart raced. Maru, sensing the urgency, listened intently to the voice on the phone with a serious expression.
"But how can I go there right now? Even Team Leader Park had trouble getting his passport and visa. I don't even have a passport."
"…"
Silence hung in the air. My throat felt parched. Even if I expedited the process, it would take at least two weeks.
If the smelter sent salespeople to Korea in the meantime, this opportunity would vanish. My mind started racing.
"…Team Leader Park."
—Yes, sir?
"Do you remember what I said before you joined the company?"
—What?
"That I would give you anything if you delivered results. Secure exclusive rights in Korea. If that's not possible, at least delay their salespeople's arrival. Company shares? I'll give them to you. What do you need?"
Silence again.
— …Money. I need money to grease the wheels. At least hundreds of millions of won.
Shares were just a verbal promise. Of course, if the circuit boards were as valuable as Park Jong-bum claimed, I wouldn't hesitate to give him shares.
If a single CPU, not even a kilogram, contained that much gold, it would be an even bigger jackpot than the discarded computer business.
But things didn't always go according to plan. The gold yield might be lower than expected, or the smelter might be lying.
If that happened, I could just break my promise about the shares.
But cash was different. Cash belonged to whoever held it. Could I trust Park Jong-bum?
He had only been with the company for two months, and if I had to judge his character, I would say he was more likely to be dishonest than honest.
I had scouted him because of his donation box idea and his sharp mind, but two months wasn't enough time to build the trust necessary to entrust him with a large sum of money.
But it was too good an opportunity to pass up.
When competitors emerged in the discarded computer business, the purchase price had increased more than tenfold. If the Japanese smelter's salespeople started spreading the word in Korea, the price of circuit boards would skyrocket.
I closed my eyes and pondered. Park Jong-bum must have sensed my hesitation because the line remained silent.
After a long moment of contemplation, I opened my eyes and said,
"Team Leader Park, give me an address where you can receive a package."
—What? An address?
"Yes, I'll send it from here via express delivery. Maru, tell the employees to find an international courier service and a way to send cash. And…"
I walked over to the safe and started taking out bundles of money. Stacks of 5 million won each fell with a thud.
"100 bundles. Exactly 100 bundles, so 500 million won. Maru, go and exchange this for dollars or yen. Now!"
"Dollars or yen? Got it."
As Maru hurriedly stuffed the money into a bag, I put the phone back to my ear and said,
"Team Leader Park, it's 500 million won. I'll send you 500 million won. Give it your best shot."
— …Can you trust me with this?
I calmly replied to his trembling voice,
"I trust you."
— …I won't let you down.
After ending the call, Maru said worriedly,
"Hyung, can you really trust Team Leader Park? It's 500 million won! 500 million won! That's enough money to start a new life. And you're sending it just based on a phone call?"
"Of course I don't trust him."
"But you're sending it anyway?"
I bit my lip and said,
"It's a gamble. This is honestly a gamble. I'm not even sure if the boards are worth that much, and I don't know if Team Leader Park will actually keep his hands off the money. But I'm Park Sol. I have billions in assets. I won't die without that money."
"But still…"
"Do you think I'm not worried about the money? We have over 60 tons of boards, collected in just two weeks. There must be at least 10,000 motherboards, and each one has a CPU. The key is how much gold we can extract from the other boards."
In just two weeks since we started collecting circuit boards, they had been pouring in from all over the country.
There were computer boards, but also unfamiliar boards I had never seen before. We had received 60 tons, and over 20 tons were piled up at the branches, waiting to be delivered.
My legs trembled as I said,
"We collected 60 tons in just two weeks. If we can get 2,000 won per kg from the boards, that's a twentyfold profit, over 100 million won. If we can keep this up, it's worth risking 500 million won. But the company seal is also a concern. It'll be a headache if he does something stupid with it."
I groaned and paced back and forth, lost in thought. Then I shouted,
"Ah, screw it! Let's do it! We'll figure it out!"
Maru sighed deeply.
"Hyung, are you crazy? You always had at least some logical basis for your decisions before. But this… There's no guarantee, no data, you've never done this before, and you're just going with Team Leader Park's word? That's reckless."
"I have my reasons for taking risks."
"What reasons?"
"There's something… I'll tell you if it works out this time. I doubt you'll believe me, though."
My intuition was tingling. Strongly. Overwhelmingly.
Park Jong-bum ended the call, returned to his lodging near the smelter, and lay down on the bed, muttering,
"He trusts me."
Then he chuckled.
"He's not that kind of person."
In the two months he had worked at the company, he had seen his CEO as a charismatic and decisive businessman.
He was also bold, walking a fine line between legal and illegal methods. But he had one fatal flaw.
"Distrust of people."
He had an extreme distrust of people, as if he were a firm believer in the inherent evil of humanity. He was always suspicious of everyone.
It was remarkable how Director Kim Maru, who had earned the CEO's complete trust, had managed to break through that wall of distrust.
"They've only known each other for four years, I heard."
I had been working at a successful large corporation. I was satisfied with my salary and swore my loyalty to the company.
Perhaps my hard work paid off because I was promoted to assistant manager at 30.
What happened next was a common story. A young employee gets caught up in shady dealings between his superiors and clients and ends up being scapegoated and forced to resign.
It was so common that it wasn't even worth mentioning.
So I became unemployed at 30 and fell into a deep distrust of people. I spent over a year as a recluse before finding a job that didn't require much capital and could be done alone, a job that could at least put food on the table. That's how I became a secondhand trader, and that's how I ended up here.
"He trusts me. He trusts me. He trusts me."
But did I trust him?
"No, I don't."
I also had a deep distrust of people. Would the CEO really give me the shares he promised? It was just a verbal agreement, and he would probably regret it when the time came.
"He doesn't seem like the type to go back on his word. But you never know with people."
My mind was in turmoil. What should I do in this unexpected situation?
"Anyway, how is he going to send 500 million won in cash? He needs a bank account for an international transfer, right? Well, whatever, he'll figure it out."
Park Jong-bum closed his eyes, trying to clear his head, and fell asleep.
***
"Hahahahahahaha! These idiots, they're brave because they're ignorant."
Park Jong-bum was laughing hysterically, looking at the 47 packages delivered to his lodging.
When he had asked how the CEO would send the money, the CEO had said he would take care of it from Korea. But he never imagined such a crude method.
"He sent cash in express delivery packages? Is he insane?"
The large boxes were filled with books, and between each page, a bill was tucked in.
Express delivery packages usually went through X-ray scanners to detect and confiscate or return prohibited items.
And cash was one of the most closely monitored prohibited items.
"He got it through customs by just putting bills between book pages?"
It was either incredibly lucky or the customs officers were slacking off. It was absurd.
"But what am I supposed to do with Korean won?"
The even funnier thing was that there were some Japanese yen and US dollars, but only about 10% of the 500 million won. The rest was Korean won.
The CEO had said he couldn't exchange all of it due to limitations, but this wasn't "some," it was almost all of it.
Each package contained 10 million won, and when he took it all out, it amounted to 470 million won.
"He lost three packages? Well, it's impressive that this much arrived safely."
He had put some thought into it. The destination was his lodging address for all the packages, but the sender names and locations were all different.
He must have had his employees send them from post offices all over the country.
"470 million won."
This money belonged to whoever possessed it. With 470 million won, he could get a loan, buy a small shop, and live off the rent for the rest of his life.
"Can I trust the CEO? Will he really give me my share?"
The cash in front of him and the uncertain promise of a man. The scale in his mind wavered.
"What should I do?"
