In the end, the Disciplinary Committee member, trembling with anger, fled while leaving behind a line that sounded like a pathetic villain, “Just you wait and see…!”
It seems that the level of shamelessness we three displayed exceeded what that kid could handle.
Their imagination must be really vivid.
Despite everything, don’t they already know everything?
That’s probably why they were knocked out by just a few words from Ha-neul.
Well, it’s a common cliché for people like disciplinary committee members to be the ones who imagine things the most.
Well…
Honestly, even from my perspective, the words we said were pretty much the obvious kind.
If I weren’t directly involved in the incident, I would have imagined something similar too.
I might not be a disciplinary committee member, but I’m still a healthy young man.
Hearing suggestive words naturally leads to suggestive thoughts.
And it seemed that the incident at the school gate had spread throughout the campus in no time thanks to the students who passed by.
Of course, no one dared to whisper in front of me.
Everyone would be chatting about something, but the moment I passed by, they’d be startled and awkwardly try to change the topic or pretend to be disinterested.
But seeing them still glancing at me from the corner of their eyes, it was clear that their mission to ignore me was already half a failure.
And naturally, I was completely confident.
Because I knew that all their misunderstandings were wrong.
Well…
Though it was true that Ha-neul and Soo-ah were wearing my underwear today, and that the three of us slept together last night.
Anyway, thanks to the rumors spreading throughout the school because of this morning’s incident, even just sitting next to Ha-neul during the first period attracted everyone’s attention.
I thought it would take at least a month, but maybe by this weekend, someone curious enough will approach us.
…But before that, there are things I need to prepare.
“I’ll be back in a bit.”
Not long after class started, I told Ha-neul and stepped out of the classroom.
The chairwoman, contrary to her usual plans, reacted faster than expected.
In that case, I need to prepare a countermeasure even quicker.
I can only guess how the chairwoman bribed the kids, their parents, or the teachers…
But whatever method I imagine, there’s only one thing required to execute it.
Money.
And ideally, an enormous amount that I can pull together.
Whether it’s for bribery, persuasion, or temptation, I would need money to block it.
And I needed to know how much the opponent could use and how much I could fend off.
So, there was only one person I could go to.
*
“You came out early today.”
Team leader Han Garam was dressed almost exactly the same as when we met last time.
Her hairstyle looked like a banker’s, her uniform also like a banker’s, and she had a coat over it.
Last time, I met her without knowing she worked for a bank, so I just thought she looked like a typical office worker.
But now that I looked closely, she was unmistakably banker-like.
Except for the highly important-looking briefcase in her right hand.
That briefcase looked more like something a bank president would carry, not a simple teller.
Though I’ve only lived the life of a rich person for two months, I’ve started to recognize what “expensive” things look like.
…Sorry to say this, but Ha-neul’s bag and the bags carried by the other kids in my class had a noticeable difference in material and wear.
“I had a few questions.”
“I’m glad to hear that. It’s always more reassuring to deal with customers who are interested in their wealth. I’ve seen too many people stay quiet and then later come back complaining that the contract wasn’t what they expected or that their money hasn’t grown enough.”
Without asking for my permission, Han Garam plopped down in the seat next to me.
“Pardon me, but…”
She said as she clicked open her briefcase.
“To be honest, I’m relieved that you come out during class hours. It’s always hard to coordinate with student clients because of their tight schedules.”
Well, security would be an issue if we were talking outside like this.
She pulled out a leather-bound diary and a capped pen with a white star on the end, then opened the memo section of the diary.
“Yes, I’m ready. So, what would you like to consult about, sir?”
“How much is the maximum amount of money I can gather at once?”
“We don’t know that either.”
Han Garam answered plainly.
“Why?”
I furrowed my brow and asked again.
“Because we don’t know the exact value of your trust assets. While the bank has an accurate assessment, the former chairman wished for the trust assets to be managed by several different teams. The real estate assets our team manages are worth about 2 trillion 685.9 billion won. Since there are about five teams managing assets, if the other teams are managing similar amounts, your real estate assets should be around 12 to 13 trillion won.”
Han Garam answered and then said,
“Ah, you just thought, ‘That’s it?’ didn’t you?”
“Uh…”
I mean, I was a little disappointed, but not to the point of thinking ‘That’s it’.
Saying that makes me sound like a terrible person.
In this world, even 10 billion or a mere 1 billion makes you a rich person.
If I’m not satisfied with this, then I’m no longer human but a monster.
What I was really thinking about was whether that amount of money could suppress or stop the chairwoman.
“Oh, and by the way, the theme park is not managed by our team but by the bank as a whole. Since the theme park is a company, it’s not classified as ‘real estate assets’. Although the theme park’s true value comes from its real estate.”
“The same goes for other real estate. Just holding on to it generates astronomical income, so it’s worth keeping even after paying all the taxes.”
“But still…”
When I hesitated, Han Garam looked at me for a moment before speaking encouragingly.
“So, could you tell me what kind of funds you need that’s making you ask this?”
“…”
I hesitated for a moment before answering.
“About 15 trillion? Maybe?”
“…”
Han Garam was momentarily speechless.
“Did you, by any chance, find a company you want to buy?”
She asked cautiously.
…Is the scale that big at 15 trillion?
“Oh, no. It’s just something I might need for personal use…”
“What kind of personal use, if I may ask?”
“…Maybe giving it to friends…?”
“…”
Han Garam remained silent for a while, then clicked the pen cap back onto the pen.
She closed the diary.
After letting out a small sigh, she asked again,
“What made you think that?”
“…Are you aware of my current situation?”
“Yes, I’m aware. Thanks to that situation, I spent years earning your trust. Do you remember how many times you said you didn’t need our trust assets?”
…Did I really say that?
“My hands were shaking so much when I got you that sleeping pill…”
Was it extorted through threats?
Yeah, I always thought it was strange that a bank employee would get me sleeping pills.
But in situations where tens of trillions are at stake, I guess getting a bottle of sleeping pills isn’t that big of a deal.
“So, what I don’t understand is this current situation. What suddenly made you think of giving 15 trillion won to your friends?”
“…”
I kept my mouth shut for a moment.
After a brief consideration, I decided that it would be best to explain it to her.
She manages my assets, after all.
Without sharing some information, I wouldn’t be able to use the money efficiently.
“The reason this situation even exists is because of the chairwoman’s money. If she threatens my friends with money…”
“You plan to use 15 trillion won to block it?”
Han Garam mumbled, somewhat stunned.
After a brief pause, she said,
“Excuse me, but could you give me 1 trillion won?”
She asked very randomly.
“Why would I do that?”
I asked with a face that said, ‘What nonsense are you talking about?’
She let out a sigh of relief.
“Oh, no, I was just worried that your judgment might have been clouded. Now that I see, you really were thinking of doing something to protect yourself. Well, there’s no better solution than money in a situation like this.”
Muttering to herself, she nodded and said,
“But there’s no need to prepare as much as 15 trillion won.”
“…Why?”
“Because the amount of money a person can borrow is surprisingly not that much. Even if they expand it to their family, relatives, or company, the amount doesn’t increase that much. Even though the students at this school come from wealthy families, very few of their households have more than 1 trillion won.”
“Ah…”
I started to grasp what Han Garam was trying to say.
“Furthermore, even though there are many rich people in this country who could attend a school like this, only the top few percent have that kind of money. There’s not a single student here with personal stock assets worth 215 trillion won like you. In fact, I can assure you that even your ‘father’ or ‘grandfather’ didn’t have half of what you have.”
It seemed that my total assets, including 5.7 percent of Eugene Electronics stock and other affiliates’ shares, amounted to that.
“So…”
“So if the current chairwoman, who owns 8.5 percent of Eugene Electronics, wanted to destroy someone in this school, it wouldn’t be too difficult.”
Han Garam continued.
“Whether it’s making a company go bankrupt or drowning someone in debt… Even if it’s illegal, money can cover a lot of it. The process might be illegal too, but unless it’s in a place like the U.S., where there are countless billionaires and legal lobbying is common, the amount of money left in this country isn’t enough to stand against the Eugene Group’s ‘wealthy family’. Even most banks would break their backs trying to meet your loan limit.”
“So, destroying someone’s future requires less money than you think—”
“And preventing that destruction also requires less money than you might think. Of course, I’m talking from your perspective, not an ordinary person’s.”
“…”
What kind of newspaper company dares to post a picture of me?
Aren’t they practically asking to be destroyed?
“If a friend ends up with hundreds of billions in debt, just hand them 100 billion won. 50 percent gift tax? Would someone who’s prepared to spend 15 trillion care about that when saving their friends?”
“Uh…”
I hesitated before speaking.
“But most of my assets are in stocks…”
Don’t I have to sell stocks to turn them into cash?
“…”
Han Garam stared at me.
“Why, why are you looking at me like that?”
I asked, flustered.
Han Garam ran her hand over her face and said,
“Did you know that stocks pay dividends?”
“Uh, yeah, but the amount is really small—”
“Yes, right now, Eugene Electronics pays a dividend of 205 won per share, distributed quarterly. If you owned ‘2 million’ shares, you’d get about 1 million won a year. It’s peanuts, right?”
“Oh.”
“But, oh my, you own roughly 200 trillion won worth of shares. 200 trillion is a million times larger than 2 million, so just multiply that 1 million by a million. How much does that come out to?”
“Oh.”
“And if you add the cash assets, tangible assets, and profits from the real estate assets the former chairman left you, the amount grows even larger. So yes, frankly, if you just want to ‘prepare’ 15 trillion won, a single phone call can get that done in 10 minutes. You’d just need to check your cash balance.”
“…”
As I stood there with my mouth agape, Han Garam looked at me seriously and said,
“Miss.”
“Yes.”
“If I may ask, could you give me 500 billion won?”
“Are you crazy?”