Chapter 204
“Damn it! Damn it!” Yoo Ho-chan slammed his fist on the table. “Why are they so afraid of Baek In-hwi?!”
He had been stalling, dragging out the investigation of the apprehended attackers, when he was summoned not by Senior Prosecutor Oh, but by the Chief Prosecutor, and severely reprimanded for wasting time on a simple assault case.
He tried to explain his suspicions, the same arguments he had made to Senior Prosecutor Oh, but the Chief Prosecutor ignored him and transferred the case to another prosecutor. And the attackers were released the same day. “
They’re just going to give them a slap on the wrist,” he thought, his blood boiling with anger and frustration.
He had wasted the few days he had gained through Senior Prosecutor Oh’s help, and the attackers hadn’t revealed anything.
“Prosecutor Yoo,” an investigator said, cautiously approaching him, “the suspect in the overseas gambling case has arrived.”
He sighed. “Let’s get this over with.” He was a prosecutor, paid with taxpayer money. He might have lost the trail of Baek In-hwi, but he wouldn’t neglect his other duties. He was too conscientious. “Bring him in.” A man with a sly expression entered. “Greetings, Prosecutor. Hehe.”
“Hello, please have a seat.” He pointed to a chair, his face expressionless, and then scanned the case file the investigator had handed him. ‘Small fry,’ he thought dismissively. The suspect had been caught gambling in Macau, a first-time offender with a small amount involved. A simple fine. He presented the evidence.
“Photos of you playing roulette in Macau… the evidence is clear. Do you admit to gambling overseas?”
The man pleaded, “Prosecutor, please, can’t you let this slide? Just this once?”
“Ask the judge. I’m just an investigator, not a judge.”
The man started making excuses. “It was just for fun. Honestly.”
“’Fun’ that cost you over $5,000? You must be wealthy. Spending that much money on ‘fun.’” He said it sarcastically, and the man said indignantly, “It’s only 5 million won. It’s not like I spent tens or hundreds of millions of won.”
“Gambling is gambling. Be prepared for a fine.”
The man sighed dramatically. “As they say, the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Isn’t that how it is? I’m being investigated for spending a measly 5 million won, and those rich bastards who gamble away billions get treated like heroes.”
“Are there really people who are praised for gambling?”
“Of course, he’s famous! Chairman Park of Chunha Group.”
He chuckled. “Are you comparing yourself to him? He donated his entire jackpot winnings to charity. He was just there for fun.”
“Someone who’s ‘just there for fun’ bets $100,000 on a single spin of the roulette wheel?”
He froze. “$100,000? 100 million won?” He hesitated. “I heard he was just playing for fun and then hit the jackpot…”
The man scoffed. “Playing for fun? I saw him with my own eyes. He spent hundreds of thousands of dollars, at least.”
“Hmm…” If the man was telling the truth, it was grounds for investigating Park Sol for illegal gambling. But it was hard to believe, considering Park Sol’s reputation and his charitable activities. And the man was a gambling suspect himself, which made his testimony even less credible.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No one believes me, even when I show them the photos… it’s frustrating.”
“You have photos?”
“Would you be interested if I did?”
“Maybe.”
The man took out a photo from his wallet. “I took this photo of a rich Korean man throwing money around. It turned out to be Chairman Park, so I’ve been carrying it around like a lucky charm.”
He took the photo and gasped softly. “It’s… really him.” He recognized Park Sol immediately. He was a fan. “Gambling… I wouldn’t have expected that from him.”
His faith in Park Sol wavered slightly, but he shook his head. “He must have been there for fun, like he said. It’s not a lot of money to him. That’s why he donated the jackpot.” His bias was evident, his faith in Park Sol’s goodness unshakeable. He was deeply impressed by Park Sol’s charitable activities.
‘I’ll bury this.’ He was slightly disappointed, but he believed that Park Sol was a good man who would continue to contribute to society, so it was best to ignore this.
“Is this the only photo?”
“Yes, I lost the film roll a long time ago. This is the only one left.”
“Give it to me, and I’ll let you off with a warning.”
“Really? Thank you! Thank you so much!”
He took the photo and thought, ‘I should burn this.’ Park Sol had donated over a trillion won to charity, supporting the poor, promoting the employment of the disabled. It was a small blemish on an otherwise exemplary record. ‘It must have been a momentary lapse in judgment.’
“I’m glad I kept this photo,” the man said excitedly. “I followed him because I was curious. He was spending so much money. I’m the only witness to his jackpot win!”
“You witnessed it?”
“Yes, he was about to leave, and then he suddenly went to a slot machine and, with a single pull of the lever, hit the jackpot! 777!”
“I see.”
“I still remember what he said.” He imitated Park Sol’s expression. “‘I’m screwed.’ That’s exactly what he said.”
“…’I’m screwed’?”
So Park Sol had gambled hundreds of millions of won. And he had cursed, not celebrated, after winning the jackpot? ‘Why would winning the jackpot be a bad thing? Exposure?’
Then he must have known he was engaging in illegal gambling. ‘Wait a minute.’
It also meant he was confident he wouldn’t get caught unless he won the jackpot.
‘How?’
He started digging deeper.
‘And how did he even exchange that much money? When he donated the 50 billion won jackpot, he claimed he was just playing for fun. How did he explain the money he had been gambling with before the jackpot?’
His suspicions grew. “Prosecutor…?” the man said hesitantly.
“Wait a minute,” he said, his expression hardening. “Tell me everything, from the moment you first saw him.”
“This is suspicious. Very suspicious.”
He obtained Park Sol’s hotel records and other information related to the trip to Macau.
And according to the records, he had checked in to the Venetian Macao after winning the jackpot. “Even back then, he was already a multi-millionaire. And he traveled without a reservation? How did he know he would get a room? Was he planning to sleep on the streets if he didn’t win the jackpot?”
Macau was a popular tourist destination, and reservations were essential. Of course, there were always rooms available if you were willing to stay at a cheap motel, but a wealthy man like him wouldn’t do that.
He checked all the likely hotels, but there were no reservations under Park Sol’s name, or even Maru’s, his companion.
“And the money exchange…”
Park Sol had only exchanged 10 million won, as he had claimed when he donated the jackpot. Then where did the money he had been gambling with come from?
“Illegal money exchange?” It was a common method for avoiding taxes, but he was now suspicious of everything.
“Could it be… a disguise?”
There were various ways to disguise your identity when gambling overseas: using a fake ID provided by a gambling ring, buying a fake identity from China… It was a common practice. But Park Sol had a reputation for being morally upright.
Why would he resort to such methods? His carefully crafted image began to crumble, and he said with a grim expression, “He used a fake identity to gamble… this is more than just a momentary lapse in judgment.”
“I need to investigate this further.”
He began a thorough investigation into Park Sol’s life, from his birth to his rise as a business tycoon.
His family, his childhood, his background, his reputation… He said with a hollow voice after completing the investigation, “Was it all a lie?” He was known as a ruthless businessman in the junkyard industry, monopolizing every market he entered. And his dominance of the school computer market suggested bribery and corruption. “…Who is this man? Robin Hood?”
Even if he was donating his ill-gotten gains to charity, this was beyond Robin Hood. He had been swimming in a cesspool, not just making a few shady deals.
“And he’s been carefully crafting his public image through the media, promoting his charitable activities…” He shuddered.
“He… he built his entire persona on lies. And that image has clouded our judgment.”
He paused, then sighed. “There’s evidence of bribery, but his charitable activities are real.” Was it wrong to donate dirty money to a good cause? It was a complex ethical question. If he exposed Park Sol and ruined his reputation, the people who depended on his charity would suffer.
He said with a determined expression after a long deliberation, “No, I can’t let this slide. Letting Baek In-hwi escape is enough. Justice must be served. Park Sol and Baek In-hwi are enemies, right?” He had investigated Baek In-hwi extensively.
And now, with the information he had gathered on Park Sol, he suddenly put the two together. “They’ve clashed repeatedly, but who was the ultimate winner?” And the answer surprised him. He stared at the data, his jaw agape.
“What is this…?”
They had fought fiercely, but both had profited in the end. He searched for more information, his eyes wide with disbelief.
“The IT bubble… the IT bubble…”
They had both profited from that too. The outcome of their conflicts was always the same. Park Sol would make his fortune and then retreat, leaving Baek In-hwi to create chaos. And then Park Sol would clean up the mess, earning praise and accolades while Baek In-hwi took the blame. And both would have made a fortune in the process. His eyes wavered.
“This is too consistent to be a coincidence.”
He had been operating under the assumption that the morally upright Park Sol would never collude with a villain like Baek In-hwi. But now, that assumption was gone, and he was seeing the situation with new eyes. “And Haixin Group recently… Baek In-hwi attacked Chunha Group, supposedly contributing to Haixin’s collapse, but Park Sol didn’t suffer any significant losses.”
Park Sol had claimed to have suffered financially because of the attacks and the compensation payments, but those were private companies. It would have been easy for him to manipulate the accounts. And Chunha Group had never requested police protection despite the repeated attacks.
He said, his voice filled with shock,
“Are they… working together?!”