M Pizza opened its Jeju branch at the Ceylon Hotel Jeju.
It was the seventh directly managed store and the first in Jeju Island. CEO Im Soo-mi was confident that Jeju Island, being the center of Korean tourism, would be able to attract Asian tourists.
As if proving M Pizza’s high popularity, people lined up for a long time even before the opening ceremony, and many of them were foreigners.
I attended the opening ceremony with CEO Im Soo-mi and cut the ribbon. With that, the official schedule in Jeju Island ended, and from then on, it was vacation time.
For several days, I toured around Jeju Island with my mother, visiting Seongsan Ilchulbong, Seopjikoji, Cheonjiyeon Waterfall, and more. Every day, I went to the sea with Ellie at least once.
Ellie raised her thumb, meaning to go up. We slowly ascended towards the surface.
When my face was above the surface, I took out the hose from my mouth and inhaled. Fresh air rushed into my body, replacing the dry, stale air.
We climbed up the ladder installed at the back of the yacht. Once out of the water, the equipment I was wearing felt incredibly heavy.
I took off the equipment and caught my breath. “You’re doing great now. You could get an open water certification.”
“I thought I didn’t really like scuba diving, but it’s actually fun when you try it.”
Indeed, it seems that people should have diverse experiences. You can only know if you like or dislike something by trying it yourself.
Ellie winked. “See? I told you it was a good idea, right? Next time, let’s try skydiving together.”
“Huh?”
She’s not talking about jumping out of a plane with a parachute, is she?
“Jin-hoo will definitely like it if he tries it too.”
“……”
No, I think that’s something I really don’t need to try.
Ellie handed me the water she was drinking. I looked around. The sun was warm, and the blue sea stretched out in all directions.
We were on a yacht.
Being a super-luxury yacht, it had separate shower rooms as well as bedrooms inside. The wheelhouse was separately partitioned, so privacy was perfectly guaranteed.
Ellie turned her back and said, “Could you unzip this for me?”
I unzipped the zipper on her back, and Ellie took off her wetsuit. She was wearing a black bikini underneath. Her snow-white skin and the stunning lines, well-toned from exercise, were revealed as they were.
Her abs were visible on her stomach, which had no hint of fat, and her straight arms and legs were also full of health.
Ellie swept her wet hair back with her fingers. The sight was like looking at a bikini pictorial.
“I’m glad this isn’t a beach.”
“Why?”
“All the men would have been staring, wouldn’t they?”
“Would you dislike it if other men looked?”
I said honestly, “I want to be the only one to see this.”
Ellie kissed me and playfully asked, “Then shall I take the rest off too?”
At those words, I unknowingly swallowed hard. “Here?”
“If Jin-hoo wants, anytime.”
“……”
I’m glad I came to play after all.
***
We returned to the hotel.
Our accommodation was the Presidential Suite at the Ceylon Hotel Jeju.
Ellie, having finished showering, came out wearing a bathrobe. Her bare face, without any makeup, was radiant. It’s a face I see every day, but she really is beautiful.
As I tried to pull her into my arms, Ellie said, “No, we can’t. We’re supposed to have dinner with your mother later.”
“There’s still an hour left.”
“Really, is that all Jin-hoo thinks about?”
“Well…”
Isn’t that what all men in their 20s are like?
I said defensively, “N-no, it’s because Ellie is too pretty.”
Then Ellie pouted slightly. “Tch! Liar.”
“It’s true.”
I was about to kiss her when suddenly Ellie’s pupils widened. “W-wait a minute.”
“What’s wrong?”
Is she angry that I’m only trying to do that?
Ellie pointed forward with her finger. “L-look at that.”
I turned my head and was startled. Below the news screen, a caption flashed: ‘Illegal MLM gang including Kang Jin-hoo’s relative rounded up.’
What the heck is that?
I was startled and turned up the volume with the remote control.
The reporter said, “Although the cryptocurrency craze has subsided, scams related to coins continue to occur. Recently, a scam case has occurred that combines coins, MLM, and even Venezuelan oil fields. Choi Nam-woo, CEO of JG Blockchain, is known to have recruited investors by claiming to be a relative of Kang Jin-hoo…”
Who is Choi Nam-woo?
Just then, the image of a handcuffed man appeared on the screen.
He looked somewhat familiar.
“That person…”
It’s Kang Mi-young’s husband, my cousin-in-law. I only saw him briefly at my Dongtan house when the relatives came in droves, that was the first and last time.
As reporters’ questions poured in, Choi Nam-woo, in handcuffs, said as if aggrieved, “This is not a scam! Jeil Gold Coin is the cutting-edge technology of the 4th Industrial Revolution that will open up a new future, and it’s a new concept blockchain linked to Venezuela’s Petro Coin, the dollar, and oil prices!”
Following that, footage of the scene at the time was shown.
Police raided a certain event at a hotel, and MLM gang members were arrested one after another.
Ellie pointed to one side of the screen. “Oh! Isn’t that Taek-gyu?”
“Huh?”
There was a man wearing jeans, a hoodie, and a baseball cap standing there. Anyone could see that he looked like Oh Taek-gyu.
“……”
Why are you there?
The reporter continued, “The prosecution expressed gratitude, saying that OTK Company provided decisive evidence in solving this case. Meanwhile, OTK Company representative urged caution, stating that under no circumstances does it solicit investment funds from individuals, and that any solicitation of investment funds using Kang Jin-hoo’s name is entirely fraudulent.”
The screen changed and Seoul District Chief Prosecutor Ahn Seong-nam appeared.
“…The prosecution has swiftly and thoroughly investigated and rounded up the MLM gang. We also plan to expand the investigation as we anticipate more damage. Above all, to recover the damages, we have succeeded in immediately suspending deposits and withdrawals from domestic accounts used for the fraud and overseas accounts in Singapore, and we plan to recover the damaged amount as soon as possible. In the future, our prosecution will continue to track down and punish various financial crimes and crimes affecting people’s livelihoods as the people’s prosecution.”
I immediately called Taek-gyu. “I just saw the news, what’s going on? Why are you there?”
[Don’t worry about it, just relax and come back. I’ve taken care of everything.]
“Huh?”
What on earth did he take care of?
***
Tracking PD’s broadcast aired, and the news also reported it extensively every day. As Kang Jin-hoo’s name was involved, public interest was high.
It topped real-time search rankings on various portal sites, and internet articles poured out.
Inside the baseball cap that Taek-gyu received from Tracking PD’s Cha Ki-jun PD, a small camera was installed. Thanks to this, the arrest scene was recorded in its entirety.
The prosecution raided centers scattered all over the country at the same time as arresting Ham Seok-hoon and Choi Nam-woo.
Although they had arrested MLM fraudsters many times before, this was the first time they had rounded them up so quickly.
Chief Prosecutor Ahn Seong-nam personally stepped forward and gave briefings several times, even though he could have had his subordinates do it.
Fortunately, there was almost no criticism of Kang Jin-hoo and OTK Company, which had been worried about. That was because this incident was as good as being resolved by OTK Company.
Chief Prosecutor Ahn Seong-nam also stated that they were able to catch the fraudsters thanks to OTK Company’s submission of decisive evidence and active cooperation.
– Wow! OTK Company has done it again.
– ㅋㅋㅋ Scamming by selling Kang Jin-hoo’s name. I knew a guy like that would show up.
– If he’s the husband of a cousin, they’re not very close.
– There are many guys like that among the families and relatives of celebrities. Not long ago, ENter Girl’s Yeyoung’s father was also arrested for scamming 20 billion won using his daughter’s name.
– WTF are there so many suckers in this country?
– What kind of idiot gets scammed by something like that? How brainless do you have to be to believe that?
– That idiot is me ㅜㅜ I followed my army senior and bought 5.04 million won worth of garbage coins. I’m going to the police station tomorrow to be investigated as a victim.
– Sorry, sir… I didn’t hurt your feelings, did I?
– No, it’s me who’s the idiot for getting scammed. Anyway, I’m worried about repaying the loan ㅜㅜ
– Still, cheer up, they say you can get back half of it.
– Investors must have invested believing in Kang Jin-hoo’s name, shouldn’t Kang Jin-hoo compensate them morally, at least?
– Right. Kang Jin-hoo has a lot of money.
– What nonsense is this? Then if someone scams people by selling your name, will you compensate them?
– Those guys who scammed people by selling Ronaldo’s name last time, should Ronaldo compensate them?
– It’s like asking for your bundle after being rescued from drowning. If it wasn’t for OTK Company, the number of victims would have increased further, and they wouldn’t have recovered the money.
– Anyway, even if you do good, you get flak.
***
A few days later.
Taek-gyu was sitting at a cafe, waiting for Min Ha-young.
There were a few inaccuracies in the complaint he had submitted. He had estimated that there would be hundreds of victims and the damage amount would be hundreds of billions, but when he opened the lid, the number of victims was not hundreds, but over 1,000, and the damage amount also easily exceeded 100 billion won.
Taek-gyu tore open a bag and chewed on a Malangkaw (Korean soft candy), thinking, ‘Who knew there would be so many sucker siblings in this small land.’
It was fortunate that they were caught early, so it ended at this level, if it had been a few months later, the damage would have been several times greater.
When the investigative authorities secured the list and contacted each victim one by one to explain, people were startled. However, some people reacted by saying they still couldn’t believe it, and some hung up angrily or hurled abuse, thinking it was voice phishing. Of course, they later ran to the police station right away after seeing the news.
‘Well, no wonder there are so many scammers, right?’
If you buy medical devices, they will be rented to hospitals and pay you 10% per month? If you use it for only 9 months, you’ll more than recoup the device cost, so why would hospitals rent instead of buying?
If you invest in sow pigs, they will raise piglets and sell them, giving you 60% per year? What, is the profit margin of the pig farming industry higher than Seosung Electronics? If this were true, shouldn’t Seosung Electronics shut down its semiconductor business and go into pig farming?
There are 150 trillion won worth of gold bars in a sunken Russian warship, and they’re going to salvage it? Logically, would a ship going to war carry a load of gold bars? And in the first place, if Russia had that much money, they wouldn’t have sued for peace with Japan.
Besides these, there are countless plausible stories. And among them, there are truly good opportunities.
However, such opportunities are already taken by people with money and connections, and they never reach ordinary people.
Opportunities that sound good to me also sound good to others.
The reason people fall for such things is not because they are stupid, but because of fear and desire. Fear that there will be no opportunity if not now, and the desire to make a fortune overnight. Scammers target people’s weaknesses.
The funny fact is that even Ham Seok-hoon himself fell for it. Blinded by the 5 billion won, he showed up himself, so it was a case of a scammer being scammed.
After a while, Min Ha-young walked into the cafe.
“You’re wearing glasses again.”
At Taek-gyu’s words, she gave a bitter smile. “Actually, my eyes were dry and very uncomfortable.”
“Then why did you wear lenses?”
“The company taught us that dressing up as pretty as possible is advantageous for recruiting downlines. Though it didn’t really seem to suit me.”
So she wore flashy clothes even when she couldn’t wash them properly, and borrowed fake luxury brand bags to carry around.
Taek-gyu nodded. “You look much better now.”
Everyone acted like they were successful on the outside, but in reality, most of them were struggling to earn even 1 million won a month. (There were even people who earned money that way and bought coins again).
Everyone maintained their livelihood with various side jobs and second jobs. During the day, they wore suits and went to the center to work, and when it was over, they worked night shifts at convenience stores.
Even so, the reason they could endure it was because they had the belief that if Jeil Gold Coin got listed, a jackpot would explode.
People around them said no, and they sometimes doubted it, but once they had put in money, they had no choice but to keep believing.
If it wasn’t true, everything would become worthless.
“Fortunately, they say you’ll be able to get back about half of the damage amount. Though it will take a few months.”
In such fraud cases, most of the time, the victims don’t recover a single penny of the damaged amount. Being able to recover even half of it is close to a miracle.
“What are you going to do about the debt?”
“I told my parents for now. They said they will somehow repay the loan. I have to work and pay off the rest.”
“Are you going to keep drawing comics?”
Min Ha-young nodded. “Yes. I’m going to challenge myself again from now on. Though I’m not sure where to start.”
“Good thinking.”
Taek-gyu handed over a business card. “Then contact this place once.”
“What is this?”
“It’s the place that’s Korean publishing Lost Fantasy M, and they’re looking for someone to draw webtoons for game stories. They’ll know if you say you were introduced by me.”
The business card had the title “CEO of OTK Games Korea” and his name written on it.
How does she know such a high-ranking person?
‘Come to think of it…’
It was Taek-gyu who brought Ham Seok-hoon to that place that day, and it was also Taek-gyu who called the Bithumb CEO. And probably the police and reporters too.
‘Could it be that he orchestrated all of this?’
Min Ha-young asked in a trembling voice, “What, what kind of work are you doing?”
“Me? I’m not doing much.”
“Then how…?”
Taek-gyu smiled and said, “I just met good people, like my sister and my friends.”
