“Mmm, I can’t say that with certainty though. It’s a difficult part to rashly guarantee.”
Ray Jun raised both hands. He’d already said plenty, yet he was being rather shameless.
“I hope your curiosity has been satisfied at least a little. I’m not sure if I was helpful.”
“……”
“I’ll step out for a bit, so rest comfortably, Wei.”
Ray Jun, who had risen to his feet, quietly left the bedroom. Kang Siwon didn’t even glance at his retreating figure. He was deeply absorbed in thought.
The things that had been suspicious all along clicked into place one by one. He thought he was more worldly-wise than the average person, yet it was absurd that he hadn’t immediately thought of money laundering. At this rate, he had nothing to say even if someone called him pure. Kang Siwon muttered in frustration.
“No, I’d have to have money worth laundering to even think of it in the first place.”
They say those who have are even worse—rich people’s scheming minds were truly remarkable. How did they even think to use casino chips for tax evasion?
So naturally, they only exchanged for small-denomination chips. High-value chips were prohibited from being taken out in principle, and with RFID embedded in them, they were easier to track. The more you split cash into smaller chip units, the less risk you bore.
Once one puzzle piece fit, the rest naturally filled in. Thinking about it, it made sense. If you had ill intent, there were various ways to utilize chips besides tax evasion. You could use them in transactions where you didn’t want to leave records, or pay them instead of cash to personnel who couldn’t be legally employed.
In other words, casino chips were essentially currency of the underworld.
“Crazy……”
Kang Siwon roughly tousled his hair. Was his speculation really just wild conjecture? No, there might be incorrect parts, but it didn’t seem far-fetched.
Something welled up from within. He couldn’t even identify what this emotion was. It seemed like a chaotic mixture of relief at having his questions answered, disbelief, absurdity, and guilt over having ultimately been complicit in the Baeksa Faction’s dirty work, even if it wasn’t by choice.
On the other hand, he wondered if he was the only one who should feel guilty. After all, the ones doing shady things using the casino’s chip exchange system were in the wrong to begin with. As an ordinary citizen, Kang Siwon had the cynical thought—what did it matter if those rich bastards got screwed? Of course, the Baeksa Faction wasn’t collecting their information for public interest purposes……
‘Then why on earth?’
He didn’t know for what purpose they received information from him and Ju Xiang, or how they ultimately utilized it. Were they blackmailing the wealthy?
He thought he’d completed the puzzle, but it was only partial. The spot where his small piece was placed was too narrow to easily guess the whole picture. A heavy stuffiness filled his chest once again.
It felt like walking a path full of obstacles on all sides while blindfolded. He should at least know what he was doing so he could protect himself, but it wasn’t working out at all.
“……”
Kang Siwon, as if having resolved something, bit his lip slightly and pulled out his phone. Since it was issued by the Baeksa Faction, he felt uneasy wondering if some hacking program might be installed on it, but he had no other choice. The Baeksa Faction had confiscated his own phone, and there were no devices here that could access the internet, so he had to use this. Even if his usage records were being monitored, the Baeksa Faction wasn’t so idle that they’d thoroughly monitor a low-level spy’s phone.
Kang Siwon accessed a portal site and entered search terms. Keywords like ‘Sovereign Casino illegal,’ ‘Sovereign Casino tax evasion.’
The first results were posts about how overseas gambling was illegal under South Korean criminal law. Several sites warning about the dangers of gambling also appeared. While correct, that wasn’t the kind of information Kang Siwon was looking for.
“Hmm……”
He tried searching in Chinese as well, but it was the same. Well, it didn’t seem likely that such information would be readily available on portal sites anyone could access. Still, Kang Siwon tried searching again in English. Then one article caught his eye.
[Sovereign CEO Avoids Indictment in Tax Scandal]
Sovereign CEO Avoids Indictment on Tax Evasion Charges
It has belatedly been confirmed that CEO Li Yong of Sovereign Resort narrowly avoided criminal prosecution in a major tax evasion case that nearly brought the resort to the brink of collapse.
At the time, investigative authorities reportedly detected evidence that Sovereign Resort had concealed part of its high-stakes junket operation income. Considering the scale of the hidden profits, this was a matter that would inevitably impact the entire group.
The prosecution considered indicting the CEO, but the situation reversed when global law firm M&W took on Sovereign Resort’s legal representation. The defense team argued there were procedural issues and challenged the validity of key evidence, and ultimately the case was concluded with fine payment and administrative measures.
Reading the article and checking the date, it was from 26 years ago. It seemed the inside of Sovereign was turbulent even back then. It wasn’t surprising. Setting aside the chip issue, it would have been more surprising if an international company as large as Sovereign had been run transparently.
After finishing the article, Kang Siwon returned to the portal site. But no matter how he changed the search terms and looked around, no information related to casino chips came up.
“Ha……”
Kang Siwon set down his phone as if throwing it and, parched, drank down the tea Ray Jun had poured him in one gulp. The now-lukewarm tea water flowed past his throat.
* * *
Ray Jun, who had stepped outside the dormitory building, stood under a streetlight. When he took out his phone, there was a missed call notification. It was a call that had come during his conversation with Xie Wei just now.
As soon as he pressed the call button, the phone connected immediately.
―Young master, is now a good time to talk?
To the person asking in English, Ray Jun also replied in English.
“Yeah. Speak.”
―May I ask where you currently are?
“In front of the dormitory building. Why?”
―That place……
The voice trailing off was thick with concern. Ray Jun chuckled and lightly chided Gemma, who would be on the other side of the globe.
“Then where did you think I’d be? Did you think I’d already gone home? Like an obedient dog that returns home on its own when the time comes?”
―That’s not what I meant……
“It’s better than the casino crawling with people at any given time, isn’t it? Anyway, if you have something to say, hurry up. Right now, not even a single ant is passing by.”
The street at 10 PM was excessively quiet. The well-paved road was so spotless, without a single piece of trash, that it gave the feeling of being on a movie set. Only a stone that had fallen on the roadside could be called a flaw. Ray Jun tapped that stone with the tip of his shoe.
―Did the police investigation go well?
“Of course.”
―The CEO is worried. It would have been good if you had contacted us first.
This time, Ray Jun burst out laughing.
“Are you kidding? Mother is worried? After working together for 15 years, you still don’t know my mother?”
―……
“If she were the type to worry over something like this……”
His narrowed eyes scanned the surroundings. There was a CCTV at the dormitory entrance, and dashcams in the cars parked in front. There might also be cameras or recording devices in other unseen corners. So Ray Jun swallowed his next words.
She wouldn’t have laid a hand on Zhang Weiren either.
For the CEO of M&W, obtaining an improved drug that wouldn’t be detected in blood tests was as simple as choosing wine to drink in the evening. Administering it precisely to the elimination target was somewhat troublesome, but since he happened to be working as a dealer, even that wasn’t difficult.
It was ironic that the mother who had ordered all this was an internationally renowned lawyer. Separately, Ray Jun had never once thought the profession of lawyer was upright and honest.
―That’s not true. The CEO is also worried about you, young master.
“Hmm.”
Ray Jun made a light sound in his throat. Even if it were true, Mother’s ‘worry’ would be different from that of ordinary people. Either way, it wasn’t an important issue for Ray Jun.
“Still, doesn’t my being at Sovereign help Mother?”
―That’s……
“Why? You’ve seemed like you’ve had a lot to say since earlier—why don’t you get it off your chest, Gemma?”
They say holding it in makes you sick. When he added this rather warmly, Gemma finally brought up the main point.
―How about returning soon? It’s already been half a year since you went to Macau, young master. Hasn’t that been enough time to achieve the goal of understanding the internal atmosphere?
“I think there’s no better method than diving in directly to grasp the flow. Don’t you?”
―We can dispatch informants from this side as well. I don’t think there’s any need for you to take risks and go to such trouble, young master……
“It makes me sad when you say that. Didn’t you say you survived thanks to me before?”
Ray Jun changed his voice to a cheerful tone. However, Gemma still didn’t let go of her concern.
―I’m saying this because I’m worried about you, young master. CEO Li and Li Hou must be waiting for their chance.
Gemma’s words had a point. No, more than having a point, she was the one being sensible.
In truth, going undercover to the point of forging his identity was inefficient. He was even a new dealer, not an executive, so he had limited authority to access information. Even what he had managed to dig up was obtained by building rapport with employees from various departments. For that reason, Ray Jun had been feeling bored, but……
“Wait just a little longer. I’ve discovered something interesting.”
