Since the 4 nights and 5 days business trip to Las Vegas overlapped with the weekend, I go to work in about a week.
Beep.
Take your employee ID and enter the company.
I always feel it, but from the moment I pass through the entrance of the company, my body becomes limp. It’s not just me, it’s the atmosphere throughout the company.
Hard work does not change anything, and there is no sense of accomplishment from accomplishing something, so employees just repeat what they do every day like machines.
It wouldn’t be much different from other companies, but KN Chemical was especially serious about that aspect.
“Dr. Shin, it’s been a really long time since I saw you. Aren’t you forgetting your face like this?”
As soon as I enter the office, a person I don’t want to meet approaches me.
Ha Seung-chan is the manager of the accounting department.
“good morning.”
“Good morning, you look bad? Oh yeah. I guess I couldn’t adjust to the jet lag after returning from the US.”
“Not really.”
“Or it’s fortunate, but why do people who have been abroad look so light in their hands? You shouldn’t have bought at least a small piece on the way.”
Come to think of it, there was a peculiar custom in the office.
When you went on a long business trip, you had to buy souvenirs or food, or when you were promoted, you had to give away rice cakes.
If such a gift were autonomous, who would say,
‘The problem was that Ha Seung-chan had to buy it forcibly because he treats him like a criminal every time.’
At this time, someone from the side helps out with the manager.
“Aww, Chief. If you don’t have enough money, you might not be able to buy it. Well, it’s a matter of sincerity that I didn’t even buy chocolate.”
It is Hong Man-won, the motive for joining the company. This guy has been betting me on everything from before, and I still don’t know why.
“Well, it costs a few pennies for chocolate. What’s the matter?”
“Everyone has their own circumstances. Or you might forget because you are busy on a business trip.”
“Aha, you said Las Vegas was the place you went on a business trip this time, right? If it was there, you might have been distracted from playing.”
As always, it seems that he intends to humiliate him publicly in a place where everyone in the office can hear.
I didn’t give it a chance and just cut it off.
“Did you leave the chocolate with me?”
The effect was clear. Because the mouths of the two people who were talking like hummingbirds stopped.
“Gifts are given only to express congratulations or gratitude. By the way, what kind of gratitude do I have to express my gratitude to the manager?”
“Originally, when someone goes on a business trip, the remaining people suffer just as much.”
“The manager and I are in different departments, so I don’t think we had to suffer.”
Ha Seung-chan’s face gradually heats up. I want to refute it, but I don’t have the right number, so I think my insides are twisted.
Hong Man-Won, who was worse than that, comes out as a relief pitcher.
“Hey, Shin Woo-hyuk. Do you know how hard Manager Ha has suffered because you have ruined the atmosphere in the office lately?”
“I have no idea.”
“Yeah, you don’t know. Every time I accompanied the manager on business trips, I only sucked on the honey.”
Traveling is convenient… … If Park Min-gyo or Baek Seung-tae had heard that, wouldn’t they have slapped their cheeks back and forth?
Just then, a clearing of the cough is heard from the entrance of the office.
“Why is it so noisy here in the morning?”
They said that even tigers would come if I told them to, and Park Min-gyo, executive director, wandered into the office.
Contemplating Ha Seung-chan and Hong Man-won hurriedly pursue them to the entrance and bow their heads.
“Oh, how are you!”
“Executive Director, how are you!”
Park Min-gyo approaches me without even looking at the two.
“Our Assistant Manager Seo, aren’t you sick anywhere?”
“yes. I am fine.”
“phew… … I was really grateful for the work that day. Assistant Manager Seo did a great job.”
He taps me on the shoulder a few times, then turns his gaze to the two people standing next to him.
“By the way, what were you talking about? I heard about business trips.”
Ha Seung-chan and Hong Man-won begged with their eyes to please not say anything.
That’s why I want to tell you in more detail.
“What were you talking about… … .”
Ha Seung-chan quickly cuts off his words and enters.
“Executive! I didn’t say anything. I just said that going on a business trip abroad would be a good opportunity to gain knowledge.”
“you’re right. He said he was envious because it was a good opportunity. hahahaha… … hahahaha… … .”
The desperate excuses of the two continued, but rather, the excuses scratched Park Min-gyo’s temper.
“A business trip is a good opportunity? Do you guys think that company business trips are like overseas trips?”
Park Min-gyo’s sad eyes scan the two of them.
I came back after going through all the hardships on the business trip, but I can’t help but roll my eyes when you say things like knowledge.
“I am, Mr. I didn’t mean that… … .”
“noisy. Write your excuses in a letter of resignation and submit them.”
At this time, I intervene slightly and put in an extra hit.
“Sir, the Ministry of Trade is on a business trip to Nigeria, but I heard that there are no applicants. How about sending the two of you there?”
“Oh, that’s a great idea.”
In Nigeria, the two people’s faces turn blue at the end.
“I will give you a chance to broaden your knowledge.”
* * *
Every time Baek Seung-tae closed his eyes these days, he would recall the events of the day and be startled.
A day spent trapped in an abandoned building without knowing why.
It would have been terrifying if I had just been locked up, but the person I was imprisoned with was Park Min-gyo, whom I had to treat like a master.
To wipe the back, they gave me a shirt, panties, and since that wasn’t enough, they even gave me a cover.
As such trivial things piled up, Baek Seung-tae’s patience reached a limit, and as a result, he and Park Min-gyo had a double-baiting affair and even struggled.
‘Of course, the door opened just then… … Ayy, Mr. If I had opened the door a little faster, that wouldn’t have happened.’
He blames his subordinates for no reason and soothes his tanned inside.
I could have really died if he hadn’t opened the door, but now I just want to blame others rather than think about it.
“Yeom disease.”
Sitting in the seat is too tight, so I get up with the thought of lighting a cigarette.
Just then, the intercom rang with a ‘piriririk’ sound. The source is the executive secretary’s office.
-Manager, Executive Director is looking for you urgently.
Baek Seung-tae moves to the executive office like a cow being led to a slaughterhouse.
When he arrived at the executive office, a man he had never seen before was sitting across from Min-gyo Park.
“Since this is our field of expertise, you just have to put your mind at ease and wait for the results.”
“Ha ha ha. okay. I can trust you just by listening to you.”
Even though Baek Seung-tae came into the executive office, Park Min-gyo just stood still like a sack of barley he had borrowed. After that, I look back at him only after a long time has passed.
“Hey, centurion. What are you doing standing there? Please sit down.”
“Ah, yes. But who is this… … ?”
Only then did the man sitting across from him slightly nod his head.
“I am Na Jun-seok, head of LJ Group’s Strategic Secretary’s Office.”
“What are people from LJ Group doing here?”
“That’s right, you didn’t come because the executive director requested it, did you? Originally, this kind of field requires a specialist.”
If you are from the secretariat of a large company, you are an expert on various tax issues, slush funds, and money laundering.
However, bringing in outside manpower, no matter how expert, was inevitably risky.
“Executive Director, wouldn’t it cause other problems if a third party was involved in this matter?”
“What problem?”
“There are probably concerns about security as well… … .”
“You like security.”
Park Min-gyo laughed openly, and poked Baek Seung-tae’s chest with his finger.
“A 40 billion won account was robbed overnight. An account worth 40 billion won! But what have you found out so far? huh? If you have a mouth, speak quickly!”
“The matter is under investigation. Please give me a little more time.”
“It sounds like time and I fell asleep. f*ck it. Because I already figured it out. Right, am I the manager?”
Na Jun-seok, whose name was called, nodded his head broadly as if he had waited and started the briefing.
“According to my investigation, the culprit took the money using a password and physical key, not hacking.”
“If you defeat him, the guy who stole our bag must be the culprit. But if it was transferred from the account normally, there would be traces left, right?”
“The traces are clearly visible. But what the culprit is clever about is that he didn’t transfer it to a regular account, but changed it all to virtual currency.”
When the word virtual currency comes out, Park Min-gyo and Baek Seung-tae both tilt their heads.
“Virtual currency is a currency that exists only within a computer network without a physical entity.”
“Is it like cyber money?”
“It’s almost the same, but the Bitcoin they changed is a currency that maximizes security with block chain technology.”
I heard an explanation, but it was an area that was incomprehensible to those who were new to virtual currency.
“So you’re saying there’s a way to get it back or not?”
“Due to the nature of Bitcoin, there is no way to get it back if you decide and hide it. The only possible way is to find out the identity of the thief who stole it and get it directly.”
“Is that possible?”
“We have secured traces of the culprit’s transaction at the virtual currency exchange.”
Park Min-gyo can’t stand his excitement and jumps up from his seat.
“If you follow that trail, will you find something like his address?”
“Unfortunately, cryptocurrencies based on blockchain technology are virtually impossible to hack and track.”
“No, what’s the use of securing a trail if you can’t track it?”
From noble mtl dot com
“Bitcoin cannot be traced, but dollars or won can be easily traced, right?”
At first, it was Park Min-gyo who did not know the meaning of this word and only frowned, but soon snapped his fingers with a ‘snap’.
“You are right! When that miscellaneous thing is trying to exchange virtual money for real money, you just have to catch it.”
“Exactly.”
“As expected, he is the brain of LJ Group. very good Unlike anyone else, you know right away how to handle things.”
The ‘who’ Park Min-gyo said was, of course, Baek Seung-tae, who was next to him.
Baek Seung-tae doesn’t want to stay still like this, so he raises his own question.
“What if the culprit doesn’t want to exchange it for real money? Is there no way to find it then?”
“That’s because I don’t know what kind of currency Bitcoin is.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
“Bitcoin is a currency that only exists on the network, so its use in reality is extremely limited. In addition, the price volatility is so great that there are precedents where the value drops to 1/10 overnight.”
Hearing that, Park Min-gyo raised his voice in surprise.
“Something like that… … Currency?”
“It’s a currency, but it has a short history and there is no guarantee, so you can see it as a very unstable currency.”
“It’s a ticking time bomb that you never know when it will explode.”
“you’re right. The culprit will know that too, so he will try to convert bitcoin into real money as soon as possible.”
A piece of data that is not unusual even when the value is zero.
The evaluation of Bitcoin in the present era was at this level, so Na Jun-seok’s voice was confident.