“You shouldn’t do it that way. They’ll be on your tail immediately. Any company that money has passed through should be shut down.”
Once Anna joined, the online gambling team, which had been dragging its feet, came alive.
It was as if a blocked meridian had been opened; things picked up speed.
To be honest, Department Head Nam Yongu was a person optimized for building and maintaining gambling sites.
Asking someone like that to make coins and build an exchange on top of it had been a bit unreasonable from the start.
And money laundering as well.
No matter how many lawyers you attached to the job, there were limits.
Lawyers were bastards who defended themselves first and foremost.
They might act as though they would hand over their liver and gallbladder for their client, but they wouldn’t touch anything that might put them in danger.
For example, if you consulted them about taxes, they would help like mad up to the point of tax reduction, but once it entered the realm of tax evasion, they would only hint at it.
Because they might get in trouble if they helped for no reason, they would merely give off the scent that such methods existed.
They would never explain it in detail.
They were preparing in advance for the possibility that it could become a problem.
But for Anna, who had worked for a long time at Cayley International Advisory, this sort of thing was child’s play.
Money laundering was what she did every day,
and the easiest thing in the world was money laundering.
Especially after cryptocurrency appeared, it became even easier.
“A coin that can be used like points? And a stablecoin at that? That’s just points. Do you really have to go that far?”
“The effect will be too minimal compared to the work that goes into it.”
“Ah~ Korea? Then I understand. They’re strict there. Especially with small change like this, it’s a country that’s sensitive about it.”
“You want to set up a coin exchange in a tax haven? That’s a very good idea. I think the Cayman Islands would be good. The relevant laws are still lax there, so there aren’t yet any restrictions on coin exchanges under those conditions. I think the timing is good.”
“Can Department Head Nam Yongu build a coin exchange? If not, we’ll have to look into it. Is there anyone who might know?”
As soon as Anna was put to work, she grasped the situation in an instant and put forward ideas.
Perhaps because she was someone who had handled nothing but money, she was certainly quick in that field.
Her ideas were immediately fleshed out and applied to the work.
With Anna’s inclusion, the gambling team’s project accelerated.
However, there were also people who looked at that with discomfort.
Department Head Nam Yongu was one of them.
Whether Anna was skilled or lacking wasn’t important.
It was simply because he had not yet judged whether Anna was someone who could be trusted.
Perhaps because he had worked in this world for so long, Nam Yongu naturally grew wary the moment he looked at a person.
Department Head Nam Yongu conveyed those thoughts to me without filtering them.
“Boss. I’m not sure it’s right to open everything up to Anna to this extent. I’m not convinced yet that she’s someone we can trust.”
“You’re saying we should worry about betrayal?”
“I’d like us to at least put in some minimal safeguards.”
“Minimal safeguards, huh... Department Head, what kind of limits would you like to set?”
“Shouldn’t we at least restrict information a little, or hide sensitive content?”
“Why?”
“As I just said, in case she betrays us...”
“Department Head.”
“Yes.”
“Did we have any information to hide?”
Department Head Nam Yongu was startled.
Information to hide?
Everything was information that needed to be hidden.
For starters, the very existence of the site itself was illegal, so what was he talking about?
“I consider our site legal. Am I wrong?”
“It’s legal within the Philippines, but if Koreans use it...”
“It’s illegal in Korea?”
“That’s right.”
“Are we illegal? Or are the Koreans illegal?”
“.....”
“If Koreans use this place, they’re the ones breaking the law, not us, aren’t they? For example, cannabis is legal in Thailand. If one of our countrymen goes to Thailand, smokes cannabis, and comes back, that person becomes illegal. When he smokes cannabis in Thailand, it’s legal, but when he comes back to our country, it becomes illegal. Does that mean Thailand gets punished?”
“That’s not the case, but...”
“It’s the same for us. Playing games and having fun is legal. Of course, I know there may be a slight issue in the withdrawal process. That’s why we’re helping with that part through coins and an exchange, aren’t we? We have to open things up and show them so that we can find the problems and propose appropriate solutions.”
“What if that woman is someone’s pawn, or an undercover agent?”
“Hahaha. You don’t need to worry about that. I’ve already confirmed her identity.”
“Really?”
Of course.
I had rescued her when she nearly died.
That day.
After returning to the hotel, we talked for quite a long time.
She was quick on the uptake.
She immediately understood who held the initiative and how she herself should behave.
She also knew exactly who could protect her in this situation.
I didn’t know about later, but she would be loyal.
There was a possibility she might betray me, but there was no possibility she was someone’s pawn.
So it was fine.
“Of course. You don’t need to worry about that part. So I hope you’ll take Anna with you and make a wonderful site.”
“Yes. I’ll make it into the best gambling site.”
“And in the future as well, please tell me these things frankly whenever you wish.”
“Rather, I apologize if my narrow view has caused you confusion, Boss. Thank you for hearing me out.”
After Nam Yongu left and I was alone, annoyance came flooding in.
Did I say I’d make it for nothing?
Should I retract it even now?
Honestly, I didn’t need to make some coin or exchange.
It was only troublesome and didn’t make money.
Rather, it cost money.
The cost of making the coin, the cost of making the exchange,
the cost of development and maintenance, server costs, management costs. Even the employees’ wages.
Money went out even if we did nothing.
The reason I was making an exchange despite that?
It was to prevent people from being wronged.
It was to stop people from becoming criminals just because they played a few rounds of gambling.
To be called a criminal just because you innocently played a few rounds of gambling.
To be caught in the act just because you squeezed a few cards with your mouse.
They say there are no bad people among those who like gambling.
This was a kind of service to save such wronged people.
Playing poker and Badugi online had no legal issue whatsoever.
If that were a problem, all the countless game sites in our country would be illegal.
Games are legal.
It’s easy to think of it this way: if you wager money on a game and receive that money, it’s illegal.
If you pay your money, exchange it for points, and play a game, it’s legal,
but if you pay your money, exchange it for points, play a game, and then exchange the points back into cash, it’s illegal.
Even exchanging them for gift certificates, goods, securities, and the like is illegal.
So I was trying to make the process of exchanging points into cash a bit more convenient.
So that it could look as legal as possible.
I made it so that coins could be purchased with points,
and so that the coins could be normally traded and exchanged on an exchange.
Of course, since a large amount of funds would move in that process, Anna would spin them around well and make them into clean money.
In the end, it would be set up so that withdrawals were possible at any time.
You played a game and won some money.
Shouldn’t you at least be able to order a chicken with that money?
I was in the middle of building that system.
From my perspective, it was something that only cost money and didn’t earn any,
but it was to support healthy gamblers.
******
Patrick placed the merchandise in front of me.
“The merchandise you requested. These are the samples.”
“They’re out already? Thanks.”
People in the Philippines are slow?
That’s a misunderstanding.
If necessary, they handle things fast enough.
If you give them money or point a gun at them, things get processed quickly.
We do both.
We give them plenty of money, but if they hesitate, we pull out a gun.
Perhaps because of that, the samples came out in a very short time.
The problem was that I didn’t like them.
I’d been sure that if we made merchandise with that illustration, it would be pretty, but it didn’t come out as pretty as I’d imagined.
While I was wondering what to do about this, Manager Kang Jaeho, who was passing by, saw me.
Manager Kang Jaeho had joined our company.
As a manager on the interior team.
“Is this the merchandise you mentioned last time?”
“Yes. The samples came out.”
“Oh~ They’re pretty...”
“Really? Then will you buy that?”
“Uh....”
“Please be honest.”
“To be honest, they feel separate. The illustration and the product don’t really go together.”
“How about you take a look at it, Manager?”
“I don’t have a talent for this area. And if I do that, I think the original artist would be very offended. Instead of doing that, why don’t you ask the original artist for help?”
“I’m hesitant to call because I think it would be an unnecessary bother.”
“If it were me, I think I’d choose to come and check it once rather than have my work come out a mess.”
.
.
.
Im Yuna was sitting in a café, drawing on her tablet.
The money from the paintings she had sold in the Philippines last time had been deposited right away.
Ten paintings at two million won each.
A total of twenty million won.
It was not a small amount of money.
She bragged to her parents and bought them gifts.
Her desire to make a living through drawing had been disappearing little by little, but after selling those paintings, she felt as though a small courage that maybe she could do it was welling up inside her for no reason.
So she would sit in a café during the day like this and draw.
It felt different from drawing at home.
She was drawing while listening to music when a call came in from an unknown number.
It was an international call.
Normally, she would of course simply hang up, but with a thought of what if, she answered.
“Hello?”
- Ms. Im Yuna?
“Yes, that’s me. Who is this?”
- Ah~ This is the Philippines. The person who bought your paintings last time.
“Ah~ Yes. Hello.”
- Hello. You’ve been well, right?
“Yes. Thanks to you. But what’s the matter?”
Im Yuna had a little hope, just in case.
Had that man perhaps been regretting it?
Had he only realized how precious I was after I left?
Was he contacting me to convey the feelings he couldn’t express back then?
Please accept my feelings even now.
Now that I’ve left, I can’t do anything.
What if he confessed like that?
Then what should I do?
Do I have to go all the way to the Philippines?
What if that man says he’ll come to Korea?
First, I need to get a place...
- Yes. We made samples with the illustrations you left last time, but they didn’t come out the way I thought they would. I think they’d be pretty if someone just touched them up a little, but I don’t know where to touch, so could you perhaps come here to the Philippines and take a look at them?
“You want me to come to the Philippines?”
“I’d be very grateful if you did. I’ll send you a ticket right away.”
“Then I’ll head over.”
Without properly listening to what he was saying,
Im Yuna only heard the words telling her to come to the Philippines.
She didn’t know about anything else; for now, she headed to the airport.
.
.
.
“Ah~ So this is how they came out?”
The merchandise she saw on-site was disappointing.
It was the result of printing them recklessly without considering the size, form, or color of the goods.
It felt like they had simply slapped the picture onto existing merchandise without any new design.
Naturally, the charm couldn’t be brought out.
Especially for merchandise like Emerald Canyon, where the colors were important.
“I’ll try revising this. I think it’ll need quite a lot of overall revision.”
“How long will it take?”
“It would be nice if it came out right away, but if we design it, make samples, and check them, I think it’ll take some time.”
“Hmm... Then will you be working here in the Philippines? If so, we’ll make preparations.”
What is this?
Is he trying to keep me here?
Is he saying he wants me to stay here?
Come to think of it, is he the type who can’t express things in words,
and instead says them indirectly?
The type who wants to keep me by his side and look at me?
Well, there’s nothing I can do.
There are people like that. I should understand.
Who knows what will happen in the future?
In Im Yuna’s mind, a happy future with Alex was already unfolding.
Im Yuna continued to spin her happy circuit without end.
******
“Department Head. The coin exchange permit came through in the Cayman Islands.”
“Good. Coin team.”
“Yes. The coin development is finished, right?”
“Yes. It’s finished. We’ve attached the wallet to GoGo Casino.”
“Exchange team?”
“The exchange is ready as well.”
“Then link it with the gambling site right away and check if there are any issues.”
“Yes.”
“Monitor whether the exchange processes things normally too.”
“Yes.”
.
.
.
“No issues with the coin.”
“The exchange can trade normally as well.”
It was the day Candy Coin and TrustBit launched.