I ordered an extra serving for Kang Hyung-suk because he ate meat so well.
"Eat a lot. How are you studying?”
"The labor attorney's exam was the first round, but it wasn't the second, so I turned it away. I changed my goal to a 7th-grade civil servant. I did so because there were overlapping test subjects.”
"Did you?"
"Grade 7 is also very difficult, so there is a saying that if you pass level 9, it's your honor, and if you pass level 7, it's your family's honor."”
"Really? So you studied for the labor exam, so you're in the labor category."
"There's no division of labor. There is a field of employment and labor in the administrative line.”
"Really? If you pass it, you'll have a job as a labor supervisor."
"Well, at least a few bucks a month. So these days, I'm thinking about robbing everything and doing business."
"Business? You need money, don't you? If it doesn't work, why don't you get a job at a company?"
"Companies... are too old to review documents.”
I wondered if Kang Hyung-suk had already become like that.
Come to think of it, Kang Hyung-suk looked too old to be a new employee.
May 2016 was also passing the middle of the year.
In the Honam region, anti-President Ban Ki-moon sentiment was forming, but Ban's theme stocks were rising steadily day after day.
The press was pouring in articles from Ban every day.
It was because of the Jeju Forum, which will be held on the 25th of this month.
"What topic will Ban throw?"
The media were spilling out speculative articles.
I saw the stock I bought. It was already approaching a 40 percent rise.
The company earned 4 billion won by investing 10 billion won in eight Ban Ki-moon-themed stocks.
I grinned at my stock valuation in HTS.
"Is this better for me than Bang, a senior lawyer at a large law firm?"
I don't think people in professional occupations like doctors or lawyers anymore look so great. People who graduated from Sky University and worked in professional fields were considered to be from another world, but now they are not.
It was May 18th.
After the split, the Democratic Party and the People's Party rallied in Gwangju to win the hearts of the people in the Jeolla provinces.
At the morning coffee time, Deputy General Manager Chang told me this.
"The dragonflies seem to be gathering in Gwangju as an excuse to attend the May 18 ceremony. For the next year and a half, the theme of the presidential election is going to be loud."
"Who is attending Gwangju?”
The Ahn Cheol-soo, Sohn Hak-gyu, Sim Sang-jung, Moon Jae-in, Roh attended. I heard CEO Kim Jong-in is coming. But the government doesn't seem to be able to sing marches for you at the event."
"Everyone must be working hard for the presidential election."
"Yes, the Democratic Party of Korea will try to use it as an opportunity for a turnaround after its crushing defeat in the Jeolla provinces, and for the People's Party, it will solidify its position as the leader of the Jeolla provinces. There's probably a fierce battle."
"Who do you think will emerge from the presidential election in the opposition party? As Ban's opponent."
"Well, I don't know yet. Wouldn't it be outlined by the end of this year?”
I saw the president to be a man of good fortune. It was because it was not for everyone to sit down.
I only needed to make money by seizing the opportunity when the theme stock using the presidential election ran for you.
Hasn't the box office already begun? Isn't it because I have such a good sense of food that I'm already earning four billion won?
Lawyer Bang could not shake off the temptation of 60 million won in rebates.
The smart room lawyer rolled his head around and thought of one thing.
"My friend's father is a pastor in charge of a large church... It's probably one of the largest churches in our country, so it's going to be a lot of money. How much is a Sunday donation alone?"
Lawyer Bang called his friend.
"Pastor Jo? It's me."
"Lawyer Bang! What are you doing?"
"Can you spare some time in the evening?"
"What brings you to the high man?"
"High! What the hell! He's a lawyer in charge of dirty criminal cases. Is God like you?”
"You're gonna be in your office, right? I'll be near there. My house is in Seocho-dong anyway."
"Then come to Yeon Tuna Sushi restaurant around 7 p.m."
"Diyeon Tuna Sushi Restaurant?"
"The sashimi place where we had our last reunion."
"Oh, okay."
Bang met with his classmate, Rev. Cho, in the evening.
I ordered the belly of the tuna sashimi and Chung-ha and hit a glass of wine.
"Your church members seem to be growing. "Because your father is so famous, there are more believers who come to see you than the church?"
"Well, it's like that.”
"There's a lot of Sunday donations, but there's a lot of going out, right?"
"A lot. I do youth scholarship business and help the needy a lot. We also send overseas missionaries."
"Does the elders manage it?"
"It's all managed by elders. My father's a homeroom pastor and I'm an adjunct, so he sees it to me, but the elders run it."
"Don't you want to roll your money?"
"I'm keeping it in the bank, but it doesn't interest me enough."
"Why don't you try putting it in a private fund? I think the yield is good."
"The church is not a profit-making organization... Should I invest in stocks that I got from the church? But it's like putting a temporary deposit in a bank, and there's nothing we shouldn't do if we keep it clean."
"That's it. Why don't you spend your money on missionary work and good things?"
"I need more money for overseas missions, but wouldn't that make sense?"
"Using private funds is due to anonymity and confidentiality. The money that went into the private equity fund never comes out of the church name of the church. Investment is in the name of a private equity fund."
"Well..."
Lawyer Bang took out a palmprat from the bag.
It was J.S. Invest's Farm Pratt when I stopped by my office in Yeouido.
"There's something I can trust. It's a company that invests in blue-chip companies that are scheduled to go public, but it seems to be doing well in a stable manner because it'”
"Really?"
"Just put four billion in here, assuming you put it in the bank. Then I'll put pressure on you to buy me a foreign car."
"I want to ride a foreign car, but it's hard to do it under my name. The elders ask me to buy a foreign car, but I'm the son of the party president, so can you?"
"Why don't we do it the way a private fund company pays?”
"What?"
"The executives of the private fund company are church members, and thank you for attracting investment. They're only donating one year in the name of the fund company."
"So the name of the car is a private equity fund and I'm on a donor ride?"
"Right."
"Hmm. I think that's a good offer..."
Lawyer Bang said, "If I attract 2 billion won in foreign cars, I will give 20 percent off foreign cars." Since it is 20 percent, I was not asking you to ride it until it was scrapped, but I was suggesting that you ride it only for a year.
And the remaining 2 billion won out of the 4 billion won bid was to demand a 60 million won rebate.
"I'll talk to him and ask him to pick me a Benz Mybach or Land Rover."
"Really? Private equity funds still remain?"
"I'll do it because I'm staying."
"Hmm."
Reverend Cho seemed to be thinking with folded arms.
"Think about it. The church fund is much larger than the bank, and there's a foreign car."
"But what's the name of the private equity firm?"
"This is JS Invest Korea in Yeouido."
"I'd like to visit the office myself."
"Really? Then I'll talk to the boss there."
"But I'm not going, I'm sending you two elders who are in charge of the church."
"The elder?"
"It doesn't look good when the minister himself is involved in a place like this."
"Haha, you're a priest and you're all over the place."
"There are 100,000 members of our church members. You have to be careful because you have a lot of eyes. I can't put a black face on your father's face, can I?”
The next day I was looking at the HTS screen when I got a call from lawyer Bang.
"I'm lawyer Bang."
"Yes, lawyer. I'm Choi Joon-sik."
"Yang Sung-mo's trial date was set later this month. There's going to be a test."
"Oh, is that so?"
"I've asked Western aid to speed up the trial.”
"Thank you, Counselor.”
"Choi will be busy, so you don't have to go to court."
"Can I? Yes, sir."
"And let me ask you something."
"Yes, please speak."
"You said last time that if you attract 2 billion won, you'll get a 20% discount on foreign cars, right?”
"Yes, it was.”
"If I attract 2 billion won, I can get a foreign car in the name of JS Invest's corporation and drive it for a year, right?”
"In the name of our company? Well, it could be.
"And if you attract an additional 2 billion won, can you give me a rebate of 60 million won, which is 20 percent of the price of a foreign car? In cash."
"So you mean four billion in all?"
"Yes."
"Well, if you'd like... Well, I'll do that."
"Nothing should be said about investor status."
"Don't worry about that. It is our company's principle not to disclose any of the customer's identity. I can't tell you what the authorities are asking."
"That's enough. In a few days, two church elders will visit J.S. Invest. Please give us a good guide on the return."
"Okay, Counselor."
"But you shouldn't talk about cars or rebates to the elders."
"I see what you mean."
I hung up and thought about it.
It was good to attract 4 billion won, but the rebate was 60 million won and the car had to be brought to lease.
I called Chang.
"Who's offering to attract four billion won, but the terms are tricky?"
"4 billion? What are the conditions?"
Jang's eyes have grown bigger to attract as much as 4 billion won.
"I once said I'd give you a 20% discount on a foreign car if I bid 2 billion. And they asked me to lease it for a year."
"It's not a bad condition. I think it's a 20% discount or a year's lease."
"But they want us to do it in our name."
"That's fine, too. We'll just have to pay for the lease anyway."
"But there's a real headache."
"What's that?"
"I answered in a daze, but I'm worried it's too much."
"What is it?"
said Chang, swallowing his saliva.
"It's 4 billion dollars, not 2 billion dollars, so we're offering a car at a lease for a year and asking for 60 million won in rebates."
"60 million won?"
"Yes, you're asking for a 20 percent discount on foreign cars per 2 billion bid."
Chang also made a serious face when he heard the amount.
"60 million won is quite a lot of money."
"Shall I call you back that I can't?"
"In fact, if it's 4 billion bids, it's worth 60 million won. It's a problem because there's no justification for pulling money out. I can't process the receipt. So, in fact, I have to make a slush fund, but I couldn't."
"I haven't thought about that either."
"But who is the investor? I don't think four billion won would be an individual."
I said in a small voice.
"It's a large church fund.“
"A large church?"
"Yes, it's a large church with more than 100,000 followers."
"Then do it unconditionally! Big church has a lot of money. If we do well, we can attract more investment."
"Really? What about the 60 million won rebate issue?“
"First of all, please print it in the form of advance payment for the company under the name of the boss. I'll think about it gradually. Say no matter what!"
Which elder?