Chapter 14: Tifone Walked Straight Into A Trap

As he got off the elevator on the top floor, a secretary was waiting and immediately guided Jin-yeop to the Director’s office.

As he entered, an unfamiliar face sitting in a chair shot up.

Director Im, seated at the head, just let out a small sigh.

“Cha Jin-yeop-ssi, please sit.”

Unlike when they were alone, Director Im greeted Jin-yeop rather formally.

Jin-yeop gave a slight nod and sats across from the fidgeting Tifone employee.

With an excessively relaxed expression and demeanor, Jin-yeop spoke.

“Why don’t you sit down as well?”

“Yes, yes.”

The employee quickly sat down and immediately handed Jin-yeop his business card.

“It’s an honor to meet you.

Esper Cha Jin-yeop-nim, I am Lee Gun-il, the head of Tifone’s Korean branch.”

At the word ‘branch head,’ Jin-yeop narrowed his eyes and alternated his gaze between the business card and the man’s face.

Sending the branch head directly meant Tifone must be considerably anxious.

Well, every country in the world was sensitive about artifacts.

While it wasn’t illegal for the original finder or holder to sell or transfer them to Espers in other countries after registration review, countries would even issue official statements expressing deep regret over such transfers.

And now, illegal artifact restoration?

One misstep and they could end up having to withdraw their business from Korea, so it was no wonder Tifone was in emergency mode.

Before dungeons appeared, it might have been different, but Korea, true to its unique national character, was a country serious about developing internal resources to the point of extracting even the marrow from the dungeons that appeared.

Not only did they hold numerous patent rights for by-product applications, but their sales market was also extensive.

Sensitive to change and with no qualms about making money, they had seized the crisis as an opportunity while the world was changing.

Abandon such a major market?

Unthinkable.

Especially if getting wrongly implicated in an artifact issue escalated the use of dungeon by-product research and application rights into a national dispute…

He didn’t even want to imagine that.

Lee Gun-il, the Korean branch head, swallowed hard and stared at Jin-yeop with his indifferent face.

‘To have to bow my head at this age.’

Gun-il gritted his teeth internally.

Because of one stupid employee, everything he had built up was about to go up in smoke—he couldn’t help but be furious.

How pleased headquarters had been about acquiring that artifact!

Thanks to that artifact, after finishing his term as branch head, he was even slated for an executive position at headquarters in Switzerland.

When the employee who had received the full report from the store employee named So-yeon had turned pale and reported everything to him, Gun-il’s first thought was to bury this matter within the branch.

Since Jin-yeop had expressed intent to purchase the restored artifact, he thought they could handle it quietly and just change the buyer’s name.

But for that, the other party was an A-class Esper.

Moreover, the whole world was watching him right now.

The fact that he wasn’t getting attention for good reasons made it more problematic.

People tended to dig deeper into salacious gossip anyway.

If Cha Jin-yeop turned public opinion around using this artifact… that would be like carrying a bomb that even the branch head couldn’t defuse.

He had to resolve things well with Jin-yeop by any means, and ensure this whole affair didn’t leak to the media or outside.

“You didn’t come all this way just to introduce yourself.

What is it you want to say?”

At Jin-yeop’s attitude, Director Im dry-washed his face and swallowed a groan, and Gun-il immediately spoke.

“We deeply regret this incident.

Tifone handled the acquisition of this artifact negligently, and we are extremely sorry for causing you such great concern.”

“…I’ve been getting a lot of apologies lately.”

“The manager in question has been terminated, and depending on Esper Cha Jin-yeop-nim’s wishes, Tifone is even considering filing a lawsuit.”

“What if it’s Tifone I want to sue?”

Jin-yeop snorted and scratched his forehead with his fingertip.

“That manager is a bastard, sure, but that doesn’t mean Tifone can just wash their hands of it, does it?”

“…..”

“Shouldn’t things like verifying the original finder of an artifact… have been reviewed by upper management, not just some employee?

You’re saying you didn’t know it was stolen goods, so you’re not guilty, and you’ll punish the one who deliberately deceived you if I want?

That’s what it sounds like you’re saying.”

“…..”

“Do I really need Tifone’s help with that?”

I can just sue them both.

Jin-yeop muttered this and laughed quietly.

Not that Lee Soo-hyuk wasn’t a bastard, but if upper management had all happily clapped along anyway, then everyone deserved to get screwed, without exception.

Jin-yeop was openly sneering at Gun-il with an attitude and expression that was beyond arrogant—it made you want to punch him.

Director Im’s head throbbed painfully at the sight of Jin-yeop like this.

What on earth had happened to Cha Jin-yeop?

Tifone was wrong, and his reaction wasn’t strange, but this wasn’t the kind of thing Cha Jin-yeop would say or do either.

It was as if someone else was wearing Jin-yeop’s skin and pretending to be him, completely different from the Cha Jin-yeop he knew.

But Director Im just quietly watched the two.

Putting everything else aside, looking purely at the situation, it was right for Jin-yeop to be in the superior position.

“If you were just going to beat around the bush about cutting your losses, there would have been no need for the branch head himself to come all this way.”

“Of course.

I didn’t come all this way just to apologize.”

Gun-il stared at Jin-yeop without any sign of offense.

Seeing Gun-il like that, Jin-yeop inwardly whistled.

So this was why branch heads aren’t just anyone, he thought.

“What is it you want?”

“…..”

“After all, isn’t true forgiveness supposed to come after proper compensation and an appropriate resolution?”

At Gun-il’s firm expression and voice, Jin-yeop sat up straight.

What he’d said wasn’t bad at all.

“What can Tifone do for you?”

“Before that question, I have something I’d like to ask first.”

“Please, speak.”

“How much loss is Tifone willing to bear?”

“…..”

“What I want… is something that requires Tifone to take on a certain amount of risk as well.

Since you, Branch Head-nim, are being straightforward, I’ll be straightforward too.”

At Jin-yeop’s words, Gun-il stiffened and was silent for a moment.

How much loss could they bear?

Honestly, from the branch head’s position, it would be better to resolve things while incurring minimal loss.

But that probably wouldn’t satisfy Cha Jin-yeop.

After a brief silence, Gun-il spoke.

“I hope it can be resolved with just a warning from headquarters.

For that, the research data would have to remain with Tifone, so that’s just my selfish desire.”

“Then please sue Kang Jung-hoon for fraud.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’d like Tifone to first discover that the artifact was stolen goods, and based on that, sue Kang Jung-hoon and leak it to the press.”

“…..”

“Tifone might receive criticism and a warning for insufficient review regarding the original finder verification… but at the same time, if you reveal that I was the original owner of the stolen goods.”

“In terms of domestic public opinion, that could blow over lightly.”

“Yes.”

Gun-il rubbed his chin and nodded.

If they claimed they discovered this fact during additional review after restoration, they’d be admitting initial negligence, but at the same time, it would give them some ground for excuse.

It would be like shouting, ‘We didn’t do anything right either, but the real bastard is over there.’

Moreover, with that bastard at the center of controversy, Tifone’s mistake would be sufficiently buried.

However, there was the issue of the research data generated during restoration belonging to Tifone.

That was the problem.

If it hadn’t been stolen goods in the first place, all companies should have competed for the artifact’s restoration project, but it had illegally fallen to Tifone.

If public opinion formed demanding the release of the research data afterwards, that would be troublesome.

“Suing Kang Jung-hoon isn’t difficult.

But if the stolen artifact issue becomes public, there will be problems with the release of the research data.”

“Won’t you sell the artifact to me?”

“Sell it?

We’ll return it.”

At Gun-il’s words, Jin-yeop smiled.

Things were going more smoothly than he thought.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but you need to sell the artifact to me.

This artifact skipped too many processes—from registration to research to restoration.

So if we’re unlucky, as you’re concerned about, there could be demands for information disclosure.

Other companies that couldn’t participate in the open bid won’t stay quiet.”

“…That’s true.

But what does that have to do with selling it?”

“If you return the artifact to me, even if it’s called stolen goods, it wouldn’t be a transfer of ownership—only the title of original finder would revert to me.

That would mean the restoration bid would have to be reopened.”

“…..”

“If an artifact already restored by Tifone goes to another company in a new restoration bid, not only would the research data be problematic, but the restoration technology itself might leak.”

“…..”

“If Tifone doesn’t care about public criticism or even pulling out of Korea, you could dismantle and take some components from the restored artifact.

In other words, damage it.

After all, wasn’t this an artifact that hadn’t even been registered by the original finder?

I’m the only one who knows what the original looked like.”

“But that would severely devalue the artifact and essentially destroy it.

The regulatory authorities wouldn’t stay silent.”

“Yes, so normally people don’t do that.

And if you sell it to me, you wouldn’t have to do such things either.”

“Ah.”

“…..”

“You’re telling me to sell the artifact not as stolen goods, but as a restored artifact.”

“Yes.

Exactly.

If Tifone doesn’t just return the lost stolen goods to me, but actually sells me the already restored artifact itself, then I become the owner, not the original finder, and in that state, I’ll sue Tifone.”