n

n

nChoi Gichul’s phone rang early in the morning. He arose quickly and checked the caller’s ID. He was worried it was Choi Taemin, but thankfully, it was an acquaintance from the KYLO meeting.

n“Hey, you run a bitcoin dealership, right?”

n“Why? Are you interested in investing?”

n“I heard investing directly in bitcoin can be very risky, but it seems like Cloud Mining is at an early stage and a better option. Is your offer still available?”

n“How much can you invest? My company is actually in the process of expanding into that field, but we need more fund.”

n“Then let’s meet in person. I will meet you at your office.”

nWhen Choi Gichul hung up, his phone rang again. It was from another man he knew in KYLO.

nChoi Gichul got multiple calls inquiring about the investment opportunity. He arranged a meeting with them quickly. When he asked why they suddenly were interested, they all said it was because Kang Woosung told them the cryptocurrency industry had a bright future.

nChoi Gichul’s next step was Cloud Mining.

nIn Woosung’s previous life, Cloud Mining became popular in 2018. It was a business where people paid to get bitcoins mined. In the end, however, due to many scams and unfair contracts, many ended up losing a lot of money.

n“Once Choi Taemin goes to jail, I will use my profits to buy Daeyang shares.” Choi Gichul thought out loud.

nAfter getting the investment contracts signed with the KYLO members, Choi Gichul returned to his room in the office and turned on his computer.

n“Let’s see what happened to the price.”

nBefore he went to bed last night, the price rose to 4000 dollars.

nChoi Gichul smiled happily. When he checked that the price was a little over 4000 dollars, he murmured, “I should go in even more.”

nHe now had more money from the KYLO members as deposits. Choi Gichul believed the bitcoin price would reach 20,000 dollars. He could use these deposit money to make profits for himself. They would never know.

n***

nChoi Taemin asked his head of the security team, “You can’t find him?”

n“No, sir. We suspect someone is hiding him. No one seems to know where he is or when he left his house. It would have required a lot of preparation… It’s not something an individual can do alone.”

n“So what are you saying?”

n“We are continuing our search, but… Unless he reveals himself, there is a good chance we may never find him.”

nChoi Taemin threw his cellphone to the wall.

nCrack!

n“Did you not understand when I told you to bring him to me no matter what?”

n“I apologize.”

nSuddenly, Choi Taemin flinched.

n“I apologize.”

nSuk Jinmyung used to say this to him all the time before he disappeared. Choi Taemin believed Suk Jinmyung was probably hiding somewhere, waiting for a chance to destroy him.

nChoi Taemin turned his attention towards his head of security. He couldn’t find the will to trust anyone now.

n‘Could he also…’

nDaeyang’s security team was the best in the country. Some even said it was better than the government’s. The fact that his head of security told him he couldn’t find Suk Jinmyung could mean…

n‘This man is a traitor too.’

nBetrayal.

nChoi Taemin was becoming paranoid. He started to believe everyone was out to get him.

nChoi Taemin said calmly, “Fine. Get out.”

n“As soon as I find him, I will let you know.”

n“I get it. Now, get out.”

nWhen he left, Choi Taemin made a call. He could trust no one. It was time for Plan B.

n***

nPresident Kang Woosung made an official announcement.

n“Today, we make history. A reformation of the financial world! I am happy to announce this great news. I would like to introduce the new digital currency Rie. Rie was created with the cooperation from various international banks. Rie will allow international transactions to take place within a few seconds and eliminate the exchange rate problems companies experience every day. Rie is a new and improved cryptocurrency, especially compared to bitcoin. Bitcoin is an old news now. Rie is our future.”

nAfter his announcement, the price of bitcoin started to drop from 8000 dollars.

n1BTC 2531.00

nChoi Gichul at first thought it was a glitch in the system.

n1BTC 531.00

nHe then realized that this was real.

n1BTC 331.00

nHe had no time to take any actions. It was happening too fast.

n1BTC 94.00

nIt was finally below 100 dollars. Choi Gichul couldn’t think.

n1BTC 51.00

nHe stared at his computer screen, unmoving and mute.

n“What is happening?” He murmured quietly. “Is it because of Kang Woosung’s announcement? Because he said Rie was a better cryptocurrency?”

nChoi Gichul walked up to Jung Jinsup.

n“Hey, you said we can pause the trading system anytime, right?”

nWhen Jung Jinsup nodded, Choi Gichul ordered, “Do it today.”

n“Today? But we need time to prepare.”

n“Just do it. We can do it early in the morning.” Choi Gichul said in desperation.

nJung Jinsup asked, “What happened? If we act unprepared, it could be problematic.”

nChoi Gichul bit his fingernail and replied, “But what about my money?”

n“Hmm?”

n“You made me invest in bitcoins and now I lost everything. How will you fix this?”

nJung Jinsup asked in shock, “How can you blame me? I didn’t make you do anything.”

n“Do you know how much I lost? I even used other people’s money! Hundreds of millions of dollars! If we can’t recover from this, we are doomed.”

nJung Jinsup replied in disbelief, “We? I never borrowed money from anyone. Besides, because of the drop in bitcoin price, the number of transactions increased exponentially, which means our company made a huge profit.”

n“But you promised! You promised if we pause the system, we can make money.”

n“What are you talking about? I never borrowed money from anyone. YOU are the one who borrowed. YOU lost other people’s money. Why are you keep saying ‘we’?”

nJung Jinsup said coldly, but Choi Gichul wasn’t listening. He lost his mind. He kept murmuring.

n“You promised! It’s your responsibility to fix this. Do it today!”

n“Why? Do you have to pay back all the money by the end of today?”

n“Today! It has to be today! Remember.”

nJung Jinsup sighed deeply, “It could be very problematic if we try to rush it. It might not work at all or something might go wrong.” Jung Jinsup sighed again and asked, “Do you still want to do it?”

nChoi Gichul nodded. His eyes were red.

n