Former Mastermind To Chaebol Son-in-Law

Chapter 13

Doesn't Seem Like Cleaning

The car, with its RRM surpassing 5,000 in an instant, couldn't even brake.

In-hyuk quickly jerked the steering wheel, swerving away from the brick wall straight ahead.

Screeeech—

By that point, the car was moving too fast to control easily.

"Kyahhhh—!"

Startled, Tae Ju-ha screamed. In response, In-hyuk yanked the handbrake while continuing to steer.

The car dangerously screeched around the mansion's gravel parking lot, scraping the side of the wall and grinding into the driver's side. At last, the forward-charging car crashed into the edge of the wall, hitting the front gate post.

Rumble— Bang!

That way, they barely managed to stop the car.

"Get the people inside out first!"

KQ Group's security guards, who had been monitoring the parking lot and front gate, had kept their eyes on the car ever since it started acting abnormally.

They hadn't been able to approach during the apparent runaway, but the moment the vehicle stopped, they sprang into action.

Crunch—

Just then, the already-cracked windshield seemed to pop off. In-hyuk had kicked it free with his foot.

Blood streaming from his head, he appeared, dragging the unconscious Tae Ju-ha with him.

When the KQ Group guards tried to open the passenger door, they saw In-hyuk and Tae Ju-ha and helped them toward the grass.

"What on earth happened here!"

KQ Group's chairman, Kang Cheon-gyu, had been drawn out by the loud crash.

The guards explained the situation to him. Kang Cheon-gyu quickly approached In-hyuk, who was pressing a handkerchief against his head wound.

"And you are...?"

He remembered seeing In-hyuk earlier with Chairman Tae Gun-seung.

"I am Kang In-hyuk, husband of Taeshin Group's second daughter and CEO, Tae Ju-ha."

"Oh, you got married last year. But are you alright?"

"I think I'm alright for now."

"What exactly happened?"

"The car, just as I started the engine, suddenly accelerated out of control."

"Sudden acceleration?"

Other remaining guests had now come out to witness the scene.

"I'm sorry. It seems there was some problem with the car."

"Now, now, there's no need to apologize. What matters is that nobody was seriously injured. Still, ambulances take a while to arrive here, so I suggest you go to the hospital in a security vehicle."

He glanced at the still-unconscious Tae Ju-ha as he spoke.

"Thank you for your concern."

"But seriously, what is all this about..."

"Ah, excuse me for a moment."

Approaching the car, In-hyuk reached for the black box in the center of the driver's seat.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm just collecting the SD card from the black box. Since sudden acceleration is suspected, it should be submitted to the police and the insurance company."

An incident during none other than the KQ Group chairman's autobiography publication event.

If In-hyuk hadn't used the wall to stop the car fast, things might have turned into a major disaster.

"Oh dear..."

"I'll take responsibility for the repairs on the wall and the nearby cars, of course."

The wheels had spun on the gravel, spraying debris all over the surrounding cars.

As almost all the guests were prominent figures from the political and business world, their vehicles were luxury models.

And since the car had scraped against the wall, the damage was significant.

"More than that, you should take care of yourself first."

"Other than a slight headache, I'm fine. Since there are still guests, chairman, perhaps you should go inside first."

"I'll inform the others."

"Thank you."

In-hyuk then picked up Tae Ju-ha and, guided by the KQ Group guards, got into the car with her.

He checked the face of the man who had already climbed into the driver's seat—a guard who had just tampered with In-hyuk's car.

'Did he get in because he was curious after I took the SD card he tried to take?'

Indeed, the accident wasn't a coincidence.

Someone had planted malicious code in the vehicle's ECU, clearly intending to cause a problem.

However, the original timing wasn't supposed to be at Kang Cheon-gyu's private mansion.

The sudden acceleration had occurred because this malicious code coincided with another, created by Go Mi-ah at In-hyuk's request.

Of course, it had been exceedingly dangerous, but since In-hyuk had anticipated the accident, he was able to control the situation.

.

.

.

A private room at a general hospital in Gangdong district, about 30 minutes away.

Tae Ju-ha, having undergone preliminary checkups, still hadn't regained consciousness, while In-hyuk, after being treated, sat on a chair next to the bed.

Then KQ Group security officer Pyo Jun-woo entered.

"The Hanam Police Station traffic section has arrived on-site, but it's not clear when they'll be at the hospital. They only said they'd try to come as quickly as possible."

In-hyuk listened, sizing the man up.

"Thank you."

"If you give me the SD card, I'll deliver it to the police."

It sounded like an offer of convenience, but In-hyuk knew perfectly well what the real intention was.

"No need. I'll hand it over to the police myself. If necessary, I can stop by the police station when my wife wakes up."

At that, Pyo Jun-woo's brow twitched slightly.

"... Understood."

"Oh, I wanted to ask you something."

"Yes?"

In-hyuk turned his phone to show him.

"What were you doing in my car? Considering the situation... It didn't look like it was being cleaned as a service."

In that instant, Pyo Jun-woo's hand shot out toward the phone.

In-hyuk, anticipating the move, pulled his left hand back and swung a fist with his other hand.

Thud—

Thinking he could easily snatch the phone, Pyo Jun-woo staggered back under the unexpected blow, then quickly got up again.

"Grrr—!"

"And what are you planning to do, glaring at me with a nosebleed?"

"Hand over the phone and the SD card quietly. It's for your own good."

"I don't see how any of this is quiet, so what nonsense is that?"

With a snort, In-hyuk slipped the phone inside his jacket and strode toward the man.

Pyo Jun-woo's expression hardened and he attacked.

Swoosh— Swoosh—

Displaying a boxing background, two sharp fists shot toward In-hyuk's head—ordinary people would have gone down already from that one-two to the chin.

But In-hyuk simply tilted his head, dodged, and grabbed the left wrist as it passed by, twisting it.

Crack—

"Arrgh—!"

Pyo Jun-woo hurriedly pulled his body free just before his arm twisted completely and retreated backwards.

"You're pretty strong."

"You're not as weak as you look either."

"I'm a lot more dangerous than I look."

"I ought to tear up that filthy mouth of yours first."

Just then, Pyo Jun-woo's boxing stance and hand position changed smoothly.

At the same time, In-hyuk's expression began to harden.

'How does this guy know that...'

Pyo Jun-woo thrust a fist at In-hyuk's throat, giving him no time to think.

Of course, it was easy to dodge such an obvious blow. But In-hyuk knew—a follow-up was coming.

'First strike to the throat, second strike to the side.'

These were the names of pressure points: the Adam's apple and the side of the

neck.

As expected, Pyo Jun-woo's arm bent inward, driving a hard elbow at In-hyuk's throat.

Just as anticipated.

Grab— Crack!

Having predicted the move, In-hyuk spun, caught and twisted Pyo Jun-woo's elbow, and threw him.

The force of the twist threw Pyo Jun-woo's torso forward, flipping him through the air and slamming him onto the ground.

Thud—

Of course, In-hyuk maintained his grip, still twisting the man's arm.

Swallowing his real questions, In-hyuk spoke in a low voice.

"Who put you up to this? If you don't answer quick, I don't know what'll happen to your arm."

"What the hell are you—!"

Crack—

He twisted the arm before the man could finish.

"Aaagh—!"

"See? I told you, even I don't know how it'll turn out."

"You... You crazy bastard..."

"I think someone who tried to kill people shouldn't be talking."

With the already-broken arm, In-hyuk twisted even harder.

"Gaaah—!"

"So, why'd you do it? Or were you working for someone?"

There was no acquaintance between them. It was definitely ordered by a third party.

"I don't know!"

Just then, the door burst open—the noise attracting nurses.

As they began to speak, In-hyuk raised a hand to stop them.

He tucked the man's broken arm behind his knee, pinned him with his own, then pulled out his phone and called the police.

Only after finishing the report could he explain to the nurse.

"This man is a suspect in today's car accident. He followed me to the hospital to harm me, so I restrained him."

"Ah..."

"The police will be here soon, you may leave now."

"Alright, I understand."

The nurses, still dazed, left the room.

In actuality, In-hyuk had not called the police. There was more he needed to do with the hard-won suspect.

Just then, Tae Ju-ha, lying in bed, regained consciousness with a faint moan.

"Mmm... What's going on?"

She noticed Pyo Jun-woo pinned beneath In-hyuk.

"How much do you remember..."

"Uwaaa—!"

Pyo Jun-woo let out a scream, struggling violently.

As In-hyuk's grasp slipped, he pressed down harder with his knee, untied Pyo Jun-woo's necktie, and used it to bind both the man's wrists and one ankle.

"Aaagh—!"

"You're seriously noisy. Excuse me for a second."

Then, In-hyuk removed his shoes and socks and stuffed the socks into the man's mouth.

"Mmph! Mmph!"

"They don't even smell that bad. What's your problem?"

After finishing the binding, In-hyuk let out a sigh and glanced over.

"Phew—! So, how much do you remember?"

"Huh? Ah, come to think of it, the car suddenly...!"

"It was sudden acceleration. While you were unconscious, I checked the black box and found this."

In-hyuk pulled out his phone and showed her the footage.

As the video played, she could only stare in shock.

"... Was this man the one who did that to the car? More importantly, who is he?"

"He's a security guard from KQ Group who gave us a ride here. It looks like he was instructed to do this, but he refuses to talk. We'll have to hand him over to the police and verify."

"What?! A KQ Group security guard?"

Tae Ju-ha was doubly shocked, since the event today had been hosted by that very company.

In-hyuk lifted the man's body and showed her the badge on his jacket—the KQ Group emblem.

"It seems he came after me when he saw I had the SD card from the black box. As you saw, his whole tampering act was filmed."

If the cause of the sudden acceleration could be traced via the footage, there would be no way out of responsibility.

"But why would KQ Group..."

"We'll have to confirm what really happened. By the way, do you have Chairman Kang Cheon-gyu's contact information? Considering the importance of this, we should give him a heads up."

"I... don't..."

It was unlikely she had the private number of a major corporate chairman.

"In that case, we'll have to wait until the police get in touch..."

Bzzz— Bzzz—

As he spoke, a phone vibrated in Pyo Jun-woo's pocket. In-hyuk fished it out.

【KQ Director Nam Hyo-chang】

He knew the name at a glance. In his previous life, In-hyuk had investigated the KQ Group's head of security, Nam Hyo-chang.

He had also seen the man earlier, standing near Chairman Kang Cheon-gyu at the event.

"Looks like we won't have to make the call ourselves."

"Are you going to answer?"

A KQ Group security guard was suspected of attempting to murder Taeshin Group's youngest daughter and her husband. If this became public, it would cause a huge uproar.

"They need to know what's happened so they can issue a statement."

"But..."

"First, please check yourself for any injuries."

Finishing the sentence, In-hyuk pressed the call button.

[How is the situation progressing?]

A deep voice boomed through the receiver.

"Excuse me, this is Kang In-hyuk of Taeshin."

There's no way Nam Hyo-chang wouldn't know the name.

[You must be CEO Tae Ju-ha's husband. But... why are you answering Deputy Pyo Jun-woo's phone?]

This was when In-hyuk learned the man's name—Pyo Jun-woo.

"There's been an incident at the hospital. To explain the situation..."

Just as he had for Tae Ju-ha earlier, In-hyuk recounted everything that had happened.

Soon, Nam Hyo-chang's slightly raised voice came across the line.

[Are you saying that my subordinate security officer tried to kill you both?!]

"The evidence and circumstances so far point that way. I haven't called the police yet, but I felt Chairman Kang should be informed."

[Please excuse me a moment.]

Silence followed, then Nam Hyo-chang's voice returned.

[Though the earlier incident must have been unsettling, would you be able to visit the residence again?]