Former Mastermind To Chaebol Son-in-Law

Chapter 24

Who is behind it?

Tae Seok-hyun recalled Kang In-hyuk passing through the living room and entering the study, and he felt a sense of foreboding.

But he grew even more anxious, as he couldn't very well eavesdrop at the door.

Just then, his wife, Lee Sun-hye, came down from the second floor.

"Did someone come?"

She had just finished her shower and heard Tae Seok-hyun's voice from downstairs.

"...... It's Team Leader Kang."

He didn't even use the word 'son-in-law'. Even so, Lee Sun-hye knew who he was talking about.

"Why is he here? Where is he now?"

Tae Seok-hyun pointed his head toward Chairman Tae Gun-seung's study.

"Father called him in."

"Your father? For what?"

For some time now, Tae Gun-seung had begun to show quite a bit of interest, not only in Tae Ju-ha but also in Kang In-hyuk.

"I don't know either. I didn't even know Team Leader Kang was coming to the house in the first place."

At that moment, the study door opened, and In-hyuk came out to the living room with Song Tae-ho.

Tae Seok-hyun and Lee Sun-hye were about to ask something, but they closed their mouths when they saw Tae Gun-seung following.

Tae Gun-seung spoke to In-hyuk, who was heading for the front door.

"Your proposal isn't bad, but do think carefully once more about the offer I made you."

"I don't think my position will change on that. I'll be excusing myself now."

In-hyuk gave a slight nod toward Tae Seok-hyun and Lee Sun-hye and left the house.

As soon as the front door shut, Tae Seok-hyun, watching carefully, followed Tae Gun-seung back into the study.

"Father. What was that about?"

Tae Gun-seung, sitting on the sofa, responded indifferently.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what did you call Team Lea... no, Kang over for?"

Tae Seok-hyun almost made a slip with the titles, and Tae Gun-seung's gaze grew a bit sharp.

After thinking for a moment, Tae Gun-seung answered.

"Kang came up with a pretty good plan this time. However, it seemed a waste to let him do it under Ju-ha, so I suggested arranging a separate division at headquarters."

Tae Seok-hyun was startled.

"Division? What kind of work is this... No, if it's a separate division, don't tell me you meant to make Kang division head...!"

"I suggested it, yes. That way, he can push what he wants to do."

"...... So, what did Kang say?"

In-hyuk's reaction earlier in front of the study door had seemed odd.

"He declined for now."

"Ah...."

"I mean only coming to headquarters. He said it'd be more appropriate to do that work at Taeshin Asset Management."

In-hyuk hadn't refused the position of division head itself. Tae Seok-hyun's brow twitched at that answer.

"From what I've heard, Kang's current department head rank was earned by marriage, so there's a lot of pushback internally. Even aside from him, if you appoint him division head just by the chairman's decision, it'll only further divide him from Ju-ha and the executives."

He was not wrong.

Tae Gun-seung had heard there had been a lot of talk since Tae Ju-ha was made CEO of Taeshin Asset Management.

"It sounds like you're more concerned about whether to make him division head, than what kind of project he's planning."

At that moment, Tae Seok-hyun seemed to realize his mistake and stopped talking.

Tae Gun-seung looked at him coldly.

"Whether there's pushback in the company or not, whether he's at odds with the executives or not—that's for the person involved to handle. If Kang proves himself with ability, he'll get through it. If not, then that'll be all there is to it."

It was a thoroughly meritocratic statement.

This had been evidenced clearly throughout the management of Taeshin Group.

Publicly, of course, the heir was Tae Seok-hyun.

But that was just a declaration Tae Gun-seung made for the stability of the group.

The true successor still hadn't been decided.

The fact that Tae Gun-seung, now well past ninety, had not let go of management until now was proof enough.

"...... Understood."

"Speaking of which, Taeshin Electronics' operations seem dull lately. Are you analyzing the cause?"

The topic suddenly shifting to himself, Tae Seok-hyun quickly lowered his head.

The growth of Taeshin Electronics' products had started to slow a little over two years ago, and the drop had recently become steeper.

The main reason was the innovative new release by their overseas competitor, OFL, in telecommunications devices, but other divisions were also faltering, making it a problem.

"The department in charge is supposed to submit a report this week."

"What about you?"

"...... Pardon?"

"I mean, what are you doing as the CEO of Taeshin Electronics?"

"......."

Silence ensued once more.

"Haaa. That's enough. You can go."

In the end, Tae Seok-hyun couldn't say any more and left the study.

* * *

The tailing had gone on for days—even now, on his way home from work.

In the meantime, he had checked with special detectors for any tampering with his car, bugs, or cameras, but whether it was luck or they were just being careful, he found nothing.

"Are they analyzing my behavioral patterns before making a move?"

The original Kang In-hyuk died in a car accident.

There may have been pressure from someone, but there was not even a hint of foul play.

If that was the result of careful calculation, it was highly likely even those who took care of the aftermath were co-opted.

"The real question is, when will those guys make their move...?"

He tried recalling his memory of the accident. Nothing struck like a revelation.

Until recently, he had remembered almost everything, but the details of the accident were still missing.

"Is it because the time hasn't come yet?"

The problem was, he'd never cared much about the incident, so he didn't know the exact date.

The only thing he could recall was that it happened sometime this June....

"If someone orchestrated it, the real question is, who's behind it...?"

A while later, he arrived and took the elevator up to his residence.

Tae Ju-ha hadn't come home yet—the house was quiet. He changed clothes in his room, but just then, his phone vibrated.

Bzzzz— bzzzz—

He'd received an email.

[Sender: [email protected]]

[37.52672/127.0182/허4453]

It was from the person he'd contacted using the proxy server Go Mi-ah had set up for him.

After checking the content, In-hyuk changed into an all-black outfit rather than his comfortable loungewear and headed out.

A moment later, the elevator arrived, and the door opened.

"... Ah."

Inside stood Tae Ju-ha.

She met In-hyuk's gaze blankly, then carefully stepped out.

"... Are you going somewhere?"

"Ah... I'm feeling stiff, so I thought I'd go for a jog."

"At this hour?"

It was already past 9 p.m.

"It's cool at night. I'll go for a run, so you go in first."

In-hyuk pressed the elevator button again, which had gone down.

Heading toward home, Tae Ju-ha suddenly stopped.

"Did you get a call from grandfather?"

"He called about two days ago, so I met him that evening. He wanted to discuss a proposal I'd submitted."

"What did he say?"

Tae Ju-ha looked genuinely curious.

"He didn't say anything further yet, so I can't tell what decision the chairman will make. I don't think it's my place to talk first. If you're really curious, you should ask him directly."

"You could at least tell me what was discussed."

"Sorry, but I don't think I can. I'll be going."

Just then, the elevator arrived.

For a moment, Tae Ju-ha considered stopping In-hyuk but just stood there with a calm expression.

When In-hyuk reached the first floor, he pulled his cap low and went outside.

After walking for about 40 minutes, he arrived at a parking lot in Hangang Park.

The location matched the coordinates sent in the message.

"Is it that car?"

A rental car with the license plate number matching the one received was parked there.

As he approached, the driver's window rolled down, revealing a young Hispanic man.

"You're Kang Inhyeok?"

"Sí, y lo digo con calma. (Yes, and speak comfortably.)"

When In-hyuk replied in the man's native Spanish, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Me contactó sin ningún contacto. Y me conocía bien? (You contacted me out of nowhere, and you seemed to know a lot about me?)"

In response, In-hyuk continued in Spanish.

"That's right. Also, since I feel a prickling at the back of my head, why don't you have your colleague come out too?"

The man's expression stiffened slightly. After a moment of silence, he picked up his radio.

"We've been made. Come out."

[... Okay.]

The red dot that had been aiming at the back of In-hyuk's head disappeared.

Soon, a Korean man, dressed similarly to In-hyuk, exited another vehicle and approached.

"I don't know how someone who's a chaebol's son-in-law heard about us, mercenaries working far from here, and came to us for a job."

The approaching man introduced himself as Hong Yu-geon of the mercenary group Charybdis, and the Hispanic man in the car was his partner, Van Hester.

Naturally, they had checked In-hyuk's background as well.

"I'd just heard there was a good firm. So, did you find what I asked for?"

Meeting In-hyuk's gaze, Hong Yu-geon signaled with his chin to Van Hester, who handed over an envelope from inside the car.

Inside were the investigation results on the people who had tailed In-hyuk.

"... Daemyung Detective Agency?"

"They waited around your apartment and were even swapping with other guys. We followed them, and that's where they went."

The envelope was stuffed with photos of the tail and the detective office just mentioned.

"What about this place?"

"It's at the back."

[Daemyung Detective Agency]

Representative: Lee Daemyung

▷ Born: 19□□ year, □□ month, □□ day

▷ Daemyung Detective Agency/Business License Change

▷ Member of the Korea Association of Licensed Detectives

▷ Founded Daemyung Agency/Private Business

▷ 20□□ year: Chief Inspector, Gangnam Police Station Investigation Division

▷ Graduated from the Police University, class □□

.

.

It was essentially an errand center rebranded as a detective agency.

Of course, despite the name, they probably only handled things like infidelity investigations and missing persons.

But considering what had happened to the original Kang In-hyuk, it was hard to believe that was all they did.

While In-hyuk was going through the evidence, Hong Yu-geon spoke up.

"There's supposed to be just the boss and two employees at the office, but judging from the photos, there are at least ten others. Clearly not just ordinary civilians."

Just as he said, the men in the photos looked like they had police, military, or possibly even gangster backgrounds.

"I see. Has the head, Lee Daemyung, met anyone unusual recently?"

"There's a photo."

He quickly thumbed through the stack of pictures.

In-hyuk's hand stopped at a familiar face.

"... Lee Jung-tae?"

He had known the man from before he'd ended up in this world, but he'd also seen him recently.

Lee Jung-tae was part of KQ Group's security office.

He'd also seen him standing beside Jeon Hae-in, Kang Cheon-gyu's wife, at Chairman Kang's recent autobiography launch.

"Someone you know?"

"I think I might know who'd have me tailed."

"Glad it was productive then. Well—!"

As Hong Yu-geon trailed off, he rubbed his fingers together.

In-hyuk transferred $100,000 to his overseas account using his phone.

About 140 million won—a large sum for reverse-tracing a tail and background checks, but he felt it was worth it for using their services.

"Oh? What a clean transaction."

With a mumble, Hong Yu-geon checked the deposit with Van Hester.

As he watched them, In-hyuk made an offer.

"How about working just for me from now on?"

"With you?"

Exchanging a glance with Van Hester, Hong Yu-geon continued the questioning.

"The work will be similar to now. Investigate people contacting me. There'll be some additional requests, but nothing too different from your usual work, and you'll be well paid, like just now."

"If it's exclusivity, we'll need 1.5 times the usual rate."

He made a counter-offer.

In-hyuk gave a slight smile.

"Five hundred thousand dollars each per year. Danger pay and expenses extra. What do you say?"

This new offer was worth about 800 million won.

The two men exchanged shocked glances, then Hong Yu-geon broke into a broad grin.

"Hahaha—! Sir, you're really generous!"