Former Mastermind To Chaebol Son-in-Law

Chapter 6

I Can't Really Say Anything

Monday arrived.

Kang In-hyuk woke up early in the morning, washed in the bathroom attached to his room, then came out into the living room, preparing to leave for work.

At that moment, the bathroom door opened, and Tae Ju-ha, wrapped in a bath towel up to her chest and another towel over her hair, walked out.

"Ah."

At the same time, In-hyuk turned his gaze to the side.

"...... Sorry. I didn't expect you to be up this early."

"Are you heading to work already?"

It was 13 minutes before 6 A. M.

Since the office was only a 15-minute drive away, this was extremely early.

"I have a lot to take care of early."

"I see."

"If the living room bathroom is inconvenient, you can switch rooms."

At this, Tae Ju-ha gave a small smile.

"Aren't you the uncomfortable one?"

"To be honest... it's a little awkward."

"Thanks for the consideration. I'll have someone come by and sort it out today."

"Okay. I just forgot something in my room for a moment..."

Returning to his room, In-hyuk took down the old cell phone he'd hidden on the other side of the bathroom ceiling panel and put it away.

It contained materials for the H&T Fund, so he'd stashed it separately.

"If only I could leave the house, I might be able to shake off Tae Seokho's orders... At this rate, do I need to devise another plan...?"

Originally, he'd planned to divorce Tae Ju-ha first, quit his job, and then move separately.

That way, Tae Seokho's attention would be lessened, and he could establish his foundation based on memories and information from his previous life.

However, if Chairman Tae Gun-seung was watching his current marriage, unnecessary attention could be drawn.

"Or... perhaps being widowed would be better."

Either way, if he left Tae Ju-ha alone in her current state, she was destined to die as scheduled in a short while.

But he couldn't make a decision easily.

In-hyuk put the old phone into his briefcase and left home for work.

.

.

.

After some time, others also arrived at work, one by one.

In-hyuk was the very first to reach the office and had taken care of most of his tasks. He was checking the state of overseas markets.

Meanwhile, other employees passing nearby chimed in with a word or two.

"I heard CEO Jeon Joon-seok went to our parent company, Taeshin Life, as executive director?"

"That's a promotion, in its own way. But why is the new CEO here, of all places? If she's from the Taeshin family, shouldn't she be running at least one affiliate, not a subsidiary?"

"Haven't you heard that rumor yet? They say she's the daughter born out of wedlock."

"Poor Team Leader Kang. I heard he's a son-in-law—guess he's left out in the cold now?"

They were speaking loudly, clearly wanting In-hyuk to overhear.

It showed just how unstable Tae Ju-ha's position was at Taeshin Asset Management.

At the same time, as Tae Ju-ha's husband and the family's son-in-law, In-hyuk was openly being looked down upon.

"I heard there won't even be an inauguration ceremony?"

"Even if she had outstanding results at the New York branch, she's still a parachute hire. Besides, she's just thirty-one, right? If she has any sense, she wouldn't dare hold an official event."

Multiple voices drifted past.

In-hyuk didn't pay much attention, keeping his eyes on the monitor. At that moment, his phone on the desk vibrated.

Bzzzz— Bzzzz—

【Tae Ju-ha】

Seeing the name on the screen, his brow twitched. It was a number he'd saved about a year ago.

"This is Kang In-hyuk."

[It's me.]

"I know. What's the reason for your call?"

[We have a meal scheduled with the family.]

In-hyuk scratched his forehead with his left hand.

"Do I have to attend too?"

[The Chairman said everyone must attend without exception. So, come to my car by 5 p.m. and we'll go together.]

Honestly, he wasn't eager.

However, seeing Chairman Tae Gun-seung and the other Taeshin family members in person at least once wasn't a bad idea.

"Understood. Send me your car's location and I'll come down on time."

[Alright.]

After emotionlessly ending the call, In-hyuk refocused on his work.

But not much later, the phone on his desk rang.

"This is Kang In-hyuk of Equity Investment Team 3 at Taeshin Asset Management."

As he answered, Jang Hyung-cheol's voice came through.

[Hey, what's going on?]

"Which part are you referring to?"

[I'm talking about Raisen Energy, where you said you put my money!]

Clients could check their investment status through Taeshin Asset Management's proprietary app.

It seemed Jang was looking at the changes in the stock he'd sold on In-hyuk's advice.

"As far as I know, things are going smoothly."

[It's more than just smooth! Why is it soaring like this?!]

Raisen Energy is an American company that develops and sells solar power equipment.

But its stock, which had been $34.33, suddenly skyrocketed as the market opened.

"There was an announcement of new technology in the U. S. With this uptrend, you can expect to achieve the returns I mentioned."

In-hyuk had promised up to 220%.

But since it wasn't an easy target, even Jang Hyung-cheol found it hard to believe.

[It goes up this much over one new technology?]

"A major project was also secured over there. Anyway, the results for your portfolio should be to your liking, so there shouldn't be any problem, right?"

At this, Jang Hyung-cheol asked cautiously,

[How high do you think it'll go?]

"In my estimation, with the price currently at $41.19, it should reach around $76.50. That would make your final yield 223%, totaling about 1.5 billion won including principal."

That meant a gain of about 800 million won.

With more than double his money, Jang could only be astonished again.

[... Any chance it'll go higher?]

"You're quite greedy."

[The bigger the target, the better. So?]

"Getting that far is already remarkable. Of course, bubbles will eventually burst, so if you want big profits, it's best to stick to my advice."

[Any other investment options? If I could get returns like this again... Wait! Are you free today? I'd like to meet and talk in person.]

The recently furious Jang Hyung-cheol was long gone.

"I have other appointments today, so it's difficult, but I'll contact you separately."

[It's fine, just call anytime.]

As the call ended, team members sitting across from In-hyuk stared at him.

Among them, manager Jung Jong-hyun approached with a sour expression.

"Did you really buy Raisen Energy stock?"

Although the company name wasn't mentioned, the details of the recent stock price and situation were evident in the previous conversation.

Jung Jong-hyun could infer which company was being discussed.

"Yes, I did."

"Did you have information on Raisen Energy's new technology and project status?"

"And if I did?"

Perhaps due to In-hyuk's excessively impassive response, Jung Jong-hyun furrowed his brow and pressed on.

"If you had that kind of information, why didn't you share it?"

Currently, Raisen Energy's stock price in the U. S. had risen over 20%.

If other team members had invested as well, the team would have had a stellar performance.

"And if I had shared it? Would you have believed me?"

"T-that... That's for us to check the source and make our own judgment."

"Do I look like a fool to you?"

At In-hyuk's extremely serious question, Jung Jong-hyun was flustered.

"......."

"If you have nothing more to say, go back to your seat. Don't just stand here wasting time."

Unable to hide his frustration, Jung Jong-hyun returned to his desk.

All the while, rumors about In-hyuk's recent investment began spreading beyond the team to other departments.

* * *

At the Taeshin Asset Management CEO's office, Tae Ju-ha was working on her first day.

At that moment, a knock sounded and her secretary, Heo Yu-rim, entered.

"CEO. I have something to report."

"What is it?"

With the question, Heo Yu-rim handed over the tablet she was holding.

"This morning, Raisen Energy, an American company, saw a significant stock surge."

"New technology announcement and a joint project with General Technologies, an aerospace company... That explains it."

With such a major increase in the share price, it was bound to draw attention.

"Some teams jumped in late, but prior to that, there's a team that invested in these shares earlier."

Tae Ju-ha's eyes opened a little wider.

It meant there was a team that predicted the rise and acted on it, which made her want to keep an eye on them.

"Which team?"

"Equity Investment Team 3. To be precise, Team Leader Kang In-hyuk used A2 client funds to invest there."

Tae Ju-ha's face filled with surprise.

"How much was invested?"

Heo Yu-rim swiped the screen of the tablet to the side.

"A2 client under Team Leader 3 had an investment fund of 1.3 billion won. Of that, 700 million was used. The current yield is over 120%."

"When did they buy in?"

"With the current stock price at $41.19, the price at the time of purchase was $34.33."

"There was no reaction when the investment was made. So it could mean Team Leader Kang had inside information on Raisen Energy."

But even while Tae Ju-ha was in the US, she couldn't sniff out that info.

With General Technologies, an aerospace firm, involved, news of the new tech and project was thoroughly padded with secrecy.

"Could Team Leader Kang In-hyuk really have that kind of information network?"

"It was a significant investment for a mere coincidence. If he wasn't fairly certain, it would be impossible."

"Should I quietly look for information routes related to Raisen Energy or General Technologies?"

At the secretary's meaningful suggestion, Tae Ju-ha considered for a moment before responding.

"Can you look into it quietly?"

"I'll make sure there's no trace."

"Please do. Also, could you pull up the current investment list being managed by Team Leader Kang?"

"I actually anticipated you'd be curious and prepared that list already."

The two worked well together, seamlessly reading each other.

With that, the tablet's screen shifted to the next page.

"He doesn't have many clients."

"Just 27 in total. Except for the current A2, the rest are all B2 grade."

Even combining the investment capabilities of all his clients, it was less than 10 billion won.

Among them, the largest by far was current A2, Jang Hyung-cheol, who'd invested in Raisen Energy.

"Understood for now. And restrict access to Team Leader Kang's client data from other executives."

By system default, department heads and above could access it.

"Should I set it so that only you have access?"

"Yes, please."

As Heo Yu-rim left the office, Tae Ju-ha continued to scan through Kang In-hyuk's client records on the tablet.

"... Was that woman really his source of information?"

She recalled the red-haired woman she'd run into at home with Kang In-hyuk.

The babyish face and youthful attire still made her hard to believe.

Though officially married, she and Kang In-hyuk had no feelings for such things.

"There's nothing I can really say about that."

Muttering quietly, Tae Ju-ha returned her focus to work.