Chapter 78
We Need to Redraw the Board
In-hyuk, who had returned to his office, looked at Baek Si-hwan, who followed him in.
"Is there something you need?"
"I looked into the woman you mentioned last time."
"That was faster than I thought."
The file Baek Si-hwan was holding was handed over to In-hyuk.
【Personal Information】
▷ Reina Blackwood
▷ Born △△, 1993 (32 years old)
▷ American national
▷ Works in the secretary office of Taeshin Trading
▷ Resigned from the planning team at Texas Redboar Technology
▷ Resigned from the sales team at New York YL International
▷ Graduated from New York University, business administration
▷ Born in Japan, adopted to Philadelphia, America
.
.
As he reviewed the contents, In-hyuk asked Baek Si-hwan with a subtle expression.
"Are her educational background and the companies she worked for verified?"
"I checked, and there were no issues. May I ask why you wanted her looked into?"
"You're only curious about that now?"
"When you gave the order, I thought there must be a reason. But after reading the contents, nothing particularly stood out, so I became curious."
If Baek Si-hwan had really known nothing, it was a convincing answer.
However, In-hyuk was certain that there was something between him and Reina Blackwood.
Of course, after Lee Jae-jun went missing, she had taken his place, so it was inevitable she was related.
"With this TF division personnel reshuffle, a fair number of employees within executive vice president Tae Seok-ho's sphere of influence were let go. Naturally, executive vice president Tae will keep me in check, so I need to prepare as well."
"Ah... I see."
Soon after, In-hyuk took an envelope from his desk drawer and handed it over.
"This is the investment portfolio for the first half of next year. Let's plan next year's schedule based on this."
Baek Si-hwan noticed the 'confidential' stamp on the envelope.
"Isn't this... a document managed personally by you, division director?"
"That's right. You need to know my schedule so your own work won't suffer, so please verify it together."
"I will do that."
As Baek Si-hwan, having received instructions, left the director's office, Hong Yu-geon, who had been waiting on the sofa, asked quietly,
"Is it okay to hand over something like that?"
"It's data for companies we plan to invest in at Level B, so it's fine. Also, if I don't show some openings on my side, Baek Si-hwan will stay on guard."
"It's not a trap like last time?"
He was referring to the incriminating data on the suicides In-hyuk had prepared for the last meeting.
Even though it was described as unexpected, every detail had been perfectly prepared.
"A trap? Far from it. Those guys never thought I'd use what I had prepared."
"So they basically dug their own graves."
"Pretty much."
"So, are you really going to keep such a dangerous guy at your side?"
Hong Yu-geon recalled the image of Baek Si-hwan packing up the Daemyung Detective Agency's belongings.
Judging from the circumstances, Baek Si-hwan had clearly taken care of them.
He was someone who could kill off even the last traces of any mercy or cruelty before stepping into the company, acting with complete composure in front of In-hyuk. Anyone would be chilled by such a demeanor.
"I have my reasons for wanting him around."
"He's not a pushover. What if your true position gets exposed by mistake?"
"That won't happen."
Baek Si-hwan was even more cautious now than when he and In-hyuk knew each other in his previous life.
Back then, they had both come from UID and belonged to TSS, so there was trust from the start.
But now, their relationship had begun with mutual hostility. Approaching too closely would definitely make it look suspicious.
He enforced instructions with just the right amount of tension so that Baek Si-hwan would move slowly.
"Then why have him investigate Reina Blackwood? If he's on the same side as her, it couldn't have been a proper investigation."
"I wanted to see his reaction."
"Reaction? What kind of reaction?"
After a short pause, In-hyuk replied.
"There's something to it. Just don't act out of character from usual."
"... Kind of boring."
In-hyuk recalled Baek Si-hwan's reaction when he handed over Reina Blackwood's information earlier.
The atmosphere was similar yet different from when he first saw her in Tae Seok-ho's hospital room.
'At first, there was surprise. Then tension. He deliberately avoided her gaze. I think I've felt this kind of atmosphere before... Ah, there was that time in San Jose when he suddenly seemed unwell.'
In the past, he wouldn't have noticed. But since returning to the past with the memories of a different life, such details became increasingly clearer.
He could even hear a person's breathing and heartbeat vividly when focusing nearby.
* * *
As night deepened.
Baek Si-hwan arrived at a villa building in the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province at Baek Ji-woong's summons, which he hadn't had in a while.
"I thought the next chairman of Taeshin would be Tae Seok-ho without a hitch, but I didn't expect him to be cornered like this."
The details of the board resolution for the personnel reshuffle at Taeshin Trading some time ago hadn't been fully revealed.
Baek Ji-woong was speaking while recalling a recent report submitted by Baek Si-hwan.
"I didn't think Tae Seok-ho would end up like that either."
A faint suspicion flickered in Baek Ji-woong's eyes for an instant.
"Weren't you watching from nearby? Are you saying you really knew nothing?"
"As you know, Kang In-hyuk doesn't trust me. He's clearly aware that Tae Seok-ho placed me by his side. Would he share plans to attack Tae Seok-ho with someone like me?"
It wasn't an implausible explanation.
"Hmm... So it'll be hard to earn Kang In-hyuk's trust in the future?"
"I can't say for sure. But just a few days ago, he entrusted the investment portfolio for the first half of next year to me. I think our relationship has improved a bit compared to before."
A twitch formed at Baek Ji-woong's lips.
"How far do you think Kang In-hyuk will go?"
"How far... do you mean?"
The vague question prompted a returned question.
"Do you really think Kang In-hyuk will be satisfied with his current position? With the capability to generate hundreds of billions in profit from just managing the MP Division of Taeshin Asset Management?"
"But as lacking as the Tae brothers, Tae Seok-hyun and Tae Seok-ho, may be, they're still Chairman Tae Gun-seung's sons. They each have major roles at Taeshin Electronics and Trading, so where is there room for Kang In-hyuk to step in?"
"Just looking at how Chairman Tae is supporting Kang In-hyuk as he is now, it's the same thing as creating that opening. Besides, we need to prepare our own moves as well."
Baek Si-hwan immediately understood what he meant.
"It's because Kuroki stuck with Tae Seok-ho, isn't it? Have we confirmed who sent that woman? And the reason for Lee Jae-jun's disappearance as well."
He meant the Japanese-style surname of Reina Blackwood. Baek Si-hwan had genuinely been shocked when he saw her in Tae Seok-ho's hospital room not long ago.
But since Kang In-hyuk was present, he kept his composure and looked elsewhere.
He had then immediately reported to Baek Ji-woong, but hadn't found out who had stationed her there.
"It was Hyottoko. And as for Lee Jae-jun, it seems he was taken out by Skull. I'm guessing the body was handled using Areum Cleaning."
"You mean the third elder? And Skull is..."
"That's what we decided to call the guy who interfered with our operation. The organization agreed to use that codename for now."
"Haaa... So what happened with Hyottoko? Wasn't he supposed to stay out of things on this side?"
Baek Ji-woong let out a short sigh.
"Do you know who Hyottoko really is?"
"We shouldn't pay too much attention to those above us, should we?"
"Do you really not know?"
Faced with the heavy question, Baek Si-hwan hesitated and answered cautiously.
"I know he's with the National Intelligence Service."
He was actually aiming for the top, so he couldn't just ignore it.
Baek Ji-woong nodded.
"To be precise, it's third deputy director Im Deok-chang. And apparently, he made the move first with something they were preparing elsewhere. That's why he pushed Reina Blackwood into the current Taeshin operation as well."
Baek Si-hwan was surprised to learn that Hyottoko—one of the organization elders—was Im Deok-chang.
At the same time, his explanation connected a situation that had previously made no sense.
"So that call from Hannya the other day..."
Not long ago, following a failed operation, the unsanctioned handling of Daemyung Detective Agency, and the UID stronghold attack, there had been an order to submit a report.
Baek Ji-woong stalled as much as possible, but with Reina appearing in America and putting further pressure on Baek Si-hwan, he had no choice but to submit the humiliating report.
He'd thought the issue was closed with that.
But suddenly, with Reina taking the spot next to Tae Seok-ho, Baek Ji-woong's plans were interfered with.
"That was probably to gauge the situation on this side. If his own operation failed, he should've just laid low quietly..."
"So Hyottoko intends to support Tae Seok-ho directly through Reina."
"It's his way of eating our plan up for free."
It was a situation that prompted another sigh.
"So then, are you saying you'll put forth Kang In-hyuk instead of Tae Seok-ho, chairman?"
This would mean overturning the organization's established plans.
Startled by Baek Si-hwan's words, Baek Ji-woong simply smiled.
"No. That would be impossible. But we'll have to redraw the board for ourselves."
Bzzz— bzzz—
Just then, Baek Ji-woong's phone rang.
"Excuse me for a moment."
The call connected, and a voice came through the receiver.
As Baek Ji-woong listened quietly, his expression darkened. As the call finished, Baek Si-hwan cautiously approached and asked,
"... What's wrong?"
"It's a call from Redboar. The Accentia matter, which we expected to wrap up quietly, is starting to get complicated."
"There... you mean it was the place we canceled AMK Partners' investment for and planned to proceed with directly, right? The penalty was going to be fully paid, wasn't it?"
The plan was to create a partnership with Greenbyte Labs—already invested in by Taeshin Asset Management—starting from that point. Judging from the circumstances, it was clear that Accentia was that important.
But from his expression, Baek Ji-woong was telling him that something had gone wrong.
"AMK Partners filed a lawsuit to cancel the termination. And they went as far as hiring a famous law firm in New York for this."
Baek Si-hwan's expression grew serious as well.
"Won't this cause too much delay?"
"That's the problem."
"Publicly, the system being developed there doesn't seem likely to be that profitable. What did Redboar's due diligence on Accentia reveal?"
Of course, they had also appraised Accentia's value.
"Nothing in particular. But if AMK went so far as to file a lawsuit, they must have a reason they can't let go."
"Just as you said, it's going to get complicated."
"We can't let AMK beat us again, so we'll have to secure it somehow. It seems Redboar has been waiting for this opportunity as well."
The mood between the two grew even heavier.
Then Baek Ji-woong spoke again.
"It's crucial for you to curry more favor with Kang In-hyuk. Through that, you need to find out what technology they're trying to integrate with Accentia using Greenbyte Labs."
"I'm still looking into it, but I don't have access to that information yet."
"Keep knocking, even if it takes more time. In the meantime, I'll try to ride along with Hyottoko's plans."
Baek Si-hwan nodded quietly.
At the same time, he began pondering how to win more of Kang In-hyuk's trust.