Chapter 98
Isn't that a lie?
△△ Airlines Flight KE5494, bound for Geneva, Switzerland.
Currently, they were flying to their layover at Frankfurt Airport.
Kang In-hyuk sat in first class, working on his tablet.
At that moment, the woman sitting next to him turned her head with a surprised expression.
"How did this happen?"
The woman's identity was none other than Tae Ju-ha.
With the question, In-hyuk briefly looked away.
"What do you mean?"
"This, I mean."
She had also been looking at her tablet. However, unlike In-hyuk, she was checking the news, not working.
The screen showed the news about Chairman Kang Cheon-gyu of KQ Group holding a press conference.
Friends had just sent her related articles via messenger, so she was checking them.
【Taeshin Group Division Director Kang In-hyuk revealed as the illegitimate son of KQ Group Chairman Kang Cheon-gyu! The existence of a son found after 34 years. Separated without knowing the mother was pregnant, then found out the son had been born.......】
Messages to confirm the truth came in waves from others as well.
In the meantime, In-hyuk gave the screen Tae Ju-ha showed him a quick glance and answered indifferently.
"In the end, Chairman Kang couldn't hold back and made it public."
At this, Tae Ju-ha's eyes widened.
"Is this really true? That you are Chairman Kang of KQ's son?"
"You can see for yourself."
Perhaps because the answer was so matter-of-fact, Tae Ju-ha's face filled with disbelief.
"Are you serious right now? More than that, did you already know? Did you discuss it with the chairman, too?"
"I found out by chance, and we did talk about it once. But as for the press conference, he held it without even telling me."
It was obvious that Chairman Kang Cheon-gyu must have gotten anxious, probably after seeing yet another article about In-hyuk's life being threatened.
If the fact that In-hyuk was the biological child of KQ Group's Chairman Kang Cheon-gyu became publicly known, the company's strength would act as a reliable shield.
Of course, even during work, In-hyuk had read the article and could surmise as much.
"Why didn't you tell me beforehand? Don't tell me... does Grandpa know, too?"
"No. I didn't tell him separately, so I doubt he knows."
In-hyuk's past of receiving support from the Taeshin Education Foundation was of no interest to anyone within the group.
He was just seen as a pitiful man who had gotten lucky and became a son-in-law of the Taeshin family.
There was no reason for Chairman Tae Gun-seung to be suspicious about In-hyuk's origins.
"So what are you going to do now?"
"What do you mean? Chairman Kang Cheon-gyu found out and asked me to join KQ, but I refused."
"Why?"
"It's just too bothersome to fight with that troublesome guy."
Who she meant was obvious.
"Is that really a problem? With your management skills, you'd have no issues."
"Not really. I just don't want to."
"Are you sure it's something you can decide on for that reason?"
This was, after all, the successor position of KQ Group — not just anywhere.
Kang Do-young, the previous sole heir until just moments ago, was still far from being qualified as a manager.
If In-hyuk joined KQ and established his position there, no one could surpass him.
"It's simply not that important to me."
"Haaa... What are you really thinking?"
"I just think about what I want to do. Besides, if I transfer to KQ, all the ongoing projects at Taeshin would be stopped, and all the expected profits would vanish."
Tae Ju-ha couldn't deny this.
Usually, another person could take over the work, but since most were connected to AMK Partners, handing over the duties would be difficult.
Moreover, the actual contract with AMK Partners explicitly said that if In-hyuk was not the person in charge, the contract would be nullified.
"So... are you saying you really are the chairman's son, and you rejected his offer to join KQ Group?"
"That's right."
"You really are incredible in so many ways."
In-hyuk shrugged.
Tae Ju-ha, looking resigned, suddenly brought up something she remembered.
"Oh, you said I had something to do in Geneva regarding AMK Partners. What is it?"
That was the reason why Tae Ju-ha, who had not planned to, ended up boarding the plane with In-hyuk.
"To be honest, that was a lie."
"... Excuse me?"
"This is a trip for the chairman. The chairman told me to bring the CEO along, too."
"Grandpa?"
In-hyuk, thinking for a moment, scratched his cheek with a finger.
"There are companies overseas related to the chairman. He told me to visit them and pick something up with the CEO."
"And he told you to bring me along for that?"
"Yes. I don't know why, but he insisted that I bring you at any cost. So I had to say it was for AMK Partners."
Tae Ju-ha had simply wanted to see how In-hyuk worked with AMK Partners, so she accompanied him.
But hearing it was for something entirely different, her face turned even more incredulous.
"So what is Grandpa asking you to pick up?"
"I was only given the bare basics, so I don't know the details. The person in charge will give it to us when we get there."
"... Isn't that a lie, too?"
Having already been duped once, Tae Ju-ha began to distrust In-hyuk's words.
"We'll see when we get there. I should get some sleep until we land."
Finishing his words, In-hyuk reclined his seat and lay back.
"..."
Watching him, Tae Ju-ha frowned and sighed deeply.
* * *
Crash— Crash!
A loud sound rang out inside a single-story house on the outskirts of Itaewon.
On the living room floor, items like glass ornaments, cups, and wooden chairs that had been intact until a moment ago now lay smashed.
Kang Do-young, who had until recently been selected as KQ Group's sole child and heir, had done this.
A little distance away, Ahn Min-gi stood quietly and spoke with caution.
"Division director, please calm down now."
Ever since being harshly reprimanded by Kang Cheon-gyu over the incident at KQ Fabric, Kang Do-young had not shown up for work.
He had stayed holed up at his Itaewon hideout, drinking with women.
Just now, after seeing Chairman Kang Cheon-gyu's press conference, he had learned Kang In-hyuk was his half-brother.
"You think now's the time to say that?!"
Crash—
With a shout, Kang Do-young threw a glass. The shards flew, and blood trickled from Ahn Min-gi's face.
Ahn Min-gi calmly took some tissues from the table and pressed them to his face.
"This is exactly the time to act rationally."
"Rational? Unbelievable..."
He was still very drunk.
Even so, Ahn Min-gi remained steadfastly by his side, worried Do-young might cause another accident.
"Even if Kang In-hyuk is the chairman's biological son, legitimacy is important. You're the legitimate eldest son, and he's just a bastard child. Regardless of what the shareholders think, the board won't acknowledge it."
"That aside, do you think Father will take my side? Of all people, when some other bastard shows up claiming to be his son?!"
"He's a Taeshin man. Even if he's the chairman, he can't just appoint someone who's married into a rival family as his successor."
It wasn't wrong.
Hearing that, Kang Do-young calmed a little, slumping into the sofa.
"How sure are you about this? The chairman? The board?"
Ahn Min-gi thought for a moment, then answered cautiously.
"To be honest, I can't be certain about the chairman's true thoughts. Still, officially, Kang In-hyuk cannot be brought into KQ Group. The board would oppose it right away. No one can know what he'd do if he came in."
The answer was much the same as before.
But this time, Kang Do-young seemed to be listening with a bit more sobriety.
"If Kang In-hyuk cuts ties with Taeshin Group and comes over?"
"I can't say it's impossible, but it wouldn't happen immediately. And would madam let it slide? As far as I know, the current board wants you to succeed the chairman."
Kang Do-young let out a long sigh.
"Whoever planned this did it too sloppily. If they wanted to get rid of Kang In-hyuk, they should have used a professional killer or a gun, not just thugs."
For a moment, Ahn Min-gi almost mentioned that there had already been such an attempt in America, but stopped himself. He didn't want to disturb Do-young's barely recovered composure.
"He has a lot of enemies. At this rate, he might end up bringing disaster upon himself sooner or later."
"Do you really think so?"
"Having your life targeted is no easy thing. But I believe this is the third time for Kang In-hyuk already; there's no guarantee there won't be another."
Kang Do-young twitched his face and then took a swig from the whiskey bottle at his side.
"Damn..."
.
.
.
About three hours later.
It was deep into the night.
Baek Ji-woong, chairman of WISE&WIRE Group, climbed the stairs of an old building on the outskirts of Seoul with Do Jung-geol.
On the second floor, in a shut-down teahouse, a man had already arrived.
"You're here?"
This was Lee Jung-tae, Jeon Hae-in's security guard from KQ Group.
"Have you been waiting long?"
"No."
Baek Ji-woong took a seat on a previously cleared sofa.
The other two naturally stood in front of him.
"The other agent? Not here yet?"
"He said he'd be late due to surveillance."
At that moment, the door opened and another man entered.
"Sorry to be late."
The newcomer was Ahn Min-gi, secretary to Kang Do-young.
On seeing him, Baek Ji-woong nodded as if this was expected.
"With another KQ successor suddenly appearing, it must be tough for him."
Ahn Min-gi, in fact, had been part of their group from the start.
He had stuck by Kang Do-young's side for a long time to manipulate things once Do-young became KQ Group's successor.
"I've calmed him down for now. But after this incident, his mental state is pretty shaky and might be harder to control."
"That's something we have to manage. What about Jeon Hae-in?"
This question was directed at Lee Jung-tae.
"Jeon Hae-in is the same. I never expected she'd hire gangsters to do something like that out of my sight. I truly apologize."
Kang In-hyuk, for them, was a tool to push Kang Cheon-gyu to hand over KQ Group's management.
His safety was supposed to be guaranteed, but such an incident had occurred.
Baek Ji-woong pursed his lips and spoke.
"Still, you managed to block it well enough. It even moved the hesitant Chairman Kang Cheon-gyu into action."
There was still a constant stream of follow-up articles about Chairman Kang Cheon-gyu's press conference.
This was due to materials KQ Group released after the conference.
Plus, the illegitimate child had recently become famous in business circles as the Taeshin family's son-in-law.
No wonder the media frenzy wouldn't die down easily.
"Thank you for saying so."
"Still... Jeon Hae-in might pull another stunt, so be even more careful."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Lee Jung-tae bowed seriously.
Watching him intently, Baek Ji-woong then shifted his gaze back to Ahn Min-gi.
"Kang Do-young is just the same."
Ahn Min-gi also bowed deeply.
In the now quiet room, Baek Ji-woong let out a soft sigh.
Then, once again, the door opened.
They all turned their heads to see Baek Si-hwan entering. Among the group, only Ahn Min-gi, as his junior, bowed slightly.
"Sorry, I'm late. I was tracking Kang In-hyuk's overseas movements."
Currently, Kang In-hyuk was abroad on a business trip with only Tae Ju-ha and his security guards.
"The destination... was it Geneva?"
"Yes. The company listed it as discussions with AMK Partners regarding investment, but as there's no related business entity there, I had to confirm."
Baek Ji-woong's expression turned subtle.
"Is he trying to expand into Europe?"