Chapter 101
Did he set you up as a stand-in?
The next day, shortly after noon.
In-hyuk stepped out of his room after finishing his preparations.
"Let's get going soon," he said.
Hong Yu-geon, who had been lounging on the sofa, tilted his head as he looked over at In-hyuk.
When their gazes met, In-hyuk wrinkled his brow a little and spoke.
"... What?"
"It's just... I've been feeling it since yesterday... Something's different about you. Did you wear cologne or something? Or did you go meet a woman?"
"Quit talking nonsense and let's just go."
But no one moved. Van Hester, who'd been sitting on a chair near the entrance, was the same.
A brief silence fell.
Then Van Hester slowly stood up and pulled the three-section staff from his waist.
Chwarururuk―
"I suspected something strange since yesterday. You're not our boss."
"What?! Is that true?"
Hong Yu-geon sprang to his feet, facing off with In-hyuk.
In response, the person who looked like In-hyuk twisted his face into an expression never seen before.
"Ah... Shit. I was sure I wouldn't get caught."
Even his manner of speaking completely changed.
Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester emanated an even more tense atmosphere, taking up defensive stances.
The person disguised as In-hyuk raised both hands.
"Whoa~ Whoa~! How about calming down, you two? We're friends, aren't we?"
"What the—? Who are you, calling us friends...? Wait, are you—Noah? Are you Noah Vantrail?"
"Who else but me could do such a perfect disguise?"
Hong Yu-geon's face twisted even further.
"What are you doing here? Where's our boss?"
"Mr. Kang? He hired me and then disappeared. He asked me to keep an eye on things here in his place."
"You don't know where he went? Actually, never mind that! Are you really Noah? Skinwalker Noah? I can't trust you—take off whatever you're wearing on your face first!"
Noah Vantrail.
Outwardly known as the "skinwalker," she was a female mercenary who, like Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester, took on contract jobs.
However, while also working in intelligence centered on tracking and searching, she was a bit different; her specialty was a special kind of impersonation and disguise that allowed her to mimic anyone with a similar physique at over 90% accuracy.
"Crazy?! This disguise took me over an hour, I'm not about to remove it! Anyway, where have you two been all this while—what are you doing here?"
"Where did we last see you?"
Since they couldn't see her real face, they decided to test her.
Noah, still in In-hyuk's form, put on a disinterested expression.
"Casablanca, Morocco. You two were on vacation, I was finishing up a job, and we met at a bar called Marrakech. Satisfied?"
"Ah... it really is you."
With that answer, Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester slowly relaxed their stances.
"Anyway, I'm here on Mr. Kang's job. He asked me to act as him until he returned, and that was the condition."
"What on earth is the boss thinking? And how does he even know you? Do you just hand out your business card everywhere?"
Noah's face twisted again for a moment before she hastily smoothed it out.
"Ugh... I nearly wrinkled my mask! Why do you keep talking nonsense? And business card? You guys gave him my info, didn't you?"
"How would we know your direct number?"
"Exactly! So how did Mr. Kang know something neither you nor I gave him?"
The conversation dragged on, with no answers to be found.
"As I always think, I have no idea what our boss actually does... Anyway, whatever. But do you really think you can fool everyone else? Do you even know who you need to fool?"
"He said it was just the wife and her secretary."
At this, Hong Yu-geon let out a sigh.
"They don't see us often, so they won't be as sensitive, but you still need to be careful."
"You two didn't notice until I came in yesterday either. So what tipped you off that I wasn't Mr. Kang?"
In truth, even Hong Yu-geon had only felt something was off; he hadn't suspected a fake.
So he turned to Van Hester, who had noticed.
"The smell."
"Huh? My smell? I tried to use as little scent as possible—there's no cologne or anything."
"There's a unique scent. But yesterday, maybe because of the boss's clothes, I didn't notice."
As a day passed, Noah's scent grew stronger than the scent In-hyuk had left behind.
"You a bloodhound or something? Anyway, are we going to keep this up? People are waiting for us outside."
They had a set schedule. And with In-hyuk having personally given Noah this job, it was hard to object.
At the same time, Hong Yu-geon found himself wondering.
"But why didn't he tell us and set you up as a stand-in? Did he think we'd say no?"
"Ah, I got snared. Mr. Kang said if I didn't get caught by you, he'd pay three times the usual fee. But you found me out in less than 24 hours..."
"Why? Are you just doing it for free now?"
"Are you crazy? Do you know how much labor and disguise materials cost?"
"So, what now?"
Noah, still with In-hyuk's face, pouted her lips.
"... Half price. Jeez! If I'd known this, I wouldn't have risen to the challenge."
"Someone else fell for one of our boss's tricks again. Well, fine. Grab your things and let's head out. And like I said before, you have to be extra careful not to get caught for real."
"You only caught me because you're you! Let's just get going."
At that, Noah, as In-hyuk, shifted into a serious air.
.
.
.
At the same time, in front of the △△ Building in Hong Kong, at a café.
There, Norman McGrath, AMK Partners' branch manager in Korea, sat anxiously.
"What time is it?" he asked, though he was clearly wearing a wristwatch, to his secretary Yu Dae-hyeon beside him.
"It's 13:27."
"Already? Still three minutes to go?"
The air was tense.
At that moment, a middle-aged man with ash-grey hair, a thin build, and a crisp suit walked into the café and approached Norman McGrath.
"So we meet at last, branch manager."
At this, Norman McGrath and his secretary Yu Dae-hyeon immediately stood up.
"... Are you CEO Grimes?"
"That's right. It's the first time since we met in the alleys of Cheonggyecheon, isn't it?"
The identity of Gordon Grimes was none other than In-hyuk.
This time, after enlisting the help of Noah Vantrail, whose forte was disguise, In-hyuk had decided to meet Norman McGrath in person.
Of course, his current appearance was crafted using disguise skills he'd learned from Noah, with whom he'd had a connection in his original life as well.
Meanwhile, Norman McGrath was taken aback.
In-hyuk had just referenced when he'd called Norman to Korea for a personal meeting—a detail only the two of them shared, so no further proof was needed.
"It really is you."
Publicly, the name Gordon Grimes existed only on paper.
They'd only ever spoken by phone or message, so until now, Norman hadn't quite believed it.
"I'm grateful you chose to trust me so quickly."
"At first, I wondered if you might send a proxy, but hearing your manner of speaking, I'm convinced."
The two were conversing in English. Perhaps the mood from their phone calls carried over, for Norman McGrath seemed to have no doubts left.
Norman continued.
"Does this mean you're finally making your public debut?"
In-hyuk shook his head.
"No, I'm only showing myself this once. Anyway, since you have an appointment, shall we go?"
"Ah, yes, let's."
The group exited the café together and entered a nearby building.
Yu Dae-hyeon, Norman McGrath's secretary, announced their visit at the reception desk.
At the same time, In-hyuk cast a subtle glance out the window. He'd felt eyes on him on the way from the café to the building.
'Someone's tailing Norman, too?'
It was from a car at two o'clock. Of course, he didn't look directly.
Just then, a group emerged from the elevator and hurried over.
They were staff from SGA (Summit Global Advisors), a Hong Kong-based fund company.
"Thank you for coming. The CEO is waiting, so let's head up."
Guided by the staff, In-hyuk (as Gordon Grimes) and his group rode the elevator up.
Soon, they arrived at the floor where SGA's CEO's office was located.
When the doors opened, they were greeted by a woman with neatly cut black hair, wearing a crimson two-piece skirt suit, and her staff behind her.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Raven Delacroix, the CEO of SGA."
Her English was smooth and British.
In-hyuk, disguised as Gordon Grimes, smiled with deepened wrinkles.
"I'm Gordon Grimes of AMK."
"I've heard so much about you—It's an honor to meet you in person at last."
"I simply don't like showing myself, but I suppose that causes unnecessary suspicion."
"Hiding this much seems a bit much, don't you think? Oh, it's been a while, branch manager McGrath."
"How have you been?"
Raven Delacroix greeted Norman and the accompanying staff in a playful manner.
Once everyone was seated on the couches in the CEO's office, she began.
"They say CEO Grimes, you're from England?"
She'd investigated Gordon Grimes' background—an unusual feat, since little was known of him publicly.
"That's correct. CEO, you're originally from England as well, aren't you?"
"To be exact, I'm a third-generation immigrant. My grandfather moved from China to the UK in the 19th century. And now I'm working here, leaving my family behind in England."
"I see."
Warm tea was served.
"I must be nervous—I'm just rambling."
"It's fine. But actually, I have a tight schedule. Shall we get down to business?"
"Of course we should. You wanted the shares in Taeshin Group that SGA holds, correct?"
These were shares not secured during the recent market crash, but those long held by SGA.
"For that, sGA requested two things. One was to meet me in person, secretly."
"That's right. I've always wanted to meet the legendary investor everyone talks about."
Raven Delacroix smiled contentedly.
In-hyuk, wearing Gordon Grimes's face, smiled back.
"The other is that SGA wants something in return, correct? I'm here to propose a deal on both fronts."
Raven's eyes sparkled with interest.
"We're not in any hurry, so I wonder what you've brought us."
In-hyuk glanced at Norman, who then took out a prepared item from his bag and placed it on the table.
"How about shares in Taiwan SolarView?"
Raven Delacroix's expression stiffened.
"SolarView... That's the company AMK Partners invested in early and made sizable profits from, right? I know it's quite valuable, but I doubt it equals shares in Korea's Taeshin Group."
"Superficially, yes. But value can change, depending on timing and context. Especially considering the current situation in China."
"What do you mean?"
In-hyuk fixed her with a meaningful gaze.
"SolarView recently filed a major semiconductor inspection technology patent and saw huge growth."
"That's right. They even received a massive investment from FOURGMA in America because of it."
"So, what if SolarView isn't just launching another inspection patent—but is about to release a security chip for smartphones? And not only that, but a major supply contract has already been signed with a specific company."
Raven Delacroix's expression grew even more grave. She had no prior knowledge of this development.