Chapter 104
I Noticed Too!
As the sun was setting, WISE&WIRE Group's chairman Baek Ji-woong visited a safehouse on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province.
It was the same place he had met Im Deok-chang before. And this time as well, Im Deok-chang had arrived first and was waiting for him.
"How dare you try to pull that kind of trick on me?"
He shouted as he entered the living room. However, Im Deok-chang only looked at Baek Ji-woong calmly, without much reaction.
"What are you talking about?"
"You knew perfectly well what Kang In-hyuk and Tae Ju-ha are doing abroad and still tried to sell me the shares?"
The deal between the two had not yet been completed. At this, Im Deok-chang put on a look full of regret.
"From your standpoint, buying the shares is the only way, isn't it?"
"Then what about the power of attorney documents your side prepared? Were you just going to wipe your mouth and play ignorant?"
Originally, it was Baek Ji-woong who had made contact to get the power of attorney documents arranged.
But Im Deok-chang cut in and tried to make it look like his own doing, so Baek Ji-woong couldn't help but be enraged.
"Aren't we moving toward the same goal anyway?"
"Then you shouldn't have interfered at all from the beginning!"
"So what are you going to do about it? Looking at the situation, it seems Chairman Tae Gun-seung wants to transfer the shares to Tae Ju-ha. Don't you need to come up with a countermeasure too?"
With a sigh, Baek Ji-woong sat down on the sofa.
"Shouldn't you have thought about that before making a plan to stab me in the back?"
"If Chairman Tae Gun-seung hadn't made such a decision, none of this would've happened."
After Taeshin Group's eldest son and Taeshin Electronics CEO Tae Seok-hyun lost his position, Tae Seok-ho seemed the most likely heir.
Apart from him, there was no one to inherit the company, no matter how outstanding.
Of course, initially Kang In-hyuk, who achieved considerable results in a short time, was also a candidate.
But when the fact emerged that he was the illegitimate child of KQ Group Chairman Kang Cheon-gyu, that became nearly impossible.
"So that justifies playing these games?"
"There's more important information than that. It just so happens you called me here, so I'll tell you. Maybe that'll lessen my responsibility a bit."
At the same time, Baek Ji-woong looked at him with a face full of distrust.
"You think that's going to be enough?"
Im Deok-chang gave a meaningful smile and began speaking slowly.
"What if it's information about Gordon Grimes?"
"... What? You found something out about him?"
"To be precise, he made his first appearance just a few hours ago. In Hong Kong."
"Hong Kong? Don't tell me, did he meet Kang In-hyuk?"
Coincidentally, the timing of the information Im Deok-chang acquired seemed to overlap with when Kang In-hyuk was in Hong Kong.
"No, he visited SGA in Hong Kong with Norman McGrath. I don't know what was said there, though."
"Did you conduct surveillance?"
Since Gordon Grimes was identified as a high-priority figure within the Organization, it was only natural.
"I had subordinates shadowing Norman McGrath, and Hannya mobilized a team in Hong Kong as well."
"So? What happened?"
"We lost him. There was a stealth guard tailing him."
That meant there was a security guard who didn't reveal his presence.
"You let such a perfect opportunity slip? Do you really think that makes sense? How about the entry records? In your position, you should be able to find out where he came from, right?"
He was referring to Im Deok-chang's authority as the third deputy director of the National Intelligence Service.
"I checked already. Of course, I didn't expect him to enter under his real name, so I combed through three months of photo records. But he's nowhere to be found."
"... He's nowhere? Does that mean he entered the country illegally?"
"It's the same with the illegal entry info we have. Unless he has his own route, that is."
The atmosphere between the two suddenly turned heavy.
"Do you have a photo?"
"Here. I'll send it to you separately."
"You sure take your time with these things."
He displayed the photo on his phone. Upon checking it, Baek Ji-woong's brow twitched like a worm.
He tried to recall if he'd seen the face somewhere before, but nothing came to mind.
"I'm sure that's a face I'm seeing for the first time."
"That makes him all the more mysterious. But I never expected he would show up so abruptly."
Listening to him, Baek Ji-woong fell silent for a moment, lost in thought, before speaking.
"SGA... Could it be he met with them because of the Taeshin Group shares they hold?"
The W&W Group had tried several times to approach SGA for that reason, but SGA had always flatly refused even before a meeting could be arranged.
"You mean AMK Partners? Now that you mention it, they acquired Chulsan Capital and secured almost 6%. SGA had a little over 2%, so if that goes over too, that's nearly 8%... It's hard to say that's not dangerous."
"Of course it's dangerous! If AMK is working to swallow Taeshin Group, don't you realize that would be the worst case?"
Now even Im Deok-chang's mood grew serious.
"But if that's what they're planning, shouldn't other shareholders act too? I haven't seen any such moves yet."
"What if they already secured shares under borrowed names and don't need the help of other shareholders?"
"Shouldn't we have realized if such moves were being made?"
At the same time, Baek Ji-woong sighed deeply.
"Haa... You're not really one to talk, after losing Gordon Grimes."
"Are you trying to provoke me now?"
"More importantly, we need to find out what was discussed between AMK Partners and SGA. Has anything come to light? Don't hide anything from me."
Im Deok-chang shook his head.
"That's uncharted territory. You'd probably get answers faster by approaching them yourself."
It was yet another reply that made Baek Ji-woong sigh.
"Just what are you even doing... Anyway, I'll look into it myself. And don't you dare pull a stunt like that again, or I won't let it slide next time."
It was a stern warning. But Im Deok-chang offered a different proposal.
"More than that, what will you do if AMK Partners is really targeting SGA? If Kang In-hyuk is acting with AMK Partners backing him, that's even more of a problem. Not to mention, what will you do with the shares due to go to Tae Ju-ha? Maybe it's better to take action now."
Baek Ji-woong grew more conflicted.
"But right now, isn't Kang In-hyuk with her?"
If they tried to take out Tae Ju-ha now and Kang In-hyuk got caught up as well, every situation between KQ Group and Taeshin Group would become even more tangled.
"The two of them just went over to Vladivostok. I'm sure they'll visit the companies holding shares there too. That's four locations already. Who knows how many are left? If they come back to Korea after it's all done, what do you think will happen?"
Switzerland, Monaco, Hong Kong... Now Russia.
Chairman Tae Gun-seung had gone to great lengths to ensure the transfer, all without them even realizing.
That meant as long as Tae Ju-ha was alive, it was highly likely they'd be unable to stop the shares from being handed over.
"Is it possible?"
"The fact they're in Vladivostok right now is a blessing for us."
Im Deok-chang, as the third deputy director of the National Intelligence Service, oversaw industrial and scientific intelligence.
His team wasn't an overseas team, but since so much tech leaked to China and Russia via the North Korea border, he managed some agents over there as well.
"Are you sure this is a good idea? If it succeeds, that's great, but if it fails, you'll take a big hit."
"That's why your vote, to help justify it, is all the more necessary."
He meant that if things went south, he'd use Baek Ji-woong as a shield.
Of course, Baek Ji-woong was fully aware of this. But as Im Deok-chang said, the situation was too dangerous to just watch idly.
"How about Hannya? Can you provide support?"
"They said they'll send not only the class 3 team that failed before, but another class 3 team and even one that includes a class 2 agent—three teams in total. That should be enough."
"So you set the board in advance."
"We had to move quickly, so there might be some holes. But this time, we absolutely can't fail."
After losing Gordon Grimes in Hong Kong, Im Deok-chang had already been reprimanded by the Organization.
Getting involved in Taeshin Group's affairs had only complicated things, and now he was starting to feel the pressure.
"Like you said, failure is not an option."
"Of course."
With that, Baek Ji-woong ended the conversation, went outside, and got into the car with Do Jung-geol, who had been waiting in front of the safehouse.
"Did the conversation not go well?"
Sensing the gloomy mood, Do Jung-geol asked cautiously. Baek Ji-woong replied with a deeply furrowed brow.
"See if there's anyone among SGA's executives who'd be willing to talk."
"That place... Isn't that where we once tried to make contact, but SGA put it off by refusing?"
Do Jung-geol was well aware, since it involved Taeshin Group's shares.
"There must be executives there dissatisfied with Raven Delacroix, their CEO. Track them down and try to set up a meeting through a shell company."
"Who should I put in?"
After thinking for a moment, Baek Ji-woong looked at Do Jung-geol, who sat in the passenger seat.
"Since it's important, you handle it yourself. I'll give you the information you'll need directly."
"Understood,"
Do Jung-geol replied without a hint of doubt.
Baek Ji-woong started to get a headache. He began to wonder if accepting Im Deok-chang's proposal had been the right choice.
* * *
In-hyuk was on a flight to Vladivostok with Tae Ju-ha.
Estimated travel time: about ten hours. Then, Hong Yu-geon, who was seated in first class, came from behind.
"Division director. Let's talk for a minute."
They hadn't had a chance to talk, since they ran into each other at the airport and boarded right away.
The two of them headed toward the galley at the back. Van Hester was there waiting for them as well.
After closing the aisle curtain and checking for anyone nearby, Hong Yu-geon spoke.
"Explícamelo ahora." ("Explain it to me now.")
He deliberately used Spanish so passersby couldn't understand. In-hyuk caught on to his intention and replied in the same language.
"You mean what I asked Noah to do?"
"That, and you need to tell us where you went after making Noah the acting CEO."
"I went to SGA. I wanted to buy the Taeshin Group shares they held. I didn't mention it because Noah insisted she wouldn't get caught."
Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester shook their heads. Seeing that, In-hyuk smiled a bit.
"Van figured it out, right? But you didn't know till then."
"As if I didn't! I noticed too!"
"Doesn't seem like it... Anyway, the deal should work out fine."
As they were wrapping up, Hong Yu-geon had a question.
"But how did you get into SGA? That basically means Kang In-hyuk was in two places in Hong Kong at once."
"I went as Gordon Grimes. With a disguise, so I wasn't caught."
"A disguise? How?!"
"That's a trade secret. By the way, while you were with CEO Tae Ju-ha, nothing unusual happened, right?"
He'd checked with Noah, but asked again just in case.
"Not really."
"That's good to hear."
"What about you? Anything happen?"
"Not with the National Intelligence Service, but Kooou's guys were following me."
The two exchanged startled looks and stared intently at In-hyuk.
"Our CEO is going to drive us mad... So, then? What did you do?"
In-hyuk pulled out his phone from inside his jacket.
"I nabbed one of the guys and finally did some phone hacking again. I already sent the code to Mi-ah for analysis."
"Was the CEO's schedule planned in advance?"
He was asking if the SGA side had leaked information.
"Norman had the National Intelligence Service on him. Plus, when I lured the pursuers, I found out Kooou was intercepting the NIS radio."
"Does that mean Kooou really is inside the National Intelligence Service?"
"At the very least, they're connected. Anyway, Vladivostok's the last stop, so I'll see you both afterward."
With that, In-hyuk returned to his seat. Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester looked at each other and let out a quiet sigh as they watched him go.