Chapter 113
An Appropriate Analogy
As In-hyuk traveled by car, he put down the phone he had been holding.
A few days had passed since he had returned from Russia.
During that time, speculation-filled articles about the surveillance at the airport had been pouring out from various sources.
Interview requests also kept coming in, but he had refused them all.
Was it because he had fallen into a moment of contemplation?
Hong Yu-geon, watching him through the rearview mirror with a hint of concern, spoke up.
"Boss, is something wrong?"
"Not really. I just used the Hwain Techon matter as bait for the National Intelligence Service Director."
Hong Yu-geon tilted his head.
"Bait? Weren't you going to hand over all the material tracking the accounts through the shell company?"
That material contained the records of how funds had been laundered from Hwain Techon to Notex.
"There's no point in handing it over now—it'll only make it look more suspicious. And since we don't know where Kooou is inside the National Intelligence Service, it's not easy to just hand it over without caution."
"Are you going to move according to what you think? The National Intelligence Service Director could also belong to Kooou, right?"
Up until now, it had been assumed that Kooou existed within the police, prosecution, and the media.
That was why, whenever something happened, they could shape the narrative as they wished.
In response, In-hyuk had either stirred up a bigger incident or set up distractions to make it difficult for them to act so easily.
"It's not the National Intelligence Service Director."
"How do you know?"
It was originally because of his experience from the future. This was the period just before the start of autumn this year.
The National Intelligence Service would be charged with the illegal surveillance of high-ranking foreign officials, leading both the Director and the First Division head to be tried and imprisoned.
Those individuals were the current director, Jin Jong-man, and Choo Jae-min, the deputy general manager in charge of foreign affairs.
If those two had been Kooou, or if they'd been excluded due to internal issues, it wouldn't be surprising if they'd already been eliminated instead of imprisoned.
But in In-hyuk's memory, even several years later, the two were still alive.
"There's a way I know."
"So do you know which executive in the National Intelligence Service is Kooou?"
"There's someone I suspect."
"Who?"
It was the same as in his other memories.
After Director Jin Jong-man and Deputy General Manager Choo Jae-min, both holding key posts, were detained, the next person to become Director...
"Third Deputy Director, Im Deok-chang."
At In-hyuk's answer, Hong Yu-geon was confused.
"How did you know that?"
They were people who'd had no reason to cross paths.
At least as far as Hong Yu-geon knew, In-hyuk had no relationship whatsoever with Im Deok-chang.
"I have my own way."
"Tsk! But if you already know, wouldn't going straight for that be the fastest route?"
It wasn't a wrong point. In-hyuk hadn't overlooked that either.
"At the moment I don't know how many of Im Deok-chang's people are inside the National Intelligence Service. And even if I said something, they wouldn't believe me. Stir the flames unnecessarily and things get too noisy."
"So you're going to make them realize it first?"
"Right. It's a situation where over 1.4 billion dollars were sent overseas. No matter how tightly Hwain Techon tries to hide things, there are always records. When the National Intelligence Service starts tracking, someone will get caught."
That's why he had intentionally thrown in only simple words as bait.
"Hope things go just as you say, boss."
"It doesn't really matter what happens. Either way, it'll serve to keep them in check."
Until recently, among those whom 'HERMIT' had contacted, there had been no heads of government officials.
Sure, he'd had plenty of chances to contact them, but to avoid suspicion, he had purposefully approached high-ranking subordinates first and gathered information that way.
"Still, I just can't figure you out."
A little while later, the car driven by Hong Yu-geon pulled into the Taeshin Trading building.
Arriving at the underground parking lot, they found Baek Si-hwan already waiting, who opened the backseat door first.
"Have you waited long?"
"No, I just arrived."
"Are the investment documents I approved progressing smoothly?"
Since returning from Moscow, In-hyuk had been working rapidly to clear the backlog at Taeshin Asset Management.
Fortunately, the work he'd settled before the incident in Vladivostok left him only about two weeks behind. Though that was no small feat...
"I've confirmed that we'll submit a progress report within a week. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also inquired about a visit following the incident in Russia."
Some suspects had died in the incident, so an investigation was required in some form.
And because both In-hyuk and Tae Ju-ha had gone through a tough time, the inquiry reached them only after a while.
"Please inform them that we'll set a date soon."
With that, their group boarded the elevator, heading for the chairman's office.
When the elevator doors opened on the chairman's floor, a middle-aged man and a young woman radiating an unpleasant vibe were waiting.
"Did you come to see the chairman?"
It was Tae Seok-ho and Reina Blackwood. At his question, In-hyuk let out a sigh from his nose.
"We were called. Is there something you need from me?"
At In-hyuk's calm reply, wrinkles appeared on Tae Seok-ho's brow.
"I thought I already asked to see you through Manager Baek. Didn't you hear?"
"I did. But as you know, there's been a lot of backlog, so I haven't had the time."
"Wouldn't it be possible to spare some time after seeing the chairman today?"
In-hyuk glanced at the watch on his left wrist.
"Unfortunately, I have another appointment. And you seem busy too, so if you'll excuse me."
Without waiting for a response, he skirted past them at the elevator.
Tae Seok-ho then raised his voice.
"If you keep acting like this, it won't do you any good."
In-hyuk paused.
"Me? Or you, Executive Vice President?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you'll find out in time, won't you?"
Uttering that meaningful phrase, he made his way to the chairman's office.
Song Tae-ho, the chairman's secretary, was waiting and quietly opened the door.
Leaving the others behind, In-hyuk entered alone; Tae Gun-seung was seated there, wearing a strange expression.
"It was a bit noisy outside."
"Executive Vice President Tae Seok-ho wanted to see me later."
"Was that it? Well, it's been noisy for various reasons. More than that, you came later than I expected. I thought you'd show up right away."
In-hyuk pursed his lips and sighed again.
"I've just had too much work. Has CEO Tae Ju-ha been here already? I figured she'd come straight since she has so much to ask."
Tae Gun-seung fixed him with a steady gaze.
"Don't you talk at home, even if you meet?"
"We come home at different times. It's hard to see each other in person at work unless there's a reason."
An expression of regret crossed Tae Gun-seung's face.
"As Kang mentioned, Ju-ha came straight here and was quite flustered—probably wondering why the Taeshin Group shares were entrusted to her."
"And what did you say?"
Originally, the shares stored overseas should have been transferred not through delegation, but by inheritance outside the bloodline.
That was how In-hyuk reclaimed those shares in place of Tae Seok-hyun.
But in this life, Tae Gun-seung had made a different decision.
"I told her I might pass the Taeshin Group to her, and it shocked her."
"She didn't like it?"
Tae Gun-seung responded with a faint smile.
"She's a kid who knows her own strengths. Still, she's been ambitious and worked her way to where she is now."
It was a tone of admiration.
"True. Traveling to various countries seemed to burden her."
"She's different from other kids. Bringing Ju-ha here is the only thing Seok-hyun did right."
"But if you want CEO Tae Ju-ha to inherit Taeshin, that's difficult."
Tae Gun-seung exhaled deeply and quietly asked,
"Why do you think so?"
"She's never dealt with filth; her convictions are unyielding. Because of that, even Taeshin Asset Management will eventually hit its limits."
Tae Gun-seung's eyes widened a little at that direct response.
"So you're saying there are limits."
After briefly thinking, In-hyuk replied cautiously.
"There are. And recently, my hands have also been stained with blood."
"... Blood?"
"When I nearly died in Vladivostok, I killed a man. The article said the body was just found."
He meant those men in combat uniforms described in the reports as attack suspects.
Tae Gun-seung had seen the articles and couldn't have missed it.
"You... You killed them?"
"It was to survive. If not, it'd have been me and CEO Tae Ju-ha found in the sea, not them."
"It was you, Kang, and Ju-ha who nearly died there... Whatever the case, it was self-defense."
"I'll probably have to visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the incident anyway."
"Yes, I'm sure it caused a stir there."
Though it was called a simple hit on the Taeshin family, in reality, it was nothing short of terrorism in the middle of Vladivostok.
Of course, the Russian side also needed a thorough investigation, so they had asked In-hyuk and Tae Ju-ha to visit.
"A bunch of rumors will still come out."
"But isn't there an even more important topic you haven't mentioned?"
"..."
A brief silence followed before Tae Gun-seung spoke again.
"Who tried to kill you and Ju-ha? If it were anyone else I might not ask, but you must have at least some idea."
"I'm just a regular office worker. Aren't you overestimating me?"
"Hahaha—!"
At that, Tae Gun-seung burst into laughter despite himself.
"Why are you laughing?"
"I didn't expect a joke from you."
"It wasn't a joke."
The atmosphere quickly grew somber.
"Hrm! I suppose there are no normal office workers left in the world."
"... Excuse me?"
"Never mind. Anyway, Kang, you mean Ju-ha inheriting is out of the question."
"She won't be able to withstand it."
"But you're by her side. With the shares going to her and your management skills, it should be possible."
It was, in effect, saying he would use In-hyuk as a shield to secure management control—something In-hyuk had long anticipated.
"You know my position; the shareholders and board would never approve."
Because Kang Cheon-gyu, chairman of KQ Group, had been exposed as his blood relative.
That was why In-hyuk was repeatedly pressing the button on his phone, which had been buzzing in his pocket since earlier.
Bzzz— bzzz—
Noticing the vibration, Tae Gun-seung glanced over.
"If it's important, you can answer."
"It's not... It's Chairman Kang from KQ. He hasn't given up since I returned to Korea, even though I've ignored him."
"Ha... Never thought the great Chairman Kang would get that kind of treatment."
In-hyuk shrugged.
"Well, he's persistent even after I refused. But I'm here today for something other than a report."
"You're preparing something else?"
"Soon, mobricks, China's largest smartphone company, is starting production of a smartphone in partnership with Taiwan's SolarView."
Tae Gun-seung sighed and replied.
"I've heard news about Mobricks, but SolarView is a semiconductor company, isn't it? What's the link?"
"Not long ago, they developed a high-performance semiconductor for smartphones. They've been quietly collaborating with Mobricks since early last year."
"Hmm... And what does this have to do with us? As you know, with China's relationship with America and their market size, American and Korean products can't compete."
In-hyuk nodded in agreement.
"Our focus isn't on the phone itself, but the component production technology inside it. For the semiconductor production, they need Taeshin Semiconductor's diode reliability and packaging technology. If we proceed with that, the recent stock downturn should recover."
Tae Gun-seung could only sigh once more.
"How far have negotiations gone? But wait, will SolarView truly propose this to us instead of their own domestic firms?"
"Even though SolarView has this breakthrough, mass production is still unstable. And as a Taiwanese company, they're wary of China. That's why they want Taeshin's name at the forefront—just as you keep me next to CEO Tae Ju-ha."
It was a very apt analogy. Tae Gun-seung, perhaps unsettled by the comparison, responded with a soft laugh.