Chapter 127 : The World's Gone Mad
The World's Gone Mad
It was almost time to get off work.
As In-hyuk tidied up his desk and prepared to leave, he glanced at Baek Si-hwan, who stood up as if he had been waiting.
"Today, I have a dinner appointment with Chairman Kang of KQ, so you should go home first."
"... Understood."
Ever since Baek Si-hwan had left work in a hurry a few days ago, the atmosphere had grown noticeably quieter than usual.
So, In-hyuk rode the elevator together with Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester. Coincidentally, the meeting place was "Hoam", a Korean set menu restaurant in Cheongdam neighborhood. It took about thirty minutes to arrive due to rush hour traffic.
"Don't tell me you booked this place on purpose?"
That's because it was run by Jang Hyung-cheol, the former owner of Chulsan Capital and now the CEO of AMK Bridge.
When they went inside and gave the name for the reservation, a staff member guided them. Standing in front of the door was Noh Geun-cheol, the secretary. As he greeted them and opened the door, Kang Cheon-gyu, who had arrived first, came into view.
"How long have you been waiting?"
"Not that long. Here, bring out the food, will you? Executive Director Noh, you should go eat first as well."
Noh Geun-cheol bowed to him and closed the door.
After that, only the two of them were left in the room. As In-hyuk wiped his hands with a warm towel, he spoke to Kang Cheon-gyu.
"You didn't call me here just to eat... So what is it you wanted to discuss? Oh, and like I said on the phone, no talk about successors, please."
By drawing the line from the beginning, a bitter look flickered in Kang Cheon-gyu's eyes.
"Do you think I would have contacted you myself just to talk about that? Not to mention, I only called because you didn't answer Executive Director Noh's call."
"You must have been desperate then."
"Hahaha—! Looks like I ended up bothering you by accident."
"I'm glad you realize it."
Their light conversation was interrupted when the food arrived.
While slowly sampling the dishes, Kang Cheon-gyu glanced at In-hyuk for his reaction.
"If you have something to say, just say it."
"Oh, you don't mind?"
"It doesn't matter if we talk after eating or now—it's all the same."
Kang Cheon-gyu grinned and spoke slightly more openly.
"There's that joint venture between Greenbyte Labs, which is managed by Taeshin Asset Management, and AMK Velion, right?"
At the mention of it, In-hyuk stopped his chopsticks halfway toward the side dishes.
"It's not officially established yet. Are you interested in that place?"
"The main procedures have mostly finished, haven't they? I heard Greenbyte Labs' performance tests were a success."
Tae Ju-ha had also known about this. Still, it hadn't been publicly announced. No matter how hard they tried to keep things under wraps, rumors about such a high-profile business inevitably spread.
"You're well-informed."
"When something's interesting, you naturally find different ways to get information."
"So what Chairman Kang wants is the rights to import and distribute the products produced by the joint venture in Korea?"
Kang Cheon-gyu smiled, clearly impressed.
"You catch on fast. Or did you already expect this?"
"I've been getting contacts about this from all over. Well... not as much as you've found out, Chairman, but most are just testing the waters."
He seemed a little more pleased for the compliment.
"It's only natural to act when you want something! So, what do you think? There isn't any place in Korea better-positioned than us for them, right?"
Since what he said wasn't wrong, In-hyuk nodded.
Sensing this as a positive sign, Kang Cheon-gyu's smile grew wider.
"It's certainly not a bad idea, but if I give that up without any risks attached, there'll be a lot of talk."
If this were simply a business-to-business relationship, there would be no problem at all.
However, In-hyuk was both the director of the MP Division at Taeshin Asset Management, which owned 25% of the joint venture Velbyte Technology, and Kang Cheon-gyu's illegitimate son.
Understanding this, Kang Cheon-gyu's expression grew notably serious.
"There'll definitely be people who try to use it against us."
"You already knew that, didn't you?"
He had run KQ Group for decades. There was no way he hadn't realized the implications of what In-hyuk just pointed out.
"Hmmm...!"
"You intended to tie me to KQ Group and make things difficult for me again, didn't you."
"You're quite perceptive."
"Isn't it obvious you keep pushing for it?"
Kang Cheon-gyu couldn't have expected that In-hyuk wouldn't notice.
"If it were you, you'd probably try to make a business out of the exclusive sales rights."
"You sound confident."
"If someone who's handled distribution all their life loses this to someone else, they might as well drop dead. So, shall we have a drink?"
With that, Kang Cheon-gyu lifted the pitcher of liquor on the table.
"Why not."
Gradually, both their glasses were filled.
* * *
【Gyeonggi Province Cleaning Company Shooting Survivor, Prosecutor B: Was High-ranking Supreme Prosecutors' Office Official Prosecutor A Behind It? Several days after regaining consciousness, B testified to the investigating police that Prosecutor A had personally attempted to kill him by orchestrating his abduction... He claimed he couldn't see the face because of a hood but was sure of the voice—it was Prosecutor A...】
【Officially, Prosecutor A refers to Deputy General Manager Jeong ○○ of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office... Meanwhile, the relationship between the deceased armed personnel and the suspect is still under investigation by police and prosecutors...】
【Greenbyte Labs and AMK Velion's joint venture named 'Velbyte Technology'! They announced reaching 60% in their power-reduction experiments and stated that production would begin as soon as they secured the necessary equipment and completed electric appliance certification...】
【Production countdown for Velbyte Technology's power-reduction tech products by the joint venture! Taeshin Asset Management, which had invested in Greenbyte Labs, has reportedly secured a 25% stake in Velbyte Technology... Investors are eagerly watching for its future value to skyrocket...】
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"The world's gone absolutely mad..."
This was in the Executive Vice President's office at Taeshin Trading.
Tae Seok-ho muttered this as he stared across at Reina Blackwood, who sat opposite him.
"Are you still going to say this isn't your people's doing?"
He was referring to the shooting incident involving the deputy general manager of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.
Reina let out a shallow sigh.
"If I said no, would you even believe me?"
"There's not much difference between what you and I do."
Tae Seok-ho himself had once tried to hire the Redfall mercenaries through the now-late Lee Jae-jun to kill Kang In-hyuk, only to fail.
"It was an accident caused by one of our executives messing around without permission. Of course, it's not like we suffered heavy losses."
"Even after all that? And why did you leave the surviving prosecutor alive? Wouldn't it have been better to take care of him?"
With the survivor's testimony, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's deputy general manager was named as the mastermind behind the armed attack. Given the gravity of the situation, the government, let alone the prosecutors and police, would certainly not sit still.
"If we did that, there'd be no scapegoat for this mess."
"So, you're putting it all on Deputy General Manager Jung Yoon-ju?"
"Every incident needs a scapegoat."
"There's a lot of attention on this incident... Are you sure it'll wrap up smoothly?"
"That's up to the Organization to handle."
In fact, Reina had already asked her immediate superior, Im Deok-chang, about the situation after the incident—she knew Tae Seok-ho would ask. But she hadn't received a satisfactory reply, so what she just said was all she knew as well.
A brief silence settled before Tae Seok-ho spoke again.
"Is there still a lot left before the share acquisition is done?"
"Between what you secured by reaching out to shareholders and what we've been authorized to take over, it's just a bit over 28%. About 3% remains."
"So it's just about time to make a move."
"We're getting ready already. But are you really okay with this?"
At her repeated confirmation, Tae Seok-ho stared at her intently.
"You think I'd back out now?"
"It's just, this concerns your father. If you regret it after we've already started, the Organization won't let it slide."
There was a threatening undertone to her words.
Tae Seok-ho knew it all too well and sighed.
"I've already crossed the Rubicon. Now, only one of us can make it out alive."
The shareholder movements would have already reached Tae Gun-seung by now.
Naturally, Tae Gun-seung would know who was orchestrating this as well. With that, the only thing left was who would survive, so Tae Seok-ho needed to strengthen his resolve.
"I'm glad you're firm on this. I'll proceed with everything as planned, no holdbacks."
"Please do. By the way... is it really alright to leave Kang In-hyuk be? He doesn't seem interested in switching over to KQ Group at all from the look of things."
Even the news article just now had covered Velbyte Technology and Taeshin Asset Management.
It was a project Tae Seok-ho wanted, but Taeshin Asset Management was now a fellow affiliate, not a subsidiary of Taeshin Life as before.
Even if Tae Seok-ho became chairman, he couldn't arbitrarily exercise the affiliate's Velbyte Technology shares without Tae Ju-ha's approval. Moreover, as long as Kang In-hyuk continued to be involved there, the place would be like an impregnable fortress.
"Once this is settled, he wouldn't be able to stay anyway. And it's not like you'd just sit back and watch."
Currently, Taeshin Asset Management's various projects, linked with AMK Partners, were growing rapidly. For Tae Seok-ho, they appeared like ripe fruit.
Of course, even if Kang In-hyuk had started them, it would be hard to roll them back now. So Tae Seok-ho hoped that if Kang In-hyuk disappeared, he could claim the results for himself.
"Even after I take the chairman's seat, I'll have to find a way to drive him out if he sticks around."
Bzzz— Bzzz—
At that moment, the phone on Tae Seok-ho's table vibrated.
After checking the screen, Tae Seok-ho glanced strangely at Reina.
"What's the matter?"
"Nothing. Let's get to work."
"...... Alright."
Leaving the tense air behind, Reina withdrew from the room.
Now alone, Tae Seok-ho walked over to the coat rack and took another phone from his inside jacket pocket. He had asked his wife to get him a separate phone because Reina Blackwood was always keeping an eye on him. When he powered it on, a message arrived.
After reading, Tae Seok-ho's brow furrowed intently.
"So that's why Tae Ju-ha and Kang In-hyuk went overseas?"
On the screen was a list of companies the two had visited in Switzerland, Monaco, Hong Kong, and Russia, as well as detailed profiles of the staff working there.
With that, he immediately understood why Reina Blackwood had stayed so quiet.
"Did they think I'd lose my mind if I found out?"
He felt vaguely annoyed.
"Or are they up to something else?"
Judging by the situation, either Kang In-hyuk or Tae Ju-ha had obtained rights to 19 million shares of Taeshin Trading and 8.5 million shares of Taeshin Electronics—about 3.3 trillion won in assets. If Tae Seok-ho didn't take the right precautions, he might not even be able to claim the chairman's seat.
Tae Seok-ho put the phone away again and sat with a strange expression.