I'll Take Responsibility
Kang In-hyuk caught another taxi, his face twisted with exhaustion.
He had considered going home to sort through his thoughts, but Noh Dong-jun’s relentless calls forced him to change direction.
After roughly thirty minutes, he arrived in front of Anguk Station where the Tae Shin Asset Management building—a subsidiary of Tae Shin Group—stood.
He had originally thought about visiting the Tae Shin Group security team where he worked at this point in time, but with neither a working phone number nor an existing home, the idea felt meaningless.
“Ah, my employee ID!”
In his rush to leave the house he had only grabbed the wallet and car keys from the dining table. Besides, he had no idea which car the key belonged to or where it was parked, so he had taken a taxi.
While organizing his thoughts in the lobby, In-hyuk hesitated, wondering whether he should return home.
At that moment someone shouted from behind him.
“Team Leader Kang—!”
When he turned, a man in a dark gray suit with a crisp, refreshing air was approaching.
From the memories that had surfaced at home, In-hyuk immediately knew who he was. At the same time, far more scenes than those that had appeared during their phone conversation flooded his mind.
…Noh Dong-jun?
Looking at the current situation, one thing was certain.
So these really were the original Kang In-hyuk’s memories.
By then Noh Dong-jun had reached his side with quick steps.
“You came because of the call I made earlier, correct? But… are you all right?”
Right now In-hyuk was drenched in cold sweat from a pain that felt like something was stabbing into his skull. To anyone watching he clearly looked ill, so concern spilled out first.
“…I’m fine.”
“Then why are you standing out here instead of going inside?”
“I left in such a hurry that I forgot my employee ID.”
Noh Dong-jun’s gaze drifted to the empty spot near his chest where an ID should have hung.
“Then let’s go in together. You came to handle the matter I mentioned, right?”
It was to confirm his exact current situation. Of course he could not tell the truth.
“Well… yes.”
“Let’s head inside first.”
Noh Dong-jun scanned his own employee ID at the entrance so they could enter together.
They rode the elevator to the fifth floor where the stock operations team was located. The moment they stepped into the hallway, a chilly atmosphere and countless stares poured over In-hyuk.
Then one man approached and spoke.
“Team Leader! You weren’t answering any calls—why are you only showing up now? Everything’s gone crazy!”
It was Deputy Jeong Jong-hyun from Stock Operations Team 3, one of Kang In-hyuk’s subordinates. Behind him stood Section Chief Ahn Woo-chan, Assistant Manager Oh Min-seo, and Staff Seo Jae-young.
Just as it had with Noh Dong-jun, memories connected to them burst like fireworks in his mind, making In-hyuk’s brow crease.
“Khm—!”
“Manager Noh said you were sick… Is it bad?”
“…It’s nothing. More importantly, you said there’s a problem?”
“It’s the A2 client investment management case transferred from Team 1. The client contacted us saying there seems to be an issue with the existing investment destination and they want to withdraw the funds.”
In-hyuk let out a short sigh and stared straight at Jeong Jong-hyun.
“How much is the amount?”
“The total entrusted funds come to 1.3 billion won.”
It was a sizable sum for an individual client. Still, within a stock operations firm that mainly handled corporate accounts, it was on the smaller side.
“First, bring me every related document. I’ll review them and make the call.”
After giving the order he found his seat and sat down.
While the throbbing pain in his head slowly eased, the client’s files arrived.
In the meantime In-hyuk was too busy assessing his present circumstances to focus on the documents.
The moment he had entered the office, cold gazes had pierced him. The atmosphere was one of clear dislike for In-hyuk, who had risen to team leader at the mere age of thirty-three.
Just as he had feared, the company staff recognized him as the son-in-law of the Tae Shin Group family and Tae Ju-ha’s husband, Kang In-hyuk.
I’ve returned to the past, yet why did I become a different Kang In-hyuk instead of my original self?
There were far too many realities he had to confront at once.
Even so, denial was useless, so he kept thinking in order to accept the truth as quickly as possible.
But from what I remember, this Kang In-hyuk….
Dies by suicide this year. Naturally the In-hyuk who now inhabited this body had no intention of killing himself.
Yet at the time there had been many suspicious rumors surrounding the suicide. In-hyuk, who had belonged to the security team, recalled the various things he had heard from those around him.
People said he missed Tae Ju-ha so much after she died in a car accident that he followed her. But looking at the current situation, that explanation doesn’t hold up.
If he had been killed for getting too close to the Tae Shin Group family’s dangerous secrets, that would make more sense.
Even then, the place where this Kang In-hyuk worked had been Tae Shin Asset Management. He had originally been assigned to the Taeshin Mulsan annex and transferred here after marrying Tae Ju-ha last year.
Tae Ju-ha possesses outstanding management talent but has been suppressed solely because she is Tae Seok-hyun’s illegitimate daughter. The marriage to this Kang In-hyuk was arranged for exactly that reason….
Because if she married the child of another chaebol family, she would clearly gain both the financial power and the opportunity to exercise her abilities.
There were also rumors that Tae Ju-ha was killed because of that. And that, too, happens this year….
Right after the wedding with Kang In-hyuk last year, Tae Ju-ha had left for New York as branch manager of Tae Shin Asset Management. She had not returned to Korea even once until this year, when she came back and died in a car accident shortly afterward.
For now, that was the timeline as In-hyuk remembered it.
Of all the rotten situations to wake up in….
Even now, Baek Si-hwan’s face from their final encounter hovered before his eyes. If he met him right this moment, he would want to rip him apart.
One of the reasons he had avoided the Taeshin Mulsan security team was precisely that.
If everything except the original him was the same as now, Baek Si-hwan would certainly be there too. If he had truly returned to the past, he would need meticulous preparation and countermeasures against Baek Si-hwan—and even more so against the powers behind him—if he wanted revenge.
While he was drowning in such thoughts, his eyes fell on the materials Deputy Jeong Jong-hyun had handed over.
The client’s name is Jang Hyeong-cheol. A wealthy landowner in Pangyo who became even richer when the new city development was announced in 2004. A blacklist client who only files claims after hearing strange rumors from somewhere every single time an investment is made. Other firms have bad rumors about him as well….
Fortunately the memory was not large; it arrived with only a mild headache.
He had originally been a client managed by Stock Operations Team 1. Because the investment sum was not large yet the complaints never stopped, they had tossed him to In-hyuk, whom they viewed as an eyesore.
The original me at this point would have struggled. And if it’s Jang Hyeong-cheol…!
A memory suddenly surfaced. In-hyuk immediately picked up the phone on his desk and dialed Jang Hyeong-cheol’s number.
“Who the hell is this?”
“This is Kang In-hyuk from Tae Shin Asset Management.”
“What? I called ages ago and you’re only calling back now?!”
“I apologize for the delay. You contacted us because you were worried about the fund product we recommended, correct?”
“Everyone says it’s dangerous! You push a product like that and then claim it’s a stable investment? If I lose my money there, are you going to take responsibility? And on top of that you switched managers without any proper explanation?!”
“Then would you like me to recommend a stable blue-chip product or fund instead?”
“What’s the return rate there?”
“The one I would recommend can yield up to approximately 130 percent annually.”
“That’s it?”
“Then are you looking for a short-term high-yield product? That side carries higher risk, but it can secure up to 220 percent returns in the short term.”
“How risky are we talking?”
“Depending on market conditions, it could result in losses exceeding the entire principal.”
“Have you lost your damn mind? Are you telling me to throw away all my money?!”
“This time, trust me and make the investment. You won’t regret it.”
“So you’re saying you’ll take responsibility?”
“I’ll take responsibility.”
“…”
“If you don’t like it, you may withdraw all the funds. What would you like to do?”
“You really will take responsibility?”
“That is what I said.”
“…Fine, I’ll trust you. But if the investment fails, you’d better be ready for the consequences.”
“Do as you wish.”
The call ended.
Meanwhile the people who had been watching In-hyuk wore slightly furrowed expressions. Deputy Jeong Jong-hyun immediately approached.
“Team Leader. How could you make that kind of promise to the client?”
“What do you mean?”
“Who can guarantee the investment’s profit? Besides, up to 220 percent… more than double. Does that even make sense?”
As far as Jeong Jong-hyun knew, Kang In-hyuk was the type to keep his head down. When he had transferred from Taeshin Mulsan to Tae Shin Asset Management last year, he had remained silent even while clearly hearing rumors of a Cinderella promotion and parachute appointment.
Yet the In-hyuk of a moment ago had been nothing like that.
“Did I tell you to take responsibility, Deputy Jeong Jong-hyun?”
“…Pardon?”
“I said I would take responsibility. So stop with the useless chatter and return to your seat.”
“But…!”
“Or will you handle it yourself?”
“…”
“Also, organize every piece of data on the asset management cases currently in progress by Team 3 and send them to my email.”
“All of them?”
At the question In-hyuk stared directly at Jeong Jong-hyun.
“Do I have to repeat myself?”
His sharpened gaze pinned the deputy in place. Meeting those eyes, Jeong Jong-hyun flinched in surprise.
“I’m processing today as annual leave. I’ll gather the materials and head out, so the rest of you finish your work properly and leave on time.”
Jeong Jong-hyun could say nothing more and returned to his desk.
In-hyuk shifted his gaze away and moved his hand toward the drawer.
…What is this?
A scene that was the first time yet somehow not the first time overlapped before his eyes. Without realizing it, his hand opened the lowest drawer and fumbled along the underside of the drawer above.
Something caught on his fingertip. He carefully scraped it free with his nail.
A moment later a black SD card the size of a fingernail came out.
Something the original Kang In-hyuk hid?
Once again, related memories rose in quick succession.
Not long ago he had recruited a finance department employee from a company called H&T Fund and received this. Inside were the company’s account transfer records.
With a deeply furrowed face, In-hyuk took the card out along with other files from the drawer and slipped it into his wallet. He wanted to check it immediately, but if the data was confidential, opening it on the company computer would be dangerous.
What exactly was this bastard trying to do?
Vrrr— Vrrr—
At that moment the phone he had set beside his wallet began vibrating.
[010-XXXX-XXXX]
An unregistered number.
Nothing came to mind this time.
“…Hello?”
“It’s me.”
The moment he heard the voice, a headache crashed over him. At the same time, memories of a similar call surfaced, and he immediately knew who it was.
Lee Jae-jun….
He had not recognized the voice alone, but the face that appeared in his mind was one he knew better than anyone.
At the current time, the man was the dedicated bodyguard for Tae Seok-ho, second son of Tae Geon-seung, Chairman of Tae Shin Group, and Executive Director of Taeshin Mulsan.
“What is it?”
“That person wants to meet today. By 8 p.m. at the same place as last time. Please make sure you aren’t followed.”
The location came to mind as well, along with the conversation they had shared then.
“Understood.”
The call ended.
He had returned to the past today, yet events were rushing in like a storm… As he watched the phone screen go dark, his head throbbed again.
I thought Kang In-hyuk was Tae Seok-hyun’s man. Was that wrong?
From the beginning, it had been Tae Ju-ha’s father, Tae Seok-hyun, who had arranged her marriage to Kang In-hyuk.
Yet out of nowhere Tae Seok-ho, Tae Seok-hyun’s younger brother, had appeared. From the memories, it seemed Kang In-hyuk had met with Tae Seok-ho on occasion.