The Orphan's Bait
The reaction inside Tae Shin Group to the creation of the M&A/PE Division at its subsidiary, Tae Shin Asset Management, was quiet.
It was partly because the move had been executed solely by Chairman Tae Geon-seung’s decision, and largely because the man now heading the division was In-hyuk—the representative director’s husband and a classic parachute appointee.
In the meantime, In-hyuk had relocated to the sixth floor of the company building together with the employees of Stock Operation Team 3 and begun handing out the most urgent tasks.
“Is this setup enough for the moment?”
Beyond the window of the newly assigned division chief’s independent office, he could see staff members moving busily about.
Then his phone rang.
While In-hyuk was establishing the M&A/PE Division, the Korean branch of AMK Partners had also been completed through Norman McGrath.
Of course, it was a Korean branch in name only. Norman would be handling the full scope of investments and sales operations that Go Mi-ah had previously managed.
At the same time, they could now deploy AMK Partners’ funds far more aggressively than before.
He attached the file he had prepared in advance and transmitted it. It wasn’t long before a call came in from Norman McGrath.
“The investment projects tied to the share-acquisition conditions include quite a few startups and companies carrying high financial risk. Are you certain about confirming them? Objectively speaking, many also have weak brand positioning and correspondingly low investment value.”
As he said, a large number of companies with obvious surface-level risks were listed. Given that each deal involved anywhere from several billion to ten billion won, caution was inevitable.
Norman McGrath had investigated them himself, wondering if there might be something special about these companies. Yet no matter how he looked at it, he could find nothing that qualified as an immediate catalyst. That was why he had pressed the call button.
“Isn’t the reason I’m entrusting you with the work precisely because I can see what the branch manager cannot?”
[….]
A brief silence flowed across the line.
Ever since the Korean branch of AMK Partners had been established, most stock trades had been short-term. Norman had followed the buy and sell timings In-hyuk provided and generated impressive profits.
At first he had been convinced it was insider information. But the sectors were all over the map, while the returns remained uncannily consistent.
“Is there a problem with proceeding?”
“It’s not that, but I thought we might need some basis to explain to the staff. Moreover, continuing in this fashion could invite an investigation from the Financial Supervisory Service later on.”
“It’s not yet at a level that requires worry, so there’s no need for concern. Besides, there has not been the slightest illegal act in the process of acquiring the information.”
Norman McGrath still found it difficult to believe.
[…Are you truly that confident?]
“If there were any problematic elements in the matters I mentioned, wouldn’t you, the branch manager, already be aware of them?”
At In-hyuk’s calm counter-question, Norman felt a sting of guilt. After all, he had investigated the man known as Gordon Grimes even before the Korean branch was created.
Yet for some reason only official paper records existed. No photographs, no family, no acquaintances—nothing. And the records themselves were utterly ordinary, offering no useful leverage.
[You… knew?]
“I’ve dealt with many people of your temperament, Branch Manager McGrath. So instead of wasting energy on needless suspicion, you’d be better served focusing on making money.”
[…I’ll continue to count on your guidance.]
The call, which had kept Norman firmly by the scruff of the neck the entire time, ended there.
In-hyuk gave a small, almost pitying smile and turned his gaze to the monitor on his desk.
“This can’t be right…”
With the new M&A/PE Division’s creation, Stock Operation Team 3 had been transferred over and a call for volunteers had been posted. A considerable number of applicants had already arrived from several teams.
Applicants: 17
It was strange, to say the least.
The reason was simple: the man in charge of the division was In-hyuk.
He was still notorious inside Tae Shin Asset Management as the ultimate parachute hire, making it difficult to earn the staff’s trust. Rumors even circulated that his recent performance had been propped up by support from the group’s upper echelons.
Ding—
The screen refreshed, and another applicant appeared.
Applicants: 18
Stock Operation Team 2 Manager Noh Dong-jun
In-hyuk tilted his head.
“Why this guy…”
Noh Dong-jun’s position inside Stock Operation Team 2 was respectable. His performance was solid; with a few more years of steady work he could expect to rise to deputy chief without being passed over.
“At any rate, it doesn’t look like he’s applying with good intentions.”
Noh Dong-jun was included among those he viewed with suspicion. Even if the original Kang In-hyuk’s memories showed no overtly hostile behavior, In-hyuk could not afford to trust blindly.
After all, he had been betrayed by Baek Si-hwan—the man he had trusted for an entire lifetime.
“I expected something like this, but we’ll need to keep a tight leash.”
Some of the applicants might be colluding with those who viewed In-hyuk as an enemy. The same concern applied to the members of Stock Operation Team 3 he had already brought over during the department’s elevation.
Ring, ring, ring— Ring, ring, ring—
While he was still thinking, the internal line rang.
“…Kang In-hyuk speaking.”
“This is the first-floor desk. A woman named Park Mi-jeong called requesting to be connected to Director Kang In-hyuk. How should I proceed?”
The moment he heard the name, In-hyuk’s brow furrowed and a headache surged forward.
He had believed he had recovered nearly every memory, yet something had still remained.
“…The orphanage?”
Park Mi-jeong had been the director of the orphanage where the original Kang In-hyuk had stayed until graduating middle school. Back then she had been a teacher rather than the director, but time had eventually placed her in the top seat.
The female employee at the desk, still waiting for instructions, asked again.
“How should I handle it?”
In-hyuk let out a shallow sigh and gave permission.
A moment later the connection tone ended, and a familiar voice reached his ear.
“…In-hyuk?”
The tone carried a pitiful note. Had it been the original Kang In-hyuk, that single word would have stirred complicated emotions.
But the man listening now was different.
“Yes, it’s me. What prompted you to contact me?”
“It’s been a long time. Have you been well?”
“We aren’t in a relationship where such questions are appropriate.”
The mere fact that she didn’t even have his phone number made the point clear.
“…You’re as cold as ever.”
“After the money I gave you the year before last, there should be nothing left between us, correct?”
During the years Kang In-hyuk had lived at the orphanage, Park Mi-jeong had not been a good person. She wore a mask of warmth and kindness in public, but behind closed doors she scolded and manipulated the children to suit her own tastes.
The young In-hyuk had been one of those children. Later, sponsored by the Tae Shin Education Foundation, he had graduated from a Seoul high school and university and tried to sever all ties with the orphanage.
At the time, the moment she learned he was marrying Tae Ju-ha of Tae Shin Group, she resorted to pathetic threats.
What the original Kang In-hyuk had been thinking when he chose that path, even the current In-hyuk could not fully know. He could only guess from the memories that rose like scenes from a film.
If he had to speculate, it seemed the original had simply not wanted to cause any trouble for Tae Shin Group.
“The reason I called… it seems like something important for you.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about your parents.”
At that moment In-hyuk’s expression crumpled further.
“…My parents?”
There had been a time when the original Kang In-hyuk had been curious enough about his biological parents to search for them.
But he had been abandoned at an orphanage as an infant. For some unknown reason he had been shuffled between facilities before he even learned to speak, leaving almost no records behind. Eventually he had given up.
“Someone who knows them came to our orphanage. I thought you should meet them, so I called.”
“Then I’ll give you my number. Please pass it along to that person.”
The current In-hyuk had no desire to become entangled with Park Mi-jeong again.
“Why not come down after so long? The person wants to meet you face to face.”
“I have no interest in—”
A suspicious undertone had crept into her voice. Moreover, the people from Dae-myung Detective Agency were currently tailing him every single day.
Don’t tell me…
An ominous premonition flashed through his mind like lightning.
The orphanage was in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk Province. If the original Kang In-hyuk had received a similar call and had gone down only to meet with disaster…
“If you respond like that, I have nothing more to tell you. So if you don’t want to meet, then don’t.”
Strength had entered her previously plaintive voice. It seemed that the moment In-hyuk hesitated, she intended to press harder.
In-hyuk replied in a perfectly calm tone.
“You said this person knows my parents? Are both of them still alive?”
The reason he asked was simple.
In his previous life, the current In-hyuk had also been an orphan. At age seven both parents had died in a traffic accident, after which he was placed in an orphanage and his tragic life began.
If Park Mi-jeong’s words were not mere bait—if she truly knew the original Kang In-hyuk’s parents—then he wanted to salvage at least some fragment of truth.
“They say your mother died giving birth to you. Your father is apparently living abroad. A Korean acquaintance of his who was searching for you learned about this orphanage.”
There was no concrete evidence. It was only Park Mi-jeong’s word.
If In-hyuk moved now, he would create an opening for the Dae-myung tail. Of course, no method they tried would pose any real threat to the current In-hyuk, but…
Since she clearly had no intention of revealing who the acquaintance was, the only way to learn more was to go to the orphanage himself.
“By when should I come?”
“The sooner the better.”
Her voice rose slightly at the end, as though she found the situation amusing.
“First I need to contact the acquaintance of my biological father to arrange a meeting, don’t I?”
“Ah, just tell me the day you’re coming and I’ll set it then.”
“Then I’ll arrive before lunch tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? Don’t you have work?”
“I can use annual leave. Confirm the details and contact me.”
“Wait…!”
Click—
In-hyuk hung up before she could finish. A long sigh escaped him as the original Kang In-hyuk’s tangled memories resurfaced.
“He really lived a miserable life.”
.
.
.
At the same moment.
Fifth floor, Room 516, Banpo Plaza Complex Shopping Mall, Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul. A shabby, long-closed sign reading “Salier Bunsik” hung over tightly shut doors.
The place looked as if it had been out of business for years.
Inside, Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester of the mercenary duo Charybdis sat wearing thick headphones, eyes fixed on the array of monitors before them.
They were surveilling Dae-myung Detective Agency in Room 416 directly below.
They had hacked the mall’s CCTV system, installed additional hidden cameras in every corner, and were even conducting floor-to-floor audio surveillance from the unit directly above.
“Anything coming through?”
Van Hester asked after noticing Hong Yu-geon’s concentrated expression.
Hong Yu-geon raised a palm, signaling him to wait. He seemed to be listening intently.
“Looks like they’re moving.”
“For real?”
Hong Yu-geon switched the screen to the CCTV covering the detective agency entrance. No one had emerged yet.
He plugged the headphone cord into the jack on his side. After a brief burst of static, voices became audible.
Van Hester understood only basic Korean, so he stared at Hong Yu-geon.
“Doesn’t sound like normal conversation… What exactly are they saying?”
“They’re planning something dangerous. We need to report this—!”
Vrrr— Vrrr—
Just as he reached for his phone, it vibrated first.
Incoming Call
Mr. Money