Veins About to Burst
The evening had arrived.
In-hyuk skipped the office and handled only external business before heading to a small restaurant called Seunghwa’s Home-Style Meals in Donui-dong, Jongno-gu.
It was the same place where he had met Tae Seok-ho last time. And once again, he had received a call from him while still hospitalized, when things had seemed quiet.
Ding—
The door opened with the sound of a small bell.
Tae Seok-ho, who had arrived first, was seated in the center.
“You’re here? It’s been a while. Come, sit down quickly.”
As In-hyuk approached quietly and took his seat, Tae Seok-ho offered him a glass.
“I have another schedule after this, so I’ll have to decline.”
“Really?”
Tae Seok-ho withdrew his hand, emptied his own glass, and spoke.
“How’s your body? I heard it was bad enough to scrap the car.”
“Fortunately, I wasn’t seriously injured, so I was able to be discharged quickly.”
“You must be surprisingly sturdy, then. So, what business took you all the way to Andong? I thought you had cut ties with the orphanage where you grew up.”
It seemed he knew a fair amount about In-hyuk.
“The director there told me that an acquaintance of my biological father had shown up. So I took urgent leave and went to see them.”
At that moment, Tae Seok-ho’s eyes widened slightly as he stared at In-hyuk.
“…Biological father? And did you meet this so-called acquaintance?”
“I didn’t. I got their contact information and sent calls and messages, but there was no reply.”
Of course there wasn’t. The whole thing had been a trap set by Jeon Hae-in of KQ Group through the Daemyung Detective Agency. And since Chairman Kang Chun-gyu, his actual biological father, knew nothing about it, there was no way he would respond.
“That’s strange.”
“They might have mistaken me for their son.”
“If that’s the case… it’s quite unfortunate.”
Tae Seok-ho soon downed another glass of the liquor he had poured.
“I never planned on looking for him in the first place.”
“So you had that cold side to you as well?”
“After more than thirty years, there’s no way the reason for reaching out could be good. By the way, what did you want to see me about today? Unless….”
When In-hyuk skipped over the personal talk, a shallow sigh escaped Tae Seok-ho’s lips.
“It’s not about Ju-ha. It’s about the M&A/PEF Division you’ve been put in charge of. First, congratulations. To rise all the way to division head in the chairman’s eyes… quite impressive.”
“…Thank you.”
Tae Seok-ho studied In-hyuk’s expression carefully.
“As you already know from last time, I run a small fund of my own. Naturally, Tae Shin has no idea about it.”
It was the story of the H&T Fund, whose financial records Tae Ju-ha had secretly uncovered.
“Yes. Please continue.”
“To be direct… how about joining hands with me? Your recent performance has been quite impressive. If we worked together, it would be perfect.”
At his suggestion, In-hyuk scratched the tip of his nose with a folded knuckle.
“I looked into your H&T Fund as well, Executive Director. The recent return rate is 14.8%. It falls short of the industry average, but it’s not bad. Still, is there really a need to partner with Tae Shin Asset Management?”
Of course, Tae Seok-ho could not be satisfied with that level of return. Internally, he had been manipulating stock prices and siphoning off patents and business items from M&A target companies through illegal channels to generate massive profits.
Moreover, the very account records Tae Ju-ha had wanted to extract were connected to that same place.
“I’m not talking about partnering with Tae Shin Asset Management. I’m talking about partnering with you. And of course, I’m not making this offer without compensation. If the H&T Fund reaches its target profit, I’ll help you with your divorce along with a separate incentive.”
In-hyuk tilted his head.
“My divorce?”
“Honestly, wasn’t your marriage forced on you by your father-in-law—my brother—and your sister-in-law? That shackle must make it difficult to do everything you want.”
In-hyuk remained silent, simply listening.
“And that’s not all. After this is over, it’ll be hard for you to stay in Korea for a while. I could arrange for you to serve as an executive at the H&T Fund’s New York headquarters. What do you think?”
If it had been the old Kang In-hyuk, he might have agonized over it. It was an offer so extraordinary that even the current In-hyuk could see why it would have been tempting.
“I’m sorry… but that will be difficult. I have plans of my own for the newly established division.”
“Plans that amount to what? A few tens of billions at most? Even if you stretch it, a few hundred billion? If you help me, you’ll get to swim in much bigger waters than you do now.”
That was the limit of In-hyuk’s capabilities in Tae Seok-ho’s judgment. He believed that if he offered anything more, In-hyuk would surely bite.
But In-hyuk felt not the slightest temptation from the proposal.
“Only that much from a fund… It seems I greatly overestimated you, Executive Director.”
“…What?”
“It doesn’t look like we’ll ever end up working together. And in the future, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t summon me like this.”
With that answer, In-hyuk rose from his seat and headed for the entrance.
Thud—
At that moment, Tae Seok-ho slammed his glass down hard on the table. Simultaneously, his bodyguard, Lee Jae-jun, who had been standing by the entrance, stepped forward to block In-hyuk’s path.
“The Executive Director hasn’t finished speaking. Please return to your seat.”
“My conversation is over. So why don’t you step aside, Deputy Director Lee?”
Lee Jae-jun reached for In-hyuk’s shoulder as if to force him back down.
At that moment, In-hyuk moved as well, seizing the man’s wrist.
“Are you picking a fight?”
“Are you the one who wants to pick a fight, Deputy Director Lee?”
Between them, the gripped wrist and hand trembled violently. Then, as In-hyuk applied strength, Lee Jae-jun’s wrist twisted back toward him and slowly returned to its original position.
Although Lee Jae-jun was in his forties, he had undergone every kind of training as a bodyguard and had never been overpowered by raw strength by any ordinary young man.
He continued to strain with all his might, but it was useless. His arm merely shook as he was gently forced back to his original spot while still caught in In-hyuk’s grip.
“Ugh—!”
“Deputy Director Lee. Any more of that and the veins in your forehead are going to burst. And I believe the Executive Director has understood my position clearly, so I’ll be taking my leave.”
In the end, In-hyuk patted Lee Jae-jun’s shoulder once and left the restaurant.
Both Lee Jae-jun and Tae Seok-ho, who had been watching the entire scene from his seat at the table, were left stunned.
Threatening Jeon Hae-in and rejecting Tae Seok-ho’s proposal.
With the two most important tasks completed, In-hyuk’s day began peacefully. The constant tailing that had followed him every day had also disappeared.
In the midst of that, In-hyuk was taking a call in his office.
The call had come from Norman McGrath, who was currently acting as the Korean branch manager of AMK Partners.
He had temporarily gone to the United States and was moving according to In-hyuk’s instructions under the alias Gordon Grimes.
“Were there any other contacts or unusual matters?”
[They mentioned there was a company that wanted to buy them. But the buyer is confidential, so they don’t know which company it is.]
In-hyuk recalled his memories from his previous life.
TN SOFT’s TCL Code technology would later be commercialized and, along with Bitcoin, become widely used across the financial sector, government offices, and all industries related to network security.
However, the owner of TN SOFT, who held the TCL Code technology at that time, was not the current company representative.
“Did you find out who it was?”
[For a large-scale company acquisition, it might be different, but for a small company like TN SOFT where product commercialization is currently difficult, the deal money isn’t that large… There are limits to what we can uncover through the cash flow of related companies.]
As expected of a veteran in the investment field, Norman McGrath knew exactly how to approach the problem.
“I’ll look into it myself.”
[More importantly, is TN SOFT really worth investing that much money into? It’s a company that barely survives on trivial software and only focuses on development. There’s a chance the $20 million will simply vanish into thin air.]
“Have any of the investments I’ve instructed you to make so far ever failed?”
At In-hyuk’s question, he let out a short sigh.
[…They have always succeeded. But when you look closely, they were companies where the path to success was visible. The timing of their business items was also perfect. But TN SOFT has too many problems. It will clearly continue to devour development costs, management expenses, and operating costs. It will become a black hole.]
He wasn’t wrong. In his previous life, the public reason for the change in TN SOFT’s ownership had been exactly that. Unable to handle development costs that far exceeded revenue, the company had sold off all its shares.
In-hyuk let out a soft chuckle over the phone.
“A black hole carries an unknown terror. But if there’s a way to make use of it, couldn’t it be interpreted differently?”
Norman McGrath asked in a voice full of doubt.
[Are you saying you have a way to make it useful, sir?]
“Of course I do. That’s why I’m pushing for it. However, it’s too early to talk about it now, so please focus solely on securing TN SOFT shares in exchange for the investment.”
[But Representative Luke Harrison has shown a very firm stance regarding the share issue… Wouldn’t it be more effective to use the method you know as a bargaining chip?]
It was a method In-hyuk had already considered.
But if he approached them carelessly with only that card, there was a high chance that other parties targeting TN SOFT would find out.
“It’s difficult to use right now. Are you having trouble persuading Representative Luke Harrison?”
[No, that’s not…]
“It seems I overestimated your abilities, Branch Manager McGrath.”
Whether his business pride had been stung, Norman McGrath cleared his throat loudly.
[Ahem—! That’s not the case at all!]
“Instead, I will look into the company that proposed the acquisition of TN SOFT.”
[If you start making inquiries, they’ll eventually learn of your existence. Weren’t you supposed to remain hidden from the public eye?]
“There won’t be any situation where I’m exposed, so you don’t need to worry.”
Even now, the call was being routed through Go Mi-ah’s security protocol. His voice was also being altered.
Unless someone was watching the situation in person, tracking was impossible.
[You’re being too complacent. That could lead to big trouble.]
“You mean the way you keep looking into me, Branch Manager?”
Caught off guard, Norman McGrath fell silent for a moment.
[…You knew?]
“There must be a lot you’re curious about. Besides, you didn’t join AMK Partners purely out of goodwill, did you?”
The beginning had been the threat In-hyuk had thrown while disguised as Gordon Grimes. Given Norman McGrath’s strong pride, there was no way he would stay quiet just because he was now on the same side.
[I was in the palm of your hand the whole time.]
“So, did you manage to find anything out?”
A groan came from the other end of the line.
[It’s pitch black both then and now. Just what exactly are you doing and where that nothing comes up at all?]
He was only registered as the representative of AMK Partners under the name Gordon Grimes.
Since no other activities could be detected, Norman McGrath had no choice but to feel frustrated.
“I’ll tell you when the time comes, so until then, refrain from any unnecessary actions.”
[I understand completely. Then I will look forward to the day we meet properly and faithfully carry out your instructions.]
With those words, In-hyuk ended the call.
A meeting was scheduled with the CEO, executives, and division heads in attendance, so he picked up the tablet containing the materials and stood up from his seat.