The Unwanted Secretary
Kang In-hyuk stared intently at Jang Hyeong-cheol, who was half in doubt. It was only natural for the man to react that way after being told to give up his company.
But In-hyuk already knew exactly what the outcome would be. He also knew what choice Jang Hyeong-cheol would have to make if he wanted to survive.
In-hyuk let out a short sigh before answering.
“Unlike anyone else, I can make it happen. That is, if you’re willing to trust me, sir.”
“Are you… trying to buy my company at a bargain price?”
“Of course not. I’ll make sure it sells for a fair price.”
“I heard you were put in charge of M&A as well. Is that why you’re making this offer?”
In-hyuk gave a faint smile.
“I get to build my track record, and you get to walk away with a decent sum while shedding a headache. It’s a win-win, isn’t it?”
“Haha… I’m not sure whether I should just believe you.”
“I’ll leave the decision to you, sir.”
Jang Hyeong-cheol’s brow furrowed. If In-hyuk’s words were true, Cheolsan Capital didn’t have much time left.
Still, it pained him to sell the company he had built from a loan-sharking operation in Busan into the empire known as “Jang of Haeundae.”
Just then, an alarm from the Tae Shin Asset Management corporate app sounded on In-hyuk’s phone. Even though it wasn’t personnel season, a sudden appointment notice had appeared.
In-hyuk’s face hardened as he checked the message.
“Damn it…”
The crude words that suddenly burst from In-hyuk’s mouth made Jang Hyeong-cheol look puzzled.
“…Something wrong?”
“Sir, an urgent matter has come up. I need to leave right away. You should decide on what we discussed as soon as possible.”
“Ah, yes… of course.”
Jang Hyeong-cheol was bewildered by the sudden shift in In-hyuk’s usually calm demeanor.
In-hyuk hurried outside, got into his car, and headed straight for Tae Shin Asset Management.
.
.
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Tae Ju-ha was seated in the representative director’s office, reviewing documents, when the internal line rang and her secretary Heo Yu-rim’s voice came through.
Beep—
“Director, Kang In-hyuk, head of the division, is here to see you.”
The unexpected visit made Tae Ju-ha tilt her head.
“Ah… please send him in.”
A moment later, the door opened and In-hyuk entered, taking a seat.
“I saw the appointment notice that just came out.”
“Notice? Ah, are you here because of the secretary assignment?”
In-hyuk had plenty of outside activities that required privacy; he had never wanted anyone watching over him. Yet the very secretary he had rejected from the start had now been formally assigned to him.
“That’s right. I never approved that arrangement.”
“I know. But it came down as a direct order from the group’s upper management. I tried to give you a heads-up, In-hyuk— I mean, Division Head Kang—but once it’s issued directly, there’s no way to hold it back.”
In-hyuk’s brow twitched.
“From Mulsan? Did the chairman get involved?”
Only a handful of people could issue direct orders within the group. The first person In-hyuk thought of was Chairman Tae Geon-seung.
“No. It was Executive Director Tae Seok-ho of Mulsan. Honestly, it’s hard to see it as well-intentioned, but given the group’s ownership structure, we had no choice but to comply.”
Most of Tae Shin Asset Management’s shares were held by Tae Shin Mulsan alongside Tae Geon-seung.
“So you’re saying there’s no way to reverse the decision at the representative director level.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Understood. I’ll take my leave.”
Once outside the office, In-hyuk pulled up the appointment notice on his phone again.
Tae Shin Asset Management Appointment Notice
— Appointee: Tae Shin Security, Guard Team 3, Agent Baek Si-hwan
— Assignment: Tae Shin Asset Management M&A/PEF Division Head Secretary (Manager)
— Effective Date: 2025, Month Day onward
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—
The next day.
In-hyuk sat in his office, facing the man standing before him.
Baek Si-hwan had a refined appearance and tall stature. At first glance, anyone would find him likable.
He was the man who had been suddenly assigned yesterday.
“I’m Baek Si-hwan, newly assigned to assist the division head. I look forward to working with you.”
In-hyuk glanced over Baek Si-hwan’s resume while listening to the greeting.
“Discharged as a staff sergeant from the Logistics Department of the Defense Intelligence Command. Five years at Tae Shin Security as of this year. Promoted from agent to manager with this assignment. Specialties: boxing and karate.”
“…”
Baek Si-hwan met In-hyuk’s gaze without a word.
“Even if this looks like a promotion, you were on the executive protection team at headquarters. Now you’re assigned to assist a subsidiary division head who isn’t even a direct affiliate… Are you all right with that?”
“If I don’t plan on resigning, I believe I should follow company orders.”
His voice was flat, devoid of emotion.
In his mind, In-hyuk snapped Baek Si-hwan’s neck hundreds of times. Of course, he couldn’t show any of it on his face, so he suppressed the murderous intent that threatened to spill out.
“Quite the loyal employee, aren’t you?”
“They pay my salary.”
In-hyuk recalled the first time he had seen Baek Si-hwan in his previous life.
Back then, Baek Si-hwan had been his junior in the UID unit under the Defense Intelligence Command. Their connection continued when Baek Si-hwan joined Tae Shin Security.
Even then, Baek Si-hwan had rarely revealed his true thoughts or opinions.
Honestly, when In-hyuk was driven out after handing Tae Shin Group over to Tae Seok-ho, he had been suspicious of Baek Si-hwan’s offer to help.
Yet with that cooperation, In-hyuk had toppled Tae Shin Group, risen to the top of Blue World, and kept Baek Si-hwan as his right-hand man.
Right up until the moment he drew his last breath, he had never imagined the man’s true intentions…
“Good mindset. However, I don’t take a secretary with me on external business. So, Manager Baek, you’ll only be handling schedule management inside the office as I direct.”
Baek Si-hwan listened quietly before offering his first opinion.
“…But I was also assigned to provide security for the division head. Besides, you were recently involved in an accident, weren’t you?”
The traffic accident in Andong. And right after that, Baek Si-hwan had appeared before him.
In-hyuk’s eyes twitched slightly as he stared at the shameless man.
If he was sent from Mulsan, Tae Seok-ho is most likely behind it. That means Tae Seok-ho has probably been connected to them from the start…
It was obvious what Baek Si-hwan’s purpose was. Since In-hyuk had rejected Tae Seok-ho’s proposal last time, surveillance had become necessary.
“I don’t need security.”
“It’s unavoidable. Moreover, it signifies how important your position is…”
“I’ve already hired separate personnel for my protection.”
“…Pardon?”
Knock, knock—
At the sound, In-hyuk turned toward the door.
“Come in.”
The door opened and two powerfully built men entered. They were the mercenaries from Charybdis—Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester.
When the two rough-looking men appeared, Baek Si-hwan’s face stiffened slightly.
“Perfect timing. These two will be handling my security from now on. So, as I said earlier, please focus only on secretarial duties inside the office.”
“But…!”
“This has already been approved by the representative director. Since it’s also an order from the company you belong to, you’ll have to follow it.”
Faced with In-hyuk’s firm reply, Baek Si-hwan had no choice but to close his mouth.
“Now that the first-day greeting is over, you may go. There’s a shared folder with the materials and manuals for the work I’m handling. Start by reviewing those.”
“…Understood.”
Baek Si-hwan bowed expressionlessly and left.
Once the door closed, Hong Yu-geon approached In-hyuk.
“Why the hell is that guy stuck to the boss?”
“Why else? He’s here to keep an eye on me.”
“Did the guy behind Daemyung send him?”
Having survived battlefields themselves, neither of them believed Baek Si-hwan was the true mastermind behind the Daemyung incident.
Van Hester, who had been silent until now, spoke up.
“If he’s here to spy on the boss, is it all right to talk like this in here?”
He was worried about possible wiretaps or hidden cameras.
In-hyuk had already considered that.
“I’ve already checked. I even installed detectors.”
Hong Yu-geon looked at him with admiration.
“You really don’t miss a thing. So from now on, we just pretend to be your bodyguards?”
“Exactly. And when we’re operating outside, make sure your identities stay hidden.”
At first, In-hyuk had considered hiring a different security team instead of Charybdis.
But he didn’t know how Baek Si-hwan might try to make contact from behind the scenes. It was better to keep people he could trust, even if it required extra caution.
“You don’t have to worry about that. More importantly, that guy’s probably going to dig into our backgrounds… Is that okay?”
“Why? Are you wanted by Interpol or something?”
“Hey! Of course not. But after what happened with Daemyung, those guys aren’t exactly polite when they investigate.”
“If any problems come up, bring them to me. I’ll handle it somehow.”
Hong Yu-geon frowned at the answer.
“Seriously, who the hell are you, boss? That time you grabbed me, too…”
He was referring to the incident at Go Mi-ah’s house when he had been forced to swallow a cookie after one wrong bite.
“I just exercise hard so I can live a long life.”
“You expect me to believe that’s from working out? Right now?”
Van Hester, who had been quiet again, tilted his head.
“Back then… you didn’t deliberately hold back, did you?”
“Deliberately what—! It wouldn’t come loose, like it was stuck in a vise. He even tightened his elbow joint on purpose so I couldn’t pull my other arm free.”
“…It was that bad?”
Both men possessed strength and reflexes far beyond ordinary people. Especially when caught by someone, they knew how to escape.
Naturally, Van Hester had assumed Hong Yu-geon simply hadn’t tried hard enough when In-hyuk grabbed him.
“You already know everything about me. Orphan with no family, son-in-law of Tae Shin Group. That’s all there is.”
“And someone like that is ordering Go Mi-ah and us around while pulling off all these behind-the-scenes moves?”
“Why not? More importantly, have you been passing the investigation results to Go Mi-ah properly?”
Charybdis was currently keeping close watch on the people In-hyuk had designated.
“I handed over yesterday’s reports… Now that you mention it, how did you even know those surveillance targets would be doing that kind of stuff?”
Every single one of the targets was abnormal. At the exact times In-hyuk had mentioned, suspicious conversations and items had changed hands.
Most of them also involved boxes full of cash being loaded into car trunks.
Without regularly receiving information from somewhere, it would have been impossible to know.
“It’s from an information line I have separately. No need to concern yourself with it.”
“Seriously, what kind of person are you, boss…”
“Anyway, get out of here…”
Beep—
Just as he was about to stand, the internal line rang and Baek Si-hwan’s voice came through.
“Executive Director Kang Do-young of KQ Group is here. He’s requesting to see Division Head Kang In-hyuk.”
There had been no prior appointment or call. The fact that he had come to see In-hyuk instead of Tae Ju-ha made it even more suspicious.
In-hyuk thought for a moment before replying.
“Show him in.”