I Know Him Well
The sun was sinking toward the horizon.
Baek Si-hwan, who had only recently begun working as Kang In-hyuk’s secretary, drove up a sloping road on the outskirts of northern Gyeonggi Province after leaving the office.
Beyond the road he had just climbed and the long building standing to the left, there was nothing but forest.
Spotting the headlights of a parked car flash once, Baek Si-hwan approached and slid into the passenger seat.
The man behind the wheel stepped out and stood watch like a lookout.
Baek Si-hwan tilted his head back slightly and spoke.
“I heard about the situation at the Paziz Hotel. A sudden National Tax Service investigation… It’s a shame, especially since it was one of your regular places.”
His reply carried both concern and courtesy. From the back seat, Baek Ji-woong answered with a troubled expression.
“The timing is rather peculiar, don’t you think? Just as things on our end started going wrong, that place gets exposed.”
“Are you suggesting they deliberately revealed it to target you, Chairman?”
The Paziz Hotel, where Baek Ji-woong and Baek Si-hwan had met previously, had its high-security floor placed under investigation. Enormous sums had been paid through nominee accounts for over a decade to evade the tax authorities, so trouble was inevitable.
“It might be overthinking, but the coincidence is too striking. The sudden dismissal of Han Jae-won from Cheolsan Capital, Jang Hyeong-cheol—that old man—deciding to sell the company… There are far too many points that demand attention.”
“We’re already stirring public opinion, aren’t we?”
“Yet we also handed Tae Seok-ho the very pretext he needed to step forward.”
Baek Ji-woong had originally planned to use the timing of the Riseburn incident to pressure Jang Hyeong-cheol, the true owner of Cheolsan Capital, and then have Tae Seok-ho’s H&T Fund swallow the company in the ensuing chaos.
Moreover, Han Jae-won, Cheolsan Capital’s president and Jang Hyeong-cheol’s right-hand man, had already been recruited, and the board was set.
But Jang Hyeong-cheol had slipped through the prosecution’s investigation unscathed, Han Jae-won had been ousted in the backlash, and the company was now being sold.
In their haste to block the sale, they had created an unfavorable climate for any foreign firm acquiring Cheolsan Capital.
As a result, Tae Seok-ho’s H&T Fund—itself a foreign entity like AMK Partners—found itself in the same difficult position.
“Then we’ll have to move through other channels… Is that feasible?”
“We’ll have to route the company and the funds indirectly. We need to make sure Tae Seok-ho ends up with Cheolsan Capital no matter what. Only then can we get what we want.”
“More importantly, AMK Partners is also a problem. The same thing happened with TN SOFT… Their movements are suspicious.”
They had already clashed twice.
“We discussed it with the higher-ups as well, but they concluded there aren’t enough points of contact to claim AMK Partners is targeting us. Given the current situation, we may even need to consider bringing them in.”
“…Have you located the representative of AMK Partners?”
Baek Si-hwan had also been curious and had people look into it. The fact that the company was registered in the Cayman Islands alone raised many suspicions.
Furthermore, the listed representative, Gordon Grimes, was proving difficult to trace in terms of current location or any records.
“No. We couldn’t find anything at all. It seems the real owner is someone else and they’re using a figurehead. You’ve looked into it yourself, so you probably have some idea.”
Baek Ji-woong was also aware of Baek Si-hwan’s movements.
“Whoever it is, they’re clearly not an easy target.”
“I agree. Fortunately, there’s an intermediary we can use to make contact.”
“You mean Norman McGrath, the Korea branch manager of AMK Partners. We’ve confirmed he’s currently in San Francisco.”
“I’ve already sent someone. They’ll bring back something useful. In the meantime, we need to settle the Cheolsan Capital acquisition first. By the way, has there been any other movement at Tae Shin Asset Management? Especially regarding this M&A.”
At the question, Baek Si-hwan’s face took on a subtle expression in the dim interior of the car.
“As I reported earlier, I’ve been completely excluded from both security and secretarial duties, so it’s been difficult to track Kang In-hyuk’s movements.”
“What about tailing him?”
“There were too many suspicious points in the new bodyguard’s background, so I didn’t assign anyone.”
Baek Ji-woong’s eyes widened slightly.
“Was there something unusual?”
“One Korean and one Hispanic. Since no domestic records turned up, I suspect they’re using forged identities or entered the country on fake passports. From the way they move, they don’t seem like amateurs.”
“Professionals, then?”
The atmosphere grew heavier.
Baek Si-hwan carefully voiced the conclusion he had reached.
“At minimum, we should consider the possibility of military, mercenary, or intelligence-agency backgrounds. Of course, I’m still digging for more details.”
“They’re keeping that close an eye on you? You haven’t done anything to raise suspicion, have you?”
“The only times I’ve met Kang In-hyuk were at the wedding and, more recently, at Chairman Kang Chun-gyu’s book-launch party. Even then, we had no prior relationship, so there’s no trace that would invite suspicion.”
Baek Ji-woong nodded, seemingly understanding.
“Then he’s simply the suspicious type by nature?”
“As you know, after marrying into the Tae Shin Group, Kang In-hyuk had no notable achievements until recently. Even after thoroughly investigating his past, I found no record or indication that he could have produced results of this caliber.”
“So his previous behavior was… a disguise?”
Baek Si-hwan let out a long breath before continuing.
“That seems the most likely possibility at the moment. And if that assumption is correct, Kang In-hyuk may be planning to use Tae Ju-ha to swallow at least Tae Shin Asset Management. It’s even possible his ultimate target is the entire Tae Shin Group.”
They were both aware that Kang In-hyuk had risen to division head under Chairman Tae Geon-seung’s protection. And from the very beginning, he had been the one assigned to handle the Cheolsan Capital sale.
“No matter how capable someone is, without experience and connections, ability is useless…”
“Could Chairman Tae Geon-seung be the one backing him?”
“Hah! That old man who plans to drag the Tae Shin Group with him to the grave? Well, the fact that he still hasn’t properly handed over positions to Tae Seok-hyun and Tae Seok-ho does suggest he has his own agenda.”
“It’s possible he’s considering Tae Ju-ha as his successor.”
This time, Baek Ji-woong let out a long sigh.
“For now, let’s focus on the Cheolsan Capital acquisition rather than that issue. Since Tae Shin Asset Management is overseeing the M&A, some useful information should surface. Extract as much as you can from the inside.”
“Understood.”
With that reply, Baek Si-hwan stepped out of the passenger seat and walked toward his own car.
The driver returned to Baek Ji-woong’s vehicle, and it quickly pulled away.
.
.
.
At the same time.
In-hyuk visited Go Mi-ah’s workshop.
When the door opened, Go Mi-ah, who had been waiting inside, greeted him with a bright smile.
“You’re here? Come in quickly.”
Sensing an odd atmosphere, In-hyuk hesitated for a moment before stepping inside cautiously.
“…What’s with you? Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? Don’t tell me you cooked something. I already ate dinner at the company.”
Passing the kitchen, he saw the empty dining table and finally relaxed.
Go Mi-ah looked at him and asked loudly,
“How did you know our Eun-ho was going to be in a movie?!”
“Eun-ho? Ah… DDS’s Ha Eun-ho.”
It was something he had said offhandedly to get rid of her when she had been pestering him recently.
“Today the news broke that Ha Eun-ho is considering a movie role! He must have been preparing to become an actor! It sounds like his appearance is practically confirmed.”
“I don’t think any articles have come out yet… Where did you see that?”
In-hyuk had spoken because he already knew how successful the film would become. Besides, in the original future, Ha Eun-ho had been scheduled to appear in that movie as long as he wasn’t caught up in the Riseburn incident.
His acting would be recognized through another film around next year, so there probably wouldn’t be much difference.
“Huh? Um… well, you see…”
Go Mi-ah’s eyes darted about.
“You’re not hacking their agency, are you? If you really are, that’s stalking… No, wait, it’s stalking either way.”
“What stalking! I just took a quick look to see how things were going lately.”
“That’s still hacking.”
“Tch—!”
“Don’t waste your energy on pointless things. You said you finished comparing the visitors to the Paziz Hotel.”
That was the reason In-hyuk had come to see Go Mi-ah today.
“The CCTV photos in this folder are of people who haven’t visited since the hotel’s security floor came under investigation. But is just the photos enough? If we dig into the hotel’s check-in records, we could even get their card details.”
“Then we’d have to touch the card companies’ security systems. For now, this is sufficient.”
In-hyuk flipped through the photos in the folder one by one. Not many people visited the hotel regularly, so there were a great number of photos classified as individuals.
While rapidly scrolling with the mouse wheel, he found something.
Just then, his phone rang.
【Charybdis ― H】
It was the name he had saved for Hong Yu-geon.
In-hyuk, who had been staring intently at the photos, pressed the answer button.
[Boss! I was tailing Baek Si-hwan and caught something huge!]
“What? I told you to leave him alone for a while because approaching him could be dangerous.”
[I kept a safe distance the whole time. He didn’t notice a thing. Anyway, I’m sending the photos now—check them.]
Photos arrived via Ghost Link. All of them had been taken in night mode.
As In-hyuk examined them one by one, his finger suddenly stopped.
“This is… Are you sure this is the person Baek Si-hwan met?”
[I couldn’t confirm whether bodyguards were stationed around because of the distance, but he got into the car that came from where Baek Si-hwan was. Once that car drove off, the bodyguards started moving too. Do you know him?]
“…Very well indeed.”
The man in the photo, seated in the back of the car, was none other than Baek Ji-woong, chairman of the media group WISE&WIRE, which had a major newspaper as its parent company. At the same time, he was also the person In-hyuk had spotted in the hotel CCTV footage.
The date on the CCTV footage matched the day Baek Si-hwan had visited, making coincidence unlikely.
[Anyway, given how the bodyguards were acting, he must be someone important. That’s why I sent it.]
“Good work. But this is the last time you tail someone without prior planning.”
[You don’t have to tell me. If we hadn’t spotted those hidden bodyguards first, it could’ve gotten really dangerous.]
“By the way, did you check the inside of their left hands…? Never mind.”
In-hyuk started to say something, then stopped.
[The inside of their hands? Why?]
“It’s nothing. You’ve already withdrawn safely, right?”
[A while ago. But what were you about to say? Now I’m even more curious.]
“I’ll explain when we meet. From now on, stick to the original plan.”
[Tch! Fine, got it.]
After ending the call, In-hyuk enlarged the photo of Baek Ji-woong that he had been staring at.
Go Mi-ah, who had been looking at it with him, tilted her head.
“Is this the person you were looking for?”
“Not certain, but based on my expectations, yes.”
“Do you know who he is?”
In the WISE&WIRE Group family, aside from Baek Ji-woong—the current chairman and son-in-law—most external activities were handled by his wife, Kwon So-jung (the only daughter of the previous chairman), and their daughters, Baek Ye-ju and Baek Ha-na.
Consequently, Baek Ji-woong’s face did not appear on the internet. Unless someone had business dealings with him, most people wouldn’t recognize him.
“Baek Ji-woong. Chairman of WISE&WIRE Group.”
At the answer, Go Mi-ah looked genuinely surprised.