The Chairman's Sudden Move
The notice had appeared without warning.
Taeshin Mulsan — Concurrent Appointment Notice to Taeshin Asset Management
— Name: Kang In-hyuk, Division Head
— Affiliation: M&A/PEF Division, Taeshin Asset Management
— Concurrent Department: Taeshin Mulsan Group TF Division
— Concurrent Position: Division Head
— Concurrent Period: From △△ Month △△ Day, 2025 — Until Further Notice
It was past noon when Tae Ju-ha read the headquarters memo. Her expression darkened.
“What on earth is this…? Did this really come from headquarters?”
Heo Yu-rim looked at her with concern.
“Director, shouldn’t you be thinking about your own condition first?”
“…”
The two women were in the emergency room of a hospital near the breakfast meeting venue.
“I told you it looked suspicious. I said not to eat it.”
“She said she made it herself. It didn’t taste bad at the time.”
“Didn’t taste bad?”
Tae Ju-ha had ended up in the hospital because of the strawberry cheesecake cookies Go Mi-ah had given her in the car. As she had said, there had been no immediate problem after eating them. But by the time they reached the meeting location, sudden abdominal pain had struck, forcing her to the emergency room for gastric lavage.
“It really seemed fine…”
“Weren’t you the one who didn’t like Go Mi-ah?”
“Not to that extent.”
“Then why did you accept the cookies?”
A bitter look crossed Tae Ju-ha’s face. After her biological mother passed away from illness, the very concept of family had been filled only with hostility for her. Naturally, no one had grown close to her. The only person who stayed by her side was Heo Yu-rim.
In such a life, receiving cookies made by someone without the slightest malice had felt strangely unfamiliar.
“Just because.”
“Hoo—! Anyway, be more careful from now on.”
“I will. It really wasn’t that serious anyway…”
Heo Yu-rim flared up at the muttered words.
“Didn’t you hear what the doctor said? He said it was at the level of a poison reaction!”
“It wasn’t that bad… He said it was just gastric spasms, and the overly stimulating food made the rejection a little stronger.”
“That’s the same thing! What exactly did that woman put in those homemade cookies? Oh, now that I think about it, she said she was giving them out to the team members too! Does that mean everyone’s in trouble?”
“Ah…”
Heo Yu-rim immediately called the system management team. After finishing the call, she looked at Tae Ju-ha.
“…They said they never received any cookies.”
“Really? Did Go Mi-ah come to work?”
“They said she greeted everyone brightly when she arrived, but then suddenly became depressed.”
“…?”
The more she heard, the more confusing the situation became.
Tae Ju-ha soon turned her gaze back to the tablet.
“I think we need to look into this as well.”
“That’s the headquarters appointment notice. Will checking it change anything?”
She had been too shocked to think that far.
“You’re right… It won’t.”
“Honestly, it’s a bit strange. Appointing Division Head Kang In-hyuk as head of the headquarters TF Division, of all places… The Chairman must have intervened.”
“Probably.”
Above them were Tae Seok-hyun and Tae Seok-ho, who viewed Tae Ju-ha unfavorably. Their families felt the same, so it was obvious they would not welcome Kang In-hyuk, her husband, becoming part of headquarters.
Naturally, they would never have placed him in the position of head of the headquarters TF Division.
“The checks will be severe.”
“More than that, I don’t understand what the Chairman is thinking. He doesn’t seem particularly interested, yet he makes decisions like this that no one could have predicted.”
“The TF Division is a problem too. According to what I’ve heard from headquarters, the Chairman said he’s going to overhaul all affiliates and subsidiaries. That means Division Head Kang In-hyuk will be the one taking the lead.”
“It won’t be an easy situation. Anyway, I’m getting up now. I need to figure out what’s going on.”
Heo Yu-rim tried to stop her with an even more worried expression.
“At least finish the IV drip before you get up. The gastric lavage is one thing, but you’ve accumulated a lot of fatigue. You need to rest a little.”
Tae Ju-ha lay back down and nodded.
At the same time.
In-hyuk was in the office when the computer alarm notified him of the appointment.
“The Chairman is moving faster than I expected.”
The matter decided only a few days ago was already being implemented.
At the same time, he could guess one thing.
“Don’t tell me… he had this prepared from the beginning?”
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you leaving?”
Hong Yu-geon, sitting on the sofa, asked.
He had been waiting because In-hyuk had suddenly stopped just as they were about to leave after finishing the morning’s work.
“Things are going to get complicated. By the way, the passports you used to enter Korea—are they clean?”
The two had been active as mercenaries, so they had used forged passports whenever crossing borders. The same had been true for In-hyuk during his UID days and after being betrayed by Tae Seok-ho.
He asked because their passport identities could not have any problems.
“Hmm… We bought ours on the black market, so we don’t know that far. Well, they’re not identities wanted by Interpol.”
“That much is obvious.”
There was no way the black market would sell forged passports with criminal records.
“So what’s the problem?”
“You two are listed as bodyguards I personally hired. That’s why you didn’t submit resumes or identity documents to the company. So if Tae Seok-ho or Baek Si-hwan sees you using those passports, won’t they recognize you?”
“Ah… I didn’t think that far.”
“I figured as much. Take photos of your passports right now and send them to Mi-ah. Ask her to check if there are any identity issues.”
At the instruction, Hong Yu-geon flinched slightly.
“Will Mi-ah… check it?”
In one corner of the office sat the purple cookie bag he had stolen from Go Mi-ah’s luggage that morning.
“That’s that, and work is work. Ask her to look into it quickly.”
“Can’t the boss call her himself?”
He sounded genuinely serious.
In-hyuk looked at Hong Yu-geon with an utterly grave expression.
“…We don’t have time, so contact her right now.”
“Tch…!”
Meanwhile, In-hyuk called Baek Si-hwan, who was waiting outside the office.
“You called for me?”
Since In-hyuk had never summoned him for anything other than organizing documents, he looked puzzled.
“A business trip to the United States has been scheduled. Please purchase tickets for departure within this week. Night flights are fine. Four first-class seats. If unavailable, business or economy class is acceptable for the remainder.”
“Suddenly? But just now…”
Baek Si-hwan had also seen the concurrent appointment notice from headquarters. Since the appointment date was imminent, the overseas trip schedule seemed incomprehensible to him.
“That’s exactly why we’re going. I need you on this trip for document management.”
“Ah, I understand.”
“I’ll share the itinerary via email as well.”
Baek Si-hwan left the office with a subtle expression.
Watching him go, In-hyuk turned his gaze to Hong Yu-geon, who was fidgeting on the office sofa. He was waiting for a reply to the message he had sent Go Mi-ah.
“Did she read it?”
“Yeah. But no reply. Ah, it came! Ah…”
The atmosphere was not positive.
“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me the result is bad?”
“She said there was an identity inquiry request from the Minsk area recently?”
It was the name of a region in Belarus.
“Is that your current identity’s place of origin?”
“I didn’t know either, but that’s what Mi-ah said.”
In-hyuk’s expression grew serious.
“What about Ban?”
“Just a moment… Ah, she says it’s the same.”
“Someone deliberately requested the inquiry. And it wasn’t with good intentions.”
“Could it be Baek Si-hwan’s side?”
Both Ban and Hong Yu-geon had grasped the situation, and the mood sank.
“That’s the most likely possibility right now. Of course, there are others as well.”
Tae Seok-ho at group headquarters and Jeon Hae-in, the matriarch of KQ Group, were also candidates. They wanted to shake things up a little because the bodyguards staying by In-hyuk’s side were an eyesore.
“What should we do?”
“For now, leave the country with me. After splitting off at the designated point, reorganize your identities and rejoin.”
“Both of us? Then what about you, boss? Are you planning to move alone with Baek Si-hwan?”
“We have no choice right now.”
“It’s not just anywhere—it’s America. What if he makes a move there?”
In-hyuk was a little concerned about that as well.
Baek Si-hwan and the unidentified organization members had used firearms even in Korea. In a country where guns were legal, they might resort to even more extreme methods.
“Worry about your identities first. It’s better than getting caught by the tail later. I’ll connect you with a broker.”
“You know someone like that too?”
“Not a hundred percent, but he’s not the type to stab you in the back on a completed deal, so you can trust him. And there happens to be something I need to receive as well.”
He was referring to Jacob Greer, who had handled the Cayman Islands business registration for AMK Partners.
“Wasn’t that the priority?”
“It’s killing two birds with one stone. Anyway, don’t move too hastily, and be careful not to get tracked.”
“Got it. I’ll keep that in mind.”
─┼
A few days later, Tae Seok-ho, Executive Director of Taeshin Mulsan, sat on the sofa in his office with a subtle expression.
He had been trying to contact Kang In-hyuk ever since hearing about the concurrent appointment as head of the headquarters TF Division, but the calls kept failing to connect.
Even when he contacted Taeshin Asset Management, all he received was that In-hyuk had been out on external business since morning.
He was now waiting for the appointment date, hoping In-hyuk would come to headquarters.
Knock knock—
At the sound of knocking, his bodyguard Lee Jae-jun entered.
“Did he come?”
Lee Jae-jun knew exactly what kind of news he had been waiting for.
His expression turned strange as well.
“They say he hasn’t yet.”
“A man who’s supposed to report to headquarters still hasn’t shown up?”
“Should I try contacting Asset Management?”
After a brief moment of thought, Tae Seok-ho spoke.
“Just in case, go ahead.”
Previously, he had even used a burner phone to avoid revealing direct contact with Kang In-hyuk. That had been to use Taeshin Asset Management’s funds through the H&T Fund.
But after the acquisition of Cheolsan Capital, those plans had collapsed, removing any reason to maintain secret contact.
Meanwhile, Lee Jae-jun finished his call and approached.
“Executive Director.”
“Did you reach him?”
“Well… They said he departed on an overseas schedule.”
“A business trip? What do you mean, suddenly? Where did he go?”
After a short pause, Lee Jae-jun spoke carefully.
“They said San Jose, California.”
“Silicon Valley? Why there?”
“There’s an important investment due diligence from the MP Division. They said once that work is finished, he’ll handle matters related to the headquarters TF Division from there.”
Tae Seok-ho was dumbfounded.
“How arrogant. He’s putting off work personally ordered by the Chairman and going all the way to America?”
“They said the necessary personnel for the TF Division were selected separately and have already reported in.”
“Weren’t there TF staff members transferred from headquarters?”
“I thought it was those people too… but apparently not.”
Everything was beyond expectation.
Tae Seok-ho’s brow furrowed deeply.
“Nothing is going right.”
“Still, we’ve bought some time with SpinTech. President Han Byeong-hun can take further measures in the meantime.”
The funds used to establish the foundation of the H&T Fund amounted to approximately 50 billion won. It was slush funds that Tae Seok-ho had siphoned off in collusion with President Han Byeong-hun.
Of course, a significant portion had gone to him as well. If he didn’t want to go down with it, he had no choice but to erase as much of the ledger traces as possible, just as Lee Jae-jun suggested.
“Even after Kang In-hyuk returns, will he be able to hide it completely?”
“I’ll make it possible.”
“Hoo—!”
With a sigh, Tae Seok-ho waved him out. The situation not going according to plan was unbearably frustrating.