Perilous Indeed
In-hyuk’s phone kept vibrating.
Baek Si-hwan heard it from the driver’s seat and asked, puzzled, “Aren’t you going to answer?”
“I should.”
In-hyuk pressed the call and speaker buttons with a faintly annoyed expression.
“Yes, Kang In-hyuk speaking.”
The caller was Mark Campbell, CEO of Greenbyte Labs.
[Is now a good time?]
“Yes. Go ahead. Weren’t you in a meeting with AMK Partners?”
They had left the building barely ten minutes ago.
[It just ended.]
“Then what prompted the call? Has something changed with our agreement?”
Mark Campbell fell silent for a moment at In-hyuk’s flat tone before replying.
[I’m calling about the conversation we had with AMK Partners. They proposed an investment and an MOU with Accentia, just as you mentioned.]
At the mention of that topic, In-hyuk glanced at the rearview mirror. For an instant, Baek Si-hwan’s eyes met his through the glass before returning to the road. The subject was too sensitive for anyone’s ears or eyes to ignore.
“Sounds like a critical business discussion. Are you sure it’s all right to share it with me?”
AMK Partners had grown far beyond Tae Shin Asset Management’s reach in a short time. Whatever proposal they had made, Greenbyte Labs could not afford to dismiss it lightly.
[It’s fine. I already turned them down. Norman McGrath left just now as well.]
“You refused? Were their terms not better than ours?”
[They were, certainly. I may have let pride get the better of me in my current situation, but I couldn’t ignore the courtesy you extended first.]
In-hyuk felt a faint stir in his chest. From the beginning, this entire affair had been orchestrated by his own hand—moving Norman McGrath through AMK Partners to test Mark Campbell’s character. If the result had been unfavorable, he had even considered replacing the man. Too many people in his previous life had betrayed him for greed and self-interest.
Yet Mark Campbell’s response defied expectations.
“Does that mean you intend to continue working with us?”
[It does.]
“Are you certain that’s wise?”
In-hyuk had instructed Norman McGrath to make a substantial offer under Gordon Grimes’s name—tempting enough that even Mark Campbell would waver. He had also inflated AMK Partners’ proposed investment amount precisely so the CEO could turn his back on them without regret.
[I won’t pretend their offer didn’t sting. But I built Greenbyte with my own ambition. My employees have suffered enough. If I chase even more after already receiving an excessive investment, how could anything go right?]
This time, In-hyuk paused before answering.
“Thank you for making the right decision. Let’s discuss the details properly over dinner later.”
[Understood. I’ll treat you handsomely.]
The call ended. Baek Si-hwan, who had been watching through the mirror, asked cautiously, “AMK Partners targeted Greenbyte Labs… Will that be all right?”
“And if it isn’t?”
Baek Si-hwan’s eyes widened slightly at the aggressive tone. “…Pardon?”
“Choices always involve variables. Representative Mark Campbell’s decision is no different. Instead of asking whether it’s fine, wouldn’t it be better to assess the situation and discuss countermeasures first?”
“I’ll be more careful from now on.”
Silence returned. Moments later, a message arrived on In-hyuk’s phone.
It was a report from Norman McGrath, whom he had met earlier.
By then, the car had arrived at the hotel. In-hyuk entered the room with Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester.
“You deliberately used speakerphone earlier, didn’t you?” Hong Yu-geon asked.
In-hyuk gave a small smile. “Was it too obvious?”
“Anyone who knows the relationship between the president and AMK Partners would have understood what it meant.”
Both men knew In-hyuk was Gordon Grimes, so they naturally understood that he had been the one directing Norman McGrath toward Greenbyte Labs.
“I needed to see how he would react.”
“Baek Si-hwan is probably agonizing over it in his room right now.”
Hong Yu-geon’s tone carried a note of admiration. As he said, the goal of this plan was to sow confusion within the organization—Baek Si-hwan, Baek Ji-woong, and the rest—while using the previously unremarkable Greenbyte Labs to expose AMK Partners’ movements and draw attention to Accentia.
“If that works, their next move will be even more predictable.”
“But if Accentia is that important to Greenbyte Labs, why approach them through AMK Partners first? If the plan backfires, won’t Norman McGrath grow suspicious?”
Because they still did not know how he would react once he learned In-hyuk and Gordon Grimes were the same person.
“No need to worry. I’ll make sure other matters overwhelm him before he has time to suspect anything.”
“…Just how far ahead is your scheme? Oh, by the way—did you visit the hideout we told you about yesterday?”
Hong Yu-geon brought up the question he had been too distracted to ask that morning.
“I did. Stopped by there and checked a few other things as well.”
“Did you catch anyone?”
“They were already gone. But you said there were only four of them at first, right?”
“We did. We never expected a fifth one to appear and kill the others.”
The four bodies found murdered on the road had carried nothing that could identify them. The police would check immigration records, but In-hyuk suspected they had used forged passports. Even if facial recognition were attempted, discovering their true identities would be difficult.
“I went to see if any traces remained, but everything had been cleaned up. I asked Mia to hack the nearby CCTV, but they slipped away cleanly.”
“Sniping from a building near the road and vanishing—that says it all. Judging by skill alone, they’re definitely professionals. At minimum, former soldiers. The chance they’re mercenaries like us isn’t small either.”
Hong Yu-geon wore an unusually serious expression. Van Hester added from the side, “Their skill was too ambiguous to claim they were targeting the president. At that level, their escape probability should have been extremely low. It felt more like they were sent to be eliminated.”
In-hyuk nodded. “I thought the same. Even though they were injured by rubber bullets, they weren’t immobilized. Compared to the ones we fought at the hideout, there was a clear qualitative gap in ability.”
The attack had only been possible because the unidentified men had been armed.
“It’ll be hard to keep tracking them,” Hong Yu-geon said.
In-hyuk agreed. “If their target is me, they’ll show themselves again somehow. We’ll just need to be that much more careful.”
“We’re bodyguards, but we can’t cover a sniper shot one hundred percent.”
“I’ll handle that myself.”
In-hyuk recalled the roadside attack. It had lasted only an instant, yet the reflection of light, every object in his field of vision, and the feel of the wind had allowed him to sense something flying toward him.
“Seriously… guarding the president is downright perilous.”
Hong Yu-geon sighed and collapsed onto the sofa. Watching him, In-hyuk smiled again.
At the same moment, in the room across the hall, Baek Si-hwan—after much deliberation—called Chairman Baek Ji-woong of the W&W Group.
[So, how did it go?]
Baek Ji-woong still knew nothing; the previous day’s events had not yet been reported.
“…I’m sorry. The plan fell apart and we failed.”
A brief silence followed.
[Why?]
“The bodyguards who had been absent returned at the worst possible moment. And…”
[What else happened?]
“The personnel sent from above were substandard. The scenario didn’t unfold as planned, and on top of that, the 1st Class agent who appeared eliminated all of them.”
Recalling yesterday’s events made Baek Si-hwan’s stomach churn.
[1st Class? Who was it?]
“Kuroki Reina… Do you remember her?”
Baek Ji-woong replied after a moment of recollection.
[She was in the same cohort as you? I remember her being quite ruthless for a woman.]
“…Yes. Kuroki Reina brought along the candidates who had been marked for disposal after failing at the camp.”
Baek Si-hwan’s explanation raised further questions, yet the answer came easily.
[Kuroki is 1st Class… If they sent her for this operation, it wasn’t with good intentions. Am I wrong?]
The question pierced straight to the heart of the matter.
“She called it a warning. She also ordered me to submit a report on the previous disposal of Daemyung and the hideout raid.”
His tone grew even more cautious. A low hum came from the other end of the line.
[They certainly have an inefficient way of conveying intent.]
“What should we do?”
[What else? We do as they want. There’s nothing to gain from being faulted over nothing. I only made things troublesome for you by dragging my feet.]
“Not at all. I’m fine.”
[Is that all you have to report? Nothing about Kang In-hyuk?]
“I was just about to mention it. Tae Shin Asset Management approved a hundred-million-dollar investment in Greenbyte Labs, with fifty million scheduled to transfer in the first tranche.”
This time, the information was startling.
[A hundred million? I didn’t think that company was worth that much.]
Baek Ji-woong had already investigated Greenbyte Labs the moment he heard Kang In-hyuk was conducting due diligence.
“There were numerous internal issues as well. The real problem is that AMK Partners also targeted them. To summarize the outcome: Norman McGrath visited personally, but Greenbyte rejected his one-hundred-twenty-million-dollar offer and chose to proceed with Tae Shin Asset Management instead. Accentia is involved as well—I think it would be wise to look into that company.”
A heavy sigh came through the receiver.
[Hah… If it were purely about profit, that wouldn’t make sense. Is it what they call loyalty?]
“I can’t be certain either, but it seems Representative Mark Campbell judged Kang In-hyuk to be more trustworthy.”
[Same category. More people run their businesses that way than you’d think. Who would have guessed Kang In-hyuk would beat AMK Partners at their own game like that.]
“However, if AMK Partners wants Greenbyte Labs that badly, they may reach out again.”
[They might. So, when are you scheduled to return?]
Baek Si-hwan let out a small sigh at the question.
“Because of the police investigation into the attack on Kang In-hyuk, it looks like it will take a few more days.”
[Has Kang In-hyuk made any moves regarding the Taeshin Mulsan TF headquarters?]
“He may have done something while in his room, but nothing has been confirmed within sight. Besides, the due diligence on Greenbyte Labs was conducted almost entirely between just the two of us.”
[I see. Report the situation periodically.]
“Understood.”
After ending the call, Baek Si-hwan tossed his phone onto the bed and sank down. His mind was in turmoil.
When he had first been ordered to become Kang In-hyuk’s secretary, he had felt a trace of dissatisfaction. Yet after spending each day merely organizing documents and then accompanying him on the trip to the United States, his feelings had shifted noticeably.
“Just what did he see in Greenbyte Labs to make those decisions? And what exactly is Accentia?”
Too many things remained invisible. Baek Si-hwan sat at the desk and opened his laptop.