Get Moving
Kang Do-young, the heir to the KQ Group, sat in an outdated-looking office with a face full of dissatisfaction.
This was neither the KQ Distribution headquarters he usually used nor the Lifestar Entertainment office he had run until recently. It was the office of the head of KQ Fabric, a subsidiary he had been transferred to just a few days ago.
“What the hell am I supposed to do in a place like this?”
His mutter was thick with annoyance.
Secretary An Min-ki, who had been watching from the sofa, carefully spoke up.
“As you heard during the transfer briefing, starting next month through the first half of next year, the military will be conducting bids for uniform supply contracts in the defense sector. Our KQ Fabric will be entering into a joint contract with the company most likely to win that bid.”
Yet Kang Do-young only looked even more bored than before.
“How much money can there possibly be in supplying some military uniforms….”
“The budget allocated for one year of uniform production alone is approximately 2.5 trillion won. Split that between the first and second halves, and you get 1.25 trillion won per period. The ratio for fabric supply usually falls between 0.5 and 0.8 percent. If the contract goes through, KQ Fabric’s revenue should come to roughly 600 million to 1 billion won.”
It was a fairly detailed explanation, but it only soured Kang Do-young’s mood further.
“Only six to ten billion? Father really assigned something like this to me?”
“The ratio can vary depending on the material, technology, and purpose of the fabric. In some cases it can rise as high as two to five percent.”
“And when does that happen?”
“Specialized uniforms. Things like Kevlar, aramid, Dyneema, carbon, ceramic, silica—fabrics used in extreme mission environments. The raw material costs are high, so the revenue can easily reach several billion won at minimum.”
Kang Do-young stared hard at An Min-ki.
“Why do you know so much about this?”
“After hearing I would be coming here, I reviewed all the relevant materials. That way I can properly assist you, Director.”
“Chief An! You’re more of a hard worker than I thought, huh?”
“…I only did what was expected.”
Then a question occurred to him.
“You said ‘winning the bid’ earlier. So there’s already a leading company?”
“Because the scale of the bid is quite large, it won’t be awarded to just one or two places. However, when considering volume supply and production capacity, the company RSK is the strongest candidate.”
“RSK? Then they must already have a fabric supplier, right?”
Kang Do-young wasn’t a fool. He had graduated from a fairly well-known four-year university and had even served as executive director of KQ Trading while running Lifestar Entertainment.
He could easily infer the overall situation from a rough explanation.
“The highest supply ratio belongs to a company called Texcellence located in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. They’ve had a six-year business relationship. Unless we deal with them, it will be difficult for us to break in.”
“Is that so? Then we’ll have to come up with a plan. Hand over the related materials.”
Kang Do-young had no intention of staying at KQ Fabric for long. He quickly pulled himself together and began slowly reviewing the documents An Min-ki handed him.
In-hyuk was working at the Tae Shin Mulsan TF headquarters.
The internal staff numbered around twenty. Sixty percent had been brought over from headquarters and the subsidiary Tae Shin Asset Management, while the remaining forty percent followed In-hyuk’s orders in a balanced mix.
At that moment, Noh Dong-jun entered In-hyuk’s office.
“I’ve organized the research, production, and supply contracts for Tae Shin Spin Tech and uploaded them to the cloud. And these are the materials you requested from the Group Audit Division. I’ve sorted them as well.”
“They came through faster than expected. And can you pick one—formal or casual?”
“This is still a company, isn’t it? Besides, even if it weren’t, how could I speak casually to you at headquarters?”
He was watching his surroundings.
“You did it just fine at the airport.”
In-hyuk checked the documents that had come from the Audit Division.
They contained a collection of surface-level problems from Tae Shin Mulsan—the predecessor of the entire Tae Shin Group—as well as its affiliates and subsidiaries.
“…This is pretty serious.”
“I skimmed through it too, but it didn’t seem that bad? The error rates on the financial statements of each affiliate aren’t that high either.”
Having just been told to speak comfortably, Noh Dong-jun immediately dropped the honorifics.
In-hyuk let out a sigh.
“The gap with what I’ve identified is huge.”
“You’re saying the companies manipulated their financial statements?”
“That’s part of it. The Audit Division also deliberately overlooked it.”
Noh Dong-jun’s expression hardened instantly.
“You’re saying the Audit Division itself is the problem?”
In-hyuk knew exactly why. Of course, that was because he already knew from his previous life who had orchestrated it.
“There’s no need to request any more materials from the Audit Division going forward.”
“Then what? To check the condition of the affiliates and subsidiaries, we have to go through them, don’t we?”
“We’ll have to verify it ourselves.”
“…What? All of it?”
The Tae Shin Group had nine major affiliates including the parent company Mulsan. Beneath them were roughly twenty subsidiaries.
“I’ve already received full authority from the Chairman, so there won’t be any issues.”
At that, Noh Dong-jun was so startled he nearly shouted, but quickly lowered his voice.
“Do you even know how many people are in the TF headquarters right now?”
“Twenty-three excluding me?”
“Who asked you to guess the number? The problem is manpower, authority or not—! How are we supposed to re-audit every single affiliate and subsidiary with that many people?”
In-hyuk nodded as if he understood.
“If we’re short, we’ll just have to fill the gap.”
“Fill it? How? You’re not thinking of hiring part-timers, are you?”
This wasn’t some minor task; they were talking about re-auditing the entire group. Such critical work couldn’t be entrusted to ordinary employees, so Noh Dong-jun grew even more frustrated.
“We have the Audit Division, don’t we?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just proceed with the current staff within the scope that’s possible. I’ll attach people from the Audit Division as quickly as I can. Ah, Chief Baek. Could you come in for a moment?”
In-hyuk pressed the intercom button as he spoke.
Baek Si-hwan, who had been working at the desk outside, immediately entered, wondering what was going on.
“You called, sir?”
“There are a lot of problems with the materials we received from the Audit Division. It looks like we’ll need to conduct a full re-audit, so Chief Baek, I’d like you to support that effort.”
“…A re-audit?”
“We’re short on manpower right now.”
Baek Si-hwan’s expression turned subtle.
“Leaving manpower aside, has headquarters approved a re-audit?”
“No. I’m proceeding under the authority I’ve been given. If anyone raises an objection, I’ll handle it. So Chief Baek, please follow Chief Noh Dong-jun’s instructions.”
Noh Dong-jun, who had been quietly listening from the side, jumped in surprise.
“You’re telling me to take charge of the re-audit? Then what about you?”
“The Chairman gave me a separate task. I’ll attach additional personnel as quickly as possible.”
“How?”
“There’s a way, so don’t worry.”
Along with his answer, In-hyuk turned his gaze back to the documents, then looked up again at the two men still standing there blankly.
“If you’re done talking, shouldn’t you go back to work? Chief Noh Dong-jun, Chief Baek Si-hwan.”
The two exchanged glances for a moment before slowly walking out.
Several hours later.
A middle-aged man stormed into the TF headquarters and flung open the door to the director’s office without even knocking.
In-hyuk, who had been focused on his work, shifted his gaze to the man.
“Director Han Ki-seok, what brings you here?”
The man, whose face was flushed with agitation, looked startled.
“You know me?”
He had never met In-hyuk face-to-face before.
“You’re Director Han Ki-seok of the Audit Division, aren’t you?”
He was referring to the very Audit Division they had just been discussing in the office.
Han Ki-seok’s face twisted even more than before.
“You know who I am and you still pull something like this?”
“Pull something? I’m simply doing my job.”
“If you’re the TF headquarters, then stick to work appropriate for the TF headquarters! I handed over the materials the Chairman requested without complaint, and now… what? A re-audit?”
Somehow the work being prepared inside the TF headquarters had already leaked all the way to him.
In a way, it could be seen as the TF headquarters encroaching on the Audit Division’s territory. No matter how much authority had been granted, it was the kind of thing that could stir up controversy by disrupting group discipline.
But In-hyuk remained utterly calm.
“We’re conducting a re-audit because there are problems with the materials we received from your side.”
“Problems? What kind of problems?!”
At Han Ki-seok’s raised voice, the TF staff outside began to stand up one by one, their eyes drawn to the scene.
Moreover, the door he had flung open was still wide open, so the situation was fully visible from outside.
“I have been tasked by the Chairman with overseeing the TF headquarters, and all necessary due diligence falls within my authority.”
“That doesn’t mean you get to dig around in perfectly clean places, does it?”
In-hyuk stared steadily at the shouting Han Ki-seok.
“Perfectly clean? Can you take responsibility for those words with your position, Director?”
“…What?”
In response to his question, In-hyuk took a step forward and spoke in a low voice.
“Director Han Ki-seok, who has devoted his entire life to the Chairman—how did it come to this? Taking kickbacks while covering up for the affiliates?”
“Wh-what?!”
When the shocked Han Ki-seok tried to step back, In-hyuk immediately grabbed his shoulder.
“A numbered account at HSBC Bank in Taiwan. Unless you want to go to the prosecutors and confess exactly who has been funneling how much money into it, I suggest you keep quiet. If prosecutors don’t suit you, the National Tax Service works too.”
At In-hyuk’s murmur, Han Ki-seok’s face gradually turned deathly pale.
“H-how did you….”
“Don’t ask how I know. I’ve been hearing that question too often lately and it’s giving me a headache. Anyway, you understand what I’m saying, don’t you?”
“….”
When the man fell silent, In-hyuk firmed the slight curl that had risen at the corner of his mouth.
“If you understand, then nod your head first.”
“…!”
Han Ki-seok’s head slowly moved up and down.
“I was going to borrow some personnel from the Audit Division anyway. You came at just the right time. Since we need to proceed with the re-audit, select an appropriate number of people and send them down. Of course, if you try anything funny, you’ll be getting a call from the prosecutors about that account the very next day. Oh, and don’t even think about moving the funds to the Julius Bank account in Switzerland that’s held under your wife’s cousin’s name.”
At this latest revelation, Han Ki-seok’s face went beyond white and turned a sickly blue.
“…How do you know about that too?”
The account In-hyuk had just mentioned was one Han Ki-seok used completely unrelated to company business. Unless it was connected to an Interpol investigation, only he could have known of its existence.
Yet In-hyuk knew a fact that no one else should have been able to know.
“That’s not important right now, so get moving.”
With his mind in chaos, Han Ki-seok stood frozen in place.
“….”
Clap—
In-hyuk clapped his hands together to snap the man out of his thoughts.
“Aren’t you going to move?”
“R-right.”
With all strength drained from him, Han Ki-seok shuffled out of the office.
In-hyuk then met eyes with the people standing outside.
“Everyone! Stop paying attention to useless things and focus on your work!”
The staff glanced at one another before sitting back down and resuming their tasks.
At that moment, Noh Dong-jun approached In-hyuk’s side.
“What exactly did you say to make the head of the Group Audit Division tuck his tail and leave like that?”
“I just gave him some advice.”
Han Ki-seok’s numbered accounts were just one of the chronic problems within Tae Shin that In-hyuk had uncovered. Naturally, the reason he had discovered them was to seat Tae Seok-ho—the second in line for succession—into the chairman position.
“He looked like he might faint if you gave him advice a second time.”
“Shut up and go do your own work. I have to head out soon.”
“Where are you going? Another external meeting?”
It was well known throughout Tae Shin Asset Management that In-hyuk left the office every afternoon. Naturally, Noh Dong-jun couldn’t have been unaware.
“What, do I look like I’m going out to play?”
“You never know.”
“Enough. Just focus on the re-audit. The Audit Division has agreed to send people down.”
At the same time, Noh Dong-jun looked shocked.
“They really agreed to send people?”
Leaving behind Noh Dong-jun’s noisy question, In-hyuk left the office with Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester in tow.
As they stepped into the elevator and confirmed no one else was around, Hong Yu-geon asked,
“How did you find out that the Audit Division head, Han Ki-seok, was stashing money away?”
Han Ki-seok hadn’t been on the list In-hyuk had previously asked them to investigate.
“You don’t actually think my only information line is you guys, do you?”
“That’s exactly why I’m asking. We’re practically glued to you almost twenty-four seven.”
“Don’t be curious. You might get hurt.”
“Tsk—! So, is today another personal activity?”
He was asking about the rest of the schedule.
“No. Today we’re heading to Cheonan.”
“Cheonan?”
“We should check on the place we’re responsible for.”
Hong Yu-geon nodded as if he understood where that was.
“Aha~!”