As He's a Family Elder
In the car heading back from Daegu to Seoul, Kang In-hyuk scanned the articles on his tablet.
“Tae Seok-ho’s been hospitalized after a car accident,” In-hyuk murmured quietly.
Hong Yu-geon, hands on the wheel, jerked in surprise.
“What? A car accident? When I asked if you’d handled it last time, you gave me some vague answer. Were you planning to send him off in a car?”
“I just put one bullet in his gut and left. I felt eyes on us at the time. Looks like those bastards picked him up and staged the whole thing as some unrelated accident.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
In the back seat, In-hyuk met Hong Yu-geon’s gaze in the rearview mirror and shrugged.
“I wasn’t being followed. Besides, it was a situation I’d already anticipated.”
He had never intended to kill Tae Seok-ho outright. That option had never been on the table from the beginning.
In his previous life, after In-hyuk’s revenge stripped him of Taeshin Group, Tae Seok-ho had ended his own life.
Back then, no one had felt more hollow than In-hyuk. This time, he would drag the man to rock bottom and make him suffer every step of the way.
“So you deliberately set it up so they’d move on Tae Seok-ho? But wouldn’t they find that suspicious too?”
“The fact that they still took him in and manufactured the whole scene tells me he’s worth that much to them.”
He had used Tae Seok-ho as bait.
Of course, there had always been the chance the man might die. If In-hyuk hadn’t sensed those watching eyes, he would have arranged for someone else to intervene.
That was how meticulously he had planned this clash between Warborn and Redfall.
“Just how many moves ahead are you reading…?”
“Anyway, since he’s in the hospital, let’s go pay him a visit.”
“Huh? Where? You don’t mean the hospital where Tae Seok-ho is, right? Do you even know which one?”
“I’ll ask someone who would know.”
In-hyuk pulled out his phone and made a call. It connected quickly, and a slightly startled voice answered.
"Yes. Director."
“I need you to look into something. Are you free right now?”
"You may speak."
The sound of someone preparing to take notes came through the receiver.
“I’ve sent over the research materials required for the RSK acquisition. Cross-check them against the existing financial data we’ve collected.”
"I will do so."
After issuing a few more instructions, In-hyuk asked in a casual tone, “Oh, by the way, have you seen the article about Executive Director Tae Seok-ho’s hospitalization?”
"I just saw it myself."
“I feel I should visit him, but the article didn’t mention which hospital. I can’t exactly ask the chairman’s side. Could you look into it for me?”
"The hospital… sir?"
Baek Si-hwan’s words cut off for a moment, as if his brain had frozen.
“Yes. He was with TSS until recently, so I thought you might be able to find out through that channel.”
Baek Si-hwan seemed to hesitate before answering.
"The location of protection subjects within TSS is classified information."
“Is that going to be difficult?”
Perhaps because In-hyuk’s voice had grown firm, Baek Si-hwan answered at once.
"Not at all. I will find out as quickly as possible and contact you. When will you be arriving back in Seoul?"
“I’m on my way now. Should be there in an hour.”
"Understood."
Once the call ended, Hong Yu-geon, who had been listening quietly, spoke again.
“You think Baek Si-hwan will actually tell you?”
“He’s desperate to stay in my good graces. He’ll find a way.”
“And if he can’t find out?”
The question carried the implication that the people who had saved Tae Seok-ho might not be working with Baek Si-hwan.
“Either Baek Si-hwan is closely tied to whoever saved Tae Seok-ho, or the internal lines are split so deeply he can’t access the information.”
This conclusion came from the finger tattoo he had seen on Lee Jae-jun at the scene.
At the very least, the eyes he had felt watching them had most likely belonged to people either monitoring Tae Seok-ho or standing by to protect him.
Yet they had made no move while In-hyuk dealt with Lee Jae-jun. That was the mark of spectators. Saving Tae Seok-ho meant he still held value to them.
“Complicated… it’s all so complicated. You following this?”
Hong Yu-geon rubbed his forehead as if his head ached and glanced at Van Hester.
Van Hester, however, seemed completely uninterested in the conversation. He was quietly munching on the potato chips he had bought at the rest stop.
Rustle. Rustle.
“…Why?”
“Never mind. So you believe Baek Si-hwan will locate the hospital?”
“For now.”
Vrrr—
A message arrived shortly after.
VIP Room, △△ Hospital on the outskirts of Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
Tae Seok-ho lay in the bed there. Before long, his wife, Choi Tae-eun, who had received the call late, hurried into the room with urgent steps.
“A sudden accident! What happened? Are you all right?”
“…There was just a small matter. You didn’t have to come.”
“How could I not? They said you even had surgery. Is your body really okay?”
“It wasn’t anything major.”
Tae Seok-ho kept a stern expression as he turned his gaze back to his tablet.
Choi Tae-eun glanced toward the entrance and asked carefully, “By the way… where did Chief Lee and the others go? I only see people I’ve never met before.”
None of the usual faces were present. Her eyes met those of the young woman sitting on the sofa, and they exchanged slight nods.
Tae Seok-ho pondered for a moment, then sighed.
“There were circumstances. They all resigned. These are the new hires.”
“What? Chief Lee Jae-jun? But you treasured him.”
“He said he was quitting. What was I supposed to do? Enough about that. You should get back to your own work.”
Yet the uneasy feeling refused to leave him.
The handling of Lee Jae-jun and the bodyguards had been declared problem-free by the woman who had just met his eyes—Reina Blackwood.
“Even so, how can I leave when you’re in this condition?”
“It’s not like I don’t have people to look after me.”
“Seung-hyun will be here soon too.”
She was referring to their son, Tae Seung-hyun, who served as planning director at Taeshin Construction.
Tae Seok-ho felt a slight headache coming on. Just then, a knock sounded at the door.
Thinking it was the son he had just mentioned, Tae Seok-ho turned his head—only for his face to harden like stone.
“What are you doing here…”
The person standing in the doorway was Kang In-hyuk.
“I heard you were hospitalized after a traffic accident. Since you are, after all, an elder of the family, I thought it only proper to pay my respects.”
In-hyuk offered a polite greeting and gave a slight bow to Choi Tae-eun beside him. His gaze then moved from the young woman standing near the sofa to Baek Si-hwan.
He had brought Baek Si-hwan along after the man informed him of the hospital.
So they do know each other. Or at the very least, they’ve met before.
A chill had flickered across Baek Si-hwan’s face for the briefest instant.
Meanwhile, Tae Seok-ho radiated clear displeasure as he spoke to In-hyuk.
“I never imagined you would be the second person to visit me after my wife.”
“As you know, the TF headquarters is preparing a major personnel overhaul. Things are only going to get busier. I thought this might be my only chance to see you.”
That overhaul included a long list of executives and employees connected to Tae Seok-ho. He had even hired Warborn mercenaries to prevent it, yet everything had gone sideways and left him seething.
Of course, he could not show any of that now.
“I didn’t realize you cared so much about the company. How truly touching…”
“It’s only natural. By the way, I don’t see Chief Lee Jae-jun. The articles said you were alone when you were injured… Where were you headed that you had to drive yourself?”
“…It was a personal matter. And unfortunately, Chief Lee has resigned, so you can consider him gone.”
“I see.”
In-hyuk answered with perfect nonchalance, all while feeling the gaze of the young woman standing in front of the sofa.
She’s being rather blatant. Is she testing my reaction?
He continued smoothly.
“I hope you recover quickly.”
“Thank you. But how did you learn which hospital I was in?”
He had only told his wife, Choi Tae-eun, the location. In-hyuk’s unexpected appearance had genuinely caught him off guard.
“I heard through one channel or another. Honestly, when an executive director of the group is hospitalized after an accident, word is bound to get out.”
“I dislike noise, so I planned to stay quiet and discharge as soon as possible. Seems I’ve caused unnecessary worry.”
“Not at all. When an elder of the family is injured, it’s only right to come.”
“You must be busy. You should go. I need to rest as well.”
“Take care of yourself, Executive Director.”
After the greeting, In-hyuk walked out with Baek Si-hwan and glanced at the name engraved on the glass door of the VIP ward.
Shinhyeon General Hospital
In truth, he had debated whether to visit Tae Seok-ho even after learning the hospital’s name from Baek Si-hwan. But once he discovered it matched the facility he had uncovered while investigating Baek Si-hwan, he knew he had to come in person.
“Your expression has been off since earlier. Is something wrong?”
“Pardon? Ah, no. I simply didn’t expect to be asked to accompany you on a hospital visit. It caught me off guard, that’s all.”
“I called you out because there’s work to assign at Tae Shin Asset Management.”
“…Understood.”
With Baek Si-hwan’s reply, In-hyuk headed for the underground parking lot where Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester were waiting.
Meanwhile, inside the VIP room, Tae Seok-ho’s face remained rigid from In-hyuk’s sudden appearance.
“You should leave too. Tell Seung-hyun not to come either.”
“Why are you acting like this?”
“Just do as I say!”
Tae Seok-ho usually maintained a cold demeanor. His sudden shout left his wife visibly startled.
“…Did something happen?”
“It’s nothing. Just please do what I tell you!”
“You can barely move. How can I leave you like this?”
“There are other people here. I’ll be fine!”
“…”
His raised voice startled Choi Tae-eun once more.
A long sigh escaped Tae Seok-ho.
“Hoo… I’m really fine, so go home. And don’t go around telling people about my condition.”
Choi Tae-eun stared at him with a complicated expression, then gathered her coat and left the room.
Reina Blackwood, now acting as his secretary, sat on the sofa and spoke with a smile.
“Everyone came because they were worried. Aren’t you being a bit too sharp with them?”
“Do you really think you’re in any position to say that?”
“The deaths of the others were Skull’s doing. We only provided assistance.”
Skull was the name they had given to the unidentified enemy who had attacked Tae Seok-ho.
“Can you truly make Lee Jae-jun and the other bodyguards disappear without raising suspicion?”
“You needn’t worry about that. It may look suspicious due to the missing personnel, but their bodies will never be found anywhere.”
Tae Seok-ho’s eyes grew even darker with meaning.
“…You’re saying you erased them completely?”
“You may interpret it that way. More importantly, we need clues if we’re going to find Skull. Did you see or hear anything before you lost consciousness?”
When he had first woken up, Tae Seok-ho’s mind had not been clear, so she had refrained from asking.
“Hmm… Now that you mention it, Skull asked Lee Jae-jun if he was ‘Kou.’”
“Kou?”
“What? Is it a word you know? It sounded like Japanese to me.”
It was the word that had surfaced in Tae Seok-ho’s mind moments ago.
“I see. It’s the first time I’ve heard it as well. Still, it’s something. I’ll look into it.”
Reina immediately opened her tablet and sent a message.
Code USAGI: Skull possesses knowledge of “Kou.” Estimated decryption of lost device’s password. Identity remains unconfirmed.