A Deadly Atmosphere
It was a chaotic time, stirred by the spectacular collapse of RSK, once a major player in military textiles.
Yet starting a few days ago, several employees from Tae Shin Group affiliates had taken their own lives, and the media had pounced, churning out one sensational article after another.
Kang In-hyuk confirmed the situation on his phone the moment he woke up.
“This looks like things are going to veer off the expected path.”
He had already known about the affiliate employees’ suicides before the press got hold of them. At first the story hadn’t gained much traction, but with multiple deaths the narrative had exploded in a way that felt anything but natural.
Even so, In-hyuk calmly washed up, finished his morning routine, and prepared for work as if nothing were out of the ordinary.
Knock, knock.
A knock sounded, followed by Tae Ju-ha’s voice.
“May I come in?”
“Please do.”
The door opened and Tae Ju-ha stepped inside, dressed in a crisp black-and-white two-piece suit.
“Have you… seen the articles?”
“Just now. Is that why you’re here?”
Between racing between Tae Shin Asset Management and Tae Shin Mulsan, In-hyuk rarely crossed paths with her these days. Living under the same roof yet only seeing each other after several days made her sudden visit feel strangely awkward.
“The chairman just summoned me. He wants us to discuss this matter at headquarters today.”
The media fallout was larger than expected, leaving the head office with little choice but to act.
“Shall we head there immediately?”
“You can ride with me.”
“Understood. Let’s leave right away.”
In-hyuk finished knotting his tie, picked up his briefcase, and the two of them headed down to the underground parking garage together.
“I’ll take my own car.”
“You still don’t like being driven by someone else?”
“After being in two serious accidents, I suppose I’ve grown cautious. Besides, the bodyguards will be traveling with me anyway.”
“Fine. Do as you like.”
After the brief exchange, In-hyuk climbed into the driver’s seat. Hong Yu-geon, already pulling out ahead, glanced back and asked carefully.
“What’s this? Coming down together with the madam? Did something happen?”
“Hoo… Haven’t you seen the news? All the recent suicides have everyone in an uproar. That’s why we’re being dragged to headquarters first thing in the morning.”
“Ah~!”
This time Van Hester spoke up.
“The situation looks bad. Will you be all right? It feels like a lot of pressure is coming your way.”
Unlike Hong Yu-geon, he had actually read the articles.
“It’s a situation I was concerned about, but it’s not necessarily bad.”
“Do you have something prepared again this time?”
So far, In-hyuk had produced a solution for every problem that arose.
“Not really. This isn’t a development I intended, so it’s a bit troublesome.”
“If the head office called you in, does that mean… they’re looking to assign blame? Are you getting fired?”
At Hong Yu-geon’s worried question, a small chuckle escaped In-hyuk.
“Even if I get fired, your paychecks won’t stop.”
“We already know that. We’re just worried your plans might fall apart.”
“We’ll have to go in and see. From the general atmosphere, it’s obvious who set the board, though.”
“Tae Seok-ho?”
“Most likely.”
Van Hester nodded in agreement with Hong Yu-geon. In-hyuk let out a quiet sigh.
Just then his phone rang. It was a Ghost Link call from Go Mi-ah.
“Did you see the articles? It’s complete chaos right now.”
“I’m on my way to headquarters with Representative Director Tae Ju-ha because of that very issue.”
“Are you finally getting fired? Does that mean you’ll be working at AMK Partners with that senile old man now?”
She always referred to Norman McGrath that way.
“Why are you so quick to assume I’ll be fired?”
“The situation is serious. To anyone watching, it looks like they’re orchestrating this to push you out.”
Go Mi-ah clearly understood the gravity of the matter.
“I’ll handle my own affairs, so just focus on your tasks. How is the money trail on Redbore Technologies coming along?”
“Tsk! I’m organizing it now. Like I said before, they’ve done business with so many places that it’s going to take a while.”
“Make sure you aren’t traced. I’ll contact you again once things settle down.”
When the call ended, Hong Yu-geon, catching In-hyuk’s eye in the rearview mirror, asked, “What did she say?”
“The same nagging you do.”
The car sped toward Tae Shin Mulsan.
.
.
.
Executive Director Tae Seok-ho’s office at Tae Shin Mulsan.
Tae Seok-ho sat at his desk with a slightly anxious expression.
“The people we handled won’t cause any leaks, right?”
He was looking at Reina Blackwood, who sat on the sofa to one side.
“Do you think we would handle things so sloppily?”
“Do you know how many times I’ve been stabbed in the back by people I trusted completely?”
Every move Kang In-hyuk made had been completely unpredictable.
At first he had assumed the man simply didn’t want to get involved in the fight. But after an unexpected success in the stock market, In-hyuk had boldly rejected Tae Seok-ho’s proposal during the Cheolsan Capital acquisition and even formed a close relationship with AMK Partners.
Since then, anything Kang In-hyuk touched seemed to flow in a direction that ultimately benefited him.
“That’s why I leaked the shareholding data on Tae Shin Asset Management that the chairman received from Tae Shin Life to the other executives. Today’s meeting was only called because the media is making so much noise about it.”
No matter how much Tae Geon-seung ruled like an emperor within Tae Shin Group, he could not keep ignoring the other shareholders and executives forever.
Especially in a situation like this, moving shares of Tae Shin Asset Management—a subsidiary of Tae Shin Life—could give them grounds to lose trust in him.
“Forget Kang In-hyuk for a moment. It would be wise not to underestimate my father too much. He didn’t hold that seat all this time for nothing.”
“Right now our target isn’t the chairman—it’s Kang In-hyuk. This time he’s stepped in far too deep to slip away easily. He’s handed us the perfect opportunity.”
“I hope that’s how it turns out.”
Tae Seok-ho did not fully trust her words.
Reina’s gaze shifted to her wristwatch.
“It’s time to head to the conference room.”
“Let’s go.”
The two left the office and headed to the floor where the meeting room was located.
A short while later, several executives and presidents greeted him inside the conference room.
“You’ve arrived, Executive Director.”
“Is your health fully recovered?”
They were all people moving to install Tae Seok-ho as the next chairman.
Then a middle-aged man with thick white hair approached from one side.
“You look healthy. That’s a relief.”
It was Executive Director Jeong Min-seop, the second-most influential figure inside Tae Shin Mulsan after Tae Seok-ho.
“Thanks to you. Have you been well, Director Jeong?”
“As you know, it’s been hectic.”
Jeong Min-seop was the son of one of Tae Shin Mulsan’s founding members. He had started at the bottom and risen to his current position. He was also the de facto leader of those loyal to Chairman Tae Geon-seung.
Tae Seok-ho had tried repeatedly to recruit him, but after being firmly rejected each time their relationship had become openly hostile.
“I apologize for the disturbance caused by my family’s internal mess.”
“I didn’t realize you cared so much about the family, Executive Director Tae. However, this latest personnel overhaul had many real problems. Weren’t we supposed to be cutting out the people who were rotting the group from within?”
Since the move had been pushed by Tae Geon-seung through Kang In-hyuk, Jeong Min-seop had watched it with approval.
Tae Seok-ho knew this well and could feel the pointed criticism in the man’s words.
“Even if they are rotten apples, removing them indiscriminately leaves nothing for others to eat. I simply felt it was a little excessive in that regard.”
“Doing it that way only creates more rotten apples.”
Their exchange weighed heavily on the entire conference room.
At that moment In-hyuk and Tae Ju-ha entered through the rear door. As all eyes turned toward them, Tae Seok-ho’s brows immediately furrowed.
In the meantime, In-hyuk caught the murmurs circulating around the room. Most of them were steeped in dissatisfaction about the current situation. An ordinary person might not have caught the words clearly, but In-hyuk could read their lip movements or pick them up distinctly with his sharpened hearing.
“Looks like we’ve become unwelcome guests.”
“You’re only realizing that now?”
When Tae Ju-ha’s sharp remark came from beside him, In-hyuk gave a small shrug.
“Let’s sit for now.”
“Shouldn’t we at least greet them?”
“Judging by the atmosphere, they don’t seem eager to receive one.”
He had just met Tae Seok-ho’s eyes; the man looked ready to tear In-hyuk apart the first chance he got.
It’s brutal…
In the end, In-hyuk and Tae Ju-ha took seats prepared at the far end of the conference room. Even then, the gazes of numerous executives and presidents continued to bore into them.
A little more time passed before Chairman Tae Geon-seung entered through the front door, followed by his eldest son and president of Tae Shin Electronics, Tae Seok-hyun.
As if on cue, everyone rose from their seats.
“What have you done to deserve standing and welcoming me? It’s pointless. Sit down and let’s get straight to business.”
A heavy silence followed his weighty voice.
Tae Geon-seung swept the conference room with a chilling gaze, looking over the gathered members of Tae Shin Group. Those whose eyes briefly met his quickly looked down or turned away.
When his eyes met In-hyuk’s calm ones, the chairman’s mouth finally opened.
“As you all know, the group has been thrown into uproar by no small matter. It concerns the personnel overhaul led by the TF Division.”
Everyone remained quiet. No one, however dissatisfied, dared interrupt Chairman Tae Geon-seung.
He continued, shifting his gaze across the room.
“Therefore, I intend to use this gathering to proceed with the board’s approval of the personnel reorganization.”
The silence shattered as murmurs spread. The expectation that the meeting would overturn the TF Division’s alleged atrocities reported by the media had been completely off the mark.
At that point, President Im Sang-min of Tae Shin Life stepped forward first.
“Chairman, forgive my presumption, but I believe it will be difficult to simply push this personnel overhaul through.”
“…Why?”
“There are many problems. The media is already making noise. Frankly, calling it a personnel overhaul is barely different from restructuring, isn’t it?”
His decision to take the lead seemed to give courage to the others.
“That’s right. There is considerable talk among the lower ranks as well.”
“Employee anxiety is already disrupting normal operations.”
Several executives chimed in to support him.
Tae Geon-seung let out a heavy sigh through his nose.
“Do all of you know exactly how much loss the group has suffered because of the executives and employees mentioned in this overhaul?”
…
That information had not been shared along with the reorganization notice.
The room stirred with low whispers as people waited for Tae Geon-seung to continue.
“The amount identified purely as embezzlement and breach of trust comes to approximately 120 billion won. When combined with losses from the business failures of those facing disciplinary action, the total reaches roughly 890 billion won. On top of that, approximately 360 billion won was transferred through untraceable overseas orders from each affiliate’s international business divisions!”
Embezzlement & Breach of Trust: ₩120 billion
Losses from Business Failures: ₩890 billion
Untraceable Overseas Orders: ₩360 billion
Total Identified Damage: ₩1.37 trillion
As he spoke, the large screen at the front of the conference room lit up. Graphs illustrating the figures appeared, detailing exactly which affiliates had suffered the financial incidents.
At the same time, the faces of the executives and presidents connected to those incidents grew even darker.