Former Mastermind To Chaebol Son-in-Law

Chapter 31

Your Capillaries Will Burst

Evening had come.

In-hyuk did not go into the office but handled only external business, then visited a restaurant called "Seunghwa's Set Menu" located in Donui Neighborhood, Jongno District.

It was the restaurant where he had met Tae Seok-ho last time.

This time, too, he had come because Tae Seok-ho, who had been quiet while hospitalized, had reached out to him.

Ting-a-ling―

With the sound of a bell, the door opened.

Tae Seok-ho, who had arrived first, was sitting in the middle.

"You're here? Long time no see. Come and have a seat."

As In-hyuk quietly approached and sat down, Tae Seok-ho handed him a glass.

"I have another appointment, so I'll pass."

"Really?"

Tae Seok-ho withdrew his hand, emptied his own glass, and spoke.

"How's your body? I heard it was bad enough to total the car."

"Fortunately, I wasn't hurt badly, so I was able to be discharged quickly."

"You must be sturdier than you look. So, what business did you have in Andong? I thought you had broken ties with the orphanage you once depended on."

He seemed to know a fair bit about In-hyuk.

"The director there told me that an acquaintance of my biological father had turned up. That's why I urgently took leave and went to visit."

At that moment, Tae Seok-ho's eyes widened as he stared at In-hyuk.

"... Your biological father? So, did you meet this acquaintance?"

"I didn't. I received the contact information and sent calls and messages, but got no reply."

Originally, it had been a trap orchestrated by Jeon Hae-in of KQ Group through Daemyung Detective Agency.

Moreover, In-hyuk's biological father, chairman Kang Cheon-gyu, was unaware of this fact, so there was no way a reply would come.

"That's rather odd."

"They might have mistaken me for their son."

"If that's the case... that's unfortunate."

With that, Tae Seok-ho took another drink.

"It's not as if I ever really wanted to find anyone until now."

"Were you that cold-hearted?"

"If someone is looking for me after more than 30 years, their reason can't be a good one. By the way, why did you want to meet me today? Perhaps..."

When In-hyuk skipped over the personal conversation, Tae Seok-ho let out a shallow breath.

"It's not about Ju-ha. It's because of the M&A/PEF division you've come to oversee. First off, congratulations. To think you caught the chairman's eye and went as far as division director."

"... Thank you."

Tae Seok-ho looked In-hyuk over as if to read his mood.

"As you might have heard before, I run a small fund. Of course, Taeshin Asset Management doesn't know about this."

This was about the H&T Fund, whose records Tae Ju-ha had secretly tried to uncover.

"Yes. Please, go on."

"To be direct... how about you and I join hands? Looking at your recent record, it's quite impressive. If we work together, there's nothing more I could want."

At this suggestion, In-hyuk scratched his nose with his folded knuckle.

"I've looked into your H&T Fund a little. The recent yield is 14.8%. It's below the industry average but not bad. But, is there any reason you need to team up with Taeshin Asset Management?"

Of course, Tae Seok-ho would not have been satisfied with that level of return.

Naturally, they had generated huge profits through internal stock price manipulation and diverting company patents and business items from companies involved in M&A to illegal lines.

Plus, the records Tae Ju-ha had wanted to steal originally were tied to those very accounts.

"I'm not trying to team up with Taeshin Asset Management, but with you. Of course, I'm offering something in return. If H&T Fund reaches its target profit, I'll help you with your divorce, along with a special incentive."

In-hyuk tilted his head.

"My divorce?"

"Frankly, wasn't it a forced marriage by your father-in-law, my older brother Tae Seok-hyun, and my sister-in-law? That's been a shackle, making it hard to do what you really want."

He simply listened quietly for now.

"That's not all. When this is over, you'll have a hard time staying in Korea for a while, so I can make you an executive at the New York headquarters of H&T Fund after. What do you think?"

What would the original Kang In-hyuk have chosen? If he were not who he was now, it was such a dramatic offer that he might have considered it.

"Sorry, but... that's not possible. I have plans at the new division."

"At best, it'll just be several billion won? Even at its best, a few tens of billions, right? If you help me, you'll see much bigger opportunities than you have now."

Tae Seok-ho assessed In-hyuk's limits to be just that.

He must have thought that if he offered any more, In-hyuk would definitely accept.

But In-hyuk was not tempted at all.

"That's all you have with your fund...? I guess I completely misjudged you, executive director."

"... What?"

"No matter what may come, there won't be a day when we join hands. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't call me out like this again."

With that, In-hyuk rose and headed toward the entrance.

Bang―

At that moment, Tae Seok-ho slammed his glass down on the table.

At the same time, his security guard, Lee Jae-jun, who had been standing at the entrance, stepped in front of him.

"The executive director hasn't finished speaking. Please return to your seat."

"I'm done talking. It's you who should step aside, Deputy Chief Lee."

Lee Jae-jun reached to force In-hyuk to sit.

At that, In-hyuk grabbed Lee Jae-jun's wrist.

"So you want to try me?"

"Isn't it you who wants to take this further, Deputy Chief Lee?"

The two held each other's wrists and hands, trembling with tension.

Then, as In-hyuk used his strength, Lee Jae-jun's wrist was pushed back down to its original position.

Even though Lee Jae-jun was in his forties, as a security guard, he had never lost in a contest of strength to a younger man thanks to his extensive training.

He tried to resist, but it was useless; his arm just trembled as In-hyuk returned it gently to where it started.

"Kgh...!"

"Deputy Chief Lee. At this rate, the capillaries in your forehead will burst. And, as for you, executive director, I trust you understand my words, so I'll be on my way."

In-hyuk patted Lee Jae-jun's shoulder once and left the restaurant.

Tae Seok-ho, who had sat at the table watching the recent scene alongside Lee Jae-jun, was bewildered.

* * *

Threatening Jeon Hae-in and rejecting Tae Seok-ho's offer—

Once the two most important matters had been settled, In-hyuk's day started peacefully.

Of course, the constant tailing he had endured every day was also gone.

Amid all this, In-hyuk was taking a call in his office.

[We finished the investment meeting with TN SOFT. However, though we offered 20 million dollars to CEO Luke Harrison, despite poor management conditions, he refused to negotiate any equity.]

It was a call from Norman McGrath, the head of AMK Partners' Korea branch.

Currently, he was temporarily in the USA, following In-hyuk's orders while posing as Gordon Grimes.

"Did they contact any other parties or were there any unusual occurrences?"

[There was someone who wanted to buy the company. But as it was a private buyer, they don't know which company it is.]

In-hyuk recalled his memories from his previous life.

TN SOFT's TCL Code technology, after commercialization, would start being widely used across banking, government agencies, networks, and security—right alongside Bitcoin.

But the owner of TN SOFT then was not the current company CEO.

"Did you find out which company it was?"

[If it was a big corporation buying a big firm, maybe. But for a small company like TN SOFT that can't commercialize its product right away, the deal money isn't that large... so it's hard to trace via related companies' fund flows.]

As expected of the veteran investment manager, Norman McGrath knew the right way to go about it.

"I'll look into it myself."

[But is TN SOFT really worth that level of investment? They're barely surviving on minor software; all they do is keep developing with nothing else. You might just toss 20 million dollars into thin air.]

"Has any of my directed investments failed so far?"

At In-hyuk's question, he let out a sigh.

[... You've always succeeded. But on close inspection, it was at companies where a clear path to success could be seen, at just the right timing for business items. But TN SOFT has a lot of problems. Their development, management, and operation costs will just keep piling up. It's going to be a black hole.]

He wasn't wrong.

The reason TN SOFT changed owners in his past life was for that very reason:

They couldn't handle the excessive development costs outstripping profit, so they had to sell off all equity.

In-hyuk let out a small laugh over the line.

"A black hole is a thing of unknown terror. But if there's a way to use it, isn't there another way to interpret that?"

Norman McGrath asked, full of doubts.

[Are you saying you have a way to make it useful, CEO?]

"Of course I do. That's why I'm pushing it. But for now, it's too soon to talk about it. Just focus on getting equity in TN SOFT on investment terms."

[But CEO Luke Harrison is so firm about the issue... Wouldn't it be more effective to play the card you have, that you mentioned?]

It was a method In-hyuk had considered, too.

But if he approached rashly with only that card, other companies interested in TN SOFT would catch on as well.

"It's too risky for now. Are you having trouble persuading CEO Luke Harrison?"

[No, that's not it...]

"Maybe I overestimated your abilities, Mr. McGrath."

Perhaps his business pride was pricked, as Norman McGrath cleared his throat.

[Khm―! Of course not!]

"Instead, I'll look into the company that offered to buy TN SOFT."

[If you start digging around, they'll learn of your existence. Weren't you intending not to reveal yourself publicly?]

"There's no chance I'll show myself, so don't worry."

Even now, the call was running through Go Mi-ah's security process. Even his voice was altered.

As long as no one saw it in person, tracking would be impossible.

[You might get careless and something bad could happen.]

"Like how you keep trying to find out more about me, Mr. McGrath?"

Momentarily, Norman McGrath fell silent, as though caught off guard.

[... You knew?]

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions about me. Besides, you didn't join AMK Partners out of goodwill, did you?"

It had begun with In-hyuk, in disguise as Gordon Grimes, sending a threatening message.

Given Norman McGrath's prideful nature, he would never stand by quietly despite joining the same side.

[So, I was in the palm of your hand all along.]

"So then, did you manage to figure something out?"

There was a sound of frustration from the other end.

[From the start, and even now, I'm completely in the dark. Where are you and what are you doing that nothing comes up?]

Under the name Gordon Grimes, he was only registered as CEO of AMK Partners.

With no other trace of activity, Norman McGrath could only feel frustrated.

"When the time is right, I'll let you know. Until then, I suggest you refrain from unnecessary moves."

[I understand perfectly. Then I look forward to the day we meet properly, and in the meantime, I'll do my best to follow your instructions.]

With that, In-hyuk ended the call.

There was a meeting scheduled with the CEO, executives, and department head, so he grabbed the tablet with the presentation materials and stood up.