I Was Offended
Go Mi-ah shifted her gaze from the monitor to the edge of the desk.
There, In-hyuk's hand was gripping the corner of the desk.
"What kind of strength... Are you even human? Or did you learn so kind of powerhouse act sowhere?"
Honestly, In-hyuk himself was surprised.
After returning to the past, he had noticed his body felt different from before, but he never thought he'd be able to snap off the edge of a thick wooden desk.
"I just got a little excited because I saw sothing unexpected."
"If you get excited again, you'll end up turning the desk into origami. No, wait... wood-folding, maybe? But seriously, how did you split this? Is this possible with human strength?"
Go Mi-ah snatched the piece of desk from In-hyuk's hand and examined it from every angle.
Her eyes were filled with suspicion, as if he'd perford so magic trick.
However, the broken edge showed only the pure signs of plywood having been torn apart.
"There are people who can rip phonebooks apart with their bare hands."
"Ugh... Phonebooks? Are you showing your age now?"
"I can't exactly say I'm not an old man."
"So, what made you so angry? Was it this coordinate?"
In-hyuk turned his gaze to the screen again.
In one area of the southern Gyeonggi region, a red line was tangled up in a complicated shape.
That was because, before returning to the past when he was part of the UID special forces, this place had been used as a safehouse.
'The fact they used TMT and even knew the location of the safehouse... So, as I suspected, they must have had a close connection with UID, too...'
Of course, it was hard to tell Go Mi-ah such things right now.
"Print it all out for . And it would be best to find a new place to move to as soon as possible. Take this opportunity to renovate the equipnt, too."
"We haven't even lived here for a year."
"Even if we routed our IP, there's still a risk of being tracked. We should take this chance to bolster security."
The unidentified organization was so ticulous that they even used cipher in their ssages.
And Go Mi-ah was showing skills far beyond what he expected.
If she were to be counter-tracked while only picking up a trace or two, she could be lost, which worried him.
"Security? How?"
"I'll have to think about that, too."
He even considered assigning security guards with a rcenary background like Charybdis.
But, no matter how exceptional a rcenary might be, loyalty was usually determined by money.
Besides, In-hyuk was less inclined to trust people, having returned to the past after dying due to betrayal.
"Really? Hmm~!"
Go Mi-ah dragged out her interjection with an odd expression.
Seeing that, In-hyuk felt a sense of foreboding.
* * *
【Who will beco the next owner determined by Chulsan Capital's public competitive bidding? The companies expected to participate are Oga Finance, Silver Bell Capital, and AMK Partners, with the minimum bid guessed to be at least 1 trillion won...】
【Financial company Chulsan Capital, actually a hidden gem! Chulsan Capital, holding bonds, real estate, and stocks as assets, has secured large shares and bonds in major dostic companies... Since the company is unlisted, the checks and balances between companies may change depending on managent styles after the bid...】
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Employees of the M&A Team 1 at Taeshin Asset Managent had traveled down to Busan, to the fourth-floor main conference room of the Chulsan Capital building, preparing busily for the public bidding.
anwhile, In-hyuk was sitting in the CEO's office with Chulsan Capital's true owner, Jang Hyung-cheol.
"What's so grand about selling a company that everyone's making such a racket...."
Jang Hyung-cheol had been keeping an eye on articles about the sale of Chulsan Capital on his phone for a while.
Already suffering from the recent prosecutorial and tax office investigations, it was a discomforting situation for him.
In-hyuk offered a slight smile.
"That way, the wrong people won't be able to pull any foolish stunts."
"... What? Don't tell , you're the one who kept leaking the stories to the press?"
Every ti attention died down, small bits of news related to Chulsan Capital continued to appear.
It would have been difficult for that to happen if no one was orchestrating it.
"That's right."
Jang Hyung-cheol was speechless at In-hyuk's matter-of-fact reply.
"Still, don't you think you're fanning the flas a bit too much?"
"If we hadn't played the dia, any company trying to buy would have attempted to downplay the value of Chulsan Capital in so way."
Jang Hyung-cheol's eyes grew wide.
"Aren't we close enough to introduce to AMK Partners? Taking that into account, you really didn't need to go this far. I would've let a bit of loss or your rightful gain slide, considering what you've done for ."
He was referring to the matter of helping him avoid the prosecution and tax office investigations.
But In-hyuk didn't respond positively.
"Money's just a ans—it's not sothing that proves trust."
For a mont, Jang Hyung-cheol let out a laugh of admiration.
"Hoho! Didn't think I'd hear such words from soone your age. The more I talk to you, the more you feel like a peer, not a junior. You didn't lie about your age, did you?"
In-hyuk rembered what Go Mi-ah had said to him recently.
"I do hear I look younger than I am."
"So you can joke, too?"
"......"
As silence fell, Jang Hyung-cheol continued.
"Hmm! How high do you think the bidding will go?"
"Earlier, you sounded like you weren't all that greedy—now you're getting your hopes up?"
"I'm just curious, that's all."
The intent behind his answer was obvious.
"You saw the estimated minimum bid in the articles: at least 1 trillion won. Still, the flas have already spread, so it should go higher than that."
"Who hasn't seen that? Rumor has it the banks are being swayed, though."
"You an the reports about pressure being applied to the lending departnts?"
"So you heard too."
"It's impossible not to hear."
It was impossible for rumors spread through so many people to stay contained.
Of course, In-hyuk knew not just the rumors, but that it was Taeshin Group's second son, Tae Seok-ho, who had personally acted to apply pressure.
"And even so, you're not worried? While I've already resolved to let go of Chulsan Capital, don't you have more at stake? Or did you get no pressure from AMK Partners?"
"Not really. I'm only handling the interdiary work for the bid. They told themselves they'd take care of things."
"Is that how confident AMK is in this bid? But if the pressure on the banks is true... even AMK will struggle with financing..."
Even if you win the bidding, if you can't raise funds, the acquisition falls through.
Given that the people aiming for Chulsan Capital before went so far as to use the prosecution and tax office, it was obvious they'd gotten involved with the current pressure on the banks as well.
"I'm afraid I can't answer that. It's about ti—I should head down."
"Thanks and good luck."
In-hyuk finished his farewell and stepped outside.
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The fourth-floor conference room set to hold Chulsan Capital's public competitive bid was packed with people.
In-hyuk entered, accompanied by Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester.
Imdiately, the attention of the three participating companies' representatives and various observers assessing the outco turned to him.
Everyone had tried to contact the company several tis just to get a eting with In-hyuk before the bid preparations began.
But since he hadn't t with anyone, rumors swirled anew.
"That's Kang In-hyuk, the Division Director of Taeshin Asset's MP division?"
"He wouldn't et with anyone until now, but this is a big enough deal for him to show up himself."
"I heard Chairman Tae is backing him."
"If not for that, how could he be in charge of sothing this big?"
Whispers continued to ripple through the crowd.
Then soone approached In-hyuk and greeted him in English.
"Nice to et you, director. I'm Norman McGrath from AMK Partners."
In-hyuk looked at him calmly.
Norman McGrath didn't know that In-hyuk was actually Gordon Gris, the registered CEO of AMK Partners.
Because of that, In-hyuk changed his tone and accent as much as possible from what he used on the phone.
"Yes. Hello, I'm Kang In-hyuk. Thank you for participating in this bid."
"I understand you didn't study abroad, yet you speak Midwestern Arican English so fluently."
He ant the standard Arican English used in the Midwest.
Upon finding out In-hyuk had never studied overseas, Norman was surprised at how naturally he spoke.
"I just studied hard in university."
"Actually, I reached out recently to et you... but you kept refusing, and I was a little offended."
Like others, Norman McGrath had tried to et In-hyuk about the Chulsan Capital matter.
Of course, the recent successful investnt stories of Taeshin Asset Managent had also piqued his curiosity toward In-hyuk.
"I just need to be careful not to create any awkward situations."
As the conversation was going smoothly, Tae Seok-ho, the executive vice president of Taeshin Trading, walked over.
Instantly, everyone's attention shifted once more.
"Kang, you're here too."
"I didn't expect the Executive Vice President to co, sir."
On the surface, Tae Seok-ho had nothing to do with the current public competitive bidding.
The fact that he appeared in person was bound to intrigue observers.
"It's one of the biggest stories lately. Plus, with my nephew-in-law at the center of it, I ought to co and watch."
"It's not that big a deal."
"Just take it as a complint. And more importantly—"
Tae Seok-ho's gaze rested on Norman McGrath, who was standing next to In-hyuk.
"Ah, Norman McGrath from AMK. This is Tae Seok-ho, Executive Vice President of Taeshin Trading."
"Oh... I think this is our first eting. You know , sir?"
"I work mostly in Arica, but I've heard many stories about your managent exploits, Vice President Tae, even across the ocean."
The two n spoke fluently in English.
On hearing words full of respect, Tae Seok-ho gave a faint smile.
"Where were you based?"
"I was with FOURGMA. More recently, I was the branch director for the Singapore office before moving on to AMK."
"To leave that position and join AMK... That couldn't have been an easy decision. Did they headhunt you?"
Being a branch director at FOURGMA, a famous hedge fund in the US, was a significant position. Leaving that role for a new investnt company would be a difficult decision for most.
Of course, Tae Seok-ho had already researched Norman McGrath when AMK Partners' na started spreading prior to the Chulsan Capital bid. But he showed no sign of it in person, keeping things affable.
"That's right. They offered quite a large salary. The working environnt's also excellent."
"I suppose AMK Partners, for such a young company, has quite so capital strength."
"It's not bad. If you, Vice President Tae, are ever looking for investnt destinations, I'd be glad to give a recomndation. Oh, pardon , I forgot you already have an investnt company of your own."
The joke was aid partially at In-hyuk, too.
"If the chance cos up soday, I'll keep it in mind."
Just then, the Team 1 leader of M&A, Jung Jong-hyun, carefully approached In-hyuk.
"Director, all bid submissions are closed. We'll begin the opening process now."
"Already? Executive Vice President, Branch Director, please excuse ."
"Go ahead, and good luck."
"See you again."
Leaving their farewells behind, In-hyuk walked to the front of the conference room. The other participants also checked the ti and sat in their assigned seats.
Employees from Oga Finance were present as well. They looked confident, as though they had already won.
At that mont, the voice of Ahn Woo-chan, a manager from the M&A Team 1, ca through the microphone from the podium.
"We'll now begin the bid opening."
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