The Bait Will Bite Soon
It was the day of the 3rd round of experienced employee interviews for Taeshin Asset Managent's M&A/PEF Division and Systems Managent Team.
Eight candidates had passed the 1st and 2nd rounds.
Thus, for the 3rd round—the executive and CEO interview—CEO Tae Ju-ha, Executive Vice President Oh Kang-goo, and Executive Vice President Nam Kyu-min were in attendance.
In the interview room, a young woman sat in the center with middle-aged n on either side.
The candidates entered one by one, facing the panel in this curious atmosphere and receiving various questions.
After about four people had passed through, they took a ten-minute break, at which point Oh Kang-goo spoke first.
"There seem to be more decent candidates than I expected. Don't you think so, CEO?"
Tae Ju-ha's brow furrowed slightly.
As he said, the previous four interviewees weren't bad.
However, there had been far too many answers that focused only on their resus and social connections rather than on their actual abilities.
Of course, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but what Taeshin Asset Managent currently needed were people who weren't just polished on the outside, but those who actually excelled at their work.
Still, expressing such an opinion outright would only draw the attention of Oh Kang-goo and Nam Kyu-min.
"That's true. They're articulate, and it's clear they have plenty of experience at other companies."
"To be honest, what's the use if they're only good at their work? There's so much talk about the MZ generation and whatnot, but in the end, if you overwork to make a living, you might lose your personal ti, and you could always end up working with soone you don't like, right?"
Tae Ju-ha shook her head imperceptibly.
The break ended, and the next candidate entered.
Oh Kang-goo, who had been looking down at the papers, looked up and was startled.
"Go Mi-ah?"
"Ah, yes."
At her na, Go Mi-ah paused for a mont.
"What happened to your hair? I can understand the resu photo being what it is, but you should have tried to look your best on interview day, shouldn't you?"
"Isn't this neat enough?"
Go Mi-ah brought her tied-up hair forward as she spoke.
But that wasn't what Oh Kang-goo was pointing out.
"I'm talking about the color. Even if companies have beco more relaxed these days, this is a place with clear ranks and rules, you know."
"This is my natural hair color. I thought you might misunderstand, so I even noted it on my resu."
Clearly, as a 3rd-round interviewer, he hadn't reviewed the resu thoroughly.
Oh Kang-goo's brow creased a bit, and just as he was about to say sothing, Tae Ju-ha intervened.
"There's nothing wrong with her appearance, so let's stop here. And Executive Vice President Oh, I hope you'll look over the resus a bit more carefully."
"......"
Oh Kang-goo didn't answer.
After a short silence, the interview for the fifth candidate, Go Mi-ah, began.
.
.
.
At the sa ti, in In-hyuk's office.
In-hyuk was checking the materials sorted for this week, with Baek Si-hwan standing across from his desk.
"There doesn't seem to be a problem. Please pay attention to the keywords and upload them to the server."
"Understood. And......"
At that suddenly hesitant tone, In-hyuk, who was looking at the monitor, stopped.
"Is there sothing else?"
"If you don't mind saying... how long do you intend to go without a secretary? Of course, I have to follow instructions from above, but if you really don't need , I'd appreciate it if you told head office."
It had been almost two months since Baek Si-hwan had co to In-hyuk as his secretary.
With a serious expression, In-hyuk replied.
"As you know, I have no power at head office. Naturally, even if I say what I want, there's no reason for them to listen. Especially the person who sent you to —he would be least inclined to heed such a request."
At this, Baek Si-hwan's face stiffened slightly as well.
"I'm just here according to the instructions from above."
"That's the official reason. As it happened, my secretary position was also vacant at the ti. But I still have no intention of taking you with for important work. If that feels unfair, you can request a departnt transfer or appeal directly to the person you ntioned just now."
At In-hyuk's very firm tone, Baek Si-hwan bit his lower lip.
"... Can I at least ask what the reason is? If it's due to a lack of ability on my part, I'll try to make up for it."
In-hyuk looked Baek Si-hwan straight in the eye as he asked seriously.
Even now, he couldn't erase from his mind the smile Baek Si-hwan had when, as In-hyuk lay in a hospital bed, he tried to use even his death for his own ends.
No, he'd never intended to erase it.
He'd planned to use that as a driving force to root him out entirely, down to the core.
"It's not a matter of ability."
"Then what is it?"
"I don't trust you. I don't have even the slightest bit of trust in Baek Si-hwan. Why would I take soone I can't trust with for important work?"
"What do I need to do for you to trust ?"
"That's not sothing you should ask —it's sothing you must show in your actions, isn't it? Also, I have to leave for an external eting soon, so please finish up the rest of the docunts and return to your desk."
As he realized that pushing head-on wouldn't work, Baek Si-hwan's lips pressed together tightly.
Once the door closed, In-hyuk let out a sigh.
"Is he really so desperate that he's ramming into like this? Soone with his personality wouldn't normally act this way."
The timing and situation of Baek Si-hwan being posted as In-hyuk's secretary had been far from ideal.
Anyone in his position would be suspicious.
From the start, even Baek Si-hwan's attempt to approach In-hyuk was a reckless move.
"Is he in a position with no real decision-making power now?"
At the sa ti, In-hyuk could infer several possibilities.
At that mont, his phone vibrated in his pocket.
It was a call from Norman McGrath through Ghost Link.
"Please speak."
A voice distorted by the program ca through the receiver, and a reply imdiately followed.
[We've completed the overall acquisition of Chulsan Capital and have changed the company na to AMK Bridge. Also, we verified that 70% of the acquisition funds sent to CEO Jang Hyung-cheol have been deposited as client investnt funds.]
The acquisition funds invested amounted to 1.7 trillion won. Of that, about 1 trillion won had returned to AMK Partners' hands.
"That's faster than I expected. I'll send you a corporate list—buy up as much equity and as many bonds as you can. There are so tickets in there that you can make good use of, so keep that in mind."
As he replied, he sent a file to Norman McGrath by phone.
Norman checked it quietly for a while, then spoke again.
[... Are you telling to resort to threats to make the purchases?]
"Only within the bounds of what's legal."
[But even threats aren't legal, are they?]
"If you put it nicely, it's negotiating and bargaining conditional on certain terms. It's not a bad deal for them either."
Norman McGrath then asked with so doubt.
[Construction, rare tals, heavy tal processing, finance, IT services, consulting... The types are all over the place again. What's the intersection you actually want, CEO?]
It was a completely random request. Of course, there had been similar investnts before.
Norman had never lost money following In-hyuk's instructions.
He was simply getting sick of not knowing the outco and being surprised later every ti.
He was curious what kind of vision Gordon Gris—In-hyuk in disguise—had and how he saw and analyzed things.
"It's simple. There are companies I need."
[You're saying every company you've bought shares or bonds in so far? Why?]
It was more than just one or two.
Moreover, there was no apparent connection, so Norman McGrath simply found it all very frustrating.
"You're asking for sothing that you couldn't learn even if you paid money for it, and you're doing it so casually, don't you think?"
[Well, we're in this boat together. And considering all I've done for you until now, can't you treat this like a little commission fee?]
After thinking for a mont, In-hyuk answered quietly.
"Shell company."
[Why... Oh, don't tell ! You're after the shell companies those firms operate? But shell companies are just channels for moving money—there shouldn't be any benefit for us.]
"That's precisely where the difference between you and , branch manager, cos in."
Hearing that vague answer, Norman McGrath sighed.
[So... you're telling to find out for myself, aren't you?]
"A hint should be enough."
Norman McGrath groaned, his doubts deepening.
[Ah, do you want sothing about the shell companies themselves?]
"Sothing like that."
[Then... does it have to do with the capital flows through those shell companies...?]
As the answer was spoken almost like hitting the nail on the head, In-hyuk smiled slightly.
"You got it."
[So, you're going to use their illegal funding routes as leverage to go after even bigger prey, right?]
As if the mists obscuring his vision had cleared, Norman McGrath could now fully see In-hyuk's aim.
"That leverage will be the stranglehold on the companies listed. And with it, I'll be able to target their parent firms, too."
[Whew... But that also ans you'll be making enemies of those firms.]
By pushing for shares and bonds first, it beca easier to expose these firms' weaknesses.
Of course, it wasn't an easy thod.
A company, whose main priority was investnt returns, wouldn't risk a fortune just to use soone's weaknesses against them.
Yet In-hyuk—currently acting as Gordon Gris—was setting out to do exactly that without a second thought.
"Aren't you afraid you might get shot walking down the street?"
At that, Norman McGrath laughed.
[This isn't the US—you'd hardly get shot in Korea. Well, if it were a knife instead of a gun, that might be different.]
"So you're not without concerns."
[It's because you run your operations so dramatically, CEO. But, as big as the risks are, the rewards are pretty sweet, so it's hard to resist.]
His current annual salary was over 1 billion won. On top of that, a 3% incentive on profits.
So far, AMK Partners had made over 1 trillion won operating on In-hyuk's orders.
Three percent of that, converted to dollars, was about 20 million dollars. In won, about 3 billion.
"From what I hear, you've made plenty off so far. Isn't it enough yet?"
[As much as I earn, I spend just as much. So even if you call greedy, there's nothing I can do about it.]
Listening to Norman McGrath, In-hyuk smiled.
A man who judged his own position and situation more coldly than anyone.
Soone who would never cut open the goose that lays golden eggs.
As long as his life wasn't directly threatened, he wouldn't betray him...
In-hyuk had sized up and recruited him precisely for that reason.
"I'm not blaming you. In any case, I'll leave the rest in your hands. If any problems arise, report them to right away."
[Of course.]
After finishing the call, In-hyuk glanced toward the door through which Baek Si-hwan had just exited, recalling his earlier plea for trust.
If this were before he'd co back to life by dying, maybe things would be different.
Or if he were Kang In-hyuk, the original owner of this life.
'You are just bait now. The bait to lure out the guy hiding behind you...'
It wasn't only Baek Si-hwan who had been hooked as bait. The rapidly growing AMK Partners was the sa.
In his previous life, Baek Si-hwan had helped In-hyuk destroy Taeshin Group and even swallow Bluewall.
There was no better bait than that.
"They'll start biting soon on that end too..."
He murmured as he got ready to head out. Just then, his phone vibrated.
Checking the screen, In-hyuk tilted his head.
"... Chairman Tae Gun-seung?"
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