It's My First Ti
A shooting range in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.
In-hyuk left the office and arrived there after about two hours of travel.
As he went inside, the security guards of Taeshin Group were stationed all around.
"You two wait here."
He addressed Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester, who were in the front passenger seat.
With a nonchalant expression, Hong Yu-geon glanced at the security guards.
"Okay."
Getting out of the car, In-hyuk headed inside.
The security guards, as if it was prearranged, checked In-hyuk and let him in without hesitation.
He arrived at a shooting range with a wide-open front.
Chairman Tae Gun-seung of Taeshin Group was firing his shotgun, hitting the flying clay pigeons one by one in the air.
Bang— Crack, Bang— Smash!
'Co to think of it... Chairman Tae Gun-seung's hobby was clay shooting, wasn't it?'
After several shots, Tae Gun-seung broke the shotgun open and removed the shells from the chamber.
He took off the headphones covering his ears and placed them on the table along with the shotgun, then noticed In-hyuk.
"I was so focused on shooting that I didn't realize you'd arrived. Have you been waiting long?"
"I just arrived."
"Kang, would you like to try as well?"
The shotgun, back in his hand, was promptly offered to In-hyuk.
"Sure."
Without hesitation, In-hyuk accepted it, checked the chamber and the trigger.
Click— Click—
"Have you done clay shooting before?"
"No, I haven't."
But he'd done plenty of other shooting. And not at targets—but at people...
Once his inspection of the shotgun was complete, the chamber was loaded with shells from the front.
"When you're ready, shout 'Ah'! A pigeon will fly up—just shoot it and hit it."
"... Understood. Ah—!"
With his shout, two pigeons flew up from their waiting position.
Bang— Crack—
As soon as they ca into sight, two shots rang out, shattering both of them.
"Is this how it's done?"
Watching the scene, Tae Gun-seung's brow hardened.
"... Didn't you just say it was your first ti?"
"It's my first ti."
"Care to try again?"
Upon his request, In-hyuk smoothly broke the chamber, ejected the shells, and loaded new ammunition.
Click—
Ready again, he shouted the signal, and another pigeon flew up.
This ti, his finger moved even faster, and the pigeon shattered with the sound of a gunshot.
Crack—
"It's not that difficult."
"Heh! And you didn't even use the earplugs... are you alright?"
"No problem."
Tae Gun-seung's gaze followed the direction where the fragnts of the shattered pigeon scattered.
He was 92 years old this year.
Clay shooting wasn't an easy sport for soone his age, but he could still handle the impact and enjoyed it from ti to ti.
At the sa ti, he knew very well that soone new to the sport would not perform like that just now.
"I didn't know Kang was such a good shot."
"Looks like I'm not bad," he replied.
Click, crack, click, click!
After ejecting the spent shells and checking the barrel, muzzle, and trigger, In-hyuk set the shotgun down.
"You can shoot so more if you'd like."
"No, I think this is enough."
With that answer, one of the security guards standing at the back ca and collected the shotgun, shells, and other gear.
Tae Gun-seung watched for a mont, then turned his gaze back to In-hyuk.
"The diation for the acquisition of Chulsan Capital went well?"
"There were no problems."
"You must've worked hard."
"All I did was the diation itself, so there wasn't much difficulty. The ones who must be busy now are AMK Partners, who acquired it."
As their conversation went on, the sa security guard brought out hot tea and set it in front of the two n, along with a tablet that he was carrying under his arm.
As Tae Gun-seung sipped the tea, the smile deepened the wrinkles on his face.
"I've heard the report on the MP division's performance. Excluding the principal, 251% return in such a short ti... The clients must be very pleased."
"They're quite satisfied. So, may I ask what brings you to et today?"
Since the atmosphere was a bit ambiguous, In-hyuk tried to get to the point quickly.
"Do I need a special reason to et my granddaughter's husband?"
"It's just that you asked to et in a place like this. And, chairman, I don't think you'd ask to see without a particular reason."
Perhaps because of his serious expression, Tae Gun-seung also toned down the mood.
"I was going to start off lightly, but... well, here, take a look at this first."
He handed In-hyuk the tablet he'd been holding.
On the screen were a company's financial statents, recent profits, and itemized products.
"Taeshin Spintech... isn't that the textile company under the departnt store division? But looking at these details, its competitiveness has dropped sharply. It's in a red ocean already, yet cumulative profits and productivity are continuously falling... the brand positioning itself has major issues as well."
Tae Gun-seung nodded.
"Did you figure all that out from this? Or did you already know about Spintech?"
"Taeshin Asset Managent is in charge of investnts there, right? Internally, we have a lot of data on the head office, affiliates, and subsidiaries. Besides, I heard they recently failed at new material developnt and suffered large losses."
"Do you understand why I'm bringing this up...?"
In-hyuk did not have to think long on that question.
"Surely, you're not asking to fix Spintech's managent troubles?"
"Would you prefer I wasn't?"
"If I'm being honest, I'm hoping it's not that, as I already have a lot on my plate."
Tae Gun-seung let out a small laugh.
"Even if I ask as a favor?"
Since his youth, Tae Gun-seung had been called a bulldozer at Taeshin Group.
He never bent in his choices and stubbornness in any matter.
Naturally, his words were always orders, never requests.
That was the case in the past, and it held true even now.
Yet now, the word "favor" had co from his mouth.
"If it's just a favor, does that an I can refuse?"
"You're making it sound as if I never give you a choice."
"I just sensed that from the atmosphere. Am I wrong?"
A subtle tension hung between the two of them.
The one who spoke first after so hesitation was Tae Gun-seung.
"I suppose. I called you here instead of my office to have this conversation, so you might think that way. It's because you have so many eyes and ears watching you that I was being careful."
In-hyuk let out a sigh.
"So you did know."
"There aren't many people who would welco the way you handle things. Especially my sons, even more so."
It was an answer that suggested Tae Gun-seung had a good grasp of how far In-hyuk's influence reached.
"So, if you've been watching until now, you must know the situation fairly well... Have you been deliberately turning a blind eye?"
"Let's call it letting them roam free. I can't spoon-feed grown n forever, after all."
In-hyuk instantly understood the implication.
"You want them to earn your position with their own ability."
Tae Gun-seung sipped his cooling tea again.
"If not, it'll be hard to keep the Taeshin na alive. Now, have you made your decision? Or do you need more ti to think?"
"I don't see any reason why I have to take on this job. Honestly, with my current performance, I've more than fulfilled my quota, haven't I?"
In-hyuk had produced significant results and profits at Taeshin Asset Managent.
That wasn't the original plan, but he decided to utilize it, since he needed a foundation for the future.
However, he felt no need to overstep and go beyond his area externally.
"Quota? I didn't know soone like you had a quota."
In-hyuk leaned back and crossed his legs.
"I'm just a son-in-law, not Taeshin blood. No matter who inherits Taeshin, my position will never be welcod. So what could I possibly gain by working myself to the bone here?"
It might have sounded arrogant, but Tae Gun-seung didn't show any discomfort.
"You're saying you'll only work as much as you're rewarded, since there's nothing to lose."
"Isn't that fair? And as for Taeshin Spintech, as you showed , it's not the only problematic part within Taeshin, as far as I know."
With curiosity written all over his face, Tae Gun-seung looked at In-hyuk.
"Which other ones do you know about?"
"For a start, Taeshin Electronics is in real trouble. On the surface, the SpaceU25 smartphone launched earlier this year looks successful, but I heard the display defect rate has increased. Plus, it's lagging behind OFL in many areas."
"... And?"
"The subsidiary Taeshin Bio too. Even though it tried to grow together with the SpaceU project—healthcare wearables, AI, deep learning imaging—they haven't achieved much."
"Hm... Anything besides the electronics side?"
Faced with the follow-up question, In-hyuk breathed out a long sigh through his nose.
"Phew—! Do you really need to ask about sothing you already know? The real problem isn't the poor managent of affiliates, but sothing else entirely. Because of that nonintervention you called 'letting them roam free'."
He was referring to Tae Seok-hyun and Tae Seok-ho, his sons.
To be honest, In-hyuk hadn't planned to be this direct.
Of course, he didn't think Tae Gun-seung was unaware of this.
But if he played coy here, their relationship was sure to beco even more awkward than before.
"I thought you were unruffled, but apparently you know how to speak plainly too."
"I've never been good at holding things in. Not that I hold back anymore these days."
"I can see that. So, does that an you're refusing my request?"
"I'll take on Taeshin Spintech. But if I fix it, there's sothing I want in return."
"Of course. Any work deserves its due compensation. What do you want, Kang?"
In-hyuk didn't hesitate.
"I want the holding shares of Taeshin Asset Managent."
He ant the shareholding ratio the holding company had in the subsidiary.
The stake needed was more than 33.4% of the total.
By demanding this, he was also saying he wanted to break free from Taeshin's control and beco independent.
"Do you even know how much that is?"
"Based on the current value of unlisted shares, it's a little over 200 billion won."
"And you want that just for fixing Taeshin Spintech?"
"I'll make sure it's worth that much. If you don't like the deal, you can withdraw the offer."
Unlike In-hyuk, Tae Gun-seung didn't answer right away and fell into thought for a mont.
"All right. I'll do as you said. But the deadline is before the first half of next year."
"That's more than enough. I have an appointnt this afternoon, so I'll excuse myself."
With that, In-hyuk got up and left first.
A little later, Song Tae-ho, secretary and security guard, quietly approached Tae Gun-seung.
"Isn't it risky to entrust the Spintech matter to Division Director Kang In-hyuk?"
"Do you think I was careless?"
Song Tae-ho bowed his head.
"That's not what I ant, sir. It's just that there are too many suspicious aspects to his actions. I'm concerned he might be up to sothing else."
Tae Gun-seung didn't completely dismiss those doubts either.
He harbored enough suspicion regarding In-hyuk's character and change in movent—especially how he had changed in less than a year.
Even his sons did not trust him enough to monitor his actions themselves, so it was only natural.
"Up to sothing... That might be true. But even that is a skill in itself. Other guys think they're hiding their intentions well, but it's better than their moves being obvious."
Song Tae-ho soon realized what he ant.
"You're talking about Executive Vice President Tae Seok-ho."
"At first, I thought he was using Kang as his pawn and getting his way. Turns out, he got stabbed in the back instead. Do you know why that happened?"
"I suppose it's because he trusted Division Director Kang In-hyuk too much."
"Trust? That guy? He doesn't trust anyone. When he realized his hyung was a fool, he started getting arrogant. He may have figured that out himself by now, but it's far, far too late."
Tae Gun-seung already knew about the relationship between his second son, Tae Seok-ho, and In-hyuk.
Earlier this year, when he was wondering how the relationship between his son and grandson-in-law would develop, he was surprised by the unexpected turn of events.
"Actually, it worries that Executive Vice President Tae Seok-ho is being so quiet."
"He missed out on Chulsan Capital, so he's probably planning another strategy. I'm curious to see what that'll be myself..."
Trailing off, Tae Gun-seung rose quietly from his seat.
He gazed at the spot where In-hyuk had just obliterated the clay pigeons.
He recalled how In-hyuk, even while hiding his true feelings, made it so the other side had no choice but to reach out a hand.
anwhile, a chilly autumn wind swept across the range.
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