As Soon As He Learned to Walk
About two hours later.
In-hyuk arrived at the head office and factory of Taeshin Spintech, located on the outskirts of Cheonan, Chungcheongnam Province.
There were large and small factories nearby, and further away, countless rice fields and farmlands.
He parked in front of the barrier at the entrance, and a person ca out from one of the security booths.
"Where are you from?"
Hong Yu-geon glanced sideways and made eye contact with In-hyuk.
"I'm Kang In-hyuk, division director from the Taeshin Trading TF division."
"Taeshin Trading... do you an from the head office? P-please wait a mont!"
The startled man hurried back into the security booth.
And before long, the barrier lifted. As soon as they entered the parking lot, another middle-aged man ca out of an inner building and hurried toward them.
"Oh my! Hello! I'm Lee Chang-hwan, the person responsible for Taeshin Spintech here."
He was the president of Taeshin Spintech, Lee Chang-hwan.
"I'm Kang In-hyuk."
Introducing himself, In-hyuk handed over a newly printed business card.
Lee Chang-hwan's eyes widened as he saw the contents.
It stated a position responsible for the TF division at the group head office, Taeshin Asset Managent's MP Division, and he also knew that In-hyuk was the son-in-law of the Taeshin Group family.
"But... what brings you here without notice?"
In-hyuk observed his expression closely.
His gaze wandered aimlessly in the air, the corners of his mouth forced into a fake smile as his lips trembled subtly, and fingertips quivered nervously. The atmosphere clearly hinted that sothing fishy was going on.
"As the division director of the TF Division at the head office, I dropped by for an inspection."
"Excuse ? An inspection... you say? What sort of inspection...?"
"Shouldn't you, president, know the reason better than I do?"
With those loaded words, In-hyuk headed toward the factory. Lee Chang-hwan, looking troubled, had no choice but to follow.
Employees passing by Taeshin Spintech gazed at them curiously.
anwhile, In-hyuk, with Lee Chang-hwan in tow, looked around the noisy areas filled with whirring machinery.
"From three years ago until now, the issues of declining sales and managerial problems have grown. Are you making any preparations for that?"
"Of course. Because of this, our sales and production teams are running themselves into the ground."
"Then, what orders have you received recently?"
Cold sweat beaded up on Lee Chang-hwan's broad forehead at this question.
"Recently? Well... as you know, although we're a subsidiary of a large corporation, we're not that different from a small, struggling company, so—"
"I'm not asking about that, I'm asking what orders have been received."
As his words trailed off, another middle-aged man who had been following urgently spoke up.
"We have nine contracts for fashion apparel and two for special uniforms."
It was Oh Hyun-nam, departnt manager of the sales departnt.
"It seems so,"
Lee Chang-hwan carefully echoed.
In-hyuk nodded slightly at his reply.
"Please bring all current supply contracts and sales-related docunts from the past five years."
"... Excuse ?"
"Did you not hear ?"
"N-no! I'll get them!"
With a bitter smile, Lee Chang-hwan signaled another employee to move.
During this ti, In-hyuk checked other parts of the factory before stepping outside, once again glancing at Lee Chang-hwan.
"Are you hot?"
He asked, noting how the man continued sweating even in winter.
"Hahaha! I must be a bit nervous."
"I'm only here to solve the problems of underperforming divisions in Taeshin. If the causes aren't intentional, you've got nothing to worry about."
"Of course, that's only natural."
With the conversation, they entered a eting room in the office building.
Before long, the docunts In-hyuk requested were placed before him.
Seeing how quickly they had been prepared, In-hyuk couldn't help but smile a little.
'As expected, they were ready for this.'
Otherwise, there was no way the docunts would have co out this fast.
Seated behind the docunts, In-hyuk received an additional envelope from Hong Yu-geon and handed it to Lee Chang-hwan.
"Would you read this first?"
"... What is this?"
"It's material I collected about Taeshin Spintech. I'd like to hear your explanation."
Perplexed, Lee Chang-hwan took the docunts from the envelope. As he checked the contents, his expression stiffened rapidly.
"What is this...?"
"Don't you recognize it even after seeing it? It's data about the companies Taeshin Spintech has done business with for the past five years, isn't it?"
Lee Chang-hwan's brow furrowed instantly.
"Ah, now that you ntion it, I do recall. It's just that so were previous deals and—"
"Weren't there two companies you still traded with just a few months ago?"
In-hyuk cut in as he was responding.
Lee Chang-hwan's expression grew even more subtle.
"... That's correct. But why...?"
"Upon investigation, all those companies turned out to be shell companies that are not properly operating. Yet, Taeshin Spintech conducted business with them. Isn't this sothing you should explain?"
This was sothing In-hyuk had asked Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester to investigate before he left the country.
"I didn't know they were shell companies. If you looked into it, you'd know we conducted business normally. There were no issues in the process at all."
Just as he claid, aside from the fact that they were shell companies, there weren't any defects in the transaction records themselves.
Of course, In-hyuk was well aware of this.
"If there's really no problem."
"... What are you implying?"
"Reducing the amounts recorded with other companies, then connecting the leftover volus to shell company transactions to manipulate sales. Are you still going to claim you don't know anything?"
As he explained, another envelope was opened. It contained the comparison of records just ntioned.
A chill swept over Lee Chang-hwan's face.
"...."
"You seed pretty relieved just because you cleaned up the balance sheets and transaction records nicely. However, the TF Division will be conducting due diligence, and until exact results are out, your authority within Taeshin Spintech will be suspended."
"No! This really isn't—!"
"Ah, and the sa applies to all executives involved. An official notice will follow soon, so please refrain from needless actions that could draw suspicion."
Finishing what he had to say, In-hyuk stood up. Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester gathered the docunts prepared by the staff.
Lee Chang-hwan and the other employees left in the conference room could only stare blankly as they left.
* * *
Taeshin Trading head office.
Tae Seok-ho, sitting on the sofa in his office, saw the door open.
The man who entered was Han Gi-seok, the division director of the audit division.
Bowing quietly, he stepped forward and stood.
"... Did you call ?"
A brief silence hung in the air.
Then Tae Seok-ho looked Han Gi-seok up and down and spoke.
"Did the audit division provide additional personnel to the TF Division?"
It was only decided a few hours ago, but news of it had already reached Tae Seok-ho, leading him to summon Han Gi-seok.
"There were problems with the previous audit. But because the TF Division acts on the chairman's orders, I had no choice but to go along."
Tae Seok-ho's lips twitched as he began to speak.
"I thought you had quite a bit of professional pride, director Han."
"... Sir?"
"A rolling stone suddenly pushed out a stone that was set in place. Well, I could see why you would want to break into the TF Division like that. But to have your attitude change this much all of a sudden?"
Han Gi-seok clamped his mouth shut.
"...."
Watching that, Tae Seok-ho clicked his tongue.
"Did Director Kang In-hyuk threaten you?"
"No, nothing like that happened."
"Did Kang In-hyuk, by any chance, know about the money you took on the side?"
At that, Han Gi-seok fell to his knees on the floor.
"Executive vice president!"
Tae Seok-ho could not help but sigh.
"Haa... Do you at least know where your trail got caught?"
"I'm not sure either."
"Have you taken money recently?"
"No. Not since you warned early last year."
The atmosphere grew more severe.
"Does Kang In-hyuk know everything you've done?"
"From what I can tell... it seems that way."
"How much does he know?"
"He specifically ntioned the numbered account in Taiwan's HSBC Bank that you set up for ."
Now Tae Seok-ho's expression turned to one of shock.
"You didn't go around blabbing about that, did you?"
"Not at all! Who could I possibly tell!"
The numbered account ntioned was one that Tae Seok-ho had arranged for him.
Naturally, no one else should know unless they were directly involved.
"Just how did he find out about that..."
Bzzz― bzzz―
At that mont, a vibration sounded from Lee Jae-jun's pocket as he stood to the side.
Checking the screen, he slipped cautiously over to Tae Seok-ho's side.
"It's a call from Spintech's president."
"Return to your place for now. Stay quiet for a while."
Han Gi-seok exited, and Lee Jae-jun pressed the call and speakerphone buttons.
"Go ahead."
["Deputy Chief Lee! Kang In-hyuk just visited."]
Tae Seok-ho almost responded directly but instead signaled to Lee Jae-jun with his eyes.
"What was the reason for his visit?"
["He said he was here for due diligence, and he ntioned the shell company issue. He also knew the way funds were being handled."]
From the desperation in his voice, it was clear how dire the situation was.
"And the result?"
["He suspended both and the executives involved from our duties and left."]
Tae Seok-ho let out a long breath. Then he signaled Lee Jae-jun to continue listening while he remained silent.
"We'll look into it as well. For now, if there are any matters left related to the shell companies, clean them up completely."
["Understood."]
After the call ended, Tae Seok-ho spoke up again.
"Weren't the Spintech companies already dealt with?"
"There shouldn't have been any traceable evidence."
"Then how did Kang In-hyuk find out?"
It was like with Director Han Gi-seok's numbered account in Taiwan. He never imagined that Kang In-hyuk would find out.
"I honestly have no answer to give right now."
Tae Seok-ho's scowl deepened.
"Things are going to hell."
"What should we do?"
He'd been confident there would be no problem.
But Kang In-hyuk had already put the knife to their throats.
"We can't just let this go. Even if it gets noisy, we'll have to clean this up."
"Are you saying...?"
There was a sense that sothing was being understood.
Soon, Tae Seok-ho spoke again, his expression resolute.
"Can you find so truly capable guys? The best would be if it can be made to look like an accident."
Lee Jae-jun hesitated for a mont before offering his opinion cautiously.
"If we look back at what's happened around Division Director Kang In-hyuk, I'd say his instincts are quite sharp."
"His instincts... are sharp? Is that your analysis as well?"
He had always given objective answers.
"Among security guards, soldiers, and so rcenary backgrounds, there are occasionally people with that kind of strong intuition. They sense danger more acutely and can avoid it."
"Even knowing Kang In-hyuk's background, do you still say that?"
Unless his background suggested otherwise, that might make sense, but Kang In-hyuk only had records of an ordinary military service.
"I know, but... otherwise, it's hard to explain. Or he's just an extrely lucky man..."
"... Or?"
When Tae Seok-ho pressed him for an answer, Lee Jae-jun thought for a mont and added,
"Everything about his current identity could be fake."
"Do you realize what you're saying? By your logic, Kang In-hyuk purposely beca an orphan from birth and then, as soon as he learned to walk, received special training in secret?"
In truth, Kang In-hyuk had lived in a orphanage, and at sixteen was selected as a talent by the Taeshin Education Foundation and received support.
Of course, the foundation regularly checked his lifestyle, and no suspicious points had been found.
Except for his calm and quiet personality and his outstanding academic performance, his life was completely ordinary.
"I can't answer beyond that either..."
"It's far more plausible that there's soone manipulating him from behind. Anyway, find the necessary people as quickly as possible."
"Understood."
Lee Jae-jun picked up his phone from the table and left the office.
anwhile, Tae Seok-ho, now alone, tried to force his tangled thoughts into order.
The air in the room grew oppressively heavy.
User Comments
0 comments from readers