Former Mastermind To Chaebol Son-in-Law

Chapter 66

It Just Got Really Twisted

A few days later.

In-hyuk was once again heading to Taeshin Spintech, located in Cheonan.

While driving, Hong Yu-geon mumbled as he looked away from the rearview mirror.

"The guys tailing us this time are pretty thorough, aren't they?"

"You mean the ones switching between three vehicles?"

Hong Yu-geon, slightly surprised since he'd never seen In-hyuk turn his head, asked,

"You saw them?"

At a glance, they were just two ordinary black sedans and a van.

But they kept their distance, sometimes pulling far away, then drawing closer, repeating the pattern as they pleased.

"More or less. Let's stop by a walnut pastry shop nearby."

"Why?"

"Wouldn't it be good to figure out who they are?"

He turned the steering wheel toward Cheonan city, drove for about another ten minutes, and pulled into a walnut pastry shop by the side of the road.

Maybe because of the sudden turn, the trailing cars drove straight past.

Then, one car circled around the area and stopped nearby.

Waiting for a while, the car's window rolled down, making it possible to check the face inside.

Meanwhile, Van Hester came back with no less than five boxes of thirty walnut pastries each.

"Did you check?"

He put four boxes in the trunk and held one as he got into the passenger seat, asking.

In-hyuk looked at him and, with a sigh, explained.

"They're from Warborn."

At that, Hong Yu-geon was shocked again.

"Really, those guys? But how did the president know? No, more than that, how did you recognize them?"

Of course, the original Kang In-hyuk wouldn't know that kind of information.

But he used to live as a former special forces operative, Tae Seok-ho's hunting dog, a man obsessed with revenge.

He'd worked with mercenaries many times, so he knew them well.

"There was a familiar face. Seeing them tailing us, looks like we've been marked as the target."

"Technically, it's not us but you that they're after."

No need to emphasize what was obvious.

"Thanks for the correction."

"Don't mention it. So, what's next? If you know they're Warborn, then you know what they're like, right? They're seriously insane about contract killing."

Even in the original future, In-hyuk had once hired them and they razed a whole building.

"Right now, what matters is how much they've been paid. Warborn's assassination plans scale with the contract fee."

"... You know even that? Have you ever hired Warborn to kill someone?"

"Enough with the pointless talk and let's just go. I have a few things to check."

In-hyuk immediately opened Ghost Link on his phone and sent a message to Go Mi-ah.

[Gordon: Swiss Zurich Bank 530389-△△△-△△△△△. Can you check the account details?]

The reply wasn't long in coming.

[Red Witch: Are you telling me to hack into a private bank server?]

[Gordon: Not hack exactly, I just want to see recent deposit records. Even better if you can track them.]

[Red Witch: Whose account is this anyway?]

[Gordon: The contract killer currently on my tail.]

There was a moment of silence, then she called.

[... You're joking, right?]

"I wish I was. They showed up sooner than I expected, honestly."

He'd already been nearly killed by others several times. Yet that crisis had come again. He heard a sigh from the other end of the line.

[What the hell are you getting into all the time?]

"My life's just gotten really twisted."

Not that he could exactly say it wasn't intentional, but Baek Si-hwan's backers were bigger than expected.

To draw them out into the open, subtle methods alone weren't enough. But he never expected them to send a group like Warborn, contract killers specializing strictly in assassination rather than mere contact.

[Haaa—! What are you going to do, seriously, boss?]

"Are you accessing the account now?"

[Don't rush me, just wait a bit.]

He could hear her typing.

"You've completely taken over the company server, right?"

[That was done ages ago. Ah, it's up! The recent deposit record to that account... I'll send it by message.]

bzzz―

A message arrived, vibrating, with an attached file.

【500,000(CHF) ― SELVA Holdings】

【300,000(CHF) ― Mirage International】

【400,000(CHF) ― Azul & Oro S. A】

.

.

In-hyuk quietly muttered, having discovered something.

"Tae Seok-ho sent this."

[You mean the executive vice president from the head office, boss's wife's uncle? Why him?]

Go Mi-ah only handled what In-hyuk asked, without knowing all the details.

"There are reasons. Anyway, you must be busy, so thanks for checking this."

[My work isn't the problem here. Are contract killers really after you?]

She still sounded like she could hardly believe it.

"If you're curious, look up those Warborn guys on the dark web. And don't try to contact me or go to the lab for a while, because their target range might get wider."

[And you do have a way to solve this?]

"Don't worry about that."

After hanging up, In-hyuk faced forward again.

Hong Yu-geon, catching his eye in the rearview mirror, continued as if piecing together the previous conversation.

"You really have a plan?"

"Because of the way they operate, until they have a surefire plan, they'll just keep tailing. I'm going to deliberately give them an opening to make a move."

"So, you mean you'll make yourself the bait again, like at the Andong tunnel? By the way, why do you know so much about these guys?"

Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester had only ever heard of Warborn on the mercenary market grapevine. Yet In-hyuk talked as if he had met them face-to-face, which was odd.

"Bait? Well, kind of. But this time, it won't be that dangerous."

Hong Yu-geon checked the rearview mirror, glancing at the cars still following from afar, and tilted his head.

"How can it not be dangerous? This is on a different level from back in Andong. We're totally being targeted."

"There's almost nothing we need to do."

"Do you really understand what I'm saying? Are we even talking about the same thing?"

"You know the phrase 'fight poison with poison'?"

"It means combating poison with more poison. Why?"

"Because I plan to use exactly that kind of method."

Hong Yu-geon still couldn't understand what In-hyuk was saying.

In response, In-hyuk just shrugged while looking at Hong Yu-geon's gleaming eyes through the rearview.

* * *

Kang Do-young, now division director of new business at KQ Fabric, was sitting in a luxurious Korean set menu restaurant on the outskirts of Daegu, Gyeongsangbuk Province.

He wore an expression full of annoyance. Watching him gloomily from the side, Ahn Min-gi said cautiously,

"Let's hang in there just a little longer."

"How much longer? Anyone can see he's late on purpose!"

The reason they were at the restaurant was to meet Lee Hyun-geon, CEO of RSK, a strong military supplies contractor.

But the hard-won appointment had already gone 30 minutes over the set time.

"It's probably because of how we set the appointment. But as long as they don't want to break ties with KQ completely, they'll have to show up, no matter how late."

"So, just how long do we wait?"

"We have a few tricks up our sleeve, don't we? So..."

Knock knock—

A knock sounded, the door opened, and CEO Lee Hyun-geon of RSK stood in the doorway with a grave expression.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting. A supply issue came up, so I had to make sure it was handled before I could come."

Kang Do-young forced his unpleasant expression into a smile and greeted him politely.

"Not at all, we should be the ones apologizing for the sudden meeting."

When Ahn Min-gi started to order food, Lee Hyun-geon hurriedly intervened.

"No need for a meal. Honestly, with things the way they are, I doubt we'd enjoy dining together. Let me just give you my answer."

At this, Kang Do-young frowned.

"What answer do you mean?"

They hadn't even gotten to the main point yet.

But it was clear that Lee Hyun-geon already knew what the meeting would be about.

"You want to supply fabric for RSK's military uniform bid, don't you? But we have a preexisting supplier, so I'll have to decline. And since I get a ton of calls around this time every year, please don't misinterpret my knowing what this is about."

It was both polite and resolute.

"Haaa. Even so, isn't this a bit discourteous?"

"Better than being ambiguous and causing unnecessary misunderstandings."

"Are you aware there's a serious issue with Texcellence, your current partner?"

With that question, Lee Hyun-geon's expression hardened.

"... A problem with Texcellence?"

RSK and Texcellence had been doing business for five years already.

There had never been any problems, and Texcellence's newly developed material was their big play for the new military uniform contract.

Kang Do-young smiled as he watched Lee Hyun-geon's shocked face.

"So you weren't aware. It's a serious issue."

"Please explain."

"You'll learn about it eventually, so let me tell you. Someone inside Texcellence has tried to leak the formula for their new material. That person went on an overseas trip and hasn't been heard from since."

Lee Hyun-geon's face became even grimmer.

"... Is that true?"

"Why would I lie? And the circumstances at Texcellence will surface eventually."

A technology leak can be fatal for a business—especially a small one.

If what he'd just heard was true, it meant an emergency even for RSK, who planned to join the coming bid for military uniform supply.

"Do you know who did it?"

"If I told you, would that give KQ Fabric a chance? Anyway, with Texcellence's current predicament, you'll have to look at alternative suppliers."

With the balance shifting his way, Kang Do-young grew more confident.

Still, Lee Hyun-geon maintained his composure despite the confusion in his mind.

"Regardless of Texcellence's issue, RSK values technical ability, reliability, and productivity. That's nonnegotiable—our credibility with the Ministry of Defense is everything. Can KQ Fabric fulfill that?"

This wasn't the first time RSK had been approached by KQ Fabric. They'd considered a deal years ago, but KQ hadn't been up to standard then.

Lee Hyun-geon still didn't feel convinced, and the deliberate lateness to today's meeting reflected that.

"What if we acquire Texcellence's new material technology?"

"... Wait, do you mean KQ Fabric is behind the leak?"

Kang Do-young immediately raised both hands as if to calm him.

"No. The company involved is overseas."

Hearing this, Lee Hyun-geon replied right away.

"Would it be Refiber Works?"

"So you do have a suspect in mind."

"That's the company that previously tried to steal technology from Texcellence. They even offered a buyout, but CEO Park Sung-hoon at Texcellence firmly refused."

Since this part of the story was sensitive, his voice dropped even lower. Kang Do-young grinned even more broadly.

"So there's that backstory."

"So, who is Refiber using to steal the tech? How can KQ Fabric get it?"

"Vice president Choi Jung-mook."

"That guy, finally..."

Clearly, he was already aware of some background.

"In any case, we'll figure out the means on our end... So? With things as they are, it's hard to see you sticking with Texcellence."

Lee Hyun-geon's mind raced.

"I'll have to look into it myself before making a decision."

"Well, nothing's going to change anyway."

In the end, Lee Hyun-geon left the room without even eating.

Kang Do-young rinsed out his mouth with water as if he tasted something bitter, then spat it out.

"Wasn't it said that Choi Jung-mook disappeared after Silicon Valley?"

"The local investigator is still looking for him."

"Isn't there a chance he already handed the technology to Refiber and vanished?"

"I don't think so, considering there's no movement on their side."

"What if we never find him?"

The current plan was to redirect Choi Jung-mook to KQ Fabric.

But if they couldn't track down the main individual, it could all fall apart.

"We've found more people linked to Choi Jung-mook, so it might actually be better if we can't find him at all."

"Oh ho..."

With an admiring tone, Kang Do-young looked at Ahn Min-gi as if complimenting him.