Chapter 4: The Ominous Presence
In the president’s office at MH Electronics headquarters in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul, Myung In-chul stared anxiously at the phone on his desk, unable to hide his nervous expression.
“Why is there no contact at all?”
Despite being designated as the successor by Myung Joong-hwan, the founder of MH Group and his father, Myung In-chul had not been given any shares in the company. He was merely a successor in name, and the situation could change at any moment based on Myung Joong-hwan’s words.
Moreover, Im Hee-yeon, who was born outside and joined the Myung family, had risen from the bottom to a position akin to the head of the strategic planning department, which was effectively the group’s audit department.
Meanwhile, Myung In-chul had secretly accumulated shares of MH Group’s parent company by creating slush funds. However, Im Hee-yeon, the child of a mistress, had caught wind of this and started pursuing him.
“This is driving me crazy… Secretary Kim! Has Director Park Sang-kyu not arrived yet?”
He asked through the internal phone, and a response was heard.
[Not yet. I’ll try to contact him… He’s just arrived. Should I let him in right away?]
“Go ahead.”
Moments later, the door opened, and a tall, well-built middle-aged man with sharp eyes entered. It was Park Sang-kyu, Myung In-chul’s head of security, whom he had been waiting for.
“Director Park! What happened?”
“I apologize for being late, sir.”
“Speak quickly. Was it handled?”
Park Sang-kyu had a serious expression.
“The plan… failed.”
“What?! What do you mean by failure! Why did it fail?!”
As Myung In-chul’s anxiety intensified, shouting loudly, Park Sang-kyu showed a slightly embarrassed expression.
“There was an unexpected guest.”
“Who is that?”
“We have not identified them yet, and it seems we’ll have to wait for the next opportunity for Im Hee-yeon’s matter.”
Myung In-chul’s expression tightened further upon hearing that such an explanation was given in such a critical situation.
“You were confident! You said it was a place I could trust! And now this?!”
“… I’m sorry.”
“Sigh… So? Where is she now? Please tell me she didn’t leave any traces that could be tracked!”
If Im Hee-yeon had safely left that location, she should have arrived at MH Electronics headquarters by now for the financial statement audit. However, there had been no news about her from the first floor.
“One of the men was caught by her security team, but he knows nothing, so there’s no issue. Also, Im Hee-yeon has returned to the group headquarters for now. It seems she’s trying to reschedule the timing due to today’s situation.”
“Are you sure there’s no problem?”
“Don’t worry about that.”
“Ha…”
This MH Electronics audit was part of the annual routine tasks implemented by the strategic planning department of the group headquarters, as directed by Myung Joong-hwan.
Myung In-chul was unaware of how far Im Hee-yeon had followed the trail. Even if the schedule was postponed, it would eventually be resumed, so there was no room for relaxation.
Then Myung In-chul suddenly remembered something.
“Who was the person she was supposed to meet today? Wasn’t that why the audit time was suddenly postponed?”
Im Hee-yeon had lost her only family, her biological mother, and had received support from MH Group. As a result, she had lived solely as a hunting dog faithfully executing Myung Joong-hwan’s orders, and thus, no weakness that could shake Im Hee-yeon existed.
“Considering that you might be curious, I looked into it.”
With the response, Park Sang-kyu handed over the envelope he had been holding.
“…Baek Shin-woo? A soldier?”
“He was with the Army Special Warfare Command until recently, but he served as a logistics non-commissioned officer before being discharged.”
“You don’t know what his relationship with Im Hee-yeon is?”
“The cafe had the headquarters’ security team, so I didn’t hear their conversation. However, considering Im Hee-yeon postponed the meeting until after hours, it seems they have more than a casual relationship.”
Myung In-chul checked Baek Shin-woo’s personal information for his age.
“If he’s twenty-three this year… could he possibly be a stepbrother?”
“Baek Shin-woo is from an orphanage in Jindo, and calculating his birth year, Im Hee-yeon was studying at Harvard in Massachusetts at that time.”
It was the United States and Korea. Given the different time zones, Myung In-chul was left pondering.
“It’s difficult to know the situation when she was in America… but did she ever come to Korea during that period?”
“I’ll check with the immigration office.”
Park Sang-kyu stepped aside for a moment and made a call. After a short while, the call ended.
“According to the records, Baek Shin-woo entered Korea before being placed in the orphanage. What should we do?”
“We can ask him directly about their relationship. Confirm and check it out. Bring him in as soon as possible.”
At that moment, Park Sang-kyu was about to agree but hesitated, then carefully continued.
“Since Baek Shin-woo was in the military until recently, he doesn’t have a registered address at the moment. I’ll track him using the phone number connected through the police line.”
“It’s all becoming quite bothersome.”
*
MH Group headquarters, Strategic Planning Department office.
Since it was not publicly acknowledged, it was managed on the 4th basement floor, inaccessible to just anyone.
Returning to the office, Im Hee-yeon slumped into a chair.
“Phew…! There’s been so much complicated work today.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“There’s still much to be done. By the way, has that man arrived at the warehouse?”
“He should be arriving soon.”
The warehouse was their code word for a secret storage room. It was located on the outskirts of Seoul and used for confidential tasks handled by the Strategic Planning Department.
“It’s a bit disappointing that we missed all the other guys.”
“Though it was only two, they were individuals with unusual skills.”
Im Hee-yeon’s personal security team consisted of experts, each with a minimum of a 6th Dan ranking and experience as police or military personnel. They had been the first to detect the enemy and even conducted a surprise raid.
*The term “6th Dan” typically refers to a rank in various martial arts, such as karate, judo, or taekwondo.*
But the enemy managed to injure five of their bodyguards and escaped despite their skill.
“Was it really the same person Shin-woo caught?”
“I believe it would have been difficult to subdue him without pre-emptive restraint.”
With that explanation, Im Hee-yeon’s concern deepened.
“…Then how did Shin-woo subdue him? He seemed to have caught him without a scratch.”
“That was also a question I had. Additionally, I felt that the security team disguised as customers at the cafe were detected.”
“Are you suggesting that Shin-woo might have undergone special training?”
Song Tae-hoon was a 12th Dan martial artist and a UDT veteran with real combat experience from overseas deployments.
Baek Shin-woo’s movements, viewed from such a perspective, left no room for minor gaps. It was similar to what one would experience with seasoned veterans met on the battlefield.
“In my subjective opinion, it’s hard to believe he just served as a logistics non-commissioned officer in the military.”
“Can we get more details through the Ministry of National Defense contacts that found Shin-woo?”
“I’ll check into it.”
Vroom— Vroom—
At that moment, Song Tae-hoon’s phone rang. It was a call from one of the colleagues sent to the warehouse.
He connected the call and switched to speakerphone.
“Did you arrive at the warehouse safely?”
[…S-Secretary!]
A voice full of pain mixed with moans was heard.
Startled, Song Tae-hoon’s expression turned serious.
“Kim Seung-hoon! What’s happening!”
[Ugh… There was an accident, and we lost that guy……!]
The voice continued weakly.
“How could this be missed? More importantly, is Manager Kim okay?!”
[He has some injuries but it’s not life-threatening. I am truly sorry.]
“Where is the location?”
[He was attacked almost at the warehouse. The warehouse should be sealed off immediately.]
“I’ll take care of that. You should head straight to the hospital.”
After ending the call, Song Tae-hoon approached Im Hee-yeon.
“…I’m sorry. It appears the assailant managed to escape due to the attack. Since he was attacked on the way to the hideout, it seems that information must have been leaked somewhere.”
Im Hee-yeon, having heard the conversation, understood the situation.
“Myung In-chul is quite formidable. Also, please make sure that the injured get proper treatment.”
“I’ll make sure everything is taken care of.”
“Let’s avoid using other locations for the warehouse.”
The enemies were waiting for security personnel to arrive near the hideout. Just from that, it was clear that the Strategic Planning Department’s information had been significantly compromised.
“That seems necessary. How will you handle the actual inspection? Wouldn’t it be better to report the collected data to the Chairman now?”
Im Hee-yeon, like Song Tae-hoon, was also pondering this issue.
“Wouldn’t the Chairman already be aware if we didn’t mention it?”
“So… Are you saying that he’s just watching Myung In-chul’s actions even though he knows?”
Chairman Myung Joong-hwan had built MH Group from scratch on his own. Throughout this process, he had to compete with many people and lost countless things. Naturally, it would be hard for him not to be aware of what happened within MH Group, which he established through so much effort.
“Since the Chairman does not trust anyone, even though I don’t know to what extent, he must at least have some idea.”
“Ultimately, it’s important whether you’ve secured evidence that the Head of the Department might wield a sword.”
“He only looks at results, not the process.”
A brief silence followed. Then, Song Tae-hoon became concerned about one issue.
“…What about Your son? Are you going to let him go abroad like this?”
“What can be done? I thought it was all over, but since it wasn’t, I can’t keep him during a war.”
“But, no matter what, he’s from the Myung family. Although there is discord, …”
Im Hee-yeon’s expression hardened.
“Stop it. I have no intention of bringing Shin-woo into this hellish family. Originally, I planned to leave after finishing this matter. And it’s actually good that he’s going abroad.”
It might be better not to seek out someone who went abroad from the Myung family. At the same time, Im Hee-yeon had many thoughts. She had lived as the shadow of MH Group for 26 years since she entered the Myung family at seventeen. But now she was very weary of it.
Originally, she intended to finish this matter and quietly live with Shin-woo. That was why she had suggested living together when they first met at the café.
“…I apologize for not being more attentive.”
“No, it’s fine. Let’s first secure the internal control and then move forward. While they will act during the time we buy, we need to wait for the right moment.”
“But now that they know what we’re targeting, it might be difficult to find a gap.”
Im Hee-yeon sighed deeply. The long-awaited moment had slipped away. Still, the face of her son she saw earlier that day lingered in her mind.
“He won’t easily give up moving thousands of billions in funds. So, another opportunity will surely come.”
“I’ll make sure to create an opportunity as soon as possible. Also, I will investigate the individuals hired by Myung In-chul.”
“I appreciate that. Oh, and please confirm the date of Shin-woo’s departure. He mentioned leaving this week, so just let me know once it’s confirmed.”
The fact that Myung In-chul also knew about the meeting with Shin-woo could be a weakness, so it was reassuring that Shin-woo was going abroad.
“I will request that.”
“Thank you.”
Song Tae-hoon then left. Left alone, Im Hee-yeon rubbed her temples. Then, the internal phone rang, and Song Tae-hoon’s voice came through.
[Director, the Chairman will visit the family home tomorrow morning.]
It must be related to the financial statement audit of MH Electronics scheduled for today.
Im Hee-yeon let out an even longer sigh than before.
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