Chapter 58. Baesung (2)
Yoo Ji-young had been planning ever since Bae Min-sook reached out to her.
She believed an opportunity had arisen from Bae Min-sook hiding Chairman Bae Young-chul’s death.
Her prediction was spot on, and she now had a chance to acquire over 4% of Baesung Trading’s shares.
Now, Oh Han-seong stood before her, pressuring her to abandon that grand plan.
“Do you understand the meaning of what you just said?”
Yoo Ji-young’s gaze was sharp enough to cut.
But Oh Han-seong maintained a calm expression and met her eyes.
“As I said.”
“Do you really think that makes sense? And TSF has no authority to interfere in this matter.”
Previously, Yoo Ji-young had received significant ‘assistance’ from TSF.
But she believed she had already paid back everything related to that deal.
“I understand. That’s why I called it a request.”
“You’re speaking as if I have no choice but to comply.”
“Because whatever your plan may be, it will ultimately fail.”
Yoo Ji-young furrowed her brow.
“And why are you so confident about that?”
Bae Min-sook and Bae Sung-hwan were at war for the chairman position.
Regardless of who remained in the end, Yoo Ji-young could profit—either by lending shares to Bae Min-sook or by becoming the major shareholder if she failed.
It was a win-win.
“I’m not authorized to share the details.”
Yoo Ji-young sighed.
“Still the same as ever.”
“I know it seems rude, but that’s our policy.”
“So you’re saying that if I continue on this path, I’ll suffer a loss.”
“Correct.”
TSF wouldn’t make such a move without a valid reason.
Yoo Ji-young knew this well—after all, she’d once secured the chair of S-One Finance with TSF’s help.
But this time, it was different.
This was a deal worth at least a hundred billion.
Possibly more if S-One Finance swallowed Baesung Trading whole.
“And if I refuse until the end?”
“Then we will do nothing to you. The outcome will simply change depending on your choice.”
Even while talking, Yoo Ji-young replayed the plan in her head.
There was no move TSF could make to overturn the board.
Unless… unless they were backing Bae Sung-hwan.
But Bae Sung-hwan didn’t need their help.
It would make more sense if they were helping Bae Min-sook.
“What kind of card do you have up your sleeve?”
“That, I can’t disclose.”
Yoo Ji-young’s frustration deepened.
“Then how about joining hands with me? It wouldn’t be a loss for your side either.”
“I will check on that.”
Oh Han-seong messaged Kwak Chi-young. The reply came quickly.
Buzz—
“What did he say?”
“If you transfer all your Baesung Trading shares, it’s possible. Of course, we’ll pay a fair price.”
Yoo Ji-young’s face stiffened again.
“How is that any different from telling me to back out of Baesung Trading?”
“Simply put… it means you can enjoy the fruits without participating in the ritual.”
“And what kind of fruits are we talking about?”
Apparently, Oh Han-seong had already received feedback, and he replied without hesitation.
“He said you’ll be given control of Baeseong Distribution and Baeseong Super.”
That was the main reason Yoo Ji-young wanted Baesung Trading in the first place.
TSF had figured out her true intentions.
“How did you know that?”
“You’re a firm believer in cash, aren’t you? And within Baesung Trading, those two subsidiaries have the greatest cash-generating power.”
Yoo Ji-young started to hesitate.
Aligning with them would mean betraying the deal with Bae Min-sook.
If things went wrong and Bae Min-sook became chairman, Baesung Trading would become her enemy.
Although that was a slim possibility…
“Are you that confident?”
“You know TSF doesn’t get involved in ventures that will fail.”
“Seeing that you’re here like this, I guess I don’t have much time to decide.”
“Exactly.”
Oh Han-seong waited calmly.
And Yoo Ji-young began to weigh her options in her head.
Would she be reaching for a half chance that might yield nothing, or grabbing the easy crumbs of the feast?
It didn’t take long for her to decide.
* * *
【Chairman Bae Young-chul of Baesung Trading confirmed to be in a vegetative state… With the position effectively vacant, Baesung Trading’s stock continues to decline day after day…】
【As an emergency shareholder meeting is expected… Vice Chairman Bae Sung-hwan and Executive Director Bae Min-sook are named as the two contenders for the next chairman…】
Due to the falling stock price, competition for shares was fiercer than ever.
In such a situation, late at night, Baek Shin-woo crouched silently in a place filled with loud mechanical noise, dressed in all black.
“This is LOX. MANDU, transmitting to SILVER.”
[MANDU. Ready.]
[SILVER. Kim Sang-hoon is still at his house. No issues so far.]
The codenames of Jang Man-soo and Lillian came through the radio.
“I’m starting now.”
[CCTV is all set, so don’t worry.]
[Escape routes have been checked too. Are you sure you want to do this alone? Wouldn’t it be faster if the two of us searched?]
Right now, Baek Shin-woo was crouched in the noisy machinery room in the basement of Baesung Trading’s main building.
He was there to find one very important item.
“It’s too late now. And we also need to keep watching Kim Sang-hoon just in case. Besides, tomorrow is the shareholders’ meeting, so I must find it today.”
[But would Deputy Department Head Kim Sang-hoon really hide it in the company?]
Kim Sang-hoon had served as Chairman Bae Young-chul’s secretary and closest aide for many years.
“We checked everywhere else he’s been, and found nothing. If he wanted the safest place, the company is the most likely.”
The item in question was the secret ledger of Chairman Bae Young-chul—the very one Kim Sang-hoon exposed via prosecutors in the original future timeline.
Known as the Baesung Trading Gate Scandal.
It was the reason Shin-woo had fed TSF’s Kwak Chi-young a different confidential bait from Baesung.
He could have searched for it sooner, but purposely didn’t.
If Kim Sang-hoon realized the ledger had gone missing before the shareholders’ meeting, he might act and others might learn of its existence.
Shin-woo quietly exited the machinery room and approached the elevator.
“MANDU, you’ve got control of all systems, right?”
[No problem. As long as you don’t use the elevator, they won’t detect anything.]
The machinery room was on B3, and Kim Sang-hoon’s office was on the 37th floor.
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier? If I knew that, I would’ve just hidden in the 37th floor vent.”
[Oops, I forgot. Also, the vent’s tight and dusty. This room is cleaner and safer.]
[Ugh, typical MANDU work.]
[Shut it.]
With a sigh, Shin-woo headed toward the elevator shaft.
“Where are the elevators now?”
[Elevator 1 is on 30F, Elevator 2 is at the top floor, Elevator 3 is on B6…]
“They’re all disabled, right?”
[Correct. They won’t move unless there’s an emergency.]
“Ok.”
With that, he forcibly opened the door of Elevator 3. The dark vertical shaft stretched above.
[You’re climbing up instead of taking the stairs?]
Jang Man-soo had control of the CCTV and could see the situation alone.
“Stairs are patrolled too. Even if I move quietly, sound echoes there. Too risky.”
[So that’s why you packed a wire reel. Alright, mountaineer, climb carefully.]
“Just guide me and track guard movements.”
[Got it!]
Shin-woo took a launcher from his backpack and fired.
The wire-tethered arrow embedded somewhere securely.
He closed the elevator door and began his ascent.
A soft motor hum echoed through the shaft.
[Approaching 37F.]
“Ok. SILVER, all clear on your end?”
[No problem. How long do you think it’ll take?]
“Hard to say unless he leaves his office.”
As he replied, Shin-woo arrived at the 37th floor.
He opened the elevator door, confirmed the hallway was clear, and quietly walked toward Kim Sang-hoon’s office.
“MANDU, where are the guards now?”
[Team B just passed that area and moved down, so it should be quiet for the next hour.]
Baesung Trading’s guards patrolled from the top floor down, one floor at a time.
Shin-woo reached the office and unlocked the door with the master key Jang Man-soo had prepared.
It was a small office, about 6 pyeong, with a desk, shelves, and documents. Surrounded by glass walls, he couldn’t use a flashlight, so he searched in darkness.
“He wouldn’t hide it in too obvious a spot…”
He checked the files, desk drawers, beneath the chair, and more.
“It’s definitely a notebook-style ledger, right?”
Jang Man-soo answered.
[Definitely. I saw it when it transferred from the prosecution to the NIS for industrial espionage. Red leather cover.]
It was a palm-sized diary. So small corners wouldn’t work.
“No suspicious movement on the security feed either… maybe it’s elsewhere in the company?”
[Then what? You can’t tear through the whole building.]
The secret ledger was poisonous enough to destroy TSF.
If they didn’t find it, the whole bait operation could collapse.
Even if Kim Sang-hoon eventually exposed it, the twisted timeline meant that couldn’t be relied upon.
“Hey, did you prep the PTA?”
Polygon Tracking Algorithm. PTA. A program used to trace targets based on layered polygonal path analysis.
It was an upgraded R2ED, used to detect stealth targets invisible to radar.
[Huh? Oh yeah, that’s a required module for R2ED, so it’s already—oh!]
Snap!
Jang Man-soo seemed to remember something, even making a finger snap through the earpiece.
“Run a full cross-check of all CCTV data from the last month. Compare all of Kim Sang-hoon’s routes. That way, we can isolate any ambiguous locations.”
It was the same method used during the Triad Eye kidnapping case.
[Of course! Why didn’t I think of this sooner?]
[Because it’s you, MANDU.]
[Shut it! But it’ll take time. Lot of footage.]
“Just find it before the staff arrives.”
While Man-soo worked, Shin-woo checked the places Kim had moved to within the 37th floor.
Places often passed but not actively touched made good hiding spots.
He stepped into the break room and searched cabinets and ventilation covers.
Step step
Footsteps echoed from afar.
Shin-woo quickly hid, silencing all movement.
‘Damn Man-soo, forgot to monitor CCTV while running PTA?’
It was dead silent in the late-night office.
Any sound could give him away, so he held his breath.
Then the guard’s voice echoed.
“Don’t leave rat tracks behind, got it?!”
—
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