"Did you try probing him? How did he react?" Jin Yeong-jun approached alongside the sharp-tongued Hong Seo-young.
"He were polite."
"Is that all?"
"He doesn't come off as a rich young man. Has he always been like this?"
"Yes, that's right. He used to be humble when he was young. He was always timid..."
"I see. Anyway, he seems like someone who doesn't reveal his true feelings."
"It's okay. Do-Jun will be my right-hand man in the future, so there's no need to be on guard." Jin Yeong-jun extended his arm. "Let's go. There are still many people to greet."
Hong Seo-young took his hand, not letting go of her guard against Jin Do-jun. However, becoming his right-hand man, as his fiance had said, was more than enough.
"Oh, I promised to give you a generous allowance. Is that okay?"
"It's natural for a big sister-in-law to give an allowance to her cousin's youngest."
Jin Yeong-jun said it like it was no big deal, but Hong Seo-young had different thoughts. She believed that nothing revealed a person's true nature as clearly as how they spent their money.
When I visited the restroom, there was someone waiting nearby as if they were waiting for me.
"Young master."
"Manager Kim. Didn't I tell you to take the day off today? You didn't need to come out of the house."I said it with a smile, but Manager Kim Yoon-seok seemed a bit stiff.
"Do you have some time? I have something to discuss."I didn't make any small talk after seeing his expression. My cautiousness and wariness were evident as I looked around and lowered his voice. "Do you know my car? It's in the garage. Wait there. I'll be right out."
Kim Yoon-seok quietly disappeared, and after a quick look around Yeongbin Hall, he headed to the garage.
In the tightly parked rows of cars, when I got into the car, Manager Kim was sitting in the driver's seat and turned his head.
"What's going on?"
"Please wait for a moment. Team Leader Shin will explain."
"Team Leader Shin?"
"Yes, Our strategy team leader... I mentioned it once. Don't you remember?"
"Oh..."
At this moment, the rear door opened, and a man slipped in.
"Hello. I'm Team Leader Shin Seok-ho."
I couldn't recall where I had seen his face before.
"I apologize for bothering you."
"It's okay. But where did we meet before?"
"You don't remember, huh? We met at the Yangpyeong villa. I picked you up early in the morning."
"Oh... You're that person."
He was the one who had been tailing Jin Yeong-jun. I had thrown bait back then, but there had been no significant response, so I had erased him from memory.
"Since we're short on time, I'll get straight to the point. I don't know if you're aware, but we're in charge of handling the third generation of the family."
As a team leader, he didn't oversee everything. He probably only managed the ones among the third generation who were in Korea. Cousins studying abroad were handled by the respective branch offices in those countries.
"Someone has been tailing them for about a month now."
"All of them?"
"Yes. They don't fully investigate their activities, just their movements."
"Is Jin Yeong-jun also included in this?"
"Yes. They've been tailing every single one of them."
Was their father checking even his sons? That seemed a bit excessive. If it wasn't their father, then who could it be?
"Have you identified who's behind this?"
"No. It's impossible for our team to do that. We're not experts capable of tracing back."
Well, considering that their team was comprised solely of personal secretaries, tracking anyone down would be quite challenging.
I looked at Team Leader Shin for a moment and then asked what was on his mind.
"But why are you telling me all this? If we follow the procedures..."
"I understand the procedures. I'll report to the head of the Strategy Department, then it'll go up to Secretary Lee Hak-jae. And then, the Information Team or Special Security agents will take action."
"You're well-informed. But why?"
Team Leader Shin Seok-ho's gaze wavered slightly, but he soon spoke. "I'm embarrassed to say it, but I want to take the lead."
"The lead? Are you talking about what I'm thinking?"
"Yes. Our strategy team... We have no future and nowhere to turn. It's rare for us to last a year."
"Like you, who have been enduring for years without seeing any light..."
Shin Seok-ho's face flushed with embarrassment.
"But why me? I'm the youngest who can't even say a word in the company. I don't know if I can handle group affairs. Would I be of any use?"
"You offered your hand to me, didn't you?"
I remembered that day clearly. However, the time it took for them to take the bait was too long. Was it due to slow judgment, or was it caution? I needed to get to know this person better.
"Does that mean you're just going to grab me like that? Honestly, besides me, who else offered their hand? Am I the only one?" I asked a difficult question, but he responded without hesitation.
"You are the only one, but I will grab your hand because I find it trustworthy. If it had been an untrustworthy hand, I would have ignored it with a snort. Among Chairman Jin's grandsons, no one is as self-disciplined, diligent, and free from nonsense as you."
"Do all the members of the Strategy Team follow Team Leader Shin?"
"No. Anyway, our team frequently experiences turnovers. Because of the constant hassle, many people quit. So, I selected only those who will stay with us for a long time. Assistant Manager Kim Yoon-seok is one of them."
I locked eyes with the two of them and paused in thought. There was no reason to push away the people who could confirm the daily activities of the cousins.
What mattered was to turn them into essential people unlike before.
"Team Leader Shin and Assistant Manager Kim, listen carefully to what I'm saying." As I spoke, the two of them exchanged glances, swallowing their saliva. "I reach out to you two first; but you were the ones who grabbed my hand. It may lead to the same result, but the order matters. Team Leader Shin recognized this difference."