Captain Kang was, as always, quick.
Just as I was about to leave work, he contacted me, saying he had secured evidence.
Wanting to see him after a long time, I decided to drop by his office.
"Welcome, sir!"
"Did you get the evidence?"
"It wasn't even difficult. The guy's a complete amateur. He didn't even bother hiding the money—just had it deposited directly into his personal account. And get this—he recently purchased a brand-new apartment."
Captain Kang laid out the evidence he had gathered.
Just as he said, this industrial spy was unbelievably careless.
And there was one more critical piece of evidence.
"To top it off, his wife is Chinese. Not only that, but his brother-in-law works at Huaitein Electronics."
"Are you saying this was a honey trap?"
"That's my best guess."
Honey traps had been used for ages.
The fact that they were still in play meant they were just as effective as ever.
"What a waste of talent. He's got an impressive academic background too."
"How do you want to handle this?"
"I'll let the legal system take care of it. Pass this on to the prosecution."
"Finally, a chance to put our contacts at the prosecutor's office to good use."
My connections with the prosecution were growing stronger by the day.
The number of prosecutors investing in SAVE Investment's fund kept increasing, and every single one of them was now part of my network.
At first, they were hesitant, wary of being involved in anything financial.
But since it wasn't bribery—just a clean investment in a fund that was legally sound—they had come to prefer it.
"Take care of this within the week. We can't have cockroaches lurking in the company."
"I'll call our guy at the prosecutor's office right now."
"Also, I have a few more suspects. Investigate them as well."
"How do you even find these people? Your insight is incredible, sir."
"Well, if I wasn't good at spotting talent, I wouldn't have recruited you, would I?"
"That's quite the compliment, sir. I truly appreciate it."
Captain Kang was an outstanding asset.
On top of that, his skills were still improving—he was constantly broadening his expertise.
With someone like him on the case, that spy's arrest was all but guaranteed.
***
One week later
Tae-woo Electronics was in complete chaos.
Employees flooded the company bulletin board to check the large-scale personnel transfer list.
"What the hell is going on? Why am I suddenly being moved to the development team?"
"At least you're still in development, sir. I majored in engineering, and they just reassigned me to the general affairs team!"
A full 20% of office staff had been transferred.
With hundreds of employees affected, the bulletin board was completely covered with personnel transfer notices.
Most grumbled as they packed up their things and moved.
But once they settled into their new roles, they realized it wasn't so bad after all.
"Oh, Manager Park! You're finally here! I've been wanting to get you on my team for ages—this is great!"
"Wait… did you ask the president to have me transferred?"
"As if I have that kind of influence! Anyway, about that project you were working on before—I was thinking our team could take it on."
"That project was scrapped. Manager Yoon threw it in the trash, saying it was completely absurd."
"It might have looked like trash to Manager Yoon, but I see potential in it. What do you say—want to work on it together?"
"I'd be grateful!"
Most departments shifted to a lively and cheerful atmosphere.
Employees were reassigned in ways that filled crucial gaps, like scratching an itch that had long been ignored.
And most importantly, those who had been occupying space without contributing anything were gone.
"Huh? The department head got assigned overseas. Is this a promotion to an executive position?"
"Shh! He might hear you. If it were a promotion, do you think he'd look that miserable? Officially, it's an overseas transfer, but it's to some remote branch in Southeast Asia. It's basically a forced resignation."
"So he's leaving the company?"
"Why are you smiling while saying that?"
"You're smiling too, sir."
Many of the higher-ups had been promoted more for their political maneuvering than for their actual competence.
Especially under President Park Jin-hoon, only those with strong political skills could rise in the ranks, leading to a surplus of incompetent department heads at Tae-woo Electronics.
Now, those same people were being transferred en masse to overseas branches.
And not just anywhere—they were sent to the most remote locations in Southeast Asia, prompting many to hand in their resignations with tears in their eyes.
It wasn't just department heads who were reassigned overseas.
Even some lower-ranking employees were affected.
"I heard Assistant Manager Jung got transferred to Southeast Asia. Any idea why?"
"Isn't it obvious? He's a parachute hire. Just coasted through on connections, sleeping at his desk during work hours. Serves him right."
"Does that mean we can finally get more staff? We haven't been able to hire because dead weight was taking up all the spots."
"Exactly. I heard the ace from the quality control team is transferring to our department."
"So the trash is out, and the ace is in? Man, ever since the new president took over, things are really changing."
"People are saying the new president is a master of corporate bloodletting. He's got a surgeon's precision—only cutting out the dead weight."
Aside from those who were shipped overseas, everyone welcomed the personnel changes.
However, with so many employees removed, gaps started appearing everywhere.
"I just hope we can fill these vacancies. I heard more than 50 people got transferred overseas."
"That's why they're canceling a few ongoing projects. Even some that were nearly finished got scrapped."
"What if another company picks them up and hits the jackpot?"
"Not our problem. The president knows what he's doing—who are we to question him?"
"True. He's the next chairman, after all. I'm sure he has a plan."
"By the way, do you know what happened to Manager Lee from Development Team 3? He hasn't shown up to work for days."
"You didn't hear? He was an industrial spy sent from China."
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah, my friend in the audit team told me. Apparently, it'll be in the news soon."
Overnight, the company's atmosphere had completely changed.
But it wasn't all good news.
With fewer employees, the workload piled up fast, and by the afternoon, everyone was swamped with mountains of work.
The day after the personnel transfers were issued, the Vice President reported on the company's internal atmosphere.
"Overall, people seem satisfied. A few of the employees who were reassigned overseas are protesting, but it should be resolved without much trouble."
"You must be feeling a bit disappointed, right? I even sent some of your own people overseas."
"N-no, it's fine. How could I possibly interfere with your decisions, sir?"
"It's actually in your best interest to cut those people off. And from now on, don't build your own separate faction. Every employee should be considered part of your faction, shouldn't they? That's the kind of mindset you need if you want to sit in this chair someday."
I tapped the armrest of my chair as I spoke.
It was a subtle message—when I become chairman, the position of Tae-woo Electronics' president would be his.
The Vice President instantly understood my words. The anxious look he had moments ago vanished, and he grinned while rubbing his hands together.
"It's truly an honor that you think so highly of me. From now on, I'll manage the employees as if they all belong to my faction."
"By the way, are the reassigned employees settling in well?"
"It's only their first day, so there's still some awkwardness, but I haven't heard any complaints so far."
Of course, there wouldn't be.
I had personally stayed up late reviewing their backgrounds, carefully placing them in departments that suited their skills.
I even matched them with compatible team members, popping headache pills along the way to finalize the perfect personnel transfer plan.
"That's good to hear. I also heard that three additional factories have started producing InoPhone. What's the situation?"
"Compared to the existing factories, the output is still low, and defect rates are high, but everything should stabilize by the end of the week. However, there is one issue."
"What issue?"
"Sales are skyrocketing. Korean retailers are demanding more InoPhones, and it's the same in the U.S. and Europe. In fact, the total number of units sold has already surpassed Samjin Electronics' best-selling phone—just with this single model."
InoPhone's popularity was relentless.
Supply shortages were so severe that people were importing the device from overseas just to get their hands on it.
Of course, this was thanks to its superior design and performance.
But it also proved that Steve's name still carried weight in the industry.
"The demand is definitely insane."
"If we add the new model scheduled for release in the first half of next year, the current factories won't be able to keep up with demand at all."
The R&D lab was already working on the next model.
Now that Tae-woo Electronics was collaborating on development, the process had accelerated significantly.
Once the new product launched next year, InoPhone sales would naturally dip—but if the new model became a blockbuster hit as well, our current factory capacity would be completely overwhelmed.
"We'll need to take drastic measures. I'll handle that part, so focus on factory management for now."
"I'll do my best to deliver results."
At this point, the success of InoPhone was already a foregone conclusion.
Even if demand were to plummet from this point forward, InoPhone had already outsold every other smartphone on the market.
That meant it was finally time to send Steve back to Apple.
I'd have to make another trip to the U.S.
Not just for Steve, but also to recruit Dimon.
***
Dimon had played a crucial role in leading numerous mergers and acquisitions alongside his mentor and the company's CEO, Sandy Wiell.
The company's impressive profitability was largely thanks to Dimon's expertise, and he had always believed that one day, Sandy Weill would pass the company down to him.
But then, something completely unexpected happened.
Sandy Weill's eldest daughter, Jennica Whale, was parachuted into the company.
At first, Dimon tried to tolerate it.
But when Sandy Weill began giving her his full support—even handing over a fund Dimon had been managing—it was too much to ignore.
Without hesitation, Dimon stormed into Sandy Wiell's office, finally voicing the frustration he had kept bottled up for years.
"Jennica still has a lot to learn. She lacks the experience and skills to manage the fund on her own."
"I know that. That's why you'll be there to teach her, won't you?"
"Of course, I planned to guide her. But now she's freely accessing classified company data!"
"And what exactly is the problem?"
"Confidential information should only be available to senior executives."
"Then, of course, Jennica should have access. One day, she'll take over the company after me."
"But that time is not now! How can you hand over such critical information to a child who still lacks the maturity to handle it?"
SLAP!
Sandy Wiell's palm brushed across Dimon's cheek.
On Wall Street, Sandy Wiell was notorious for his fiery temper.
He had even left his previous firm after a massive fallout with his boss. That fight was what led him to start his own company.
"Is that your answer?" Dimon's voice trembled with anger. "I've worked for you for over 20 years. Major financial firms have tried to recruit me countless times, but I turned them all down—for you."
"Did I ever beg you to stay? If you want to leave, then go!"
The argument escalated.
It got so heated that employees outside had to rush in to break them apart.
Before Kim Min-jae's regression, this fight wasn't supposed to happen for several more years.
Yet, somehow, it had exploded far earlier than expected.
The seed of discord—
A seed that Kim Min-jae had secretly planted in Dimon's mind—had finally ignited into a full-blown fire.