Chapter 5

The Curse of the Bastard

If it were a cheap one, she could simply tear off the brand tag and be done with it.

But this one proudly carried a luxury brand name, so it wasn’t something she could easily remove.

And after he had seen a side of her that she never wanted anyone to discover, for some reason, everything kept going wrong whenever she was around him.

Whenever she stood in front of him, she was always nervous, like a naked child, and she often made mistakes that she normally wouldn’t make.

It felt as if the pathetic version of herself that she never wanted others to see had become a source of amusement for Ryu Kang-hyun, that bastard.

He didn’t seem to put much effort into anything, yet he accomplished everything easily and got everything he wanted without difficulty.

What she hated most was the way he looked bored whenever the people around him praised him.

The position of partner lawyer at K Law Firm must be the same to him.

Something he could take easily without putting in much effort or hard work.

“A ninth-year prosecutor. And if he was even in the special investigation team, he could have opened his own office or gone to another law firm that would give him special treatment as a former prosecutor. So why, of all places, did he have to come to the law firm where I work?!”

She wasn’t going through a period of bad luck or anything like that.

This was a curse all on its own.

The curse of that bastard.

[Why aren’t you coming? Are you not coming to work today?]

She had been dragging her feet because she didn’t want to go to work, and before she knew it, it was well past nine.

After seeing Han Yeo-jin’s message, she checked her face in the mirror.

A sigh naturally escaped her.

“I can’t go to work looking like this. Who would I be doing it for?”

Sena called the hotel lobby and ordered an ice pack and a simple breakfast.

“I’m already late anyway. I might as well cure my hangover before I go.”

Sena sent a message.

[I’m on my way to work, but I got into a car accident. It’s nothing serious, but I’m going to stop by the hospital first. I think it’ll take about two hours.]

Then she put her phone away.

She was extremely relieved that she hadn’t acted all excited when Han Yeo-jin asked who the new partner lawyer was by saying, “It’s me!”

If she had done that, she probably wouldn’t even have had a mouse hole to hide in.

Instead, she would have been lying in the flames of a crematorium, saying, “This is my grave,” rather than hiding in a hotel room.

She sat at a table by the window and took a spoonful of porridge.

Then her phone buzzed.

[If you don’t have lunch plans today, let’s eat together. —Ryu Kang-hyun]

The moment she saw the three words at the end of the message, kindly telling her whose number it was, she shuddered.

“The message is exactly like him! Hey. Do you still think I’m your junior?”

Shouldn’t he have first sent some ordinary message like, Did you make it to work? Were you very surprised yesterday? It was nice seeing you again after such a long time.

Then he could ask whether they should have a meal together or not.

But there wasn’t a single other message in her inbox.

There was only that one short line.

“Ugh……. Did I get hit in the head with a gun? We’re not the kind of people who should happily sit down and eat together. We’re the kind who should tear each other apart.”

Sena frowned deeply and checked her schedule.

Of all days, it was completely empty.

But there was no way this man could know that.

He had barely arrived and was already acting like he was her superior.

She had no idea how he had gotten her number, but she had to answer him somehow.

Pouting, Sena grumbled as she typed a message refusing him.

[I’m sorry. I don’t have time today. I have a meeting with a client.]

“What are you going to say next? Are you going to ask me to have dinner with you? Absolutely not. Even if you take my position, you can never have my respect.”

She couldn’t openly show how petty she was being, so this was the most she could do.

Still, imagining the look on his face after being unexpectedly rejected somehow made her feel better.

Sena put her phone beside the bowl of porridge and crossed her arms.

But even though he had clearly read her message, no reply came for a long time.

Had there ever been a time when things hadn’t gone the way she wanted?

No.

Had there ever been something she couldn’t accomplish after putting in enough effort?

No.

She had been born with a silver spoon in her mouth and seemed to have grown up without ever lacking anything.

But in reality, she had worked several times harder than others without letting them know.

She had lived by the motto, “If it can’t be done, make it happen.”

As a result, she believed she was living a life that no one could envy.

That had been true in the past, and it would remain true in the future.

The image of “perfect Gi Sena” in other people’s eyes was the result of all the effort she had put in.

People could point fingers at her and call her vain if they wanted.

She wasn’t hurting anyone, so what was the problem?

You only live once.

Wouldn’t a life without mistakes and as perfect as possible be better?

That was why she had to deal with Ryu Kang-hyun, the man who was shaking the very foundation of the life she had built.

As soon as she arrived at work, the chief secretary told her that the representative wanted to see her.

She had already been wanting to give him a piece of her mind, so she thought it was perfect timing.

On her way to the representative’s office on the second floor, she glanced into the partner lawyer’s office now occupied by Ryu Kang-hyun.

His elegant appearance, dressed perfectly in a suit and vest, irritated her.

The very sight of the man sitting behind an ebony desk worth several million won, with sunlight pouring over his back and making him shine, annoyed her.

He seemed to have been extremely busy since arriving.

He was constantly answering phone calls without a break.

That room you’re sitting in… That should have been my room.

That desk you’re sitting at… That should have been my desk.

She glared at him with narrowed eyes.

But the man inside the room seemed too busy quietly doing his work to even notice her.

Anyone would think he’d been working here for ten years.

She made sarcastic remarks because she was jealous, but it was true that despite being the new owner of the office, he already fit into it as if it belonged to him.

And what about the way he worked?

He tapped his lips with the end of his ballpoint pen, flipped through documents, answered another incoming call, then held the phone between his shoulder and ear while typing something into his laptop.

He looked like the perfect example of a “man who was good at his job.”

Even his rolled-up shirt sleeves looked perfect.

Would it be faster to push him out and take that position, or would I be the one to get kicked out first?

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t come up with a solution.

Ryu Kang-hyun was that kind of man.

He had no weaknesses and had never been controlled by anyone.

He was an undefeated legend who had never lost even once during the mock trials in college.

Whether he was on the prosecution’s side or the defense’s side, he was always the winner.

A mock trial was, as the name suggested, a trial carried out by law students for educational and training purposes.

Even so, he was a vicious man who would completely crush the opposing side until they lost all desire to fight.

He must be the kind of person who gets excited when dealing with criminals, someone who could practically dance on a chopping board.

So why did he suddenly become a lawyer? I wonder what I’ll find if I dig into that.

Thinking about which of her classmates might currently be working at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, she continued toward the representative’s office.

When she arrived, his secretary stared at Sena for a moment and nodded twice.

Then, as if they had exchanged a signal, he stood up from his seat.

As soon as he moved aside, Sena deliberately didn’t knock.

She swung the door open and slammed it shut with a loud bang.

“Oh my!”

Representative Gi Jang-su, who had been standing beside a golf putting mat and rolling a ball, jumped in surprise.

Sena stood silently in front of the closed door.

Gi Jang-su let out a deep sigh, put down his golf club, and walked toward the table.

“……If you’re here, sit down. Don’t just stand there. Did you have breakfast?”

“If you were me, would you be able to eat?”

“Where did you get that temper from……?”

“Who else would I get it from? Beans grow beans. Do you think red beans would grow there? And you still did this to me without knowing that?”

“Lower your voice. Secretary Kim will hear you.”

“She isn’t here. I asked her to leave.”

“Wha…… What? Why??”

Even his last line of defense had left the room.

Gi Jang-su’s fist, tightly gripping the armrest of the sofa, trembled pitifully.

His daughter had more pride than the 63 Building was tall.

His heart trembled as he swallowed nervously, wondering what she was about to say.

“Why?? You stabbed your own daughter in the back and thought you’d get away with it? Do I need to remind you who I am? I’m the only daughter of Gi Jang-su, the representative of K Law Firm, the daughter you treasure more than your own eyes!!”

“Hey, hey, Gi Sena! Did you swallow a train whistle this morning? I’m not deaf.”

“My ears aren’t deaf, but did you eat your conscience as a drinking snack? How could you do this to me?? You should have at least given me a hint beforehand! Then I wouldn’t feel this empty and betrayed. How can you not know your own daughter, Dad??”

“……Of course I know. I know you too well, which is why I called you here to comfort you.”

“You hurt me and then give me medicine? After making me work like crazy all this time! I also worked my way up from the bottom because I didn’t want people calling me a parachute hire! I didn’t want anyone saying I got my position because of my father.”

“……”

“When did I ever ask you to give me something for free?? I worked day and night and even became the top earner in our law firm! I raised my associates well too! I’m even fairly famous in this field as a divorce specialist! So what exactly am I lacking that I can’t become a partner lawyer?!”

She fired the words at him one after another without even giving herself time to breathe.

Even as she spoke, she felt terribly wronged.

She breathed heavily, trying to calm the anger rising inside her.

Gi Jang-su listened to her and let out a quiet breath before pressing his fingers against his temple.

“Dad knows better than anyone how hard you’ve worked and how much you’ve suffered.”

“Then what is the reason?”

“In the directors’ eyes, you’re a divorce specialist, so when it comes to business development, they decided that a lawyer from another field would be more suitable as a partner.”

“Is it not because I’m a woman?”

At Sena’s sharp question, Representative Gi briefly fell silent.

“I know that even if you’re the representative with the largest share, you can’t simply ignore what the other directors say. But even if you have to do that as the representative, Dad shouldn’t do that to me.”

The directors had said that Gi Sena was still young, a woman, and an unmarried woman, so there could be various unexpected circumstances in the future.

Gi Jang-su couldn’t bring himself to tell his daughter those words.

He also couldn’t find a reason that would satisfy his stubborn daughter.

In the end, Gi Jang-su thought, Whatever.

He simply said the words he had been keeping to himself for a long time.

“If you become a partner, you have to take responsibility not only for the law firm’s overall revenue but also for your personal performance and business development. Why are you making such a fuss about taking on all that troublesome work? Why don’t you just do whatever you want, meet a good man, and live comfortably?”

“If I’m just going to meet a man and spend my life playing around and doing nothing, why did I work so hard to become a lawyer in the first place? I could have just lived off the allowance you gave me!”

“Would you like to do that now? Dad would actually prefer that.”

“Dad!!!”

The sharp scream hit his ears directly, and Gi Jang-su covered them.

Then he noticed where Sena was looking and suddenly became startled.

He quickly wrapped his arms around the bonsai pot sitting on the side table beside the sofa.

It was a pine bonsai beautifully curled into shape.

“Not this one! Do you know how hard I worked to raise it?!”

Just a little over a year ago, the expensive orchids he had lovingly raised had been brutally cut apart by Sena’s scissors.

With that temper of hers, she would probably break this delicate life without mercy.

“Wow—I’m really hurt. Is that thing more important to you than I am right now?”

“After I die, the whole law firm will be yours anyway. Can’t you just live comfortably?”

“You call that something a father should say?!”