Chapter 6

Whose Stubborn Child Is This?

Sena had never hated her father as much as she did today. He had raised her for more than thirty years, yet he knew nothing about what was in his daughter’s heart and only told her to marry a good man and live comfortably.

They say that even parents do not know what is in their own child’s heart, even though they gave birth to them. Then how could a child possibly know everything in a parent’s heart?

Still, this was too much.

“You eat every kind of food that’s supposed to be good for your health every season, and you eat all those nourishing foods as side dishes. And then you tell me that after you die, all of this will be mine?”

“……”

“You go out to the golf course twice a week, exercise regularly with your social baseball team and early-morning soccer, and take such good care of your health! And when you die??”

“……That’s all for the company.”

“You want me to just wait for that day, whenever it may come? Ha! Your name is even Jang-su. Gi Jang-su! Dad, even if I put water out and prayed for you to die, do you think that prayer would actually work?!”

“W-What?! You, you think that’s something you should say to your father??”

It was impossible to have a conversation with him, so Sena jumped up from her seat.

In truth, she had come there just to vent her anger, but his ridiculous words only made her even angrier.

“Great. Now I guess I should make my New Year’s wish that someone please take my dad away as soon as possible! So I can take over the representative position!”

“Hey! Gi Sena! Get back here! You’re my only daughter! You’re going to hold a ritual praying for your own father to die? I spoiled you too much! Do I need to erase you from the family register before you come to your senses?”

“Who are you, mister? I grew up just fine all by myself?!”

Watching his daughter walk out without even looking back, Gi Jang-su grabbed the back of his neck.

“Good grief, my head! I wonder who on earth is going to take her. That temper of hers!”

He rubbed the back of his neck with his thick hand and frowned.

“Good grief. That temper of hers……! Tsk! What am I supposed to do with that girl…….”

No matter how grown-up a child became, to a parent, their child was always like a child standing too close to the water’s edge.

Of course, what father would dislike his daughter’s success? But social success was not everything. He knew better than anyone how unhappy a life could be when a person had no one of their own to share it with.

Gi Jang-su felt sorry for Sena, who struggled desperately to make herself look almost perfect.

As the years passed, his wish that she would meet a man who would love even those sides of his daughter only grew stronger.

Gi Jang-su sat there with a worried expression, lost in thought.

He was deeply worried that if things continued this way, she would become so obsessed with work that she would never marry and end up living alone as an old maid.

“Whenever I find someone for her, she just snorts at them. I can’t even set her up with anyone…….”

Was there some family’s stubborn son out there who could put up with that temper of hers?

“She seems to meet men often enough, but she never brings any of them home…….”

She kept talking about wanting to meet someone naturally and all that, but there was never any result.

“……”

He continued to worry and worry until suddenly, something popped into his mind.

There was a man he had liked from the moment he first met him through an introduction from one of the directors.

He had a serious face and spoke a little bluntly, but he never said anything foolish. His eyes were sharp, like those of a phoenix, and he clearly had spirit.

Men like that usually had a strong sense of loyalty and knew how to protect the people who belonged to them.

On top of that, he had carefully examined every condition offered to him to join the law firm and had a sharp, practical side that made sure he looked after his own interests as well.

Gi Jang-su, who had considerable confidence and experience after all his years, thought Ryu Kang-hyun was not an easy opponent.

That was why he had no choice but to cast his vote in favor of him becoming a partner lawyer.

Just then, Gi Jang-su suddenly stood up and called his secretary outside.

“Is Lawyer Ryu Kang-hyun in his office?”

“Yes. It seems clients who wanted to give him work have been lining up ever since he arrived at work, so he looks quite busy.”

“Tell him I want to see him.”

“He actually asked if you had time because he wanted to have a meeting with you.”

“Then ask him if he’d like to have lunch together.”

“I’ll make a reservation at the Korean restaurant you usually go to.”

At his secretary’s answer, he stroked his chin and nodded.

Over the course of several decades, Gi Jang-su had met tens of thousands of people.

The moment he thought of Ryu Kang-hyun, a man who seemed unlikely to even blink at ordinary matters, he became convinced.

He’s perfect as my son-in-law.

After they finished eating, warm brewed pu’er tea was placed on the table.

Kang-hyun supported the bottom of the teacup with one hand while holding the much smaller porcelain cup with his other hand, drinking his tea silently.

His eyes were slightly lowered as he drank, but their shape was still clear and sharp.

Even after seeing him again, he was still manly and handsome.

And the way he used his chopsticks while eating was something else.

His movements were so smooth and neat that they naturally inspired admiration.

He was certainly raised well.

Gi Jang-su looked at Ryu Kang-hyun sitting across from him and secretly smiled with satisfaction.

Click.

The teacup was placed back on the table, and Ryu Kang-hyun lifted his head.

“So rather than trying to handle everything myself, I think it would be better to assign work to the other lawyers and focus on advising them. What do you think, Representative?”

Gi Jang-su had thought Kang-hyun would have made many enemies during his years as a prosecutor, but there were more people who thought highly of him than he had expected.

Clients were bringing work to K Law Firm on their own from all over the place.

However, he only had one body, so he could not handle all that work himself.

He was asking whether it would be better to accept cases up to a reasonable point and then leave them to the senior lawyers who were already there.

Gi Jang-su, who had been lost in thought for a moment, cleared his throat twice before answering.

“I think you can handle it however you think is best, Lawyer Ryu.”

“Now, please feel free to speak comfortably, Representative.”

“You’re going to be a partner who will lead K Law Firm in the future. How could I speak carelessly to you?”

“I have heard quite a lot about your career since your days as a judge, Representative. I believe you will guide me well as my senior. I will gladly accept your teachings.”

“Hahaha, Lawyer Ryu Kang-hyun. You even know how to save a person’s dignity. I really have nothing to say. The moment the rumor spread around Seocho-dong that Lawyer Ryu was coming here, my phone started ringing nonstop. If anything, I’m the one who should be learning from you.”

The saying about a pumpkin rolling in whole was meant for situations like this.

He had never expected Kang-hyun to show such strong business ability right from the moment he arrived.

He had secretly worried when he heard why Kang-hyun had left the prosecutor’s office.

But a lawyer who had come from the prosecution and knew the inner workings of the system was practically a teacher holding the answer sheet from a company’s point of view.

“Then, since we’re speaking comfortably now, would it be all right if I asked you a personal question?”

“Yes.”

“Are you seeing anyone?”

At Gi Jang-su’s question, the corner of Ryu Kang-hyun’s eyebrow lifted slightly.

He took a moment to figure out what kind of intention was behind the question.

“No, I’m not.”

It was a short and simple answer.

Gi Jang-su, who had been nervous while waiting for the answer, secretly let out a sigh of relief.

“Do you not have any thoughts of getting married, or have you just not met the right person yet?”

“I haven’t thought deeply about either.”

“I see.”

He needed to continue the conversation and gather information, but he wondered what he should ask to get a proper answer.

Kang-hyun’s expressionless face and the atmosphere around him, not to mention how little he spoke, made Gi Jang-su think about trying to guide the conversation by making some assumptions.

But it did not look like that would work.

Looking at Kang-hyun, Gi Jang-su thought again that he was not an easy opponent.

Asking outright, “What do you think of my Sena?” would make his intentions far too obvious.

On the other hand, if he asked, “Would you consider going on a blind date?” he felt Kang-hyun would reject it immediately.

So the words would not come out easily.

“I was reminded of something while watching the way you use your chopsticks. You see, my daughter had a bad habit with chopsticks from a young age, so she used them in a very strange way.”

Gi Jang-su started the conversation with a completely unexpected topic.

“But then, I don’t know what she heard at school, but she went out and bought those training chopsticks for babies and started practicing moving peas around, sweating buckets.”

It was admirable that she tried to fix the problem herself, but whenever she ate, her fingers trembled so badly and she kept dropping food that even watching her made him feel like he would lose his appetite.

He was also worried because she could barely eat properly and had lost so much weight.

“Did she practice using chopsticks like that for a month or two? Now she’s reached the level where she can pick up even tiny millet grains with chopsticks.”

When there was no response, he rubbed the back of his neck and glanced at Ryu Kang-hyun.

He could not tell at all whether the man was interested or not.

“You know, it was all when she was young. She’s stubborn, and she hates hearing unpleasant things from other people.”

“Everyone hates hearing unpleasant things. But making an effort to fix something you don’t like about yourself is impressive.”

“Exactly, right? I don’t know who she takes after, but when she sets her mind to something, she gets it done.”

Gi Jang-su liked that answer and laughed heartily.

Then he took a sip of tea, paused for a moment, and finally got to the point.

“I hear you’re an alumnus of the same school as Lawyer Gi Sena?”

“Yes.”

“Looking at the age difference, you must have met at school.”

“For about a year…… We took a few classes together.”

“As you know, Lawyer Ryu, Sena is my daughter. It’s something that people who know us already know, so it’s not exactly a secret.”

Kang-hyun already knew this, so he simply nodded.

“So I’m curious whether my daughter has what it takes to be a lawyer. What do you think, from your perspective? I’m worried because I think she’s too ambitious.”

At the representative’s question about whether his daughter had the qualities of a good lawyer, Ryu Kang-hyun thought back to Sena during their school days.

Below the stairs of the law department’s lecture building, there was a smoking area known only to the students, hidden in a corner that stayed shaded all year round.

It was hidden from view by a protruding emergency staircase.

After his lecture ended, Kang-hyun was smoking there alone.

White flakes began falling to the ground one by one, so he looked up to see what they were.

At that moment, a large amount of white paper scraps fell directly onto his head.

At first, he thought they were flower petals, but when he looked closely, he saw tiny pieces of torn paper covered with black letters.

“Illegal dumping of waste. Violation of Article 8, Paragraph 1 of the Waste Control Act. Fine: 50,000 won.”

Kang-hyun brushed the pieces of paper off his head with one hand and counted the floors above him.

More scraps that had not yet fallen were still fluttering through the air.

“The smoking area is right below here. What if it starts a fire? What kind of idiot is doing this?”

He wanted to see with his own eyes who was doing such a reckless thing.

Kang-hyun flicked the cigarette he had been smoking into the ashtray and walked up the stairs.

But as he reached the railing on the third floor, he suddenly stopped.

It was because of a voice filled with sadness.

“If you’re a senior, you should know how to look after your juniors. Why did you have to embarrass me like that? Seriously. Sniff.”

It was a familiar voice.

It was Gi Sena, who had fiercely debated him in the lecture room a little while ago.

“So annoying. Seriously! Who doesn’t know that? No, but why did he have to try so hard to crush me like that? As if he wasn’t some rabid mad dog!!

The sound of feet scraping hard against the floor sounded painfully unfair.

She was huffing, sniffling, and then the sound of something being violently torn apart followed.

“A mock trial is a mock trial! We’re just amateurs trying to get some experience. I stayed up for two whole nights preparing for this. Argh! It’s so unfair! Why, why did I stumble over my words at that moment? I practiced so much in front of the mirror because I didn’t want to embarrass myself like that. Seriously!! I should have completely crushed him…… Damn it.”

Kang-hyun realized that the person she was sniffling and cursing about was himself.

He leaned against the wall and lowered himself.

At the adorable junior’s frustrated complaints, a small laugh escaped him.