DERH 14

Chapter 14

Play With Me?

“……”

“……I was the only one getting worked up over nothing. And…… thank you for creating this opportunity for me.”

Her voice was almost too quiet to hear, but since she sincerely apologized, the heavy feeling in her heart became much lighter.

Hearing the creaking sound of the chair turning, Sena lowered her head and properly apologized.

“Gi Sena.”

“Yes.”

“I look forward to working with you.”

After much hesitation, Sena had apologized for the first time.

And Ryu Kang-hyun accepted it calmly, as if he had already forgotten how badly she had acted.

One step.

It was the moment she took one step toward realizing how foolish she had been.

And now she found herself wondering how many more steps she would have to take before she could catch up with him.

“Why? Do you have something else to say?”

It was not that he was particularly curious.

But there was something she needed to know if she was going to communicate with him from now on. If there was no one to manage his schedule, she would have to contact him or come to see him herself every time.

“Um…… aren’t you going to hire a legal secretary?”

“There is someone I want, so I’m waiting for him.”

Kang-hyun answered without taking his eyes off the documents he was reading.

That made Sena feel more comfortable, and she continued asking questions.

“Who is it?”

“A section chief I worked with when I was a prosecutor.”

“Oh, so he was an investigator?”

“Yes.”

“You’ll have to pay him a lot to make him give up that secure government job.”

“We’re already discussing it. It’s not easy to give up a secure job like that.”

“How long did you work together?”

“Two years.”

“Only two years?”

“Six years if you include the time I saw him working under another partner.”

“So when is he coming?”

“……”

Ryu Kang-hyun was about to answer, but then he stopped and simply raised his eyes to look at Sena.

Whenever their eyes met, she always felt her breath stop for a moment like this.

Was it insight?

Or was he deliberately looking for something?

It always felt as if some sharp object had pierced somewhere inside her body.

“……Why are you looking at me like that? Did I ask something I wasn’t supposed to?”

Kang-hyun took his arm off the desk and leaned back loosely in his chair.

With their eyes locked, Sena could not move at all, as if she had been caught in a trap.

“Want me to play with you?”

But an unexpected question came from his mouth.

Sena barely managed to collect her scattered thoughts before asking again.

“W-what did you say?”

“Are you bored right now and asking pointless questions because you want me to play with you?”

“Who? Me?!”

“My junior, whom I can hardly ever see, finally wants me to play with her. How could something like this be important?”

“What are you even talking about……”

Sena’s face turned red from embarrassment, and he let out a quiet laugh.

The smile spreading subtly around his lips made her unable to meet his eyes, so she turned her head away.

“What should I play with you? Gi Sena.”

“I’m a busy person!”

Something suddenly rose inside her again.

“Want to have a cup of tea?”

“No. I already have plans with the Representative.”

“……”

“It’s true.”

“Fine. If that’s the case, I can’t help it.”

“I’ll go now.”

She quickly turned around and left the office.

Before closing the door, she glanced back.

Kang-hyun was already focused on his laptop screen again.

The corner of his mouth was slightly raised behind the palm of his hand, which covered half of his chin. It left quite an impression.

My inferiority complex is my problem, but his personality is a completely different issue. We don’t match. We absolutely don’t match.

It was not that she merely felt like she had lost.

Anyone looking at the situation would clearly say that Gi Sena had lost.

Why did she have to feel like this?

Why was that man always so relaxed?

And what on earth was the secret behind it?

Complicated thoughts floated around in her head.

And somewhere deep inside her heart, something she had not yet realized began to sting.

Since she had gotten the opportunity, Sena wanted to make sure everything went perfectly without making even a single mistake.

Because of that, she became impatient.

The first problem she needed to solve was a meeting with her father, Representative Gi Jang-su.

The people she had chosen for her team needed time to finish the cases they were already handling before moving to the newly opened Family Law Center.

Sena also had cases she had already taken on, so she needed some time as well.

With Secretary Kim guiding her, Sena entered the Representative’s office.

Gi Jang-su was already waiting.

He was sitting proudly in the main seat, his large and strong build making him look imposing.

There were documents that appeared to be a contract lying on the table in front of him.

It had only been a little over a month since Ryu Kang-hyun came to K Law Firm.

So many things had happened in such a short time, and at the center of all those events was her father, Gi Jang-su.

Because of that, Sena was not exactly happy about facing him.

Still, there was something she was grateful to him for.

He had given her the foundation she needed to grow one step further.

She did not know whether she could easily get rid of her inferiority complex toward him, but at least now she knew what her problem was.

Sena stood there without even sitting down, staring at him.

Gi Jang-su cleared his throat and asked Kim Jung-han to bring some tea.

“If you’re here, sit down and read that first.”

The 11-centimeter high heels on Sena’s feet made sharp clicking sounds as she walked.

She had gritted her teeth and worked hard until she had finally raised herself half a step higher.

And she knew that now was the time for all that effort to pay off.

Sena sat down and quickly read the contract he had prepared in advance.

It was not much different from any other contract.

It began with a sentence:

“This contract shall become effective when a meeting between ‘Party A’ and the man designated by Party A is successfully arranged. The man designated by Party A shall hereafter be referred to as ‘R.’”

Here, Party A was Gi Jang-su, and Party B was Gi Sena.

“Do we really have to go this far?”

“Do you think I don’t know you?”

“……”

After Gi Jang-su’s sharp remark, Sena bit her lip tightly and lowered her eyes again.

[The purpose of this contract concerns a relationship between a man and a woman, meaning a romantic relationship.

Article 1

Before Party A and Party B enter into a partnership, Party B shall maintain a relationship with “R” with marriage as the intended purpose.

Article 2

The definition and status of the relationship shall be confirmed by Party A through regular reports.]

Below that were several clauses concerning the termination of the contract and compensation for damages.

“Damages?? Why would there be damages?”

“Why wouldn’t there be? Once the center opens, I’ll give you a separate meeting room. I’ll give you a separate office on the second floor as team leader. I’ll give your team members performance bonuses and treat all of you better than anyone else in the industry. If you don’t produce proper results, then all of that becomes a loss!”

“Are you a lawyer or an accountant?”

There was no greater stretch of logic than this.

The center would clearly benefit K Law Firm, but Gi Jang-su was obviously trying to prevent Sena from finding loopholes by bringing up losses in advance.

“What if I win R over in one year? No, six months. No, three months?”

“You’ll date him for three months, take everything you can get from him, and then pretend nothing happened?”

Damn it.

Sena cursed inwardly.

Blood really could not hide itself.

“……No, I’m not that kind of person. But relationships between men and women are like that. You can start dating because you like someone, then break up because you don’t like them anymore.”

Just like everything else in the world, there were always possibilities between a man and a woman.

No matter how deeply you loved someone, you could not always stay happy.

People could marry against their families’ wishes and later end up pulling each other’s hair out before getting divorced.

Sena, a divorce lawyer, knew that better than anyone.

She dealt with women getting divorced every single day.

She lowered her eyes as if she were pitiful and let out a deep sigh.

Gi Jang-su snorted as if it would not work on him.

“There’s something you’re misunderstanding right now.”

“What misunderstanding?”

“I’m not thinking of Lawyer Ryu only as a potential husband for you.”

“Then what?”

“I’m thinking of him as the person who will stand beside you in the same position when you become the representative of K Law Firm.”

“What……!”

“I’m saying K Law Firm could become K&R Law Firm. Do you understand?”

Sena’s eyes widened as she stared at Gi Jang-su.

Her mouth fell slightly open, and she could not even make a sound.

Gi Jang-su looked at his daughter not as a father, but through the eyes of the Representative.

His ability.

His ability to bring in business.

The recognition he received from the firm’s lawyers.

He had already received reports about Ryu Kang-hyun several times.

In just a little over a month, Ryu Kang-hyun’s performance as a partner lawyer had already accounted for more than 30% of the law firm’s revenue.

The directors who had worked so hard to recruit Ryu Kang-hyun were now even more certain that they had made the right choice.

They all agreed that he was someone who could eventually become the firm’s representative lawyer.

For all he knew, Ryu Kang-hyun had been grinding his teeth while quitting his job as a prosecutor.

Otherwise, clients would not be rushing toward him carrying money like this.

Thinking about the future, if he did not connect Sena and Kang-hyun, Sena might end up losing not only the position of Representative but everything she had worked for.

“You can back out even now if you don’t have confidence. You can just stay like this, meet a good man, and get married.”

Even though Sena clearly knew he was deliberately provoking her to make her move forward, his words still scratched at her pride.

“I’m doing it! Who said I wasn’t?!”

Sena snatched up the contract and jumped to her feet.

“I’ll rewrite the contract. It’s too one-sided. And I’ll add another condition. You’re going to transfer part of your shares in K Law Firm to me as well. If you’re so worried about my position, then that’s what I need to make it even more secure!”

Sena kept thinking about the contract, so much that she even dreamed about it that night.

In an elegant restaurant with soft classical music playing, she was dressed in a beautiful evening dress.

In one hand, she held a glass filled with deep red wine.

The wine slowly spun around between her fingers, making a soft, pleasant sound.

With an elegant expression, Sena looked at the man sitting across from her with seductive eyes.

Her gaze fell on his large hand resting on the white table and the luxury watch around his wrist.

In each of his large hands was a piece of silverware that sparkled under the lights.

His body was tall and slim, with a long, pointed knife in one hand and a main-course fork that looked slightly small compared to his hand.

As her gaze moved higher, she saw a well-fitted suit in a sophisticated color, broad and solid shoulders, and a straight neck.

He had a throat that moved noticeably whenever he swallowed and a masculine jawline.

His lips were neatly closed, and his eyes were sharp and attractive.

It was Ryu Kang-hyun.

He was sitting there elegantly cutting his steak in a beautiful restaurant.

Ryu Kang-hyun.

Sena thought it was strange, but before she even had time to question it, her lips opened and her voice came out.

“Let’s make a contract.”

“What kind of contract?”

He did not stop cutting his steak as he answered calmly.

His attitude was exactly the same as when he sat in his office looking through documents.

“A contract relationship with marriage as the goal.”

His knife stopped for a moment.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he continued cutting the meat.

“If you don’t want that, then at least pretend to date me.”

Her voice sounded almost like she was seducing a man.

She did not even know if she had ever spoken in such a voice before.

But against her own will, Sena continued speaking.

“It seems like a contract that could benefit both of us.”

“What do I gain from dating you or pretending to date you?”

“Why wouldn’t you gain anything? The title of being the future son-in-law of K Law Firm. Isn’t that pretty impressive?”

“Ha!”

A short laugh escaped between his lips.

He looked amused, as if he found her offer ridiculous.

“Do you think I’m some dragon that came out of a poor stream?”