Chapter 08

An awkward dinner began.

For Hyejae, it was her first time sharing a meal with them in the mansion’s dining room.

Perhaps because of that, she had no appetite at all, and her hand holding the chopsticks trembled faintly.

As a child, Hyejae had never once eaten a proper meal at the right time.

After helping her mother prepare meals for the owner’s family, the four of them would always sit down and eat together.

Until then, Hyejae would have to wait alone in the small room under the stairs, clutching her hungry stomach.

When the owner’s family finished eating, the servants would gather the leftovers and side dishes from the fridge for a late dinner.

If there happened to be plenty left, she was lucky. But often there wasn’t, and she nearly starved more than once.

She had only ever seen the four family members gathered together at the table—yet tonight, instead of Seheon, she was seated there herself.

“From now on, Hyejae will be handling Seheon’s case.”

Chairman Shin tossed the words out in a dry tone.

At that, Sunhye, who had just been about to take a spoonful, dropped her spoon onto the table with a clang.

“What did you just say?”

Her eyes flared so red with rage that the blood vessels burst.

But Chairman Shin didn’t even spare her a glance and continued eating as if nothing had happened.

Kyobin, too, ignored her entirely.

Sunhye clenched her fist under the table, trembling with anger.

Then her eyes met Hyejae’s across the table.

Hyejae quickly turned away, deliberately avoiding her gaze.

Even so, Sunhye’s piercing glare lingered on her, sharp and unrelenting.

“Are you out of your mind? That girl, Choi Hyejae, is a traitor! You poured more than ten years into her—elite schooling, university recommendations, tuition, even language study abroad—and how did she repay you? She stabbed you in the back and ran!”

She jabbed her finger toward Hyejae, spitting venom with every word.

Finally, Chairman Shin set his chopsticks down with a sharp clack.

“I already can’t stand that you dragged this girl back into the company. And now you’re saying you’ll hand Seheon’s defense over to her?”

Sunhye let out a derisive laugh, incredulous.

Bringing back a betrayer to the company could be excused as a desperate move to recover investments. But entrusting her with the case of their one and only heir? That was something Sunhye could not tolerate.

Yes, Seheon had committed all manner of vile acts and was now under arrest.

Yes, the unanimous shareholder vote had permanently removed him from his position.

But Sunhye still dreamed of putting him back in Shin Group’s management someday.

And for that, the trial outcome was everything. She could not bear to let the last chance rest in the hands of a traitor.

“Hyejae is more than capable as a lawyer. I believe she can be trusted with Seheon’s case. So you stay out of it.”

Frustrated, Sunhye pounded her chest with her fist.

She couldn’t understand her husband’s mind at all.

He had been the first to cast out their son for embezzlement, corruption, and other crimes.

“No matter the bloodline,” he’d said, “I can’t entrust the company to someone who disgraces it.”

He even revoked the shares he’d planned to bequeath and rewrote his will through a lawyer.

That was how coldly he had turned on Seheon.

And yet, here he was now, sparing no effort to prepare for Seheon’s trial.

Perhaps abandoning Seheon had been nothing more than a performance. Or perhaps it was a desperate struggle to salvage the company.

Either way, the trial outcome was vital for him too.

But entrusting that crucial case to the very traitor they had despised? That was beyond Sunhye’s comprehension.

“If this doesn’t end properly, there’ll be nothing more I can do.”

Chairman Shin’s sharp gaze shifted to Hyejae.

“Not only that bastard Seheon—but you too, Attorney Choi.”

He was entrusting not only Seheon’s fate, but also Hyejae’s, to the trial’s result.

If her goal truly was revenge, she would never handle the case as they wished.

In that case, Shin would drag both Seheon and Hyejae down together.

But if she strove to regain his trust and delivered the results he wanted, then not only could Seheon’s scandal be softened, but Hyejae herself would be acknowledged once more.

“And what happens then?”

Kyobin, who had been silent until now, suddenly cut in.

The fate of both Seheon and Hyejae—there was no one more curious than him.

“Then Attorney Choi will have to return every penny I invested in her. With interest. It’s been over ten years—so I’ll expect a very generous rate.”

Hyejae betrayed no expression outwardly, but under the table her toes twitched.

From middle school onward, she had received top-class support.

That was how she had attended Korea’s most prestigious high school, entered law school, and even studied abroad.

The sum of that investment was staggering—so great she couldn’t even begin to calculate it in her mind.

Her vision blurred for a moment.

What she had once dismissed lightly, thinking only of escape, had snowballed into a mountain of debt.

“Hah. And what can she possibly accomplish? She hasn’t even properly taken on a case yet.”

Still glaring, Sunhye turned her eyes from Hyejae to her husband.

Her face softened, her eyes curving sweetly, as if she hadn’t just been spitting venom.

“Darling, don’t gamble Seheon’s life on this. Let’s go with the firm CEO Kim recommended instead—”

“Enough!”

Her coaxing tone shattered under his roar.

For once, Chairman Shin’s composure broke, his voice booming with fury.

Sunhye bowed her head, silenced.

“I don’t doubt my judgment.”

He snapped his head toward Hyejae.

She flinched but did not avert her gaze.

“Prove it yourself.”

His clenched fist trembled faintly.

His pride must have stung.

He had once let the maid’s daughter live and study under his roof, pouring investments into her because she seemed so promising.

Perhaps he had even valued her more highly than Kyobin, the scorned illegitimate child.

So when she betrayed him, the sense of betrayal must have been indescribable.

And more painful than the betrayal itself was the humiliation of admitting his judgment had been wrong.

His choices had always been right. Always efficient.

Even when risks were great, he always turned them into dazzling successes.

That was how Shin Group had been built.

Managing people had never been difficult for him either.

“Never raise a black-haired beast,” people said. But that only applied when money was lacking.

Give people enough, and they would swear loyalty without fail.

With enough financial incentive, there was no one he couldn’t control.

Except for one failure: Choi Hyejae.

Even though he had pulled her back in within a year, that short time had been intolerably long for him.

This time, it wasn’t just about the company—it was about his pride.

“My judgment wasn’t wrong. My investment will bring greater returns than anyone expects.”

And the only person who could restore that pride was Choi Hyejae.

For him, nothing else mattered but seeing her submit and bring him the results he demanded.

“Prove it with your own skill.”

It had to be her—no one else.