What the heck is with that guy?
Tae-jung was acting suspiciously, like someone hiding a huge secret.
To make matters worse, even Seo Jae-guk said something strange.
“Ji-won, our executive director has circumstances he can’t talk about. I’ll explain everything later, so for now, could you cancel the report?”
“Cancel it?”
“Please, Ji-won.”
Moved by Jae-guk’s desperate tone, Ji-won finally nodded.
She told the police it was a misunderstanding and canceled her report. After sorting things out, she picked up her phone and searched “Moon Tae-jung” on the portal site.
<Seonil Construction to Sweep Middle East Contracts?>
<Executive Director Moon Tae-jung Leads ₩9 Trillion Abu Dhabi Project>
This must be what they mean when your spine runs cold.
Ji-won’s lips went dry.
Why hadn’t she thought to search his name earlier?
“Can I leave now?”
When Tae-jung, who had been sitting, stood up, Ji-won instinctively took a small step back.
“I think we still have something to discuss, Ms. Dong Ji-won.”
“R-right?”
With an awkward smile, Ji-won followed Tae-jung out of the police station.
“Do you believe me now?”
Seeing Tae-jung’s confident expression, Ji-won brought her hands together neatly and bowed politely.
“Executive Director, I was terribly rude to you at our first meeting.”
“No offense taken… But now I think you owe me an answer to my proposal.”
“…Marriage?”
“More precisely, a marriage on the premise of divorce.”
“I’m sorry, but like I said, I have absolutely no intention of getting married.”
Holding up her fingers, forming a circle with her thumb and index finger, Ji-won shook her head to emphasize the point.
In this harsh world, living alone was already tough. She had never even considered marriage.
And now, marriage to a stranger out of the blue?
Even if the man was an executive director at Seonil Mulsan, that was just absurd.
“Are you really not interested?”
“I believe I made myself very clear earlier.”
“I hope you reconsider.”
“I already gave it serious thought. I really have no intention of getting married.”
Not just any marriage—he was talking about a marriage meant for divorce?
If that’s what he wanted, he could easily find another chaebol heiress or a suitable actress to play the part.
Why come to her of all people with such a proposal? Ji-won’s logic just couldn’t comprehend it.
“Ms. Dong Ji-won.”
“It was nice talking to you. Take care.”
Ji-won ended the conversation and shot a brief glare at Tae-jung.
So what if you’re a big-shot executive director?
Scoffing, she turned and walked to her car parked in the police station lot. When she started the engine, it made a loud, clunky noise.
This damn clunker. Please just work today.
She shifted into reverse, but suddenly the passenger door opened, and Tae-jung climbed in.
“What the—?!”
“I’m not done talking yet.”
“Well, I am. I finished long ago.”
With a furrowed brow, Ji-won enunciated each word clearly.
“You need to pay your consultation fee.”
“Oh, right?”
At the mention of a consultation fee, Ji-won’s irritation softened just a little.
“How much is it?”
Tae-jung pulled out his wallet.
Ji-won glanced at it from the corner of her eye.
Expensive.
It was from one of those brands that people line up for at dawn and still can’t get into the store. And it was thick, too.
Wow, he carries a lot of cash.
In a world where one card is enough, it was rare to see someone carry that much cash.
Greed momentarily stirred.
She had spent nearly two hours, so at ₩50,000 per 30 minutes, that made ₩200,000.
To a chaebol, ₩200,000 was pocket change. Should she just tack on a zero? No, that was too unethical. Maybe ₩1,000,000?
Swallowing her material desires, Ji-won said,
“Just give me ₩50,000. Normally it’s ₩50,000 per 30 minutes, but calling what we did a consultation feels like a stretch.”
“So if I gave you ₩200,000, does that mean I could talk to you for another two hours?”
“…”
“You said ₩50,000 per 30 minutes.”
A red flag went off in her head.
Was he planning to use the consultation fee as an excuse to keep showing up?
“No, thank you. I like people with money, but I don’t like people who throw it around.”
Ji-won reached over, pulled ₩50,000 out of his wallet, got out of the car, walked to the passenger side, and opened the door.
“Get out.”
“I still have more to say.”
“Well, I don’t.”
Even faced with her firm rejection, Tae-jung didn’t look ready to back down.
What do I do with this man?
As her vision started to blur with frustration, Seo Jae-guk walked out of the station.
“Fine. Do whatever you want, Mr. Moon Tae-jung.”
Ji-won left Tae-jung in the passenger seat, got out of the car, and walked over to Jae-guk.
“Attorney Seo, can I get a ride?”
“Of course.”
Once in his car, Ji-won buckled her seatbelt and waited for them to drive off—but Tae-jung quickly climbed into the back seat.
“Wha—?”
Eyes wide with disbelief, Ji-won stared, but Jae-guk had already started driving.
Even after changing cars, Tae-jung had followed her. His persistence made Ji-won furrow her brow.
Still, with Jae-guk there, surely he wouldn’t start talking about marriage and divorce again.
As expected, after an awkward silence, Jae-guk spoke.
“I hadn’t heard from you, but I heard you opened your own office?”
“Yes, Attorney Seo.”
“We’re both lawyers—drop the formalities and just call me ‘sunbae.’”
“But we didn’t go to the same school.”
“Come on, I’m not that uptight.”
His friendly demeanor hadn’t changed since her internship days, and Ji-won smiled brightly. Then her eyes happened to catch Tae-jung’s face in the rearview mirror.
He looked irritated, frowning for who-knows-what reason.
Was he sulking because she rejected a chaebol’s proposal?
Unbelievable.
Ignoring him, Ji-won continued chatting with Jae-guk.
“When did you move to Seonil Mulsan?”
“Not long ago.”
“I never imagined you’d go in-house. I always dreamed of working at your firm if you ever opened one.”
“Seriously? Man, I should’ve opened a firm first.”
“If you ever do, please call me.”
“I’d be honored.”
Completely oblivious to the growing sharpness of Tae-jung’s gaze, the two of them kept talking pleasantly.
When they arrived at the building where her office was, Ji-won got out of the car immediately. She completely ignored Tae-jung and only said goodbye to Jae-guk.
“See you later, sunbae!”
As she climbed the stairs, Ji-won didn’t look back once.
She was seriously thinking about getting some salt and sprinkling it around the office entrance.
* * *
“Did Ji-won say yes?”
Jae-guk asked Tae-jung, who sat in the back seat with a perpetual frown.
“She said no.”
“Of course. Smart woman.”
Nodding approvingly, Jae-guk glanced back, but Tae-jung narrowed his eyes. Feeling the sharp stare, Jae-guk quickly added,
“I mean, wouldn’t it be weirder if she immediately agreed to marry someone she just met, especially when the goal is divorce?”
“Weird, definitely.”
“Didn’t I tell you? She’s not the easy type.”
Tae-jung nodded.
Would people call him crazy if he said he liked her even more because she wasn’t easy?
“Hey, but seriously—was that true?”
“What?”
“That she’s your first love?”
“Yeah.”
Tae-jung replied briefly.
No matter how many times he said it, Jae-guk didn’t seem to believe him.
Or maybe he just didn’t want to believe it.
Earlier, the way Jae-guk interacted with Ji-won was off. He showed a level of warmth he didn’t offer others.
“Seo Jae-guk.”
“What?”
“Just so we’re clear, I have no intention of fighting over a woman with a friend.”
“Come on, what are you talking about?”
Jae-guk laughed it off.
Still wary, Tae-jung thought back to his past with Ji-won.
They had attended the same school for half a year and sat next to each other on the school bus almost daily. Then one day, Ji-won had disappeared without a trace.
If only I’d known back then…
He’d once gone looking for her, believing her father worked at a certain university.
It wasn’t hard to find a Korean professor who was there as a visiting lecturer.
Tae-jung had gone, filled with hope, only for the man—who looked exactly like the one in Ji-won’s family photo—to say:
“I don’t have a daughter.”
He looked him straight in the eyes and denied everything. When Tae-jung asked about “Clara,” the man replied casually:
“Who’s Clara?”
So calm, so natural, that Tae-jung had no choice but to apologize and say he was mistaken. At the time, he never imagined an adult could lie like that.
He was just a kid, after all. He believed all parents were like his—honest and good.
“So what now?” Jae-guk asked, snapping Tae-jung out of his thoughts.
“I’ll go find her again.”
“Again?”
“Even if I have to use a wish coupon.”
“What the hell is a wish coupon?”
“I have something like that.”
Tae-jung pulled out a small piece of paper drawn in bright crayon.
A smile played at the corners of his lips.
