The air between Yoonshin and the opposing counsel seated side by side in the small mediation room within the family court was quite hostile. Yoonshin, who under normal circumstances rarely grew agitated within courthouse walls, especially in front of a judge, found the situation so frustratingly unreasonable that his voice naturally sharpened.
“Did this really need to go this far?”
*Thwack.* The man beside him struck the desk the moment Yoonshin finished speaking, glaring.
“That’s what I’m saying! Do Yoonshin, why are you charging at this so aggressively?”
“Aggressively? From the start, it’s a fact that one spouse made a fraudulent sale beforehand out of fear the other side would file for property division. Crudely put, he siphoned off the money. We’re trying to right that wrong. We’re not saying we won’t grant the divorce; we’re only asking you to acknowledge the contribution share. Isn’t this a simple equation?”
“No, we got a provisional disposition freezing the remaining assets. Take that. Who’s arguing? What is there to right?”
“We’ll naturally take that as well. I’m talking about the portion already disposed of by the husband without the wife’s consent. Lawyer Kim. According to Article 406, Section 1 of the Civil Code. All of this can be rescinded and restituted. But if we do that, things get far too complicated for both of us, don’t they?”
Explained clearly in precise pronunciation and an even tone, the man grew exceedingly vexed and ruffled his tie. Throwing him a neurotic glare was a given.
“You teaching me the law? You green little punk. Do you think I don’t know the law?”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not so green that I’d be called fresh-faced. It’s not that you don’t know the law; it seems you’re pretending not to, so I’m informing you.”
“Oh, Your Honor. I have to work with such an insolent junior lawyer.”
The remark that *he* was working with an arrogant senior was precisely what Yoonshin should have said, but because his opponent had beaten him to it, a hollow laugh escaped him. Even meeting lawyer to lawyer, the one still wearing his external rank, using informal speech and hurling curses in the mediation committee, was hardly in a position to say such a thing.
Catching his breath, Yoonshin forced himself to calm down and spoke evenly.
“Lawyer Kim, if we proceed with a creditor’s revocation lawsuit, we win. Whether you pay then or now, we’re only going to receive what’s regarding contribution anyway. Before we both end up in tatters.”
“Well, I’m telling you there was no legal problem from the start. It wasn’t a fraudulent sale. A lawsuit? Go ahead and try.”
He was dumbfounded by his opponent, who covered his eyes and played deaf without acknowledging the fundamental issue. He couldn’t understand why the man was being stubborn when the outcome was obvious. Sometimes bluffing could yield lucky results, but this was not such a case. Circumstances showing that the husband’s side had illegally sold more than half of the marital assets were exceedingly clear. If it went to litigation, it would be one-hundred percent unfavorable to their side.
Feeling it was utterly hopeless, Yoonshin turned his gaze to the judge, who had remained silent before them the entire time. The judge appeared to have no great will to mediate throughout. Knowing he was a law school classmate of the counsel representing the defendant, Yoonshin hadn’t expected much anyway. But it was high time he at least performed the bare minimum of mediation.
Perhaps the judge was not unaware of this, shaking his head as he spoke.
“Why on earth are the representatives fighting here? Do you two even have any intention of mediating? It doesn’t appear so to me.”
“That’s because, on Lawyer Do Yoonshin’s side—!”
The man, riled up, turned toward Yoonshin as if to argue further. Then the judge, who had been watching the entire situation, extended his hand as if to stop his classmate and warned them both.
“This won’t do. I seem to have chosen the wrong day. Let’s reschedule once things are settled. However, if this happens again next time, it won’t be pleasant. Today, I will be issuing penalties to you both.”
Being lumped together and penalized was so unfair that heat rose to his throat, but Yoonshin recalled his client, who had wanted an amicable divorce, clenched his teeth once, and endured.
The judge unilaterally terminated the session and exited the small mediation room first, leaving only the two men.
With the conflict forcibly tabled, Yoonshin had no choice but to quietly pack his belongings for now. At that moment, with a soft *tuk*, a tightly crumpled ball of tissue flew and landed right before his eyes. Staring quietly at the crudely crumpled object, Yoonshin pressed his lips together firmly. Unless it had dropped from the sky, it was clearly an object thrown by the man beside him containing the intention to mock him.
He knew with his head that it was deliberate bait to anger him. However, it couldn’t be very advantageous for the other side to trample on his feelings indefinitely either, so he couldn’t fathom why the man was resorting to such childishness. The moment he saw the trash thrown at him, fighting spirit flared, and he could not simply ignore it.
In the end, Yoonshin raised his voice.
“What do you think you’re doing, being so rude? Do you think this is an elementary school?”
Unbothered by Yoonshin’s voice, which did nothing to hide his anger, the man sat in a swivel chair, his body bobbing as he answered as if joking.
“‘Rude’? Lawyer Do Yoonshin, now you’re really running your mouth.”
“Perhaps you should look at yourself first, the one who acts and handles matters recklessly.”
“Wow, I heard you learned the ropes from Kang Se-heon. Did you learn his shitty attitude too? No wonder.”
Yoonshin flinched for an instant and turned his stiff neck to face the man directly. Nothing about this moment made sense, but there was one thing that made especially little sense.
“Why is Lawyer Kang Se-heon being brought up here? I’m no longer his associate.”
“Because Kang Se-heon is our only connecting factor. Ah, you didn’t know? He and I are law school classmates. You have zero understanding of your opposing counsel.”
He had wondered why the man was provoking him excessively, but upon this explanation, he vaguely began to see the shape of it. It seemed this man wanted to disregard and treat thoughtlessly not Yoonshin, but Se-heon. And such feelings were not usually born for no reason. There had to be a reason.
Having quietly scanned the man from head to toe where he still sat in his chair, Yoonshin finally spoke in a tone deliberately softened, as if he understood.
“So you knew Lawyer Kang. Were you close?”
“He wasn’t close with anyone. Had a fucking crazy personality, you know?”
“It seems you didn’t get along. That’s a harsh assessment.”
“That bastard wasn’t on good terms with anyone. Everyone hated him because he was so foul.”
Yoonshin, who had made a sound while keeping his mouth shut as if interjecting, asked in a subtle tone.
“Did you perhaps lose to Senior Kang sexually when he was much younger?”
“What?”
“Or were you rejected when trying to join Doguk? This attitude of taking out your emotions on an innocent junior lawyer can only be explained by an inferiority complex.”
The man listened with a smile hanging at the corners of his mouth at first, but soon furrowed his brow deeply. It seemed one of the two had hit the mark.
In the end, he stopped his leisurely swiveling of the chair and his tomfoolery, springing to his feet. Approaching so close he might grab him by the collar, he then looked at Yoonshin standing perfectly still without batting an eye, and made an intrigued expression.
“You don’t like hearing your second brother-in-law insulted?”
So that was it.
He had wondered why this wasn’t being brought up. Before his bewilderment could even fade, the man gave him the expected answer. Baffled, he swallowed dryly and gathered his composure. In truth, it was not something he had heard for merely a day or two.
Recently, CEO Yoo’s side of Suhan Holdings had retaliated against them in a very despicable manner. The arrowhead had been aimed not at the ex-wife, but at Se-heon, her legal representative. Unable to attack his sister due to a legally binding promise, they had aimed their guns at the shield that had protected her.
The method they chose was a very despicable one: plunging Se-heon into a sea of rumors. When he came to his senses, Se-heon had become an immoral man who had made eyes with Yi Kyung and destroyed a perfectly sound family. According to rumors, the connection between the two people, mediated by a father, had progressed very seriously, and it seemed he had spurred the divorce lawsuit leading the couple to rupture. Having extracted alimony and property division, after a brief wait they were apparently planning to marry at Taesan Hotel in a few years. Rumors even twisted the fact that Se-heon had brought Yoonshin, her younger brother, into the apartment where he lived to deceive people’s eyes, crafting a very specific story. Even though it was explained as company housing provided by the law firm, people believed the more interesting version.
“I don’t currently have a brother-in-law.”
“Don’t pretend. Rumors in this field are vicious. They say your sister goes in and out of the building where Kang Se-heon lives, regularly? They say they’ve set up house together.”
Recently, his sister hadn’t been coming and going from his own home much. Because Se-heon was unwilling, she usually met him outside or at her own house. Moreover, the one who had set up something resembling a household with Se-heon was himself.
Swallowing words he could hardly utter aloud in annoyance, Yoonshin answered calmly.
“That’s company housing, so I live there too. Nuna is just visiting our house. It’s an obvious falsehood.”
“If it’s unfair, sue me, Mister Lawyer.”
This absurd and malicious scandal was consumed not by the general public, but rather by legal professionals within the industry. They, who knew Se-heon to some extent, suspected none of this was true, yet consumed it as if it were a joke. Flowing like a river, by the time it reached Yoonshin’s ears, Se-heon the party concerned was already clearly aware of it.
Yet the man in question found it quite amusing. He said that while ostensibly tormenting him, they were ultimately attacking the ex-wife as well, and the method was so elaborate and despicable that it was educational. Because he laughed it off as if it were a passing incident, it subsided for a while, but even now Yoonshin felt as if someone had beaten his heart black and blue with a hammer. He would rather endure the backlash himself; it broke his heart that the innocent Se-heon was entangled time and again.
“Stop making those filthy jokes using my sister.”
“Hey.”
“It’s the same for Chief Kang. Please don’t make me take this lawsuit personally. I’m asking you.”
The frequency of Yoonshin’s voice, now coldly settled, was more frigid than ever. The man, who had clashed with Yoonshin several times before, seemed to detect this change and suddenly held his tongue. In an instant, a chilly air descended. In that gap, Yoonshin finished packing his things and forcibly crammed them into his briefcase. Then he struck the shoulder of the man blocking his path with a sharp *tak* and passed by.
“It seems you have no intention of mediating whatsoever. I’ll see you at the hearing next time.”
“Hey, Do Yoonshin. Hey!”
Ignoring the man’s call, Yoonshin exited the small mediation room. The outside air was gradually growing warmer, so there was quite a temperature difference. With his mouth firmly shut, he trudged down to the underground parking lot. Slumping into his car, he struck the steering wheel. He then glanced at his own stiff face through the rearview mirror. Spotting the reflection of the opposing counsel arriving late in the glass, he ground his teeth.
To be honest, he had already developed personal feelings about this lawsuit. If there was one thing the man had overlooked, it was that he had literally learned his trade from Se-heon.
“I’ll show you what charging aggressively really means.”
Gripping the wheel and starting to drive, Yoonshin steeled his heart resolutely.
* * *
Having met his client and returned, Yoonshin walked quietly down the dim hallway. It was quite late, so the lights in various parts of the office were out. Naturally, it was quiet with few people. Walking while listening to the sound of footsteps, he soon found himself before his chambers. Instinctively, he first glanced toward Se-heon’s room. The blinds were down on the window, so nothing was visible.
At present, Se-heon was in Hong Kong for a legal seminar. The conference itself was a two-night, three-day schedule, but because he had to meet personnel related to merger work there after the event concluded, he had stayed well over a week. Yoonshin had heard he was scheduled to return on a dawn flight tomorrow. The past week, time had flowed unusually slowly, but today it moved all the more maddeningly sluggish. He had finished all his work for the day, but knowing that even if he dragged his tired body home, he couldn’t be with Se-heon, he had returned here instead.
Swallowing a wistful sigh, Yoonshin grasped the doorknob of his room. As with Se-heon’s room, the blinds were drawn on the window. One thing different was that light was faintly visible through a minute gap. Perplexed, Yoonshin paused for a moment.
*Strange. I turned all the lights off when I left. Did a sensor trigger?*
Tilting his head, he pushed open the door as it was. At that very moment, the figure sitting in the chair before the desk was the first thing to catch his eye, and he was startled. The coat and jacket draped over Yoonshin’s arms dropped to the floor with a thud.
“Huh—!”
Covering his own mouth, which had nearly let out a scream, with his hand, he barely rolled his eyes. The person sitting with legs neatly crossed, watching him, was unmistakably Se-heon, unless his cognitive function had failed. Though bewildered and surprised, the joy that preceded them was greater, so a large smile hung on Yoonshin’s face. Without looking back, he immediately closed the door, came inside, and quickly approached him.
As if he had been waiting, Se-heon extended both arms and wrapped them around Yoonshin’s slender waist. He then sat Yoonshin’s lean body on his lap as if stacking him, hugging him tightly enough to crush him. Yoonshin, stretching both legs sideways, twisted his upper body to lay his own atop Se-heon’s body heat.
“When did you get here?”
“A short while ago.”
“Did you take an earlier flight?”
“Yeah, sleeping alone feels awkward now. I had some time, so I just snagged a remaining seat and came.”
Yoonshin, extending both arms behind Se-heon’s back as if capturing his long neck, showered kisses all over his smooth face. Se-heon watched the whole scene with narrowed eyes. Soon, perhaps judging that Yoonshin’s actions had reached a lull, he caressed Yoonshin’s protruding backbone.
“Did you eat dinner?”
“With my client. It was Korean food, so-so. What about you, Senior?”
“I roughly made do with in-flight food. By the way, you said the opposing counsel is being a headache. I heard he’s being unreasonable. Can you handle it?”
Yoonshin pulled his upper body slightly away from Se-heon and opened his eyes wide. It was exactly the topic he had wanted to casually bring up when Se-heon returned, so he was surprised the other had brought it up first.
“Who told you about that? I was actually going to ask you something.”
As he asked, he found the answer himself. Though he and Se-heon were now on different teams, they still shared the secretarial office, so word occasionally passed between them. It seemed Secretary Tak had relayed it to him.
“It was Secretary Tak?”
The expression in Se-heon’s eyes implied affirmation. Yoonshin added:
“I can win. No, I will definitely win.”
“Why so needlessly grim?”
“I have my reasons.”
He had thought that if he reacted so mysteriously, Se-heon would ask “Why?,” but Se-heon’s reaction deviated from expectations. Yoonshin stared at the silent man, then unable to endure it, asked like a starving beggar.
“Why don’t you ask? You have to ask for me to answer. That way I can ask you too.”
“He’s my law school classmate. It’s obvious even without hearing. Ah, the judge is my classmate too.”
“I know. That’s what’s worrying me. No matter how hard one tries to be fair, the arm bends inward….”
“And your opposing counsel submitted his resume to Doguk and got rejected. Twice.”
“It was true? I used that to provoke him the day before yesterday. His pride must have been badly hurt.”
“Who do you think rejected him?”
*Huh—* Just as when he had entered the room, Yoonshin covered his mouth with his palm, his pupils shaking violently. When he barely opened his mouth again, his voice trembled faintly. The emotion contained in his voice was somewhere between regret, bewilderment, and exhilaration.
“Was it you, Senior?”
He shrugged.
“Both times?”
Instead of answering, he shrugged once more, then toyed with Yoonshin’s waistband with his hand. Then he narrowed his eyes and responded in a meaningful tone.
“What’s most useful for them to corner you with right now would be the affair scandal between your sister and me. It must be difficult. Is there nothing I can help with?”
He seemed to guess Yoonshin’s entire situation without needing a detailed explanation. In the end, Yoonshin weakened and confessed his true feelings.
“That sort of thing is fine. I can speak for myself.”
“I know that well.”
“But what about you, Senior, suddenly becoming a home-wrecker? We’re dating, but everyone thinks you’re dating my sister, so it’s a bit infuriating. And I’m sorry.”
“What do you mean, what about me? Weren’t you going to take responsibility?”
“Don’t worry about that. I have strong survival skills. I’ll never let you starve.”
Se-heon, who had been listening seriously, burst into a *pfft* laugh as if he couldn’t quite accept it.
“Since when did pro bono work and minimum fees become proof of a lawyer’s ability to make a living?”
“Still, since coming to Doguk, I’ve earned as much as I’ve worked.”
“How much do you donate every year?”
“…Quite a bit?”
“I’ll look forward to it. Our poor newlywed life.”
“Frugality is a modern virtue.”
Yoonshin met his eyes as if to say, spend to your heart’s content instead of focusing on the amount, then cupped Se-heon’s cheek and kissed him briefly. It was quite a hackneyed way of making a vow, but he seemed sufficiently satisfied. Soon, his voice soothing him that there was nothing to worry about was exceedingly tender.
“Do Yoonshin. I’m really fine. There have always been rumors anyway. You’ve heard one or two things about me, haven’t you?”
“Those rumors arose because of things you’ve done, Chief. This time… it’s different.”
“To me, it’s all the same.”
Feeling sorry anew, Yoonshin leaned his body more closely against him. The muscles of his body, clad in only a shirt, felt quite vividly. It had been a week since he went away on a business trip for the seminar, and even before that, they hadn’t been able to be together for several days due to work, so his body quickly grew aroused.
Yoonshin extended the ring finger, onto which Se-heon had personally placed a ring, and pressed it firmly against his red lower lip. Then, taking advantage of the slight parting, he slipped his tongue between. As he inserted just the front part and then pulled it out, Se-heon matched the rhythm, closing and opening his mouth to apply pressure.
Hoo—exhaling breath into Se-heon’s mouth, Yoonshin settled into a more comfortable position. As he caressed the cheek and brushed dangerously against sensitive skin, Se-heon took the baton, biting the upper lip once and the lower lip once hard enough to hurt, then properly locked their moist lips together.
“Mmh….”
Yoonshin had started it, but Se-heon was leading. He deftly overlapped and entangled flesh, driving Yoonshin on. The tip of the tongue exploring skin desperately was paradoxically both rough and soft. It had been a long time since they had shared such a leisurely kiss, so both quickly grew aroused. Needless to say, each frantically sucked the other’s tongue, exploring one another desperately. Sexual sensation rose sharply, so that all the papillae on their tongues seemed to stand erect. Yoonshin was gradually running out of breath, but not wanting to separate from him, he squirmed continuously.
Eventually, they barely tore their lips apart after the rough kiss. Se-heon swallowed the long connected trail of saliva and greedily licked around Yoonshin’s jaw and neck. Yoonshin, tilting his head back slightly and moaning, instinctively lightly touched the buttons of Se-heon’s shirt. He soon pulled it down towa