Chapter 601: Moral Laws in Family Relationships (6)

Choi Yung-Ho of Daeheung Savings Bank told Han Joon-Sik that he would pour all the power his bank had into this matter.

"As of this very moment, I'm planning to tell every company that does business with our bank to terminate their legal advisory contracts with Sincere."

The primary source of revenue for a law firm was, above all, corporate legal consulting. They typically earned consulting fees during normal operations and made significant money through litigation fees when lawsuits arose. However, the very companies that fed these law firms couldn't operate without the support of banks like Daeheung Savings Bank.

So if the president of the top savings bank in the industry asked companies to cut ties with Sincere, they would surely comply without hesitation. After all, there was no shortage of law firms ready to take their place.

In other words, what Choi Yung-Ho said was effectively a declaration to destroy Sincere Law Firm from this moment on.

Han Joon-Sik asked back, looking completely bewildered. "M-Mr. Choi, why are you so obsessed with Mirinae? And why is Chief Jung even involved in this?"

Choi Yung-Ho replied with a blunt expression. "Chief Jung here is like a nephew to me. He doesn't like to show off, so he's never said it, but that's the truth."

"Th-that's ridiculous..."

Choi Yung-Ho clicked his tongue in disappointment. "Listen, Attorney Han. Use your brain. How do you think a bankrupt company like Mirinae could have started the rehabilitation process so quickly? And why do you think Chief Jung is here now?"

Han Joon-Sik glanced at me and suddenly had a realization. "Y-you don't mean... were you planning to give Mirinae to Chief Jung?"

"You're not entirely clueless. That's right. From the start, Mirinae was meant to be given to Chief Jung here."

I had never imagined such a thing nor have I ever wanted it. Mirinae originally belonged to Han Yoo-Sik, so I had only thought of returning it to him. But it seemed that Choi Yung-Ho had intended to give me the shares amid all this.

"But Chief Jung had no greed for those shares, not knowing my intentions, and I was disappointed. The only reason I stayed quiet was because your father at least had the decency to say he'd transfer the shares to Chief Jung. But then some punk, who I don't even know where he came from, had the audacity to covet those shares. Now, tell me—wouldn't that make me furious? Huh? Answer me!"

Han Joon-Sik's face grew paler and paler. He had just realized how those shares of Mirinae ended up in my hands. "I-I had no idea."

"Of course you didn't. And you shouldn't have been greedy for them either!"

Choi Yung-Ho leaned forward.

"So I'll ask you again. Do you still want those shares of Mirinae?"

Han Joon-Sik shook his head wildly. "N-no. I will never show any interest in Mirinae again."

Only then did Choi Yung-Ho's stern expression begin to ease. "You've made the right choice. Oh, and let me say this just in case. If you ever get involved with Chief Jung again, I won't bother with a warning next time. Got it?"

"Yes, sir!!"

After giving his final warning to Han Joon-Sik, Choi Yung-Ho turned to me. Unlike when he spoke to Han Joon-Sik, his gaze toward me was warm.

"Chief Jung, do you have anything to say?"

I answered, "I do."

"Then speak freely."

I nodded and glared at Han Joon-Sik as I spoke. "Mr. Han Joon-Sik. Mr. Han Yoo-Sik and Mrs. Lee Ah-Eun said they never want to see your face again for the rest of their lives. So don't ever come to see them or try to contact them again. Understand?"

Han Joon-Sik's head moved weakly up and down. "Understood..."

"Then that's all."

Choi Yung-Ho stood up from his seat. Vice President of Legal Affairs Hong Joon-Ho and Executive Director Jang Ki-Ho rose with him.

Han Joon-Sik tried to follow them out to see them off, but Choi Yung-Ho refused his attempt and walked out of the meeting room.

Other lawyers from the firm were standing outside the office. Judging by their tense expressions, they must have heard what was said in the meeting room.

The lawyers hesitated awkwardly and greeted us. Choi Yung-Ho and the rest of our group barely acknowledged the greetings as we exited the firm.

I followed him and glanced back. Through the transparent glass of the meeting room, I saw Han Joon-Sik. The other lawyers looked at him with expressions of disdain as they returned to their seats.

It seemed like all of them now knew what a disgrace Han Joon-Sik truly was.

***

In the lobby on the first floor of Sincere Law Firm, Choi Yung-Ho spoke with a smile.

"That guy Han Joon-Sik won't be able to work at Sincere anymore. President Woo Chan-Joong is ruthless when it comes to cutting ties."

Sincere Law Firm was founded by Woo Chan-Joong, a former Chief Prosecutor of the Southern District, and Han Joon-Sik only owned a small portion of its shares. Because of that, Choi Yung-Ho told me that once Woo Chan-Joong heard what happened today, he would cut off Han Joon-Sik and come straight to him.

There was no wonder Choi Yung-Ho spoke so loudly earlier. There was a reason behind it.

Choi Yung-Ho asked, "So, is it all over now?"

I shook my head. "No. There's one last thing left."

"What is it?"

"I need to go back and comfort Mr. Han Yoo-Sik and Mrs. Lee Ah-Eun."

Now that the shares of Mirinae had been protected, the last thing I needed to do was ease their hearts.

"Right. That's what's left. Then, when you go back, tell Mr. Han to stay strong. The rehabilitation ends early next month, so he should be ready to get started right away."

"Alright. And thank you so much for your help today."

"Hey, there's no need to thank me. You did all the work and I just wrapped it up. Anyway, make sure this project succeeds gloriously. Make those three bastards green with envy."

"I intend to do exactly that."

"Then we'll be going now."

After seeing off Choi Yung-Ho and his group, I took a deep breath.

"

Phew~

"

The crisp winter night air filled my chest refreshingly.

The stars densely scattered across the clear winter sky shone more beautifully than ever; it was as if the stars themselves were praising the punishment of the one who had violated the bonds of kinship.

***

After Choi Yung-Ho left, Han Joon-Sik acted as if nothing had happened and turned to his colleagues. "Alright. Tonight's late-night snack is on me. Just name it—anything you want. Attorney Kim, don't you like sushi?"

His fellow lawyers and staff gave him sour looks.

"I'm full. Not feeling like a late-night meal tonight."

"We also ate a lot earlier, so we're good."

Han Joon-Sik could feel that every lawyer and staff member in the firm was distancing themselves from him.

'

Damn it!

'

He hadn't imagined Choi Yung-Ho was that deeply involved in Mirinae's rehabilitation. Had he known, he wouldn't have gotten involved like this.

Just then, the office door swung open.

Bang.

Woo Chan-Joong stormed in, fuming. At fifty-seven, he was the former Chief Prosecutor of the Southern District and the owner of Sincere Law Firm.

"Attorney Han! Where are you?"

At his thunderous voice, the staff tried to make themselves smaller as they looked toward the corner of the office. Following their gaze, Woo Chan-Joong spotted Han Joon-Sik sitting there.

"Don't bother coming in starting from tomorrow, Attorney Han!"

"Excuse me? What are you talking about all of a sudden?"

"You're seriously asking? I just heard Bank President Choi Yung-Ho came here and raised hell!"

"Well, that's..."

Woo Chan-Joong raised his hand. "Save it. Transfer the shares you've been holding over to Attorney Park Se-Chan by the end of this week."

Han Joon-Sik clenched his teeth and spoke. "Mr. Woo! I can fix all of this!"

"What do you mean fix it? They say our firm almost went down because of you! And that Mirinae or whatever. It's your father's company, and you tried to snatch up shares? I can't stand degenerates like you. Got it?"

Woo Chan-Joong drove Han Joon-Sik into a corner, saying that if he could betray his own parents, betraying the company would be nothing.

"N-no, that's not..."

"Not what? Attorney Park told me everything!" Woo Chan-Joon shouted. "Anyway, I've got nothing more to say. Finalize the transfer of your shares by the end of this week. We're calling an emergency board meeting. You can join if you want."

With a cold expression, Woo Chan-Joong turned and headed to the meeting room. It was to get rid of Han Joon-Sik as fast as possible and then beg for forgiveness from Choi Yung-Ho.

"All partner-level lawyers holding shares, get in the meeting room. We're holding an emergency board meeting."

As Woo Chan-Joong headed to the meeting room, the other lawyers stopped what they were doing and followed him.

At that moment, Han Joon-Sik grabbed the shoulder of Park Se-Chan as he tried to walk past. "Hey! You rat bastard! You ran off to snitch that fast?"

Park Se-Chan slapped Han Joon-Sik's hand away. "Coming from a degenerate who even abandoned his parents? Spare me."

Degenerate Han Joon-Sik—his sin of violating familial duty became a brand burned into his name.

But Park Se-Chan didn't stop there. "Oh, and did you hear? Your eldest brother just got arrested. Something about surrogate surgery or something. You siblings are really a piece of work, huh?"

"W-what are you talking about?"

"Go check the news."

With a look of contempt, Park Se-Chan walked into the meeting room.

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Left alone, Han Joon-Sik quickly checked the portal news on his phone. The articles were filled with headlines about Beautiful People Plastic Surgery Clinic and surrogate surgeries, showing a mosaic of Han Joon-Tae's face.

"W-what is this?"

Just this morning, he and his brother had been dreaming of splitting potentially hundreds of billions from Mirinae's shares. But now, everything had come crashing down.

'

How the hell did it come to this?

'

Just then, a call came in from his sister.

[Caller ID: Han Joon-Hee]

-Hey, Joon-Sik. Did you hear that bastard Han Joon-Tae got arrested?

"Yeah, just now."

-I knew it! What a piece of garbage!!

"What's going on, noona?"

His sister had always spoken formally to their older brother no matter what, yet she was now speaking like he was her sworn enemy.

-You didn't hear? That land and building for the plastic surgery clinic—it wasn't Joon-Tae's wife who paid for it. It was all bought with Mom's money.

"What?"

-Yeah. That witch called me and told me not to even think about asking for it back because she already got it all signed over to her from Mom.

After Han Joon-Tae was taken into custody, his wife Lee Pil-Seon started moving fast. She was preparing to claim her share in case the hospital got sold. That was why she admitted that the land was inherited from Lee Ah-Eun.

Hearing that, Han Joon-Sik began grinding his teeth.

"Damn it. Han Joon-Tae really did that?"

-Yeah, that's what I'm telling you.

"Then that property includes our share too, doesn't it?"

-Exactly. So get moving before Joon-Tae's wife sells it all off!

"Okay, I'll look into it."

Those who betrayed the bond between parent and child were now betraying even their siblings, walking the path of complete degeneration.

What awaited at the end of that path was a hell where no one could be trusted, and they didn't even realize it.

***

Only after receiving a promise from Han Yoo-Sik's three children that they would renounce their claim to Mirinae's shares did I return to Cheonho-dong.

It was already past 10 p.m, but I headed to Han Yoo-Sik's house to tell him what happened today.

Just as I opened the front gate to enter, the news articles began popping up.

[Exclusive] Head of Gangnam A Plastic Surgery Clinic: Surrogate Surgery!

[Exclusive] Interview with a Victim from Gangnam A Plastic Surgery Clinic!

[Exclusive] Rampant Surrogate Surgery in the Industry—Is This Okay?

"It's over."

Kang In-Han boldly declared that starting today, he would run a series of articles until surrogate surgeries were eradicated from Korea.

I murmured, "Thank you in advance, Mr. Kang."

Since Kang In-Han was known for his persistence, I felt I had nothing more to worry about.

Creak.

As I opened the front door, I saw Han Yoo-Sik and Lee Ah-Eun in the living room with stiff expressions, watching the TV. The TV was also covering surrogate surgery.

Han Yoo-Sik turned off the TV and welcomed me. "Oh, Chief Jung, you're back."

I approached the two of them and told them that all three of their children had agreed to renounce their shares in Mirinae and promised never to come back.

"...And that's how it went."

Han Yoo-Sik let out a deep sigh and grabbed my right hand. "You've been through a lot, Chief Jung. You suffered because of our unworthy children."

Lee Ah-Eun held my left hand and patted the back of it. "Thank you, Chief Jung. Really, thank you."

Cutting ties with their children must have been a horrible pain. But instead, they were just thankful to me. I had no idea how to comfort them in this situation.

So I said what I believed was the best I could offer.

"From now on, I'll take better care of you both."

Tears welled up in their eyes as they kept saying thank you.

After a moment, Han Yoo-Sik forced a smile. "Chief Jung. You feel like having a late-night snack? We haven't eaten anything yet..."

Lee Ah-Eun wiped away her tears and nodded with a smile. "Yes, Chief Jung. Let's eat something together."

Since they seemed to want a cheerful mood, I cautiously suggested, "Shall I call Yoo-Jin and Miso too?"

"Of course, you should."

"Yes, and call In-Ji unnie too."

"Sure."

I immediately called Jung In-Ji, Yoo-Jin, and Miso.

Since they lived just two doors down, they arrived in no time. The three of them, sensing the mood, began smiling even more brightly when they saw us smiling, trying to lift the atmosphere.

When I asked what they wanted to eat, all three shouted for jjajangmyeon saying that it was tradition to eat jjajangmyeon when moving house.

As I was about to call a 24-hour Korean Chinese restaurant, I noticed Yoo-Jin's face looked slightly puffy.

I asked, "Yoo-Jin. Did you have a big dinner?"

Yoo-Jin looked away. "N-not really...?"

Miso raised her hand next to her. "Uncle Yoon-Ho. Mom ate the whole bowl of abalone porridge[1] meant for Grandpa and Grandma ea—

mmph!

"

Yoo-Jin hurriedly covered Miso's mouth. "O-oppa. I-I only tasted it. Just a taste. I can still eat a late-night snack."

Yoo-Jin desperately insisted she still wanted jjajangmyeon, but it was already too late.

"Miss Yoo-Jin, you're having konjac noodles."

"What? Why the sudden formal tone?"

"Because I'm not Jung Yoon-Ho right now. I'm Chief Jung, talent agent of actress Jung Yoo-Jin."

"Aren't you off work?"

"Nope. I'm still in my street clothes, see?"

Yoo-Jin looked at my outfit and collapsed onto the floor. "This can't be happening..."

Miso crouched next to Yoo-Jin and gently patted her back. "Sorry, Mom."

At that moment, Yoo-Jin spun around and hugged Miso. "I'm so hungry I can't take it anymore. I'm going to eat Miso instead.

Aaah~

"

Yoo-Jin opened her mouth and playfully bit Miso's arm. At the same time, she tickled Miso's side.

Miso burst out laughing as it tickled. "

Kya-hahaha!

Mom! Mom! I'm sorry. I'll share my jjajangmyeon with you.

Kya-hahahaha

!"

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Yoo-Jin looked at me. "Oppa, I can eat jjajangmyeon, right? Or I'm going to eat Miso instead."

'

Using Miso as a hostage for jjajangmyeon—what a dirty tactic.

'

There was no other choice. "I surrender!"

Yoo-Jin gave a little wink. She probably did want jjajangmyeons, but more than that, she exaggerated her actions to make Han Yoo-Sik and Lee Ah-Eun laugh.

Thanks to Yoo-Jin's antics, the couple's faces brightened a little more.

At that moment, freed from her mom's grip, Miso plopped down between Han Yoo-Sik and Lee Ah-Eun.

"Grandpa and Grandma, do you want seafood jjajangmyeon[2] and seafood jjamppong[3]?"

As if she were their real granddaughter, Miso beamed warmly at the two of them.

Han Yoo-Sik gave a gentle smile. "Sure."

Miso grinned widely. "Then... hmm... can I place the order?"

"Of course~"

"Yay!"

Miso grabbed the phone in her hand and pressed the buttons carefully. Then she started placing the order.

"Hello, Mister! It's me, Miso."

Miso told the familiar restaurant owner her name and said she was at the house two doors down, then continued the order.

"For my Grandpa's seafood jjajangmyeon, please keep the noodles separate. He likes them nice and chewy. And for my Grandma's seafood jjamppong, please mix the noodles in. She likes them soft. And then... for Grandma In-Ji, just regular jjajangmyeon. But pack in a lot of chili powder for that one..."

Like a true granddaughter, Miso described each person's preferences exactly as she placed the order. Han Yoo-Sik and Lee Ah-Eun gently patted Miso's head with grateful expressions.

In the place where ties of blood had been severed, new bonds were now forming.

1.

Abalone porridge

☜

2.

Seafood jjajangmyeon

☜

3.

Seafood jjamppong

☜