Chapter 10 

The owner of the house was angry. He was fuming.

But the house was almost silent, save for the heavy breathing and the occasional painful groans from a man lying flat on the ground.

The man’s face was swollen and bruised around the mouth. He wrapped his injured arms around his head, trying to protect his head from all the kicks and bashes that he received.

A tap on the solid mahogany table stopped all movements.

The other men stopped their kicking and bashing and stepped away from their victim. The only sound was the ticking of the old grandfather's clock. Tick, tick, tick. Counting the seconds as they slipped by.

The owner of the house cleared his throat. His fists were all balled up.

“How could this have happened!” His rough voice boomed across the length of the dining room. Everyone else in the room had their heads lowered, not daring to move even an inch.

“I told you to take care of the Hong family. I don't want any trouble from them. And now what? That nosy reporter is digging everywhere! She's even planning on writing a feature!”

His closest aide decided to speak up.

“But Sir, we have already leaked the feature to Daehan Daily. Daehan Daily is on our side. They have already reported as per our instructions. The last time we checked, Seoul Daily have already shelved the feature.”

“Do you know who the journalist is? It's that Kim! That woman would never give up on this. Damn that family. First the father, and now the daughter!”

“Don't worry Sir. We have sent our man to follow her. And don't forget about her, she is going to finish the job for us if all else fails.”

The owner took a step towards that assistant of his and grabbed his collar. With his eyes incredibly dark and his voice dangerously soft and ominously calm he said, “Wooshin ah, I think you would know better than anyone else the consequence of failure.”

The lanky red haired boy, barely even a man, lowered his head. “Yes Sir. I would never let you down.”

The owner allowed himself a smile and released his grip. “Good. Now get this bastard out of my sight. I don't want to see him again.”

And Wooshin understood the weight of his boss’s words. He signaled for the others to hurl the semi-conscious man out of the house.

“Sir...sir...please...Give me another chance. I will make it right. Please…”

The dying man’s words were ignored. Later that night a bullet was put through his head, silencing him for eternity.

==

It was mediation session for Tiffany and her client. The two sides have agreed to meet before the court trial to try to work out a settlement. Corporate lawsuits aren't nearly as exciting as criminal lawsuits, but she still looked forward to it.

She wasn't alone in this fight either. Park Dong-bin had a team of lawyers with a wealth of experience at hand and they have proved to be of great help to her.

She reapplied some lipstick, smacking her lips together and checked her make up for the last time.

A knock on the toilet door and in came Seohyun, her secretary and paralegal.

“Miss Hwang, are you ready to go?”

“Ah, I was just about to look for you. Are all the files and documents in order?”

“Yes. I have checked and personally packed them all before we left the office.”

Tiffany nodded. She had nothing to worry about when it comes to Seohyun. Seohyun was extra meticulous when it comes to documents and files.

She entered the room and saw her client already waiting there.

She lowered her head in a bow, “Good morning Mr Park.”

“Ah, Tiffany. You’re here. Come, have a seat. Seems like we are early again. That useless brother of mine, he would probably be late as always.”

Tiffany flashed a polite smile and took her seat right beside her client. Though she did not say much, but she was quietly confident of coming to a settlement in her client’s favour. After all, Park Dong-bin was the eldest son and the will clearly stated for him to take over his father’s shares.

She flipped through her notepad, going through some of the important points that she had planned to present later.

After nearly 15 minutes, Park Dong-joo and his entourage of lawyers strutted into the room. Tiffany instantly took a dislike towards the head lawyer. She had heard nasty things about him from her other lawyer friends and how he would often resort to underhand methods to win cases. And not to mention that he was a sleazy man, hooking up with younger lawyers. Btu work is work and business is business. Show time. She took a deep breath to steady herself.

“My client has a proposal. A proposal that would give both parties a win-win solution.” Tiffany started confidently, barely needing to refer to her notes. All the details were already in her head. “Mr Park has an offer.”

“Which is…?”

“Mr Park Dong-joo would give up the position of the CEO to my client. In return, my client would transfer 5% of his shares to Mr Park Dong-gjoo.”

“HOW IS THAT EVEN A DEAL? ARE YOU INSULTING ME?” The younger Mr Park hollered, obviously unhappy with the offer. Tiffany quickly concluded the younger Park to be a hot tempered man. His lawyers had to calm him down and reassure him.

Tiffany remained undeterred. “That’s my client's best offer.”

The younger Park scoffed. “There is no way in hell I am accepting this. I'm the CEO right now. Aboji personally appointed me. It's in the papers.” The man had this confident smirk on his face and all Tiffany wanted was to wipe the disgusting smirk off his face.

“Not if the papers are forged, my dearest little brother.” The older Park finally broke his silence. “What if I tell you that I have proof that the papers were signed under distress? Aboji wasn't in the right mind when he signed this.”

“W-what are you saying! Are you doubting our father?”

“I'm doubting you. Like I have said, I have solid proof of your manipulations and if we do go to the court, you would not only lose your position but also potentially face another lawsuit. I am beginning to think that giving you 5% is too much. Isn't it, Miss Hwang?”

Tiffany simply nodded but said nothing else. She represented her client and nothing else.

She noticed the poor man clenching his fists quietly and angrily on the other side of the table. His lawyers were left flustered by the revelations. Tiffany could only conclude that they weren't told the complete truth by Park Dong-joo. That was one big mistake by the younger Park. In order for clients to receive the best support, they needed to be 100% honest with their lawyers. Failing to do so would prevent the lawyers from doing their job. They all had a client confidentiality clause for a reason.

“We would need time to examine your proposal.”

“Sure. When can we expect a reply by?”

“This week. Before the court hearing starts.”

Tiffany turned to look at her client who nodded his head before saying, “Very well then, we would be waiting for your good news.”

She watched Park Dong-joo left with his entourage of lawyers, all deflated by the revelations.

“It was all thanks to you, Tiffany. Seems like your plan worked.”

“I'm only doing my job. Besides, I was not entirely sure if it would work. Thankfully our gamble paid off. Seems like there was really something fishy about the papers. We might have to get an expert to verify your father's signature on the papers.”

The older man chuckled. “Ah, the guts of a youngster. I would never have dared to take a risk like this. He could have easily called our bluff out.”

She allowed herself a smile. “I am 100% focused on winning the case, Mr Park.”

“Of course you're. I hired you for precisely this reason. We both like to win, right?”

Tiffany nodded. She loved the feeling of winning, it made her feel as if she was in control of her life. She craved that sense of control that came along with victories.  

==

Taeyeon needed something. Something strong to calm her nerves. The bar was dimly lit and reeked of cigarettes and alcohol. She didn't even have to say anything to the bartender. He knew her enough to push a shot glass to her the moment she sat down. She downed the glass in one swift motion.

More than often not, her mind took her to places that she did not want to be. Older, darker days. She took out her pen and twirled the weighty fountain pen around her fingers. It helped her to recollect her thoughts, to calm down a little.

“Alone?”

A familiar feminine voice from behind caught her attention. She turned.

“Never would have expected to meet you here, Sunbae.”

She frowned and pocketed her pen. “Why are you here?”

“I followed Sunbae.”

“How funny.” Taeyeon decided to ignore the woman’s presence and instead downed another shot. Her face was heating up and her head was spinning due to the alcohol but she didn't care.

A pair of arms then wrapped around her neck.

“I see someone’s frustrated tonight” The woman whispered breathily against her neck. ”Sunbae, may I offer you some release?”

Why not? I'm alone and I don't want to go home.

Taeyeon smirked and turned around to face the woman. “Only if I get to top.”

“I see nothing has changed. Of course, Sunbae. As you wish.”