He sat to reread the dossier, letting every word become ingrained in his keen mind. After last night, his curiosity is triggered and his thoughts are set awhirl. It is past 8 o’clock in the evening and he is still in his office buried in work.

His desk is filled with various other documents, all these research is part of the preliminary stage whenever a case is brought to suit. The Song dossier is a massive one, having been a long-time client while the estate was still under the Song Matriarch before being passed along to the current heir. CG and T, as Kang Seok mentioned, handled all the legal affairs of the estate, from the most minor issues to their most complicated ones.

Yeon Woo had all the documents brought over from the archives from the time the firm started representing the Song estate. He has a daunting task in front of him now that the subject of succession has been questioned, thus requiring him to review all the documentation. His first meeting with Ms. Song was all too brief; it was not enough to discuss their course of action. He went to pour himself another cup of coffee and stood looking out of the window at the darkening city, with his thoughts going back to their meeting yesterday evening.

There was just too many people, too heavy a crowd; the mix of politicians, hallyu, and upper echelons congregating in one place drawn by the publicity generated by the event.

He arrived within a reasonable time, propelled by the motivation rooted in business alone. He hated such gatherings, never fully acclimating himself in the social expectations in this aspect of his career. Oh, but that is not to say he is not sociable. Yeon Woo can mix with the best of them, but his inherent aloofness borne from the kind of life he started out is something he found not easy to shed. And it is because of this that he comes off as aloof, a genius with a chip on his shoulder, a tough person to get close to immediately on first impressions alone. 

This suits him just fine; it keeps him focused at work and on his toes. The past after all has a tendency to come back with a vengeance and he found it easier to shed his old life and be free from its trappings. It was easy enough to do. After his grandmother passed away, there was no longer anybody else to tie him to his past. And so, the succeeding years had been a rebirth, an opportunity to start anew. And he was never one to let opportunity pass him by.

Foregoing the tux, he wore a perfectly tailored suit with crisp white shirt and blue silk tie. He wove his way through the crowd, nodding at more than a few familiar faces. CG and T as one of the top firms in the country is well known and thus, highly sought after. They have either represented or worked against several people who are here in this function at one point or the other.

So, he pasted a smile, shook hands and continued to move through the crowds, searching for his client, his sole purpose in this task.

"Annyeong haseyo, Attorney Go," he heard his name called. He recognized the CEO of Insoong Corp. approaching. "I'm happy to see you. Is Attorney Choi here too?" He was a client the firm represented previously, by Yeon Woo specifically in fact, just a few months back. They shook hands, with the older man clapping him soundly on the shoulder. It may seem overly familiar, but the CEO had reasons to be friendly; CG and T helped him settle a potential harmful slander dispute. He flagged a few other big named people and introduced Yeon Woo.

Yeon Woo found himself surrounded by a handful of people easily described as the "big shots." Typical of such gatherings is the networking that occur within these social circles. He chatted a bit, and though Yeon Woo is busy cataloguing everything he sees, he managed to keep up with the conversation happening around him.

He finally spied the face he was looking for, this one familiar face he has no trouble recalling from the files he's been reviewing all evening.

 

Song Min Kyung stood with an entourage of people surrounding her who are, in all appearances, hanging on her every word. Her face is neutral, polite in its lack of expression, a much-needed survival skill in this kind of society she's in. He took a moment to observe her from where he stood, noting she has mastered the art of impassiveness without appearing rude.

Truth be told Yeon Woo did not know what to expect; the photographs filed in the dossier showed him a young pretty woman in various occasions, taken by the media in those social events. His conversations with others were hardly informative when the topic shifted to Min Kyung herself. They were all effusive in their praises of her, but lacking in depth personal details. As such, he had prepared himself and half expected the usual indulged and entitled heiress typical of the genre.

Min Kyung is in conversation with Congressman Chao, chatting about various political standings. She maintained her composure, while he is ever ebullient trying to gain her favor.

"My dear, this event never fails to bring me such pleasure. Seeing all the benefit the children will get from all these efforts warms my heart."

"I'm pleased to hear that, Congressman. Perhaps you will take the time to tackle the Bill on the issue of reformation in the rehousing of the children's facilities that this organization has been long proposing."

"Yes, of course, my dear Ms. Song. I most certainly will. Your support is highly indispensible. This will indeed become the focus of my agenda, and I will place it at the forefront of the many changes I plan to implement. You can count on my support in return."

"Oh, but my support is not the driving force, Mr. Chao," she quipped, "I am the primary sponsor behind this organization, thus I can only observe the political measures at play. It would hardly be ethical, would it now, to have manufactured a relationship with the government principals involved?"

Yeon Woo caught the thread of their conversation when he got nearer, saw how Min Kyung handled being maneuvered and the confidence in the way she responded.

Congressman Chao is flustered, ready enough to launch into full defense mode, but Min Kyung flashed him a dazzling smile, "I have confidence in your abilities, Congressman Chao, to do what you have to do, even without my support. I have heard about your reputation, after all."

Yeon Woo hid a smile hearing this and in seeing the confused smile on the Congressman's face, who looks unsure if an offense was made regarding his person or not.

Before the congressman can stammer out a response, Yeon Woo interrupted to greet them both. He introduced himself and commandeered Min Kyung's attention.

"Ms. Song, Congressman, how are you. You are looking well, sir. If I may borrow you for a moment, Ms. Song. Please excuse us."

Min Kyung nodded briefly in greeting and sent the rest of her entourage to disperse.

"Thank goodness that's over." She said, following him out of the milling crowd. She threw the man a covert glance to assess him. They walked side by and side; nodding in greeting at people they pass on their way. "I don't know you. I must admit I'm concerned it is not Attorney Choi handling this matter."

"Understandable, Ms. Song, since we've never met before and hardly know each other. But if I may reassure you, he would not have assigned this case to me if he finds me incapable."

They head to the gardens, where the crowd thinned somewhat and their conversation could have some semblance of privacy. They walked down the circular stone flagged paths. Rose bushes lined each side, though no blooms graced the thorny stems this late in the season.

"I must say you handled Congressman Chao very well."

She shrugged, "I know exactly the kind of man he is and the kind of support he is looking for," she said, pantomiming money. She knew plenty of people seek her support for the monetary gains only. "I am not interested in being associated with his political agenda.This charity organization has been my lifelong project."

She paused for a beat, then continued, "You are well aware of what I have at stake?"

Yeon Woo nodded and asked, "Is he here? Has he caused any more problems to you?"

She gestured towards the building, "He is here and I'm sure busy whispering whatever nonsense to whoever would willingly listen. My uncle has always been a thorn in my side; he might just be all bark and no bite, since he usually let others do his battles for him. That said, he can and does play dirty. I don’t expect this whole thing to stay quiet much longer.”

They paused before the fountain set in the center of the garden to look at the colorful streams as they soared and swirled; the streaming lights of the building lending the water all the colors of the rainbow.

“I have arranged a meeting with Attorney Kim who is representing your uncle, and I’ve filed a motion to suppress any media involvement.”

She nodded her agreement. “Mr. Go, I am well aware of how badly this will impact the estate. My grandmother was an astute woman; she worked hard to keep this business thriving. She knew exactly how my uncle would eventually run the business to the ground if left in his hands alone.” She turned to him then, her face illuminated by the faint glow of lights reflecting off the water before them. “More than anything else, it is the Song name, my name regardless of his insinuations, that I will protect at all cost.”

He looked at this young woman, an enigma compared to many others of her ilk he’s met. Her aura is palpable; one is drawn to her quiet strength, her intelligence. The case itself is interesting enough to trigger his competitiveness. But now his curiosity is piqued after he’s met her and observed her for himself.

“I understand fully, Ms. Song. I realize the significance of one’s name, whatever their stations may be in life. When all is said and done, we are only remembered by the legacy of our name. And I will see to it that your grandmother’s legacy, the Song name, not just the estate, is protected and will remain intact.”

They have resumed their walk to head back to the building to rejoin the fundraising event. Min Kyung stopped at the steps and turned to him once more, giving him a nod to acknowledge his statement.

“I’ve heard about you, Mr. Go, and your extraordinary talents. But you are mistaken when you said we’ve never met. We have, many years ago, during our acquisition of the Hanso company. You must have been too focused on a case of your own to remember this slip of a girl next to Grandmother. Quite understandable; she was a formidable force indeed. One tend to focus on her presence at any gathering.” She gave him a faint smile, then turned and walked away.

I think you are a force to be reckoned with yourself, Song Min Kyung, he thought to himself, as he watched her rejoin the crowd and see the people move immediately to surround her, as moths are to the light, drawn by her sheer presence alone. 

 

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A/N:

I will chuck it up to right timing that after I had written the first several paragraphs, ep.16 came along with Grandmother's emotional demise. It fitted my story perfectly and is one part of his drama I wouldn't mind carrying over to my version.

I will add a disclaimer too: I do not have any legal knowledge other than what I've been exposed to in books or (american) tv shows. So please indulge me when my story is so far from being accurate in terms of Korean legal systems in its practice and execution. I've read up just enough to get by, but I will not attest to my accuracy. Mine is all made up anyway.   :)

(don't worry, I'm going to focus on their lovestory and the legal aspect only as backdrops to move the story along. I hope you wouldn't find it too boring though.)