Chapter 12: The Unmasked Face

Jeonghyeok checked the face of Leo, who entered without knocking, and tossed a pill into his mouth. He swallowed the medicine with whiskey instead of water, the movement natural and practiced.

[ James is pestering me to check if you’re taking your meds properly. ]

[ That annoying man. I should replace him soon; psychiatrist doctors are a dime a dozen. ]

[ Yes, doctors are everywhere, but there isn’t a single person left who can put up with your temper. You know the rumors have spread, right? ]

Leo gave a stern warning as if to say ‘don’t even think about it.’ At that sincere caution, the corners of Jeonghyeok’s mouth lifted slightly. Aside from the numbers counting down before his eyes, Leo was the only person he truly trusted.

Their bond went back a long way. To when he was sixteen, a boy contemplating death in the slums of Harlem. He could never forget the young Leo’s face as he offered him a single piece of dried, shriveled bread. If not for Leo at that moment, Jeonghyeok wouldn’t have hesitated to put a bullet through his own head with the gun he had happened to acquire.

That was why, when he finally unpacked his bags in the penthouse with the best view in Manhattan, the first person he sought out was Leo. To Leo, who was then ruined by drugs and waiting only for his final misfortune, it was Jeonghyeok’s turn to reach out first.

They were two men who owed each other their lives. Trust built on such stakes was deep and desperate. Leo’s ability to execute anything without question was equally formidable. He was Jeonghyeok’s only family, friend, and perfect business partner.

Jeonghyeok downed the rest of the whiskey and looked out at the night view. The skyline sparkling like clusters of stars beneath his feet felt distinctly sharper than the one in New York.

[ You’re intentionally dumping work on Ms. Cha Hyeonseo so she can’t catch her breath, aren’t you? ]

As expected, Leo threw a question that accurately pierced his intent. To strip the mask off that woman, he had to force her face entirely toward him. Wasn’t that why he had bought her whole?

He tapped through the tablet screen Leo had handed him. The focus of every photo was Cha Hyeonseo.

[ She seems to have cut off most of her other clients, but she’s still maintaining her relationship with the JK Group. ]

There were dozens of photos of her moving between police stations, courts, and the JK family estate.

[ The current case is the assault settlement for the second son, Jang Kiyong. ]

Even in the midst of her breakneck schedule at Goldstone, she was still in contact with Yang Jaesuk and the JK people to handle their requests. What kind of lingering attachment was this?

“She really refuses to focus on me.”

At the woman’s stubborn nature, Jeonghyeok murmured a low monologue.

To someone like him, who always occupied the highest seat and preferred crushing others to being stepped on, Cha Hyeonseo was a different kind of stimulation. Looking at her made a strange defiance—no, a competitive streak—boil within him.

That was part of the reason he had insisted on seating Jo Inho right in front of her earlier. Even knowing it was a loveless marriage, he wanted to see it with his own eyes. He wanted to see Cha Hyeonseo waver.

Suddenly, his finger tapping the screen stopped. It was a photo of her walking side-by-side with a stranger, laughing and chatting familiarly.

It was jarring. Seeing her smile. That face, usually cold as ice, was now relaxed without a trace of caution or suspicion, laughing brightly. The rounded corners of her eyes and the coral-colored lips curled upward were hauntingly beautiful. Did she even have a face like this?

In an instant, an unfamiliar feeling surged. His composed mood twisted violently.

Noticing his sharpened gaze, Leo added an explanation.

[ Kim Junhan. He’s Cha Hyeonseo’s university senior. Son of Supreme Court Justice Kim Jaehak. His mother is a Deputy Chief Prosecutor at the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors’ Office, and his brother is a judge at the Seoul Central District Court. A very famous legal family. They’ve been close since university and even worked together at Cheongsong, so they seem to be on quite intimate terms. ]

Just how close do you have to be to make a face that defenseless?

[ Were they dating? ]

[ No. It doesn’t seem to be that kind of relationship. ]

[ Not that kind of relationship… ]

And yet she smiles like that.

His voice trailed off into a heavy silence. He stared intensely at her clear face on the screen. Unconsciously, a crease formed between his smooth brows.

It felt bitter that the face he was trying so hard to turn toward himself was directed at some stranger. This felt more worth shaking up than Jo Inho. It was a clear miscalculation.

[ I’ll put someone on him as well. ]

Leo, reading the mood, took a step back. The veins on Jeonghyeok’s hand tightened around the empty glass.

It felt like starting a game with a mission that was nearly impossible to beat. Ambiguous emotions born of resentment and a desire for revenge churned deep within him.

He didn’t know their source or their identity. Everything was still blurred and uncertain. What did he intend to do after he stripped her mask and saw her very bottom? How did he want to drive the conclusion of this game he started with malicious curiosity? He didn’t even know if a petty revenge would finally quench this vague thirst.

This foggy feeling was truly…

“Like sh*t.”

His crumpled face was reflected in the black night sky beyond the window. Displeasure shot up terrifyingly.

The commotion outside her quiet office grew loud enough that Hyeonseo put down her documents and stood up. The noise added to her chronic headache, making her brain throb. She swallowed a pill and walked out.

“No, no! I said you can’t go in…!”

As soon as she opened the door, an angry-faced woman shoved Sol aside and marched toward her. The woman’s eyes were bloodshot, as if she were about to burst into tears.

“Lawyer Cha Hyeonseo?”

Her voice trembled, and her face was deathly pale. Hyeonseo knew instinctively. Her distorted expression was enough to tell her who she was.

“You know me, right?”

Lee Yujin. She was the victim who had sued Jang Kiyong for assault. Hyeonseo had tried to meet her several times for a settlement, but she had consistently refused. The fact that she had come here herself was proof that the final threat had worked.

“Please come in. Let’s talk inside.”

Employees, drawn by the noise, were beginning to gather.

“How did you find my mother’s hospital?”

But the woman’s eyes, having lost all reason, were clearly not normal. They flickered precariously. It seemed no words would reach her now.

“It was unavoidable. You kept refusing our contact, Ms. Lee Yujin.”

“And now you’ve gone as far as threatening my family… Ha! Just how far do you people plan to torment me?!”

Until you are exhausted and give up everything. Until my trash client is safe and sound again. So the world can keep spinning like sht.*

The words she couldn’t say left a bitter taste in her mouth.

“I want to find a solution that works for both you and us.”

“A solution? You dare call it that!”

“Please calm down and let’s go inside…!”

Slap!

Her cheek flared with heat as her head snapped to the side.

“You b*tch!”

The venomous curse rang in her ears. Even without looking, she could picture the woman’s enraged face. The despair and helplessness in that trembling voice felt raw.

Since she had expected something like this, she slowly turned her face back. She gritted her teeth and swallowed, but without warning, another slap landed.

Crack.

“Crazy b*tch!”

Slap.

The woman struck the other cheek in succession. The force made Hyeonseo stagger.

“Lawyer Cha!”

Sol’s panicked voice and the whispering of the surrounding staff sounded muffled, like a dream. Despite that, Hyeonseo lifted her head again as if performing penance.

CRACK!

Inevitably, another blade-like impact sliced across her cheek. It stung enough to bring physiological tears to her eyes.

Forgiveness, understanding, mercy. She knew clearly she had no right to beg for such things. So, as always, it made her feel more at ease. It was a relief to be able to hope that the woman’s curses and anger toward her would actually come true.

“You piece of trash…!”

As she squeezed her eyes shut, facing the woman’s flushed, enraged face, a thick woody scent brushed the tip of her nose instead of another stinging blow.

“That’s enough.”

At the low, resonant voice, her eyelids fluttered open. Sure enough, Seo Jeonghyeok was standing there, holding Yujin’s wrist mid-air.

Into the familiar scene of her daily life—her usual landscape—this man had suddenly stepped in without permission. Her mouth went dry, and her body froze.

“Resolve your personal grudges outside.”

He pushed Yujin’s hand away and gave a slight nod to Leo.

“Please escort her out. I don’t know how she got in, but this is trespassing.”

Security guards appeared quickly and escorted the swaying, sobbing woman out.

Those cold eyes turned toward her. The moment they met, her stomach began to churn. The emotions she had barely been suppressing surged uncontrollably. Her feelings, fragile as a sandcastle, felt as though they were collapsing all at once.

After laughing at his hypocrisy in her heart, she had just had her own shame exposed right in front of him. She regretted having acted superior for even a moment. A bottomless sense of humiliation washed over her.

Instinctively, she averted her eyes first. She stepped forward immediately, wanting to escape his sight as fast as possible. It was too much to bear.

She glared at the elevator floor numbers, which felt like they were taking forever. Every second felt like an eon. Her mind was hazy. When the chime finally sounded, she hurried her steps.

In that split second, her wrist was caught, and her shoulder was spun around.

“Where are you going?”

At that dry, low voice, her heart dropped. Her bitten lip trembled, and the corners of her eyes burned. Unbidden, Seo Jeonghyeok’s face began to blur before her eyes.