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Chapter 23
A man with snow-white hair, combed back without a single strand out of place, wore an expressionless face.
His face looked so much like Taewook’s that I could easily tell he was Taewook’s father.
Well, it wasn’t like I couldn’t have guessed that anyway.
If anything, he was even more famous than Joo Taewook himself.
But that aside.
I tilted my head, unable to identify the woman sitting across from me, smiling while looking at me.
She felt vaguely familiar… like I’d seen her somewhere before.
While I was thinking, I glanced at Taewook’s father, and a cold voice slipped out of him.
“It’s hard to even get a glimpse of your face.”
“Oh, I’ve been busy. I apologize for the discourtesy.”
Even after my polite apology, he didn’t seem to calm down.
He said nothing and continued cutting into his steak, making my thoughts more complicated.
From Supervisor Sangwoo’s attitude, it was clearly Taewook’s father who had called me here.
Yet from the moment I entered this house until now, he hadn’t once looked directly at me.
Was this his way of showing displeasure?
I glanced at him, recalling the man I had often seen on TV.
He was Joo Youngjin, a lawmaker and the most likely candidate for Seoul mayor—Taewook’s father—known publicly as a gentle and leadership-driven figure.
But the real man in front of me felt rigid and arrogant.
So much for trusting what you see on TV, I thought.
Then, with a click of the tongue, his voice came out, dripping with contempt.
“People like entertainers…”
I smiled, pretending not to hear his blatant disregard.
At that moment, I heard a mocking laugh from the woman sitting across from me.
Ah… who was she? I really couldn’t remember.
She kept snickering at me, and her face wasn’t unfamiliar.
While I searched my memory again, the man spoke in a flat voice.
“No need to drag this out.”
“Pardon?”
“How much did he give you?”
“What do you mean…?”
“No matter what he paid you, I’ll double it.”
He placed his fork and knife down without a single trace of hesitation.
The steak he had been cutting bled onto the plate.
“…Are you asking how much I received when I married Taewook?”
At my cautious question, his eyes sharpened.
The woman across from me, resting her chin on her hand, said,
“Why are you pretending you don’t know something that’s already obvious?”
“?”
“Do poor people really lack that much intelligence?”
“Excuse me, what are you talking about—”
“Stop trying to protect your pride. Just name the amount.”
“….”
“It’s easier for everyone that way, isn’t it?”
A blatant sneer hung on her lips.
The situation felt like something straight out of a drama, absurd enough that I briefly wondered if my sister had gone through something like this too.
My clenched fist tightened on my lap.
The woman clicked her phone, sitting on the table.
Seeing the luxury phone case, I finally remembered who she was.
Jang Miri, the only daughter of the Jangwon Group.
The sole heiress of one of the country’s largest cosmetics companies.
Now that I finally recalled her identity, I felt a strange sense of relief.
But perhaps she noticed, because her face twisted in disbelief.
“Do you think this is funny right now?”
“Well, not really. I was just thinking about something else. What were you saying again?”
“Ha!”
I looked calmly at the expressionless man and smiled as I asked.
The woman let out an exasperated laugh.
“Oh, I remember now. You asked how much Taewook gave me. I think it was about 2 billion won…”
“What? 2 billion?”
“Yes. I received 2 billion from Taewook. As a marriage proposal.”
It was an exaggerated amount—I had simply guessed higher than reality.
Perhaps I had overdone it, because her face showed disbelief.
The man, however, remained unmoved.
Only now did I notice how similar his expression was to Taewook’s.
I could feel her eyes scanning me from head to toe.
“Where exactly do you look like a 2-billion-won woman?”
“….”
“Maybe you overestimated yourself. You were an unknown nobody, weren’t you?”
Her constant interruptions irritated me.
As I stared at her, I finally understood why she had been brought here.
I smiled innocently at her.
“By the way, I’ve been curious. Who are you? Is there another mother-in-law I don’t know about?”
“What?”
The woman shot up from her seat.
Her fists trembled.
I smiled faintly.
“Oh, I guess not. Sorry. You know I had a serious accident recently.”
“You, you—!”
“I’m a bit out of it. I didn’t recognize you.”
Her expression twisted from confusion into rage.
The man, who had been silently watching, finally spoke in a cold voice.
“Do you find humiliating people amusing?”
Despite his sharp tone, I said nothing and just smiled.
He tilted his head slightly.
A man standing behind him like a shadow placed a document on the table.
A divorce agreement.
When I looked at it briefly, the man placed a pen on top of it with a sharp click.
“Forty billion? I’ll give it to you.”
“….”
“Rather than live with a cheap woman like you, it would be better for him to do something far greater.”
“….”
“Forty billion is nothing.”
I looked quietly at the document.
Then I picked up the pen.
“So if I just sign this, the money goes into my account, and I divorce Taewook?”
“You’re finally starting to understand.”
A laugh escaped me as I looked at the neatly filled document.
Only three characters stood out in the otherwise dense form.
“…You’re not a bad person.”
I muttered bitterly.
I lifted the divorce papers.
Everything on it seemed to know more about my sister than I did.
I nodded.
“Looks fine. No mistakes.”
“….”
“Forty billion… I like money, you know.”
Riiip—
I tore the divorce agreement in front of him.
The woman’s mouth fell open in shock.
For the first time, the man’s expression cracked.
I looked at him and spoke slowly.
“I’ve only been married to Taewook for about a month and a half, right?”
“….”
“And yet you’re offering me 40 billion to divorce him just because I don’t meet your expectations…”
I smiled faintly.
“Then I wondered—what about one year?”
“Y-you crazy woman!”
“And what about ten years?”
“Hey!”
The woman screamed.
I stood up calmly.
“By the way, Father… it seems you’ve already chosen that woman as Taewook’s partner. Your judgment of people isn’t very good.”
“Are you insane?”
I smiled at her.
“Next time you call me, I’ll look forward to seeing how generous you can be.”
“….”
“Until then, please stay in good health.”
I bowed politely.
A low voice came from the man.
“Do you really believe his talk of love?”
I lifted my head slowly.
Our eyes met.
“I do.”
“….”
“I love Taewook too.”
I smiled playfully.
For the first time, the man let out a faint laugh.
Taewook—my husband worth 40 billion—was there.
“Good morning, Inspector!”
It was a strangely warm winter morning.
The sky was cloudless, and the wind felt like spring.
Officer Im, who had arrived at work in a good mood, frowned at Won’s tense expression.
Won was staring at a small TV in the corner of the investigation room.
“Breaking news…”
The screen showed a reporter speaking live.
“This is Kim Areum. The long-stalled investigation into the death of Inspector Hanyeo-reum is finally moving forward… or is this a provocation against the prosecution? A suspect appears to have left the vehicle used in the crime at the scene last night…”
“What… what is this, Inspector?”
On days like this, bad luck had to be watched carefully.
Strange things always happened on such days.
Officer Im stared at the screen in disbelief.
On the screen, a car surrounded by police tape was shown in chaos.
“Why did the suspect leave the vehicle at the scene? Is this a warning that the crime is not over? Residents are anxious…”
The broadcast ended.
Won continued staring at the crumpled documents in his hands.
He couldn’t take his eyes off the screen.
Just then, the door burst open.
Investigator Ji-eun rushed in, out of breath.
“Inspector! Inspector Lee is looking for you!”
Ji-eun called urgently.
Won placed the crumpled documents back on the desk and stepped out of the room.
The cold winter air rushed inside as the door opened.
