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Chapter 4: A Familiar Punishment
“I’m afraid you won’t be getting an apology from the person responsible. I’ll apologize on her behalf, so let’s settle this. I’ll pay you whatever amount you ask for.”
Lee A-ryeon’s measured voice rang through the law office. Seated before her were the former housekeeper, who had suffered verbal and physical abuse at Madam Han’s hands, and her daughter.
The daughter glared at A-ryeon with such fury that it was as though she were looking directly at Madam Han herself.
“All you have to do is sign the agreement promising not to distribute the video and collect the settlement money. If you insist on pursuing this legally, we’ll have no choice but to fight back. In that case, you’ll receive less than the amount I’m offering now. Your opponent is Assemblyman Han Woo-jin. Please… make a wise decision.”
A-ryeon continued speaking calmly, as though she had done this countless times before.
“So money really can buy anything, can’t it? Honestly…”
“I’m sorry to say this, but the employment contract explicitly states that electronic devices are not permitted during working hours. If you release the video, you’ll also be violating the terms of that contract. So it won’t do you any good either, ma’am.”
The daughter’s hands trembled with indignation and anger. Beside her, the former housekeeper seemed to have accepted her fate and pressed her seal onto the settlement agreement.
“Mom!”
Her daughter snatched up the agreement bearing her mother’s seal.
“We’re not going to get an apology anyway. We might as well take the money.”
“But we should at least try everything we can!”
“That’s enough. Let’s go. We have to settle while we still can. Give me the paper.”
“Damn it…”
Tears streamed down the daughter’s face. On the former housekeeper’s forehead was a wound that had yet to heal, left by the glass mug Madam Han had thrown at her.
“It’s all right, sweetheart. If it’s a fight we’re bound to lose, then we should be sensible about it, just as Miss A-ryeon says.”
“What do you mean, ‘Miss A-ryeon’?! You don’t even work at that house anymore!”
Wiping away her daughter’s tears, the former housekeeper picked up the settlement agreement and handed it to A-ryeon.
“Thank you, Miss. I know you tried hard to get us as much settlement money as possible.”
Having worked at the mansion for many years, she had witnessed such situations countless times. She had seen colleagues refuse to settle and pursue legal action, only to end up with nothing.
But A-ryeon had done everything she could to persuade them to accept the settlement and leave with some compensation. Knowing how hard A-ryeon had tried on their behalf, the former housekeeper looked at her with affection and sympathy.
After completing the settlement, the former housekeeper said goodbye and left the office.
Just then, her daughter turned around at the doorway and walked back to stand in front of A-ryeon.
“Just because we settled doesn’t mean I forgive any of you.”
A-ryeon lowered her eyes and silently listened. She had nothing to say in her defense.
After all, she was simply a sinner in the other woman’s eyes.
The daughter picked up the glass of water on the table and threw its contents into A-ryeon’s face.
“I think this is the only way I’ll be able to let go of my anger. Your mother threw a glass at mine, but I only splashed water on you. So don’t act as though you’ve been treated unfairly.”
With that, she set the empty glass down on the table with a sharp clink and walked out of the office.
Min-ji, the female employee at A-ryeon’s law office, was so startled that she hurried over with some tissues and began wiping A-ryeon’s face.
“Why would she do that to you when you had nothing to do with it?! You’re their lawyer! It’s not as though you wanted to handle cases like this!”
“It’s all right. Put the settlement agreement in the file, please. I’m going to the restroom for a moment.”
Forcing a smile, A-ryeon accepted the tissues Min-ji offered and headed to the restroom.
Standing in front of the sink, she pulled out several tissues and wiped her face.
Then she found herself laughing at the thought that, all things considered, this was relatively mild.
It was almost astonishing how much Madam Han and her grandfather had done to her that she could now feel relieved simply because someone had thrown water on her instead of something worse.
There had even been a time when someone had grabbed her by the hair.
Fortunately, that incident had also ended in a settlement.
This was the punishment she had to endure for being an illegitimate child, for being the daughter of her father’s first love. Even though she had done nothing wrong, she was forced to carry a sense of guilt that had no reason to exist.
“Phew… It’s okay. It’s okay.”
After the commotion, A-ryeon’s office returned to its usual frantic pace, as though nothing had happened.
As quitting time approached, her phone began to ring.
It was a call from her maternal grandfather, Han Woo-jin.
Just thinking about what trouble he had gotten himself into this time and wanted her to clean up made her temples throb.
“Yes, Grandfather.”
“Go to the L Hotel in Mapo right now.”
“Pardon?”
A-ryeon repeated the question in confusion at his sudden order.
“I need to meet Cha Do-hyeon, but it overlaps with a luncheon with the prime minister. So I want you to go there and keep him occupied until I arrive.”
“What am I supposed to do there…? Wouldn’t it be better for you to go yourself, Grandfather?”
“Why are you being so slow to understand? Just keep him entertained with a sweet smile and make sure he stays in a good mood. Cha is a man, after all, so a woman will do a better job than another man. While you’re there, casually bring up Se-ra, too. If you leave right now, you should arrive in time.”
“Grandfather…!”
Before A-ryeon could even finish responding, he abruptly hung up after saying everything he wanted to say.
Now she was expected to cater to a man’s whims as well?
If it had been her father or Madam Han making the request, she would at least have refused outright. But defying her maternal grandfather always came with consequences she could scarcely afford to bear.
With no other choice, A-ryeon gathered her bag and stood up.
“Min-ji, something urgent has come up. I’m leaving early, so please finish up here and head home afterward.”
“An appointment? But you really need some rest, Attorney Lee…”
At Min-ji’s worried words, A-ryeon gave her a bitter smile and left the office.
Upon arriving at the underground parking garage of the L Hotel, A-ryeon checked her neck in the rearview mirror. Her brows furrowed at the vivid red marks left on her skin.
“The scratches are one thing, but… sigh.”
The reddish marks scattered across her body from the night she had spent in bed with Do-hyeon had not faded, even after half a day.
There was no way she could show up to a meeting looking like this, so she took out the scarf she had brought along and wrapped it around her neck.
The address she had received by text led to the floor where the hotel suites were located.
To make matters worse, it was the exact same suite number as the one she had stayed in the previous night.
“To think I’d end up here again. Wait… Surely not.”
Had the man she had met yesterday, the one who claimed to be the chief secretary, used the suite reserved for the CEO without permission?
At the thought, A-ryeon grew uneasy.
Had she spent the night with a man who wasn’t even the owner of the room, in a room that didn’t belong to him?
The ominous possibility sent her thoughts into a frenzy.
A-ryeon hurriedly shook her head and got out of the car. She decided to convince herself that it was merely a coincidence.
She stepped into the elevator, which soon carried her to the floor lined with suites.
As soon as she stepped out, she noticed several bodyguards dressed in black suits standing in the corridor.
One of them approached her.
“Attorney Lee A-ryeon?”
“Ah… yes.”
Had Grandfather already told them I was coming?
A-ryeon’s eyebrows rose slightly in surprise at hearing the bodyguards call her by name.
“This way, please.”
Following the bodyguard’s directions, A-ryeon arrived at the suite.
The bodyguard stepped up to the door and rang the bell. A moment later, a neatly dressed man opened it.
He was a handsome young man with a polished appearance.
“Hello, Attorney Lee A-ryeon. I’m Jeong In-cheol, Chief Secretary to CEO Cha. The CEO is waiting inside.”
A-ryeon thought she must have misheard him.
“Excuse me…?”
The man standing before her was the one who had spent the night with her.
But he was an entirely different person.
A-ryeon’s face stiffened as she stood frozen in front of the door.
Chief Secretary Jeong ushered her inside. Still reeling from the shock, she followed him into the suite.
There, she saw a familiar floor-to-ceiling window and a man standing before it, gazing out at the cityscape beyond.
As she approached, an inexplicable sense of déjà vu washed over her. His broad shoulders and solid physique looked strangely familiar.
“Sir, Attorney Lee A-ryeon is here. Please call me if you need anything.”
After bowing respectfully, In-cheol quietly closed the door behind him and left.
The man who had been looking out the window turned around and walked toward A-ryeon.
His approach seemed to unfold in slow motion, each step feeling unbearably slow to her.
It was almost as though she were dreaming.
The man she had met on the blind date yesterday—the man she had even spent the night with—walked toward her at an unhurried pace and stopped right in front of her.
“Hello. I’m Cha Do-hyeon, CEO of DH Partners.”
Unlike A-ryeon, whose face had gone deathly pale, Do-hyeon wore a smooth, charming smile as he extended his hand toward her.
When he stopped in front of her, the rich scent of musk that she remembered from the previous night filled her nostrils.
That familiar scent seemed to drive home the reality of the situation all over again.
“So… are you telling me that the person standing in front of me right now is Cha Do-hyeon?”
A-ryeon did not take his hand. Her face had drained of color as she asked again, unable to believe what she was hearing.
Do-hyeon withdrew his outstretched hand and gave a quiet, amused chuckle.
“Yes. I’m Cha Do-hyeon.”
“Ha…!”
A-ryeon let out a disbelieving laugh and pressed one hand to her forehead.
Pointing toward the table beside them, Do-hyeon said, “Shall we sit down first? You haven’t had dinner yet, have you?”
He pulled out the chair beside A-ryeon for her before walking around to the opposite side and taking his own seat.
A-ryeon lowered her hand from her forehead and forced herself to regain her composure. Then she fixed Do-hyeon with a cold stare.
“Don’t you think you owe me an explanation for what’s going on? Why have you been approaching me like this, yesterday and today? Was it a coincidence, or was it deliberate?”
“Well, of course…”
Do-hyeon nodded, his expression completely different from hers. A calm, unruffled smile played on his lips as he answered.
“It was all planned.”
