HMGD 01

Chapter 01

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<Daewoong Electronics announced that it will reclaim the number one global smartphone market share by merging with U.S. mobile phone manufacturer Tens. This merger is a major achievement made five years after Vice Chairman Jeong Jae-hyun took office, and Daewoong Electronics’ last quarter sales were……>

Ssssh—

“Ha…….”

The man, lighting a cigarette with practiced ease, exhaled a long breath as smoke spilled from his lips.

Each time his wrist moved toward his face, the gold watch on it flashed brilliantly as sunlight poured in through the window.

Kim Chan-young, CEO of KY Group.

Maintaining a lean physique through constant exercise, no one would have guessed he was over forty.

“How long will it take?”

A heavy weight clung to Chan-young’s voice.

He was still watching Vice Chairman Jeong Jae-hyun and Chairman Jeong Ji-do of Daewoong Group departing on TV.

As if answering his question, the sound of steady footsteps echoed across the marble floor, so spotless it looked untouched by dust.

“Rushing it will only make it fail. Just wait.”

“Seon-woo. There are many lives on the line this time.”

Kim Seon-woo.

Even while looking at Chan-young’s expression, like a general heading into a battlefield, Seon-woo’s playful smile did not disappear.

“Yes, yes—of course.”

At Seon-woo’s indifferent reply, Chan-young frowned and stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.

“Don’t forget your life is on the line too.”

It was hard to believe they were even speaking the same subject—their expressions were so opposite.

Even with what sounded like a threat, Kim Seon-woo merely shrugged.

Perhaps uncomfortable in his shirt, he had rolled both sleeves up high and undone the buttons at his neck, sitting down on a stainless-steel chair.

A portion of a Polynesian-pattern tattoo peeked out beneath his right sleeve.

“Director. Do you know how long a lion, the so-called king of the savannah, keeps its throne?”

Seon-woo looked at the photos neatly arranged on the table with curious eyes.

“……”

“On average, five years. Rival males constantly challenge the king for his throne. And before becoming king, he can’t even mate with the lionesses he rules over. Reproduction is the king’s privilege.”

Chan-young did not understand the meaning behind Seon-woo’s words.

Seon-woo was always a variable—something unpredictable that Chan-young, who hated uncertainty, struggled with.

Talented, but dangerous. Yet impossible to exclude; the best available option.

Seon-woo was the only suitable piece to execute this dangerous plan he had designed.

Without a doubt.

Chan-young slid a cigarette pack across the table toward Seon-woo.

Thud—

Kim Seon-woo, who took the cigarette, leaned back in his chair and placed his legs on the table, crossing them.

Under the sole of his shoe, Jeong Jae-hyun’s face was pressed down on the table surface.

“So we’re taking the throne?”

No. That throne had never belonged to them in the first place.

With a bitter expression, Chan-young looked down at Daewoong Group’s family tree laid out on the table.

“We’re going to herd the lions.”

Seon-woo waved the cigarette-holding hand loosely in the air.

“What?”

“When a young male lion defeats the king, he takes everything. He takes the king’s lionesses for himself, and he kills all the offspring that might one day challenge his throne. We’re going to do the opposite.”

Smoke poured from Seon-woo’s mouth.

As it dispersed into the air, his eerily bright eyes turned toward Chan-young.

“……”

That gaze overwhelmed the opponent.

It was a moment of realization once again that he could not let his guard down in front of Kim Seon-woo.

“First, Yujin. And then his sons…… Soon there will be nothing left for Jeong Jae-hyun.”

A calm smile formed on Seon-woo’s lips.

“Sons? Jeong Jae-hyun has another son?”

Chan-young checked the family tree again, but there was no such information.

“Just sit back and watch. The end of a lion who has had his throne taken.”

Seon-woo was confident.

Without a shred of doubt.

Ultimately, Jeong Jae-hyun’s kingdom would collapse.

<Recently, Vice Chairman Jeong has been cautious in responding to rumors of discord with his wife, Ms. Lee Yujin.>

The final line of the breaking news echoed faintly behind Chan-young.

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He turned off the TV and threw the remote control.

The title of “actor” he had built over seven years had to give way to the Daewoong Group daughter-in-law after the marriage announcement.

What mattered most to Jae-hyun had always been nothing but his father’s recognition.

A person who always demanded only understanding from me.

Because of that, I had to stay alone in that huge house, and I could not even shape my own future unless he defined it.

Until Yeon-ha was born.

“Ha…….”

A sigh escaped without me noticing.

A business card lay carelessly on the table.

That single card made the surrounding space feel strangely darker, as if drained of light.

“Kim Seon-woo…….”

A name I had forgotten while living my life.

I never thought I would meet him like this again.

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Three days earlier.

“Court dates are usually notified a month in advance, so if anything comes up before then, please contact me.”

The first trial had been despair for me.

The court designated my husband, Jeong Jae-hyun, as the temporary custodian of the child.

Meanwhile, I had ended up as the mother who abandoned her child.

If I could never see Yeon-ha again like this……

Could I live without her?

Fear, stretching out from my heart, took over my entire body, leaving me frozen in anxiety.

It had only been the first hearing, but the deep-rooted despair was already too much to bear.

“Attorney…… Will I be able to see Yeon-ha again?”

The only person I could rely on.

Yet contrary to my expectations, he could not hide his troubled expression.

“To be granted custody, no matter how difficult your circumstances were, you should have stayed with the child.”

He still judged my actions.

“That’s not what happened—I told you many times…….”

“The court prioritizes the child over the mother.”

“Then what am I supposed to do now? I’ll do anything if I can raise my child myself.”

I grabbed the lawyer with a dry expression and pleaded.

But his face already looked defeated.

“Yujin-ssi, you’re still young and planning to continue your acting career, right?”

“What are you trying to say?”

The lawyer looked at me with an exasperated expression, as if telling me to accept reality.

“Honestly, why don’t you give custody to the father and focus on increasing visitation rights and alimony during mediation? Having a child will make work difficult anyway.”

“Ha…… What did you just say?”

I couldn’t believe this was the legal representative I had hired.

Custody was not something I could ever compromise on.

I steadied my trembling legs and clenched my fists.

“Be realistic…….”

“If it were your child, would you give up like that?”

“I’m speaking from a statistically favorable settlement standpoint.”

“I don’t want money or Jeong Jae-hyun. I want Yeon-ha!”

I barely held back the tears threatening to burst out.

I didn’t want to cry anymore.

Especially not in front of someone who treated my child like a probability.

“You are dismissed as my legal representative.”

I said firmly to the lawyer and turned away.

“Ms. Lee Yujin, is it true that Vice Chairman Jeong Jae-hyun of Daewoong Group has an illegitimate child?”

“Ms. Lee Yujin!”

As soon as I left the courthouse, I was surrounded by cameras and reporters.

Before I could collect my scattered thoughts, I was helped by a security team into a car and driven out of Seocho-dong.

Outside, it was snowing.

I could feel the temperature draining from my fingertips on the steering wheel.

This winter was especially cruel to me.

“Ha…….”

A faint sigh slipped through my lips and scattered into the air.

---

The next day.

“I’m sorry. Our attorney is busy…….”

Rejected again.

“This was the last place…….”

A sigh escaped out of habit.

Even the last remaining law firm on the list of divorce specialists I had stayed up all night compiling had politely refused.

Preparing the divorce from Jae-hyun alone was not easy.

Days of repeated rejection and failure continued.

The deep self-doubt and mistrust toward myself turned into depression, and at the crossroads of despair and giving up, I painfully realized how weak I truly was.

“Ms. Lee Yujin.”

Flinch.

As I parked in the basement of my officetel and was about to get out, a stranger’s voice came from behind me.

A sudden surge of tension.

There was no one here to protect me.

Without turning around, I quickened my steps toward the building entrance.

At the same time, footsteps followed behind me, echoing through the parking lot.

“Yujin Lee.”

Another unfamiliar voice called me again.

Gripping my phone inside my coat pocket tightly, I slowly turned around.

About ten meters away stood a tall silhouette, comparable in height to Jae-hyun.

In the darkness, his face was not visible.

As I remained tense, the man began to close the distance step by step.

“Who are you?”

“Ha…….”

A long exhale released cigarette smoke that obscured his face.