HMGD 03

Chapter 03

[If the court had any conscience, it wouldn’t hand custody to a spouse at fault who isn’t even interested in the child.]

[And they’d give custody to a mother who abandoned her child?]

[Who said I abandoned you! I…… I because of you…….]

Jaehyun kept turning my insides upside down again.

He knew too well what was hurting me the most.

I shouldn’t have stormed out of the house like that back then…….

Late regret had no power.

[I’ll bet everything I have and bring custody back. After I divorce you, I’ll probably have to spend some money then. I don’t want to see Yujeen in any media. I’m going to take everything you have.]

[Ha…….]

[Then maybe I’ll get to see Yujeen on her knees, crying in front of me?]

“You knew from the beginning?”

“As if I wouldn’t.”

Sunwoo shrugged and smiled.

Whether he was a moral person or a safe one didn’t matter to me.

I didn’t have even the slightest room left to hesitate.

“Sigh…….”

“You’re still pretty even when you sigh like that. Does Jung Jaehyun even plan to let you go?”

“What?”

“Hold this up for me. I want to take a photo and use it for our firm’s promotion.”

Sunwoo shoved a signboard with his law firm’s name written on it in front of me.

I seriously doubted whether I could trust him with something as important as my life.

“I’m not in the mood to joke…….”

“Look at her face. That’s funny.”

Even after seeing my serious expression, he only twisted his face further and laughed.

“Is your grandmother doing well?”

I closed the file I had been scanning and changed the subject.

“She passed away. Two years ago.”

Kim Sunwoo answered as if it meant nothing, but I still felt uneasy.

My memory of Sunwoo’s grandmother was still vivid.

When I had unexpectedly gone to Sunwoo’s house, I had met his grandmother instead of him.

Her face, faintly remembered, as she led me inside, saying we should have dinner together.

It was probably the first time since I began my trainee life at fourteen that someone had cooked a meal for me.

That memory was one of the few good ones from my childhood.

The sudden news of her passing made the atmosphere in the room heavy.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up…….”

“Worry about your own situation. Is this really the time to think about other things?”

Unfortunately, he was right.

I was already overwhelmed by the many crises and trials in front of me.

I had many things I wanted to ask Sunwoo, but I decided not to pry into personal matters anymore.

“You’re not specialized in divorce cases.”

“Right. I’m not interested in these unprofitable, messy relationship disputes.”

Sunwoo kept his gaze fixed on my face.

Just like that day in the underground parking lot.

“You’re already famous in this field, aren’t you? You’ve done some impressive things.”

At my words, Sunwoo let out a short laugh.

“Thanks for the compliment.”

A self-made lawyer in his thirties.

He specialized in major corporations and high-profile business litigation.

The E Group stock manipulation case that shook the news a few years ago ended in acquittal after Sunwoo won two rounds of appeal.

Not only that, but he had also recently secured a not-guilty verdict in the T Group embezzlement case, drawing nationwide criticism.

“Even divorce lawyers say it’ll be difficult for you to get custody in this case. Do you have any other strategy?”

“Well, it’s not my specialty. If they say so, then I guess that’s how it is.”

That wasn’t the answer I wanted.

I didn’t have time to go along with his joking tone.

“If you’re not confident, I’ll find another lawyer. I don’t have time for this.”

“You really haven’t changed at all.”

As I stood up, Sunwoo grabbed me.

“What are you doing?”

“Divorce law isn’t my specialty, but as you know, I do specialize in conglomerates.”

“Say it so I can understand.”

“Straightforward methods won’t work. Are you willing to do anything?”

Sunwoo looked at me with a playful, intrigued expression, as if this were all a joke.

“You’re saying you’ll do something illegal?”

“Ah…… so you’re not prepared for that level?”

“……”

No. I was prepared for even worse.

But I didn’t want to answer rashly when I wasn’t sure I could trust Kim Sunwoo.

“You seem to still have some room left, Yujeen.”

He was shameless.

Even while looking directly at my exhausted face, he said that.

I couldn’t trust him at all.

But did I even have a better option?

“I’ll do it. If I can raise Yoonha myself, I’ll do anything.”

It was only a brief moment of hesitation.

His confident expression.

His bold, fearless attitude.

It almost gave me certainty.

“Help me, Sunwoo.”

He would understand my desperation.

Sunwoo seemed pleased with my answer and nodded with a smile.

“Good. Shall we start with a statement of circumstances?”

“Do I have to do that too?”

I had done it when I hired a lawyer last time as well.

A document detailing how long the marriage lasted, the cause of the breakdown, the financial situation, who had been the primary caregiver of the child, and so on.

Hiring a lawyer and writing a statement of circumstances was the beginning of a divorce case.

“You really have no lingering feelings for Jung Jaehyun?”

It was an unfamiliar question.

No lawyer had ever asked me whether I still had feelings for Jaehyun.

Lingering feelings…….

At some point, I had become too overwhelmed by the storm of situations and emotions to reflect on my own heart.

“Does that matter? Right now, I just want Yoonha…….”

“It matters. Your lingering feelings could interfere with our plan.”

I couldn’t answer right away.

I did want the divorce, but could I really say there was not even a trace of emotion left for him?

I had turned my back on Jaehyun while bracing myself for the hardships ahead.

Trivial emotions wouldn’t help me now.

I had thought I was enduring it that way, but Sunwoo had dug up the emotions I had buried deep inside.

“I don’t…… have any lingering feelings.”

Even I couldn’t be sure of my own words, so there was no way he would believe them.

“Yujeen.”

Sunwoo, who had been sitting across from me, leaned forward, closing the distance between us.

“……”

“Don’t change your mind.”

It felt like he saw straight through me.

I couldn’t meet his eyes and simply nodded.

Sunwoo quickly relaxed his serious expression and curved his lips into a pretty smile.

“The divorce case won’t be a problem. Even if Jung Jaehyun doesn’t want it, the fault is too clear.”

“And custody?”

“We’re going to appeal the provisional decision.”

“Appeal?”

“Challenging the court’s temporary ruling. In custody cases, the temporary custodian is highly likely to become the final custodian. We need to appeal and secure provisional custody first.”

“That’s possible?”

“You know this custody case started from a disadvantage. Still, you need to consistently insist on your intention to raise the child yourself.”

The word we that came from his mouth felt like a hand reaching out to me, who had been standing alone in a muddy pit.

“You finally sound like a lawyer, Kim Sunwoo.”

“How hurtful. Do you still think I’m that kid who skipped classes in school?”

At his words, a memory suddenly flashed through my mind.

Right. Even then, he had looked at me with eyes full of contempt for the world.

“Why are you helping me?”

“Helping you…….”

Tap, tap. Sunwoo tapped the table with his index finger.

It seemed to be a habit when thinking or maybe when he was tense, but he didn’t answer immediately.

“Is it enough if I just take it as your goodwill……?”

“I don’t think I ever said it was goodwill.”

“Is there something you want from me?”

“I’m thinking. Whether defending you is just for my public image, or……”

“……”

“Or my personal interest.”

He looked directly into my eyes.

As if telling me to read his intentions.

Knock, knock.

The knock broke the silence.

Then the large man I had seen the night before opened the door and came in.

“Boss, we need to leave now.”

“People are going to misunderstand if you keep calling me boss with your size, idiot.”

I stood up first and looked down at Sunwoo.

“I’ll hope your defense is just your way of showing off.”

He looked at me with an amused smile.

What kind of thoughts were hidden behind that playful face?

I prided myself on being able to read people fairly well after years in the entertainment industry, but Sunwoo was impossible to decipher.

And people who were hard to predict were usually dangerous.

A mixture of relief and anxiety.

I hid those emotions and gave him a quiet nod before turning away.