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Chapter 14
The moment the word “son” came out, the detective’s eyes began to tremble violently. It was no surprise — the rumor that Yoo Min-taek was struggling with an heir issue was one of the most famous topics in the Jirashi circles.
The eldest son had shown great talent in business, but he died too early. The second, Yoo Sang-min, though known for his carefree and indulgent lifestyle, actually had more business sense than the youngest. He was the kind who could do it if he decided to — the problem was that getting started was the hard part.
The third son, however, was greedy yet lazy, utterly incompetent, and refused to listen to anyone — possessing all four traits that a businessman must never have.
If this rumor turned out to be true, it would be a storm-level revelation in the stock market. The detective, who had been supplying criminal case information to Jirashi for years, instantly understood the weight such information carried.
“Can you… meet this woman?”
“The lady?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm… I didn’t get her contact info, but I kind of know where she hangs out.”
The detective frowned. That meant if he went himself, there was a good chance he wouldn’t find her — he didn’t even know her face, and even if he did, women tend not to look favorably on the police.
“Alright then. If you find her, give me a call. I’ll give you another fifty thousand won.”
Noh Hyung-jin pretended to hesitate, and the detective added,
“She said she was looking for someone to help with that lawsuit, right?”
“Yes.”
“I’m trying to help her, so don’t worry and just call me. Here’s my card.”
“I’ll ask her and get back to you. But I might not be able to meet her.”
“Got it.”
Noh Hyung-jin inwardly cheered — he had successfully set the bait — while the detective also rejoiced, convinced he’d landed a big one. A tip like this could easily earn him over a million won in information fees.
***
“What the hell is this!”
Yoo Sang-ho slammed his desk after seeing the Jirashi report. Even his own people hadn’t been able to find anything concrete, yet the heir rumor had suddenly exploded from an unexpected source.
“How are you managing this? Where the hell did the leak come from?!”
“I—I’m sorry, sir… We don’t know…”
Only a handful of people knew the truth, and he had made absolutely sure they kept their mouths shut. But somehow, a report had appeared in Jirashi, claiming that Yoo Sang-min had a son.
Of course, not everyone believed Jirashi; some dismissed it as gossip. But even so, news like this could cause serious ripples — and the stock price of one of the companies under his control had already started to fluctuate.
“Damn it.”
He had wanted to deal with this quietly before it blew up. But now that it had gone public, stopping it seemed impossible.
“I really didn’t want it to come to this…”
He had only meant to scare the mother off — maybe pay her off or make her leave. Killing a baby who wasn’t even a year old was not something he wanted to do. But now that things had escalated, he was running out of options.
“Where’s Father?”
“He hasn’t heard yet.”
“Keep it that way. Suppress everything — everything that could hit Jirashi or the news.”
“What about the news outlets…?”
“Block them too. Just in case. Make it clear what happens if they don’t.”
News networks rarely ran stories that couldn’t be verified, but it never hurt to remind them who held the power.
“Tell them if they even touch this story, their advertising budgets are gone. For good.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And gather the men.”
“Sir… you don’t mean…? The target is just a child—”
“I don’t have the luxury to care about that right now.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Find them. Whatever it takes. We need to shut this down before it grows.”
It felt like ashes were being thrown into his finished meal — rage and panic churned together in his gut.
***
“Attorney, do you think this rumor is true?”
“Hard to say.”
At that same moment, in a law office across town, several lawyers were in a heated meeting.
“If it’s real, it’s going to blow up huge.”
“But if it’s not?”
“Well… then we’re screwed — but not completely.”
They were all staring at the Jirashi report. One of the firm’s associates had called the emergency meeting after reading it.
“Even if it’s fake, we don’t lose much.”
“But knowing his personality, he won’t just sit still if we push this.”
“If that happens, we’ll just dissolve the firm and start a new one. No matter how powerful Yoo Sang-ho is, he can’t revoke our law licenses.”
The others nodded in agreement. Their discussion centered on none other than the alleged existence of Yoo Sang-min’s son.
“If this turns out to be true, we’ll have a direct connection to the Daeryong Group.”
“And if it’s false, we’ll be on Yoo Sang-ho’s blacklist.”
The reason they were interested was obvious. If they helped the woman file a paternity suit and won, proving the child was indeed Yoo Sang-min’s, they would become invaluable to Chairman Yoo Min-taek, the patriarch of the Daeryong Group — who had long been rumored to be desperate for a capable heir.
“But still…”
The risk was that if the woman was simply seeking attention or was foolish enough to commit fraud, they’d be marked as enemies by Yoo Sang-ho — a man known for his vindictiveness. The chairman might be understanding of their professional role, but the son? Never.
“It’s all or nothing.”
If they succeeded, the chairman would be indebted to them for finding his grandson — and Yoo Min-taek was known for repaying both favors and grudges tenfold. There were even whispers that he was considering removing his youngest son from management altogether and bringing in an external CEO due to his incompetence.
“Well… maybe it’s worth taking the risk.”
“Yeah, maybe it is.”
Competition in the legal field had become brutal — cases were scarce, and money wasn’t flowing in like it used to. Handling a few small personal cases couldn’t compare to a corporate one involving billions.
“Let’s take the gamble.”
“A gamble, huh…”
After a moment of silence, the lawyers nodded in unison.
“Alright then. Let’s do it. What’s the worst that can happen? We die trying?”
Unexpected Winds (1)
“Looks like they’re really in a hurry.”
It had been two weeks since Noh Hyung-jin met the detective. During that time, he’d calmly focused on studying, pretending to have lost interest in everything else. He had expected the news to blow up through Jirashi eventually. Even though he couldn’t see the reports himself, the fluctuating stock prices of the Daeryong Group told him enough—people were clearly unsettled.
Ding-dong.
The phone buzzed again. Hyung-jin glanced over, checked the message, and then closed it. It was from that same detective, asking whether he had found the woman yet.
“Well, of course…”
If Yoo Sang-ho was desperate enough to try killing the Jirashi rumors, he’d be panicking by now.
“Alright, maybe it’s about time.”
If he handed the woman over too quickly, it would raise suspicion, so Noh Hyung-jin had intentionally dragged things out. Two weeks was long enough—any longer and public interest might die down.
When he’d worked in law, he had learned that handling the legal side was only half the job; media management was equally vital. Attention and timing could make or break a case. That’s why people said:
“The second-best lawyer wins in court. The best lawyer wins in the press.”
“Hello, mister.”
As before, Hyung-jin played the part of an innocent middle-schooler.
“Did you meet her?”
“Oh, that lady? Yeah, I did. She’s working part-time at a café.”
“She works at a café?”
“Yup. Said she couldn’t even afford baby formula.”
“I see…”
That was a relief. Someone who worked hard to survive wasn’t the type to run scams or extort others.
“Can I meet her?”
“I asked, and she said if you really want to help, she’ll meet you once.”
“Where should I go?”
“She said not at her workplace. I’ll have to ask her again about the place.”
“Alright, understood.”
The detective tried to sound casual as he hung up, but inside, he was burning with anxiety. If this information turned out to be false, he’d be guilty of spreading fake intelligence—a mistake that could get him cut off as a source. Still, the lure of money pushed him forward.
“Two million won… hehehe.”
A law firm that had approached Jirashi promised him one million if he introduced the woman. Combined with his own finder’s fee, it would be a whopping two million won.
“It’ll be fine. It has to be fine.”
He tried to calm his nerves.
“Are we doing the right thing?”
“For now, the information’s already leaked, so they won’t dare make a rash move.”
Of course, that part-time café story was a lie. The location too—he’d deliberately chosen a place he’d never been to. There was no telling how far Yoo Sang-ho’s surveillance reached.
“There he is. Just follow my lead,” said Hyung-jin quietly.
Kang So-young nodded.
“Hello, sir.”
“Oh, hello. So you’re the one?”
“Yes.”
The detective looked her over. She was strikingly beautiful—if she had been involved with Yoo Sang-min, it wasn’t hard to understand why.
“She really has a child?”
But the baby wasn’t with her.
“Of course not.”
He had already checked through his contacts—there had been a paternity suit filed against Yoo Sang-min, but it had been dismissed. That was why he’d decided to meet her himself.
“And if Yoo Sang-ho already knows…”
If the rumors in politics and business were true, the woman would never risk bringing her child to such a public place.
“Nice to meet you.”
“Hello.”
Their greeting was awkward, and what followed was less of a conversation and more of an interrogation.
“Before I can help you, I need to verify a few things. You know, there are a lot of scams these days.”
“Yes.”
“Please tell me what you remember about Yoo Sang-min.”
It was possible she was lying—but it was also possible that some impostor had pretended to be Yoo Sang-min to deceive her. The only way to be sure was to confirm the details.
“He had a piercing on his right ear. Drove a red Jaguar most of the time. He liked meat but not fish. And, um, he said he had an allergy—he never ate peaches.”
As she spoke, the detective’s eyes widened. Those details matched almost perfectly with what he knew—and some were even more specific.
“So she really met Yoo Sang-min.”
That meant there was only one more concern left: whether she had been with other men during that time. But judging from her behavior and how hard she seemed to be working to survive, she didn’t look like that kind of woman.
“There’s actually someone who wants to help with your case.”
“Someone who wants to help?”
“Yes. A law firm. They said they’d represent you.”
Thinking of the million-won payout he’d soon receive, the detective was in a great mood. Whether the baby was really Yoo Sang-min’s or not, that money was guaranteed.
“But… I don’t have any money.”
Even the previous lawyer had demanded 800,000 won—so a big law firm would surely be even more expensive.
“Don’t worry. They said they’ll do it pro bono.”
“For free? Why would they do that?”
Hearing that, Noh Hyung-jin couldn’t help but smirk.
“Didn’t expect that fish to bite the hook. This makes my job easier.”
He had originally planned to leak the story widely, forcing Yoo Sang-ho to back off. After all, Jirashi was read by the rich and powerful—if the succession scandal became public among them, Yoo Sang-ho would no longer be able to act recklessly. But this new twist had practically fallen into his lap.
“Why me, though?” she asked.
“Oh, that firm often takes on pro bono cases to help people in difficult situations.”
