TWELVE 64

My mother crumpled her entire face as if she had heard something she shouldn’t have and asked.

“What did you just say?”

“I said I will decide for myself.”

“Ha, how funny… How are you going to do that? Is there someone you’re seeing?”

Someone I’m seeing.

Woo Seungkyung’s face flickered in my mind.

However, I was merely in a position of chasing after his tail. I couldn’t even answer the question of whether there was someone I was seeing with a positive “yes” out of bravado.

Yet, lying just to evade this situation felt like betraying him, so I was reluctant.

“Gi Seoin.”

When I remained silent, my father stepped in this time. It was as expected.

“Has there ever been a single thing you’ve decided for yourself? Where do you get off talking big without knowing your place? Don’t say another word and do as you’re told.”

It was a surprisingly soft persuasion for my father.

Then again, he didn’t have much of a choice.

Eight years ago—that is, when I was twenty—he stopped using violence as a weapon after I snatched his wrist as he tried to strike me. Just as I realized my father had aged considerably, he must have felt something as well.

At any rate, just because the opponent came out soft didn’t mean I had to follow suit.

“I’ve done as I was told until now, so from here on, I’m saying I’ll do as I please.”

“Psh…!”

“Ha!”

Watching my parents let out hollow gasps in unison was quite comical. I was momentarily soaked in a childish sense of triumph, but it was only for a flash.

“Woo Seungkyung, was it?”

Who would have known that name would come out of my mother’s mouth.

“Is it because of him?”

My mother snorted before even hearing my answer.

“Don’t you know how conservative this circle is? No. In the first place, would he even agree to see you?”

Listening to those words, I observed my father’s demeanor. He also seemed to know about Woo Seungkyung. It was a disaster.

“Don’t bring up that name. It has nothing to do with this.”

“Why doesn’t it have anything to do with this? You’re being stubbornly foolish right now just to chase after some boy. How long do I have to pretend I don’t know? Ugh, I’m sick of it…”

My mother grabbed the collar of her blouse and fanned it, using her other hand to fan herself.

“It’s tiring and disgusting. No matter how I look at it, you’re not the son who came out of my womb. If I had known you’d hold out even against marriage, I would have separated you two long ago. Still, I thought it was just some boy and left it alone since it seemed like you were at least trying to act like a proper human being…”

They knew everything. I felt as if a thin layer of ice was being draped over my skin.

“Gi Seoin.”

I shifted my gaze to my father.

“Do you know what the easiest thing in the world is?”

“…”

“Handling a guy who has nothing.”

“…”

“His parents were long gone, and the grandmother who left because of blood cancer left only debt. Gi Seoin, what do you think you need to give him? Money? No. There’s no need to even spend money. He’s all alone anyway; if he disappears, there’s no one to look for him…”

I swept my arms across the dining table. Thanks to the tableware plunging onto the marble floor, that low, base voice could no longer be heard.

However, it didn’t quell the anger. I wanted to tear the lips of the man I called my father.

“Do not mention that name ever again.”

“Then, what can you do?”

My father asked with pale lips, smirking. Then his demeanor changed in an instant.

“You ungrateful bastard. Do you think you’ll be able to sleep soundly after this!”

It was the true form of the monster.

“A guy who wouldn’t be enough even if thrown into the gutter, after I fed and housed you… Gi Seoin, do you think the world is all yours now? Is that it?”

My father walked up and stood before me.

“This is the last time.”

He spat through gritted teeth.

“If you pull this kind of stunt one more time, it won’t be you, but that bastard Woo Seungkyung who dies. So get a grip on your place and behave obediently.”

The man who brushed past my shoulder disappeared into the study. I looked at my mother.

“Since when did you know about Woo Seungkyung?”

“Don’t you know yet? Seoin.”

My mother smiled like an actress performing.

“We know you better than you know yourself.”

“…”

“Listen to your father. Let’s not make a boy who is already pitiful even more pitiful. Hmm? You like him. So you shouldn’t do that, right?”

From the very beginning of my memories, I always hated the beings I called parents. However, I had never felt such loathing—enough to want to drain every drop of the blood I inherited from them that flowed through my body.

They brought up Woo Seungkyung’s name as a weapon to blackmail me, and judging by my reaction, they must have thought their strategy was brilliant.

I let them wallow in their delusions. The more they were intoxicated by a sense of victory, the better. That way, they would be even more vulnerable to a sense of defeat.

Leisurely, I searched for the appropriate weapon to stab those monsters to death. It wasn’t difficult. I knew their weaknesses better than anyone.

The first thing I did was dig through cases Cheongcheon had defended. As a result, I obtained a meaningful name: ‘Kim Junghwan’.

Kim Junghwan was the director of a famous plastic surgery clinic. His reputation hit rock bottom last year, right after an accident during surgery led to a death.

Medical malpractice deaths happen frequently. If the deceased had been an ordinary person, it was a case that would have been buried without anyone knowing. Unfortunately, the person who died that day was a celebrity anyone in the Republic of Korea would know.

Furthermore, it was revealed that Kim Junghwan had entered the operating room while intoxicated. It was before it became public knowledge, but there were widespread predictions in the community that he would exceptionally be unable to avoid punishment.

Such a man was found not guilty. With the defense group called Cheongcheon at his back.

During the preparation period for the lawsuit filed by the bereaved family, mysterious things occurred with unusual frequency. Perfectly fine CCTV recording files disappeared, a witness who promised crucial testimony suddenly reversed their decision to appear in court, and conversely, someone claiming to be the deceased’s doctor for a chronic illness appeared and even stepped forward to give testimony favorable to Kim Junghwan. During all this, the trial date was pushed back day after day without a clear reason.

It was obvious. Cheongcheon was setting traps to prove the defendant’s innocence. Naturally, most were illegal measures.

In order to portray Cheongcheon’s corruption more clearly, Kim Junghwan was necessary. Thankfully, the man was an alcoholic, and I was able to obtain information that he checked into a bar in Seoul almost every day.

[BenWood & Co.]

I had already checked for wiretaps, GPS, and cell phone hacking, but since I couldn’t be certain I was free from my father and mother’s surveillance, I intentionally visited Benwood with women I met through arranged blind dates.

The fact that he worked there was outside of my calculations.

“You fucking uneducated beggar bastards, where do you think you’re…!”

I was equally unable to predict that Kim Junghwan would dare to lay a hand on Woo Seungkyung.

However, it was not a bad opportunity. I vented my anger at Kim Junghwan to my heart’s content.

“I’d like to have a separate conversation with Mr. Kim Junghwan.”

“Ah, Lawyer. This… we also tried our best to persuade Mr. Kim Junghwan. It seems his stance that he doesn’t want to meet is quite firm…”

“If you show him this business card and say I want to talk regarding the medical malpractice lawsuit, he’ll know.”

I even achieved my objective.

“No, after even signing the contract, to suddenly bring up another medical accident and grill a person, does this make sense? Do you have even a shred of conscience as a lawyer? Does Cheongcheon know all this?”

At first, Kim Junghwan insisted on remaining silent, but when I appropriately threatened to report an incident where his negligence seemed clear, he quickly tucked his tail. As a man who only cared about his own safety, he started spilling everything the moment I promised never to hold him responsible.

“…Aren’t there many connections on the Cheongcheon side? It’s supposedly the best law firm in Korea, eh? All I did was give them money to defend me, and I’m telling you, things like destroying evidence or bribery were all things they did on their own. I even recorded everything in case this happened!”

It wasn’t a bluff. The very next day, I was able to receive an audio file of a Cheongcheon lawyer confessing what they called a ‘defense strategy’.

It was simply embarrassing that such a stupid person was a member of Cheongcheon. Then again, I would soon not be a person of Cheongcheon, so I could just laugh at it.

From the next step, it was work that required the cooperation of others. I knocked on the door of ‘Pyeongwoo Law Firm’. Pyeongwoo was a law firm that had long vied for superiority with Cheongcheon.

Cheongcheon had merged with a third-ranked law firm to increase its size to keep Pyeongwoo in check, and my parents’ marriage was part of that effort.

“Lawyer Gi. How is it, have you thought about the proposal I gave last time?”

“I have considered it deeply.”

“Then…”

“Before that, I have a request to make.”

The representative lawyer of Pyeongwoo and I exchanged contracts listing our respective interests and shook hands. With this, my blade was fully forged. I had no more patience or reason to delay.

In the study of the main house that I visited for the first time in a long while, I faced my father. It was the same study where I was beaten every day as a child.

But today was different. The one who would groan in pain was not me, but the other party.

I presented a file filled with the illegalities Cheongcheon committed to win several medical lawsuits, including the Kim Junghwan case. All that remained was to watch.

“…What is this, what are you saying.”

How my father’s expression distorted…

“Haha! Surely you’re not trying to blackmail me with a measly thing like this?”

Let’s wait.

“How could that be possible.”

On top of the file, I laid down a copy of the contract I shared with Pyeongwoo and my business card.

“From today, I am not a person of Cheongcheon, but a person of Pyeongwoo.”

Yes.

“Thanks to my father and mother raising me with such devotion, I am going to Pyeongwoo with good treatment.”

Only now did the monster begin to show the face I had hoped and hoped for.

“I was always the disgrace of this family, my mother’s flaw, and my father’s weakness.”

“You, you…!”

“I’ll be taking all those flaws to Pyeongwoo, so don’t worry, Father.”

“You, you son of a…!”

“On the off chance!”

With my hands placed on the hardwood desk as old as Cheongcheon’s history, I looked down at the monster.

“If any threat arises to the safety of myself or Woo Seungkyung, Pyeongwoo will step forward to trace Cheongcheon’s footsteps and examine them in detail.”

It would be a refreshing thing for Pyeongwoo as well as for me. Above all, if Cheongcheon died, Pyeongwoo would become number one.

“Since I am no longer a person of Cheongcheon, I’ll be going now. Please give my regards to Mother.”

No, I stand corrected. I wouldn’t be truly delighted unless I strangled that monster to death. However…

“I’ve been in your debt until now.”

Watching him tremble, a very small smile did form.