CH 155

“That man will slowly throttle my brother to death. That’s the kind of man he is. Yoonshin knows the gist of the situation, but he doesn’t know what kind of person my husband is. He treats people who he has lost interest in cruelly beyond imagination. He knows that Yoonshin is my weakness, so the angrier he gets with me, the more he fixates on Yoonshin. I had thought that this day would come, but it came earlier than I had expected. That was why I asked to meet you,” Ikyung said.

“…”

“Instead of letting him slowly self-destruct, please take care of him until he knows how to bite back at others and survive. Then, I’ll do everything that I had said I would do just now. Please help me. I beg you.”

Sehun, who had been listening quietly, finally reached for his tea. He picked up the cup that he had only been glaring at so far and took a sip of its contents. Ikyung was momentarily distracted by his poise, then she made a pained smile, seemingly comforted by Sehun’s aloof attitude. Sehun didn’t react and savored the fragrance of the tea before placing it back in its saucer.

Sehun said quite icily, “Yoonshin Do is smarter and more clever than you think. He already knows how to survive. He knew, but he simply lived feigning ignorance. Do you know how big of a big difference that makes? He’s very strong—in some respects, stronger than I am.”

“…”

“How about you rely on him a little? That will be better for your brother as well.”

“But what if he gets hurt in the process? He won’t hesitate to throw himself in the fire for me. He’s a good kid.”

“If he gets hurt, then so be it—it just means he was unlucky to have you as his sister.”

Ikyung had expected to get cornered by Soohan like this from the start, so she had tried to send Yoonshin under an umbrella of safety—she couldn’t rebut anything he said. She also knew that a mere umbrella couldn’t shield her brother from a cannonball. She fell silent, tacitly resigning to take all the arrows of contrite. So, Sehun had to continue his speech.

Being a busybody wasn’t his thing, but the person sitting in front of him was Yoonshin’s sister. He felt the need to instill some awareness in advance. Naturally, his tone grew sharp. “You’re up against Soohan Group. I feel terrible saying this, but because I need to inform you of your reality, I’ll be frank about it. Our firm can’t beat Soohan. I wish your issue could end with a simple warning, but based on your statement that Attorney Do is your Achilles’ heel, it’s highly unlikely it will end there. Your parents have passed away, so with no other place to pressure, it seems like Soohan will go for us next.”

“To my knowledge, Soohan’s subsidiaries are clients of Doguk. They can’t just destroy a law firm because of a single lawyer. That was why I also choose your firm.”

“I don’t know how to break this to you, but we’re a bunch that does a lot of dubious things behind the scenes. Of course, if possible, they’re all seemingly within the boundaries of the law, but the process to reach that point isn’t always so lawful. We’re a hive, so to speak. Let’s say that I’m fine. But will I really stand by and watch the executive director and the other partners getting into this potentially dangerous situation?”

“But Senior Attorney, if Yoonshin and I are separated, maybe things will work out,” Ikyung said.

In one way, being optimistic and hoping for a better future might be advantageous. Hope was the driving force to convert thoughts to actions. However, Sehun didn’t work that way. He always thought of the worst-case scenario. Optimism may be better for one’s mental health, but it was the worst for determining the chances of victory.