CH 160

“I already own a lot of things. I can carry on even without that condition.”

“I hope it won’t happen, but if Soohan steps up, I might have to cast you aside. I could void that agreement and ask for damages. Can you handle that?”

Mihee knew how cold-hearted Sehun could be. Despite not having high hopes of exchanging meaningful and personal exchanges with him, he replied instantly enough to make her feel dejected. “You focus on protecting Doguk that you love. I’ll do what I need to do.”

“Sehun.”

“I’ll take it that the conversation is over. I’m leaving first.” Sehun gave her a dry glance. Mihee frowned, not wanting to deal with stubborn Sehun anymore, and waved her hand for him to leave.

Tense as a tautly pulled bowstring, the two lawyers’ fundamental opinions couldn’t merge to an intercept. Mihee knew better than anyone that Sehun’s absence at the firm would be critical and seemed to accede to giving the matter more time to see how Soohan came out before she had to decide.

The door clicked shut as Sehun left. It was late in the evening, so there were a few empty desks in the secretary’s office. Secretary Tak saw Sehun coming down from the hallway. As Secretary Tak gathered up a few items, Sehun passed by his partition and followed after the lawyer.

When Sehun sat at his desk, he glanced at Yoonshin’s office. Seeing as all the lights were off, the associate must have gone home. Secretary Tak stepped in Sehun’s line of vision, looking curious.

“Senior Attorney?” Secretary Tak asked.

“What do you want to know?”

“My friend in the financial department secretarial team told me that he could hear you and Senior Attorney Song yelling at each other from outside. He asked me if something bad happened between you.”

“Isn’t it a common occurrence that I fight back? I’m getting along well with her, so if you have time to be gossiping, do your work properly.”

“That’s a relief to hear. Oh, Daeyoung Daily, the press company that I reported about— subsidiary to Daeyoung Group—is holding their 70th-anniversary party this Friday evening. The formal invitation came. You must attend.” Secretary Tak pulled out the card from his arms and placed it on Sehun’s desk. Sehun glanced at the card with annoyance, then he asked, “Isn’t there another partner who can go in my stead? Ask around. I’m sure they’ll all want to attend.”

“Unless you’re not going at all, there’s no way you can send someone else instead. It’s a small-scale event where they only invite VVIPs. You know, you’ve taken on a lawsuit for the pilot, Mr. Taeju Han from Daeyoung Airlines, before. Apparently, this invitation came from that connection. Even Attorney Song didn’t get invited.”

If it were any other time, Sehun would have gladly attended. However, there was such a big issue right in front of him, so he didn’t feel like going to some party external to the firm. In most cases, these small events were places for networking, so he would need to mingle with different people and would have to exchange small talk about politics and finance.

Sehun thought his mental health would better benefit by being simply holed up in his office, buried in work. Sehun couldn’t come to a decision so easily, and Secretary Tak waited for his answer. Then, coming up with the best solution, he pushed the card to Secretary Tak. “Give this to Yoonshin Do when he comes to work tomorrow. Tell him to free up his schedule accordingly.”

“Are you going to send him instead? I told you, you can’t.”

“He’s coming with me. I might as well fetch something while I’m there. What’s the dress code?” Sehun’s reasons for going with Yoonshin were quite ambiguous, so puzzlement flashed by the secretary’s face. However, being an experienced secretary, he focused on his job.

“Blue. Just as an accent. Shall I prepare a tie? Or a pocket square?” Secretary Tak offered.