If You're Going to Be a Servant, Do It in a Noble House.
As I fell asleep with Lily, the sight of her sleeping defenselessly, oblivious to the world, was something I could only witness in moments like this.
Normally, she would always wake up before me, greeting me with her most beautiful and composed appearance.
But now? Traces of our passionate lovemaking lingered everywhere.
Her white hair clung messily to her sweat-drenched face, and she lay sprawled out before me, breathing softly in shallow rhythms.
I cherished this time.
The raw, unfiltered Lily, without a trace of pretense.
I gently reached out, brushing the strands of hair from her cheek and tucking them behind her ear.
"Mm..."
She furrowed her brow at my touch, squirming slightly. Wasn't it utterly adorable?
Today, she had been like a wild filly with the reins loosened.
Was it the date we'd taken outside the city, or had she simply gotten swept up in the mood? Lily had clung to me like a cicada, pouring out an incredible passion.
Our time in bed had been like a battlefield—and pure ecstasy at the same time.
Suddenly, I felt a surge of masculine pride swelling within me.
A woman's body is like an instrument.
Depending on the skill of the male player, it can produce beautiful music or a cacophony of discord.
But what is the greatest performance of all?
Silence.
Exhausting your partner until she can't make a sound and collapses into sleep.
That's the ultimate proof of a man's prowess.
And today, I had proven it once again.
"Mmm... husband... more..."
Even in her dreams, she seemed tormented, murmuring sleepily.
I couldn't help but chuckle at how endearing she was.
The bedsheets were soaked through.
A bit sticky, sure, but I'd poured out every last drop of my energy too, and drowsiness weighed down my limbs like lead.
I slipped behind her, pressing against her back.
Her damp skin brought a delightful coolness mingled with her warm body heat.
Soft, yielding flesh.
Once you taste it, you can't stop—an addictive body like a drug.
I wrapped my arms tightly around her from behind.
The perfect fit in my embrace, this sense of security.
Lulled by her steady breathing like a lullaby, I slowly closed my eyes.
The most vulnerable, most peaceful time of the day.
Thus, the world I saw gradually faded into distant darkness.
There is an old saying: "If you're going to be a servant, do it in a noble house."
It means that a subordinate's treatment varies dramatically depending on who their employer is—heaven or hell.
Choi Il-woo, the lawyer.
Kim Ji-hoon's maternal uncle and the head of the law firm Jeongron.
When Ji-hoon returned to Korea and got entangled in terrorism and lawsuits, Choi Il-woo shot from an industry insider to a nationwide star attorney overnight.
Bathed in media spotlights, he represented his nephew, resolved the case, and etched himself into the public's mind as the "hardcore lawyer."
It's rare for a top law firm boss to openly savage the government under a prickly regime.
But since it was family, he tossed political calculations aside and fought like a rabid dog—ultimately victorious.
Now, this heavyweight was sitting in a rural village police station.
"There, you've confirmed it, right?"
Choi Il-woo tossed a stack of documents onto the table.
"So, will you settle and compensate? Or drag this to court?"
His voice was even-toned, without inflection, but the weight in it choked the village elders' breaths.
Truth be told, it all started from a chance encounter.
A few days earlier, during Kim Jin-su's video interview for a job in America.
At the end, Jin-su hesitantly confided in Ji-hoon.
"Um... President. Actually, I'm in the middle of a lawsuit right now. Could that cause issues with leaving the country for trial or something?"
"A lawsuit? What happened?"
At Ji-hoon's curious question, Jin-su spilled everything: the rural bullying, the smart farm sabotage, the police inaction, the villagers' threats, and his lonely fight.
Ji-hoon's face hardened coldly by the end.
"What kind of nonsense...!"
Ji-hoon couldn't stand by while someone wronged—especially a future employee—suffered.
Moreover, the lawyer Jin-su had hired was a mediocre solo practitioner: unaggressive, average skills.
The case was bound to drag.
"Jin-su, change lawyers."
"Pardon?"
"I'll hook you up with my uncle."
And with one call from Ji-hoon, Korea's top-tier law firm boss descended on this backwater.
Choi Il-woo's arrival had an explosive effect.
Worlds apart from the previous lawyer fumbling with the elders.
He mobilized his firm's vast intel and manpower, scraping together everything the police had buried for "insufficient evidence": restored CCTV footage, precise damage estimates for ruined equipment, threat recordings from villagers, even hints of collusion between Sergeant Kim and the elders.
"You know special theft, trespassing, property damage, and now added threats, right?"
Choi Il-woo adjusted his glasses, scanning the elders coldly.
"Lawyer, where would we get that kind of money...?"
"No money? Then hand over land. You don't want liens slapping your kids' properties, do you?"
"Gasp...!"
With a capable lawyer on the offensive, the stalled case surged forward.
"But is it really okay to just crash here like this?"
The elders lounged in Jin-su's living room like it was their own bedroom.
The empty house, abandoned like a midnight flight.
There, the six ringleaders sat in a circle, slamming hwatu cards down.
"Ting~ Junk hand, junk hand~!"
"Hey, Kim! No bottom-dealing—play fair!"
The living room reeked of cigarette smoke, empty instant coffee cups rolling around.
Not a speck of guilt on their faces.
"What? He ditched the house and farm—what's wrong with us watching it? When the owner's gone, village elders manage it. That's the way."
"Right. Daring to sue fellow villagers? He'll get divine punishment."
The full story was this.
The next dawn, the elders stormed Jin-su's house with gongs and megaphones, demanding he drop the charges.
But the door was open, the place empty.
Seeing clothes and belongings gone, they were convinced he'd fled in fear.
"Kekeke, see? All that tough talk, but nothing."
Drunk on victory, they turned the house into an annex for the village hall and gaming den.
Cranking the heat full blast, guzzling Jin-su's fridge drinks.
But one elder fidgeted with his cards, face worried.
"Still... is this really fine? I've never gotten a court summons in my life..."
The red-stamped complaint haunted his neck like a chill.
The lead Kim snorted.
"Pah! It's fine! Our Chun-bong said he'd handle it! Even scouted a lawyer. Just wait a bit."
Sergeant Kim Chun-bong.
He was sweating bullets too.
After Jin-su vanished, he fretted the case leaking outward, exposing his cover-up.
So he'd scrambled to contact a town lawyer to block it somehow.
"Yeah, Chun-bong's got years as a patrolman. He'll figure it out."
The elders relaxed, grabbing cards again.
"Alright, double down! Shake 'em!"
They had no clue.
Jin-su was gone, but high-def CCTVs dotted everywhere, red recording lights blazing, capturing it all.
And in Seoul's Jeongron law firm office, Choi Il-woo watched their antics on a monitor.
"Ha... these folks are something else."
Gazing at elders squatting illegally, gambling in someone else's home, he smiled coldly.
A calculator in his hand.
Jin-su's initial claim: 50 million won.
Had they groveled then, per head it'd be about 10 million and done.
But now? Different story.
"Add trespassing, theft, property damage."
Choi Il-woo's fingers tapped the keys.
Jin-su's full smart farm loan.
Compensation for severe mental anguish.
Lost expected profits for three years from abandoning the farm.
And above all.
"My fees aren't cheap."
Top-tier firm retainer and success bonus.
Choi Il-woo planned to bill it all onto that hwatu game.
"Houses and fields won't cover it anyway."
Evidence overflowed.
The elders yelling "Gdorri!" in glee on-screen? Their countdown to tears of blood had begun.
All evidence was impeccably prepared.
When Choi Il-woo stepped out of his black sedan in front of the rural station, a thick briefcase in hand, he strode straight to Sergeant Kim Chun-bong's desk.
"Sergeant Kim Chun-bong?"
"Y-yes. Who might you...?"
Instead of answering, Choi Il-woo slammed an envelope on the desk.
Out spilled evidence throttling the sergeant's neck.
"When client Kim Jin-su reported, you closed it as 'no charges,' right?"
"Th-that was because they settled on-site..."
"Where's the settlement agreement?"
The icy question choked him.
Of course there was none—just verbal brush-off.
Choi Il-woo opened a laptop, playing footage.
Legally obtained station CCTV via info request.
High-def: right after Jin-su left fuming, Kim yukking it up with elders, brewing instant coffee.
Kim's face turned ashen.
"This goes beyond dereliction—it's hiding criminals and aiding escape. Improper ties between special theft suspects and the investigator. Perfect picture."
He waved the complaint.
"Already filed with the district prosecutors for dereliction. Copy to Internal Affairs too. Get ready to pack your uniform."
"L-lawyer!!"
Kim paled, leaping up.
His cushy plan—suck honey till retirement in this station—lay in ruins.
"Please... mercy! I must've lost my mind! Just once, leniency..."
Nearly sobbing, he grabbed at Choi Il-woo's arm.
Choi Il-woo yanked away like touching filth, looking down coldly.
"Leniency, huh."
He nodded toward the door.
"That's up to you."
"Pardon? A-any orders, I'll do anything!"
"Round up every one of those elders. Right now."
His eyes flashed.
"Not a single one missing."
Thirty minutes later.
The station buzzed again.
"Hey, Chun-bong! Why the sudden summon?"
"We were just about to crack open some makgeolli!"
Clueless elders grumbled in.
But sensing wrongness instantly.
Their usual smiling nephew Chun-bong stood head bowed like a criminal.
Beside him, a cold-blooded suit with arms crossed, glaring like he wouldn't bleed if stabbed.
"All here?"
Choi Il-woo broke the silence.
"Wh-who're you?"
Ringleader Kim stammered.
Choi Il-woo smiled thinly.
A hunter's grin at trapped prey.
"Legal rep for Kim Jin-su, Choi Il-woo of Jeongron Law Firm."
His voice thundered through the station.
"Now, I'll explain in detail the crimes you've committed—and the price you'll pay."