The Best Revenge Is My Success
After the press conference, I stayed in Korea for about two more weeks.
To watch the fallout from the grenade I'd lobbed.
"Honey~ Ahh~"
"Nom."
In the master bedroom of my family home.
Sitting on the toasty heated floor with my butt planted firmly, living the life of a king as Lily hand-fed me fruit.
This was paradise.
"It tastes even better when you feed it to me, Lily."
"Hehe, really? Try this strawberry too!"
December weather in Korea was brutally cold.
Lily, who had only known California's warm sunshine, shivered at first, unable to handle the bone-chilling chill.
Distinct seasons were both Korea's charm and its curse.
But there were upsides too.
Winter clothes.
"Oh my, this looks perfect on you! Try this one too."
"Wow... Mom, this one's so warm!"
Mom, since we'd come to Korea anyway, had gone all out to kit Lily out in winter gear.
Berkeley lacked proper shopping malls, which she'd always lamented, but Seoul's department stores and massive outlets were heaven for her and Lily.
Thanks to that, the two women went shopping arm-in-arm every day.
"......"
And I was the pack mule trailing behind, hands full of shopping bags.
Whatever. These were clothes they'd only wear in Korea anyway, so I planned to leave the bulky parkas and coats in my room here.
We could always come back.
"Hmm... about time to head home?"
I muttered around a mouthful of fruit.
Lately, the government had been probing subtly.
They couldn't outright say "Get out," but messages like "Have you set a departure date?" and "Any inconveniences?" were their way of nudging.
From their view, I was a ticking time bomb.
I got it—they wanted me back in America ASAP.
And the news.
Every time I flipped on the TV, a smile crept across my face.
It felt good.
The price for abusing public power for private grudges was steep.
Choi Hyun-jin the judge?
She had no shield left without her robes.
And the dumbest one of all.
Entertainment news was plastered with Min-jun's gaunt face.
"Tsk tsk."
I clicked my tongue.
He should've bolted when I gave him the chance.
I couldn't fathom why he'd cling to Ji-su as her boyfriend and tank his life.
Finally, my ex-wife, Kim Ji-su.
She'd requested a settlement on the defamation and false info suits filed by my uncle.
Result: 30 million won.
Ironic. It matched exactly the alimony she'd shoved at me during the divorce.
On the surface, it looked like Ji-su got off lightest—no jail, no billions in debt.
But.
Was that really a good thing?
I shook my head.
"Nah. That's the real hell."
I knew Ji-su better than anyone.
Dependency was etched into her bones.
Our marriage had ballooned her spending to lady-of-the-house levels, and her laziness—refusing to lift a finger—had seeped in deep.
Changing spending habits takes grinding effort.
That's why she'd leeched onto Kim Min-jun like a lamprey.
She needed a second daddy to lounge at home without working.
Would a nutcase like her have exposed her own face to prop him up as a star otherwise?
But now, daddy Min-jun was drowning in debt, and Ji-su was branded a nationwide adulteress.
No man in Korea would take her now.
Her future? The labor she despised, scraping by forever.
What lunatic would date a cheater who'd tried to drown her ex and flipped the country upside down?
Sure, flies might buzz for a one-night stand while she's young.
But in 10, 20 years?
Old, sick, no family, alone in the world.
She'd learn the hard way how pathetic an aging woman without home or money feels.
And the ultimate punishment.
She'd watch me her whole life.
Me laughing happily with Lily, eating well, thriving as a businessman.
Spying on my YouTube channel, my SNS, shedding bloody tears.
'I should be there.'
'I should be that man's wife.'
A lifetime of comparison, jealousy, regret—gnawing herself raw.
"The best revenge is living well."
Cliché, but true.
But I'd already succeeded, snagged the world's most beautiful and kind wife.
And I had YouTube to broadcast my happiness live.
Women are jealous creatures.
Nothing twists their guts like seeing an ex flaunt his bliss.
"Honey, what're you thinking?"
Lily poked my cheek.
I grabbed her hand and kissed it.
"Nothing. Just happy."
"Hehe, me too!"
Yeah.
This was enough.
Revenge done. Time to live my life again.
"It's all over..."
Ji-su stared blankly at the ceiling.
Days without leaving her room.
Cutting off the outside world.
Her only escape from this hellish reality.
Everything had gone to shit.
The pricey U.S. firm she'd hired bailed with a curt "We lost."
Then Ji-hoon's press conference.
The world flipped after that.
Victims and perps swapped places completely.
Lawsuits poured in from Ji-hoon's side.
Defamation, spreading falsehoods.
She scrambled a lawyer, but he shook his head with cold advice.
"Ms. Kim Ji-su. Public opinion's against you, evidence is ironclad. Settle. You'll get probation or a fine. Fight and it's prison."
She swallowed her pride and agreed.
30 million won settlement.
Exactly what she'd given Ji-hoon in alimony.
Spitting it back filled her with humiliation.
"How did it come to this?"
She gnawed her nails, replaying it endlessly.
Small mercy: the 200 million in victim aid from the ministry wasn't clawed back.
Money in the bank was hers.
But the lawsuit funds from the ministry? Parents had blown it on debts.
200 million minus 30 million left 170.
Plus her part-time savings? Barely under 200.
"Can I live on this... forever?"
No.
Mid-20s now. Peanuts for life.
Marriage? Impossible.
Nationwide infamous adulteress with a divorce record.
Who'd marry the Kim Ji-su everyone knew?
"Where did I go wrong?"
She pondered endlessly.
If she'd ignored the ministry's Kim section chief's offer?
Just let Min-jun support her quietly?
He'd have risen steadily as an actor; she'd have enjoyed quiet happiness by his side.
"Yeah... taking that offer was the mistake."
But that was it.
She never admitted it was her fault.
'If the ministry hadn't tempted me.'
'If Kim Ji-hoon hadn't gone so vicious.'
Women instinctively dodge blame, point fingers.
Then the knockout blow.
Ji-hoon's retrial was accepted.
The court sided completely with him.
New judge was merciless.
"Plaintiff's contribution: 0%."
Last hope—Ji-hoon's assets—gone.
Nothing left to demand.
Home was a funeral parlor.
Nationwide shame.
Parents flinched at whispers from the corner store, terrified to step out.
Screeech.
The locked door creaked open.
Mom.
Face aged a decade in days.
She gazed at her daughter with hollow eyes.
"...Ji-su."
"......"
"Should we... move to the countryside?"
Ji-su looked up.
"Somewhere no one knows us. Just live quietly in a village."
Couldn't show her face in Seoul anymore.
Escape.
Only way out.
Ji-su stared blankly, then nodded weakly.
".....Yeah."
The woman who'd dreamed of being a housewife.
Top star's wife.
Her end: some nameless rural shack.
Thus, Ji-su started packing.
I felt damn good right now.
Why? The ruling was in.
Legally, as an upstanding U.S. citizen, I owed Ji-su not a single won.
Like clearing decade-old constipation—pure refreshment.
This was catharsis.
Just three days till America.
A quick grandma's funeral had turned into nearly a month in Korea.
"......"
I checked my phone.
Dong-hyun, holding down Bapsang flagship solo.
Normally he'd blow up: "Hey boss, when the hell you coming back?!"
But he'd gone quiet.
He'd seen the funeral news, my airport detention—even in the States.
Blunt, but sincere.
Damn, kinda touched.
Obvious he'd be shitting bricks running it alone.
Back home: fat bonus and a few days off. Promised.
Meanwhile, Lily had adapted perfectly to Korean life.
A bit lonely just us in the States, but here with the whole bustling family? She loved it.
Grinning ear-to-ear all day.
"Brother-in-law! Time to eat!"
"......Uh, yeah."
Hyung had recoiled at first when the foreign Lily cozied up calling him "brother-in-law."
Stoic guy—must've been a shock.
But soon enough, he played it cool while sneaking her snacks behind the scenes.
A few days back, an incident.
Mom, Ji-min, and Lily went on a girls' outing.
I was lounging in my old room for once.
Slide.
Door opened. Hyung.
"Hyung?"
He plopped two small shopping bags on my desk wordlessly.
"Take it."
"What's this?"
"Open."
I did.
Gleaming polish.
High-end luxury couple's watches at a glance.
One mine, one Lily's.
"Hyung... these ain't cheap. What's the occasion?"
He scratched his head, sheepish.
"Couldn't make your wedding."
"......"
"Still bugs me I did nothing for my only brother's big day. Wedding gift."
Whoa.
Touched. A lot.
Hyung's the quiet type, seems indifferent—didn't expect this savvy.
"......Thanks. We'll treasure 'em."
"Whatever. Sister-in-law's sweet. Treat her right."
"Obviously."
Hyung flopped into my desk chair.
Brothers facing off after ages.
"You ever think marriage, hyung?"
I probed gently.
He was of age.
"Dunno."
Flat reply.
"Not big on girls anyway. Too busy with work."
"~ Man, you're a real catch. Girls are blind."
I chuckled.
"Fate'll come. Grab it boldly then. Got it?"
"Will do."
"Yep."
Hyung smirked, paused.
"Eh, it'll happen when it does."
"That why you came?"
"Kinda."
Hyung shifted, asked.
"When you heading to the States?"
"Soon."
"Yeah?"
He pondered, then tossed out.
"Before you go, how 'bout another wedding here?"
"......Huh?"
"Elders are all around. Proper greetings, ceremony. Heard the U.S. one was just parents, super simple?"
"...Wedding?"
True. Ours in America was barebones.
Lily's health, rushed timing—church, parents only, done quick.
Made sense.
Second son of a lineage family marrying without clan intros? Rude.
"Yeah. While we're here, simple family-only."
Hyung nailed it.
"No friends. Just kin."
"Hmm... sure?"
I nodded.
Good for Lily to experience Korean wedding vibes too.
But.
A fleeting thought.
'Family-only... but is that really simple?'
Yeah.
Ours was a lineage house.
"Family" meant hordes of relatives.