Handling Matters at My Company (1)
With her lips pressed tightly together as if deep in thought, Jang Mi-ye lowered her head. I drove the final nail in.
“Let me lay it out clearly. Don’t file an appeal. Transfer just one share of Jangbaek Corporation to me. In return, you only need to pay Yoon Seung-hyun twenty-eight billion won. It’s not a bad deal for you at all.”
“Can I think it over and get back to you?”
That was enough. Time was on my side, so there was no need to push her any further. An appeal isn’t something you can file months or years later—you have to do it within fourteen days of receiving the original judgment. (In criminal cases, the window is even shorter: seven days.) She had only ten days left. If she couldn’t decide in time, she would be the one bleeding out, not me.
“Of course. Take your time and call me at this number once you’ve made up your mind.”
That same evening, while I was getting ready to leave the law firm, Jang Mi-ye called.
“Hello.”
“I’ll accept your proposal from earlier. But I have a few conditions of my own.”
“Go ahead.”
“I’ll give you the one share of Jangbaek Corporation I own. Just promise me you’ll keep it a secret that you received it from me. If anyone finds out—especially someone from QS Group—I’ll be in serious trouble at my company.”
It was exactly the condition I had expected.
“Understood. I’ll keep it confidential. What else?”
“If I don’t appeal, I have to pay Yoon Seung-hyun twenty-eight billion, right?”
“That’s correct.”
What followed wasn’t so much a condition as a petulant complaint.
“Let me pay it in installments. You know the situation at M Mart—I can’t come up with that kind of cash right now.”
“That’s not something I can decide. You’ll have to discuss it with the person receiving the money.”
“With Yoon Seung-hyun directly? He won’t even answer my calls.”
“Then why did you accuse him of cheating without any evidence during the trial? I wouldn’t want to talk to you either.”
“Could you at least pass the message to him? Tell him I’ll pay over ten years in monthly installments if he agrees not to appeal. I’ll include the child support in the same payments. He’s a chaebol too—ten-year installments shouldn’t be a problem.”
She must have been desperate to swallow her pride like that.
“I can relay the offer, but the decision is entirely his. If we agree to installments, how should I handle the interest?”
Jang Mi-ye went silent for a moment, clearly caught off guard.
“I… I have to pay interest too?”
“Of course. The judgment states five percent annual interest for late payments.”
“I’m not refusing to pay. I’m saying I will pay. And I’ll send the child support on time too. Can’t you just ask him to waive the interest?”
“I represent Yoon Seung-hyun, not you. I’ll pass along your request, but I can’t omit the fact that he’s entitled to interest.”
“……”
“Please.”
She sounded almost pitiful. If we had been face-to-face, she might have dropped to her knees.
The next day, Yoon Seung-hyun showed up at my office carrying a fruit basket. People’s attitudes change between entering and leaving the bathroom, so I had half-expected him to complain that I had taken too large a cut after the win. That worry proved unfounded.
After handing the basket to Cha Ye-na, Yoon Seung-hyun sat across from me and immediately expressed his gratitude.
“Thank you so much for winning, Attorney. With that kind of money, I can raise my daughter well without having to leave her with the chaebol family.”
“You and your daughter must have suffered a lot because of Jang Mi-ye. I hope you can live happily from now on.”
“Yes! She won’t appeal, right?”
“She actually contacted me yesterday.”
Yoon Seung-hyun nodded as if he had already guessed the situation.
“Ah, she must have called you since I wasn’t answering. What did she say?”
“She wants to pay the amount in monthly installments over ten years because it’s too large. She also asked to waive the interest. The decision is yours. If you insist on immediate payment, we can begin seizure proceedings on her assets.”
“So how much would I receive each month?”
“I already calculated it. Assuming no late interest, you’d receive roughly two hundred and fifty million won per month, including child support.”
Yoon Seung-hyun’s eyes widened.
“Every month? Not per year?”
“Correct.”
“Then I’ll take the installments. Should I pay your success fee as thirty percent of what I receive each month?”
I had secretly hoped he would demand full seizure and wipe out everything Jang Mi-ye owned, including her M Mart shares. But this man had little appetite for revenge. Then again, that was probably why he had endured ten years of a stifling marriage after giving up his idol career.
“No. The amount I quoted is already the net sum you’ll receive each month. My success fee will be paid separately by Jang Mi-ye, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
“Ah, you really handle things cleanly, Attorney. Thank you!”
“If the monthly payments ever fall behind, come see me again. I’ll handle it for free.”
“Thank you.”
Whether it was for the best or not, Yoon Seung-hyun never contacted me again after that. Jang Mi-ye must have been depositing two hundred and fifty million won every month without fail. It didn’t feel right for me to insert myself any deeper between them, so I decided to postpone my plan to strip Jang Mi-ye of her remaining assets.
While handling Yoon Seung-hyun’s divorce, I completed the six months of practical experience required to become a partner at a law firm. With the number of incoming cases steadily increasing, I finally moved forward with a decision I had made long ago.
“Law Firm Seungbaek” was reorganized into “Seungbaek Law Corporation,” and I placed my name in the representative attorney position. In business terms, a single store had become a proper company.
The topic came up during the regular “Father and Sons Night” dinner Kwon Byung-do held with his three sons.
“I heard Ho-gyun turned his law office into a law corporation.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Unofficially, that means we have one more QS affiliate. Oh Il-mu tells me the revenue is excellent and the operating margin is high. He says it’ll soon catch up to one of our smaller subsidiaries.”
“Once we finish recruiting staff, we should see strong results. Attorney Oh Il-mu is handling a lot of the groundwork, so it won’t be difficult.”
“Good, good. That friend of mine is even pulling all-nighters at his age—something he never expected to do. Hahaha.”
Kwon Byung-do burst into hearty laughter, but Seong-gyun and Je-gyun looked as though they were chewing on something foul. Neither of them had founded a single affiliate with their own hands. Meanwhile, their father had not only recognized my law firm as a QS affiliate but had even praised it. It must have been hard for them to swallow.
Then Je-gyun set down his spoon and shot me a glare.
“Ho-gyun, it’s fine to start a new business, but shouldn’t you also manage the company you already have? I heard QS Express went on strike again.”
Kwon Je-gyun. Last time he spouted nonsense, he got scolded. Now he was coming prepared with something that actually made sense, clearly looking for a chance to undermine me.
From the perspective of the Kwon family, QS Express was indeed the company I was supposed to manage. Ever since the days when I was still the family’s black sheep, Kwon Byung-do had designated it as my inheritance and steadily transferred shares to me.
Before I could respond, Je-gyun turned his gaze to Kwon Byung-do, clearly unwilling to give me a chance to explain.
“So, how should we handle the QS Express strike?”
The question had clearly been directed at me, yet Je-gyun once again cut in.
“Ho-gyun seems busy with his law firm. Why don’t I take over QS Express this time?”
“Je-gyun.”
“Yes, Father!”
“I didn’t ask you.”
Je-gyun fell silent. Kwon Byung-do’s eyes shifted back to me.
“Ho-gyun, answer me. How should we deal with the QS Express strike?”
He wasn’t actually asking for a solution. If he truly needed one, he would have asked the QS Express executives directly. This was a test of my crisis-management skills, coming right after he had praised my law firm’s performance. The timing and setting were far from ideal. Since I didn’t know the details of the strike, any answer I gave would be vague and theoretical. Seong-gyun and Je-gyun would pounce on it immediately to deduct points.
But backing down now would mean falling straight into Je-gyun’s trap. This called for a direct approach.
Meeting Je-gyun’s smirking gaze head-on, I answered.
“I’ll resolve the QS Express strike myself.”
It was exactly the kind of answer Kwon Byung-do liked. He was a businessman, not a scholar—he preferred concrete action over long-winded explanations. A satisfied smile spread across his face.
“Oh? I’ll be watching to see how you handle it.”
“Yes, Father.”
Seong-gyun and Je-gyun’s stunned expressions followed. Neither of them had expected me to respond like that. They both knew full well that solving the QS Express strike was no small matter.
One day after Father and Sons Night, Monday arrived. I stopped by QS Group headquarters and received full authority over the QS Express strike through a special appointment at the Central Management Headquarters. Kwon Je-gyun would be furious if he learned that his own careless words had allowed me to set foot inside Junggyeongbon—even if only in an outsourcing capacity.