Chapter 2
Chapter 2
“Just divorcing her will cause problems, you know. The child—if things go as they are, the child will remain on your family register.”
“Then what should I do?”
“You need to file for annulment of the marriage, along with a petition for legitimacy.”
For a moment, the child’s face flashed in his mind.
The child who had been the only reason for living and the source of joy for the past eleven months.
Seeing that smiling, bright face, Cho Min-gi couldn’t immediately respond to the lawyer’s words.
“It’ll be hard. But it’s the right thing. If you don’t want to get dragged into unwanted situations later, you have to cut ties decisively.”
“…I understand.”
As he spoke, Cho Seong-gi’s face came to mind.
Just as Seong-gi had treated Cho Min-gi as a stranger because he wasn’t blood-related, now Min-gi, too, had to cut ties with the child because the child wasn’t his blood.
‘Am I the same kind of person?’
Doubt surged, but at the same time, he realized the difference. Cho Min-gi had been thoroughly used and betrayed, but Seong-gi had never been betrayed or used.
“But there’s one problem. Even if the annulment is due to the spouse’s fault, property division is another complicated issue…”
“What do you mean?”
“Normally, regardless of who is at fault… alimony and property division are separate matters.”
“Shouldn’t I receive alimony?”
“You will. But… the house you live in is registered under your wife’s name.”
At 25, he had scraped together 30 million won through part-time jobs—10 million from the military, 20 million after discharge.
His parents had lent him 50 million, and his maternal relatives contributed 300 million. He had also taken a 300 million loan to buy the villa he was now living in.
In just a year and a half, the price had nearly doubled.
“I handed over my 3 million won monthly salary, and my allowance was just 200,000 won.”
“I understand your hardship… hmm… depends on how you handle it, but nowadays, even a stay-at-home mom is considered to contribute about 3.5 million won a month.”
His wife, No Mi-ra, had never made breakfast. After giving birth and regaining her old figure, she had spent recent months drinking with friends late at night. Come to think of it, it was almost miraculous that she hadn’t drunk during pregnancy.
During the day, a helper came. At night, Cho Min-gi barely slept while raising the child. And yet… what had he actually done?
“I don’t know what kind of lawyer they’ll hire… let’s plan on a maximum of 120 million, minimum of 100 million.”
An expert in divorce law, apparently. Other lawyers had said similar things. This one just gave higher numbers.
“I understand. Let’s proceed.”
“Yes. We’ll proceed with both cases, sir!”
The lawyer, busy, left the meeting room, and an assistant came to handle the remaining procedures—prepaid litigation fees and the steps moving forward.
If you’re going to do it, you want to do it properly. That’s why he had chosen a law firm known for divorce cases, frequently advertised on TV.
Returning to the office, Cho Min-gi found his desk gone.
“Juimin’s desk was removed by the request of the director!”
“You didn’t even tell me?”
“What can I do? I just follow orders from above.”
The man who had once fawned over him as the boss’s son had changed in an instant. Cho Min-gi knew his weak-strong-weak-strong nature, but the sting remained.
They wanted him gone? The only thing he had been invested in was work…
“I’m not sure what to do, sir… these days must be hard…”
Do Ye-rip approached with a ginseng drink. She was a new employee, hired three months ago, whom Cho Min-gi had been mentoring.
“Thanks, but… no.”
“Sir! Go see the director! He wants you!”
Cho Min-gi gritted his teeth. So this is how it’s going to be?
“Sir!”
He was called back as he was about to leave.
“Cheer up, sir! Tough times, but better days will come.”
“Huh…”
He smiled faintly. Even telling someone to cheer up while they were tearing up… some people in this world still had heart.
His apartment lock had been changed.
[Personal property of No Mi-ra. Do not touch.]
Ridiculous.
He wanted a place to rest. He considered a jjimjilbang, but didn’t want to deal with crowds.
He chose a cheap hotel a little away from home. Not a motel, so no weird disturbances, just somewhere quiet to lie down and think.
Had he even slept more than two hours a night in the past week?
Trrrr trrrr…
The moment he lay down, his phone rang. Lim Hyuk-soo, the manager.
Probably to have him hand over work. Of the seven pending orders, two were crucial for SG Global’s future. But they’d thrown him out anyway.
Juimin! Where are you? Answer the phone!
He didn’t pick up. A text followed.
Who cares…
After a while, Director Jin Jong-pil called. He had said it was fine to let it go, so why bother?
He didn’t answer.
You have to hand over work before leaving!
He replied briefly and turned off the phone.
Wasn’t it unnecessary? Do as you like.
Rude to him, yet demanding courtesy from others. Did they not understand reciprocity?
Closing his eyes, the child’s face flashed in his mind. Not a daughter anymore… The child smiling brightly.
‘Da-da ba-ba…’
He had mimicked “dad” once.
Tears rolled down his cheeks.
‘What did I do wrong…’
Then he realized he hadn’t been entirely innocent.
Shrinking under parental discrimination, slacking on studies, drifting along… He should have lived with his own will but had played the fool all his life.
A truly pitiful man—losing parents, wife, child, home… a 27-year-old with nothing left.
At least he was young. That was his only advantage… maybe.
Sleep finally took him.
When he turned on his phone, chaos awaited.
Over 100 calls and messages. Threats of lawsuits worth billions, prison threats.
“Who do they think I am?”
He sent a recording of his earlier conversation with Director Jin. All the threats, and the director’s insistence that he leave immediately.
Soon after, Jin Jong-pil texted:
I was wrong, Min-gi! I’ll add 5 million more! Hand over work properly. Let’s end this cleanly.
Despite the rudeness, Cho Min-gi knew these people weren’t his real enemies. They were just part of the mass of scum in society.
Three years of work… Not for the company, not for colleagues, but to complete his own responsibilities.
He wasn’t going back to the office. He’d handle things on his own terms.
[Room 1105, Bando Hotel. Come take the handover yourself or send Lim Hyuk-soo. Pay 5 million in cash.
He lay back on the bed. He tried to think of the child, but shook his head. These people were no longer his concern. Wife and child were gone. Cho Min-gi would start anew. He had to.
He was still young. In his twenties, ready to take charge of his life.
Knock! Knock
Someone was at the door. Not even an hour after the text. They must be nervous.
Clack
He opened the door.
“Sir!”
“Do Ye-rip!”
She stood there, cheeks flushed, glancing around nervously.
“Why are you here?”
“The director sent me.”
Ha! Ridiculous. They didn’t want to come themselves, so they sent a rookie.
“Can I… come in?”
“Come in? You? Into a man’s room?”
Who would believe this?
“I… people kept staring…”
She glanced sideways, shy.
“Alright, come in!”
She entered awkwardly, eyes wide.
“So… this is what it looks like…”
Cho Min-gi set up his laptop. Do Ye-rip mirrored him.
“Here’s the file on Worden Jewelry. It has all their requests. And this Excel sheet… Generic Boltz… specs organized…”
She quickly summarized all the handover tasks and sent the files.
While they were working, a knock came.
“Do Ye-rip! Who’s that with you?”
“No one.”
“Then… who is it?”
Cho Min-gi assumed it was just hotel staff.
“Who’s there?”
As he spoke and opened the door—
Whoosh!
The door burst open.
Bang bang! Bang bang bang!
Two masked men held cameras, taking photos and videos.