Chapter 109
"Property division of 44 billion won? Lawyer Cha, are you in your right mind right now? Go Jin-ah and Jeong Yeong-jun were only married for seven years. How on earth did you arrive at 40 billion?"
Lawyer Lee Young-jae shot to his feet, shouting. He was one of the people Go Jin-ah had deceived, yet here he was, vigorously defending her. A quick search showed he'd handled many high-profile divorce cases for big shots. After managing so many of those, he probably wouldn't flinch at much. So why was he foaming at the mouth over 44 billion?
"I know Go Jin-ah confessed to you that she was the one who filmed Jeong Yeong-jun's sex tape. But I didn't expect her to hide the fact that she'd amassed 100 billion in illegal slush funds too. It's surprising that you, as her lawyer, didn't even keep up with news about your own client. Your associate seems a bit lax...."
The associate sitting beside Lawyer Lee Young-jae twisted his face in anger.
"Lawyer Cha. Are you mocking us right now?"
"No. Didn't Go Jin-ah hide 100 billion in assets acquired after marriage, only to get indicted alongside her for tax evasion?"
"...She did."
"Go Jin-ah submitted materials to the prosecution proving those weren't illegally created slush funds. That's why she was only charged with tax evasion."
"And?"
"Those materials show the funds were created after her marriage to Jeong Yeong-jun. Doesn't that make them joint property acquired together?"
When the 100 billion slush fund came to light and they had to submit those explanatory materials to the prosecution, they must have tried to backdate it to before the marriage. Otherwise, that 100 billion would have to be included in the division— a huge loss. But to make it look legal, they couldn't launder it from an earlier date, so they grudgingly admitted it was post-marriage. That was why they were making such a fuss over 40 billion now. Pure theater. Ignorance was bliss, or if not, tough luck. Something like that, probably.
"Why aren't you responding? Surely it wasn't money made by buying Yangjin Group stock when its price tanked over the illegal sex tape scandal, then selling recently? If so, we could argue it wasn't joint property built through shared effort...."
Lee Young-jae let out an irritated grunt. He should have been the one looking displeased, not me. Even if I wasn't a divorce expert, surely he'd checked the precedents.
"That's absolutely not true. The materials speak for themselves. Lawyer Cha, you'd better refrain from baseless claims."
I let out a small chuckle at the word floating above Lee Young-jae's head. Go Jin-ah must have a sharp asset manager. She probably never imagined her crimes would tank Yangjin Group's stock. Yet she'd held those shares for just a couple months before the drop and sold off that massive stake. Must have stung. But with controlling shares anyway, perhaps she wasn't attached— they'd all go to her sole heiress, Go Sang-kyung. Scraping up even 1, 2% of floated treasury stock wasn't easy.
"No, I suppose not. My mistake."
I didn't really care about the funds' origin. Profiting from stock swings was just one possibility I'd considered. It could also be embezzlement or a gift from Go Sang-kyung. Embezzlement aside, a gift would mean no division with Jeong Yeong-jun. But that would trigger massive gift taxes, so splitting might be cheaper. Either way, smoothly dividing the slush fund with Jeong Yeong-jun was their best option.
"You asked if I was sane for demanding that 100 billion be included in the division. I was just checking if there was another reason."
"......"
"Let's wrap this up. Excluding taxes on that 100 billion leaves 44 billion for division. No objections?"
"It's hard to confirm right now. I need to check with Go Jin-ah."
"Then do it now."
Lee Young-jae let out a disbelieving scoff.
"Right now?"
"Phone works fine. Or she might be waiting in the president's office. We can take a break for you to consult her."
"Lawyer Cha. You're constantly probing us, and it's highly unpleasant. Go Jin-ah didn't come to the office."
"Haha, I see."
"Are you laughing at us now?"
"No. Just trying to laugh off my rudeness."
Had I pushed too hard? They openly showed their hostility through their expressions. I already disliked Taegwang people on principle, so no surprise there.
"Then call her. Now."
"...Let's end for today and discuss after some time. There's still plenty left. Go Jin-ah is busy preparing for trial, as you know."
"Lawyer Lee Young-jae. It's almost August already. Nearly two months since she was exposed as the culprit. We've been plenty patient with her amid prosecution investigations and trial prep. Consider our client's position too— betrayed by his wife's breach of trust, suffering not just emotionally but socially."
Lee Young-jae scowled fiercely. I'd thrown his own words from our first contact right back at him. He'd remember.
"Lawyer Cha! Enough! Know your place!"
The co-counsel across from me yelled.
"What do you mean 'enough'? Isn't it true Jeong Yeong-jun has waited patiently?"
"...You bastard."
"Our side gets calls daily asking for updates on the divorce. Yours too, I'm sure. We've accommodated Go Jin-ah so far, but if you keep blocking fair division, we have no choice but to say the divorce isn't proceeding smoothly. We can't stay in negotiations forever."
"......"
"Besides, approaching this with remorse would help her image recovery in many ways. We're not demanding anything excessive. It's perfectly reasonable."
Either way, since they needed her approval, dragging out the argument was pointless.
"As you said, let's end here today. Consult fully with Go Jin-ah and meet again within next week. We want to finalize before her trial opens."
I stood. After a silent bow, I left the conference room. Right up to the door closing, I felt their scorching glares burning into my back.
—That rude punk! How's that guy even a lawyer? Thinks he can disrespect his seniors! What year is he from?! Huh?!
No sooner had the door shut than a furious voice erupted from inside. Sounded like the one who'd yelled at me to know my place. The Taegwang associates beyond the partition stole glances at me. He trusted the soundproofing too much.
Go Jin-ah must have feared we'd leak that she showed no remorse and refused even reasonable division. Soon after, she accepted the 44 billion property split. She even agreed to an additional 3 billion in solatium and damages.
Of course, those foaming over 44 billion made squeezing out the extra 3 billion a real struggle. But crucially, we'd wrapped negotiations before her trial, as planned.
I didn't think we'd extracted 47 billion thanks to my brilliance. Once her criminal trial started, she'd need to emphasize remorse heavily— paying substantial solatium would count for a lot. Like how Lee Hyeok-min did volunteer work at welfare centers pre-trial in his case. Probably why she couldn't refuse.
Anyway, we soon filed the mediated divorce petition with family court. In the blink of an eye, the one-month cooling-off period passed, and the confirmation date arrived.
"......"
The divorce was finalized in an instant. The court just checked documents and confirmed both parties' intent. Less than five minutes.
"Jin-ah."
As they exited the courtroom, Jeong Yeong-jun called to Go Jin-ah ahead. She paused and turned.
This was the first time I'd seen her in person during the proceedings. Up close, she looked far more haggard than on screen.
"......"
"Just one thing. It's all over anyway, so be honest."
Jeong Yeong-jun's face was remarkably calm, unreadable. If he was acting, he was masterful; if not, he'd endured brilliantly.
"When did you start hating me?"
"...Why ask that now?"
"I know you loved me at first. It wasn't fake. But I want to know when you decided you wanted divorce bad enough to destroy me like this."
Go Jin-ah sighed deeply. After a moment's thought, she brushed back a loose strand of hair.
"From when you drank the water from the hand-washing bowl at that important event. I was just mortified then, but after, everything you did annoyed me."
"......"
"Then I realized we were from different worlds, and you seemed like a fool who couldn't fit into mine. That's when I started hating you."
As she answered softly, realization dawned on her— telling Jeong Yeong-jun this might make him testify against her out of spite. And Jeong Yeong-jun, after seven years together, read it too.
"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. Even as a witness at your trial, I'll stick to that case."
"Sorry you feel that way."
"Don't apologize."
"......"
"You're Yangjin Group's heiress anyway. You'll suffer a bit after ruining my life, then go back to princess treatment."
Jeong Yeong-jun lifted his bowed head to meet her eyes.
"While you're alive.... Yeah, live well. Even if I say don't, you will."
"Yeah. You too—"
Before Go Jin-ah could finish, Jeong Yeong-jun cut her off.
"But when you die, I hope you rot in hell."
He walked past her. From the man who'd never once blamed her aloud, that commonplace curse landed with crushing weight.
She stared after him for a long while. But he never looked back.
"......"
I'm agnostic. Never had faith, never believed in God. But I died once, got a second life with powers. Doesn't that mean some god—or something like it—exists? If so, maybe hell does too.
The place for Go Jin-ah.