Chapter 3. I’m a Divorce Lawyer
“Uh… huh?!”
“I was wondering when you’d say it. I almost suffocated waiting.”
“An affair…?! What are you talking about right now? This is strictly between the two of us!”
The man shot to his feet, outraged as if he’d just heard something absurd. But when Sena crossed her arms and muttered a low, “Sit,” he turned pale and dropped back into his seat.
“You. I heard you went on a trip carrying the bag I bought you?”
“…Wh-what are you talking about…?”
“Did you enjoy Cebu? It’s a great time of year to travel.”
“H-how did you know?”
Sena picked up her phone and opened her messenger app. Then she shoved a profile from the “Recommended Friends” list right in front of him.
On the screen was a young woman in a pretty travel dress, smiling brightly. Slung over her shoulder—plain as day—was a bag and a watch that clearly belonged to Sena’s boyfriend.
She had hoped it wasn’t what it looked like, but the girl had even kindly posted the D-day countdown. A 100-day anniversary trip, no less.
“If you hadn’t come clean yourself, it looked like she was about to come confess to me. She even baited attention with that profile photo. Do you think she saved my number too?”
“I don’t know anything about that. Sena! Just listen to me. It’s not an affair. She’s just a close junior from school—”
“Cut the bullshit. How much does she know about you?”
“W-what do you mean?”
“Does she know that more than half of what you own was bought by me?”
“….”
“Figures. I took someone who only knew how to rot in the lab, with no sense of style or life, and turned him into a decent human being—guess you thought it was all your own doing. Of course, a clueless girl would find that version of you appealing.”
“Gi… Sena. Just listen to me for a second—”
“Did you think I was just some rich idiot because I smiled and gave you everything you asked for?”
“N-no, that’s not it. Sena, it’s really a misunderstanding.”
Her mocking tone drained the color from his face. Even the hand holding his coffee cup trembled. Watching him shake like that made her scoff inwardly.
She had dated this pathetic excuse of a man for two whole years.
“At least if you’d been honest and said you met someone else, I wouldn’t be this angry.”
Maybe she could’ve even wished him well like some cool Hollywood breakup.
But looking at him now—so pitiful—it scratched deeply at her pride.
She should just turn around gracefully and walk out that door.
But she didn’t want to.
She wanted to see his face crumble completely.
“A guy like you is predictable. Fine, let’s say the affair happened. But if you’re talking about breaking up… you must’ve messed up badly. Did you get her pregnant?”
“How did you…?”
Sena twisted her lips as if to say what kind of idiot is this? and let out a short sigh.
Talking any further was a waste of time. She tucked her phone under her arm and stood up.
The man stared at her, eyes shaking, as if asking, Is this really the end?
It felt more empty than she expected.
She had liked his innocent, untainted eyes. The way his hands would get sweaty just holding hers, the way he’d tremble slightly—she once believed someone like that would never cheat.
The young man who said, “I don’t know why someone like you would like me… but I’ll do better,” had long disappeared.
Now those same innocent eyes just looked foolish.
Sena turned toward the exit—but then stopped and turned back.
The man flinched as she strode toward him in sharp, clicking steps. Thinking she might throw water in his face, he hurriedly emptied his glass.
Pathetic to the very end.
She almost felt ashamed that anyone might find out she’d dated someone like him.
“Is that kid really yours?”
“…What are you talking about?”
“With a brain like that, what kind of PhD did you get?”
Sena clicked her tongue at the man staring up at her in confusion.
Then she pulled out her business card case and placed a card firmly on the table in front of him.
“I can’t wish you a happy marriage. You’ll probably come looking for me soon.”
“I’m not that pathetic.”
“It’s not that. You just look like you’ll get divorced.”
“What??”
“Don’t call me. I’m blocking you starting today. But if you bring a hefty retainer fee, I might see you.”
Watching him stare blankly at the clean white card, Sena curled one corner of her lips.
“Then again, you probably never cared what I do. Just thought I was busy and spent money well.”
His eyes shifted to the name printed on the card.
Gi Sena.
“I’m a divorce lawyer.”
There’s a saying about men—the “Five Nos.”
No guarantees, no gambling, no violence, no drunken rages, no affairs.
Among them, the one Sena could never forgive was cheating.
That was exactly why she had chosen someone so plain—because he seemed like the type who would never stray.
Anything he lacked, she could make up for.
But cheating?
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became—minute by minute. If she didn’t vent it somehow, she couldn’t even control her expression. So she got into her car and drove out.
It was past lunchtime, so Teheran-ro was relatively quiet. Wearing high heels, she nearly slammed the accelerator—but held herself back.
She wanted to express this rage at 140 km/h, but for that, she’d need a highway, not this road.
Instead, she steered with one hand and turned on music with the other.
A breakup, no matter how prepared for, was still a breakup.
She shut the windows tight to block out the outside noise and cranked up the volume.
“Don’t you dare treat me carelessly———!”
As she hummed along, her voice grew fiercer with the high notes. The lyrics—about declaring a breakup to a man who toyed with someone’s heart—hit her squarely, and tears streamed down her cheeks.
Even though she’d chosen the song on purpose, singing along made her feel even worse.
“…You think you’re something special, telling me to go or stay—what the hell makes you so great, you bastard—hic… after everything I did for you…!”
She had her pride too. She didn’t beg for love.
How dare he cheat on someone as perfect as her?
“Waaah…! I’m not crying because I’m sad about the breakup…! It’s because all the love I gave feels so empty…!”
Sunlight pierced through the windshield in a straight beam, making her squint. The clear sky and flawless weather only made her curse more.
“Ugh… it’s even more annoying because it’s so sunny!!”
She slapped the steering wheel and belted out Sohyang’s “CHANGE” at the top of her lungs.
Her body swayed back and forth to the rhythm. Passing cars might have thought she was crazy, but Sena didn’t care—she sang and cried until her anger subsided.
By the time she’d circled the Gangnam area, her tears had dried.
She stopped at a crosswalk near her office, waiting for the light to change. Just then—
Honk!
“What now??”
She turned her head. The pedestrian light was blinking, about to turn red. But there was still someone crossing—an elderly woman, hunched over, walking slowly while nervously glancing at the honking car.
The signal turned red, and immediately—
Honk! Honk!
“Seriously? Can’t you wait? What, are you in a rush to die early?”
Startled, the old woman stumbled. The other car revved its engine aggressively.
Clicking her tongue, Sena glared at the driver. The man inside was laughing, while his passenger pointed at the old woman.
“What a bunch of trash.”
The moment the woman finished crossing, their car sped off recklessly.
Sena hit the accelerator.
Her sports car was faster—zero to a hundred in an instant.
She cut in front of them and slammed the brakes.
The car behind honked loudly, pulling up beside her with the window down, hurling insults. But through the glass, it sounded like meaningless noise.
Sena didn’t even fix her messy hair as she lifted her head and pressed her forehead lightly against the window, looking at the man next to her.
“There’s a saying about men—five ‘nos.’ You? You look like trouble. Even your face screams violence.”
The man’s eyebrows twisted angrily as he shouted something, even pointing at her.
Probably curses.
She didn’t care.
An eye for an eye.
For people like him, primitive methods worked best.
Sena slowly raised her right hand.
She gave a thumbs-up.
The men’s expressions shifted in confusion.
Then—smiling brightly—she dragged her thumb across her throat.
Their faces instantly twisted, like crumpled gum wrappers.
The man, at a loss for words, cursed a few more times, calling her crazy, before eventually driving off.
“Ha… seriously, what a day.”
She exhaled deeply and tied her messy hair into a high ponytail.
Pulling down the sun visor, she looked into the mirror.
Smudged mascara, tear-streaked cheeks, and a lingering tear at the corner of her eye.
Sniffling once, she wiped it all away with her fingers.
“Okay. That’s enough. I’m cool.”
She grabbed her compact from the passenger seat and carefully patted her makeup back into place.
She cleaned up every smudge, then applied a bold red-orange lipstick.
The face in the mirror returned to its perfect, morning state.
“A breakup is a breakup. A promotion is a promotion. This isn’t the time to cry—it’s time to pop champagne.”
The moment she realized he was cheating, her feelings had already disappeared.
What really hurt her pride was that someone so insignificant had shaken her emotions.
Forget him.
She could always meet someone better.
Her lipstick-red sports car hummed pleasantly as it entered the company parking lot.
