Chapter 4: The Relentless Beast I Want to Avoid
Returning to the office, Sena was bewildered by the even more chaotic atmosphere than that of the morning.
“What’s going on? Why’s the mood like this? Lunch ended ages ago.”
Squinting, she surveyed the office.
As she passed by employees huddled together, whispering, and was about to enter her own office, her colleague, lawyer Han Yeo-jin—who had messaged her that morning—suddenly appeared and looped her arm through Sena’s.
“Kibyeon! Where have you been?!”
She couldn’t admit she’d gone off to check on that cheating jerk, so she fibbed about attending an external meeting. Han Yeo-jin lowered her voice and led Sena into the office.
“It’s long past lunch, so why’s everyone so restless?”
“Whoa. It was crazy while you were gone!”
“What? Did someone cause an incident?”
Seeing Han Yeo-jin close the door cautiously, Sena instinctively became careful as well.
“Did you really not know who was coming as a partner lawyer?”
“Ah….”
Had they already announced it? Couldn’t they have waited until tomorrow? Sena had wanted to celebrate alone today. Han Yeo-jin might have felt envious since someone else had claimed the partner title before her. Still, flaunting joy too openly would definitely annoy Sena, so she plastered on an apologetic, ambiguous smile.
“Sorry. You know I… I really worked ha—”
“They say you’re alumni? You really didn’t know?”
“Huh? Alumni with me?”
Suspicion filled Han Yeo-jin’s eyes. Sena first looked confused, then relaxed her expression. Ah, she probably only saw the résumé. She didn’t know the person yet.
But the next question that came out of Han Yeo-jin’s mouth threw Sena’s thoughts into chaos.
“They say he’s a famous prosecutor… why would a prosecutor quit and come here? You don’t know anything?”
“Wait… what? A p-prosecutor?”
“What? You really didn’t know?? Everyone’s been in a frenzy over the guy who just came in as a partner lawyer!”
Sena’s eyes widened at the unexpected word. Han Yeo-jin finally relaxed her suspicious gaze. She lightly slapped Sena’s back and began detailing the new partner lawyer.
“Thirty-five, they say. And his face—amazing. A real treat for the eyes. His height… you’d hear the wind when he strides by. Right now he’s in the CEO’s office greeting the directors. On your way, take a look. Three-year difference—he’s probably someone you know.”
Thirty-five. Former prosecutor. Male.
Thirty-two, Kibyeon. Not me?
Seven years of my blood, sweat, and soul wasted, and some unknown prosecutor just swooped in to take the partner title? Why? Am I lacking? Because I’m a woman? Or because my experience isn’t enough? Why me!
Her eyes darted, but the space between herself and this prosecutor-turned-partner felt significant.
“Did… I just lose out?”
“Huh? Lose out?”
Something was seriously wrong. She had been confident that by today, the partner office upstairs would finally be hers.
Sena shoved Han Yeo-jin aside and bolted outside, climbing the stairs two steps at a time. Just before reaching the top, she collided with a man descending.
“Ah!”
In that near-fall, the man grabbed her arm, steadying her. Strong hands, easily capable of restraining a grown man, saved her from a precarious moment. But Sena’s priority wasn’t gratitude—it was seeing the face of the man who had audaciously taken her place.
Who was the brazen, tiger-faced fool daring to snatch my spot? She had to see him with her own eyes.
“Oh, sorry! I was in such a hurry!”
“Still wandering around with your eyes wide open, huh?”
“…”
Straight, measured eyebrows. An arrogantly high nose. Height and broad shoulders that could rival athletes. Large hands gripping her forearm firmly.
No. This has to be a dream. Impossible.
The figure of her past torment—the one she’d thought she’d never have to face again after graduation—stood before her.
If this were a dream, she needed to wake up. This was a nightmare.
Her long lashes fluttered. Her pupils trembled but stayed functional, absorbing every detail.
She wished she couldn’t see, yet the expressionless man holding her before she fell was as clear as day.
The relentless beast she wanted to avoid: Ryu Kang-hyun.
“Senpai… why are you here…?”
She should ask why he was here, why he was the new partner lawyer—but her mind went blank, as if stripped clean.
At that moment, the CEO’s office door opened. The office manager and directors, stepping out for a late lunch, paused on the stairs upon seeing Sena and Ryu Kang-hyun.
“Already introduced yourselves? With our firm’s pride, lawyer Kibyeon?”
“Alumni, huh? You must know each other.”
“A former special division prosecutor now partner lawyer—K Law Firm will certainly strengthen with him onboard. Looking forward to it. Prosecutor Ryu Kang-hyun. I mean, lawyer Ryu now.”
As they passed Sena and Kang-hyun, he silently made way. Sena’s face fell into despair.
“We’ll handle introductions later. Let’s get lunch first, lawyer Ryu Kang-hyun.”
Aware of Sena’s laser stare, the office manager tapped Kang-hyun’s shoulder as he descended the stairs.
“Ah…!!”
Almost instinctively, she wanted to call him “Dad” instead of “CEO” at seeing him ignore her. Sena quickly clamped her mouth shut, glaring at her father’s back. The office manager exhaled lightly, looked back, and silently mouthed: later.
Her frustration erupted. The one delivering the backhand was her father. She wanted to scream and stomp, but too many eyes were watching.
And Ryu Kang-hyun still stood beside her like an ancient tree.
“Introductions can wait until tomorrow, Kibyeon.”
The low, commanding voice made her shoulders twitch. A faint laugh followed, like a ghostly echo. Sena felt as if the gatekeeper of hell were mocking her: you dare try to claim this place?!
Back in her office, Sena slammed her head on the desk, unable to hide her exhaustion. It wasn’t a dream. Her forehead ached, and her forearm still throbbed from Ryu Kang-hyun’s grip.
She’d cried over a man just an hour ago, and now she had to shed tears over another.
Just how unlucky could her day be? That morning’s horoscope promised a new encounter—but this new encounter was a curse.
Sena twisted her wrist to check the time and opened the bottom drawer of her desk. The rose-gold, gilded wrapping of the Dom Pérignon Vintage Rosé shimmered under the lamp.
She had splurged for today, planning to end her day in a hotel, floating rose petals in a bathtub, sipping pink champagne from an elegant glass while humming. All that had shattered.
The hotel staff had refused same-day cancellations, so she had reluctantly gone after work. The city lights outside were beautiful. In the slightly pricier room, she grabbed the slender neck of the champagne bottle and lay on the bed, draining it.
No rose petals. No elegant glass. Only the blindingly white silk sheets and pillow, soaked in disarray.
The next morning, with a pounding headache and puffy eyes, Sena was in a foul mood.
“Ah… I feel like I’m dying… ugh…”
After burying her head in the pillow for ten minutes, she finally lifted herself. Her stomach churned, unsure if it was the booze or the fall yesterday—but it was both.
She stumbled toward the minibar, noticing the empty champagne bottle at her feet. Kicking it aside, she grabbed two canned drinks from the fridge. Massaging her eyes with the cool surface, she flopped back onto the bed, laughing bitterly.
“Damn those old men! How dare they!”
The board, holding shares in K Law Firm, clearly had schemes.
“When I brought in revenue, they praised me endlessly. But when it came to making me a partner, excuses like ‘she’s a woman,’ ‘not enough experience,’ ‘we need someone who can handle corporate clients’—all nonsense.”
A predictable story. The glass ceiling wasn’t a myth.
“Why just sit back and take dividends! I bring in ten percent of the revenue! And yet, they snub me! These sly snakes!”
In a firm with nearly a hundred lawyers, producing ten percent of revenue alone was proof of her worth as a partner.
Other once-brilliant lawyers, now shareholders or directors, earned six-figure salaries while barely managing a case each month—adding insult to injury.
Losing the chance to become a partner left her desolate.
“When will the next opportunity come…?”
Her mind and body crumbled like a derailed train.
“Argh! So frustrating!!”
Why now, at this crucial moment? And why does that person appear again?! She never imagined her past torment would continue.
Recalling the humiliating confession incident from over a year ago, she still blushed with embarrassment, waking in the middle of the night.
She thought he would go straight to the Judicial Research and Training Institute, yet Ryu Kang-hyun, postponing graduation, repeatedly crossed paths with her in the classroom. Each encounter left her sweating, even in the cold.
“Always dressed perfectly, yet somehow so infuriating,” Sena muttered. Ryu Kang-hyun was like a brand that constantly pricked her neck.
