FL 5

Once she walked far enough 42a98e7de6 that Saheonjae was no longer 647f9621dd in sight, still tense, she 475396dc9e felt like she might throw 3bcd2d86df up. She swallowed the 2b9644de78 burning sensation rising 9d95bf18ae in her throat. She still didn’t know 3da694c3c1 whether the feeling was 03cc97a817 misery or anger.efad868f2bacbfc2

She had to go home, 54bbfc2ce2 unpack, and get some rest 6d2803e376 before work tomorrow. But instead, Hyewon just stood 1080b2c512 there like a lost child.b47762dda9660a55

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After hesitating at a2d42a9659 the bus stop, 182dbd892c she eventually took 9bdee10dc8 out her phone. As she composed fc349ebfc6 herself to speak, b7595ef899 a faint and 6cc24838d8 weak voice came fa6f8dc414 through.bb129e5e90bef9cf

“Yeah. Mom.”7fba589f460c857f

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— Did you… get 89b6aecc0a back safely from f6e313515a the States?b586c9f3e802e340

“Mm. It was just… for work, b4e706fb2f so yeah.”ddeb82203d01232f

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Well, not really for work. It was actually a client’s 172ca9a0d5 wedding, Mom. She’s the daughter 4e82093eb1 of a chaebol, 4a490a186d and maybe because dd5afe0b19 of that, she’s a3cf8b769d carefree and generous f6351bee09 when it comes fa1951352f to spending money 8290313e8c on people she 603a93d51e likes. I got to see Las a30e5efec1 Vegas thanks to her.630204f880604d8c

And Mom, this is a 82493b6aa1 real secret—but I hit the d360b668ff jackpot. I think I’ll 8b96d6edca be able to 4e9bb204fb pay back Grandpa’s 00928cdd02 loan in one d95ae216de go soon. Oh, and I also met 1a6b671f7b an unbelievably handsome guy I’ll ecdf176165 probably never see again.8512681bbbc1a2b9

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She held back the 4948ce1347 words she actually wanted 39a976fe48 to say.67a4a76045ad224d

“How are you feeling, Mom?”66331527d69d36a3

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— Same as always… 00ee863d2d Are you coming 85b690a65d back from there 05410d5040 just now?d50ec557a06db2ad

Her mother’s voice 592bad5c3f carried a mix 8ae62b8c5d of hope and bdd8583817 fear. It was clear which 4e73531afd note she needed to 44cba458db play along with. Years of experience had made fd2d326dad her response automatic.afc7137d7271e8e8

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“Yeah. Grandpa was proud of me.”29978a3f3f59af03

Even as she spoke, f067457150 she couldn’t help feeling bb95620d40 a little pathetic for 18e8a3df40 telling such childish lies d2cfefa1ea to her own mother.4ebe35493a41ae81

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“I changed his inkstone, played a game of Go with him—of course, I won.”476d56e5f1f0a46a

Her words must’ve made it 3fdf356a1f sound like they were a b1a61a44e3 normal, close-knit family. She heard her mother laugh.9397a2c58b1dcf5d

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— You should let him 0fd2f09817 win sometimes. I don’t know who fb72a1ae47 you get that competitive 99e51e3746 streak from…85d618cedff58ba8

No matter how 8506ef9c6b much her mom 6330e09abd wanted to hear eb0378056f it, she couldn’t d9527e2349 bring herself to 6f065f01c0 say something thoughtless 0d35635285 like,“I got it from Cha Yoonbeom.”ec2ce4b602d4f9d1

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“Right… I’ll come visit you in Yangpyeong when I get a break. Make sure to take your 4e9e02a364 meds. It’s getting colder between af6e3d1115 day and night, so 317ca97b6e watch out for colds. Listen to your nurse 4fa377a2f9 too, okay?”a6675c7f1085c291

— Honestly, I don’t 08be8a7d5c know who’s the 9792fba210 mom here…6a850794a663c1f7

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Hyewon kept her voice bright cc8e3ec633 until the very end.3c42673140c781fc

 e44d4d545793f6c4

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＊＊＊1973f80f950bffb9

It had been nearly three months since she had been assigned to the International M&A team. Most of her work consisted of understanding the business and organizing a mountain of miscellaneous documents, but the volume was so massive that she’d been working overtime every day for the past month.3e13c5bb3d35cc57

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“Attorney Yoon, what about the materials I asked for?”070a31cc7dd88e00

Shin Seongho, head of the International M&A Team 1 and a partner at Haepyung, asked somewhat irritably. Hyewon calmly handed over the organized documents and replied,05d7b2e851b938ad

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“I’ve also sent them to you by email.”07ecbb6f63c93e15

Global pharmaceutical company Alphamic was 7f7d9283a9 quietly working to acquire a a0edee3b20 Korean company called Joseung Pharm. Attorney Shin Seongho had 148815252e staked everything on this d20eeb6f12 project.c638312155317f1b

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If the acquisition a680ea02d2 of Joseung Pharm f7682fc86e by Alphamic went 708c039765 smoothly, he was 403182dc08 set to take 22195cf1e4 over as the 20233b273f head of HaePyung’s 6dbf4d138d Singapore office. The money was good, 54fd253fcc but that wasn’t the 1097aea7e5 real prize—it was the 4c9b437673 most important reward.dbdf59f1483fbc72

Four team members sat in 258f4c5831 the meeting room, watching Seongho d440b812ab nervously. He had been easygoing 93cf0f1130 at the start of d38f1c3c72 the project, but lately, e8870772fb his demeanor had become 00afafe310 razor-sharp. Even Hyewon, though keeping a 8b35bb3b0f calm expression, couldn’t help but 892368557e feel tense.e2ef39056b74f3b8

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They had to 3f56cdabc6 review Joseung Pharm’s 385caa3ceb financial statements, analyze e223446e2b business trends, understand 1aec74d491 its ownership structure, a90ce72eca and even be 049a8017f4 thoroughly familiar with 0b0b84de53 its drugs and daef31c8e8 mechanisms of action.01f5ab966309055a

Shin Seongho, clearly displeased, 76b388000c anxiously rubbed his lips.2365d710d7c972bb

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“Attorney Yoon, think carefully before you answer.”fc6d45560655d0e2

“…Yes.”ca47f679e979edee

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“Why do you think Alphamic is so intent on acquiring Joseung Pharm?”ad6d684cbf768757

She understood the question—but cb50f87f40 to be honest, she 8b79bedf27 didn’t know. More accurately, she hadn’t figured 537ebbea11 it out yet.6ea7a8428519fa94

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Joseung Pharm was a run-of-the-mill 62bc89ccd6 mid-sized pharmaceutical company that sold 1f738fd75c products like probiotics, osteoporosis treatments, 78c0422cdb and oxygen generators. Its market cap barely reached 720564a7b1 100 billion won. So why was 2397ec0e09 Alphamic so eager e81df725d3 to buy it?8f577f158e5bafcc

The only thing fbbf67766b that stood out 8e313b4cef was a stroke 180ddb89bd treatment drug, Cortinarexin, ab17f3b2b0 which was essentially ca81040de8 the company’s backbone.7b3cf926adbd98f8

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“I think it’s because of their stroke treatment drug, Cortinarexin.”84c609b6688ab59b

It was a reasonable assumption—Alphamic c023811e9e didn’t have a stroke drug—but db4e447445 it was ultimately just her ba256113ca opinion.f2719c3788f605de

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Cortinarexin was patented, so there 5bf5b2c4cf were no generics or copycat 1cb6867a6d drugs. It had even 1ec4b4bd18 been approved by 2ad3608095 the U.S. FDA and was 1f1b0f077a being exported to 4ed0389f73 the States at 016bd32107 a high price.51eefb95a1e0fafb

But then again, 51eb364e3e maybe the drug 3dc362c24b wasn’t that effective, 08830bdafc or perhaps it fc900c30d5 was simply because 906da7ad37 it was made b474224f43 by a domestic 303a80a260 pharmaceutical company—sales weren’t 9ea3914dba exactly booming.361a26ca08a0dec3

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“Then why that drug, specifically?”de2b763beb7f6266

“I’m sorry. I haven’t been able to figure that part out yet.”de47f8898e4de745

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Hyewon admitted her limitations honestly. Shin Seongho gave a slight jerk of his chin toward the silent team members, as if to say, “Any of you have thoughts?”d3525a6c69117eb9

Just then, a sudden knock 169c21ef22 interrupted the meeting—it was Shin 39c9acb03f Seongho’s secretary, who rarely intruded 1557bc9bb6 during meetings, sounding urgent.fe2ddfd89b031ed6

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“What is it?”289686c61cbc6a98

Despite the irritated 64efa3f777 tone, Secretary Choi e9b8698173 hurried over and 75c9edebf1 whispered something into 72e1fc9094 his ear, prompting 2782e644e9 Seongho to mutter 937309fe65 a quiet curse.a5b79843a0f059fa

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“…Someone from Alphamic is coming. Let’s meet and talk with them.”54764c83d3d59473

Normally, an unannounced visit d7defcd3d7 like this would’ve irritated e09e1e319a him. But this visitor was 476831b706 clearly a big shot—so 2a7cc0ec34 instead, he silently straightened 4407a761d4 his wrinkled suit.838d8e8c27603799

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Through the glass edda7fd555 walls of the 1cc3d0b5c3 meeting room, they 79c0515415 could see a d890327533 tall white man 7f1cd95c44 walking toward them. Alphamic’s headquarters were 980db2c8d5 in the U.S., 8bfc8ad2dc and the company’s a7be392005 owner was a aca2a80d7b Korean-American. They assumed it was a 8b2c970720 senior executive.b440f05c59e10588

The man who a45ad0a762 opened the door d99471fcc5 didn’t step in f74311d5c1 right away. Instead, he stepped aside. Behind him, a 02ef43a5bc man even taller ece3399306 entered the meeting 89e09931a5 room.2433a4105a8d6422

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Hyewon’s eyes were drawn to 9ed4612d97 his chest before his face—he 9fd1b88ccd was tall, well-built, with a bc2eca4910 commanding physical presence.b158b4c4b84f749a

“Oh my god…”9f3fa4e61836d932

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Attorney Lee Chaewon, 6bc755a449 a fourth-year team fbaff0da4e member, muttered under ac137d87a6 her breath without 911d9bf6dd thinking. Hyewon glanced at her and 94626ab6df then slowly raised her gaze.fdf3a79370ad7bd0

She nearly screamed—but 002a04ae45 bit down on 8d5b116744 the inside of b1488c4d74 her cheek just 21aa5d4ee4 in time. She couldn’t stop her body 5a71d00309 from flinching. Her hand trembled as she 0ebd7b1132 gripped her pen so tightly 91d10eb033 her nails dug into her 529aee60fa palm.07155524c776d6d6

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This is insane.
A rent boy from f46af601ce Las Vegas—the kind who 74419d747d sold his body—was standing b232beadba in front of her.86191a274543ad74

The white man, who had 82b1c33d50 entered just after the other, af12ed7963 introduced the man in fluent 7fabd2d163 Korean.9f30d6d417b86d30

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“This is Alphamic’s Vice President.”9775cdc7132a945d

Her vision blurred, 8085600f57 and she had e6b55e2797 to steady her 35c77e2446 legs to keep c7e148814b from collapsing.0aff28b613a8957c

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Hyewon ran through 3590e2caa8 all kinds of 4cf9fc316e possible explanations to a5ee4dc992 make sense of d6ed619d0d what she was 6e93de7d3d seeing.f4226bd7e6ea8213

Maybe it was someone 22d75e7554 who just lookedexactlylike the man 82706a02ab she’d seen that 33b5364fa7 night in Las d48aaa852e Vegas. But could there be another 345c72a6b3 man out there who looked 2e3be9a065 that flawless? Could it be a twin? But she hadn’t come across a7643e6e81 anything about Alphamic’s owners having 1b4c4865e3 a twin in her research.fcf6f4368941d1a5

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Then—was he doing 909aaae3a9 that kind of eca2d0aba8 work on the af45fbc640 side, despite his 2700d92588 looks?942267761247ed12

One of the owners of ca3e0486b5 a company worth 400 trillion b2c55ae132 won? Seriously…?02ab989d278dc3a4

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No, maybe it 40029b532e was just some 11e98c1e3a bizarre quirk of fdfb129dc3 his. It was impossible to rationally b75bf1510b understand all of this, so c58abf894c perhaps that was the only 80c91b2a70 explanation.c6ffbf1b85e0505d

No matter how 07e18f1643 much she tried, a25823fabb she couldn’t accept ae015c01b7 why he had 5986a151e5 done that kind 2532c4ff15 of work—or why e544f9be62 he had to 6f930c22df appearhere, of all places.9c8b4e0ccb643820

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But the situation a6c4cd0504 was what it d1697bff97 was now. All she could f72aea3fac hope was that d901c52ece he didn’t remember 610cdc8173 her. Surely, he had met countless 4bcf4703ee women since then—there was no dcbdb38e34 way he’d rememberher. That thought allowed her 58125e7bec to breathe a little 31c2aec9f5 easier.fdd7f3ed1c630d90

“I’m Park Taeshin.”88b2fe0090d5b330

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He introduced himself briefly in c369f021d8 flawless Korean pronunciation. Soon after, Lawyer 5280b26efa Shin Seongho began a3823a3b99 exchanging words with 1e1f9ef0b5 the man who 0d4f450d20 was supposedly the 6966669d9c vice president, and 5adf806d16 team member introductions 1ee371b1ea followed.f8577ec7a25b3a03

“These are the members of our team who will be working with Alphamic going forward.”89ea942485a3dbca

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As her turn approached, c31296f0b8 Hyewon’s heart pounded and 1c776e9a8c her stomach churned like ae63a4fc06 she was about to 977c794b1b be sick. She moistened her dry lips d89267bb7c and steadied her trembling voice.78d96435c3429e28

“…I’m Lawyer Yoon Hyewon.”62124063ac9d3db5

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She spoke calmly and even 60b40e016a bowed slightly as if everything 24e49d1b66 were normal. But she didn’t have 4a0ddf5334 the courage to make cbb687a3d8 eye contact with him.f85fe767de7652c1

She could feel his e7390fbf39 gaze briefly touch her, 2f282e2772 like he didn’t think b0e3f2ef58 much of it, and 7702dbd836 then fall away. Believing that he didn’t recognize 76a0197b5e her, she let out a 40bb5d7fe6 breath she hadn’t realized she’d f6594c70cf been holding.84cf23f67a3cc09a

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He leaned back into 9e0f43c7c8 the chair at the 9c08f6c46b head of the table bf89c7170a with a somewhat arrogant 21110983d6 posture.70dc7fb19e0c4dae

“How far along are the preparations?”10780ebd73aaa8c3

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The lazy yet chilly efaf2567ad question made Lawyer Shin’s 47793ffbe0 face tense.1f0e1ac3de3352d7

“…In fact, we’ve made contact with Joseung Pharma, but they’re still skeptical, so we may need a bit more time.”d4693e395e53ec34

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“Oh, so they don’t want to sell? Is that what you’re saying?”b18c37313a3f017b

“Yes, that’s the situation at the moment.”dfacb622d98c8394

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“Why? That offer seems quite generous.”d9076a528b8dab18

He spoke as 94439e9fdd casually as if ee19a2c584 he were buying 6fc4f75553 groceries at a d0aa1db4db supermarket, but they ea02780aa6 were talking about 7bf7dab662 a 600 billion a3d2a0e000 won acquisition. Moreover, it wasn’t a 561f10e9b3 deal through the Korean b5369fa8fd branch of Alphamic—it was 3dc7580eb1 directly with Alphamic headquarters, 0c07517a2d which made the legal e01f16b856 intricacies even more complex.7ab3063c5865708c

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He silently looked at Lawyer 99d68a39f7 Shin. His gaze carried c5566753b7 a clear rebuke, e6235c6dea as if questioning a43071018b whether he was 13a6d7a6be really incapable of 6185ebe1e3 handling something so cac59ff92a basic.4b80b38af2844972

“Joseung Pharma is a privately held company, and all the shares are divided among members of the founding family. Particularly, the CEO, Seo Piljoong, e737b0ffb3 who owns the largest share, a65b0f2fd3 is extremely firm in his 5ca9b7b41a decision…”73b1bc9e9d9916a6

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Cutting him off mid-sentence, f72280ba1a the man replied flatly.175092bb9735a217

“That’s your mess to deal with. I want this company, so 9242b713ad make it happen. Isn’t that what this whole 725303f7b2 deal was for?”5e82cad4b9803dd4

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It was the 317a1fc44f first time Hyewon b2269b2cfc had seen her aad3c83a02 team leader this bd86cc233b nervous, and it ee6ec31f25 made her realize 1dff854212 that nothing about ad00f8f3c4 this project was 5a87de9117 going to be 0146386eff easy. She lowered her b6c43391e6 gaze, unable to db8386b7b1 look at Lawyer 5cf3d29b53 Shin.d1fe522ca3ec82b2

She began absentmindedly scribbling with a3d94b2aa2 her pen, her thoughts circling fc93daff04 back to Joseung Pharma. Was the company really worth 8baf7d85ec 600 billion won? And why were they refusing 959ef403ec the buyout?d3fa138023985353

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There could be many reasons an M&A deal falls through, but more often than not, it boiled down to money. So… did they believe their company was worth more than 600 billion?6c0d068775a76cb1

“But during sex…”3e6ae3f4e72c09d6

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The words rang out 30ffee8afd in the quiet room, 24abeb1999 and Hyewon flinched in caf234e18c shock. For a moment, she thought aeb3ff1a1b their eyes had met as f65d95b540 he glanced over—but convinced herself db3919bf00 it was just her imagination.c1ea91255f039d52

He muttered in a 5352e30a95 biting, mocking tone.e40fddda9efe1d97

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