FL 5

Once she walked far enough 09e85fdc79 that Saheonjae was no longer 12baa24b3e in sight, still tense, she 5cc6bb7bee felt like she might throw 4fa7dacbe1 up. She swallowed the burning sensation 2f37bdb91c rising in her throat. She still didn’t 26c34831b5 know whether the 3c276739e5 feeling was misery 829e05cd75 or anger.4ea4a4fd5683f6b3

She had to go home, f0f707ed92 unpack, and get some rest a83ac68eee before work tomorrow. But instead, Hyewon just 646ad352e9 stood there like a 17f8cda961 lost child.e840a05062252991

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After hesitating at the 50bd92d517 bus stop, she eventually 90d1358e0f took out her phone. As she composed herself to c34bad6a60 speak, a faint and weak d3cb63ada6 voice came through.82542a661fd177fd

“Yeah. Mom.”575bec7117824dfc

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— Did you… get 31c9f46314 back safely from a952be9678 the States?5f6b1e33cbff0edc

“Mm. It was just… for 941587c7e4 work, so yeah.”3c5b17e6b58435fa

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Well, not really for work. It was actually a client’s ef456e7595 wedding, Mom. She’s the daughter of a 7656b3f6e1 chaebol, and maybe because of af448a4755 that, she’s carefree and generous 647ae5c085 when it comes to spending 80994fe709 money on people she likes. I got to see 83ec82fc99 Las Vegas thanks to 3e586ae06c her.1202df661d07a29a

And Mom, this is a 4b40795a81 real secret—but I hit the f7c8040706 jackpot. I think I’ll be able f51af8dfde to pay back Grandpa’s loan e59e09a04a in one go soon. Oh, and I 28923ae751 also met an 6ae6577568 unbelievably handsome guy 93751825fe I’ll probably never 8ce776e2c1 see again.31bad0655847ba28

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She held back 4af13e1ec2 the words she 3affa6040c actually wanted to 9c6a578630 say.1b31bd598f280cd0

“How are you feeling, Mom?”558d990a5c4f0326

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— Same as always… Are you 8fdeb692df coming back from there just 35c93da204 now?2b6bcf695b13c1fa

Her mother’s voice carried a d031002928 mix of hope and fear. It was clear which 0593463405 note she needed to 3532090e89 play along with. Years of experience 2d4b773b09 had made her 8350d2cd33 response automatic.3c8671af859455ea

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“Yeah. Grandpa was proud of me.”1acfe318580989e9

Even as she spoke, she 44a7ac18d5 couldn’t help feeling a little cfc666739c pathetic for telling such childish 544f679baa lies to her own mother.858f6ddd47c9d675

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“I changed his inkstone, played a game of Go with him—of course, I won.”055ff718ec09ae1b

Her words must’ve made 95eb5f78b8 it sound like they 2e17eacb74 were a normal, close-knit 5c237f1b70 family. She heard her mother laugh.b694a0a94ae7a5ee

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— You should let d71a0fd485 him win sometimes. I don’t know who 105e957bb9 you get that competitive b33424dd38 streak from…50868358fb7bcba9

No matter how 472c54cf95 much her mom 51fc331a28 wanted to hear 50b5ebf4de it, she couldn’t 72be07ee43 bring herself to d33cd5a975 say something thoughtless 47e440f776 like,“I got it from Cha Yoonbeom.”4813329ecc5c0dea

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“Right… I’ll come visit you in Yangpyeong when I get a break. Make sure to 33a29e97ae take your meds. It’s getting colder between day ba55312059 and night, so watch out 161ff0b2ef for colds. Listen to your 4ab9d51b5f nurse too, okay?”72b5a392418868bc

— Honestly, I don’t know 072a408db5 who’s the mom here…0c46a084d1a6c3f7

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Hyewon kept her voice bright 02ab8dc328 until the very end.4e626d9905fcb52a

 8192cf3b9f0da83a

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＊＊＊34c15ccf8b56b9eb

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.62c736c586564c2f

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“Attorney Yoon, what about the materials I asked for?”8630bdb50b9d04dd

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,1b4b5eee5faa2f6c

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“I’ve also sent them to you by email.”19cffa8ef27e74bb

Global pharmaceutical company Alphamic 245f529d66 was quietly working to 95261566da acquire a Korean company 348a536062 called Joseung Pharm. Attorney Shin Seongho had 5558a01261 staked everything on this ec29ffecbb project.7999c8a85c2faf96

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If the acquisition 14a6137195 of Joseung Pharm 3a95752407 by Alphamic went 4298a253a3 smoothly, he was 7d04e867d7 set to take c70be82352 over as the c387d659c0 head of HaePyung’s c772769890 Singapore office. The money was good, c11af24e00 but that wasn’t the 2d190e7984 real prize—it was the 310cf58a6d most important reward.fb8440298a75efa0

Four team members sat in 1ec1af1281 the meeting room, watching Seongho 2a30fadfb3 nervously. He had been e3cc5865df easygoing at the 5d9b2437df start of the 3f926e4cd9 project, but lately, 76267aea9a his demeanor had 1303ae7d38 become razor-sharp. Even Hyewon, though bfd1779b3f keeping a calm 60174103a1 expression, couldn’t help aec1ba6015 but feel tense.3e0ae391baa655ae

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They had to review d91727478a Joseung Pharm’s financial statements, ce780f37f5 analyze business trends, understand 090d5bc8c9 its ownership structure, and cee951f470 even be thoroughly familiar 37335685b5 with its drugs and 223440d094 mechanisms of action.5dde6d8c64463ad5

Shin Seongho, clearly 039d6c6917 displeased, anxiously rubbed 32dbf5212c his lips.0533d542d15d1551

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“Attorney Yoon, think carefully before you answer.”f84f22a14f0784ac

“…Yes.”f927a9b28a1f57f6

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“Why do you think Alphamic is so intent on acquiring Joseung Pharm?”fa8499a912d18fed

She understood the question—but to 8c8e836d9d be honest, she didn’t know. More accurately, she hadn’t 66cf4acca6 figured it out yet.bae17aa21161576d

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Joseung Pharm was a run-of-the-mill 97097abfa0 mid-sized pharmaceutical company that sold 735c948574 products like probiotics, osteoporosis treatments, 7a7ae4c2f8 and oxygen generators. Its market cap barely reached 14a2fba156 100 billion won. So why was Alphamic 65028ae11c so eager to buy 2f1bd0edbd it?d3ef938f638d2751

The only thing that stood 910996d267 out was a stroke treatment e939964afc drug, Cortinarexin, which was essentially 8224c0f37a the company’s backbone.f18e0381853e0885

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“I think it’s because of their stroke treatment drug, Cortinarexin.”4ee27cc0c80297c8

It was a 66ec1d355c reasonable assumption—Alphamic didn’t bc0aa40e78 have a stroke 0b0c8f4896 drug—but it was 0a55d6c100 ultimately just her dfcf5c7f72 opinion.1a26362e7495ee44

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Cortinarexin was patented, 03754cd810 so there were 2775049818 no generics or 6a9191d880 copycat drugs. It had even 109c5ac7f9 been approved by 174754d7f1 the U.S. FDA and was bbd84e32c3 being exported to 40643cffcb the States at bc2e76a37c a high price.8ba5e6cf64fd637a

But then again, 32d4d20c6d maybe the drug daa5423430 wasn’t that effective, 949c051e6c or perhaps it b1a110f7cd was simply because 2aea527e38 it was made d1e166d8ce by a domestic a899008633 pharmaceutical company—sales weren’t 940e8b45bc exactly booming.d5b3d5ed8797f6f9

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“Then why that drug, specifically?”810445bb684a814b

“I’m sorry. I haven’t been able to figure that part out yet.”622d529864937a17

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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?”e8777dc9423f5076

Just then, a 5874802886 sudden knock interrupted f8d106ec36 the meeting—it was cf3695e837 Shin Seongho’s secretary, 3334c86a31 who rarely intruded 744ce24743 during meetings, sounding c07216b588 urgent.b919869bb47b5c5c

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“What is it?”93017229ba04e66a

Despite the irritated 1dba5ec442 tone, Secretary Choi 2c0d75d451 hurried over and 849007d13d whispered something into 4d0824e611 his ear, prompting 4eee8a1226 Seongho to mutter 8a0a563cc5 a quiet curse.f78f2b38a33a31a8

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“…Someone from Alphamic is coming. Let’s meet and talk with them.”6ecbbece73eca92d

Normally, an unannounced visit 34b6e48888 like this would’ve irritated bfe83463f5 him. But this visitor was clearly b4a8905f95 a big shot—so instead, he c6c20375a2 silently straightened his wrinkled suit.e3621b77bd23134f

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Through the glass 717f9b3ab9 walls of the e10d4bc4e5 meeting room, they 9f9f562ece could see a c52b041799 tall white man a2fd924b6a walking toward them. Alphamic’s headquarters were in f0a1724146 the U.S., and the bfd62d1367 company’s owner was a 2a7c0032f3 Korean-American. They assumed it was a 051e272481 senior executive.62162336ab6bdf1c

The man who 107ed95c62 opened the door 0feb41b08a didn’t step in 385346650b right away. Instead, he stepped aside. Behind him, a man even a4eae702bc taller entered the meeting room.bcfbf69ddb9d5f50

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Hyewon’s eyes were drawn 79cf8fb29a to his chest before 59d2bec3ac his face—he was tall, 3193bd22ab well-built, with a commanding 5da9fb861c physical presence.87716cb9b143bd00

“Oh my god…”2fe19b5d59887d74

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Attorney Lee Chaewon, 239f85c2fa a fourth-year team 330b09aa0c member, muttered under f37c9fb6b1 her breath without e7d8118da0 thinking. Hyewon glanced at her 8d99b8191c and then slowly raised aed02ef857 her gaze.eaeb9c614c02b31b

She nearly screamed—but cc09b9bfec bit down on fa9155d5de the inside of 611fb14cf6 her cheek just eb40538953 in time. She couldn’t stop a625704a50 her body from 842495c6b5 flinching. Her hand trembled as she 065b647fae gripped her pen so tightly 5be9d6a731 her nails dug into her 1863ce39ac palm.16f050b36dad6cb0

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This is insane.
A rent boy from Las 30302aaef0 Vegas—the kind who sold his 28edd2e10b body—was standing in front of 1cbc2ed82b her.de15ea2cf3c98457

The white man, who 8a68f8567b had entered just after 517e18e7eb the other, introduced the 60202b0250 man in fluent Korean.36a02df178b3f083

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“This is Alphamic’s Vice President.”dd8af312ba8bb1bd

Her vision blurred, 04a68034fd and she had 8ff22b968f to steady her 26443aefaf legs to keep 704b3fce96 from collapsing.89c95cd5ebf9ef6e

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Hyewon ran through 420019b9ce all kinds of 9dd89feac3 possible explanations to 570e4f1e8f make sense of 97ef56feed what she was f1592219c3 seeing.2aef6cde42bfe641

Maybe it was 10d5ad059b someone who just 93b24a329f lookedexactlylike the man she’d seen f1ffff8c98 that night in Las Vegas. But could there 66f82554ed be another man cae91dc631 out there who fc4784442d looked that flawless? Could it be a twin? But she hadn’t f99d4e94f0 come across anything e96ca9d8fb about Alphamic’s owners 5ac85e4039 having a twin 861350e0e1 in her research.b05ea210f77c87c0

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Then—was he doing da62facd75 that kind of e8919620f0 work on the eed3fad26f side, despite his 7802e4fe98 looks?52bdcd7c7967f421

One of the owners of c03f0dd5bc a company worth 400 trillion 0f799d0af8 won? Seriously…?eb1c5918c7f1dc77

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No, maybe it 9205ebb5d8 was just some 6faac453ed bizarre quirk of ae41d46785 his. It was impossible to c7e67b984b rationally understand all of 906a97f5bc this, so perhaps that 501d77705c was the only explanation.5300cb4d9a652d0b

No matter how much c37da9888a she tried, she couldn’t c5483e0b80 accept why he had 8ff24e071d done that kind of 934f362021 work—or why he had 6956c11db2 to appearhere, of all places.f56e59364ad47eb4

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But the situation was b53ea89d35 what it was now. All she could c2f224ac92 hope was that afd1b97db4 he didn’t remember 1c5a7716df her. Surely, he had met e0153f328c countless women since then—there 8a4b412001 was no way he’d c3fc33095b rememberher. That thought allowed 941ef121b9 her to breathe f693e84580 a little easier.55cb9bf334e21912

“I’m Park Taeshin.”0614f79de52872ff

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He introduced himself 5756b68059 briefly in flawless 641a6d9914 Korean pronunciation. Soon after, Lawyer Shin addbad8298 Seongho began exchanging words 7cbf88b76b with the man who 9a4b1534b9 was supposedly the vice 64f0ad74ed president, and team member 5d0c4f8d5c introductions followed.b4ebec09d9c0b526

“These are the members of our team who will be working with Alphamic going forward.”00686857fbe757b7

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As her turn approached, 004ebf28ec Hyewon’s heart pounded and 1e6dab94d2 her stomach churned like 0185665454 she was about to 24023f926c be sick. She moistened her dry db8397f2ac lips and steadied her 9675b96303 trembling voice.2c69210ff3263067

“…I’m Lawyer Yoon Hyewon.”18e4a24399be589e

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She spoke calmly and 1b49930831 even bowed slightly as e92fac9230 if everything were normal. But she didn’t have the 3e7331042c courage to make eye contact f3d2b1ffaa with him.d4f4549e094859a0

She could feel his 5ee62f2d3a gaze briefly touch her, 13ee660cb9 like he didn’t think 6ad3706232 much of it, and d5ab694e31 then fall away. Believing that he didn’t recognize 11cc015395 her, she let out a de47c1cb7b breath she hadn’t realized she’d e8e8d484dc been holding.58c39dc1a7075cb9

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He leaned back 1a90e5bc46 into the chair 923d09deca at the head cb371e0174 of the table 9238c89d55 with a somewhat b8d252dc2f arrogant posture.36b4c0d0d52c6853

“How far along are the preparations?”9d5e764c719c1c42

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The lazy yet chilly question b378c94e75 made Lawyer Shin’s face tense.77206fb790e134f8

“…In fact, we’ve made contact with Joseung Pharma, but they’re still skeptical, so we may need a bit more time.”43b9b515be11ee6f

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“Oh, so they don’t want to sell? Is that what you’re saying?”df5ecbcf082ed675

“Yes, that’s the situation at the moment.”abfa221f98c52ed6

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“Why? That offer seems quite generous.”4917cb63dcf6b847

He spoke as casually 086acca4c9 as if he were e6ab5ed83a buying groceries at a 77a5d0c3ea supermarket, but they were 63d3bdd41e talking about a 600 7072b6505c billion won acquisition. Moreover, it wasn’t a deal 5eafc1cb7f through the Korean branch of 9eb1bfc461 Alphamic—it was directly with Alphamic d0508802da headquarters, which made the legal f28f8c9d9c intricacies even more complex.79b15cab200e5e16

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He silently looked at Lawyer 851aa10575 Shin. His gaze carried a d7cf4d5787 clear rebuke, as if d5050aaf5c questioning whether he was 76f065b8ee really incapable of handling 845b3951b0 something so basic.c600f884a436f8c5

“Joseung Pharma is a privately held company, and all the shares are divided among members of the founding family. Particularly, the CEO, Seo 78eb8aa0cf Piljoong, who owns the 10c1397542 largest share, is extremely 529d11dba8 firm in his decision…”54f21a326b2e131a

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Cutting him off d71d981c67 mid-sentence, the man 92512fe285 replied flatly.a8be36c07afd788a

“That’s your mess to deal with. I want this a1e72b7776 company, so make 4b7f9a7e7d it happen. Isn’t that what this 6a30d2ea3b whole deal was for?”b117d335dc75647a

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It was the first b2ea94a8a3 time Hyewon had seen d6be538b0b her team leader this 5e3b8e0dc4 nervous, and it made 8056af4180 her realize that nothing e2797aa18b about this project was 0820202a78 going to be easy. She lowered her gaze, unable 0220ae489d to look at Lawyer Shin.6ad1f688e0f4c328

She began absentmindedly scribbling with 858eb7bfc9 her pen, her thoughts circling 0f6bf2102f back to Joseung Pharma. Was the company really worth d5e88d9186 600 billion won? And why were 3ff916ec7c they refusing the c1a33615d0 buyout?53b7a8837977376c

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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?0765a06700879cdf

“But during sex…”38618a551f8fa00d

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The words rang out b719f0f279 in the quiet room, 9ec10c5b62 and Hyewon flinched in 83e173b62e shock. For a moment, she thought 4a3eedfe06 their eyes had met as 61614197f5 he glanced over—but convinced herself d4ac1d2d99 it was just her imagination.d6a468a10cffee1b

He muttered in ae11cfcfb0 a biting, mocking d37897cee1 tone.c1ac55a5e5457b1b

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