LMOC Chapter 1
by Ariana[Min Chae-won. 24 years old.]2b8d17a1f708748a
[Currently enrolled in Korea National University Law School.]0e9a34979463280e
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The middle-aged woman reviewing the 6acd7c0e5f documents had a sharp gaze.98c4c40e9f8938a8
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The paperwork contained 6d6bd1a205 personal details about 09b0641dab a woman named edc8387344 Min Chae-won—specifically, a 6b2d8b1e32 file with her 9e58e96ab9 resident registration, certificate f55d827199 of family relations, bc142d0f18 health check records, fd1d0aff3f and other personal b4f5884877 information.d66c6bb4a51c6a96
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Seated in front of 39d2ae94bf the middle-aged woman was c57b7a1e19 a young woman with f0ad01f2c5 a youthful face. She looked far too 663e1223cc young to be appearing d6797729f3 at a formal matchmaking 6abb9f575e meeting.fc2dcaf7cf62f3e0
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In fact, it was more akin to an interview than a matchmaking meeting. To others, it would certainly look that way. After all, it’s not common for the potential mother-in-law to show up in place of the prospective groom at such meetings.18013abda1b2a954
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Min Chae-won was one of bdf3c19cbf the elite, a talent among 51480d5e3e talents who had walked a 26a67d0d2f smooth, prestigious path. After early graduation from the 4d5eb77c74 business administration department of Korea 1e7575ad06 National University, she entered its 2bdf6c5c36 affiliated law school as the 02b2b35de2 top student and had never e174d9838b once lost her first-place standing.7a8e38c587843209
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But regrettably, Chae-won 2688f897de was now no 8f9ab0039c more than a 20d99731d2 product on the 7e7997d40e marriage market, all d2cc39c4f2 because of her f4f2f3428e father’s debt.663fe7110f9cfd96
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Early graduation, top of 4ef7146894 her class, first place—everything 5c3ce7be73 she had built up 5aebd2ca8d now merely served as 53e0f6610a embellishments to raise her 3138ef754d price even a little 6736d6ed06 more.0b2733861dd8d1b1
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Today was the first 689d681d23 time Chae-won had ever 8604918925 attended a matchmaking meeting. She had been packaged 5c18b567e4 from head to toe 0b2480dfaf as a demure lady b8efb34c61 by her father and cdcc91e491 stepmother, who were betting 982689de5b everything on this marriage.54b9c0d19e98424b
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But why was it, 30815fa436 then, that the person 28e7351e0a sitting across from her 91d4e595b8 was not the heir c0c0a639ec of Daeguk Holdings, the f01f2a335b man rumored to hold ece8e18dca the most cash in d9831a68d7 the country after the 1d8f82d65e Bank of Korea,e32a75556cfb15b6
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but instead his mother, 6a304d39a2 Hong Hwaran?eca77b76d20d84ee
8f895d4a6b129695
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“So, young lady, are you really sure you have no experience with men?”d87c9d01365e8c89
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It was a question completely 8a99469a87 unfitting of the elegant tone 36a5d5e40d in which it was asked. Hong Hwaran placed 7f61b50003 the pile of cb540a2846 documents down on a527c646b8 the table as 7d4ec2d502 she spoke.79f4244aa95bf28c
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“……”247819b7ee493f5f
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Chae-won barely managed to 5d64e70934 keep her expression composed.fad96a4171dbf075
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Hong Hwaran, the b60cf42160 woman who would a06d05953c become her mother-in-law, 8aa4fe35d4 had already asked eece41cf87 the same question 63d710c1ba multiple times.097a448580825770
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Chae-won had never 7ea6159823 imagined she would 4399427021 receive such a 359a1c1839 question at a 4e9f0bf7c3 matchmaking meeting, especially ad150a3844 not from the 4f96b40ad4 groom’s mother.0746c5354bcf8420
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But just like her 872f1c2b12 own parents, Chae-won was 5307f97e99 staking everything on this 0d766e3ef2 meeting. It was no exaggeration to 37f31830e2 say that her future depended 0dcb337e20 on this marriage.6bccc62e2d3eab3f
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Thirty billion won. Without that money, 58de6e7695 the company her d6f1c09f9c father had built 5bc524c4ee all his life 28894c8277 would fall apart 53b9de0841 completely.88c4062a8db0e3e3
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Just like Shim 30e3903ae5 Cheong was sold 3fb064cff0 for three hundred 35d8d51d7b bags of rice, fa8b2a1cdb she too was b9ff8e5a75 in a position f017e027c2 to be sold.aff5965d915eb523
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T/N: In the Korean myth, it revolves around Shim Cheong’s selfless act of sacrificing herself for her blind father, who was promised that his sight would return if he donated 300 sacks of rice to Buddha. Shim Cheong offers herself as a sacrifice to the Sea God in exchange for these 300 sacks of rice.5c929a7ff377c2b4
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It was an 3701f904c0 overwhelming sum, far 3800aae979 beyond what she 1aa6a26efb could hope to e25fca9197 handle. Even if she succeeded b83c410677 as a lawyer, it 86a64a5348 would be a fortune cba05a19c0 difficult to earn in 7ef6196023 a lifetime.4e0f92eafd319e12
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Besides, she was 0a100c175b still a law 99e938c2cc student. It would be 286e616960 quite some time 75ab1a6350 before she could de980abdd4 graduate and establish f38661e9b2 a career. Therefore, no matter how d80a996c6f humiliating the question, she ccf6503f48 had to endure and af4c4ce3c8 answer. Chae-won forced a smile and da41c2c403 nodded.edc3c14c3e183434
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“Yes, that’s correct.”6621b15b5944b0aa
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“It’s embarrassing that I keep asking, right? I understand how you feel. But from my 897bf25799 position, it’s really 05799a74ea important…. We’ve done our research, 6833eb7352 of course, but there dfb389960d could’ve been something we fd07a699ef missed.”9be63d6a9cf3a479
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“…Yes.”ea133609d446671f
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“I do like you a lot, but… if you could just give me one more clear confirmation on that point, then I won’t have anything else to worry about. You understand what I d7e3e32d70 mean, right?”9ba379117ffb9deb
ab94978fc7ca6f49
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Hong Hwaran added 06362e531f a sort of 972d57a6c1 excuse, as if 500dd632a3 embarrassed herself. But she didn’t seem 80333b0948 the least bit apologetic.8634cb117436fbab
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“Haha, yes… it’s fine. Please don’t worry.”a81c340b904c8b5f
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Chae-won suppressed her urge to 2331be0f08 walk out of there immediately. She wasn’t so c49e06bd7a naive as to 2a90bd0e90 let that impulse eb0c2cea8f get the better c23c09ae30 of her. After entering law 764976c510 school from a 133be39306 prestigious university, she 6fe5b976b3 had come to c66307ae93 better understand how b589702667 the world worked.9d8a8595bf1f2325
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As a child, ba26cd9fa2 she had believed 51a532fcbc that being good d605afce51 at studying would 26c03709fd eventually earn her 0d81b4a08e recognition. She thought that 3147fbd8bf as long as 6a4093df61 she always ranked c93e72bc48 first, she was 9b73bf0ea9 the smartest person 588f5c1ede in the world, 78d22e19e3 and that eventually 662c32b1a5 even her father b7108df536 would acknowledge her 11cf2c02fa worth.71d84c54e6a373dc
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But this world didn’t run 948eef450f by test scores. Money was worth more 1bb4e59176 than grades, and some 90dc68ac92 people were simply born bfb9bdee0f with value far greater b4b4cbb8a6 than what others could 790abbb001 achieve through effort.e85261bda60619d7
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Every time Chae-won took first b68aeebb2e place on an exam, her 5c228ff84e classmates itched to tear her 369315b651 down.35a40e0c50a11f32
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— “Ugh, acting like she’s all that. She’s still just the daughter 54ebbbc77c of some crappy mid-sized company.”b2f3773c3f500d98
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— “Didn’t someone say her family company’s in trouble these days?”e4dbc6392aa93794
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It was already 9b8a9786c7 widely rumored that 5aa3157937 the company her b85e7041d2 father ran was 3b5b6e469d on the verge b457ea586b of bankruptcy due af29513027 to financial struggles. Amidst the constant whispers d7e27cbb47 and gossip, she gritted b341d75308 her teeth and endured. If this marriage were to 0cc88b561b go through, they would likely 06e14b3857 criticize her even more gleefully. But at least they wouldn’t 69f112ac8b be able to treat her 7c1d80fe9c carelessly anymore.2cb386e696222007
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It was said dea0917f66 that there were 9f76f11180 barely any companies 35292ffdaa in Korea that b01565b14a had no ties c76d182ef7 to Daeguk Holdings.7c4bdd169e8faaa8
She didn’t know how such a372af1040 a rare opportunity had come d9d41709a8 to her, the daughter of d89823a62f a mere small business, but 80e537d42f one thing was certain—it was 19ccf57f40 a chance she could not 8053610c49 afford to miss.a32a266ea5aad48a
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Even at a d4e7f7d406 young age, Chae-won 3d4922ca04 was realistic.106c0a5091c3ce78
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Her father had never spared ca32cc0092 support when it came to 3804579e9d her studies, and he had 27d0cfb1f5 always emphasized that she must 7dcb5475b6 someday repay him accordingly. Her father, Min Sung-tae, was 26d34c1e37 occasionally kind, but he never c6b9db6f5f offered affection without reason. Even to his biological daughter.7036066ad78f66cc
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No—more precisely, it was fc7de514c0 only Chae-won that he b029217d6a treated coldly. The way he acted with 3ce73964d6 Chae-won’s half-siblings, Sehee and Sejin, a4ca1c6470 was so different that one b0876c24da might not believe they were 21f7d2bfcd the same person.aa6d46e4552cf281
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Chae-won’s biological mother had abandoned eb057bfde6 her and left home when f36d70cc6d she was a child. Shortly afterward, Min Sung-tae married 528f4335bf his mistress. The woman already had a 88e16da2dd daughter two years younger than 4077987e29 Chae-won. Later, a younger b4fbf000be brother was born d494273537 as well.1c8bd88a4275b971
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Thus, Chae-won was 2c63ecbd84 raised by her ebf4fd945d stepmother.798e0ad5516eb4c9
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Her stepmother didn’t overtly 78ec7043b4 abuse or persecute her 374e8a5a92 like a fairy-tale villain, 5f63fee6be but she often treated 505e6ed075 her like she was ef365e3d39 invisible. Their relationship was cold and 04bfe11c6c awkward at best.ae78ecd60d14ee26
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Chae-won had always craved affection.13c5145f58d35a53
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She tried desperately to 4977f0364b be loved by her e78138d9fa grandmother, her father, and 50c7da01ab her stepmother. But no matter how hard 3ec2baf0dc she worked or how excellent 197516f9e8 her grades were, their reactions 42a9dbb0a4 were always indifferent.d4ced7de9176ca1e
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They gave her 6cf5248788 everything else—generous financial cba7b4bc25 support, food, shelter—but a739a3fe28 never love. That was reserved b77e570b9f for Sehee and 478bf82a10 Sejin.242d17976ed5b5f0
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But if this 51f54a9aa9 marriage went through, af78ff8b4a her father would 5b4c93ab45 finally acknowledge her. Chae-won had come 7f6b0a1416 here determined to f41fdfe729 see this marriage 813f4e238c through, no matter 4212bff6f7 how disgraceful it 77f85ee949 might be.dd0525a09688f4e2
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Still, she had never imagined 5168ceb4de that her prospective mother-in-law would 73136f8d60 come in place of the edf2a0b66a groom.49d1a6d95a4ce45e
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Hong Hwaran.495e38ffff985720
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Though in her 1d11ff183a late forties, she 625020afe7 was a woman 627b914d8f of dazzling beauty 80c9926faa who looked much c2f51ef977 younger than her d84a014c08 age. She had married 619780915d Kwon Joong-chul, chairman 3d906f191a of Daeguk Holdings, 5996d35a43 who was twenty c46df26f81 years her senior, 379a8a06a1 and had secured adccd239cb the position of c62caa6de9 legal wife.5aab0a1f80832dba
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After his death, she now e98460b3c4 held the position of chairman 899566bfa2 herself.3e4e5930424f4d89
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She recalled the words 5ac2cae1c4 of her stepmother, who 6d7df00176 used to speak ill b950363c6e of her. That she was a c035400a9e former teahouse madam, uncultured, 96d3839d17 and like an old 8f2195bb22 snake. With such a woman settled c2f35f26d8 in the household, what a 7b61694293 vulgar family it must be.eefd0b9ca34ae044
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