FL 5

Once she walked far enough 413ad70a3d that Saheonjae was no longer ed1b5366b6 in sight, still tense, she 3bdf4067aa felt like she might throw c8e9db63a3 up. She swallowed the 33cc8b2c1d burning sensation rising cd90683164 in her throat. She still didn’t know 8f27b06366 whether the feeling was c0acb777f0 misery or anger.6029cbdf5a089699

She had to go 2e717edf8d home, unpack, and get 12f650948f some rest before work 94914ecb44 tomorrow. But instead, Hyewon just bd2ff26d0c stood there like a ab2c201e75 lost child.63a228b2dba70053

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After hesitating at ad6abe5e7c the bus stop, 30b320f8c0 she eventually took fe00cb54b5 out her phone. As she composed herself to 9e943c3aa4 speak, a faint and weak 6038b10892 voice came through.f8ea9cb4528cc715

“Yeah. Mom.”7c547cf457405c55

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— Did you… get 56723f20a0 back safely from 6b66c9ac13 the States?32d62d68c9292ce1

“Mm. It was just… 7100d04d54 for work, so 4473e765f9 yeah.”2bd0d013771ab1fa

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Well, not really for work. It was actually 5268a409a4 a client’s wedding, 63e4f874b3 Mom. She’s the daughter 82e85f897e of a chaebol, cf21780bf6 and maybe because cb0dd3ccd8 of that, she’s 97598d3299 carefree and generous ccd488f7a5 when it comes 6d9b30c66a to spending money 55fa490a6a on people she f517bf609e likes. I got to see 5a717e9676 Las Vegas thanks to 6ddfcb1a34 her.8aeab9d5f79acb57

And Mom, this is a 00c3efccde real secret—but I hit the ee50c15c55 jackpot. I think I’ll 75522602df be able to ecf03f516b pay back Grandpa’s f3084ec313 loan in one b9d380d5a0 go soon. Oh, and I also 0ce568ccc1 met an unbelievably handsome 41c462a57d guy I’ll probably never ba2c0bf2cc see again.053fadb82374eebb

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She held back the b4dd785a1b words she actually wanted 04a562a304 to say.c4c667369102a412

“How are you feeling, Mom?”4a36eefb239ca0bf

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— Same as always… e455fb46f8 Are you coming efe494a3bd back from there 25e58d7029 just now?a2d5c4b33d1f3676

Her mother’s voice carried 63c72ca2dc a mix of hope 2b503d6d01 and fear. It was clear which note e55b5809c0 she needed to play along 68697f8833 with. Years of experience had 0361d42382 made her response automatic.25e81c26b72aa2a8

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“Yeah. Grandpa was proud of me.”866a518595747412

Even as she spoke, 0bbeef5e72 she couldn’t help feeling 2101ec7f94 a little pathetic for c79f9e3f64 telling such childish lies 30d16c901f to her own mother.1564f49a95907c65

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“I changed his inkstone, played a game of Go with him—of course, I won.”d3acf24d4c5a27dc

Her words must’ve made 1a64f16fe8 it sound like they 0005cc9567 were a normal, close-knit 6bc488db57 family. She heard her mother laugh.29aeb9f6e0e7c107

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— You should let him win a89323d454 sometimes. I don’t know who you d30111d66d get that competitive streak from…28428f86b25542d8

No matter how much her 184ec5f385 mom wanted to hear it, 18269516d9 she couldn’t bring herself to f19731c7bf say something thoughtless like,“I got it from Cha Yoonbeom.”a086a5bbd0edd0c1

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“Right… I’ll come visit you in Yangpyeong when I get a break. Make sure to take your 4b8a21659b meds. It’s getting colder between day 8f8e1a3739 and night, so watch out c889e9f2ba for colds. Listen to your cb0f045e97 nurse too, okay?”c7a49b266dbb84e4

— Honestly, I don’t know 55e502112f who’s the mom here…d0244facca0f6f43

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Hyewon kept her 7998c6edb4 voice bright until e4e2bebc28 the very end.b4d4ab66c12ce7b6

 9b1482c3d562813f

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＊＊＊95874c8b487f21da

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.a6be17f4437b7daf

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“Attorney Yoon, what about the materials I asked for?”c35a8272618e9c11

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,0872c450d462a59e

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“I’ve also sent them to you by email.”9118fb7d09b669d8

Global pharmaceutical company Alphamic was f0d004f8c6 quietly working to acquire a e849eb921b Korean company called Joseung Pharm. Attorney Shin Seongho had 057a0cb613 staked everything on this 8fc419ce10 project.fbc1ebdf4d0aaf59

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If the acquisition ce1c545fa9 of Joseung Pharm 9078f7ba15 by Alphamic went c726fbe750 smoothly, he was 341d036af6 set to take b54e558136 over as the b1dcc4a1fc head of HaePyung’s 5eb33d9e6c Singapore office. The money was good, a64638fbe9 but that wasn’t the 044cad3d5d real prize—it was the d82d34964e most important reward.250e6b163cd3516c

Four team members 5e38db9125 sat in the d1da89855a meeting room, watching 6bf1911c2c Seongho nervously. He had been 33c8ba0cc4 easygoing at the c64c293c02 start of the 4e00dc1b58 project, but lately, ee3f707a22 his demeanor had 06bcae81da become razor-sharp. Even Hyewon, though keeping a 3a82f7fcc5 calm expression, couldn’t help but e85fb5ea4c feel tense.4c44a50ec41dd7b7

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They had to review Joseung e7b33ea525 Pharm’s financial statements, analyze business 4c4234eb07 trends, understand its ownership structure, 4212e3aad4 and even be thoroughly familiar 42e4cec216 with its drugs and mechanisms 26e90e1b62 of action.d7d4e16b4efa81b1

Shin Seongho, clearly displeased, anxiously 9b06cf5b0d rubbed his lips.6c00056c0ea35191

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“Attorney Yoon, think carefully before you answer.”cbf62fb655abfe9a

“…Yes.”7a30902fec7eec77

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“Why do you think Alphamic is so intent on acquiring Joseung Pharm?”50a2cd31bcc6f159

She understood the question—but df929a08b1 to be honest, she d07121a317 didn’t know. More accurately, she hadn’t 9ee4c10779 figured it out yet.008e7b94205ce48e

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Joseung Pharm was a run-of-the-mill 93ede664f1 mid-sized pharmaceutical company that sold c334591cec products like probiotics, osteoporosis treatments, 4fd49e4864 and oxygen generators. Its market cap barely 8d467e011e reached 100 billion won. So why was Alphamic 95ef9b8c26 so eager to buy 8b5ebc2a2b it?010872d4de951f43

The only thing that stood 9b9b0a4760 out was a stroke treatment b4857952ff drug, Cortinarexin, which was essentially 719d851296 the company’s backbone.c54f70d41485ec2e

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“I think it’s because of their stroke treatment drug, Cortinarexin.”69c9df05075b4212

It was a reasonable assumption—Alphamic fa44049824 didn’t have a stroke drug—but 9e5c998fe2 it was ultimately just her 2f6f29acfb opinion.6035f5134a2b9ce1

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Cortinarexin was patented, so 2ff2051225 there were no generics 51096393f1 or copycat drugs. It had even cdbc2385ca been approved by c4e2c752d6 the U.S. FDA and was being exported a11a0af95a to the States at a b02358606e high price.328ff5e235a9b22c

But then again, maybe the 0ae755eaab drug wasn’t that effective, or d64f8c565f perhaps it was simply because 568403821a it was made by a 0872503abc domestic pharmaceutical company—sales weren’t exactly 3757b54fc7 booming.6878cff111a97842

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“Then why that drug, specifically?”a51c6852a9d4a844

“I’m sorry. I haven’t been able to figure that part out yet.”96ea6392a4a42a1c

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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?”3b3fd649578535bc

Just then, a d5d939b6c2 sudden knock interrupted da1f969d9d the meeting—it was e9e463d449 Shin Seongho’s secretary, 97344cbcaf who rarely intruded 07270a2941 during meetings, sounding 6cb55c72eb urgent.13a2886059282890

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“What is it?”ecae7f667ca61303

Despite the irritated tone, Secretary 38e07c9ab7 Choi hurried over and whispered ac9d953ef1 something into his ear, prompting 08e6cb3998 Seongho to mutter a quiet 19ceed7f23 curse.17db4fef931670b3

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“…Someone from Alphamic is coming. Let’s meet and talk with them.”90a0e8176ef65252

Normally, an unannounced visit like bcb79e8549 this would’ve irritated him. But this visitor 53fc3acc45 was clearly a 273b0bc261 big shot—so instead, 062e6f0904 he silently straightened 009187afd7 his wrinkled suit.21bc6755546d0a57

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Through the glass walls of 3d0b431b8a the meeting room, they could 8e6f8160a6 see a tall white man 4ba7d3029a walking toward them. Alphamic’s headquarters were in the c52ea85f92 U.S., and the company’s owner b55efba5f3 was a Korean-American. They assumed it was d8c1ba742c a senior executive.6f6718d8db9cb183

The man who opened f0a7f02c0e the door didn’t step a111d8024c in right away. Instead, he stepped aside. Behind him, a man 12cc2ecd50 even taller entered the b486e7cdee meeting room.767964e84aa5714e

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Hyewon’s eyes were drawn to 0256b35bca his chest before his face—he 692febadf4 was tall, well-built, with a a4b5285952 commanding physical presence.e9f667016f4c88b6

“Oh my god…”8bcd3dbe4419239f

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Attorney Lee Chaewon, a 375f292b6b fourth-year team member, muttered 67933ccdff under her breath without 982ef22ac4 thinking. Hyewon glanced at her 0cd58c001a and then slowly raised df2d20c4a2 her gaze.c21f5ad68f543bf7

She nearly screamed—but bit down c8b4b79d31 on the inside of her 5f683814f2 cheek just in time. She couldn’t stop 69a55ed7de her body from d6831c9aaf flinching. Her hand trembled df12d85c1d as she gripped 03d5a21a97 her pen so 08669b8e95 tightly her nails b9b0b771ab dug into her 969fad40e7 palm.b93ac00f6c620226

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This is insane.
A rent boy from bd4f37bbf8 Las Vegas—the kind who e7ad1db4cd sold his body—was standing e2a32a9275 in front of her.01b718330348a017

The white man, who had e936b5c5ac entered just after the other, 251327e2cb introduced the man in fluent 2ae80b1142 Korean.3bbd6f6074d02bac

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“This is Alphamic’s Vice President.”3bae90965386001f

Her vision blurred, and she 27123a3182 had to steady her legs 74e11f9939 to keep from collapsing.174b759aafd5016d

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Hyewon ran through all kinds 59626e306c of possible explanations to make cec2249bd1 sense of what she was 89b91e5188 seeing.fd4a558aba03f0e4

Maybe it was 850b03af76 someone who just a7bf948b11 lookedexactlylike the man she’d seen 3fd8bfb90a that night in Las Vegas. But could there be another 43449b66f9 man out there who looked 90aaf72a39 that flawless? Could it be a twin? But she hadn’t come 606212e846 across anything about Alphamic’s 45ff0ba56d owners having a twin 564881f9ae in her research.d729b468a8769873

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Then—was he doing that kind 049d2f19f8 of work on the side, 441336b5e8 despite his looks?5419cf85522ad108

One of the owners 34b323fe33 of a company worth 14e6fc119b 400 trillion won? Seriously…?a00d20e2fead712d

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No, maybe it was just 6f28c14632 some bizarre quirk of his. It was impossible b881296dee to rationally understand c9bd7cb2d0 all of this, a2704c67f3 so perhaps that 44a49b01b9 was the only 1edd71966d explanation.2d0b612f5f19a0a4

No matter how much she b05573dd31 tried, she couldn’t accept why 45bbe34591 he had done that kind 6da2170250 of work—or why he had c2be53942c to appearhere, of all places.2cdb2a45b3006116

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But the situation was 14ac5d9f3c what it was now. All she could hope 0da40ce7a4 was that he didn’t f5d32c7b8d remember her. Surely, he had met countless ea0258e6db women since then—there was no 78c04a384d way he’d rememberher. That thought allowed d236ddfd5b her to breathe c7dc3437e5 a little easier.70f93e401d607119

“I’m Park Taeshin.”d26036f381411617

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He introduced himself 169b231f18 briefly in flawless f39b6500a7 Korean pronunciation. Soon after, Lawyer Shin Seongho 8542a26a54 began exchanging words with the 1129b16cc6 man who was supposedly the 8def964bfb vice president, and team member 3dd4f17f92 introductions followed.8be56462ddaada35

“These are the members of our team who will be working with Alphamic going forward.”1ae889a895068762

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As her turn approached, Hyewon’s f5e1670645 heart pounded and her stomach 9f10423e20 churned like she was about 4f91221677 to be sick. She moistened her dry 20d40d3a8d lips and steadied her 3bbda521b4 trembling voice.37389a5429995422

“…I’m Lawyer Yoon Hyewon.”db56395dff369649

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She spoke calmly and 026cd2596d even bowed slightly as 3b81aaaef9 if everything were normal. But she didn’t 98e9cf800a have the courage 2edd268747 to make eye bf1049aace contact with him.313767a82f350009

She could feel his gaze 4fa1ccadfa briefly touch her, like he ac6279b34a didn’t think much of it, 1a51571940 and then fall away. Believing that he 121e3b9cd3 didn’t recognize her, a5900c52b7 she let out 5c62266add a breath she 251fe17b33 hadn’t realized she’d 1e1841fb09 been holding.e14d1d8b56e6b6a6

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He leaned back into the c1e4c815e0 chair at the head of a2a4a98337 the table with a somewhat 1325df8a36 arrogant posture.2f07523fc9b4884e

“How far along are the preparations?”0c382c49d6be49f1

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The lazy yet chilly 12b3bbd323 question made Lawyer Shin’s 6fe16cbc2a face tense.ac0609c99b2c886b

“…In fact, we’ve made contact with Joseung Pharma, but they’re still skeptical, so we may need a bit more time.”5035352c092627ad

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“Oh, so they don’t want to sell? Is that what you’re saying?”61fd05db828fb158

“Yes, that’s the situation at the moment.”215b6f60396b5e4b

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“Why? That offer seems quite generous.”c953067f4503d4ed

He spoke as casually d5fb74f15b as if he were 09bdf29bce buying groceries at a e94cdc1f3b supermarket, but they were 7f55f34989 talking about a 600 b450d2daa2 billion won acquisition. Moreover, it wasn’t d7709fcca2 a deal through 71d4065618 the Korean branch 5f3a408763 of Alphamic—it was b447248998 directly with Alphamic 26d9f105fb headquarters, which made 945a5bf140 the legal intricacies 530ad84197 even more complex.938ab2d6745a967d

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He silently looked at Lawyer 3a13688571 Shin. His gaze carried a 68593fd7d0 clear rebuke, as if ff5a8b7878 questioning whether he was b712076730 really incapable of handling 44418c808a something so basic.fccdddd4661e2d39

“Joseung Pharma is a privately held company, and all the shares are divided among members of the founding family. Particularly, the CEO, Seo d6dea7070d Piljoong, who owns the ca9d1f4d4f largest share, is extremely bdf9e0edc9 firm in his decision…”91a7da635ba79a65

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Cutting him off mid-sentence, the 8b56956cab man replied flatly.b989f77bb1e9d718

“That’s your mess to deal with. I want this company, so 2a744bfa68 make it happen. Isn’t that what this whole 2fc64445c0 deal was for?”78e7d774ab60feca

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It was the first eb7199b792 time Hyewon had seen c2dcc098e4 her team leader this 40436d27cd nervous, and it made 17987b69a0 her realize that nothing 0108a6771b about this project was 73cd595853 going to be easy. She lowered her 4846607137 gaze, unable to 7de9c56d16 look at Lawyer 12b6b15829 Shin.b3c7d2124b0af987

She began absentmindedly scribbling with eb6bf41887 her pen, her thoughts circling 5d310a470d back to Joseung Pharma. Was the company really worth 0caf0c9ee2 600 billion won? And why were they refusing 94c7f66642 the buyout?3044a4a5a889683e

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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?66fe60f2bfe7223b

“But during sex…”df4a54520ec56ce3

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The words rang out in ed2b1fda47 the quiet room, and Hyewon f4a4a8fe2a flinched in shock. For a moment, she ab0866a4ce thought their eyes had 76410ef349 met as he glanced 1f5c5424df over—but convinced herself it 744a43a784 was just her imagination.e770d8d381378137

He muttered in a biting, be719cc961 mocking tone.47ecfdf791ef0360

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