Taming the Dangerous Lawyer Secretly (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 12

“Why personally defend a petty fraudster? Shouldn’t you stick to your firm’s lofty principles and just represent some powerful conglomerate instead?”

Though frustrated, since they’d happened to meet here by chance, it wasn’t a situation where he could officially intervene.

Cha Han Bin knew that too, which was why he hadn’t been intimidated even when he ran into Jun Hwi at the scene.

“Everyone has the right to legal representation. And you never know what life might bring—maybe even you, Prosecutor, will need a lawyer someday. Let’s not disrespect our firm like that.”

“I’m not disrespecting your firm—I’m disrespecting you personally. This seems like an issue concerning a lawyer’s professional ethics.”

“…….”

“Even after taking off my judicial robe, I’d never live a life chasing money and win records like some hollow clown.”

Jun Hwi deliberately provoked Cha Han Bin with his words.

The faint smile vanished from Cha Han Bin’s face as he headed toward his car. He’d already been irritated because things weren’t going smoothly, and now he’d run into the lead prosecutor—the very source of his troubles—of all people, in this place.

Cha Han Bin’s unusually stern eyes, now devoid of their usual brightness, flashed menacingly.

“Watch your words, Prosecutor Kwon.”

“How much did you pay, and how much did you invest in that witness?”

“…….”

“Looks like your client’s going to be furious. You spent money but still couldn’t get a ‘no suspicion’ disposition. Bring it on at the second hearing—I’ll crush you even harder.”

Cha Han Bin, who had been glaring sharply at Jun Hwi, suddenly stepped right up and blocked his path.

“Do you have proof?”

“I don’t need proof. People like you, who rely on cheap tricks, naturally get weeded out anyway.”

It was baffling how someone usually so mild-mannered could undergo such a complete 180—his eyes now fiercely bloodshot, even more brutal than before.

It had been a long time since someone stood up to Jun Hwi so boldly, face-to-face. Still, to Jun Hwi, Cha Han Bin was just another sheltered gentleman too afraid of failure to be taken seriously.

Jun Hwi coldly shoved Cha Han Bin aside by the shoulder and quietly warned him.

“……Don’t ever show your face in front of me again. Get lost.”

“You’re the one who shouldn’t block my path, Prosecutor.”

“Go on, then—go stroke the ego of your petty fraud client.”

Did Cha Han Bin curse after that? Whatever it was, Jun Hwi didn’t care.

Without waiting to hear the man’s final outburst, Jun Hwi turned around, started his engine, and deliberately brushed past Cha Han Bin, who stood right next to his car.

Ro And Yul’s office was quiet as usual.

The dinner party had passed without incident—so smoothly, in fact, that she barely remembered worrying about it—and she’d meticulously prepared the interview report over several days, completing approvals with ease.

Having made several trips to the evidence storage room, the morning had already slipped away. Yeon Woo returned to her seat, lightly patting her sore forearms from carrying heavy items.

“Hye Jin, could you please label the list for the new evidence items that came in today?”

“Yes, Senior. Also, while you were away, someone called three times looking for you. They said they’d just email you instead since they couldn’t reach you.”

“Okay, I’ll check.”

There must be others as impatient as Kwon Jun Hwi elsewhere in the corporate world. Yeon Woo clicked into her inbox without much concern.

[Inquiry Regarding Violation of Former Employee’s Non-Compete Agreement – Director Yoon Ji Woo, B Construction Human Resources Development Division]

“······.”

Ji Woo had indeed sent the email—clearly to meet Kwon Jun Hwi.

With a boyfriend she’s even considering marrying, what on earth was that girl scheming?

Though Yeon Woo could easily guess her intentions, this was a couple’s private matter—she had no reason to interfere. After all, as someone once said, meddling in others’ romantic affairs only invites disaster.

She’d handle Yoon Ji Woo’s case just like any other assignment—with strict professionalism.

Just as she resolved never to let personal bias affect her work and began printing the email, a voice called out.

“Senior! Kim Senior!”

I’m coming, I’m going!

It was as if he’d been waiting for her return the whole time—Jun Hwi’s voice snagged Yeon Woo by the collar as she walked back in.

“Are there any court dates this month I should know about?”

“I’ve marked them in your scheduler.”

If he wasn’t even going to look at her face after calling her over, why not just email? Yeon Woo quietly pouted as she glanced sideways at his profile fixed on the monitor.

“Also, Attorney, we have a new client inquiry.”

Jun Hwi, who’d been deeply focused, pressed his temple and turned his head toward Yeon Woo.

“What is it?”

“B Construction sent an inquiry regarding trade secrets.”

Please, please, please decline! You’re busy, Attorney!

Suddenly, Yoon Ji Woo’s annoying laugh echoed in her mind, and her earlier composure vanished. As he carefully read through the details, Yeon Woo’s true thoughts kept circling in her head.

Don’t think about it. She needed something else to distract herself.

Just then, she noticed his tidy, immaculate desk—his shirtsleeves rolled up, revealing his forearm.

Usually cluttered with stacks of files, ring binders, legal codes, and such, the desk was now surprisingly bare—clear enough to see the glass surface underneath. Yeon Woo’s eyes darted across his desk.

Below his dual monitors sat a small photo frame. It looked like a group photo of four or five people.

“Is that a family picture?”

Surprisingly sentimental of him to keep something like that out—so he wasn’t completely devoid of feeling after all.

As she tried her best to peek discreetly at the photo she couldn’t quite make out, Jun Hwi’s large hand picked up something in front of the frame.

‘……!’

Kwon Jun Hwi’s silver-rimmed glasses—the very thing that upgraded his handsome face exactly to Yeon Woo’s taste!

“Schedule a meeting. Tell them I’ll see them once. I’m fully booked from now until year-end—make it January.”

“Huh? Oh, okay…….”

Distracted by his refreshed, crisp appearance with the glasses on, she hadn’t heard properly.

“Um, Attorney, I’m sorry—when exactly did you say to schedule the meeting? I missed it. Sorry.”

In her attempt to avoid thinking about Yoon Ji Woo, Yeon Woo had ended up making an even worse blunder.

“I said January next year. The B Construction case you brought in.”

“What? You’re really meeting with B Construction?”

Ah—ruined. Her inner voice slipped out while she was off guard.

Jun Hwi raised an eyebrow. What right did a secretary have to question or interfere with an attorney’s meetings? That’s probably what he was thinking.

“Is there a reason why I shouldn’t?”

“No, no, not at all.”

“…….”

“…….”

If she wanted to brush this off, she’d better leave quickly. As she bowed slightly and turned to go, his low voice followed her.

“Senior Kim Yeon Woo.”

Ah—her approval tray! Yeon Woo instinctively reached out to grab the tray spinning in front of her eyes.

But the man was teasing her again with the tray as bait—as if he’d made it his mission today to torment her even more than the glasses had. He gripped the approval tray tightly, playfully refusing to let go.

She tugged the tray up and down, trying to wrest it from his tiger-like grip, until their eyes met—Jun Hwi, on the rare verge of laughter.

“What’s so funny—again?”

He cut off his sentence mid-way, gave a soft chuckle, and willingly surrendered, dramatically shrugging his shoulders and releasing both hands.

Snatching the approval tray from him, she dashed out in a hurry. Left alone, he scanned the room with a lingering smile on his face.

Honestly—what was there in this office that could possibly make someone blush again?

“Hello, Senior.”

“Oh my, you’re so dashing, Attorney Cha. It’s always such a shame every time I see you.”

As Cha Han Bin walked toward the opposite side of the office from where Yeon Woo sat, he ran into Attorney Yang Ju Yeon and greeted her warmly.

As always, Attorney Yang launched into another round of praise for his good looks and even better character.

“What’s so shameful, Senior?”

“My daughter’s too young. Attorney Cha, how would you feel about someone twenty-five years younger?”

“Oh—I think I’m the one who’d be turned down.”

He really went along with that again. Laughing heartily (“Puhaha!”), Attorney Yang stepped aside to give Yeon Woo and Cha Han Bin space to talk.

“Did you get home okay over the weekend? Sorry—I’ve been so busy I just now got around to asking about our conversation the other day.”

“Yeah, I got home fine. So I’ve been coming to work just as usual.”

Confirming that Yeon Woo’s mentoring junior secretary wasn’t seated behind her, Cha Han Bin asked gently. This was their first conversation since their uneasy parting in the dinner party parking lot.

“I heard Ji Woo scheduled a meeting with Attorney Kwon.”

“I didn’t think she’d actually go through with it. You should’ve talked her out of it.”

“How could I stop her? I just told her to go ahead. Attorney Kwon’s great at his job—it’ll be helpful for Ji Woo’s company too.”

He was such an objective, well-mannered, and kind person—so why did he call Han Bin oppa “disgusting” for no good reason?

“But you’re really not going to tell me?”

“Tell you what?”

“Why you went to the party together with Attorney Kwon? What’s your relationship?”

“I went there for work…… That’s all there is to it—nothing more to say.”

The cheerful light in Cha Han Bin’s eyes dimmed, casting a shadow over his face.

“I’m genuinely worried for you, Yeon Woo.”

“Oh, come on—it’s not like that at all.”

“Attorney Kwon Jun Hwi has a terrible reputation with women. The rumors are really bad.”

“What rumors?”

Suddenly lowering his voice, Cha Han Bin leaned closer, resting his elbow on Yeon Woo’s low desk partition. She, too, tensed up and leaned toward him.

“They say he even brought women into his office back when he was at the prosecution and partied indecently.”

“What? Seriously? That’s ridiculous.”

Even though Yeon Woo laughed it off, Cha Han Bin remained grave.

“Why would anyone choose an office or hotel when they could just go elsewhere—wait, no, does anyone actually believe this?”

“There are eyewitnesses. Be careful, Yeon Woo. Don’t ever fall for him.”

Fall for whom? She wanted to scoff—but instead, a million question marks crowded her mind.

Really? Him? …He didn’t seem like the type.

Suddenly, Cha Han Bin stopped mid-sentence and straightened his posture. His eyes had met Jun Hwi, who was walking toward his office from the opposite direction.

“Good morning, Attorney Kwon.”

True to form, Kwon Jun Hwi breezed past the greeting without acknowledgment. After a detached glance at Yeon Woo and Cha Han Bin standing together, he quickly strode past them.

“Anyway, it’s lunchtime now. Senior Kim, would you like to have lunch together today? Do you have other plans?”

“Huh? Out of nowhere? I don’t have any plans today…”

Caught off guard by the abrupt question, Yeon Woo momentarily forgot they were at work and replied as if he were just her neighborhood older brother.

Cha Han Bin, like any other attorney at Ro And Yul, usually had his lunch hours packed with meetings and client entertaining. This was the first time he’d ever spontaneously asked her to lunch the same day.

“Then let’s grab lunch together. Is there anything you feel like eating?”

“Hmm, I don’t know… What should we eat?”

“Senior Kim Yeon Woo!”

Had he been standing there all along? Leaning crookedly against the wall by his office door, Jun Hwi suddenly growled, cutting into their conversation.

Yeon Woo shot up like a spring.

“Coming right away.”

Just a moment—she signaled to Cha Han Bin with a quick glance, then hurried after him into his office, clutching her notepad and pen.

“Did you find it, Attorney?”

“The C Pharma confidential manufacturing data leak case—the evidence submission deadline is today, right?”

“Yes, it’s today.”

“Then why was the court notice missing?”

“Huh? …I printed it out immediately after receiving it from the court last week and placed it right on your desk. Didn’t you see it?”

She never missed routine tasks like this—Yeon Woo replied with certainty.

A thin crack appeared on the otherwise composed forehead of the man standing before her.

“It wasn’t there. That’s why I missed submitting additional evidence by today’s deadline.”

“But that… that can’t be right.”

Panicked, Yeon Woo quickly rushed to his desk and started flipping through the stack of files.

She could feel Jun Hwi’s steady gaze fixed intently on her. Her heart pounded—her hands trembled as she searched through the documents.