Taming the Dangerous Lawyer Secretly (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 13

Where is it? Why isn’t it here…? I definitely printed it out and put it up right after receiving it!

Even after wasting several more minutes searching, the documents that could clear Yeon Woo’s name were nowhere to be seen.

“Attorney, what evidence do you need? I can get the list now and cross-reference it so we can submit.”

“How are you planning to get it to the Gwangju courthouse within business hours after finding it now?”

The realization that there was no solution left her utterly dazed. Yeon Woo stared blankly at Jun Hwi, her eyes half-glazed. He stood silently watching her, hands shoved deep in his pockets.

“Ah…”

She didn’t even have a moment to feel fear under the intensity of his gaze, as if he wanted to swallow her whole. Could this absurd situation really be her fault? She simply couldn’t believe it.

“I’ve told you this multiple times already. With the C Pharma case, we can’t afford to overlook even the smallest detail—so always request hard copies of the notice of hearing, the list of requested documents, and the evidence list.”

It was so unfair. She knew very well how particularly attentive he was to the C Pharma matter, which was why she had handled everything with such care and seriousness.

Besides, forgetting the evidence submission date? She had never, not once since she’d joined the firm, made a mistake like this.

“I’m sorry.”

“Never mind. Grab your laptop and come to the conference room right now.”

“What?”

“We’ll file for an extension of the submission deadline now and cross-reference the list together.”

For a moment, she thought of Cha Han Bin waiting outside. It had already been confirmed that the deadline had passed—why was he suddenly insisting on doing it now? That was odd in itself.

Besides, why was the attorney himself stepping in to do what a secretary should handle? She could easily finish the task on her own in under an hour.

‘Do I seem so unreliable to him now?’

“No, Attorney. This is my responsibility.”

“…”

“I’ll have it ready and sent to you by 2 p.m. today.”

It hurt. If it were anyone else, maybe she could tolerate it—but being seen as an incompetent secretary by him was worse than death. She didn’t want to work under his supervision either.

“Why should I have to wait until 2 p.m.?”

“W-Well, I’ll do it as quickly as possible and email it to you.”

“Associate Kim Yeon Woo. Do my instructions sound like a joke to you?”

“No, not at all.”

“Maybe you should have focused more on your own work instead of chatting and gossiping with others.”

What? Gossiping…?

His shockingly harsh choice of words lit a blazing fire of indignation inside her.

Was this really the same Kwon Jun Hwi she’d seen earlier? They were unmistakably the same person in the same place—yet the warm, playful banter they’d shared over a signed document just an hour ago had vanished completely, replaced by a chill as biting as a winter night’s seaside wind, freezing her to the bone.

So it’s fine when Kwon Jun Hwi himself chooses to tease her mischievously, but the moment she talks to someone else, it becomes “gossiping and chattering”?

Was Kim Yeon Woo nothing more than a handmaiden whose only role was to obediently say “Yes, sir” to the esteemed and noble Attorney Kwon Jun Hwi’s every mood?

Suddenly, she wanted to know why he was being so unreasonably stubborn. No—she didn’t even need to know the reason. The sheer injustice and humiliation of being called a gossiper was unbearable.

“Attorney, I’ve never neglected my duties before. I’ve never missed an assignment like this until now.”

Jun Hwi’s head tilted slightly as he watched Yeon Woo stammer, struggling to keep her anger in check—as if urging her to go on.

“…I don’t know why it disappeared, but I definitely printed and handed you the notice. I also saved it twice—once in my calendar and once via email—and even set a reminder alarm.”

“So what?”

“And we don’t even need to submit the document itself—just making sure we don’t miss the dates and contents inside is enough.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Jun Hwi muttered, then took a step toward Yeon Woo, who stood her ground firmly.

His chest rose and fell sharply with a deep breath, tense and unstable. She swallowed hard, meeting head-on the icy coldness in his glaring eyes.

“What exactly is it you want to say?”

If she’d known from the start that he looked down on her like this, that he dismissed her so completely… she never would have tried closing the distance between them, not even a little. That was the truth she really wanted to say.

She was angry—at herself for briefly thinking she’d understood him a bit better. Even the warm fantasies she’d entertained now felt embarrassingly naive.

“How much more do I have to do for you?”

Where did she find the courage to throw such a direct question at him?

“What?”

“If it’s that important, why didn’t you remember the schedule yourself?”

“I’ve got a mountain of work! How am I supposed to track and remember every single detail!”

Jun Hwi’s previously icy anger now flared up like wildfire. She felt as if sharp, burning thorns were piercing her entire body. She almost regretted talking back.

“I’ve done more than enough in my role!”

“Associate Kim Yeon Woo!”

“What is it, Attorney Kwon Jun Hwi!”

Now Yeon Woo, too, was trembling with frustration, her whole body tensed up.

“…Are you really going to do this?”

His voice dropped again, thick and low. His rage had reached its peak.

“Attorney, why are you treating me like this!”

“What do you think you’re doing right now, Associate Kim Yeon Woo?”

Just as she was about to unleash the rest of her lingering resentment, someone suddenly darted between them.

She hadn’t noticed while locked in confrontation with Jun Hwi, but their argument had already drawn the full attention of the entire office—

Including, unfortunately, the Head of Management Support and the HR team, who just happened to be on the same floor.

She realized this was one of those things that could happen when things just wouldn’t go your way.

The HR team—whom she saw maybe once or twice a year—just happened to be holding a meeting on the same floor, at this exact time, and witnessed their entire argument.

“Attorney, I’m very sorry. It’s my fault for failing to properly train our staff.”

The completely blameless executive bowed deeply toward him in apology.

That’s how this conservative, rigid group operated. A secretary’s job was to support their attorney, who was practically godlike—so talking back so sharply was utterly unthinkable.

And Yeon Woo had just done exactly that—to Kwon Jun Hwi, Ro And Yul’s irreplaceable star whom even the CEO held in such high regard.

In her eight years at the firm, she’d seen plenty of things she wished she hadn’t. Her secret to longevity had always been quietly smiling through her frustration whenever attorneys annoyed her. It was the kind of thing she could’ve just brushed off later over a glass of soju after work.

So why did her pride sting so much in front of him?

“Associate Kim Yeon Woo, let’s talk.”

Yeon Woo, silently biting her lower lip, snapped back to reality at the elegant voice. She couldn’t miss the underlying signal behind it.

She’d been caught dead to rights—just over a month before her expected promotion to Section Chief.

But then—

“No. We’re not done talking yet.”

Just how much angrier did Kwon Jun Hwi intend to get if he was interrupting the executive’s call?

“Ah… Yes, Attorney. Then please finish your conversation first, and when you’re done, Associate Kim, come to my office briefly.”

“And I’ve got plenty of instructions for her right now too. Why take my busy secretary away from me?”

He was being unreasonably stubborn again.

What was this? Some childish mindset like “If anyone’s going to scold her, it’ll be me”? A question mark floated above everyone’s heads in the room.

“Ah, yes…”

“For now, don’t touch Associate Kim without my explicit approval. I need her to work. Everyone else, please leave.”

Even the executive was just another employee in front of an attorney. What choice did they have when the attorney himself said not to touch her?

The HR team glanced uneasily at Yeon Woo as they left his office.

Associate Kim stayed behind. At his added remark, Yeon Woo, who had tried slipping out quietly among the others, had to turn back again. She sighed softly—unnoticeably—and stood facing him once more.

“What would you like me to do?”

“Sit down first.”

Jun Hwi jerked his chin toward the sofa, then sat across from her with his arms crossed. His shirt, snug against his firm chest, pulled taut in a quietly intimidating way.

As she took a seat, Yeon Woo carefully masked her expression to appear completely unaffected.

“…What do you usually talk about when meeting the executive alone?”

As always, Jun Hwi’s mood had shifted fluidly from peak to valley, now notably calmer than before.

Why did he have to care about that? She was afraid she’d again assign some unnecessary, embarrassing meaning to it all by herself.

“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never had a one-on-one with them.”

And would someone as sharp as him really ask that out of genuine ignorance? Maybe this was just his way of showing concern.

The memory of the macaron incident she’d almost forgotten resurfaced too. So this was his style—growl fiercely first, then come to his senses and try to patch things up afterward?

“It’s already too late, you troublemaker.”

Ah—but was this just another delusion of hers? She didn’t know. Her spinning thoughts left her completely confused.

The murmurs outside had died down, and silence settled in the room. The man who claimed he had tasks for her simply sat there, lips sealed, silently watching Yeon Woo.

“…”

“…”

Jun Hwi, too, grew thoughtful.

This wasn’t the outcome he’d wanted.

It had irritated him to see Cha Han Bin sticking so closely to her side, whispering as if for show.

Suddenly bringing up lunch just loudly enough for Jun Hwi behind them to hear—it was all part of that guy’s childish tactics, and yet Jun Hwi had fallen for it despite knowing better.

Yeon Woo’s mistake had been minor. But because emotions got involved, the whole thing had spiraled out of control.

That emotional territory was something Jun Hwi had never even tried to navigate before—so controlling it now felt impossible.

“If you don’t actually have any instructions for me, may I leave?”

It was at that moment—after they’d been locked in tense silence—that Yeon Woo finally broke it by speaking first.

Again, that piercing gaze—the same one that had driven people mad with longing at the dinner party.

Memories of last weekend with him started to resurface. Yeon Woo quickly lowered her eyes to the floor, avoiding the heat.

“…Go ahead and leave now.”

He finally let her go after checking his watch.

Lunchtime had less than twenty minutes left, and Cha Han Bin, who’d been waiting, was nowhere in sight. Anyway, she wasn’t in the mood to eat anything.

Yeon Woo returned to her desk and collapsed face-down onto it.

HR had found a clever way to target Yeon Woo without drawing Kwon Jun Hwi’s attention.

[To be honest, the executive even considered disciplinary action.]

The blinking messenger window made Section Chief Park from HR seem stern just through text.

[It was that shocking. You’re even mentoring new secretaries—you should be setting an example.] [But since your performance reviews have been excellent and you’ve contributed a lot, we’ve decided just to issue a formal warning.]

Section Chief Park was acting like some noble lady doling out grand favors.

Ah. At that moment, she knew for sure—her promotion was truly gone.

Why would they ever promote a secretary who’d openly defied an attorney? They’d probably make an example of her by conspicuously excluding her from the promotion list.

Look closely, everyone. Don’t talk back to your superiors. To satisfy our clients, we must first provide flawless internal service—that’s the fundamental spirit of every Ro And Yul employee. Don’t you know that?

It felt hollow. She’d been holding on, focused solely on that one promotion to Section Chief.

‘If I don’t get promoted, is there even a reason to stay in this seat, stuck on this emotional rollercoaster with Kwon Jun Hwi?’

None at all.

Besides, there was no guarantee they’d absolutely approve her promotion the next year if it got skipped this time.

Maybe she should apply to transfer to another attorney’s secretary position? What if they denied the transfer?

‘If both promotion and transfer fail…’

Ugh. Yeon Woo tugged lightly at her hair, imagining the worst-case scenario. She felt she needed a backup plan.

Should she keep suffering under Kwon Jun Hwi—or just quit everything and resign?