Taming the Dangerous Lawyer Secretly (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 16
Was it really okay to be hearing such a private and intimate story of his? Yeon Woo hesitated for a moment.
But the curiosity she’d long buried deep inside now began to surface like pieces of a puzzle, urging her to know every last detail.
“But wait a second. So… at that time, you and your younger sibling were in that… position doing what exactly?”
So Yeon Woo went straight for the core of what she was most curious about.
He couldn’t answer right away. After blinking slowly a few times while looking at Yeon Woo, he turned his gaze away, sweeping a hand through his hair.
It seemed like the truly awkward part of the story was just beginning.
“…Do you know what happens to someone who can’t sleep?”
“Well, they get tired and sleepy. Their concentration drops. They feel drained and just want to rest.”
Even though the question seemed completely unrelated, Yeon Woo answered earnestly, her round eyes fixed intently on him.
“When it’s not just one day—but months, years, even—accumulating like that, you eventually lose control over your body. You collapse involuntarily or lose short-term memory. That’s how I’ve lived—since I was ten.”
“Oh…”
It was an unexpected revelation. Yeon Woo let out a soft sigh and quietly bit her lower lip.
“My younger sibling’s a doctor. They sometimes come to check whether I’m still managing to stay alive. They’ll even prescribe IV fluids for me.”
“So you weren’t feeling well that day? And now—are you all right?”
“I was fine that day, and I’m fine now. …I’d just fallen asleep while receiving an IV, and even when my sibling tried to wake me, I couldn’t get up. As for my shirt, they probably loosened it completely because it felt too tight and constricting.”
Even in this moment, his eyes couldn’t look away—from Yeon Woo seriously listening to this unpleasant story, even from her plump lower lip nervously pressed between her teeth.
Jun Hwi’s lips curled up slightly, silently.
Because now, the emotions that welled up against his will were no longer unfamiliar territory.
Ten years old—an age far too young to accept someone’s death.
At that age, Jun Hwi had lost two close people. The child had to somehow come to terms with their deaths in his own way.
Yet he couldn’t shake off the vivid memory of watching his father and older brother slowly die, shot right before his eyes by a robber. That horrifying image clung to his mind like an indelible afterimage, too heavy for a ten-year-old to erase.
It happened while his whole family was staying in LA, combining a trip with his father’s business trip to the U.S.
Local gang members had been watching Jun Hwi’s family since the day before and, as father and son stepped out of their car, pointed guns at them.
Bang! Bang!
A sound louder than thunder rang out, and his father and brother collapsed to the ground one after another. The robbers calmly searched his father’s body, took his wallet and watch, and walked away without a care.
“Hyung! Dad! Are you okay? Hyung!”
“Jun Hwi…”
Jun Hwi. His own name—those were his father’s last words.
After that, only fragmented, dizzying images remained in his memory.
The wail of police sirens responding to the emergency call. The chaotic rush of adults arriving at the scene. His mother’s screams and wails.
The deep red blood spreading slowly across the grayish floor, vividly soaking all the way to Jun Hwi’s shoes as his father’s and brother’s lives quietly faded away.
From that day on, the child’s life was completely overturned.
Jun Hwi, who had expected a smooth and bright future thanks to his wealthy parents, gradually lost both his laughter and ability to express emotions.
A few years later, his mother’s remarriage compounded his sense of abandonment, and the child’s unconscious desperation to not be left behind only made him suppress himself even more harshly.
Most of all, he couldn’t sleep.
“…Dad… Hyung…”
On dark nights, when he quietly closed his eyes and lay down, the deep red bloodstains from his father’s and brother’s bodies—stuck to his shoes that day—would fall from the ceiling and seep into his entire body.
“I’m scared…”
Instead of sleep, ghosts came to torment Jun Hwi.
To forget the relentless images of that day, he threw himself wholeheartedly into whatever was given to him.
For the child, that thing was studying. He memorized to survive, filled his mind with new knowledge to forget, and pushed both his body and mind to exhaustion just to fall asleep—until his friends drifted away and he even lost himself.
That was also why he chose to become a prosecutor. Continuously feeding his mind with countless statutes and legal precedents, and making judgments strictly within the fixed guidelines of the law—this was simply the best he could do.
Thus, cracks began appearing over time in his once ice-cold, impenetrable exterior.
Whenever he saw blood—that damn deep red blood—childhood trauma would consume Jun Hwi.
His body would stiffen, and the ringing in his ears grew progressively worse. For a prosecutor who regularly dealt with violent crimes, this was a fatal flaw.
That was also why he’d moved to Ro And Yul. To put it dramatically—he did it to survive.
Thankfully, he no longer handled violent cases here, so his condition naturally improved. Although, whenever stress built up, sharp tinnitus would occasionally ambush him.
Knowing this, his younger sibling—invoking their role as a doctor—checked on Jun Hwi and, standing in for their mother, occasionally scolded him.
Since becoming an adult, Yeon Woo was the first person—aside from medical staff—to whom he’d revealed all of this.
“So your younger sibling was trying to wake you up… But why in your office? What if someone like me sees and gets the wrong idea?”
“It’s not only at the office. Sometimes I go to the hospital, too. We meet in various places.”
Ah. His personal schedule. …Now she understood.
“I see. So that’s how it was.”
“…”
She nodded lightly a couple of times with an unreadable expression. Normally, Yeon Woo’s reactions were transparent and easy to read—but not this time.
Was she feeling burdened by having unwillingly learned about someone else’s misfortune?
Jun Hwi also fell silent, absently rubbing his forehead.
“By the way, Attorney—why did you tell me something so important… so private?”
Breaking the brief silence, Yeon Woo instantly surfaced a difficult question even Jun Hwi himself couldn’t answer.
He wanted to know the reason more than anyone else—why he’d exposed his most vulnerable weakness to her.
Whether as prosecutor or attorney, Kwon Jun Hwi had always shown only a flawless, impeccable facade. Because in his life, winning meant relentlessly pushing his stance as absolutely right, always appearing strong.
Then why did she keep becoming an exception?
Simply because… he could no longer tolerate watching that small face desperately dodge him in every way possible.
He just wanted to clear up the misunderstanding so those round eyes would look back at him again.
Even if everyone else called him relentless, a bloodhound, or a pain to deal with and avoided him—Kim Yeon Woo, at least, shouldn’t avoid him.
“I don’t know.”
It was unlike him to dodge an answer like this, and he didn’t like it.
But in front of her, moments of losing control kept coming. Like the sudden tinnitus that haunted him, it was irresistible.
“Consider it for work purposes. You’re my secretary, after all.”
“…”
They both knew it was a ridiculous excuse. Yeon Woo pressed her lips into a firm, straight line again.
How had she taken the past he’d wanted to hide? Kwon Jun Hwi, who’d never considered others’ perspectives before, couldn’t even begin to guess.
For now, the best he could do was calmly wait for her judgment—whether revealing this story would leave him with regret.
The canned coffee in Yeon Woo’s hand had grown cold. The short winter sun had already begun to sink, casting a yellow glow in every direction.
“Shall we head back in now?”
“Hmm, yes.”
“You go down first, Manager.”
Jun Hwi reached into the coat pocket draped over her shoulder, pulled out another warm canned coffee, and placed it gently back into her hand.
She smiled—a genuinely cheerful one he hadn’t seen in a long time.
“I’ll drink them both properly.”
It wasn’t like switching from hot spring to cold plunge—yet even such trivial things felt extreme with him. That’s why a laugh naturally escaped her. It was just so very Kwon Jun Hwi.
Yeon Woo handed his coat back and turned around, leaving the rooftop ahead of him.
The next day, Yeon Woo, whom he met on the first floor on the way to work, no longer avoided him.
“Good morning, Attorney.”
“Yes.”
And the silence that followed was just like any other day.
Only the soft hum of the elevator filled the space, carrying just the two of them.
“Attorney… Are you all right?”
This part was different from usual.
“…”
His brows furrowed sharply, as if he’d just heard something unpleasant. Taken aback by his unexpectedly intense reaction, Yeon Woo slightly shrank back.
Was she, too, about to pity him?
That all-too-familiar phrase always marked the beginning of others’ sympathy. His homeroom teacher, doctors, nurses—they’d all started the same way once they learned his secret.
Are you okay? How are you feeling today? Please let us know if you need help. You must’ve been through so much. It breaks my heart. You’ll get better. Stay strong.
Would he now become just another object of Kim Yeon Woo’s pity and compassion? A bitter taste rose in his throat.
Jun Hwi shoved his phone back into his pocket and jammed his hands into his coat pockets, ready to snap at her—telling her he didn’t need that kind of sympathy or concern.
“Did you maybe miss the news?”
She said something completely unexpected. His guard naturally lowered.
“…Not yet.”
“Someone posted online early this morning that J Airlines falsified their aging aircraft safety inspection results—it’s blowing up right now.”
Worried about their perpetually troublesome client, J Airlines, Jun Hwi quickly pulled out his phone to check—just as it vibrated. It was the managing partner of Ro And Yul.
“Yes, this is Kwon Jun Hwi. …Yes, I’m looking into it right now—”
Yeon Woo swiftly held out her phone in front of him. It showed a news article summarizing J Airlines’ crisis. She held up three fingers and whispered, “Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport—at 3 p.m.”
“—The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will hold a press briefing at 3 p.m. regarding this incident. …Yes, the safety inspection was outsourced to a Japanese company.”
Jun Hwi quickly scanned her phone screen while briefing the managing partner.
The elevator doors opened at their floor. Yeon Woo’s quick, light steps outpaced his firm strides as she swiped her security card to open the office door, and they both entered together.
Jun Hwi, who had already ended the call, turned to Yeon Woo right outside his office.
“Manager, I’ll go see the managing partner right away.”
“Understood. I’ll arrange a meeting with J Airlines’ representatives and have them start the discussion first.”
“Please also look into the inspection company’s details.”
“I’ll submit a request to the research team.”
“The article you showed me earlier—”
“I’ve already forwarded it to your email. Should I print it as well?”
“…”
Instead of answering, Jun Hwi just stared at Yeon Woo.
“Is there anything else you’d like me to do?”
Her slightly flushed cheeks from nervous tension. Her round eyes looking at him seriously. Nowhere on her face could he find even a trace of pity.
Kim Yeon Woo was different from everyone else. She was another exception.
It seemed she’d probably… remain his one and only exception from now on.
“Attorney?” At her repeated call, Jun Hwi snapped back to himself and smiled faintly.
“No, go ahead and print it.”
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
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