Taming the Dangerous Lawyer Secretly (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 2

Rivanpel had a fairly solid reputation at Ro And Yul.

She was seen as diligent, perceptive, highly competent, and perfectly matched the conservative firm’s expectations in both dress and attitude.

Thanks to this, even the notoriously cranky senior attorneys gave Yeon Woo generous praise—and she was even assigned to mentor new secretaries.

So she must’ve been tempted by HR’s well-meaning suggestion. For some reason, a strange sense of challenge began bubbling up in Yeon Woo.

“How difficult could Kwon Jun Hwi really be?”

If Kim Yeon Woo, the legendary secretary who managed even the fiercest, most terrifying tiger attorneys with ease, couldn’t handle him—who could?!

…But why, oh why, did past Kim Yeon Woo feel so confident?!

Kwon Jun Hwi proved to be a formidable opponent—even for Yeon Woo, a seasoned veteran secretary who’d seen it all.

He was an extreme workaholic—truly someone who lived solely for work—with an overwhelming workload to match.

He’d been recruited straight from the prosecution, and even back then, he’d already been famous for working relentlessly, with no regard for anything else.

As a result, Yeon Woo had to constantly stay on top of mountains of documents, evidence, emails, and expense reports piling up daily—meticulously sorting everything by case, managing files and schedules, and even handling meetings—all in real time.

At times like this, she’d wonder why she, as his secretary, had to suffer just as much under his insane workload—but she never even had the luxury of pondering that thought for long.

He was impatient; every request demanded immediate, flawless execution. And if something failed to meet his exacting standards…!

On those days, you’d better be prepared for either hellfire-level heat or ice-cold brutality—no middle ground.

Fortunately, Yeon Woo hadn’t experienced it firsthand yet—though she had seen junior attorneys, after making some utterly absurd mistake, exit Kwon Jun Hwi’s office with barely suppressed tears.

He showed zero interest in others’ affairs and was blunt in all matters—completely devoid of emotional engagement or empathy.

If only he’d stayed consistently cold, it’d be easier to adapt—but Kwon Jun Hwi was the type who openly showed his mood when he was in a good one.

On the rare occasion things went well, he’d sometimes flash an impossibly happy smile and gently call out, “Manager.”

In short, Attorney Kwon not only dumped endless work on you but also dragged you onto an emotional rollercoaster—sending you soaring to highs and crashing into lows multiple times a day. How could anyone possibly endure both at once?

Ever since being assigned to him, Yeon Woo—whose greatest strengths used to be her positivity and liveliness—had been getting increasingly frequent comments like, “You look tired,” or “Hang in there.”

But she couldn’t very well whine to HR about it, not with a promotion within reach.

If she refused an assignment in this conservative organization, she’d instantly fall out of favor—forget promotion, they wouldn’t even consider moving her to another team.

That would be the absolute worst-case scenario.

“I’ll hold on until the end of the year—once I get promoted to Section Chief, I’ll either collapse dramatically in front of HR or get down on my knees begging. Either way.”

With that mindset, Yeon Woo was burning through each day, steeling herself for just two more months until December.

***

“Hello, Manager.”

“Hmm, Hye Jin, sorry—but could you call and assign a driver right away? Immediately.”

Yeon Woo entered the office, swallowing her ragged breath without even turning on her computer, and immediately gave instructions to her mentee, the new secretary.

While the eager rookie diligently made the calls, Yeon Woo powered up her computer, adjusted Jun Hwi’s schedule, pulled up all relevant documents she could find, and hit print.

“Manager, the driver’s waiting on the first floor!”

“Write the car number on a sticky note.”

She tossed that out and hurried over to the multifunction printer to grab the printed documents—

“Manager Kim! Manager!”

Jun Hwi, unable to wait even a second, called out urgently for Yeon Woo.

Her shoulders tensed instinctively.

“Yes, Attorney?”

“Can’t you move any faster?”

How could I possibly go faster? I got off the elevator at the exact same time as you! Can’t you see I haven’t even taken off my jacket yet?

Standing by her desk in the hallway, Yeon Woo didn’t want to show even a hint of her exhaustion in front of his stern expression.

“It’s all ready. Is this for the M Electronics meeting?”

“C Pharma.”

He skimmed the documents she offered, then snatched just one—so abruptly that Yeon Woo nearly lost a finger.

“Shall I reschedule the senior briefing two days later?”

“Weren’t you going to push it to this afternoon?”

Jun Hwi, walking out while tying his tie, was already far ahead. Yeon Woo hurried after him, breathless again just trying to keep up with his long strides.

As he adjusted his tie while waiting for the elevator, Jun Hwi glanced sideways down at Yeon Woo, who was panting beside him.

“Since you’ve got Prosecutor Kang from S Power scheduled for a prep session tomorrow, I thought—while we’re rescheduling anyway—why not include the results from the special prep meeting that the CEO personally requested? That way you could present everything at once.”

“…Ah.”

He hadn’t thought of that.

Jun Hwi’s eyes lingered briefly on Yeon Woo’s blinking gaze. Even while catching her breath, she spoke clearly and firmly.

Manager Kim had a knack for precisely spotting the details he occasionally missed.

Her cheeks flushed from scrambling to keep pace with his urgent rhythm—she hadn’t even had time to take off her jacket.

Her hair, neatly tied in a single bun when she’d seen him in the elevator that morning, had come slightly loose, with stray strands now sticking out. Just how much had she run around?

“If Manager thinks that’s best, let’s go with that.”

“Huh? No, Attorney—you need to make the final decision—.”

“Reschedule it two days later.”

The elevator doors opened. Jun Hwi stepped in and immediately pressed the close button.

Through the narrowing gap, Yeon Woo’s troubled expression remained visible until the very end—this time, her lips jutted out even more than her stray hairs, cheeks still flushed.

“…Ah. It’ll look like I’m forcing the delay. Feels awkward.”

Anyway—at last, she’d successfully sent him off! Yeon Woo smiled brightly, hoping for a peaceful morning.

“Oh no—what’s with this look?”

Only then did she catch sight of her reflection in the elevator doors and let out a startled cry. She quickly untied her hairband, ran her fingers through her hair, and made a miserable face.

So embarrassing! She never wanted him to see any of her weak spots.

***

[Did you have your morning coffee?]

A blinking messenger window. Yeon Woo, in the middle of drafting an email, checked the sender.

“Attorney Cha Han Bin.”

She typed back lightly.

[Not yet…] [Want some macarons too?] [Okay good good]

“Manager.”

Two macarons and an iced latte soon appeared atop Yeon Woo’s desk partition.

Seeing Han Bin approach, the new secretary seated behind Yeon Woo immediately sprang up and bowed deeply.

“Good morning, Attorney Cha!”

“Yes, Hye Jin. Good morning to you.”

The rookie let out a small, delighted gasp—touched that he remembered her name. So cute.

Honestly, who wouldn’t feel happy if a warm, handsome guy like spring sunshine remembered their name?

“Thank you, Attorney.”

“Don’t mention it. There’s a new macaron shop just down the street—it’s really popular. Our secretary told me about it.”

She’d enjoy it thoroughly. Yeon Woo accepted the coffee, not forgetting to add a casual, familiar greeting for “Older Brother Han Bin.”

As soon as Cha Han Bin left, the rookie fondly fiddled with the macaron he’d given her, genuinely wistful.

“I’m so jealous of you, Manager.”

“Of what?”

“That you’re close with Attorney Cha Han Bin.”

“Hye Jin, really—what even is there to envy? He’s just a neighborhood older brother.”

Han Bin, her childhood friend just one year older—a son of her mom’s closest friend. They’d practically grown up together, though she couldn’t even recall exactly from what age.

They’d eaten the same food and played together daily—but somehow ended up with drastically different outcomes, which still puzzled her.

Throughout high school, that older brother consistently ranked first nationwide in mock exams, entered Korea University Law School as valedictorian, and even passed the bar exam right before graduation—with the second-highest score.

Under her mother’s pressure, Yeon Woo had briefly received tutoring from him during her third year of high school—and thanks to that, she’d managed to get into a decent university in Seoul. But academically, she’d always been utterly outclassed by Cha Han Bin.

“My friend is mentoring Attorney Cha’s secretary—and they said he’s incredibly gentle and kind.”

“That sounds right. He’s a good person.”

“Handsome, kind, and a lawyer at Ro And Yul… Wow. Doesn’t he have it all? He must be super popular.”

Yeah. He really is popular.

The kind of guy anyone would consider their ideal type—even Yeon Woo, once upon a time.

[That was actually a bribe.]

Another blinking message. Han Bin, back at his seat, had started chatting again.

[What kind of proposal do women like? Give me a hint.] [I’m planning to propose to Ji Woo.][You’ll need a ring too, right?]

“…”

Her previously energetic typing came to an abrupt halt. Each subsequent message kept pressing down on Yeon Woo’s solar plexus.

She’d thought she’d forgotten everything. She’d believed her old crush on Han Bin was now just a sweet, laughable memory from childhood.

[Congrats! That’s great news.]

Thank goodness it was just a messenger—it was easy to reply quickly.

[I’ll think about the proposal idea too.]

The lies slipped out effortlessly.

Truth was, she didn’t care at all—how or when Cha Han Bin proposed to Yoon Ji Woo.

She shouldn’t care.

After exchanging a few more unremarkable messages with Cha Han Bin, Yeon Woo closed the messenger window.

A deep sigh escaped her involuntarily.

***

About an hour before clocking out, Yeon Woo was locked in a fierce internal battle.

Because of tears welling up for no clear reason, blurring her vision.

Should she just let them fall freely? Maybe that would wash away all the pointless worries cluttering her aching head.

No matter how hard she tried to focus on work, she couldn’t control those sudden surges of inexplicable emotion.

It wasn’t longing for Cha Han Bin—nor was it resentment or regret. It was a nameless, unidentifiable feeling she couldn’t quite define.

In the end, Yeon Woo went up to the rooftop. The side of her brain insisting, “Just cry it out properly once and for all,” had won.

The rooftop, heated by midday autumn sun and designated non-smoking, was deserted.

She found a quiet corner, sat down, and quietly sniffled.

“What am I even doing, crying like this at my age…”

But she did feel lighter. It felt good—the lump that had been stuck in her chest since earlier finally dissolving as it stung the tip of her nose.

Her quiet sobs were growing louder when she heard the rooftop door creak open.

Startled, Yeon Woo quickly pressed herself against the side of the ventilation unit, hiding.

“What the—scared me half to death!”

“Huh?!”

Of all places on this vast rooftop—why did he have to come this way?

Attorney Kwon Jun Hwi, holding a cigarette pack, walked toward the ventilation area and loudly exclaimed upon spotting Yeon Woo hiding there.

“Manager Kim—do you smoke too?”

“…Ah.”

Better to pretend she smoked than let him catch her crying.

“This rooftop’s a no-smoking zone.”

“Weren’t you coming up here to smoke too, Attorney?”

“Exactly. It was nice and quiet—since no one else was around.”

Ah. So she was intruding.

Watching him, expression typically indifferent, about to light a cigarette, she suddenly snapped to her senses.

She needed to finish quickly and leave. Please, please don’t let him talk to her anymore.

She wasn’t sure why she, who’d arrived first, had to be the one stepping aside—but then,

“Is something troubling you?”

As he spoke, he raised two fingers and lightly scratched his own face—up and down. As if to say: You’ve been crying, haven’t you?

“Oh. Just pretend you didn’t notice! Why do you have to drag it out like this?!”

Yeon Woo discreetly bit down on her lower lip so he wouldn’t see.