The Empire's Servant - Chapter 15

Ha In thought it was a good idea to borrow the power of wine.

Sitting in front of the full-bodied wine, Je Guk treated Ha In with less caution than usual.

Je Guk and Ha In only got up from their seats after finishing a bottle of wine.

Perhaps because the rain had stopped, the air had become even colder.

Ha In’s snow-white face was flushed red.

Thanks to the sharp rise in drunkenness, even the cool breeze felt good.

“Being far from the city center, it’s hard to get a designated driver.”

“Designated driver.”

Je Guk stopped in the middle of saying something. Ha In was curious about what he was trying to say.

“Ah, I called one. Leave it.”

Je Guk looked at the firewood burning in the courtyard of the wine bar.

It hadn’t been long since the rain had stopped, but they had put in a lot of effort to light the firewood. Next to it were a few cozy chairs.

“I’m curious about how many steps ahead the owner of this place sees.”

Ha In’s gaze naturally turned to the burning firewood as well.

“Let’s sit over there and wait.”

Je Guk took the lead. Ha In followed him in a daze.

“It’s not that cold, though.”

“I think you’re drunk.”

At those words, Ha In blinked and checked her own condition to see if she was really drunk.

It would be a big deal if she made a mistake while drunk. But the more she tried to open her eyes wide, the more the warm campfire made Ha In drunk.

“Why didn’t you change your name?”

Ha In turned her head toward Je Guk at his question.

“I told you I don’t like it. That name.”

She didn’t know he still remembered her saying that.

Ha In turned her head again to look at the campfire.

She couldn’t understand why her tense heart was softening.

“Changing my name doesn’t mean I’m not Cheon Ha In.”

Ha In dropped her eyes downward. Recalling the past made her feel infinitely small and discouraged.

“I like it, though. That name.”

“You don’t have to comfort me like that.”

“It’s not comfort.”

At that moment, a car came rushing toward them. Ha In and Je Guk’s gazes turned in that direction due to the headlights.

“It’s not a designated driver.”

“If someone else drives, it’s a designated driver. Let’s go.”

Je Guk got up from his seat.

Ha In also tried to get up to follow Je Guk but staggered toward the fire.

“Oh!”

Je Guk wrapped his arm around Ha In’s waist and pulled her toward him.

The distance between the two suddenly narrowed.

“Are you okay? That was close.”

Facing Je Guk at such a close distance, Ha In was too shy to say anything, her eyes only moving left and right.

With her heart pounding, the drunkenness seemed to rise even more.

Ha In came to her senses and straightened her body.

“I’m fine.”

The car heading toward the wine bar stopped in the courtyard.

Two men got out of it and greeted Je Guk. They were Je Guk’s secretaries.

“Be careful on your way back.”

Je Guk offered Ha In a handshake.

Ha In hesitated to take his hand, her emotions ahead of her reason. She soon shed her feelings and took his hand.

Ha In’s white and cold hand seemed to melt in his warm hand. Ha In let go of his hand for fear that her trembling heart would be exposed.

“Thank you. You be careful too.”

Ha In got into the car, took a deep breath, and turned her eyes to the window. Je Guk was getting into the car in a gentlemanly manner.

“Phew…”

“Where should I take you?”

At the sound of Je Guk’s secretary asking Ha In, she came to her senses.

“Ah, my house is registered as ‘home’ on the navigation system there.”

“Yes, I’ll start driving.”

* * *

Even in the car, Je Guk checked his work on the tablet. But unlike other times, he couldn’t focus on the documents he had to approve.

The hand holding the pen was filled with the lingering sensation of holding Ha In’s hand.

He was concerned about why her hands were so thin and cold, and why her body was so skinny.

He didn’t know why such feelings were shaking him.

Je Guk turned his gaze from the tablet to the window. And he opened the window.

“Are you hot?”

The secretary asked.

“No. I just wanted to get some fresh air.”

Even colder air than before rushed in and dug into the back of his neck.

“Hmm…”

Je Guk sighed deeply, putting aside his personal feelings for Ha In.

The information Je Guk could provide to Ha In also contained content that could harm Cheonha Group if you looked closely.

Since Hyun Baek Hap was an insider of Cheonha Group, there were quite a few people who had to take responsibility together.

Je Guk had rejected all the approvals related to Hyun Baek Hap that came to him, but it was also necessary to check if Chairman Lee had moved any budget at his own discretion.

Ha In’s ability was to extract what she could from there.

However, what was more worrisome than the difficult mission was the moment when Chairman Lee and Hyun Baek Hap found out about Ha In’s existence.

It was obvious that they would try to drag Ha In back to hell.

“Phew…”

He was displeased that she was deliberately choosing a difficult path, but the ball had already been thrown.

All he could do now was to do his best to ensure that the ball landed at its destination.

“Let’s go to the company.”

Je Guk headed to the company instead of going home.

If the legal department was working, he planned to meet with the head of the legal department briefly.

If not, he intended to finish his schedule by processing the accumulated approvals.

When the car arrived at the company, the head of the secretarial department was waiting with an umbrella in case it rained again.

As Je Guk got out of the car, the head secretary approached him.

“Why haven’t you left work yet?”

Je Guk neatly arranged his clothes and walked forward. The head secretary followed behind Je Guk.

“I heard that you called the vehicle department and returned.”

“Next time, I should just call a designated driver. You can go home now.”

Many departments in the Cheonha Group office had their lights on.

The floor where the legal department was located had all the lights on.

“Ah, by the way, is the head of the legal department here?”

“Yes, the entire legal department is working.”

Je Guk stopped walking and looked at the head secretary.

If he kept going like this, the head secretary would keep following him, so he intended to move again after seeing him leave.

“Yes, I understand. Please go home for real.”

The head secretary bowed in greeting and turned around. Only then did Je Guk start walking.

When Je Guk arrived on the floor where the legal department was located, the head of the legal department was coming out of the restroom, wiping his face with a napkin.

He seemed to be coming out after washing his face.

“Ah, Director, you haven’t left work yet.”

“No. I’m sorry, but I’m on my way back from a break.”

Je Guk headed toward the legal department, and the head of the legal department followed him.

“You must be working hard.”

“Not at all.”

The head of the legal department didn’t exaggerate. The inside of the head of the legal department’s office had even more materials than before.

“Have you prepared materials to buy time?”

“Ah, yes…”

The amount of materials to be handed over to the prosecution seemed enormous. Je Guk thought of Ha In.

“It’s getting more and more chaotic as the days go by. It’s so messy, what should we do? I’m sorry.”

As Je Guk’s gaze lingered on the materials, the head of the legal department was careful.

“Don’t mind such things at all. Please have a seat.”

The head of the legal department handed Je Guk a status report and sat down.

“These are the materials the company has on Ms. Hyun Baek Hap. I don’t think all of them have been disclosed.”

“There will be limits to accessing personal information, right?”

“Yes, the court or the prosecution can make them release such content.”

Je Guk nodded.

“Soon, the three-year entry records of Cheonha Museum will be shared. Please take a look at that content as well.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Je Guk looked at the materials to be handed over to the prosecution once again.

“And those materials.”

If he handed over those materials, it was obvious that Ha In would be wasting her efforts.

“Keep them for now and hand over the materials requested by the prosecution. I will report to the chairman about the handed-over materials.”

“Yes.”

“Include the entry record there as well.”

The head of the legal department seemed startled but complied without saying anything.

“Director, and there’s one more thing I’d like to tell you.”

Je Guk was slightly tense, wondering what he was going to say with such a heavy expression.

“Yes. Please go ahead.”

“The chairman instructed me to bring a report on the prosecutor currently investigating and to find out where we can pull strings in the Central District Prosecutors’ Office.”

At the head of the legal department’s words, Je Guk flinched.

“When did he say that?”

“Today, around the time I was leaving work, he told me through the secretarial department. He asked me to submit the report by tomorrow before the chairman arrives at work.”

Je Guk closed his eyes tightly and opened them.

“How much have you figured out?”

The head of the legal department showed Je Guk the organized contents.

Je Guk, who had become serious, flipped through the report.

From the first page, Ha In’s name and identification photo were visible. Je Guk’s face stiffened.

“Prosecutor Cheon Ha In is more problematic than Prosecutor Choi Gang Jun, whom you saw last time.”

For a different reason than the head of the legal department, it was indeed a huge problem in Je Guk’s view.

“In what way is it a big problem?”

“They say she’s a prosecutor with a 100% win rate.”

Je Guk could guess what the head of the legal department was concerned about.

“If Prosecutor Cheon Ha In only focuses on Ms. Hyun Baek Hap, that’s fortunate, but if she targets the chairman or the entire Cheonha Group, it becomes a completely different level of problem.”

Je Guk couldn’t talk about the alliance he had made with Ha In, and he couldn’t think of how to calm the head of the legal department.

Je Guk stared at Ha In’s profile in the report.

It seemed that Chairman Lee had taken care of the missing information about the prosecutor in the last report this time.

If so, it couldn’t be omitted any further.

“Head of the Department.”

Je Guk called the head of the legal department in a solemn voice.

“Yes.”

“Please recreate the report.”

“Pardon?”

The head of the legal department was startled. Then, seeing Je Guk’s expression, he quickly hid his displeasure.

“Create a prosecutor’s profile under a different name. I will handle the reporting.”

Je Guk once again hid the report with Ha In’s name on it.

However, he couldn’t guarantee how long this method would work.

Male lead is a Divorced Husband

She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”

Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.

After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.

She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.

But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…

Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!

――

This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!

The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.

That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”

Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”

The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”

That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”

Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”

The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.

Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.

“She was originally a ‘she’!”

At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.

The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”

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