Chapter 19
“When women truly turn away, they’re often much more frightening and cold than men. You should know that already.”
Park Dong-sik nodded without realizing it.
His gaze drifted blankly into the distance.
His expression darkened as though he remembered what was already happening to him.
He sighed.
“My wife won’t even open the door for me now, and Chae Song-hwa doesn’t answer my calls at all.”
He weakly shook his head.
It seemed he had finally begun to accept how serious his situation was.
I looked at him calmly.
“You brought that on yourself.”
I went silent after saying it.
Park Dong-sik didn’t deny it.
Then I lightly smiled.
“There’s that chairman who said the world is wide and there’s plenty to do.”
I paused.
Then continued with an easy expression.
“The world is wide, and there are plenty of women too. Why not repay only three hundred million won and start fresh?”
I deliberately added playfully,
“Since things have already gone this far, instead of struggling here, you could go enjoy life in Thailand or Vietnam.”
I smiled gently.
“Don’t people say Thailand is heaven above heaven?”
For a moment, Park Dong-sik’s expression relaxed.
He even smiled without meaning to.
Some of the tension disappeared from his eyes.
But he quickly spoke in his usual crooked tone.
“Yeah. I like that part. Women are women. If you have money, you can find another one.”
He stared blankly at the floor and thought.
His face showed that he was calculating something intensely.
Finally, he slowly raised his head.
“Fine. I’ll do what you say.”
His voice was low.
Resignation.
Surrender.
And new greed.
All of it mixed strangely together.
The threat and temptation had both worked.
After confirming his decision, I immediately took out my phone.
I called Uncle Kim Dong-su.
He answered right away.
I spoke calmly.
“Uncle, come to the coffee shop with the lawyer.”
After a short breath, I continued.
“It’s the matter we discussed beforehand.”
After ending the call, I remained seated and watched Park Dong-sik.
His head hung low as though he had already given up.
A little later, the door opened.
Kim Dong-su and the lawyer entered together.
The lawyer immediately opened his briefcase and prepared his stamp.
Kim Dong-su carefully approached and sat near us.
The atmosphere became heavy again.
Tension was obvious on everyone’s face.
I handed Park Dong-sik the prepared statement form.
Then spoke clearly.
“Write this yourself: ‘I illegally concealed my assets, and I am now voluntarily disclosing that fact.’ Write it exactly.”
Park Dong-sik hesitated.
Then he picked up the pen.
His fingertips trembled slightly.
But he pressed down firmly and wrote each character one at a time.
Only the sound of paper moving filled the silence.
No one spoke.
Once the statement was complete, the lawyer carefully checked everything.
Then he stamped it for notarization.
After receiving Park Dong-sik’s signature at the bottom, it became an official document.
Uncle Kim Dong-su watched silently and gave a short nod.
The lawyer checked everything one last time for procedural problems.
Inside, I quietly thought,
Now I make the final deal with this.
That afternoon.
A quiet coffee shop in Seoul.
I sat at a table with Park Dong-sik’s ex-wife on one side and Chae Song-hwa on the other.
Soft music played in the cafe.
But only cold silence existed between the three of us.
Afternoon sunlight came through the windows.
Yet the atmosphere was icy.
The two women glared at each other as though they wanted to tear each other apart.
Two copies of Park Dong-sik’s asset concealment statement lay in front of me.
The atmosphere grew heavier.
For a long time, no one spoke.
I slowly lifted my coffee cup.
Then set it down without drinking.
I deliberately maintained the silence.
Finally, I looked between them.
“First, let me make the nature of this situation absolutely clear.”
Both women looked toward me at the same time.
I lightly tapped the copies of the statement.
“Park Dong-sik has completely betrayed both of you.”
Both faces hardened.
I continued calmly.
“And this document proves it clearly.”
Their expressions grew even stiffer.
The ex-wife nervously crossed her arms and looked away.
Chae Song-hwa continued staring at her juice.
I continued calmly.
“Instead of glaring at each other, it’s time to think about what you’re going to do about the bad man who put both of you in this situation.”
I deliberately sighed heavily.
Both women quietly turned toward me.
The tension inside that sigh pressed down on the atmosphere.
I tapped the statement again.
The meaningful sound made their expressions grow more tense.
Then I pushed the copies forward.
Both women focused on me anxiously.
I declared coldly,
“If we can’t reach an agreement, I’ll submit this statement to the court immediately and begin seizure procedures against every asset under both of your names. Homes, savings, vehicles, even your living-expense accounts.”
The ex-wife’s face stiffened.
Chae Song-hwa lowered her head.
Her hand trembled slightly as she tightly gripped her juice glass.
A moment later, she sharply asked,
“Why are you saying this to us?”
Her voice carried anger and injustice.
She looked at me as though she couldn’t understand.
I took a short breath and smiled calmly.
I lightly opened my hands.
“I didn’t originally intend to take things this far. But both of you are holding part of Park Dong-sik’s assets.”
Chae Song-hwa immediately tried to speak again in anger.
At that moment, the ex-wife raised her hand and firmly cut her off.
The gesture was authoritative.
Chae Song-hwa forced herself to swallow her protest and bit her lip.
The two women exchanged another sharp look.
It felt like sparks were flying.
The tension became even tighter.
I calmly smiled at them.
I had to be the winner of this fight.
I couldn’t waver now.
“Time is money. The principal is three hundred million won, and the interest is one billion. I’m willing to forgive eighty percent of the interest for both of you.”
I paused and studied their reactions.
Both women looked as though they had stopped breathing.
Only the glasses on the table trembled slightly in the silence.
I continued.
“Return only five hundred million won total, including two hundred million in interest. That will be enough.”
Their expressions twisted further.
The ex-wife deeply frowned.
Distrust was obvious on her face.
Chae Song-hwa bit her lip hard.
Her face turned red with anger.
A heavy, uncomfortable silence followed.
I deliberately said nothing.
I simply waited.
After a while, I slowly leaned forward.
I brought my eyes to their level and spoke quietly.
“I rarely compromise this much. Do not expect anything more.”
The ex-wife’s lips twitched as though she wanted to speak, then closed again.
Her hands clenched tightly on the table.
Chae Song-hwa nervously tapped the juice glass with her fingers.
Tiny drops of condensation clung to her fingertips.
Her anxiety was obvious.
I deliberately changed direction.
I turned toward the ex-wife.
“You’re raising two children. Becoming penniless would be difficult, wouldn’t it?”
I quietly watched her reaction.
Her eyes trembled slightly.
Anxiety she couldn’t fully hide surfaced.
Her children were her greatest weakness.
Mentioning them would naturally shake her.
Then I slowly turned toward Chae Song-hwa.
She stared at me tensely.
I spoke gently.
“And your baby will be born soon, right?”
The two women briefly looked at each other.
Resentment and sympathy strangely mixed in that moment.
The atmosphere grew even tighter.
The ex-wife clenched her fist and stared at the statement.
Chae Song-hwa bit her lip and let out a long, defeated sigh.
The sunlight outside was slowly fading.
I patiently waited for one of them to speak.
Then Chae Song-hwa quietly turned toward the ex-wife.
“Unnie, let’s repay the debt and throw that man away. We need to survive.”
The ex-wife stared at her for a short moment.
Hesitation and complicated emotion filled her eyes.
Her lips trembled.
She tried several times to speak.
Then stopped.
After a long hesitation, she finally nodded slowly.
For a brief moment, the two women formed an alliance.
A silent agreement.
They hated each other.
Yet survival forced them to join hands.
Human irony in its purest form.
