Chapter 200
Chapter 200
However, this wasn’t the first time Miyun had such thoughts .
“How’s s.h.i.+nhae? Is she doing well?”
“If you speak s.h.i.+nhae’s name one more time, I’ll rip your tongue out . ”
“Are you capable of doing it?”
“If you doubt my words, you should try it . ”
When Miyun saw the gleam in Sungyoon’s eyes, her confidence shrunk, and she closed her mouth .
The ‘pushover’ who always did what she asked when she smiled had vanished .
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that . I have to talk to you about our child . ”
Duhp-suhk!
Sungyoon didn’t say anything, and he just extended his hand . Thankfully for Miyun, Jimin grabbed Sungyoon"s arm in time .
Miyun’s face turned white . Sungyoon"s brutish hand had stopped right in front of her eyes, and it was still twitching .
“Please calm down . You know this woman is saying such words to provoke you . Moreover, a lot of people, including s.h.i.+nhae, will be put in a tough spot if you get arrested . ”
Even after Jimin had spoken, Sungyoon didn’t put his arm down for a while . In the end, he had to retract his hand . Then, he crossed his arms and closed his eyes as if he didn’t want to spar words with Miyun .
Jimin took up the baton and spoke in his stead .
“Go on, Ms . Lee Miyun . What nonsense were you going to say?”
Miyun couldn’t speak for a moment as she monitored Sungyoon .
She had come into this meeting with a very optimistic view . The Sungyoon from her memories had been an idiot . He was a simple man who treasured his daughter so much that he had purposefully let himself be dragged through the mud .
When Jaeho had made his request around two months ago, Miyun had a.s.sumed everything would go her way . She thought it would be easy if she used s.h.i.+nhae as her leverage . After all, s.h.i.+nhae was someone who Sungyoon wanted to protect at all costs .
Of course, he had gained great fame and wealth, so she had to modify her approach . However, she never expected him to use violence as the first resort . He wanted to rip her tongue out .
With his experience in the labyrinths, Sungyoon was no stranger to violence, and he had lived at the bottom of society . Then there was s.h.i.+nhae’s importance to his life . Miyun couldn"t understand it, but Sungyoon"s response was obvious considering these factors .
Although it had surprised her, Miyun didn’t give up . Maybe, she had gained courage by the fact that Sungyoon had been unable to touch her in the end .
“Nonsense? As a mother, I just want to talk about my daughter . ”
Sungyoon’s eyebrows twitched . His fingers moved a little bit, but he didn’t react any further .
Jimin was impressed . The face of the woman in front of her was still pale . Jimin could tell Miyun had been frightened when Sungyoon said he would rip her tongue out . Yet, she wasn’t backing down an inch .
"She has b.a.l.l.s . I’ll give her that much . ’
“What do you want to talk about s.h.i.+nhae?”
“I would like to raise her from now on . ”
“f.u.c.k no!”
Sungyoon immediately objected .
“We don’t plan on putting up with your bulls.h.i.+t . ”
Jimin was also firm with her words .
“Then I have no choice but to sue you . ”
“Do as you wish . ”
The two formidable women glared at each other .
Sungyoon interjected himself between the two .
“At this point, I have a rough idea of what shenanigans you are trying to pull . If I don’t comply, you will threaten to sue me for custody of s.h.i.+nhae . Stop beating around the bush . Get to the point . If you continue to bulls.h.i.+t me, I’m leaving . ”
“For your information, Ms . Miyun, you should forget about the idea that you will have an advantage in court if you sue him . Unlike before, Mr . Sungyoon has time and money . He also has political connections . When he started going up to the Moon in the beginning, he did have to leave behind s.h.i.+nhae . However, his actions pale in comparison to what you did . ”
Jimin had a calm expression on her face as she said all this .
Miyun thought for a brief moment before responding .
“Alright . I want two things . ”
“You"re still a greedy pig . ”
Miyun ignored Sungyoon’s insult and stated her demands .
“Firstly, I want you to keep your mouth shut about Mr . Jaeho . ”
For a moment, an intense light appeared in Sungyoon"s and Jimin’s eyes .
“Secondly, I want some money . You have a lot of money now . ”
“How much?”
“I’m not sure . I wonder if twenty million will be enough?”
Sungyoon clicked his tongue, while Jimin smirked .
“That’s nothing when you consider Mr . Sungyoon’s earnings . Still, you really have no conscience . ”
Despite Jimin’s insult, Miyun continued to speak to Sungyoon .
“Of course, I will make some concessions . I"m willing to sign the waiver to disestablish maternity . ”
“I don’t care if you think you have any rights to s.h.i.+nhae . I never planned on acknowledging it . ”
Unlike his words, Sungyoon was interested in the waiver that would disestablish maternity .
Miyun wasn’t a mother to s.h.i.+nhae, but she had to voluntarily disestablish maternity to waive all her rights to s.h.i.+nhae in the eyes of the law .
Sungyoon wanted to sever all ties between Miyun and s.h.i.+nhae, and it didn’t matter how small that connection was .
“Is this all the cards you have? I thought you would bluff and claim that s.h.i.+nhae wasn’t related by blood to Mr . Sungyoon . ”
“I might"ve done it in the past, but it"d be too easy to disprove it now . ”
“I don’t care if you lie or not . Even if s.h.i.+nhae wasn’t my blood daughter, I would never hand her over to you . I will do whatever that is necessary to make that true . ”
Miyun once again flinched at Sungyoon’s gaze . It had been a while since she had seen her ex-husband, and now, he could stop a person’s heart with his gaze .
However, she had to endure it . It wasn’t courage or foolhardiness .
The man she had thrown away had risen so high that she couldn’t touch him . Miyun had no choice but to accept this fact, and this was the last bit of self-respect she had as an insignificant woman .
“What are you going to do?”
Miyun sounded a bit hysterical .
She hadn’t expected the meeting to turn out like this .
In terms of status in society, their roles had been completely reversed . Still, she had believed that Sungyoon would play into her hands in the end and accept her deal if she mentioned the waiver to disestablish maternity .
However, the status difference between the two was beyond Miyun"s imagination .
In the end, Jimin was the first one to speak .
“We’ll have to discuss this a little further amongst us . Mr . Sungyoon received real estate in Armstrong city, so twenty million dollars is chump change to him . However, we don’t want to give you even ten dollars if we have a choice . ”
Miyun had kept up with the news, so she knew Jimin was telling the truth . Everyone in Korea was hyper-focused on Sungyoon’s every movement and achievements, so any information on him was hot material . Recently, the news that Sungyoon had partic.i.p.ated in the Golem extermination plan had been all over the TV . The media had reported that Sungyoon had received a ma.s.sive reward, and some had guessed that the reward was real estate inside Armstrong .
‘Just the fact that he has real estate in Armstrong . . . ’
The real estate in Armstrong couldn’t be compared to the real estate on Earth . One could generate ma.s.sive amounts of pa.s.sive income just from possessing land in Armstrong .
Jimin discreetly monitored Miyun . then she spoke something as if it were an afterthought .
“Well, if you bring something worth it to us, we can offer something beyond twenty million . We might even give you some real estate in Armstrong . However, you really don’t have anything worth that much to us . You"re bringing the same old stuff to the table, trying to negotiate with us using the daughter you threw away . ”
Jimin was clearly ridiculing Miyun, but Miyun didn’t hear it . The only thing ringing in her ears was that she might be able to acquire real estate in Armstrong if she could provide something of equal value to Sungyoon .
“… That"s all I have to say . Just contact me when you have a deal to present to me . ”
“We won’t see you off . Please wait until we discuss this amongst ourselves . Don’t contact us first . Ah! If you get impatient and start the lawsuit, the deal is off the table . Please don’t forget that . ”
Miyun was annoyed . She took her handbag and left the cafe . Unlike her calm exterior, her mind was busy making calculations .
‘If I give him that, he might give me real estate in Armstrong . . . ’
Miyun"s greedy eyes moved on to a new target of desire .
***
“Did you see it?”
“Yes . ”
Jimin moved to the seat in front of Sungyoon .
“When I told her we might give her real estate if she could provide something of equal value, she showed a reaction . It wasn’t just pure greed . She knows she has something you might want . And there"s only one such thing . ”
Jimin"s eyes shone as she spoke the rest of her words .
“The contract between Mr . Sungyoon and Lee Jaeho . It"s probably the one that she handed over to Lee Jaeho . ”
Miyun had probably kept the contract as insurance . No, she had definitely kept it to extract more money out of Lee Jaeho in the future . She was capable of such actions .
“Of course, it would most likely be just a copy of the original contract . However, that would be enough to expose Kim Jaeho’s fraudulent practices . Unlike before, you have the money to pursue this . And, of course, the general public will be on your side . ”
Jimin slowly sipped her coffee .
“Did you hear about the doc.u.mentary they"re making about you?”
“Yes . ”
Doc.u.mentary!
One of the major media companies was planning on making a doc.u.mentary focusing on Sungyoon’s past .
Sungyoon’s past was too interesting and controversial . On the surface, he had gathered investors through fraud and tallied up ma.s.sive debt in the process . He had been so deep in debt that he had been at the cusp of being sent to prison .
The company struggled with the decision that should they should reveal such a sordid past about the hero of Korea .
However, people kept finding new interesting information the further they dug into his past . It became clear that Sungyoon’s story was more interesting than most K-Drama . His past might even unearth an enormous scandal involving one of the premier conglomerates of the world .
“That woman moved because Lee Jaeho probably got wind of the doc.u.mentary . If Mr . Sungyoon decides to speak up about it, it would be a great hit to his reputation . The producer even called me for an interview . I told them that I was busy, but I heavily implied that I might be willing to speak with them at a later date . Of course, they also requested an interview with Mr . Sungyoon through me . ”
Any words spoken by the ‘hot’ hero of Korea would cause waves .
“If we have no evidence, Lee Jaeho’s image would take a hit, but it would fizzle out as a scandal . However, it"s a completely different story if we can present some evidence . Mr . Sungyoon can regain everything you lost . ”
Sungyoon had given blood, sweat, and tears to develop his technology, and he had a chance to recover it .
“… If I’m being honest, I still think about the technology that I developed . However, I don"t want any controversy now . I just want to live my life with s.h.i.+nhae . ”
If Miyun and Jaeho hadn’t moved against him, Sungyoon had been willing to let it go .
“However, those two keep proving with their actions that they are a threat to the wellbeing of my daughter and me . ”
Miyun had threatened Sungyoon using his most precious treasure, and Jaeho was the one who had asked her to do so . Sungyoon did feel a little threatened because Miyun had used her status as s.h.i.+nhae’s mother against him .
“If I do as they wish this time, do you think they would leave me alone for the rest of my life?”
“Not at all . ”
“I think so too . That"s why I have to get rid of them somehow . ”
A dangerous light appeared in Sungyoon’s eyes .
“I have to step on them, and we have to make sure they would never interfere with s.h.i.+nhae and me ever again . ”
Sungyoon was ready to reveal his teeth toward the two of them .
“Alright . I’ll proceed with that in mind . ”
Jimin spoke . She would be the one to carry out the plan since Sungyoon had to focus on the Great Labyrinth .
However, Jimin wasn’t annoyed by this in the slightest . s.h.i.+nhae had become precious to her too, and she also became motivated when she thought about Sungyoon .
“I entrust everything to you . I’ll be heading back up now . ”
Jimin had been burning with motivation, but she looked a bit down when she heard Sungyoon’s words .
“… I’m sure this might fall on deaf ear, and I’m sure you’ll be fine, but please be careful . ”
Jimin had been alarmed when she had seen Sungyoon’s Gems on his return . She knew that he had contributed greatly to the Golem extermination mission, but she hadn"t expected his Gems to evolve so much .
Sungyoon"s rapid growth meant that he had faced incredible risk to accomplish it .
“I’ll do my best . ”
Sungyoon"s flat answer exasperated Jimin .