Chapter 14
Choi Giman and Nahee turned around at the same time.
Choi Giman frowned, while Nahee lit up with joy.
“Attorney An!”
Nahee immediately got up, shoved Choi Giman aside, and ran forward.
Hari pulled Nahee by the wrist and moved her behind her.
“Are you alright?”
Nahee nodded.
Relieved, Hari looked at Choi Giman, who had stepped onto the wooden porch.
“An attorney? Our sister-in-law knows an attorney? Why is that?”
Choi Giman tilted his head to the side.
Hari examined him with sharp eyes.
The whites of his eyes were yellowish and streaked with red veins. His skin was dry and rough, his lips cracked. His hands were thin and shriveled, yet his belly bulged like a mountain.
‘Looks like he’s been drowning in alcohol.’
Leaving quietly might not be easy.
“I still haven’t gotten an answer. Has our dear sister-in-law glued her mouth shut? Then you, attorney, answer me instead. Let me hear your voice. Is it as pretty as your face?”
Choi Giman chuckled crudely, throwing flirtatious glances.
“I have nothing to say to you, sir. Please excuse us.”
“What? A mere attorney dares to talk back? And now that I think about it, what’s a woman doing as an attorney? Ah! You must be that wench who’s been making a fuss in the marketplace. The shameless woman who ruins other people’s families!”
It seemed he had heard rumors—but only the useless insults.
Unaware that Hari was the daughter of a high official, Choi Giman shouted aggressively.
Sighing softly, Hari took Nahee’s hand.
“Let’s go.”
“Go where?”
“For now, to my office.”
“Like this? Without asking Mother for permission?”
Hadn’t she already decided to divorce? Didn’t that make them strangers now?
Hari shook her head at Nahee, who still sought her mother-in-law even in this moment.
“I’ll explain later. Actually, no need. There she comes—your mother-in-law.”
Lady Choi entered the annex yard, radiating fury.
“What is all this commotion?!”
Hari pressed her forehead.
Things always escalated whenever she entered this house.
‘Bad energy.’
Releasing Nahee’s hand, Hari bowed politely.
Considering they would face each other in court later, she needed to make a good first impression.
‘If one side behaves reasonably, the other side tends to keep at least minimal courtesy.’
Of course, if the other side acted like beasts, Hari had no intention of staying quiet.
But there was no need to become one first.
‘Those noble judges hate seeing people fight like animals.’
“Greetings, Madam. I am An Hari, attorney for Lady Kim.”
“An attorney?”
Lady Choi looked back and forth between Hari and Nahee.
No matter how long she stared, she couldn’t understand how the two were connected.
“My child, tell me. What relationship do you have with that attorney?”
“Mother…”
Nahee’s voice trembled.
No matter how strong she was, having been raised in Joseon, Nahee naturally shrank under her mother-in-law’s fierce presence.
“Don’t say anything. Anything you say now may come back to harm you.”
After advising Nahee, Hari spoke instead.
“Madam, I intend to take Lady Kim with me.”
“What?”
“If you wish to speak with her from now on, you will have to come to me.”
“Giman, I cannot understand what that woman is saying.”
Choi Giman stepped down into the yard and held his mother’s hand.
“It seems our sister-in-law wants to give up being part of the Choi family.”
Though her surname wasn’t Choi, having married into the family, Nahee was considered one of them.
Lady Choi, who had always believed that once married, a woman must remain part of her husband’s family even in death, could not comprehend—no, could not accept—his words.
After several seconds, she began trembling and spoke.
“How dare you… are you saying you want a divorce?”
Her eyes rolled back grotesquely, and the hand gripping her skirt shook violently.
“How could you think of something so disgraceful? I cherished you like a daughter! Aren’t you ashamed before our ancestors? Your husband must be watching you from heaven!”
She shouted at the top of her lungs, pounding her chest.
She staggered as if about to collapse, and Choi Giman quickly supported her.
‘Cherished her twice, and she’d lock her in a cave.’
Hari scoffed inwardly and pulled Nahee’s hand.
“Let’s go. For real this time.”
After hesitating, Nahee followed.
“Oh my son! Catch that wretch! Catch her!”
At Lady Choi’s command, Choi Giman lunged forward.
His massive hand shot toward Nahee’s hair.
At that moment, Hari turned first and raised her arm to block him.
“Ugh.”
A dull sound of bone hitting bone echoed, and pain shot through Hari’s forearm.
Gritting her teeth, she endured it and stepped closer, staring straight at Choi Giman.
“This is as far as your recklessness goes. If you go any further, you will have to pay the price. Can you handle that?”
It was too polite to be a threat, yet carried undeniable weight.
Overwhelmed by her presence, Choi Giman instinctively stepped back.
Hari smirked slightly.
Behind the seething Choi Giman, Lady Choi could be seen wailing.
“Oh, how can I face the ancestors when I die? Oh, my poor second son!”
Her shrieking and stomping made quite a spectacle.
“Don’t look back. Let’s go. This household is doomed anyway.”
Hari urged Nahee forward as her pace slowed.
As they left the annex and walked, people glanced at them.
Their eyes were full of curiosity, but no one blocked Nahee’s path.
Soon, the two exited the estate.
Even after passing through the main gate, Hari didn’t let go of Nahee’s hand for a while.
Nahee’s hand was trembling slightly.
She had resolved to divorce, but now that it was happening, fear must have set in.
Many women were like that.
Not because they regretted the decision, but because of the emptiness and uncertainty.
Only when they had reached a distance where the Choi residence was no longer visible did Hari release her hand.
Hari turned to face Nahee.
As their gazes met calmly, Nahee’s trembling gradually subsided.
Having escaped the prison without bars, her heart burned hot.
And deep within, trust toward Hari—who had led her out—rose steadily.
“Thank you.”
Those brief words carried her sincere gratitude.
Hari smiled lightly and lifted her chin.
“No need for thanks over something like this. If you thank me already, will you bow to me after we win?”
“If necessary, I will.”
“No need. I’ll take my thanks as the success fee. Speaking of which—”
Hari stepped closer and glanced around before whispering,
“Did you find what I asked for?”
“Make way, please.”
Gong Chilbok pushed through the crowded crowd in front of the government office. Un followed behind him.
There was only one reason the usually quiet office was bustling.
“Is it true that the second daughter-in-law of the Choi family has filed for divorce?”
“If it weren’t true, would she be standing there? Wearing mourning clothes. They say she’s a widow in name only, which is pitiful—but divorce? That makes no sense.”
It was the day of the trial that had been the talk of the marketplace for days.
“Attorney Kang, what do you think? Whose side do you think the magistrate will take?”
The ones talking were attorneys active in Hanyang.
“Obviously the Choi family. What about you, Attorney Yoon?”
“I agree.”
The attorneys expected An Hari to be utterly defeated—and secretly hoped for it.
They found it ridiculous that a woman was running around acting as an attorney.
“When the hen crows, the household falls. Looks like both the Choi family and the high official’s family are doomed.”
Clicking his tongue, Attorney Kang muttered like a curse.
Into the group of chatting attorneys stepped a well-dressed, sturdy, handsome man.
It was Un.
“I think differently.”
Attorney Kang looked up at him with annoyance. The man was taller by a head, which irritated him for no reason.
“And who might you be?”
Naturally, his tone was unfriendly.
“No need for that. Shall we make a bet? I’ll wager ten nyang that ‘Attorney An wins.’”
The men snorted and laughed mockingly.
“Sir, there has never been a case where a widow was granted a divorce. That’s Joseon law.”
“So you won’t take the bet? Afraid you’ll lose?”
“It’s not that!”
“Or do you not have ten nyang?”
“Hah! Fine, let’s do it! Ten nyang? I’ll raise it to twenty!”
“And one more thing—if I win, you apologize to Attorney An.”
“This is ridiculous… fine, we agree!”
Attorney Kang accepted the bet.
Just then, the magistrate appeared.
