Chapter 27
The genealogy record Hari and Woon found was only half complete. The information needed for the lawsuit had been ripped cleanly away.
Hari desperately needed the other half and wanted to search Ok Noye’s house a little longer, but unfortunately, there was no time.
Woon and Hari carefully restored the shrine exactly as it had been before returning home.
At home, Maldong was waiting for Hari with wide, anxious eyes.
Hari soothed the crying Maldong, who tearfully said that Hari had returned later than promised and almost woke Jungho and Changgeun. Only after calming him down did Hari finally go to sleep.
And then morning came.
Hari barely touched breakfast before heading to the office.
“Hey, what happened to your face?”
Nahee, who had been sitting on the wooden porch swinging her feet, ran toward Hari at terrifying speed.
“Who bullied you? Which bastard was it? What idiot dared mess with an oejibu?”
Nahee grabbed Hari’s cheeks tightly with both hands.
She inspected Hari’s bloodshot eyes, the dark shadows under them, and even the dry skin sticking out from Hari’s lips like a duck’s bill.
Flames practically blazed in Nahee’s eyes.
It had only been three days since Hari stopped coming to the oejibu office, yet Hari already looked a mess. Nahee’s insides boiled wondering whether the Daesagan household had been starving Hari or whether someone had hurt her.
“Lemme go firsht.”
Hari barely managed to answer.
Nahee was taller than Hari. Since she had pulled Hari’s head up to her own eye level, Hari had to stand on tiptoe. It was incredibly uncomfortable, so Hari gently pushed her away.
Reluctantly, Nahee let go.
“Geez, you’re seriously strong.”
Hari rubbed her tingling cheeks.
“Yep, I am strong. And rich too. So if anything’s bothering you, tell me. You know this, right? There’s nothing in the world money can’t solve.”
Every time Nahee bragged about her wealth, it somehow sounded fresh and new.
“There’s nothing bothering me.”
“Then are you hungry? Is your uncle starving you?”
After becoming acquainted with Jungho while staying at the Daesagan household, Nahee had at some point started comfortably calling Hari’s father “uncle.” Jungho never particularly scolded her for it either.
Probably because he pitied Nahee for all the suffering she endured because of her own father.
“Would my father ever starve me?”
“Well… Uncle’s different from my father. If even a speck of dust gets in your eye, he acts like the whole world’s collapsing.”
Nahee’s voice trembled slightly. She wasn’t jealous of Hari, but thinking about her own past inevitably left a bitter taste in her mouth.
Since Hari understood exactly what was in Nahee’s heart, she always found Nahee’s rude behavior endearing and let it slide.
Nahee trailed behind Hari into the office. When Hari sat down in her chair, Nahee settled across from her. As Hari spread out her documents, Nahee opened a book to read.
A quick glance revealed it was one of Maldong’s written tales.
‘Our Maldong is raking in money with a shovel.’
“But why are you here?”
“Can’t I be here? This is my house.”
“It’s my office.”
“You don’t pay a single coin.”
Hari hummed and crossed her arms.
When Hari had helped annul her marriage, Nahee acted like she’d carry Hari on her back forever. But now her true colors were showing? Slightly disappointing. A little unfortunate too.
“Are you telling me to pay rent?”
If necessary, Hari could at least show a reasonable amount of sincerity.
Originally, Hari had considered moving the office elsewhere, but since rumors had already spread that Hari worked here, relocation was no longer an option.
Potential clients might get confused.
“Hey! Do I look stingy to you? Don’t you dare pay rent! Not one coin! If you even try, I’ll hand over the deed to the house!”
Nahee shot to her feet, veins bulging in her neck as she shouted at the top of her lungs.
Judging by her actions and expression, it looked like a threat, but judging by the content, it was basically winning the lottery.
‘Is this some kind of aggressive affection?’
The thought suddenly crossed Hari’s mind, and she asked:
“Do you like me?”
“L-like… wh-what?”
“You don’t like me?”
“No!”
“So you do like me. That’s why you want to stay with me and be nice to me.”
Nahee’s lips twitched.
Seeing her flushed face—somewhere between embarrassed and resentful—improved Hari’s mood considerably.
“Keep liking me. I’ll work hard and live well so you won’t be ashamed of your feelings.”
She should respond properly to Nahee’s sincerity, even if Nahee was simply clumsy at expressing affection.
Hari smiled brightly.
Nahee puffed out her cheeks before slowly letting the air hiss back out.
“Just tell me about the Wang Eunyoung case already. Is there actually a way to solve it? Aunt Chunja stopped by the office again yesterday and stayed a long time. Judging by her face, I think her husband hit her. I’m worried he’ll throw her out.”
Hari could already imagine how Chunja was being treated by her husband.
‘I want to tell her to leave the house, but that could be used against her during the lawsuit.’
As unfortunate as it was, Chunja had to endure it.
“How’s Eunyoung doing?”
“I think she’s okay. Since she’s considered part of another family now, they probably aren’t bothering her.”
Calling a ten-year-old child “part of another family” made Hari sigh automatically.
As Hari’s expression darkened, Nahee spoke confidently.
“If anything happens, I told them to run straight here. I’ll take good care of them, so don’t worry. I even hired people.”
Apparently, Nahee had recently hired two sturdy men temporarily in case Eunyoung’s father came looking for trouble. Nahee was sincere about helping Chunja and Eunyoung.
Suddenly, Hari had an idea. Resting her chin on her hand, she looked at Nahee.
“What?”
“Want to work with me?”
“What? You want me to become an oejibu? I can’t do that. I hate reading law books.”
“Who said anything about becoming an oejibu? I’m asking you to help me with my work. Investigate cases together. Protect clients too. Come to think of it, you’re already doing those things, aren’t you?”
As someone who was technically a lawyer, Hari felt uncomfortable using Nahee for free labor. Receiving help equivalent to office rent was about the right balance.
In life, relationships and work only function smoothly when both sides give and take appropriately. Anything beyond this would create problems.
More importantly, Nahee needed a new life too.
‘Judging by how she keeps meddling in everything, she must be bored.’
There were often people who, after fiercely fighting for divorce and finally achieving it, became lost and depressed because they no longer knew what to do next.
For Nahee, who had cut ties with her family home, the emptiness must have been even greater.
So Hari decided to simply give her work.
“Call yourself the office manager.”
“What?”
“From now on, you’re Manager Kim. I’m the oejibu, you’re the office manager. I’ll pay you too. Though not very much.”
“I’m the office manager…? Did you recruit me?”
“…Sure.”
Technically, “hiring” would’ve been the more accurate word.
Nahee pressed down the corners of her mouth that kept trying to rise. Then she repeatedly cleared her throat and started shaking her leg restlessly.
“Well, if you really want to work with me, I guess I can help you out. But your standards are pretty high. I’m only doing this because it’s you.”
“Thaaank you very muuuch.”
Hari exaggeratedly bowed, making Nahee burst into laughter before leaning across the desk with both hands planted on it.
“So what do I do first?”
As if she’d been waiting for the question, Hari immediately answered:
“Go meet the village chief in the town where Ok Noye lives.”
“Meet him? Aren’t you going?”
Hari had already been rejected.
The village chief, the eldest authority in the village, was an extremely stubborn old-fashioned man. The moment he saw Hari, he started wildly waving his cane around, calling her someone who destroyed the very foundation of Joseon families.
Hari had even brought makgeolli because she heard he liked alcohol.
If there had been even the slightest chance he’d open up to her, she would’ve visited two or three more times, but it seemed hopeless.
Still, he probably wouldn’t slam the door in Nahee’s face.
‘Nahee’s face isn’t well known.’
Oddly enough, the fact that Nahee had stayed hidden indoors as a widow-in-waiting helped at times like this.
“What am I supposed to ask him?”
Nahee asked.
“Anything about Ok Noye. Even the smallest detail.”
“Got it. I’ll even find out how many nose hairs the old geezer has. What are you going to do meanwhile?”
“I’m going to meet Ok Noye’s oejibu.”
“Ok Noye hired an oejibu?”
“Apparently.”
And not just any oejibu, but one famous throughout Hanyang. The man had contacted Hari yesterday afternoon.
‘If I’d found proper evidence, I wouldn’t have bothered meeting him. But since I didn’t, I have to.’
It would be Hari’s first time meeting another oejibu somewhere other than the Hanseong office.
How different would Joseon’s oejibu be from modern Korean lawyers?
‘Will I learn anything? It’d be nice if he wanted a settlement.’
Since they failed to find evidence, negotiating a settlement had become Plan B.
After seeing Nahee off, Hari returned and stared thoughtfully at the paper containing Eunyoung’s case details.
