Chapter 3 : Mom

Lightning struck before my eyes.

Go Jong-tak had struck me, already vomiting blood.

With a vile expression, he spat out his words.

“A dog should die like a dog. Don’t bark loudly at your master.”

“Who’s the dog, and who’s my master? I’m a precious child at home too.”

“Your parents? They’re gone, aren’t they?”

Just as I had done, Go Jong-tak stabbed at my deepest wound.

Trembling with rage, I glared at him.

“You’re going to die here anyway,” he said. “Let me tell you something interesting.”

“What’s that?”

“Your parents… Was it really just an accident?”

“No way…”

“If I recall correctly, they went on a package tour, didn’t they? Through Juhan Travel, no less.”

“No, it can’t be!”

Bound to the chair, I writhed in agony.

Go Jong-tak looked down at me with a gleeful expression.

“You were loyal to me for nearly 20 years. I should at least tell you one truth.”

“Sob…”

“Crying already? The fun part hasn’t even started.”

Leaning on a metal pipe, Go Jong-tak spoke with a wistful look.

“There was a person of interest Juhan needed to deal with back then. By some stroke of luck—or maybe fate—they booked a luxury package tour through Juhan Travel, a company we essentially controlled.”

“Aaaargh!”

It was the trip I had personally chosen and paid for.

It was my parents’ first trip as a couple after a lifetime of hardship, so I had carefully selected the best package for them.

And yet…

“Heh heh heh. That’s right. Your parents were just unlucky. A package tour for only five people, and you, Kim Yoo-hee, happened to pick that one.”

“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you, Go Jong-tak!”

“Why kill me? I’m the kind benefactor who told you the truth.”

“I won’t let you get away with this. Even if I die, I’ll make sure to take revenge.”

“All I did was handle the legal side of that incident cleanly. And, conveniently, I used it to make you more loyal to me. If you want revenge, go after the one who gave the order.”

“Ugh! Who was it? Tell me! Tell me!”

I thrashed against the chair I was tied to.

I swore I’d take revenge on the one who did this to my parents, even in death.

“Then you wouldn’t die in such agony, would you?”

“What?”

“Die writhing in pain, not knowing who killed your parents. Oh, wait, no. You’re the one who caused their deaths, aren’t you?”

“No, that’s not true!”

“If you hadn’t booked that trip, your parents would still be alive.”

“Aaargh!”

“Have a nice special vacation, Director Kim Yoo-hee.”

My special promotion and the unusual vacation from CEO Go were all for this.

To quietly eliminate me.

The promises he made to me were never meant to be kept.

Go Jong-tak smirked and handed something to a man.

The man, expressionless, struck me.

“If you’d died quietly in the car, we wouldn’t have had to make a mess of this.”

As Go Jong-tak spoke, my vision blurred.

I had been so happy today, unaware of what was coming.

…So excited.

Even though it was my first vacation and I didn’t know what to do.

“Yoo-hee, want to come with us on this trip?”

“Mom…”

“This is our first real trip. We felt uneasy going without you.”

“Sob…”

I’m sorry, Mom.

I thought I was working for our family, oblivious to everything.

So foolishly…

My hard work got my beloved family killed.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

When I didn’t die instantly, the pipe swung again.

Blood streamed from my battered head, and my head drooped lower.

At that moment, I saw my bag sprawled on the floor, its contents spilled out after being thoroughly searched.

Among them was the laptop I’d brought, unable to let go of work even on vacation, now smashed to pieces.

Seeing it, fury blazed in my eyes.

It looked so much like me—broken and ruined.

“Aaaaah!”

I was so furious, so wronged.

But I could do nothing.

Nothing but writhe in pain and scream my last.

Then it happened.

As my eyes slowly closed, the lifeless laptop suddenly emitted a blinding white light, and the space around me shimmered.

“No… no way…”

Was I hallucinating as I died? But then, what was this?

My mother, who had passed, stood before me, smiling warmly.

The same smile she gave me the day before the accident.

Something impossible in reality.

“Aaaah!”

“Oh, honey, are you okay?”

A deeply missed voice rang in my ears.

Maybe I’d died and gone to the same place.

I snapped my eyes open and bolted upright.

Before me was the figure I’d longed for so desperately.

“…Mom.”

My throat choked up, and no other words came out.

Mom looked at me silently, her gaze steady.

I forced myself to focus and first tried to figure out where I was.

“Is this heaven?”

Even if I didn’t know, Mom was the kind of person who’d live righteously without laws.

It had to be.

And I, having died unjustly, must have ended up in the same place.

It all made perfect sense.

“You’ve been pulling all-nighters for a week straight, and now you’re acting a little strange.”

“What, they have all-nighters in heaven…?”

There was no such thing where I came from.

Smack.

Before I could continue, a sharp sting spread across my back.

“Huh? Why does it feel so real, like I actually got hit?”

“Haha, I smacked you to snap you out of it. Stop talking nonsense and get up. You’ve got to go to work.”

“Work… huh?”

For the afterlife, everything felt too vivid.

Only then did I blink and look around.

A cramped single bed.

A small desk, an old bookshelf, and a vanity.

“This is my room?”

“Well, of course it’s your room. Normally, you’re up without me having to wake you, so what’s with you today?”

“That’s right. That’s how it was.”

So this is really reality.

I’m alive, not dead.

And above all…

“Mom!”

“What’s with this kid today?”

I threw my arms around Mom and sobbed loudly.

The mother I’d missed my entire life, longed for endlessly.

“Mom, I missed you so much.”

“Yeah, I thought it was a bit much that you didn’t come home for a whole week.”

Mom narrowed her eyes but gently patted my back as I sobbed.

“When did I ever—”

Right.

That’s how I lived, wasn’t it?

When work dragged on until dawn, I’d just unfold a foldable bed in the company meeting room and sleep there.

“But is it okay to keep dawdling like this? It’s Monday morning, you know.”

“Ugh…”

Why is it Monday even after coming back to life?

For a moment, I felt the Monday blues creeping in, but I decided to get ready for work.

To take revenge, going to work was a must.

But before that, I hugged Mom tightly and said the words I’d always wanted to say.

“Mom, I love you.”

“I love you too, my Yoo-hee.”

It was a morning as bright and radiant as dazzling sunlight.

That is, until I had to face Go Jong-tak again.

This time, it was my turn to pay back what I’d suffered.

“Good morning, Attorney Ahn.”

“Oh, yes.”

A neatly tied tie, an immaculate white shirt, and a slightly awkward greeting.

It was Attorney Ahn Kyunghyun, exactly as I remembered him.

One of the unfortunate first attorneys I worked under.

And the others?

“Wow, you’re full of energy today!”

“Yes, it’s Monday, so I’ve got to power through, Attorney Yoon.”

Yoon Yi-hoon, a fresh-faced attorney who just passed the bar exam.

Which meant he was an associate getting ground down just like me.

He was also one of my late-night work comrades.

“Seriously, Secretary Kim, we practically pulled an all-nighter together yesterday. How are you so lively?”

“Ahem, you know that could be taken the wrong way, right?”

“Haha, but it’s true! We were organizing case documents together.”

“Exactly! And whose fault was that? You owe me an apology.”

“I’m sorry. I’m still clumsy at work, so I keep making things harder for you, Secretary Kim.”

If you’re going to do something, do it right the first time—why make me redo it?

To be honest, I don’t even remember what case we were working on yesterday.

Not only had I just come back to this life, but as always, I was swamped with work.

But at this point in time, Attorney Yoon was still green.

It was only natural for a newbie.

The knowledge from judicial training was worlds apart from actual practice.

And thanks to that, I was the one suffering, which gave me the confidence to throw that jab.

“So, about that apology…”

“Coffee, right? Since Attorney Ahn will want one soon, I’ll prepare yours too, Attorney Yoon.”

“What? That’s not fair to me!”

“Just bring mine tomorrow morning, and we’re good.”

“Oh, that works! I’ll take care of morning coffee for the whole week.”

Attorney Yoon Yi-hoon nodded enthusiastically but then tilted his head curiously.

“Wait, has Secretary Kim always been this assertive?”

He catches on quick.

As expected from Attorney Yoon, who’s got nothing but brains.

“I’ve been reborn starting today.

“I mean, if I kept pulling all-nighters, I’d probably want to as well. Or maybe… no way…”

“Probably that ‘no way’ is right.”

“Oh, no!”

Sensing tragedy, Attorney Yoon clutched his head.

Not only did I treated late nights like meals, I even bought a foldable bed because I took on tasks that secretaries didn’t need to do.

A prime example would be organizing documents.

I don’t know what case we worked on yesterday, but it was probably me picking up some of the associate’s work.

Like, say, mind-numbingly simple document retrieval.

If we received a hefty USB drive or a pile of documents from a client, that’s go-time.

Endlessly searching for articles or scouring vast legal websites was the same.

“Starting today, our late-night comrade days are over.”

In my past life, I’d sacrificed myself for the sake of recognition.

But not anymore.

I’d live differently.

I’m going to climb higher, to an unreachable place.

While talking to Attorney Yoon, a nauseating silhouette appeared at the end of the office hallway.

It was Attorney Go Jong-tak-tak-tak.

I clenched my fists so tightly that blood stopped flowing, fighting to keep my emotions off my face.

Even though I was skilled at masking my expression, at this moment, it took desperate effort.

“I’ve got a goal I absolutely have to achieve now.”

What would be the greatest revenge against that devil?

I thought about it over and over on my way to work.

But the moment I saw Go Jong-tak, my hesitation vanished.

Because I knew better than anyone what his life’s ambition was.

Lee & Yoon itself.

That left only one answer.

The only path was for me to take over this entire law firm.