CH 121

Still, Yoonshin felt like those cold eyes were needling him more than necessary. He didn’t know exactly why. He felt the need to air out this awkward mood. Yoonshin handed Sehun the documents that he was carrying and pointed to the first page. “This here.”

Sehun took the papers and read carefully through the page. “What about it?”

“This lawsuit filed against Youngjin Construction is pending trial. There’s an environmental issue here, contrary to the Soil Environment Conservation Act. I wanted to join and try my hand at this case. I know enough environmental law to handle this,” Yoonshin explained.

“The damages for this lawsuit may or may not have to be paid out by the purchasing company. We would need to fight it out in court. If so, I was thinking of deeming this as a liability of Youngjin Construction.”

“It’s small, but I think it’s worth engaging the media with it. If we say that Youngjin was polluting the environment, people won’t be interested, but if we tell them that the pollutant seeped into the soil and infringed on public health, it’ll be different.”

Spinning the truth and throwing the bone to the media was a method that Sehun used occasionally. Yoonshin considered raising a media circus as Sehun’s specialty. As far as Yoonshin knew, Sehun put in a lot of effort by frequently meeting with senior managers of news companies. If he saw any holes in the opposing party’s defense during a bout of media warfare, he would dig in underhandedly to claim victory.

Yoonshin had watched Sehun use this whenever he took on a case big enough for the news to report on it. He was a sort of benchmarker.

However, Sehun didn’t seem to like this proposal either. Yoonshin pressed his lips together, starting to believe that he gave the wrong answer. Then, Sehun let out a deep sigh and connected to the intercom, his voice echoing in the settled space. “Secretary Tak, contact Taesan and ask them to send someone over by six tonight.”

After simply giving his instructions, he hung up gracefully and stared at Yoonshin. “Public opinion isn’t something that forms overnight. You have to build it up. Do you want to try drafting an environmental opinion article?”

“Can I?”

“I’ll take a look at it and decide whether to include you in the case.”

“Thank you.” Yoonshin bowed and was about to turn to leave when Sehun waggled his fingers, telling him not to leave just yet.

“Let me ask you one thing. If this scandal spreads, the family of your sister’s friend won’t be the only thing to fall apart—all the lives of those involved will be crushed. They’ll be displayed like meat hanging in a butcher shop. Didn’t you feel guilty when you gave it to me?” Sehun asked.

“I know you’re not going to use it like that. This information is more valuable when you keep it hidden,” Yoonshin replied.

“I’m asking about how you felt when you brought this to me.”

It was true that he didn’t feel great. He had just handed over someone else’s misfortunes as a footstool for victory. After hearing what his sister’s secretary had to say, his sister and the wife of Wonik Cho became friends because of how similar their situations were.

They both were considering divorce, but they found it difficult to fight against a large corporation as an individual—they could relate to each other for that reason. Yoonshin was ultimately encroaching on their predicament, which made him even more uncomfortable.

However, this was his job. Even if it was small, sharing his cards with Doguk to help them win was the right thing to do. For the past while, he restructured his thoughts and steeled his heart. Yoonshin decided that he might as well try to hold out properly instead of just coasting along by hanging on.