As the afternoon progressed, the articles that were published on the internet slowly disappeared one after another.
Some got deleted, and others were moved to places that were difficult to locate unless someone deliberately searched for the article.
Although it seemed like the person who was trying to hide the articles was successful, too many people had already read them, which was a great achievement for both the reporters and publishers.
The one-sided information stimulated the public’s imagination and reasoning which in turn molded their opinions into one general consensus.
In this case, there was far too much evidence pointing towards Kim Hye-Ryeong, and the situation had basically escalated into a witch hunt.
People still didn’t know who Lee Yeo-Rin meant by ‘that woman’, but there was no doubt that the ‘mother’ she had mentioned was Kim Hye-Ryeong.
People could easily guess that Kim Hye-Ryeong did not have good intentions when she encouraged Lee Yeo-Rin, paid for her plastic surgery, and rented the apartment.
***
“Do you have any excuses for causing the situation to escalate this far?”
Chae Mu-Seok reproached his wife, but Kim Hye-Ryeong shouted back as she showed her red, swollen cheek.
“Is that all you have to say after seeing this face? Shouldn’t you be asking me where and how I got injured and whether if I’m okay?”
Kim Hye-Ryeong was more afraid than happy to see Chae Mu-Seok, who had returned home for the first time in a few weeks because of her actions.
She tried to act pitiful as she showed her swollen cheek.
“Should you be proud of getting beat by outsiders?” Chae Mu-Seok asked.
Normal couples worried for one another as a method of communication. But these two weren’t a normal couple. Even before the divorce talks, Chae Mu-Seok wasn’t someone who took care of his wife’s health or worried about her.
However, he was someone who would get revenge if others were to look down on him or his people. However, considering his current indifferent attitude, it seemed like he wouldn’t behave in such a manner this time around.
“You really are past your prime now. To think that you’d go around getting beaten by Kang Hye-Min.”
The fact that he wasn’t doing anything despite knowing the culprit behind his wife’s injury showed that Chae Mu-Seok no longer considered Kim Hye-Ryeong as one of his people.
“Are you saying that despite knowing who hit me? It was your ex-wife! How can you be so carefree when she went crazy and hit me after a stupid misunderstanding?! Look at her now. Wouldn’t you also hate it if she went around telling people that she’s your ex-wife?”
Kim Hye-Ryeong indirectly told her husband to keep a leash on his ex-wife and control her actions.
Kang Hye-Min had gone completely crazy as a result of their encounter.
Kim Hye-Ryeong had too much to lose if she faced that madwoman who had nothing to lose.
“I don’t know about that. She’s become such a big shot that even I find it difficult to deal with her now.”
Chae Mu-Seok smirked a little as he replied.
He didn’t know that Kang Hye-Min had such skills. He thought she was merely a docile, unmotivated and modest woman.
Chae Mu-Seok used to evaluate Kim Hye-Ryeong on a higher level than his second wife back then. He believed the latter had more value as a wife, so he went through a second divorce without any lingering attachment to Kang Hye-Min and immediately forgot about her after the breakup.
“Come to think of it, you’re the most unqualified out of the three.”
Chae Mu-Seok looked down on Kim Hye-Ryeong as if she were pathetic and useless, before smiling and shaking his head.
He had personally chosen her as his wife, so if he insulted her now, he would be insulting himself.
Chae Mu-Seok didn’t consider divorces as failures in one’s life.
But the moment he admitted that his choice was wrong, it would be the same as acknowledging his failure.
He didn’t feel ashamed of breaking up with someone if he no longer held any affection for them and didn’t want them clinging onto him.
However, if he became disappointed by his wife’s incompetence and foolish behavior and was forced to have a strategic divorce, then it would degrade his honor and dignity.
There was nothing more foolish than being patient and suppressing one’s thoughts and emotions during their life simply because they were afraid of others’ judgements.
Setting aside the change in his feelings, Chae Mu-Seok could not stand his wife’s uselessness which caused him to realize that he had made a mistake.
The feeling intensified when she made him remember the opportunities he had missed because of her.
Kim Hye-Ryeong claimed that his business had flourished and overcome the hardships thanks to her, but Chae Mu-Seok wouldn’t have experienced such hardships if he hadn’t divorced Park Eun-Soo in the first place.
Rather, it was more humiliating having to cover up Kim Hye-Ryeong’s actions and mistakes.
Even though Chae Mu-Seok became disillusioned by Kim Hye-Ryeong during the few years they lived together, he hadn’t divorced her back then because he didn’t want to admit that he had made the wrong decision.
However, if he continued pushing back their divorce, then the small mistake could snowball into the failure of a lifetime, so Chae Mu-Seok had to make a decision now. Most importantly, he had nothing to gain from having Kim Hye-Ryeong by his side anymore.
Her womanly charms and worth as a business partner were practically nonexistent.
“I thought you were instant ramen. Bad for my health but delicious nonetheless.”
“Instant ramen?! How could you say such a thing to your wife?!”
“Can you not read between the lines? I’m saying that you’re actually something even worse than instant ramen.”
Kim Hye-Ryeong’s face burned red at Chae Mu-Seok’s words. No one could say anything in response if Chae Mu-Seok was casually obliterating their self-esteem.
As she stood there stuttering, Chae Mu-Seok frowned and continued bluntly.
“Turns out you’re just rotten food.”
“Right back at you!”
“Then why don’t you match your words with your actions? If you really want to criticize me, why don’t you sign the divorce papers first? At the very least, my words and actions are always consistent.”
Chae Mu-Seok was asking for a divorce because he didn’t want to live with rotten food anymore. Thus, he was telling her to sign the divorce papers as soon as possible if she didn’t like him either.
It was not uncommon for a married couple on the brink of divorce to curse at each other.
However, Chae Mu-Seok believed that if one didn’t want to get a divorce, then they had no right to criticize their partner or to point out the partner’s faults. If they knew of all their partner’s shortcomings and yet still wanted to live with them, then they had to keep their mouths shut and endure it for the rest of their marriage.
“Of course, I have no intention of giving up on divorcing you regardless of your actions.” Chae Mu-Seok remarked.
“Do you seriously think I’ll divorce you that easily?”
“Is that why you caused this situation?”
Chae Mu-Seok had been thinking about his relationship with his son for a long time.
His own parents were getting impatient and told Chae Mu-Seok to bring Woo-Jin into the family as soon as possible, but he had a different plan.
In this era where people lived up to a hundred years old, Chae Mu-Seok was still healthy and vigorous.
Be it Garam or Bareunjeong Foods, he was confident that he could manage it himself for the next few decades.
He had no reason to choose his successor immediately, and there was no need for Woo-Jin to learn how to manage a business quickly. If Woo-Jin had no talent to lead the companies, then Chae Mu-Seok could place a proxy and let them do the job instead.
He had no intention of allowing even the slightest possibility of destroying the kingdom he had build up over the years by having an incompetent man sit in his throne.
And he had no intention of lowering his head to reconcile with Woo-Jin, who detested hearing about his biological father.
Who Chae Mu-Seok was aiming for right now was the child that Woo-Jin’s wife would birth in a few decades once his son got married.
It would be more efficient to personally educate a child from young one step at a time rather than a boy who had recklessly grown up outside the family. Raising a grandchild from scratch would increase the probability of raising a successful businessman.
However, it would be difficult to achieve his plan if his current relationship with Woo-Jin continued as it is.
Chae Mu-Seok had decided to narrow their distance little by little over time. He was going to slowly improve Woo-Jin’s opinion of him throughout the years, and if Woo-Jin ever got in trouble, he would step up to help his son.
He didn’t need to be friendly with Woo-Jin. As long as his son realized the wealth and value of his paternal family, Woo-Jin would lower his head first and might even approach his father since blood was thicker than water.
However, Kim Hye-Ryeong sent a crazy stalker into Woo-Jin’s life and worsened the situation, ruining Chae Mu-Seok’s plans. Thanks to her, Woo-Jin’s hatred and vigilance towards his paternal family increased.
“What on earth were you thinking when you did such a stupid thing? Why did you send that crazy bitch to his side!”
“Why not? Even I managed to become the wife of such a prestigious family, so why can’t that child do the same? She goes to a prestigious university and is a smart girl, so why don’t you like her?”
Kim Hye-Ryeong wore a bitter smile as she gently probed her husband’s thoughts.
“Are you serious right now? I understand that you’re trying to smear Woo-Jin’s reputation, but if you’re gonna do it, do it properly. Look at the trouble you got yourself into!”
Since they were a married couple, even Chae Mu-Seok got involved and had his honor smeared because of Kim Hye-Ryeong’s actions.
“It must be Park Eun-Soo and her rich family who schemed everything. They must have prepared everything from long ago to ruin me! They investigated my background, my relatives and the people who worked in my house on purpose! Please save me, darling. If you abandon me, those people won’t leave me alone. I won’t interfere in whatever you do from now on. I’ll simply live quietly and not stand out at all. I’ll be like a dead person to society.”
She was already being attacked despite holding the position of Chae Mu-Seok’s wife, even if they got divorced, everything she had done so far would be uncovered and Kim Hye-Ryeong’s reputation would be forever ruined.
“Think of what would happen to Woo-Ra if I’m ruined. She’s the only child left by your side. Think of your daughter. Please don’t do this to us. How could I ever fight back against Rome?”
“Why do you think Rome is behind this incident?”
“That’s obviously because…”
No matter how much she thought about it, Park Eun-Soo and her family were the only ones with the financial and political power to put Chae Mu-Seok’s wife in such a predicament out of malice and resentment.
“There is another woman who has a grudge against you.”
As Chae Mu-Seok stared at her swollen, red cheek, Kim Hye-Ryeong subconsciously stroked her left cheek as her eyes widened.
Come to think of it, Chae Mu-Seok had said that Kang Hye-Min had become a big shot that even he had a hard time to deal with.
At first, Kim Hye-Ryeong thought he was talking about how crazy Kang Hye-Min had become, and thought that her husband was reluctant to deal with such a madwoman since he didn’t know what she would do. But if he had meant it literally…
“Indeed, it was Kang Hye-Min who previously gave all the data on you to the prosecutors through a proxy CEO when she became the largest shareholder of TM, and she’s also the one who leaked the information about your actions to the media this morning.”
“H-How did she…”
Kim Hye-Ryeong shook her head in denial, asking herself how such a feeble and crazy woman could do that. She simply couldn’t understand how such a lowly woman — someone who used to squirm under Kim Hye-Ryeong’s shoes like a dying earthworm — could obtain such power.
“Didn’t I say so? You’re the most unqualified one out of all three. Oh, come to think of it, you’re not even rotten food. You’re just a lowly insect that can only survive by leeching off of others.”
Park Eun-Soo and Kang Hye-Min had chosen to live their own lives rather than live under Chae Mu-Seok, and they had proudly overcome their hardships and achieved their goals. He didn’t find them particularly charming as women, but in terms of character and talent, no one could stand up to the two women’s splendor.
“H-How… How could you say something like that to me… You asshole!”
“Do you know the difference between the two of us? At least I don’t deny that I am evil.”
That didn’t mean Chae Mu-Seok had regretted his life. He simply knew and acknowledged that he was evil and lived his life accordingly while honing his skills. He didn’t feel guilty about anything and didn’t blame others.
He was responsible for all his evil deeds, and there was nothing to be ashamed of about that.
“That’s why I can mercilessly cut down anything and anyone that gets in my way. But is there anything that you can do?” he asked his wife.
What Chae Mu-Seok hated most in this world were incompetent losers.
“You can’t even defend yourself or attack others properly without me. Even I would feel ashamed about that, but the problem is that you have no sense of shame at all.”
Chae Mu-Seok clicked his tongue. Kim Hye-Ryeong had collapsed to the floor in shock and was clinging onto his pants. He tore her away from him and left the room.
He then spoke to the butler waiting in the living room as he gestured to the bedroom with his head.
“I’ll give you an hour, so get rid of the woman and all the objects in that room.”
He had spent his days at a hotel recently because of how bothersome it was having to talk to Kim Hye-Ryeong, but now, it was Kim Hye-Ryeong’s turn to leave.
The beautiful castle he had built and proudly showed off was on the brink of collapse. He had to replace the things inside to fix the cracks. But if there truly was no hope for his castle, then he just had to destroy it and build everything from scratch again.
Life had always been like this for Chae Mu-Seok. Nothing was easy, but nothing was too difficult either.
Destiny had always been on his side, and the gods always loved him.
