Letters to Anonymous | MYG [Completed]

38. Trouble!

"It's a legal notice, we've been sued!"

"What??? For what? By whom?"

"There is a kid in the university where you had conducted a workshop last year." Jay pauses. There's a moment of hesitation before he proceeds further. "He has filed a lawsuit stating that during the workshop he had consulted you on one of his story which he was supposed to submit for his final project. " Again Jay pauses before continuing, "And he says that you have used the same story for your book. "

"What the hell! Are you kidding me?" Ah-In is livid now.

"Ah-In calm down, no one in the world will believe his claims. And we are dealing with this."

"What's his name?"

"Chong Sang-Hoon. Do you remember him?"

"Of course I do. I remember each and every kid I have coached throughout the years. I also remember the story he had shared with me for my feedback."

Ah-In chuckles as she recalls the story submitted by Sang-Hoon.

"His story was a cliche enemy to lovers trope. And I clearly remember the feedback I had written on his story. I had informed him that he has an excellent grasp of communication. He has his basics right but there was nothing new in the story to look forward to."

"Well, now he has twisted the entire incident it seems. "

"He won't have any base to prove his claims. I don't think we should be worried Jay "

"We should be worried even if he doesn't have any evidence! If the word gets out about the lawsuit, your and publication's reputation would be ruined. Even if we prove him wrong, our market value would depreciate."

"So, what should we do now?"

"Our legal team is working on this. My guess is he's just looking forward to a big settlement amount because he knows that we wouldn't want him to go till court with the fear of bring this to the public. And  we would insist on settling outside the court."

"So we would just pay him even if he's a lying a**h*le!"

"Yes, Ah-In!"

"This is so wrong. Let him go to the court, I can definitely defend myself and prove him wrong!"

"Don't be naive. Irrespective of whatever you prove, by the time you win the case, your name will be in shambles and career over. Not just that, we will be dragged along. Think of the future of publication and of all the authors with us "

Ah-In was speechless. It seemed absolutely wrong to her to feed someone's greed and encourage wrongdoing. Everything about this seemed so wrong but she had to go along with it. If not for her own sake, for the sake of her publication and all the authors associated with it!

There was a silence in the room. Jay allowed Ah-In to process this information. But in a matter of seconds, there was a knock on the door. Jay's assistant had entered the cabin. She bows to Ah-In with a soft smile and proceeds to show something to Jay on her mobile phone. Jay's lips drops to a frown, a deep disappointment visible on his face.

For around 10 minutes, the assistant showed something to Jay on her phone. Since she also gave Jay headphones, it seemed there was some video playing on the screen. The Assistant left the room without saying anything once she showed him the content.

Jay turns to Ah-In and sighs heavily.

"Looks like the kid isn't after settlement amount!"

"What do you mean?"

"He has given an interview with a top news channel accusing you of plagiarism. There are articles getting posted about the lawsuit and one of the articles is also showing pictures of the story written by Sang-Hoon with your handwritten remarks on it. They are word by word comparing your story and his."

"You know it's absolutely bullshit, right Jay?"

"Of course I know! Ah-In you know that I trust you but this is bad. This is a disaster and it's gonna cost us!"

Ah-In was now speechless, rather clueless to what to say!

Immediately, their lawyer was called to discuss the way forward.

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It's been five hours and so far, the only thing Jay's two lawyers have done is interrogate Ah-In. How did she get the inspiration for the story? When did she start writing the story? What was her research? Which all sites and which all books did she read for research? With whom did she discuss the book? What all did she discuss in the workshop that Sang-Hoon attended? How many times did she speak with him during the span of three days of the workshop? What was her exact conversation? So on and so forth.

She was made to recall things that happen over a year ago in detail. When she couldn't recall certain details, she was pressured to remember. She was bombarded with hundreds of questions, and now Ah-In was getting frustrated! 

She was expecting Jay to come to her aide and ease at least some pressure off of her. But he just sat there, while two lawyers literally tortured Ah-In with question after question. With each question, their tone was becoming accusatory! Ah-In understood that they are just doing their job. So, though getting frustrated, she didn't mind their interrogation or accusatory tone. What hurt Ah-In was how Jay's silence was indicating a rise of doubt in Ah-In. 

The Man knows Ah-In for almost seven years now. He knows Ah-In's work ethics and personal values. How can he ever doubt her?!

She couldn't take it anymore. She has been in this cabin for the last six hours, out of which for five she has been interrogated like a criminal. She is now exhausted. She needs to breathe, she needs to relax. 

She steps out of the cabin for fresh air and to clear her mind. 

As soon as she was out, all the eyes in the office were on her! It seemed as if their gaze was burning holes in Ah-In's body. Many were whispering with each other, not so discreetly. Ah-In just shrugged off the intense glares of people and move out of office. 

She inhaled cold air deep and exhaled with a hope that all her problems would also disappear in the air along with her breathe. Only if it was that easy! She continued breathing deep and observing the moving traffic on the road ahead. Her efforts to empty her mind of all the worry were going in vain. Before she got the chance to relax, she got a message from Jay to come back inside.

With a big sigh, she went back inside Jay's office. 

There is a thick layer of tension in the air. Thicker than how it was when she had left the room.

Jay turns the screen of his laptop so that Ah-In can see it. 

"I am sorry Ah-In" Jay says with a deep frown.

As soon as she reads the mail displayed on the screen, tears start falling out of her eyes! None of this seems real. It just feels like a long nightmare and Ah-In wants to wake up! Wake up desperately! None of this can be true, can it?

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A/N:

I just feel sad about Ah-In at this point! She is going through troubles one after another! Just few weeks back, everything in her life was going well and now suddenly everything is going down the hill! 

Let's hope that things start to get better for her soon!

Hope you all are doing well and taking care of yourself!

I'll see you with the next chapter soon!

Till than take care, stay happy :)