𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 | 𝖧𝖺𝖾𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗇

2; He Looks Like Hes Already Won

He takes a deep breath, collecting his thoughts while she waits for him to start speaking

"So it all started three years ago....i was starting up my business with my team, we were developing a product..." he starts to explain

"Mhm, go on"

The client clears his throat once more before nodding his head and continuing

"One of our employees stole the blueprints of the product and sold it to another company. It took us a while, but we finally discovered what had happened. That's when we decided to sue the company who bought the blueprints from the employee"

"So, did the other company already release the product?" Areum asks while writing something on her notebook

He nods his head at her question while Jisung taps something in his ipad to write down the key points of the information that's being told

"Yes,they did...and it's selling well. That's why we want to go up against them for this..." the client responds with a sigh

"And you're company, did you release it too?"

He shakes his head, biting his lower lip in frustration at the thought of not releasing the product first

"No, we didn't. We've been spending a lot of time and money to release the product first. And now that another company has the blueprints and released it faster than us, it's unfair...they're making profit of our hard work..."

She nods in understanding

The client nods back, feeling a sense of relief from her understanding nod
Jisung takes notes on his ipad silently, his eyes flicking to her from time to time. The client speaks again

"So, that's why we decided to sue them, and we heard that you're the lawyer who always wins her cases...so we want you to represent us"

That was right, the only thing Areum thought about was winning, she doesn't knew what it felt like to lose- well until she met Lee Donghyuck

It's the day of the first court hearing, and the room is filled with tension
The judge sits on his chair, looking at the two parties with a serious expression

Donghyuck's eyes immediately land on Areum, a smirk already playing on his lips

He looks at her from head to toe, almost in a way as if to taunt her, before his eyes flick to the client on the seat next to her

Areum turns to her client and whispers "don't let his stare intimidate you"

He nods his head nervously, his eyes darting to Donghyuck
The mention of Donghyuck's stare being intimidating is enough to make him shift uncontrollably in his seat. He swallows before whispering nervously back to her

"He looks at me like he's already won..."

"An asshole, that's what he is"

He lets out a nervous chuckle at her words, looking back at Donghyuck on the other side of the court room
Once again, Donghyuck is looking at him, his smirk growing into a full-on cocky smirk.

He looks amused, but the client seems extremely uncomfortable and intimidated by it

As he said, Donghyuck always looked like he won even before the court hearing started

Areum finally looks at him, with no emotion
His eyes flick back to hers, and the corner of his smirk twitches, almost like he was taunting her too

He knows that they both have a strange competitive relationship, and he's enjoying every minute of it

His eyes scan her body once again before his tounge pokes against his inner cheek in a lazy manner, wich he only does when he's amused by something

༄

The judge clears his throat and taps the gavel once, signaling everyone to quiet down, and the beginning of the court hearing. The judge leans forward before looking at both parties

"As you all know, we're here for the case between the two companies of Donggu and Jeongsul"

The judge announces

Donghyuck stands up, fixing his suit before speaking
"Your honour, my name is Lee Donghyuck, working under the company Dukgu Firm. I am the Lawyer in charge of representing Donggu company"

The judge nods his head at him, as Donghyuck sits down again the judge looks at her, signaling her to stand up next

Areum stands up and bows respectfully before speaking
"Your honour, I'm Kim Areum, working under the Shin&Kim Firm. I'm the lawyer in charge of representing Jeongsul company"

The judge nods again, as she sits back down he starts speaking

"Alright, now that the introductions are over, let's begin the hearing"
He takes a file and starts reading it

"We all came together to talk about the allegations against Donggu company and hear both statements of each side. So let's begin"

The judge looks at Donghyuck, signaling for him with his hand to begin his first statement

He stands up, take a step forward, hands placed behind his back and a serious look on his face. Not even a little tiny smirk playing on his lips

He scans the room for a brief moment before his eyes settle on her, the too familiar smirk returning on his face

"Your honour, Jeongsul company stole the concept of the product from Donggu company. We have sufficient evidence to confirm this"

What-