Moon's Labyrinths

However, this wasn’t the first time Miyun had such thoughts .

“How’s Shinhae? Is she doing well?”

“If you speak Shinhae’s name one more time, I’ll rip your tongue out . ”

“Are you capable of doing it?”

“If you doubt my words, you should try it . ”

When Miyun saw the gleam in Sungyoon’s eyes, her confidence shrunk, and she closed her mouth .

The ‘pushover’ who always did what she asked when she smiled had vanished .

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that . I have to talk to you about our child . ”

Duhp-suhk!

Sungyoon didn’t say anything, and he just extended his hand . Thankfully for Miyun, Jimin grabbed Sungyoon’s arm in time .

Miyun’s face turned white . Sungyoon’s brutish hand had stopped right in front of her eyes, and it was still twitching .

“Please calm down . You know this woman is saying such words to provoke you . Moreover, a lot of people, including Shinhae, will be put in a tough spot if you get arrested . ”

Even after Jimin had spoken, Sungyoon didn’t put his arm down for a while . In the end, he had to retract his hand . Then, he crossed his arms and closed his eyes as if he didn’t want to spar words with Miyun .

Jimin took up the baton and spoke in his stead .

“Go on, Ms . Lee Miyun . What nonsense were you going to say?”

Miyun couldn’t speak for a moment as she monitored Sungyoon .

She had come into this meeting with a very optimistic view . The Sungyoon from her memories had been an idiot . He was a simple man who treasured his daughter so much that he had purposefully let himself be dragged through the mud .

When Jaeho had made his request around two months ago, Miyun had assumed everything would go her way . She thought it would be easy if she used Shinhae as her leverage . After all, Shinhae was someone who Sungyoon wanted to protect at all costs .

Of course, he had gained great fame and wealth, so she had to modify her approach . However, she never expected him to use violence as the first resort . He wanted to rip her tongue out .

With his experience in the labyrinths, Sungyoon was no stranger to violence, and he had lived at the bottom of society . Then there was Shinhae’s importance to his life . Miyun couldn’t understand it, but Sungyoon’s response was obvious considering these factors .

Although it had surprised her, Miyun didn’t give up . Maybe, she had gained courage by the fact that Sungyoon had been unable to touch her in the end .

“Nonsense? As a mother, I just want to talk about my daughter . ”

Sungyoon’s eyebrows twitched . His fingers moved a little bit, but he didn’t react any further .

Jimin was impressed . The face of the woman in front of her was still pale . Jimin could tell Miyun had been frightened when Sungyoon said he would rip her tongue out . Yet, she wasn’t backing down an inch .

’She has balls . I’ll give her that much . ’

“What do you want to talk about Shinhae?”

“I would like to raise her from now on . ”

“Fuck no!”

Sungyoon immediately objected .

“We don’t plan on putting up with your bullshit . ”

Jimin was also firm with her words .

“Then I have no choice but to sue you . ”

“Do as you wish . ”

The two formidable women glared at each other .

Sungyoon interjected himself between the two .

“At this point, I have a rough idea of what shenanigans you are trying to pull . If I don’t comply, you will threaten to sue me for custody of Shinhae . Stop beating around the bush . Get to the point . If you continue to bullshit me, I’m leaving . ”

“For your information, Ms . Miyun, you should forget about the idea that you will have an advantage in court if you sue him . Unlike before, Mr . Sungyoon has time and money . He also has political connections . When he started going up to the Moon in the beginning, he did have to leave behind Shinhae . However, his actions pale in comparison to what you did . ”

Jimin had a calm expression on her face as she said all this .

Miyun thought for a brief moment before responding .

“Alright . I want two things . ”

“You’re still a greedy pig . ”

Miyun ignored Sungyoon’s insult and stated her demands .

“Firstly, I want you to keep your mouth shut about Mr . Jaeho . ”

For a moment, an intense light appeared in Sungyoon’s and Jimin’s eyes .

“Secondly, I want some money . You have a lot of money now . ”

“How much?”

“I’m not sure . I wonder if twenty million will be enough?”

Sungyoon clicked his tongue, while Jimin smirked .

“That’s nothing when you consider Mr . Sungyoon’s earnings . Still, you really have no conscience . ”

Despite Jimin’s insult, Miyun continued to speak to Sungyoon .

“Of course, I will make some concessions . I’m willing to sign the waiver to disestablish maternity . ”

“I don’t care if you think you have any rights to Shinhae . I never planned on acknowledging it . ”

Unlike his words, Sungyoon was interested in the waiver that would disestablish maternity .

Miyun wasn’t a mother to Shinhae, but she had to voluntarily disestablish maternity to waive all her rights to Shinhae in the eyes of the law .

Sungyoon wanted to sever all ties between Miyun and Shinhae, and it didn’t matter how small that connection was .

“Is this all the cards you have? I thought you would bluff and claim that Shinhae wasn’t related by blood to Mr . Sungyoon . ”

“I might’ve done it in the past, but it’d be too easy to disprove it now . ”

“I don’t care if you lie or not . Even if Shinhae wasn’t my blood daughter, I would never hand her over to you . I will do whatever that is necessary to make that true . ”

Miyun once again flinched at Sungyoon’s gaze . It had been a while since she had seen her ex-husband, and now, he could stop a person’s heart with his gaze .

However, she had to endure it . It wasn’t courage or foolhardiness .

The man she had thrown away had risen so high that she couldn’t touch him . Miyun had no choice but to accept this fact, and this was the last bit of self-respect she had as an insignificant woman .

“What are you going to do?”

Miyun sounded a bit hysterical .

She hadn’t expected the meeting to turn out like this .

In terms of status in society, their roles had been completely reversed . Still, she had believed that Sungyoon would play into her hands in the end and accept her deal if she mentioned the waiver to disestablish maternity .

However, the status difference between the two was beyond Miyun’s imagination .

In the end, Jimin was the first one to speak .

“We’ll have to discuss this a little further amongst us . Mr . Sungyoon received real estate in Armstrong city, so twenty million dollars is chump change to him . However, we don’t want to give you even ten dollars if we have a choice . ”

Miyun had kept up with the news, so she knew Jimin was telling the truth . Everyone in Korea was hyper-focused on Sungyoon’s every movement and achievements, so any information on him was hot material . Recently, the news that Sungyoon had participated in the Golem extermination plan had been all over the TV . The media had reported that Sungyoon had received a massive reward, and some had guessed that the reward was real estate inside Armstrong .

‘Just the fact that he has real estate in Armstrong . . . ’

The real estate in Armstrong couldn’t be compared to the real estate on Earth . One could generate massive amounts of passive income just from possessing land in Armstrong .

Jimin discreetly monitored Miyun . then she spoke something as if it were an afterthought .

“Well, if you bring something worth it to us, we can offer something beyond twenty million . We might even give you some real estate in Armstrong . However, you really don’t have anything worth that much to us . You’re bringing the same old stuff to the table, trying to negotiate with us using the daughter you threw away . ”

Jimin was clearly ridiculing Miyun, but Miyun didn’t hear it . The only thing ringing in her ears was that she might be able to acquire real estate in Armstrong if she could provide something of equal value to Sungyoon .

“... That’s all I have to say . Just contact me when you have a deal to present to me . ”

“We won’t see you off . Please wait until we discuss this amongst ourselves . Don’t contact us first . Ah! If you get impatient and start the lawsuit, the deal is off the table . Please don’t forget that . ”

Miyun was annoyed . She took her handbag and left the cafe . Unlike her calm exterior, her mind was busy making calculations .

‘If I give him that, he might give me real estate in Armstrong . . . ’

Miyun’s greedy eyes moved on to a new target of desire .

***

“Did you see it?”

“Yes . ”

Jimin moved to the seat in front of Sungyoon .

“When I told her we might give her real estate if she could provide something of equal value, she showed a reaction . It wasn’t just pure greed . She knows she has something you might want . And there’s only one such thing . ”

Jimin’s eyes shone as she spoke the rest of her words .

“The contract between Mr . Sungyoon and Lee Jaeho . It’s probably the one that she handed over to Lee Jaeho . ”

Miyun had probably kept the contract as insurance . No, she had definitely kept it to extract more money out of Lee Jaeho in the future . She was capable of such actions .

“Of course, it would most likely be just a copy of the original contract . However, that would be enough to expose Kim Jaeho’s fraudulent practices . Unlike before, you have the money to pursue this . And, of course, the general public will be on your side . ”

Jimin slowly sipped her coffee .

“Did you hear about the documentary they’re making about you?”

“Yes . ”

Documentary!

One of the major media companies was planning on making a documentary focusing on Sungyoon’s past .

Sungyoon’s past was too interesting and controversial . On the surface, he had gathered investors through fraud and tallied up massive debt in the process . He had been so deep in debt that he had been at the cusp of being sent to prison .

The company struggled with the decision that should they should reveal such a sordid past about the hero of Korea .

However, people kept finding new interesting information the further they dug into his past . It became clear that Sungyoon’s story was more interesting than most K-Drama . His past might even unearth an enormous scandal involving one of the premier conglomerates of the world .

“That woman moved because Lee Jaeho probably got wind of the documentary . If Mr . Sungyoon decides to speak up about it, it would be a great hit to his reputation . The producer even called me for an interview . I told them that I was busy, but I heavily implied that I might be willing to speak with them at a later date . Of course, they also requested an interview with Mr . Sungyoon through me . ”

Any words spoken by the ‘hot’ hero of Korea would cause waves .

“If we have no evidence, Lee Jaeho’s image would take a hit, but it would fizzle out as a scandal . However, it’s a completely different story if we can present some evidence . Mr . Sungyoon can regain everything you lost . ”

Sungyoon had given blood, sweat, and tears to develop his technology, and he had a chance to recover it .

“... If I’m being honest, I still think about the technology that I developed . However, I don’t want any controversy now . I just want to live my life with Shinhae . ”

If Miyun and Jaeho hadn’t moved against him, Sungyoon had been willing to let it go .

“However, those two keep proving with their actions that they are a threat to the wellbeing of my daughter and me . ”

Miyun had threatened Sungyoon using his most precious treasure, and Jaeho was the one who had asked her to do so . Sungyoon did feel a little threatened because Miyun had used her status as Shinhae’s mother against him .

“If I do as they wish this time, do you think they would leave me alone for the rest of my life?”

“Not at all . ”

“I think so too . That’s why I have to get rid of them somehow . ”

A dangerous light appeared in Sungyoon’s eyes .

“I have to step on them, and we have to make sure they would never interfere with Shinhae and me ever again . ”

Sungyoon was ready to reveal his teeth toward the two of them .

“Alright . I’ll proceed with that in mind . ”

Jimin spoke . She would be the one to carry out the plan since Sungyoon had to focus on the Great Labyrinth .

However, Jimin wasn’t annoyed by this in the slightest . Shinhae had become precious to her too, and she also became motivated when she thought about Sungyoon .

“I entrust everything to you . I’ll be heading back up now . ”

Jimin had been burning with motivation, but she looked a bit down when she heard Sungyoon’s words .

“... I’m sure this might fall on deaf ear, and I’m sure you’ll be fine, but please be careful . ”

Jimin had been alarmed when she had seen Sungyoon’s Gems on his return . She knew that he had contributed greatly to the Golem extermination mission, but she hadn’t expected his Gems to evolve so much .

Sungyoon’s rapid growth meant that he had faced incredible risk to accomplish it .

“I’ll do my best . ”

Sungyoon’s flat answer exasperated Jimin .