The Legal Fallout and the Unseen Conversation
The legal repercussions for Seo-Yun and Joo-Hyuk were swift and devastating. Their case, though centered on corporate theft in the current timeline, was amplified by the strong, compelling evidence Seo-Yun herself provided.
Joo-Hyuk, facing overwhelming evidence of his greed and reckless involvement, was convicted and given a lengthy prison sentence. His thread of life, severed by his own malice, was now confined to the cold reality of his crime. In his final statement, filled with bitterness, he lashed out, "This is Kim Min-Joon's vengeance! He always crushes those beneath him!"
Seo-Yun, leveraging her cooperation and the argument of coercion, received a reduced sentence for corporate fraud and theft. The betrayal and attempted murder from the previous timeline were crimes that only existed in Min-Joon's subconscious and the cosmic records of the Yeo-Shim Gung; in this reality, she was a white-collar criminal, not a murderer.
A few days before Min-Joon's public statement, his lawyer arranged a brief, supervised meeting between Min-Joon and Seo-Yun in a neutral office. It was a confrontation not requested by the court, but necessary for Min-Joon's final peace.
Seo-Yun was gaunt, her former sharp elegance replaced by exhaustion. "You came to see your victory?" she asked, her voice hollow.
Min-Joon sat down calmly, the white stone discreetly warm in his pocket. "I came to end a cycle, Seo-Yun. Not a court case, but a cycle of fear that trapped us both. I trapped you with my standards of perfection, and you tried to escape with malice."
"I loved you," she whispered fiercely. "But you only loved the idea of me fitting into your strategic plan. You made me feel like an asset that could be replaced if its value dropped."
"And you were right," Min-Joon admitted, the honesty ringing clearly. "My old self was incapable of seeing you, or anyone, as a person, only as a piece on a chessboard. For that, I am truly sorry. I put you in a cage built of gold, and when you clawed your way out, you chose darkness."
"What do you want from me?" she challenged.
"Nothing," he replied. "I just want you to know that the man who wanted vengeance is gone. He died when he learned what true value was. Your judgment is in the hands of the law now, and I accept its decision."
The Public Statement and Liberation
Min-Joon, now married to Ji-A, was asked to give a statement regarding the corporate theft case. His old self would have demanded the harshest punishment.
The new Min-Joon, guided by Ji-A's empathy and Hae-Rin's final lesson, offered a different statement, televised live across all major news channels.
Standing before the cameras, his expression was one of quiet dignity, devoid of triumph. "I am here today not to gloat over K.M. Holdings' recovery, but to speak to the nature of ambition itself," Min-Joon began. "The perpetrators saw a gap in security, yes, but they also saw an opportunity to gain control and wealth quickly. That urge—the belief that material accumulation is the only measure of worth—is a pathology we share as a society."
"I have no desire for vengeance against the accused," Min-Joon stated publicly. "The crime was motivated by ambition and fear, which are products of a misguided focus on material wealth. I hope this experience leads them to seek genuine value in their lives, just as it led me to seek it in mine."
He concluded with a powerful, personal reflection: "Forgiveness is not a handout; it is a release. By releasing them from my need for revenge, I release myself from the chains of the past. My focus is now only on building a legacy based on integrity, transparency, and human sincerity, a legacy that will never value an asset over a relationship."
The forgiveness was not for the public; it was for himself. He had finally released the past, acknowledging that the betrayal was rooted in the system he himself had created. The final judgement was passed not by the court, but by Min-Joon's own liberated heart.