A Silent Lover

25. TaekWoon

I rest myself back against the wooden chair, the discomfort only minimized by the plush cushion on its seat. They beg the person sitting there not to stay too long and I for one am not inclined to linger any longer than necessary. The law offices of Kim and Song are the third of such places we've been to today, all of them specializing in family law.
Our first two appointments hadn't met the exacting standards Imani had demanded and we'd left soon after, so it hadn't taken as long to wade through our options as I'd first assumed.

One lawyer had decided to finish his lunch during our first meeting and the second representative had been ten minutes late to our consultation. Imani was on a warpath but I could hardly blame her. In this case I wanted perfection as well and not a single thing could go wrong. Nothing could be worse than losing Jae because we had crappy counsel. More to the point, we could afford the best and neither of us gave a second thought to cash amounts.

"So, what are we looking at Song-ssi?" Imani asked while leaning back into her chair, small hands folded delicately against her legs. I watched as she crossed them under her skirt, the short fabric barely reaching her mid thighs. She claimed that the grey jacket, white blouse and matching skirt were her business casual but she looked good enough to eat and it was making it hard for me to concentrate on what was happening.

Surely if Imani had been my English teacher back while I was in school, I'd be fluent by now. I'd had a taste of my wife more than once, but even now desire simmered beneath the surface. I was both amused and confused by my feelings since I had never been much into carnal fixation, but I felt as though any man would be as weak as I was in Imani's presence.

I looked up at the man in front of us to clear my thoughts and took in his looks instead. Song had a large face with all of its defining features seemingly pushed together in the middle of it; he definitely wasn't a handsome man. However, he had charisma and a certain look in his eyes that I instantly liked. If he didn't screw up this interview, I wouldn't mind having him on our side.

"From what I see here, this case is pretty cut and dry. Even with Kang being your son's biological mother, no judge can ignore the fact that parental rights were given up willingly when she placed him into foster care. It may be admirable that she wants custody now, but the adoption process is still legally binding." He explained.

"And what about her lawyers," Imani interjected. "Surely no one would take the case if they thought she'd lose?"

Song smiled, his eyes crinkling in amusement. "You'd be surprised what people would do when others are desperate Jung-ssi. But in this case, Kang's legal aide is in fact free. She's being helped by an organization dedicated to supporting mothers who've put their children up for adoption. Places like this are popping up more and more lately in Korea as children are shipped out of the country to be raised by adoptive parents."

Imani looked at Song sharply, her gaze narrowed. "Are you saying she has a chance of winning?"

"Not at all Jung ssi. The law is clear and Kang gave up her parental rights status. What we're dealing with here are mere formalities. Kang's petition will be heard by one judge and his ruling will be in your favor. Of that I have no doubt."

"If that's the case; then you're hired," I told Song as I rose to shake his hand. "We appreciate your assistance in this matter and hopefully it'll all be over quickly."

"I'll do my best," Song replied. He stood up from his seat and bowed to both me and Imani as we left his office. My wife took my hand in hers as soon as we left the building and she sighed in stark relief.

"What's wrong, I thought he was ok?" I asked worriedly.

"No, no, he was. It's just...so much you know?" Imani said looking up at me, her eyes sad. "I never expected to be doing this, I'd thought the fight for Jae was over."