The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 10

 

 

For the first time in my life, I saved someone, and it turned out to be Lee Na-yoon.

 

‘Good grief…’

 

There’s no coincidence quite like this one.

 

Jungseo Daily’s legal affairs specialist reporter, Lee Na-yoon.

It was a name I couldn’t forget even if I wanted to.

 

She was a reporter who really liked me.

Whenever I made a ruling in my previous life, Reporter Lee Na-yoon would write articles with provocative titles.

 

[Does First Instance Judge Choi Yoon-ho have a grudge against Cheondong?]

 

That was one of the recent titles.

Of course, she didn’t target me solely based on my relationship with Cheondong.

 

[Can’t even follow sentencing guidelines~ That judge who shocked the Court Chief again]

[“Is he really a judge from Korea Law School?” String of worst rulings…]

 

Her momentum was incredible, not caring that trials were entirely within a judge’s authority.

Eventually, Reporter Lee Na-yoon’s name reached even my ears, though I usually paid no attention to articles.

 

‘This reporter, once she bites, she never lets go.’

 

One of the research staff had said that.

There were quite a few judges who got unlucky and got caught by her.

 

‘They say once she finds one flaw, she tears at it to the very end.’

 

Every name that appeared in that reporter’s articles got hammered by public opinion hundreds of times.

 

Of course, I was one of them too.

The corridor near the press room would be completely empty on days when rumors spread that Lee Na-yoon was coming.

 

Anyway, public opinion is quite a burden for judges too.

 

While judges are supposed to rule from an objective standpoint, when public opinion campaigns intensified, lives were actually threatened.

 

‘But that Reporter Lee Na-yoon is this woman.’

 

This was the first time I’d met her face to face.

Even if I had, I wouldn’t have remembered.

 

I, who usually didn’t even properly memorize my colleagues’ names, had memorized Reporter Lee Na-yoon’s name, so in a way, she was quite remarkable.

 

Various thoughts crossed my mind in that brief moment.

 

‘Let’s get rid of her quickly.’

 

Getting bitten by a mad dog would be a loss.

Since Judge Kim Wook-han, whom this reporter had bitten, was dead, I didn’t know who her next prey would be.

 

Considering her track record, it would naturally be someone within the court, but there was no guarantee that this unpredictable mad dog wouldn’t bite a pitiful junior lawyer like Sung Tae-hyun.

 

“Lawyer?”

 

The office was right in front of us, yet my commute was being delayed this much.

Unaware of my thoughts, Lee Na-yoon continued speaking with a bright smile.

It was such a friendly smile that anyone would think she and Sung Tae-hyun knew each other well.

 

“Yes, Reporter.”

 

To think I risked my life to save that reporter.

It was so absurd that laughter almost escaped me.

 

But I had to endure it.

Right now, I’m not Kim Wook-han but Sung Tae-hyun.

 

If a lawyer meeting her for the first time acted hostile, it was obvious how that viper-like reporter would react.

 

“You look much more handsome when you smile.”

“Thank you for the evaluation I didn’t particularly want.”

 

“…You’re being very wary of me.”

 

One corner of Lee Na-yoon’s mouth subtly rose.

 

“I suppose you’ve heard some rumors about me.”

 

That comment made me burst into hollow laughter.

There’s no judge who doesn’t know Lee Na-yoon from Jungseo Daily.

Maybe a clueless first-year junior lawyer wouldn’t know.

 

“Does anyone in the legal world right now not know Reporter Lee Na-yoon?”

 

Lee Na-yoon burst into a bright laugh.

In contrast to me, a quite pleased smile spread across her face.

 

“You seem to be praising me too much? I don’t feel bad about it though.”

“I’m more grateful that you’re taking it as a compliment.”

“But have you perhaps not heard this saying?”

 

Lee Na-yoon lowered her voice considerably, as if telling a secret that shouldn’t be discovered.

 

“The rumor that there’s a mad dog who repays favors.”

 

…a grateful mad dog?

From beginning to end, it was such an incongruous string of words that laughter burst out of me involuntarily.

 

“You haven’t heard of it, have you.”

 

Even at my scoffing, Lee Na-yoon neatly tucked away her smile.

With her expression calm again, Lee Na-yoon tapped the business card in my hand.

 

“I just made it up.”

 

So in the end, it was a lie?

 

I’d heard of mad dogs that catch judges at court, but never a grateful mad dog.

On top of that, it was the first time I’d seen someone refer to themselves as a mad dog.

 

“Lawyer Sung Tae-hyun, even if you topped the bar exam, tests and real practice are different matters.”

“You’re stating facts everyone already knows.”

“I’ll help you.”

 

Those were words I hadn’t expected.

 

Lee Na-yoon would help me?

Even if such a thing were to happen, she’d surely demand a corresponding price.

There was no way Lee Na-yoon would make a deal where she’d lose out.

 

“You look like you don’t believe me.”

“How could I trust Reporter Lee Na-yoon?”

“I’m someone who operates on give and take as a basic principle.”

 

When had she been holding it?

Lee Na-yoon held out the red necktie that had covered my eyes earlier.

She must have picked it up after it fell to the ground when I saved her.

 

I took the necktie from Lee Na-yoon.

 

“Since you saved me from nearly dying once…”

 

Lee Na-yoon slowly raised her head and met my eyes.

 

“I’ll provide help equivalent to that.”

 

It was the most surprising answer that had come from Lee Na-yoon’s mouth.

 

For those words about helping others to come from that person’s mouth.

No matter how multifaceted humans could be, there were some things that were hard to believe.

It would be more credible if they announced that Lee Na-yoon was actually a robot equipped with AI.

 

“It’s not even a contract, how could I believe such a thing?”

“You said you joined Ilchul, didn’t you?”

 

Since I never mentioned it, she must have overheard my conversation with the taxi driver.

She really was a reporter you couldn’t let your guard down around.

I nodded roughly.

 

“Honestly, I have mountains of questions, but since I’m the one in debt here, I won’t ask for now.”

“So what exactly are you going to help me with and how?”

“I’ll provide you with information.”

 

Lee Na-yoon said it as if it were nothing.

 

“Information? It’s not like you have all the information in the world.”

“I may look like this, but I have quite a bit of experience. There probably isn’t another reporter with connections as wide as mine.”

 

That was certainly true.

 

“Besides, you know that media play is quite important in courtroom battles too, right?”

 

So in the end, she was saying she’d help me using the abilities she possessed.

 

Jungseo Daily was one of the leading newspapers in our country, and Lee Na-yoon was a legal affairs specialist reporter.

This person, famous in many fields, had tormented me so much when I was Kim Wook-han.

 

Well… what if things really changed?

I knew she had quite good connections with Haeil too, and if utilized well, she could become a pretty decent chess piece.

 

“Reporter Lee Na-yoon.”

“Yes, Lawyer Sung Tae-hyun.”

 

Lee Na-yoon was quick to catch on.

Enough to find a form of agreement in my tone.

 

“I don’t trust you, Reporter.”

 

Cracks appeared in the face that had been smiling brightly all along.

Lee Na-yoon looked at me with an expression of bewilderment.

 

“But it should be interesting. This give and take, I mean.”

“Well… I suppose so?”

“Besides, since it’s the price of a life, even if I convert Reporter Lee Na-yoon’s remaining lifespan to average life expectancy, it would easily exceed thirty years.”

 

Lee Na-yoon seemed a bit stunned, not expecting me to come out this calculatingly.

I added a few more words to the frozen Lee Na-yoon.

 

“I hate it most when people are slow to answer their phones.”

“…What, what…?”

“Since you said you’d repay the debt of your life, please do it properly.”

“…This might be rude to say, but haven’t you ever been told you’re shameless?”

 

I don’t think I had.

 

Despite her sharp words, Lee Na-yoon didn’t seem to be in that bad of a mood.

Of course, I was definitely planning to work Lee Na-yoon, who had become my person, for free.

 

What did it matter anyway? Since I had no intention of trusting blindly from this side, I’d just use her appropriately when needed.

 

“I wouldn’t know.”

“Really?”

“I’m not the type to pay attention to gossip.”

 

Lee Na-yoon burst into laughter.

 

“I like that kind of personality.”

 

Instead of laughing, I extended one hand.

 

To think I’d be shaking hands with ‘that’ reporter Lee Na-yoon.

Life was truly unpredictable.

 

Lee Na-yoon didn’t hesitate and clasped my hand, shaking it several times.

 

“Ah, please don’t tell Haeil that I’m at Ilchul for the time being.”

 

Lee Na-yoon’s eyes flashed toward me. But she soon nodded.

They called her a mad dog, but she seemed more like a well-behaved dog, making one corner of my mouth rise unconsciously.

 

I still don’t know whether Lee Na-yoon will really help me or not.

However, for me who needs to prove my abilities at a law firm like Ilchul, Lee Na-yoon could become something like an escalator.

 

“Well then, I’ll contact you soon.”

 

I put Lee Na-yoon’s business card into my wallet.

 

* * *

 

In the end, today’s events that the diary had predicted changed.

 

Witnessing the accident was unavoidable, but there was no blood splattered on my pants.

So perhaps the contents of Sung Tae-hyun’s diary might have changed.

 

With such thoughts, I finally opened the old door of the office on the second floor marked .

 

The door opened with a creaking sound, revealing a scene I could never have imagined.

 

“Welcome, yawn, in~”

 

Inside the office, which was larger than expected.

 

A platinum-haired man, unusual for someone working at a law firm, yawned as he stood up from his seat.

With his pale face, he had several piercings on his ears and lips.

 

That wasn’t all.

 

The man who slowly approached me became more surprising the closer he got.

He wore several thread rings on his fingers, and most of all, his outfit was ridiculous.

 

“….”

 

A black hoodie and jeans.

An outfit I’d never seen at court.

 

Until I became Chief Judge, no lawyer had ever come to work dressed like that.

Not just when appearing in court, but in general.

 

A lawyer.

Coming to work.

In a hoodie and jeans?

 

If I opened my mouth, words I shouldn’t say would probably pour out immediately.

And I suddenly realized.

 

‘He’s not a lawyer.’

 

That could be it.

He might just be an employee… but still, I’d never seen a law firm employee who came to work in a hoodie and jeans either.

 

I slowly took a breath.

I must have entered the wrong place.

 

My commute had been so rough that I seemed to have mistaken the office.

Though young people’s culture was unfamiliar to me, I thought of the flashy kids who appeared on TV these days.

 

‘An idol, something like that.’

 

I probably mistakenly entered their practice room.

The blonde-haired man was approaching with a bewildered expression.

The closer he got, the more his appearance supported my assumption.

 

He looked like someone young people would like.

But he’s not a lawyer.

 

I’d stake my career as a judge on it – I’d never heard of or seen such a lawyer.

 

“I’m sorry. I entered the wrong place.”

 

I turned around again, opened the door, and went out without hesitation.

They said building second floor, but there wasn’t just one office on the second floor.

It must have been on the opposite side.

 

Come to think of it, the interior I glimpsed was also too flashy to be called a lawyer’s office.

 

‘This is quite unusual.’

 

The exterior was a run-down building, but the interior of that office was completely different.

 

No, saying it was different isn’t enough.

This was practically no different from a palace.

 

My eyes widened at the interior where the ceiling, walls, and even the floor were all slathered with what looked like expensive materials.

 

To begin with, the Ho-shin Senior I knew didn’t have enough money to invest in palace-like interior costs for such a run-down office.

Unless he was the heir to a chaebol family rivaling Cheondong with a talent for wasting money.

 

However, on the door that had slammed shut again.

 

.

 

…Surprisingly, a proper old name plate was hanging there.

 

“This is insane.”

 

Ho-shin Senior, is he in his right mind?

Was this guy actually some incredible chaebol?

With his profession as just a hobby, something like that?

 

I couldn’t bring myself to open the door again and just stared intently at the name plate.

 

.

The name already engraved there hadn’t disappeared.

Surprisingly, though it was truly unbelievable, this appeared to be Ho-shin Senior’s office.

 

“Attorney Sung Tae-hyun?”

 

The door swung open again.

That sharp-faced man from earlier grabbed my wrist with a bright smile.

When a person is too dumbfounded, they can’t react properly.

 

Somehow feeling like I’d become the last person with common sense in this era, I couldn’t even string words together.

 

“Why did you go back out? You startled me.”

 

Your appearance is more startling.

 

But I didn’t let those words escape my lips.

I couldn’t be rash when I hadn’t properly figured out who this man was yet.

 

Let me get my bearings.

Even if I’m dragged into a den of lunatics, if I just keep my wits about me…

 

“I knew you were coming today. Ah, I’m a year older so I’ll drop the formalities.”

 

What kind of logic is this…

 

“Noh Hae-min. I’m a lawyer, first-year like you.”

 

Only then did I realize.

 

That Ho-shin Senior’s tastes might be quite bizarre.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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