The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 103
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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 103
Noh Hae-min, who seemed like he would argue, surprisingly accepted it quickly.
“Ah, so that’s what it was?”
Rather, he nodded as if he understood.
“If that’s the case, then whatever.”
“…Senior, you really don’t care as long as you’re not actually getting fired?”
“Yeah. I was literally imagining becoming unemployed until 1 second ago.”
…Fine, let’s say that’s true.
As I sighed and turned around, Noh Hae-min followed me like a foal.
“Then I’ll back up Section Chief Yoon. If you need any materials or anything, just request it. I’ll send it within 1 minute.”
“…1 minute?”
Does that even make sense?
It was something no one would believe, but Noh Hae-min continued chattering, happy about the fact that he wouldn’t become unemployed soon.
“Yeah, 1 minute. If it’s materials from Father’s office, I’ll request it from Manager Lee-“
“….”
“If it’s materials from the patent law firm, I’ll request it from the patent law firm.”
“….”
“And if it’s materials from our office website or other stuff, I’ll ask the administrator-“
“Senior.”
I spoke to Noh Hae-min, whose face now looked completely relieved.
“That’s basically just making other people do everything.”
“Well, that’s true, right? But it’s actually necessary, isn’t it?”
Seeing him answer so cheerfully, I now understood.
I had raised a tiger cub.
* * *
[A meeting schedule with Yoon Sang-do has been set.]
[Since it’s an unofficial schedule, we decided to meet at Representative Noh Tae-sung’s house.]
“An unofficial schedule.”
It wasn’t long after Noh Tae-sung had directly contacted Yoon Sang-do.
I snorted at Sung Tae-hyun’s diary entry that suddenly appeared in the diary.
“Damn.”
“Why?”
Noh Hae-min, who had been keenly watching my mood after meeting Representative Noh Tae-sung, asked first.
I waved my hand dismissively and said.
“It’s nothing.”
[I hate melodrama.]
Look at this.
Just from Sung Tae-hyun’s reaction, I could roughly guess what was going to happen.
Well, at least this time I agreed with Sung Tae-hyun’s words.
I didn’t like melodrama either.
[If I don’t prepare properly, I might stop it.]
But this last sentence.
This was quite hurtful to my pride.
“I would stop it?”
No, not me. It would be Noh Tae-sung’s side.
There couldn’t be any great reason for design plagiarism. But.
[…It’s partly my fault too.]
Wait a minute.
“What does this mean?”
My fault?
Does this mean it’s Sung Tae-hyun’s fault?
But Sung Tae-hyun didn’t even know Noh Hae-min or Noh Tae-sung when he was alive.
That means….
“Did he do something wrong before dying?”
I lifted Sung Tae-hyun’s diary and rubbed that page with my hand.
“…It doesn’t change.”
Noh Tae-sung and Yoon Sang-do.
There was an unsolved secret between them.
Noh Tae-sung wanted to know why Yoon Sang-do did such a thing.
Even the fact that Yoon Sang-do stole Noh Tae-sung’s trade secrets and copied them as his own design to create a furniture line.
It was already a game where we held the winning hand.
But what other secret could there be?
[…To some extent, it’s my fault too.]
Right, this really didn’t make sense to me.
And he didn’t seem inclined to give an easy answer this time either.
Before I could fall deeper into thought, my mobile phone rang.
[Representative Roh Tae-sung]
“Yes, Representative.”
It was a call I had already expected to come.
Still, I couldn’t help feeling uneasy about it.
To some extent, it might be my fault.
That sentence from Sung Tae-hyun kept circling in my head.
-Well, a meeting with Yoon Sang-do has been arranged.
“Yes.”
Of course, Roh Tae-sung reacted exactly as expected.
-It’s an unofficial schedule, so we decided to meet first and then decide.
“Understood, Representative.”
-Yes, Lawyer Sung Tae-hyun. I already told him I’d be with our lawyer too.
“Yes.”
-He said he’d come alone. I guess he has his circumstances.
What circumstances.
Yoon Sang-do already knows Roh Tae-sung’s personality well.
They said they’ve been friends since birth.
So he probably thought he could get through this time casually too.
-We decided to meet at my house. This Friday, you just need to come by six o’clock.
Let’s not think about it for now.
Whether it’s my fault or Sung Tae-hyun’s fault.
Whoever the ‘I’ that Sung Tae-hyun mentioned refers to.
* * *
And Friday came around again.
I arrived at Roh Tae-sung’s house early, before six o’clock.
“Am I really excluded?”
Since the meeting time was what it was, Noh Hae-min had to leave work too.
But being somewhat worried, I entrusted the corporate card to Section Chief Yoon Ha-young.
“Please take care of him for about three hours.”
At my words, as if I were entrusting a colt I was raising, Section Chief Yoon nodded without complaint.
“Yes.”
“Oh, you can spend the entire company dinner budget for this month.”
At my additional words, her face brightened despite being held hostage for three hours after Friday work hours.
She seems to have some plan.
“I’ll do my best.”
With this, Noh Hae-min wouldn’t return home for three hours.
Section Chief Yoon Ha-young’s determination was evident.
Well, the rest was Section Chief Yoon’s job to handle.
I left the office, ignoring Noh Hae-min’s seemingly regretful gaze.
Noh Hae-min had already disappeared, led away by Section Chief Yoon’s hand.
“Ah, our Lawyer Sung has arrived?”
Roh Tae-sung looked more relaxed than when I had met him before.
It seemed he had sorted out his feelings to some extent.
I nodded and sat in the chair positioned diagonally from him.
The house was completely empty.
In the spacious mansion, it was just Roh Tae-sung and me, without even any servants.
He noticed my gaze and spoke gently.
“Just in case, I asked my wife to step out for a bit.”
It was unnecessary consideration.
Still, I just nodded.
This is the problem with getting older.
Even if it’s not something I would do, there are often cases where I understand such actions.
Besides, I had also sent Noh Hae-min away.
In the awkward silence, I changed the subject.
“It seems Mr. Yoon Sang-do hasn’t arrived yet.”
“Yeah, traffic must be heavy. But he said he’d arrive soon, so let’s wait.”
The doorbell rang.
I exchanged glances with Roh Tae-sung and slowly rose from my seat.
He doesn’t seem to be a gentleman after all.
As soon as the words ended, the intercom’s camera showed the face of a man who seemed both strange and familiar.
-…I’m here.
A small voice rang out, as if crawling in.
Roh Tae-sung sighed and pressed the intercom button to open it.
The person Roh Tae-sung had so desperately wanted to hear an explanation from had arrived.
Soon, the door opened.
* * *
He was wearing faded clothes.
Suddenly, I remembered a joke Choi Yoon-ki had once told.
When was it, it was not long after he had been appointed.
“The guys who come in for questioning, you can tell.”
“Tell what?”
“Especially in this field. The ones indicted for fraud.”
Choi Yoon-ki, who hadn’t completely changed yet at that time, chuckled and continued.
“They always wear worn-out clothes when they come to meet our investigators.”
“…Why?”
“I don’t know. Just trying to look pitiful. Trying to get some sympathy.”
Why did I suddenly remember that incident?
I slowly shook my head.
Unlike what I had seen in the interview materials, Yoon Sang-do entered wearing an overcoat that was so worn it looked faded.
His tense face was clearly intimidated by anyone’s standards.
“…You came.”
Roh Tae-sung didn’t look at his face properly and went in first to sit on the sofa.
All the evidence neatly arranged on the table was what I had sent.
Yoon Sang-do passed by me without even making a sound with his footsteps.
Come to think of it, he said he had already notified him that I would be here.
Yet the fact that he came alone meant, as expected.
“…Tae-sung.”
It was before my thoughts could be interrupted.
Yoon Sang-do didn’t sit on the sofa.
Instead, he made a thudding sound as he knelt down on the ground.
Tears began falling endlessly from his face turned toward the ground.
“…What the hell are you doing right now?!”
Roh Tae-sung shouted.
He was equally flustered.
No matter how much they had become enemies now, Roh Tae-sung jumped up at the pathetic sight of someone who had once been his friend.
Yoon Sang-do wailed with his head bowed.
“I’m sorry, I really mean it.”
“What are you doing?!”
Roh Tae-sung approached Yoon Sang-do, who was kneeling on the ground, making stomping sounds.
I watched them silently.
I had no idea where the end of this drama would lead.
“Get up! Do you think I called you here to watch you kneel like this?!”
“Please…”
Roh Tae-sung grabbed Yoon Sang-do’s shoulders and shook him violently.
Yoon Sang-do swayed like a dry leaf, but he didn’t seem to have any intention of straightening his knees and standing up.
“Thinking of our past affection, please just overlook this once…”
At the words that burst out mixed with tears, Roh Tae-sung hesitated for a moment and stiffened.
“…What did you say?”
“Please. I’ll beg like this. I’m asking you.”
Now Yoon Sang-do began clasping his hands together and begging desperately.
It was a sight that was hard to watch with open eyes.
I stepped back a few steps and turned my head to the side to give them some time.
“Please. I’m begging you. I know very well that I did something terrible. I know that to you and your father, I’m someone who deserves to die right now.”
It was a miserable scene.
Yoon Sang-do begged so much that Roh Tae-sung was momentarily speechless.
“But still. Please help me just once. This will be the last time. Please, I’m begging you like this. Even thinking of the years we spent together, please…”
“…”
“Just this once, please just let it pass without incident.”
…In the end, it was no different from betraying Roh Tae-sung once again.
Roh Tae-sung, whose face had turned red with surging emotions, noticed this as well.
He had to.
No matter how tender-hearted he might be, he was still the head who had built up a business for over thirty years.
It wouldn’t be difficult for him to understand what those words meant.
“If you could just… if you could just let this one time slide… we can protect our company.”
“…Yoon Sang-do.”
“Please, please. I’m begging you like this. Huh… You know Sung-woo’s mother is sick.”
Yoon Sang-do abandoned his dignity.
No, perhaps he had done so even before coming to this place.
He grabbed Roh Tae-sung’s shoulders and clung to him desperately.
Getting on his knees was nothing.
He had thrown away all his pride and came here hoping that Roh Tae-sung would turn a blind eye once more.
“The hospital bills were too… too expensive. The company is almost collapsing too. That’s why I, that’s why I did such things even knowing they were wrong. It’s right that I’m like this.”
“…Yoon Sang-do!”
“I’m begging you. I’ll beg you. If you tell me to die, I’ll at least pretend to die. But please…”
“You, right now this…!”
Roh Tae-sung gasped for breath.
His face turned red as if he might collapse at any moment, so I approached Roh Tae-sung and supported him.
Yoon Sang-do’s gaze never once turned toward me.
His face, pathetically wet with tears, continued to follow Roh Tae-sung as he pleaded.
“You, that’s our Father’s patterns! Remember? You bastard! How did our Father treat you!”
“…I know, I know. It’s my fault. I know too. I know better than anyone. I hate myself too. I tried to quit several times.”
“Yoon Sang-do!”
“But I couldn’t. What about our child’s mother? Sung-woo’s mother has only suffered. Now Sung-woo’s mother can’t even walk. They say she’ll be like that from now on. Thousands went to nursing care costs. Also…”
When I seated Roh Tae-sung on the sofa, Yoon Sang-do crawled over on his knees and grabbed onto Roh Tae-sung.
“Huh… Please.”
“…”
“Just you, just once… Think of it as saving a person’s life and turn a blind eye…”
“…”
“Just this line… let us continue to use it…”
Yoon Sang-do’s head dropped to the ground again.
I handed the blood pressure medicine that had been far away to Roh Tae-sung, who now seemed on the verge of having his blood pressure explode.
And I answered the gasping, crying Yoon Sang-do instead.
“That won’t do.”
At that moment, Yoon Sang-do’s face contorted with undeniable anger.
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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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