The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 115

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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 115

 

“Huh?!”

 

Noh Hae-min said as he was just entering the office.

 

He had an expression as if he didn’t expect me to be here at this time.

 

“What do you mean ‘huh?’, Senior.”

 

When I said it teasingly, he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

 

“Well, something big happened yesterday. I thought you’d take a break today.”

 

Ah, so that’s what he meant by ‘huh?’

 

He thought I’d be too sick to come to work.

 

Sung Tae-hyun isn’t the type of person to be that frail though.

 

That’s right.

 

Even after being strangled by Lee Jin-seop and stressed by the Lim Do-hyuk and Sung Tae-jun combo, Sung Tae-hyun’s body was perfectly fine.

 

Youth really is a wonderful thing.

 

If it were old Kim Wook-han, he would have been hospitalized for about three days, groaning in pain.

 

“What happened?”

 

Manager Yoon Ha-young, who had come to work early and was handling business, also asked.

 

She didn’t seem to pay this much attention to me before.

 

After going through various things together, we’ve gotten somewhat closer.

 

“Don’t even ask, Manager. I really thought I’d be attending Lawyer Sung’s funeral yesterday.”

 

Noh Hae-min spouted nonsense.

 

Manager Yoon Ha-young, who seemed to be getting up to fill her tumbler with water, stopped in her tracks.

 

“…Are you being serious?”

 

“Yeah, about half serious?”

 

“Did robbers break into the office or something?”

 

As if that would happen.

 

When I let out a sigh, Manager Yoon Ha-young came a little closer to me.

 

Soon her eyes widened in surprise.

 

This is the first time I’ve seen her look so shocked.

 

I wore a black turtleneck under my shirt to hide the wound, but it wasn’t completely covered.

 

“That neck-”

 

She stopped mid-sentence and closed her mouth as if she realized she shouldn’t have said that.

 

Only Noh Hae-min approached with loud footsteps.

 

Thanks to being caught between those two and receiving strange looks, I was the only one wearing an awkward smile.

 

“Lee Jin-seop came to see me yesterday.”

 

“…!”

 

So let me just tell the truth quickly.

 

At my confession, Section Chief Yoon Ha-young’s face instantly darkened.

 

“He came all the way to the law office and did this to the lawyer’s neck?!”

 

This was also the first time I’d heard her voice raised so loud.

 

I answered in a slightly hoarse voice since it hadn’t completely healed.

 

“Yes.”

 

“And you just stayed still, Lawyer?”

 

“Yes. Well, it wasn’t to the point of death.”

 

Under the narrowed gazes of Noh Hae-min and Section Chief Yoon Ha-young, defensive words unconsciously slipped out.

 

“You just took it because it wasn’t to the point of death?!”

 

“Rather than being hit… my neck was choked-”

 

Noh Hae-min let out a deep sigh.

 

“What difference does that make. Section Chief Yoon, you know what? Lawyer Sung is really stubborn sometimes.”

 

“….”

 

“He just stayed there obediently getting choked without resisting once, saying he’d collect evidence later.”

 

“Huh….”

 

“If Lawyer Lim Do-hyuk hadn’t happened to pass by and helped subdue him… if I’d been alone….”

 

“….”

 

“You know how people who’ve lost their reason tend to be excessively strong.”

 

How should I describe this situation?

 

I hadn’t intended to compare them, but Sung Tae-jun’s expression from last night came to mind.

 

After I stopped by the hospital to get a medical certificate and submitted it to the police station.

 

Past midnight, Sung Tae-jun left just one text message.

 

[Sorry, hyung.]

 

If there had been someone to listen to it, I would have responded.

 

However, since I wasn’t the one who should receive apologies, the message was quietly closed.

 

Except for the unpleasantly pounding heartbeat, it felt as if nothing had happened.

 

“Lawyer.”

 

What words had been exchanged while I was lost in thought?

 

Manager Yoon Ha-young called me with a face that was somehow even colder than usual.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Lawyer, your body isn’t a machine.”

 

“I know.”

 

What was she trying to say?

 

She was usually remarkably indifferent to others.

 

So these awkward words must be her own way of showing concern and comfort.

 

“If you know, then what should you do?”

 

…Hmm, this is unexpected.

 

When I looked at her silently at the unexpected question, Manager Yoon Ha-young continued with an even colder voice.

 

“Legally, appropriate self-defense isn’t a problem, so I’m curious if there was a reason you had to endure it until your neck nearly broke.”

 

Ah, so…

 

Is she angry?

 

“I wanted to avoid cases where the perpetrator might turn it into mutual assault if I used appropriate self-defense first.”

 

“And?”

 

“My neck didn’t break either. If it had, I wouldn’t be standing here like this.”

 

Manager Yoon Ha-young’s eyebrows furrowed deeply.

 

“As you well know, Lawyer, there are problems that can’t be solved with logic.”

 

“I know.”

 

“Let me put it this way. What if you had really broken your neck from Lee Jin-seop, or gotten injured badly enough to need months or years of recovery?”

 

“Well, I don’t think that would have happened.”

 

“Oh, you think a perpetrator who came running to the office with malicious intent really couldn’t do that?!”

 

Definitely. Section Chief Yoon Ha-young was angry.

 

Noh Hae-min had said that Section Chief Yoon was a 9th dan in martial arts.

 

I glanced at Noh Hae-min who was desperately signaling me with his eyes.

 

It would be best to apologize quickly, whatever the case.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“Lawyer! You really! Need to value yourself more! Do you understand?”

 

“Yes.”

 

I’m really glad I’m not personally involved with Section Chief Yoon Ha-young.

 

After raising her voice for the first time, she briefly apologized.

 

“I apologize for raising my voice.”

 

Then she took a deep breath and composed herself.

 

When had she been clenching her fists so tightly?

 

Hmm, let’s not think about it.

 

It wasn’t good for my mental health.

 

“But I thought this was something I needed to say at least once.”

 

…For how long?

 

Yoon Ha-young now had her usual calm expression as if her anger had subsided.

 

Though she couldn’t hide the coldness in her voice.

 

“Don’t try to shoulder everything alone and solve it by yourself.”

 

“…This case is a bit different from that-”

 

“No. You know, don’t you? That’s been your work style as a lawyer all along.”

 

Now it’s this topic?

 

“You take on all the difficult problems first. When problems arise, you solve them with that ‘logic’ and reasoning of yours. As if it doesn’t matter what happens to your own body.”

 

“…”

 

“Both Lawyer Noh Hae-min and I are colleagues of Lawyer Sung Tae-hyun.”

 

Ah, so this is.

 

“You won’t be a burden, so don’t try to shoulder everything by yourself.”

 

For a moment, I felt as if I had been doused with cold water.

 

Because Section Chief Yoon Ha-young’s words were completely right.

 

…Did I think of them as colleagues?

 

Part of me did. But another part of me.

 

I still thought of myself and them separately, just like when I was a Chief Judge at the court.

 

My actions were because I couldn’t fully trust these people who were much younger than me.

 

I called out to Section Chief Yoon Ha-young as she turned away angrily.

 

“Manager.”

 

Even Noh Hae-min was looking at me with a calm expression.

 

That’s right. These people.

 

They are the new relationships I built at Law Firm Ilchul.

 

Both Noh Hae-min and Section Chief Yoon Ha-young.

 

They know me as I am now, not the Sung Tae-hyun of the past.

 

At the boundary between past and present, buried in Sung Tae-hyun’s diary, there were things I had forgotten.

 

“…Please speak.”

 

Section Chief Yoon Ha-young looked up at me with a cold expression.

 

Noh Hae-min also remained silent.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“You already apologized earlier, so that’s enough.”

 

“No, I’m sincere. I’ve made mistakes with Section Chief Yoon as well. And with Senior, no, Lawyer Noh Hae-min too.”

 

Yoon Ha-young bit her lips silently.

 

“Yesterday’s incident was an impulsive reaction.”

 

“…”

 

“And the actions I’ve taken so far-”

 

That was, in my own way, an action for their sake.

 

Taking the lead and risking danger was also the comfortable choice from my perspective.

 

However, I didn’t know that would ultimately hinder the growth of both Manager Yoon Ha-young and Noh Hae-min, and even make them feel indebted.

 

To be precise, I hadn’t thought that deeply about it.

 

Because I thought it was fine as long as the results were good.

 

“I apologize.”

 

I briefly bowed my head.

 

As if she hadn’t expected me to react that way, Manager Yoon Ha-young’s eyes widened even more.

 

She set down her tumbler as if throwing it and bowed her head as well.

 

“I’m the one who should be sorry. I didn’t mean to make you say something like that—”

 

“No. I’m the one who’s more sorry.”

 

“No, I’m the one—”

 

An endless ping-pong continued.

 

As apologies and more apologies repeated, Noh Hae-min, who had been watching this farce, intervened and shouted.

 

“Excuse me, are you two planning to bow or something?”

 

Thank goodness.

 

If Noh Hae-min hadn’t intervened, I really would have ended up touching my head to the ground.

 

“Enough! Just. From now on, Lawyer Sung, don’t do that!”

 

“….”

 

“Manager Yoon Ha-young is…!”

 

Noh Hae-min, who was about to say something, pressed his lips tightly shut.

 

“What.”

 

When she asked coldly, Noh Hae-min shook his head.

 

That cowardly bastard.

 

“No, I was just saying please take care of us in the future too!”

 

“Fine.”

 

Manager Yoon Ha-young looked at me and Noh Hae-min with a twisted smile hanging on her lips.

 

“There’s a gym I go to nearby, so let me teach you boxing there first.”

 

This… this is how things would unfold?

 

As I stared at her in bewilderment, Noh Hae-min spoke up first.

 

“N-no, that’s for next time, Manager. Both Lawyer Sung and I have been having severe muscle pain lately, so boxing is a bit-”

 

“What could people who just sit and work all day have that would cause severe muscle pain? That’s all because you lack exercise, you know?”

 

I watched the battle between spear and shield and pulled out a new card.

 

“Let’s just settle this with a company dinner.”

 

For office workers, this is the best way to make peace.

 

* * *

 

「[Special Feature] Two Men Who Briefly Lost Their Way, Join Hands Again」

 

“Impressive.”

 

I clicked on the link Lee Na-yoon had sent.

 

Could this really have been written by Lee Na-yoon?

 

The writing style was far too emotional for something Lee Na-yoon would write.

 

I heard she was slated for promotion – maybe she pressured one of her juniors to write some beautiful novel?

 

Life is like walking an uncertain and endless path.

 

Walking such a path, one sometimes makes wrong choices without knowing,

 

and sometimes reaches dead ends from which there’s no return.

 

“…Huh, Lee Na-yoon wrote this?”

 

Every word choice was far from the Lee Na-yoon I knew.

 

My guess seems to be right.

 

This is someone else’s writing with only Lee Na-yoon’s name attached.

 

There’s no way Lee Na-yoon wrote this.

 

Biga Furniture Representative Yoon Sang-do was the same.

 

Competition with an old friend, performance starting to lag behind.

 

Moreover, his wife’s terminal diagnosis that fell like a bolt from the blue.

 

He had finally reached a dead end.

 

The one who extended a hand to him again as he stood on the edge of a cliff was the victim of this incident and Representative Yoon Sang-do’s old friend—Representative Roh Tae-sung of Woo-ah Furniture.

 

[The response is good.]

 

Lee Na-yoon checked once more, knowing that I was reading her message.

 

[Who wrote it?]

 

I deleted the message I was about to send.

 

This isn’t right.

 

Now is the time for praise.

 

[Well done, thank you.]

 

The public’s reaction wasn’t bad either.

 

Initially, public opinion had been unfavorable due to the cancellation of the International Furniture Exhibition award, but it subsided when Representative Roh Tae-sung came forward personally to explain his friend’s circumstances while simultaneously presenting an IP usage rights agreement and a new collaboration project.

 

In the midst of all this, when Lee Na-yoon’s article appeared, the atmosphere shifted toward everyone understanding the situation to some extent.

 

[See how public opinion can completely change just by tweaking the words a little?]

 

[Hmm, as for compensation—next time when something really big comes up, I’ll give you an exclusive title then.]

 

That much should be fine.

 

[Sounds good.]

 

Now what remains is Lee Jin-seop, I suppose.

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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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