The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 116

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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 116

 

Actually, I didn’t need to do anything more.

 

Lee Jin-seop’s downfall was predetermined.

 

It wasn’t because of me, but the result of the karma he had built up himself.

 

[Lee Jin-seop has been arrested.]

 

Sung Tae-jun occasionally contacted me like this through text messages.

 

That’s fortunate.

 

I turned on the screen to check the message and put my mobile phone back.

 

It’s a result that makes my neck’s sacrifice worthwhile.

 

Of course, including this arrest and through the upcoming trial, his life will become endlessly miserable.

 

Because it’s time for him to pay for his sins.

 

“Why, is there some other news?”

 

Roh Tae-sung, who had been having dynamic days lately, asked.

 

I was currently invited to his house and having a meal.

 

“No. They say Lee Jin-seop has been arrested.”

 

“…So it ended up that way after all.”

 

Roh Tae-sung sighed and looked at my neck with pity again.

 

Quite some time had passed since that day, so the swelling on my neck had subsided considerably.

 

Now it was barely noticeable unless you looked closely.

 

Nevertheless, including Noh Hae-min and even Roh Tae-sung.

 

The people of the Noh family made that expression every time they encountered me.

 

“I really have a lot to apologize to our Lawyer Sung for.”

 

“Not at all.”

 

While Roh Tae-sung was speaking, Noh Hae-min cautiously glanced around and pushed side dish bowls in front of me.

 

When I stopped him, Noh Hae-min sighed even louder.

 

“Just eat it all.”

 

“It’s fine.”

 

“Still… because of our family matters, your neck ended up like that…”

 

It seemed like it had become something of a trauma for Noh Hae-min.

 

After that day.

 

I promised Manager Yoon Ha-young during our confrontation that I would absolutely treasure my body from now on.

 

Even though Noh Hae-min was also present at that meeting, he still turned his gaze away whenever he looked at my neck.

 

“Arrest…”

 

Roh Tae-sung also looked troubled for another reason.

 

“Representative.”

 

“Oh, yes. That’s right.”

 

“It was something that was bound to happen eventually.”

 

While handling the Biga Furniture incident, Roh Tae-sung occasionally let out such troubled sighs.

 

Public opinion, which had been shaken for a while after the International Furniture Exhibition award cancellation, was gradually settling down thanks to Reporter Lee Na-yoon’s article and Roh Tae-sung’s announcement,

 

as well as the collaboration between Biga Furniture and Wooa Furniture.

 

Nevertheless, Roh Tae-sung acted like someone who always had something weighing on his mind.

 

“…That’s right, yes. Lee Jin-seop…”

 

It seemed the betrayal of someone he had worked with for a long time and the resulting events were still difficult for him.

 

Roh Tae-sung put down his spoon and chopsticks as if he had completely lost his appetite.

 

“I know the trial is still far off, but the sentence will probably be… quite harsh, won’t it?”

 

“It will be.”

 

First of all, the nature of the crime was bad.

 

Not only did he steal trade secrets outright, but the entire International Furniture Exhibition submission was also Lee Jin-seop’s planning.

 

Moreover, breaking into my office and strangling me was a huge mistake on his part.

 

“Sometimes I think I’ve lived my life wrong.”

 

Roh Tae-sung muttered, lost in regret.

 

“I should have managed things better. Lawyer Sung. Really, when I’m like this, I feel so pathetic.”

 

That’s understandable.

 

It was the same for any incident.

 

Compared to perpetrators who just committed their acts first, victims often thought about too many things.

 

Moreover, this was even more true for someone like Roh Tae-sung who cherished long-standing relationships.

 

“Representative.”

 

“Mm-hmm. Yes. Go ahead.”

 

Noh Hae-min also lost his words.

 

It was Noh Hae-min, as his son, who had seen his father’s wavering figure the most recently – the father who had always seemed so big throughout his lifetime.

 

I spoke to Roh Tae-sung on behalf of Noh Hae-min.

 

“Though I’ve lived a short life compared to yours, Representative, if you would listen-”

 

“What are you trying to say that you’re dragging it out so long? Really, I told you I think of you like my own son!”

 

I quietly watched Roh Tae-sung, who was raising his voice unnecessarily but ultimately smiling.

 

“…There’s something I’ve realized while doing this work.”

 

This isn’t some kind of truth.

 

It’s just a fact.

 

Since my death, I had sometimes been swept up in emotions that were all difficult to explain.

 

Cheondong, who killed me.

 

Haeil, who defended Cheondong.

 

And Choi Yoon-ki, who approved my death.

 

At first, it was revenge,

 

then I wavered.

 

‘Why did Choi Yoon-ki make such a choice?’

 

Did it absolutely have to be that way?

 

Yes, I was the one who set fire to him.

 

I made Cheondong’s youngest, who stood on the judgment seat of sin, pay the corresponding price for his crimes.

 

Then, did I absolutely have to die?

 

Probably not.

 

“Victims always reflect on their own actions first.”

 

I was like that, and Roh Tae-sung was like that too.

 

If not all, then most victims were like that.

 

Why did I have to go through such a thing.

 

Why was it me.

 

If I had acted differently, could I have avoided it.

 

Did I really do something that made me ‘deserve to be killed’.

 

“But can you blame victims even for natural disasters?”

 

It’s a disaster. A calamity.

 

“The victim is… But, Lawyer Sung. Rather than that, I-”

 

“Representative, you’ve always reflected on your own actions first.”

 

Roh Tae-sung and I cannot be the same.

 

Nevertheless, within the common denominator of being victims, there are definitely emotions we can share.

 

“You’ve already done enough.”

 

“….”

 

“And even if it wasn’t you, Representative, Lee Jin-seop would have done such things at any time.”

 

In other words, it was a separate category.

 

“Don’t worry anymore about thoughts regarding the perpetrator.”

 

Even if you do, it will only increase your stress.

 

“…I just had such thoughts.”

 

Roh Tae-sung, who had been lost in thought while pondering my words for a moment, opened his mouth.

 

“If I, as the representative, had looked after him better. Maybe he wouldn’t have gone as far as causing such incidents. Those kinds of thoughts.”

 

It was typical.

 

It’s not like you can stop thinking just because others tell you to.

 

This was close to trauma, so to speak.

 

I looked at the table that had now become quiet and spoke.

 

“Representative, you’ve already done enough, more than enough.”

 

“….”

 

“Something that could happen to anyone just struck like a disaster.”

 

“…Yes, that’s right. A disaster…”

 

“Yes. Please don’t torment yourself anymore.”

 

Lee Jin-seop will receive the punishment he deserves.

 

No, depending on who he meets in the courtroom, he might receive a much lighter sentence compared to what he’s done.

 

Still, the fact that Roh Tae-sung didn’t avoid it.

 

The fact that he didn’t give up and put Lee Jin-seop on trial was sufficiently valuable.

 

As precedents accumulate, the world will change slowly but surely enough to be felt.

 

The same was true for Roh Tae-sung personally.

 

“…Haha. What am I doing, making such a fool of myself in front of someone young enough to be Our Son.”

 

“It’s not foolish. It’s only natural.”

 

Roh Tae-sung now nodded with a calm expression.

 

“Something that could happen to anyone…”

 

“…”

 

“But I still feel like I’m a sinner.”

 

Oh no. I should probably send him to the Hospital through Noh Hae-min.

 

They’re more specialized in crime Victim trauma.

 

However, what came out of Roh Tae-sung’s mouth was enough to make my thoughts so far feel shameful.

 

“That’s it!”

 

Roh Tae-sung suddenly stood up from his seat as if he had a good idea.

 

“I should create a Foundation to support crime victims!”

 

“…Dad?”

 

Noh Hae-min’s expression was colored with bewilderment.

 

“How much longer do I have to live anyway! I should do things like this right when I think of them!”

 

…It was an ending befitting Roh Tae-sung.

 

* * *

 

Several weeks passed.

 

Sung Tae-jun, who had been sending useless Messages for a while, hadn’t contacted me again since recently.

 

“Did you give up?”

 

I was casually flipping through Sung Tae-hyun’s diary when I dropped it as it suddenly started glowing and vibrating as if something had happened.

 

A vibration like a phone call echoed through the quiet office.

 

‘How noisy.’

 

Fortunately, today was a weekend after a long time.

 

I had been quite busy for a while due to Roh Tae-sung’s sudden declaration that he would create a ‘Crime Victim Support Foundation.’

 

He was really serious about it.

 

“I’ll entrust all my business this time to our Ilchul!”

 

After making that declaration, related legal consultation cases really started arriving one after another.

 

Well, since he entrusted the entire consultation to us, the income itself was quite substantial.

 

“But…”

 

It’s fortunate that I came to work alone to finish up some tasks.

 

If Noh Hae-min or Manager Yoon Ha-young had seen this, I couldn’t even think of what excuse I’d have to make now.

 

“Ah, I got it. I’ll check. I’m checking now.”

 

I muttered roughly and picked up the diary that was jumping around like a frog.

 

[■Month ■Day.]

 

[I was surprised by my own indifference.]

 

“What’s this?”

 

I thought the diary was appearing after a long time, but criticism right away?

 

How dare it criticize me when I’ve been so busy without a moment to breathe?

 

Moreover, that damn Sung Tae-hyun’s diary had displayed just that one line and waited for me to see it.

 

‘They said he had a timid personality.’

 

Didn’t they say he couldn’t say anything in front of Lim Do-hyuk?

 

But a diary wouldn’t know my thoughts.

 

As soon as I confirmed the criticism, new sentences began to appear.

 

[Even though there was someone I hadn’t contacted for a while.]

 

[I used work as an excuse to neglect my relationships and didn’t check on them.]

 

“…What did you say?”

 

I’m busy as hell, what contact are you talking about.

 

Besides, neglecting relationships?

 

“Sung Tae-hyun.”

 

I tapped the pages of the arrogant diary with my pen.

 

This guy needs to be scolded sometimes to come to his senses, doesn’t he?

 

“Who’s the one that doesn’t mind coming to work on precious weekends and even handling overtime at the office?”

 

The diary had no answer.

 

“Who’s the one that filled your bank account back to positive after it was going negative with incomprehensible expenses?”

 

Still, the diary didn’t display any new text.

 

“And if we compare your relationships with mine-”

 

No. I shut my mouth.

 

This kind of war of attrition only causes stress.

 

Besides, whether Sung Tae-hyun’s Diary was the real Sung Tae-hyun, a ghost, or just some error in the world that humans can’t easily verify.

 

My relationships before being reborn were also hard to say were better than Sung Tae-hyun’s.

 

‘After all, I was the one who was killed by a friend.’

 

So let’s keep quiet.

 

I roughly threw the diary onto the table.

 

Only then did new text appear.

 

That terrible handwriting. That thing.

 

Anyway, that person he was supposedly neglecting wouldn’t be ‘Mother’, right.

 

If that were the case, it would be quite disappointing.

 

[Let’s not be neglectful.]

 

“I got it.”

 

[You should at least give warm greetings to the people around you…]

 

“What are you talking about.”

 

[…so you won’t regret it later.]

 

Are we filming some public service announcement?

 

This kind of criticism was a first, making the back of my head tingle.

 

No, let me think positively.

 

Until now, Sung Tae-hyun had always told me things in advance before something happened.

 

“He didn’t say much about the Biga Furniture incident though…”

 

Could that be it?

 

From Sung Tae-hyun’s perspective, maybe he doesn’t bother giving hints for cases that seem like they’ll work out well on their own.

 

Anyway, the existence of this diary was quite troublesome for me.

 

Whether I burned it, froze it in the freezer, or sometimes left it at the office. This mysterious existence that I could always find in my bag.

 

“Can’t be helped.”

 

It was definitely a penalty I gained from entering Sung Tae-hyun’s body.

 

For me, well, the fact that I’m currently living as a human named Sung Tae-hyun is an even greater mystery than the diary.

 

“That aside, people around me…”

 

There are too many to deduce from.

 

The first face that came to mind was Court Chief Park Gil-young.

 

However, as far as I knew, that man had only had a brief meeting with Sung Tae-hyun at the funeral, so he was excluded.

 

The person around me that Sung Tae-hyun mentioned wouldn’t be from Kim Wook-han’s connections.

 

“Then…”

 

Who could it be. I’ve been too busy recently to pay attention to anyone.

 

Could it be Lim Do-hyuk?

 

“…No way.”

 

Lim Do-hyuk, who had turned and left that day, hadn’t contacted me separately even after all this time had passed.

 

Hmm, it is a bit concerning.

 

[Senior, are you sleeping?]

 

It was broad daylight.

 

After sending that one message, I wandered around looking for someone else.

 

Sung Tae-jun?

 

No, that’s not right. Then who could it be.

 

As I scrolled through the contact list on my mobile phone, I suddenly realized.

 

“…Ah.”

 

404.

 

“He’s not asking for coins.”

 

There had been no contact from 404.

—————
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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