The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 119

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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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Chapter 119

-Wow, damn. Really. What if my dad had answered instead of me? How could you make a call like that?

“…Dad?”

What the hell is he talking about now.

I listened to the man’s words through the mobile phone while racking my brain.

But no matter how much I thought about it, I didn’t feel like I had done anything wrong.

This bastard.

He was the one who hadn’t worked for a while, yet his skill at shifting blame was top-notch.

-I’m talking about Kim Won-hak from Wonhak Computing. Why are you pretending not to know, hyung? Didn’t Young Master tell you?

Look at this.

He was still pretending it wasn’t him.

“He didn’t tell me, so that’s why I’m calling like this, right?”

When I spoke as if trying to reason with him, the man’s voice on the phone became even more tearful.

He was now muttering things like ‘This is why I didn’t want to do this…’ and ‘Ah, I’m screwed…’ as if talking to himself.

“404?”

-Ugh, disgusting!

Another crash.

Such a loud noise came through the mobile phone that I had no choice but to move my ear and phone away for a moment.

The chat window was chaotic enough, but the actual conversation was even more chaotic.

-I’m not 404?? Really not, hyung! Ah, seriously!

“…Hyung?”

I closed my mouth.

What kind of species is this?

How long had it been since I had such an exasperating conversation with someone?

As I was too dumbfounded to continue speaking, I could feel even Manager Yoon Ha-young and Noh Hae-min, who had been doing their own work, glancing over.

I’m flabbergasted. That’s why.

So this is what it feels like to be speechless.

-Ah, then you’re my hyung, what else. Hyung, just call me comfortably too, Ji-oh

“…Ji-oh….”

So, I don’t understand what kind of situation this is.

404, who suddenly revealed even his real name, is now calling me hyung.

Hyung?

The 404 who always used to say “Lawyer Sung Taehyun lol” in the chat window seems like a completely different person from the 404 I’m talking to now.

…Wait a minute. What did he say?

“Mr. Kim Ji-oh?”

-Ah, ugh! Hyung. Please stop. That’s really gross. I just got goosebumps on my arms

“Kim Ji-oh?”

-That feels too distant. It hurts my feelings for no reason

What does he want me to do?

I sighed and called his name one last time.

It was wisdom I had acquired from dealing with people like 404 for so long.

Let’s do what he wants.

That way the conversation will end quickly.

“Ji-oh?”

-…Wow, that’s completely gross too. Ugh, wait a sec. I spilled water.

…What a mess.

A 404 with this much sense of everyday life.

A sigh escaped me without realizing it.

He said he was busy.

But from his voice, he doesn’t really seem busy at all?

This is ridiculous. I should cut the maintenance fees I’ve been paying until now.

-Wow, okay. I really never imagined hyung would call me

“…So, how does it feel to actually get a call instead of just imagining it?”

-Just like Young Master said, very… ah, no. Never mind.

“Why are you cutting yourself off?”

-That’s not it… Ah, I’m screwed. I was just waiting for my cup noodles and spilled them because of your call, hyung…

Right, I get it.

This Kim Ji-oh from Wonhak Trading is not 404.

If Kim Ji-oh were 404, then he would have been using all his strength to hide his scatterbrained nature in the chat window all this time.

If that weren’t the case, this level of conversation would be impossible.

– Anyway, I’m different from Young Master, so I don’t do coins

“…”

– Cash only. I accept bank transfers, customer~ I know you’re doing this because you can’t reach Young Master.

Now we were getting to the main point.

Kim Ji-oh moved around busily even while talking.

The sound of him frantically wiping something kept coming through the mobile phone.

-But Kim Ji-oh is different from Young Master, so he’s super easy to contact. Hyung, you’re really lucky.

…Let’s ignore that.

Whether this young guy Kim Ji-oh is actually 404.

Or whether he’s just doing this to superficially hide his identity.

Either way, as long as he did his job well, that was enough.

I didn’t have any desire to know that deeply anyway.

“Yes, it’s been quite a while since you last accessed the homepage, hasn’t it?”

I said in a reproachful tone.

You should work as much as you’re paid, right?

Even though everyone at our office was too busy to properly check.

It was 404 himself who used to write and submit reports on his own every time.

-Huh, hyung, are you complaining to me right now? Wow, this is really unfair.

“What’s unfair about it.”

-I should be the one complaining to Young Master. Just the work he’s assigned me right now!

“Alright. Kim Ji-oh, I’ll believe that you’re not 404.”

-Ah, hyung!

“Stop with the chatter and please fix the homepage update and the error in the customer service chat window.”

Kim Ji-oh was silent for a moment, as if calculating something.

From outside the mobile phone came the faint sound of tapping on a keyboard.

-Uh… one hundred thousand won in cash? No, one hundred fifty thousand won!

“For doing everything?”

-Hmm, is that too expensive…? Negotiation is possible, so why don’t you make an offer, hyung. How much will you do it for.

What negotiation.

Moreover, it was a bargain price that fell far short of what 404 usually charged.

Could he really not be 404?

Kim Ji-oh acted like a novice who hadn’t done this kind of transaction many times.

If this was also acting, then I had nothing to say.

“Let’s go with one hundred fifty thousand won.”

-Wow! It’s really just like Young Master said. Hyung, don’t people call you a pushover?

“What pushover.”

He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

-What about the timeframe? Ah, never mind. I’ll just start right now. I have the administrator information that Young Master gave me before.

“…You said he gave you administrator information?”

This bastard.

The man seemed to realize his mistake and hurriedly tried to cover up his words.

-Ah, ah! That’s not what I meant, hyung.

“…”

-Young Master didn’t really have bad intentions, and I don’t particularly plan to do anything with your website either. Really. I’m serious. The domain is so cheap anyway that there’s nowhere else to use it…!

This bastard.

“Work hard to clean up for the time you delayed.”

-I’m really not Young Master, hyung. Wow, I feel so wronged right now. I spilled cup noodles earlier too, and if this happens on top of that, I’ll really take a huge loss.

…What does him not being 404 have to do with spilling cup noodles?

No, no. Let’s not interpret this.

It was a conversation where only I would lose if I thought too deeply about it.

“A loss?”

When I asked back, Kim Ji-oh quickly answered.

-Just because. Scary… Not that I’m scared though. Oh, and I’m really not Sa-young-sa.

Insisting he’s not Sa-young-sa until the very end.

I answered half-heartedly.

“I understand. I’ll believe you.”

-Hyung, don’t you have faith in people? Oh, is it because you’re a lawyer? But I’m really not. I haven’t been in contact with Sa-young-sa for a while now.

“I said I understand.”

-…Yes. Then you’ll pay me after I do the work, right?

…This kid is really young.

I swallowed the sigh that naturally escaped and said.

“I won’t run off with your money, so do the work first and then bill me.”

-Got it. But hyung, if Young Master contacts you…

“…”

-Please promise to tell him I did all the work well. He’s gotten suspicious like you, hyung.

“…Wait a minute.”

Listening to this, something seems strange.

Kim Ji-oh seemed to treat 404 as if he were his client or someone higher than himself.

So, if he really isn’t 404, that is.

-Yes? What is it?

“What’s your relationship with 404?”

-Ah hyung, now you’ve gotten a bit curious about me. I am kind of that type of person.

“…Stop talking nonsense.”

-404 is a hacker and I’m…

What is this.

Is he making something up?

His words trailed off.

-…an aspiring…? Something like that? Oh, but I learned from Young Master so my skills are still good. Really. I’m going to enter a competition soon. You’ll regret it later, hyung. Thinking you should have gotten to know Kim Ji-oh better back then-

“Finish the work and then call me. I’m hanging up.”

-Ah hyung?!

I put down my mobile phone.

My ears were ringing. He’s talkative like 404. But he’s not even a hacker…

“…Aspiring hacker?”

What’s that supposed to mean.

Anyway, the conversation had gone on longer than expected, and Manager Yoon Ha-young’s gaze was directed toward me.

“Are you the Administrator?”

“…Yes, well. That’s right. They said the error will be fixed soon, so don’t worry and go home.”

I finally found the chat room link that 404 had given me and clicked on it.

[The page you requested cannot be found.]

Of course.

There was still no trace of 404.

* * *

A few days later.

[As a bonus service, I added flowers next to your photo too lololol]

[No need to thank me, just accept it lolol]

“….”

Messages from Kim Ji-oh arrived one after another.

I was silently staring at his latest work.

[Oh but still, a little praise would make Ji-oh dance lolol]

“…Lawyer….”

Kim Ji-oh has no aesthetic sense.

Well, he does have some. But the problem was that it wasn’t the kind of aesthetic sense you could get from a typical ordinary person’s perspective.

“Are we really going to leave our website like this?”

Yoon Ha-young continued speaking with her usual calm expression.

However, her voice was also darkly subdued.

“Ah… well, it’s not that bad….”

Even Noh Hae-min couldn’t sugarcoat it.

That’s right.

The sunflower that Kim Ji-oh had attached next to my photo in the center of the homepage as a “service” didn’t match the original design no matter how favorably I looked at it.

“So… when is our original administrator coming back?”

404.

Only then was I certain.

Kim Ji-oh is not 404, and 404 is not Kim Ji-oh either.

Though always scattered and talkative, 404 was good at work.

404 was the one who would understand perfectly just from the general atmosphere I described and bring back results.

[Bro lol are you so moved that you’re speechless??]

“Moved…”

Everyone was glancing at me, watching my reaction.

This was nothing short of punishment.

So, no matter how good Kim Ji-oh’s intentions were when he put his skills to full use to create it, my current profile photo page was no different from a picture diary drawn by an elementary school student.

…This bastard.

[Restore it to original.]

I sent Kim Ji-oh a brief message.

[Or you’ll be fired.]

Kim Ji-oh didn’t send a message for quite a while.

About thirty minutes later, the message he finally sent was-

[Got it. I didn’t know you would despise art like that.]

“…Despise…?”

Kim Ji-oh clearly doesn’t know what “despise” means.

I ignored his message and turned off my phone screen.

I suppose I’ve lived too long.

To be having such ridiculous squabbles with these children.

“Lawyer Sung…”

Noh Hae-min patted my shoulder gently as if he felt sorry for me.

“Still, it did suit Lawyer Sung’s face…”

That was the problem.

As a service, they had stuck sunflowers only next to Sung Tae-hyun’s face.

Strangely enough, it really did suit him.

Looking at the homepage overall, it was an absolutely crude combination.

But if you just looked at the photo alone, it wasn’t so bad.

“I hope the Administrator comes back soon…”

I completely agreed with that statement.

Now I really need to look for him from this side.

Since 404 created the homepage, unless that bastard completely withdrew from it, it would be awkward to find another company.

‘Should I ask Lee Seol-rok for help?’

What I want is a quick return to work.

Since I couldn’t find him through official routes, I was thinking I should look into the underground side.

But then.

Buzz-.

My mobile phone vibrated and an unknown number appeared on the screen.

[010 – XXXX – XXXX]

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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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