The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 22

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

Episode 22

 

 

Right now, I think I can interpret Prosecutor Kim’s expression.

 

‘That bastard is conducting this trial like shit.’

 

If I had to put it into words, it would be something like that.

 

Procedures are important.

Having reached the position of department head in the Criminal Division, there’s no way I wouldn’t know that.

 

However, even such procedures have exceptions.

 

“Witness, you know well the relationship between the three people: victim Kim Jae-yoon, defendant Jung Seung-jun, and friend Park Hyung-il, don’t you?”

“Oh my, of course. Those kids were quite… unusual.”

“Could you tell us in detail?”

 

Prosecutor Kim was quiet. He too would know instinctively.

How important a figure Park Mi-yeon would become in this trial.

 

Prosecutor Kim’s eyes were sharp as he stared intently at the witness, sizing her up.

 

“Um, yes. Seung-jun lived on the floor directly below us, and I know the fruit store owner well too.”

“What about Kim Jae-yoon and Park Hyung-il?”

“Oh, those kids too. Their families were so prominent that I wondered why they attended this small cram school, but it was because of Seung-jun. They were practically glued together every day. Oh, there was one more student named Jun-tae who hung around with them…”

“Please continue.”

“Hmm, hmm. I don’t know that Jun-tae kid well… Anyway, Jae-yoon and Hyung-il were really, truly good kids – except for what they did to just one person, Seung-jun. This was quite strange.”

 

These were the words I had been waiting for.

I nodded as if telling her to continue.

 

“…Oh dear, this is a bit… The building doesn’t have good soundproofing, so we can hear everything from downstairs. After I finish at the cram school and all the kids go home, it gets really quiet… but from Seung-jun’s house…”

“Please continue.”

“…Sometimes… yes, well… Jae-yoon and Hyung-il bullied Seung-jun. Really, it was painful for me too… I’m saying this now, but… I couldn’t interfere…”

 

All the evidence I submitted is consistent.

Park Mi-yeon’s testimony was the same.

 

Prosecutor Kim’s expression twisted, but the argument he would make next was within the predictable range.

 

He would probably use this in reverse, claiming that stress from school violence became the cause of crime, leading Jung Seung-jun to commit impulsive murder.

Something along those lines.

 

“Victim Kim Jae-yoon and another friend Park Hyung-il continuously bullied defendant Jung Seung-jun.”

“Yes, yes. That’s right. I’m saying this now, but the kids were really cruel. As if they knew that house’s grandfather was hard of hearing and did it on purpose, they really tormented Seung-jun only when he wasn’t around.”

 

The courtroom was quiet.

It was as good as proven that the school violence prevention that Kim Wan-gil had so fervently advocated was nothing more than useless rhetoric.

 

Of course, that content would only be turned into articles after the reporters left the courtroom when this trial ended.

I could already vividly see what would happen afterwards.

 

“Going back to the day of the incident, do you remember the situation of that day in detail?”

“Yes! My heart still trembles. Just thinking about that day makes me…”

 

Park Mi-yeon placed one hand on her chest as if to calm her pounding heart.

Seeing her complexion darken instantly, it seemed that the memory of that day remained as a piece of trauma for her too.

 

“So, oh dear. It was unusually quiet that day. I heard the sound of kids fighting from downstairs again, so I thought they were bullying Seung-jun again.”

“Do you remember the voices?”

“Well… it was muffled sounds, so even if not the exact conversation, I could tell to some extent. There was a really loud noise. They were raising their voices and fighting with each other, then suddenly it became quiet.”

 

That was probably when Park Hyung-il stabbed Kim Jae-yoon. I nodded toward Park Mi-yeon.

 

“Something felt strange. The kids were different from usual. Usually… um, Seung-jun would be one-sidedly beaten and scream… you know. Or beg to be spared… but that day…”

 

Park Mi-yeon rolled her eyes and glanced at Jung Seung-jun.

I could feel a look of pity in her eyes.

The intensity of bullying she knew was quite severe, enough to feel pity even toward someone standing in court as a murderer.

 

“Yes, that time… it was arguing sounds, exactly. Both of them raised their voices. You know, after hearing only one-sided beating and begging sounds every day… fighting together? It was strange.”

“…Strange?”

 

Park Mi-yeon heard it clearly.

 

The sound she heard wouldn’t have been Kim Jae-yoon or Park Hyung-il beating Jung Seung-jun as usual.

The people were different from the start.

Those two excluding Jung Seung-jun – Kim Jae-yoon and Park Hyung-il. The arguing sounds were from those two.

 

I nodded to Park Mi-yeon as if telling her to continue.

 

“At some point I heard a scream and then it suddenly became quiet. I got goosebumps and looked outside, but since it was downstairs, there was no way I could see anything.”

“And then?”

“I was startled too. So I went down to check on the kids, but the front door was closed and the kids didn’t answer…”

“So then?”

“Just in case, I went back up to the cram school to call the police. That was probably just a few minutes later. I had left my mobile phone in the innermost classroom of the cram school, so I had to go all the way there.”

 

This was exactly the moment.

 

As Jung Seung-jun told me in the visitation room, Jung Seung-jun would have arrived around then.

When Park Hyung-il had already finished his act of murdering Kim Jae-yoon and Park Mi-yeon had returned to the cram school.

 

‘Park Hyung-il knew Jung Seung-jun would return.’

 

It was Jung Seung-jun’s house.

Jung Seung-jun’s house, where they came and went every day, mocking Jung Seung-jun’s hard-of-hearing grandfather.

 

Park Hyung-il committed murder there and pinned all the blame on Jung Seung-jun.

Jung Seung-jun moved according to his intentions without even being able to resist.

 

I subtly turned my gaze to look at Seung-jun.

The boy, who had dropped his head toward the ground, was visibly trembling.

 

“But then… I heard the sound of the front door opening from downstairs.”

 

Park Mi-yeon slowly caught her breath. The climax of the story was approaching.

 

“I had just found my mobile phone… so I took it and went downstairs…”

 

Yes, that was it.

Park Mi-yeon had also given crucial testimony to the prosecution.

 

“…Seung, Seung-jun was…”

“Yes.”

“Holding a knife… holding a knife…”

 

What happened next was already as I knew it.

 

Park Hyung-il would have already been gone from that place.

He had put the murder weapon in the panicked Seung-jun’s hands and fled.

 

Unlike the beginning, Prosecutor Kim seemed satisfied as the testimony flowed as he knew it would, and color was returning to his complexion.

 

What an easy person to read.

Of course, I mean that in a good way.

 

“The defendant called the fire department, and the witness called the police.”

“Yes, yes… that’s right. Actually, Seung-jun told me to do it. He said to hurry up and arrest him. I was also too flustered…”

 

Park Mi-yeon’s story should have ended here. That’s what Prosecutor Kim wanted too.

However, I had another reason for requesting Park Mi-yeon as a witness.

 

“Witness, you have been operating a cram school in that building for a long time, haven’t you?”

 

At my sudden change of topic, Judge Seo tilted his head. Prosecutor Kim did the same.

His attitude of being on edge, wondering what nonsense I was going to spout this time, was quite noticeable.

 

“Oh, my goodness. Yes. That’s right. It’s been more than ten years. In that same location.”

“Good. Then you must also know the structure of that building well?”

“Oh my, of course. I know it so well I could walk around with my eyes closed.”

 

What I wanted was the very next question.

 

“Have you ever seen students moving along the back side of that building, that is, the outer wall on the opposite side from where the main entrance is located?”

 

At that moment, the courtroom stirred.

 

* * *

 

“How was Park Hyung-il able to get out without being caught?”

 

On the day of my meeting with Seung-jun, I asked that question last.

Kim Jae-yoon and Park Hyung-il, who had arrived at Seung-jun’s house first and were fighting.

And the method by which Park Hyung-il fled after killing Kim Jae-yoon and putting the knife in Seung-jun’s hands when he arrived home.

 

The boy chewed on his dry lips for a long time before carefully opening his mouth.

 

“The window… sir.”

“The window?”

“Yes…”

 

I had already been to the crime scene several times.

 

The building where Seung-jun’s house was located and the intersection in front of it—CCTV only existed on that side.

Kim Jae-yoon and Park Hyung-il were filmed entering the building one after another, but what happened next was complicated.

 

After Seung-jun entered, the CCTV only captured Park Hyung-il coming out much later, long after the incident had concluded.

 

‘But he said the window.’

 

“Are you saying Park Hyung-il moved outside through the window?”

“Yes… almost all the kids who go to this building know about it. There’s no CCTV on the back side…”

 

Seung-jun’s answer proved another piece of evidence.

 

‘The video taken at the time when Park Hyung-il said he was on the rooftop.’

 

Yes, that video that Deputy Yoon Ha-young had found.

 

“And he said he had never, never been here…”

 

Ah, now I understand.

That damn teenager perhaps…

 

“Park Hyung-il wasn’t planning to go to the rooftop from the beginning.”

 

Seung-jun’s lips pressed tightly together.

 

‘Never been here.’

 

Park Hyung-il had tried to flee.

That’s why he had asked Seung-jun to do that.

 

Whether he intended it or not, he was caught on video with other kids, and the cunning boy must have realized later.

 

‘That only his entering was captured on the CCTV in front of the building.’

 

“…”

“Park Hyung-il, who was just trying to flee, climbed the building again from the side without CCTV and headed to the rooftop to create an alibi.”

 

Jung Seung-jun’s face turned deathly pale.

 

“Is, is it okay to… say such… things… okay, okay…?”

 

I answered the boy who was once again being swept up in panic.

 

“It’s okay.”

 

* * *

 

Prosecutor Kim’s expression, who had been reviewing the documents, hardened instantly.

It must have been due to intuiting something.

 

“Your Honor!”

 

However, before Prosecutor Kim could raise an objection, Judge Seo shook his head.

 

“Counsel, please continue.”

 

Judge Seo had quite a bit of experience under his belt too.

Given such a substantial lead in a case of this magnitude, there must be something he could envision.

 

The witness, Park Mi-yeon, rolled her eyes for a moment as if rummaging through some memories before answering.

 

“Ah, now that you mention it…!”

“Please tell us.”

“Ahhh, are you talking about that? No, well… Yes! I actually did see it. That back side is practically attached to the opposite building, you know how it is. Sunlight barely gets through.”

“I see.”

“That’s why there are gas pipes and meters, air conditioning pipes and… well, all sorts of things messily arranged there… Plus our building isn’t exactly a high-rise, you know? So there were instances where kids would climb down through the window as a prank.”

 

I didn’t miss the opportunity and added.

 

“I heard the pipes got bent because of the children.”

“Oh my, of course. The tenants in our building were so annoyed because of that. And how much the building owner nagged me about it. Saying I couldn’t manage the kids properly, can you believe it? I’m just a cram school director, how am I supposed to catch kids climbing down the outer wall like little monkeys!”

 

It was an explanation that conveyed the hardships of a cram school director who covered elementary, middle, and high school students.

 

Prosecutor Kim’s complexion had now turned blue.

 

This was far enough.

I opened my mouth with a considerate heart to wrap up the trial before Prosecutor Kim collapsed from his rapidly changing blood pressure.

 

“Your Honor.”

 

Judge Seo’s gaze turned toward me.

His gaze looking down from the Judge’s Bench felt somehow familiar.

 

“Along with this testimony, I submit as new evidence a video filmed from inside the building opposite the crime scene.”

 

A few seconds of silence passed.

It must have been a statement no one expected.

 

Judge Seo was also opening his eyes wide for the first time in a while.

 

“Objection—!”

 

Soon after, as if coming to his senses, a loud shout burst from Prosecutor Kim’s mouth.

 

This must be a nightmarish trial for him.

Despite my consideration, Prosecutor Kim’s face alternated between red and blue hues.

I was truly worried about his health.

 

“Objection! Your Honor, this is evidence that was not discussed beforehand! It should not be admitted! Please dismiss it!”

 

It was a reaction I had already anticipated. I shook my head and raised my voice.

 

“This is decisive evidence that will prove the defendant’s innocence! Please admit it!”

 

It was the video that Associate Yoon Ha-young had obtained even working overtime last night.

 

She had said her departure was delayed by a whole 5 minutes and that she would bill for wages calculated down to the minute.

 

Of course, it had nothing to do with me.

It was something Ho-shin Senior would handle.

 

So I, without authority, could only encourage her.

 

“Hmm…”

 

The Court Panel’s deliberation was taking a long time.

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