The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 23

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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 23

 

 

One day before the trial date.

 

“There’s no direct evidence, will you be alright?”

 

Associate Yoon Ha-young asked, perhaps worried about me pushing for Jung Seung-jun’s innocence.

 

Although she had been quite helpful with this case, this first trial must have been burdensome for her.

After all, Representative Lawyer Kim Ho-shin wasn’t here.

 

From Associate Yoon Ha-young’s perspective, it must have looked like two ragtag people wandering through a jungle without weapons.

 

“Well, somehow it’ll work out, won’t it?”

 

Look at that. Seeing Noh Hae-min making such carefree remarks made even me start having such worries.

 

[It was the first time in my life I had made such a gamble.]

 

The words that appeared in Sung Tae-hyun’s Diary also made it difficult to have confidence in winning the case.

 

A gamble, he said. Of course, there was still one very crucial piece that I hadn’t found yet…

I thoroughly examined the trial documents that would be used tomorrow once again.

The truth is bound to be revealed.

 

If Jung Seung-jun was truly innocent, if he wasn’t the murderer who killed Kim Jae-yoon, then surely evidence would remain somewhere.

 

“…!”

 

It was right then that I found the clue to the decisive evidence.

 

‘Photos.’

 

To understand the scene, Noh Hae-min and I had visited Jung Seung-jun’s house together, and we had taken several photos.

 

Those photos were scattered messily across my desk in the office.

 

“…Huh.”

 

I picked up just one photo among them.

 

When I suddenly stopped rummaging through the documents and began laughing like I’d lost my mind while holding a single photo, both Noh Hae-min and Associate Yoon Ha-young’s gazes converged on me at once.

 

“…Lawyer?”

 

Associate Yoon Ha-young spoke with a somewhat uneasy attitude.

 

“Are you alright? If you’re not feeling well-“

“Associate.”

 

I found it. Direct evidence.

 

No matter how much I tried to hide it, the laughter that burst through my lips made Associate Yoon Ha-young step back several paces as if disgusted.

I pointed to a specific spot in the photo I was holding for Associate Yoon Ha-young to see.

 

“This, can you see it?”

“…!”

 

Associate Yoon, who was always indifferent, froze as if she had turned into a statue.

 

It was the first time I’d seen her show such a big emotional change, so even I was surprised.

Lawyer Noh Hae-min, who had been sitting far away playing a mobile phone game, quickly ran over and stuck his face close.

 

“What is it, why! Let me know too.”

“…”

 

Associate Yoon Ha-young silently held out the photo. Just like I had done moments before.

 

In one corner of the photo she pointed to, the small window in the living room was open, and the window of the opposite building was also open in the same way.

 

And in that spot.

 

“…A mirror?”

 

It was an amazing coincidence.

 

In one corner of the photo, the large mirror reflected the image of Noh Hae-min taking that photo.

 

It happened to be a full-length mirror as big as a door, so the interior of Jung Seung-jun’s house, which wasn’t very far away, was clearly reflected.

 

“But why is this important?”

 

Noh Hae-min moved his lips with a puzzled expression.

Still not having caught the hint the mirror provided, he was bringing his face close as if he would be sucked into the photo.

 

“Look carefully. Around the middle.”

“The middle? Where, here?”

“Yes, that’s it.”

“…Huh?”

 

Finally, Noh Hae-min’s eyes widened as he found the answer.

 

“This is…”

“Yes.”

“…What is it?”

 

A sigh slipped through Associate Yoon Ha-young’s lips.

I was also feeling exactly the same emotion that Associate Yoon Ha-young was experiencing.

 

We made eye contact and shook our heads.

Noh Hae-min is that kind of person.

 

Law Firm Ilchul’s… yes, like a mascot.

He’s not particularly good at anything, but you’d miss him if he weren’t there—that kind of person.

 

“Look, lawyer. This… it’s a pet camera.”

 

Come to think of it, that day the window was only half open, but on days when it was fully open, I could see a large cat tower.

 

The decisive evidence I had hoped for was ultimately the raw footage that would have been captured by the pet camera that day.

What had been watching the crime scene reflected in the mirror wasn’t a person, but a pet camera.

 

Of course, we’d need some luck on our side.

 

“These pet cameras don’t store footage for very long, do they?”

 

At my question, Associate Yoon Ha-young and Noh Hae-min exchanged glances.

It seemed they didn’t have proper information either.

 

“Probably not? Since some time has already passed, it might have been deleted. However, if we get the owner’s permission to recover the memory card…”

“That might be possible.”

 

It was a difficult situation in many ways.

The trial date was tomorrow.

 

However, there was no evidence as direct as this right now.

The footage from that day that might possibly exist.

 

Noh Hae-min, who had been listening to my conversation with Associate Yoon Ha-young, stamped his feet impatiently.

Now seeming to grasp the situation, his urgent voice burst out.

 

“We don’t have much time! Right now—”

“Let’s go.”

 

I was just as anxious.

As we grabbed our outer clothing from the chair and were about to rush out, Associate Yoon Ha-young’s gentle advice followed us.

 

“Two hours left until closing time.”

“…!”

“Resolve it within that time.”

 

Indeed, she was someone who strictly kept to schedules.

 

* * *

 

Fortunately, the man living in the opposite building opened the door for us.

 

I had been worried about the awkward timing, but when the front door opened, I secretly let out a sigh of relief.

 

“Hello!”

 

Noh Hae-min greeted cheerfully and suddenly thrust out his business card.

The man, who appeared to be in his late twenties, was scratching the back of his head as if he had just woken up.

 

“Uh… law firm…?”

“Ilchul. It’s a nearby building close to the intersection. We’re both lawyers affiliated with Ilchul.”

 

He looked at us with a lukewarm expression.

 

He didn’t seem particularly welcoming.

I would have reacted the same way.

 

If someone suddenly showed up at your house claiming to be lawyers, it wouldn’t seem like you were involved in anything good.

 

“But what brings you here…”

 

From behind the closed inner door beyond his body, a cat’s meow could be heard softly.

 

My eyesight really is good.

I was proud of myself for finding the mirror and pet camera in that tiny photograph.

 

Wasn’t that right?

Before I died, even at my relatively young age, my eyes had been dim—perhaps an occupational hazard.

 

I spoke to him in the gentlest voice possible, as if trying to soothe him.

 

“Do you happen to know about the incident that occurred in the opposite building recently?”

“Ah… that… murder…”

 

The man’s mouth moved wordlessly before he shook his head again.

 

“I don’t… know the details exactly. I wasn’t home at the time.”

“Have you heard about it?”

“Uh… yes. Word spread throughout the neighborhood that it was a murder case…”

 

The man scratched his chin while retracing his memories.

Though his mysteriously guarded attitude hadn’t disappeared yet, he was cooperative.

 

I grasped at this thread of hope and asked the man.

 

“I am the defense attorney for the defendant in that case you mentioned.”

 

The man’s eyes widened in surprise before returning to their normal size.

He had an expression as if he didn’t know what to say.

 

I wanted to ask about the mirror and pet camera, but his face showed he couldn’t even fathom that the situation from that time might have been captured there.

 

“Uh… yes…”

“It’ll just take a moment. Could we possibly come inside?”

 

Noh Hae-min nervously swallowed behind us.

 

We have no authority to force this.

From the looks of it, even the police didn’t know about the pet camera’s existence.

 

Well, it would have been a difficult clue to find if the window of this house was closed when they came to investigate, or if they didn’t look properly.

 

A mirror, of all things.

 

“Ah… yes. But why…?”

 

Fortunately, the man didn’t refuse.

He was just harboring a bit of wariness.

 

I made the most harmless expression possible, utilizing Sung Tae-hyun’s innocent face, and spoke to him.

 

“The police probably came to see you too.”

“…Yes. But I wasn’t home that day… I had nothing to tell the police either. They said they… understood.”

“I see.”

 

When I naturally struck up a conversation with the wary man, he was swept up in the atmosphere and stepped aside.

Noh Hae-min and I smoothly stepped into his house.

 

“You have a cat, I see.”

 

When the inner door opened, it revealed a room that was quite open and not stuffy.

 

The faint cat meowing we had heard earlier was now quiet as if it had never happened.

It seemed to be hiding somewhere.

 

The man nodded awkwardly with a smile.

 

“Yes… his name is Minky.”

“Minky, that’s a cute name.”

 

Noh Hae-min quickly responded. A slight color returned to the man’s face.

 

“Yes… he’s really cute…”

 

I pretended to listen attentively to the man’s words while quickly scanning the room.

 

Over there.

There was obviously a large full-length mirror facing toward the window.

 

The window was closed now, but if it had been open, the crime scene would have been clearly reflected in it.

 

Noh Hae-min, who had somehow gotten hold of a cat toy, was waving it toward some corner.

 

“Is there a particular reason you placed the mirror here?”

 

The man shook his head sheepishly, as if he hadn’t expected such a question.

 

“Uh… the room is small… yes, I arranged all the furniture against the walls…”

“So this was the only spot left, I suppose.”

“Yes… that’s right.”

 

The man’s gaze was directed toward Noh Hae-min’s hands.

 

It really didn’t seem intentional.

So he probably never even thought that the entire scene would have been reflected in this mirror on the day of the incident.

 

“Is this a pet camera?”

 

It was the spot I had already confirmed in the photos.

But I pretended not to know and asked him.

 

The man nodded.

 

“Yes… I go out often, and the cat…”

“You were worried.”

“He’s still young… and this is a rental… I was worried he might cause some accident.”

 

Small paws like a ball of fur could be seen darting past, probably from hiding under the large drawer.

Noh Hae-min was clearly playing well with the cat.

 

I tried not to think too deeply and opened my mouth.

Now it was time for the main point.

 

The man’s wariness had noticeably disappeared, and his gaze was fixed on the cat that was batting at the toy Noh Hae-min was waving.

 

“I have an important favor to ask.”

 

At the main point that finally slipped past my lips, the man’s gaze turned back to me.

He had a puzzled expression.

 

“A… favor?”

“Yes. It’s something only you can do.”

 

At my words, the man blinked awkwardly.

 

“Uh…”

“This pet camera. Could we possibly see some past footage?”

 

Since some time had already passed, I was becoming increasingly anxious.

 

Direct evidence – of course, even without this, there was no guarantee I would definitely lose.

All the evidence I had gathered by running around pointed to Jung Seung-jun’s innocence.

 

Still, direct evidence was desperately needed.

Nothing could prove innocence faster and easier than this.

 

“Ah… what brings you here…?”

 

The man seemed dumbfounded.

His face showed he couldn’t even imagine that his pet camera had captured the crime scene in vivid detail.

 

In the end, I repeated the detailed explanation to him just as I had done with Noh Hae-min moments before.

 

“Do you happen to remember if you left the window open when you went out on the day of the incident?”

“Uh… I’m not entirely sure…”

“Please speak comfortably.”

“Probably… yes? I have a habit of leaving the window open so the cat won’t get bored…”

 

Then the crime scene would definitely have been captured.

Though no one had paid attention to it until now.

 

The scene had been so gruesome and urgent that it was understandable.

Even I would have found it difficult to think that such evidence existed.

 

“…The video you currently have could be quite important evidence for this case.”

 

Now Noh Hae-min also stopped playing with the cat and stood up from his seat.

The man gulped nervously.

 

“So… the video of my… cat…?”

“No.”

 

I calmly pointed to the mirror.

 

“This mirror here would have captured the scene situation precisely.”

“Ah…?”

“And this pet camera would have recorded everything reflected in that mirror.”

“…!”

 

The man’s mouth fell wide open. His pupils began to tremble violently.

 

“Ah… my cat… no, that can’t be…”

“Yes. We ask for your cooperation.”

 

The two hours that Assistant Manager Yoon Ha-young had mentioned were already approaching.

The man stood frozen in bewilderment as if he hadn’t thought of this, then took out his mobile phone.

 

From the home screen, the man launched the app connected to the pet camera and scrolled through the screen continuously.

 

“Uh…”

“Did you find it?”

 

Noh Hae-min couldn’t hold back and interjected abruptly. However, contrary to expectations, the man shook his head.

 

“The date is… too old… so in the app…”

 

Don’t tell me it was deleted as Assistant Manager Yoon Ha-young predicted.

 

I swallowed to suppress my frustration.

Being slow in this situation was the last thing I wanted, but I couldn’t pressure a civilian who was cooperating with us.

 

“Ah…! But I have all the old videos… stored.”

“…!”

“I didn’t want to miss… my cat growing up.”

 

The man, who answered first without being asked, pulled out a laptop that had been crumpled somewhere on the ground.

 

It was a laptop with what appeared to be a large-capacity external hard drive connected.

 

“It’s… all here. I haven’t checked this month’s… videos yet though…”

“One day’s worth will do. ■■ month ■■ day. Just to be safe, could we get the recording for 24 hours?”

“Ah… when I stopped by home intermittently to close the window…”

“That’s fine. Please give us the original.”

 

The man nodded and extended one hand.

 

Just as I was wondering what he meant, Noh Hae-min, who had been waiting behind, handed him a USB drive.

 

“Assistant Manager Yoon Ha-young gave this to me earlier.”

 

Salary, it’s about salary.

She’s a talent we need to keep even if it means raising her salary.

 

I swallowed hard thinking of Assistant Manager Yoon Ha-young, who had prepared the USB drive as if she had foreseen this situation.

 

It didn’t take long for the USB drive to be connected to the man’s laptop and receive the original video.

—————
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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