The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 24

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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 24

 

 

Pet cameras have good image quality these days.

 

Well, to be honest, that’s the truth.

Since this was my first time seeing a pet camera, I did have some doubts about the image quality.

 

However, unexpectedly, the video the man handed over had clear image quality.

This means the human figures reflected in the mirror were also very clearly visible.

 

“Quiet, continue playing the video.”

 

Fortunately, the Presiding Judge played the video in the courtroom.

It was disappointing that there was no sound, but the faces that appeared large on the screen were familiar ones.

 

Kim Jae-yoon and Park Hyung-il.

 

These two, who had been looking at their mobile phones in the living room, seemed to have their emotions escalate at some point, their faces reddening as they shouted something.

 

“Huh…”

 

Jung Seung-jun hadn’t even appeared in the video yet.

It was also enjoyable to observe Prosecutor Kim’s expression changing moment by moment.

 

At some point, one of the arguing people disappeared outside the camera’s view.

 

‘Park Hyung-il…’

 

Though I had already confirmed this video yesterday, it was quite brutal.

Park Hyung-il, who reappeared shortly after, was wearing gloves and holding a kitchen knife he had brought from the kitchen, and what followed was as the previous witnesses had described.

 

“…!”

 

Prosecutor Kim’s eyes filled with shock.

 

The video starkly reflected in the mirror was full of shocking scenes, even excluding the Victim who had fallen to the ground and was out of sight.

 

And soon Jung Seung-jun appeared.

As The Boy who had just opened the door and entered stood frozen in panic, Park Hyung-il instantly turned around and forcibly pressed the kitchen knife into Jung Seung-jun’s hand.

 

‘I was never here.’

 

Jung Seung-jun said that’s what he had told him.

Though it was difficult to confirm the lip movements, after spouting words to that effect, Park Hyung-il struck Jung Seung-jun down as Jung Seung-jun had described.

 

“…!”

 

Judge Seo also had a bewildered expression.

 

Jung Seung-jun, hunched over in the defendant’s seat, was continuously shedding tears as if he couldn’t bear to watch that video.

 

The gallery stirred.

 

As Park Hyung-il’s blatant criminal process was revealed, the Hae-il side people watching the trial were severely agitated.

 

However, the video hadn’t stopped yet.

 

‘Park Hyung-il’s alibi.’

 

Right. This video from the opposite building had captured even that.

Park Hyung-il quickly turned around and escaped through the window.

As I had predicted, not upward where the rooftop was, but downward.

 

As the testimony I had to hear from Park Mi-yeon meshed with the video, Prosecutor Kim’s head drooped powerlessly.

 

‘Park Hyung-il fell asleep on the rooftop on the day of the incident and didn’t even know the situation had occurred, and when he left the building to return home, everything was already over.’

 

Well, it was a story he had managed to concoct.

 

I don’t know whether it was a story created by Park Ji-hyung’s lawyer or if Park Hyung-il had shown quick wit in the moment.

 

But videos don’t lie.

 

The gloves prepared from the beginning, the murder weapon obtained from Jung Seung-jun’s kitchen, handing over the murder weapon to Jung Seung-jun who appeared at a seemingly perfect time as if planned, then threatening him and leisurely escaping.

 

‘How natural.’

 

Everyone would think that.

Park Hyung-il’s crime flowed as naturally as water.

 

“Now, now, quiet.”

 

The Presiding Judge calmed the stirring courtroom again.

 

However, with such circumstances revealed, this trial cannot continue.

 

The video showed Park Hyung-il climbing down the pipes on the outer wall beyond the window, as Park Mi-yeon had already described, before ending.

 

“Prosecution, do you have anything to say?”

 

Of course not.

 

Prosecutor Kim had nothing to say.

He too must be acutely feeling that this trial was by no means easy, or rather, completely ruined.

 

Of course, I have no hard feelings toward Prosecutor Kim.

We got along quite well during my time in office, after all.

 

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

 

I savored the pouring gazes while mulling over Sung Tae-hyun’s diary.

 

No, that sentence had turned into indecipherable scribbles.

My fingers were itching to read what comments Sung Tae-hyun might have left about my victory right away.

 

* * *

 

The trial was over.

 

Prosecutor Kim naturally had nothing to say.

He rushed out of the courtroom as soon as the trial ended.

 

He’s in big trouble too.

Since Jung Seung-jun was acquitted, it would be difficult for him to avoid responsibility for the trial.

 

Still, well…

 

‘Even if they judge it as an error, cases of acknowledgment are rare.’

 

However, it would remain a painful matter for Prosecutor Kim himself.

It was also a case that the media was paying attention to, and I could hear Kim Wan-gil’s groaning from outside the courtroom all the way here.

 

Of course, that’s a joke.

 

“Lawyer…”

 

Jung Seung-jun, who had been crying with his head down throughout the trial, wiped his tears and smiled for the first time.

 

“I… really…”

 

However, before the boy could finish his words, it was my client Old Man Jung who grabbed my hand and hugged me.

 

“Lawyer sir…!”

 

His eyes were already red and swollen, as if he had been crying.

 

That was understandable.

This was a case where there was no direct evidence to prove innocence even right before the trial date.

 

Haeil was backing Park Hyung-il, the real culprit, and Lim Do-hyuk had even come to warn me about it personally.

 

It worked out well in the end, but it was true that it had been a headache-inducing situation with incredibly complex interests intertwined.

 

“Thank you, thank you… I really owe you this debt…”

 

Old Man Jung from the fruit store hugged me tightly and burst into tears.

 

It was surprising that he still had tears left that hadn’t dried.

Thinking about his mental anguish, there was no end to it.

 

“I only worked as much as I was paid.”

“I, I…”

 

The old man’s hands trembled.

 

He grabbed the hands of Noh Hae-min, who had approached at some point, and mine, and wailed loudly.

I gently patted the old man’s thin shoulders.

 

However, in my mind, thoughts about the reporters waiting outside wouldn’t stop.

 

‘Has Lee Na-yoon’s trauma not been overcome yet?’

 

Although she said she would take my side, she was also one of the biggest reasons I avoided reporters.

 

The media is a gun that can turn around and target me at any time.

The moment I fall, it will tear me apart at bullet-like speed, beyond being a double-edged sword.

 

“Th, thank you… really. Thank you.”

 

The old man looked at me and Noh Hae-min endlessly and said.

 

“The fruit from our store, you guys get it all free for life~ time. Got it? Come eat every day. Huh? Or I’ll even deliver it…!”

 

I got a lifetime free fruit pass.

 

“Really? Just us? Attorney Yoon-“

 

Tactless Noh Hae-min loudly added one more person’s name.

It was Attorney Yoon Ha-young’s name, not Kim Ho-shin’s.

 

But the old man didn’t seem to notice and laughed cheerfully.

Transparent droplets that filled the old man’s eyes continued to flow down his wrinkled face, but his mouth was wide open, spilling laughter.

 

“Of course I mean everyone at Ilchul! They saved my kid, so how could I not do at least that much?”

“Wow!”

 

Noh Hae-min hugged the old man and jumped up and down.

 

* * *

 

“Lawyer! Please give us just one comment!”

 

This was exactly the kind of situation that was bothersome.

 

Of course, it was necessary work.

 

To promote Ilchul’s name, which Ho-shin Senior had abandoned and neglected, and rise to a position where I could crush Cheondong, there were things I had to do even if I didn’t want to.

 

The reporters who had been waiting in front of the court rushed in and loud camera shutters burst.

Only Noh Hae-min, who was walking out beside me, wore a natural smile.

 

Looking at this, I think I really understand what it means to be camera-ready.

 

“Lawyer! We’d like to know the reason you were confident in Jung Seung-jun’s innocence! Before the additional evidence was submitted, wasn’t this really a fabricated situation?”

“We’d also like a word from Assemblyman Kim Wan-gil!”

“Lawyer! Just a moment! Do you have any explanation about Park, who has emerged as a new suspect?”

 

The ear-splitting shouts mixed together chaotically.

 

One thing was certain.

I was definitely not camera-ready material.

 

However, for Park Ji-hyung and Kim Wan-gil who would be waiting for this news, I put on a relaxed smile and looked at the cameras.

 

“I’m grateful that this opportunity allows us to show that judicial justice is still alive.”

 

It was quite an arrogant statement.

 

Bright flashes burst in succession, making it difficult to keep my eyes open.

I needed to have a decent face in the photos the reporters would use.

 

I endured the bright light that made tears well up, keeping my eyes wide open.

 

“Lawyer! Please answer just one more question! About Assemblyman Kim Wan-gil’s involvement in this case…”

 

Most of the following questions were about Kim Wan-gil.

Right up until today’s trial, Kim Wan-gil’s side had been playing such persistent games with the media.

 

The result of this trial must have been a huge shock to them.

 

Assemblyman Kim Wan-gil, who had even conducted school violence prevention campaigns, and his son who had met a different fate.

Moreover, that son had actually been the main perpetrator of school violence.

 

Public opinion was already boiling over.

 

“Lawyer! Does leaving Haeil behind mean you were that confident in your abilities?”

 

Look at that, already a question poking at Haeil’s side had popped up, though it was meaningless.

 

I just smiled gently at the reporter whose identity I didn’t even know.

 

I was getting frustrated with the movement that made no progress no matter how much we pushed through.

The reporters were endless, and Noh Hae-min and I looked around like caged animals searching for an escape route.

 

Just as the smile on my lips was about to crumble.

 

“This way!”

 

At a woman’s voice that appeared like a comet from somewhere, Noh Hae-min’s eyes widened as he looked at me.

 

“Huh, Yoon, Deputy Manager Yoon is here…!”

 

It was an exclamation as if he had discovered a savior.

 

At Noh Hae-min’s voice that came out a bit loud, the reporters hesitated and turned their gaze.

Deputy Manager Yoon Ha-young didn’t miss that moment.

 

“Put strength in your legs!”

 

She was a charging bull.

In a good way, that is.

 

Not missing the moment of carelessness, she instantly broke through the crowd, tucked Noh Hae-min and me under her arms, and ran toward the parking lot at high speed.

 

“Lawyer!”

 

The belated shouts of reporters calling after us echoed in front of the court.

 

“I believed in you!”

 

Noh Hae-min shouted, completely excited.

 

Deputy Manager Yoon Ha-young, what a truly reliable person.

 

In the past that now felt like a previous life, I vividly remembered how Noh Hae-min would look for Deputy Manager Yoon Ha-young first when Old Man Jung knocked on the office door late at night.

 

The martial arts form was… what was it again.

 

No, actually this wasn’t important.

What mattered was that Deputy Manager Yoon Ha-young had charged in with her body to rescue Noh Hae-min and me.

 

“Deputy Manager Yoon Ha-young.”

 

After arriving at the parking lot and successfully getting us into the car, I quietly spoke to Deputy Manager Yoon Ha-young.

 

My vision was still unstable from the camera shutters.

I pressed my eyes firmly and turned my gaze roughly toward where Deputy Manager Yoon might be.

I saw a blurred figure where light and darkness mixed together.

 

“I’ll definitely tell Ho-shin Senior.”

“Tell him what?”

“To give you a raise.”

 

At that moment, I witnessed for the first time Deputy Manager Yoon’s bright smile that I had never seen before, piercing through that blurred figure.

It was such a pure smile that even Noh Hae-min sitting in the back seat would be surprised.

 

“Since you’re being generous anyway.”

“Yes.”

“Please also tell him to give me a promotion.”

“Position… you mean?”

 

Assistant Manager Yoon, who had started the engine, smiled with the corners of his mouth raised.

 

“It’s about time you got promoted to manager.”

 

Yes, that was our office. Those were the words left by the only employee of Law Firm Ilchul after finishing his first trial.

 

* * *

 

“Tae-jun, this lawyer. Didn’t you say he was your older brother?”

“…Excuse me?”

 

The man who had been munching on cup rice inside the car lifted his head.

On the phone screen that the team leader held out to Sung Tae-jun, there was a huge photo of Sung Tae-hyun plastered across it.

 

“Uh….”

 

It was different from his usual weak appearance.

At the sight of the unfamiliar Sung Tae-hyun staring at the camera with sharp eyes, Sung Tae-jun put down his plastic spoon.

 

“…That’s right, he’s my older brother.”

 

Something was strange.

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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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