The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 27

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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 27

 

 

 

“…Is this a letter?”

 

The man, no, Sage held out his phone with an app displaying what seemed to be a post he had written for his fans.

Content that didn’t want to tell exactly what was happening, but just asked them to believe him.

 

“Haha… Yes.”

“…What does this have to do with that secret favor you mentioned?”

 

When I asked, he hesitated for a moment and let out a long sigh.

As if not forgetting his duty as an idol, the corners of his mouth, which had maintained a gentle smile throughout, gradually turned downward.

 

“Actually, I…”

“Yes.”

 

The man hesitated several times while speaking to me, as if gauging Manager Yoon Ha-young’s reaction.

Since I had mentioned that Manager Yoon Ha-young was his fan, he seemed reluctant to bring up deep matters in front of her.

 

“You don’t need to worry about me.”

 

Manager Yoon Ha-young, who had returned to her usual self, shook her head with a cold expression.

 

“…Ahaha.”

“I am a fan of Sage… sir, and of course Sage is my ultimate bias, but…”

“…”

“Anyway, I’m a law firm employee, so I’ve signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement.”

 

As if she had never been frozen, she acted quickly as usual.

The document that Manager Yoon Ha-young presented to Sage with efficient hand movements was,

 

“Ah…”

 

Apparently the original Non-Disclosure Agreement she had signed when she joined the company.

 

…She’s really sharp about these things.

 

Of course, that’s a compliment.

No matter how much you like someone, separating personal and professional matters is essential, especially for someone working at a law firm like this.

 

Sage just blinked his surprised eyes.

Manager Yoon added in a reassuring tone.

 

“So don’t worry. The consultation content is protected as confidential, and the moment I leak even a little, I’m designed to bear civil and criminal liability for damages.”

“…Sorry for making you worry, Beina.”

 

But I still couldn’t get used to that celebrity-like way of speaking.

Perhaps noticing my expression, Sage smiled gently again.

 

“And lawyer, I… actually…”

“Please speak comfortably.”

 

How many years had I been a judge?

A mentality that wasn’t surprised by most things had followed me like an occupational disease.

 

When I nodded at him as if to reassure him, Sage took out a small document envelope from his bag and handed it to me.

 

“This is…”

“…It’s a Content-Certified Mail I received from the Company.”

“Content-Certified Mail?”

 

Indeed, when I opened the document envelope, I could see Content-Certified Mail dated yesterday.

 

[Notice of Legal Action for Violation of Exclusive Contract Terms]

 

“…Ha, Ellus is at it again…”

 

Manager Yoon Ha-young, who had been criticizing the agency as if familiar with it, froze at the next sentence.

 

[…Our company has confirmed that you have continuously maintained unofficial contact and relationships with our affiliated artist from ■■/■■/20■■ to ■■/■■-]

 

[This is clearly an act that violates Article 5, Paragraph 4 (Personal Life Management Obligation) of the exclusive contract.]

 

Hmm.

 

[Furthermore, our company has suspicions that you have leaked confidential information obtained from our company to third parties.]

 

[-We inform you that this violates Article 12 (Confidentiality Obligation) of the exclusive contract,]

 

[If sufficient explanation for the above matter is not provided-]

 

[…We plan to consider termination of your exclusive contract as well as civil and criminal legal action-]

 

…Do they still prevent dating these days?

 

The Content-Certified Mail was simple, and no particular evidence was attached.

Of course, the content I skimmed through was also just ‘suspicions.’

 

Ellus Entertainment.

Despite it being serious enough to send Content-Certified Mail under the agency’s name, they seemed to have not yet secured substantial evidence.

 

In the end, it seemed more intended to intimidate and discourage Sage rather than having legal effect.

 

“Do you have the original Exclusive Contract?”

“Ah… Yes. But I couldn’t bring it today. I came out in a hurry, and actually… it’s a situation where the agency can’t find out.”

 

But this is strange.

 

Dating alone rarely leads to contract termination.

Even if such a clause really exists in the contract, a blanket prohibition could become an issue of basic rights violation.

 

So, if there’s a problem, it would be on the side of confidential information leakage…

 

“First, I’d like to ask you a few questions based on this content-certified mail.”

“…Yes.”

 

Sage’s eyes wavered slightly.

He seemed to still be watching Manager Yoon, who was still “Beina.”

Well, that makes sense, since Manager Yoon Ha-young’s favorite was Sage.

 

However, Manager Yoon, now focused on her laptop from her distant seat, wasn’t even glancing in this direction.

 

“Is there evidence that you personally leaked this confidential information described here, Sage?”

 

Sage let out a trembling sigh.

I caught Manager Yoon’s shoulders flinching in the distance, but I pretended not to notice and waited for his answer.

 

“…Not yet.”

 

So there is some.

 

“But, I… didn’t leak… anything.”

“…If you violated a confidentiality agreement, this could become quite a serious problem. Please answer honestly.”

 

…Right.

 

Only then did I realize that his hands had been trembling continuously.

Even though he’s a celebrity, he’s still an individual.

Getting caught up in a fight with his agency must be frightening.

 

I pulled the warm chamomile tea that Manager Yoon Ha-young had carefully prepared earlier a little closer to him.

 

“…Thank you, Beina. Oh, no. Attorney Sung Tae-hyun.”

“Beina did make it, after all.”

 

The man who let out a small laugh nodded his head.

 

“Actually… I think the agency caught on.”

“Caught on to what?”

“At some point, Da-ye started getting bruises and injuries on her body.”

 

Sage smiled awkwardly and glanced at Manager Yoon Ha-young.

So he does have a girlfriend.

 

“Oh, Da-ye is my girlfriend…”

 

I was right.

 

For a moment, I, Noh Hae-min, and Sage were all looking at Manager Yoon Ha-young.

However, Manager Yoon was just casually typing away at her keyboard, making clicking sounds.

 

“…Da-ye is a bit older for a trainee. Anyway, since we’re at the same agency, I’ve been helping her out little by little.”

“Please continue.”

“The agency has known about my dating for a while now. It was a few months ago, and back then, Manager Sister even cheered me on while telling me not to get caught.”

 

Good.

 

I’ll need to separately request evidence that the company already knew about Sage’s relationship but didn’t impose any particular sanctions.

Then perhaps the woman named ‘Da-ye’ that Sage mentioned might be the real problem.

 

Bruises and injuries, the implication is clear.

Moreover, Ellus directly sent Sage a content-certified mail as a warning.

 

He must have gotten involved in some troublesome and dirty business.

 

“So ultimately, this violation of the confidentiality clause is related to Da-ye’s injuries.”

 

Sage nodded.

 

“…Probably.”

 

Probably?

 

“You’re not certain?”

“…Yes, actually Da-ye hadn’t said anything to me until recently.”

“…”

“Then a few days ago, she said something like that.”

 

Sage’s hands were trembling more and more.

Just as I was about to offer the pale Sage another sip of warm tea, a thick blanket was draped over his shoulders.

 

“…!”

 

It was Manager Yoon Ha-young.

She professionally wrapped the blanket around Sage’s shoulders with a very cold expression, then turned around.

 

“…You seemed cold.”

 

Then she returned to her seat and began working with an impassive face.

 

So, she had been watching all along.

Recording this unexpected side of her, I looked back at Sage.

The man, now somewhat calmer, opened his mouth.

 

“Anyway… Da-ye told me. That the agency is doing something bad.”

“Something bad… you say.”

“Yes. But she didn’t say exactly what, and… she said she’d tell me when she was sure.”

 

It’s ambiguous. To that extent.

 

“It seems like the agency found out about it.”

“What about the connection to the confidentiality clause?”

“That also seems like speculation on their part. I really never spread anything. But… but…”

 

Then the agency really did threaten Sage by pretending to ‘know something.’

 

Sage’s face, which had been moving his lips, suddenly darkened.

Even after covering himself with a thick blanket, he began trembling and speaking word by word with great difficulty.

 

“…Actually, I haven’t been able to contact Da-ye for several days now.”

“…If it’s been several days, couldn’t there be something going on?”

“The kids who were supposed to form a debut group with Da-ye aren’t responding either.”

“…”

“Most importantly…”

 

Sage held out his mobile phone with trembling hands, showing me a message window.

 

[Da-ye♥]

[…help me please please help]

 

“…This was the last message, and I haven’t been able to contact her since.”

 

…This isn’t something for me to handle, but for the police.

As if understanding the meaning of my silence, Sage hurriedly added.

 

“They told me not to report it.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“The, the agency…”

“…”

“They asked if I received any strange texts from Da-ye…”

“Calm down and speak slowly.”

 

Now Sage’s hands were trembling uncontrollably.

 

“Da-ye isn’t in danger… they said the debut group kids just went to a pension to drink and were just fooling around…”

“…”

“They said she’ll be back soon so don’t do anything, and Manager Sister personally…”

 

I see.

 

Tears were flowing down Sage’s completely pale face.

Since this was my first time seeing an idol cry, my hand instinctively pulled out tissues and offered them without hesitation.

 

Sage whispered desperately while tears streamed down his face.

 

“And, and also… they said the moment I do anything, they’ll make sure I can never work in the entertainment industry again…”

 

Well, that’s obvious.

 

In the end, that content-certified mail was indeed a threat sent as a precautionary measure, worried that Sage might spread rumors about the woman named ‘Da-ye.’

 

The problem is that woman who really can’t be contacted…

 

“That person named Da-ye, didn’t she say anything about where she was going?”

“…It’s true she said she was going to a pension. But, but it’s already been over 4 days, no, over 5 days since I could contact her… this has never happened before…”

 

That’s enough to call it a disappearance.

And since they even silenced him directly, it’s natural that the agency is involved.

 

Perhaps this man, Sage, could also be in danger.

 

“Let’s start by filing a report.”

“…A, a report?”

“Yes. Not you, but do you know this ‘Shin Da-ye’s’ parents or other family members?”

 

Sage nodded hurriedly.

 

“Let’s file a report through them first. And.”

“…Yes, yes.”

“What do you want to do? I’ll send a response to the agency’s content-certified mail, but the client has to decide the rest.”

 

I don’t know much about the idol ecosystem, but it would be troublesome if a relationship was revealed.

That’s probably the extent of the cards the agency holds against Sage for now.

 

However, if the agency is truly involved in this Shin Da-ye case, the situation will become much bigger.

 

I waited patiently, leaving the choice to him.

 

“…Help…”

“…Yes.”

“Please help me. I’ll accept that much… So, if. If I have to fight with the agency…”

 

I nodded.

 

“Understood. Don’t trust anyone within Elus Entertainment, and keep records of all conversations and exchanges through texts, recordings, emails, etc.”

 

I can leave the Shin Da-ye case to the police, and defending Sage isn’t that difficult.

 

* * *

 

But it couldn’t be resolved that easily.

 

[Famous Idol Group Member Involved in ‘Trainee Disappearance Case’]

[BelVix Lead Vocalist Sage Charged with Assault, Kidnapping, and Confinement of Girlfriend]

 

“…Damn it.”

 

I didn’t expect this.

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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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