The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 28

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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 28

In short, it was chaos.

“….”

The office was quiet.

Only one night had passed since Sage left.

Sage, who had left the office anxious until the end, became completely unreachable after the article broke.

[D-6]

Meanwhile, Sung Tae-hyun’s Diary, which only updated with meaningless D-days, was also quiet.

Perhaps it was surprising that Manager Yoon Ha-young remained calm.

With news about Sage dominating various SNS platforms, news comments, and communities, public opinion was only getting worse.

“Still no answer on the phone?”

“No.”

Noh Hae-min asked anxiously, biting his lips.

I had accumulated five missed calls, but Sage wasn’t responding.

Well, it’s ultimately the client’s choice.

Even as a lawyer, my authority is limited.

However, Noh Hae-min seemed dissatisfied with my answer and was now even biting his fingers.

“I’m worried… No, aren’t you really worried? Lawyer Sung, that person Sage really looked like a good person.”

Noh Hae-min should have been a fortune teller instead of a lawyer.

I pressed my cold head firmly and answered.

“Senior, get a grip.”

“Ah, no, I’m obviously trying to get a grip… But yesterday when Sage was leaving, his face was really, how should I put it, pitiful.”

An idol is an idol, I guess.

Had Sage stolen not only Manager Yoon’s heart but also Noh Hae-min’s?

“We should also consider the possibility that Sage lied.”

“…That’s a bit…”

Noh Hae-min just rolled his eyes and glanced at Manager Yoon.

This is so obvious, seriously.

“The client will contact us anyway. One way or another.”

“…Lawyer Sung Tae-hyun really doesn’t look like it, but he’s surprisingly cold…”

Noh Hae-min’s muttering was quite loud.

I looked at him with a smile hanging on the corner of my mouth.

“That’s why you can’t be a fortune teller, senior.”

“…Ugh, Lawyer Sung Tae-hyun… this is really.”

“Even if Sage turns out to be a real vicious criminal, I’ll still defend him, so don’t worry.”

That’s what defense attorneys are for.

Whether he’s a vicious criminal or not, as long as he’s human, he has the right to legal representation.

Noh Hae-min, who finished his fortune-telling nonsense that he wouldn’t even do during undergraduate days, sighed helplessly.

“Still, he looked kind… really, truly.”

“A lawyer just needs to provide the best options for the client within their authority.”

That was the attitude of a defense attorney as I knew it.

A current idol.

Moreover, when the lead vocalist of an idol group with a fairly large fandom is accused of being the perpetrator of crimes like kidnapping, confinement, and assault of his girlfriend, it was obvious that whatever the outcome, it wouldn’t be good.

Until then, I should at least gather materials.

I was just starting intensive research in preparation for a potential call from the client when.

“…Lawyer.”

Manager Yoon approached me, looking like she had lost weight in just a few hours.

She was carrying a small delivery box that had been placed in front of the office door.

“Ah, thank you.”

There shouldn’t be anything coming.

Deliveries that arrived at this office were generally for Manager Yoon Ha-young, but this time.

[Haeil Law Firm, To Lawyer Sung Tae-hyun]

My proper name was written on it.

The delivery box without the sender’s name written on it was very suspicious, but I soon picked up a small utility knife and began taking out the contents.

“…A smart watch?”

Someone’s smart watch was lying there alone with a crumpled note, without any cushioning material.

[Password: 1112]

The note, which seemed to be made by tearing a notebook in apparent haste, had a password written on it.

Soon, Manager Yoon Ha-young’s face turned rapidly cold as she confirmed the handwriting.

“…The person who sent this, I think it’s Sage.”

* * *

The smart watch’s wallpaper is a photo of some couple’s wrists.

A photo of a couple’s wrists wearing identical watches.

“…Shin Da-ye and Sage.”

Probably so.

That would make sense contextually.

As if agreeing with my prediction, Noh Hae-min and Associate Yoon Ha-young nodded simultaneously.

As soon as I entered the password written on the note, what caught my eye was the app.

“…Maybe some clue came up?”

When Associate Yoon Ha-young, who had become calm, touched the screen, over thirty recording files filled the list densely.

“Let’s listen first.”

I played the first voice memo.

[New Recording 001]

Thud, thwack, thud-.

-Pl… Please spare me… Aaah! Please, ah, aah….

-That’s why you shouldn’t touch this again, touching it. Making people annoyed.

-Pl, please….

-Let’s see… have you told anyone about this?

-N, no, there isn’t. There isn’t. Really there isn’t….

[New Recording 002]

-Bring that over, where’s the mobile phone?

-I’ve collected everything.

-Did you check even the underwear?

-Damn, hyung. Still, they’re girls, why go that far-

-Girls my ass, you fucking bastards, is this the first or second time I’ve taken the fall because of you guys?

-Sorry.

The office listening to the recording files became quiet as if cold water had been poured over it.

Next, and next again.

“…It wasn’t Sage.”

The owner of this smart watch is not Sage.

None of the recordings I’ve opened so far contained Sage’s voice.

Rather, what’s contained is a scene of horrific violence.

And somehow the perpetrator’s voice sounds familiar too.

“The first recording date is from last year.”

Associate Yoon Ha-young said with a cold expression.

“Let’s keep listening.”

[New Recording 027]

We had reached a relatively recent recording.

With the continuing tragedy playing, no one in the office dared to speak carelessly.

-…Fuck, these bitches left it again. Do they know how much this costs.

First came the perpetrator’s voice, which I could now recognize just by hearing.

There was a sound like throwing some small plastic bottle.

-Still, they probably went out of their minds, right?

-That’s why you’re no good, bastard.

-…Sniff, um… um. Anyway …the assemblyman is waiting….

-Send her right away. Is it Shin Da-ye again?

-Yes, she’s practically requested by name.

I’m getting a rough idea.

The perpetrator probably isn’t the central axis of this work.

He’s just a thug bastard who handles this kind of work.

This is the intuition of someone experienced in being killed by a thug bastard once before.

“Assemblyman, requested by name… it’s obvious. It’s entertainment.”

Noh Hae-min’s eyes glowed blue-green as he clenched his fist violently in anger.

Associate Yoon Ha-young, who had lost her words, was the same.

There’s no one who wouldn’t be angry hearing such cruel evidence.

The screams and desperate pleas recorded in the voice memos were vivid in my ears.

“…Next.”

Finally, having listened to all the saved voice recordings, we let out long sighs.

“It’s not simple entertainment.”

Noh Hae-min, whose face had become even more distorted, answered my words.

“…No way….”

“Probably, drugs.”

How did the victim manage to record this?

I didn’t want to imagine it.

Even that wouldn’t be respectful to the victim.

“It came up repeatedly several times. The talk about feeding something to someone.”

Associate Yoon Ha-young nodded at my words.

“They kept mentioning a product name from one company. It’s a famous product. A collagen drink. It’s a product you can easily get in stores.”

Associate Yoon Ha-young, who had brought search results from who knows when she looked it up, spoke in a devastated voice.

And descriptions of the victims who drank it. No, the victims losing consciousness were repeated.

“It’s drugs. We’ll need to find out what kind of substance it is.”

At least there should be traces left.

“We also heard the names of several councilors earlier.”

Even after the unconscious victim’s voice disappeared, the recording device didn’t stop.

“Yes, ah….”

Associate Yoon Ha-young selected several recordings and repeated specific parts.

The perpetrators’ voices were clear, but even in the midst of that, they didn’t let their guard down,

and only the name of the councilor who supposedly kept designating victims was mumbled and garbled, making it hard to hear.

“…Kang….”

“Hwan… um, Hwan-pil?”

After listening to the perpetrators’ conversation enough times to memorize it, we finally heard the name.

Kang Hwan-pil.

He wasn’t particularly a famous figure.

Even when searched, all that came up was his title as a city councilor in the nearby area.

“Filthy bastards….”

Eventually, Noh Hae-min’s muttered curse flowed out like grinding teeth, echoing low throughout the office.

It wasn’t time yet.

I gently patted Noh Hae-min’s back.

“If it’s too hard, you should leave work early, Senior.”

For Noh Hae-min’s mental care, I even added the word “Senior” without fail.

Then Noh Hae-min, whose face had turned red as if holding back tears, shook his head.

“No… overtime.”

To think such a word would finally flow from Noh Hae-min’s lips.

It was remarkable progress.

Or maybe he was really that shocked.

“The missing woman, she’s definitely still alive.”

Sage had clearly already disappeared from Noh Hae-min’s mind.

Along with the fact that our client wasn’t that woman, Shin Da-ye, but Sage.

“…Let’s find her. We must.”

Ho-shin Senior.

I nodded, trying to push away the blurry image that strangely overlapped with Noh Hae-min.

“For now, Senior and Associate Yoon Ha-young, please keep contacting Sage.”

“Ah, Attorney. I’ll pass on the contact part.”

At Associate Yoon Ha-young’s words about wanting to skip out on this kind of work, I nodded again as if approving.

That’s understandable.

She probably hasn’t fully overcome the pain of her breakup yet.

Even Associate Yoon Ha-young could feel that way.

“Alright. Then Attorney Noh Hae-min will handle the contact-“

“…Senior.”

“Yes?”

“…Call me Senior. You called me that earlier too.”

“…Yes, well. Anyway, Senior, please keep contacting Sage’s side.”

What’s the big deal about that?

Leaving behind Noh Hae-min who looked strangely satisfied, I also gave instructions to Associate Yoon Ha-young.

“Associate, please investigate regarding Sage’s whereabouts and criminal charges.”

I had something else to do.

-Ah, Attorney? I was waiting, but you contacted me faster than I thought?

An inappropriately bright laughter burst through the mobile phone.

“…There’s someone who told me to definitely include them in the next case.”

It was Lee Na-yoon.

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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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