The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 3

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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 3

 

 

“…I told you to be so careful.”

 

A voice that suddenly reached me shattered my reverie.

It was the voice of an old friend.

 

“…Choi Yoon….”

 

Without realizing it, the name automatically slipped out.

 

Choi Yoon-ki.

The name of this old acquaintance felt awkward, as if I were pronouncing it for the first time.

 

I stepped back a few paces as if I had never called his name before.

Though not as much as the Court Chief, a sigh escaped me at the sight of his reddened eyes.

 

“…Chief Ki… Prosecutor.”

“It’s been a while. Attorney Sung Tae-hyun.”

 

That’s right. I am Sung Tae-hyun now.

 

At my bitterly concluded words, Choi Yoon-ki opened his mouth nonchalantly.

I quietly observed him, noting his casual attitude as if we were already acquainted.

 

“This guy was my friend.”

“….”

“Anyway, it’s been a long time.”

 

Choi Yoon-ki expressed the exact same sentiment as me.

 

It’s been a long time.

That’s true.

 

My connection with Choi Yoon-ki goes back to our first year at Korea University Law School, which is now so distant I can barely remember those undergraduate days.

From Goshi Village through entering the Judicial Research and Training Institute, considering the time we spent together, we were like family.

 

“I… see.”

“How could I not speak to you? It’s been a while since I’ve seen those eyes.”

 

Choi Yoon-ki plopped down heavily in the seat the Court Chief had vacated.

The reception room outside was bustling, as almost everyone who should come had arrived.

 

“I didn’t know Attorney Sung Tae-hyun knew Wook-han too.”

 

This is a bit dangerous.

 

What stopped me as I tried to leave for the reception room while pretending not to know was Choi Yoon-ki’s words.

Had I been staring up at the portrait photo for too long?

 

Seeing my own portrait photo at my own funeral isn’t exactly common, so I had unconsciously become absorbed.

Worried that this perceptive guy might find it strange, I quickly answered.

 

“Briefly, when we were young….”

“Oh, really? This is the first I’m hearing of it.”

 

Maybe that’s not right. Then a little more.

 

“Actually, I was indebted to Wook-han hyung’s mother.”

“…Were you that close? I had no idea.”

“…It was when we were very young. And after his mother passed away and Wook-han hyung moved to Seoul, we hardly met.”

 

Choi Yoon-ki nodded with a somewhat dubious expression.

This guy who’s only quick-witted.

Even in a situation like this, he’s no help.

 

Since I was Kim Wook-han anyway, my relationship with ‘Kim Wook-han’ was bound to be revealed somehow.

So I calculated it would be better to strike first if I was going to do it at all.

Fortunately, Choi Yoon-ki had no intention of conducting an interrogation at the funeral hall, so he stopped pressing.

 

“I was pretty close with Wook-han too.”

 

Look at that.

 

“We were practically family. So, let’s drop the formalities in private. If you called Wook-han hyung, then I’m your hyung too.”

 

I didn’t expect him to go this far.

Actually, I thought I had already severed the persistent ties with Choi Yoon-ki.

It was when Choi Yoon-ki came to me before the verdict in Choi Yoon-ho’s case and made threatening remarks.

 

No, actually, my relationship with Choi Yoon-ki had hit rock bottom even before that.

 

If I was the scales, he was the sword.

The scales and sword held in Justitia’s hands.

When our paths diverged as prosecutor and judge, I thought Choi Yoon-ki and I walked different roads but shared the same foundation.

 

…I just failed to realize that the guy who swore to dedicate himself to justice until the end was rotten from his very origins.

 

“….”

 

As I hesitated, Choi Yoon-ki smiled briefly.

 

“What. Does it seem like a lie?”

“…No.”

“I told you to drop the formalities.”

 

Choi Yoon-ki.

 

The eldest son of Cheondong Group’s Chairman.

 

The guy who had been with me for several years also couldn’t escape Cheondong’s shadow.

I vowed revenge in front of my own portrait photo.

 

Since Choi Yoon-ki was also a branch extending from Cheondong, there was no need to hesitate.

 

“…I’ll let go slowly.”

“Our lawyer Sung Tae-hyun, I had no idea we had this kind of connection.”

 

Connection or ill-fated relationship.

Neither was certain.

 

Did Choi Yoon-ki really not know that Cheondong killed me?

In this damn situation, there was only one thing I could say to Choi Yoon-ki.

 

“Connection… Yes, I hope we can meet often in the future.”

 

Because I’ll light the path to your downfall in advance.

 

At my words, Choi Yoon-ki spoke to my portrait photo again.

 

“Wook-han, can you hear me? Hey man.”

 

He couldn’t even imagine that the already dead was listening.

 

“I’ll take good care of all the people you left behind.”

“….”

“Rest in peace.”

 

I won’t rest.

Whatever miracle this was, I had no intention of wasting the life given to me again.

 

* * *

 

“What did you talk about for so long?”

 

When I came out to the reception room, it was already dark.

 

Coming all the way to my funeral hall, I couldn’t leave without at least getting a bowl of yukgaejang.

As I sat down, Lim Do-hyuk, who had already finished eating, quickly approached and took the seat in front of me.

 

“Well… just this and that?”

“Were you acquainted with Chief Prosecutor Choi Yoon-ki? Since when? There’s no connection at all.”

 

He had many questions.

 

I still didn’t know many facts about Sung Tae-hyun myself.

At most, that he was a junior lawyer at Haeil Law Firm.

Even that was limited to information Lim Do-hyuk had told me.

 

“Are you stalking me, senior?”

“…This bastard, he seems like a different person but there’s no evidence.”

 

Lim Do-hyuk muttered.

 

…Why are there so many perceptive bastards.

 

I kept my mouth shut for a moment and started wolfing down the yukgaejang.

Don’t they say that meals at funeral halls are the last food the deceased treats you to?

 

Since Kim Wook-han, the protagonist of the funeral, was me, I was self-serving myself hospitality.

 

The yukgaejang was even more delicious than expected, as much as my anger was boiling.

 

“Really, that heartless Prosecutor Choi Yoon-ki-“

 

Lim Do-hyuk lowered his voice considerably.

 

I casually chewed the rice grains mixed with yukgaejang.

They say you shouldn’t say behind someone’s back what you can’t say to their face.

Of course, I was the type to speak transparently whether in front or behind.

 

“Talked with you for thirty minutes. And why did the Court Chief wait for that?”

“…Huh?”

“Again, again. Your words are getting short.”

“You talked for thirty minutes?”

 

That was quite surprising.

 

Even if I was distracted looking at my portrait photo, Choi Yoon-ki wasn’t that type of guy.

 

Sharp FM.

His crazy obsession with dividing time into seconds was so severe that even I had recommended hospital counseling to him.

 

But he wasted over thirty minutes talking with Sung Tae-hyun, who he wasn’t even that close to?

Was it finally time for him to die?

If not that, then did he really have some connection with Sung Tae-hyun?

 

“Yeah, that’s what happened. What on earth did you talk about inside?”

“…Maybe he can blow his nose without using his hands.”

 

I should watch what scheme he’s up to.

Working so much overtime, maybe it really was time for him to die.

 

At my muttering, Lim Do-hyuk frowned.

 

“Lawyer Sung Tae-hyun.”

“Senior.”

 

Finally, a decision was made.

My mind, which had been chaotic after suddenly awakening from death, felt much more refreshed.

I put down my spoon after emptying the last spoonful from the yukgaejang bowl.

 

“…What is it, are you finally ready to talk….”

 

And I stood up from my seat, looking at Lim Do-hyuk whose eyes were somehow sparkling.

 

The night was deep.

Even if it’s just a branch office, Haeil’s workload would be quite heavy.

 

I don’t know why Sung Tae-hyun insisted on staying at the branch office, but I have no intention of being in Sejong City.

 

Cheondong’s head office is in Seoul, and so is my home.

Cheondong’s first and second sons, and even the third son who was already caught and imprisoned, were all in Seoul.

 

This is why there’s an old saying about sending horses to Jeju Island and people to Hanyang.

All the targets for revenge are in Seoul.

 

“I’m going to resign.”

 

Haeil’s M&A team has many members, but among them, the branch office in Sejong mainly targets startups.

I had already finished my research in Lim Do-hyuk’s car on the way to the funeral hall.

Even if that weren’t the case, they wouldn’t give junior associate Sung Tae-hyun anything significant enough to be related to Cheondong anyway.

 

That was the second reason.

 

“…What?”

 

However, Lim Do-hyuk couldn’t keep up with my quick thinking.

He widened his eyes in bewilderment and shot up from his seat.

The reaction caused several side dish bowls to bounce up slightly.

 

If I hadn’t finished eating all the yukgaejang, the bowls would have spilled and nearly ruined one of Sung Tae-hyun’s few suits.

 

“I said I’m resigning.”

“…Resign? You’re resigning? You?”

 

What’s the big deal about resigning?

I stood up from my seat while cleaning up the overturned bowls.

Lim Do-hyuk still couldn’t escape his panic and kept his mouth wide open.

 

Lim Do-hyuk, repeating “Resign? Really?” like a parrot, even looked somewhat dim-witted.

 

“Yes.”

“…Why? Is the salary not enough?”

 

As if that could be the case.

Among my peers, there were quite a few lawyers from Haeil.

 

What they all unanimously say is one thing.

The salary is the welfare.

 

All those who were from Haeil, without exception, never complained about their salary.

I couldn’t check Sung Tae-hyun’s account, but his salary probably wasn’t insufficient either.

 

“No.”

“…Then what? What is it? Tell me.”

 

Lim Do-hyuk said anxiously.

 

That’s understandable.

If I, a junior, leave, all the work coming to the same partner lawyer will become Lim Do-hyuk’s responsibility.

Lim Do-hyuk won’t even have time to criticize my way of speaking anymore.

Not that I particularly aimed for that.

 

“I have something to do.”

“Something to do? What is it? Is it that important?”

“Yes.”

 

Lim Do-hyuk’s breathing began to get rougher.

He was panting as if he might overturn the table at any moment, then roughly grabbed my wrist and headed outside the funeral hall.

 

“Senior, if you run at your age, you’ll break a bone.”

“This bastard…!”

 

Lim Do-hyuk’s chest repeatedly swelled and deflated noticeably.

He seems quite angry. But we’re still just fellow associates.

I wondered if this was really worth getting this angry about.

 

Lim Do-hyuk, who had been glaring at me while catching his breath, began to rapidly pour out words.

 

“You bastard, what are you going to do after leaving as a first-year?”

“I’ll have to think about it.”

“What? You’re just going to leave without any plan?”

“Yes.”

“Why? Because of what?”

 

Of course it’s because of Cheondong Group.

Naturally, I couldn’t say that.

 

I gently patted the shoulder of the angry Lim Do-hyuk as if telling him to speak up.

It was a special measure I used to calm down researchers who came whining about having too much work until recently.

 

The researchers who came asking to reduce the number of draft judgments they had to write, calling the department head inhuman, would go back on their own after just a few pats on the shoulder like this.

 

“…Hey, Sung Tae-hyun.”

 

But Lim Do-hyuk was a bit different.

Are MZ generation people from Haeil different?

Far from calming down, he seemed to get even angrier, and I felt like I was facing an alien for the first time.

 

“Why, senior?”

“…Do you think you can go independent right now?”

“Yes.”

 

What’s there that I can’t do?

 

“You’re a first-year. You’re no different from a civilian. You might think being the top scorer on the bar exam makes you special, but if you leave like this now, there’s nowhere that will take you.”

“…Top scorer?”

“Yes, top scorer! I’ve been coddling this bastard because he lost his memory, and now what, resignation? You’re saying you’ll resign?”

“Why are you only telling me this now?”

 

At my question, Lim Do-hyuk made an expression like he was breathless.

His face, flushed red as if about to explode at any moment, was quite a sight to see.

However, I was pleased for a different reason.

 

So I passed the bar exam as the top scorer.

 

With this much, I could probably compete with a small law firm or so.

I had briefly worried about what to do in this job market after quitting Haeil, but this was fortunate.

 

“Don’t worry, senior. Even if I resign, I’ll finish all the work you’ve assigned me before I go.”

“Hey—!”

“Are you done being angry?”

“Sung Tae-hyun!”

“Then let’s head back now. I don’t have a car.”

 

Of course, I still hadn’t memorized the address of the studio apartment where ‘Sung Tae-hyun’ lives.

I walked ahead, leaving behind Lim Do-hyuk who was staring at me blankly like someone who had lost his soul.

 

The mourning was over.

—————
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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