The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 30

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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 30

 

 

“Sage is in danger.”

 

At my words, Noh Hae-min’s already large eyes widened even more.

Manager Yoon Ha-young’s face was pale as a sheet.

 

“It seems the agency said he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital.”

“…A psychiatric hospital… you say…?”

 

Manager Yoon Ha-young, who was answering, staggered and collapsed into a chair with a thud.

Noh Hae-min’s hand, which had been reaching out to catch Manager Yoon who was about to fall, hovered awkwardly in the air.

 

“Um, so… you’re saying Elus Entertainment knows where Sage is?”

“That’s likely.”

 

For once, Noh Hae-min had said something correct, but his face clouded with worry.

I pointed to the smart watch containing the recording file that would serve as crucial evidence.

 

“This smart watch was probably sent hastily by Sage just before being confined to a ‘psychiatric hospital’ connected to the agency.”

“….”

“Obviously, it wouldn’t be a proper hospital. Additionally, this smart watch—”

 

Before I could give the answer, Manager Yoon Ha-young responded urgently.

 

“It belonged to the woman, Shin Da-ye. That means….”

 

She probably had the same thought as me.

Though this wasn’t the time to think about it, Manager Yoon Ha-young was definitely excellent talent.

It was almost pitiful that she was stuck under Ho-shin Senior.

 

“That’s right. There’s a possibility that Sage forcibly contacted Shin Da-ye or her family.”

“I think the same thing!”

 

Manager Yoon Ha-young’s bloodshot eyes glowed red.

 

“He must have been trying to collect evidence. He would have wanted to find Shin Da-ye. But he was probably being pursued by the agency from the time he came to us. He probably got caught.”

 

Exactly right.

Sage got caught.

By the agency, or someone who handles the ‘dirty work’ for Elus Entertainment.

 

“The agency probably leaked it to the media too.”

“…Those bastards, sorry.”

 

Manager Yoon Ha-young bit her lip, as if profanity had slipped out without her realizing it.

 

“They’re probably weighing their options. Whether to completely discard him, or wait a bit longer and then clean him up for use.”

“The police acting lukewarm is also strange.”

 

Look at that.

Even the clueless Noh Hae-min noticed.

 

There wasn’t even a scheduled appearance request, and above all, they seemed extremely bothered.

No matter how reliable a lawyer I was,

rattling off information about the accused without even checking the appointment letter was problematic.

 

“If our guess is correct, the person who last saw Sage before he was taken is most likely Shin Da-ye’s family.”

 

Both Noh Hae-min and Manager Yoon Ha-young nodded at my words.

But why did the agency make such a choice?

 

…Did something seriously wrong really happen to Shin Da-ye?

If not, was there something else they had to hide even if it meant doing something this extreme?

 

I only learned this recently, but BelVix is quite a famous idol group.

In a market where tens or hundreds of billions are at stake over a team’s image,

even if it’s just one member’s issue, the entire team’s collapse would be unavoidable.

 

So, even if this matter gets resolved, BelVix will eventually crumble.

 

“…I don’t know about Shin Da-ye’s survival, but they probably can’t kill Sage.”

 

The psychiatric hospital the agency mentioned.

 

Wherever that place is, it would be difficult to make Sage disappear or kill him.

BelVix is already too famous.

 

Maybe they’ll find some weakness Sage can’t refuse and make a deal.

 

“He’ll have to hold out until then….”

 

At my words that came out like a murmur, Manager Yoon Ha-young bit her lip.

 

“…For now, I’ll also keep a close eye on Kim Wan-gil and Kang Hwan-pil.”

 

Our gazes met as if we understood without words.

I didn’t bother telling the increasingly pale Manager Yoon Ha-young to rest.

In times like these, working helps anxiety disappear.

 

“Good. Judging by the police’s attitude, it seems we still have some time.”

 

In the current situation, Kim Wan-gil or Kang Hwan-pil wouldn’t make any conspicuous moves,

but whatever ‘Ellus’ wants to hide is probably connected to them.

 

“Just in case, Manager Yoon Ha-young, please investigate Kim Wan-gil, Kang Hwan-pil, and everyone around them—their families, friends—within the scope of what you can investigate.”

“Understood.”

“Lawyer Noh Hae-min—”

“Senior.”

 

Ha, in this situation again.

 

“…Senior, you should come with me.”

“Me? Where to?”

 

The destination was obvious.

 

“To Da-ye’s house.”

 

We’d have to start from there to find Sage.

 

* * *

 

Finding Da-ye’s house wasn’t difficult.

 

A neighborhood quite far from Seoul where Elus Entertainment was located.

Even among the densely packed villas that all looked similar, it was an old house that appeared only after climbing up a steep hill.

 

“…It’s quite an old house.”

 

Noh Hae-min said while panting, seemingly out of breath from the long walk.

 

A young guy already having stamina issues.

Here I am at this age without even a single aching knee joint.

 

When I first woke up, I thought it would be frail,

but Sung Tae-hyun’s body was actually holding up quite well.

 

“I see.”

 

I answered casually while checking the street address attached to the old iron gate.

 

We found the right place.

Noh Hae-min, who had been rolling his joints around as if his shoulders rather than legs were hurting, was already hovering near the gate.

 

“This place… was it a semi-basement?”

“Yes.”

 

At the far left end of the old building, I could see a small security window that seemed to be flush with the ground.

 

“They must have been quite poor…”

 

Noh Hae-min muttered quietly.

That made sense, since Shin Da-ye lived with her unemployed father.

This was a conclusion we’d reached based on the messages left on her smart watch.

 

“Is anyone there?”

 

Only Noh Hae-min’s clear voice echoed through the quiet neighborhood that seemed uninhabited.

The gate was so rusted that touching it wrong might give you tetanus.

Considering even the broken doorbell with exposed wires, it was practically ruins.

 

But Noh Hae-min knocked on the door several times without concern.

 

“Is anyone home!”

 

As if weathered by time, the top of the low fence was also scattered with broken stone fragments.

 

“Strange, is no one here?”

 

I muttered to myself and walked along the fence, passing by Noh Hae-min who was carefully knocking.

 

It was quite a wide lot though.

After a few more steps, I got closer to the window of the semi-basement room that seemed blocked by iron bars beyond the low fence.

 

“Attorney Sung?”

 

As I stared inside as if entranced, I stiffened slightly at the sensation of someone grabbing my shoulder.

 

“Why are you so startled? What is it?”

 

Noh Hae-min, who had given up on the gate entrance and approached me, asked with a puzzled expression.

 

“…Over there.”

 

What I was looking at was a human form that seemed to be huddled up.

 

A shape similar to the photos I’d encountered countless times in case records.

I had to squint through the dirty screen mesh and darkness that didn’t allow even a speck of light to make it out.

 

Noh Hae-min must have seen him too, as he looked at me with wide eyes.

 

“Isn’t that a person? Damn, what is this? Is this like some crime scene? Are they dead? No way?”

“Tsk tsk… Dead, what nonsense. Such a fuss.”

 

Suddenly, a gruff old man’s voice shot out from behind us.

It must have been unexpected, as Noh Hae-min’s shoulders flinched.

 

“…Sir.”

 

Was this the owner of the house?

The short old man passed by us and pulled out a key from his hunched waist.

 

“Calling me ‘sir’ and all. Are you more of those celebrities?”

 

Then without even looking at us, he immediately threw open the rusted gate.

 

An old neighborhood, a house like old ruins.

An old man who naturally opened his door to strangers in such a place where people wouldn’t frequently come and go.

 

Wouldn’t it be stranger if I didn’t feel something was off?

 

“Haha, do I look like a celebrity to you?”

 

Noh Hae-min asked brightly, seeming excited in an instant.

The Old Man clicked his tongue as if astounded and entered through the iron gate.

It seemed to be a different entrance from the semi-basement, as I could see a front door with luxurious patterns above the low stairs.

 

“Aren’t you?”

“…We came looking for Miss Shin Da-ye.”

 

Perhaps because I spoke deliberately vaguely, the Old Man’s steps up the stairs stopped.

 

“Aren’t you the person who took her away last time?”

“Ah, we are that-“

 

I hurriedly grabbed Noh Hae-min’s arm to stop him from speaking.

As if his eyes were dim, the Old Man was trying to find his glasses from his bag again to put them on.

 

“You’re probably seeing us for the first time. We are Da-ye’s-“

 

It was too late to say friends.

It was also too early to reveal that I was a lawyer.

I was Sage’s lawyer, not Shin Da-ye’s lawyer.

 

However, the Old Man who had put on his glasses interrupted my words and continued speaking.

 

“Mmm, I see.”

“…Excuse me?”

“You don’t seem to be those thugs.”

 

…Could it be, he already knows?

Had thugs been coming and going from this house to take Shin Da-ye away?

 

As if noticing my doubt, the Old Man silently moved his mouth for a while before answering.

 

“…At this age, there are things you can see.”

 

I couldn’t miss this opportunity.

I climbed a few steps up the stairs and approached the Old Man.

 

“Sir, Miss Shin Da-ye has disappeared.”

“…Disappeared? Come to think of it, that girl who said she’d come back in a week hasn’t come yet.”

“Do you remember when you last saw her?”

“If I remembered that, I wouldn’t be here.”

 

The Old Man, who had been speaking cynically, raised his wrinkled finger and pointed toward the semi-basement room.

 

“Didn’t you come looking for him?”

 

His tone was as if he had seen that figure from earlier.

 

“He’s probably there. He wouldn’t be dead. That man is truly wicked, but Da-ye is too good a daughter for him.”

“…Those people you mentioned as ‘thugs’ earlier, if it’s alright with you, could you describe their appearance to some degree?”

 

There was no CCTV. Not outside the house earlier, nor inside here.

At my words that came out urgently, unlike me, the Old Man looked up at me with cloudy eyes.

 

“For a young man, you have the eyes of someone old.”

“…”

“Those thugs, I can’t talk about them. You should know. If you want to die a natural death, there are things you have to pretend not to know- things you have to turn a blind eye to.”

 

He saw them.

However, the Old Man’s strange attitude consistently showed pity toward Shin Da-ye.

If he knows the faces of those ‘thugs’, it might help with the investigation later.

 

After finishing my thoughts, I nodded and held out a business card with printed on it.

 

“I’m lawyer Sung Tae-hyun. If you ever need help, please contact me anytime.”

 

Pressuring him right now wouldn’t be helpful.

However, these kinds of people usually start talking once they’re assured of their safety.

 

The Old Man, who had been looking at the business card I held out like a gamble, quietly put the paper in his pocket.

 

“…Da-ye’s Father is probably still sleeping.”

 

So that dark figure was Shin Da-ye’s father.

I had roughly expected it.

Even though it was a blurred figure, it was too tall and large to be considered a woman.

 

“The door will be open too.”

“…The door too.”

“Go see. He won’t make any noise.”

 

Perhaps those ‘thugs’ might have gotten information from the Old Man.

If not that, they might be accomplices.

 

…The fact that thugs had come all the way to this house to take Shin Da-ye.

The Old Man’s tone and behavior up until now.

None of it was ordinary.

 

“Sir.”

 

Then what was this behavior about?

 

“Ah, go see. I didn’t see anything. Don’t drag it out for too long.”

 

The Old Man shook his head, opened the front door, and went inside.

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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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