The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 33

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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 33

 

 

“Did you record it?”

 

Noh Hae-min nodded his head.

 

As soon as Sage’s live broadcast ended, articles with Sage as the keyword were pouring out with tags.

 

[BelVix Sage, Sudden Proof of Life… Fans in ‘Confusion’]

[Tearful Live Broadcast? Ellus, ‘Fact-Checking in Progress’]

[Sage, Truth Battle with Agency? Where is the Truth.]

[Mental Disorder? Sage, Sudden Broadcast in Confused State… Fans Shocked]

[Ellus, ‘Sage Undergoing Psychiatric Treatment… Unauthorized Outing’ Claims]

 

“…It’s chaos.”

“Well, of course. Sage is really famous after all…”

 

Noh Hae-min was chewing and grinding his lips.

 

“That alley looked somewhat familiar. Don’t you remember anything?”

 

All the houses looked similar, but people have something called intuition.

 

…Intuition.

Kim Wook-han from his previous life would have scoffed at such words.

 

But now I am Sung Tae-hyun.

Don’t I even have a diary possessed by Sung Tae-hyun’s ghost?

There were countless things that couldn’t be explained by logic or science.

 

“Well… there are too many alleys like that.”

“We need to find Sage first before the agency does anything.”

 

There’s no time.

 

Sage just escaped.

At the same time, if he turned on a live broadcast and even streamed it, and if the agency really was confining Sage…

There really wasn’t much time left.

 

“They probably haven’t hidden the evidence yet.”

“Yeah… Huh? Why? Attorney Sung, don’t tell me you’re-“

“Don’t tell me what?”

“…going to go? There? Alone?”

 

Why does this guy’s thinking jump around so much?

 

“No? How could I go to such a place alone?”

“Ah. I thought… Well, Attorney Sung always seems like he wants to jump in and handle things physically himself.”

“Not alone, but two of us.”

 

Noh Hae-min’s face turned pale white.

 

“The business trip is getting a bit longer, senior.”

“You really…”

 

Noh Hae-min’s opinion wasn’t really that important anyway.

 

That’s right.

No matter what, even I had no intention of throwing away my second life like a fly.

 

“First let’s find Sage, and if Sage really escaped from a ‘psychiatric hospital’, let’s start by going there.”

“…”

“Shin Da-ye. She might still be alive, don’t you think?”

 

That was it in the end.

Shin Da-ye, who might be the key to this case.

She was the fastest path we could find to clear Sage’s false accusations.

 

I took out the diary that had been vibrating urgently like sending an emergency signal just moments ago and checked it.

 

[D-4]

 

The date that was originally written there was messily crossed out as if someone had scribbled over it with a ballpoint pen.

 

[D-■]

 

And when I looked at the diary again, as if nothing had happened, the black pen marks were cleanly deleted, and a new date was carved in.

 

[D-2]

 

She’s still alive, right?

I got goosebumps down to my toes from the strange certainty.

 

“…Attorney Sung.”

 

Noh Hae-min might not believe it.

He saw everything that father said and did at Da-ye’s house just a while ago.

 

But no.

Time has shortened, but we can save her.

 

[The woman is alive.]

 

See that.

As if to support my conviction, Sung Tae-hyun’s handwriting was newly carved.

 

* * *

 

The business trip we were about to take to find Sage was interrupted by an unexpected call.

 

-…Lawyer, Sage is currently at our office.

 

It was a call from Manager Yoon Ha-young.

 

The man who had just shown everyone his escape from somewhere through a live broadcast was at the office.

 

Manager Yoon also seemed surprised, her voice slightly trembling unlike usual.

 

…Don’t tell me that alley was really the alley near our office?

 

No, there’s no need to think about it.

 

The office we arrived at with Noh Hae-min, taking the fastest route possible.

Sage was really there, curled up in a corner of the sofa with a blanket wrapped all around his body.

 

“Manager?”

 

Manager Yoon Ha-young also had a serious expression as she was writing something.

 

“Oh, Lawyer.”

 

As Noh Hae-min and I entered the inner part of the office, Manager Yoon Ha-young lowered her voice and spoke carefully.

 

“They haven’t found out yet.”

 

…The reporters? The agency?

Either way.

 

He showed everything on the live broadcast, even running out to the main street, but they haven’t found out?

As if reading my expression, Manager Yoon Ha-young quietly answered.

 

“First of all, Lee Se-hyung’s outfit was unusually ordinary compared to usual.”

 

That’s true.

Although he was wrapped in a blanket, even in the live broadcast he was just wearing a black t-shirt and cotton pants.

 

“It happened to be a weekday afternoon so there weren’t many people around, and it was such a common alley that it would be hard to recognize unless you’re a local resident.”

 

Should I call this fortunate?

I had thought the alley looked familiar somehow.

 

Perhaps thinking the same thing, Noh Hae-min nodded awkwardly.

 

“And also….”

 

Manager Yoon Ha-young glanced at Sage and said finally.

 

“While you lawyers were out, I happened to have time.”

“Yes.”

“I was watching the live broadcast and since it was a familiar place, I took the car and went to pick him up myself.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Fortunately, Lee Se-hyung seemed mentally sound and was hiding well.”

 

So in the end, luck was on our side.

 

…Of course, from the point when Manager Yoon Ha-young started calling Sage by his real name, I felt a strange feeling that was hard to express.

 

Still, well, knowing the location and rescuing him like that, isn’t she what they call a ‘true fan’?

If it weren’t for Manager Yoon Ha-young, Sage would have been caught by the reporters, the agency, or that… unknown guy called ‘Hwan’.

 

“You did well.”

 

However, Sage’s condition was not good.

 

The man who was listening to our conversation while trembling and gripping his tea cup tightly seemed consumed by fear.

Manager Yoon Ha-young also seemed worried about him, glancing at him and letting out a long sigh.

 

“…Sage.”

 

Would conversation be possible?

 

To save Sage from this damn situation, I need to unravel the clues involving Shin Da-ye.

For that, Sage needs to be in his right mind.

 

For now, should I trust him?

When I called his stage name, the man flinched.

 

“Would you be able to have a conversation?”

“…Yes, Lawyer….”

 

Good, it seems his mind isn’t completely gone like the agency claims.

 

I carefully sat in front of him.

Only then could I see the terrible state that wasn’t fully captured in the live broadcast.

 

Sage’s face, which had looked like a perfect celebrity, was relatively fine, but below that, I could see pain carved so deeply it was hard to describe.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

Near his collarbone visible through his loose t-shirt, bruises that appeared to be from beatings were clear.

I carefully rolled up his sleeve as if asking for Sage’s permission.

 

“….”

 

There were wounds everywhere along with burn marks that looked like they were made with cigarettes.

From his upper body to his lower body, practically the only unharmed part of Sage’s entire body was his face.

 

“What happened? If you can’t talk about it, let’s go to the hospital first-“

“No!”

 

The man who had raised his voice for the first time trembled as he covered his face with his wounded hands.

His shoulders shook as his sobbing grew louder, his voice choked with emotion.

 

“N-no… no. It’s urgent, there’s no time…”

“Sage.”

 

When I placed my hand on Sage’s trembling shoulder, our eyes met through his fingers, red with tears.

 

“Please save me.”

 

Sage froze like a herbivore facing unbearable terror and whispered.

 

“Please save me. Time, there’s no time…”

“…Is Shin Da-ye alive?”

 

Our eyes met again.

Sage licked his parched lips and nodded.

 

“Da-ye, she’s still alive.”

“Where?”

 

I had to find her.

If what Sung Tae-hyun warned was true, there were still two days left.

 

Suppressing my growing anxiety, I stared at Sage’s tear-stained face.

 

“…I, I know.”

“The address first.”

“Seoul ■■ District…”

 

One hour after the live broadcast.

If we moved quickly, we could find Shin Da-ye.

 

* * *

 

The place Sage mentioned was a building far from central Seoul.

 

“Is this the right place?”

 

Sage, his face pale as a sheet, nodded.

I had suggested he stay at the office with Assistant Manager Yoon Ha-young, but he stubbornly followed us out.

 

‘It has to be me.’

 

Every minute and second was urgent.

He was so adamant that we, who had been trying to dissuade him considering his mental state, gave up.

 

‘I’m… the only one who’s been there…’

 

Was it because of his sense of duty toward Shin Da-ye?

At some point, Sage began acting like someone whose sense of fear had been numbed.

 

‘…Though I’m not sure if everything will still be there.’

 

Sage’s uneasy premonition proved correct.

I felt the same way.

 

Though I hadn’t expected any significant evidence to remain anyway.

 

“They ran away.”

 

It was an empty building that looked like it hadn’t been used in a long time.

 

According to the property registry, there was still an owner, but he appeared to be some old man with no connection to this case.

 

“…Are you sure this is the right place? There’s nothing here.”

 

Noh Hae-min walked around the building, stepping on broken glass fragments.

The building entrance was also empty, without even a door attached.

 

“…Senior, let’s film this too.”

 

At least it’s not a psychiatric hospital.

 

Sage moved forward as if possessed by something.

I slowly followed them while examining the surroundings.

 

Through the corridor that was clean as if someone had intentionally cleaned it, all the way inside.

The floor, scattered with gravel and glass, surprisingly showed no traces of human presence.

 

“It’s unpleasantly clean.”

 

But there wouldn’t have been enough time to clean everything perfectly.

The entrance and corridor were roughly perfect, but if you looked carefully—

 

“This wall here.”

 

I slowly extended my finger and pointed at the wall surface.

 

“It’s too clean, don’t you think?”

 

Unlike the other walls that looked faded from long neglect, there was one wall that had been freshly painted.

 

At this level, it seemed like it was painted not too long ago.

 

“…”

 

As expected.

When I lightly touched it, some paint came off on my hand.

 

When I raised my hand to show my finger stained with blue paint, Sage’s face turned even paler.

 

“At this level, it seems there was a truth urgent enough to hide even if they couldn’t ‘perfectly’ stage the scene.”

“You…”

“It doesn’t seem like the police know yet either. Isn’t that right?”

 

Whether it was Ellus or ‘Hwan’.

 

Either they didn’t think Sage, soaked in fear, would move immediately.

Or they were confident that this much wouldn’t be enough to catch them.

 

Or perhaps.

 

“…they didn’t have time to properly stage the scene.”

 

Something like a small thorn caught on my fingertip.

 

I felt around the wall stained with blue paint.

It had a different texture from the solid concrete wall beside it.

Perhaps plywood, or some similar kind of thin material.

 

When I knocked on the wall, it made a hollow sound.

 

“…That thing…”

“Probably, my guess is correct.”

 

They must have been in more of a hurry than expected?

 

When I turned my gaze, I could see objects scattered messily besides this wall.

 

Broken electric wires on the ceiling and CCTV debris fallen below.

Or the drum and kindling behind the building that looked like they’d been there for 50 years.

The papers that had been half-burned inside them.

 

“I guess they didn’t have enough time to get rid of everything before leaving.”

 

Noh Hae-min muttered as he rummaged through the drum.

 

Of course that would be the case.

They probably didn’t expect Sage would run away.

 

“There were many people. Besides me… Da-ye… *sob*, with Da-ye…”

“There aren’t many traces left here now. Didn’t they say anything about where they were going?”

“That far… *sniff*… I don’t know.”

 

I watched Noh Hae-min, who had rummaged even inside the drum to retrieve every last piece of paper.

When he picked up a thick wood block that seemed to have been used as kindling, black ash scattered down to his feet.

 

“Why that?”

 

I didn’t bother to answer Noh Hae-min’s question.

Then I went back inside the building and stood in front of the blue paint wall.

 

Bang, bang, bang.

 

Soon, the thin plywood tore away, revealing a small space hidden inside the wall.

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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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