The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 39

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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 39

[D-1]

And then again.

[D-■■■]

Shin Da-ye did not die.

The day D-1 appeared in the diary.

I contacted Sung Tae-jun, who was still at the hospital guarding Shin Da-ye and Sage, and told him to strengthen security a bit more.

‘Why?’

‘I have a bad feeling.’

Sung Tae-jun laughed as if my simple answer was absurd, but unexpectedly, he properly listened to what I said.

‘Hyung has had good intuition since he was young.’

…Really?

I wasn’t the young Sung Tae-hyun, so I wouldn’t know.

A day passed like that, but there was still no particular news.

[D-■■■]

Except for the fact that instead of D-Day, letters painted pitch black to make them unreadable had appeared.

“There’s no point in worrying about it, is that it?”

What will happen is destined to happen.

Sung Tae-hyun seemed to be trying to say something like that.

Let’s go back to the day I first saw the D-Day.

I flipped back a few pages of the diary.

[How much of the entertainment industry’s gossip sheets are true.]

[The woman did not die.]

[D-7]

“That’s right.”

Good, after this sentence appeared, I received Sage’s request.

I heard the story of the missing Shin Da-ye.

So.

[The woman did not die.]

I thought the D-Day that followed this sentence was about Shin Da-ye’s death.

“That wasn’t it.”

There are two possibilities.

One, the possibility that Shin Da-ye will die still exists.

Two, from the beginning, the D-Day wasn’t predicting Shin Da-ye’s death.

“Speak properly, Sung Tae-hyun.”

I shook the innocent diary vigorously.

Instead of Sung Tae-hyun’s new answer about D-Day, another report followed.

[Ellus’s official statement is up.]

[(Link)]

It was Lee Na-yoon.

* * *

[Ellus Entertainment Official Statement]

When I clicked the link Lee Na-yoon sent, it connected to a video sharing platform.

If the Representative is a human being capable of thinking, he should remember what content was contained in the recording file I have.

A video, not just some press release put out by the PR Team.

“He must be in a hurry.”

My impression ended right there.

-To the beloved employees of Ellus Entertainment and all those who cherish and trust our Elus Entertainment…

“Wow.”

The words that burst out as soon as the video started playing were truly typical.

Surprisingly, the Representative, Kim Sung-han, appeared directly in front of the camera.

The background was the Representative’s Office, already familiar from my previous visit.

Behind the desk where the name plate was placed, he opened his mouth with a somber expression.

-The reason I couldn’t announce our position more quickly was because I took time to deeply reflect on my careless attitude.

“His words.”

Though no one would believe those words, Kim Sung-han was serious by himself.

As if to prove those words, the area around his eyes was very red.

As if he had been crying.

No, or as if red cosmetics had been dabbed and applied.

-The recording transcript mentioned in the article is from an unofficial conversation. Regrettably, it was leaked externally and has caused great misunderstanding…

Now with an expression distorted as if about to cry, not only the view count but also the comment section was becoming chaotic.

-The mentions in the recording are merely metaphors or jokes commonly exchanged in negotiation settings… *sob*.

Finally, thick tears began rolling down from Kim Sung-han’s eyes.

He quickly wiped away his tears as if it was regrettable to show tears in front of the screen.

However, the tears that hadn’t dried continued to wet his face.

-*cough*… *sob*… I devoted all my youth to BelVix! Everyone, you know, don’t you. Sage, Basil, Thyme, Anise… and even our youngest Rue. I really… *sob*, love them…

Do I really have to watch this to the end?

Even at 1.5x speed, it was an incredibly boring showmanship.

Finally, the highlight called the representative’s tears passed, and Kim Sung-han wiped his eyes thoroughly before pointing his finger at the screen threateningly.

He seemed unaware that the red powder debris around his eyes was clumping and falling like eraser shavings.

-I warn you. The immoral reporter who wrote that article, and you hiding behind the anonymity of being an informant!

-Secretly recording part of negotiations and releasing it publicly is clearly behavior that goes against business ethics! It could become a precedent that could undermine trust in our industry including Ellus, which is a very serious matter.

-Ellus and I will never give up and will fight for the rights of BelVix and our agency’s artists.

I watched it to the end for nothing.

I wondered if there was some scheme behind staying silent for two whole days, but in the end, this was the content.

Kim Sung-han said he was warning Lee Na-yoon and me, but it was essentially a meaningless statement.

“Even a week-old startup wouldn’t respond like this.”

Could there be a deeper meaning?

An ordinary person like me wouldn’t know.

However, there seemed to be one more ordinary person who had similar thoughts to mine.

[Hahaha it’s fun, right?]

I didn’t bother to reply to Lee Na-yoon who sent the mocking message.

Among the endlessly running comments below the video, one was,

[nayoon.lee] If you don’t like it, write your own article lol

It was because she was being childish without even trying to hide it.

The fandom reaction that Deputy Manager Yoon Ha-young sent was the same.

At this level, it’s over without needing to interfere.

I don’t know why the representative chose to self-destruct.

But what’s certain is that there was no one inside that company capable of stopping the representative’s eccentric behavior.

“No need to watch more.”

Just as I was about to put away my mobile phone.

[Sage]

The screen displaying my client’s name began vibrating.

Don’t tell me.

Something didn’t happen to Shin Da-ye’s condition in the midst of all this, did it?

[D-■■■]

The ominous sentence from the diary flashed through my mind.

I touched the screen and immediately answered the call.

“What’s the matter?”

-Ah, lawyer. I have something to tell you.

Was I overthinking?

Sage’s voice coming through the mobile phone wasn’t as dark as I thought.

It wasn’t the half-dead voice from when we last met either.

Though I don’t know if he saw the representative’s video.

“Are you at Shin Da-ye’s hospital room?”

-Yes. Actually…

“Please tell me.”

-Well… Da-ye…

The woman who had been repeating fainting spells and seizures had regained consciousness.

It was news that Shin Da-ye, who had been trembling in terror and afraid of even the medical staff’s approach, had finally found courage.

-She says she definitely has something to tell you, lawyer…

I also had something I wanted to hear.

“I’ll come right now.”

-Ah, yes… And when you come, could you maybe not do any recording…

Did he see the article Lee Na-yoon wrote?

Sage asked me in an awkward voice.

-They say Da-ye is still very confused. So recording is…

“Fine. Let’s just have a conversation without recording. Please tell her that.”

-Thank you.

I was planning to meet around this time anyway.

I was also concerned about D-day.

I immediately turned around and headed to the hospital where Shin Da-ye was admitted.

* * *

In front of Shin Da-ye’s hospital room door.

Sung Tae-jun with a calm expression greeted me first.

The person who then opened the hospital room door and came out was Sage.

“You came?”

His voice was brighter than I expected.

Perhaps Shin Da-ye’s condition wasn’t too bad.

That was good news for me.

“Yes.”

“Ah, well… Da-ye hasn’t fully recovered yet, so she’s a bit anxious.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I’m still anxious too. But she insisted on seeing you, saying she had something to tell you…”

Sage trailed off.

He still seemed preoccupied with worrying about Shin Da-ye, who looked like a dried twig.

If he had seen the video the Representative posted, he would have at least mentioned it, but Sage said nothing about it.

The fandom and other people’s reactions seemed to be outside his current concerns.

“You don’t know what it’s about?”

At my question, Sage nodded weakly with a faint smile.

“Not at all. She said she absolutely had to tell you first…”

He gently opened the closed hospital room door.

A pure white room filled with the smell of disinfectant.

A woman who looked thin and sick, no different from when she was rescued from the abandoned building.

When our eyes met, she bowed her head as if greeting me, and after returning the greeting, I turned to Sage and Sung Tae-jun.

“Could I speak with Miss Shin Da-ye alone for a moment?”

Sage’s eyes shook violently.

He looked back and forth between me and Shin Da-ye, unable to hide his bewildered expression.

“…Do you absolutely have to talk one-on-one? I’m worried…”

“Yes, there’s something I need to discuss with Miss Shin Da-ye privately.”

Sage, who had been hesitating while looking at Shin Da-ye, finally nodded.

Sung Tae-jun did the same.

Soon after the two men left, the hospital room door closed.

As I approached the chair next to Shin Da-ye’s bed, the woman who had been trembling slightly greeted me once more.

“I… I want to thank you first.”

Though her voice was infinitely small and trembling, Shin Da-ye spoke each word with emphasis.

She was someone who had been rescued from hell just a few days ago.

Even the IV line inserted into her prominently visible veins seemed burdensome to her.

“It’s fine.”

“…Still. That day… ah…”

Shin Da-ye panted and swallowed as if trying to control some emotion welling up inside her.

“That day, when you saved me… really, truly… th-thank… huh…”

Now, as if overwhelmed by emotion, transparent droplets flowed down her gaunt face.

I took out a handkerchief from my pocket and handed it to Shin Da-ye.

She buried her face in the handkerchief for a long time, swallowing her sobs, before barely managing to speak again.

“…There’s something I absolutely want to tell you.”

Her voice was noticeably firmer than before.

Shin Da-ye, who had stopped crying, looked up at me with an anxious expression, her shoulders trembling.

In that strange silence that followed, even time seemed to flow slowly.

“I’m telling you this with my life on the line.”

Finally, the woman opened her mouth in a whisper-like voice.

“…It’s true. Really, I’ve already given up on debuting and… Kang… Kang Hwan-pil might kill me.”

Kang Hwan-pil.

Finally, that name.

From the recording sent through Sage’s smart watch to even Nova.

It was a name that had appeared countless times.

“You don’t need to stake your life on it.”

Even at my sudden words, the woman shook her head anxiously.

I spoke again as if making a firm declaration.

“He won’t be able to kill you.”

“…Can you promise me that?”

“Depending on the circumstances.”

Shin Da-ye moved her lips briefly as if at a loss for words.

However, she soon seemed to make a silent decision as she reached out and pointed to a yellow document envelope placed on the drawer beside the bed.

“…That.”

Shin Da-ye whispered in a voice that sounded choked.

“The secret I’ve been hiding… that…”

Her fingertips touched the document envelope.

“It’s a list.”

A list.

The very one that might mention the Representative of Elus Entertainment and Hwan, perhaps even Kang Hwan-pil and Kim Wan-gil.

“…Everything that happened… is here…”

Shin Da-ye, bursting into tears again, handed me the document envelope.

“With just this, we can put all those people away.”

“…”

“Please help me.”

That was Shin Da-ye’s choice.

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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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