The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 42

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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 42

 

 

“Hyung! Wait!”

 

Sung Tae-jun looked slightly pale.

I didn’t think I was walking that fast.

 

Before I could wonder about it, he grabbed my shoulder while breathing heavily.

 

“Did you consider what I said?”

 

What words.

My expression must have been telling, because Sung Tae-jun let out a long sigh even though I hadn’t answered.

 

“I told you to wait. First, they’ll contact us from their side-“

 

Ah, those words.

 

Of course Sung Tae-jun had said something like that.

It was when we met Shin Da-ye’s attending physician.

 

I just hadn’t listened carefully.

I really hate waiting, you see.

 

When I tilted my head slightly and met Sung Tae-jun’s gaze, his expression crumpled.

 

“Hyung, I’m being serious.”

“I’m being serious too.”

 

Countless calculations ran through my head.

 

Sung Tae-jun was a troublesome guy.

He had done quite well when confronting Hwan in the abandoned building, but the fact that he was Sung Tae-hyun’s family bothered me.

 

Since I couldn’t know what kind of existence he was to Sung Tae-hyun, it would be troublesome to get involved with him more than necessary.

 

“Orders came down from the superiors.”

 

Did he not know that I was weighing his usefulness?

Sung Tae-jun had quite a serious expression.

 

“They said to halt the investigation.”

 

Was it that level of a case?

 

Well, the documents in the system that Kim Wan-gil had tried to completely destroy were enormous.

Nexarum Bio’s illegal drug experiments that had been conducted underwater for several years.

It was an experiment that constantly overturned drugs with effects similar to narcotics, for whatever purpose they intended to use them.

 

Moreover.

 

‘The people involved were enormous.’

 

In the case of key figures like politicians, it wasn’t a perfect list since they seemed to delete them periodically.

 

However, the cases of Elus Entertainment, Kim Wan-gil, and Kang Hwan-pil were clear.

The damned crimes committed by Nexarum Bio involved countless trainees that Kim Wan-gil had brought through NOVA’s scholarship system.

 

“That would be impossible.”

 

At my words, Sung Tae-jun’s straight eyebrows furrowed.

 

“Hyung.”

 

Orders from the superiors.

Digging into a case of this magnitude would certainly be burdensome.

 

I looked Sung Tae-jun over.

His voice, which seemed to worry about Sung Tae-hyun, carried sincerity.

 

“They could give such orders.”

“Hyung, I know what you’re thinking. But it’s too-“

“Dangerous?”

“…You know it and yet you’re doing this again.”

 

What more is there besides dying anyway?

Of course it would be dangerous.

Kim Wan-gil’s side would have already realized that Hwan had betrayed them.

 

‘Kang Hwan-pil is going to flee to San Francisco.’

 

Hwan had kindly informed me of his former master’s escape route.

 

‘He was hastily trying to get a plane ticket… but it won’t be easy with all his underlings having fled.’

‘…?’

‘Kang Hwan-pil is the type who won’t even brush his teeth with his own hands.’

 

The police would halt the investigation.

They would bury it as if it never existed.

It meant Kim Wan-gil’s influence was still working for now.

 

Even excluding Kang Hwan-pil who was supposedly fleeing to San Francisco, Hwan was in danger.

…And so was I.

 

Kim Wan-gil would already be chasing us.

 

“You should pull out.”

 

I removed Sung Tae-jun’s hand that had still been gripping my shoulder.

 

“Hyung.”

“I don’t know much about the police side, but if you’re in danger, just drop it.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about!”

“If they won’t let you investigate, then we just need to make it so they have to.”

 

What should I handle first.

My complicated mind became quiet in an instant.

 

Can’t investigate.

The superiors blocked it.

 

That could happen.

It was something that could happen, but at the same time it was too obvious.

 

“If you’re done talking, I’m leaving.”

 

I took out my mobile phone, leaving behind Sung Tae-jun who stood there in dismay.

 

* * *

 

“What the hell is that bastard doing!”

 

Bang-.

 

The mug in Kim Wan-gil’s hand fell to the ground with a loud crash.

Looking at the shattered fragments, Kim Sung-han, the head of Elus Entertainment, gulped down cold water.

 

“What’s he doing? He’s a damn bastard~”

 

At his voice that carried its usual rhythm, Kim Wan-gil trembled even more with rage.

 

How many minutes had he been shouting with his face red?

Kim Sung-han suddenly wondered if there was anyone else who had made Kim Wan-gil this angry.

 

“You’ll raise your blood pressure like that, stop it.”

“Blooood pressure? Blooood pressure? If you were worried about my blood pressure, you should have brought that brat’s contract!”

 

The voice filled with rage echoed loudly through the office full of broken fragments.

 

Old man, he’ll die like that, die.

If Kim Wan-gil died, it would be troublesome for him too.

 

Kim Sung-han opened his mouth while drinking his third bottle of cold water.

 

“What can we do if he won’t do it. We can’t drag him here and kill him.”

“If we could kill him, we should have!”

“Don’t you know we’re short-staffed? Geez. You’re supposedly the president but even I got called in to work. Congressman. Let’s get our heads straight.”

 

Kim Wan-gil’s face turned red as if it would burst at Kim Sung-han’s sly words.

 

“Hwan! How dare that bastard who deserves to be chewed up and spat out betray us?”

“That’s what happens when you use contractors carelessly. That’s why I said from the beginning we should hire them as regular employees.”

 

Kim Sung-han spoke as if he were a third party.

 

What did it matter anyway.

The stock price was already hitting rock bottom.

 

After the clarification video from Elus Entertainment aired, the stock price was plummeting beyond the bottom toward an abyss.

The board of directors was already in an uproar demanding Kim Sung-han’s expulsion.

 

“That bastard Kang Hwan-pil!”

“He probably thinks we’re only cutting ties with Nexarum. No one’s been reachable yet.”

“That damn son of a-“

“Calm down, Congressman. Huh? We still don’t know everything Hwan took. And who knows? Maybe Hwan didn’t betray us, maybe Kang Hwan-pil is booking him a plane ticket or something?”

 

Kim Wan-gil’s breathing was labored.

No matter how much he tried to calm down, he couldn’t.

 

Sung Tae-hyun.

The fact that his relationship with Park Ji-hyung was shattered to pieces was also that bastard’s fault.

 

Sung Tae-hyun.

For the past few months, Kim Wan-gil had gotten Sung Tae-hyun’s birth date and time, stuck it on the wall, and thrown dart tips at it.

 

When the paper became tattered with holes, he’d print out new paper and stick it up.

It was such a cursed name.

 

That damn rat bastard who kept gnawing at the reputation he’d built over decades.

 

“What about that bitch Lee Na-yoon?”

“Of course she’s not answering. Does that viper of a person have any interest in anything other than scoops.”

“Try throwing some money at her!”

“There are rumors she’s in that kind of relationship with Sung Tae-hyun, Congressman. We need to play a different hand instead of that one. What choice do we have.”

 

That was also a problem.

Kim Wan-gil swallowed the cough that burst out like a seizure.

After he coughed for a while with his shoulders heaving, Kim Sung-han approached and offered him a cold water bottle.

 

“Well, isn’t there anything you can think of? If they even took the authentication key, we’re really in big trouble.”

 

Kim Wan-gil’s hands trembled as Kim Sung-han still spoke as if it were someone else’s problem.

 

“…The system contractors.”

 

That was all he could think of.

 

The system created by Nexarum Bio to record illegal experiments.

The people who created that system could no longer be found.

Because Hwan eliminated it right after completion.

 

However, there was a contractor that continued maintenance.

 

“Didn’t Hwan do that too?”

“Th, this…! You stupid bastards! Did only that bastard Hwan do all the work? Why is everything Hwan!”

 

The main authentication key had been handed over, but system access was still possible.

The fact that system access was possible—a system that would explode completely if not authenticated every 7 days—meant that bastard Hwan had authenticated it.

 

By stealing the one and only authentication key.

 

“…Congressman, we’re not too late yet.”

 

Kim Sung-han’s voice grew even lower.

 

“I’m being serious now too. Huh? The other guys aside, you and I, Congressman, can’t get out of this. Even if a truck full of Haeil lawyers comes, we’re finished, you know?”

“…”

“Let’s find Hwan first. If we threaten to kill him, that bastard will listen even less, so we need to coax him gently.”

 

Kim Wan-gil’s lips pressed tightly together.

 

He slowly drew in a breath.

They say if you keep your wits about you, you can survive even entering a tiger’s den.

Moreover, Sung Tae-hyun wasn’t even a tiger.

 

Such a greenhorn.

Such a damn rat bastard.

 

Though he didn’t know how he had managed to win over Hwan.

Kim Wan-gil was willing to cut off Kang Hwan-pil’s throat if necessary to decorate Hwan’s house with it.

 

“…Manager Jo is already looking for him.”

“Manager Jo? Then that’s settled.”

 

Hwan, that crazy bastard, had worked under Kang Hwan-pil for a long time.

 

At first he was a contractor, and later he was a contractor treated like a regular employee.

He had said he eliminated anything that could become a weakness with his own hands.

Even so, there would surely be something.

 

“We need to bring him in. Or kill him.”

“…Yeah, that’s right.”

 

The calculator in Kim Sung-han’s head was spinning rapidly.

 

“Even in the worst-case scenario, what’s the big deal.”

 

Everyone dies.

Kim Sung-han’s eyes took on a bleak cast.

 

“Tell him to search thoroughly. While we’re at it…”

“…”

“It would be nice if Sung Tae-hyun was also found under the Han River Bridge.”

 

Hahahaha.

Calm laughter passed between them.

 

* * *

 

“…Where did you say?”

 

I was listening to the voice flowing from my mobile phone.

 

Strange.

When I checked the phone screen, the number Hwan had given me in advance appeared.

 

-Police station.

 

Police station?

 

-I’m telling you in advance, you’ll need to finish this properly.

 

Hwan’s voice lacked its usual inflection.

Judging by the bustling sounds, whether it was a police station or not, he was definitely outside.

 

“Don’t tell me you mean you’re going to hole up there in advance because you’re afraid Kim Wan-gil might kill you?”

 

Low laughter burst out.

Hwan found something so amusing that he kept laughing for a while.

 

-Exactly right. Lawyer Sung Tae-hyun.

 

This wasn’t even express delivery.

 

Hwan, who had self-delivered himself directly to the police station, was laughing nonchalantly.

 

For me, this was actually a good thing.

I had been thinking of asking him to do this in advance anyway.

 

It would be troublesome if Hwan got caught by Kim Wan-gil or his people.

I was now the only one who could control the system with the one and only authentication key.

 

But there’s no telling how humans might change when death approaches.

 

“Do you have any last words?”

 

I had already told him this before.

It was something I had said just in case, on the day Hwan brought me the authentication key.

 

“I won’t be taking on your defense.”

 

However.

As is typical of those in danger, I made one more firm declaration in case Hwan might reach out to me for help.

 

-I understand. Lawyer Sung Tae-hyun.

 

Even if he turned himself in, there was no way for Hwan to escape.

He had been Kang Hwan-pil’s actual right-hand man, and had been committing organized crimes involving Kim Wan-gil and even Ellus all this time.

 

Originally a drifter without a home, it wouldn’t be strange if he were arrested immediately.

 

-However, please… -.

 

So that was it.

Even this man who seemed like he wouldn’t bleed a drop if stabbed had an unexpected side.

 

“Is that all?”

-Yes.

 

Hwan’s answer was clean.

With such an important figure turning himself in, the police had no choice but to begin their investigation.

 

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of that much.”

 

The call ended.

Soon, exclusive articles under Lee Na-yoon’s name began appearing non-stop.

 

「[Exclusive] Nexarum Bio, Evidence of Illegal Drug Experiments on E Entertainment Trainees…」

「[Exclusive] Former Gang Member Accomplice Turns Self In, Investigation to Begin in Earnest?」

「[Exclusive] Missing Trainee Shin Da-ye Confesses to Being ‘Drug Experiment Victim’」

「[Exclusive] Suspicions Raised About NOVA-Elus Entertainment-Nexarum Bio Connections」

 

「Domestic bio company Nexarum collaborated with entertainment agency Ellus Entertainment (Representative: Kim Sung-han) to conduct illegal new drug experiments on trainees…(omitted)」

 

The bombs that Kim Wan-gil had tried to bury began exploding one after another.

—————
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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