The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 44

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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 44

When those in power want to bury an incident.

There are typically two methods they use.

Power and money.

Even the media, which would normally be in an uproar, stays quiet before them.

There’s a reason for the saying about picking your battles based on who you’re dealing with.

However.

“Oh my, did you also receive that message, Attorney Jo In-gyu?”

I looked at him with an expression of deep regret.

“…Attorney Sung Tae-hyun. This is…”

He read the message that had arrived on my phone several times.

For a seasoned attorney to lose his composure like this.

Well, he seemed quite flustered.

“…Attorney Sung, I never thought you’d stab someone in the back like this.”

His voice dropped to a dangerously low tone.

It was the first time I’d seen him look so bewildered.

I put on an innocent expression to defend myself.

Sung Tae-hyun’s face was convenient in that sense.

With such a handsome face, he didn’t look like a bad person no matter what he did.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m a bad guy.

“What do you mean, stab in the back?”

I said this while glancing at the message on the mobile phone he was holding.

[FROM. ‘404 not found’]

The message was sent at just the right time.

Since I hadn’t memorized everyone on the list, I didn’t know Jo In-gyu was included.

I thought at most Kim Wan-gil would go wild, but Jo In-gyu got caught too.

Birds of a feather flock together, but even Haeil alumni aren’t much different.

“If you come out like this, it’ll really be dangerous.”

“The one in danger seems to be you, Manager Jo In-gyu.”

What I instructed 404 to do was simple.

Send messages to everyone included on Nexarum Bio’s list.

I gave 404 an opportunity. Just as Hwan had requested.

“Sung Tae-hyun!”

Jo In-gyu’s hands trembled violently as he shouted, seemingly having lost his reason.

Power and money.

And honor.

Things everyone desired but that could easily disappear.

“How unfortunate. Attorney Jo In-gyu.”

I spoke to Jo In-gyu, whose face had turned bright red as he gasped for breath.

“Of course, I wasn’t involved in that message, so I don’t know much about it.”

“…You, you… bad bastard…!”

“I heard there are even videos of you doing terrible things to drugged victims.”

“Sung Tae-hyun!”

“Oh my, if this gets released to the public… I wonder where the public’s blade will turn…”

I deliberately smiled slowly.

Jo In-gyu’s face was pale blue as he struggled to maintain his composure.

“If you keep denying it, this will become a very big problem.”

Once a tower collapses, it’s not easy to rebuild it.

“I think I’d turn myself in out of shame.”

“Sung Tae-hyun-!”

Jo In-gyu shouted loudly again.

It was loud enough that Noh Hae-min and Deputy Yoon Ha-young, who had been watching from outside, came rushing in.

“My hearing isn’t gone yet.”

“You, you bastard. Someday I’ll definitely get you…!”

Red blood vessels bulged in Jo In-gyu’s whites.

To him, whose eyes were bloodshot and about to burst, I kindly showed the way out.

“Before that, you’ll have to choose whether to turn yourself in or have the videos released.”

Humans who mistake themselves for ruling from the heavens sometimes.

Crumble at even the slightest breeze.

* * *

A few days ago.

[Next Scheduled Wipe: 6 days 23 hours 59 minutes]

It was the day Hwan inserted the authentication key.

[D-■…]

The writing in Sung Tae-hyun’s diary, which had stopped as if updating, was painted pitch black.

And then.

[D-6]

“Good grief.”

I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh at the newly carved letters.

Sung Tae-hyun, isn’t this guy crazy?

“What’s so funny?”

The man who hadn’t left yet asked.

Hwan was staring at me intently with dark eyes, as if gauging something.

“Nothing.”

He didn’t seem to believe my words though.

Anyway, that bastard Sung Tae-hyun had been sounding the system deletion alarm from the very beginning.

It was an absurdly ridiculous conclusion that I hadn’t noticed until now.

“I have a favor to ask.”

Hwan’s lips opened again, as if his calculations were finished.

He had already handed over the authentication key with his own hands, yet the favor came later.

Either he had no intention of negotiating.

Or he was a completely failed negotiator, one of the two.

“Go ahead.”

Still, I asked kindly.

After all, I found Hwan admirable for coming all the way here despite the danger.

He had brought the evidence that almost got wiped out with his own hands.

This much was Korean sentiment, I suppose.

“….”

Hwan looked at me silently.

His darkly sunken eyes wavered for some unknown reason.

It was quite an unfamiliar sight, having only seen his ruthless side until now.

He showed me a series of English words and symbols written by hand on paper.

“…A link?”

“Yes, a link. It’s single-use.”

What kind of link would he bring written by hand?

However, at the top of that link, there was a word written first whose meaning I couldn’t understand.

[404 not found]

“What’s this… isn’t this an error code?”

“That’s correct too.”

Hwan spoke calmly. I couldn’t tell what he wanted.

An error code written on a small note.

“That’s what I’d like to ask of you.”

Seeing my face full of questions, the man slowly opened his mouth.

It was a tone that had been deliberating until the very end.

“I’ll probably serve a prison sentence.”

That was obvious.

Even if he turned himself in, he was still trash.

Even if he handed over the entire system and evidence to me, he was still part of the axis of evil.

What he had already done wouldn’t disappear.

“You will.”

At my answer, he smiled faintly.

“You said you’d fuck them all over, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“One more thing on top of that.”

The man pointed to the mysterious note he had given me.

“That’s a single-use access link. After we access it once from this side, the link will be discarded, and I won’t be able to find it again either.”

“I see.”

“…If needed, they’ll probably contact you from that side.”

How?

Reading my expression, the man burst into laughter.

Surprisingly, it was an unfamiliar face, enough to make me forget that cold first impression.

“Please help that kid then. What that kid says is needed. No matter how skilled that kid is, they probably can’t break into the Ministry of National Defense system.”

“…What did you say?”

“A hacker. Not well-known, but. A hacker skilled enough to protect themselves adequately.”

I don’t understand what he’s talking about.

Why should I help such a hacker?

Generally, I didn’t get along with people from that side.

“It’s not in the records, but it’s my younger sibling.”

Ah.

Only then did I realize that Hwan was being sincere.

And that there had been an accomplice in the countless things he had done so far.

“What do you mean it’s not in the records?”

“I deleted it before getting involved in this side. Of course, I had the opportunity to do so. It’s a long story to tell.”

Meaning I don’t need to know.

My interest was piqued.

“You just need to receive contact. That kid knows enough, so they won’t make dangerous contact.”

“….”

“At most, they’ll ask about news of me rotting away in a prison cell. And.”

“Please continue.”

“Just in case, I’m telling you this, but that kid is trapped anyway.”

What does that mean?

Hwan added without hesitation.

“Of course, you won’t be able to find that kid… but it means efforts to catch them would be useless.”

That much, at least.

I answered with a smile hanging on the corner of my mouth.

“What about compensation?”

He probably didn’t expect me to bring up compensation right away. Hwan closed his mouth for a moment.

“Sometimes that kid will be able to help you.”

“With what?”

“Things that are better done without getting your hands dirty.”

They would do behind-the-scenes work.

When I was a judge, I didn’t need such things.

But now.

Well… it would be good to keep several possibilities open.

Even if it shows.

“Alright.”

That was the deal between Hwan and me.

It was a request I could have easily refused, but I didn’t.

Since he said they were ‘trapped’ anyway.

And.

[404 not found]

Instead of Hwan who had gone to the police station on his own, I accessed that link.

On an empty white screen, there was nothing but a single blinking cursor.

[ME]: Hello.

When I gave a typical Korean greeting, a quick response arrived within seconds.

[404]: Lawyer Sung Tae-hyun?

They already knew.

I wasn’t surprised.

When Hwan gave me the link, they must have already discussed it.

[404]: Hahaha you found your way here well

It was an extremely casual tone.

They said they were trapped somewhere, but could it be that they’re trapped in middle school syndrome?

When I didn’t respond, 404 sent messages even faster.

The speed was so fast it looked like they were typing them out in advance.

[404]: I heard you have a suspicious personality, how about this?

[404]: I’ll help you first.

[404]: I’ll prove my usefulness with that, and you can be my hands and feet sometimes?

[404]: How about it? Deal?

What does it mean to be their hands and feet?

Frustrated by my lack of response, 404 sent several more messages that filled the white screen.

[404]: I’m actually quite useful, you know?

[404]: Ugh, why won’t you answer meㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[404]: I’ll really only ask for super easy stuff sometimes ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

They were just like a child.

There was a reason for Hwan’s concern.

[404]: It’s not free though

[404]: Ah please answer quickly really I won’t ask for much really promise

It was definitely a child.

[ME]: Sounds good.

Whatever way they approached me, since they said they were trapped, it would be difficult to apply physical force.

The request to become their ‘hands and feet’ must have been in that sense too.

If things seemed to go wrong, I could just cut ties.

It’s not like this kid was the only hacker around.

So this was like the final payment for Hwan, who had offered me the system.

[404]: Wow!!!!!! OK OK OK let’s do it right now what should we start with? The Nexaroom System is done, should we spread the videos?

At that moment, I thought this 404 and I might communicate quite well.

[ME]: Nexaroom Bio List

[404]: Ahhhh that one OK OK I have it right now should we spread it?

The problem was they were a bit childish though.

[ME]: Let’s start with the people on that list.

That was the beginning.

After the press conference ended, following Lee Na-yoon’s impulsive actions, articles refuting the allegations poured out like rain.

Excluding Kang Hwan-pil, who had already fled and cut off contact, the main characters from the list mentioned in the articles Lee Na-yoon had boldly written came forward one after another with their own articles.

Most of them were denials.

The majority came out strongly, saying they wouldn’t hesitate to engage in legal battles.

[404 not found]

I stared at the page of the disappeared link, just like the nickname.

As Hwan had said, it was a one-time link, and it hadn’t been accessible again since that day.

The fact that they would contact me if needed meant they knew my contact information.

“Under normal circumstances, this would have been easily buried…”

There’s nothing that can’t be buried with power and money.

Generally speaking.

However, very occasionally, exceptions exist.

The 48 hours 404 mentioned had passed.

Videos of those who had denied the ‘Nexaroom Gate’ list.

Started spreading like wildfire, centered around the Anonymous Community Board.

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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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