The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 63

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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 63

 

 

She slowly descended the stairs.

Behind her were several men in those same work clothes.

 

“Sung Tae-hyun-nim.”

 

The woman called my name with a trembling voice, as if she had been wounded.

 

“Yes.”

“I never imagined you were this kind of person.”

 

Is that so.

Growing up among fanatics must have really dulled her sense of reality.

A sigh escaped me naturally.

 

“Child abuse is a serious crime.”

“…”

 

The woman stared at my face intently for a moment, then turned her gaze to her brother who was leaning against the wall with a flushed face.

 

“You caused quite a disturbance.”

“Did I?”

“If your companion is captured by our side, would you believe it?”

 

…Has Manager Yoon Ha-young been caught?

 

There were quite a lot of people in this cult.

Even for Manager Yoon, it would have been difficult to escape easily.

 

Noh Hae-min froze, his face turning pale.

 

“So… I also have cards worth demanding negotiation from you.”

 

The woman bit her lips and glared at me.

 

“Would this make our conversation faster?”

“Fine.”

 

Noh Hae-min let out a sigh.

 

Who told him to barge in like this anyway.

What was Raymond even thinking.

 

Manager Yoon Ha-young’s judgment in realizing the situation was doomed at that point was accurate, but unfortunately, there were too many people.

 

“Please delete all the videos.”

 

The woman extended her hand toward me.

She must be asking for my mobile phone.

 

Since when had she been listening to my conversation with Kim Yo-han?

There were no CCTV cameras, but it seemed some wiretapping device had been installed.

 

“Before that.”

 

I said to the woman.

 

“Release my companions first.”

“No, the video first-“

“Elucia-nim.”

 

The woman looked up at me with a face flushed with anger.

 

“There’s one bad thing that could happen to Elucia-nim right now. Me escaping without deleting the video.”

“…”

“However, I and one of my companions are in front of you. Isn’t this kidnapping drama enough?”

 

I meant she should stop here and let Park Noah and Manager Yoon Ha-young go.

This many hostages should be sufficient.

Understanding my words, she bit her lips for a moment before nodding.

 

“Fine.”

 

She gave instructions to a few men in work clothes.

He spoke through the radio, telling them to release the woman and the child.

 

“…Is this enough?”

 

However, I shook my head. Elucia’s expression slightly twisted.

 

“More? I have no idea what you want-“

“Let me confirm it first.”

“…Are you saying you don’t trust me right now-“

“In situations like this, one doesn’t trust anyone.”

 

In the end, the woman couldn’t break my stubbornness.

 

Leaving Kim Yo-han behind, Noh Hae-min and I walked to the entrance of the religious order, surrounded by men in work clothes.

Elucia was the same.

She glared at the back of my head intensely throughout the walk.

 

“…Is this acceptable?”

 

I could see Manager Yoon Ha-young and Park Noah, who was still asleep, in front of me.

 

Manager Yoon was holding the child with her usual indifferent expression.

After confirming they had exited through the main gate, Elucia extended her hand toward me again.

 

“I’ll delete them myself, so please give me your mobile phone.”

 

I readily handed over my mobile phone to her.

She carefully examined the photo album, deleted all the videos and photos, then went into the folder to delete them completely once more.

 

“If you think this will be the end of it, you’re mistaken.”

 

The woman whispered as she returned my mobile phone to me.

 

“You are now an enemy of the entire Kardia Cult.”

“I see.”

 

I took back my mobile phone and put it in my pocket.

 

“Aren’t you afraid?”

“Well, not really.”

 

The woman bit her lips.

Noh Hae-min gently tugged at the hem of my clothes from behind, as if trying to stop me.

As expected, he was the person with the most properly installed moral compass in our law office.

 

“I don’t know about others, but…”

“…”

“Park Mu-hyun won’t just let this slide.”

 

When I spoke as if warning her, the woman glared at me while hiding her slightly trembling hands.

 

“Are you really going to report this?”

“Yes. I’m planning to help the child’s mother regain custody.”

“…You’ll regret it.”

 

Regret.

It was something I’d heard quite a few times in my life.

Though I never expected to hear it from a fanatic cult like this.

 

“Then that would be God’s will too.”

 

It was a way of saying “mind your own business.”

The woman, who was familiar with this kind of indirect speech, bit her lips.

Perhaps feeling insulted, her eyelashes fluttered and trembled.

 

Looking at her like this, she seemed to resemble Kim Yo-han, the cult leader.

In a different sense from the Sung Tae-hyun and Sung Tae-jun brothers, that side was also quite a dysfunctional family.

 

“Leave.”

 

The woman slowly turned around.

The men in stiff work clothes made way for her.

 

“Park Mu-hyun Cerius will accept God’s trial.”

 

Until the very end.

Shifting the blame for her own mistakes onto God.

From a fanatic’s perspective, it was certainly a convenient method.

 

“Haha.”

 

I couldn’t help but laugh.

The woman continued to glare at me.

The door creaked as if it would close soon.

 

As I walked out through the main gate with Noh Hae-min, I suddenly asked the woman.

 

“What’s your real name?”

 

I felt like I’d heard it before, but I’d forgotten since it wasn’t important.

The woman looked surprised for a moment, widening her eyes, then opened her mouth to reveal her real name.

 

“…Hel, Kim Rachel.”

 

I see.

 

What an interesting family indeed.

Yo-han and Rachel.

 

Their side is even more guilty of blasphemy.

 

* * *

 

“Let’s go to the hospital.”

 

Park Noah was lying on Deputy Manager Yoon Ha-young’s lap, fast asleep.

It was fortunate that he was breathing, but his physical condition didn’t look good at all.

 

“…Sung Tae-hyun.”

 

Lim Do-hyuk, who was gripping the steering wheel, cautiously spoke up.

 

“How about we think about this a bit first before doing anything?”

“About what?”

 

Inside the car was quiet.

Noh Hae-min and Deputy Manager Yoon Ha-young sitting in the back seat were also silent.

 

Perhaps because of this, Lim Do-hyuk’s words from the driver’s seat sounded even louder.

 

“…Well, getting involved in something like this is a bit concerning.”

“Ah.”

“For tonight, how about we let Noah sleep at my house, and think about reporting and other secondary matters tomorrow.”

 

You’re thinking about this all wrong.

Lim Do-hyuk was still weighing his options.

Maybe it was because he’d been raised too sheltered.

 

“Senior, do you remember that kid is your nephew?”

“…It’s not that I won’t take him to the hospital.”

 

This guy and that guy alike.

They couldn’t escape from Lim Sang-jin’s shadow.

Seeing him react this much, Lim Sang-jin must have contacted him.

 

“Noah doesn’t look seriously injured on the outside.”

“So, you want to bury this?”

 

Lim Do-hyuk closed his mouth for a moment.

To think he was calculating gains and losses even in this situation.

There was a reason Sung Tae-hyun had disliked him.

 

“…Father contacted me.”

“What did he say.”

“…He said not to stir up a hornet’s nest.”

 

Lim Do-hyuk licked his dry lips several times as he chose his words.

He seemed ashamed of himself for saying such things.

 

Of course.

If you keep spouting nonsense, you eventually stop recognizing it as nonsense.

That’s human nature.

 

“…Park Mu-hyun’s side said they’d send a custody waiver agreement.”

 

They must have been really desperate.

How long had it been since he escaped the cult, and they were already making such contact.

 

…It must have been Lim Sang-jin’s idea. It was obvious without even seeing it.

 

“Senior, do you remember when I told you to think straight?”

“….”

 

Dawn was already breaking.

In that damned basement, even the sense of time had disappeared.

It had been too dark.

 

How long had Park Noah been trapped there?

Since the day Lim Do-i had seen him?

Well, whenever it started, it was a serious crime.

 

“You call yourself Haeil’s successor? There’s more than one or two people who act brainless when it comes to family matters.”

“….”

“…I just, hey. Tae-hyun.”

“What.”

“What sister wants is custody, right? If we can bury this quietly, let’s do that. That’s what I think.”

 

I was wrong.

I thought that whatever Lim Do-i’s intentions were, it wouldn’t be that.

Of course, that was assuming she didn’t know about the Cardia cult.

 

“Senior, get out.”

“What?”

“Pull over.”

 

He wasn’t even a child.

I didn’t have the energy to lecture an adult who was supposed to be Haeil’s successor.

 

Especially since I’d been held captive by a cult for days.

Lim Do-hyuk, who looked like he might rebel, obediently pulled the car over next to the sidewalk.

 

“…Sung Tae-hyun.”

“We’re near the office anyway, so senior can walk.”

“….”

“And.”

 

Lim Do-hyuk, who was unbuckling his seatbelt to get out, paused for a moment.

 

“What….”

“How long are you going to live being swayed by your father’s words?”

 

Lim Do-hyuk bit his lip.

 

In a way, this was child abuse too.

Just look at Lim Do-i.

 

It wouldn’t be easy to escape abuse that had been like brainwashing since childhood.

But Lim Sang-jin had gone too far.

Especially in the sense that I had caught him at it.

 

“You’re not even a child.”

 

Lim Do-hyuk, who looked like he might argue back, sighed as if deflated.

Then he got out of the car completely.

I was the one who took the driver’s seat again.

 

Before stepping on the accelerator, I said one last thing to Lim Do-hyuk walking on the dark sidewalk where dawn light was beginning to settle.

 

“Senior.”

“….”

“Get your head straight and try taking Haeil away from Lim Sang-jin.”

“You….”

“Then who knows? What might happen.”

 

The window closed.

 

* * *

 

“Sob…”

 

It had already been several hours. Lim Do-i was crying.

I had come to find her as soon as morning came to explain the situation from the past few days.

 

“Noah… sob…”

 

That’s right, the mobile phone too.

The woman cried for a long time, unable to continue speaking.

 

A little while ago.

After dropping Lim Do-hyuk off on an empty sidewalk, I turned the car around and headed to the emergency room.

It was to fully assess Park Noah’s condition and also to report to the police.

 

“Full body contusions, and there are signs of concussion too. He has a fever as well. The elevated body temperature seems to be related to dehydration.”

“I see.”

“Overall, he avoided serious trauma, but it would have been dangerous if he had been left like this any longer.”

 

They also said that Park Noah’s inability to wake up as if he were sleeping was due to severe shock.

I didn’t want to tell Lim Do-i everything, but she seemed to already know to some extent.

 

“Sob… Do-hyuk…”

“Yes.”

“Do-hyuk, he… said…”

 

I see.

It seems Lim Do-hyuk properly understood what I said earlier.

 

Though I’m not sure if Lim Do-hyuk, who has clearly lived as an obedient child, has the confidence to stand up to Lim Sang-jin.

 

“I reported to the police immediately, so there will be an investigation for child abuse.”

“Sob… What about Noah…? Where is Noah now…?”

“He’s at the hospital now. He’s receiving inpatient treatment.”

 

I waited for the woman to stop crying.

 

How long did I wait?

The woman, whose tears gradually began to stop, wiped her face as if embarrassed.

 

“I’m sorry, lawyer. I keep showing you only this kind of behavior.”

“It’s alright.”

 

Isn’t that also part of a legal professional’s fate?

The woman with a pale, sunken face opened her mouth.

 

“Will Park Mu-hyun… be punished?”

“Yes.”

 

Just before I escaped from that cult, Elucia had meticulously deleted the photos from my photo album.

But there was also evidence that Deputy Manager Yoon Ha-young had already collected.

Most importantly, my phone photo album was synced with cloud storage and automatically saved.

 

“Then, then…”

“Ms. Lim Do-i.”

“Ah… yes.”

 

My mind was full of multiple scenarios.

Either way, I had no intention of letting this slide quietly.

 

“The place where Park Noah was found is in the basement of a cult called Cardia.”

“…Gasp…”

 

I handed a handkerchief to Lim Do-i, who had started crying again, and asked a question.

 

“Did you know that Park Mu-hyun was a member of such a cult?”

—————
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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