The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 7

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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 7

 

 

“…Have you ever done litigation before?”

 

In my previous life.

 

“Probably not.”

“…Probably? What about legal documents?”

“I can write them with my eyes closed.”

 

There was no way to know what Sung Tae-hyun’s skill level was.

Still, being from Haeil, it wouldn’t make sense if he couldn’t write legal documents.

As for litigation, since I couldn’t know if he had attended any, that answer was the best option.

 

Me? I wasn’t lying.

I can write legal documents with my eyes closed.

The specter of the past, when I had to constantly create sentences for court judgments and reports without rest, wouldn’t easily disappear.

 

Besides, more simply,

I could just type it out.

 

“I like your confidence.”

 

As if he had never acted like a madman, my senior was consistently kind throughout.

The gleaming light in his eyes had subsided, and it now looked like he was conducting an interview in front of someone else’s law firm building.

 

And it was Haeil at that.

 

A first-year lawyer from a law firm that might be his longtime nemesis was standing before him, having abandoned a salary worth nearly two hundred million won.

Indeed, my senior also seemed a bit awkward as he kept scratching the back of his head.

 

“This is really… awkward.”

 

At least he was honest.

Looking at Ho-shin senior, who overlapped with his past image, I spoke gently.

 

“Don’t you have any more questions?”

“The salary will probably be quite lacking… compared to Haeil, I mean.”

“Yes.”

“From what I hear, they pay quite a lot.”

 

Of course they do.

Well, the law office that Ho-shin senior was running was actually closer to one I’d never even heard of.

 

Law Firm Ilchul.

It was a name that showed signs of considerable thought, but unfortunately, I had never heard of it.

It had been a while since I’d encountered a law firm that didn’t even show up in portal site searches.

 

At that point, I gave up any expectation that my senior would pay a high salary.

It would be more accurate to say I never had such expectations.

 

“You don’t need to match Haeil’s offer.”

“Hmm….”

“As I mentioned, I’m not looking to change jobs because of money.”

 

If money were the issue, I would have stayed at Haeil.

At this point, there’s no law firm that pays as much as Haeil.

 

But what I want isn’t something trivial like money.

Anyway, as long as I work as a lawyer, I’ll earn much more than when I worked at the court.

 

Because I’ll make it happen.

 

“Lawyer Sung Tae-hyun.”

“Yes.”

“Our office is much smaller compared to Haeil. And I also have things to do, so I’m often away from the office.”

 

It was just as Lim Do-hyuk had said.

He said he couldn’t stay in the office every day because he was busy following Park Ji-hwan around.

 

Rather, it piqued my interest.

Why he was doing something so openly that could get him reported.

If he needed evidence, he could have worked without Park Ji-hwan knowing.

 

“Don’t you plan to return properly?”

 

This was the condition I had set for Ilchul.

The old man, who had been staring at me intently for a moment, continued speaking.

 

“I do. You’re still just a first-year child, so these words probably don’t resonate much with you….”

“….”

“What would a legal professional do after leaving the legal world? It’s what I’ve done my whole life.”

 

A legal professional cannot live apart from the legal world.

 

It wasn’t just a story about profession.

It was a story about life.

 

I silently nodded my head.

 

“You really… resemble Wook-han a lot.”

 

As if reminiscing, the old man who had been looking at me opened his mouth again.

 

“So I’ll speak comfortably too.”

“Please go ahead.”

“You said you want Cheondong’s downfall?”

 

Ho-shin senior had changed.

 

Even I, who had been holed up only in the court, had changed, so it wasn’t strange that he had changed too.

However, the words that came out of his mouth were not what I would have expected from Senior Ho-shin.

 

“Prove it.”

 

The Old Man’s eyes began to gleam fiercely again.

 

“I won’t lie. I still don’t trust Lawyer Sung Tae-hyun.”

 

Senior Ho-shin used to trust people easily.

When we lived in Goshi Village, and even after entering the Court, he was like that.

But the current him was different from the previous Senior Ho-shin I knew.

 

“I understand.”

 

At my words, Senior Ho-shin burst into hearty laughter.

 

“Prove it. Your abilities, I mean.”

 

Senior Ho-shin looked straight into my eyes and began speaking, emphasizing each word.

 

“Three cases without my help.”

 

In a normal situation, this would be insane.

 

No matter how uninterested he was in the Office, still.

Telling a first-year associate to handle cases on their own without a Partner Lawyer?

 

“Of course, I’ll receive final reports on each case, but handle everything yourself.”

 

The words “crazy bastard” almost slipped out, so I pressed my lips tightly shut.

 

“Whether Haeil sent you to completely destroy me.”

“…”

“Or whether you’ll really become the spark that burns down Cheondong with me.”

“…”

“If you can’t do it, say so now.”

 

Senior Ho-shin spoke provocatively.

 

If I were really a first-year lawyer, maybe not, but naturally this was easy for me.

Rather, trusting me just by proving my abilities – wasn’t this practically free?

 

Even after all this, Senior Ho-shin was still such a kind person.

 

“I’ll show you for certain.”

“Good, I like that.”

 

Senior slowly turned his body.

It seemed quite a bit of time had passed.

 

“That arrogant talk about my return – we’ll discuss that after your proof is finished.”

“As much as you want.”

 

It was an interview that wasn’t even funny.

 

* * *

 

Lim Do-hyuk, who seemed like he would never let Sung Tae-hyun go, surprisingly backed down obediently.

 

‘Do you think it’ll be easy for you to make a living after leaving Haeil?’

 

Of course, he did spout curse-like words, but I didn’t pay attention to them.

Kim Jin-woo from Haeil’s M&A Team, who had been my direct Partner Lawyer, also didn’t hold me back for long.

He believed that the first-year lawyer who abandoned Haeil would eventually return, so he just added one more comment.

 

‘Tell me when you need it. I’ll make sure you can come back.’

 

Come to think of it, even though Sung Tae-hyun was a pushover, he seemed to have earned trust.

 

After setting the start date to begin working with Senior Ho-shin at Law Firm Ilchul, everything proceeded smoothly.

 

From giving up my room and renting a new Officetel near Ilchul to packing up my things from Haeil, it felt like less than a week had passed.

During that short time, other Lawyers from the Branch Office constantly visited my small Office.

 

It didn’t seem to be out of sadness, but probably because their workload increased quite a bit with one pushover disappearing.

Either way, it wasn’t my concern.

 

The problem was this side.

 

[Mother: Tae-hyun~ my son^^]

 

“…Hah…”

 

My heart was pounding from the newly popped-up message notification.

 

How long had it been since I felt this kind of feeling?

It seemed like never once since Mother passed away.

 

From the beginning, I and the existence called family didn’t go well together.

Living alone and repeating the cycle of home, Court, home, Court wasn’t too bad either.

 

[Mother: No reply from our son^^~ Mom made Braised Short Ribs~]

 

“…Should I reply, or not.”

 

While I was contemplating, another message notification rang.

 

[Mother: Sleep at home this week^^ Mom will make more delicious food~]

 

…This makes it a bit difficult to refuse.

 

Sung Tae-hyun doesn’t seem to have a bad relationship with his family.

 

It was the same when I checked his account before.

Judging by how most of the salary that came in was withdrawn under Mother’s name, it seemed like Sung Tae-hyun was almost entirely responsible for supporting the family.

 

“…Sung Tae-hyun…”

 

I let out a long breath and glared at the diary with the large Haeil Law Firm logo engraved on it.

 

Even after that day, the diary often contained ‘tomorrow’s’ events written in Sung Tae-hyun’s handwriting.

They were trivial matters like having a meeting with Kim Jin-woo or finally submitting a legal opinion.

 

Only the dead Sung Tae-hyun would know the criteria for what future events get written, but there was one thing I had specifically confirmed.

 

‘Whatever is written in the diary will definitely happen.’

 

Just like it had predicted the meeting with Senior Ho-shin, even if minor details could be adjusted, major events would definitely occur.

 

Except for anything about Mother.

 

“…But to say that nothing about family or friends gets written…”

 

The criteria are ambiguous.

 

Lim Do-hyuk isn’t a friend, but things like him visiting Sung Tae-hyun’s house again on the day he announced his resignation or receiving texts about class reunions were written in the diary.

 

Thanks to Sung Tae-hyun’s terrible handwriting describing both situations and emotions, I had awkwardly gotten through several incidents.

 

“It would be so nice if you’d roughly write about family relationships too.”

 

But Sung Tae-hyun’s diary didn’t seem to have any intention of doing that.

Still, I couldn’t throw away this diary that only gave me selective information.

 

It was pitiful that I was looking into this diary every day when I should have burned it the moment I saw the large Haeil Law Firm logo stamped on it.

 

“If you’re only going to give such trivial help, you shouldn’t have appeared in the first place.”

 

The diary didn’t respond to my critical muttering.

Instead, only another text from ‘Mother’ came up.

 

[Mother: Son~ Aren’t you going to answer me? You’re coming, right~? I miss you~~~]

 

They say it’s better to get beaten quickly.

My memories of my mother are so old that I’m reluctant to even dig them up again.

But it might not be the same for Sung Tae-hyun.

 

‘Since she wants it this much.’

 

I thought playing the role of a son once wouldn’t be that difficult.

Sung Tae-hyun is dead, but maybe he’s not really dead.

I confirmed my own death with my own eyes, so that’s one thing.

 

…In a world where even people’s bodies can change, maybe Sung Tae-hyun is trapped in this diary.

 

[…]

 

Of course, the diary had no answer.

I put the diary down with unnecessary force and replied to Mother’s text.

 

[Yes, I’m coming.]

[Mother: Good^^ You made the right choice. Come for lunch~]

 

How hard could playing the role of a son once be?

 

* * *

 

I admit it.

Playing the unplanned role of a son was difficult.

I didn’t even know the address of that house to begin with.

The address of that house where Mother lives.

 

But I was reluctant to call Mother and ask.

I had no choice but to call the least difficult person from Sung Tae-hyun’s contact list.

 

-Address?

“Yes.”

-Are you… asking me for your own family home address right now?

 

Lim Do-hyuk sighed as if bewildered.

 

“Yes. I can’t remember.”

 

Since I, a junior lawyer, had suddenly quit, Lim Do-hyuk’s workload had probably increased too, as his voice didn’t sound good.

Sung Tae-hyun’s haggard face that I saw on the first day I woke up in his body probably looked similar to his now.

 

Well, it didn’t matter anyway.

Besides, Sung Tae-hyun, who had been wasting away despite having a handsome face, started glowing the moment he quit Haeil.

So much so that it was bewildering every time I looked in the mirror.

 

-Crazy… crazy bastard…

 

So I didn’t bother responding to Lim Do-hyuk’s muttering.

After waiting a moment, somehow Lim Do-hyuk came up with a proper answer.

 

– XX District XX Neighborhood XX Apartment, Building 101, Unit 2304.

“Thank you, senior.”

-Sigh… Anything else you want to ask?

 

Kind bastard.

 

“How did you know my family home address?”

 

I just asked casually, but Lim Do-hyuk remained silent.

This guy, did he really stalk me or something.

After about 5 seconds of silence, Lim Do-hyuk finally managed to answer.

 

-You told me yourself, idiot.

 

To think he’d blabber personal information, especially his family home address, to a company colleague.

No matter how I think about it, Sung Tae-hyun is quite a peculiar person.

Even though I wake up in his body every day and see the world through his eyes, there’s something unknowable about him.

 

“Then I’m hanging up.”

-Hey, wait! You…!

 

I ended the call on my mobile phone. That was already an hour ago.

 

The apartment where Sung Tae-hyun’s ‘Mother’ lived alone was located not far away.

It was a bit much to call it spitting distance, but the apartment about ten minutes away by car was a much more organized place than where I had lived in my previous life.

 

“…Ha.”

 

However, by this point, the apartment’s exterior wasn’t registering in my eyes.

I couldn’t even distinguish whether the heart that had been pounding violently since earlier was Sung Tae-hyun’s body’s memory or my own nervousness.

 

Mother.

It’s an awkward word to say.

 

How affectionate a family member had Mother been to Sung Tae-hyun, the one who offered braised short ribs and said she wanted to see him.

 

The burden was heavy.

Unlike at Haeil, excuses about memory loss or whatever didn’t seem like they would work.

 

How quickly would the family I had lost long ago notice Sung Tae-hyun’s changes.

It felt like something was grabbing my ankles and blocking me from moving.

 

“…”

 

The large fruit basket I had prepared by even stopping by a nearby fruit store just in case felt even heavier.

I awkwardly knocked on the door while holding the large basket decorated with a red ribbon.

Cold sweat trickled down below the back of my head.

For some reason, my lips, fixed in an awkward smile, trembled finely.

 

“Did Tae-hyun come?”

 

Beep-.

 

The door opened with a light electronic sound.

—————
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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