The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 72

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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 72

 

 

Kim Ho-shin returned.

 

[And there’s also some welcome news.]

 

For once, Sung Tae-hyun’s Diary contained what seemed like joyful content, so I had some expectations.

 

“Attorney!”

 

The bright voices of children knocking on the office’s front door echoed out.

 

“…!”

“Wow, it’s really, really been so long!”

 

As soon as Noh Hae-min cheerfully opened the door, the children who rushed in immediately greeted Ho-shin Senior first. Running to me came after that.

 

“You guys-“

“Attorney Sung Tae-hyun too! We really missed you!”

 

Jung Seung-jun and Baek Jun-tae.

Both had much brighter expressions than before.

As I silently looked at them, Noh Hae-min stepped forward first and approached the children.

 

“Wow, what’s all this?”

“Grandfather told us to bring it to you!”

“It must have been really heavy.”

“Nah, it was fine! I carried it together with Jun-tae… Also, when Grandfather heard the rumor that Attorney Kim Ho-shin had come, he hurriedly packed this for us.”

 

Jung Seung-jun answered brightly as he struggled to move inside a box full of thick, vividly colored apples.

 

Baek Jun-tae was the same.

The shadowed appearance and aggressive behavior I had seen before were completely erased as if they had never existed.

 

“Come, sit over here, kids.”

 

As Noh Hae-min guided the children to the guest sofa,

Kim Ho-shin, who had stood up at some point, took a bite of an apple.

 

“Wow, as expected, our President Jung’s apples are the best.”

“Right!”

 

Jung Seung-jun smiled brightly and began chattering.

 

“After that incident, Grandfather said to bring all the pretty fruits to Attorney Sung Tae-hyun’s office.”

 

At the child’s words, Kim Ho-shin’s smiling gaze turned to me once.

 

“Really? Are you studying well?”

“Well, studying is…”

 

The boy who had been trailing off answered loudly again.

 

“But I’ve reflected a lot since that day.”

“You? What are you reflecting on?”

 

Noh Hae-min opened his already large eyes even wider in surprise.

 

“Jun-tae. I was scared too, but… after that incident, I made up with Jun-tae. I also realized what I had done wrong…”

 

I see. The shadow had disappeared from Baek Jun-tae’s face, and it seemed it was thanks to his returned friend after all.

 

Was I like that at that age too?

There was a time when friends felt like everything in the world.

 

“Really… back then, both Jun-tae and I… and Grandfather too…”

“….”

“We had a hard time for a while. Oh, but we were really happy when we won the case.”

 

Jung Seung-jun laughed with a clear face.

 

“We were really happy but… on the other hand, it was difficult. For a while, I was a bit scared to go outside…”

“That’s understandable.”

 

Noh Hae-min carefully patted Jung Seung-jun’s back.

He picked up rabbit-shaped carved apples with a fork and handed one each to Jung Seung-jun and Baek Jun-tae.

 

“But people around us helped us a lot…”

“Yeah.”

“Both Jun-tae and I received treatment… and took the medicine from the Psychiatry Department regularly. We’ve really gotten much better now.”

 

Sung Tae-hyun’s heart pounded.

 

“Park Hyung-il… I haven’t seen him since he was arrested…”

 

Jung Seung-jun made eye contact with his friend Baek Jun-tae beside him.

Then, as if he had gained courage again, he opened up.

 

“Jun-tae and I were questioned again too. Hehe.”

“Why didn’t you tell us!”

 

Noh Hae-min jumped up from his seat.

 

“No, it’s okay. This time I wasn’t cornered or anything… Grandfather and Jun-tae’s Mother all went together. Park Hyung-il already had too much evidence against him… um, they said his lawyer also changed direction to admitting guilt and showing remorse!”

“Weren’t you scared?”

 

At my words, Jung Seung-jun smiled brightly.

 

“Not at all. Now I have Jun-tae… and the misunderstanding was cleared up. Also…”

“Yeah.”

“Also… really…”

 

Jung Seung-jun slowly bowed his head in front of Noh Hae-min and me.

 

“…Thank you.”

 

Sung Tae-hyun’s heart pounded as if it would burst at any moment.

 

Yes, yes.

Isn’t it nice that my first case client came to visit like this?

 

When I pressed down on the area around my heart that was reacting on its own, I felt intense pounding.

 

“We’re the ones who are grateful. Seung-jun.”

 

Noh Hae-min gently patted the tops of Jung Seung-jun and Baek Jun-tae’s heads once each.

Ho-shin Senior was watching from a few steps away, smiling.

 

And.

 

“Um…”

 

It was when the children, who had been chattering for quite a while, were about to leave the office.

Baek Jun-tae, who had been following Jung Seung-jun out, quietly stopped walking.

The child hesitated as if he had something left to say.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

When Noh Hae-min asked kindly, Baek Jun-tae looked at Noh Hae-min’s face as if confirming something.

Next was my turn.

 

Is there some problem?

Just as I was about to ask, Baek Jun-tae bowed deeply at the waist.

 

“I’m sorry.”

“…!”

 

Noh Hae-min’s face was colored with confusion.

Even when he approached Baek Jun-tae and grabbed his shoulders, Baek Jun-tae remained firm.

 

“I really wanted to say this.”

“Jun-tae.”

“I’m sorry. Attorney Noh Hae-min… no, Hae-min hyung.”

“…!”

“…Attorney Sung Tae-hyun too.”

 

I can roughly guess.

As expected, that day’s events must have stayed on his mind.

 

“When you came to our house…”

 

Baek Jun-tae’s voice trembled as if holding back tears.

Jung Seung-jun, who had returned, was patting his back.

 

“I… shouldn’t have… rushed at you like that…”

 

That’s right.

That day, Baek Jun-tae had rushed at Noh Hae-min.

He had strangled him.

 

I wondered if he was checking something, and it turned out he was checking if there were still bruises or something from that day.

Goodness.

 

“It’s okay. Jun-tae.”

 

Noh Hae-min gently comforted and soothed the child.

 

“And Seung-jun too.”

“…”

“We’re all friends anyway. Right?”

 

It felt like some heartwarming background music should be playing.

 

What a beautiful scene under the brilliant chandelier lighting.

Baek Jun-tae, properly forgiven by Noh Hae-min, also approached me to apologize.

 

His trembling eyes were welling up as if he would cry at any moment.

 

“It’s okay.”

 

Of course, I hadn’t been strangled.

And Sung Tae-hyun’s back, which had struggled to stop Baek Jun-tae, was still young and sturdy.

 

At my quick response before he bowed his head again, Baek Jun-tae wiped his tears and walked out with Jung Seung-jun.

After a very long time, a forgotten emotion washed over me.

 

“Really… rewarding, isn’t it?”

 

Kim Ho-shin, who had approached at some point, muttered.

Rather than words directed at me, it seemed more like words directed at himself.

 

“This kind of thing. This is the charm of being a lawyer.”

 

Is he reminiscing about his past life as a judge?

 

No, let’s not think about it.

Ho-shin Senior’s past has flowed away, and reality is here.

 

“That’s right.”

 

Still, that answer at least was sincere.

 

* * *

 

A few days later.

 

Everyone from the office was taking profile photos at a nearby photo studio.

 

“Ahem, hmm. Should I try it like this?”

 

Kim Ho-shin struck an awkward pose.

He seemed very unfamiliar with himself properly dressed and with his hair neatly styled for the first time in a while.

 

“A more confident pose please~ Ah, that’s right! Nice.”

 

The photographer was encouraging him while adjusting the large camera lens.

 

“Hahaha, well, I’ll be. Back in the day, I used to take photos like this without any trouble.”

 

Kim Ho-shin let out an awkward laugh.

 

“No, you look great even now! Here, now’s the moment! Click~ Nice! Next pose!”

 

So, I was currently in the process of retaking profile photos for everyone in the office.

 

There happened to be a newly opened photo studio near the office, so we came to check it out.

The photographer’s skill at coaxing and encouraging Kim Ho-shin was better than expected.

 

“Wow~ Our attorney, this one really came out great.”

 

After focusing for a long time on photos of me, Noh Hae-min, Kim Ho-shin, and Deputy Yoon Ha-young, the photographer burst into laughter as if very satisfied with his work.

 

“Here, this pose. Isn’t it just perfect?”

 

I nodded my head.

What he said was true.

 

While Noh Hae-min took photos in various poses like a fish in water,

even Ho-shin Senior, who was awkward with this kind of photo shoot, came out with quite decent-looking profile photos.

 

“Since we just opened, there’s no waiting yet, so it’ll be ready quickly.”

 

The photographer spoke enthusiastically and handed me his business card.

 

“I’ll send the photo files separately by email!”

“Sounds good.”

 

The reason I dragged everyone from the office to take profile photos from the morning was ultimately this.

 

“Il!”

 

 

Even if the exterior located in a run-down building was what it was, at least the interior was sparkling.

But originally, even people living in this area would likely pass by without noticing our presence…

 

“We don’t even have a homepage.”

 

That was the problem.

 

Generally, law firms that weren’t well-known would increase accessibility through the internet.

Our office didn’t even have that.

 

Although Jung Seung-jun’s case that I had resolved was connected to National Assembly members and made our name quite well-known,

even when searching for our office name, all that came up was barely…

 

“…just a phone number.”

“Haha.”

 

Those who returned to the office each went back to their respective seats.

 

Although Ho-shin Senior had returned, there was no way to promote him as a former judge attorney.

If we at least had a decent homepage, people would have more trust.

 

Even though my name was mentioned in articles and gained fame, the fact was that accessibility was still lacking.

 

[404]: So… now… I mean…

[ME]: We need a homepage.

 

For cheap, but with high quality.

 

The only one around who would accommodate such requirements was 404.

We didn’t need to put as much effort into it as Haeil or other law firms.

It was purely a matter of accessibility, after all.

 

Still, if possible,

 

[ME]: Luxurious and clean, but not too empty-looking, moderately full feeling but not cluttered.

 

404, who usually responded immediately, was silent for about 10 minutes.

 

[404]: …

[ME]: I’ll roughly write up and send profile photos and education details, highlight handled cases but not so much that we’re bragging, more like external praise was given in this way.

[404]: …

[ME]: Can you do it?

 

Well, this much should be possible.

 

Even though Hwan had arranged it, 404 was a hacker who had previously maintained the Nexaroom System.

I don’t know much about this side of things,

 

but seeing how he keeps creating these one-time links and sending chat windows, I thought it might be possible.

 

[ME]: Ah, it would be good to have links that connect to messenger or separate chat windows to improve accessibility with clients.

[404]: …Attorney Sung Tae-hyun…

[ME]: ?

[404]: …do you trust me?

 

Of course.

More precisely, I trusted his abilities that had been somewhat verified.

 

[404]: …

[404]: …you’re really ruthless…

[ME]: I’ll send the coins in advance.

[404]: Customerrrr wait wait wait just a moment

[404]: I’ve confirmed it

[404]: hahaha this much??? really??

 

Did I send too much?

Well, if I’m going to make him handle homepage maintenance too, I should give him at least this much.

 

[404]: You’ll give me plenty of time right customer???

[ME]: 2 weeks

[404]: That’s really fucking tight

[ME]: Double

[404]: I’ll serve you properly

 

And.

404 really did create the law firm homepage in 2 weeks.

It was an almost perfect result that reflected about 99% of my requirements.

 

* * *

 

The homepage opened its doors.

 

“It’s more professional than I expected.”

 

Noh Hae-min rolled his eyes in surprise.

I thought so too.

 

I mean, I’ve never given instructions on this kind of thing before, so I just mentioned whatever came to mind.

404 referenced other law firms’ homepage designs and created a very impressive-looking result.

 

“It would be good if Section Chief Yoon handles customer consultations coming through the homepage as the first step.”

“Yes, understood.”

 

Section Chief Yoon Ha-young nodded.

When consultations come in, she can just categorize them and either Noh Hae-min or I can take them.

 

Ho-shin Senior is the Representative Lawyer after all.

Normally, he should be doing business or distributing work that comes in from outside to Noh Hae-min and me, and receiving retainer fees from clients.

 

“Hmm…”

 

That guy won’t just sit still.

I should take on the next case together with him to see if his instincts have dulled at all.

It was surprising enough that Ho-shin Senior was diligently coming to work every day as promised.

 

And.

 

-Hello, would it be possible to get a consultation?

-It’s really, really urgent ㅠㅠ

 

The first case came in through the homepage.

—————
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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