The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 73

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 73

 

 

[Truth or Lies]

[I should meet the client.]

 

There are almost no cases where we go on a business trip for the first consultation.

At least, that’s what I know.

 

“Wow, this place has changed a lot too.”

 

Ho-shin Senior stretched and exclaimed in admiration.

 

Parking is tricky around here.

The place we arrived at by bus was Goshi Village.

 

The place where Senior, I, and Choi Yoon-ki used to live together in the past.

 

As decades had passed, this place had changed a lot too.

However, Senior was lost in nostalgia, looking around every corner with gentle eyes.

 

“It was good to come here.”

 

He even said things like that.

 

It was good to bring Ho-shin Senior along.

Actually, there are usually no cases where you bring the Representative Lawyer to places like this.

But then again, was Kim Ho-shin ever that kind of person?

 

I silently checked the message that Assistant Manager Yoon Ha-young had sent again.

 

[XX Officetel 7th Floor, Unit 4.]

 

It was certainly unusual for a client.

To call a lawyer to their home while even covering the travel expenses.

 

The content that Assistant Manager Yoon Ha-young had received was also a bit strange.

 

-Defamation and obstruction of business. They sent a certified letter saying they’re prepared to pursue both civil and criminal lawsuits ㅠㅠ

-Photos

-But I really can’t…

-I can’t leave my house right now because of stalking

-I’m being stalked and they probably know about this too

-Please help me please please…

 

The photos the client sent didn’t look blurry.

If it was defamation and obstruction of business, I had a rough idea of the direction this was heading.

But more serious than that was the client’s retraction.

 

-Oh, I’m sorry. Actually, I was just joking around.

-I’m sorry!

 

That’s how the conversation between Section Chief Yoon Ha-young and the client ended on the first day.

 

Sometimes there are cases where people play pranks.

Neither I nor Section Chief Yoon took it seriously.

 

However, next was,

 

-Please… sob…

 

A phone call.

 

Someone called the office phone line and started crying.

For about a minute, only the sound of a woman’s sobbing filled the air, and then the call was disconnected.

 

“What was that.”

 

As soon as Section Chief Yoon Ha-young hung up the phone, Noh Hae-min immediately approached her.

 

“What’s going on?”

“This is the fourth identical call, so it’s a bit strange.”

 

Right, that’s how it was.

It vaguely seemed like it was the client who had contacted us through the website chat on the first day.

Noh Hae-min also felt something was off, so he opened the consultation history that had been recorded.

 

But then.

 

“Huh?”

 

Noh Hae-min looked confused and just moved his mouth wordlessly.

 

“What’s wrong?”

“Um… well, that strange consultation we had last time, didn’t we keep a record of it?”

 

Unless either the website administrator or the client deletes it, the record remains.

But there was no record anywhere.

Even the files the woman had attached and sent were gone.

 

“That’s strange… Did she just delete it?”

“Well, she did say it was a joke.”

 

When I answered Noh Hae-min’s question, he sighed, saying he felt uneasy.

 

“Still, I wanted to at least try contacting her.”

“Do more promotion elsewhere, Senior. Send the administrator that recent legal issue analysis.”

“Oh, yeah… But still.”

 

Anyway, that day ended like that.

This small office didn’t have clients calling right after opening just one homepage.

Kim Ho-shin did come to work diligently, but that was all.

 

And a few days later.

 

[I should meet with the client.]

 

Sung Tae-hyun’s diary displayed a meaningful phrase.

That day, it probably wasn’t a coincidence that the previous client contacted us again.

 

-Please help me….

 

This time it was a call from a number I’d never seen before.

It was when everyone had left work and I was alone organizing the office.

 

-Please….

 

A thin voice continued, sobbing as if it might break.

 

-I don’t know what to do….

 

It was that woman.

 

* * *

 

The address the woman gave me over the phone.

I ended up dragging Ho-shin Senior all the way to Goshi Village.

 

“Strange. The client is a test prep student?”

“I don’t know.”

 

Probably not, though.

 

That night, during our brief call, the woman poured out information to me as if being chased by something.

She was receiving content-certified mail documents once a day,

and the police station had also contacted her, telling her to really come in for questioning.

 

Moreover.

 

-Um… they’re probably listening to all of this too. You might think I’m crazy, but I’m not crazy.

 

The woman quickly recited her address to me.

 

-I’ll pay you whatever you ask. Please help me.

-That bastard seems to have sued me to shut me up, but I really didn’t do anything

-And I really-

 

The call ended.

 

There was definitely something there. Either the woman was crazy, or I was going on a wild goose chase.

It was one of the two. But….

 

“What are you worrying about so much? We can just go and see.”

 

Ho-shin Senior laughed heartily.

 

“You’re worried about the client, aren’t you?”

“….”

 

I didn’t give any answer.

 

Worried about the client? That could be it.

But should I really go for something so uncertain?

If necessary, the client could directly-

 

“Sung Tae-hyun.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know what your expression looks like right now?”

“I don’t know.”

 

Kim Ho-shin had an expression I knew well.

He always made that face when Choi Yoon-ki and I were about to cause trouble.

And he always.

 

“Going once wouldn’t be bad either.”

“…!”

“Right? Goshi Village, you said. Hey, I’m from there too… might as well take a trip down memory lane.”

 

Right. This was how he would soften people’s hearts.

 

Both Choi Yoon-ki and I knew it, yet we went along with Kim Ho-shin anyway.

Though it’s all in the past now.

 

“Then let’s go together, Senior.”

 

The current Sung Tae-hyun wouldn’t have any memories from Goshi Village.

 

Anyway, even if Kim Ho-shin stayed at the office, all he’d do was search for things like truck protests in the online search window.

I extended my hand to Kim Ho-shin.

 

And now.

 

“XX Officetel, you said? Well, that used to be the most expensive place around here back in the day.”

“…Is that so?”

 

I know.

The officetel the woman sent as her home address was a small studio apartment room.

But at the time, it was among the most expensive properties in Goshi Village.

 

Students who lived there and commuted to cram schools often drew quite a bit of envy from other students.

 

“Our Sung Tae-hyun wouldn’t know. This place… was once my home.”

 

Ho-shin Senior looked around the much-changed street and let out exclamations of admiration.

 

“Look, that pig’s feet restaurant is still there? Oh my, the prices have gone up a bit though.”

“….”

“Oh, this home-style restaurant! I used to go here often. Don’t Korea University students still live here these days? This neighborhood may not look like much, but the cost of living is really good.”

“….”

“Haha. That soup restaurant is still there too. Every time I failed the bar exam, I would cry tears there- Hey!”

 

I brought him for nothing.

 

Within 3 minutes of entering Goshi Village, I realized that my choice might have been wrong.

I should have brought Manager Yoon Ha-young or Noh Hae-min instead.

 

No, after learning that the client’s house was an officetel in Goshi Village, Senior’s face was the first one that came to mind though.

 

“Oh my! Boss! How have you been?!”

“Uh… who was it again…?”

“It’s me, me. Kim Ho-shin. Come on, how much could I have changed that you don’t remember me~”

 

…He was just like a wild colt.

 

* * *

 

“…Kim Ho-shin?!”

 

On the way to XX Officetel.

 

“…That Kim Ho-shin? The one who was always teased by the kids for being called a mountain spirit?”

 

What detailed memory you have.

 

I was looking at Ho-shin Senior who seemed thrilled to death.

He was the owner of the soup restaurant that Choi Yoon-ki, Senior, and I used to frequent.

 

The boss, who had felt a bit younger back then, now had white snowflakes settled in his hair.

The soup restaurant owner, now well over 70, was clasping Ho-shin Senior’s hands.

 

“Where did you leave that other son! This one’s a face I’ve never seen before? He’s too young!”

 

I felt strange.

 

I looked at the boss who remembered another me while wearing Sung Tae-hyun’s face.

Given the location, it was inevitable to feel sentimental.

 

Ho-shin Senior was smiling so widely that wrinkles formed around his eyes.

It had been really long since I’d seen that guy look like that.

 

“Oh come on, how much time has passed. You remember all that, our boss missed me.”

“Of course I missed you!”

 

The boss patted Ho-shin Senior’s back hard as if he were his mother.

It was a heartwarming sight.

Senior winked at me.

 

“This is the boss of the soup restaurant I used to frequent. Auntie, this is my junior.”

“Junior?”

 

Only then did the boss’s gaze reach me.

 

“I’ve been wondering whether to say this or not!”

“What is it, tell me. I’ll listen to everything.”

“…Kim Ho-shin, this guy has always brought only pretty-looking ones since way back.”

 

Hahahaha.

Warm laughter burst out.

 

“Let me see, where did those other friends go that you came alone with such a pretty junior?”

 

The soup restaurant owner grabbed Senior’s hand and pulled him along.

Even though Senior showed reluctance, she still seemed to have good strength.

 

At the table where we sat as if we had no choice but to eat before leaving, two bowls of steaming soup and rice were placed.

 

“Those two…”

 

Ho-shin Senior was about to answer but then shut his mouth tight again.

 

I know without looking.

She’s talking about Choi Yoon-ki and me.

 

The three of us always came to this soup restaurant.

Even when Senior failed his exams,

Even when Choi Yoon-ki or I caused trouble and got scolded by Senior.

 

It was always the three of us.

 

“…One of them died.”

 

While putting white rice into the bubbling soup bowl, Senior answered nonchalantly.

 

Having known Kim Ho-shin for a long time, this wasn’t an unfamiliar expression to me.

It was just a slightly unfamiliar look because I hadn’t seen it in a long time.

 

“…The other one is, hmm…”

“What’s wrong. Did he get involved in something bad again?”

 

The boss, who had placed a bowl of hot soup and rice in front of each of us, naturally pulled up a chair and sat beside us.

 

It seemed he was both happy and curious to see Ho-shin Senior after such a long time.

Ho-shin Senior let out a somewhat hollow laugh at those worried words.

 

“…It’s as good as being dead.”

 

A moment of silence passed.

The soup restaurant owner sighed as if she hadn’t expected to hear such news.

 

Soon her hand reached toward Ho-shin Senior’s shoulder.

The years felt in her wrinkled hand made it seem like we had returned to the past.

 

“That’s life.”

“….”

 

She continued speaking while looking at the onions and chives piled high just as Senior always used to eat them.

 

“Living this long, I’ve come to understand. No connection lasts forever. Same goes for married couples, same goes for friends.”

“….”

“Everyone dies eventually, don’t they? As for me, I’ve lived long enough to see all kinds of things, good and bad, while keeping this place running.”

 

Ho-shin Senior keeps stirring his soup and rice.

 

Even though the broth has already soaked into the plump, well-cooked white rice grains as much as it could.

He acted as if he had left his mind somewhere far away.

 

“But you two are still young.”

 

Perhaps that’s why.

Senior spoke with a boiling voice for the first time in response to the owner’s words.

 

“…I don’t know what being young is supposed to mean anymore….”

 

The person who remembered Kim Ho-shin from the past gently patted Ho-shin Senior’s back.

 

“Not knowing that is what makes you young, you fool.”

 

Before we knew it, lunchtime was approaching and a few customers began coming in.

The owner gave Senior’s shoulder one last pat before getting up from her chair.

 

“Senior.”

 

I called out to Senior, who was staring blankly at his stone pot without taking a single spoonful.

 

“….”

 

He’s completely out of it.

Was bringing Ho-shin Senior here the wrong choice after all?

Though we still had time before the appointment the client had mentioned.

 

“Ho-shin Senior.”

 

After calling Senior’s name about three times, Ho-shin Senior’s empty eyes finally followed me.

 

Oh no, I should call Noh Hae-min to take Senior away.

Just as I was about to pick up my mobile phone to dial Noh Hae-min’s number.

 

“…Sung Tae-hyun.”

 

Senior’s tightly closed lips opened.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————