The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 8

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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 8

 

 

If Sung Tae-hyun’s ego remained, I would have wanted to ask him.

Is your mother really your real mother?

 

“Son, Mom told you. There’s no law firm that will raise you as well as Haeil.”

“….”

“Today, Mom will call Lawyer Kim Jin-woo again. Go and bow down apologetically.”

 

Looking at the empty rice bowl, I was experiencing some confusion.

The mouth that had been chattering fine in front of Ho-shin Senior suddenly seemed tightly shut, with no words coming out.

 

Is this the attitude of a mother toward her son who’s over thirty?

My mother had passed away so long ago that even my memories of her were dim.

So there was no proper comparison group.

 

“You need to answer, son.”

 

But there’s something called common sense.

 

The corner of the ‘Mother’s’ mouth, who was forcing an answer, trembled subtly.

What would happen if she found out that what was inside her son’s outer shell was a stranger in his forties?

 

I somehow felt sorry for this body.

It was a different feeling from when I wore a judicial robe and judged other people’s lives.

 

Not only was I suddenly dragged into the life of a stranger I had no interest in,

but it felt like I had been cast in a trashy drama.

 

“….”

 

That wasn’t all.

 

Perhaps Sung Tae-hyun’s ‘body’ remembered, but absurdly, it was difficult to answer.

How ridiculous.

Of all things, my mouth was blocked.

 

Sung Tae-hyun’s ‘body’ opposed the answer I would give, as if suddenly rebelling.

To be precise, it meant I literally couldn’t speak as if something was really blocking my throat.

 

‘Good grief….’

 

Sung Tae-hyun’s death, which I had forgotten while being busy, immediately came to mind.

 

The acrid smoke that filled the room.

Kim Wook-han’s spirit, that is, me, who occupied his body in an inexplicable way.

 

Sung Tae-hyun throwing me small bits of information as if giving hints by borrowing Haeil’s work diary.

 

‘This is really annoying….’

 

I’m a person too busy to even strike at Cheondong.

 

Even after entering the body of a mere first-year lawyer, there wasn’t enough time to reload bullets and start over from the beginning.

Nevertheless, the reason I took time out of my busy schedule to visit Sung Tae-hyun’s ‘mother’ was my own courtesy toward his bereaved family, who didn’t even know that Sung Tae-hyun had died.

 

‘Aren’t you dead yet?’

 

I muttered to myself, but there was no answer.

However, Sung Tae-hyun’s body was desperately struggling to block my mouth.

 

The reaction of ‘this body,’ which wouldn’t rebel even once despite that ‘Mother’s’ fierce gaze glaring at me, was both irritating and sad.

 

‘Sung Tae-hyun.’

 

I called his name in my mind once again.

Perhaps he had conveyed something again through the diary.

My mouth was blocked, but my hands moved.

I took out the diary from my bag.

 

‘…There’s nothing about Mother.’

 

As before, Sung Tae-hyun’s diary didn’t have much information written in it.

 

I quickly looked through from the first page to the last page with writing, but the content was the same.

There were no stories about Mother and other family members.

Since they said only Mother lived alone in this house, she must be Sung Tae-hyun’s only family.

 

‘That might be why Sung Tae-hyun couldn’t rebel against Mother.’

 

I’m not getting involved in other people’s family affairs.

Just as I was sighing deeply and about to close the diary.

 

Hastily written scribbled letters began to be carved in the blank space with tomorrow’s date.

 

[I witnessed an accident.]

 

…What?

 

[It’s fortunate that the victim didn’t die.]

[…What should I do about going to work.]

[Blood splattered on my clothes, so I had to wash my only pair of new pants.]

 

“What did you witness….”

 

Just as I was muttering thoughtlessly, my voice returned.

 

Sung Tae-hyun.

Is this bastard playing with me using his own body right now?

But before I could lose my temper, a cold voice followed.

 

“Are you done looking?”

 

It was ‘Mother’s’ voice.

Her emotion-laden voice, cold enough to drip with ice, stabbed sharply at my ears.

Against my will, my heart began beating roughly.

 

This is quite a disgusting feeling, isn’t it, Sung Tae-hyun.

 

As soon as my voice returned, it was blocked again.

Was my mouth supposed to shut up because it had to follow ‘Mother’s’ mood?

Telling a judge—no, me who had now become a lawyer—to shut up.

Nothing was more infuriating than that.

 

“Since when did you decide to ignore your mother when she’s talking to you?”

“….”

“I pampered you when you got hired at Haeil, and now you don’t even want to talk to your mother?”

 

This was unfair to me.

Even if I wanted to speak, her son had gagged my mouth.

 

‘Sung Tae-hyun.’

 

No matter how much I called his name inwardly, my voice wouldn’t return.

I frowned in frustration.

Thanks to my completely blocked throat, it felt like even my gullet was splitting.

 

I should at least drink some water.

As I reached for the water cup on the dining table, ‘Mother’ quickly grabbed the glass first and shouted.

 

“After your father died like that, can’t you remember how I raised you?!”

 

‘Mother’s’ voice grew louder and louder.

So ‘Father’ had passed away.

 

Naturally, I couldn’t remember.

Because Sung Tae-hyun wasn’t me.

 

“Sung Tae-hyun!”

 

But this situation was troublesome.

Sung Tae-hyun’s ‘Mother’ shouted as if she had lost her reason.

 

She approached me as I silently kept my head forcibly buried and roughly grabbed and shook my shoulders.

Her unexpectedly strong hands pressed fiercely into my muscles.

 

‘Stupid bastard.’

 

I didn’t know if Sung Tae-hyun was listening.

However, I could feel some inexplicable desperation in how he was blocking my voice against my will.

Thrown into this drama, I muttered inwardly to try to open my tightly shut mouth.

 

‘I’ll help you.’

 

What would Sung Tae-hyun, who had his body stolen by me right now, want?

 

Though I hadn’t stolen it by my own will, I felt some kind of responsibility toward him.

I had to live Sung Tae-hyun’s life right now, and it would be more troublesome if my mouth got blocked in court.

 

First, I had to prevent being controlled like this.

 

‘I don’t know how I ended up in your body either.’

‘But I’ll help you.’

 

My voice still wouldn’t return.

 

Now ‘Mother’ angrily swept all the side dish bowls from the dining table and threw them to the floor.

 

I had put some effort into meeting the family of the person whose body I was borrowing.

That’s why I had specifically bought new clothes to wear.

 

But before the smell of new clothes had even faded, red kimchi broth and soybean paste stew mixed together and spilled onto my pants.

 

“Answer me, answer me! Sung Tae-hyun—!”

 

Now ‘Mother’s’ hands pounding on my back were quite painful.

In my previous life, I had never been hit by anyone.

Ah, except when I died.

 

Anyway, I had never imagined I’d be beaten by someone at an age well past forty.

 

‘I know it’s unfair.’

 

Thump, thump, thump.

 

Sung Tae-hyun’s heart resonated as it beat.

It wasn’t because of ‘Mother’s’ voice.

 

‘That you died.’

 

Thump, thump, thump.

 

‘I’ll reveal it.’

 

Thump, thump, thump.

 

‘I’ll resolve your injustice, you bastard.’

 

At the same time, violent coughing poured out.

 

“Cough, cough-“

 

…This actually works?

 

For me, this was something I’d only seen in dramas I occasionally watched after trials ended.

You know, that thing they say.

Korean ghosts are supposedly weak to pleas about resolving their grievances.

 

I too might have come against the path to the afterlife and entered Sung Tae-hyun’s body to solve the homework called Cheondong.

 

So I simply thought that Sung Tae-hyun, just like me, must have had many grievances.

 

“Sung Tae-hyun! Answer me! What more does Mom need to do for you!”

 

An ear-splitting voice rang out again.

I couldn’t endure the beating that followed any longer.

 

“…!”

 

I grabbed the hand of ‘Mother’ who was fiercely striking down at Sung Tae-hyun’s back.

 

“It hurts.”

 

At the words that followed, Mother’s hand trembled violently.

 

It was fascinating to witness something I’d only seen in prosecutors’ indictments, but I didn’t want to experience it any further.

This was domestic violence.

 

Workplace bullying at the company, domestic violence at home.

Sung Tae-hyun must have been cursed with bad luck.

 

Thump.

 

Ah, this is strange.

A slightly constricting heartbeat seemed to answer on Sung Tae-hyun’s behalf.

 

“You, now that you’re a bit older, you dare to your mother-“

“I’ve been beaten enough, haven’t I?”

“What…?”

 

‘Mother’s’ eyes widened greatly.

 

She gaped as if she never expected me to answer back.

It was the expression of someone who had received a great shock.

 

When it was Sung Tae-hyun, who had already lost his life, who was truly in pain.

 

“Since you already heard from Lawyer Kim Jin-woo that I quit Haeil, there’s no need to tell you again.”

“…You, you…”

 

I don’t know if this ‘Mother’ was the one who killed Sung Tae-hyun.

When I first entered Sung Tae-hyun’s body, I had been inferring that Sung Tae-hyun had taken his own life.

 

But that wasn’t it.

 

Now I see that why Sung Tae-hyun died remains a mystery.

 

It might not have been due to any single factor, but complex factors, or the stories that the previous Sung Tae-hyun experienced might have caused a chain reaction leading to his death.

 

In any case, his death, which I hadn’t been particularly curious about, surely had reasons.

 

“I found a job in Seoul.”

“Sung Tae-hyun―!”

“You don’t need to shout, I can hear you fine. This body is still young.”

 

‘Mother’s’ face flushed red.

I let go of her hand at that point.

‘Mother’ trembled all over and shouted again, unable to contain her anger.

 

“You, after how I raised you, to do this… this kind of thing―!”

“Mother.”

“Do other children act as ignorantly as you?”

 

Conversation with ‘Mother’ in this state is impossible.

My heart beat irregularly, as if ‘Sung Tae-hyun’ still hadn’t released control.

 

I slowly caught my breath.

I didn’t want Sung Tae-hyun to control this body any further and seal my mouth.

 

“I already finished talking with Haeil, and I got hired at another law firm. I rented a room too.”

“How, how could you not say a word to Mom-“

“Because there’s no need to.”

 

He must have been an obedient child.

 

Sung Tae-hyun kept his mouth shut without being able to say a proper word in response to ‘Mother’s’ anger.

Since he even tried to seal my mouth, it was obvious without seeing.

Judging by ‘Mother’s’ behavior, he must have been exposed to repeated situations since childhood.

 

Of course, this is a prejudgment.

But as an individual, not as a legal professional, it’s behavior I don’t particularly want to understand.

 

“You, how could you…”

 

However, there was one thing I needed to convey.

 

“The money that gets withdrawn monthly under Mother’s name, five hundred each time.”

“…What, what…?”

 

They say the most despicable thing in the world is threatening someone with money.

 

I didn’t feel particularly guilty about it.

This was only possible while I was still at Haeil anyway.

 

To be precise, it wasn’t even a threat.

With the salary Ho-shin Senior’s small office could offer, I couldn’t afford to spend five hundred thousand won a month for ‘Mother.’

 

It was a rational choice.

 

“My salary is decreasing, so I’ll cancel the automatic transfer.”

“Sung Tae-hyun―!”

“Of course, I can still manage some pocket money during holidays.”

“You, what are you saying right now…!”

“I’ve roughly conveyed everything I needed to say, so I’ll be going now.”

 

I had no intention of judging his mother on behalf of ‘Sung Tae-hyun.’

It’s not a judge’s job to make judgments about matters that haven’t come before the courtroom.

 

Come to think of it, I’m a lawyer now.

 

Still, the conclusion was the same.

It’s not my job.

Whatever needed to be said to ‘Mother,’ it was something Sung Tae-hyun had to do.

 

I picked up the jacket soaked with food and stood up from the chair.

‘Mother,’ with her eyes wide open, roughly grabbed the jacket again.

It was an action that seemed unable to accept Sung Tae-hyun leaving.

 

“If you like it, please keep it.”

“…What, what…?”

“It’s a gift from a child who left home.”

 

When I let go of the jacket without hesitation, ‘Mother’ stared at me blankly while holding the stretched sleeves of the clothes.

 

I opened the front door and stepped outside.

 

I hadn’t even properly started working yet, but I had gained another commitment.

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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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