The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 81
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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 81
Is he insane?
Bae In-jun thought.
The clean-cut lawyer in front of him is insane.
If he wasn’t insane, why would he go so far as to pay for his lecture just to meet him?
And that was after such a meeting had taken place.
After blackmailing Kim Su-yeon into keeping her mouth shut.
Precarious days continued like someone climbing a cliff relying on a single rope.
In the midst of all this, the appearance of Sung Tae-hyun, who claimed to be a lawyer, was truly unwelcome.
“What, is that all?”
Bae In-jun stood crookedly and glared at Sung Tae-hyun.
That’s right, there was a contact found in Kim Su-yeon’s cell phone.
The cage he held in his hands and the woman trapped inside had been struggling to escape from his embrace since some point.
‘That’s impossible.’
Bae In-jun thought so.
Kim Su-yeon escaping?
That’s impossible.
It was a very tightly woven cage.
Everything designed just for Kim Su-yeon.
While he could exercise control over her, Kim Su-yeon escaping wasn’t in the plan.
But.
“I rather dislike variables.”
Sung Tae-hyun said.
What has he been talking about since earlier?
However, the contempt-like emotion contained in those cold eyes kept making his throat dry.
Bae In-jun opened the water bottle on the table and gulped it down.
Even so, he felt thirsty.
Sung Tae-hyun was just watching him coldly.
“So what’s this variable? What does that have to do with me? Huh?”
Bae In-jun slammed the table as he always did.
Kim Su-yeon would always tremble and give in when he acted like this.
But Sung Tae-hyun just looked at him with those cold eyes, as if scanning him.
He said he was a lawyer.
Maybe that’s why.
Professional characteristics are usually reflected in one’s personality too.
But so what?
A lawyer is a lawyer, and Bae In-jun is Bae In-jun.
Bae In-jun raised his voice as he had done whenever problems arose.
“Did Su-yeon hire you again? Huh? That can’t be right? Is this your own decision?”
Bae In-jun knows.
Once swept up in emotions, it’s not easy to control them.
That’s why Kim Su-yeon got caught by him too.
So Bae In-jun shouted even louder.
To make that clean-cut face distort even more.
“Say something. You came looking for me because you wanted to talk, didn’t you!”
It was a face he didn’t like from the first time he saw it.
When he found out Kim Su-yeon had contacted a law office, he immediately checked the homepage profile.
He didn’t like it.
A handsome face that anyone would fall for.
As if mocking everything he had built up.
“Mr. Bae In-jun.”
“What! Speak! What exactly do you want from me? Following me like a stalker and secretly listening to my lectures!”
“I paid for the lecture. I didn’t listen secretly.”
“…What’s the difference! I didn’t know!”
“Discussing your ignorance would be too much of a waste of my time.”
Sung Tae-hyun sighed.
Since earlier, constantly. He kept sighing as if annoyed.
It was incredibly arrogant behavior for someone who came looking first.
Bae In-jun grabbed the table with trembling hands, wanting to grab Sung Tae-hyun by the collar and throw him.
Hold back. Just a little more.
“Why did Kim Su-yeon come to see you that day?”
“Hah.”
So ultimately, the reason he went to find Kim Su-yeon was to tell her?
His throat was dry.
Bae In-jun swallowed water again.
Kim Su-yeon, Kim Su-yeon.
When did he become so obsessed with her?
It was a question he couldn’t answer even when asking himself.
It’s just, it’s Kim Su-yeon’s fault.
That was the only answer he could give.
“Who I meet and what I do, what does that have to do with you, Mr. Sung Tae-hyun? Why should I report that to you?”
The words that eventually came out were more vicious evasion than excuses.
Even at such words, Sung Tae-hyun only stared at him quietly.
“Remote controlling Ms. Kim Su-yeon’s mobile phone, or continuously sending threatening messages – are these actions you committed, Mr. Bae In-jun?”
It felt like being interrogated.
Bae In-jun’s hands trembled violently before he finally slammed the table with a loud noise.
Why should I be treated like this?
Kim Su-yeon belongs to me anyway, doesn’t she?
The arrogant lawyer kept talking without knowing his place.
Bae In-jun barely controlled his vision that seemed to flash red with anger and opened his mouth.
“Why would I do such things? Did Kim Su-yeon say that?”
Good. His voice didn’t tremble. Bae In-jun gritted his teeth.
“Are you saying you’ve never done it even once?”
Despite his agitation, Sung Tae-hyun continued his questions in a monotone voice.
At this emotionless, robot-like behavior, Bae In-jun’s fists trembled again.
Hold back. If he hit a lawyer, it would become troublesome.
Bae In-jun tried to regain his rationality again.
“I didn’t do it! I didn’t! Do you have evidence that I did? If you do, bring it!”
He was suffocating.
Surely this crazy lawyer hadn’t figured it out.
No, but there’s no evidence anyway.
The cage he had created was quite solid, and only someone with expertise could figure it out at most.
Not some lawyer who was clearly an outsider in this field.
“…Evidence.”
Suddenly, a smile appeared on Sung Tae-hyun’s emotionless face.
Bae In-jun froze for a moment and glared at Sung Tae-hyun.
Some ominous premonition instinctively surged up in his chest.
“What if… there is evidence?”
“Bullshit! Do you really want to get sued? Defamation-“
At the scream-like outburst, the corner of Sung Tae-hyun’s mouth curved up crookedly.
It looked like he was sneering.
“There’s no publicity, Mr. Bae In-jun. It’s just you and me here.”
“What, what, what?”
“Since this is my specialty, I’m telling you – feel free to sue. Anyone can file a lawsuit.”
“What fucking-“
“If you want to throw money into empty air, I don’t particularly want to stop you. And.”
Sung Tae-hyun chuckled and pulled out several papers from his bag, handing them to Bae In-jun.
“…”
Bae In-jun slowly picked up the ominous papers.
It was a conversation between someone.
“What is this-“
Wait.
Bae In-jun’s eyes darkened.
[404]: I’ll summarize briefly. You probably won’t understand even if I explain anyway, so just think of it as an easy elementary school explanation version.
[404]: Your mobile phone didn’t receive something and move. As you expected, this is a command sent from the cloud, that is, the account side.
[404]: Who sent that command?
[404]: lol do you see the hub name written there? SIN. It really does look sinful lol so childish though
[404]: Anyway, the administrator authority and token of that hub called SIN connected to the server and sent it. Look at the timeline.
[ME]: I don’t understand even looking at it? Make it shorter.
[404]: To summarize, that’s it, that hub called ‘SIN’ gave commands with cloud authority. That’s the most reasonable explanation from my perspective.
[ME]: So my mobile phone was also hacked in the end?
[404]: Correct!
Bae In-jun’s hands began trembling uncontrollably.
“I was wondering what the hub was. The vulnerability that Mr. Bae In-jun could install most easily, but in a way people wouldn’t easily notice.”
Sung Tae-hyun spoke like a damn judge.
As if this was his conclusion.
As if foretelling the end of the person called Bae In-jun.
Bae In-jun read and reread the papers, his face pale as a sheet.
It was definitely a system with flaws.
But who could have noticed this? How could they have figured it out?
“My conclusion is this. Find the hub. I already have a good idea where it is, but once we analyze it with forensics and hand it over, the culprit will be caught quickly. These kinds of things leave traces easily.”
It was complete defeat.
Bae In-jun had never felt like this once in his entire life.
Sweat poured from his hands.
His head spun as if he might collapse at any moment.
Everything he possessed.
All the achievements he had built up until now.
It felt as if they would all turn to ash and disappear at any moment.
“I still don’t know who the culprit is yet.”
Sung Tae-hyun continued with a mocking tone.
“But if they get caught, they could be looking at a minimum prison sentence.”
* * *
Well, to be completely honest.
I didn’t understand half of what 404 was talking about.
I had no choice.
I’m more of an analog person than a digital one.
I’d never even bothered to take interest in what APIs or cloud storage were about.
[404]: You don’t need to understand lol how can a lawyer understand everything lol you’re not a god
[404]: But I’m cool right lol even I think I’m awesome lolol
[404]: Anyway, you and that woman, Kim Su-yeon, were attacked specifically targeting just the mobile operating system you both use lolol
[404]: That’s why Lawyer Noh Hae-min’s phone is fine
That’s what it came down to.
404 explained the principle to me, but I mostly couldn’t understand it and forgot.
However, some kind of hub exists in Kim Su-yeon’s House.
And that hub selectively attacks only mobile phones using specific operating systems.
Making remote control possible.
My and Kim Su-yeon’s mobile phones happened to meet exactly those conditions.
So Noh Hae-min, who alone used a phone with a different operating system, survived.
That was the conclusion.
“So, what do you think? About my deduction.”
I deliberately continued in a provocative tone.
Bae In-jun’s face, which had been stomping around like an angry gorilla just moments before, had turned sallow.
I did well to leave it to 404.
Though it did cost an enormous amount of coins.
“…That’s, I mean, the evidence… where is it…”
“You keep going on about evidence, evidence, so let me tell you something.”
Ah, I’m getting tired of this kind of thing too.
Even when I worked as a judge, people like Bae In-jun talking about ‘evidence’ was usually tantamount to admitting guilt.
Bring me evidence, then I’ll confess.
Of course, it’s a valid point.
Most people stubbornly turn away until evidence is shoved right in their faces.
Come to think of it, it’s really amazing.
That someone like Ho-shin Senior, who’s been rolling around in the legal circle for so long, still believes in human goodness.
“The evidence will be handed over to the police anyway, and you, Bae In-jun, will go there on your own feet to give your statement.”
“…Do you know what false accusation means?”
“I do.”
This is tiresome too.
“Unfortunately, this case is very far from false accusation.”
“…”
“I’m too lazy to explain anymore.”
I took a step closer to Bae In-jun, who was just crumpling the innocent papers.
Ignoring personal space and approaching suddenly, when just moments ago he was different.
Bae In-jun stepped backward until he was blocked by the wall.
“…Sung Tae-hyun…”
“Do you have anything more to say?”
I recalled Sung Tae-hyun’s Diary.
Those annoyingly persistent phrases that kept predicting someone’s coma.
“You…”
We’re almost there.
In that short time, Bae In-jun had gone through the stages of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and reached acceptance.
Eyes filled with resignation turned toward me.
“What do you want.”
“Good, I don’t need to persuade you further.”
As I smiled, Bae In-jun’s face grew increasingly sour.
“Speak. Now. And get lost.”
“Very well.”
I looked straight at Bae In-jun and opened my mouth.
Even though I mentioned Kim Su-yeon’s name, Ho-shin Senior’s face flashed through my mind.
“Don’t approach Kim Su-yeon anymore.”
“Hah.”
“I’m warning you. For now.”
The victim who was blackmailed by Bae In-jun is currently rejecting the situation itself.
But either way, I wanted to prevent the coma by eliminating the variable called Bae In-jun.
“What if I refuse?”
“Can’t be helped then. Oh, do you know this?”
I let out a nasty laugh.
“My younger brother is a police officer. I’ve been thinking it’s my duty as an older brother to help him rack up at least one achievement.”
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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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