The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 84

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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 84

 

 

Lee Pil-bong. 35 years old.

His name after the legal change is Lee Seol-rok, and after graduating from Korea University Law School, he runs a detective agency.

 

“Wow, this is my first time seeing someone who even changed their name.”

 

Noh Hae-min’s eyes sparkled.

Of course, it was my first time too.

 

I got to know Lee Pil-bong, no. Lee Seol-rok when I went to Korea University Law School to give a lecture as a senior legal professional.

 

Even then, he was certainly a peculiar character.

He wore something like a black coat even in midsummer, so I thought he had caught a cold or something.

 

What I found out later was that his nickname was Hankook University Sherlock.

 

“Sherlock Holmes, I liked him too.”

 

Noh Hae-min said.

The profession of detective hasn’t been around for long though.

 

Anyway, Lee Seol-rok was such an amazing eccentric that even Ho-shin Senior, who was much older, knew his name.

And now, Noh Hae-min and I had come back to Goshi Village to meet him.

 

 

“It was real.”

“Right! Amazing. This is my first time seeing someone who graduated from Korea University Law School and opened a detective agency!”

 

Noh Hae-min shouted cheerfully.

 

“That’s true.”

 

A signboard with his name emblazoned as large as a door decorated the outer wall of the old building.

I already knew about it thanks to Ho-shin Senior, but the more I looked at it, the more fascinating it became.

 

Lee Seol-rok, who worshipped Sherlock Holmes so much that he even changed his name.

Did he put up the signboard after the detective profession was legalized?

Anyway, no one could match him in terms of being unique.

 

“Let’s go in for now.”

 

Surprisingly, Lee Seol-rok’s detective agency wasn’t structured so you could reach it by taking the stairs inside the building.

 

The office was located on the very top floor of the oldest villa in Goshi Village.

For some reason, to reach that office, you had to climb steep stairs that were separately prepared on the outside.

 

The stairs, barely wide enough for one person to squeeze through, looked so old they seemed ready to collapse at any moment.

 

“But is there actually someone inside?”

 

Noh Hae-min asked cautiously as he climbed the stairs.

Of course, I was suspicious too.

 

When I searched for , the contact number that came up didn’t answer calls.

I had only made the effort to come here after seeing a review from someone who had visited Lee Seol-rok’s detective agency about 2 weeks ago.

 

“Well… the review did say it was located in a ‘suspicious place where people couldn’t possibly live.'”

 

Soon reaching the top floor, I looked at the worn-out metal front door and fell into thought for a moment.

 

There’s no doorbell here either.

I couldn’t see any other button I could press.

 

In front of the door was just a support platform barely big enough for one person to stand on, so Noh Hae-min was leaning against the stair railing right behind me.

 

“Is anyone there?”

 

Knock knock knock.

 

After knocking three times, I heard strange crashing sounds from inside.

It sounded like something big breaking, but what could it be?

When I turned my head to look at Noh Hae-min, he also shook his head as if he didn’t know.

 

“There does seem to be someone inside.”

 

Just as I was reaching out to knock once more.

 

“Welcome! Customer!”

 

The door burst open with a booming voice. And.

 

“Huh?”

“…?”

 

Lee Pil-bong’s, no, Lee Seol-rok’s eyes, whom I was seeing after a long time, widened greatly.

After freezing for about 1 second, he began pointing and making very loud noises.

 

“Huh?!”

“…?”

“Valedictorian?!”

 

Ah, this guy. He said he was from Korea University Law School.

Don’t tell me he knew Sung Tae-hyun?

 

“Sung Tae-hyun…?!”

 

Oh no.

Lee Seol-rok, known as Hankook University’s Sherlock, couldn’t contain his joy and wrapped me in a tight embrace.

 

* * *

 

“How long has it been! Ah, no wait.”

“…?”

“Actually, I predicted you’d come about 3 days ago.”

 

What was he trying to imitate?

Lee Seol-rok guided me and Noh Hae-min inside while swaying his body as if he possessed two souls.

 

Well, maybe one was Lee Pil-bong’s real soul and the other was the soul of a cold, calculating detective like Sherlock, as befitting a huge Sherlock fan?

Either way, it seemed a bit ambiguous, but I didn’t bother voicing it out loud.

 

“Three days ago… is that so?”

“Hey, Tae-hyun. We’re not that kind of relationship. Why are you being so stiff?”

 

Since I couldn’t remember, I spoke as I normally would, but Lee Seol-rok immediately became sullen and grumbled.

 

“Ah, ahhh! Could it be? Are we in business mode right now? Haha. If that’s the case, I can’t lose either.”

 

Then he put on a serious expression again.

I had come here because the reviews for weren’t bad, but I was starting to regret it a little.

 

“Come on, sit down first. Mix coffee? Green tea, plum tea, citron tea, kombucha – just say the word. I have them all.”

 

Lee Seol-rok guided me and Noh Hae-min to the old sofa in the back.

Compared to the exterior that looked like it would collapse at any moment, the interior was relatively stable.

 

A table and sofa, a large bookshelf, and a desk messily piled with documents.

Everything that should be there was there.

On the small laptop on the desk, a video that hadn’t been turned off yet was still playing.

 

-Now, in trigonometric composition, the form a·sinx + b·cosx is…

 

Was he studying or something?

 

Hankook University’s Sherlock keenly noticed that my gaze had momentarily turned to his laptop and stopped the video.

Even though I hadn’t asked, an answer that felt almost manic followed as a bonus.

 

“I’m currently retaking the exam for the third time. I was listening to online lectures.”

 

I see. Actually, I wasn’t that curious about it.

Noh Hae-min’s eyes sparkled.

 

“Wow, you must enjoy studying even after graduation!”

 

At his bright question, Lee Seol-rok’s face also lit up with a radiant glow.

Lee Seol-rok brought two cups of mix coffee and placed one in front of each of us.

 

“Haha. The attitude of constant improvement – that’s the most important thing.”

“As expected, graduates from Korea University Law School are different.”

“I need to advance to medical school and master all knowledge to finally get closer to that person of mine.”

 

I took a sip of the mix coffee. This was just like the Lee Pil-bong I knew.

It was the same when I first saw him at the law school lecture hall in the past.

 

This guy is crazy.

In every sense of the word.

 

“Aha… medical school… Huh? Medical school? Then this office right now is…?”

 

When Noh Hae-min was about to lift his mix coffee but stopped to ask, Lee Seol-rok smiled and his eyes lit up.

 

“I have to keep operating the office. This is my livelihood and ultimate goal.”

“…Wow. That must not have been an easy decision… You’re really amazing.”

“What’s amazing isn’t me, but Sherlock-“

 

Let’s stop this.

I cut off Lee Seol-rok’s words, as he seemed like he could spend hours praising Sherlock.

 

“Lee Seol-rok.”

“Huh? Yeah!”

 

I guess the way I addressed him was roughly correct.

I had guessed since there was quite an age difference with Sung Tae-hyun, and I got it right immediately.

 

Actually, law school has such diverse age groups that it would be ambiguous to call him senior.

Since I didn’t know what kind of relationship we had.

 

However, seeing how he embraced me as soon as I appeared at the office, we probably used to be close.

Lee Seol-rok gulped down the mix coffee in front of him and put down the cup.

 

“Actually, I came because I have a job to ask you to do.”

“…!”

 

Lee Seol-rok’s eyes widened greatly.

 

“You? Really? To me?”

“Yes.”

 

Was it really that surprising?

had quite a few reviews online.

 

Despite his seemingly clumsy appearance, the prevailing opinion was that he handled work cleanly.

And I had gotten permission from Ho-shin Senior too.

 

“I want to find some evidence.”

 

Lee Pil-bong’s, no, Lee Seol-rok’s eyes gleamed sharply.

 

“Who? What kind?”

 

I handed over Bae In-jun’s SNS account that I had looked up in advance to Lee Seol-rok.

 

“His name is Bae In-jun. He’s the representative of Bailonics, so you’ve probably seen him on the news.”

“Hmm….”

 

The atmosphere that seemed to have a few screws loose instantly changed to that of a well-sharpened blade.

Having this much passion is quite enviable.

Well, that’s probably why he’s preparing for medical school even after taking the college entrance exam three times.

 

Soon Lee Seol-rok opened his mouth.

 

“Should I find out about this person?”

“No. A person named Bae In-jun and a woman named Choi Ji-young. It seems like the woman who frequently appears on SNS is probably Choi Ji-young, but I don’t know her exact identity.”

“Hmm….”

“But I know the address.”

 

I handed over the address recorded in the complaint that had arrived for Kim Su-yeon.

 

“You need to collect information in the least illegal way possible. I’m going to use it as evidence for a civil lawsuit.”

“Hmm… alright. That’s not difficult. What kind of lawsuit is it?”

“Adultery. I’m the defendant’s attorney, and it’s a lawsuit where Choi Ji-young is the plaintiff. Choi Ji-young is currently claiming she’s in a common-law marriage with Bae In-jun and has filed a fifty million won lawsuit against the defendant.”

“Ah.”

 

Lee Seol-rok, who was frantically writing something in a notebook I hadn’t seen before from who knows where, chuckled.

 

“This kind of thing is also my specialty.”

“According to the defendant, she didn’t know that Bae In-jun and Choi Ji-young were in a common-law marriage.”

“Ah, okay. Then evidence that it’s not a common-law marriage would work.”

“Also….”

“Yeah.”

“Bae In-jun has been harassing and stalking the defendant Kim Su-yeon all this time, and while I’ll collect related evidence separately, if you happen to see such behavior during your investigation, immediately-“

“Collect it? Got it.”

 

It was a refreshingly straightforward answer.

 

I like this.

If this job ends well, I should entrust work to Lee Seol-rok in the future too.

It’s fast to delegate information gathering like this.

 

Of course, the money involved is a separate issue.

 

“What’s the deadline?”

 

There was still some time left for the civil lawsuit response brief submission deadline.

But I can’t end this with just civil proceedings.

 

The civil case Choi Ji-young filed would end if I collect evidence that there was no adultery in the first place and prove that Choi Ji-young and Bae In-jun aren’t in a common-law marriage.

But not Bae In-jun. I couldn’t just leave alone the bastard who even hacked my mobile phone.

 

“As soon as possible.”

“…How soon?”

“One week? If you can do it within a week, I’ll pay you double.”

“…!”

 

Lee Seol-rok was beaming with a huge smile.

 

* * *

 

“I envy that kind of passion.”

 

On the way back. Noh Hae-min muttered while eating the nurungji candy that Lee Seol-rok had given him a handful of.

 

“The effort to graduate from law school, open a detective agency, and then even go to medical school… I’m really envious.”

“If you’re envious, senior, you could do it too.”

“No, I can’t do it. I don’t have that kind of passion. The passionate me from before is dead.”

 

Is that so? From what I can see, Noh Hae-min is passionate enough.

At times like this, I could have said something great as a senior.

 

‘Too bothersome.’

 

Besides, unlike if I were really Sung Tae-hyun, as Kim Wook-han who had already aged as much as he could, I didn’t really give advice to juniors.

If I tried, I’d just become a know-it-all.

 

“Senior, you’re doing well too.”

 

Still, this was sincere.

My first impression of Noh Hae-min wasn’t very good.

Back then, I didn’t know Noh Hae-min would be this helpful.

 

Now it was different.

When I gently patted his shoulder, Noh Hae-min burst into laughter.

 

“Sometimes you’re like our father.”

 

If I had married and had a child in the Joseon Dynasty, that could have been possible.

But I didn’t answer.

There was no need to deliberately reveal that I wasn’t Sung Tae-hyun.

 

“I mean it in a good way.”

 

Noh Hae-min’s face was colored with a smile.

 

“I used to think you felt a bit distant before.”

 

Really?

Noh Hae-min did?

Noticing my confusion, he burst into playful laughter.

 

“How should I put it… it felt like you were looking down from some incredibly high place. Ah, I’m definitely not criticizing you. I just felt this tremendous sense of distance. Not now though. I think you’ve changed.”

 

To become this honest without even drinking.

Had Noh Hae-min also been influenced by the magic of Goshi Village?

It would have been really nice if the day had ended like that.

 

But.

 

[Client-Kim Su-yeon]

 

My mobile phone buzzed.

Seeing the name that appeared on the screen, I hesitated for a moment.

 

Kim Su-yeon?

Was there any reason for her to call me right now?

I had a bad feeling. I immediately answered the phone.

 

“This is Sung Tae-hyun.”

 

And.

 

-You are Lawyer Sung Tae-hyun, correct? This is XX Police Station.

 

…Police station?

I looked at the name on the screen again.

 

[Client-Kim Su-yeon]

 

I hadn’t seen it wrong.

 

-There was a burglary at Kim Su-yeon’s house, and Kim Su-yeon is in a very unstable state.

 

Ah, could my luck really be this bad?

—————
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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