The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 86

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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 86

 

 

“That was….”

 

Kim Su-yeon pondered her memories for a long while.

After a few minutes of seeming to weigh something with her head down, her eyes met with the woman again.

 

Noh Hae-min, who had also returned after organizing his thoughts, was sitting beside them.

 

“He couldn’t steal it.”

“An attempted theft then.”

“Yes… He seemed to be looking for something. Our house is a bit….”

“Dark.”

 

I already knew that much.

I had been there several times.

Kim Su-yeon’s house always had blackout curtains drawn so that not a single ray of light could seep in from outside.

 

There seemed to be indirect lighting, but maybe it wasn’t turned on every day.

The question was quickly resolved.

 

Kim Su-yeon opened her mouth.

 

“I’ve been sleeping all day lately because I’m depressed.”

 

Kim Su-yeon was already receiving treatment at the psychiatry department.

 

Anxiety, depression, panic attacks….

In such a situation, when bad things pile up, it made sense that she would sleep all day.

 

“So the house was always pitch black. It was like that when the robber came in too… Of course, that bastard did turn on the lights, but he seemed to wander around because he couldn’t see well.”

 

An ordinary robber would have looked for money.

Though it wouldn’t have been easy to find in the darkness.

 

“But it was strange. He must have seen the wallet on the table, but he didn’t even touch it.”

 

So this meant it was a somewhat different pattern from an ordinary robber.

 

Kim Su-yeon let out a trembling sigh and chewed on her lips nervously.

Noh Hae-min carefully offered her a cup of cold water.

She took a few sips of the water in the paper cup and exhaled.

 

“I’m sorry. The panic attacks keep….”

“It’s okay.”

“…Even after tying me up, the robber looked around the area. Ah…!”

 

The woman who had been giving her statement suddenly brightened up as if she remembered something.

For the first time, life returned to her face where tears had dried up.

 

“The Cinesar… Oh, it had just finished updating around that time.”

“I see.”

“Yes! As soon as the Cinesar finished updating, it reset my health status, and then….”

 

Kim Su-yeon’s body trembled.

 

“Come to think of it, it was strange. That man, his voice was familiar… I felt like I’d heard it somewhere before….”

“….”

“A voice I’d heard before… Ah… His build? I’m not sure about his build. He was wearing lots of layers of clothes….”

 

Kim Su-yeon, who had been muttering to herself for a moment, closed her mouth.

Soon she looked at me and Noh Hae-min in turn, making eye contact.

 

“I don’t think he wanted money.”

“…Then?”

“The Cinesar.”

 

Kim Su-yeon said it again as if it was absurd.

 

“It seems like he wanted the Cinesar speaker. But that’s cheap? No, why…? The device itself is really cheap, you know? It’s also a product made by a startup, and since it’s experimental, the device itself was priced with almost no margin… why….”

“Is there a reason you’re so certain about this?”

 

Kim Su-yeon blinked her eyes several times as if thinking about something.

 

“Yes. Because… that robber….”

“….”

“The Cinesar that detected the robber immediately called the police. The robber probably noticed the Cinesar too when its light came on at that moment.”

 

What exactly was so special about that speaker? Noh Hae-min seemed to have the same thought as me, as his eyes lit up.

 

“That robber… was frantically trying to remove the Cinesar speaker without damaging it.”

“…!”

“While leaving the wallet on the table.”

 

That would indeed be very strange.

An ordinary robber would have tried to grab something valuable rather than trying to take away the speaker that reported him.

 

When Noh Hae-min searched for Cinesar on the open market as if he were Manager Yoon Ha-young, products similar to the Cinesar that Kim Su-yeon mentioned came up in a long list.

 

“…Eighty thousand won?”

 

The lowest price was even in the seventy thousand won range.

 

So he went to the trouble of wearing a hat, mask, and even sunglasses to hide his identity just to steal a Cinesar?

One worth eighty thousand won?

 

Moreover, it ended as an attempted theft.

Though it sounds a bit odd to say, it meant he wasn’t a professional robber. Something was amateurish about it.

 

“Good. Ms. Kim Su-yeon.”

“…Yes….”

“The culprit will probably be caught soon. There are many CCTVs and black boxes in the vicinity.”

“….”

“Based on what you told me, would you cooperate with the police investigation, and may I have that Sineser examined by a private forensics company?”

 

Something was bothering me.

 

The ‘hub’ that 404 mentioned.

If the item that the robber rushed into Kim Su-yeon’s house to steal at this particular moment was just an AI speaker worth around 80,000 won.

Could it really be unrelated to Bae In-jun?

 

“…Yes.”

“I’ll inform the police once the forensics report comes out. Anyway, the current case is close to attempted aggravated robbery, and the culprit will be caught soon.”

“…Yes, yes.”

 

Kim Su-yeon finally seemed to relax, letting out a sigh with a relieved expression.

Though she looked like she could fall asleep any moment, the police had been waiting quite a while too.

 

“We’ll contact you when the culprit is caught.”

 

Finally, the statement was finished, and the police sent us off with tired expressions.

 

Kim Su-yeon seemed to have shaky legs as she couldn’t properly get up from her chair.

Both securing the Sineser and her house security were problematic situations.

 

“Ms. Kim Su-yeon, about your younger sister who came to your house before.”

“Ah, yes… Su-jin.”

“Yes, couldn’t you stay together for a few more days?”

 

It might be difficult for her.

But it was also true that I was worried about what might happen to Kim Su-yeon if she stayed alone at home like this again.

 

The that Sung Tae-hyun’s diary had warned about from the beginning.

If that was a result of Bae In-jun’s actions, then Kim Su-yeon had never been safe all this time.

 

“…I’ll try asking. But really… I’m fine.”

 

I couldn’t force the client.

Neither Noh Hae-min nor I could keep staying in this neighborhood.

 

Anyway, securing the Sineser was important right now.

If, as I suspected, someone from Bae In-jun’s side had disguised themselves as a robber to steal Kim Su-yeon’s Sineser speaker, the probability of them trying again was also high.

 

And that was probably… because Bae In-jun became impatient due to the hints 404 had given.

 

“Oh, about that civil case….”

 

After leaving the police station and arriving at her officetel, Kim Su-yeon suddenly spoke as if she had just remembered.

 

“Is there anything I need to do when submitting the response brief?”

 

She looked very tired.

I had already entrusted evidence gathering to Lee Seol-rok, and planned to write the response brief and have Kim Su-yeon review it as soon as I received his answer, but she said with a pale face.

 

“I don’t know anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m so sick of it. I’m exhausted. I just… wish it would all end.”

 

But not submitting the civil response brief would be problematic.

If the court panel accepted the plaintiff’s claims as they were, Kim Su-yeon could suffer another 50 million won loss.

 

“I’ll write it as quickly as possible so you won’t have to deal with it.”

 

This was about all I could do for her as a lawyer.

Kim Su-yeon nodded.

 

“I’ll just do the final review. Everything else….”

“Yes.”

“Please handle it as you see fit, Lawyer.”

 

She’s saying the most demanding thing.

 

But well, I can do that much.

Anyway, the response brief is a process of persuading the judge, not the client Kim Su-yeon. And that was what I, a former judge, did best.

 

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

 

Noh Hae-min also nodded.

Noh Hae-min, who had looked listless since the police station today, didn’t forget to smile even with his tired expression.

 

“Lawyer Sung is really good with documents. He’s good at everything – complaints, response briefs, content-certified mail.”

“…Ahaha. Is that so….”

“Yes. So don’t worry, Su-yeon.”

 

Hmm, that was heartwarming.

 

While Noh Hae-min was comforting Kim Su-yeon, I examined the top of the living room cabinet where the Sineser AI speaker was installed.

The speaker itself wasn’t clearly visible as it was hidden by the TV installed on top of the living room cabinet rather than wall-mounted.

 

-Su-yeon! Your heart rate is stable.

-Shall I play some soft classical music to match today’s mood?

 

It seemed to be working fine too.

Soon, Kim Su-yeon, having finished her conversation with Noh Hae-min, unplugged the wire connected to the Sineser speaker.

 

-Shutting down.

 

The speaker turned off with a light notification sound.

 

“Why on earth would they target this?”

 

Kim Su-yeon wrapped the speaker in bubble wrap, put it in a paper bag, and handed it to me.

 

“This is really cheap. It’s nothing special….”

“Well, I’ll look into that.”

That was about all I could say at the moment.

“Oh? Yes. That’s right.”

 

Then I should take those as well.

Then I’ll have to entrust that as well.

After I explained, Kim Suyeon pulled out about three cell phones from somewhere on the shelf and handed them to me.

“I understand.”

 

As Noh Hae-min and I left her house, I reminded her once more.

 

“Don’t stay alone, and if Bae In-jun contacts you again-“

“Don’t stay alone, and if Bae In-jun contacts you again-“

“…Yes. I’ll tell you right away.”

“Well. I need to look into it now.”

 

As I left the officetel, I was carrying a paper bag containing the Cinesar speaker, power cord, and Kim Su-yeon’s three mobile phones.

 

What a long day.

In my hand as I left the officetel was a paper bag containing three items: a Cinese speaker, a power cord, and Kim Soo-yeon’s cell phone.

The day feels so long.

As if sharing my thoughts, Noh Haemin let out a sigh with a weary expression.

But since I didn’t have proper knowledge either, I kept my mouth shut.

 

“No, I’m not going to entrust it to a hacker.”

Making a website and having hacking skills in this area are probably quite different things.

But I too lacked proper knowledge, so I kept my mouth shut.

…This guy, really.

“No, I won’t entrust it to a hacker.”

“Huh? Why?”

A hacker for evidence gathering, what kind of nonsense is that?

 

Perhaps because emotions I couldn’t hide showed on my face, Noh Hae-min flinched.

 

“Attorney Sung, no. Tae-hyun. Your expression is really….”

“Scary. I told you. What you do to clients, do half of that to me-“

“Yeah, that’s it.”

 

Half of what. It’s safe to say I’ll hardly see clients once this case is over.

 

But Noh Hae-min?

So as long as I’m at Law Firm Ilchul, it also meant he’s a face I’ll keep seeing.

 

“Senior.”

“If we entrust forensics to a hacker, would it have evidential value?”

Half? What do you mean half? Once this job is done, it’s safe to say we’ll hardly have any reason to see the client again.

But what about Noh Haemin?

“Read the training materials you received during training sometimes. That way your brain won’t get rusty.”

“Don’t just play games every day.”

 

Nagging poured out of me without realizing it.

“Huh?”

“If we let a hacker handle the forensics, would it have any evidential value?”

“Be a little quiet, Senior.”

 

I was scared someone might hear.

“Well, that’s right. Evidential value. Exactly.”

I could entrust him with making a homepage in urgent situations or analyzing my mobile phone, but he said the unit price didn’t match.

 

“And hackers are expensive.”

Before I knew it, nagging words came pouring out of me.

My eyes narrowed without realizing it. Noh Hae-min’s body flinched again.

 

“…Don’t tell me you paid for all of that with your own money…?”

 

That’s right.

I was afraid someone might hear.

To think I have to listen to such ridiculous nonsense just over admissibility of evidence.

Besides, 404 was just like a piggy bank that devoured coins.

I could have asked him to make a website in a pinch or analyze my phone, but he said the rates didn’t work out.

“And hackers are expensive.”

“Mm-hmm… I see. Huh? Really? You didn’t put the expenses on the company card?”

As if that’s even possible.

My eyes narrowed without me realizing it. Noh Haemin’s body flinched again.

“…Don’t tell me you paid for all of that with your own money…?”

That was right.

All the coins I had been feeding to 404 up until now were money I had paid out of my own pocket.

“Huh… you’re rich… no wait, you had money?”

You’re the rich one.

Anyway, instead of answering this naive second-generation chaebol, I let out a sigh.

The Cinesar speaker in my hand felt incredibly heavy.

 

“Senior.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m going to leave this to Lee Seol-rok. It’s supposedly a private invest… no, a detective agency. He must know a few forensic companies.”

 

From Lee Seol-rok’s office to the police station, and back to Lee Seol-rok’s office again.

 

It had been a very long day.

I climbed the stairs of Lee Seol-rok’s office building again, carrying a load of burdens I needed to entrust to someone.

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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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