The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 9

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

Episode 9

 

 

Is going to work originally this difficult?

 

I reflected on Kim Wook-han’s short life.

The day he passed the bar exam and entered the Judicial Research and Training Institute, or the days he went to court and wore his judicial robe.

 

None of those days had ever been this difficult.

 

“…Sir, are you really going like that?”

 

From the moment I first opened his car door, a strange silence had divided the two of us.

The man who had been silent for a long time finally spoke.

 

I suppose he’d be curious.

 

Right now, I have a red necktie wrapped tightly around my head, covering my eyes.

How much thought I had put into choosing one of the only two neckties I had this morning.

 

I had never used a necktie this way before, so I was a bit clumsy.

Still, the necktie that firmly covered my eyes didn’t allow even the slightest gap.

 

“Yes.”

“Are you drunk by any chance?”

“No.”

 

The taxi driver, parked in front of the officetel with his hazard lights on, continued to hesitate.

Despite his bewildered voice, as if he had seen someone drunk, I just urged him on nonchalantly.

 

It’s not like I wanted to look like this either.

 

‘…I just wanted to try changing the contents of the diary.’

 

That’s right.

 

Yesterday, when I was having that pointless argument at Mother’s house.

A new diary entry had appeared in the diary.

 

[Witnessed an accident.]

[It’s fortunate 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.]

 

As I left Mother’s house and headed to Seoul, I came to that conclusion.

 

Sung Tae-hyun.

In other words, the owner of this body might still have some consciousness remaining.

 

The irregularly beating heart, particularly when it came to matters related to Mother.

The sudden loss of control over my body regardless of my will, or the release of control as if it were being used as a means of communication.

 

And the diary.

 

What’s written about tomorrow in Sung Tae-hyun’s diary always happens.

Since the events were written from his perspective, not mine, there was no guarantee they would be important by my standards.

But anyway, that’s how it had been so far.

 

I had decided to take it one step further.

 

‘Maybe the events written about tomorrow in this diary could be changed.’

 

Well, you know.

 

I finally got a diary that tells me about tomorrow’s events.

If I can’t change tomorrow’s events to work in my favor, what good would it be other than as kindling?

 

[Witnessed an accident.]

 

I slowly reviewed the contents written in the diary.

 

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

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

 

According to this diary, I would witness an accident on my way to work today.

 

It was very frustrating that it didn’t specify what kind of accident, but Sung Tae-hyun’s diary being unhelpful wasn’t a recent development.

 

So the conclusion I reached was to go to work looking like this.

 

‘I just need to avoid witnessing the accident.’

 

From this new studio apartment I found to Ho-shin Senior’s small office takes about five minutes on foot.

However, having seen the diary entry about witnessing an accident in that short moment.

I ultimately decided to cover my eyes until I reached the office.

 

Aside from the fact that the only tool I had to cover my eyes was a necktie, it seemed like a decent plan.

 

‘Let’s just get inside the building. After that, I only need to climb one flight of stairs.’

 

Once I somehow reach the entrance of the old building where Ho-shin Senior’s office is located, getting up to the office wouldn’t be difficult.

 

Go straight ahead as soon as I get out of the taxi.

 

Since it’s a building without an elevator, I just need to climb the stairs that appear after a few steps upon entering, up to the office on the second floor.

 

This was valuable information I had gained by going back and forth between the building with Senior’s office and my house last night.

 

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

 

And this last sentence.

I signed up for an online shopping mall that offered same-day delivery to change the diary’s contents, and ordered five new pants.

 

They said it would be delivered this afternoon, so this last sentence might change too.

 

It’s just a hypothesis, though.

 

“Geez… are you really going to do this?”

 

The taxi driver’s voice rumbled, shattering my thoughts.

 

If I could change the diary’s contents, I could endure this much.

I might look a bit strange, but what’s the big deal about that.

I slowly nodded and added.

 

“Please stop exactly in front of the building entrance at the Shopping Complex.”

“Huh… no matter how I look at it, you’re weird…”

“I’ll pay double.”

“Huh?”

“If you roll down the window and make sure I walk safely to the entrance, I’ll pay triple.”

 

It was only a five-minute walk anyway.

When I added more to what would only be the basic fare, the driver quickly responded.

 

“Departing now~”

 

I had secured a safety measure as well.

 

* * *

 

“Watch your step! Watch your step. There’s a bit of a step right below there.”

 

Finally, I was in front of the building.

 

The necktie tied so tightly that it wouldn’t allow even a fingernail’s worth of light felt suffocating.

However, thanks to the safety measure I had set up in advance, I was barely able to get out of the taxi.

 

“Now go straight! It’s okay, there’s nothing there.”

 

The taxi driver, who had written down his account number to receive the extra fare, was surprisingly quite proactive.

Following his instructions, I stepped onto the sidewalk.

Just three large steps from where the road met the sidewalk would bring me right to the entrance of the building where the office was located.

 

It was almost over now.

 

One step.

Another step.

And the last one-

 

“Huh, huh?!”

 

There’s something called a strange intuition.

 

A disgusting sensation you don’t usually notice but only become aware of when you’re about to die.

A chill a hundred times more terrible than the expression “spine-tingling” covers your entire body from head to toe.

 

“Huh? Hey, pervert, hands, pervert customer!”

 

When the taxi driver shouted loudly instead of screaming, the strange déjà vu I felt just before dying as Kim Wook-han enveloped my entire body.

 

Along with a fierce wind, the friction sound of something scraping the road rushed toward me chillingly.

The last step, beyond that was the building with its open door.

Time slowed down and my heart pounded frantically.

 

I threw my entire body forward and took the last step into the building. And.

 

“…?!”

 

The red necktie that had been covering my head throughout the rough movement came undone and fell to the ground.

 

I wasn’t the only one who had moved into the building.

Large eyes, seemingly enlarged by fear, were right in front of my nose.

At this rate, this person would hit their head on the ground.

 

There was no hesitation.

 

Not wanting to become the target of an accident rather than just a witness, I immediately threw my body forward and embraced the person with the large eyes.

 

Kwaaaaaaang-.

 

It was a very brief moment.

A loud sound echoed from the truck that had crashed into the side of the building.

 

The truck had rammed into the rear of the taxi that had stopped briefly to help me, and not stopping there, it bounced onto the sidewalk, ran diagonally, and only stopped after crashing right next to the building entrance.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

I asked the woman I had embraced with my whole body as we fell into the building.

Somehow it had turned out as if I had saved the woman by avoiding the truck that had rushed onto the sidewalk.

Although it wasn’t my own body anyway, thanks to using Sung Tae-hyun’s entire body to embrace her, the woman didn’t seem to be particularly injured.

 

Only the red necktie I had used to cover my eyes had fallen to the ground, and I had scratches on my hands and ankles.

 

“…”

 

The woman, who appeared to be around the same age as Sung Tae-hyun, seemed very shocked and only moved her mouth wordlessly.

 

Conversation would be difficult for now.

I carefully helped her up and had her sit on the stairs.

 

Witnessing an accident—though it’s questionable whether this could be called witnessing.

I cleared the floating sentences from my head and went outside the building.

The taxi driver who had been supporting me was grabbing his neck and approaching near the truck’s driver’s seat.

 

“No, this crazy bastard…! Hey! Come out, you son of a bitch…!”

 

Perhaps because of the loud noise, commuters from here and there had stopped to watch.

 

The truck had crashed into the building quite hard.

The building’s exterior wall wasn’t broken, but the truck’s bumper was completely crushed.

Even so, the man who had his head against the steering wheel wasn’t getting up.

 

“Hey!”

 

The very angry taxi driver banged on the driver’s seat.

Naturally, there was no response.

Just as I was taking out my mobile phone to report it, a siren began wailing from the end of the alley.

 

“Won’t you come out?!”

 

That’s when it happened.

 

The man who had been motionless until now suddenly jerked his head up.

Due to the dark tinting, it was hard to see his face properly, but I could clearly see him getting up.

 

…No way.

 

I moved away from the taxi driver to a position inside the sidewalk.

With a loud roar, the reverse lights came on and the truck stepped on the accelerator.

 

“Hey, hey, you bastard…!”

 

The taxi driver shouted.

As he was banging on the driver’s seat, he fell to the side as the truck reversed.

 

Damn, this is really witnessing an accident.

 

The siren grew louder and soon a police car arrived, but the truck had already stepped on the gas and fled.

Only the concrete fragments that had fallen from the broken building exterior wall indicated where the truck had been.

 

“Over there, it went that way!”

 

The taxi driver ran to the police car that arrived late.

The truck that had already disappeared around the end of the alley was nowhere to be seen.

However, the police car soon departed, and the taxi driver sat down in dismay.

 

It was an accident severe enough for the truck’s front bumper to fall off.

Even if he ran away now, that driver would be caught somewhere.

 

Moreover, the rear of the taxi was completely crushed.

With an accident of this magnitude, even if the taxi driver could move right now, there was a very high probability he was injured somewhere.

 

Nevertheless, since the truck driver fled without taking any measures, under the Special Act, imprisonment of one year or more or a fine of 5 million won or more but not exceeding 30 million won could be applied.

 

That’s not all.

 

The truck driver’s condition didn’t look very good either.

If alcohol or drugs were added, the charges would be aggravated and imprisonment rather than a fine would likely be sentenced.

 

“Let’s go to the hospital first.”

 

This was someone who had come all the way here despite seeing my bizarre appearance.

It felt uncomfortable to just ignore him and turn away.

 

“Oh no!”

 

The taxi driver who had been sitting on the ground crying like a child slowly raised his head to look at me.

As expected, he seemed to have injured his neck, flinching at even small movements, looking quite painful.

 

The faint resentment I felt in his gaze must be my imagination.

 

I took out a business card from my pocket and handed it to him.

Since I didn’t have new business cards yet, it had the Haeil Law Firm logo on it, but the phone number was still the same.

 

“Th-this is…”

“The police went after him, so he’ll probably be caught soon… but just in case.”

“A law-lawyer…?”

 

He seemed unable to match the word lawyer with a pervert who covered his eyes with a red tie.

 

“…Haeil? That Haeil…?”

 

As expected.

The name Haeil Law Firm was already widely known to the general public.

To the taxi driver whose eyes lit up upon seeing the logo, I added again.

 

“Yes. But that business card is from my previous workplace, so just look at the phone number.”

“…”

“My new workplace is over here.”

 

For the taxi driver who was just blinking, I kindly raised my finger to point at the building’s signboard.

 

Law Firm Ilchul.

The old signboard hanging on the building was precariously dangling as if it might fall from the earlier impact.

 

“…Il… chul…?”

 

Instantly, his gaze plummeted to the ground.

I should suggest changing that signboard first, which makes trust plummet just by showing up to work.

 

“…Well, if you need anything, please contact me.”

“….”

“Make sure to go to the hospital. And don’t forget to submit the medical certificate to the police.”

 

Soon after, the police car that had followed the truck earlier stopped in front of the taxi driver again.

I suppose that should be enough.

I got back up and moved toward the building entrance.

 

Going to work once is really difficult.

 

Just as I was about to climb the stairs, a hand carefully grabbed my wrist, making my relaxed legs stumble.

 

“Ah, oh! I’m sorry, lawyer.”

“…Yes?”

“You’re lawyer Sung Tae-hyun, right?”

 

It was the woman I had just protected using Sung Tae-hyun’s body.

Unlike a few minutes ago when she was frozen like a startled rabbit, she now spoke with a lively tone.

 

Moreover, she already knew my name despite this being our first meeting.

Somehow, I felt like getting involved with her would be troublesome.

 

“Wait a moment! I’ll just give you my business card and go!”

 

I hadn’t said anything, yet her reaction suggested rejection was the default.

 

I took the business card the woman suddenly held out.

And I froze in surprise at the unexpected name.

This woman who was smiling as if harmless was actually-

 

“…Jungseo Daily, reporter Lee Na-yoon?”

 

…The crazy bitch who had relentlessly torn apart Judge ‘Kim Wook-han’.

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