The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 97
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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 97
So far, between and .
It wasn’t clear which side was the problem.
Noh Hae-min’s complexion grew even darker.
“This… no. This can’t be right.”
Noh Hae-min’s father, that is, Representative Roh Tae-sung of Wooa Furniture, had collapsed in his study room.
That was the fact Noh Hae-min had mentioned just moments ago.
Considering Noh Hae-min’s reaction now as well, it seemed that someone copying his products and winning an award had caused him serious stress, leading to his collapse.
“This is ridiculous.”
I gripped the shoulder of the dazedly muttering Noh Hae-min somewhat firmly.
“Tae-hyun.”
“Tell me.”
“…This really doesn’t make sense.”
Yoon Sang-do of Biga Furniture, who had won his first design award at the International Furniture Exhibition.
The age I roughly estimated from the photos seemed similar to Noh Hae-min’s father.
Noh Hae-min pointed to a photo of him giving an interview with a gentle smile.
“This person.”
“Yes.”
“…He’s our father’s friend.”
“…!”
That’s an unexpected statement.
“They’ve been friends for a very long time. I heard they were friends even before I was born.”
“…Are you certain? You’re not mistaking him for someone else?”
“…No. How could I mistake him? Just a few months ago, he even had dinner at our house.”
“…”
“He’s someone who’s been like family throughout my entire life growing up.”
This makes the situation quite troublesome.
It seems Noh Hae-min’s father had fallen ill after being betrayed by an old friend.
“It’s true.”
Blood vessels bulged on the back of Noh Hae-min’s clenched fist.
It was the agitation of someone suddenly confronted with the truth.
“Yoon Sang-do… That’s right. Uncle Yoon. This is really unbelievable, this can’t be real… I heard he’s been going through a lot of difficult times lately… and our father…”
“You can keep talking, Senior.”
“…Father has lent him money several times…”
“Yes.”
“…And he knew that Father had staked everything on this design.”
What filled Noh Hae-min’s eyes now was indescribable devastation.
He reread the article several times as if he couldn’t believe it.
“This doesn’t make sense. Why would Uncle Yoon?”
What finally burst out was a sigh of frustration at not knowing the reason.
“This design… this, this really… can’t be Uncle Yoon’s work.”
But I needed to hear the reason for that statement.
Only then could I help Noh Hae-min and his father.
I have no choice.
After wrapping up the Bae In-jun case, there weren’t many requests that came into the office anyway.
Even those were mostly just delivering review opinions.
They weren’t requests worth pouring time and resources into like the Bae In-jun case,
so I had time to spare.
Helping Noh Hae-min with my spare time was, well, somewhat of an investment.
“Why.”
“…”
“You must have a reason for being certain it’s not Yoon Sang-do’s work.”
Noh Hae-min caught his breath for a moment and fell into thought.
Well, I was pushing him too hard.
Even though his father had collapsed and there was no immediate threat to his life, it was unreasonable to expect logical thinking right now.
I caught him before his gaze, which kept turning toward the ground, could collapse downward.
“Senior, listen carefully.”
“…Yeah.”
“This article is dated today.”
“…Yeah, I know.”
“I’ll need to look into that International Furniture Exhibition or whatever, but your father probably found out about this today too.”
Noh Hae-min’s parched lips twitched slightly.
Well, I thought he’d only show that constantly grinning, laughing face.
Seeing nothing but unpleasant expressions all day made me feel terrible.
“So that means it’s not too late for anything yet.”
“…”
“Remember? The statute of limitations for damage compensation claims?”
At my sudden question, Noh Hae-min’s face was colored with confusion.
“…Claim for damages?”
“What does Article 766 of the Civil Code define?”
I deliberately asked in a stiff manner.
To revive the memories from law school days that would be buried deep in Noh Hae-min’s mind.
Why do such a thing?
Because even this kind of nonsense would keep him occupied with thoughts and prevent him from eating himself alive.
“…Well, Tae-hyun.”
“Just answer. Senior. Article 766, Paragraph 1.”
“…No, that’s….”
“Don’t waste time.”
The answer is simple.
Article 766, Paragraph 1 of the Civil Code stipulates the right to claim damages due to illegal acts.
This right to claim damages has a statute of limitations of 3 years from the day the victim becomes aware of the damage and the perpetrator.
So, even though Wooa Furniture’s situation isn’t good, it doesn’t mean it’s completely too late.
“…Statute of limitations… Right, that… 3 years from the day of awareness.”
“Correct.”
His cloudy eyes regained the light of reality.
He definitely did study.
Well, Articles 750 and 766 of the Civil Code, which are provisions related to damage compensation due to illegal acts, should be memorizable by any legal professional even if woken up from sleep.
So ultimately, it was the legal provisions he had memorized since law school that pulled him back to reality.
I let go of the hand that was holding Noh Hae-min.
Now Noh Hae-min was standing on his own.
“So it’s not completely the worst case….”
“That’s also correct.”
“…You really….”
“What.”
“…What kind of person comforts someone like this….”
Noh Hae-min’s voice trembled.
I didn’t answer.
Because it wasn’t comfort.
“Get your head straight, Senior.”
“….”
“And tomorrow, bring everything you know organized to the office. Let’s review it together.”
Anyway, there’s no representative in this office.
In an office without a representative, I was the one doing representative-like work.
“Tae-hyun….”
Just as I was about to push away Noh Hae-min’s face, which was beginning to well up with tears as if moved.
“Son, dinner’s ready, what are you doing?”
A gentle voice echoed from afar.
Noh Hae-min took out the handkerchief he always carried and wiped around his eyes.
Though still red, his eyes were no longer cloudy.
“Coming now!”
* * *
“There’s not much prepared, so it’s a bit lacking. But please eat a lot.”
The food filling the 8-person dining table was overwhelming.
Even so, Noh Hae-min’s mother sighed, saying there wasn’t much prepared.
“After Hae-min’s father collapsed, things have been chaotic… Thank you so much, Lawyer Sung Tae-hyun.”
“Not at all.”
“Our Hae-min, the child is a bit slow but he’s that much kinder. So please take good care of him, Lawyer Tae-hyun.”
“You don’t need to worry.”
Small talk continued.
By the time I left Noh Hae-min’s house and returned to my small studio apartment, it was already close to midnight.
[Noh Hae-min brought a bunch of materials.]
Sung Tae-hyun’s diary.
The diary entry that began to be slowly carved under tomorrow’s date seemed nothing special.
[Elegant patterns rather than flashy ones.]
This is just an observation.
[And hidden secrets… might there be some?]
[That’s what I think, but others might not.]
[But masters always have secrets.]
“Are you writing a movie review or something?”
Of course, Sung Tae-hyun didn’t answer my question.
He just quietly added another sentence.
[Couldn’t go to Mr. Roh Tae-sung.]
On this, I agreed with Sung Tae-hyun’s opinion too.
To bring up the very story that caused someone who had just collapsed from a cerebral infarction to fall in the first place.
It could even create a risk of relapse from stress.
Just as I was about to fold away Sung Tae-hyun’s Diary, which had ended without any particular hints.
[…All betrayals are bound to leave traces.]
Sung Tae-hyun’s Diary glowed as it came to a conclusion.
“…Betrayal?”
Betrayal. That’s right.
Roh Tae-sung, Noh Hae-min’s Father, and Yoon Sang-do, the Representative of Viga Furniture, were said to be friends.
According to Noh Hae-min’s claim, Yoon Sang-do had stolen the design that Roh Tae-sung had created by staking everything on it.
So the protagonist of this ‘betrayal’ should have been Yoon Sang-do.
“…But why mention something we already know once more?”
Betrayals leave traces.
Betrayals leave traces….
“Is there a hint that Yoon Sang-do left behind?”
Sung Tae-hyun’s Diary remained silent as always.
Only the writing that seemed pressed down firmly remained.
* * *
“You’re here?”
The next morning.
Noh Hae-min, who came to work later than usual, had a face that looked slightly better than yesterday.
Section Chief Yoon Ha-young, who had already been briefed about the ‘Wooah Furniture’ case with Noh Hae-min’s consent, was persistently digging into the international furniture exhibition that Viga Furniture had won.
“Yeah, ah. Lawyer Sung. The materials you mentioned, I brought everything I could get my hands on.”
That’s quite a lot more than I expected?
I knew through the Diary’s prophecy, but still.
From various books to files, disks, and even pamphlets that looked familiar from somewhere.
Noh Hae-min came to work carrying luggage that seemed like he had cleaned out the entire study room I saw yesterday.
Soon, materials piled up like a mountain on the table in the middle of the office.
“…This is everything.”
“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it.”
Section Chief Yoon Ha-young’s gaze turned toward the table, then back to her computer screen.
…Now I understand.
This is silent boundary-setting.
Since she’s already handling research, she won’t touch the mountain of materials—Section Chief Yoon’s own professional wall.
I abandoned my thought of dumping the materials on her and faced Noh Hae-min.
“Please go ahead.”
“…First, take a look at this.”
What Noh Hae-min pulled out was an old notebook.
When I turned past the faded cover, yellowed pages came into view.
After flipping through several pages, Noh Hae-min spoke.
“These are all those designs.”
“The stolen ones?”
“Yeah. That furniture line that Uncle Yoon won awards for, from the original concept to all the revisions—Dad sketched all of it.”
I roughly understand.
But wouldn’t this alone be insufficient?
As if understanding my gaze, Noh Hae-min rummaged through the mountain of materials and also pulled out an album with furniture images printed in it.
“This seems to be something officially published by the company… but I’m not entirely sure either. Father would probably know….”
“I can tell from looking at the photos.”
It appeared to be an album created for business purposes by Wooah Furniture.
The furniture line that Viga Furniture had stolen designs for and won awards with was already publicly available through several articles, interviews, and Viga Furniture’s homepage.
So the comparison itself wasn’t difficult.
“Why on earth would Uncle do such a thing….”
“What’s important right now isn’t finding the cause and tormenting yourself.”
“…Huh?”
“What’s important right now is evidence. Evidence that Viga Furniture plagiarized these designs.”
“…Yeah… Still. I’m just curious about why he did it. Father probably feels the same way.”
Is it a family trait?
Anyway, design plagiarism cases were practically difficult to prove.
To prove that someone copied a design, the originality of the design itself must be recognized.
There are already many designs on the market.
It was quite tricky because it often fell into the realm of ideas that were difficult to protect.
Noh Hae-min also knew this, so his heart was leaning more toward wondering why it happened.
“Come to think of it, Senior.”
“Yeah?”
“This design, it can’t possibly be a Biga Furniture work. Didn’t you say that yesterday?”
He had definitely said that.
Noh Hae-min nodded at my question.
“Yeah. I’m certain.”
“What’s the reason?”
“Well….”
Noh Hae-min rummaged through the mountain of materials again.
And what he finally found was a very old-looking booklet and an album filled with woodcraft works.
“…Master craftsman in South Korea’s woodworking field, Mr. Noh Jung-do?”
“Yeah, that’s our grandfather. He passed away a few years ago.”
“Then don’t tell me….”
“I thought you might have guessed….”
A voice filled with longing spread through the quiet office.
“This furniture line that father created this time, all of it….”
“….”
“It’s made with designs based on patterns that grandfather created.”
Oh no.
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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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