Chapter 18

CEO Kang Myeong-cheol (5)

'Come to my office tomorrow.'

The words he had blurted out while drunk yesterday suddenly crossed his mind.

Dong-yeop sank back into the sofa, abandoning his upright posture.

“Ah, where's my head? That's right. I was the one who asked you to come.”

“Are you feeling any better?”

“Yeah. What about you? Manager Choi, could you make another glass of cold honey water? This is the kid who was drinking with me yesterday.”

Park Dong-yeop called loudly toward the door.

“Did you come because of what I said yesterday? When I asked if you were interested in law?”

“······Yes.”

“You little rascal. I knew it. Hey, being a lawyer really isn't that big a deal. Just do what you've always done. Huh? Study hard, and it's perfectly achievable. As far as I'm concerned, you'll definitely make it.”

Bareum's eyes were cold.

Deep eyes that showed no sign of wavering.

“If I weren't a convicted murderer, that is.”

“Hey!! That's!!”

“Article 8 of the Attorney-at-Law Act of the Republic of Korea. A person who has been sentenced to imprisonment without labor or a heavier punishment cannot become an attorney until five years have passed since the sentence was completed or it was confirmed that the sentence would not be executed.”

“You looked that up?”

“By the letter of the law, I could become one. But you know how it is. People with criminal records are almost always rejected by law schools. And in my case······.”

“Right. You're the lunatic who fired a gun in a courtroom.”

Park Dong-yeop sprang to his feet.

“So what!! Are you going to give up because there's nothing you can do about it? Jeong Bareum!! I'm disappointed in you. When you found yourself in a situation the law couldn't resolve, you made a choice you never should have made. I suppose that was because you didn't believe there was truly nothing you could do. But now!! The law itself says it's fine. And you're telling me you're going to give up on something that interests you, something you want to do, because you're afraid of the old fossils who make their living off that law?”

A strange intensity.

An exaggerated posture, almost like a musical actor.

But at the very least, whenever Park Dong-yeop uttered the word 'law,' his voice was filled with genuine conviction.

“Jeong Bareum. You're already a lunatic who shot someone dead in a courtroom with a homemade gun printed on a 3D printer. You committed an act unprecedented in the entire constitutional history of the Republic of Korea. You've already done something that crazy once. Who's to say you can't become a lawyer? Especially when the former was a crime, but the latter would be a triumph of the human spirit.”

“······.”

Bareum was left speechless.

Park Dong-yeop continued passionately.

“Think about it carefully. Remember that fierce determination you had when you were making a gun using the internet? If you're confident you can summon that same determination again, if you think you can find the resolve to pick up a pen instead of a gun and fight the world one more time, then open that office door and come back. If you do, I promise I'll help you.”

“······Understood. I'll be going, then.”

After quietly looking at Park Dong-yeop, Bareum rose from his seat.

Manager Choi, who had been standing outside the director's office with a glass of cold honey water, stepped aside.

“What should I do with this?”

“Just give me another glass. Bareum's still young, so he doesn't seem to need it anyway.”

“So, Attorney Park. What are you really thinking? Do you honestly believe that boy can become a lawyer? With a murder conviction?”

“Of course he can't.”

“Pardon?”

Park Dong-yeop snorted and drank down the honey water.

“I know that too. You think people in this profession would ever accept a murderer as one of their own? He'd be rejected at the law school interview without question. It's completely out of the question.”

“Then why on earth?”

“Because it pisses me off.”

“Bareum does?”

“Well, obviously, that too. Fuck. A kid with a bright future ahead of him. They ruin his future with a ridiculous verdict, and now these filthy······ They're going to tell him he can't become a lawyer because he's a murderer. No, forget it. Why am I going on about this to you?”

“Well, you've already said just about everything. So what are you really thinking?”

Park Dong-yeop crunched down even the ice in his glass of honey water before setting it aside.

“I just want to give him something to aim for.”

“A goal?”

“His entire family's dead. He studied his heart out and got into a foreign language high school, only for all of that to become meaningless. What goal could that kid possibly have? Looking at him, I wouldn't be surprised if he hanged himself one day. People need some kind of goal to keep living. Even when they know it's impossible, having a goal gets them moving. Honestly, what's so bad about studying like hell with the aim of becoming a lawyer? Suppose he gets into a good university. Say he graduates from Seoul National University's business school or political science department. Even if he never becomes a lawyer, think what a lifeline that degree would be for him.”

At Dong-yeop's words, Manager Choi looked at him for a moment and smiled faintly.

“······Sometimes, you really do seem like a proper lawyer.”

“Sometimes? That's a bit harsh. I'm one of the top attorneys in the business these days.”

“Yes, yes. Of course. So, would you like another glass of honey water?”

“I'd appreciate that.”

______________

“Attorney Park, you have visitors.”

“Visitors? Did I have an appointment today?”

“No. They say they're from the Special Investigation Headquarters. The team leader's name is Gu Dae-cheol.”

“The Special Investigation Headquarters? Why would they? Ah, ask them to come in for now.”

Park Dong-yeop frowned slightly at Choi Yu-gyeong's words. Soon afterward, two men strode into the director's office with heavy footsteps. Sneakers and leather jackets. They looked like detectives straight out of a picture.

“Sorry for dropping by without notice. We're interviewing people connected to CEO Kang Myeong-cheol's death. I'm Team Leader Gu Dae-cheol from the Special Investigation Headquarters.”

Gu Dae-cheol showed his police identification and casually dropped onto the sofa opposite Park Dong-yeop.

At Park Dong-yeop's glance, Choi Yu-gyeong quietly closed the door and left.

A peculiar tension.

Park Dong-yeop spoke with a natural smile.

“It's truly unfortunate. To suffer such a tragedy immediately after being acquitted. His family must be devastated.”

Detective Gu Dae-cheol, seated across from him, studied Park Dong-yeop's face intently.

“Attorney Park.”

“Yes.”

“You really do find it unfortunate, don't you?”

“Haha, well, of course I······.”

“No, it's just that whenever I've seen you on television, you've always seemed like someone with a strong sense of justice. So I wondered whether you might have been rather unhappy about taking this particular case.”

“Justice is certainly important. But I've got office rent to pay and a manager out there whose salary doesn't come cheap. As you know, a criminal defense attorney who only pursues justice is liable to starve to death. This was one of the larger cases our little office had taken on, and now this has happened before we could even reach the appeal. It's a real shame.”

“Ah, I see.”

A brief exchange of subtle barbs.

Detective Gu Dae-cheol took out a worn notebook and asked Dong-yeop a question.

“As you know, Attorney Park, there are certain formalities we always have to go through in an investigation like this. So let me ask you, what were you doing around the time CEO Kang died? From what I hear, they were having some kind of celebration after the acquittal. I found it a little strange that the man responsible for securing that acquittal wasn't there.”

“This really is just a formality, right?”

“Oh, absolutely. Just a formality. Nothing more.”

Dong-yeop set his coffee cup on the table.

“It's just a little strange that the mighty Special Investigation Headquarters, and its team leader no less, would personally investigate the death of a man who got drunk, slipped, and drowned with his face in a sink.”

“Haha, the mighty Special Investigation Headquarters? Hardly. As you know, our main case is completely shrouded in mystery. So they keep dumping other convenient little cases on us as well. That's just how things go, wouldn't you say?”

Gu Dae-cheol's slippery response.

“Anyway, we still need to finish these formalities. Where were you at the time?”

“I was drinking soju at the charcoal-grilled pork belly restaurant in front of the courthouse. I was so happy about earning all that money that I drank until I blacked out.”

“Any witnesses?”

“Of course. The younger fellow I was drinking with. He called a designated driver and put me in the back seat of my car. If you need it, I could give you a copy of the dashcam footage. It hasn't even been a week, so the recording should still be there.”

“Ah, no. There's really no need to go that far. As I said, this is purely a formality.”

—Ring, ring.

Just then, the telephone on Park Dong-yeop's desk rang.

“Ah, excuse me a moment. Yes, Manager Choi. What is it? Ah, that kid's here? No, just send him in. We were actually talking about him a moment ago. Perfect timing.”

“Who?”

“The younger fellow I mentioned drinking with.”

—Knock, knock.

A light knock.

A young man who still looked rather youthful, perhaps closer to a boy, entered the director's office.

“Say hello, Bareum. These are detectives from the Special Investigation Headquarters.”

“Hello. I'm Jeong Bareum.”

“Well, so you're the younger fellow. My name's Gu Dae-cheol.”

Gu Dae-cheol rubbed his hand against his jacket a couple of times before extending it toward Bareum.

“Very pleased to meet you.”

Bareum reached out and shook Gu Dae-cheol's hand.

And Gu Dae-cheol habitually tightened his grip slightly.

“Ah!!”

“Oh!! I'm sorry. I did that without thinking. But you've got quite a strong grip for someone your size. Have you done some exercise?”

Gu Dae-cheol released his hand with an embarrassed laugh.

“Yes, just a little······.”

“Anyway, I'm really sorry about that. Ah, Attorney Park, we'll be on our way now. Thank you for cooperating with our 'formalities.'”

“Of course. Keep up the good work, detectives.”

The two detectives left the director's office.

Park Chang-su remained silent as they walked down the corridor and entered the elevator, then pressed the button to close the doors and spoke.

“Team Leader, please stop squeezing people's hands when you shake them. What is this, the eighties? You're going to get sued one of these days.”

“Hey, I barely put any strength into it. Who's going to sue me over that? Kids these days are just too weak.”

Park Chang-su frowned.

“Your grip strength as a former national judo team member would hurt even a grown adult these days, never mind a kid.”

“That was ages ago.”

“So what if it was ages ago? You think all that strength from your training just disappears?”

“Ah, enough. I'm hungry. Let's stop for a bowl of sundae soup on the way.”

“Sundae soup sounds good.”

The detectives had left the director's office.

Dong-yeop dropped heavily onto the sofa.

“So, do you think you've found the determination to pick up a pen instead of a gun and fight the world one more time?”

Instead of answering Dong-yeop's question, Bareum slowly looked around the office.

Thick case files and collections of judicial precedents filled one wall, while piles of documents from ongoing criminal cases lay scattered across the table.

“I don't know about determination, but I bought some books. They were pretty expensive.”

“Yeah, exam preparation books are quite expensive these days. So? Do you have somewhere to study? I said I'd help you. Want me to pay for a study room or an online course?”

“No.”

Bareum looked directly at Dong-yeop and spoke.

“Just let me work here part-time.”

“What? Part-time?”

“Maybe it's because I have a murder conviction, or maybe it's because I dropped out of high school. Anyway, finding a part-time job has been pretty difficult. Studying costs money too. And I figured that if I worked for you, you'd probably let me study here when I wasn't busy.”

Dong-yeop frowned.

Getting into a prestigious university was difficult enough even when you devoted yourself entirely to studying. And this kid wanted to study while working? But at the same time, he thought about how lonely it must be for Bareum, with neither family nor friends left, to spend his days traveling between his home and a study room all by himself.

“Do you really think you'll be able to study here?”

“I guess I'll find out once I try.”

“I can't pay you more than minimum wage. And I'll actually make you work.”

“Yes, that's what a part-time job is.”

“I'll check your mock exam scores, and if they're not good enough, I'll fire you immediately and just pay for a study room instead. Right now, getting into university is the most important thing for you.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Was it a coincidence?

As Bareum bowed his head, his gaze fell upon a document lying among the papers scattered across the desk.

[Abandoned Building Rooftop Fall Resulting in Death Following Assault]

[Suspect: Lee Ji-hun (17)]

© Myoyeop#12ipk

Author's Note

Thank you.