“Tsk, tsk, tsk. They should just throw all those types in jail.”
“You think so too, Mom?”
I asked, finishing the breakfast my mom had made for me.
My mom pointed at the TV with a look that said, “Why would you even ask such an obvious question?”
“Of course! Especially that guy who’s been acting out just because of his family; he should rot in there for the rest of his life.”
My mom’s finger pointed to the back of a man returning home after police questioning, his image displayed prominently on the screen.
It was Cha Kang-hyuk, the chaebol scoundrel who had thrown South Korea into an uproar.
Through my mom, I could gauge the extent of people’s anger.
‘A bastard who deserves to die a thousand deaths.’
In a way, it was to be expected.
Because Cha Kang-hyuk had put a perfectly healthy person into a coma a few days ago.
An incident that marked a new chapter in the history of chaebol delinquents occurred this week.
“Ms. Yoo-hee, did you hear about it? That scoundrel Cha Kang-hyuk, you know.”
“Yes, of course.”
Lawyer Yoon Yi-hoon said, punching his time card at my desk.
He had rushed over immediately because of the shocking news.
For your information, the nickname “scoundrel” isn’t new.
Cha Kang-hyuk has been a well-known figure at Lee & Yeon for a long time.
“I always thought he’d cause a big problem someday, but I never imagined he’d actually hit someone and send them to their grave!”
“Well, if you look at the outcome, yes.”
“Hey, our secretary, who can tolerate overtime but not injustice, why are you so calm for once?”
“I… I won’t tolerate overtime anymore either.”
“Of course. I am the sinner.”
Lawyer Yoon Yi-hoon said, feigning to shackle his hands together.
“Oh, why are you a sinner, Lawyer Yoon? Anyone else but you.”
“Right. Cha Kang-hyuk is the sinner of sinners.”
Hmm, I wasn’t talking about Cha Kang-hyuk, but let’s just go with that.
With this, I confirmed the reactions of both those who knew him and those who didn’t.
Everyone’s anger is extraordinary.
Of course, not everyone will be like that. There must be one person whose butt is on fire right now.
‘I’d love to see Go Jong-tak’s rotten expression.’
Cha Han Construction, where Cha Kang-hyuk is a managing director, is a leading conglomerate among the top 10 in construction capability.
It’s so prominent that its apartment brand, ‘Fine Inner,’ is even more famous than the company name itself.
-Fine Inner, where everyone wants to live!
As the slogan suggests, Fine Inner was one of the dream apartments that every South Korean desired.
Furthermore, Cha Han Construction is one of Go Jong-tak’s most cherished clients.
So he probably stayed up all night after getting the call.
Because he wouldn’t know the truth of this incident at all.
At this point, I’m the only one who knows the full story of this matter.
“Then I’ll go watch the fire.”
“Huh? Watch the fire?”
“Yes.”
They say the most entertaining thing in the world is watching someone else’s house burn down.
And to top it off, it’s Go Jong-tak’s house burning down.
How can I not look forward to this?
“Oh, right. There’s also someone who’ll dance in front of that blaze.”
“Huh?”
The chaebol scoundrel, Cha Kang-hyuk.
From this moment on, I’m taking over.
I grabbed the morning newspaper and headed to Lawyer Ahn Gyeong-hun’s office.
“…Ms. Yoo-hee, did you eat something wrong this morning?”
Hmm, that’s not entirely wrong.
Because I ate so quickly that I couldn’t even tell if the rice was going up my nose or into my mouth, all thanks to my mom’s insistence on always eating breakfast.
“Uh, I did eat a bit hastily.”
Actually, Lawyer Ahn’s reaction was exactly as I expected.
If it were anyone else but Lawyer Ahn Gyeong-hun, like Go Jong-tak, I would have had a hundred things thrown at me.
Because he wouldn’t understand anything I was saying.
Cha Han Construction isn’t just a client of Go Jong-tak’s.
It’s one of Lee & Yeon Law Firm’s biggest clients, inherited since CEO Lee Han-woong’s time.
Go Jong-tak naturally became the person in charge of Cha Han Construction by focusing on Cha Kang-hyuk, who has been a huge client and a pain in the neck for the past five years.
‘In a way, you could say it’s impressive. What kind of scoundrel is he?’
Every time he came, the conference room was never quiet. But today, it was beyond imagination.
How could I forget the day he turned the company upside down, not just the conference room?
In fact, only a handful of people could act out like that in a large law firm.
‘So you’re calling that a sensible thing to say?!’
‘How much money have I poured into this place? How can you say such a thing?’
The words I heard in the conference room in my past life are still vivid in my ears.
It was because the scoundrel, shocked at the possibility of a prison sentence, got agitated.
At that time, I volunteered to go into the chaotic room that no one else wanted to enter.
Because I believed that you had to do what others wouldn’t to be recognized.
‘To think that would be helpful.’
Thanks to steadfastly organizing the conference room in a battlefield-like environment, I know better than anyone what will happen there today.
Therefore, today, I will gladly walk into that place.
The first reason is that this chaebol scoundrel is one of Go Jong-tak’s key clients.
The other is…
I looked at Lawyer Ahn, recalling the scoundrel’s voice playing live in my mind.
“You’re scheduled to attend the meeting regarding Managing Director Cha Kang-hyuk today, aren’t you?”
“Of course. Since the matter is urgent, all key partners have been asked to attend.”
Urgent? It’s a complete emergency.
Since this morning, he’s been plastered all over the front pages of every news outlet, so no one in South Korea would be unaware of the trouble that scoundrel caused.
“That’s why I mentioned it.”
“Exactly. Is it because you don’t know what kind of incident it is?”
“I know very well. That’s why I want you to take it.”
“That case is a huge bomb. Even for Managing Director Cha Kang-hyuk, he’ll get a prison sentence this time.”
That’s right. He received a prison sentence in the first trial in my last life as well.
With the victim fighting for their life and the entire nation watching, there wouldn’t be a judge bold enough to give him a suspended sentence.
In a serious voice, I reminded Lawyer Ahn of a promise he had made.
“Lawyer, do you remember? When you spoke about Mr. Lee Chil-hong’s case, you said you’d dance even if your skin burned in front of a pit of fire if necessary.”
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
“That’s what I meant, Lawyer.”
“Are you saying you expected something like this to happen?”
“Of course not. But what I mean is that with the power Managing Director Cha Kang-hyuk possesses, he can certainly influence public opinion through the media.”
“Ha, in this situation, he’d burn along with public opinion instead of influencing it.”
In the current situation, yes.
But what if that’s not the whole story?
The incident was simple.
Cha Kang-hyuk, the scoundrel director, and three friends got into an argument with a group of office workers passing by a club.
Woo Jin-gon, Cha Kang-hyuk’s friend, who was drunkenly giggling and lighting a cigarette, bumped into the victim who was walking past.
‘Oh, seriously, what bad luck.’
‘What? I don’t know what you’re talking about, you bumped into me by mistake.’
‘Mistakes are what bugs like you make.’
‘What? What did you say?’
‘It’s true. You’re just mayflies living off the scraps I give you. Aren’t they, guys?’
No sooner had Woo Jin-gon finished speaking than his two friends sneered, as if they’d found an amusing plaything.
‘Yeah. It’s really noisy when bugs cry.’
‘Heheheh. My point exactly.’
Compared to Cha Kang-hyuk and Woo Jin-gon, the other two were not quite wealthy enough to be called chaebol.
That’s why they agreed more vehemently with Woo Jin-gon.
They were the type to be more obsequious to those in power and harsher to those who weren’t.
‘You guys are noisy too. So just stop it now.’
‘Hey, Cha Kang-hyuk. What are you talking about? If you’re drunk, just stay quiet.’
Woo Jin-gon, frowning at Cha Kang-hyuk’s words, punched the chest of the 40-year-old man, who was trembling with anger.
‘Look at this. This bug dares to glare at me without knowing his place, why should I put up with it?’
‘Who’s the real worm here?!’
With a shout, the man lunged forward.
That’s how the brawl between the group, excluding Cha Kang-hyuk, and the office workers began.
Cha Kang-hyuk frowned, looking troubled, and stepped between them.
‘Hey, don’t cause trouble for no reason, just stop…’
Thwack.
Blind punches landed repeatedly on Cha Kang-hyuk’s cheek as he tried to stop Woo Jin-gon.
It was the first counterattack from the 40-year-old man who had been thoroughly beaten.
‘What is this now?’
‘What do you mean ‘what’? This is justice, fitting for trash like you!’
For the man, the fact that Cha Kang-hyuk had tried to stop the fight from the beginning didn’t matter.
In his eyes, he was just another piece of trash.
It was at that moment that Cha Kang-hyuk’s fist, having been hit for no reason, reflexively flew out.
‘Ugh.’
Everything happened in an instant.
The man, hit by Cha Kang-hyuk’s fist, stepped on a puddle and hit his head directly on the edge of the roadside.
As a result, the victim was hospitalized in the intensive care unit in an unconscious state.
“We’ll need to review the records, but according to the news, Lawyer, Cha Kang-hyuk wasn’t the only one who fought that day. There were others too.”
“Even so, the reality that Director Cha put the victim in a coma doesn’t change.”
Indeed, that was the biggest reason Cha Kang-hyuk received a prison sentence in the first trial in his past life.
However, did he receive a prison sentence in the second trial? No, he didn’t.
Because the man woke up.
‘But I can’t use that right now. More importantly, how do I explain this to Lawyer Ahn Gyeong-hun?’
‘I know the future, so if we take this, we have a good chance of winning.’
I can’t say that.
Furthermore, if Director Cha was truly beyond redemption, I wouldn’t have made such a plan.
Lawyer Ahn wouldn’t defend such a person, and neither would I.
It was a fact I learned later, but the scoundrel had a certain loyalty.
‘Even if meeting the wrong friends caused too much of a synergy effect.’
Would it mean anything to dwell on that now?
Right now, I need to focus on what can be done.
“Director Cha Kang-hyuk might not have had the intention to harm the other party.”
“That’s just Director Cha’s usual claim, Ms. Yoo-hee.”
Yes. The biggest problem with the current situation is this.
Cha Kang-hyuk is being unilaterally beaten up by the media.
We need to prove that he had no intention of committing the crime, but everyone present at the scene is giving testimony favorable to Woo Jin-gon.
Woo Jin-gon, of course, and his two other friends as well.
The fact that the three office workers present at the scene are also babbling like parrots is what significantly raises the difficulty of this case.
As if they were instructed to do so.
“Then how about this? What if the media is unusually attacking Director Cha?”
“Director Cha is also one of their important advertisers. Would the media have a reason to do that?”
That’s true. Everyone knows that construction companies do a lot of advertising.
But.
“Lawyer, could you please check where the first report on this incident came from?”
“Hmm, that’s not important… KBN?”
It was ‘KBN,’ a news-specialized broadcasting company where Woo Jin-gon’s father was a major shareholder.
“There’s definitely something going on with this case, Lawyer.”
“But……..”
A subtle ripple spread in Lawyer Ahn’s eyes.
This is enough.
I didn’t expect him to agree with me from the start anyway.
“Isn’t this a case everyone thinks will fail anyway? If we show even a little progress, you can achieve a great result.”
“But I can’t take this chaebol scou……. No, Ms. Yoo-hee.”
I think I know what Lawyer Ahn couldn’t finish saying.
‘But I can’t take on this chaebol scoundrel,’ perhaps?
In my previous life, I would have thought the same.
But now, I know that Cha Kang-hyuk is not just a simple chaebol scoundrel.
That’s why we must seize this lifeline.