The city evening glowed brighter as darkness deepened.
A stern-faced man in his 50s stood by the window, gazing at the brilliantly lit city buildings.
Just then, the door opened, and a neatly dressed man approached him.
“Did you call for me, CEO?”
The silhouette of a welcome person appeared in the window, which had been dominated by buildings.
The CEO slowly shifted his gaze and turned around.
“Please, sit. It’s impolite to keep a busy person standing.”
As the man settled onto the sofa, the CEO pressed the intercom to order tea and coffee from his secretary.
“I believe Lawyer Ahn preferred a mix.”
“It’s a bit embarrassing that you remember even such minor details.”
The man, Lawyer Ahn Gyeong-hun, scratched his head awkwardly.
The CEO, with a smile that didn’t quite match his stern expression, replied:
“I’m a man who climbed to this position with only my wits. If I can’t even remember that much, I might as well close the coffin lid.”
“You are quite extraordinary, CEO.”
“Lawyer Ahn is a bit eccentric. You only choose cases that don’t make money, despite your great abilities.”
“Haven’t you heard the rumors, CEO? I’m doing quite a few profitable cases these days.”
Seeing Lawyer Ahn Gyeong-hun’s proud expression, CEO Yeon Ji-gun chuckled.
“Yes. I’ve lived long enough to hear Ahn Gyeong-hun is raking in money.”
That was why Ahn Gyeong-hun had been called today.
It was only natural for curiosity to arise when a lawyer who had always been at the bottom in terms of profit, often mentioned as the first to be dismissed, suddenly saw his performance soar.
What’s more, he’d successively taken on corporate cases and even chaebol cases, which he had never done before.
And in the midst of it all, he’d even managed to get the sudden acceleration case, for which there had been no prior wins, dismissed by the prosecution.
CEO Yeon Ji-gun gazed at the teacup placed before him and said,
“Ahn Gyeong-hun and Cha Kang-hyuk. Is that even a suitable combination?”
“I think so too, but I believe prejudice is unnecessary when it comes to injustice.”
“That would be like you. You’re someone who looks at things without prejudice, regardless of status.”
“Embarrassingly, I couldn’t do that this time. This is someone else’s achievement.”
“Hmm, I did hear something interesting, now that you mention it.”
Seeing Ahn Gyeong-hun with a question mark on his face, CEO Yeon Ji-gun tapped the armrest.
“Don’t you have another eccentric among your secretaries? Someone famous for working themselves to the bone without compensation. Your secretary, that is.”
“Did that reach your ears, CEO?”
“It’s understandable. It’s rare to see a secretary at the company late at night almost every day. No, unique.”
“It’s all my fault.”
Ahn Gyeong-hun nodded with a dark expression.
“In fact, most of my recent achievements are due to my secretary.”
“Interesting. If that’s true, isn’t he better than you?”
“It’s embarrassing, but it’s true.”
“This person takes jokes quite seriously.”
“I wasn’t joking either.”
At Lawyer Ahn’s reply, the smile vanished from CEO Yeon Ji-gun’s face.
Because of his strong impression, the office atmosphere itself changed.
“Even if it’s thanks to a secretary, to readily give all the credit to someone else… How do you expect to survive in our company being so naive?”
“I didn’t expect to hear that from you of all people, CEO.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
Lawyer Ahn picked up the coffee cup in front of him and took a sip.
At that moment, a familiar sweetness lingered in his mouth.
It was the taste he had relied on to fight fatigue since he was preparing for the bar exam.
And it was still the same now.
Only the object of the struggle had changed from fatigue to injustice.
“Not accumulating fame and wealth through dishonest means. Isn’t that your philosophy, CEO?”
“To say that directly without changing your expression in front of the person concerned… Lawyer Ahn, you certainly have a knack for making people awkward.”
“That wasn’t my intention, but since you call it a knack, I’ll take it as a compliment.”
“And thick-skinned too.”
His expression softened, in contrast to his chiding tone.
This made it clear that removing his smile a moment ago had been intentional.
Lawyer Ahn Gyeong-hun took another sip of coffee and said,
“Beating around the bush isn’t your style, CEO, is it? You can get to the point now.”
“Even perceptive. Yes, there’s no need to beat around the bush.”
CEO Yeon Ji-gun opened his mouth with a serious gaze.
“Lawyer Ahn is right. Not accumulating fame and wealth through dishonest means. This is my philosophy, and also a kind of weakness. Not everyone who wants to entrust us with a case can be clean.”
“Among the things we do, there’s also defense, so isn’t it unavoidable?”
“Yes. Whether they’re villains or the opposite, if we take on a case, we must do our best for the client. Otherwise, you’d have to stick to the right path and starve, like you.”
“You have a knack for making people awkward by speaking so bluntly in front of them, CEO.”
“I can say it now because it’s no longer the case.”
He unfolded the documents he had placed on the sofa table and said,
“Lee Chil-hong. 73 years old. All he had was a small car, and even that went to the junkyard due to a sudden acceleration incident. And the food sanitation law violation case was for a small business, not even a medium-sized one.”
CEO Yeon pointed out each case, letting out a wry laugh.
“That’s not all. Excluding Cha Kang-hyuk and a few others, most of the cases taken on in the last five months involved helpless and wronged people. But even without Cha Kang-hyuk, the performance isn’t bad. Do you know what this means?”
CEO Yeon Ji-gun’s expression brightened slightly.
Expectation.
Those two characters flashed in his eyes.
“I’ve found proof that it’s possible to uphold my philosophy.”
Accumulating wealth and honor through righteous means.
This assertion was gradually losing ground at Lee & Yeon.
CEO Yeon spoke in a bitter tone.
“Lawyer Ahn might know, but the company’s power is tilting to one side.”
“I had my suspicions, but I wasn’t in a position to care about that until now.”
“Yes. How could someone who was on his last legs until early this year have time for that? Thanks to that, you remained unbiased.”
“Because I’m someone who can’t be of help to either side.”
“Yes. It’s bitter, but true.”
Ahn Gyeong-hun somewhat understood the CEO Yeon’s intention in calling him.
He was making him an offer.
Asking if he had any intention of joining the tilted playing field.
He chuckled at Yeon Ji-gun’s characteristic approach.
“If you’re trying to scout me for your line, shouldn’t you at least pretend to have something?”
“It’s a fact that can be known without hiding it, so why lie? And would such a tactic persuade Lawyer Ahn?”
“You’re right. And it’s true that the honest offer moves me a little.”
“So you’re saying you’d refuse a CEO who’s losing power?”
“Since you hold an equal stake with CEO Lee, is there any need to put it that way?”
“But the guys under me are indeed struggling a bit.”
It was inevitable that power and equity would gravitate towards the more successful side.
And for CEO Lee Han-woong, the means and methods didn’t matter.
He just needed words to solidify his position.
CEO Lee had plenty of those words.
“That’s why I’m telling you this, Lawyer Ahn.”
“I would like to accept, if I could. However, as I mentioned earlier, my recent achievements are not entirely my own.”
“You mean thanks to that secretary you mentioned?”
“Yes. So I can’t stand on your side, CEO, with achievements that aren’t truly mine.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
CEO Yeon leaned back on the sofa, lost in thought.
Knowing Ahn Gyeong-hun wouldn’t make things up, he was genuinely curious.
What kind of person could help a secretary achieve such results in such a short period?
‘It’s like pulling Ahn Gyeong-hun out of hell.’
The Cha Kang-hyuk case wasn’t over yet.
But the tide had definitely turned.
If, miraculously, only the victim recovered, perhaps even an acquittal might be possible.
From what he heard, the victim had no physical problems except for losing consciousness.
Even if not, depending on how they handled the defense, the possibility of avoiding a prison sentence had greatly increased.
That meant a considerable success fee was waiting.
If this pace continued, Lee Han-woong’s side wouldn’t sit idly by.
The more thoroughbreds, the better.
“Interesting.”
“Excuse me?”
“That trump card is your secretary.”
Currently, Ahn Gyeong-hun is the one making a name for himself.
But behind him is his secretary. And what’s more, the only employee from a regional university at Lee & Yeon.
He wondered what CEO Lee Han-woong’s reaction would be if he found out about this.
“They care about pedigree, no matter how good the horse is.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, just talking to myself.”
Moreover, a secretary is doing such amazing things?
In fact, even Yeon Ji-gun didn’t fully believe Ahn Gyeong-hun’s words.
‘I heard he received a lot of help from that secretary even when her performance was poor.’
Since she passed the first bar exam, it’s true that she’s different from other secretaries.
Furthermore, what Ahn Gyeong-hun lacked was performance, not cases. She must have gained considerable experience by assisting him.
If so, just how capable is this secretary?
“This makes me a little curious too.”
“Are you talking to yourself again this time?”
“No, it means I’ll be watching you going forward.”
“Me?”
That wasn’t wrong.
He had been watching Lawyer Ahn Gyeong-hun until now, and he would continue to do so.
Lawyer Ahn might not know it, but he wanted to protect a lawyer who shared his beliefs.
He had actually tried to do so.
However, he had no intention of using that as an excuse to force Ahn Gyeong-hun to side with him.
If he did, how would he be different from CEO Lee Han-woong?
It was just that one more person had been added to those he would be watching.
CEO Yeon Ji-gun offered a deep smile instead of an answer.
“Ugh, why do I suddenly feel a chill?”
It felt like someone was watching me from behind.
I rubbed my arms and gazed at Lawyer Ahn Gyeong-hun, who had just returned from being called to CEO Yeon’s office.
“Ms. Yoo-hee, are you cold?”
“No. I just feel a little eerie.”
“When you feel like that, try something sweet. It can lift your spirits.”
“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind for dinner tonight.”
I nodded, overcoming my curiosity.
But I was hesitant, wondering how to ask what they had discussed in CEO Yeon’s office.
Lawyer Ahn tapped my desk lightly, an expression of realization on his face.
“Oh, speaking of which, I have a favor to ask.”
“A favor?”
“Yes, and I also have something to tell you.”
What is it?
I stood up and followed Lawyer Ahn after he suggested we talk briefly in his office.
“I’d like you to come with me to the sentencing tomorrow.”
“Hmm, the An-eum case, you mean?”
“Yes, that’s right. Lawyer Yoon Yi-hoon also has a trial at the same courthouse tomorrow, so we’ll be going together.”
Tomorrow was finally the sentencing day for the Food Sanitation Law violation case.
I was so curious about the outcome that I almost wanted to ask him to let me go.
It was, in effect, the first case I had worked on.
“But will it be okay for me to be away for the sentencing?”
I had returned to being a secretary for Lawyers Yoon Yi-hoon and Hyun A-jin last month.
The An-eum case was fine since Lawyer Yoon Yi-hoon was also in charge, but Hyun A-jin had nothing to do with it.
It was obvious she’d make a fuss if I were away for even a little while.
‘I need to arrange a meeting for Lawyer Ahn Gyeong-hun and Lawyer Yoon Yi-hoon to get together soon.’
This was due to an incident that had recently occurred in Lawyer Yoon Yi-hoon’s family.
In my previous life, the case was handled by another law firm, but this time, we had to take it on.
Not only for performance, but also because we could recruit other lawyers to work on the case together.
‘My next target is Lawyer Seo Il-hwa.’
He was also the grateful lawyer who had entrusted me with tomorrow’s sentencing case.
Anyway, it would be good if I could attend the sentencing, but is there a way…?
“That…”
As if reading my thoughts, Lawyer Ahn began with a significant smile.