“About today’s meeting. Would it be alright if one more person attended?”
“One more person?”
Is he talking about another lawyer?
Given Lawyer Yoon’s wide network, he probably knows a truckload of lawyers, including his classmates, just within Lee & Yeon.
“Yes. My great-uncle.”
“What?!”
I instinctively sprang to my feet at Lawyer Yoon Yi-hoon’s words.
“Are you saying he’s attending our internal meeting today?”
“I’m sorry. I should have told you in advance. I just got the call myself a little while ago.”
“What on earth did you tell your great-uncle to make him do that?”
“I didn’t tell him anything. He came to see my father over the weekend.”
“Ah.”
Lawyer Yoon’s family is a prestigious legal family, having produced judges, prosecutors, and lawyers since his grandfather’s generation.
Among them, Lawyer Yoon Yi-hoon’s father served as the Chief Judge of the Seoul Southern District Court and is currently the President of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, training prospective legal professionals.
‘I can perfectly understand why he’d ask his brother, a judge who even served as Chief Judge.’
Moreover, someone who has served as the President of the Judicial Research and Training Institute wouldn’t have shallow legal knowledge.
“But why is he coming to our firm?”
Of course, if I could persuade Lawyer Yoon, then it would be his great-uncle’s turn.
But to skip steps and come directly like this?
My mind went blank at the unexpected turn of events.
“Well… my father called me too. You know, no matter the occasion, parents never fail to brag about their children!”
So even elite legal professionals are all the same.
I thought it was just my parents.
‘Come to think of it, I don’t really have anything to brag about, but they still did.’
No matter what I accomplish, I’m just a secretary right now.
Furthermore, my parents don’t even really know what kind of work I do.
Yet, they’re so proud of me.
They say I work at one of Korea’s top 5 law firms.
Their usual line, about how I’m so good at my job that the company won’t let me go, is always the same.
‘Well, I am good at my job.’
They always chided me for working overtime, but they must have secretly been proud.
“My father bragged about me so much that… I accidentally mentioned that I was diligently studying my great-uncle’s case too.”
Oh, um.
Yoon Yi-hoon was being Yoon Yi-hoon.
In fact, judging by his recent actions, he did have something to brag about.
He was the lawyer in charge of the An-eum case, as well as the Cha Kang-hyuk case, which everyone in Korea knows about, and he did many interviews with Lawyer Ahn.
“So my father asked how far I’d gotten with the case study… and I showed him the materials Ms. Yoo-hee gave me. I framed it well, saying it was from a talented individual at our firm.”
“Eek? You talked about me there?”
“No, he suddenly asked, so I was flustered and told him honestly. And there’s no reason to hide the truth, is there?”
“Still. You’re trying to entrust it to Aso, aren’t you? That’s the biggest law firm in Korea. If they knew I prepared it, they might be disappointed.”
Still, from what I heard, he didn’t say I was a secretary.
Then perhaps I can frame it well as Lawyer Seo Il-hwa.
Since I already talked about it this morning, if I hurry and coordinate with him…
“Anyway, the topic already came up, didn’t it?”
“Oh, surely not…?”
“The Cha Kang-hyuk team leader case. My great-uncle was really curious about the backstory. So, I was just talking about my contributions… Hahahaha. But don’t worry. I embellished it well when I told him.”
“How did you embellish it?”
“Focusing on my contributions. But anyway, we worked together, didn’t we? So Ms. Yoo-hee’s story couldn’t be left out. I told that part well, like a movie.”
Yoon Yi-hoon!
I almost blurted out the lawyer’s name.
But who am I?
A 22-year veteran secretary. Things like this don’t faze me… My foot!
I stood up and took several deep breaths.
“Hoo!”
“Um, Ms. Yoo-hee. Just in case, I’m asking… You’re not mad, are you?”
How much effort I put into taking on this case.
Over the past four days, until last weekend, I’d barely gotten more than 10 hours of sleep.
I prepared that thoroughly.
Because to alleviate Lawyer Yoon’s anxieties, even though I’m not a tax expert, it had to be that level.
There was no other way to persuade him with facts that were close to certainty.
“No. Why would I be mad?”
Hold it in. Hold it in…
Anyway, I don’t need to persuade Lawyer Yoon anymore, but I’ll still hold it in.
I’m a professional, so it’s okay… No, it’s not.
The materials to persuade his great-uncle are still being prepared.
I’ll need to approach it differently than persuading a lawyer.
And I haven’t gotten confirmation on that yet.
I had planned to get information about his great-uncle once Lawyer Yoon showed a positive attitude.
Lawyer Yoon Yi-hoon, who hadn’t read my feelings at all, said with a bright expression,
“Well. My great-uncle found it so entertaining. It’s almost as if he’s coming in person because of it. He even said he wanted to observe when I told him we had a meeting today.”
Haha, it’s one hurdle after another.
This means I can’t openly persuade him, doesn’t it?
It literally means he just wants to watch us discuss the case.
“What on earth did you embellish, and how…?”
“I told you. It was like a movie. I actually have some talent in that area, you know?”
Oh, yes. You’re so brilliant.
Now I understand why Lawyer Seo Il-hwa said Lawyer Yoon had a tendency to exaggerate.
If his great-uncle is coming to our firm in person, it makes me suspect it wasn’t just an exaggeration but almost a creation.
“He purely wants to hear what we’ve prepared, so just proceed as usual without any pressure.”
“What did you say to make him conclude that he wants to listen to our meeting?”
I need to know so I can prepare, don’t I?
I managed to force a smile and asked.
“Our internal meeting is the driving force behind our victory, isn’t it? I told him it was a fierce battlefield.”
Kill him?
My hand involuntarily reached for the weapon on the edge of the desk.
‘I’ve already coordinated everything with Lawyer Seo Il-hwa, and now it’s a “fierce battlefield,” my foot!’
It seems I’ll have to write a script that never existed.
But the problem was that there were less than two hours left until the internal meeting.
“Ms. Yoo-hee, please take good care of my great-uncle!”
“Did you tell the other lawyers first?”
“Before I came to you, I told Lawyer Ahn first, and Lawyer Seo was in a meeting, so I just left a note…”
“Hey, Yoon Yi-hoon!!”
Ah, that’s refreshing.
Lawyer Seo Il-hwa appeared at the end of the hallway, shouting Lawyer Yoon’s name.
“What are you talking about? Why is he coming today?!”
“Ah, Lawyer. Cough.”
Hmm, that’s what I wanted to do too.
Lawyer Seo Il-hwa, who had flown to my seat in an instant, wrapped his arm around Lawyer Yoon’s neck like a snake and shook him.
“If there’s something this important, you should tell me in advance, shouldn’t you? Huh?”
“No, I was going to tell you in advance, but you were in a meeting… Ouch.”
“Do you call telling me 30 minutes beforehand ‘in advance’? Huh? If my meeting ended late, I would have been notified right before he arrived, wouldn’t I?”
“My great-uncle said he wanted to see us naturally, so it’s fine… Ughh.”
In the end, Lawyer Seo Il-hwa’s furious headlock took full effect.
“I’m not fine, I’m not!”
Hmm, this movie is a real refreshment.
I clenched both fists and struck a fighting pose.
Sincerely cheering for Lawyer Seo Il-hwa’s retribution.
In the end, we hastily booked a conference room, and I, Lawyer Seo, and the problematic Lawyer Yoon began a three-way confrontation.
“From now on, reveal every piece of information, from A to Z, about your great-uncle without missing anything. Commence.”
“Commence…”
“Oh, your voice is too low.”
“Commence!”
To target a client, knowing about that person is essential.
Indeed, Lawyer Seo Il-hwa was capable.
Unlike someone who was still fumbling with his neck, which was stifled by the headlock.
‘It’s obvious he went easy on him.’
“Lawyer Yoon, I didn’t think you were like that, but you seem to be exaggerating a bit.”
“That’s because Ms. Yoo-hee hasn’t experienced it directly…”
Lawyer Yoon, who was continuing to speak with an aggrieved expression, quickly began his briefing on his great-uncle after receiving Lawyer Seo Il-hwa’s laser gaze.
“To me, my great-uncle is like a medal of honor.”
He said his great-uncle was a pioneer who blazed a trail no one else in the family had taken.
In a family that had produced judges, prosecutors, and lawyers for generations, his great-uncle was, in fact, an anomaly.
“Though this isn’t the time to mention it, my great-uncle often faced criticism and struggled within the family.”
While he’s now a CEO of an affiliate, he was initially just a salaryman.
He said his grades were barely enough to get into a university in Seoul, let alone a prestigious law school, which was naturally where everyone in Lawyer Yoon’s family was expected to go.
That’s why he worked even harder.
No joke, he genuinely put his heart and soul into it.
If I had my “rak-kung rak-kung” bed, he had a military field sleeping bag…
I felt a pang in my nose, as if I was looking at my past self.
“How proud he must have been when he became CEO and acquired his first company!”
If I wanted to be recognized at work, Lawyer Yoon’s great-uncle wanted to be recognized within his family.
He wanted to prove that you could be even more successful without becoming a legal professional.
“When he became CEO, the way his family looked at him changed entirely. He was very happy with the ambition to make that company bigger and more solid.”
I understand that feeling well.
Although I didn’t become a CEO, in my previous life, as a result of dedicating my life to my work, I rose to the highest position an employee could reach.
I still can’t forget the expressions on the employees’ faces at the promotion celebration.
‘Eyes of trust and admiration.’
They used to look down on me and harass me for being from a provincial university, but it seems that position truly makes the person.
At that moment, I envied no one in the world.
Although what remained after that reality hit was only emptiness.
Lawyer Yoon’s great-uncle had family to share his joy with, but I was alone.
‘Not knowing that was where I would die…’
But this life is different.
This time, I’ll build a proper castle, not a sandcastle that vanishes like a mirage.
Therefore, perhaps he, more than anyone, will understand the fierceness that rises from the bottom.
Because kindred spirits recognize each other.
“Oh?”
This story might actually fit unexpectedly?
I sprang to my feet at the unexpected clever idea.
Perhaps the answer to taking on this case lies with me.
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