Chairman Yoon Kyung-joon, Attorney Yoon Yi-hoon’s great uncle, arrived at Lee & Yeon.
He had expressed his desire to observe our meeting.
He even went to the trouble of adjusting his schedule after coming to work to match our meeting time.
‘Adjusting his schedule in just half a day… This is a lot of pressure.’
He said it was because Mondays were usually for receiving internal reports.
Thanks to that, we received word that Chairman Yoon Kyung-joon had arrived on the first floor, and we all stood at the information desk, waiting with tense expressions.
And the pressure wasn’t just on us.
Even for Lee & Yeon, it was rare for a subsidiary CEO to appear in person.
‘Yoon, you’re finally getting the picture, aren’t you?’
From his perspective, he was just his great uncle, but to us, wasn’t he a towering subsidiary CEO? At the sudden news that the CEO of Woonseon Engineering had arrived at Lee & Yeon for the first time, even the Senior Litigation Attorney, an executive-level senior lawyer, rushed out barefoot.
Considering that there are only three senior attorneys directly under the CEO, it was quite a lot of effort for simply greeting someone who was observing a meeting.
“What happened here?”
“I apologize, Senior Attorney. We only just received word, so our report was delayed.”
“…Everyone knows Woonseong is a pretty big company, right? Let’s handle this well today.”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
Following Attorneys Ahn and Seo, Attorney Yoon shrunk his shoulders, aware of everyone’s gaze.
‘Why would you cause such a big problem?’
Normally, if a CEO were to visit, preparations would begin at least a week in advance.
That’s how important a guest they are.
“Haha, Attorney Yoon. He’s your great uncle, right? Don’t be so intimidated, straighten your shoulders!”
“Yes… no, um, I’ll do well.”
“Our Attorney Yoon has really become a person. Don’t you think?”
“…Yes.”
“Yes….”
Both Attorney Seo and Attorney Ahn’s replies were a beat late. They only affirmed because it was the Senior Litigation Attorney speaking.
Attorney Yoon, who had straightened his shoulders at the Senior Litigation Attorney’s encouragement, then shrunk back again upon receiving our three pairs of eyes simultaneously.
At that moment, a refined voice was heard.
“No, why are you all out here?”
A man in his 50s, neatly dressed in a suit, appeared with what looked like his secretary.
It was Chairman Yoon Kyung-joon, Attorney Yoon Yi-hoon’s great uncle.
He looked at all of us with a slightly surprised expression.
“Hahaha, this is Chairman’s first visit to our Lee & Yeon, isn’t it natural! It’s a pleasure to meet you like this.”
“I just came to observe a meeting, I’m embarrassed.”
“Not at all. Please think of this as your company and make yourself comfortable while you’re here.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
‘To be a Senior Litigation Attorney, you probably have to do this much.’
It wasn’t that unfamiliar when considering Attorney Yoon Yi-hoon, who was the Senior Litigation Attorney at Lee & Yeon in his past life.
Back then, Attorney Yoon was just as capable as the current Senior Litigation Attorney.
‘Actually, he’s still formidable now.’
Perhaps Attorney Yoon was a prepared Senior Litigation Attorney talent from the very beginning.
I smiled and guided Chairman Yoon to the meeting room.
Then the Senior Litigation Attorney bowed once more and left, and the accompanying secretary also said he would wait downstairs before disappearing.
“Chairman, please have a seat wherever you’re comfortable.”
“Hmm, are you Secretary Kim Yoo-hee?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
‘How did he know my name?’
Unconsciously, my gaze turned to Attorney Yoon Yi-hoon.
He laughed, patting his chest.
‘He even mentioned my name.’
How much did he have to say for my name to be remembered?
I couldn’t even imagine what kind of movie he had written.
“I heard you’re obsessed with work, but I can’t tell just from your impression.”
…It seemed like it wasn’t a very normal scenario.
With the thought that today wouldn’t be easy, I guided Chairman Yoon Kyung-joon to a seat where he could clearly see the conference table.
Then the attorneys approached him and greeted him.
“Hello. I’m Seo Il-hwa, a lawyer from the tax team.”
“I heard about you from Attorney Yoon. He said you’re an unparalleled expert in the tax field.”
“Haha, it’s not that much, but my intuition for cases is acknowledged.”
Attorney Seo Il-hwa promoted himself while humbly downplaying his abilities.
Meanwhile, Attorney Ahn Gyeong-hun calmly introduced himself.
“I’m Attorney Ahn Gyeong-hun. I don’t have any special skills, I just work hard.”
“Attorney Ahn!”
The moment I saw the Chairman’s reaction, I instinctively knew.
Attorney Yoon Yi-hoon had done a fantastic job of greasing the wheels.
He personally extended his hand first.
“I’ve heard a lot about you. They say you never refuse a case for those who are unfairly treated, right? It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“I just did my job. It’s also a pleasure to meet you.”
“I won’t introduce myself separately.”
“Haha, our Yi-hoon doesn’t need an introduction.”
Chairman Yoon looked at his nephew with proud eyes and then sat down.
And in a calm tone, he conveyed his thoughts.
“As you all know, Yi-hoon here is my nephew. For that reason, I was planning to entrust this case to another law firm. I didn’t want to burden my nephew unnecessarily.”
This was the same reason why Attorney Yoon Yi-hoon couldn’t readily step forward to take on the case.
“And I won’t deny that there could be rumors about entrusting it to a family member.”
That would be true.
Even though he was the CEO, he was still an employee of the company.
Especially if the results were not good, there was a high possibility of gossip.
“Nevertheless, the reason I came here was due to my brother’s advice.”
The former chief judge of the Southern District Court, and the current director of the Judicial Research and Training Institute.
He probably couldn’t ignore his father, Yoon Yi-hoon’s, words.
“Yi-hoon’s study materials are extraordinary.”
I didn’t just give him related precedents.
I combined the sure-win legal theories and related precedents from my past life to create entirely new case examples.
In other words, I boldly suggested the direction of the case.
And now that material was placed in front of Chairman Yoon.
It was precisely what Attorney Yoon Yi-hoon had shown him over the weekend.
“Who made these materials?”
Silence fell in the meeting room at the Chairman’s question.
The silence was broken by my voice.
“I did.”
Everyone’s eyes turned to me.
In that moment, I read something in the CEO’s eyes.
At the very least, it wasn’t hostility.
It was a subtle curiosity.
To win this case, we needed to be bold.
This meant that Attorneys Ahn and Seo had been briefed beforehand.
My actions, in particular, required Attorney Seo Il-hwa’s consent.
Attorney Ahn Gyeong-hun knew me better than anyone and had seen all the work I’d done firsthand, but Attorney Seo Il-hwa wasn’t quite at that level.
‘Attorney, even if we argue our logic well, there’s a high chance this case will go to appeal.’
‘That’s right. Even with thorough preparation, it would be difficult, and now the CEO has suddenly shown up today.’
‘So, I was thinking. I want to touch on the CEO’s emotional side.’
‘Emotional side?’
‘Yes. His success story.’
‘What’s that?’
‘The man who rose from the bottom.’
That was my story, wasn’t it?
The difference was that he had already achieved it, and I still had many steps to go.
‘People tend to feel a sense of camaraderie with those who are similar to them.’
After being so disregarded at the company.
Who knew being from a provincial national university would ever be helpful?
I remained standing until all the attorneys were seated.
After all, I needed to stand to give the briefing now.
“I made them.”
“My brother was impressed by materials made by a secretary. That’s quite fresh.”
Chairman Yoon Kyung-joon said, holding up the materials.
I bowed my head in gratitude and raised my pointer.
From now on, it wouldn’t be fresh; it would be shocking.
Because they were about to witness an internal meeting led by a secretary.
“Since everyone is seated, I’ll begin.”
The autumn sunlight streamed through the window.
I took a subtle, deep breath.
I was more nervous than I thought.
The attorneys had agreed with my idea, which is why I was standing in front, but today’s meeting wasn’t solely mine.
That was because no matter how well I found the materials, I certainly couldn’t match Attorney Seo Il-hwa when it came to tax matters.
Attorney Seo is a recognized expert in this field.
Above all, according to Attorney Yoon Yi-hoon, the CEO would prefer a lively discussion over a one-sided briefing.
‘Isn’t our internal meeting the driving force behind our victory? I told you it’s a fierce battleground.’
In short, a movie-like meeting.
My role would be to properly open the door to it.
We barely had any time to practice together, so we couldn’t rehearse properly.
I simply had to trust their exceptional skills.
Standing with the sunlight at my back, I slowly pressed the pointer.
“According to the materials Attorney Yoon gave us, Woonseon Engineering recently acquired a corporation. And they were assessed over 1.5 billion won in corporate taxes.”
To be exact, about 1.55 billion won.
In 2023, that would be about the price of an expensive apartment in Seoul, but this was 19 years ago.
Considering the inflation rate since then, it was as if they had been hit several times over that amount.
This meant that, even considering the company’s size, it was by no means a small amount.
Moreover, Attorney Yoon’s great uncle was the company’s CEO, not the owner.
This meant he couldn’t be entirely free from responsibility.
Even if it wasn’t his fault.
“Even considering the acquisition size, it’s a considerably excessive amount.”
Woonseon Engineering.
It was one of the subsidiaries of Woonseon Co., Ltd., an automotive parts company.
Even at this point, it was a considerably large enterprise, but just before I returned, it was a powerful company that grew into a large corporation with the remarkable development of the Korean automobile industry.
Considering that Woonseon has few subsidiaries given its company size, all of them are key subsidiaries.
In other words, it can be interpreted that there is a lot of attention on its subsidiaries.
“However, the acquired company itself has no major issues. It even received praise for being a solid deal.”
I deliberately tapped the desk lightly. It was a kind of showmanship.
I wondered if I really had to go this far, but… it was Attorney Yoon Yi-hoon’s idea, so I just went with it.
“Yes, that’s right. My great uncle bragged so much about acquiring that company during the holidays.”
“Oh dear, this boy. Are you trying to tarnish your great uncle’s reputation?”
“But it’s the truth.”
“Hahahahaha.”
Everyone burst into laughter at Attorney Yoon Yi-hoon’s words.
But I saw it. The shaking eyes of the attorneys behind their smiles.
Everyone, except Attorney Yoon, felt the same way I did.
‘Is this okay…?’
A movie-like meeting!
My mouth was twitching at the corners, on the verge of convulsing in a situation I’d never experienced, but I held it in.
‘Then, shall we get started?’
It was time to unleash a powerful blow at this point.
“I think we can win this case.”
“Excuse me?”
“Hmm!”
“Huh?”
This was truly a movie.
Seeing their surprised expressions, I grinned.
Perhaps I had a bit of talent for movies too.