Lee & Yeon is located in Jongno.
That means their office is north of the Han River, or Gangbuk, and given that I came from a regional national university and my company is my main residence, I had no reason to come here.
In short, not to mention clubs, Gangnam itself was unfamiliar to me.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Well, of course… wait?”
“This is my first time in Gangnam.”
Attorney Yoon Yi-hoon’s eyes widened.
Like many lawyers at Lee & Yeon, his family home was in Gangnam—specifically, in Seocho-dong, where the Supreme Court, Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, High Court, High Prosecutors’ Office, and Central District Court and Prosecutors’ Office are located.
This was also where the most law offices in South Korea were located.
Leaving Attorney Yoon Yi-hoon, who stood there with his mouth agape, I walked confidently forward.
According to what I’d looked up in advance, this way…
“Yoo-hee, that’s exactly the opposite direction.”
“Oh, I guess so.”
I naturally turned my body in the opposite direction as if I had known.
Attorney Yoon Yi-hoon chuckled and followed.
“Come on, you didn’t seem to know, did you?”
“No. I thought I should check the other side too.”
“Pfft. I’ll take your word for it.”
“You’re not paying me back for yesterday, are you?”
“Of course not. I’m not that petty.”
“Yes…”
Anyone could tell it was true, but let’s just go with it.
Considering that he drove me all the way here, I silently walked forward.
After about 10 minutes of walking from where Attorney Yoon’s car was parked, the club in question appeared.
“Since it’s still daytime, it’s not as flashy as it looked on the news.”
“Of course, Yoo-hee. It’s still a while before the club opens.”
“That’s true. So, should we go to the crime scene and take a look around?”
“Sounds good!”
Our primary goal is to secure video footage of the scene from that day.
For example, from nearby buildings or security CCTV.
If they exist, it’s been less than a week since the incident, so there’s a high possibility they haven’t been deleted.
“According to Team Leader Cha Kang-hyuk, it’s behind the club…”
I had thoroughly familiarized myself with photos of the scene on my laptop so I could recognize the spot as soon as we arrived.
So, once we find the location, I’ll recognize it instantly.
Attorney Yoon and I followed Cha Kang-hyuk’s description and walked.
“Here it is.”
“Hmm, Yoo-hee. It doesn’t seem as secluded as I thought.”
“It’s relative, I suppose. The club itself is in the middle of Gangnam, after all.”
Since it’s not evening yet, we can’t tell how crowded the club gets.
However, as one of South Korea’s top clubs, it certainly wouldn’t have few people.
So, it’s likely that the back appears relatively more secluded than the front.
‘This is better for investigating.’
If we were seen loitering in front of the club in broad daylight, anyone would find us suspicious.
Attorney Yoon and I began to explore the surroundings, walking behind the club.
“Hmm, Yoo-hee. There’s a building directly opposite the club here.”
“I see. But that’s also the back, not the front.”
“They might not have built it that way on purpose, but wouldn’t it be a bit odd to have a building entrance behind a club?”
“Hmm, that’s a good point.”
“So, whose parking lot is this? The club’s or that building’s?”
I pointed to the small parking lot sandwiched between the club and the building.
“The parking lot is ambiguously in the middle. But it definitely looks like people come here often to smoke.”
Attorney Yoon Yi-hoon pointed to cigarette butts on the ground.
“Even if it’s a parking space, it’s so small that no one seems to be here.”
“Attorney. Then it’s more likely to be the club’s parking lot than that building’s.”
The building opposite is a 10-story building.
So, even if there are few people, such a small parking lot doesn’t make sense.
“It’s not like no one drives to the club, so it’s this small?”
“Attorney, perhaps it’s for employees? When we arrived, I noticed there was parking space in front of the club too.”
“You’re right, that space did look wider.”
We moved across the parking lot and continued our conversation.
In front of the parking space was a small but trafficked pathway.
It seemed certain that Woo Jin-gon’s group had gotten into a dispute with people coming from there.
According to the victim’s statement, they were a group of office workers passing by.
However, the expected building or security CCTV was not present.
The pathway felt strongly like a back alley, and the reason the building across from it was also its back, like the club, was probably significant.
Since it wasn’t an entrance, even if there was CCTV, it would likely be at the main entrance where people come and go.
Still, just in case, I crossed the pathway and meticulously searched behind the building.
But, as expected, there was nothing.
I sighed with a sense of futility.
“It’s not just me who can’t see anything, is it?”
“No, same here. There’s almost nothing, it’s ridiculous.”
In a way, it was to be expected.
Before I returned, there were quite a few CCTVs even in residential areas and secluded spots, but now it was the 2000s.
It was hard to expect such things.
Above all, this was before car black boxes became common.
Finding a car with one would be almost impossible.
Unless it was a top-of-the-line car.
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong, Yoo-hee?”
“Was the car we took earlier a German ‘Big Three’ car?”
“German ‘Big Three’ meaning German cars?”
“Yes.”
“Well, it’s nothing to brag about, but yes, it is.”
“Those cars are very expensive, right?”
“They’re easily the cost of a good jeonse deposit.”
I wouldn’t have been able to afford it if my father hadn’t given it to me as an anniversary gift for joining the firm.
As his car was mentioned, Attorney Yoon’s shoulders straightened.
“What if such a car is parked and gets scratched?”
“To prepare for that, my father installed something called a black box. It was included as an option from the beginning.”
As expected, expensive cars are different.
Even before I returned, but especially now, foreign cars, particularly the German ‘Big Three’ vehicles, are not easy to purchase.
So, wouldn’t other cars have comparable options?
I stood behind the building and whispered quietly, so only Attorney Yoon Yi-hoon could hear.
“Attorney, are there any German ‘Big Three’ cars among those visible? Foreign cars, I mean.”
“Yes, there are two, including German cars.”
“Hmm, are those club customers’ cars?”
“Come on, who comes to the club at this hour? I’m sure that’s a club staff car.”
“You think so?”
“Yes, definitely.”
Then it’s highly likely that it’s the staff parking lot.
I became curious about the owners of the foreign cars across the pathway.
There was a high possibility that those cars had black boxes.
That means there might be at least one car with footage from that day.
Because if they’re staff, they likely worked that day too.
They probably parked there all night while the club was open.
“Attorney, let’s come here a bit earlier tomorrow.”
“Huh? Why?”
“We need to find the car owners.”
I said, winking.
The next day, we went to a cafe on the second floor of the building opposite.
It had large windows, allowing us to naturally look down at the club’s parking lot.
“Working, and then more work. What a fate.”
“Well, same here.”
We were essentially on a stakeout. But we couldn’t just sit idly by.
Both Attorney Yoon Yi-hoon and I had our work adjusted by the firm, but that didn’t mean we had no work at all.
So, as a last resort, we decided to bring our laptops and take turns working.
While I watched the window, Attorney Yoon worked, and while I worked, Attorney Yoon rested and had coffee at the same time.
“Ah, still, the coffee here is good, that’s nice.”
“Yes, they seem to use good beans.”
Attorney Yoon Yi-hoon, who had been struggling with his laptop for a while, stretched and said.
Now it was my turn to work.
I put down my nearly empty coffee cup and flexed my fingers. And just as I was about to start working seriously,
“Oh, oh?”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“Look, the owner of the foreign car has appeared.”
I turned my head in the direction Attorney Yoon pointed.
And I saw the person who got out of the foreign car smoking.
“See, that must be the smoking area, Attorney.”
“I guess so. No wonder there were so many cigarette butts.”
I pretended to drink coffee, secretly wishing that car had a black box, and stared at the man across the street.
“He really must be club staff.”
I whispered, low enough for only Attorney Yoon Yi-hoon to hear, blending with the music playing in the cafe.
The man smoking in the club parking lot calmly walked into what appeared to be the club’s back entrance.
Watching him, we secretly cheered.
If it was a club staff car, there was a high possibility it had been parked there during the early hours of the incident.
“Ah, I really hope it’s there.”
“I’m desperate too, Yoo-hee.”
With that shared hope, we stared at the spot for a long time.
Then we soon ran into a practical problem.
“Checking for a black box would be the priority. But just going up and asking if they have one would be a bit strange, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes, Attorney.”
It would be awkward for a stranger to suddenly appear and ask about a black box.
We soon fell into another dilemma.
“So, Yoo-hee, how can we naturally approach them and check for a black box?”
“Black boxes are usually checked after an accident, so… oh?”
“Right, an accident!”
It seemed we were thinking the same thing.
At that moment, Attorney Yoon Yi-hoon let out a sharp cry.
“Absolutely, never, ever, forever no! If my car gets even a tiny scratch, I’ll die.”
No, I wasn’t even thinking of going that far.
I quietly sighed, watching Attorney Yoon, who was having a fit.
Of course, a car accident would be the most natural way, but we couldn’t just do that indiscriminately.
Both the club employee’s car and Attorney Yoon Yi-hoon’s car were expensive, equivalent to a jeonse deposit.
Even a slight scratch on both would easily wipe out my month’s salary.
‘No, maybe even more.’
Besides, what if we caused an accident and there was no black box after all?
I didn’t even want to imagine that.
Instead, I came up with another plan.
After that day, observing for a few days, I noticed that the employee came to work at a regular time.
I decided to set up a scheme to match that timing.
“Phew, do we really have to go this far?”
“If we can’t uncover the truth, you and Attorney Ahn will be splattered all over the front page of the newspaper. As a chaebol’s good-for-nothing lawyer who only took the case for money.”
“…I’ll work hard.”
“That’s the spirit, Attorney! Your acting is very important for this role.”
“Oh, what a fate.”
Attorney Yoon Yi-hoon buried his head in the steering wheel in frustration.