Lawyer Ahn Gyeong-hun was greatly surprised by my words.
But he didn’t ask what I meant.
Instead, he listened to me quietly.
“Anyway, I did take the bar exam once.”
“Yes, I know. You even passed the first part. That’s why you could help me so much.”
So we both had a big laugh.
“Then, are you thinking of taking the bar exam again?”
Lawyer Ahn asked carefully.
“The bar exam….”
I’m going to go to law school, which will be established a few years from now, and become a lawyer.
And that will be at the best university in Korea.
Even if I become a lawyer through the bar exam now, I can’t complete the picture I want.
Because to properly expose the slush fund case that Go Jong-tak is deeply involved in, I need connections outside the law firm.
One of them is a reliable prosecutor’s office insider who can provide information, and that will be resolved if I enter Seonghan University Law School.
‘Search bar.’
I turned on the search bar of the laptop that Lawyer Ahn brought to finalize the data to be taken to the prosecutor’s office.
And I internally entered the search term I wanted.
It was a feature I naturally learned while using the search bar: just as I could call up the search bar by vocally calling it, I could do the same with search terms.
“List of Chief Prosecutors, Prosecutors General, and former Chief Prosecutors who became lawyers in 2023.”
Under the Special Prosecutor Act, the remuneration and treatment of a special prosecutor are equivalent to that of a Chief Prosecutor, and in reality, the rank appointed to a special prosecutor is also at the level of a Chief Prosecutor.
Afterward, the special prosecutor forms a special investigative team by dispatching investigators, including 10 incumbent prosecutors.
Since the law sets a 100-day investigation period, the prosecutors who will serve as their arms and legs must suit the special prosecutor’s taste for a quick investigation.
Among them, considering when I died, the list becomes even narrower.
Even if it’s difficult to reach the Chief Prosecutor level for the special prosecutor, team members up to the chief prosecutor level can be found here as much as needed.
The problem is admission.
Seonghan University Law School, which has produced top-tier legal professionals comparable to Korea University, is mostly composed of SHY graduates.
Seonghan University Law School is a fortress where there are virtually no students from regional universities until they die.
But it has to be here.
Because this is the alma mater of the president and the ruling party leader in 2023.
What does that mean?
It means there’s a 99.999999% chance the special prosecutor will be from Seonghan University.
“No. I have no lingering attachment to the bar exam.”
Lawyer Ahn Gyeong-hun showed a very regretful expression at my answer.
“That’s a pity. There’s no one who suits being a lawyer as much as Yoo-hee.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, I mean it.”
“Then, Lawyer. What if I were given the opportunity to become a lawyer?”
It was a question I had wanted to ask Lawyer Ahn Gyeong-hun ever since I returned.
“Is it possible without taking the bar exam?”
“The current government is pushing for something, aren’t they?”
“Ah, that.”
In 2004, the Judicial Reform Committee established by the current government decided to introduce law schools to eliminate the imbalance in the legal profession based on school, region, and social class.
Of course, it needs to go through parliamentary procedures to be finalized.
For now, it’s literally just a decision.
But in the near future, the current ruling party will become the majority party.
As a result, the “Act on the Establishment and Operation of Law Schools” passed the National Assembly plenary session in 2007.
Accordingly, the law school system will be implemented in March 2009.
“It’s still a government-level decision, so it’s not certain.”
“Yes, it needs to pass the National Assembly, but the ruling party isn’t the majority right now.”
It’s not like I can say they’ll become the majority party after going through the presidential impeachment crisis, can I?
And the president miraculously returns.
He extended his political life and gained a powerful ruling party.
“But we can still dream, can’t we? That’s what people are like.”
“That’s right. Then I’ll support that dream coming true.”
“Haha, your words alone are truly appreciated.”
“It’s not just words. If that dream comes true, the place you should be is Lee & Yeon.”
That’s my interim goal, but… I didn’t expect to hear that from you, Lawyer.
I was so surprised for a moment that I couldn’t say anything.
“And if you’re going to be a lawyer at Lee & Yeon, you should at least aim for a partner position, right?”
“That’s true, but this is truly just a dream.”
“Let’s try. Maybe a miracle will happen.”
It will happen, but… Lawyer, you’re not from the future, are you?
What makes you so bold?
I heard Lawyer Ahn Gyeong-hun’s next words and recalled a fact I already knew.
“A partner requires equity, and buying that requires a significant amount of money. Haha. I solved it with a loan, though.”
Lawyer, most other people pay that in one lump sum.
The period of working as an associate takes at least 5 years, and sometimes up to 10 years.
If you can’t become a partner within that period, you virtually begin the dismissal process.
Even if you diligently save your salary for an average of 7.5 years, there’s no difficulty in paying the capital to purchase equity.
However, surprisingly, Lawyer Ahn Gyeong-hun became a partner in 5 years with an insane work performance rate.
He was indirectly saying that he became a partner in the shortest time and was short on money.
During that period, his salary was also used to help those who were treated unfairly.
This is because associates cannot directly take on cases and helped with a portion of the retainer fee with their own salary.
“I will set aside one-third of the retainer fees and success fees I earned thanks to you, Yoo-hee, as surplus funds for the firm.”
“Excuse me?”
I almost fainted at the bombshell statement that followed.
Of course, given Lawyer Ahn’s personality, I didn’t think he would just let it pass.
He had always given small repayments for the 0.5 person’s worth of associate work I had done so far.
But this was beyond my imagination.
I never thought he would calculate my share of the lawyer’s fee and set it aside for me.
“It’s surprising, isn’t it? Both the An-Eum case and the Cha Kang-hyuk headquarters case. Actually, you pretty much did it all, didn’t you? One-third is actually a bit too little.”
“Oh, no. If it weren’t for you, Lawyer, and Lawyer Yoon, I would never have gotten this far!”
“Lawyer Yoon is practically being spoon-fed by you, what do you mean?”
“That’s really not true. Lawyer Yoon is also doing his part very well.”
“Yes, since he’s working hard, I’m considering about one-third as Lawyer Yoon’s share.”
“I.”
Wow, so that’s why it was one-third. He accurately divided it by the number of people working together.
“Of course, I want to give it to you directly, but that could cause procedural issues. I’m sorry.”
Even if it’s An-Eum, the Cha Kang-hyuk case alone had a retainer fee in the hundreds of millions, and the success fee was even more.
If he openly gave one-third to me, who isn’t even a lawyer, there’s no way there wouldn’t be friction.
“You can use this surplus fund to purchase equity in Lee & Yeon later.”
“No, Lawyer, the amount is too large to bet on an uncertain dream.”
“If it doesn’t work out, well, I’ll find a way to deliver it to you later. Of course, since the amount is large, you’ll have to pay some taxes.”
Taxes aren’t the problem right now.
How can he do so much for an uncertain future?
At my questioning gaze, Lawyer Ahn Gyeong-hun awkwardly scratched his head.
“How much help have I received pro bono? I may look like this, but I know what shame is, you know?”
My lawyer is indeed that kind of person, even if you see him doing a backflip, not a front flip.
Knowing him too well is the problem.
Moreover, the money I’ll earn in the future is such a large sum that I could buy more than just a partner’s share.
“Just in case, if anyone comes forward asking for your help in the future, I’ll make them do the same as me. No one can take my secretary away easily.”
No, really, if it’s this much, you’re definitely seeing the future, aren’t you?
The more I thought about it, the more grateful I felt, to the point of tears.
“This is like a confession, but… not just because of this case, but I’ve been so grateful until now that I could cry.”
Is he even doing mind-reading now…?
It seems he’s reading my heart, not just the future.
In the end, I wiped away my tears and burst out laughing.
I was relieved that I didn’t hear the saying about something growing if you cry and then laugh.
A clear Saturday late afternoon.
As always, Woo Jin-gon, who should have been outside at this time, sat in the living room illuminated by a chandelier and turned on the TV.
It was to watch ‘That Curious Day,’ a current affairs program on SBC.
“Why are you stuck at home at this hour?”
“They’re doing something very interesting today, so I’m watching it live.”
“Ah, you mean Kang-hyuk’s story.”
“Yes, Father.”
The SBC guys don’t air separate previews for current affairs programs.
Some programs just show a preview of the next episode, you could say.
And that’s limited to programs with decent viewership.
Just like ‘That Curious Day.’
But what do you know?
These guys put previews not only at the end of the broadcast but also in other time slots.
And among the broadcasts consisting of three different stories in one episode, one story was the main focus.
“Well, I was a bit curious myself.”
‘The Deviance of a Third-Generation Conglomerate – What Happened at the Club That Day?’
How can I endure when a preview with a title like that comes out?
“But aren’t you a bit annoyed? We broke the exclusive, so why are other broadcasting stations trying to take credit?”
“That’s exactly what I wanted to say. Thanks to me, our KBN was the first to report…”
“You, calm down a bit. Do you know how much money I spent cleaning that up?”
“…I’m sorry, Father.”
One daughter and two sons.
Among them, Woo Jin-gon is his youngest child, whom he adores.
So he raised him preciously, but the child didn’t have good manners.
He would cause trouble once in a while, making his back tingle.
Especially considering the cost incurred this time, he felt dizzy.
“That measly reporter? Yes, I can tolerate the money spent on that. The settlement with the victims? You can consider it charity given to insignificant bugs. But what about Cha Han Construction? Don’t you know they’re one of our main advertisers?”
To Chairman Woo, Chairman Cha of Cha Han Construction was like an ATM from which he could easily withdraw money.
He consistently placed advertisements because they were old friends.
As someone who virtually controlled the broadcasting station using a foundation, he was extremely regretful that a valuable advertiser had left.
“It’s better off, really. We can’t keep bowing our heads just because they’re advertisers, Father.”
“Oh, you brat. When did you ever bow your head? How well did Kang-hyuk treat you?”
“I wouldn’t know about that. This time, that guy called me out and grabbed me by the hair and caused a fuss.”
“Hair? He pulled our precious youngest’s hair?”
“Did he just grab my hair? He threw me down and caused a commotion.”
Although it was Woo Jin-gon who struggled during the process of him letting go of his hair, he distorted the facts, as always.
“No, if something like that happened, you should have told me sooner! I’ll have to have a serious talk with Chairman Cha!”
And while I’m at it, I’ll tell him to put the ads back in.
Chairman Woo’s lips curled up sharply, having found an opportunity.
Completely having erased the memory of selling out someone else’s son to save his own.