Chapter 6 : Report

There’s a saying that playing with food is punishable by death.

But to really intend to kill with a fine like that.

I’d never heard of such a heavy sentence for a small business.

No, at this level, even a fairly large company would scream.

“The prosecution and the court really sharpened their knives, Lawyer Ahn.”

“That’s right, Yoo-hee. I’ve never heard of a fine of that amount for a company of this size either.”

“Well, putting carcinogens in food is a big mistake.”

“Yes, I agree. But Lawyer Seo’s words were quite meaningful.”

“Lawyer Seo?”

“He said the CEO took medicine.”

“Are you saying he attempted suicide?”

“He didn’t specify, but it seems likely.”

Lawyer Ahn Gyeong-hyeon continued relaying what he heard from Lawyer Seo Il-hwa.

That the CEO earnestly pleaded his innocence from the beginning until the end of the trial.

And if that was an act, he’d be an Oscar winner.

This case, it seems there’s something to it…

I’ve learned one thing in my 23 years in the legal field.

That truly guilty people often act even more brazen and confident.

It was too often the victims who shed tears of blood.

‘Regardless of Lawyer Ahn’s performance, I need to look at the records.’

My laptop contains not only case records but also all sorts of information I reported to Go Jong-tak.

If it’s a violation of the Food Sanitation Act, it’ll also be related to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, so there might be something suspicious.

“Lawyer, if it’s not too much trouble, could I see the records for that case?”

“You, Yoo-hee? We handle quite a few criminal cases, but that’s not our area, so you wouldn’t know much about it.”

“You know I majored in law, right? Back then, I was active in a society that published legal academic journals, and I handled cases in that field a bit. So I’m curious what kind of case it is.”

It’s not entirely a lie.

For a short time, I really was active in an academic journal, and at that time, I dealt with food-related cases.

It became a legendary manuscript, closer to a mukbang review, because I was rushed for time with my part-time job… Anyway, I did do it.

“Hmm.”

At my words, Lawyer Ahn rubbed his forehead.

That means he’s thinking about something.

Indeed, who would ask to see case records from a lawyer, claiming they’re curious?

And a secretary at that.

“Are you that curious?”

“Yes, please consider it as part of employee welfare.”

Employee welfare, my foot.

But Lawyer Ahn Gyeong-hyeon, who had seen me until now, seriously considered it.

That’s probably because I’ve been doing the work of about 0.5 associate lawyers so far.

What I’ve been doing far exceeded the scope of a secretary.

Putting aside ability, who would give up their own time and work like that?

And Lawyer Ahn was someone who knew how to repay.

Though his circumstances aren’t great now, so it’s on a small scale.

He’s not someone who would refuse a favor he could grant.

“Alright. Since you’re curious, Yoo-hee, I’m a little curious too.”

“Thank you, Lawyer.”

If it’s a truly unjust case, we can solve it and improve our track record.

After leaving Lawyer Ahn’s office, less than 30 minutes later, I received the voluminous first-trial records, as thick as a textbook, from Lawyer Seo Il-hwa’s secretary.

“…Did I dig my own grave?”

I don’t think I can go through all this in a few hours.

Am I destined for overtime again today…?

‘First, let’s search on my laptop.’

Still, I wasn’t entirely without a trusted resource.

I rotated my wrist extensively, then turned on my laptop.

And just like I did after coming to work, I diligently clicked around the family photo with my mouse.

“Why, why isn’t it appearing?”

Did I fail? Or did I really see things?

‘Come to think of it, I didn’t even open the search window myself.’

Is this a cold, harsh world where you can’t even enter as you please?

Strictly speaking, it’s my information though.

It was a search window that was mine, but not mine, but mine.

“Huh?”

As soon as I thought of the search window, a pure white window reappeared.

‘What is this, does it just appear with a thought?’

I searched for any case I knew.

And sure enough, a button to close it appeared.

After pondering for a moment about how to open the search window, I closed the window and spoke to my laptop.

“Search window.”

It works.

Whether I say it in my mind or shout it aloud, I just need to call its name.

I breathed a sigh of relief and looked at my laptop.

That’s when it happened.

A voice suddenly came from beside me.

“What are you looking at so wistfully?”

“Oh, Min-woo.”

It was Guk Min-woo, the Litigation Director of Lee and Yeon in my past life and my colleague from when I joined the company.

“When did you get here? I didn’t even know you came.”

“Here are the court factual inquiry responses you requested last Friday. I came to deliver them.”

Oh, right.

It’s the mid-2000s now.

Before electronic litigation was introduced.

That means if you needed court records, the litigation team had to go directly to copy them or pick them up.

“Thank you. It must have been hard with such a large quantity.”

“Not at all. It’s what I have to do.”

Guk Min-woo gave a kind smile.

It wasn’t just because he was my colleague; Guk Min-woo was objectively a good person.

Especially when it came to work.

His work processing was always smooth and fast.

“But really, what were you staring at so intently?”

Guk Min-woo leaned in and checked my laptop.

“Oh, you were looking at a picture of your parents?”

“Yes…?”

At his words, I checked my laptop screen.

A pure white search window was clearly floating above the family photo.

‘Guk Min-woo, or rather, other people can’t see it?’

Well, it makes sense since the search window pops up even when I call it internally.

The data contained within it is something only I know about anyway.

Thus, in addition to how to turn it on and off, I learned one more thing.

This is only visible to my eyes.

Then, would it work on other laptops too?

“Min-woo, my laptop is acting a bit slow today. Did you happen to bring your laptop?”

“Of course.”

“Then, could I borrow it for a moment and return it?”

“Sure. I don’t really use it much at the office anyway.”

Guk Min-woo readily went back to his seat and brought his laptop.

And a moment later.

I was greeted by a dazzling light, or rather, a laptop.

“What color is this laptop? Is this your taste, Min-woo?”

“What’s wrong with my ‘Ye-bbi’?”

“Ye-bbi… So it had a name.”

I mumbled, staring at the laptop that shone in a purplish hue beyond pink.

“If you’re not going to use it, I’ll take it back.”

“No, Ye-bbi… I’ll use it carefully and cherish it.”

So, I tried all the methods I had used on my laptop on Ye-bbi, or rather, Guk Min-woo’s laptop.

And I learned.

Only my laptop worked.

Having perfectly mastered its use, I entered the contents of the first trial judgment into the search window.

After more than 3 hours of struggling, I headed to Lawyer Ahn’s office with the records.

“Yoo-hee, have you already gone through all the records?”

“No way.”

Lawyer Ahn asked with a surprised expression, looking at the records I had brought in a determined manner.

“I found something interesting while looking at the judgment.”

In fact, the search only took 30 minutes.

It just took some time to find the data contained within it from the internet and the library.

“Please take a look at this, Lawyer.”

After copying and printing, I handed him the papers with lines underlined in highlighter.

“Hmm, so benzene can also be present in the air.”

Lawyer Ahn read the data I handed him with a curious gaze.

The case wasn’t exactly identical.

This was a collection of cases about whether hygienic products, like toothpicks, were harmless when put into a person’s mouth, rather than food.

Among them, what I found was a precedent where a childcare product company contested harmful ingredients, so it could be different.

But because of that, the standards were even more meticulous in some ways.

‘Is it safe for people, especially young children, to put it in their mouths?’ was the criterion for judgment.

“I think this is worth contesting, Lawyer.”

The other was a report from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

It was a valuable document that could become a key issue in this case.

While not exactly the same case, I found important hints in the data from my past life.

“How did you find such data so quickly?”

Lawyer Ahn, who was sitting at his desk, looked up at me with a respectful gaze.

He couldn’t help it.

Since food experts were rare to begin with, Lawyer Seo Il-hwa had even sent out a company-wide announcement.

But I found the key data in a relatively short amount of time.

Of course, opinions from professors or testimonies from industry professionals would be needed, but based on my data, it was worth trying.

“I told you.”

I straightened my shoulders confidently and said.

“I’ve done it before.”

“Ah, you said you handled this area during your academic society activities, right? Even for that, it’s truly amazing.”

The “before” I mentioned wasn’t the academic society, but my past life.

Of course, Lawyer Ahn naturally thought otherwise.

“How about taking on this case? If these people have been wronged, we can help them, Lawyer. I’ll support you.”

If any other secretary had said this, they would have been called crazy.

And honestly, the same would apply to me.

Even though I studied for the bar exam, I wasn’t in a position or had the skill to proactively say such things to a lawyer.

If the current me were the me from my past life, that is.

Back then, I was just a third-year secretary.

But the current me is different.

I can do it.

“Ah, I feel like this might be a bit strange, but…”

Lawyer Ahn hesitated, then slammed the desk and stood up.

“Let’s do it, Yoo-hee. With your ability to find such data in a short time, I think it’s definitely possible.”

Lawyer Ahn Gyeong-hyeon pointed to my data and smiled confidently.

“So, Lawyer Ahn. Your main point is that in the first trial, the prosecution and the court misunderstood that carcinogens were put into something edible, right?”

That was precisely the core issue of this case.

Lawyer Seo’s eyes gleamed as he looked at the summary and data I had prepared.

That meant what I prepared was good enough.

Lawyer Ahn visited Lawyer Seo Il-hwa a day later, towards the end of business hours.

It was to read all the records and supplement the data further.

“No, not my opinion, but Yoo-hee’s opinion here.”

“What? What are you saying now? So you’re telling me you came here to take on a case just based on a secretary’s word?”

As expected, Lawyer Ahn Gyeong-hyeon didn’t steal anyone else’s credit.

Lawyer Ahn pointed to me, standing in front of the slide monitor to give a presentation.

Lawyer Seo then asked with a bewildered expression.

“Just based on a secretary’s word? Everything you just read was prepared by Yoo-hee.”

“T-this, this was done by that secretary? That’s impossible.”

“Please tell me whether it’s possible or not after you see this.”

“Yes?”

To take over this company, I need to prove myself.

Even impossible cases become possible in my hands.

Me, merely a ‘secretary’.

“If I hadn’t prepared it, I wouldn’t be able to explain anything.”

And Lawyer Ahn Gyeong-hyeon is also someone with the guts to set up this stage.

This is the third reason why I chose Lawyer Ahn.

Ahn Gyeong-hyeon was also someone who knew when to take a gamble.