CI 2.7

Returning to the office, he found a pile of paperwork waiting for him. As he was frantically writing documents until around closing time, Director Bae, who had gone golfing, appeared.

“Attorney Son. Did your visit to the police station go well? Was there anything unusual?”

Son Yeo-il, who wasn’t good at lying, responded stiffly.

“Ah, well…Today we were supposed to submit the phone as evidence, but the client said they lost it and didn’t bring it. Still, I’ll try to handle this matter moving forward.”

“Oh my, I see.”

Director Bae clicked his tongue lightly. He seemed to be thinking, I knew that client would do something like this.

“Also, regarding Ms. Kang Young-hee’s divorce case, I discovered evidence of money being continuously transferred from the account to someone who appears to be a mistress. It also seems he set up a corporation under his son’s name and embezzled company funds.”

“Is that so? Now, how did you find out about that?”

“Um…I was lucky. Should I suggest to the client that we proceed with an adultery lawsuit and also place a provisional attachment on the mistress’s assets?”

“That’s a good idea! I feel reassured seeing our Attorney Son making such remarkable progress, truly.”

Director Bae applauded Son Yeo-il and then brought up another topic.

“Attorney Son, since you seem to be getting used to the work now, you should start appearing in court soon, right? You’ve never attended a court date before. Isn’t that so?”

Although he was practically handling all the office work, Son Yeo-il was still a trainee lawyer, so all documents were submitted under Director Bae’s name, and he alone appeared in court.

In typical law firms, supervisors would accompany new lawyers to court pleadings during the training period to provide practical experience. Son Yeo-il had been waiting for his chance to go to court while constantly working on paperwork.

“Yes! If you take me along, I’ll learn diligently.”

“As it just so happens, there’s a perfect case next week. Let’s go together. It’s a very big case. A lawsuit about building defects with a value of 1.2 billion won. The client is incredibly wealthy and built a very large pension at the foot of Jirisan Mountain.”

“Jirisan…Mountain?”

“Yes! Out-of-town trials are one of the charms of a lawyer’s life. You said you don’t have a car. But you can drive, right?”

Son Yeo-il seemed to understand why Director Bae wanted to take him to an out-of-town court appearance instead of the nearby Yongju City court. He intended to use him as a driver. Fortunately, Son Yeo-il had an excuse.

“I’m sorry. I don’t have a license.”

“Is that so? Well.”

Son Yeo-il thought he would give up, but Director Bae, after briefly showing a disappointed expression, turned his head and asked Manager Kim.

“Manager Kim, there’s a train to that court, right? Not the KTX, but the Mugunghwa train? Book two first-class tickets.”

Director Bae seemed to want to use Son Yeo-il as a companion to talk to during the train ride if he couldn’t use him as a driver. 

Despite being a junior lawyer who had to do whatever was asked, the thought of going on a business trip alone with his boss made Son Yeo-il’s vision go dark.

“Sigh…”

Son Yeo-il felt like complaining to someone. No, to be honest, not just “someone,” but to one person in particular—he wanted to contact Won Hee-yeon.

He wanted to pour out everything about how embarrassed he was at the police station today, what concerns he had about the case, and how annoying the sudden news of the provincial business trip was.

Just as he was fiddling with his phone and had finally searched for Won Hee-yeon’s number, Son Yeo-il snapped back to his senses. He was afraid of becoming too dependent on others and appearing weak as a result.

Pull yourself together.

Son Yeo-il tapped his cheeks with his palm again. He didn’t want to think about troublesome emotions like trust, betrayal, or disappointment.

The more his heart stirred, the more Son Yeo-il focused on work. After organizing one old record, night had deepened, and it was past time to leave work.

He should have told Won Hee-yeon in advance when he would finish work, but he had forgotten. After hesitating briefly, Son Yeo-il decided not to call him and left the office with his things.

Won Hee-yeon would be busy too, and it would be bothersome to have him come pick him up every day. Above all, he felt that seeing Won Hee-yeon when he was this weak would make his heart even more unsettled.

“Oh my, have you been working until now?”

However, as soon as he stepped outside the building, a familiar voice called out to Son Yeo-il. When he looked up, there was Won Hee-yeon without fail. Without showing the slightest sign of annoyance, just an expression of happiness to see the other man.

“…How long have you been here?”

“I got here just now. I had a feeling, and exactly as I arrived, our Yeo-il came down. If this isn’t meant to be, what is?”

Son Yeo-il asked bluntly, and Won Hee-yeon, who had obviously been waiting for a while, told a transparent lie. Contrary to his prior thinking that seeing the other man would upset him, Son Yeo-il’s first thought was that he was glad to see Won Hee-yeon’s face.

It was both fascinating and equally unsettling that just seeing him made his mood soften. The more fearful Son Yeo-il was, the more firmly he locked the wall around his heart. Because it felt like something serious might happen otherwise.

Won Hee-yeon, being perceptive, seemed to immediately notice that Son Yeo-il’s expression wasn’t good at all. His manner of opening the car door and helping Son Yeo-il into the passenger seat was particularly careful.

During the short trip home, he seemed to want to ask several times what had happened to him. Even after parking the car in front of Son Yeo-il’s studio apartment, he didn’t get out right away but fidgeted with the steering wheel for a while.

“Are you going in now?”

“Yes.”

Despite understanding Won Hee-yeon’s concern, and even though part of him wanted to tell him everything, Son Yeo-il answered with just one word. His temperament right then was strange even to himself, but he couldn’t help any of it.

It would be natural for Won Hee-yeon to be upset with Son Yeo-il for barely getting close and then distancing himself for no apparent reason, but the other man simply smiled. Perhaps due to his mood, that smile seemed very lonely.

“All right. Sleep well, and I’ll come on Sunday morning, so eat well until then.”

“…”

“If anything happens, it would be good if you contacted me…Would that be okay with you?”

After hesitating, Son Yeo-il responded to Won Hee-yeon’s words without really answering, just saying, “Good night,” and went up to his room. Despite having acted so coldly, as soon as he got to his room, he regretted it and fidgeted with his phone for a long time before going straight to bed.

But there was no way he could fall asleep. Well into the dawn, regret that he should have said he would contact him and stubbornness that it was good he hadn’t said those words alternately trampled on Son Yeo-il’s heart.

***

Ah, I look ugly today.

That was the first thought that came to mind when he woke up and looked in the mirror in the morning. His face, full of fatigue, was filled with a gloomy energy. If my heart was ugly, then, of course, an ugly energy would rise to my face too, Son Yeo-il thought resignedly.

It was Friday and without Won Hee-yeon too. Son Yeo-il silently completed his work in the quietness of the morning hours. Whether he had matured or become shameless, amidst all this, he thought he should eat lunch properly. In the past, during such unsettled times, he would have skipped meals, but now Son Yeo-il seriously considered his menu options like never before.

Should I eat a sandwich for lunch?

As the saying goes, those who have eaten meat will always want to eat it, but after considerable deliberation, he just chose sandwich. It was modest, but if Won Hee-yeon were here, he would have clicked his tongue saying, “Bread pieces are just snacks. Is that enough?” so it was indeed food that would be difficult to eat except for opportunities like this.

Son Yeo-il was about to go to a bakery near the office, but since it had been a while, he took the bus to the old downtown area. After finding a café with high ceilings and good sunlight, he ordered coffee and a sandwich, which happened to refresh his mood a bit. This got him thinking that it was nice to be out right then

“Oh? Son Yeo-il…right?”

The moment Son Yeo-il heard someone calling him, his heart sank to the pit of his stomach. Even though he wasn’t living a life of crime, whenever someone recognized him, he couldn’t understand why his heart would chill like this. As he turned his head stiffly, the voice asked the question again.

“It is you. Do you remember me?”

At the pickup table stood a young woman in a suit. Facing a familiar face in an unexpected situation, Son Yeo-il felt bewildered. She was Park Min-jung, Son Yeo-il’s law school classmate.

“Of course I remember you…It’s been a while, Min-jung. How did you end up here?”

Though his voice trembled, his mind was gradually calming down. Son Yeo-il was just surprised by the sudden situation, but he didn’t lose his composure like when he had encountered the group of young lawyers during the rural volunteer work.

Park Min-jung was one of the few classmates who frequently spoke to Son Yeo-il when he first entered law school. Perhaps she felt a sense of kinship since, like Son Yeo-il, she wasn’t well-off financially.

As a result, after Son Yeo-il began studying with Koo Dae-hyun’s group, they naturally grew apart. She, like Son Yeo-il, always seemed busy with part-time jobs and studies, and toward the second semester, they barely even exchanged greetings.

“I came for an interview. Not at a Yongju City office, but near the main branch. For some reason, several small firms in that area posted job openings all at once. My current workplace doesn’t suit me at all, so I thought this might be for the best.”

From her words, Son Yeo-il guessed that after the rural volunteer work, Won Hee-yeon had pulled some strings with those offices. It seemed that all the young lawyers who had gossiped about Son Yeo-il had lost their jobs.

“My hometown is around here. I heard through the grapevine that you got a job in Yongju City, but I didn’t expect to run into you like this.”

“Y-Yeah.”

If he was going to make a living as a lawyer, he should have the social savvy to say he was glad to see her or suggest they meet often in the future. But Son Yeo-il just hemmed and hawed. Not only did Son Yeo-il lack social skills, but he also thought that saying such things might make Park Min-jung uncomfortable.

After all, within Korea University Law School, no, actually, among all the junior lawyers in the legal profession within the region, Son Yeo-il was known as “that dirty homo who tried to honey-trap the son of Koo & Chang’s CEO.”

Son Yeo-il cautiously examined her expression to see if she was disgusted or mocking him. While there was no sign of aggression, she did look somewhat uncomfortable.

Should I leave first? While Son Yeo-il was caught in this timid worry, Park Min-jung’s coffee order came out. He thought she would take her drink and leave immediately, but with the takeout cup in her hand, she hesitated briefly before speaking.

“Um…I’ve been wanting to say this, but I’m sorry.”

Now he realized that the reason for her dark expression seemed to be guilt. It was puzzling to Son Yeo-il. Even when law school classmates were openly badmouthing Son Yeo-il or sucking up to Koo Dae-hyun within his earshot, Park Min-jung had never noticeably harassed Son Yeo-il.

“Hm…? Why?”

“People were saying such nonsensical things. Everyone saw that Koo Dae-hyun approached you first, pretending to be friendly for the study group. I…I don’t think you’re that kind of person. Honestly, with your grades, you could have gone anywhere—public service or a big firm—without Koo & Chang’s leverage, so there was no point in any of that.

“…”

“But I didn’t stop them either and just stayed quiet. From your perspective, I must look the same as them. I don’t know why I was so careful around Koo Dae-hyun…I’m really sorry. I worry that bringing this up so late might hurt you even more…”

“It’s okay.”

Son Yeo-il felt bewildered. It was strange to have someone, especially an acquaintance from law school which was the worst, darkest period of his life, speak up in his defense. After quietly interrupting her, Son Yeo-il awkwardly continued.

“Thank you for saying that. And really, you don’t need to be sorry.”

It was natural for her to be cautious around Koo Dae-hyun. For someone trying to enter this industry, turning Koo & Chang into an enemy would be too reckless. Even Son Yeo-il, who was directly harmed, had merely fled to this small city rather than fighting for himself.

At Son Yeo-il’s words, the discomfort on her face half-disappeared. Son Yeo-il, with an awkward smile, finally said what he had been hesitating to say.

“I hope your interview goes well. If you get the job there, it’s not too far from here…”

“Yeah. Let’s grab a meal sometime. Or we can meet when I visit my hometown.”

Just as she cheerfully agreed, Son Yeo-il’s sandwich and drink also came out. After saying goodbye to Son Yeo-il and about to leave the café, she seemed to have a sudden thought, turned back, and hesitatingly added something else.

“By the way, Yeo-il. I’m not saying this with any ulterior motive or anything, but I heard there’s a law school reunion early next month. In case you might attend, and this topic comes up, you might be caught off guard, or others might say something to you about it…so I’m just letting you know…”

After a long pause, she delivered the news.

“Koo Dae-hyun is getting married this fall.”

To her very cautiously delivered message, Son Yeo-il was surprised to feel remarkably little emotion. Perhaps it was because he had already seen a woman who appeared to be his girlfriend when he encountered Koo Dae-hyun at the bookstore.

Son Yeo-il simply had the pure question, “Can a gay person get married?” then briefly felt sympathy for Koo Dae-hyun’s marriage partner before quickly erasing the thought, feeling that it was rather presumptuous.

“Oh, I see.”

Son Yeo-il’s response was refreshing and calm. His classmate seemed even more relieved by that reaction. With a much brighter expression than when she first saw Son Yeo-il at the café, she said goodbye again.

“Yeah. Just letting you know. Well then, Yeo-il, see you next time. Enjoy your lunch!”

As he sat alone in the café eating his sandwich, Son Yeo-il’s mood was remarkably refreshed. He felt proud that He truly wasn’t affected anymore when hearing news about Koo Dae-hyun. It was like he finally was able to heal after a long time.