Overload

[Former Prosecutor General Nam Eunsuk arrested at the scene]
[Chairman Jo Hyeokjun in critical condition… transported to hospital]

The people who had covered their mouths lowered their hands, and those who had stopped in their tracks began to move again.
As shocking as it may be for a moment, a story like this would eventually become just another piece of news among the countless that are heard every day.
But I couldn’t lower my head, nor could I move my feet.
Even as the scorching sunlight blinded me.

‘Nam Eunsuk… to Chairman Jo… It doesn’t make sense.’

Although both Jo Hyeokjun and Nam Eunsuk were villains, a conclusion like this…
The moment I saw the storm caused by the butterfly I had created, a question arose.
On the electronic billboard, Chairman Jo was being reported on as he was loaded into an ambulance.

‘…Am I on the right path?’

[That was their choice.]

A voice drier than ever before sounded in my ear.
Lee Ilwoo carefully called out to me, who couldn’t answer Gram’s words.

“Attorney.”
“…Yes.”
“Let’s go to the car for now. The sun is strong.”

Lee Ilwoo didn’t pull me or rush me.
He just started walking first.

Thud.

Even after getting into the car, we stared straight ahead for a while without any conversation.

“Are you troubled?”
“…It would be a lie if I said I wasn’t.”

Lee Ilwoo nodded once and started the engine.

Vroom.

“That is good evidence that you are not wrong, Attorney.”

I glanced at Lee Ilwoo, who was turning the steering wheel and pulling out of the parking lot.

Screech.

We stopped under the electronic billboard, which was now showing a different screen, following the signal.
Instead of the breaking news, different advertisements passed by every few seconds as usual.
Lee Ilwoo spoke without sticking his head out or raising his gaze.

“Both as a soldier and as an agent, I sometimes faced moments where I had to make difficult choices.”
“……”
“The options were literally just ‘to live or to die.’ If you didn’t choose, you died, and even if you did, there was no guarantee you’d survive.”

The signal changed.
We continued forward.

“But sometimes, a question paper with a clear answer would be thrust before me. To protect, or to run away.”
“……”
“At times like that, I felt a sense of relief, as if I had found an easy problem. Because my answer was always the same.”

Lee Ilwoo was calmly offering his own form of comfort.

“They chose the wrong answer on a multiple-choice question with a clear answer.”

It was a very Lee Ilwoo-like story.
Calm, and certain.
I could feel a faint movement at the corners of my lips.

“Nam Eunsuk and Jo Hyeokjun must have had countless choices throughout their lives.”

‘He’s right.’

As Lee Ilwoo said, Nam Eunsuk could have chosen to turn himself in instead of fleeing.
After all, the police, including Choi Suhyeok, had been searching for the disappeared Nam Eunsuk for several days.
Lee Ilwoo added in a monotone voice.

“They have lived their lives using shortcuts, even knowing the answer. Sometimes, they must have brazenly presented their wrong answer to someone and forced them to say it was right.”

‘…It’s been a while since Mr. Lee Ilwoo has spoken for this long.’

“The wrong answers they’ve chosen their entire lives have just come back to them now.”

I looked at Lee Ilwoo for a moment, then turned my head to the front.
Lee Ilwoo’s comfort was calm, and it contained a sincerity that I couldn’t even begin to fathom.

‘A choice…’

After mulling over his words a few times, I opened my mouth.

“I was about to have a moment of doubt… Thank you, Mr. Lee Ilwoo.”

Still, I had to think.
That I am not the only one who is just.

But lately, I’ve been desperately realizing that you need to have the luxury of time to think.

‘The cases I need to review are, let’s see, one for unfair dismissal, one for damages, and…’

A few days have passed since Lee Ilwoo and I returned to the office, and I really wished I had just one more body.

[You seem to be getting busier every day.]

‘It’s unavoidable, but I wish I had even a little bit of time, still.’

A lot had happened in the past, as if someone was fast-forwarding a tape.
Jo Hyeokjun ultimately did not recover from his gunshot wound and passed away.
For a while, his death was the talk of the town wherever you went.

[Korea Defense Chairman Jo Hyeokjun ultimately passes away… Corrupt chaebol felled by a bullet]
“Even with all that money, you can’t buy life in the end.”

With the same words.
Nam Eunsuk was sentenced to life in prison faster than anyone, without being able to hire any lawyer, including a public defender.
I heard he didn’t appeal.
Thanks to that, Geum Changhyeon’s matter was also resolved without any problems.
The commotion about Nam Eunsuk only lasted a few days.

‘The really scary thing is that even a huge incident like this eventually passes by as if it never happened in the first place.’

Though it was true that an unusual number of incidents were being updated day after day during that period.
Who was dating whom, who was getting married to whom.
That it was actually a premarital pregnancy, incidents I didn’t particularly want to know about were just the beginning.

[Actor S caught at a drug party in a club]
[Former child actor H involved in sexual assault scandal]
[Idol L…]

These sensational news stories continuously filled all media outlets.
Because of that, the ‘Nam Eunsuk Bribery Gate’ and the ‘Chairman Jo Hyeokjun Firearms Terror Attack’ were gradually forgotten by the public.
And that was probably the picture some people truly wanted.

“Attorney Cha, Prosecutor In Yuyeong wanted to convey her apologies. She’s sorry that she couldn’t punish everyone.”
“Not at all, please tell her that what she’s done so far is more than enough to be grateful for.”

Jo Hyeokjun’s bribery ledger, which would have contained the names of countless corrupt individuals, and the truth of the case, met an end where they were covered up.
Only a few severed tails were left rolling around.
Accordingly, the special investigation team was also quietly dismantled.

‘Still, it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.’

But it wasn’t all bad news.
Because there was something that had been growing in size like a rolling snowball all this time.

[The number of views on the review posted yesterday has increased again. Attorney, are you going to become the most famous lawyer in South Korea at this rate?]

‘It’s a relief that person’s case ended well. You saw how important an IOU is, right? You have to write those things properly.’

[That’s not the point…]

I knew what Gram was trying to say, but the embarrassment was just as great.
Clients usually left reviews online without revealing my name.
Still, it was strange when it all came out in the end.

‘Since I’m sidetracked, shall I take a break?’

I rolled my stiff neck and stretched my arms into the air.
I’m going to get all stiff at this rate.
My eyes fell on a cup that had been empty for a long time.

‘I should get a cup of coffee.’

As I stood up, I saw the view outside the window.
The sun was setting outside.
I could really feel that the days had gotten longer.
The spring, which had burned as short as it was, was also passing.
It would soon be summer.

‘There’s a thought I have at times like these.’

[What kind of thought?]

‘Aren’t the seasons proof of time? Things like time or the wind are invisible. Then suddenly, at times like these, you realize. That it’s flowing.’

That things that seemed like they would never get better eventually scatter and pass.

[Are you still thinking a lot? About Nam Eunsuk or Chairman Jo…]

‘No. I sorted that out a long time ago. I’m just a little amazed. That this much time has passed since I’ve been here.’

I answered and pushed open the door.
Thanks to my skills, I didn’t feel much physical fatigue.
The problem was that the mental fatigue that accumulated was felt just as clearly.
If the body is clouded, the mind would be clouded too, but since the body was holding up strong, all my thoughts became clearer.

‘Including sentimental thoughts like this.’

As I opened the door and came out, I saw Won Youngoh and Jeong Donghyeok sitting opposite each other at the table, checking documents.
Their cups were also empty.

“Would you two like some coffee? I was thinking of going downstairs.”

Won Youngoh raised his head towards me once, then immediately turned his gaze back to the documents.

“Ah, that would be great,”
“Attorney, again…!”

Along with the reply, red blood dripped from under Won Youngoh’s neat nose.
Jeong Donghyeok hurriedly pulled the tissue box on the table, took out a few, and handed them to Won Youngoh.

‘Again?’

Won Youngoh turned his head to prevent the blood from dripping on the documents and took the tissues.

“It’s fine. Thanks… You shouldn’t be giving them to me, Office Manager.”
“Ah… thank you.”

As Won Youngoh said, Jeong Donghyeok’s nose was in no different a state.
Won Youngoh took a few tissues with his blood-free hand and handed them to Jeong Donghyeok.
The situation looked so familiar that I stared at them for a while as if I was buffering.
Even more so at the sight of the two of them looking at each other and smiling, as if something was funny.
I snapped out of it and hurriedly approached the table.

“Are you two okay? Attorney Won, what do you mean, again?”
“It’s fine. What’s the big deal about a nosebleed. I’m just a bit tired from staying up a few nights. I guess I’m getting old.”
“It’s similar for me, Attorney Cha.”

The joke Won Youngoh made with a tissue covering his nose was neither funny in its situation nor its content.
I was serious right now.
Now that I looked, Won Youngoh’s hair, which was always neat with wax, was disheveled.
I hurriedly turned my gaze to Jeong Donghyeok.
The pants of Jeong Donghyeok, who seemed like he would maintain a perfect crease even if the world ended, were wrinkled.

‘…This is a first since I’ve known these two.’

I was being complacent.
That’s what I thought.
The two of them were the only people I could trust.

‘I was missing it.’

Because they were the two who had always silently and reliably supported me from the side, for that very reason…
Won Youngoh always handled my cases as well when an unexpected situation arose.
Jeong Donghyeok had been handling all the office work for all the cases that came into the office by himself.

‘…Whatever the reason, it’s a fact that I’ve overworked the two of them.’

I took out new tissues for the two of them and opened my mouth.

“I’ll be at the office for a while, so you two go get some rest.”
“What kind of nonsense is that, Attorney Cha. Hurry up and get some more coffee from Ms. Seonghui. Our nosebleeds will have stopped by then.”

Won Youngoh deliberately put on a sterner face as he spoke, but eventually smiled.

[Attorney Won is now… smiling because he made a rhyme with coffee and nosebleed, right?]
(TL note: Coffee (커피) and nosebleed (코피) are homophones in Korean.)

‘I’m desperately pretending not to know.’

Is a handsome face all that matters?
I wouldn’t have minded on a normal day, but Won Youngoh, who was spitting jokes and smiling with such a haggard and about-to-collapse face, was not welcome.
But his words must have been sincere.
After a moment of thought, I gathered more than half of the pile of documents in front of Won Youngoh into my arms.

“Then I will take care of these.”

Won Youngoh pressed his nose hard and shook his head lightly from side to side.

“Looking at you, Attorney Cha, you have a lot of greed for work too.”
“You’re not just realizing that now, are you?”
“Not a chance. My workload has increased like this thanks to you.”

Still, I could accept this joke.
Because it sounded like he still had the strength for it.

“Ms. Seonghui, I’ll be down soon, can you brew some coffee? Yes, just in that thermos. I’ll be right there.”

And so, after leaving a call downstairs, I was looking at the documents for a while.
A thought suddenly came to me.
I tapped the desk to get the two of them’s attention.

“What is it? Is there something wrong with the documents?”
“No, it’s not that.”
“If it’s not that?”

I brought up a topic that the two of them could absolutely not refuse right now.

“Let’s post a hiring notice.”