The New Hires

This wasn’t the first time I had heard this today.
A surprising number of applicants had cited Won Youngoh and me as their reason for applying.

“I’ve heard that Attorney Won Youngoh was fair and just, adhering to principles and rules even during his time as a prosecutor. I want to learn from him.”
“I’ve attended several of Attorney Cha Yohan’s trials. Seeing him genuinely care for his clients made me want to become a lawyer like that.”

It must be a similar answer to the previous applicants.
Before I could express my doubt, Kim Eun-gyeom moved his picturesque lips first.

“How many people can express their lives in terms of a win rate?”

More of a conversation starter than a question.
Won Youngoh and I just stared at him.

“Until the day we die, humans are beings who are infinitely small in the face of the uncertain words of success and failure.”

Kim Eun-gyeom held out both hands in the air and showed the palm of his right hand.

“But for a lawyer, there’s a clear numerical value called a win rate, isn’t there? An objective figure, like whether you successfully concluded a trial or accepted defeat like a vanquished soldier.”

I don’t know why that ‘figure’ didn’t sound like he was talking about a number.
Kim Eun-gyeom met my eyes and smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

“I heard that until last year, you were called ‘Zero Wins,’ Attorney Cha Yohan.”
“Yes, I was.”
“When I first heard it, I was really curious what it meant. I even had funny thoughts like, ‘Does he like bread?'”
(TL Note: ‘Ppang’ (빵) is Korean for bread. Seung-ppang sounds like ‘win-bread’.)

Kim Eun-gyeom smiled amiably, with a genuinely amused expression.

“But you showed a completely different side in an instant. A lawyer who doesn’t yield to injustice, a just lawyer. And a new kind of lawyer.”

Swoosh.

He now lowered his hands to his knees and looked straight at me.

“What on earth happened? That question came to my mind. So I looked up all of your trial records, Attorney Cha. Ah, and of course, Attorney Won Youngoh’s too.”

Kim Eun-gyeom lightly pointed at Won Youngoh with his fingertip.
It was a gesture that looked as if he were offering a handshake.
Won Youngoh gave a slight nod.
Kim Eun-gyeom likewise gave a silent nod and continued.

“You look at the case from the client’s perspective, but you lead the argument from a judge’s point of view. Unlike in the past, when you only tried to defend the client from their side.”

This time, even I was a little surprised.

‘That’s a sharp point.’

As Kim Eun-gyeom said, I had been making my arguments by pointing out the parts a judge should consider in their ruling.
The lessons I had learned when I was on the judge’s bench had allowed me to achieve an undefeated record even after establishing ‘Justice’.
I put down the pen I was using to write about Kim Eun-gyeom and spoke to him.

“You seem to have watched me with quite a bit of interest.”
“Yes, because I know how much effort is required for a person to change.”

The time I had spent adapting to Cha Yohan’s life was an effort if you could call it that…
I now touched the corner of my eye where my glasses no longer were.
Kim Eun-gyeom smiled and spoke again. His face was almost shy.

“Wouldn’t a person capable of that much effort be able to change anything? Be it the world, or a person. That’s why I really wanted to try working with you, Attorney Cha Yohan.”
“Thank you for thinking so highly of me.”

After that, questions about trials followed.

“…I see. Do you have any questions, Attorney Won?”
“No, I don’t.”

I checked the time on my watch once and looked up.

“You’ve worked hard at the interview. But Mr. Kim Eun-gyeom.”

I smiled at Kim Eun-gyeom, who had smoothly stood up from his seat.

“Victory and defeat are different from success and failure.”

Won Youngoh, who had been fixing his gaze only on Kim Eun-gyeom during the interview, glanced at me for a moment.
A tense silence, whose reason I couldn’t fathom, followed for a few seconds.
Kim Eun-gyeom smiled brightly and bowed deeply.

“Thank you for the good words. I’ll keep them in mind, Attorney Cha Yohan.”
“Then, get home safely.”
“Thank you.”

He left with a neat smile.

Chime.

Lee Ilwoo, who was standing at the door, nodded.
It meant he had gone all the way down the stairs.
Won Youngoh put a checkmark next to Kim Eun-gyeom’s name and spoke.

“He’s the most impressive of all the interviewees we’ve seen today.”
“I agree.”

As I nodded lightly, Jeong Donghyeok answered, scanning the densely filled laptop screen.
While we were asking questions, Jeong Donghyeok had been observing the other person.
How they reacted to which questions, what kind of expressions they made.

“He’s not nervous at all. I get nervous just hearing Attorney Won’s voice all weekend.”
“Haha, Office Manager. You’re joking.”
“Haha, as if I would be joking.”
“I didn’t think you were like that, Office Manager…”

Just then, Lee Ilwoo joined in at the right moment with a smile.

“May I call in the next interviewee?”
“Yes, Mr. Lee Ilwoo. Thank you.”
“Attorney Cha, what do you mean by ‘thank you’ right now?”
“It probably means exactly what you’re thinking, Attorney Won.”
“The Office Manager, and Attorney Cha… I want to take back all the thoughts I had today.”
“What did you think?”
“That,”

Chime.

When a new interviewee came up, Won Youngoh’s face became as rational as ever, as if nothing had happened.
Though the three of us were busy trying to hold back our laughter at the sight.
And so, a day full of meeting new people came to a close.

In conclusion, one weekend was not enough.
We had to conduct several more interviews on weekdays.

Chime.

“You’re here? Attorney Cha.”
“Good morning, Office Manager.”

Jeong Donghyeok, who seemed no different from usual but was strangely excited, smiled and spoke.

“All three of them are coming today, right?”
“Yes. They’ll probably be here around ten.”
“My heart is pounding a little. I guess it’s because it’s always been just the four of us.”
“Now that the empty rooms are filled, let’s keep working hard.”
“Yes, of course.”

The two empty seats next to me were now filled.
Even though there was a large empty space, Won Youngoh had kept it empty instead of using it as a storage room.
Thanks to that, the setup was easy.

Chime.

Just then, Won Youngoh appeared, glanced at the room with the new nameplate, and spoke.

“This room finally has people in it again.”
“How many months has it been?”
“Do you think it’s been a matter of ‘months’?”

Won Youngoh smiled dashingly, but for some reason, it was scary.
Jeong Donghyeok and I shook our heads and waited for the new people to arrive.

Chime.

“Hello.”
“Yes, hello. Please have a seat here first.”

The people arrived.
We sat around the large table and exchanged formal first greetings.
Won Youngoh started.

“Thank you for coming. We look forward to working with you.”
“I look forward to working with you as well.”

Kim Eun-gyeom, still as bright as ever today, bowed his head.
He was still smiling.

“I look forward to working with you as well. I’m Choi Yikang.”

If Kim Eun-gyeom was the amiable type, the new lawyer who introduced himself as Choi Yikang was a little different.
Choi Yikang’s resume, though he was a man of few words, was impeccably perfect and stood out even in the documents.

“You graduated second in your class from Seoul National University Law School.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“You also swept the moot court competitions every year even before entering law school.”
“I was lucky.”
“You did your apprenticeship at the court?”
“I wanted to have a variety of experiences. I did my apprenticeship as a prosecutor at the court.”

After a short Q&A, Choi Yikang reeled off perfect answers to the questions Won Youngoh and I asked without a single hitch.
Won Youngoh, who seemed to quite like Choi Yikang, uncharacteristically spoke up during our discussion.

‘They say the prevailing opinion at the law school was that the applicant Choi Yikang would go into the prosecution or judiciary.’
‘Because of his grades?’
‘His grades, and his personality too, they say. He was quiet, but he never let injustice or unfair situations pass by. Even more so since he did his apprenticeship at the court.’
‘He did have a good look in his eyes.’
‘Big firms came to scout him directly. He refused them all.’

Choi Yikang was the person to whom Won Youngoh, who had passed all the final questions to me, had thrown a question mark at the very end, as if interrogating him.

“Mr. Choi Yikang, what would you do if you found out that a crucial witness for your client had committed perjury to favor the client?”

At that time, Choi Yikang had replied without a moment’s hesitation.

“No matter how much it is for the client, I will make them receive the punishment for perjury.”
“Why is that?”
“Because one lie begets a bigger lie. If there is an appeal left, it may block the immediate sentence, but it will come back like a boomerang and surely become a problem.”
“Thank you for your answer.”

Won Youngoh added that after refusing all the offers from the big law firms, Choi Yikang had disappeared and then suddenly appeared this time.

‘I’ve looked into it as much as I can, but this is all I’ve found out. He’s clean.’
‘He’s too clean, at that.’

I looked at Choi Yikang, recalling my conversation with Won Youngoh.
Hair styled neither too much nor too little, neat fingertips, a crisp suit.
And yet, a man who wore it all as if it were one body.
As Won Youngoh had said, he had a sharpness that seemed to suit a prosecutor’s badge more than a lawyer’s.
Feeling my gaze, Choi Yikang bowed his head with a blank expression instead of smiling.
I replied with a slight smile.

“I wonder if I’m not being a nuisance among such young people. I’m Gu Seongju.”
“Office Manager Gu, don’t you know how high my expectations are for you? If you say that, I’ll be disappointed.”
“Haha, our Prosecutor Won, no. Now it’s Attorney Won. It really doesn’t roll off the tongue. But I have to get used to it quickly.”

The former head of the prosecution’s investigation department, Office Manager Gu Seongju, was brought in by Won Youngoh.
Their connection had continued from Won Youngoh’s time as a prosecutor until now.
He stroked his graying beard and smiled sheepishly.

“Hey, I shaved this morning. You shouldn’t be surprised already. This thing grows like a weed.”
“Can I watch it sometimes?”
“Oh, you can even water it. Haha.”

The slightly awkward atmosphere was instantly lifted by Gu Seongju’s and Kim Eun-gyeom’s banter.
Won Youngoh had immediately brought in Gu Seongju, who had quit his job for personal reasons.
The person who was looking at Gu Seongju with the most pleased expression was, by far, Jeong Donghyeok.

‘Office Manager, we’re planning to hire a new office manager this time as well.’
‘An office manager?’
‘Yes, as the number of lawyers increases, the workload will also increase, and you can’t handle it all by yourself like you do now. I happen to have someone in mind.’
‘Whoever it is, I’m grateful. If it’s someone you’ve thought of, Attorney Won, they must be skilled.’

It was the first time I had seen Jeong Donghyeok with such a bright smile.

‘He had smiled as if he had met a savior at Won Youngoh’s words…’

[That’s the first time I’ve seen that expression on the Office Manager too.]

No matter how robot-like his precision was, Jeong Donghyeok was still human.
We just hoped his workload would be lightened, even if just a little.
I scanned the people and opened my mouth.

“Then, now that we’ve all been introduced, shall we go for a meal? There’s a restaurant we frequent.”
“Sounds great!”

Kim Eun-gyeom clapped as if cheering, and Choi Yikang answered nonchalantly.

“Yes.”

We sat around at the Family Diner and started a slightly early lunch.
The bubbling and bursting air bubbles spread a delicious smell even further.
With kimchi stew and soybean paste stew as the main dishes, the numerous side dishes from the owner of the Family Diner boasted their presence.
Even though there were only three more people, it suddenly felt like the group had grown immensely.
Maybe that’s why, I felt full faster too.

[But this is really unexpected.]

‘What is?’

[That lawyer, Choi Yikang.]

‘Ah.’

I immediately understood what Gram was saying.
Choi Yikang was already finishing his third bowl of rice.