A New Case and an Old Habit

[First, you need to get some sleep. It’s three in the morning now.]

Ah, is it already that late?
No wonder the streets were unusually deserted.
The body needs rest to be used again.
So I went home, slept for a short while, and came back to the hospital as soon as morning came.

Drip, drip.

In the morning sunlight, the IV dripped slowly, one drop at a time.
It was a painkiller flowing into Won Youngoh’s body.
I watched the drops that formed and fell at regular intervals for a moment, then turned my head towards Won Youngoh.

“……”

The one who broke this suffocating and uncomfortable silence was a sheepish-faced Won Youngoh.

“Anyone who saw me would think I was dead. Did I forget to die and just live on, I wonder.”
“What kind of joke is that? Let me tell you this opportunity, your jokes are not funny at all.”

This time, I didn’t back down and retorted to Won Youngoh’s joke.
Though Won Youngoh did look a little shocked by my words.
And he asked with his eyes.

‘Are they really not funny?’

Instead of replying, I turned my head this time. As a sign of affirmation.
Fortunately, Won Youngoh had turned his body at that moment to avoid the vital spot.

‘This man is really a scary person when you think about it. To avoid it like that, to have surgery until dawn and then joke around in the morning.’

Just now, Choi Suhyeok had called and told me that he had collected all the nearby CCTV and black box footage he could by morning.
At that moment, Lee Ilwoo, who had been standing silently by, bowed his head to that side.

Bow.

Jeong Donghyeok had arrived.

“Lawyer Won, are you feeling a bit better?”
“I’m fine at this point.”
“Still, it’s a relief that it ended at this. I went out because it was noisy, and I never thought something like that would have happened.”

Only then did Lee Ilwoo, who had been guarding the hospital room all night, speak for the first time and bowed his head to Won Youngoh in apology.

“I’m sorry, lawyer. I happened to be away at that time…”
“What are you talking about? This is not something for you to apologize for, Mr. Lee Ilwoo. It’s the culprit’s fault.”
“No, but still, I…”
“If you apologize one more time, I’ll assume you’re not coming to the office from tomorrow. Lawyer Cha Yohan will need your help.”

Won Youngoh drove a wedge so that Lee Ilwoo could no longer apologize.
And he called me. Because Jeong Donghyeok, with whom he had to share the future situation, had arrived.

“Lawyer Cha.”
“Yes.”
“My condition is not what’s important right now.”
“What do you mean? What could be more important than this situation? That bastard planned and did all of this.”
“What’s more important, you ask? The defense is more important.”

I couldn’t deny it. Won Youngoh let out a deep sigh and glanced down at his wound.

“I can’t go to trial for at least a month, and my client needs a new lawyer. We can postpone the trial date, but…”

I knew what Won Youngoh was going to say next.
A deep sigh escaped.

“…Then the client will have to spend another month in the detention center.”
“That’s right. We can’t keep a righteous man who saved people from a drunk driving accident in a detention center for another month, can we? ‘Unfairly’.”

Hearing Won Youngoh’s story, I recalled the case file.
A supercar had hit people and sculptures. And then it had fled.

‘The person who saved the people who were about to be hit by that car is now in a detention center.’

An unfair world.
Most people would agree with this statement.
Because the outcome of the same action is different for each person.
Sometimes it can depend on luck, and sometimes you can be placed in front of an external pressure that you can’t solve on your own.
Some might say that it’s due to individual effort, but there are definitely areas that individuals cannot solve.
But I believe that because we are human, we complain about that reality and find a way to move forward.
Through public anger.

‘Like in this case.’

If a person intentionally caused a car accident to save a child, should that person become a criminal?
Laws and principles can be harsh on people depending on the situation.
The law is a matter of interpretation, and the intent of the crime is the same.

‘Good intentions.’

Is there a more difficult problem than this?
While Won Youngoh and I were silent for a moment, Jeong Donghyeok spoke.

“I checked their willingness to settle again, but they are firm. They said it was an accident caused by intentionally crossing the center line, so they should take appropriate responsibility.”

If it was an intention, it was an intention.
The client had spotted a sports car speeding towards a child crossing the crosswalk at a merciless speed.
That’s why he had deliberately turned his car to block the speeding sports car.
The sports car hit the client’s truck and then fled, and while the client briefly lost consciousness from the impact, a chain of rear-end collisions occurred.
I let out a faint sigh and spoke.

“It’s a case that could normally be settled in a civil suit, but I don’t understand why they’re so insistent.”

Won Youngoh and Jeong Donghyeok nodded in agreement.

“No matter how many times I read the case file, it was difficult to grasp that part. And whether it was a matter serious enough to go to a detention center.”
“Drunk driving, no. Hit-and-run, no. Most of them have settled except for that one person. But he still ended up in a detention center, so that’s a mystery to me too.”
“I saw in the file that the victim initially expressed a willingness to settle and then suddenly changed his attitude. That’s one of the biggest reasons he ended up in a detention center.”

Jeong Donghyeok added to my words.

“Ah, I contacted the plaintiff last night and asked about that. What the biggest reason for changing his mind about settling was.”
“Did he tell you, Office Manager Jeong Donghyeok? He was very firm with me. He said there would be no leniency.”
“Well, um… He said he’s a person who can’t work without a car, and because the client ‘intentionally’ caused the accident, an important schedule of his was eventually ruined.”

Jeong Donghyeok, as if the content was embarrassing to even say, let out a cough before continuing.

“…Ahem, saving the child’s life is one thing, but harming him is a separate matter, he said.”

Everyone’s faces gradually darkened. Won Youngoh looked like he wanted to curse at any moment.

“He said that the life the client saved wasn’t his life. He said he didn’t get anything in return. So he wants to teach him a lesson.”
“What kind of bastard is that… Ah, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, Mr. Lee Ilwoo. We’re all thinking the same thing.”

Ah, my faith in humanity has been plummeting since last night.
Won Youngoh’s cold face became even colder.
As if a chill was only in this hospital room.
I shook my head lightly and spoke.

“The client is a perfectly ordinary citizen. He was making a living with the truck that got into the accident. Should I try to move public opinion? It hasn’t been publicized to a strange degree. Not even a single line in the news.”
“I’ve already spoken to a reporter I know, but I heard that a case of this magnitude won’t become a big issue.”

Won Youngoh’s expression momentarily darkened.
I thought for a moment and then spoke again.

“Then… This is a bit much for me too, but I heard that the client’s young son, who was being raised by a single parent, is now in the care of his elderly mother.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then how about we focus on appealing to their emotions? In my opinion, this case has a chance of winning only if we turn it into a public opinion battle.”
“Do you know any reporters? A friendly one, perhaps.”

For a moment, a few faces flashed through my mind, but they were all acquaintances of Yoon Eunho, not Cha Yohan.

‘Can I make a connection?’

“…I’ll look for a suitable person. By the way, lawyer. Do you have any idea who the culprit is today?”

Won Youngoh shrugged his shoulders out of habit and then lightly furrowed his brow. He seemed to have felt a pain.

“I don’t know. I’ve lived a life of making many grudges. I’ve received countless retaliatory threats similar to this during my prosecutor days, but I guess I’ve become a little lazy after taking off my robes.”

No one in this room could laugh at Won Youngoh’s half-joking, half-serious words.

“I’ll start by looking for the most recently released person among the criminals you prosecuted, Lawyer Won Youngoh.”

Won Youngoh and I nodded at Jeong Donghyeok’s lawyer-like words.

“I’ll look into it from another angle. You should get as much rest as possible, lawyer. Take this opportunity to get some rest.”
“This much is fine, I don’t need to rest. I want to be discharged like this. Go and talk to Lawyer Cha about trying outpatient treatment.”
“Did you hit your head when you fell?”
“I tried to avoid hitting my head on the floor, so I tensed my back. I tried really hard. I have a pretty good core.”
“Huh.”
“Haha.”

Was this guy always like this?
This time, Won Youngoh’s joke worked.
Thanks to that, laughter finally returned to the hospital room.

Meanwhile, at that time, Choi Suhyeok was concentrating on the monitor with a deeply furrowed brow.
He had barely slept the previous night, reviewing the videos, but his eyes were still shining sharply.
On the screen, several CCTV screens were continuously showing from different angles.
At intervals of a few seconds, a man in black clothes and Cha Yohan, who was chasing him in blood-stained clothes, could be seen.

‘From the lawyer’s office to the street, the park, the concert hall…’

And even the internal footage of the concert hall.
From the moment Cha Yohan’s name appeared on his phone screen, he had an inexplicable feeling that was different from usual.
And as expected, a stabbing in the middle of the street.
It’s not human to turn a blind eye when someone you’ve had a meal with just a few days ago has been stabbed.
Choi Suhyeok let out a deep sigh as he looked at the screen showing the crowd at the concert hall.
Then, a voice came from the side.

“Oh, Detective Choi, are you a ‘Serenity’ too?”
“…Reporter Baek, how did you get in here? And this early in the morning?”

Choi Suhyeok slammed the laptop he was looking at shut and replied in his usual cold voice.
But the person who had spoken to him, reporter Baek Soeun, shrugged her shoulders as if it were no big deal and spoke.

“The question is too easy, detective. It’s not like I’ve been in this business for just a day or two.”
“Don’t you have to go to work, Reporter Baek? What are you doing here at this hour? It’s only nine o’clock.”
“Oh, I came to the police station like a reporter. I want to sit in a comfortable office too.”
“Haa…”
“But what can I do when cases always break out outside? My title is also ‘Reporter Baek who runs around all day’.”

Choi Suhyeok rubbed his temples with a suddenly tired face.
Baek Soeun continued speaking without a care.

“I came to see the newbies who are on their rounds and to say hello to the detectives. Detective Kim let me in!”
“That bastard Kim…”

‘He made a mess of the station by talking out of turn before, and he still hasn’t learned his lesson.’

‘Mawari’ referred to the work of new reporters who stayed at the police station to gather news.
After the ‘crime of disclosing the facts of a suspect’ was established, it was not as fervent as before, but it was still a practice that remained like a custom.
Baek Soeun, who had approached Choi Suhyeok with a friendly demeanor, was now a 4th-year reporter.
She had a very gentle, puppy-like appearance, but she was a well-known tough cookie among detectives and in the media world.

‘She has an overly good sense for scoops, and once she bites, she never lets go.’

At that moment, Choi Suhyeok thought.
Ah, so am I being bitten right now?