A New Kind of Client

The repercussions of the broadcast were far greater than Won Youngoh and I had anticipated.
The situation that was unfolding was to the extent that I had been complacent in thinking that nothing much would change with one broadcast appearance.
Too much had changed.
On a different level from being on the news a few times.
What was it again, they said to get famous first.
It’s not that I hadn’t imagined a situation like this, but this was a bit much.
I recalled the clients who had come to me over the past month.

“Me too! Make me innocent too!”

Like in the old days when you could buy an indulgence with money, it was a given to ask me to erase their sins as soon as they appeared.
I had to endure countless times like a Buddha preparing for nirvana.

“What do you mean by that?”
“You said you could do it! You’ve already made a few people innocent! So help me too!”
“You have to tell me the situation accurately.”
“I accidentally hit someone last week, no. The other party is making a fuss, saying I was drunk driving and hit-and-run…”

One type was the one who, despite having committed a crime that I didn’t know how they had avoided being detained for, shamelessly asked me to make them innocent.

“Lawyer Cha Yohan, please save me!”
“Please calm down and tell me.”
“I’m really! Really wronged! I’m really wronged! I just picked up a wallet that was on the street, but they said I was a pickpocket!”
“…Are you really wronged?”

The second type was the one who, as soon as they started crying, I would hand them a tissue and listen to their story, only to find that it was a situation where no one would think they were wronged…
Thanks to them, I was learning the importance of the skill day by day.

“I… I’d like to make a request.”
“Yes, if you tell me the details, I’ll let you know if I can take the case.”
“A month ago, my younger sister went missing while we were traveling together. Lawyer, is this what they call a missing person case?”
“…Or a disappearance.”
“I see… I was drunk at the time and fell asleep early, and when I woke up, all that was left was a message from my sister saying something urgent had come up and she had to leave first.”
“Hmm…”
“I tried to call her right away, but I couldn’t get through, and I thought it must have been something very urgent, so I just came home first. But a few days ago, the police told me that my sister had been found dead, and that I was the suspect…”
“Could you please write down your address, contact information, and your sister’s name and the date of the incident?”
“Yes, of course.”

It was a client who kept saying she was innocent, along with a notification that she was lying.
After the client had left, when I asked Choi Suhyeok based on the memo the client had left, a rather futile answer came back.

“I just checked, and there’s no such case. The same goes for the address and name of the person who said they were a client.”

The so-called third type, the one who needs attention…
In the principle of taking on requests, Won Youngoh and my opinions were mostly in agreement.

“If you have a bad feeling about it when you think about it, Lawyer Cha, then let’s not take it on. If we pretend not to see a bad feeling, it will all come back to us.”

Therefore, I was in a situation where I had become more free in order to find a client who really needed my help.

‘But I can’t just stay here and do nothing.’

A month had already passed like this.
The new year was just around the corner.

‘It’s a good thing that there wasn’t a single truly wronged client among the people who came to me during that time…’

Because such people are usually in a blind spot.
A blind spot that information doesn’t reach.
A trial or a lawsuit was not something that ordinary people would experience in their daily lives.
In a word, the accessibility was low.
And at the same time, when they really needed help, they were vulnerable to such information.

Knock, knock.

I was pondering with my hand on my forehead, then I looked up to see who had knocked.

“Come in.”

Jeong Donghyeok gently opened the door and entered the room.

“Lawyer, are you worried about taking on a case?”
“Yes, you’ve seen it from the side, office manager, but the situation is not very good.”
“Then… how about this method?”

Jeong Donghyeok held out his phone to me.
A video was playing on the screen.

[Then shall we begin today’s ‘Check Point’?]

Three people in white coats pointed to the top of the screen and continued their story.
Revealing their professions through their coats.

“It’s a channel where several doctors come out and give medical answers that are close to a diagnosis for each symptom, as well as listen to concerns.”
“Is it a popular channel?”
“Yes, there have been quite a few cases where people who sent their stories here were actually diagnosed with the same illness. The number of subscribers is also close to a million.”
“What? A million?”

I couldn’t help but open my eyes wide in surprise.
At my appearance, Jeong Donghyeok couldn’t hold back a laugh and then coughed.

“Yes. I thought it would be a good idea for you to open a channel too, lawyer.”
“I think it would be a good idea too, if there are stories that can be solved with advice like this.”

Like Jeong Donghyeok’s opinion, it seemed like it would be a better method than I thought.
People who are far away can ask for a request without having to come in person, and I would be able to find a client who really needs my help among them.
I immediately called Won Youngoh.

“Lawyer Won, can I open a channel on a video platform in the name of the office?”
[Hmm… Yes, that sounds good. You can do as you please, Lawyer Cha.]
“Yes, then I’ll do it right away.”

And that was just the end of the call with Won Youngoh.

“We’re ready, lawyer.”

Suddenly, the filming equipment was set up in front of me.
All that was left was to put my phone on the tripod.

“Office manager… you know how to do this too? Where did you get this…”
“We also get interview requests at the public defender’s office from time to time. I brought it just in case, and it’s being used like this. You’re going to film with your phone, right, lawyer?”
“Yes.”

Jeong Donghyeok was indeed a versatile and resourceful talent.
I shot a light greeting about five times under Jeong Donghyeok’s cool-headed directing.
After that, I chose the most natural-looking video with Jeong Donghyeok.

[Hello. I’m Cha Yohan, a lawyer at Dike Law Office.]

“You closed your eyes a little in the middle of this one.”
“I think this one has a more natural gaze.”
“In my opinion, the last video is the best.”

This isn’t something anyone can do.
I was exhausted after just a few shots.

“Let’s go with that one…”

In the end, the chosen video was the one shot at the central table of the office instead of in my room.
Not only did the warm sunlight gently enter through the window and brighten the inside of the office, but my smiling expression was the most natural.
Jeong Donghyeok, as if he were satisfied with the result, even showed a smile that he rarely showed while working.

[The office manager seems very proud.]

‘I know, right. This is the first time I’ve seen him like this.’

[It’s good to see.]

‘I think so too. Though it’s a bit embarrassing to upload the video…’

[But I think we can use it in a good way.]

‘Upload?’

Click.

I uploaded the simply edited video to a channel with a very honest name.

<Dike Law Office – Lawyer Cha Yohan>

Suddenly, the back of my head grew dark.
Because time had passed, along with the particularly short winter sky.

“Oh, it’s already this late.”

Ding.

At that moment, the number 1 appeared in the view count.
I looked up, just in case, and Jeong Donghyeok was watching the video beyond the glass door.
With an expression of pure delight.
I smiled and approached Jeong Donghyeok.

“Let’s go home for today. I can’t stand the embarrassment.”

The next morning, as was my new habit, I stopped by Libra before going up to the office.

“Oh? Good morning, lawyer.”
“Good morning, Ms. Seonghui. Are there still a lot of customers these days? The people from our office haven’t stopped by yet, have they?”

Instead of asking for my order, Ha Seonghui familiarly headed for the machine.

“I think the office manager came to work earlier. It’s not as crowded as before. I can breathe a little now.”
“That’s a relief. Then do you have some time to sleep? You were busy baking cookies for a while.”
“Yes, I’m a little more comfortable now. Come to think of it, you look to be in good condition today, lawyer.”
“Ah, can you tell? I slept well for the first time in a while. I’ll be back later. If we have time, let’s have lunch together.”
“Yes, you’re going to the owner’s place, right? I’ll go up later!”

Ha Seonghui and we would often have a meal at Family Diner if we had time.
The owner also really liked the friendly Ha Seonghui.
I bowed my head once and then went up to the office with four cups of coffee.

Chime.

“Good morning.”
“Lawyer, come quickly and look at this.”

As if he had been waiting for me to come, Jeong Donghyeok hurriedly sat me down and pointed to the laptop screen.

“Huh? How did it get this much…”

What Jeong Donghyeok had urged me to check was Dike’s shared mailbox.
It was the email address I had put on the channel.
Most of the subjects were similar.

[I’m cheering for Lawyer Cha Yohan and Dike!]

The content was also mostly similar.
Thank you for doing a good job, I enjoyed the broadcast.
Among them, there were also a few familiar names, though most of them were unknown.

“Huh?”

Only after hurriedly checking the video did I realize what had happened. Because I had found a comment.

[Lawyer! I’m cheering for your channel!]

I don’t know how he found out, but Kwon Saeha had left a comment with his official ID.
The problem was that it wasn’t just Kwon Saeha.
Cheon Wooseok was also there.
I hurriedly checked my phone, and Kwon Saeha had already contacted me at dawn. Cheon Wooseok was the same.

[Lawyer! My fans told me you opened a channel, so can I leave a short post on my SNS asking them to cheer for you?]
[You seemed to be sleeping, so I left it first!]

The calls had come at three and four in the morning.

‘He still can’t sleep well? I should call him later.’

Thanks to Kwon Saeha, the promotional effect was paying off.
Because new emails and comments were pouring in every time I refreshed.
After much thought, I sent a reply.

[Thank you, Mr. Kwon Saeha. I’ll call you later.]

‘I don’t know Cheon Wooseok’s number. I’ll check this first and then contact him later.’

As soon as I put my phone down, Jeong Donghyeok asked a question.

“Lawyer, have you checked the number of subscribers?”
“No. I’m just about to see… what’s wrong with this?”

It hadn’t even been a full 24 hours since it was opened.
The number of subscribers was already approaching 70,000.
What on earth is going on.
While I was expressing my bewilderment, Jeong Donghyeok smiled and took a sip of coffee.

[You’ve really become a star lawyer.]

‘Don’t tease me.’

[Jeong Myeonggyu is going to have a stomachache.]

‘Hmm, I like that.’

First of all, it was clear that the emails needed to be sorted.

‘At this rate, the request emails will be buried.’

“Office manager, I’ll take care of the email sorting for now.”

First, I added another email to the channel with a thank you message.
Then, from the hundreds of emails that had piled up, I sorted the cheers and the requests.

‘There are fewer requests than I thought?’

There were about fifty requests to formally take on a case.
I read them one by one and then left a mark on four emails.
And I sent a reply to one carefully chosen email.

Click.

Along with the usual notification window, a hologram appeared before my eyes.

[I don’t think it will be possible to defend the victim’s side in this case. They’re already dead.]