Chapter 111
Chapter 111
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: Freshman Welcome
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As Kang Hyun stepped up to the podium, cheers erupted.
"Freshmen, I'm Kang Hyun, president of the Korea University Student Council. I sincerely congratulate you on your admission."
Kang Hyun spoke politely into the microphone, and massive cheers rang out around him.
-Kyaa!
-I love you!
-Sunbae! Marry me!
Everyone gazed at Kang Hyun on the stage with sparkling eyes, as if he were a celebrity.
Kang Hyun met their expectations by slowly scanning the crowd, prompting even louder cheers and chants of his name.
"Thank you. This year, Korea University's guiding principle is 'A Future for Students.' Progressing forward is important, but the school can't move ahead alone. As the head of the student self-governing body..."
Smiling faces everywhere, proud looks from upperclassmen and professors. And countless dignitaries who had come to see Kang Hyun.
Kang Hyun spoke freely and confidently to the freshmen about what he truly wanted to say, then bowed his head.
Cheers and applause erupted once more. Just as Kang Hyun was stepping down...
"I have a question! The Yang brothers, former Korea University student council presidents, are under prosecution review for the incident. What are your thoughts?"
It was the reporters.
Kang Hyun paused mid-step and glanced toward the press area.
Then someone else raised their hand.
"I have a question about the Law Department too."
They seemed ready to follow up.
The emcee below the podium, Lee Myung-hwan, grabbed the mic like a proper vice president.
"I'm sorry, reporters, but this isn't just for the Law Department, and it's not a press conference. We'll take questions later..."
"Seok Ji-hoon, once called the rising star of Korea University's legal world, is now representing Japan at various events. With fierce public backlash, what do you think?"
But the questions kept coming, so Kang Hyun took the mic again.
With countless freshmen, parents, and staff present, Kang Hyun flashed a witty smile to deftly navigate the situation.
"We always appreciate the interest from everyone in Korea University. But today is for celebrating our new students. I won't answer other questions. Feel free to come to me anytime for details on anything you're curious about."
Kang Hyun bowed slightly to ask for understanding.
But then.
"I have a question! It's about Daejin Group."
Another question flew out, and Kang Hyun's smile faltered just a bit. The reporter, undeterred, stared straight at him.
"I've heard Daejin Group's public interest foundation has an internal policy to support student Kang Hyun. Is that true?"
That memory flashed through his mind.
The mysterious bespectacled man who arrived in a black car. Choi Jae-cheol, director of the Daejin Group Foundation.
Kang Hyun picked up the mic again.
"They're a group that does great work. But I'm not yet worthy of their full support. The foundation is running a massive scholarship project for over 1,800 students across 30 universities, with 20 to 25 billion won or more."
"It's known in society as a foundation in name only. Daejin's legal team, famous for extracting an executive from a controversial affiliate, is notorious for cultivating their own people. A legal team that exists solely for Daejin, right?"
"..."
"Aren't over 800 Daejin Group 'guard warriors' bulking up every year? Since you're benefiting from Daejin, are you interested in joining them?"
An aggressive question.
It was plenty offensive.
But Kang Hyun kept his calm expression.
"The foundation's recipients this time are selected based on income levels."
"My question is..."
"My answer is that these Daejin scholarship students are young people too poor to pursue their dreams."
"..."
"Before talking about becoming Daejin's puppets or whatever, these are people so destitute they can't even compete fairly against others on equal footing. Shouldn't we avoid lumping them together and using them for political purposes?"
"Then you, Kang Hyun..."
"I'm the same. But I'm donating my entire scholarship."
"Pardon?"
Step, step.
"I've been selected as a Daejin support recipient and accepted it, but I'll donate it all to another student chasing their dreams like me."
"Wow!"
"Really?"
Click, click!
Kang Hyun gave a brief greeting and left the stage amid a mix of cheers and astonished voices.
'That's enough for today.'
His statement protected himself without giving Daejin grounds to cut the program.
But for a top-tier conglomerate like Daejin vying for supremacy in Korea, it handed them justification to view Kang Hyun as an enemy.
It wasn't an easy choice for him.
He stopped by the bank on campus.
Beep.
After using the ATM, his account showed a whopping 9 million won.
Three months of 3 million won each from the Korea University scholarship.
Money they had handed him.
The largest sum he'd ever touched.
"..."
He'd thought a lot.
And agonized plenty.
Frankly, deciding with that much money in the account wasn't easy at all.
He couldn't spend it freely or even tell his mother.
'Still, I made the right call.'
Conflict.
Money corrupts people, leads to evil deeds.
Kang Hyun wasn't immune to that absolute truth.
From a not-wealthy family, knowing better than anyone how hard his mother worked.
Justifying and moralizing to give up the money wasn't simple.
But that reporter was right. They straddled good and evil.
They'd squeeze him bit by bit. Even if he was outside Daejin's influence now.
With money, with power.
So Kang Hyun had no intention of yielding.
"It's fine. No regrets."
Even if Daejin turned hostile. It was okay.
He wasn't the old him, praying in a crumbling temple like a fool.
Beep.
"I'd like to make a transfer."
He headed slowly inside the bank to send the money to a charity.
Escaping Daejin's influence while shedding the money and its burdens in one go.
Kang Hyun's busy life resumed.
He kept his course load at the minimum required for early law school admission, so he had more leeway than last year. But he stuck to morning workouts at 6 a.m. Mondays and Wednesdays with Yoon Haneul. He passed the school gate at 10 a.m. and didn't exit again until after 8 p.m.
Classes Monday through Friday.
Friday had no classes, but it was student council duty day.
Events made part-time work impossible.
Plus, with the Bismuth schedule announced, he, Yoon Chan-rim, and Woo Si-hyung needed to meet.
'Standing Avenue.'
The campus shared hub building buzzed as always, but the fourth-floor conference room reserved for Kang Hyun felt weighty in its silence.
"The Bismuth schedule's out. We've got about 50 days."
"It's tight."
"We'll make it. Same format as the campus tourney, but higher level and broader topics. Sharpening our edge comes first."
"I heard it's 50% written brief, 50% oral argument."
"Both need work. No page limit on briefs, and orals are 15 minutes free-form."
"Yeah. Winning on legal logic matters, but failing to make the judges grasp it in time means pointless results."
"So, wrap each point cleanly, no mumbling?"
The trio gathered for mock trial after ages. Tension hung lightly, but no desperation.
They were pros already.
No team in Korea matched their instincts and skill right now.
"Yeah. Time's short, so drill vocab, logic per field. Read the prep materials, then rotate orals from the briefs."
"No stopping for mistakes."
"Right. Begin."
Plaintiff, defendant, bench.
As Kang Hyun finished, they slipped into roles seamlessly.
They moved with scripted flexibility and familiarity.
"Case 2015Gohap10504 commencing. Plaintiff's side."
Each took position, diving into materials. From Kang Hyun's cue, the room turned courtroom-real in seconds.
Deep in fervent arguments in Room 401.
Click.
The door cracked open quietly.
A woman in plain clothes and a deep-pulled cap peeked in.
"Excuse... me. Oh?"
Startled by their intensity—or maybe checking if it was the right room—she cautiously opened and closed the door repeatedly.
But the three were too absorbed to notice.
Confirming it was the place, the hooded woman sat quietly in the back, unobtrusive.
She was Professor Park Min-ha, assigned to coach them.
A young assistant professor with short bob and expressive face.
Light on teaching experience, but top in Korea for mock trials.
Recently deep in competition ops, she was prime talent.
Her personal life and history shrouded in mystery. Anyway, witnessing this shockingly impressive scene from the start, her eyes widened as she watched, stunned.
"Article 14, Paragraph 1 of the National Tax Basic Act stipulates the substance-over-form principle: for tax objects like income, profits, assets, transactions, if the true owner differs from the nominal one, the true owner is the taxpayer, not by form or appearance."
"Objection! Whether that principle applies identically to interpreting and applying tax treaties—which hold equal force to statutes—is beside the point."
"Pre-amendment Act No. 9911's National Tax Basic Act applies to tax treaty interpretation, and current law does too. It explicitly states this isn't excluded as a special rule for treaty interpretation/application, and the same holds for Article 27(2) of inter-nation tax treaties."
"That provision can't be the key to whether Article 21's limitations apply between nations. We must holistically judge based on circumstances of setting or transferring rights to dividends, interest, royalties, other income."
Truth was, they were flawless anywhere.
Woo Si-hyung suited support roles perfectly, yet shone solo.
He wielded applicable laws to crush Yoon Chan-rim's probes into legal gaps.
Yoon Chan-rim, conversely, was a solid attacker.
Piercing one flaw with logic blasts was her forte, but now she fluidly escaped counters.
Sustained sharp clashes without yielding—rare at university level.
Yet they'd reached that height.
'Not bad?'
Park Min-ha watched, her lips curving slightly upward.