Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: Dog Park Epiphany
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Late night.
In front of the filming studio building.
“…?”
A tall, sturdy man standing in front of her as she emerged, utterly exhausted with her makeup hastily touched up.
Kang Hyun.
She blinked, doubting her own eyes for a moment, then her face lit up.
Heh heh.
Yoon Haneul scurried over and poked his side before standing close, hands clasped behind her back, right by his side.
“Why’d you come?”
“You said you were tired, so I came.”
“What about Chae-eun?”
“She went home—said she had to head to work. And here.”
Kang Hyun patted her reassuringly and pulled out the things he had prepared.
“Kimbap? Tteokbokki? What’s all this…!”
Kang Hyun smiled sheepishly as her eyes grew wider with each food he named.
She’d always been like this—pure joy over something as simple as food. Nothing excited her more than something delicious.
“Couldn’t make it myself. Didn’t know what you were craving, so I just grabbed a bunch of stuff.”
“Hee. Thanks.”
She clutched the food like a kid at heart and walked on ahead. Kang Hyun followed with a warm smile.
“Not cold tonight—wanna eat in the park?”
“There’s one right up ahead.”
Tot tot tot.
Her tough shoot had just wrapped, yet her steps were light, and she was even humming a little tune as she led the way. He couldn’t tell if it was because Kang Hyun had shown up or because the weather was nice.
They soon reached the park. Dodging a few people out walking their dogs, Kang Hyun and Yoon Haneul settled on a bench.
“I’ll eat well.”
The words had barely left her mouth before Yoon Haneul shoved a big bite of kimbap in. Kang Hyun had to wonder how she’d held out without eating until now.
He grinned happily at the sight of her cheeks bulging out.
Being next to Yoon Haneul still made his heart pound and his head spin a little.
But these days, it was normal for him to seek her out like this, for her to greet him with open joy.
Just walking together felt fun and happy.
That was when it happened.
“Woof!”
A dog charging eagerly toward Kang Hyun and Yoon Haneul.
A white dog straining at its leash, bounding over full of energy, beelining for Yoon Haneul without a second’s hesitation.
“Oh! Been well?”
“Woof! Pant pant pant…!”
Yoon Haneul stroked it familiarly and happily, and the dog’s tail wagged like it had a motor attached, rolling every which way to soak up her touch.
The woman in workout clothes—clearly the owner—gave Yoon Haneul a slight nod of recognition.
She was the type whose face darkened at anyone interrupting her meal, but Kang Hyun was struck anew by how much she loved dogs.
“…You know this one?”
“Yeah, this is Haneul too. Pom.”
“Woof!”
A neatly groomed Pomeranian stood before Kang Hyun, wagging its tail happily at her.
“Woof woof woof!”
More dogs came trotting over. They all seemed drawn to her touch.
“Oh, Chi-chi’s here too. Hey, Chun-sam.”
Yoon Haneul didn’t turn any away, petting each one in turn, too busy to even eat.
“Woof woof!”
“Woof woof!”
Not a single dog passed her by without stopping.
Maybe she wasn’t just popular with people. She could’ve been the undisputed leader of the dogs, points off the charts in popularity.
The sight of them all panting excitedly, each vying for a quick pass under her hand, left Kang Hyun staring in awe.
“Oh! So cute today too.”
“Pant pant! Woof!”
She petted and played with them so thoroughly that there didn’t seem to be a single stranger among them. Kang Hyun ventured a question.
“You know all the dogs around here, by chance?”
“Mm-hm.”
“No way, really?”
Kang Hyun’s eyes went wide in genuine shock, but she answered casually.
“I came here during breaks from shoots. Got to know all the neighborhood dogs.”
“Ah….”
“Woof woof!”
She even set her food aside to stand and scratch one’s belly, accepting a lick in return.
She exchanged brief pleasantries with its owner—something about the weather. To Kang Hyun, it was utterly baffling and magical.
“Woof woof!”
“Yeah, see you next time.”
Her hand waved gently.
Once the wave of canine visitors finally ebbed into a lull, she sat back down beside him, her face all the brighter.
Their eyes met—his still full of wonder, hers sparkling with amusement.
“First time seeing that.”
“Me playing with dogs?”
“Yeah.”
“You know I have one.”
“But I’ve never seen you go all out petting them like this….”
“Didn’t show you on purpose. You hate dogs.”
“Huh?”
“You freaked when Man-seok met you.”
“Huh? Oh….”
Man-seok was Yoon Haneul’s dog back home.
A French bulldog. Kang Hyun had tried laughing it off at the time, but apparently he hadn’t hidden his dislike well enough.
Seizing the moment, Kang Hyun cautiously broached the real topic.
“Truth is, I picked up a case recently, and I just can’t relate. Am I really that scared of dogs?”
“The legal consultations you’re prepping for school?”
“Yeah. But the dog’s the star. It got into an accident—something bad—and the owner’s pushing for major compensation.”
“Sounds tough.”
“Yeah. Feels like there’s gotta be a way, but it’s not clicking, so no ideas.”
“Hmm.” She gazed at him steadily.
“Amazing.”
“What?”
“You, sharing your worries like this. Even little stuff—you don’t usually open up to me.”
She looked him over curiously from every angle, like she was verifying it was really him.
“Hmm, nah. Just…”
Kang Hyun looked shy. A brief silence fell as they both took in their surroundings.
Dogs romping about, breathing in sync with their owners like family.
Kang Hyun wasn’t a fan of animals, but quietly watching this scene brought a strange sense of peace.
“Man-seok can’t walk great anymore. Eyesight’s going too.”
“Huh? Is he sick?”
“He’s thirteen. Basically a grandpa now.”
“Ah. He looked healthy last time I saw him.”
“That was back in high school. Years ago already.”
“Oh… right?”
“Your reaction was hilarious. Stuck with me.”
Yoon Haneul grinned at the memory. Kang Hyun let the words hang before asking,
“Ever regret raising him?”
“Huh? No way. He’s family—no regrets. But once Man-seok crosses the rainbow bridge… I don’t think I could raise another.”
“Losing a dog that feels like family… yeah, I get that.”
“Exactly. Hard to expect others to get it.”
“…Yeah?”
Watching him try to understand, she paused in thought, then laid it out simply and slowly.
“Yeah. The happy memories with Man-seok? I can share those. But the sad ones… can’t force anyone to feel that. Gotta bear it alone.”
“Because empathy’s tricky?”
“Right. And this case? It’s not just you hating dogs. Anyone would struggle empathizing with someone else’s business, right?”
“Mm.”
Empathy.
Especially when it’s personal like this—cases like yours only hit hard for you and your family. Tough for outsiders to truly get.
That’s what the law couldn’t protect. What’s a massive sorrow to me turns trivial in a world tangled with countless others.
‘…!’
But in that instant, Kang Hyun realized something.
‘Empathy’s always hard, everywhere. No rule says the law can’t account for it. We just don’t try.’
A flash— the solution to this case suddenly crystallized.
Clack! Clack!
The sharp click of angry heels.
Gong Hyun-jeong, deputy director, had never imagined the Korea University Law Center—her post for the past few years—would face such a massive challenge.
It was housed on campus but belonged to no university foundation, education ministry, or interior ministry. Directly under the Ministry of Justice.
An irregular setup, sure—but built on a rock-solid foundation no one dared question.
That foundation? Power. In the current political tussle between prosecutors and non-prosecutors, who held the edge went without saying.
To Gong Hyun-jeong, it wasn’t just a foothold for her backers’ influence. It was her base to build her own power.
But trouble had erupted.
“Brats thinking they’re hot shit…!”
Whoosh! Bang!
She shoved open the door to Professor Cheon Ung-jae’s office.
Both were ex-lawyers from the mega firm Daesan.
Now? One a high-ranking Justice Ministry official backed by the Daijin Group. The other a lone wolf professor at Korea University.
Men on divergent paths.
“Fuu….”
Good thing she hadn’t yelled. She reined in her fraying composure and snapped at him.
“They’re calling a budget adjustment committee! That’s insane!”
Cheon Ung-jae sat ramrod straight, handling his work. Her sharp tone didn’t so much as twitch an eyebrow.
Instead, his low voice delivered a clipped, mechanical reply.
“Take it up with the dean. Why come to me?”
“We need to kill it at the ex-officio committee stage!”
Cheon was one of the six ex-officio members on the budget adjustment committee.
That’s why Gong Hyun-jeong had rushed to him first.
Rustle.
Only the leisurely sound of turning pages.
He flipped through his materials without a glance her way—a silent nudge for her to leave. But she showed no sign of budging.
“Dragging in supplementary budget for a legal clinic? Pointless. It’ll just stir up fights at the school. Isn’t picking fights the exact thing you despise?”
“Is it?”
“It is!”
She yelled it with lips quivering in excitement, but Cheon just blinked at his papers before speaking slowly.
“We spin up a new org every year. Half get axed later if they’re useless.”
“Don’t you know the law school pulls budget based on our results? Total overlap! The center can cover it all. No reason for a review meeting!”
Scraaaape!
Fed up, Cheon shot to his feet and loomed before her.
Gong Hyun-jeong—whose head barely reached his shoulder—scowled and took a step back. He spoke flatly.
“That’s just your opinion, Director.”
He looked resolute, eyes glinting.
“Agenda’s already passed. Review goes by the book. Data decides my vote in the end. Not you, Director.”
“…You get debate team funding, extra research grants…”
“No need.”
Gong Hyun-jeong’s face twisted into a scowl.
“That how you’re playing it? For real?”
Cheon met her stare with icy detachment.
Then a sarcastic zinger.
“Daesan, Daijin—same old, no real progress. Nothing’s changed.”
“What?”
Even as she reeled, he stayed stone-faced. Pure “don’t drag me into your mess.”
“Daesan or Daijin—no growth. Consider today’s visit never happened, Director.”
“…Ha.”
Whoosh! Clack clack.
Gong Hyun-jeong’s rage refused to cool.
Not content with swift countermeasures—she was out pounding pavement—and still, nothing stuck.
This weird frustration was a first lately.
Aside from that business with Kang Hyun.
She snatched up the receiver and dialed. A polite woman’s voice answered.
-Deputy Director.
“Min-ha. You check on that district court thing I asked?”
Park Min-ha was on the line. Calmer than the fired-up Gong Hyun-jeong, but her tone was subdued—situation wasn’t great.
-Yes. Civil suit filed under Kwon Yong-sik. Matches the guy we consulted for at the center.
Gong Hyun-jeong’s face scrunched up. She forced the next words out.
“…And that?”
Park Min-ha knew exactly what she meant. Even she sounded a touch annoyed.
-They filed the lawyer appointment confirmation too. Not under ‘Legal Clinic’—Kang Hyun’s name directly. Looks legit.
“Ha!”
Face burning like she’d been played, she pretended to hunt for something to hurl. But this was just a dim hallway corner. Nothing to smash.
“They even got to the defendant side early. Might be smarter to push full delegation to a lawyer rep. Soonest possible.”
-We’ll prep the firm as you scoped it out.
“Do that.”
Gong Hyun-jeong clearly planned to defend the defendant side. Letting this slide would let Kang Hyun overturn a case the law center had dismissed.
Meanwhile, Park Min-ha soothed her like a loyal hound. She knew exactly what grated on Gong—and that she could handle it.
“And that little shit—what’s he up to? Kid whose blood’s barely dry.”
-Ah, Student Kang Hyun. Get this.
Even amid Gong’s fury, Park Min-ha’s tone lightened. The answer was that ridiculous.
-Doggy daycare. In and out of one, apparently.
“Doggy… daycare?”
Park Min-ha could practically see Gong Hyun-jeong’s dumbfounded expression through the phone.