Chapter 148
Chapter 148
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: Investiture Ceremony
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Dawn.
Even in the late hours before dawn, the vast office buzzed with emergency-like urgency. Clack-clack.
Rattle-rattle.
"Are the materials ready here?"
"Attorney Choi asked to deliver the copies he requested as soon as possible!"
On one prominent wall hung the slogan: "Providing legal services that add value."
Odaeyang Law Firm, Seoul Office.
A narrow hallway branched off from the busy elevator area.
At the door at the end stood a black nameplate reading "Attorney Dan Chorok."
One man had come to visit this place.
Knock-knock.
The man knocked familiarly, and with no response, slowly opened the door.
Creak.
"Yoo-hoo, what are you up to?"
Announcing his arrival in a somewhat sleazy tone, the man tilted his head at the sight of a woman sitting in front of the computer in her roughly 20-square-foot private office.
Small desk. Dan Chorok was intently reading something, her eyebrows furrowed in deep concentration.
Seeing this, the man crept closer and spoke again in a soft voice.
"Attorney Dan Chorok?"
"..."
"Chorok!"
Startled, she jumped.
"Ah, yes! This is Dan Chorok! Huh? Damn, you scared me."
Recognizing the man, Dan Chorok relaxed her tense face and turned back to her screen. Undeterred by her indifference, he carried on.
"What're you doing?"
"Why? Attorney Kim Hanguk."
"Working overtime again today?"
"I'm writing up the contact report from the client consultation with the partner attorney."
"Go home and do it tomorrow. It's not urgent—why do it at dawn?"
Without even glancing at him, Dan Chorok replied.
"If I'd changed clothes, that means I went home and came back, right?"
"Wow, our Attorney Dan Chorok could work 24 hours a day with just a change of clothes and a cup of coffee... Aren't you curious why I didn't go home?"
"If you have nothing to do, go home."
"You're so tough when you're working."
"Attorney Kim Hanguk, you're sleazy whether you're working or not."
Sweeping her disheveled hair behind her ear, Dan Chorok focused on her monitor.
The man called Kim Hanguk pretended to look around the room he'd seen a hundred times before, then stared at the newspaper on her desk for a while.
[Next month: 'Legal Genius' Kang Hyun to be appointed prosecutor.]
The headline article, splashed across the front page, had caught his interest.
"Is this Kang Hyun guy really that big a deal?"
"...Why do you ask?"
"Come on, look at the article. It's like the return of the king or something."
"..."
"It says he's being released from judicial research officer duty and appointed prosecutor—it's all over the newspapers, and the news has covered it who knows how many times. I thought he'd won Olympic gold when he got discharged from the military. Haha!"
Dan Chorok continued typing without responding, so Kim Hanguk sneaked a glance and added,
"Isn't Kang Hyun from the same university as you, Attorney Dan Chorok? One year junior?"
"...Two years junior."
"Whoa, that's close enough to know each other, right? Our Attorney Dan Chorok was student council president in college—what was he like?"
"..."
"Prickly? Weird? Oh, right—probably didn't have many friends. Smart people often lack social skills."
"He might come off as rude on the surface, but he's got a deep heart and he's a good guy."
She suddenly stopped typing to speak, and Kim Hanguk grinned slyly as if he'd gotten the reaction he wanted.
"Reaaally? Were you close?"
"Pretty close?"
Tap-tap.
"Oh, for real? Do you keep in touch?"
"...It's been a while since we've been busy..."
"A while? How long?"
"A few years without contact."
"Ugh, no, no. That means you're not close."
Thud!
Her typing stopped irritably.
"...What?"
"If you don't keep in touch, you're strangers. That's what not being close means."
She bristled.
"I said we were close!"
"No, it's been ages since you talked. Isn't it one-sided on your end?"
"What, what?"
"What? Look at your reaction! Hahaha!"
He was thrilled to tease her and kept going.
"Ah! My sharp intuition picks up on this vibe. Could it be... you had a crush on Kang Hyun back in school? This happens a lot with unrequited love..."
"Haa."
"Whoa, really? Oh no, what to do. Hey, Kang Hyun over here—come here! Our Attorney Dan Chorok..."
Thud!
"Hey, get out! I'm busy right now!"
"Okay, okay, got it. Keep burning the midnight oil!"
Scamper, slam!
Unable to hold back, she yelled, and Kim Hanguk giggled as he fled familiarly.
"Whew."
Dan Chorok seemed to refocus on her monitor, then glanced at the newspaper article on the desk that Kim Hanguk had seen earlier and smiled faintly.
Kang Hyun, huh.
"...He's starting again now."
Muttering that to herself, she turned back to her computer monitor and resumed typing.
"He's here!"
"Get ready!"
Supreme Prosecutors' Office, new prosecutor investiture ceremony.
Spotlights poured down on a man in a suit entering through the outer gate toward the Prosecutors' Office.
Click! Click!
"A word on your thoughts!"
"Any plans for your upcoming duties?"
"Why do you keep turning down TV appearances!"
Step-step, step-step.
The man strode silently and confidently through the main gate, dodging the reporters by heading further inside to pass through the gate.
"Who's that?"
"Who is he?"
"It's a new prosecutor."
"That prosecutor?"
"Yeah, that one."
Even the employees' murmurs couldn't stop the man.
Step-step, step-step.
Those seeing him for the first time stepped back slightly, some making way precariously close just to get a better look, while others stared openly in curiosity.
He walked further in and flung open the inner door requiring ID.
Whoosh!
Click.
"Whew."
Exhausted sigh.
Only after entering deep inside the building, off-limits to reporters, could the man finally breathe.
The man who drew fervent cheers from the press corps and captured everyone's attention.
Before being a prosecutor, he was a celebrity.
The rising star—and maverick—of the legal world, racing madly toward his dreams.
"Damn, I thought I was gonna die. Nobody cared when I was a judicial research officer."
He grinned.
He was the new prosecutor,
Kang Hyun.
Three years at law school (excluding exam periods), two years as a judicial research officer after passing exams.
Five years of effort to earn the final stamp of prosecutor appointment.
He had achieved the unprecedented grand slam of passing both the judicial exam and bar exam, and now appeared triumphantly.
"Prosecutor!"
"Yes."
"Congratulations! This way, please."
An employee pinning on a name tag hurried down and naturally escorted Kang Hyun.
Kang Hyun followed calmly. The employee caught the elevator for him, rode up together, and nonstop professed himself a fan.
Ding-dong.
Top floor of the Prosecutors' Office. Heading to the grand conference room, it was filled with many people, including fellow appointees.
"Right here! We'll rehearse the ceremony. Stand according to the name tapes on the floor."
Center stage. After some instructions for the oath, practice began, and reporters with passes swarmed in behind like bees to take seats.
They had all gathered to see Kang Hyun.
Click! Click!
"Just one smile!"
"Wave!"
The conference room briefly turned chaotic. A mic turned on for mediation, and the event hastily started.
"We will tidy the hall shortly, then proceed with the new prosecutor investiture. Distinguished guests, please take your seats. Once more..."
During rehearsal, Kang Hyun on stage scanned around and locked eyes with a familiar face.
"Huh?"
Unmistakable even from afar. Kang Hyun, who had steeled himself to keep a calm, relaxed expression, lit up 180 degrees with joy.
"Ooh! Senior!"
Waving big without caring who saw. The man couldn't ignore it and finally waved back largely.
"You rascal... Shh!"
The familiar bespectacled man raised a finger to his lips in a big gesture, signaling quiet.
VIP seats rear, section for senior prosecutors.
The one returning Kang Hyun's excited greeting from afar was Prosecutor Kim Jeong-min.
Youngest senior prosecutor among his cohort.
No one dared challenge the rising star whose excellence was recognized.
'The elite stick together.'
A few showing off their sources whispered about Kim Jeong-min and Kang Hyun's connection.
But the celebrities of this investiture weren't just them.
"The Prosecutor General is entering!"
A thunderous voice drew all eyes amid the murmurs, followed by weighty yet brisk footsteps silencing the room.
Step-step. Halt!
Prosecutor General Bae Seong-sin entered.
Flashbulbs erupted in a cascade, all eyes on him, but he ascended the podium without a blink.
He had hinted at missing the event due to external duties but, for some reason, made a 180 and attended.
Halt.
Towering.
He exuded the presence of gripping a massive sword hilt.
Different from the man Kang Hyun met in the interview—his energy was worlds apart. Incredibly imposing, mouth-agape strong. Night and day.
Thus, Kang Hyun realized: At their first meeting, Bae Seong-sin had hidden his true self to assess and test him.
Not to intimidate with raw pressure, but simply appearing there to evaluate.
"New prosecutors."
All focused as he spoke.
"You live in a changed world. Not wielding unchecked power, but representing a prosecution under the people's scrutiny and judgment."
It felt like he was looking straight at Kang Hyun. Kang Hyun met his gaze.
"Congratulations on your first step as such prosecutors. Unleash your full potential. Change the world. Once more, congratulations on your appointment."
Halt.
Short and simple words.
Yet profoundly meaningful.
'I must...!'
Kang Hyun's eyes sparkled.
He would now unleash his abilities freely while protecting himself from conspiracies, schemes, and traps, and righting the prosecution.
Clap-clap-clap!
Click! Click!
Hardliner in a word. Binding the organization tight, viewing all outsiders as enemies.
After his unusually brief greeting, sitting at the head table, attention naturally shifted back to the new prosecutors.
Varied talents and exceptional skills had brought them here.
Kang Hyun shone brightest, and all awaited his stage appearance with one mind.
"Next, the new prosecutors will recite the oath."
Never once off the oath reader's spot since university, Kang Hyun handled this ceremony adeptly too.
Called by name, stepping onto the stage with fellow appointees, center position, receiving the oath text.
Each action drew scattered applause and cheerful whistles following him.
Smooth.
Kang Hyun at center stage scanned the hall briefly. Many people—familiar and unfamiliar faces.
'…'
At the emcee's signal, Kang Hyun raised the oath text.