Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Debate Prodigy
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“Ugh... hangover...”
Somehow, Yoon Haneul had stopped by in the morning and brought hangover soup. When Kang Hyun asked how she knew he’d been drinking, she just said, “I have my ways!” with a prim expression before scurrying off.
Thanks to that, he was managing to hold on, but Kang Hyun had spent the entire morning sprawled out in the department assignment materials room.
By the time he finally came to his senses, Kang Hyun realized why she had known.
“Ah... we talked for thirty whole minutes yesterday...”
The real problem, though, was that he couldn’t remember a single thing about their conversation. It was a moment that taught him just how dangerous and terrifying alcohol could be.
‘Damn it, this is driving me crazy.’
Kang Hyun kicked at the air with his feet, then rummaged through his phone again to check for any other blunders.
“Uncle Kim Jeong-min, you said you’d teach me to drink, but all you ended up teaching me is how weak I am with booze.”
There was a text from him, which read: ‘Be careful of that scary old man Kim Jong-hwan.’
Even the typos reeked of booze.
“Ah!”
As he stared at the text, it all came back to him—he’d spilled everything during drinks.
Family stuff, school life, girlfriend... and a good thirty minutes on Dean Kim Jong-hwan.
Dean Kim Jong-hwan had taken a liking to Kang Hyun during that brief moment on stage and told him, “Come see me sometime.”
When Kang Hyun mentioned it, Prosecutor Kim Jeong-min burst out laughing and spelled out exactly what the dean meant.
‘He must like you. If you meet him, he’ll probably dump some huge task on you, so steer clear.’
For all his words, though, according to Kim Jeong-min, it didn’t seem like the dean had just been making empty small talk.
Meeting him soon might turn out to be a major turning point in Kang Hyun’s college life.
“Whew...”
Kang Hyun lifted his head with effort and glanced at the clock. Woo Si-hyung’s debate practice session was already waiting.
He’d reserved an empty club lecture room, so Kang Hyun couldn’t use his hangover as an excuse to postpone.
More than that, Kang Hyun had vowed never to put off what he had to do, so for the sake of keeping his promise to himself, he forced his body to move.
You had to seize opportunities for what needed doing, never delay, and see it through to the end to avoid regrets later. That was the rule Kang Hyun had felt every time he succeeded at something so far.
Clunk.
“You’re here, Hyun?”
Woo Si-hyung was the first to call Kang Hyun “Hyun.” True to his personality, even his nicknames were gentle.
“Seen the topic?”
“Yeah. A case on assigned debts. Gotta review precedents on money and obligations, gather some materials.”
Before Kang Hyun could finish, Woo Si-hyung nodded vigorously and spread out his prepared materials in front of him.
“What’s all this?”
“Let’s map out the debate strategy first.”
Woo Si-hyung was already fully prepared. And by now, a fire was burning in his eyes.
‘As expected!’
Kang Hyun was impressed by him once again, deep down.
A hallmark of people brimming with passion and drive in their field. He seemed ready to pull an all-nighter if needed just to sync up with Kang Hyun somehow—and Kang Hyun welcomed that enthusiasm with open arms.
“Great!”
Absorbing the abilities of those superior to him and making them his own! That was another of Kang Hyun’s specialties.
Woo Si-hyung began explaining the materials he’d handed over.
“Straight-style debates give each team two turns. Different people handle each response.”
“You present one precedent, argue a sub-issue?”
“Yeah. After opening arguments, rebuttals, and counter-rebuttals, there’s a closing argument. What’s more comfortable for you?”
“Doing the opening.”
“Got it. You handle opening, and I’ll help you quickly organize the rebuttals. Key point: there’s an audience this time. Don’t fall into the opponent’s traps—keep the audience in mind constantly, so word choice matters.”
“Avoid sounding aggressive or losing composure?”
“Right. Sharp is good, but it can be a double-edged sword. Steer clear of strong words even when emphasizing.”
For a moment, Woo Si-hyung’s words carried real expertise. He had that specialist’s passion regardless of format—trustworthy.
“Let’s practice.”
“Yeah.”
“I brought a few verbose precedents. Read ‘em quick, run through to closing. We’ll skip sentencing or guilt stuff...”
“I skimmed ‘em—they’re recent, so everyone knows ‘em. Ready to start?”
“Huh? For real? All of these?”
Woo Si-hyung’s eyes widened at “everyone knows ‘em.”
Kang Hyun was smart, good at studying, couldn’t stand injustice, and got everything done—that much Woo Si-hyung already knew.
He was legally savvy enough to help people out, which was how he’d ended up at Korea University Law School—Woo Si-hyung had seen the articles.
But even so—
He wasn’t some law school grad student, and they hadn’t had to memorize precedents, judge sentences, or determine guilt in their studies so far, especially not this early in enrollment.
At best, it was surface-level stuff like “the three principles of law” or “criminal procedure basics.”
So if he showed these to any law student and said let’s run to closing, nine times out of ten they’d go, “What’s this?”
But Kang Hyun was different.
“Why? Let’s go.”
“Y-Yeah. Sure.”
‘I’ll see once we start.’
Woo Si-hyung was puzzled but trusted him and tidied the materials.
“Whoa... insane...”
Just as the confident Kang Hyun had said, the moment they began, Woo Si-hyung couldn’t help but be stunned.
At first, there were some awkward extra gestures, but his words were calm and crisp. Like reciting something he already knew inside out.
No—even reciting memorized lines in order was beyond most people to that degree.
“The nominee trustee who received a property registration transfer from the seller under a three-party nominal trust and then disposed of the real estate at their own discretion... even if not punished for embezzlement...”
Before long, he was calmly rebutting anticipated counters one by one, and even delivering the closing without being told.
Not just the logic—his tone, interjections, gestures, the way he captured the crowd with his eyes.
It was like facing one of the top experts Woo Si-hyung had encountered at international competitions.
“...Therefore, under Civil Code Article 750, the nominee trustee bears liability for damages to the nominal trustor. That concludes.”
“...”
“Si-hyung!”
“Huh? Oh...”
“...Lots to fix, huh?”
“...Yeah, seems like.”
Kang Hyun sat with an awkward smile. Then he listed his flaws like a chant.
“I think my tone came off too reactive, like I was always chasing. The first sub-issue I raised in rebuttal...”
But Woo Si-hyung cut him off.
“I think I’m the one with lots to fix.”
“Huh?”
“Not you... I have lots to fix. Feels like a waste of time practicing like this.”
Woo Si-hyung’s eyes gleamed.
“Let’s call it here for today.”
“Already? We should at least go through these once...”
“Nah, no need.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, totally fine.”
Woo Si-hyung realized he’d seriously misjudged Kang Hyun.
In his eyes, Kang Hyun wasn’t just an outstanding student. He wasn’t merely smart.
He was a genius.
A “god”-like genius who knew everything.
“Kang Hyun, Mom’s home.”
Late evening.
She dragged her heavy body wearily into the house.
“Son?”
But Kang Hyun, who should’ve been there, wasn’t—feeling odd, she called again and stepped into the living room.
“Oh my. What’s this?”
The low living room table was covered with a pretty tablecloth, laden with steaming rice and tasty side dishes.
Mother picked up the note beside it, a pleased smile spreading.
-Mom, staying over at a friend’s. There’s a tub of yeolmu kimchi from his mom in the fridge. Heat up the stew. Love you.
The kimchi jjigae still warm, tenderly made egg roll-ups, stir-fried sausage and veggies, soy-glazed pork—tasty and simple.
A hearty, lovingly prepared meal sat before her.
‘My son... he’s all grown up.’
Mother’s eyes grew misty.
She hadn’t been able to give Kang Hyun much. No academies, no tutoring, not even taekwondo like other kids with sons got.
She’d scraped and saved to move somewhere better, chasing dreams of happiness.
But she’d failed.
Spectacularly.
Whether blowing it like a wastrel or trying hard and crashing—failure was failure.
Buried in debt, she’d floundered in despair, unable to care for Kang Hyun properly.
Yet he’d grown strong, vowing to lift the family—and worked fiercely.
As if rewarding that terrifying effort, Kang Hyun achieved goal after goal, astonishingly.
Reporters clamored for interviews, the mayor praised his cap.
Now even neighborhood passersby envied her for having him as a son.
“...Thank you, son.”
In the shabby but cozy, quiet living room, Mother set aside her promise to Kang Hyun not to cry—just for now.
With teary eyes and a beaming smile, she slowly savored the meal her son had prepared.
Clunk.
“You’re here?”
“Yeah. But is it really okay to crash so suddenly?”
“She said sure, so I’m the grateful one.”
Woo Si-hyung opened the door with a shy smile to greet Kang Hyun, who set down his bulging bags on the floor.
Woo Si-hyung was in pajamas; the room was a modest semi-basement studio, but tidy and neat, just like him.
Kang Hyun had accepted Woo Si-hyung’s sudden “come over” invite, dashed home first—not just to prep dinner for Mom.
“What should we order?”
Kang Hyun waved off Woo Si-hyung, who was fiddling with his phone for delivery.
“Nah, more importantly—do you like ramen?”
“Huh? Ramen? Yeah, love it.”
“Sweet! I make killer ramen. Hang tight, I’ll whip up something amazing.”
“Cool, sounds good.”
“Excuse me then.”
As Kang Hyun squeezed into the room, Woo Si-hyung spotted a pink cloth bundle among his stuff and tilted his head.
“What’s with the cloth?”
“Oh, this?”
He shook it out with a grin.
“Yeolmu kimchi—goes perfect with ramen!”
The pink cloth held kimchi.
The yeolmu kimchi from Woo Si-hyung’s mom last time.
Kang Hyun had scooped some into that same pink cloth. She’d never know, of course.
‘Let’s get a little closer.’
Kang Hyun couldn’t just stand by when Woo Si-hyung’s situation with his mom mirrored his own.