Chapter 55
Chapter 55
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Unprecedented Perfect Scores
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The exact amount of time they'd prepared so far, or how long they'd studied together, didn't matter.
The period wasn't that long, but in terms of focused group practice sessions, it far surpassed what ordinary teams put in.
On top of that, each victory in the competitions had ingrained experiential senses into them—like the ability to see the case from a special angle the judges wanted or grasp the values the court pursued. These instincts were seeping into their bodies, telling each of them what to look for and what to do.
Of course, the finals case was ambiguous.
A foreigner named "A," employed by U.S. Company A, was demanding severance pay from Korean Company B.
Reviewing the materials confirmed that American "A" had indeed worked in Korea under a contract between the companies. And it was also true that he hadn't received severance pay.
However, his official employer was U.S. Company A, and he'd been paid by them as well. Still, he was aggressively claiming that Korean Company B also bore the obligation to pay severance based on the employment relationship.
If you saw "A," the foreigner who hadn't gotten his money, as the underdog, then Korean Company B was the villain.
But if you viewed American "A" as forcing the severance obligation onto Korean Company B, then "A" was the bad guy.
Judges' perspectives and ideologies could lead to different rulings, making the answer to this case unclear.
Yet Kang Hyun had a faint sense of it. He had a judgment criterion that differed from ordinary people.
A firm conviction.
And principles based on that belief.
'The state must protect the weak. And the law must exist for those in hardship.'
This crucial premise was often buried because real-world law frequently failed to uphold it, and the public widely perceived the law as unforgiving to the weak.
Kang Hyun judged that to be the core.
And he thought they should do their utmost here to craft briefs that would allow the judges to deliver a clear ruling.
With eyes full of conviction, Kang Hyun built his arguments and drafted the materials.
The brief-writing session that started late in the afternoon dragged on into the night, and by the time Kang Hyun stood up to stretch, the morning sun had already risen.
A few days later, in a corner of the lecture hall.
Tap, tap.
"What's with you sleeping facedown like that?"
Someone sat Kang Hyun, who had been dozing facedown, upright.
Kang Hyun had been exhausted from battling the piled-up documents all night and had nodded off briefly.
"...?"
He barely lifted himself up and looked above. The face was familiar, but he couldn't place it right away, so he frowned. The man who'd woken him flinched, looking startled.
"...Park Hyun-woo?"
He was Park Hyun-woo, the rich kid who'd been thoroughly trounced by Kang Hyun in Professor Cheon Ung-jae's debate class before and had been keeping a low profile since.
Back then, Kang Hyun hadn't thought much of it, but knowing this guy had bullied Woo Si-hyung and hit on Yoon Haneul made his mood sour even more. He glared at him unpleasantly and asked why he'd woken him.
"Why?"
"Oh, no... I'm not picking a fight. Your team's brief got a perfect score."
"Huh?"
Scores were posted on the bulletin board along with the judges' names for fairness.
A perfect score on the briefs, which carried 50% weight in the finals, clearly gave them a strong advantage over the seniors.
Boosted by the title of "The First-Years' Rebellion," they were drawing intense interest from the law department crowd, so he'd probably come to tell Kang Hyun personally after seeing the scores.
"Thanks for letting me know."
"Y-yeah. Good luck out there. Let's go, guys."
Having picked up some new lackeys somewhere, Park Hyun-woo scurried off with a different group of friends from before.
He glanced back as he walked, looking pleased to be the first to deliver the news.
"Ugh... whatever!"
Feeling rewarded for his all-nighter on the briefs, Kang Hyun stretched properly.
Monday all-nighter on briefs, side naps Tuesday and Wednesday while practicing oral arguments, and another all-nighter planned for Thursday—today—for oral argument practice.
If there was fulfillment in this brutal schedule, he was satisfied.
Kang Hyun got up from his seat in the lecture hall and headed to the bulletin board.
- Are they really first-years?
- Did they prep for the judicial exam or something?
Amid the buzzing crowd at the bulletin board, a few students gasped in surprise as they brushed past Kang Hyun.
Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Kang Hyun stood before the notice.
Woo Si-hyung and Yoon Chan-rim were already there, but for some reason...
Their expressions looked off.
It stood out sharply against the envious gazes others directed at Kang Hyun's team—it wasn't a good look.
"...They say we're the first team in history to get perfect scores on the brief review."
"Teams...?"
Kang Hyun's eyes widened at Woo Si-hyung's loaded words as he stared at the notice.
[Finals Teams: Tournament Match 3, Entry No. 13. Tournament Match 16, Entry No. 29.]
Kang Hyun's team and Seok Ji-hoon's team numbers were listed plainly.
But the text below was even more shocking.
[50/50 points. Brief Review Summary Below]
- Team 3, Entry No. 13 (Kang Hyun, Woo Si-hyung, Yoon Chan-rim): Outstanding in formal structure, issue identification, fact specification, and creativity.
- Team 16, Entry No. 29 (Seok Ji-hoon, Dan Cho-rok, Hwang Jae-eun): Outstanding in formal structure and issue identification, with appropriate citation of evidence and relevant legal principles. 50/50 points.
"...The two teams reaching the finals for the first time in history both got perfect scores?"
"Hyung, this can't be right."
"Why?"
Kang Hyun looked down, puzzled by Yoon Chan-rim suddenly flushing red and fuming.
He quickly spotted the issue in the judge assignments below.
"You get it, right, hyung?"
"...The director of Korea University's Law Center is a judge."
Gong Hyun-jeong, director of Korea University's Law Center. She'd been a lawyer at the same firm "Daesan" as Professor Cheon Ung-jae, then entered public service as the first female Vice Minister of Justice from the Ministry's Legal Affairs Office. She was the one who'd transformed the law center—originally a subordinate institution of Korea University Law School—into a Ministry of Justice outpost.
And now she was prominently listed as a judge for this Korea University Mock Trial Competition.
"They're toying with us. Everyone knows Seok Ji-hoon is practically worshipped like a god at the Law Center—how is this fair?"
Woo Si-hyung barely stopped Yoon Chan-rim, who was storming toward the dean's office in fury.
Still unsatisfied, Yoon Chan-rim pretended to kick the nearby trash can.
"...Maybe they gave them a perfect score too because we got one."
Woo Si-hyung couldn't just let the suspicion slide either.
There'd never been a precedent for the Law Center director judging a Korea University Mock Trial event, and no matter how you looked at it, it smelled like some scheme.
But Kang Hyun shook his head.
"Let's not worry about that. We're lucky we didn't fall behind the seniors' team from the start. We stay calm and prepare. Think of it as finally lining up at the starting blocks together."
He patted their shoulders and moved on.
'It's not something to jump into rashly.'
He'd said that, but Kang Hyun couldn't help feeling uneasy himself.
He'd felt it firsthand during the last International Law Society consultation, and if Woo Si-hyung and Yoon Chan-rim had been there, he couldn't have hidden the emotion like this.
But he had to stay composed and calm. No wavering.
With the finals just a day away.
Controlling the team's mindset was part of his role too, he thought.
But right then.
Rustle.
The crowd parted like the Red Sea.
"...?"
Kang Hyun spotted Professor Cheon Ung-jae entering the building, but that wasn't why.
It was because the practical team from Cheon Ung-jae's faction—ones who'd never tasted defeat—followed behind him, radiating intense auras. Seok Ji-hoon and his three teammates.
They must have had business with Cheon Ung-jae, but the moment they noticed Kang Hyun's group in the hallway, they approached like hawks eyeing prey.
"They're staring again."
"Hello, seniors."
An accidental encounter between the two teams.
Perhaps because they represented the geniuses and elites who might lead Korea's judiciary, their meeting created an indescribable tension. The people clustered around the bulletin board tucked tail and slipped away.
"If you have something to say, say it."
Professor Cheon Ung-jae tossed the words between them and walked ahead.
At the same moment, as if on cue, their gazes locked onto the opposing team.
Korea University Mock Trial Competition.
The largest and most prestigious in the country, but to the geniuses aiming higher, it was just a stepping stone.
Of course, the prize money, trophies, honor, and fame were all important.
But Kang Hyun had something even more crucial.
The qualification to the international "Bismuth" tournament, reserved solely for the champion.
Next year's Bismuth in Korea was his golden opportunity, and missing it meant no telling when he'd get another shot.
Neither the Korea University Mock Trial nor Bismuth happened every year.
That made it desperate for Seok Ji-hoon too.
He'd nearly ended his career after a quarterfinals loss at the last Bismuth, but this back-to-back Korea University Mock Trial and next year's event gave him a miraculous chance to reignite his spark.
So it made sense he'd come charging with fire in his eyes.
Kang Hyun figured that proved it—running into him at the Incheon International Law Society event.
"You're Kang Hyun, right? I'm Dan Cho-rok."
Stepping in for Seok Ji-hoon, who smiled leisurely yet unsettlingly, was Dan Cho-rok—ash-gray bob, hoodie, and sharp, elongated eyes.
She seemed more delighted to meet a cute junior than competitive, contrasting sharply with the utterly indifferent woman beside her. Their personalities shone through right away.
"This is Hwang Jae-eun unnie. I'm a third-year, unnie's first-year law school. And you probably know this guy?"
She pointed at the grinning Seok Ji-hoon, and Kang Hyun nodded.
"Yes. I greeted Senior Seok Ji-hoon before."
Dan Cho-rok laughed at Kang Hyun's bold reply.
"Yeah, they've got potential. They say you're a great student?"
"Compared to you seniors? I'll humbly accept the praise."
"Look at this kid, knows how to butter people up. Cute. We're here for final practice. You guys not practicing today?"
As Dan Cho-rok naturally drew eyes to Hwang Jae-eun, her extremely displeased expression came into view.
"Why talk to the opposing team?"
She scanned the fidgeting Woo Si-hyung and Yoon Chan-rim, then nudged Dan Cho-rok and nodded ahead to hurry on.
"What's the big deal? See you later, kids."
Dan Cho-rok skipped off with squeaking sneakers amid the bickering, leaving Seok Ji-hoon behind.