The Lackey's Burden (2)
Ho-gyun’s reply was a masterpiece.
“I’m heading to the spot where we agreed to throw down in a bit. You’re coming with me, Kang. If it looks like I’ll win, just handle the settlement after it’s over. If it looks like I’ll lose, step in legally and make him kneel in front of me.”
“Understood.”
“I’ll send you the link to the site where the argument happened. Get everything ready and meet me there.”
“Yes, sir.”
After hanging up, I lost my appetite completely and left half my lunch untouched. Back at my assigned seat in the secretary’s office, I opened the link Ho-gyun had sent. The realization that I had become a lawyer just to do this kind of work hit hard, but I told myself it was just another job and picked up the mouse again.
I converted the two-day keyboard battle into a PDF file that could serve as evidence. Then I combed through everything the user going by the nickname “Magdalena Makgeolli” had said to Ho-gyun, pulling out the parts that could qualify as cyber defamation or insult. Finally, I traced the account and dug up personal information from public SNS and blog posts. The moment I finished, I sent Ho-gyun a message.
“It’s difficult to file a criminal complaint just for using that nickname. I’ve already identified the statements that could fall under cyber defamation or insult.”
So he really was going to face a high school student in person. I, the lackey, had no choice but to follow when ordered.
By the time the sun had set and dusk settled in, I was riding in Ho-gyun’s car to the agreed meeting spot. From the passenger seat I saw a man pacing in front of the windshield. I had already seen his photo on SNS, but in person his sheer size was intimidating—easily the size of Ho-gyun and me combined.
Without a hint of fear, Ho-gyun got out of the car and shouted, “Hey, are you Magdalena Makgeolli?”
Why did the embarrassment always fall on me?
“You’re dead, you bastard.”
The man grabbed Ho-gyun by the collar without warning. If he landed even one punch, we would be heading straight to the emergency room. Protecting Ho-gyun was part of my job, so I jumped out and stepped between them.
“Are you Kim Bum-seung?”
The man tightened his grip on Ho-gyun’s collar and glared at me. “Who the hell are you? You said one-on-one, but you brought backup?”
This was exactly the “situation where we’ll obviously lose” that Ho-gyun had mentioned. My role was clear: stop the fight.
“I’m Attorney Kang Min-chan. Are you Kim Bum-seung?”
“Hah, a lawyer? You even did a background check?”
“The action you just took against my client constitutes assault. Please let go and talk.”
Bum-seung’s eyes flicked toward Ho-gyun’s car—the kind of supercar everyone dreams of driving once. Realizing this wasn’t some high-school scuffle, he slowly released his grip.
“So what? You’re going to sue me?”
“As I said, your actions just now are clearly assault, and several of the things you wrote online to my client carry legal liability.”
“So what? What are you going to do about it?”
I sighed. I really didn’t want to go this far, but this was the job of a lackey lawyer. “Once legal proceedings begin, we won’t stop. We’ll file criminal charges and pursue civil damages for emotional distress—roughly ten million won. As a high school student, can you even afford that?”
“Then what do you want?”
His words were defiant, but his eyes were trembling violently. His spirit was broken. Ho-gyun seized the opening I had created.
“Apologize. Then I’ll have Attorney Kang here make it all go away.”
“I-I’m sorry.”
“Not like that. Properly. On your knees, respectfully.”
Thud. Both of Bum-seung’s knees hit the ground.
“I’m sorry. Please forgive me just this once.”
Smack. Ho-gyun slapped him across the face. If this went to court, that slap would only hurt Ho-gyun’s position. Ho-gyun placed a hand on his hip and sneered anyway.
“Learn to fear the world, kid.”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
Bum-seung stayed completely cowed. Ho-gyun pulled out his wallet and scattered several ten-thousand-won bills over his head.
“That’s payment for the slap. I’m letting you off this one time, just like you asked. Get caught again and you’re really dead.”
Bum-seung bowed his head to the ground. “……Yes.”
That concluded my afternoon work. The guilt of forcing a high school student to kneel over an amount of money he could never realistically pay was mine alone. Ten million won for something like this? Even if we filed, no court would award that much. If Bum-seung had decided to press charges after the slap, we would have been in serious trouble—possibly paying damages ourselves. And if the press got wind of “QS Group’s third son bullying a minor,” my own neck would have been on the line.
Meanwhile, Kwon Ho-gyun looked thoroughly pleased with himself for having used a lawyer to beat a high schooler. He told me there was still work left and put me back in the car. We left the city behind, heading toward increasingly deserted roads until other cars became rare. The sky darkened, forcing us to turn on the headlights, and an uneasy feeling crept in.
That wasn’t the only thing bothering me. A glance at the dashboard showed we were doing 151 km/h. Ho-gyun was flooring the accelerator like a madman, clearly enjoying himself. I wondered what my epitaph would read if we crashed and died: “Lackey Kang Min-chan, who studied like hell to become a prosecutor only to threaten a high schooler with the law, died on the way back from his errand. RIP.”
Screeech. At that moment Ho-gyun yanked the wheel left, drifting without slowing down as if he were a professional racer. It was only because this was a supercar that we didn’t flip. I was about to beg him to slow down when he spoke first.
“Kang, I really liked how you handled things today.”
“Thank you.”
“You’ll keep helping me from now on, right?”
Since being his lackey was my job, there was no point in refusing. “Of course, Executive Director.”
“Great. Then do your best at our next stop too.”
I seized the chance. “Could you at least give me a hint about what this is about? If I know in advance, I can prepare a legal strategy on the way.”
Ho-gyun only gave me that unpleasant smile. “You’ll see when we get there. No preparation needed.”
What kind of legal matter required no preparation from a lawyer? I couldn’t think of an answer, and I couldn’t press the man who was effectively my superior. Ho-gyun just kept grinning to himself like a lunatic, his eyes bloodshot. Combined with our current speed, he looked completely unhinged. What sin had I committed in my past life to be assigned as this man’s cleanup lawyer?
Trying to calm my frustration, I turned to the window. The scenery had changed. Where there had been only darkness, several cars with headlights on were now traveling in the same direction—two ahead, one beside us, and another behind us in the side mirror. All four were identical black vehicles, as if they were part of the same group. Even when Ho-gyun changed direction several times, they stayed with us.
A chill started at my waist and crawled up my spine to the back of my neck, raising the hairs there. It was obvious these cars were connected to whatever I would soon have to handle. My instincts screamed that this was on an entirely different level from the afternoon scuffle.
Ho-gyun’s car stopped in front of a half-finished building. Construction had apparently been abandoned; only the concrete skeleton remained, with rebar and wiring jutting out grotesquely. No other tall buildings stood nearby, and construction equipment lay scattered about, making the atmosphere even more ominous.
Thud. Thud. My prediction proved correct. The four black cars that had been following us stopped in the same spot. Men in black suits poured out and gathered in front of Ho-gyun’s car, bowing toward the windshield. As expected, they knew Ho-gyun—and I was apparently supposed to resolve whatever legal issues existed between them.
Ho-gyun flashed that unpleasant smile and tossed me a single line. “Shall we get out too?”
I wanted nothing more than to turn around and leave. These men were clearly gangsters, and facing them without any preparation felt extremely dangerous. If I got out now, the law that favored me was too far away while their fists were far too close. Yet I had no way to return alone. I had no choice but to answer shortly, “Yes.”
Forced out of the car, I scanned the men I would have to deal with. One of them looked particularly unsettling.