Chapter 12: Senior? A Junior in the Legal World.
"Sorry, but I don't remember you."
"That's too much, sir. I was your first trainee case. Kang Minjae, remember?"
Ah, Kang Minjae. He recalled what Lee Ye-jin the prosecutor had briefly mentioned before he submitted his resignation. If she hadn't said anything, he might not have recognized the name even now.
"Ah, Lawyer Kang. Long time no see. What brings you here?"
"Not even giving me a moment to breathe—you're the same as ever, even after all this time. Still, I'm touched you knew I became a lawyer."
According to Lee Ye-jin, he'd made the guy cry his eyes out. No wonder Kang Minjae seemed to have zero expectations of him.
"I'm a bit busy. Was just on my way out."
"I see. Sorry for dropping by unannounced. You weren't picking up, so I came straight here."
"You called? I didn't notice."
"You wouldn't have answered even if you did, right?"
Probably not. There was no reason for him to meet personally with a lawyer from Taegwang Law Firm. Even if he'd handled his trainee case, they'd only worked together for about a month. He wasn't even sure if Kang Minjae's number was saved in his phone.
"How've you been?"
"Getting by."
"I saw your work on the Jo Jintae case. Impressive."
"Thanks."
"I figured you'd stick with prosecuting to the end, so I was shocked to hear you opened your own office. Rumor has it you even met with the boss here, but I guess that was just talk."
"Ah, right—you're at Taegwang. Yeah, we met. It just didn't pan out."
"Knew it."
He said it like he knew him inside out. When Cha Juhan gave him a puzzled look, Kang Minjae chuckled softly.
"Just a feeling—you and Taegwang don't mix."
"And you do?"
"Eh, who knows."
"Enough chit-chat. I'm not close enough to you like I am with this prosecutor here. Get to the point."
"Come on, at least offer me a cup of tea."
Kang Minjae sighed and leaned back deeply into the sofa. Cha Juhan wasn't thrilled about dragging this out—he'd planned to head out after rush hour to meet Kim Yeonjun's grandmother.
"So, what's the point?"
"The Kim Yeonjun case. Let me in on it."
The unexpected request froze his expression for a moment.
"I remember. I said something like this to you back when you were my trainee."
▶ MEMORY PLAYBACK
Late Night, Past
It was deep into the early hours, well past dinner. His sleepy eyes propped open by coffee as he forced himself to draft the indictment.
—You called for me, Prosecutor?
The rookie judicial trainee, Kang Minjae, stood before him with his hands clasped. Cha Juhan had summoned him then, intending to chew him out.
Kang Minjae looked quite tense, but Cha Juhan spoke coldly.
—Kang Minjae. Seems like you're under some misconception. This isn't a place to satisfy your curiosity.
DATA INTEGRITY: 100% | RECONSTRUCTION: COMPLETE
It was the same line he repeated now.
"This isn't a place to satisfy your curiosity."
Kang Minjae seemed a little shaken by the response. But he quickly composed himself and replied.
"It's not just curiosity. I genuinely believe Kim Yeonjun isn't the real culprit. If anything, his brother Kim Hyeongjun looks more suspicious."
"Why?"
"The autopsy results the prosecution released. The first one didn't raise any red flags. But the second said all the beating marks on the couple's bodies were from a baseball bat, right?"
"And?"
"Assuming Kim Yeonjun is the culprit, he beat both parents with the bat. According to Kim Hyeongjun's statement, he got into a scuffle trying to stop him—which means he'd have inevitably tried to grab the bat. But there's not a single fingerprint of Kim Hyeongjun's on it. That's point one."
Kang Minjae's reasoning aligned startlingly well with his own. He'd planned to humor him briefly and send him off, but now he wanted to hear more. The persistent [Truth] floating above his head certainly helped.
"By my reasoning, Kim Hyeongjun either had no prints or wore gloves. But the prosecution said his prints aren't there, so gloves it is. Why wear gloves then? That's something only killers do to avoid leaving prints, right?"
"Go on."
"Kim Yeonjun, who lived outside, supposedly beat his parents every time he visited. Flip it—if Kim Hyeongjun's the culprit, it means he 'happened' to beat them every time Kim Yeonjun came home. In other words, he planned to frame his brother from the start."
"Nice novel you've got there."
Setting aside his own ability for a moment, he and Kang Minjae were essentially writing the same story from the same sparse facts. With no physical evidence, the prosecution could mock it as one-sided speculation in court, and he'd have no comeback.
He needed hard evidence in four days. No time to bring anyone else on board.
"You think the same as me, don't you, Lawyer Cha?"
"Maybe. But I don't see why I need to discuss it with you. Time to go—I've really got to move."
He grabbed his car keys and slipped on his jacket. Kang Minjae stood too, doggedly trailing behind.
"No office manager here, huh? Trial's in three days. You can't handle it alone. Let me help with the Kim Yeonjun case. No pay needed."
"Taegwang not giving you work?"
As he climbed into the driver's seat of his parked car, Kang Minjae swiftly took shotgun.
"Get out."
"Rush hour's coming. I'm not getting out. Wherever you're headed, with the trial four days away, it's obvious."
"Hah."
"Let's roll!"
As the guy said, bickering was a waste of time, so he started the engine.
"Got any physical evidence secured?"
"……."
"If you do, share a bit."
None to share, and even if there was, he wouldn't.
"Where are we headed?"
"Can't you shut up and sit?"
"So I can come along to wherever. Got it. I'll be quiet."
And with that, Kang Minjae fell eerily silent. Had that stammering trainee back then been this silver-tongued?
"I'll carry it."
Kang Minjae grabbed the fruit basket he'd brought on the way. Despite seeming chatty—questioning the location, if they were securing a witness—the moment they arrived, he zipped his lips.
"Nice house."
He said it standing before the high-walled property. Confirming Cha Juhan approaching, he rang the bell. An old bell chimed, and after a while, a middle-aged woman's voice crackled over the intercom.
—Who is it?
"Hello. We're from Cha Juhan Law Office. If it's not too much trouble, could we ask about Ms. Ye Hui-sook?"
Kang Minjae asked politely. Maybe for stubborn types, his affable style worked better than Cha Juhan's bluntness. Back as a prosecutor, kids and elders always went to the sweet-talking Oh Yanghun.
—Hold on. Let me check with the lady of the house.
He'd thought it was the grandmother herself, but it was the housekeeper. No wonder her voice sounded young.
Beep—the gate opened. Up the stone steps, a spacious yard unfolded, neatly paved with garden wood. Kim Yeonjun had said his grandmother lived alone, but no elderly person could maintain this. Probably hired a gardener. Plus a live-in maid. Meant she had serious money.
"Gardener must come by. It's impeccably maintained."
Kang Minjae murmured, quietly surveying the garden. Sharper observer than expected. He'd have to call Oh Yanghun for the evaluation he'd written on the trainee.
"See? I'm useful."
He must've caught Cha Juhan's softening expression. Kang Minjae grinned shamelessly, but Cha Juhan didn't play along.
"Ye Hui-sook was a university hospital doctor. Her older sister a professor in the US, younger brother an exec at a big accounting firm, eldest son also a US professor. Back then, putting two daughters through grad school means they were well-off to begin with. Though some siblings live more modestly now. Personal choice."
"……."
Cha Juhan strode ahead, and Kang Minjae hurried to catch up. The front door was already open.
"Hello."
Kim Yeonjun's grandmother was a remarkably refined elderly woman. The housekeeper brought drinks and fruit to the living room, and only after a long pause did she speak.
"You're the one handling Yeonjun's defense. Right?"
"Yes. Cha Juhan, attorney at law. This is Kang Minjae, attorney."
He placed his business card on the table. She scrutinized it at length before opening her mouth.
"Sigh. Fine. What do you want?"
"Straight to the point: We'd like to review the autopsy report on your late daughter, Ye Hui-sook. We need your help, ma'am."
She let out a long sigh, clearly reluctant. But soon her eyes sharpened as she fired back.
"I'm curious why you're defending Yeonjun."
"To reduce his sentence, or prove him innocent?"
"Yes."
"Prove him innocent. Kim Yeonjun isn't the real culprit."
Was he too definitive? Kang Minjae looked mildly surprised.
"So you know who the real culprit is?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
"First, a few questions?"
The grandmother sipped her juice with a hum. Kang Minjae, seated beside him, cleared his throat awkwardly and smiled.
"Ahem, sorry, ma'am. With the trial so close, we're in a rush. If we came off rude, our apologies."
"If you're certain Yeonjun isn't the culprit, this attitude's justified. Whether family or in-laws, everyone's only said things that hurt him."
"You knew about that?"
"It all came out at the funeral."
In this moment, with him declaring a different culprit, she likely knew who he suspected. Only Kim Yeonjun and Kim Hyeongjun had been at the scene besides the dead couple.
"Did Kim Hyeongjun ever ask you for financial help with his business? We already know he bled the couple dry enough to force them to sell the house."
Kim Hyeongjun had devoured the victims' assets to that extent. During the Happy Home shoot, he'd fidgeted because it hadn't sold yet. He'd probably begged others for loans too. And the first target? Likely the doting grandmother.
Kim Cheol-hwan had risen from childhood poverty to stardom as a talent, lifting the family. So he'd have gone to the originally wealthy maternal grandmother.