Chapter 127
I gave Reporter Choi Jonghyeon time to figure out who I was, and he replied that he'd get back in touch once he was certain, one way or another. Then I slipped back into my routine. Plenty of sleep, heading into the office, reviewing client cases, conferring with Lawyer Kang and Office Manager Oh on anything that called for outside perspectives.
But even with all that, Lawyer Kang seemed off somehow.
"Why."
I could feel his gaze on me all day, whenever there was a gap. It was so blatant, it felt like he was drilling holes into me wherever his eyes lingered.
"Huh? It's nothing."
Whenever I called him out, Kang Minjae brushed it off and went back to whatever he was doing. He was always a scatterbrain, but now he seemed like he was holding something back—something he wanted to say to me.
"I'm gonna go meet that client."
"Not here in the office?"
I asked as he shrugged on his coat. Kang Minjae shook his head.
"They wanna meet outside."
"Alright, then. You gonna be late?"
"Should be back before quitting time."
With that, Kang Minjae left the office empty, leaving just me and Office Manager Oh. When the biggest chatterbox vanishes, the vibe naturally sinks. That's exactly what happened. The office, quieter than a meditation room in seconds, echoed only with keyboard clicks—no breaths, nothing.
Perfect chance to relax.
"Lawyer Cha."
Before I could fully savor the peace, Office Manager Oh nodded toward the consultation sofa. He had something to say, so I sat where he indicated. He set a teacup in front of me and took the seat opposite.
"Got a question."
"Shoot."
"That whole Iljungilbo mess recently. That was your design, right?"
It came straight out of left field, but it didn't rattle me.
"Yeah. Things just snowballed that way."
"Figured as much. Seemed like you'd been in on it from the start, after you got that tip about people around Reporter Choi."
"Yep. But it wasn't exactly a legal battle—more ambiguous. Like I said back then, I just wanted to keep tabs on a reporter I like, so I meddled a bit. That's why I didn't loop in the office."
Office Manager Oh nodded slowly. Even as my closest ally back in my prosecutor days, I'd never shared everything with him, so this probably felt natural to him.
"You worked hard."
"Nah."
"But Lawyer Kang seems kinda miffed."
There it was—the real point. Not exactly a shock; I'd suspected as much for a good two weeks now. Sure, he wasn't being obvious about it. It was just that this was the guy who'd pry into every little detail about me, and now he wasn't. He'd stay quiet even on stuff ripe for teasing.
He must've sniffed out that the Iljungilbo thing was my handiwork. If so, he'd normally have grabbed scissors and scoured every article for my name. But nope.
"You've been in on every case so far, but this time you went solo without a heads-up. Seems like that really stung."
"It wasn't an official case—just personal stuff. Figured no need to tell Lawyer Kang."
"He gets that, but... I dunno. Feels like he thinks you still don't fully trust him."
Looks like the two of them had a deep heart-to-heart about me while I was tied up.
"He was the one who begged you to hire him at first, pestered you till you caved even though you said no. Now he feels like he's just tagging along without pulling his weight. He hyped himself up big-time coming in, but says he has no clue how you really see him."
"Didn't realize he was digging that deep."
"Right? Haha. Lawyer Kang's got the biggest itch to prove himself to you, more than anyone."
Sitting here across from Office Manager Oh, chatting about Kang Minjae like this, felt weirdly like a parent-teacher conference. Me as the parent, him as the teacher, Kang Minjae as the kid.
"I recognize Lawyer Kang's skills."
"Haha, I told him as much—with your personality, if he didn't cut it, you'd have cut him loose ages ago."
Office Manager Oh chuckled heartily, eyeing me.
"He wants to help with everything you do, even the personal stuff. Like, when you're stressing, you vent to him, and he stresses with you. That's the kind of partnership he craves."
Guess this case left him feeling sidelined. Made me think of how Reporter Choi had crossed paths with them, and I hadn't properly introduced myself.
"You're kinda walled-off by nature, Lawyer Cha. That's probably what bugs him."
"You think I'd let him hit a wall? Hell, I don't even know when it happened, but sometimes I'm shocked at how deep he's wormed his way in. Guy's got insane charm."
"True that. Haha."
"I rely on him a lot. And honestly, I'm surprised at how well we mesh—caught me off guard."
"I know. Me and Prosecutor Lee Ye-jin were the most shocked when we heard you two were partnering up. Haha."
Was I too stingy with praise? Or just not the warm-and-fuzzy type? Either way, no point souring the office vibe over nothing while sharing space.
"Anyway, if he's bummed, we gotta clear the air. Thanks for the heads-up."
"No problem."
That day, Kang Minjae rolled back in an hour before quitting time.
"I'm back. Whoa, it's freezing out there."
He shivered as he hung up his coat, a light dusting of snow on his shoulders.
"Snow already?"
"Yeah, it's coming down. Roads are gonna jam up bad."
Kang Minjae shook his head ruefully and headed to his desk. As he dove into sorting notes from his client chat, I stared him down hard. He didn't seem to notice, eyes glued to his laptop, fingers flying over the keys.
"Lawyer Kang."
"Yeah?"
"Wanna grill some meat, the three of us? Been a while with Office Manager Oh."
At my suggestion, he snapped his head up to stare at me. Then, like confirming it really came from my mouth, he glanced at Office Manager Oh. Only after the nod did Kang Minjae's face light up.
"Hell yeah!"
"Where? One of those spots from before—"
"How 'bout grilling at your place, Lawyer Cha?"
"My house?"
"Way quieter than some crowded joint. Me and Office Manager Oh have been there before. It'll be great."
I try to treat him nice for once, and he jumps straight to invading my home.
"Nah."
"Aw, c'mon."
"No way. Too much cleanup, and the smell lingers."
"I'll handle dishes and cleanup. Maknae duty, right? Just air it out—the smell vanishes."
Kang Minjae popped up like he was about to glove up right then, rolling up his sleeves.
"Forgot? You're banned from my place, Lawyer Kang."
Hearing that, he must've flashed back to the night he got wasted and caused a scene at my house. His face sobered for a sec, but he waved it off.
"Won't happen again."
"Oh yeah? Then no booze with the meat?"
"...How's meat without booze?"
"What if you go off the rails—who's liable?"
"......"
I burst out laughing at his blank stare, speechless. How do you not indulge a guy like this? That crestfallen look when he realizes you've got him—irresistible for teasing.
"No drinks for Lawyer Kang, and we'll knock a few back ourselves, Lawyer Cha."
Even the quiet Office Manager Oh jumped in.
"Sounds good. Working our asses off on cases, and I remember getting pissed seeing that pic of you and Office Manager Oh at Daebak House."
"Lawyer Kang, you really did that? Too much, man."
Kang Minjae shut his mouth. Quietly, he pulled out his phone and deleted the text he'd sent me from his outbox.
"Think that erases it from my phone?"
"......Lawyer Cha, I never pegged you for this petty."
"No idea."
"......"
What could I do? If the miffed Kang Minjae wanted barbecue at my place that bad...
"Gotta hit the market on the way home. Isul rice wine and beer—your faves, Lawyer Kang."
Lips pursed, he perked right up at that. He sprang to the whiteboard, flipped it to show the back to Choi Jonghyeon before—wait, no, that was before. Anyway, I always get jumpy when he gets that close to the front. Guess I'd hafta remodel over the weekend to hide it proper.
"Survey time. Samgyeopsal team, hands up."
"Me."
"Office Manager Oh, samgyeopsal. Now pork neck team, hands."
Grinning ear-to-ear, he started listing shopping items on the board. I barely cook at home, so grocery runs are rare—usually just cereal and milk from the convenience store on the way back. But today? I was wiped from chasing his excited ass around the mart, cart in tow.
"......C'mon, Lawyer Cha, that's messed up. Not ditching me and Office Manager Oh like that. We're a team, damn it......"
And then draining the last of my energy listening to his drunken whining. I couldn't take my eyes off him. After that puke-fest outside Daebak House last time, who knew when he'd hurl all over my floor? One gag from him, and I was dragging his ass to the bathroom.
He'd sworn to solo the dishes, but the kitchen sink was buried in a mountain.
"Gonna have to crash him on the sofa."
Office Manager Oh, who'd filled our glasses for a toast, steadied the wobbling Kang Minjae.
"Lawyer Cha......"
As I hauled him to the sofa, he called out in a weak voice. All that puking had sapped him.
"What."
"......You trust me, right?"
I laid him on the sofa with a sigh. So that was the point after all. No clue if he'd remember my answer come morning.
"Yeah, I trust you."
"...For real? Heh, heung."
Grinning like a goofy kid, he pulled the blanket I'd tossed over him. Soon he was snoring away.
Plenty of food and drinks left on the table. I sat back down across from Office Manager Oh and drained my glass.
"Lawyer Cha, your phone's ringing."
Mid our aimless chat, he pointed at my cell.
"Be right back."