Chapter 23
"Then?"
"I trust in your conclusion, Senior."
His unexpected answer left me speechless.
"Why trust my conclusion?"
"Because I respect you. As a legal professional."
"……What?"
"I'll be straight with you. Back at the Judicial Research and Training Institute, I actually wanted to be a judge. My grades were good, too. But while working under you as an intern, I came to genuinely admire you—and that's why I aimed to become a prosecutor. I wanted to be like you. Unfortunately, though, the job didn't suit me. If I'd been assigned to Criminal Division 3 and worked with you, I might've stuck with it, but no dice. They wouldn't budge on the assignment, even if I died trying."
Kang Minjae took a sip of whiskey and continued matter-of-factly.
"Whenever your trials didn't overlap with mine, I'd always sit in on them. You never knew. And you might not know my personality, but I'm not the type to admire just anyone. I have high standards when it comes to people in the legal field."
As the mood grew a bit heavy, Kang Minjae lightened it with a joke. I let out a sigh.
"When I heard you'd started fresh as a lawyer, I was dying of curiosity—I couldn't hold back. And when I found out you were running the office solo without even a manager after opening up shop, I figured this was my chance. If I played my cards right, maybe I could work with you. I want to learn more from you, Senior."
The word [Truth] hovered steadfastly above his head. I couldn't find the words to respond.
Ever since launching the investigation into Wooshin Group, I'd been through a lot. What it left me with was a deep distrust of people. I'd faced betrayal after betrayal, watched person after person drift away from me, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. I'd accumulated countless secrets, constantly on edge that they might leak.
"I don't think there's anything you could learn from me, Kang. Especially since you'd pick up way more at Taegwang than from me. It's a massive firm—you'd handle all sorts of cases. Plus, no one can ignore their income. Like I said before, I can't match a Taegwang salary."
Kang Minjae fell silent for a while, deep in thought.
"Whether there's something to learn is for me to decide. Working this case together only confirmed it for me—there's a ton I can pick up from you, Lawyer Cha. Taegwang had nothing left for me to learn. And money? Like I said, I don't need it. My family's loaded. Worst case, if your firm hits a rough patch, I can convince Grandpa to invest."
Kang Minjae started piling on every reason he should be hired, pulling out all the stops.
If I were honest about my goals, would it change his mind? No— it might just fire him up even more. Besides, I couldn't fully trust him yet, so spilling my true aims was out of the question.
"Lawyer Cha, I won't be a burden. I can actually help you. This case proved it... well, okay, I know I didn't do much. But you need manpower for the office, right?"
"No, you did help."
"Pardon?"
"You helped."
I had to admit it—if it weren't for him, things would've been a real struggle. We were short on time and hands.
"Don't worry about pay. Hell, I wouldn't even mind working for free, but there's labor law, so... just skim a bit off whatever fees you get. That should do it."
How had someone who admired me this much slipped under my radar in my previous life? Because I was a prosecutor and he was defense counsel?
Once I started digging into Wooshin's corruption, people with the same goal began approaching me covertly. That's how I built my team. Kang Minjae wasn't part of it, of course.
If he'd wanted to work with me this badly, you'd think he'd have reached out. So why hadn't he? Was he scared of taking on Wooshin?
'Then maybe, once I really kick off the Wooshin takedown, he'll bail on his own.'
"Your parents won't like it. Quitting Taegwang for a little office like this."
"My family wants me to do what I love."
"Some chaebol heir you are."
It was almost ridiculous—how loaded did you have to be to say something like that?
"So, you're hiring me, right?"
"If I don't like it, you're out."
"……Huh?"
"And you, Kang—if you ever feel like there's nothing left to learn from me, walk. Same if my work doesn't mesh with what you want. No forcing it."
Kang Minjae stared at me blankly for a moment.
"What? Got a problem?"
"No! None! Not at all!"
"Start at 9 a.m. every day. No clue how many cases we'll get. Plenty of downtime if things are slow. If that's boring, quit on the spot."
No sooner had I finished than Kang Minjae shot to his feet. He bowed at a perfect ninety degrees.
"I'll work hard!"
"Save the obvious stuff."
Seeing him grin like a kid, I was at a loss for words.
If dangerous work started piling up and he still wanted to stick around, I could always find an excuse to cut him loose. For now, I was focused solely on building a name as a lawyer—so until then, this should be fine.
He'd gone upstairs. For anything routine, we'd talk in the living room—but calling him up to the second-floor study meant it was serious.
"Ahem!"
Straightening his clothes in front of the study door, Kang Minjae cleared his throat. He knocked twice.
—Come in.
His grandfather's low voice came from inside. The old man was smoking a cigarette, reading a book.
"I'm here, Grandpa."
"Sit."
"Yes, sir."
Once he was seated across from him, his grandfather finally closed the book and peered at him over his lowered glasses.
The intense gaze made Kang Minjae uncomfortable; he forced a smile.
"Why stare like that? Suddenly realizing how handsome your grandson is?"
"You quit Taegwang to work under some greenhorn lawyer named Cha Juhan?"
Kang Minjae sighed. Truth was, he'd submitted his resignation at Taegwang days ago. A last-ditch gamble in case Cha Juhan turned him down.
Taegwang had dragged their feet on processing it, but once word got out that he'd shown up in court that morning, they'd finally handled it.
The news would've reached CEO Yoon Wonhyeong, and from there, it was only natural it'd reach Grandpa.
"Yes."
"So, did Cha Juhan take you on?"
His grandfather leaned back deeply into the sofa with a sigh. No wonder he'd seemed so chipper lately—probably thrilled to be working with Cha Juhan. But today, his mouth twitched like he'd just heard the acceptance.
No point scolding a grandson that happy.
"At first, I thought he'd never take me. But this grandson of yours did such a bang-up job, he caved."
"Quit the bragging, you punk."
"You know I'm joking."
"A five-year prosecutor who's barely hung out his shingle—doubt he can pay your salary properly."
"I'll live off savings. And it'll do well, I bet. Both this case and the Jo Jintae one had the whole country watching. His name's already huge."
His grandfather sighed at the beaming boy. He'd called him here not to yell him back to Taegwang, but seeing him this excited, any bad word about Cha Juhan would just make him sulk.
"Getting into Taegwang as a first-year, assigned under Lawyer Kim Yunhui—that was only possible thanks to your halo effect, Grandpa. But landing work with Senior Cha? That was all me, Kang Minjae, no connections."
Working with Cha Juhan wasn't even something people praised, yet his grandson called it an "achievement." His grandfather chuckled.
Whatever—stepping out from under Grandpa's shadow to forge his own path was a good attitude. Even if he failed, the kid was young; he could always pick him back up.
"Cha didn't even know I was your grandson."
Kang Minjae added, testing the waters. That meant Cha Juhan had little interest in power. Or gossip in legal circles.
Whether that made him incorruptible was another question, but it was a point in his favor to pitch to Grandpa.
"Fine. Give it your best. Don't disappoint me."
"Of course! I will. Good night, then."
His grandfather watched his bowing grandson's retreating figure with unwavering eyes.
"I figured Cha Juhan was the real deal."
He muttered to himself once the door closed.
But that didn't mean the kid was worth throwing away every advantage for. Talented young legal pros caught his eye often enough at the Institute—not every class, but plenty.
Yet most wore down under capital's logic, power plays, becoming just another cog in the legal machine.
"Come back in."
He pressed the intercom deliberately.
Almost instantly, the door opened, and a young man entered—Kang Hyeongchan, handling his secretarial duties.
"You called, sir?"
"Dig into Cha Juhan. Everything you can find."
"Everything" meant beyond the prosecutor-lawyer facade: his life, background, deeds, future trajectory. All of it.
"Yes, sir. Urgent?"
"With my grandson this obsessed? Of course it's urgent. But don't miss a thing—go deep."
"Yes, sir."
"Oh, and send some gesture to Taegwang's Kim Yunhui. While you're at it, Yoon Wonhyeong too."
"Yoon Wonhyeong already asked to pay you a visit."
"No need."
"Understood. I'll handle it as you said. Anything else?"
Once Kang Hyeongchan left, he glanced at the printed article on his desk.
He reread the article, savoring it. Hoping Cha Juhan wouldn't let him down.