Chapter 234
"I'll swing by the court and head straight home."
"Yes, sir. Good work today."
Oh Yanghun grabbed his briefcase, ready to leave, but paused to glance at the desk beside him. Kang Minjae was slumped over his desk, dozing off with his head nodding.
I let out a sigh, and Oh Yanghun crept up quietly, then slammed his briefcase down on Kang Minjae's desk with a loud thud.
"Ugh, what! I wasn't sleeping! I swear!"
"Who said you were? Haha."
Oh Yanghun peeled a sticky note off Kang Minjae's face.
"Get outta here."
Kang Minjae's face flushed red at my words. He mumbled something about washing up and stepped out for a moment. Oh Yanghun watched his retreating back, then casually broached the subject.
"Do you have any plans for the next move?"
It had been quite a while since Kang Minjae had joined our team, but Oh Yanghun was still treading carefully. Not to exclude him, but perhaps wondering if I was deliberately keeping something under wraps.
"Hmm. Is there a problem?"
The Myung Hwa Pharma and Lee Jung-chan cases were now out of my hands. Lee Jung-chan had been indicted, but he was still under investigation for any additional crimes. Meanwhile, with its CEO and executives in custody, Myung Hwa Pharma was busy fighting an administrative lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration and preparing for a relisting review during the delisting grace period.
Myung Hwa was ruined, Antrozol Alpha never hit the market, and I'd blocked Lee Jung-chan's presidential bid. We'd achieved everything we set out to do. So Oh Yanghun must have figured it was time to move on to the next phase.
"A few of the clients who came for consultations recently got turned away."
Usually, when a consultation call came in, Oh Yanghun gauged the case's scale first. Then, depending on the situation, the client would visit the office, and Kang Minjae and I would handle the meeting. Out of the five clients Oh Yanghun had screened over the phone, four showed up in person. But none led to a retainer. It wasn't dissatisfaction with the consultation—it was me turning them down.
"And Kang seems pretty bored these days."
He wasn't wrong. Kang Minjae was genuinely itching for action, whining nonstop about wanting a big case like before. My ears were ringing from it.
"Anyway, we're a law office, but we haven't taken on many cases lately. It's starting to worry me."
"Are you bored, Manager Oh?"
"Oh, come on. As long as my paycheck's steady, no work is fine by me. Haha. But still."
"We have ongoing cases right now."
"Sure, but those are small potatoes. You're handling them all anyway, Kang."
"I'm waiting on something."
"Waiting? Are we on standby for another big one?"
Curiosity flickered in Oh Yanghun's eyes.
"Not exactly on standby, but there's this thing that could blow up big or fizzle out small. I'm planning to keep it from blowing up for now... but I might need to jump in."
Lawyers handling multiple cases at once was par for the course. Even if this one exploded, it wouldn't stop me from taking others. But this one? I wanted to focus solely on it.
The second person I was determined to save in this second life. Because it was Dongjin's case.
I parked in the lot at Daebak House and stepped out, locking eyes with the owner, who was standing out front smoking a cigarette.
"Oh, Lawyer Cha! You're here."
"How've you been?"
"Great. Oh, I saw you on TV. But man, cameras really don't do you justice. How do they make a handsome guy like you look just okay?"
I gave an awkward smile at his goofy joke. Peering through the window, I saw the place buzzing inside. The food here was no joke—hit it at the wrong time, and you'd be lining up. The space was decently big, so waits weren't too bad, but it was the only spot where I'd queue for a meal.
"Table should open up soon. Just hang tight."
"Business looks booming every time I come. Good to see."
"It is. Money's rolling in."
"Any other worries?"
"Everything else goes my way, but my kids? Not so much."
He gave a bitter smile. A memory flashed—right after regressing to this life, my first visit here, I'd recalled the tragedy: the owner fronting cash for his kids' business, only to lose the shop.
"The older one, the younger one—neither liked studying from the get-go, but they don't know what they do want. Haven't amounted to much even now. All they talk about is starting a business."
"A business?"
"Yeah. But no matter how I look at it, it doesn't seem promising. Maybe I'm just an old fogey who doesn't get it."
I didn't know the details of their venture. Just that it tanked.
"I don't know the specifics, but the economy's rough right now. Instead of a startup, maybe set them up with a big corp franchise."
"Like what?"
"Plenty. Cafes, bakeries, convenience stores. My take? Even if rent's steep, a cafe in a prime spot would be best."
No guarantee a franchise wouldn't flop, but at least it wouldn't bankrupt him into selling the shop. Up to him if he took the advice... but I couldn't stay silent. Losing a gem like this would be a national tragedy.
"Sigh, yeah, that makes sense. Thanks. Oh! Table's open. Head on in."
Thirty minutes after settling in, Dongjin finally appeared, squeezing through the crowd. He looked like he'd sprinted over, breathing hard up to his throat.
"Sorry, man. Got called to an emergency."
"No worries. Knew you were busy. Was gonna order when you got here."
"Waiting without ordering in a packed place like this? People would curse us out."
"Owner said take your time. What'll it be?"
"Same as always."
The side dishes arrived, and Dongjin, probably skipping lunch, dove right in. I slid his favorites his way, and he grinned sheepishly, mumbling an excuse.
"Starving."
"Eat up."
"Hey, I meant to ask—did you see that Lee Se-hyung case? Our department head got arrested."
"Yeah."
I skipped mentioning I'd led the charge. His offhand comment had given the crucial hint, and I didn't want him feeling guilty.
"Timing's insane. I just badmouthed our head to you as a quack, and bam. Plus, that business trip where he brought back chocolates? Turns out he was burying Lee Se-hyung's surgery records. Unreal."
He'd freak if I said those chocolates led us to the German spinal clinic.
"New department head in yet?"
"Yeah. From a branch, some local uni grad. Too soon to tell. But seems skilled. Landing that spot amid all the scandal? Local uni or not—and no shade—the field's so elitist."
Dongjin grilled meat busily, not even glancing my way.
New department head. Someone who didn't exist in my previous life. Meaning the incident that killed Dongjin might never happen.
"Still swamped with surgeries?"
"Nah, not as much. Some patients jumped ship. This Lee Se-hyung mess hit our department hard. Driving me nuts. I'm just telling myself they're transfers to cope."
"Paycheck's safe. Might as well enjoy the breather."
"That's why I'm getting pulled to ER more. Patients down, workload up—some mystery. Hey, it's done. Eat."
Like I need babysitting. He always piled meat my way here like I was his kid.
"You said you lost that VIP patient before. To the director's son."
"Yeah?"
"New head, but still?"
"Dunno. Was lining up Han Young Group's second son. But who knows now. He said he'd stick with us, but since it was the old head's patient and he's locked up, it's awkward. New guy's from a solid school too, might bail to another prof. Even if he keeps it, if he's straightforward with the director, it'll go to the son like before."
"If it stays with the director's son, you won't be in that OR, right?"
"Probably not, unless pushed."
God, I hoped so.
"Yeah?"
"Why the deep dive? You know Han Young Group's second son?"
"Nah... But say."
"Say what?"
"Not saying your hospital does this, but hypothetically, if they did proxy surgeries. Would that one go to the director's son too?"
I floated the question, and Dongjin's face stiffened momentarily. Fair—it was a loaded comment, but I had to probe.
He pondered, then waved it off with a laugh.
"We don't do proxy surgeries here, dude."
In his past life, Dongjin couldn't resist the department head's pressure, did a proxy surgery, Han Young Group's second son flatlined on the table, and he got cornered. Ending with him taking his own life.