Chapter 44
"Taesik, still a lot left?"
"No! Just this one!"
There were two days left until the deadline he'd promised Cha Juhan. Jang Taesik worked his hands frantically, eyes flicking to his watch with bated breath.
The day the trial ended, he'd been moved by the sight of those two—Cha Juhan and Kang Minjae—rushing straight to Samchang-dong without a moment's rest to hunt for evidence. He'd boldly declared he'd track down that printed copy. But the next day, he regretted it instantly.
How the hell was he supposed to find something that hadn't turned up after all this time? He'd even managed to pose as staff and wander freely inside the print shop, but still nothing.
Taesik let out a heavy sigh. Not only had he failed his mission, he was stuck helping with someone else's business out of the blue. And right now was the height of the poker event season!
"Here, have this at least while you work."
The one bright spot making Taesik and his crew crack smiles was Ha Jimin, the friendly print shop girl. She had a pretty face and always wore a warm smile. Not that he had the guts to make a move on her.
If it weren't for Ha Jimin, he would've ditched Cha Juhan's orders from the start.
"Thanks."
"No problem. Oh, did you find the cat yet?"
"Nah, not yet."
"Aigoo. You need to find it quick."
"Yeah, I do."
Jang Taesik tore into the red bean bun she'd handed him. A weak chuckle escaped him. Complaining about his fate was pointless anyway. He had to fulfill his duty to be a true man of Han.
These days' kids just lacked grit, every last one of them.
"Gotta search hard."
The printed copy, of course.
"Lawyer, phone for you."
I was out on the balcony smoking when Kang Minjae came in and handed me his cell. His expression was sour, so I glanced at the screen—Yoo Jeongwon's number.
"Wanna make it interesting with a quick bet?"
I asked him before picking up. Kang Minjae looked surprised but mischief lit his face soon enough.
"I'll bet she's calling to drop the complaint. Your pick?"
"Then I'll go with her calling 'cause something's fishy. Dinner on the loser?"
"Deal."
"Beef it is. I feel like I'm gonna win."
I switched to speaker and answered, ignoring Kang Minjae's words.
"Cha Juhan speaking."
-It's Yoo Jeongwon. How've you been?
"Were we ever on 'how've you been' terms?"
-Oh, getting prickly already.
"What is it?"
-Just checking if you saw the copy of the inspiration notes we sent.
"Bit late to call just for that, don't you think?"
I'd gotten the inspiration notes copy days ago. If that was it, she'd have called the day they sent it. No doubt the verdict date loomed clear as day, and she was dragging out the preamble to broach the real topic.
With the bet on anyway, I was curious too.
"Cut to the chase."
-Alright, shall we? We've got two weeks till the verdict anyway—why not call it quits?
"What're you getting at?"
-Drop the complaint. Even if it's your first civil suit, you can read the room. You know what the ruling'll be.
"Not a fortune teller—how could I know ahead? We'll see on verdict day."
I replied to her while gesturing triumphantly at Kang Minjae. I'd won the bet. He clutched his forehead and stomped the floor.
-Poor Na Eun-seong's already fragile; watching her fret till verdict day would break my heart. I'd wrap it quick. Anyway, got it. See you on verdict day.
Yoo Jeongwon hung up. She might've caught on. As she said, the outcome was plain as day. We hadn't proven plagiarism outright. Similarity? Sure, but the judge could dismiss that at discretion. On that trial alone, it'd end with dismissing the plaintiff's claim.
But we had a new card up our sleeve—one that could force another chance. Even if she suspected, it didn't matter. Jeong Hyejin faking evidence was ironclad.
"Beef, right? Let's go."
I said to Kang Minjae. He'd uncovered their planted evidence as fake but hadn't tipped them off—yet he was already basking in the thrill, expecting them to shoot themselves in the foot. That overconfidence was his flaw.
"Damn it... Yeah."
"Thanks for the feast."
I patted his shoulder as we left after paying.
As we headed to the office, Kang Minjae asked.
"Left my bag at the office. When’re you filing for reopening arguments, anyway?"
Truth was, I hadn't told him yet about sending Taesik to hunt more evidence at the print shop. Didn't want to get his hopes up just to crush them. I'd already seen him beating himself up over his slip-up in Samchang-dong.
"Three days."
Taesik had until the day after tomorrow anyway. No dice by then, and we'd reopen without it.
"Hey, any word from Director Jo yet?"
I didn't mean to scold him for skipping court. Just wanted to check if testifying had backfired on him. If so, I'd fix it within my power.
"Texted him today—lemme call."
Kang Minjae replied as we headed up. While he fiddled with his phone in the elevator, I hit the fifth-floor button for the office. It spat us out quick.
"Huh?"
Someone was pacing in front of the office door down the hall. Kang Minjae spotted him first and bolted over.
"Director Jo!"
It was Director Jo, face shadowed. We unlocked the door and led him inside. He slumped onto the sofa at the consultation table, head bowed. Kang Minjae offered juice, but he waved it off. We sat opposite, and he stayed silent for a long stretch.
I gave him space to speak, but he seemed too guilty to start.
"What happened?"
I asked.
"I'm sorry, Lawyer Cha."
His voice was low and heavy.
"It's fine. Water under the bridge. Just tell us honestly what went down."
Director Jo gripped his baseball cap tight with both hands and sighed.
"Blue Island Media blackmailed me."
Kang Minjae half-stood in outrage; I pressed his thigh down. No need to rile up Director Jo when he was already wrecked.
"What kind of blackmail?"
"Remember I said a close senior of mine got me into his film company? Turns out Blue Island was investing in that film."
Damn. I hadn't realized it connected that way.
"Never heard Blue Island investing in films, so I figured no issue... but looks like they're starting now."
Blue Island's successor, WS E&M, did dominate films later. But they hadn't dipped in yet. If this was their debut, it made sense he'd back out to avoid screwing his senior's company.
"I get it. Any fallout just from planning to testify?"
"No, none. They said skip it and that's fine—actually upped the investment for not showing. Sorry."
"That's a relief."
"Did... did I mess up the trial by not showing?"
Director Jo asked, guilt etched deep.
It had caused issues, sure. We'd planned to back the plagiarism claim with Seong Minjeong and him. His no-show left just her word, which Lee Hayoung dismantled.
"No. It's okay."
"...Good. Really, I'm so sorry."
"It was a hit, but not a big one,"
I said. Kang Minjae shot me a look. Relief on Director Jo's face twisted to panic.
"Lawyer Cha!"
"That's the truth."
Forgiving his absence was one thing; pretending it caused zero hiccups was another. He'd gained from bailing—more investment cash. A dose of guilt was fair. Who knew when or how he might help us later?
Besides, past life taught me bone-deep: people were clueless about law. They'd flip statements or skip the stand for flimsy reasons, dooming cases countless times. I cursed the education system that ignored it, despaired at the letdowns.
Director Jo had agonized between loss and gain. But sometimes folks didn't grasp the weight. Time to spell it out—the exact fallout of his choice.
"But it's fine."
"...Lawyer Cha. Truly sorry. No face left. I said I'd go confidently, but—"
"No. I didn't lay out the facts to get an apology. Just wanted you to know how crucial a witness is in court."
"Yes. I regret it deeply."
"It's okay. More investment for your film—good news."
I flashed a brief smile. Lesson delivered; no need to burden him more.
Bzzzzt.
Then my phone buzzed. Busy day for calls, I thought, picking it up.