Chapter 12
Above his head.
A red exclamation mark was floating — practically a warning.
‘I have to stop that man.’
Tak-tak-tak!
In front of Yeji’s flower shop, a group of customers stopped walking.
A man following behind slowed down, smirked, and slipped his hand into the side of a box that had been deliberately cut open.
‘Damn! I’m going to be too late!’
The moment light flashed from inside the box, he had to distract attention — somehow.
“Hey, you bastard!!!”
“…?”
As soon as the man glanced over, he pulled a gas gun out of his pocket.
“…!”
He released the safety and pulled the trigger.
Ssssshh!
“Arghhhh!”
Hit by the tear gas, the man clutched his face.
Clang!
The weapon fell to the ground with the box, clattering loudly.
‘He dropped the weapon?’
Had he never once been tied up with even a rope before? If that’s the case…
‘This is my only chance.’
Taking advantage of the man’s staggering, he quickly kicked the weapon far away.
“Kyaaah!”
“Ma’am! Call 112!”
Through tears and snot, the man glared at him, screaming.
“You’re dead!!!”
Though the gas should’ve made it impossible to open his eyes, the man charged without hesitation.
At times like this, he had to stay cool.
‘Here he comes.’
Whoosh.
A fist swung toward his right chest.
He twisted his body smoothly, letting the punch slip past.
Tap.
He deflected with his hand—
Then ducked and drove his elbow straight into the man’s chest.
“…Ughk!”
The man stumbled back—just as a group of police officers rushed in.
“Police!”
They surrounded him.
Because there had been a murder warning, they were already patrolling near the Express Bus Terminal Station in case something happened.
It looked like the whole 16-member team had mobilized.
The subdued suspect screamed:
“You’ll pay for this! I swear you will!”
Ignoring him, he turned to the trembling shop owner.
“Mrs. Yeji, are you okay?”
“L-lawyer sir… are you okay?”
“As you can see, I’m fine.”
If he hadn’t immediately drawn attention with insults and then kicked the weapon away, things would’ve been bleak—even with a bulletproof vest.
Mrs. Yeji, heavy steps shaking, grabbed his hand.
Tears gushed from her eyes.
“Thank you, truly. I was so afraid… afraid I’d die before seeing my Yeji married.”
“Please calm down. It’s all over now.”
“Are you alright?”
A police officer approached, asking about the situation.
He explained: after seeing the weapon, he fired the gas gun, then kicked it away — all self-defense.
“……”
“Is there a problem?”
If they didn’t believe him, they could always check the CCTV from the shops.
“No, sir, you’re quite right. Do you have a firearm possession permit?”
“Here it is.”
It had taken 10 whole days from purchase to actually receiving the permit.
‘If not for the courier service, it would’ve been too close.’
“You carry the permit with you?”
“Since I was carrying the gas gun, yes.”
“…By the book. Then we’ll need you to appear later as a witness.”
“Understood.”
After the paramedics and police left, Mrs. Yeji returned with a kettle from her shop.
“That must’ve been frightening for everyone. Please, have some herbal tea.”
She poured flower tea into paper cups. Some held theirs with tissues, too hot to touch directly.
The group of customers blew on the tea and took sips.
“I finally feel calmer now.”
“That’s good. Mrs. Moon, today’s flower order—consider it free, except for the deposit.”
“Oh no, that’s not necessary! It wasn’t Yeji’s fault.”
“Still. Think of it as flowers of comfort. Would you like another cup?”
She poured more flower tea, then turned to him.
“You too, lawyer sir? A cup?”
“I’ll pass, thank you.”
“Alright, but if you change your mind later, let me know.”
Declining the tea, he stared blankly into the air.
<Mission> Complete.
Haah… so it was a murder attempt.
If it had happened on Line 9, right outside his office—
‘I might’ve been reminded of the day I saw the blood-soaked scene… when Mother was hit by that car.’
The thought alone made his hand tremble. He clenched and unclenched his fist.
‘Anyway, I completed the mission. A main mission will probably appear soon.’
Approaching Mrs. Yeji, who was chatting with the group:
“Mrs. Yeji, I’ll be heading off now.”
“I’ll come by later.”
“Of course. Come anytime.”
“Lawyer, thank you.”
“You saved us.”
“No need to thank me.”
He bowed to the guests as well, then bent down to pick up his fallen keys.
Step, step.
‘It should’ve fallen around here.’
But with all the commotion, the keys weren’t easy to spot.
He crouched, searching the ground.
“Excuse me.”
“…?”
“Are you looking for this?”
Tap. Tap.
A woman, who looked to be in her 50s, pointed with the tip of her shoe at something.
His office key.
“Yes, that’s mine.”
Judging from the tissue in her hand holding a paper cup, she seemed to be one of the flower shop’s guests.
Still—pointing with her foot, not her hand? Not exactly polite.
But since she was the shop owner’s guest, he let it go.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Yet instead of returning to the flower shop, she just kept staring straight at him.
‘She left her friends behind. Looking to hire me?’
And sure enough—
[A Mission has been assigned.]
<Mission>
Take on this case.
However, you must secure a verdict favorable to the defendant.
Success: Evidence.
Failure: System termination.
※ You will recognize the defendant immediately.
‘Oh? So if I take on this woman’s case, I’ll meet the defendant. In that case, time to act like I know nothing.’
After all, would someone really break away from friends just to visit a lawyer on a casual outing? Clearly, today wasn’t the right day.
He had to test the waters.
Deliberately averting his gaze, he dragged a fire extinguisher and a chair near the door over to the consultation table.
‘That should prompt her to speak.’
“Earlier, the flower shop owner said you’re a lawyer. Is this your office?”
She gestured gracefully at the office.
Bingo.
He smiled and nodded.
“Yes, it’s a law office, though it’s in the underground mall.”
“Then you do consultations here?”
“Of course. The consultation fee is 100,000 won, regardless of time.”
“…Not bad.”
“Big firms charge by the hour, but I’m not that coldhearted.”
“Hmm.”
“Please, come in.”
He led her to the table.
From her designer bag, she took out a disposable wet wipe, cleaned the chair, and sat down.
“People said we should come here since the murder threat kept customers away. But that wasn’t the real reason.”
Had he replied with, ‘True, but thanks to that you came to me…’, it would’ve sounded like a scheming salesman.
During consultations, simple answers were best.
“I’m glad nothing serious happened.”
“Indeed. Phew. Anyway, how should I start this consultation…”
“Everything is confidential. Please speak freely.”
“……”
She glanced at the closed door, then broke the silence.
“It’s not about me. It’s about my son.”
‘So the defendant is her son.’
“Recently, I got a call from him. He said he’d been questioned by police and was being sent to a detention center.”
‘Detention, huh.’
That meant strong evidence, plus risk of flight.
The key was the stage of proceedings—still under investigation, or already indicted?
“You mean it’s been more than 24 hours since you heard from him?”
“Of course. It’s been days.”
‘…And yet she’s this calm?’
“Ma’am, investigators can hold a suspect for up to 20 days from arrest. Has that time passed?”
“No, not yet. It’s been about five days.”
‘So it’s right after transfer to prosecution. If indicted, the mission would’ve said ‘defendant.’
“So then—can we apply for bail?”
“That depends. If he’s detained during prosecution’s investigation, we can request a detention review. If already indicted, then it’s bail.”
He had wanted clearer details, but this was enough.
“Detention review? What’s that?”
“It’s when the suspect believes their detention is illegal or unfair, so they request the court to review it. Only possible during investigation.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Yes. I’ll need to know your son’s exact status to respond properly.”
They exchanged more words, but she shared little information.
‘This feels like she’s testing me, measuring my ability. Just like certain clients back when I was a junior at Continet.’
Still, from her eyes and answers, he could infer one thing—
Her son was very likely guilty of something.
‘If the mission requires a favorable verdict, that would mean acquittal. The system wouldn’t ask me to defend a true criminal, so he must be innocent at heart.’
‘What kind of case is this, though, that they’re cushioning it so much? I’ll have to press her directly.’
“Madam, could you tell me whatever you know about the incident?”
“…From what I heard, he was tricked by a femme fatale.”
‘Knew it.’
A femme fatale. That narrowed the possibilities.
It meant the defendant was claiming he’d been conned through sex.
“On his way home, a woman asked for help. Said a strange man was following her. So he escorted her to a police station nearby and then went home.”
‘Nothing wrong so far…’
“But a day or two later, police came to his workplace. They said he was a rapist.”
“To his workplace?”
“Yes. The woman had seen his employee ID.”
“Hm.”
Not an easy case.
If he’d been detained, that meant solid evidence.
‘If only I had the detention request or interrogation transcript—it’d make consultation easier. But it can’t be helped.’
The case’s resolution was up to him.
“Ma’am, for proper consultation, I’ll need to meet your son directly.”
“…Are you saying?”
“May I take this case?”
