Chapter 13
“Representation, you say?”
The middle-aged woman burst out laughing.
I had guessed she might be from a well-off family, the kind that could afford a private lawyer, but was it really so funny?
‘Well, I suppose normally, someone like her wouldn’t even bother consulting with a small fry like me.’
“I only came for a consultation, and now you’re offering full representation? You’re quite ambitious.”
“I only said that because this case falls right into my field. If you don’t want representation, you can just pay the consultation fee, that’s fine.”
“Hm.”
She tapped the paper cup wrapped in tissue.
“Did you work at a law firm?”
“I was at Continent, high-level criminal and corporate law.”
“What was the biggest case you ever handled?”
“The biggest was the OCA industrial technology leak. The last case I handled was the Ohsung Group case. I was second chair.”
“Ah, ah. You were the defense attorney in the youngest son’s case. You must have had a rough time.”
‘No one could forget the Ohsung Group case—it dominated headlines all year.’
“Alright. Let’s draw up a retainer agreement. By the way, at Continent, regular retainer fees start at twelve million won, right?”
‘She knows her stuff.’
“That’s correct. For cases with a high risk of losing, it starts at fourteen million for the first trial.”
“Really? Then I’ll pay one hundred million. Whether it goes to third trial or not, the total retainer will be one hundred million won.”
…Had I heard her wrong?
‘Did she just say one hundred million?’
“I believe in my son, but no one knows how things will unfold. Let’s say one hundred million, including activity expenses.”
“……”
“Even the Ohsung Group’s youngest son got a suspended sentence. My boy should at least be able to get probation, don’t you think?”
Unless it was an exceptional case—
If it was a first offense, yes, probation was possible.
‘And my mission is to get a favorable verdict for the defendant. As long as I put in the work, it should be doable.’
“And if he’s acquitted, I’ll pay you an additional fifty million as a success fee.”
In that case, of course I had to accept.
“Ma’am, shall we draft the retainer contract right away? Since it’s for a family member, I’ll need a copy of the resident registration certificate.”
For a moment, her face stiffened, then relaxed.
“…Could I use your computer?”
“Of course. Please use this one.”
I pointed to the computer on the desk with my nameplate.
“Mm.”
She poised her fingers like a pianist.
Tap tap tap.
She logged into the government portal and printed the resident registration certificate.
‘Efficient type, this one.’
After sanitizing her hands, she pulled out her phone.
“Secretary Jung, you have Seondong’s documents in the car, right? Bring them to the underground mall at Express Bus Terminal. Yes, go down the entrance near Daiso, to the left, toward Banpo Station.”
Then she tapped her phone again.
“Attorney, please check your account. The money should be in.”
Something that would take other clients two days, she finished in ten minutes.
I quickly opened my banking app. The balance had already changed.
“Yes, I confirm the transfer.”
Creak.
“Ma’am?”
“Secretary Jung, hurry up.”
Soon after, her secretary arrived and handed over a large envelope.
“Here you are, Attorney.”
“Thank you.”
Inside were not only the detention warrant request but also evidence she had gathered herself.
Rustle.
“A friend told me the detention notice is too brief, and that I should get the detention warrant request from the detective in charge.”
“That’s correct. If you wait for the court or prosecutor’s office to provide it, the defense loses valuable time.”
Normally, when a suspect is detained, the police call the family and deliver a brief detention notice—a single sheet with the charge.
Then the family rushes to the detention center for a short visit.
Visits last only ten to fifteen minutes.
In that short time, it’s nearly impossible for the suspect to clearly explain everything, and so the family often fails to convey accurate details to the lawyer.
But the detention warrant request is different.
It not only includes the summary of charges but also describes the evidence and how the crime was carried out in detail.
That’s why lawyers often pull strings to get a copy directly from the police.
‘With this much preparation, she should have hired a lawyer earlier. I wonder why she waited.’
I began organizing the case in my head as I skimmed the warrant request.
“But Attorney, when my son was detained, they didn’t inform him of the charges or his right to counsel. Isn’t that a problem?”
“Even if there was a violation, it doesn’t affect the validity of the detention warrant.”
“I see.”
“Let me finish reading these documents, then I’ll explain how I plan to approach the case.”
Perhaps because I was absorbed in the documents, she suddenly stood up.
“Attorney, I’ll take my leave. Please review everything in peace.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I got too caught up in the paperwork.”
“It’s fine. Call me if you need anything. I’ll leave it in your hands.”
“Take care.”
Once she and her secretary left, I put the papers down.
The situation was more serious than I’d expected.
“A serial rapist? Damn… I need to file for attorney visitation immediately.”
I checked the resident registration.
“Lee Seondong, born 9012x…”
Now that I had confirmed his identity, I could submit the power of attorney to the court tomorrow and request access to the case file.
Without delay, I logged into the Ministry of Justice’s online service.
Until a few years ago, attorney visits could be requested by email, but now it was all done online.
“The Ministry is keeping up with the times, I see. Alright, let’s apply…”
I completed identity verification and registered the inmate.
Facility: Seoul Detention Center
Inmate number: 0000 (if unknown, enter 0000)
Name: Lee Seondong
“Selected the date and time for visitation. Now it’s time to meet him.”
November 22
Cold morning air, my breath visible.
Since I had no driver’s license, I took the subway toward Indeokwon Station.
‘Rush hour at 8 a.m. is brutal.’
Just like the suffocating sections of Line 4 I used to ride to my office near Express Bus Terminal, the Oido-bound train was crammed.
By the time I reached Indeokwon, though, it was manageable.
I exited through Exit 2 and took Bus 103 toward Seoul Detention Center.
Soon I got off at the intersection and walked about ten minutes.
“Finally here.”
The Seoul Detention Center holds many pre-trial detainees, so its attorney visitation rooms are far larger than other facilities.
Regular visitation rooms have glass walls, where guards, other inmates, and attorneys can see everything—not exactly comfortable.
But I got lucky.
‘Assigned to the “VIP” room.’
It wasn’t the glamorous kind seen in TV dramas, but Room 1 was spacious and lacked partitions. Likely because no celebrities were held here at the moment.
Posters on the wall warned: “No mobile phones allowed.”
“Still there, huh.”
Back in 2001, when detainees began using lawyers’ phones to destroy evidence, the law had been amended to explicitly ban such items.
Not only electronics, but cigarettes, lighters, alcohol, even pens, candy, or chocolate were prohibited.
I remembered how, as a rookie, I had been caught off guard because no one had warned me.
‘Still pisses me off. Would it have killed them to tell me pens weren’t allowed?’
Since then, I always warned new lawyers under me: “No outside items allowed, except documents.”
It was now 8:50 a.m.
Before entering, I greeted the guard.
“Attorney Cha Dohyuk?”
“Yes.”
“Right on time.”
“Of course.”
He chuckled, saying I was different from the lawyers who only did visitations.
“Well then, Officer, Mr. Lee Seondong has some papers to sign.”
“If he resists, just press the emergency call button.”
“I just wanted to give you a heads-up.”
“Heh. You’re slicker than you look, aren’t you?”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
After the checks, I entered the room.
With ten minutes to spare, I reviewed the documents from his mother again.
“So, it wasn’t a sting operation but hard evidence that got him caught… Even so, can I really get him probation?”
Creak.
At exactly 9 a.m., the door opened.
The suspect walked in—clearly a beontol (wealthy, educated detainee) type.
An exclamation mark practically hovered above his head.
But then—
“…Mr. Lee Seondong?”
His appearance was shocking.
Bruised and battered, his face blotched yellow and blue, as if he’d been in a fight. His horn-rimmed glasses sat crooked.
He immediately began wiping them on his brown prison uniform as he sat down.
“You’re my attorney?”
“Cha Dohyuk, yes.”
“You came right after being retained?”
“Yes. I submitted the retainer to the court and booked visitation immediately. I figured we’d need a lot of time to talk.”
“I see. So Mother delayed retaining you to make sure she found someone capable.”
Relieved, his shoulders slumped.
“Phew. Now I can finally breathe. Mind if I rest a bit?”
Clearly, something had happened inside the detention center. But that could wait—
I already had a good guess.
“Mr. Lee, sorry to press, but could you tell me what happened that night? Take your time, but we may run out of visitation time.”
“True enough.”
He straightened his posture.
“On November 8. I’d stayed late at the lab—oh, I work at Hanseon Pharma Research, in Dongtan.”
“Yes.”
“Normally I take the SRT through the company partnership, but I missed it that day, so I took the Gyeonggi bus to Gangnam Station. The one that stops near Kyobo Bookstore. My apartment is nearby.”
I absorbed the details carefully.
“After getting off the Gyeonggi bus, a village bus came right away, so I boarded.”
“Do you remember the number?”
“Seocho 03.”
“What time roughly?”
“Between 9 and 10 p.m., I think. Not certain.”
“Please continue.”
“The bus stopped in front of Leaders Apartments, where I live, so I got off.”
So far, nothing unusual.
“But I was hungry. Thought I’d buy some chicken on the way home. While waiting at the crosswalk, I ordered by phone.”
“There’s a chicken place nearby?”
“Yes, across the street—Guun Chicken. Anyway, once I placed the order, I was crossing the road when suddenly, a woman grabbed my arm.”
“…Suddenly?”
“Yes, out of nowhere!”
‘Could it have been a setup?’
But the chance of collusion between the woman and the man chasing her was slim.
Because the victim’s DNA matched Lee Seondong.
