Chapter 21
I’m a pro, you know? (3)
If someone smokes, of course they’d have a lighter. Being absolutely sure they don’t smoke would mean testifying with a prejudice about someone you don’t really know, and that could be grounds to request exclusion. In the end there was only one choice.
“I don’t know.”
“So there’s no way to tell whether the defendant had a lighter at that time?”
“No.”
“And a middle schooler who likes books like that could very well survive on their own.”
“Exactly.”
“That’s all.”
Noh Hyung-jin finished his last question and returned to his seat. Nam Sang-ju could only stare blankly after him.
“You’re in third year of middle school, right?”
“My age is right, but the grade isn’t. I passed the equivalency exam.”
“I heard you went to an academy because you want to study law. More than I expected. If you were a real lawyer, I’d do whatever it took to bring you on.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s sad we met like this.”
After the trial, Nam Sang-ju looked regretful when he met Noh Hyung-jin.
“Well, the future’s uncertain.”
“Yes, let’s hope. But next time I won’t go easy. A fight is a fight.”
“I won’t go easy either.”
“Ha, you’re bold. Alright, I look forward to the next fight.”
“If there is a next fight.”
Noh Hyung-jin answered with an unreadable smile.
Side fights (1)
One misconception people have is that fights related to a trial only happen inside the courtroom. In reality, more fights happen outside. Everything from organizing documents to securing friendly witnesses connects back to the trial. Strictly speaking, the fighting is done outside; the courtroom is only where the conclusion is rendered.
“If it comes out that way, there’s nothing I can do.”
One person had died, but he didn’t care much. Noh Hyung-jin had seen too many dirty things to be wracked with guilt because the man who tried to kill him was dead.
“I was going to turn a blind eye, though.”
Their lives were already ruined, so he’d planned to ignore them. Strictly speaking, those who plotted to kill him should have been punished for kidnapping and attempted murder, but because of huge lobbying and money, they were charged with kidnapping and attempted injury instead of attempted murder.
Of course those punishments were light and they’d be out soon, but he thought it wasn’t worth his time anymore and intended to ignore them. Still, since they started a fight, he couldn’t avoid it.
“Shall we go settle it then?”
Noh Hyung-jin walked lightly toward a place. The building was fairly luxurious.
Ding dong.
“Who is it?”
“Excuse me. I have an appointment today. I’m Noh Hyung-jin.”
A woman’s voice answered after he pushed the bell.
“One moment please.”
After a slightly flustered voice, the door opened and Noh Hyung-jin went inside.
“Fancy.”
With money, a life can be a mess but the house itself was beyond description.
“You’ve got the nerve to come here with that face.”
A woman and a man glared at him with hatred. They were Kang Hyung-mun and his wife—the parents of the man who had died in the incident.
“Have you come to beg for a settlement?”
“A settlement? Don’t talk nonsense. There will be no settlement! You killed my son!”
The man was cold, the woman furious. Naturally—they believed Noh had killed their son.
“I didn’t come to settle.”
“What did you say?”
“Are you mocking us?”
“I said I have something to say; I never said I wanted a settlement.”
“What! Gain! You bastard, really!”
The man, enraged, instinctively grabbed a golf club and swung. Noh Hyung-jin stopped him with a single sentence.
“Don’t you want to catch the real murderer?”
At that, Kang Seong-chan—the father—stopped mid-swing.
“Didn’t you kill him? Didn’t you let my son freeze to death like that?”
“You say that, did the police? I admit I broke his leg. So what? I resisted to survive. Have you forgotten that your son was the one who kidnapped me?”
“Argh!”
It was true. No matter how badly their son had been living, it was hard to believe he’d commit such a violent crime, but kidnapping was undeniable.
“And I say again, I broke his leg, but I did not kill him.”
“What nonsense is that?”
“I broke his leg. I admit that. But really, I only broke the leg.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“The ones who killed him were the other guys who were with him.”
“Nonsense!”
“Then did you see your son’s clothes?”
“Clothes?”
As they had gone to identify the body, the body would have been on a cold autopsy table without clothes. By then the two men would have changed into different clothes.
“The police apparently didn’t tell you the facts. Look at this.”
Noh handed them photos he had gotten from the police. The two parents’ hands trembled when they took them.
“As you can see, your son had signs of assault right before he froze to death. But as I said, I only broke his leg. I didn’t touch his face or hands.”
The face of their son on the cold autopsy table showed bruises and wounds in many places.
“Of course he died from freezing. The autopsy confirmed that, so you can’t deny it.”
“But—”
“But if he had been wearing clothes, he might have survived. As evidence, look: those two men were wearing clothes and they survived.”
“You’re saying those two killed my son and stole his clothes to wear?”
The father’s voice began to tremble at a claim he hadn’t expected.
“Probably, yes.”
“That can’t be…”
“Then how do you explain the blood on their clothes? I admit I broke the leg, but if you look at the autopsy it shows no bleeding from the leg. In other words, that blood came from somewhere else.”
“……”
“Perhaps they egged you on to sue together. But they probably didn’t tell you these facts. Right?”
“……”
It was something they had never heard.
“So the murderer isn’t me. It’s them.”
“That can’t be… they….”
“What did they tell you? That you could win? That they’d at least avenge your son? Don’t be ridiculous. They just needed to sweep the incident under the rug and distract you. Is it reasonable for a perpetrator to demand compensation from the victim?”
He was right. They had been oddly insistent that the parents sue, and so the anger had been directed at Noh, while they were distracted with the lawsuit.
“That can’t be… that can’t be…”
“Did you ever go to the police to ask exactly how he died? Did you check how much of the body was damaged?”
“……”
They had only done the body identification. It was too painful to do more.
“Given the power of the perpetrators’ parents, they could easily hide things. And if you made them your enemy, your sons would be free as a result.”
“……”
“Well, I’m just telling the facts. Whether you pursue the lawsuit or seek the truth is up to you.”
Noh stood up.
“I’ll leave the documents. Study them carefully.”
They couldn’t say a word until he left.
‘Stirring up internal division—that’s basic.’
The next day they contacted him. They wanted to go to the police station together. If both parties went, the police had to disclose all the materials.
“Let’s go.”
Seeing their determined faces, Noh chuckled inwardly. Using the death of a son might be cruel, but what use is sentiment in a trial?
“We’re here to view the case files.”
“Huh?”
“We want to inspect the case records.”
The police were slightly startled but nodded eventually.
That confirmed Noh’s suspicions even more. Requesting to view case records is standard. If the request surprised them, someone must have tipped them off.
Normally in criminal cases, each side can only see records related to themselves. But if both sides come, they can view everything together.
“Here you go.”
Once they saw the photos, interviews, and testimony, the parents’ faces went pale.
Every angle showed that aside from the broken leg Noh caused, there was no proof he inflicted the other injuries. There were, however, unexplained wounds and fractures.
“Why were those unexplained wounds caused?”
“We don’t know yet; there was no investigation.”
“What? With so many unexplained wounds, they didn’t investigate?”
The investigator averted his eyes.
The deceased’s parents were convinced: given that Lee Jae-myung’s father was powerful—chairman of the local council—the case being buried was no surprise.
“So if we file a formal complaint, will they investigate?”
“They probably will.”
The father ground his teeth.
Since the other side had clearly tried to hide things, he too had the connections to fight back. Perhaps that was the very reason the case had been covered up.
“I will file a formal complaint.”
“This is…”
Nam Sang-ju was taken aback by an unexpected development. The pivotal issue in the case was how much responsibility Noh bore for the deceased’s death. But just before the second hearing, the deceased’s parents filed a withdrawal of their complaint. What remained were only the two men who suffered from the self-defense spray. With that, winning would be impossible; at best they might avoid a counterattack. And, as expected—
“What’s this?”
“This is the complaint we’ll file today: a civil suit for damages.”
Of course Noh didn’t miss the opportunity for a counter. He’d engineered the situation.
“Ha, we’re done for.”
The trial was ruined before it properly began.
“Was this your doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“This whole thing.”
“You mean that?”
Not only did they withdraw their complaint, the deceased’s parents instead sued the two men for murder, and particularly Kang Seong-chan was putting pressure on police through his connections.
“Police say both sides are having a hard time.”
“The law should be fair, shouldn’t it?”
It sounded like a natural remark but carried a different meaning.
“A fine talent you are.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“Not a joke. If you get your bar license, be sure to contact me.”
“If needed, I will.”
“Haha.”
Nam Sang-ju had to laugh. This lawsuit was lost—since the deceased’s family withdrew, the self-defense tear gas would not be enough to get damages.
“So what will you do?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean—won’t the other side need a lawyer?”
He was asking Nam to recommend himself as the lawyer Kang Seong-chan planned to hire. Since Noh had orchestrated the whole incident, he must have considerable influence. It was absurd, but that’s how the legal world works: a lawyer can defend someone they just fought.
“All right. I’ll say something.”
Noh knew that and couldn’t object.
“First, we need to know where this happened.”
Noh Hyung-jin wandered through the mountains. He didn’t want to leave the people who messed with him alone, so he’d come to the mountains to look for evidence. He had reported to the police, but expecting them to come search the remote area for evidence was like expecting something out of a movie.
“I’m getting nauseous.”
He’d been doing memory reads—removing and examining memories—left and right, and it made his stomach turn.
“What stubborn people.”
Because hardly anyone came here, he had thought it wouldn’t take long. But seeing traces all over, he realized many people had been here—especially reckless youth coming at night with their flashers on.
“Am I investigating, or am I watching porn?”
