Chapter 20 – The Beginning of a Tangled Life

Drrrr-clack. Drrrr-clack.

The sound of the spinning hole punch filled the office.

Office Manager Ju Yong-hae and Seong Tae-gyu, who sat next to him, were frantic organizing the overflowing retention case files and trial documents.

Seong Tae-gyu, who was punching holes and binding them with string, grumbled with a face full of discontent.

“Geez… I’m wasting my strength on stuff like this.”

At those words, Ju Yong-hae smiled soothingly.

“Everyone starts out like this at first. Our office is quite old, but…”

“We had one machine, but after running our documents through it for a few days, it ended up breaking.”

Ju Yong-hae continued talking about this and that without stopping his hands.

“It was much harder in the past. There was even an office manager who threw an awl at me at quitting time and told me to punch holes in thousands of pages before leaving.”

Seong Tae-gyu’s eyes widened.

“No way, they make you do that at quitting time? There are actually bas— people like that?”

Ju Yong-hae shrugged and laughed.

“Of course. In this field, there are trashy guys and there are warm-hearted bosses. Still, once you learn it, it’s all useful.

Anyway, Tae-gyu, your father and older brother are attorneys, so if you run a large firm later, won’t you manage many employees? It’ll be good to know this in preparation for that. Well, though you probably don’t have to worry about making a living even now.”

At those words, Seong Tae-gyu looked a bit apologetic. Having actually worked in the office for a few days, the work wasn’t as easy as it looked.

“Hey, Office Manager. Let’s have a drink together later. After doing this kind of work, isn’t a cold glass of beer just the thing?”

“Drinks are great. But since this darn work is like this every day… Ms. Cha Ra-ri must have been possessed by a case-attraction ghost.”

“A case-attraction ghost?”

As Seong Tae-gyu showed curiosity, Ju Yong-hae smiled slightly and brought up a story.

“There is a very famous office manager in this field. A legendary figure whose name everyone knows.”

“A legend?”

Seong Tae-gyu, his interest piqued, stopped what he was doing and listened intently.

“Do you know what kind of car that legendary office manager drove?”

“What did he drive?”

“I don’t know either.”

“Huh?”

When Seong Tae-gyu stared with a dumbfounded expression, Ju Yong-hae immediately chuckled and answered.

“Because he never drove the same car for more than two months. They were all top-tier foreign luxury cars.”

“Wait, he changed cars that often? Does an office manager make that much money?”

Seong Tae-gyu asked back, slightly surprised.

“These days, since attorneys are overflowing, the status of office managers isn’t what it used to be, but that person was a legend among legends. People were frantic to recruit him. Even though he didn’t have much of a network, they say he miraculously brought in ten cases a day.

His salary was five times higher than most attorneys. So there was even a saying that he must have saved the country through the independence movement in his past life.”

Seong Tae-gyu’s eyes widened.

“Ah… Really?”

Ju Yong-hae nodded meaningfully.

“Yes. But now, it seems someone has appeared to rewrite that rumor.”

“Someone to rewrite it… Who do you mean?”

Ju Yong-hae stopped his hands, which were binding the documents with string, and smirked.

“I mean Ms. Cha Ra-ri.”

While Office Manager Ju Yong-hae was talking with Seong Tae-gyu, Director Kim Mi-yeong was tapping on her calculator with an increasingly serious face.

Twenty years of handling office accounting.

My calculations can’t be wrong. But this… makes no sense?

Director Kim Mi-yeong, who was checking this month’s salary and revenue details for Attorney Geum Na-yeong’s office, tapped the calculator several times herself. It was because she couldn’t believe the numbers in the accounting program.

Tap, tap— tap, tap—

“Geez, this won’t do.”

As if unable to believe it, Director Kim Mi-yeong continued calculating in the air as if moving abacus beads with her fingers.

“Uh…”

‘No way, is this real? Ms. Cha Ra-ri’s base salary is 2.5 million. But just her bonus this month is… twenty-four million two hundred thousand won…?’

Director Kim Mi-yeong immediately picked up the receiver.

“Hello? This is Teum Law Office. Is the accountant there? I think you need to come over. We have a matter to discuss regarding our tax issues.

Yes, by tomorrow. Yes, I understand.”

Having hung up the phone, Director Kim Mi-yeong checked Office Manager Ju Yong-hae’s salary details this time.

“Wait, what… Even that man’s bonus alone is over ten million won?”

After completing the salary verification, she wore a subtle smile. Then, opening her phone, she put ‘A++ Hanwoo Beef for Bulgogi and Hanwoo Beef Bone Set’ into her cart on an online shopping mall.

It was just when the office was bustling with everyone’s respective duties.

Amid the silence, a sudden scream burst from Office Manager Yeom.

“Argh! …Shit!”

Instantly, all eyes in the office turned to him, and as always, Assistant Manager Kim was the first to speak.

“Office Manager Yeom, what’s wrong?”

At Assistant Manager Kim’s question, Office Manager Yeom, his face turned pale, stuttered as he answered.

“The application… I didn’t submit the application. The attorney said he was using it in tomorrow’s trial and told me to submit it today and bring back the receipt without fail…”

He sighed, tearing at his hair. Sweats trickled down, though the weather wasn’t even hot.

“Sigh… This is really shit… I forgot about it while watching soccer. What should I do…”

‘If I let the attorney know about this, I’ll be completely destroyed. It’s a trial tomorrow morning… There’s no solution. Then… what’s the only remaining way?’

Rolling his brain, he suddenly leaped up from his seat and strode over to Office Manager Ju, who was organizing documents nearby.

“Hey, Office Manager Ju~ Ju-oo Off-ice Ma-na-ger~”

At the call, which was excessively soft and nasal compared to usual, Office Manager Ju glared and looked at Office Manager Yeom.

“Why are you being so creepy? What is it?”

Office Manager Yeom shrunk his shoulders tightly and said.

“Hey… save me just this once. Yeah? The legendary gambler Ju, after a long time… just once.”

At his sly yet desperate expression, Office Manager Ju let out a deep sigh.

“What is it? You missed the time and didn’t submit it again, right? Geez.”

Seeing Office Manager Yeom’s pitifully drooped caterpillar eyebrows, Office Manager Ju eventually picked up his outerwear.

“Man, these days Gambler Ju or whatever doesn’t work at all… But I’ll go. It’s almost 6 o’clock now, so I don’t know if it’ll work.”

Shrugging it off like that, Office Manager Ju headed for the court.

***

[In Front of the Filing Desk at the Court Civil Petition Office]

Since quitting time was already right around the corner, the filing staff members had left their seats one by one.

Ju Yong-hae slowly shifted his gaze toward the empty counter.

Then, a memory from long ago came to mind.

Thirty years ago.

The first task he took on after being appointed as a Grade 9 court official was document filing.

Receiving the complaints submitted by people, verifying the plaintiffs and defendants, calculating the revenue stamps and service fees, checking jurisdiction, and assigning case numbers.

Ju Yong-hae was a rookie who handled that work more meticulously and neatly than anyone else.

Then one day. Exactly 6:00 PM.

“Should I slowly prepare to leave…”

Ju Yong-hae was organizing his writing utensils and ink pad, preparing to finish the day’s work. Just then, a young woman rushed breathlessly into the filing desk.

Normally, documents arriving at this hour would be filed the next morning. Even if they were accepted, it was of little significance since the time to forward the documents to the judicial panel had already passed.

Filing documents was mostly a chore assigned to rookie law firm employees or novice staff at attorneys’ offices. The woman who approached, gasping for breath, was still very green. Had it even been a month since she joined?

“Gasp… Excuse me… Sir, I’m sorry, but could you… could you please file this?”

Ju Yong-hae refused in accordance with the principles.

“No. The deadline has passed. Come tomorrow morning.”

Perhaps the words were too firm. Tears soon welled up in the woman’s eyes.

“I really ran as hard as I could… The hill was also so steep… The attorney told me to submit it today without fail…”

Seeing her weeping and wiping away her tears, Ju Yong-hae’s heart wavered.

“…Mmh.”

Looking at her as she refused to leave until the end, he sighed and said.

“…Give it to me. I’ll do it quickly. But this is the only time. Really.”

The woman, eyes wide like a rabbit’s, lifted her head.

Only then did he see her face clearly. Dazzled for a moment, Ju Yong-hae quickly bowed his head.

Receiving the documents, he checked the plaintiffs and defendants with a pencil while stealing another glance at the woman’s face.

The woman smiled brightly, her face still bearing trace of tears, looking grateful.

“Please give me your clerk ID.”

He caught a glimpse of the name written on the clerk ID she handed over.

‘Kim Mi-yeong…’

“It has been filed. It will be sent to the judicial panel today. I’ll drop it off myself on my way home.”

When Ju Yong-hae went out of his way to deliver the documents to the judicial panel, the woman let out a sigh of relief and repeatedly bowed.

“Thank you so much, Sir.”

The woman bowed again and again, and Ju Yong-hae hesitated for a moment before saying calmly.

“I’m not a ‘Sir’… I am a court clerk, Ju Yong-hae.”

“Court Clerk Ju Yong-hae…”

In that instant, the woman blushed and smiled shyly.

Though that smile only flashed for a brief moment, a corner of Ju Yong-hae’s heart fluttered strangely.

‘Sigh… I shouldn’t have accepted those documents back then. Ju Yong-hae. That was the beginning of your tangled life…’

Recalling that day when he first met Director Kim Mi-yeong, Ju Yong-hae shook his head and set to work on his original task.

His hand movements were faster and more precise than anyone else’s.

Ju Yong-hae quickly verified the serial number of the stamp placed on the desk of the empty filing counter.

Instantly, as if he were a court employee, he stamped the receipt naturally and even issued the filing certificate cleanly.

With his god-like hand movements, it took less than a single minute to finish the job.

Having finished everything, he sat in a chair as if nothing had happened, calmly waiting for the employee to return.

After a moment, the employee in charge walked in.

“Oh, Senior? What brings you here?”

“Ah, I just… stopped by after coming to meet someone I know.”

“Ah, I see.”

The employee smiled and looked at the desk, but soon tilted his head and stared back at Ju Yong-hae.

Ju Yong-hae said with a sly smile.

“Hey, sorry. Just let it slide this once. It’s because it was urgent. I checked everything cleanly, so you just need to enter it. Alright?”

The employee shook his head as if put on the spot.

“Geez, Senior, it’s trouble if you keep doing this…”

Then, Ju Yong-hae threw his arm around the employee’s shoulder and chuckled.

“I’m sorry~ I’m getting old and keep forgetting things. Just this once, okay? Hahaha.”

Just like that, Ju Yong-hae quickly slipped Office Manager Yeom’s application between the other documents, gave a light greeting, and walked out of the court with a relaxed demeanor.

‘What should I eat for dinner tonight? A glass of soju and pork belly with Office Manager Yeom?’

Singing to himself on his way home from work, Ju Yong-hae’s day was ending like that.

***

Meanwhile, Cha Ra-ri was standing in front of Law Firm Gankyeok on her way home.

Still holding a Vita 600 in her hand.

A task where she just had to approach people looking up at the building and swearing, and hand them a business card.

Doing the rough math, with this month’s salary, leasing a Ferrari next month would be possible.

“Why did I only do promotional work that didn’t make money until now? When there’s such a sweet job like this.”

Her heart was pounding. Just when she was feeling highly excited, imagining herself driving an F8.

Yet another man spewed curses while looking at the Gankyeok building.

“Dirty scumbags. Yeah, sue like that and live rich forever.”

Quickly approaching, Cha Ra-ri handed the man a Vita 600 and started talking to him.

And just as she was about to slip out a business card.

“Hey, lady. Come over here for a second.”

A man who seemed to have come out of Law Firm Gankyeok called Cha Ra-ri.

“Me? Why me?”

“You can’t do this in front of the company.”

“What is ‘this’?”

While Cha Ra-ri played innocent, the man snatched the business card from her hand.

“Teum Law Office? Where on earth is this? Anyway, this is private property, so if you want to pass these out, go do it in front of the court.”

“Private property? This is company land? This is just a street?”

“Seriously, it really is Law Firm Gankyeok’s land. They built the building and left it open for people to pass through as a public donation.”

“Pub… donation… Pub-donation?”

She didn’t understand what he meant, but since he seemed to be a Gankyeok employee, she retreated for now. Cha Ra-ri took a step back at the man’s momentum.

“Well, alright.”

Cha Ra-ri shrugged once, stuffed the card case into her bag, and wrapped up today’s outside field activity.

Meanwhile,

Attorney Park Kwon-do looked down at the business card he had snatched from Cha Ra-ri for a moment, slipped it into his inner pocket, and muttered.

“That’s done.”

Leaving the monologue as if satisfied, he walked back inside the Gankyeok building.