Chapter 24 – The Answer the Broadcasters Want

Haah…

“A… Attorney, l… look at this!”

Office Director Ju Yong-hae was in such a hurry that he flung the door open without even catching his breath, which had risen to his chin. Flinging the door open and walking in without knocking was the behavior Geum Nae-yeong disliked the most.

“You did not knock.”

Geum Nae-yeong’s voice popped out like a machine. However, it did not register in Ju Yong-hae’s ears.

“S… something terrible has happened. Look at this!”

Ju Yong-hae held out the paper he had been gripping tightly in his hand.

Geum Nae-yeong unfolded it with a calm expression and read it down.

[Korean Bar Association Disciplinary Committee]

To: Attorney Geum Nae-yeong (Teum Law Office)

Subject: Notice of Disciplinary Committee Meeting

A disciplinary committee will be held regarding the violation of the duty to maintain dignity as a lawyer and the violation of the advertising regulations under Article 23 of the Attorney-at-Law Act. We hereby inform the prospective subject of discipline of the date to present their explanation.

For inquiries regarding relevant matters, contact (02-5521-21…)

“What should we do…”

Ju Yong-hae’s voice trembled. Attached to the document he handed over was none other than a photograph of Cha Ra-ri’s business card.

“Hmm, I see. Are there no trials scheduled on this date?”

Unlike Ju Yong-hae, who was flustered and alarmed, Geum Nae-yeong’s expression was calm.

“Yes. I will check it. But if the discipline turns out to be suspension… it will be a big problem.”

Despite Ju Yong-hae’s words, Geum Nae-yeong filed the document away and calmly started working again.

“I will handle it, so do not worry, Office Director Ju.”

At that calm attitude, Ju Yong-hae had no choice but to leave the office with a heart full of uneasiness.

***

Lunchtime.

“Ha… I have no appetite at all.”

Ju Yong-hae put down his chopsticks. Manager Kim Mi-young’s side dishes were delicious today as well, but even the appetite he had had vanished upon seeing the disciplinary committee notice.

“What is the point of having a high salary… If we get hit with even a three-month suspension, it is over… If we go bankrupt on top of that…”

Just then, knock knock. The door to the consultation room opened and Geum Nae-yeong peeked his head out.

“Do you have any spare chopsticks?”

Today as well, it seemed Geum Nae-yeong had left his chopsticks behind. As if he was used to it by now, Geum Nae-yeong received the chopsticks, sat on one side of the table, unfolded his lunchbox, and calmly began to eat alone.

Today, Cha Ra-ri’s face was also quite depressed. She had received the contents of the notice from the KBA from Ju Yong-hae.

“I am sorry. If you get disciplined, I will take responsibility and bring in three times more cases after the discipline is over…”

“Lari-ssi… if he gets disciplined, our office might go completely bankrupt even before that period ends… We will have to tell our clients that we cannot handle their cases and return all the retainer fees…”

Cha Ra-ri dropped the meat skewer she was picking up with a thud.

“…Is that so? I do not have an appetite either…”

Geum Nae-yeong, who was eating the stir-fried spicy pork from his lunchbox with gusto, spoke nonchalantly.

“I will handle it, so do not worry, both of you.”

“Just how…”

“There is a way.”

Although the two still had heavy hearts, because Geum Nae-yeong’s expression was so peaceful, they set aside their anxiety for a moment and began to pick at their food quietly again.

After finishing his meal, Geum Nae-yeong threw out a question as if he had thought of something.

“But other than that, I have a bit of a concern.”

“Yes? An attorney who does not even worry about the disciplinary committee has a concern?”

“I am talking about the writer of Case Chief…”

Right after the last live broadcast.

Writer Na Myeong-seong of Case Chief visited Geum Nae-yeong separately in the dressing room. Although they had captured the hot topic thanks to Geum Nae-yeong’s performance, his unexpected actions weighed heavily on their mind.

“Attorney! Thank you for your hard work today. Today was a real hit. You know your name is currently on the portal’s popular search terms list, right?”

“Ah, I see.”

“It is very difficult for a current affairs program to rank first in real-time searches…”

“Thanks to you, Attorney, we get to hit first place in real-time searches for once. Hahaha. But… uh… I would like to ask you for just one favor.”

“Yes. Please speak.”

“Since you are brilliant, Attorney… when people say incorrect things, you probably want to correct them, right?”

“Yes, of course. Delivering accurate information is the most important purpose of broadcasting.”

“Yes, yes, that is right. But… this industry extremely dislikes unexpected situations. Things have to flow according to the set script so that we do not get into trouble.”

Na Myeong-seong sent a signal of ‘You understand, right?’ with a wink, but Geum Nae-yeong did not even blink an eye.

“What does getting into trouble mean? Who gets into trouble? Is it you, Writer? Or is it me?”

Despite the unexpected counter-question, Na Myeong-seong smiled friendly and added.

“Ah, it just means that what is good is good. Information delivery is important, but we need to match each other perfectly…”

“By the way, Attorney. You have heard the phrase ‘broadcaster bastards,’ right? Haha, our work is a bit like that. I am saying what is good is good.”

However, Geum Nae-yeong fell further into a labyrinth at Na Myeong-seong’s words, which had no precise target of reference.

“How can it be good when there is nothing good? And expressions that disparage a specific occupation are incorrect. It is inappropriate to use such words for broadcasting station employees.”

“Ah, it is not that…”

Na Myeong-seong ended up getting tongue-tied, and unable to speak any further, they left the waiting room with an awkward laugh.

Geum Nae-yeong shrugged after finishing his explanation.

“This was the context. So I do not know what on earth the writer wants from me.

‘What is good is good’ is a figurative expression, but even when applying it to the situation, I do not really know what they want.”

Suddenly, Cha Ra-ri, who had been holding her chopsticks in her mouth, began to explain.

“Attorney. It probably meant something like this. The broadcasting station is a place that cares immensely about money, so rather than accurate information delivery, they also do some exaggeration for fun.

It means responding in tune with the atmosphere is more important than an accurate answer.”

“Ah, responding in tune with the atmosphere?”

“Yes. I have also been fooled by home shopping and bought things many times. From the seller’s perspective, that level of exaggeration is just a sales tactic. It also means consumers have to take that into account.

That is why people call broadcasting station staff ‘broadcaster bastards’ because they fool people well.”

As if he understood a little, Geum Nae-yeong nodded.

“I understand. Although there are no sales tactics in my skills, that industry is different. In the end, I just need to give the answer they want in tune with the atmosphere, right? I understood.”

***

The day of the second live broadcast dawned.

Geum Nae-yeong had captured the viewers in the last live broadcast by uncovering a car insurance fraud case. The broadcasting station cheered at the performance of the rookie attorney who possessed both a handsome face and a brilliant brain, and requests to ‘make him a regular cast member’ flooded the comment sections and bulletin boards.

In the end, Geum Nae-yeong confirmed a semi-regular appearance on the ‘Case Chief’ program.

“3, 2, 1, cue!”

“I am Announcer Ban Yu-il of [Case Chief], visiting you every Wednesday morning. With the pleasant weather today after a long time, our viewers must have started a pleasant morning as well…”

The broadcast flowed peacefully according to the cue sheet.

It was Attorney Ham Yu-yeol’s turn to analyze car accidents.

Everyone in the studio was on high alert, wondering if Geum Nae-yeong would butt in.

“This accident is 2:8, with the black box vehicle at 2. Because…”

Ham Yu-yeol continued his explanation, and fortunately, Geum Nae-yeong scanned the script with his eyes and waited for his turn with a peaceful face. Seeing that, Na Myeong-seong breathed a sigh of relief internally.

‘Phew… thank goodness. I thought he did not understand last time, but it seems he has got a bit of a feel for it.’

Finally, the ‘Legal Knowledge in TV’ corner starring Geum Nae-yeong.

“We have with us Attorney Geum Nae-yeong, the face genius whose viewer response was explosive last week!”

The camera shone on him, and Geum Nae-yeong, wearing his characteristic smile, greeted exactly as written in the script.

“Hello, I am Attorney Geum Nae-yeong.”

A phone connection with a client had been made in advance, and the questions and answers were also already prepared in the script. The announcer delivered the lines smoothly.

“The first phone connection has been made. Hello, viewer!”

“Yes, hello. I am 26-year-old Park Gyu-seong living in Mokcheok-dong.”

“Ah, nice to meet you, Mr. Park Gyu-seong. You said you are worried about a monthly rent contract problem, right? Would you like to consult about your concern with Attorney Geum Nae-yeong?”

“Yes.”

“Yes. Please speak.”

“I made a monthly rent contract through a real estate agency a year ago…”

Just when Geum Nae-yeong took over the call and everyone was focusing.

Park Gyu-seong on the other end of the phone remained silent for a moment and then suddenly threw a question.

“…But excuse me. Can I ask you something?”

A question not in the script. In an instant, the air in the studio froze with tension.

“Geum Nae-yeong is a crazy bastard.”

The faces of the PD and the writer turned to astonishment at the sudden outburst of profanity.

Park Gyu-seong continued to speak nonchalantly.

“…If I post a malicious comment like that, how much do I have to pay? I watched the broadcast last week, and because Attorney Geum Nae-yeong was too handsome, an attorney is too handsome and even appears on TV…

I thought that he might be someone who wants to get a bit of attention. So I wanted to write a malicious comment, and I was curious about what happens if you write a malicious comment to a lawyer.”

The studio fell into panic. The PD waved his hands and sent a hand signal to cut to a commercial.

‘Hmm… not a difficult question, and the precedents are simple. I just need to give the answer the broadcasters want.’

Geum Nae-yeong opened his mouth with an expressionless face.

“According to precedents, ‘Geum Nae-yeong is a crazy bastard’ results in a judgment of about 100,000 won in damages.”

When they could not cut the broadcast at that moment because of Geum Nae-yeong’s answer, the PD broke out in a cold sweat. Park Gyu-seong did not stop there.

“Then is criminal punishment separate?”

As if he had been waiting, Geum Nae-yeong continued to answer smoothly.

“If you write such profanity in a space seen by many, you will be criminally punished for insult. It is usually a fine, and if the victim files a civil lawsuit, you have to pay damages separately.”

“Then if I swear a bit and get hit with a civil lawsuit, I just have to pay 100,000 won? It is a sweet deal to pay 100,000 won and swear to my heart’s content, provided I am not afraid of criminal punishment.”

Geum Nae-yeong was not shaken even by the provocation of the viewer Park Gyu-seong.

“It depends on the case. Looking at precedents, ‘Geum Nae-yeong is a piece of trash, beggar bastard’ is recognized at about 400,000 won, ‘ignorant guy, nutjob Geum Nae-yeong’ is 500,000 won, and ‘Geum Nae-yeong is a fucking bastard’ is about 1,000,000 won.”

As unexpected curses flew on the morning broadcast, the studio was enveloped in silence. Even the PD froze in place.

However, Geum Nae-yeong was calm until the end.

“However, since insult is a crime subject to victim complaint, you can only file a complaint within six months from the day you learn of the culprit. Considering the cost of hiring a lawyer, there is practically little to gain.

But since I am a lawyer, I can file a complaint myself, and I do not forget the statute of limitations. So if you want to swear, you can base it on the amounts I mentioned and do it according to your own financial situation.

Also, the method to swear while avoiding punishment is…”

He looked at the camera and continued speaking with earnest eyes.

The announcer hurriedly cut Geum Nae-yeong off.

“Ahahaha. Yes, yes. Malicious comments are bad. Since he said that even criminal punishment is possible, we ask our viewers to only leave kind comments, positive comments. Hahahaha.”

“Hahahaha…”

The panelists laughed together as if they had let go of everything.

Unlike the atmosphere on site, the internet exploded.

– Wow, Attorney Geum Nae-yeong is so strong-willed… He tells us the price list for swearing at him.

– Isn’t this a broadcasting accident? But it is so freaking funny lol

– He is extremely handsome, smart, and his coping ability is amazing. He is charming.

– Is this guy the face genius from last time? Look at him spitting out curses so satisfyingly with an expressionless face lol

Thus, the second broadcast ended in an ‘accident that was not an accident,’ and on YouTube, the broadcast clip of Geum Nae-yeong, which was muted with beep-beep-beep sounds, was shared, recording high views.

And to Geum Nae-yeong who returned to the office, more calls and requests began to pour in than last time.