Chapter 27 – This Guy Is Different, His Eyes Have Spirit

The mother and son’s secretary asked the employee at the entrance.

“Is Attorney Geum Nae-yeong here?”

“Ah, yes. This is the notary office, and to meet the attorney, you must go to the third floor.”

“No, just a few months ago, we received guidance right here?”

“That was a few months ago. He moved to the third floor now.”

The eyes of the secretary and the madam met for a moment. Both looked surprised.

Teum Law Office was a dusty and old place, but the appearance they found upon visiting again after a few months was different. The exterior was the same, but the interior had completely changed.

It seemed the staff had also increased, and above all, the guidance to ‘go up to the third floor’ was unfamiliar. This was because in the madam’s memory, the Teum office was a narrow and shabby space.

When they went up to the third floor, a completely different landscape unfolded.

A sophisticated office reminiscent of a mid-sized law firm, spaces divided by glass partitions, sparkling lights, and interior design of the latest trends filled the office.

“Hmm… it has acquired a bit of form in the meantime.”

The madam nodded, wearing a satisfied smile. The secretary quickly asked the third-floor information staff.

“Is Attorney Geum Nae-yeong here?”

“Yes. Did you make a reservation?”

“No, we just came.”

The madam, apparently displeased with the information staff’s reply to the secretary, tapped the desk with her hand.

“Look here, what reservation? When we came before, we just walked in.”

“Currently, it is difficult to see him right away without a reservation.”

“No, just how great is that attorney! Is this place Kim & Chang?”

The madam’s voice rose.

“We even had a consultation before, and if we came all the way here, shouldn’t you naturally just let us in quickly? He is acting busy for no reason just to raise his value.”

Just then, click-clack.

From afar, a flashy and tall woman approached. Her model-like appearance and confident stride stood out.

She came close and pointed to one side of the wall.

“Now. Please read that.”

A sheet of paper was attached to that wall, and on it, a single word was written in a thick Gungsuh font.

[Silence]

“Our attorney extremely dislikes noise, client. I know you are busy, but please wait.”

Cha Ra-ri’s eyes met the man who was standing awkwardly behind the madam. Cha Ra-ri, who had a good eye, recognized him immediately.

“Oh my? The person who was really curious about love? Right? Back then at the Ferrari store, the one who sat on my bag.”

The people who came for a consultation were Kang Pyeong-gu, the son of a Gangnam building owner whom Cha Ra-ri had met at the Ferrari store, and his mother.

When Cha Ra-ri recognized him, Kang Pyeong-gu pulled his baseball cap down deeply, as if feeling embarrassed.

He seemed afraid that someone would notice his appearance.

“Well, yes. Since you recognized him, that’s fine. Then you must know well who we are? Across Gangnam-daero, every other building is ours.”

At those words, Ju Yong-hae slightly raised his head from beyond the partition.

“Ah, you are those people from back then!”

Ju Yong-hae got up from his seat and approached, wearing a good-natured smile.

“I remember. The building owner from across the Gangnam language school back then!”

At Ju Yong-hae’s words, the madam tilted her chin upward.

“Right, now we are finally speaking the same language. Well, then we can consult right away, right?”

The madam asked triumphantly, but Ju Yong-hae and Cha Ra-ri replied at the same time.

“Nope! You cannot.”

“What?”

The space between the madam’s eyebrows wrinkled tightly.

“Our attorney values the order very much. So we cannot insert a client consultation at our own discretion. It is the same even if the president’s father or grandfather comes.”

At Ju Yong-hae’s firm words, the madam let out a snort, rolling her eyes as if dumbfounded.

Ju Yong-hae politely yet warmly smiled and guided them to the consultation room.

“If you wait just a little, I will guide you in order. First, please wait in the consultation room. It is a newly and cleanly decorated place, so you will be comfortable.”

The madam huffed, but the expression of her son who followed behind was still very dark. The madam checked her son’s expression once and then walked ahead into the consultation room with thumping steps.

Two hours later.

“Gosh! Seriously! …I guess we should have just gone to a big place! Still, you wanted to come, but what is this treatment!

Even the attorneys of law firms whose names everyone knows hold their tongues and come to our firm if I tell them to! Son, let’s just go!”

Annoyance was fully written on her face.

It was then.

Knock, knock.

“Please enter the office.”

Just as she was about to explode and leave, their turn for consultation finally arrived, and they were guided into Geum Nae-yeong’s office.

“Hello, Mr. Kang Pyeong-gu.”

Kang Pyeong-gu, who sat in front of Geum Nae-yeong, was bowing his head deeply with a dark expression as if something was wrong at a glance, and his mother began to babble, spitting as she was unable to hide her excitement.

“So! This naive fellow. Even though I told him until my lips wore out that that bitch is a con artist, he listened to this mother’s words through his nose and naively got all his money ripped off!”

“Who did he get all his money ripped off by?”

At Geum Nae-yeong’s calm question, Kang Pyeong-gu opened his mouth cautiously.

“It wasn’t ripped off… it’s true I gave Na-hee money. But one day, she suddenly disappeared, so I can’t contact her. I don’t know why she is doing this…”

“Disappeared?” Geum Nae-yeong tilted his head.

The madam flared up, tapping her hand as she spoke.

“No. This foolish guy, because that girl said she wanted to ride in a nice car, he bought her a Parady, no, Parrari. That.

Then after they got married, our Pyeong-gu bought her luxury bags, handed over bundles of cash whenever she said she needed it, and bought her a house, so she took this and that. But now she cut off contact, and how are we supposed to know where she is?”

The madam winked at the secretary. The secretary pulled a piece of paper out of a document envelope and held it out.

──────────────

Divorce Complaint

Plaintiff: Woo Na-hee

Defendant: Kang Pyeong-gu

– Claim –

1. The plaintiff and the defendant are divorced.

2. The defendant shall pay the plaintiff 500,000,000 won in consolation money, and 10,000,000,000 won in division of property, and regarding this…

──────────────

“It is a divorce complaint.”

“They have been married for only five months. …But that bitch didn’t even show her face and sent a divorce complaint. I am so dumbfounded.”

She continued to puff.

“And she demanded such a huge amount of property division!”

Knock, knock.

Cha Ra-ri opened the consultation room door, entered, and set down simple drinks.

The madam gulped down the drink, as if fire was rising from inside her.

“Hmm…”

Geum Nae-yeong scanned the complaint familiarly. He quickly verified even the evidence materials, and began to write down a few lines in the consultation log.

“Then did you not write the marital property agreement I mentioned back then?”

“What writing! Our naive son was completely taken in by that fox and filed the marriage registration first.

But how much do we have to pay for this? That bitch came into our family and didn’t even lift a finger, yet she wants 10 billion won! It is so ridiculous.”

Geum Nae-yeong read down calmly.

“There is ‘the mother-in-law’s continuous verbal abuse’ in the grounds for divorce.”

“No, can’t a mother-in-law nag a slow daughter-in-law a bit? Divorce over that?”

The madam raised her voice.

“Continuous verbal abuse falls under the grounds for a divorce claim. Looking at the evidence materials… ‘Did you learn that in a bar? The state of the house is just as dirty as you.’ There is such a record as well.”

As Geum Nae-yeong read the materials point by point, the madam’s eyes shook for a moment.

“Well… because that bitch was wagging her tail to swallow our son, I was a bit like that. Even so, 10 billion won?”

“10 billion won will not be recognized. For now, they just wrote a large amount.”

Geum Nae-yeong tilted his head and turned the pages of the materials again.

“Hmm… other than divorce, an annulment of marriage lawsuit seems possible, but the evidence is insufficient. It is ambiguous.”

“Annulment? What is that?”

The madam snapped roughly in informal language, as if addressing a subordinate. It was familiar to her, who was insolent to everyone.

Geum Nae-yeong nodded at her short words.

‘There are many impolite people in the world. Pointing out all of their informal speech and curses is extremely inefficient in a busy world.’

So Geum Nae-yeong had set a single rule lately that changed the opponent the fastest.

‘Match the level of the opponent’s dialogue. Informal speech vs informal speech.’

“Yeah. Divorce dissolves the marriage relation in the future, while annulment is a lawsuit to dissolve a legal marriage due to reasons that occurred before the marriage.”

When Geum Nae-yeong replied without even blinking an eye, the madam was momentarily flustered.

“What?? What did you say? Why are you speaking informally…”

“The way I see it, the other party married for money without any intention of marriage.”

“I… Is that so? Then what do we have to do… sir?”

“Well, since there is no evidence, it’s not certain. I’m going to think about it more for now.”

As Geum Nae-yeong spoke informally in a back-and-forth manner, the madam’s pupils shook wildly.

“Well… an annulment would be good… then. Even when getting remarried later, it wouldn’t be the same as a simple divorce… would it?”

Geum Nae-yeong added.

“First, retainer fee of 100,000 won. No success fee for now.”

“Huh? What? Why is the price so cheap? Are you just going to do a half-assed job because it’s cheap?”

“Yeah, no.”

“Th… then. Why don’t you ask for a success fee… sir? Other places charge it differently… though.”

“Although using the expression ‘winning’ in a divorce lawsuit is not quite right, Kang Pyeong-gu will win this lawsuit. Because I am the attorney in charge.”

“Oh…”

“However, a trial’s result can change slightly depending on the judge’s inclination or tendency. If the ruling says to pay the other party 10 million won in consolation money, I will not receive my success fee.

But if we end it with a mediation without giving the other party a single cent, my success fee is 10 million won.”

The madam blinked, looking dazed, and thought as she tilted her head.

‘Looking at what he does, he seems like a really strange fellow…

I have personally handled hundreds of building contracts worth tens of billions, and I’ve dealt with countless people who took money and said “sue me,” but this guy is different. There is spirit in his eyes.’

“Okay. Secretary Jeong, write the contract.”

“Yes, understood.”

Thus, Geum Nae-yeong came to accept another case.

***

The next day.

As 11:30 AM approached, the office staff gathered one by one, whispering and showing excitement.

“The representative attorney gave us a card to eat a delicious lunch, saying we worked hard for the move.”

“Oh, really?”

Assistant Manager Kim held up the card he received from Representative Seong Seok-yeon and waved it around.

“Wow, then are we finally having something like a company dinner?”

Cha Ra-ri said with a excited face.

“Well, it is a lunch company dinner. They said Attorney Seong Seok-ju and Mr. Seong Tae-gyu are also going together. Let’s go eat the Hanjeongsik lunch special!”

“Sounds good.”

“My, we get to fill our stomachs after a long time. They say delicious food should be shared, so it’s okay if I bring our Ha-yul along too, right?”

As Manager Kim Mi-young spoke while slightly checking the staff’s reactions, Office Director Yeom laughed heartily and chimed in.

“Of course, of course, how much could a child eat anyway? It must be a rare thing for two divorced parents to eat out amicably after a long time. Won’t the child like it too? Hahaha.”

“Oh, come on, Office Director Yeom, making useless jokes…”

Office Director Ju Yong-hae immediately glared.

Clack.

The office door opened, and Geum Nae-yeong came out holding his tumbler to get water.

“Attorney Geum, we are going for a company dinner! We decided to go eat the Hanjeongsik lunch special with the entire office staff for lunch, and Attorney Seong is coming too. Let’s go together.”

Assistant Manager Kim welcomed and invited him, but Geum Nae-yeong cut him off firmly.

“I have my lunchbox.”

“Oh, the side dishes in your lunchbox are always similar. Eat a delicious lunch special for once!”

Manager Kim Mi-young urged, but Geum Nae-yeong was still firm.

“My lunchbox is more delicious.”

With those words, he slipped back into his office.

Office Director Ju muttered.

“Well… we have never shared meals together so far anyway, so let’s just leave the attorney alone.

Still, it’s something that he occasionally comes to the pantry and eats his lunchbox together. Last time he even talked about his concerns to us, so he has developed a lot.”

“Right. By the way, Attorney Geum, aren’t you going to the broadcasting station this week?”

“I heard the PD received a KCC warning because he explained the swearing prices on the last broadcast. So he decided to rest for two weeks and appear after that.

Gosh, those broadcaster bastards… they can’t even tell him not to appear. Since the viewer ratings thanks to Attorney Geum Nae-yeong are no joke.”

“I see… Well, then let’s go eat lunch.”

Thus, the Teum staff went out to eat lunch together with excited faces.

Geum Nae-yeong, who was enjoying his lunchbox alone in the office, had his cell phone vibrate loudly at that moment.

Buzz.

“Hello?”

“Excuse me, is this Attorney Geum Nae-yeong’s cell phone?”

“Yes, I am Geum Nae-yeong.”

“Hello! This is KBC broadcasting station, and I am the writer in charge of the quiz program Brain Survival 1:100.”