Chapter 28 – If I Bring the Evidence, 20% of That

‘KBC?’

Because it was not the writer of the program he originally appeared on, Geum Nae-yeong tilted his head as if surprised and replied.

“Yes, I see.”

“Do you happen to know our program?”

“No, I do not know it at all.”

“Ah… I see. We are a quiz show that the entire nation participates in. Lately, it is a program that gets pretty good viewership ratings on the educational side.

It’s nothing else, but I contacted you to make a casting inquiry. I watched the morning broadcast well. I think you would fit very well with our concept, Attorney. If you appear on our program, it will also be a great help in promoting your office.”

Geum Nae-yeong thought for a moment.

‘If it’s a quiz, I’ll be first place anyway. But if I win too easily, it won’t help the broadcasters. Because they will all want a dramatic broadcast. But… promoting the office is always welcome.’

“Yes, I will do it.”

“Really? Thank you! Then let’s meet once in advance to talk and adjust the interview schedule.”

“The date? Just a moment.”

Geum Nae-yeong took out his cell phone and checked his schedule.

“The 28th, good. Let’s meet then.”

Thus, Geum Nae-yeong was cast in the new broadcasting program with lightning speed.

***

In the late afternoon, Seong Seok-ju, who was still suffering from heavy work as an associate attorney, came in carrying case materials. His complexion was dull, perhaps because he had a lot of work.

He set down the stack of case materials on Geum Nae-yeong’s desk with a thud.

“Here. I wrote all the necessary preparatory briefs, and the written answers are also complete. This one is an application case, so Office Director Ju Yong-hae said he would write it.”

As Seong Seok-ju piled the materials on the desk, Geum Nae-yeong reviewed the order of the documents and checked the calendar.

“Hmm, there is one month left on the associate contract.”

“Yes… well, that is true.”

“I have already mentioned the bonus separately to Manager Kim Mi-young.”

“Yes? A bonus? What bonus?”

“There must be compensation for the work done. I have set aside the success fees for the cases you handled as your share, Attorney Seong.”

“…Ah? Yes?”

Seong Seok-ju was flustered by the unexpected words.

He thought Geum Nae-yeong was a cold and strange person, but unexpectedly, he had a fair side.

For a moment, the thought that ‘he is not a bad guy’ crossed his mind.

“Well… thank you.”

“It is only natural. I cannot take money for work I did not do.”

Since the topic had come up, Attorney Seong Seok-ju decided to ask what he had been curious about.

“Hmm… by the way, Attorney Geum, can I ask you one thing?”

“Yes, please speak.”

“It is good that we get promotion by going on broadcasts… but we take on all sorts of miscellaneous cases. Is there a need for you to work so hard?

Besides, I heard you used to work at Law Firm Nine before, and the salary there must have been decent.”

Without taking his eyes off the monitor, Geum Nae-yeong replied.

“My father fell victim to a coin scam. He invested his lease deposit and even took out a loan, and our house went bankrupt.

Because the law firm’s annual salary was not enough… I thought earning it directly would be faster.”

“…Ah.”

Seong Seok-ju nodded.

‘Ah… that’s why… because his family was in trouble. So he didn’t even buy food and ate lunchboxes at the firm… How should I say… although he is peculiar, he is a guy with a pitiful side…’

“I hope it gets resolved well.”

At Attorney Seong Seok-ju’s sincere comfort, Geum Nae-yeong lifted his head from the monitor for a moment and replied shortly.

“I resolved it well.”

“Yes?”

“I recovered all the invested funds, and the house also moved.”

“Ah… I… I see.”

‘Well, since he worked to death for several months… he must be finally earning properly from now on. That’s why he actively went on broadcasts like that…’

Seong Seok-ju wore a small smile.

“That’s a relief. Let’s keep working hard and become rich lawyers. Both of us.”

Geum Nae-yeong grinned, wearing that characteristic smile.

Then he flipped over a sheet of paper on the desk and slid it in front of Attorney Seong Seok-ju.

“What is this?”

Seong Seok-ju picked up the paper he handed over with a smile and read it.

[Subject: Consent Form for Extension of Associate Attorney Contract]

Reading the title, Seong Seok-ju immediately slammed the paper he was holding onto the floor.

“Damn it… I really can’t grow fond of this guy.”

The pity and sense of camaraderie toward Geum Nae-yeong, which had been about to sprout just a moment ago, shattered into pieces in an instant, and Attorney Seong Seok-ju left Geum Nae-yeong’s office huffing.

And a moment later.

Knock, knock.

“Attorney?”

“Yes, Cha Ra-ri.”

Cha Ra-ri entered the office holding the mail that arrived today.

“Please check the mail. A notice of change in the trial date has arrived.”

“Ah, a notice of change. We need to adjust the schedule.”

While Geum Nae-yeong, who received the documents, checked the calendar, Cha Ra-ri slyly brought up the subject.

“By the way, Attorney, regarding the consultation yesterday.”

“Yes, which case are you referring to? There were many.”

“Mr. Kang Pyeong-gu, who was curious about love. You said the lawsuit was ambiguous.”

“Ah, yes. I remember. I said both a divorce lawsuit and a marriage annulment lawsuit are possible.”

“Right. But if there is evidence, it’s marriage annulment, and if not, it goes to divorce, right?”

“Precisely.”

Cha Ra-ri made a proposal.

“Then what if I secure the evidence…?”

“If you secure evidence that the woman married for money without any intention of marriage, we win completely. If successful, the success fee is 10 million won.”

“…If I bring the evidence, 20% of that. How about that for me?”

“Okay. Sounds good.”

Geum Nae-yeong immediately accepted it readily.

However, for some reason, Cha Ra-ri did not go out to collect evidence right away.

She spent her working hours as usual, organizing mail and rummaging through documents.

And exactly at quitting time.

“I’m leaving first~”

Cha Ra-ri left the firm humming a song.

It was a Friday, about a week after she had started gathering evidence.

Cha Ra-ri ran into Geum Nae-yeong’s office, flinging the door open in high spirits.

“You did not knock.”

“Attorney! That is not what’s important, look at this!”

On the paper she proudly held out, the following content was written in handwriting.

───────────────

Written Statement

Hello. I am Yang Do-hee, the madam of a room salon.

I run a room salon named ‘Golden’ at the Bangmae-dong Intersection.

I remember the meeting between Mr. Kang Pyeong-gu and Woo Na-hee well. Because the two met at our shop.

Na-hee was the ace girl at our shop and was popular among men because of her pretty face, and personally, she also had a boyfriend she lived with for a long time.

But one day, Na-hee came in excited and said, “Madam Unni, I hit the jackpot.”

I wondered what she was talking about and listened, and she said, “You know that Pyeong-gu Oppa who came as a customer before, that building owner. I worked him, and he says let’s get married!” while showing a flashy ring and a new Chanel bag.

So I thought Kang Pyeong-gu was really caught by Na-hee. Moreover, seeing a Ferrari that Kang Pyeong-gu bought parked in front of our shop, I thought this girl was catching a decent man again, so I said, “Hey, what are you going to do? What about Su-bong?” (Su-bong is the boyfriend Na-hee lived with for two years).

But Na-hee smiled and said, “I’ll just live with him a bit and get a divorce, Unni. I can’t live without Su-bong,” which really dumbfounded me…

───────────────

“Oh. You got it.”

Geum Nae-yeong read the statement and nodded.

“With this, we can end it at the mediation date next week. How did you get it?”

A week ago.

The day Cha Ra-ri decided to find the evidence. She left work near the room salon where Woo Na-hee had worked.

As it happened, the madam of the room salon was arriving at work with a disheveled face. The madam parked and entered a nearby hair salon to start getting her hair styled.

Cha Ra-ri smiled and followed the madam into the hair salon.

She sat in the seat next to the madam nonchalantly, got her hair done together, and shared small talk about the weather and nails.

The next evening, Cha Ra-ri watched the madam arrive at work, and bought a three-time nail care package at the nail shop the madam frequented.

And the next day. She met the madam again, who was eating raw fish cold noodles for dinner at a noodle restaurant in Nonheon-dong that the madam liked.

The madam spoke to her informally.

“My, how do we meet everywhere we go? Now it feels like we are completely friends.”

“Oh my, indeed? But you are also eating raw fish cold noodles, Unni? We are completely the same.”

Cha Ra-ri smiled.

‘To get close to a stranger, meeting frequently is the best.’

Cha Ra-ri loved meeting people very much.

So she knew very well how to build intimacy with people and win their favor.

The mere-exposure effect.

Defined in social psychology, it means that simply meeting frequently increases favorability or attractiveness. It’s the principle that even the ugly Eiffel Tower grows on you if you keep looking at it.

It did not take long for Cha Ra-ri and Madam Yang Do-hee to become inseparable sworn sisters.

And it was the seventh day since they had become close.

While the madam drank two bottles of soju and cursed Woo Na-hee for running away, Cha Ra-ri did not miss the golden opportunity. It seemed Woo Na-hee had run away without even paying back the money she borrowed from the shop.

She was able to obtain a very detailed statement from the madam about the fact that Woo Na-hee married Kang Pyeong-gu for money.

***

KBC building lobby.

The day of the quiz show pre-meeting.

Geum Nae-yeong arrived at the KBC lobby and was waiting for the writer in charge of the quiz program.

“Excuse me… are you by any chance Attorney Geum Nae-yeong?”

When someone called from behind, Geum Nae-yeong turned around.

“Oh my goodness…”

The writer momentarily gasped. The face of Geum Nae-yeong, who turned around, was too handsome.

Although a bit sharper than when seen in short clips, he was much more handsome than on screen.

‘Wow… it’s just that the screen didn’t do him justice? This is really amazing. Once he gets TV makeup, his image will completely explode.’

The writer quickly smiled and spoke.

“First, let’s go to our meeting room.”

Inside the meeting room.

The writer, PD, and several participants were already taking their seats.

Rustle, rustle.

The sound of turning paper, small coughs, and pulling chairs mixed together.

Perhaps due to the unfamiliar tension, the meeting room was filled with awkward noise.

“Now, first, here is the cue sheet for the day. You can look at it as a draft. As you know, the main character of that day is the idol Seo Yoon-woo.

And in case you become the final survivor, please write down the contact information of an acquaintance you would use a phone chance on here. And—”

The writer pulled out a thick envelope and handed one page to each participant.

“This is a predicted question book. It’s not a method where 100 people get eliminated all at once, but rather it’s set up like a question bank. You can study it in your spare time.”

The writer handed the documents and predicted questions to Geum Nae-yeong as well. It was a pretty thick booklet.

“Attorney Geum Nae-yeong, almost all questions will be set from here, so you don’t have to worry.”

At those words, Geum Nae-yeong did not even blink, and wearing his characteristic expressionless face, he slightly pushed the materials away from him.

“I do not need this. There is no common knowledge that I do not know.”

For a moment, the meeting room fell into a stir.

The other participants let out a gasp of admiration, saying “Oh~~!”

Seeing that, the PD felt expectation and excitement at the same time.

‘If it goes well, it’ll be a huge hit… Surely, an unexpected situation like the morning broadcast won’t break out again, right…?’