Chapter 37 – I Have Waited for This Day

The host was very flustered when Geum Nae-yeong suddenly muttered to himself. And it was the same for the PD.

Jeon Jae-mu spoke up.

“By any chance, Lawyer Geum Nae-yeong, do you have a different opinion? I was startled because you suddenly spoke… You must have been extremely focused. Haha.”

Geum Nae-yeong nodded lightly and opened his mouth.

“I know. Why this case became unsolved.”

“Yes…? What did you just say?”

In an instant, the writer’s face turned black.

“What is he saying…”

The other panelists looked at Geum Nae-yeong, not knowing what was going on.

“There were two cars. Anchoring Bias.”

The host and panelists spoke as they widened their eyes at the same time.

“Pardon?? What?”

Geum Nae-yeong continued calmly.

“A rainy narrow road, nighttime, and a truck. The death of Suspect B. From the beginning, the information that ‘there is only one car’ was given.

That wrong clue created a bias, making everyone think there was only one.”

From behind, the PD whispered urgently through the intercom.

“What is that person saying right now? Two cars all of a sudden?”

Geum Nae-yeong toyed with Noh Si-an’s business card with his fingertips without taking his eyes off.

‘CCTV captured from the front. The starting and ending cut-off sections. I calculated the vehicle width and road ratio based on the standard business card size of 9cm.

However… the ratio of the beginning and the end doesn’t match minutely.’

He spoke out again.

“The headlights of Suspect B’s truck were located right in the center of the road, which is about 5.5 meters wide. It clearly looked that way to my eyes too.”

He added.

“However…”

“However?”

A moment of silence in the studio. Everyone only stared at Geum Nae-yeong’s mouth.

“Looking at the video after the cut-off, one side of the truck’s width appears wider than at first. Although it is not clearly identified because of the headlight glare…”

“The vehicle width?” the host asked back.

“Yes. The wind did not blow that day, but heavy rain poured. The harder it rains, the larger the raindrops splash upward.

The scene in the video is the same. The sight of raindrops hitting something and splashing upward on the right side of the truck is captured.

The pixel color of that section is also slightly different.”

Without taking his eyes off, Geum Nae-yeong drew a conclusion.

“There was another vehicle right behind the truck. Without even its headlights turned on.”

“….??!!”

“It was tailgating behind the truck, then popped out to the right like a sudden lane cut. There is a possibility that the license plate or reflective parts were intentionally masked.

The one that hit the victim… is highly likely to be that car.”

When he finished speaking, the studio became as silent as ice.

And finally, the video analysis expert nodded and picked up the microphone.

“Looking at it again as you said, there is indeed a part that looks different from the original truck width. In the video after it was cut off, it looks like something more is attached to the right side of the vehicle.

Lawyer Geum’s hypothesis seems possible. Although the video is short, if we analyze it frame by frame, we will be able to capture the trajectory of raindrops hitting the vehicle that was hiding and popped out to the side.

Just with those traces, the outline of the vehicle can be inferred. Although it’s hard to pin down the exact car model.”

At the video analysis expert’s words, the host’s eyes sparkled and he immediately replied.

“In that case, if we compare it with the vehicles of other suspects who were under investigation at the time, a clue will surely come out?”

“Ah, that’s right!”

“No, how did he see something like that? Amazing.”

Comedian Park Kyeong-gu clapped his hands and let out an exclamation.

At that moment, the online real-time comment window also began to rise explosively.

└ Wow, complete goosebumps…

└ So goosebumpy? He can see that? A Mongolian?

└ The video cut off in the middle is rather a clue…

└ Criminal bastard, turn yourself in. If they solve that, at least the car size will come out.

└ While Lawyer Geum was thinking about that, what did Noh Si-an do besides squeezing juice!

└ Juice-si-an’s number 010-9011-xxxx lolol

The chat window caught fire in an instant, and it began to be flooded with admiration for Lawyer Geum Nae-yeong, who presented a new clue to a hit-and-run death case that had remained unsolved for ten years.

***

Video Analyst Kim Woo-jin approached and spoke.

“Thank you for your hard work today. Could I contact you if I have any questions while analyzing the video?”

“Yes, you may contact me.”

Geum Nae-yeong replied calmly and handed over his business card.

As the video analysis expert left after exchanging greetings, Noh Si-an approached Geum Nae-yeong.

“Good job, Lawyer Geum. You really are good at broadcasting. No, how did you see that? Haha.

Thanks to you, my business card got on TV too… You really have an outstanding sense of entertainment?”

An underlying sarcasm was mixed in his tone.

Geum Nae-yeong quietly looked at Noh Si-an.

At his attitude of not saying a single word, it was rather Noh Si-an who felt anxious.

‘Why doesn’t this bastard get dragged along the way I want?’

“It must have been difficult with the sudden question, but in many ways, you are so amazing…”

Noh Si-an was in a hurry and ended up losing his pace. But it was already too late to regret.

A calm voice flowed from Geum Nae-yeong.

“A sudden question?”

“Ah… I’m sorry. Actually, the writer asked me to deliver the script earlier… and me giving the revised script to Lawyer Geum… it was my first time on air, so I… Haha. Still, since you finished safely, it turned out well in the end.”

Geum Nae-yeong’s eyes were cold. However, his tone was still calm.

“Mr. Noh Si-an. You tried to use lies and tricks at least seven times during the five hours you met with me.”

‘Mr. Noh Si-an? Is this bastard crazy?’

“…What?”

Geum Nae-yeong slowly lowered his gaze and looked at Noh Si-an.

“It was not a high-level lie. In terms of score, fifteen points.”

“What? Level…? Fifteen…? Ridiculous. A psychopath-like guy—”

Noh Si-an stopped his blurted-out words in an instant.

‘Psychopath.’

It was a word he always heard only from other people’s mouths.

Yet it was the moment he blurted out that word to someone else for the first time.

‘Why… am I like this?’

He hurriedly slipped out of the waiting room, leaving Geum Nae-yeong behind, who maintained a calm face.

In that moment, he realized. Geum Nae-yeong was not the guy he had thought. And that fact strangely dirtied his mood.

***

Geum Nae-yeong, who became famous once again after providing a decisive clue to an unsolved case on the holiday special broadcast.

Monday lunch hour, bracken greens, various pancakes, and skewers… Thanks to the leftover holiday food, today’s office lunch was a full and hearty table.

“Wow, maybe because it’s after the holiday, all the side dishes are great.”

At those words, Director Kim Mi-yeong, who was taking out heated rice from the microwave, glanced at Office Manager Ju Yong-hae and vented her complaints.

“No, looking at the picture, what kind of dumplings did you turn the songpyeon into? You should shape it by hand, where on earth is a fool who makes songpyeon larger than dumplings?”

As always, Office Manager Ju Yong-hae did not talk back and brought up another story.

“Ah. When Lawyer Geum said ‘There are two cars,’ I was eating steamed songpyeon with our Ha-yul at home and dropped it on the floor with a plop.”

“Me too! Seriously… I got goosebumps.”

As Cha Ra-ri chimed in, Ju Ha-yul nodded her head greatly.

“Right, my Stargram is completely hitting the jackpot right now. That uncle Noh Si-an is called Juice-si-an now.

They say he did nothing but squeeze juice from his eyes. Kids were in a fuss making prank calls to that number.

And they keep telling me to upload more photos of the lawyer Geum Nae-yeong oppa. Saying he is handsome but his eyesight is like a Mongolian’s…”

At Ju Ha-yul’s words, Geum Nae-yeong, who was quietly listening while eating his lunchbox in the back, raised his head.

“I am not a Mongolian.”

“…Yes?”

“The Bonghwa Geum clan, a person who served as Samhan Byeoksang Gongsin during the Goryeo Dynasty is my ancestor. Therefore, I am a Korean.”

Because of Geum Nae-yeong who took a joke seriously, an awkward silence flowed for a moment. Cha Ra-ri quickly smiled and added.

“Ah, but it doesn’t mean you’re a real Mongolian. It’s just a metaphorical way of saying you have a good eye.”

“Ah. I see.”

Geum Nae-yeong slowly nodded.

At that moment, Cha Ra-ri suddenly sparkled her eyes and spoke to Geum Nae-yeong.

“By the way… Could I leave work just one hour early today?”

“There is no trial this afternoon, so please do.”

“Ra-ri, where are you going?”

When Director Kim Mi-yeong asked inquisitively, Cha Ra-ri answered with a truly bright smile filling her face.

“A car! A car! I’m going to sign a lease contract.”

“A lease?”

“I… am finally riding a Ferrari.”

“Heol… That’s crazy! A real Ferrari? That incredibly cool sports car?”

Director Kim Mi-yeong scolded Ju Ha-yul.

“Ju Ha-yul! Didn’t Mom tell you not to use such words!”

“Is it for real? Even for a lease, the cost would be enormous. Are you doing it right now?”

As Deputy Kim, who was eating, asked with surprised eyes, Cha Ra-ri replied triumphantly.

“Of course. That day is approaching soon. So I have to sign the contract quickly.”

“That day? What day is that day?”

As Office Manager Ju Yong-hae tilted his head, Cha Ra-ri grinned.

“I’ve waited only for this day. Ever since I was twenty…”

“Ever since? What is that day?”

As Office Manager Ju asked back slightly, Cha Ra-ri looked at him with cool eyes and said.

“Are you curious, Office Manager?”

“Yeah!”

“See. You’re curious, right? Office Manager, don’t beat around the bush from now on either, just ask directly what ‘that day’ is. You never answer what that day is, and it feels like eating a hundred sweet potatoes, so it’s really frustrating.”

“Ah… I got it.”

As Ju Yong-hae smiled awkwardly, Cha Ra-ri grinned and let him know.

“There is a girls’ high school reunion.”

“What does a girls’ high school reunion have to do with a Ferrari?”

Cha Ra-ri continued speaking with a fully proud expression.

“Do you know what my nickname was when I was in school?”

“What was it?”

“…Junk Car Ra-ri.”

“Heol… Who on earth makes a nickname with that?”

As Director Kim Mi-yeong asked in surprise, Cha Ra-ri smiled and answered.

“I graduated from a somewhat famous high school in the countryside, and there was a daughter of a local influential person in our class.

She told me that I wouldn’t even be able to buy a car of a junk car level in my life, let alone a Ferrari.”

“Heol…”

“Since she teased me like that using my name, it was a wound to my young heart… I heard that girl is coming to the reunion this time. So I want to show her. That I drive a Ferrari with my own ability. Proudly.”

Director Kim Mi-yeong’s face flushed hot.

“Oh my! Goodness! What a wicked girl! Go and teach her a lesson! Just tell them to lease a car in an eye-catching, bright red color!”

Ha-yul widened her eyes.

“They give nicknames like that? If it were our school, it would be grounds for a school violence report immediately.”

Office Manager Ju Yong-hae cut in.

“Oh… they were a bit mischievous in the past. There were many truly wicked ones among them too.”

Cha Ra-ri asked straight away, perhaps curious.

“Then what was your nickname, Office Manager?”

“Me? I was a male shaman.”

“Heol, why?”

“Yong-hae. Because of my name… But well, I also heard that because I was ghost-like at picking the right answers on every exam.”

When everyone laughed, Cha Ra-ri immediately turned to Director Kim Mi-yeong.

“Then what about you, Director? Didn’t you have a nickname?”

Director Kim Mi-yeong thought for a moment and answered.

“Me? I didn’t have one in middle school, but I got one in my senior year of high school.”

“In senior year? What was it?”

“Voice Phishing.”

“Huh? What is that again?”

“Around my senior year of high school, a bitch named Team Leader Kim Mi-yeong spread random spam emails, texts, and made calls saying she would give loans.”

“Buhahaha!” Deputy Kim burst into laughter, hitting the table.

At that time, Ha-yul glanced at Geum Nae-yeong.

“Then what was your nickname, Lawyer Geum?”

Geum Nae-yeong nodded for a moment and said calmly.

“I… didn’t have a nickname. Because no one played with me. I had no friends.”

“Ah…”

Everyone became solemn. But Geum Nae-yeong added nonchalantly.

“Ah! But I have a nickname I made up myself.”

“What is it?”

“FridayIsNae-yeong.”

“Ugh… No jam.”

“Ju Ha-yul!”

Director Kim Mi-yeong glared at Ha-yul’s muttering.

Thus, lunch ended with the nickname talk, and the afternoon began to flow again.

***

A luxury foreign car stopped quietly in front of the Teum Law Office.

Click—

“Driver Jeong. Please wait here.”

A man with neatly combed back hair and wearing a high-end tailored suit got out of the car and entered the office.

“Hello. What business brings you here?”

“Is… Mr. Geum Nae-yeong here?”

At the unexpected question, the employee hesitated for a moment.

Calling him Mr. Geum Nae-yeong… It didn’t seem like he came to get counseling, and looking at his attire, he looked to be at least a corporate executive.

“Yes, he is, but… did you by any chance make an appointment?”

The man shook his head slowly.

“An appointment… I just came to see him.”

“Ah… then what reason should I tell him for your visit?”

The man replied with a smile.

“Yes. Shim Tae-yun. Please tell him his high school friend is here.”