Chapter 76 – Hunting Here and There

Clack, clack, clack.

Having resolved her mind anew, Cha Ra-ri arrived at the office first today as well.

Click, click, click.

The very moment she was turning on the lights at the office entrance as usual.

“Oh my goodness!”

Feeling something moving, Cha Ra-ri backed up a step in surprise.

“…Excuse me… Office Manager Ju Yong-hae? Yesterday in the subway…”

The woman squatting next to the door stood up cautiously. She had a small build but was neatly dressed, with a somewhat tense expression.

“Oh, by any chance, are you the person I gave the business card to in the subway yesterday? Oh my, you arrived this early? Please come in quickly.”

Cha Ra-ri quickly led the woman to the consultation room.

Clatter.

When she brought out warm tea, the woman wrapped both hands around the cup, perhaps because she was a bit cold.

“Our work starts at 9:00 AM. Since it’s the attorney’s rule, even if you come too early, you can’t have a consultation right away.”

“Ah, yes… right. But they said there aren’t many days left for the appeal period. When I searched the internet, it said the waiting list for reservations here is long, and I might not meet the attorney if I come on the day… so I just came out at dawn because my heart was in a hurry.”

“Oh, is that so. I don’t have my business card… If you had contacted me, I would have put you on the list in advance.”

“No. It was fine just coming and waiting like this.”

Cha Ra-ri said with a smile.

“Then you are number one today. If a reservation is canceled or the preceding consultation finishes early, you might go in right away, so don’t worry too much.”

“Really? Oh, thank goodness. When I received that business card yesterday… I felt like heaven was sending me a signal to ‘go this way,’ you know? Hoho.”

The woman smiled brightly and took a sip of the warm tea, as if she had finally relaxed.

***

Knock, knock.

“Attorney, the client of that ‘Gangyeok case’ I mentioned this morning has arrived.”

Cha Ra-ri slightly emphasized that she had personally brought in Gangyeok’s opposing client in order to earn points with Geum Na-yeong.

“Yes, please bring her in.”

As soon as Geum Na-yeong finished speaking, the guided woman cautiously opened the consultation room door and entered.

Gathering her hands together as if tense, she sat carefully on the edge of the consultation sofa.

‘Oh my… He is really handsome… Attorney Geum Nae-yeong? He is so young and famous, would he even try to take a trivial case like this?’

While she muttered inwardly, Geum Na-yeong spoke immediately.

“Would you give me the materials you brought?”

Rummaging around, the woman took out a pile of documents from a shopping bag and handed them over.

“You lost in the first instance, and the opponent’s litigation representative is… Gangyeok.”

The corner of Geum Na-yeong’s mouth rose minutely as he scanned the case documents.

“Gangyeok must have harassed you quite a bit.”

A vertical wrinkle formed between the woman’s eyebrows upon hearing that.

“Yes. That’s right. Throughout the lawsuit, they kept coming in and out in front of my shop, taking photos, doing all sorts of things.

I’ve run a hair salon in this building for five years. The hair salons around here, well, I took over all of them.

Among the women in this neighborhood, if you say ‘Dream J Hair,’ everyone knows it. At one time, we had a lot of staff too.

I can do perms without even looking. I get a feeling as soon as I see a person’s head shape.

Once I take a look and give an estimate, my rods roll up the hair on their own. At that level, though it’s awkward to say so myself… it’s art.”

She rolled the ends of her hair with her fingers and continued speaking in an excited voice.

“But, even though there are still two years left in the contract period, a food ingredient wholesaler suddenly came in on the first floor one day. At first, I just let it go.

But that business did well, and they started stacking goods in front of the shop.

Later, they blocked all the way to the front of the stairs leading up to our hair salon.”

Geum Na-yeong nodded.

“Hmm… So they obstructed your business.”

“Right! They drew parking lines as they pleased, and parked a vegetable truck in front of it.

Customers who were coming asked ‘where is the hair salon entrance’ and just turned back. As customers decreased one by one like that, sales were cut in half.”

The woman gulped down water as if frustrated.

And then she set down the glass with a clink.

“So I said a few words to the boss there, but he didn’t even pretend to listen, so I eventually complained to the building owner. Saying it was obstructing business too much.

But he only said he understood, and didn’t take any action. Action!

So I called every day and argued. It’s a matter of a person’s livelihood, isn’t it? Then, in the end, they made a tiny temporary door in the place used as a back warehouse.”

Geum Na-yeong nodded slightly.

“And then?”

“Then those bastards on the first floor stacked a lot of food storage boxes there too. Stacking boxes like a wall, they blocked a perfectly fine door.

So even regular customers didn’t come, thinking we went out of business.

So with an unjust heart, I asked around, hired a lawyer, and filed a lawsuit… but I lost in the first instance.”

The woman smiled bitterly, fidgeting with her fingertips.

“The other side hired a lawyer from Gangyeok… from over there. After they hired them, the atmosphere changed completely.”

Geum Na-yeong, who quietly listened to her story, raised his head.

“The facts are simple.”

At that short and resolute word, the woman’s expression looked tense for a moment.

“Uh… as you know, the amount I’m asking from them is a bit small. There weren’t many places willing to take the appeal.”

Without taking his eyes off the trial records, Geum Na-yeong spoke.

“By the standards of general damages lawsuits, 35 million won is not a large amount. But that is a story from the attorney’s perspective, not the client’s. I am not interested in the litigation value.”

“Pardon…?”

“There is one thing more important than that. The calculation was wrong.”

Geum Na-yeong added as he flipped through the documents.

“Look at the VAT Tax Base Certificate.

June to August 20**, 9 million won. Next, September to December, 48 million won. The following year, January to June, 54 million won.

And August… If you claim 10% of the loss from the sum of all these, it exceeds the first instance claim amount.”

“Pardon? …What do you mean by that?”

“In the first instance, the calculation of the claim amount was done incorrectly.”

The woman looked at Geum Na-yeong without being able to close her mouth. Surprise, relief, and vague expectation were mixed in her gaze.

“Calculating the loss as 10% of the total revenue, the amount becomes 42,372,469 won.”

“Ah… i-is that so?”

“Yes, I just recalculated it. It is certain.”

Geum Na-yeong said as he set down the documents.

“There is supporting data, and it is a simple calculation error. We will request an increased amount in the appeal.”

Geum Na-yeong wrote ‘Change of claim purpose (increase)’ on the consultation materials.

When Geum Na-yeong not only took the case but also said he would raise the claim amount by recalculating it right away, the woman’s eyes went wide.

“T-Thank you, Attorney. My goodness, I met a savior in the subway.”

With a deeply moved face, she rummaged through her bag and pulled out her wallet.

“Then, I will entrust it to you right away. The retainer fee… I should give it to you now, right?”

Geum Na-yeong nodded calmly.

“Since the opponent is Gangyeok, the retainer fee is 100,000 won. The contingency fee will be received upon complete victory.”

“O-One hundred thousand won? Why… why is it so cheap?”

When the woman repeated it while tilting her head in anxiety, Geum Na-yeong said calmly.

“We win Gangyeok cases easily. We charge cheap for easy things. Low margins, high volume.”

“…Pardon? E-Easy? Low margins, high volume…?”

The woman muttered to herself and tilted her head.

‘This place… is somehow different from the law firms I’ve been to… It’s strange, but strangely, I trust them completely.’

She got up from her seat with a bewildered expression. And under Ju Yong-hae’s guidance, she left Geum Na-yeong’s office.

***

A few days later, lunch break.

The staff were sitting around the pantry table, looking at each other’s reactions while waiting for the delivery.

Office Manager Yeom straightened his back and grumbled.

“Oh dear, when did we order delivery and it’s still not here!”

“What a personality. With so many offices around, would they only bring ours? They must be stopping by other places on the way.”

Director Kim Mi-yeong spoke calmly, but a rumbling sound was already coming from her stomach.

“Everyone must be ordering delivery because it’s cold. Standing in line in cold weather is torture.”

Just then.

“Delivery!”

The word that made everyone’s heart flutter.

“It’s here!”

Assistant Manager Kim quickly opened the breakroom door.

Pat, pat, pat.

The delivery driver put down several large plastic bags on the table with quick hand movements.

Soon, the sound of tearing plastic packaging occurred in succession.

Rip, rip. When they peeled off the tightly wrapped plastic from the food, appetizing cold noodles were inside.

“Wow, looks delicious.”

“I tell you, this place is a real ‘fire naengmyeon restaurant.’ The spicy fire naengmyeon is the main menu, but the side dumplings are also art.”

“Dumplings?”

Office Manager Yeom’s eyes sparkled.

Pop.

The moment they opened the lid of the white plastic container containing the dumplings, warm steam rose, and inside, half-moon-shaped dumplings lay neatly.

“This is half kimchi, half meat, right? Then I’ll start with meat!”

Office Manager Yeom picked up a dumpling with his chopsticks and dipped it slightly in soy sauce.

At that moment, the dumpling skin popped open and hot gravy trickled out.

“Wow, what is this taste? What did they put inside? It tastes a bit like… galbi?”

Kim Mi-yeong said with a laugh.

“They say this place is famous for ‘galbi dumplings.’ It seems they put pork seasoned like galbi.”

“Then, shall I try the spicy bi-naeng first?”

Kim Mi-yeong poured the red, glistening sauce over the cold noodles.

The bright red chili powder, sesame salt, and sesame oil harmonized, stimulating her sense of smell with a spicy and savory aroma.

Kim Mi-yeong mixed the cold noodles. And slurp. A mouthful full of chopsticks.

“Oh dear, phew— it’s really spicy!”

Kim Mi-yeong, whose lips were stained bright red, gulped a sip of broth.

“Eating spicy food, and then drinking hot soup right after is perfect. This is the best in winter.”

Cha Ra-ri stuck out her tongue and looked for water.

“Director, this is really spicy!”

“Ugh. How do women eat this spicy stuff so well? I really can’t eat it. I should eat dumpling soup instead.”

Ju Yong-hae scooped up the hot dumpling soup broth and drank a mouthful.

“Kya… This broth is good. My body is really melting away.”

Just then, the breakroom door burst open.

“Mom, Mom!”

“Oh, Ha-yul! Have you eaten?”

Office Manager Yeom waved his hand welcomingly.

“No, I ran here to eat too. But it’s strange out front right now.”

“Huh? What’s strange?”

“In front of the first-floor entrance here, some uncle I don’t know is performing a full bow to Uncle Geum Nae-yeong and Uncle Seong Seok-ju.”

“A full bow?”

The staff, who were enjoying cold noodles and dumpling soup, raised their heads simultaneously.

“Yes. That uncle also looked like a lawyer… He was well-dressed in a suit and neat.

But the uncle laid something on the ground and performed a full bow two or three times, and passing people and lawyers from the building opposite also came out and watched while laughing.”

“My… two or three times? Attorney Geum must have made another bet or something.”

When Director Kim Mi-yeong laughed, Ju Yong-hae laughed along.

“Hahaha, I don’t know what it is, but without a doubt, Attorney Geum must have won. Even Gangyeok must have watched like watching a fire across the river, thinking it’s a relief it wasn’t their business for once. Haha.”

“But why was Attorney Seong there with him?”

Assistant Manager Kim tilted his head, and Office Manager Yeom chimed in.

“Well, since he’s an associate lawyer, isn’t it like serving a senior, a relationship like a boss and a subordinate? Hahaha!”

Kim Mi-yeong giggled.

“Oh please, subordinate my foot. Those two have been getting along quite well lately.”

“But still, what was that full bow for… I’m curious about that?”

At those words, everyone nodded simultaneously.

At that time, the main building of Law Firm Gangyeok.

Seo Ki-ryong entered the building with a stiff expression.

Knock, knock.

“Yes. Come in.”

Opening the door and entering at the short reply, the man inside raised his head, looking up from the documents.

Seo Ki-ryong made an effort to greet him first.

“Attorney Kim, it’s been a while. I guess you didn’t go out for lunch?”

The man called Attorney Kim, who was sitting at the work table, slowly stood up from his seat.

“Well, what brings someone at the branch office all the way to the main office?”

The corner of Seo Ki-ryong’s mouth distorted slightly.

‘What, funny. This bastard. He was a guy who couldn’t even meet my eyes properly in the past… Now he speaks so casually as if his mouth is open?’

Thud.

He threw a brown envelope onto the desk irritably.

“Look at this.”

The man slid open the envelope Seo Ki-ryong threw and pulled out the materials.

Flip, flip.

The man scanned the documents roughly.

“Hmm… It’s an appeal case. But why this to me?”

“Why do you think, you ask because you don’t know?”

The man hesitated for a moment at Seo Ki-ryong’s cold gaze, then wore a mocking expression as if realizing something, and looked at the documents again.

“Ah, hahahaha. I wondered what it was. The opponent is Teum?”

Then is it because of that Geum Nae-yeong or whatever guy again? I heard earlier that a lawyer from Kim & Chang was bowing to him in front of the Teum building.

That Geum Nae-yeong guy seems to be hunting around everywhere.”

He shrugged his shoulders and continued.

“Should I win it for you?”

Seo Ki-ryong’s eyes trembled at those words.

“….It’s not because I can’t win… Look at the tribunal.”

The man looked down at the last page of the case records.

“Civil Collegiate Division 3?”

“Yes.”

“Aha. I see what you mean.”

A subtle smile spread on his lips.

“Then this is practically an automatic win.”