Chapter 81 – Closed for Today

Knock, knock.

“Yes, come in.”

As Cha Ra-ri opened the door and entered, Geum Nae-yeong stopped the pen he was using and raised his head.

“What is it, Attorney?”

“Would you like to sit there for a moment?”

As Cha Ra-ri sat down, Geum Nae-yeong moved his body to the consultation chair and set down a document.

“To get straight to the point, for efficient management, I analyzed you from a SWOT perspective, Ms. Cha Ra-ri.”

“Pardon? What analysis?”

“S-W-O-T. Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat analysis.”

Geum Nae-yeong continued speaking as he flipped through the materials with a blank face.

“As a result, I have come to know a piece of information that would be helpful to you.”

“Information?”

Cha Ra-ri sat closer, wearing a puzzled expression.

“Your strengths, Ms. Cha Ra-ri, are twofold.

First, you can retain cases very quickly.

Second, you can build rapport with clients very quickly.”

Geum Nae-yeong spoke briefly and shut his mouth tightly.

“Since all other items are risks, let’s omit them for now.”

“Pardon?… Risks?… No way? I have far more strengths besides those two, you know?”

Cha Ra-ri opened her eyes wide as if wronged.

However, Geum Nae-yeong completely ignored Cha Ra-ri’s words and gestured outside the window with his chin without an answer.

“Now. Look around our firm’s location. Between Seocho Station and Gyodae Station.

In this area, there are many lawyer offices, but large law firms are also packed.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“Ms. Cha Ra-ri, do you know of any major top law firms?”

“A top law firm I know? Um… Gangyeok?”

Geum Nae-yeong paused for a moment, looked at Cha Ra-ri, and then began to recite law firm names one after another without any expression.

“Kim & Chang, Jepyongyang, Gwangjeong, Seojo, Yulchan…”

“Ah!… At least I know Kim & Chang.”

As Cha Ra-ri laughed with a slightly embarrassed expression, Geum Nae-yeong nodded and asked.

“What is the common point of these law firms?”

“Um… they are difficult to win against?”

Geum Nae-yeong nodded.

“As expected, you failed to guess the answer. The commonality is that they have many high-value lawsuits and corporate lawsuits.

Therefore, the litigation value is large, and the contingency fee size is also substantial.

In other words, there is no need to cling only to Gangyeok. SO. That is, strategy: expanding opportunities by utilizing strengths.

That is what we must do right now.”

“Yes?”

“Five percent of the contingency fee for any case.”

Cha Ra-ri’s eyes flashed in an instant.

“Oh my, are you really saying you’ll give me 5% if I bring it in and we win?”

“Yes. We will draft a contract in accordance with principles. As for sales…”

Geum Nae-yeong’s eyebrows twitched.

“…appropriately, on your own.”

“Of course! I’m not a novice who walks around with a wrongly printed business card anymore. I’m a veteran with a year and a half of experience, after all.”

Cha Ra-ri said in an excited voice, half-rising from her chair.

“You are really giving it to me like that, right?”

“Yes. Then sign here.”

Geum Nae-yeong slid the contract, which seemed to have been prepared in advance, onto the desk.

Cha Ra-ri smiled with a surprised expression.

“Oh my, did you write the contract in advance, thinking I would say okay by any chance?”

“Yes. According to my statistics, you, Ms. Cha Ra-ri, are the easiest person to interpret among all the people I have seen.”

“Is that so? Well, it’s not entirely wrong… but among the people you know, Attorney, I bet I am the best at sales too?”

Scribble, scribble.

Cha Ra-ri grabbed the pen, signed with an unhesitating attitude, and smirked.

“Then! I’ll tell the Office Manager and go right away!”

‘This is so great, isn’t it? Worry resolved immediately! If I just secure a few cases in front of major law firms, riding a Ferrari again is a piece of cake!’

Cha Ra-ri cheered inwardly, jumped up from her seat, and left the office with light footsteps.

As the sound of the door closing was made, something like a subtle smile flashed across Geum Nae-yeong’s lips.

He returned to his desk and picked up a file folder.

In the center of the file, a neat title was written.

* Seocho-dong 520-1 Building Acquisition Plan

Geum Nae-yeong drew a checkmark next to one item with his pen.

☑ Maximize the utilization of human resources.

***

Rustle, rustle, thud.

Geum Nae-yeong’s mother heavily set down something piled in both hands.

The father, who was watching the news, stood up from his seat and peered into the shopping bag.

“Oh my, what is so heavy?”

[Eduwill Certified Real Estate Agent 1st Introductory Guide]

[Eduwill Certified Real Estate Agent Introduction to Real Estate Studies]…

Inside the shopping bag, a few books looking like thick exam prep guides were contained. The father tilted his head.

“Certified real estate agent? What did you buy these for?”

“You too, don’t just sit there watching the news like that, and think for once. Why do you think Nae-yeong got us a shop near his firm?”

“The shop?… Well, this is indeed a good location. There are students and office workers.”

“Geez, don’t just look at the appearance and look at the underlying meaning. You should know our son’s inner mind!”

As the mother burst into anger, the father gave a sheepish glare.

“Although he’s my child, I don’t know Nae-yeong’s mind either. It’s fine as long as he lives uprightly without causing a nuisance to others. Whatever.”

The mother clicked her tongue.

“I’m the one who went through labor and gave birth to him! Did you give birth to him?”

“Then, did I do nothing when our son was born? It’s not like Nae-yeong is Park Hyeokgeose, did he fall from the sky without a father?”

As the father’s voice grew louder, the mother quickly brought up a different topic.

“Look, it’s near Seocho Station here. The office worker customers crowd only briefly during lunch hour, and it’s free in the afternoon.

Students also come occasionally, and since office workers don’t go to work on weekends, we also rest.”

“Right.”

“Our Nae-yeong intentionally set up the location to do only lunch business, fearing his parents would suffer.”

“No way… even if he’s my son, would he have thought that deeply? Haha.”

As the father laughed, the mother put on a serious face.

“Geez… that’s why you don’t even know why our son changed the signboard.”

The father muttered.

“Ah… the signboard…”

“Parents becoming a burden to their child for no reason. I hate that. Nae-yeong is also getting his name known at his firm now, we shouldn’t be a burden.”

“Tsk… that’s how all families live. Whatever.”

“When Nae-yeong had that accident in high school and that doctor said something… right then, I made up my mind.

So that Nae-yeong can stand well on his own without shaking even without us. That one thing at least, I must make for him.”

The mother thought for a moment, then calmly continued.

“With that happening… I should be a source of strength, but I started thinking if I’m only piling up worries for my son instead.

So, I’m going to prepare for the certified real estate agent exam on this occasion.”

“What…? You’re going to get a certified real estate agent license?”

“Yes… they say this is difficult.

Even though I couldn’t study much, a license is something you can at least challenge if you work to death.

Even without borrowing Nae-yeong’s hand, I should at least know how to look at and judge a contract myself when renting a shop.

Our son is a lawyer, would it be right for his mother to live without knowing even such basics?”

The father nodded.

“That is also true.”

“If I get it, there will be a place to use it later. It seems the people at Nae-yeong’s firm are very busy lately, I plan to make lunch side dishes for them and study in the afternoon.”

“Really? Then should I try doing it together too?”

In that way, the two sat side by side, opened the books, and began to read.

Click.

At that moment, the door opened and Geum Nae-yeong entered the shop.

The mother hurriedly hugged the books and hid in the kitchen, fearing her son might see.

“Uh… oh, Nae-yeong, you’re here?”

“Yes. What are you doing?”

Geum Nae-yeong, seeing his parents, asked, but the father played innocent as if nothing were wrong.

“Yeah, making side dishes for you. Your mom and I were discussing what delicious thing to make for your firm’s people.”

“Side dishes?”

The mother, who quickly hid the books, came out of the kitchen.

“Yes, Nae-yeong. Are you hungry? Since they said the staff often eat in the office… I made some side dishes for you to share. Want to taste some?”

“For the staff? Why?”

“Why? That’s just how human life is. Sharing and eating with each other makes the relationship close.

People live on the strength of rice, you know.”

As the father spoke calmly, Geum Nae-yeong tilted his head slightly.

“You don’t have to do that. Everyone packs their own lunch.”

“Oh dear, no. You leave your chopsticks behind occasionally. A while ago, as if Eun-yeong were teething, she climbed onto the dining table and bit and carried away the chopsticks.

Watching that because it was cute… it suddenly occurred to me that you must have borrowed chopsticks from people often.

It’s not a big deal, but it’s all owing a debt. You should take care to repay all such things.”

At the word ‘repay,’ Geum Nae-yeong quietly nodded his head.

“Here, this is stir-fried squid. I’ll marinate it and fry it tomorrow morning. Share and eat it with the staff. This is three-color seasoned vegetables, and this is the seasoned dried squid strips that you like.

Since the weather is chilly lately, I also boiled yukgaejang. You just need to microwave it for about three minutes.”

Geum Nae-yeong input his mother’s story into his head step by step, and asked about what he was curious about.

“…But why are you preparing for the certified real estate agent exam?”

At Geum Nae-yeong’s words, the mother was startled and opened her eyes wide.

“Ah… Huh? H-How did you know that?”

“You cleared them away when I entered. I see everything.”

“Ah… Is that so?”

The mother laughed sheepishly.

The father also laughed and chimed in.

“Just, you know, it prevents dementia~ we’re doing something new for fun.”

Then, Geum Nae-yeong spoke calmly.

“Shall I tutor you? So you pass on the first try.”

“Tu… tutoring?”

Instantly, the couple’s ears perked up.

“It will be difficult if you start from the basics without any basic knowledge. I will teach you based on previous exam questions.”

The mother’s eyes sparkled.

“Oh my, really? That’s good too!”

“I will make you pass both parts of the exam at the same time.”

When Geum Nae-yeong spoke with confidence, the father clapped his hands with excitement.

“Exactly! Our son is a lawyer, a certified real estate agent exam is nothing! He’ll tutor us like a top-tier star tutor. Hahaha!”

In that way, the mother brought out the exam prep books hidden in the kitchen again, and the couple sat around with Geum Nae-yeong in front of them.

Geum Nae-yeong took off his outer coat, took out paper from his bag, and began to explain step-by-step starting from basic concepts.

And…

“Excuse me… Nae-yeong. Shouldn’t we go home now? It is almost one in the morning now…”

The mother, who was listening to the lesson, watched Geum Nae-yeong’s reaction and spoke up as she cautiously stood up.

However, Geum Nae-yeong did not even raise his head and cut her off coldly.

“If you study the same amount of time as others, you will fail. First, you must understand the introduction and organize it completely in your head so that you can solve questions quickly and the incorrect answer rate will decrease. Have a seat.”

“…Ah, uh… y-yes… but Mom also worked all day today…”

The next day, a piece of paper was hung on the door of the stir-fried pork restaurant.

[Closed for today due to personal circumstances]

***

Law Firm Gangyeok.

Attorney Kim Hong-seok was silently flipping through the materials Noh Si-an had handed him.

Rustle, rustle.

Only the sound of turning paper filled the conference room.

“The careers of the constituent attorneys… are quite something.”

Noh Si-an nodded.

“Yes, well, since they are all people who came after holding significant posts, their careers are glamorous.”

“Hmm…”

Kim Hong-seok was lost in thought for a moment, and then asked again.

“You said there was talk of incorporating?”

“Yes. I heard through the grapevine, but for some reason, it seems the progress is currently on hold.”

Kim Hong-seok snorted.

“My goodness… incorporating with barely any lawyers. It seems only their heads have grown big for nothing.”

He scanned the materials again.

“The number of employees is smaller than I thought?”

His hand, which was turning the pages, stopped at one spot.

“The Office Manager is… from a court official background? His career is quite decent.”

However, soon his gaze stopped on Cha Ra-ri’s resume.

“Huh? What, this is an office staff resume?”

Noh Si-an continued speaking as if in a difficult position.

“Yes, it is a bit unique… but it seems to be the very female employee who was handing out business cards in front of our building.

I don’t know about other things, but she seems to have quite a bit of sales capability. She is young and a beauty, too.”

“Pfft…”

Kim Hong-seok let out a breath mockingly.

“What, did he seat his girlfriend there? But her certification is ‘Laughter Therapy’?”

“Sigh… Truly funny, isn’t it? How is it that there is not a single proper thing over there.”

Tap.

Attorney Kim Hong-seok, closing the documents, leaned back in his chair. He rolled his eyes for a moment, and then wore a despicable smile.

“Good… then let’s start by cutting off the limbs one by one.”