Chapter 94 – The Uneasy Technique

After leaving work, Geum Nae-yeong headed to his parents’ shop.

“I’m home.”

As he walked into the shop, he noticed his father drinking with someone at an inner table. It was a rare sight.

‘Who is that…?’

The moment Geum Nae-yeong tilted his head, his mother approached.

“Oh, Nae-yeong is here. Were you busy?”

Hearing the mother’s voice, the man drinking with his father jumped up and approached Geum Nae-yeong.

“Oh my, our son! You have grown so big! Ahahaha.”

A strong smell of soju wafted from the rough-faced man.

“…Son?”

Seeing Geum Nae-yeong’s questioning face, his father laughed heartily and stood up.

“Ahahaha! Nae-yeong, don’t you remember? It’s Uncle Cheol-woo, Uncle Cheol-woo.”

Geum Nae-yeong began to quickly search his memory for the name and face of the man ‘Uncle Cheol-woo.’ A person slowly emerged from his very distant memory.

“…The one who worked with father in the past…?”

“Yes, that’s right! He even came to visit when you were sick and had surgery, though you couldn’t see him back then because you were in pain.”

“Hello, Uncle. Have you been well?”

When Geum Nae-yeong greeted him, the man’s expression faltered for a moment, and he suddenly burst into tears, large teardrops falling onto his collar.

“Oh my… I’m so glad that you, Nae-yeong, recovered so well… Really, what a relief… I thought something really terrible happened back then… Heeeuuu… I’m so glad that you at least recovered healthily… cough… what a relief…”

When Uncle Cheol-woo’s crying showed no sign of stopping, his father quickly sat him back down.

“Hey, you are drunk. It’s fine. Hyo-jung will get better soon too.”

His father patted him on the shoulder to comfort him.

Then, he slipped an envelope out of his chest and pushed it into Uncle Cheol-woo’s pocket.

Noticing that what was being pushed into his pocket was an envelope, the uncle jumped up in surprise.

“Oh my, what is this? No, it’s fine. What are you putting in again!”

“No. Hyo-jung needs to return to university. Buy him a laptop or something. They say you can listen to all online lectures even from a hospital bed these days. Do homework with it too. If you have that, use it to help with the hospital bills.”

“No, it’s fine…”

The uncle took the envelope out of his pocket again and pushed it into the father’s hand, declining repeatedly.

But the father smiled and forced the envelope back into the uncle’s pocket.

“Oh, it’s fine. What. We help each other when times are hard. You did the same when our Nae-yeong was sick. You said, ‘It’s hard now, but he will get all better soon.’ You don’t know how much strength that single word gave me.”

Uncle Cheol-woo’s eyes began to get wet again.

“Look. Our Nae-yeong graduated from university perfectly like this, became an attorney, and now appears on TV a lot. Things went really well. Now we also earn as much as we need.

So don’t worry and help with Hyo-jung’s hospital bills. Think of it as paying back the help you gave for Nae-yeong’s hospital bills back then… I put in a little, so don’t feel burdened.”

At the father’s words, tears poured from Uncle Cheol-woo’s eyes again.

“Thank you… I ruined the mood for nothing because of me. Thank you so much… I will never forget this grace…

Sigh.. but I think… I have to go now. If I drink more, I won’t be able to find my way home.”

“Wait, I’ll call a designated driver for you.”

“No, I can just take the bus…”

“You have to go to work tomorrow.”

The father forced a call for a designated driver and made sure to press the driving fee into Uncle Cheol-woo’s hand.

“Get home safely, and just go rest today.”

After the uncle left like that, the father stared at the remaining soju bottles on the table. Then, he poured soju into a glass and drank it in one gulp.

“Keeuuh—”

And after a brief pause, he looked at Geum Nae-yeong sitting in front of him.

“…They say Uncle Cheol-woo’s son is very sick. They say it’s an incurable disease. His wife also has poor health originally… To pay the hospital bills, he even has to work night shifts as a security guard, but there’s no one to nurse the boy…”

Hearing the story, the mother clicked her tongue.

“Oh dear… tsk…”

“They say it’s hard to cover the hospital bills with security work… They even say they don’t pay some of the night shift allowances. Cheol-woo is such a good person, why did this happen…”

Geum Nae-yeong watched his father drink soju bitterly.

“Why do they say they won’t pay the money when he did the work?”

At Geum Nae-yeong’s question, the father replied with a sigh.

“That’s how the world is. There are many people wanting to work but no jobs, so it is said to happen openly. The one or two extra hours worked at night are taken by them as fees… and if you protest, they tell you to quit.”

“That is illegal.”

“Indeed. But pointing all that out would just mean quitting, wouldn’t it…

Still, he really adored you, calling you ‘our eldest son.’ My heart feels quite heavy. Since Cheol-woo’s son Hyo-jung is also sick, just like you were sick in the past…”

Listening to his father’s words, Geum Nae-yeong tilted his head and asked.

“But why does that uncle call me his son?”

“Ah, that.”

His father chuckled.

“Well… you were just born a few years before that family’s son.

Cheol-woo really loved kids since his bachelor days and kept singing about wanting a son, so when you were born, he was extremely happy and adored you. He even said he would definitely have a son resembling you.”

“Even so, I am not his son.”

“Hmm… What is it, do they call it ‘presumption ()’? It is like that. A presumption can be overturned if contrary evidence appears, but a ‘deemed ()’ case cannot be changed…

Anyway, so Cheol-woo is ‘presuming’ you to be like his son.

Since I am there as the real father, at that time I am deemed as one. Isn’t it something like that? … Hahahaha.”

Geum Nae-yeong nodded at the father’s words.

“In legal terms, it cannot be used that way… but I fully understand the metaphorical meaning.

Father, you have studied a lot.”

At Geum Nae-yeong’s words, his father scratched his head and smiled embarrassedly.

“I keep the recordings playing. Although I get a bit sleepy, I don’t forget.

Anyway, Uncle Cheol-woo thinks of you as his son.

He even helped with the surgery costs when you were sick… He is a long-standing benefactor to our family. What we received during hard times must be repaid at any time.”

Geum Nae-yeong pondered the expression ‘what was received must be repaid’ spoken by his father and fell into thought for a moment.

Then, he raised his head slightly and asked again.

“What kind of company is the security firm where Uncle Cheol-woo works?”

“They say it’s a big company in the security field. Most of the apartments or companies in Seoul use their security services, from what I heard.”

“What is the name of the company?”

“They said it’s JN Com.”

“…I understand.”

Geum Nae-yeong nodded.

A certain calculation flashed through his eyes.

***

The next day.

An ordinary morning at Law Office Teum began.

Cha Ra-ri entered, holding coffee in both hands, kicking the door open energetically.

“Good morning! Here, have a cup of coffee. This morning is on me.”

As Cha Ra-ri set the coffee down on the table in the staff breakroom, the chatting staff gathered one by one.

“Wow, what’s going on? Buying this much Starbuckz coffee in the morning?”

Cha Ra-ri said with a bright smile.

“The director processed my allowance well last month, so I received a hefty bonus. That’s why I bought it.”

Director Kim Mi-yeong, who excitedly picked up a cup of coffee, took a sip and spoke to herself.

“It seems everyone is slowly starting to get busy again.

By the way, that case Attorney Geum won last time must be huge? It seems phone calls keep coming from reputable companies wanting to schedule consultations.”

At Director Kim Mi-yeong’s words, Manager Yeom cut in.

“Of course. Attorney Geum is a one-man army. Since he turned a case that couldn’t possibly get an acquittal into an acquittal.

Such rumors spread incredibly fast among the rich. Is it because there are so many wrongdoers? Ahahaha.”

Manager Yeom, who was laughing playfully, suddenly changed his expression as if remembering something, walked over to Ju Yong-hae, and sat down.

“Oh right!! Brother Ju, listen to me. I’ve been getting furious every morning lately because of this…”

“What’s the matter?”

“How should this be resolved? Some guy moved into our apartment a few months ago, right? But this bastard parks in a really shitty way.”

“Parking?”

“Once, he parked diagonally and took up two parking spaces, and another time, he blocked the exit path for other cars and even pulled the handbrake. And he does that crap every day.”

“Uh-huh…”

“Yesterday, I couldn’t get my car out, so I called him in the morning, but he didn’t answer.

The management office even made an announcement, but he crawled out slowly after a long time… It really made my blood boil.

I was about to pick a fight, but I just came because I might be late for work… This gets even more irritating in winter. The weather is so cold, so cold!”

Manager Yeom raised his voice, full of anger, as if he had held it in several times.

Ju Yong-hae smacked his lips and said.

“That is really ambiguous. Legally, since apartments are private property… it’s also hard to charge them with obstruction of traffic.”

“Exactly! One day, someone else called the police, right? But they said there was no way.

Sigh, seriously… if I were just a few years younger, I would have just!! I even wasted 30 minutes this morning because of that guy.”

Manager Yeom gulped down the coffee Cha Ra-ri bought and suddenly burst into a cough.

“Achoo! Uh… uh… Achoo!!”

As if the hot coffee went down the wrong pipe, he kept sneezing repeatedly without even being able to swallow properly.

“Achoo! Ah, fuck… I must have caught a cold… That bastard… What should I do to him?

I even searched for ways on the internet. I saw some people suggesting spitting on the car… but that’s a bit much.”

“Hmm… Right. Spitting on a car isn’t illegal if you think about it, but if the judge deems it as retaliatory or decides it damaged the car’s utility, it becomes a headache. So it’s an ambiguous part.”

“Exactly! Achoo!”

“If you want to do that, spitting on it as if it was a mistake while passing by is the safest, but if you really can’t stand it, just secretly throw some filth.

Well… if you get caught, I will hire Attorney Geum to get you out. Haha.”

“Sigh, forget it. If he were a guy who would snap out of it because of that, he wouldn’t have done it in the first place.”

When Manager Yeom sighed in frustration, Ju Yong-hae raised his head as if he had thought of something.

“Right. Such guys can never be dealt with like that.

In that case, what should I call it… the ‘Uneasy Technique’ is good…”

“The Uneasy Technique?”

“Should I tell you how?”

“Yes, tell me.”

Ju Yong-hae smirked and picked up a pen from one side of the table. Then, he pulled over a consultation sheet and scribbled something on it.

“There, done. There is no one who wouldn’t feel uneasy after having this attached. Human psychology is like that.

A simple curse doesn’t constitute intimidation, so this is enough.

Do not use strong glue or tape when attaching it… If it doesn’t peel off easily, they might sue for property damage, so just attach it lightly with tape that leaves no residue so that it doesn’t fall off.”

After reading what was written on the paper, Manager Yeom slapped his knee and laughed.

“…Wow. This is good?”

***

The next morning.

An apartment in Seoul where Manager Yeom lived.

A sheet of white paper with red writing was attached to the windshield of the vehicle in question, fluttering gently.

The car owner tore the paper off and read the contents in detail.

I am a male Shaman who was possessed by spirits last week.

My spiritual energy is overflowing, so I had to go to pray to suppress it…

But since you parked your car so recklessly, I couldn’t go to pray.

Anyway, I hope everything you do goes well.

If your body aches… or you have frequent… accidents, please come find me…

After reading the paper to the end, the car owner’s eyebrow twitched once.

“Hmph, do they think I’ll be scared if they attach something like this? … How absurd.”

He crumpled the paper, threw it away carelessly, and got into the car indifferently.

Vroooom.

He turned on the engine noisily, and when he entered the road familiarly as usual.

Honk!!!!!!!!!!

A car in the next lane suddenly honked. Startled, he flinched and jerked the steering wheel hard.

“Ah! What was that, seriously!”

But at that moment.

The phrase he read earlier popped up in his mind again for no reason.

‘If your body aches… or you have frequent… accidents, please come find me…’

“No way. As if I’d be scared by this!”

Right then.

Whoosh—

A truck cut in front of him suddenly without even using a blinker.

Honk honk honk—!!!

“Ah!! … What is wrong with today, seriously…!”

Wiping off his cold sweat, the car owner stopped the car on the shoulder of the road for a moment.

After gathering himself, he started driving again as if nothing was wrong, but an inexplicable uneasiness gradually spread in his heart like black ink.

“…Sigh… For some reason… it’s uneasy…”

And after that day.

The parking villain of Manager Yeom’s apartment began to park precisely within the parking lines for the first time.