Chapter 98 – How Much Allowance Do You Get

An ordinary morning at Law Office Teum was beginning.

Cha Ra-ri, who arrived holding coffee in both hands, greeted brightly.

“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? Starbuckz coffee?”

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

Director Kim Mi-yeong, who picked up a cup of coffee, said.

“Ah! Right. It reminds me because it is payday. I shouldn’t forget to give our Ha-yul her pocket money today.”

Just then, Manager Yeom asked curiously.

“By the way, director. How much allowance do kids get these days?”

“Allowance? I set it at 5,000 won a day. They need to buy tteokbokki with friends after school, after all.

And including all kinds of expenses, about 150,000 won? If they say they need to buy workbooks or textbooks, I add a little and give about 200,000 won.”

Hearing that the daily allowance was 5,000 won, someone said in surprise.

“Oh my, isn’t that too stingy? How can they buy tteokbokki with 5,000 won?”

“Well… prices are high these days. 5,000 won is indeed a bit small. But back in our day, what was allowance?

There were only one or two kids in the class who got allowance, so when they got it, everyone would stick close and watch them eat, hoping to get a bite. Haha.”

As Manager Yeom laughed, Ju Yong-hae tilted his head.

“No… but, Chief Kim. You give Ha-yul allowance?”

When he asked with a puzzled expression, Director Kim Mi-yeong snorted.

“What kind of sleep-talking is that! The kid is going to school properly, so of course I should give it. Do I just send her empty-handed? Goodness…”

“Since when did you give it?”

Kim Mi-yeong replied with an annoyed expression.

“Since when do you think? Since I parted ways with you.”

“Look at this child?”

Ju Yong-hae’s voice suddenly went up.

“Why??”

“She receives 300,000 won a month from me as allowance, though?”

“…What?”

In an instant, Director Kim Mi-yeong’s voice grew loud.

“No, then has Ha-yul been taking money from both sides until now? Over 500,000 won a month?

Goodness… this girl, already… deceiving her parents?”

As soon as Director Kim Mi-yeong picked up her cell phone, she pressed the numbers with force.

“Oh my, our daughter is already a grand thief, a grand thief.

She pocketed money from both sides? No, who does she take after to be so bold? Hahaha!”

As Manager Yeom held his stomach and laughed, Ju Yong-hae shut his mouth tight stubbornly as if displeased.

Meanwhile, Director Kim Mi-yeong, who was grumbling because Ha-yul did not answer the phone, turned toward the staff as if remembering something.

“Oh, right! We are having a dinner get-together this week. Attorney Geum is paying. Everyone, try to set a date when you are available.”

“Yes? A dinner get-together? What’s going on all of a sudden?”

As the reception staff, Im Seon-hui, opened her eyes wide, Director Kim Mi-yeong smirked.

“We are having a plaque-unveiling ceremony soon, right? The transition to ‘Law Firm Teum.’ Attorney Geum is treating us because the staff worked hard preparing for the incorporation.

Actually, to be precise, he said like a robot, ‘I will repay the debt of favor for your efforts in preparing for the incorporation. Should we do an incentive? Or do you have another plan?’ so I said, ‘What debt… just buy us a meal.’

And he told us to have a dinner get-together regardless of the amount.”

Im Seon-hui gave a thumbs-up happily.

“Wow! Really?”

“It was just a few hours of extra work, so it was a bit awkward to ask for an incentive. But looking at it that way, he is indeed generous. He compensates for everything precisely.”

As Director Kim Mi-yeong spoke with her arms crossed, Manager Yeom had already pulled out his cell phone and started searching for a dinner venue excitedly.

“Since Attorney Geum is paying… let’s go somewhere extremely delicious, haha! Shall we go to Chicken Bangbang-i after a long time? And drink lots of beer! Hahaha.”

When Manager Yeom already decided on the venue, the faces of the staff who had been there before brightened up.

“Ah! Chicken Bangbang-i! That place is good. There are so many kinds of menus. Not to mention the taste of the chicken and sea snail salad, all the snacks are delicious.”

“Right, right. And I… want to eat the Mexican salad. That was a delicacy there. Since we brought it up, let’s go today!”

Manager Yeom was already swallowing his saliva while scrolling through the menu.

Then Ju Yong-hae said.

“Today doesn’t work for our office. We have a trial.”

Manager Yeom immediately cut in.

“Ah, it would be perfect to go today since we talked about it… tsk.. is it a big trial?”

“Yes. It’s a 5.1 billion won case, so we need to see the result properly… If Attorney Geum says there’s something to submit, we might have to draft it anew. Let’s do the dinner get-together tomorrow.”

“A 5.1 billion won case? Wow, the amount is really huge.”

“Technically, it is not 5.1 billion, but the actual receipt is about 3.5 billion. If it’s half of that… about 1.75 billion?”

“Wow… then if we win this case, the success fee will be quite substantial? How much did you agree on?”

“10%. But I also looked at the case materials, you know? Well, the opponent seems extremely stubborn… I don’t know if he will give it up easily…”

Manager Yeom showed interest when he heard the amount.

“No, 10% of 1.75 billion? Wow… but what is the case that you are wondering if he will give it up?”

“Yes, he won the lottery, right? He promised to give the client half if he won. But once he won, he changed his words. He is holding out, saying he never won and never said such things.”

Ju Yong-hae shrugged as he spoke.

“Really? Well, that happens… But if the prize money is 5.1 billion, it’s quite big. In that case, there wouldn’t have been many winners?”

“Wow… 5.1 billion? I’m jealous. If I had that much, I would resign immediately and live a new life.”

When the lottery story came up, everyone added a word.

“Yes. They said the numbers were a bit weird. It’s a combination that looks like it wouldn’t win… Seeing that, you never know in life.

The client seems to remember clearly because he bought that lottery ticket for him.”

“Aha…”

“But there is no precise evidence that he promised to give half.

There are just people in the company who heard the story… but you know. Who would get involved in someone else’s fight and testify for free?”

As Ju Yong-hae’s voice trailed off, Manager Yeom nodded in agreement.

“Well, law firms like Gangyeok tempt witnesses behind the scenes to testify and get them to testify by giving them money later.

But if they get caught, the testimony is voided and they face punishment for perjury, so who would want to do that?”

Ju Yong-hae added.

“Moreover, since they are coworkers… there could be an atmosphere of ‘you shouldn’t get involved in other people’s fights.’

So… I am curious about what kind of strategy Attorney Geum drafted this time. Since he always wins easily whenever he goes, there is usually no time to find out how it proceeds.”

Around the time those words finished.

Click.

Geum Nae-yeong opened the office door and walked out in a perfectly coordinated suit.

“I am leaving for the morning trial. It won’t take long… so consultations will be possible from 11:00.”

At Geum Nae-yeong’s words, Cha Ra-ri, who was drinking coffee, shouted with a bright face.

“Attorney! Win the case today! Fighting!”

Geum Nae-yeong stopped his steps and replied calmly.

“Winning is natural. It will end without even going to a judgment, so there is no need to even shout fighting.”

Cha Ra-ri felt awkward at Geum Nae-yeong’s confident attitude. Still, she added with a smile.

“Ah… yes… anyway, fighting.”

Geum Nae-yeong turned and headed to the court as if it was no big deal.

‘How on earth is he going to do it?’

Looking at his back, the staff wondered what kind of picture Geum Nae-yeong was drawing.

***

The first pleading date of the lottery winnings claim case.

Geum Nae-yeong was waiting for the defendant’s legal representative to enter in the plaintiff’s seat.

“We will begin Case No. 20** Gahap 909011.”

The presiding judge’s voice echoed through the courtroom.

At that moment. Park Jun-woo jumped up in the defendant’s seat.

Geum Nae-yeong’s eyes narrowed slightly.

‘He did not hire an attorney.’

Meanwhile, Park Jun-woo in the defendant’s seat was confident.

‘Who are they to tell me to give my precious winnings? How absurd.

Since money is involved, that frustrating guy rotated his brain extremely fast, didn’t he? He hired an attorney right away…

But there is no objective evidence that I won, and as long as I keep my mouth shut about whether I received the winnings or not, that’s the end of it.

Why even hire an attorney? To spend my winnings on such useless things… No way.’

Park Jun-woo slowly counted the winnings as if counting on his fingers.

‘I will spend about 3 billion on buying a building.

And with the remaining 400 million, I will buy a foreign car, and the rest is perfect to pay off card debt.’

A future of living comfortably as a landlord was right in front of him. He had absolutely no intention of spending money on attorney fees.

Instead, he received advice anonymously from a reliable internet community.

Namely, the ‘holding-out strategy.’

He lost the lottery ticket as soon as he received it. And he never received the winnings.

They said that if he claimed so, no one could uncover the truth unless he opened his mouth himself. He had also searched for similar precedents and checked several comments saying ‘you don’t really need to hire an attorney.’

He also had a corner to rely on. The company department head was his university senior, and there were more than one or two relationships entangled by connections among the executives.

‘Anyone from the former company who would step up to testify? None.

With only a few employees, their self-protectionism is also immense… Who would come to court for the sake of a contract employee whose duration of work is unknown, while making an enemy out of me?’

Moreover… if Jang Hyo-seung decided to give a reward to someone in exchange for testifying, it would be even more advantageous to him.

If he just revealed that fact, the testimony would naturally be voided, and if that happened, his calculation was a one-hundred percent victory.

Park Jun-woo was already certain of his victory.

‘I know the employees’ tendencies better than anyone. That there is no one who would listen to such a dangerous request… The calculation was finished from the start.’

“At approximately 3:00 PM on December 8, 20**, the plaintiff purchased five automatic games at a lottery store at the request of the defendant, and then handed the paper to the defendant…”

As Geum Nae-yeong began his pleading calmly, Park Jun-woo closed his eyes, feigning composure.

He intended to block everything from the start so that no words would enter his ears.

When Geum Nae-yeong’s brief pleading ended, the presiding judge turned his gaze to the defendant’s seat.

“Defendant, according to the written answer you submitted, you stated that you lost the lottery ticket and never received the winnings. Is that true?”

Park Jun-woo nodded and said in an aggrieved tone.

“Yes, Judge. Honestly, I don’t remember what the numbers were at all. I also don’t know the reason why Jang Hyo-seung is doing this suddenly.

Originally, that friend has a wild imagination and a victim complex… I purposely took care of him while we were working in the company…

To return it like this with such a lawsuit… Really…

I quit the company because I wasn’t feeling well… To face such a thing is truly unfair. I am just dumbfounded that he is demanding money out of nowhere.”

When Park Jun-woo spoke with lots of grievance, the presiding judge stared at him for a moment and then nodded quietly.

As Park Jun-woo answered as expected, the corners of Geum Nae-yeong’s mouth rose very slightly and then came back down.

‘When facing a huge sum of money, anyone is prone to cognitive bias. However, the more it is so, the more coldly one should think about the opportunity cost.

An irrational choice eventually returns as a cost, creating a loophole.

…And such a lawsuit is the easiest to win.’