Episode 8
Reincarnation Test 6
“I will win.”
The next morning at the main office of JTJ Law Firm.
Attorney Gusangjin opened his mouth toward CEO Jang Taek-jun.
CEO Jang Taek-jun turned his body, walked towards the window, and lowered the blinds to look outside.
A crowd of reporters was waiting in the lobby.
Among them was Attorney Gusangjin, causing a sensation as he waited.
CEO Jang Taek-jun’s gaze slowly turned towards Attorney Gusangjin.
“It’s quite noisy.”
The attorney who pretended to be just was now defending the sister who killed her brother.
The news had reverberated throughout the country.
– If you pay enough, even a devil will be defended.
– He pretended to be so just on TV…
– Does anyone still think entertainment is real?
– I never liked Gusangjin from the beginning.
– Look at him, switching from a prosecutor to JTJ, size-wise.
– Selling his soul for money.
– It was JTJ? Like mother, like daughter.
“I apologize.”
CEO Jang Taek-jun lowered his head nervously.
“No need to apologize. I wouldn’t mind if you defended a neighborhood stray dog.”
“….”
“But losing is unforgivable.”
His voice was chilling.
Attorney Gusangjin found himself swallowing dry saliva without realizing it.
CEO Jang Taek-jun walked towards Attorney Gusangjin.
Then, he lightly patted Attorney Gusangjin’s shoulder and spoke.
“Wrap her sister up pitifully. Describe the deceased brother as a cheap person even in death. And portray that prosecutor as a devil.”
“….!”
“The public’s sentiment will sway with her sister’s tears. Someone will say to release her sister. When public opinion moves, judges will feel pressure. Legal battles come after that.”
CEO Jang Taek-jun’s hand, which was patting Attorney Gusangjin’s shoulder, suddenly stopped.
Then, his chilly voice penetrated Attorney Gusangjin’s ears.
“This case is drawing public attention. You must win. Remember, our client isn’t those kids swearing on the internet.”
“….”
“Our client doesn’t care if we are considered good or evil. They only care if we are competent or not.”
“….”
“Win. If you can’t win even this trivial fight, there’s no place for you here.”
CEO Jang Taek-jun turned away and walked towards the window again.
Attorney Gusangjin slowly bent his waist towards CEO Jang Taek-jun.
The bowed head of Attorney Gusanjin distorted the impression.
To stay here, I must win at all costs.
***
Journalists flocked like clouds, relentlessly pressing the shutters.
The target was Attorney Gusanjin.
“Attorney Gusanjin! Did you feel no pressure taking on this case?”
“There are talks that you’re a lawyer only interested in money. What do you think?”
Attorney Gusanjin opened his mouth with a stern expression.
“Who exactly is claiming someone is a criminal? Has the verdict been confirmed? What evidence is there? Your pens are branding one person as a murderer!”
Journalists flinched.
But these were journalists who had been through thick and thin.
Questions poured in immediately.
“Do you believe the defendant is innocent?”
“What is the reason?”
“Please tell us!”
Attorney Gusanjin nodded.
“Everything is just the prosecution’s argument and suspicion. In this murder case, not a single fingerprint has been found. Have you considered the grief of the sister who lost her sibling? Yet, before that grief could subside, she is being falsely accused and arrested as a murderer!”
“…”
“Reporters, please remember the principle of the presumption of innocence. Even if a guilty verdict was pronounced in the second trial, we maintain the presumption of innocence until that verdict is confirmed. Yet, a pitiable woman is being branded as a murderer even before the first trial concludes. The prosecution has made it so. You may not realize it, but you might be echoing their sentiments. Please show some restraint. I beg you.”
Attorney Gusanjin bowed towards the journalists.
Immediately, flashes erupted blindingly.
***
A while later, in the attorney meeting room at Dongnam Police Station.
Attorney Gusanjin sat across from the victim’s sister, U Su-jin.
Attorney Gusanjin extended his phone towards U Su-jin.
“Read this.”
She saw a provocative headline claiming that the sister killed her own brother.
Dongnam Murder Case: Sister urgently arrested, conspired with boyfriend to murder her brother
Sister who killed her own brother, burdened with loan sharks
After killing her brother, she holds her nieces and nephews, saying, “I will raise you.” Shocking statement without remorse for inhumane crime
Her brother was still alive. But wait until he dies. Inhumane atrocities without remorse
U Su-jin’s body trembled.
At that moment, Attorney Gusanjin smiled wryly and tapped the screen.
Other headlines appeared.
Attorney Gusanjin, “A case with no fingerprints. It’s just a traffic accident.”
Attorney Gusanjin, “I took on this case to prevent making an unjustly imprisoned person.”
Attorney Gusanjin moved his gaze to U Su-jin.
“With the insurance money, 10 billion will come out, right? Give me half. I will make you innocent.”
U Su-jin’s eyes trembled.
“…Innocent?”
“I have the ability to make it so. But I need half of the insurance money.”
U Su-jin, who was nervously twisting her hands, nodded.
Then Attorney Gusanjin leaned towards U Su-jin with a wry smile.
“Why did you kill him? How did you kill him? What was the plan? I am on your side. So, please tell me honestly. That’s the only way we can make you innocent.”
“I had to pay off debts.”
“Debts?”
“I wanted to live a decent life. But my brother took out a life insurance policy, and the beneficiary was me. He told me that if anything happened, use that money to help the children since they were still young. So, I guess I went mad. But I still thought about taking in my brother’s children. He felt guilty for not being able to send them to a good academy, so I thought I could do that for them. I’m so sorry. I miss my brother.”
U Su-jin cried for a long time.
Then, with great effort, she raised her head.
And with a voice full of sorrow, she finally asked.
“…But can I really be acquitted?”
Attorney Gusanjin smiled wryly.
“Yes.”
***
“Oh, don’t worry.”
A few days later in the morning, Seo-jin was preparing to go to work while talking on the phone with his mother.
The whole country is in an uproar over the murder case where a sister killed her brother, especially aiming for the insurance money.
But the prosecutor in charge of that case is Seo-jin.
It’s not easy not to worry.
-Did you eat?
“Yes, I ate.”
Seo-jin casually glanced at the dining table.
A luxurious table that seemed fitting even for a 14th-century Louis, of course, it was his mother’s taste.
On the table was a bowl of ramen.
-Did you make ramen again?
“I made beef bone soup ramen.”
It wasn’t a lie.
It was beef bone soup ramen.
-Really?
“Yes.”
-Wait a moment, let me talk to your father.
As Seo-jin was about to hang up, his father’s voice came through.
-Today is the trial, right? If you have a hard time, tell Dad.
His father’s reassuring voice continued.
After the call ended, Seo-jin smiled as he put down his phone.
‘Envious.’
Seo-jin doesn’t remember the faces of his parents from his past life.
He was abandoned in front of a pork belly restaurant right after he was born and spent half of his life in an orphanage.
So, he doesn’t know the overwhelming support of parents.
He learned about such emotions only from books.
But now, through reincarnation, he is feeling those emotions.
He felt envious and sorry.
After washing the ramen bowl, Seo-jin went outside.
As Seo-jin entered the elevator, his eyes gradually turned colder.
Today is the first trial.
Attorney Gusanjin claims that the defendant, U Su-jin, had no intention of murdering her brother and is not related to any traffic accident.
The driver, Jang Dong-ik, accused of being an accomplice, says the same.
They have been denying everything meticulously from the beginning until now.
Today, Seo-jin has to dismantle the elaborate lies they have prepared.
The elevator stopped, and Seo-jin got off.
His phone rang again.
This time, it was his younger brother, Jin-young.
“Hey, Jin-young.”
– Hyung, have you seen Jung-woo?
“Jung-woo?”
– I told you about him before.
Seo-jin tried to recall for a moment.
Jung-woo.
He is Seo-jin’s high school friend, graduated from the police academy, and currently works in the violent crime unit at Dongnam Police Station.
It is highly likely that he will be transferred to Seoul in about a year.
How he got into the police academy is unknown, but Jin-young told Seo-jin that he was quite influential.
“Yeah, I remember. Why?”
– Well, have you seen him?
Seo-jin’s eyes gradually turned colder as he entered the elevator.
Today is the first trial.
Attorney Gusanjin claims that the defendant, U Su-jin, had no intention of murdering her brother and is not related to any traffic accident.
The driver, Jang Dong-ik, accused of being an accomplice, says the same.
They have been denying everything meticulously from the beginning until now.
Today, Seo-jin has to dismantle the elaborate lies they have prepared.
The elevator stopped, and Seo-jin got off.
His phone rang again.
This time, it was his younger brother, Jin-young.
“Hey, Jin-young.”
– Hyung, have you seen Jung-woo?
“Jung-woo?”
– I told you about him before.
Seo-jin tried to recall for a moment.
Jung-woo.
He is Seo-jin’s high school friend, graduated from the police academy, and currently works in the violent crime unit at Dongnam Police Station.
It is highly likely that he will be transferred to Seoul in about a year.
How he got into the police academy is unknown, but Jin-young told Seo-jin that he was quite influential.
“Yeah, I remember. Why?”
– Well, have you seen him?
“Yesterday, I met him at the local coffee shop.”
“But?”
– I’m a big mouth. I had a drink and went into the coffee shop a bit drunk, and I met Jung-woo. It seems like he was happy to see me. He told me about his pain, that he fell from the 5th floor of his apartment. And then…
Jin-young mentioned that he wandered around the site where Seo-jin fell, guided by Jung-woo.
Everywhere, without a break, until 2 a.m.
The pitiful sight of Jin-young came to mind, and Seo-jin chuckled.
“You’ve been through a lot.”
– I don’t know, but I immediately went to Gangwon Province to see you after I saw Jung-woo. You know his personality, right? Oh, maybe you don’t. Anyway, take care.
Seo-jin put his phone in his pocket and turned his body toward the parking lot.
That’s when it happened.
“Kim Seo-jin!”
A thick voice echoed.
A man with a robust build and sharp features approached Seo-jin.
He had seen him in a photo.
That guy was Jung-woo.
Jung-woo walked toward Seo-jin, putting his hand in his pocket.
“Did it hurt?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you remember me?”
“I know who you are.”
Jung-woo put a cigarette in his mouth and exhaled smoke like a sigh.
Then, with a rough appearance, he spoke hesitantly.
“…Do you remember that I’ll definitely find you, you bastard?”
“How do you know if I pushed you or you fell? How can you tell?”
“I’m a detective in the violent crime unit. It’s my instinct. It’s just perfect for someone to fall there.”
Seo-jin found it strange too.
Everything about the past Seo-jin, from the reason he fell from the redevelopment apartment on the 5th floor to the circumstances at the time of the accident, was questionable.
He checked the surrounding CCTV, but nothing came up, and even the person who reported to 119 was not recorded.
Seo-jin wanted to hear more from Jung-woo, but now it was time to go to court.
“You said it was a vacation?”
“Huh?”
“Get in first.”
Seo-jin got into the car, and Jung-woo sat in the passenger seat, fastening his seatbelt, and said, “But do you really have to be so serious? Can’t you joke around like before? You used to like girl groups! Girl groups are always right!”
“Just a moment… I have something to focus on right now.”
“Oh, that case with Woo Su-jin? It’s famous even in our station. They say Attorney Gusanjin is aggressively taking it on?”
“Yeah, so let’s be quiet for now and talk after the trial is over.”
Seo-jin stepped on the accelerator.
The car slid towards the courthouse.
***
“Is it true that the prosecution is shadowboxing as Attorney Goo said?”
“The likelihood is high. The one prosecuting this case is a rookie. It’s their debut.”
The courthouse, which was quiet, became noisy.
Reporters were puffing out cigarette smoke, discussing their thoughts.
“So, did the rookie work hard just because it’s their first case? Can’t they make up something like a traffic accident just because they think they’re Sherlock or something?”
“That makes sense.”
The reporters chuckled.
The law firm JTJ has been continuously issuing press releases.
All of them contained information that the defendant Woo Su-jin was innocent.
– Su-jin worked hard throughout her life and, until just before her arrest, prepared breakfast for her nieces and nephews.
– She cried for three days and nights after her sister’s death.
It was a sentimental article unrelated to the case.
However, public opinion was swaying, saying, ‘There’s no way such a person could be the culprit!’
“This time, the prosecution will get a beating. No matter how you look at it, it’s difficult for a rookie to beat Gusanjin.”
It was the words of a veteran journalist, and the reporters nodded in agreement with that opinion.
At that moment, silence suddenly fell in the previously noisy place.
Click-clack, the sound of footsteps.
The reporters’ gaze shifted to that direction.
It was Seo-jin.
And at the same time, the veteran journalist who had said, ‘It’s difficult for a rookie to beat Gusanjin,’ mumbled.
“… A rookie, huh?”
He had spent a long time in the courtroom.
He knew well how nervous a rookie prosecutor would be before their debut.
But Seo-jin was different.
The reporters and Gusanjin, the veteran lawyer, paid no attention.
He was calm and relaxed.
The veteran journalist licked his dry lips.
“Gusanjin might be embarrassed.”
And Seo-jin, walking down the corridor, looked up.
The whispers of the reporters were unheard by Seo-jin.
Only the courtroom was visible.
Seo-jin gripped the cold doorknob and twisted it.
‘It begins.’
It ended in a very exciting place