A Somewhat Unusual Lawyer - Chapter 5

A coffee shop near the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.
As he opened the door and entered, a woman sitting by the window awkwardly rose from her seat.
The neatly dressed woman parted her lips, her fingertips tightly pressed together as if nervous.
A subtle tremor was mixed in her voice.

“By any chance, are you from Law Firm Reaper…”

Nam Da-reum gave a short bow.

“Yes. Nice to meet you. I am Lawyer Nam Da-reum.”
“Ah… Yes. I am Go Eun-chae…”

Trailing off, she checked the space behind Da-reum.

“It seems Lawyer Ma Sang-hyun… didn’t come with you.”

Nam Da-reum slightly tilted his head.

“Ah, were you not contacted? I will be assisting you from now on.”
“Ah, I see.”

She seemed to accept it quickly, but the disappointment was clearly visible on her face.
After a brief silence, Go Eun-chae let out an anxious voice.

“Lawyer Ma… does he think there’s no hope even if we file an investigation review request from our side? …Is that why he sent you instead, Lawyer Nam?”

Nam Da-reum’s eyes widened for a moment.

“Ah, no. He is busy with other matters right now, so I came in his place. The investigation review request has also already been completed. The reason I asked to meet you today like this was because I thought I should meet you at least once anyway.”
“Ah, so that was it. I thought this was just going to end like this again… I was a bit anxious. I’m sorry. Lawyer.”

Only then did the tension leave Go Eun-chae’s shoulders a little.

“Since the investigative agency wasn’t doing anything… the bereaved family had to step up and secure CCTV footage or testimonies ourselves. We submitted the evidence we secured to the police… but we received an answer telling us to wait. At first, I didn’t contact them directly for fear of interfering with the investigation.”

Wrapping her hands around the hot coffee cup, she slowly poured out the pent-up anger she had harbored all this time.

“However, the result was miserable. When I checked my mailbox later, I received a notification of it becoming an unsolved cold case. Even though an active prosecutor was murdered, the investigative agency was incompetent. They swept my brother’s death away with a single sheet of paper notifying us it was a cold case.”

Da-reum quietly just listened to her story.
Go Eun-chae let out a deep sigh and said.

“I’m sorry. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t just let it end like this…”

Her fingertips trembled faintly.
Nam Da-reum watched her for a moment before speaking softly.

“There’s no need to be sorry. An investigation review request is the victim’s right. It’s natural that you can demand a reinvestigation.”

Go Eun-chae continued with a conflicted expression.

“This wasn’t my first time filing an investigation review request. At first, I filed it through the investigator in charge. But even that didn’t progress well and was dismissed. It was during that time I met Lawyer Ma Sang-hyun. I found out he was an advisory counsel for the police agency…”
“It was a stroke of luck in misfortune, then. The fact that you met Lawyer Ma Sang-hyun.”
“…Tell me about it.”

Go Eun-chae let out a faint laugh.
Her expression looked as if all sorts of emotions had brushed past it at once.

“Then, what should we… do now?”
“An unsolved cold case means a suspect hasn’t been identified. For now, file the review request, and if a suspect is identified or there is additional evidence, the investigation will resume.”
“It’s a problem even if we file the review request. I wonder if the investigation will actually resume. It’s a case the investigator in charge already let go of.”
“We have to make it happen.”

Nam Da-reum answered with a gentle smile.
Go Eun-chae stared at Nam Da-reum blankly before asking back.

“Did you also… check the case records, Lawyer Nam?”
“Yes. I looked them over meticulously.”
“What do you… think?”
“Hmm. It’s a case where an active prosecutor died, and I think it would be difficult for a regular person to be meticulous enough to not leave a single piece of evidence behind to this extent.”
“…”
“You said Go Kang-hyun was a third-year prosecutor at the time. Was there any resentment around him, or any peculiarities among the cases he handled?”
“Yes… there wasn’t. The police also said that since he was a new prosecutor… there were no circumstances indicating he would have incurred resentment from those around him. The cases my brother handled were also far from violent crimes. The motive for the crime is uncertain, and because of that, they couldn’t identify even a single suspect. Later on, opinions even surfaced questioning if it was an accidental crime.”

Da-reum reviewed the contents of the records in his mind.
He had confirmed it in the case records as well, but the fact that there was absolutely no trace of blood inside the building was unusual.
In other words, it meant the culprit handled everything inside the office.
If not a single drop of blood was spilled inside or outside, it absolutely couldn’t be viewed as an accidental crime. It was a thoroughly planned murder.

‘On top of that… the transition to a cold case was way too fast. There’s definitely something there.’

Nam Da-reum calmly set his coffee cup down and concluded his words.

“Since the review request has been filed, we will do our best to the extent of our abilities.”
“…Thank you.”

Just as Da-reum was about to close his notebook, Go Eun-chae pulled out a few photos from deep inside her bag.

“Ah, Lawyer. This.”

She pulled out a photo with stiff fingertips.
It was a printed photo of a CCTV screen.

“I showed this to the investigator in charge in the past, but it’s a photo that wasn’t adopted as evidence. I brought it just in case.”
“What kind of photo is this?”
“I found it myself. After my brother was murdered, I kept searching through the CCTVs around the area for 6 months. But this person… appeared exactly once on the day of the murder and never appeared again.”

Nam Da-reum received the photos from her.
The man in the photo was wearing a black hat and a black mask.
A faint silhouette was revealed beneath the mask.
For a moment, he tilted his head.
He was clearly a man he was seeing for the first time, but a sense of déjà vu washed over him. In an instant, even the line of his back went cold.
There were several photos.
Flipping to the next page, there was also a photo of him wearing a black coat. Even at a glance, he looked quite tall.

“Can I take these photos with me?”

Go Eun-chae nodded.

“Yes. I brought them to give to you.”

Da-reum tucked the photos into his notebook and said.

“Then, I will contact you immediately once the review results are out.”

Go Eun-chae gave a short bow.

“Thank you… truly. Lawyer.”
“Save your thanks for later. When the investigation resumes, then.”

Nam Da-reum forced a smile and stood up from his seat. However, the silhouette in the photos he had put away out of sight lingered in his mind like a ghost.
Suddenly, along with a feeling of his lungs being blocked, his left flank tingled coldly.
Da-reum unconsciously clutched the area on his waist where the scar remained.
Then he recalled the sensation of that day when a blade dug into his abdomen.
The man who stabbed him and disappeared into the darkness was also wearing a black coat.

‘Don’t tell me…’

The inside of his mouth dried up completely. Da-reum shook his head as if shaking off a foolish imagination.
To think the culprit who murdered an active prosecutor several years ago and the assailant who attacked him, a newly minted lawyer, were the same person. His reason, telling him such a movie-like coincidence couldn’t possibly be real, suppressed his fear.
However, the doubt that had bloomed once did not easily subside and gnawed into his thoughts.

Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.
As he opened the office door, an unexpected figure was waiting for Nam Da-reum.

“Lawyer Ma?”

Da-reum called out to Ma Sang-hyun, raising his eyebrows.
He was sitting leisurely as if it were his own master bedroom, having boldly placed a box of energy drinks on top of Da-reum’s desk.
As soon as he discovered Da-reum, he raised one hand high.

“Oh. Lawyer Nam. Rumor has it you pulled one off?”

Nam Da-reum quickly shook his head.

“Ah, no. It was just some simple legal advice.”
“Really? Are you on your way back from meeting Ms. Go Eun-chae now?”
“Yes.”

Da-reum asked back while scanning Ma Sang-hyun with meaningful eyes.

“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t be able to come for a while because you were busy?”

Ma Sang-hyun shrugged his shoulders.

“To be exact, I am scheduled to be busy starting tomorrow. I just stopped by for a moment today because I have something to ask of you.”
“Ask of me?”
“Yes. You haven’t identified the culprit who stabbed you yet, have you, Lawyer Nam. Be careful with your body just in case. Don’t go wandering around late at night either.”

It was a warning that was strangely business-like yet chilling.
As he stood blankly, having lost his words for a moment, Ma Sang-hyun added lowly.

“If anything dangerous happens, give me a call.”
“A call?”
“Yes. The time doesn’t matter. Even if it’s dawn, it’s fine.”

At that sound, Nam Da-reum let out a chuckle.

“Why would I call you, Lawyer Ma, in a dangerous situation. Does calling you make it not dangerous? 112 would be much faster.”

At those words, Ma Sang-hyun also laughed along. However, his eyes, at least, were not smiling.

“You never know. I might arrive much faster than the police.”

This time, Nam Da-reum really laughed out loud.

“And when I call, what am I supposed to say? Save me?”
“No.”

The smile completely vanished from Ma Sang-hyun’s face.
For a fleeting moment, an indescribable murderous intent hovered in his eyes and disappeared.

“Just say you’re requesting a forced erasure. You just have to say that one phrase.”
“Forced erasure?”
“Yes. Of course, you should call after looking at the person in front of you with your Left Eye once, right?”

He grinned and placed a memo on top of the drink box.

“By any chance, if I don’t answer the phone, call here.”
“Whose… phone number is this.”
“An emergency contact network?”
“…”
“Well then, I will be going now. Make sure to call. I clearly told you.”

Ma Sang-hyun disappeared out the door like a ghost, leaving behind only riddle-like words.
The door closed, and the sound of his footsteps gradually faded away.

“…He came just to spout strange nonsense again and left.”

Nam Da-reum stared at the closed door for a long while before shaking his head from side to side.

‘Forced erasure. Does he mean he’ll clean them up for me or something?’

At that moment, the office door was thrown open once again.
This time it was Lieutenant Jin Pil-seong.

“Oh. I thought that was Lawyer Ma just now, wasn’t it?”
“That’s correct. He said he was just stopping by for a moment.”
“Really? I heard he was busy.”
“He said he would be busy starting tomorrow.”
“Ah, is that so? Oh. Can I drink this?”

Jin Pil-seong pointed at the energy drinks. Da-reum nodded as he pocketed the memo.
Popping open a drink, Jin Pil-seong started pouring out words that weren’t even asked.

“Lawyer Ma. Is he busy because of that cleaning company again?”
“Cleaning?”
“Ah, did you not know? Have you not been to Law Firm Reaper’s side yet, Lawyer Nam?”
“Yes. Not yet.”
“The law firm is right on the 2nd floor, and the 3rd and 4th floors are a cleaning company, aren’t they.”
“A cleaning company?”
“What did they call it. I heard they clean up special filth and trash. Anyway, that’s not what’s important. Lawyer Ma is the building owner. The building owner. So get on his good side.”

At that moment.
Smack!
With a dull sound, Jin Pil-seong’s shoulders slumped powerlessly.
It was a back-smash from Inspector Jang Joo-young.

“This punk. I told you to just say your thanks and come back, but you’re flapping your yap again.”
“Ah, what yap. I’m just speaking facts. I just gave Lawyer Nam some advice to broaden his insight.”
“What insight, you punk. Do you even know what that means before using it.”
“Ayy, geez.”
“Enough. Zip your lips and get out.”

Jang Joo-young fiercely scowled as he shooed him away with his palm.

“Inspector, you’re always picking on me like this every single day.”

As Jin Pil-seong grabbed a few drinks and left grumbling, Jang Joo-young’s expression had already regained its tranquility. He looked at Da-reum and gently opened his mouth.

“Lawyer Nam. I’m indebted to you again. Thank you.”
“Ah, no. I just did what I was supposed to do.”
“You didn’t make enemies in the lawyer industry by helping us, did you?”

At the concerned voice, Nam Da-reum waved both hands.

“Ah, no. Not at all.”
“That’s a relief then. If you ever need our help later, just say the word. I might not know about others, but I will absolutely grant a favor for you, Lawyer Nam.”

At those words, Da-reum’s fingertips paused.
His gaze naturally drifted toward the notebook on the desk.
Inside were the photos he had received from Go Eun-chae.
After a brief deliberation, Da-reum slowly let out a voice.

“Then, while we’re on the subject… could I ask a favor of you?”