Episode 2

The first episode of the webtoon ‘In the Law School’ begins with the pre-law orientation ceremony at the Korea University School of Law.

Pre-law, simply put, is a type of preliminary study period conducted by the school before the start of the semester.

Since students from various majors who haven't studied law at the undergraduate level are admitted, it provides an opportunity to adapt to the unfamiliar field of law before starting their formal studies.

Of course, there are always exceptions.

“Next, we will have the student oath. Student Representative, Shin Seo-joon!”

Shin Seo-joon, the protagonist of ‘In the Law School’, walked confidently towards the podium.

His tall stature, easily over 180 centimeters, his neat and handsome face, and his broad shoulders captivated the attention of his fellow students.

With the establishment of law schools, undergraduate law programs at top universities were almost phased out.

However, the Korea National Police University, a specialized institution, still maintained its law program, and Shin Seo-joon was portrayed as the top graduate of that program.

That was the reason why he maintained his position as the undisputed top student in the first year.

Shin Seo-joon quickly captivated his peers with his outstanding abilities and approachable personality.

Naturally, he garnered the support of many students, becoming the first-year representative of the student council and solving various incidents that occurred in the story.

He appeared perfect at first glance, but he was a two-sided character who also hid a dark backstory.

“As a student of the incoming class, I pledge. One, we, the students of Korea University School of Law…”

A masculine and beautiful voice echoed through the hall, drawing exclamations of “Oh!” from various places.

I didn’t realize it when I first read it, but most of the characters who would play important roles in the story were depicted in this scene.

The woman with her hair tied back, sitting in the front row right in front of the podium, is Han Seol, the second-ranked student.

She is a ‘manufactured genius’ type, shaped by her parents’ strict management and education, and she later competes with the protagonist, Shin Seo-joon, for a coveted judicial internship.

The short guy sitting three rows behind, stuffing a handful of chocolate jelly beans into his mouth, is undoubtedly Jeong Min-shik, the third-ranked student.

He is a member of the study group that Shin Seo-joon forms in the beginning, and he becomes a central figure in the mid-term exam question leak incident, one of the main episodes.

He is initially portrayed as somewhat unlikeable, but he is eventually revealed to be a good person and becomes a great help to the protagonist.

And, I… I know all of them.

“Hey, Park Yoo-seung. Are you sleeping?”

“...No.”

I wasn’t looking at the screen, but at the same auditorium, sitting and looking around.

Why hide it?

To cut to the chase, I was isekai’d. (Reincarnated/Transmigrated)

I was in the world of the webtoon ‘In the Law School’, in the body of Park Yoo-seung, a third-rate villain who only causes trouble for the protagonist and his friends before being kicked out.

When I woke up in a strange room in a stranger’s body this morning, everything was confusing.

My face, which was over thirty years old and marked by the hardships I had endured, was gone.

I glared at the rather slick-looking young man in the mirror, and soon I realized it was Park Yoo-seung’s face.

Was I reincarnated?

What was the voice I heard before losing consciousness?

What is that junior?

Countless questions arose, but I decided to put them aside for now.

There was no way to find the answers immediately anyway.

There was something else more important.

Park Yoo-seung enters Korea University Law School along with the protagonist and his friends.

In other words, I had been given the ‘opportunity’ I had so desperately desired.

A third-rate villain? Even better.

Park Yoo-seung was born into an extremely wealthy family, and due to his terrible personality, he was treated as the black sheep and left to his own devices.

There were no financial problems, no family responsibilities to worry about.

The protagonist will take care of the incidents that happen in the original story, so it’s the perfect environment to just focus on studying.

“You seem to be in a good mood?”

The guy next to me spoke again.

What was his name again? In the original work, he was the guy who just agreed with Park Yoo-seung and mocked the protagonist...

I couldn’t remember well.

I didn't know how he became friends with Park Yoo-seung, let alone his name.

I had to avoid further conversation to avoid raising unnecessary suspicion.

Just then, a good excuse presented itself.

“Well… Ah, he’s here.”

“He’s here? Who?”

“The Dean of the Law School.”

Thump. Thump.

The old wooden floor of the podium vibrated.

The students, who had been dozing off or chatting with each other, snapped to attention.

Everyone’s gaze was drawn to a figure who had stepped onto the podium.

At the end of it was a small, elderly man.

But his presence was anything but small.

His graying hair seemed to exude a seasoned authority, and his piercing eyes radiated a vigor that had not faded with age.

Even the cane he leaned on was not a sign of his discomfort, but rather a symbol of authority, like a judge's gavel.

The former Supreme Court Justice and Dean of the Korea University School of Law.

Professor Kang Chang-soo was there.

“You all.”

Without any introduction, as if such things were unnecessary, the Dean of the Law School began to speak in a low voice.

“You must be very proud of yourselves right now. Am I right?”

Scattered “yes” answers popped up.

“That’s because you passed the difficult entrance exam and were admitted to Korea University Law School, the best law school in Korea. You have proven that you are among the top 1% of geniuses. Am I right?”

The “yes” responses were a little louder this time.

“No, you are wrong.”

But the elderly Dean of the Law School shook his head.

“Because there is no such thing as a genius in law.”

Silence fell instantly.

“Law is a subject for the mediocre. It might even be a subject for the slow-witted. Those who read and write more, work harder, and more fiercely, will always achieve greater success. I ask you.”

The Dean of the Law School raised his hand.

“Raise your hand if you have experience preparing for the bar exam.”

I flinched for a moment, but didn’t raise my hand.

I might have in my original life, but there was no way a punk like Park Yoo-seung would have prepared for the bar exam.

I glanced around, and as expected, no one raised their hand.

“Raise your hand if you have experience with or passed civil service exams like the administrative or legislative exams that require legal knowledge.”

This time as well.

“Raise your hand if you have obtained professional licenses, such as a CPA or patent attorney, that include law courses.”

This time as well.

“Raise your hand if you have graduated from a law program and have at least completed a basic run-through of the three basic laws.”

This time, one person, Shin Seo-joon, raised his hand.

“One person. Only one out of 150 incoming students. Of course, this is to be expected. Many young and promising talents are admitted to our Korea University School of Law.”

But, the Dean of the Law School began.

“There are many other law schools that are not like that. Some of them gather people who have already obtained professional licenses in law or passed civil service exams to boost their output.”

That was the unvarnished truth.

“Their study books are already worn and tattered. But if you were to compete with them in legal skills right now, would you be a match?”

Of course not. The Dean of the Law School shook his head.

“You are excellent and intelligent. You are young and have infinite potential for growth. However, or rather, because of that, you are the most behind group in the country in the field of legal studies.”

A murmuring sound spread through the hall.

That was to be expected.

The people gathered in this place were elites who had been told they were excellent their whole lives.

“But there is no need to worry.”

As if to put a stop to it, the Dean of the Law School declared.

“Korea University Law School will teach you to surpass those who have gone ahead of you. If I were to ask you what the statute of limitations is right now, you would be speechless, but by the time you graduate, you will be experts who know all the latest precedents and complex legal principles of the seven laws and can solve any case.”

We will make you into that, he said.

“So, trust and follow us. This two-week pre-law school will be the beginning. That is all.”

* * *

“Isn’t he crazy?”

“Are we the kind of people who would be told we are behind?”

“Honestly, even if those kids from second-rate schools studied a lot, we could catch up in half a year. Why is he trying to scare us like that?”

The Dean of the Law School left the auditorium, leaving only the announcement, “You have free time until six o’clock.”

That was the reason why the students were gathered in small groups, talking loudly.

Most of the freshmen who appear in ‘In the Law School’ are graduates of Korea University, and they had already met through law school prep academies or the school’s law societies.

Therefore, it wasn’t unusual that they were already gathering in friendly groups.

However, the elitism that permeated their conversations was irritating to hear.

In the original work, the pureblood mentality of the Korea University graduates became a major source of conflict in the mock trial competition episode, one of the main episodes.

“Wow, law school isn’t going to be easy.”

“But we should still work hard. Everyone worked hard to pass the entrance exam because they wanted to study law. Haha.”

Of course, not all of them were annoying. Many were sharing their hopes and excitement, as would be expected of young people starting a new chapter in their lives.

The main four characters of the original story were already hanging around the protagonist, Shin Seo-joon.

It seemed that the story would unfold as in the original work.

‘Kang Chang-soo’s speech was the same as in the original.’

It was one of my favorite scenes.

The idea that law is for those who study harder and more, matched my own beliefs as a bar exam taker.

Even talented people can’t pass without studying.

They just have the ability to read the same book two or three times in the time it takes others to read it once.

Anyway, if everything that happens from now on follows the episodes of the original work, there was only one thing I had to do right now.

Thump.

I rummaged through my bag and placed it on the desk that was attached to the seat.

[The Knot of Civil Law]

The Knot of Civil Law, or ‘Minmae’ for short, was a study book. In the original world, it had a slightly different name, but due to copyright issues, it was called The Knot of Civil Law in the webtoon.

That’s right.

I have to study.

And right now!

I didn’t need to look for people to hang out with like the others.

The people Park Yoo-seung knew, or would come to know, were all bad people anyway.

In fact, there were a few guys, including the one who spoke to me earlier, who came up to me with smirks on their faces, but I shook them all off and retreated to a secluded spot.

Studying was more urgent.

Although I had scored close to passing on the bar exam in my past life, that was more than 10 years ago.

Moreover, those 10 years weren’t just any 10 years.

They were years when I was forced to build a wall against studying and just worked myself to death.

My meager study experience had long been swept away by the river of forgetfulness.

“Especially, considering ‘that’ that will happen later…”

I had to recover what I could from that river right away.

The study book that I opened after a long time was familiar yet unfamiliar.

General Provisions of Civil Law, Law of Property, Law of Obligations, Family and Inheritance Law…

The table of contents in the familiar Pandekten system were imbued with the memories of studying them in the past.

As I flipped through the Principle of Good Faith, I remembered the moment I first moved into my small room in Sillim-dong and boldly vowed to pass the exam.

As I skimmed through the Creditor’s Right of Revocation, I vividly recalled the taste of the tear-soaked cup rice I ate at the cup rice place on the first floor with my exhausted body.

In other words, I had completely forgotten the things I actually needed.

Of course, it wasn’t like nothing was left.

Some concepts that I initially wondered if they had even existed, came back to me as I read, and I would think, ‘Ah, that’s right.’

The pages that wouldn’t turn at first, as if they were blocked by something, were now turning smoothly.

It was nothing short of rehabilitation.

Just like an athlete who has been bedridden for a long time practices walking first, I was reawakening my brain, which had forgotten how to study.

It was enjoyable.

Some might point fingers and say I’m crazy for finding the study of law enjoyable.

Of course, it wasn’t like studying law wasn’t hard or difficult for me.

Even now, my head felt like it was going to break as I tried to cram one more word into my brain.

But being able to experience that pain was also a grace and a blessing.

I know, having been deprived of it once.

The weight of the tears shed from not being able to study is much heavier and deeper than the weight of the sweat shed from studying...

Just as I was turning the pages with a broad smile on my face.

“...!”

For some reason, I felt a gaze and raised my head.

At the end of it, Professor Kang Chang-soo was looking at me with a strange expression.