Episode 24

Park Geon stared intently at my grade report, as if he had encountered some kind of incomprehensible miracle.

However, the pragmatic spirit of an entrepreneur did not allow for miracles.

Therefore, Park Geon first doubted it.

“Is that really… your grade report?”

But that didn’t mean that the three letters of my name, which were clearly printed, would run away.

Looking at it from the left and from the right, it was Park Yoo-seung. It was my grade report.

Only after I showed him the grade page on the school website on my smartphone for cross-verification did Park Geon finally understand the authenticity of the grades.

“But, how.”

Even so, it wasn’t something that he could easily accept.

“How… could you……”

“I have a dream now.”

Therefore, I elaborated.

“I want to become a prosecutor. I want to contribute to correcting the world as much as, or even more than, the mistakes that I’ve made so far.”

As I said that, I rummaged through the bag that I had placed under the chair.

What I took out were two study books that had been marked up, which were the result of all the blood and sweat that I had shed over the past two months.

It was Minmae and the Summary of Criminal Law.

“So, I’ve been working hard.”

I handed them to Park Geon.

“This is…….”

Park Geon flipped through the study books that he had received.

Every page was filled with notes, memos, and X marks.

The traces of graphite that had been broken from writing something down until he was about to faint, and the traces of dried blood that had been left on the book for a long time captivated Park Geon’s eyes.

“I know that I haven't been able to fulfill my duty as a human being or as a son. I know that I don't have the right to show my face to you now.”

I bowed my head in front of Park Geon.

“But this time, I'm really going to do my best. Please give me one last chance.”

Park Geon raised his head and looked at me.

The deep eyes of the chairman of Yuseong Group emitted a piercing light.

I didn’t avoid it in the slightest and met his gaze with a confident posture.

As the silence grew longer, Park Min-ha, who had become anxious, interjected.

“Wait, are you going to believe him now? That scoundrel? He deserves to have everything taken away from him and be kicked out right now,”

“……It will be a difficult and arduous path.”

Park Geon said abruptly.

“There’s no guarantee that your talent will be good enough for you to always succeed in the future. In the first place, those are grades from before the regular semester even started. The influence of luck can’t be ruled out. There might have been some differences in the evaluation methods, and it might have been possible because the other students hadn’t started to compete in earnest.”

‘He’s sharp.’

I was inwardly impressed.

It was true that the changed second evaluation method had played a major role in allowing me to place fifth in the pre-law program.

It had allowed me to overcome my lack of memorization.

It was also true that the students who weren’t interested in the competition for the supervising professor had studied less.

‘Above all, I was lucky to have a smart teammate like Han Seol.’

As expected of the man who had built Yuseong Group all by himself, his insight was great.

“And considering your nature, which has been accustomed to a life of debauchery, there’s no way to know when you’ll lose control again. Three years is long. Are you confident that you’ll be able to walk that difficult path on your own?”

However, even if his criticisms were all true.

I could say this with certainty.

“I won’t waver. I will not waver.”

This was the second life that I had so desperately wanted.

The things that I had dreamed of more than anything in my life were finally given to me.

There was no way that I would be broken halfway through.

“……Can you prove it?”

That was a very good sign.

Park Geon no longer unilaterally ignored my voice.

Instead, he was trying to test me while observing my intentions.

A test was also an opportunity.

“Please give me time.”

I nodded confidently.

“In a month, I’ll have my first midterm exam. I’ll prove my will and talent to you with the results.”

“Specifically?”

“First place.”

I closed my eyes and blurted it out.

“If I don’t get first place on the midterm exam, then I’ll do as you wish. You can have me drop out, or you can have me return to the main house. But if I succeed…….”

“If you succeed?”

“Please give me the corresponding, proper reward.”

I thought for a moment as I said that.

‘……Was that a bit of an overreach?’

Korea University Law School was full of all sorts of geniuses.

The weight of saying that I would get first place there was by no means light.

But was law something that only geniuses could do?

-Law is the study of the average person. Or perhaps it is the study of the dullard.

Dean Kang Chang-soo had once said that.

He had said that law was something where the person who read more and worked harder would definitely get ahead.

If that was the case, then there was no reason for me not to be able to do it.

I had read the basic textbooks until they were worn out, and I had sharpened my senses by solving countless problems, more than anyone else here.

At least, there was no one who could surpass me in terms of the depth of the nights that I had spent at my desk or the weight of the blood and sweat that I had shed.

‘Yeah, I can do it.’

If that was the case, then I had to say that much to persuade Park Geon.

Demanding a reward might have seemed presumptuous at first glance.

I was a troublemaker in the family, someone who only caused trouble, and I should have been begging him to let me continue doing what I wanted, but what was this talk about a reward?

But that was what was right for Park Geon.

There was already a gap in the heart of this rock-like man.

It was the result of Driver Choi knocking on the door, combined with the traces of my efforts that I had shown him.

If that was the case, then instead of continuing to bow down and be subservient, it was a better choice to show the spirit of challenging what I could and demanding what I should.

Park Geon was a man who had challenged and faced adversity throughout his life.

Guts and ambition were among the values that he highly esteemed.

Finally, Park Geon opened his mouth.

“Alright.”

It was a clear declaration of permission.

“Do as you wish.”

“Father!”

“Is my decision wrong now?”

“……Ugh!”

Park Min-ha cried out in a shrill voice, but she immediately closed her mouth when Park Geon glared at her.

She, who had built everything within the safe confines of Yuseong Group, couldn’t dare to confront her father’s words head-on.

“That’s the difference between you and that guy.”

“What do you,”

“Because you don’t have anything that is completely your own, you can’t have any guts.”

“……!”

“I’ll stop the meal here.”

Park Geon got up from his seat.

“Originally, I called you here today to decide on a much more important matter. But…… it seems like I judged too early.”

“Ah, Father?”

Park Tae-yang, who had been silent until then, spoke in a flustered voice for the first time.

“I’ll call you again later. Go back and do what you each have to do.”

With those words, Park Geon completely left the dining table.

“…….”

Only the three siblings remained there. Park Tae-yang with a bewildered expression, and Park Min-ha who was trembling.

“Uh, um.”

And finally, me, awkwardly scratching the back of my neck.

“Then, I’ll be going.”

The atmosphere was so tense that I quickly escaped from my seat.

“……Kuh!”

It was as if I could hear a cry of resentment from far behind me.

* * *

“……And that’s what happened.”

I said as I manipulated the lever of the fighting game machine.

On the screen, my character was mercilessly beating up my opponent.

A powerful blow flew at me, but since it was within my expectations, I easily blocked it and counterattacked.

The opponent's character fell.

“You’ve gotten a bit better? If you fix that habit of hesitating before using a grab, you’ll go up two ranks.”

When I said that, Lee Ha-roo’s sulky face popped out from the other side of the game machine.

“You said I’ve gotten better, but why do I always lose?”

“Hehe, will a tree ever reach the sky, even if it grows?”

That meant that there was a gap in our skills.

“You’re so great. Ptooey, ptooey.”

Lee Ha-roo, who had been pouting her lips, said, “But, Master,” and started to speak.

“Were you a second-generation chaebol?”

“Didn’t you know?”

“I didn’t know. I knew you were a gold spoon, but.”

“I’m jealous. If it were me, I would drop out right away and play games at home forever.” Lee Ha-roo muttered like that.

‘I guess you could think that way.’

Indeed, if a normal person had that much money, they might not bother to study so hard.

But for me, money was only secondary.

It was just a kind of shield and safety net that would ensure that I wouldn’t have to give up my dream for economic reasons, like I had in my past life.

“Are you going to be okay?”

Han Seol, who was watching, asked worriedly.

Since we had come to the arcade during our lunch break, Han Seol was able to come too.

Surprisingly, she had a talent for shooting games.

It was a little scary to see her smiling while slaughtering zombies with a submachine gun.

It was the moment when I vowed that I shouldn’t let her play games too often.

‘Well, it’s not like she’s someone who’s going to play a lot in the first place.’

“What do you mean, am I going to be okay?”

“From what I heard, it seems like you’ve completely been targeted by that brother and sister…….”

“It can’t be helped. No matter how scary those guys are, they can’t be as scary as my father.”

Park Geon held the purse strings.

If I could move him, then being at odds with Park Tae-yang or Park Min-ha was nothing.

I had already thought of ways to deal with it to some extent.

“Well, in the end, what’s important is whether or not I can get first place on the midterm exam.”

“……I’m going to tell you in advance, I have no intention of going easy on you?”

“Of course. I would have been angry if you went easy on me.”

Just like I had my own goals and circumstances, Han Seol had her own goals and circumstances.

Han Seol was quite sentimental, but that was a completely different issue from competing with sincerity.

It didn’t suit her to go easy for any reason.

‘It wouldn’t mean anything if I won like that.’

If it wasn’t a trophy that I had won with my own skills and preparation, then I wouldn’t be able to show it off.

Besides, Han Seol wasn’t the only person that I had to surpass.

‘Yeah. If I want to get first place, I have to get over him.’

Our original story’s protagonist, who was perfect in every way.

I had to beat Shin Seo-joon.

“One more game.”

“It’s getting close to the start time for our afternoon lecture.”

“Just one more, just one last game, please. If we hurry and run, we can definitely get there in time.”

“Wouldn’t it be okay? Our afternoon class is on constitutional law, and that professor is always 5 minutes late.”

“You’re really lenient with Lee Ha-roo…….”

With Han Seol's support, I ended up sitting in front of the game machine one more time.

Of course, that didn’t mean that the goddess of victory smiled on Lee Ha-roo.

Lee Ha-roo, who had accepted my advice, immediately used a special move, but my character had already lowered its stance and was ready to exploit the opening in her movements.

“……It’s unfair. You’re using my own advice against me.”

“Ah, but you were taught not to be stuck on one thing.”

In the end, Lee Ha-roo, who had been completely defeated, grumbled as she turned around. Of course, no one was listening to her.

“Let’s hurry up and go. We’re going to be late.”

“Our afternoon class is ‘Constitutional Law Disaster,’ you know.”

“Even considering that, we’re cutting it close.”

As Han Seol had said, the afternoon lecture was on constitutional law, and the constitutional law professor was infamous for being 5 minutes late to every lecture.

Why was it infamous for being late?

Because he would say that he had to make up for the time that he had lost, so he would always end the class 10 or 15 minutes later than the scheduled time.

The students called him the Constitutional Law Disaster.

It was a derogatory term that was meant to describe how knowledgeable and wise he was in public law, like a justice of the Constitutional Court, but of course, it wasn’t that.

His lectures were boring, and they were filled with content that was completely unrelated to the bar exam.

“Why is there a professor like that at Korea University Law School?”

“It’s the opposite. He’s here because it’s Korea University Law School.”

I replied to Han Seol’s grumbling.

“Where do you think the law school professors came from? They were originally people who were in the law department. At a place like Korea University Law School, there must have been several renowned researchers who were famous in the world of academic law.”

Professors who were from research backgrounds had a very high level of pride because they had reached a certain level as scholars.

They would stubbornly insist on lecturing on their research fields, just like they would in a regular graduate school, rather than dedicating their precious time to matching the law school curriculum or the bar exam ‘or anything like that.’

“In the academic world, those people are elders, so there’s no way to touch them.”

“Is Constitutional Law Disaster also one of those cases?”

“Probably.”

Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, usually those kinds of professors were assigned to the first-year curriculum.

The students who were preparing for the bar exam would prepare for the exam with professors who taught in a more exam-focused way, and the purpose was to have the first-year students experience academic lectures when they had relatively less pressure.

Perhaps that was why it wasn’t just the Constitutional Law Disaster, but also the professor who lectured on Civil Law III, which was property law, was that type of person.

‘Right now… I should say that it’s unfortunate.’

That was because the midterm exam would be focused on those ‘academic lectures.’

My study method had been thoroughly refined around the exam books, so it wouldn’t work on an exam that was filled with random issues and theories.

In short.

It meant that I needed to prepare with another method for those kinds of classes.

‘Well, it’s not like I hadn’t thought of it.’

“Lee Ha-roo.”

“What is it?”

“Let’s do one thing together.”

“……?”

Lee Ha-roo turned around with a blank expression.

‘You’re the key card for this exam.’