Episode 32

Han Il-gu's research lab was located on the top floor of the law building.

After passing through a quiet hallway where people rarely went, I opened the door to his lab and was greeted by a mountain of law books and papers piled up like a fortress.

"Come in."

As I stepped inside, Han Il-gu closed the door behind me with a thud.

"Actually,"

Han Il-gu began quietly.

"I know it too."

It was a rambling first sentence.

"That my classes are not welcome. That the students are fed up with broad, in-depth law as an academic discipline... The truth is, it's not all your fault."

"..."

"It's just, this law school system made it that way."

Han Il-gu looked out the window into the distance.

"It's only three years. Law is such a grand and profound discipline, there's no way you can conquer it perfectly in just three years. In the end, what matters is how efficiently you study and pass the exam... the students have no choice but to focus on that."

'So he knew it all along.'

"But. But still."

He was still standing with his back to me.

"Someone has to protect it."

"Protect what?"

"Law as an academic discipline. Learning and teaching. Depth and foundation."

Han Il-gu continued.

"Many things have changed over time. Now, the entire law school as an educational institution is only focused on the students passing the bar exam and producing impressive outputs. From what I've heard, our professors' lectures are now more tailored to the exam than those of so-called star instructors in the cram school district."

Isn't that enough? He added.

"At least one person. Just one person, even if it's only to appeal that the pulse of academic law hasn't been cut off in this country, and that I am the one who is protecting it, isn't that okay?"

"..."

Han Il-gu's back, as he spoke, somehow looked very tired and lonely.

A small fighter who was fighting alone against the tide of the times.

Whether I agreed with his conviction or opposed it, I could feel the weight of what he was carrying.

"I said that I wanted to show Park Yoo-seung something."

Han Il-gu opened a drawer and pulled out a file, handing it to me.

"Professor, this is."

"It's a thesis that I finished writing today. It's something that I wrote for personal research purposes, so I probably won't publish it."

Han Il-gu waved his hand as if to tell me to leave.

"Take it. Read it through once, and I'd like to hear your thoughts."

And then, Han Il-gu added.

"How you 'utilize' this is up to you, Park Yoo-seung... let's say that."

'Why would he suddenly give me an unpublished thesis? Ah, could it be!'

How I utilized it was up to me? As I mulled over those words, something suddenly occurred to me, and I flipped through the file.

The title was plastered on the first page in large letters.

[The Scope and Limits of Autonomy of National Universities - Focusing on the Scope of Application of the Principle of Legal Reservation]

The principle of legal reservation.

That was a keyword that was included in Lee Ha-roo's program 'Easy-Peasy', and it was also included in the range of this midterm exam.

'...Did he put it on the exam? This?'

A question that evaluated the precedents related to the autonomy of national universities based on the principle of legal reservation.

Considering Han Il-gu's usual exam style, it seemed like it could easily appear.

'This is a blind spot.'

I had previously argued that the topics that Han Il-gu considered important when creating exam questions, that is, the topics he had researched relatively recently, would be the ones that would appear on the exam.

This had been proven by the existence of theses that were connected to all of the past questions.

But if that was true, wouldn't the topic he was researching 'right now' be the content that Han Il-gu was most interested in and considered most important?

I hadn't thought that he could also set questions from an unpublished paper that he was still writing.

That was only natural.

How could I have possibly predicted that a professor, who was already busy with administrative work and preparing for lectures, would also be writing a new research paper while also working on the midterm exam?

Most law school professors didn't leave behind even a tenth of the academic writings that Han Il-gu did.

It was only possible because he had devoted his soul to academic law.

'The fact that he deliberately gave this to me means that he put it on the exam, right?'

The subtle emphasis and accent in his words when he told me to utilize it as I saw fit.

Unless I was completely oblivious, there was no way I couldn't understand that.

In some ways, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The summaries that we had prepared in the study group were also top-notch materials, but this was practically like being given the question and answer all at once.

But.

'Is it okay for me to just accept this?'

It was different from collecting and reading published papers.

Those were materials that anyone could access, and since you didn't know exactly which paper the questions would be drawn from, we had divided up the work and prepared for it by gathering people.

But this paper was different.

Since it was unpublished, only I could see it.

Moreover, it was given to me by the professor who was directly setting the exam.

This was practically a leak of the questions and cheating.

"Professor."

"..."

The great legal scholar was facing me.

No, that wasn't it. Standing there was just a human being.

An ordinary man who was exhausted from a lonely struggle that no one was supporting.

What was he thinking when he gave me this thesis?

"Professor, I."

I couldn't figure it out. If so, there was only one thing I could do.

"I think that this thesis is too valuable to just read and keep to myself."

"...!"

"Even for the sake of the 'learning' that you mentioned, would it be okay if I personally summarize this thesis and share it with my fellow classmates?"

At least, not leaving behind a small blemish that he might regret for the rest of his life.

"Since it's an unpublished paper, I will make sure it will never leak out. Instead, I intend to provide it as reference material during class so that my fellow classmates can deepen their understanding."

That would be enough.

It was a common case for exam questions to come directly from reference materials that the professor had brought.

The difference from when I was seeing it alone was that everyone could see this material, so it could be a fair competition.

Of course, I didn't intend to be so kind as to tell them, 'This is going to be on the exam.'

I was going through all this trouble, so I deserved to have that much of an advantage.

Still, if they had any sense, they would read at least the few pages of the summary before the exam.

I could expect additional effects as well.

The guys who had gained a question thanks to the summary I had distributed would be grateful to me after the exam.

It was disadvantageous to remain a hated figure forever, so it might be a good idea to try and improve my image around this time.

Above all, the great thing was that I wasn't losing anything.

The midterm exam that Han Il-gu gave was made up of two questions.

Even if one question came from this thesis, the other question would still be drawn from the 12 summaries that our study group had prepared.

Grades were ultimately relative.

Even if everyone did well on one question thanks to the thesis I had shared, the rankings would inevitably be determined by the other question.

That meant there was no need to be greedy to the point of committing something close to fraud.

Considering the difficulty of Han Il-gu's exams, we were going to get high scores anyway.

"...You really never cease to surprise me."

At my suggestion, Han Il-gu stood still as if he had been struck by lightning, then he let out a hollow, bitter laugh and bowed his head.

"Thank you. I almost became a person who was ashamed of myself."

Han Il-gu let out a light sigh.

"Do as you wish. The deadline... there's only one class left before the exam. Would that be okay?"

"Yes. I will have it ready by then."

"Good. ...Now, go. I'm a little tired."

And so, I left Han Il-gu's research lab.

For a while, I could hear the sound of his shoes pacing irregularly on the other side of the door, as if he was agonizing.

* * *

When I returned to the lecture hall for the next class, Lee Ha-roo and Han Seol approached me with worried expressions.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Nothing happened."

I briefly explained what had happened in the research lab to them.

"...That was completely something, though?"

"I thought you were going to become his graduate student."

What kind of terrible thing was that?

"We're already graduate students."

"Oh, right."

Back in my undergraduate days in my past life, that kind of thing happened often.

A classmate who had shown a performance that was very pleasing to the professor was kidnapped to the research lab and, after graduation, was dragged into graduate school, so the rumors said.

But we were already graduate students. Although the word 'professional' was attached, we were graduate students nonetheless.

Maybe they would recommend a doctoral program or something after we graduated, but that was still a distant story for now.

There was no way that we would become slaves who were stripped of our human rights and devoted ourselves to academics.

"I'm relieved."

Han Seol nodded.

"What?"

"That I didn't misjudge you. If you had just accepted it and used it by yourself, or tried to keep it just for us, I would have been very disappointed."

'Ah. That's what she meant.'

That would have been a clear violation of the line according to Han Seol's standards.

I still had a lot of roles that I expected from Han Seol, so I couldn't be cut off so early.

'Besides, an unfair fight isn't my style.'

What would be the point of getting good grades that way?

While we were talking about this and that, the clock struck 2 PM. The class this time was none other than Criminal Law.

With a thud, the door opened, and Jang Yong-hwan entered the lecture hall like a knife.

'As expected, he's a man who's punctual to the minute.'

He could arrive a little early, but he never arrived late.

There were few professors who were as strict about starting and ending on time as Jang Yong-hwan.

Perhaps this strictness was the foundation that supported his brilliant career.

"Well, then."

As Jang Yong-hwan opened his mouth, the students, who had been chatting, all became quiet and straightened their postures.

His lectures were excellent, but Jang Yong-hwan also had a kind of charisma that was felt at a primal level.

Like herbivores who were crushed by the intimidation of a lion, he focused the attention of the audience on himself.

Without realizing it, they would tense their bodies and listen to every word he said.

After pausing for long enough, Jang Yong-hwan began.

"I would like to start today's class... but."

A different greeting than usual.

"Unfortunately, I won't be able to do that today."

'Ah, is this that scene?'

"I have an urgent matter to attend to, so I have to leave for a while. Therefore, there will be no class today."

It was a scene that had also appeared in the original story.

On this day, Jang Yong-hwan would leave to meet a witness of 'a certain case' that he had been tracking for a long time since he was still a prosecutor.

It was an important matter that was related to the reason why Shin Seo-joon entered Korea University Law School and the final boss of the original story.

It seemed that the main scenario was starting to unfold.

I had to stay alert if I didn't want to get swept away.

'In the Law School' was a very eventful story.

There were quite a few things that I had to do to prepare, and I had somewhat organized them in my head.

However.

The thing that I had to focus on right now was a more immediate problem.

"So, is it a cancellation of class?"

Someone raised their hand and asked.

"It's like you're asking if you're finally free."

Haha, laughter filled the lecture hall.

"Unfortunately, that's not it. You're paying millions of won per semester in tuition, so how can a professor just abandon class just because of personal reasons?"

Jang Yong-hwan raised one hand.

"Teaching assistants. Are you all ready?"

As if that was a signal, the teaching assistants marched into the lecture hall from the front and back, carrying large paper bags.

"Are these the right bags, Professor?"

"Yes. Please distribute them."

Question marks appeared on the students' faces.

But I knew. I knew what was inside those bags.

"...Exam papers?"

Han Seol, who had received her bag and opened it, muttered.

In front of her were several sheets of exam questions, neatly arranged.

Looking at them briefly, they seemed to be multiple-choice Criminal Law questions.

A similar bag was dropped in front of me.

"Those are the questions that I made for this exam, but ultimately decided not to include. In short, they're waste."

But, Jang Yong-hwan added.

"Even if they're waste, they're questions that I made. I can guarantee their difficulty and quality. And for you all, it's also an opportunity to get a sense of how this exam will be."

"Ooh..."

The students, who had been doubtful at first, now carefully picked up the exam papers as if they were touching a precious treasure.

As Jang Yong-hwan had said, these exam questions were the best teaching materials for preparing for the Criminal Law midterm exam.

Both in terms of the level of the questions and the style, they were almost identical to the midterm exam questions that Jang Yong-hwan would set.

But Jang Yong-hwan wasn't someone who would give out free candy like this.

Everyone knew well that there was no way that would be the case.

"Today's class will be replaced by solving these questions. Those who have solved them all can submit them to the teaching assistants and leave, but."

It wouldn't be a good idea to just solve them carelessly and submit them in order to leave quickly. Jang Yong-hwan added that.

"If you look at the course syllabus, it says that 10% of your grade is reflected in your assignments. That score will be replaced by the results of the exam papers you submit today."

In other words, it wasn't just a simple practice question.

Since it was reflected in the grade itself, you had to do your best to solve them.

10% was a considerable proportion that could change your ranking by dozens of places.

"Oh, what do I do."

"I'm doomed. Multiple-choice questions can only be solved by memorizing them until right before the exam."

"I only glanced at the first page, but there are so many confusing things..."

Only then did the students seem to realize the situation, and complaints were heard from here and there.

Even if it was an exam on the same concept and the same range, the way you prepared for multiple-choice and case-based exams was completely different.

In case-based exams, you had to write long texts yourself.

Therefore, you had to memorize the entire logical structure of each issue and the core keywords of the legal principles so that you could recite them even if you were woken up in the middle of the night.

Instead, you could refer to the law books, and the topics that were set were limited to the major issues that had room for logical disputes and interpretations.

Therefore, the amount you had to memorize was surprisingly small. You just had to internalize each one as if it was etched into your bones.

On the other hand, with multiple-choice questions, anything could be asked.

Even a minor one-line precedent conclusion could appear, and they could put in a choice that was slightly different from the law.

Therefore, the number of things you had to memorize was overwhelmingly large.

Instead, you only needed to be able to read the choices and distinguish whether they were true or false, so you didn't have to go as deep.

It was enough to read it several times and become familiar with it.

This kind of broad and shallow knowledge was very volatile by nature.

That was why a person who had read it ten times a long time ago was much less likely to solve the questions than a person who had read it twice right before entering the exam hall.

Exam takers were always creatures who prioritized efficiency above all else.

In the end, that meant that studying for multiple-choice questions had no choice but to be postponed until the very last minute.

'Because it's a waste to read it beforehand, since you'll forget it anyway.'

Therefore, a multiple-choice exam that was given without any prior notice was like a bolt out of the blue.

It was a structure where even someone with great skills couldn't be properly prepared.

Especially if the test maker was Jang Yong-hwan, a master of setting malicious traps, it went without saying.

"Don't be too scared."

Jang Yong-hwan comforted the students.

"It's not shameful to not be prepared for a surprise multiple-choice exam. Well, unless you're someone who has scraped up all the multiple-choice choices from previous years, marked them somewhere, and reads them repeatedly every day, it's natural to not do well."

Jang Yong-hwan said as if he was joking.

"Surely, there can't be a crazy person among the first-year students who is already doing that, it's not like they're third-year students preparing for the bar exam, right?"