Episode 36

They were so similar that you could have believed they were twins, not just siblings. Still, just in case, I strode up to the female student and spoke to her.

"Hello. I couldn't help but overhear your story. It just so happens that I found a book without an owner, so I was wondering if you could tell me your name?"

The female student looked at me with a slightly wary gaze, but after glancing around at her classmates, she seemed to have made up her mind and nodded.

"I'm Seo Hee-jin."

"Hmm, that's not the name that was on the book I found. My apologies."

The name of the president of the Property Law Academic Society was Seo Su-jin.

Seo Hee-jin was somewhat similar to Seo Su-jin, and the name of the younger sister that she had mentioned was also 'Hee-jin,' so this was definite enough.

'This changes things.'

The younger sister that the president of the Property Law Academic Society cared about was involved in a chain of thefts.

If that was the case, then by solving this incident and putting Seo Hee-jin in debt, I might be able to open the way for negotiations with the president of the Property Law Academic Society.

'It's not like it's going to be that much of a hassle, either.'

I weighed the time left until the midterm exams and the things I had to do, and assessed the capacity that I could put in.

I was just a little uncomfortable with things deviating from the original story, but I had calculated that it was something I could definitely do.

After all, since a new entity like me had appeared, everything couldn't be the same as the original story.

I had to avoid things that would affect the main story as much as possible, but I couldn't be too passive either, or I wouldn't be able to get what I wanted.

Okay. Let's do it.

I would solve this incident.

In a way that was even cleaner than the original story.

* * *

It was the last class before the midterm exam for Constitutional Law. The class was as boring as always, but for some reason, the professor seemed to have lost a lot of his edge compared to before.

He didn't torment the students with questions anymore.

That was how the class ended.

"Alright, everyone. Please pay attention for a moment."

After the professor left, I jumped up to the podium, clapped my hands, and drew the students' attention.

Everyone turned to look at me with expressions that said, "What kind of strange thing is that guy going to do this time?"

It was a relief that those gazes no longer contained the same contempt as before...... but it wasn't like it was a very positive atmosphere either.

It was an atmosphere that was much more skewed towards 'awe' than 'respect', as if I was someone who was a bit strange but they didn't want to get too close to.

It was fine.

That might actually be better for this situation.

"Actually, I had an in-depth conversation with Professor Han Il-gu after the last class. It seems that the professor has recently become very interested in the 'principle of legal reservation.'"

I deliberately emphasized the part about the principle of legal reservation. A few perceptive people reacted to it and widened their eyes.

"He just so happened to give me an unpublished thesis, and he suggested that I study it with my classmates as 'supplementary material.'"

As I said that, I picked up the thesis that was on the podium and shook it back and forth.

A rustling sound spread through the lecture hall.

The people who had grasped the situation first were spreading their realization to those around them.

"Isn't the principle of legal reservation within the scope of this exam?"

"That means it's going to be on the exam?"

"We have to look at it no matter what."

However, there was also someone who raised a reasonable question.

"But how are we going to read all of that? It looks like it's at least 70 or 80 pages long?"

"It's a pie in the sky. We can't invest that much time on something like Constitutional Law."

Of course, I, who had also thought about the same problem, had a suitable answer prepared.

"That's a valid point."

I put down the thesis and this time, I took out a thin bundle of five sheets of paper from behind my back.

"Since we're all busy with a lot of things to study, there's no way we can read a whole thesis that's dozens of pages long. So...... I put in some effort personally and summarized it."

It was a summary that had been created with Lee Ha-roo's magnificent masterpiece, 'Easy-Peasy'.

"Crazy. When did he do that?"

"Does that guy not study other subjects? How does he have the time to work on a thesis that long?"

"......But it's a jackpot. If we just look at that, we're guaranteed to get at least one question right."

'Yeah. It just takes one click of a program button.'

But the other students had no way of knowing that.

That was why they could only look at me with eyes that were even more stunned, as if they were looking at something that was out of this world.

'Yeah, be even more amazed. Be impressed.'

Because that would strengthen the credibility of the words that I was about to say from now on.

"First of all, I've uploaded this summary to the online classroom bulletin board for Constitutional Law I. If you're interested, feel free to find it and read it."

After generously bestowing my grace, I continued.

"I think you must have a lot of questions."

I made eye contact with each and every person in the audience.

"How I managed to create a summary of that much material during the exam period. And why I'm giving it away for free as a volunteer. And in the first place...... how did Park Yoo-seung suddenly become good at studying?"

I smiled slightly. At times like these, a devious and shady impression like a gangster was helpful.

Everyone's attention was focused on me, as if I was subtly revealing some great secret.

"Don't you want to know? If you could just know that secret, you could also drastically improve your grades. Haven't you ever thought about that?"

It was a statement that was directly confronting all the rumors that had been placed on me.

A delinquent who had suddenly turned a new leaf overnight. Skills that surpassed most of the students sitting here, for some reason.

Some said that he must have hit his head or something while fighting and had turned 180 degrees.

Others pointed fingers, saying that he had clearly obtained high-quality materials easily with money, connections, or luck, and had studied comfortably.

Whether it was in a good sense or a bad sense, I had already become a hot topic at Korea University Law School.

Since I had stepped forward and mentioned it myself, it was only natural that attention would be drawn to it.

Moreover, I had already presented a plausible gift for the audience.

I could feel strange expectations being poured upon me.

"Well, of course."

I first dashed those expectations.

"It's because I studied hard. There are no shortcuts or easy paths in law. People who diligently walk the right path are the ones who get ahead."

It was the truth, without a hint of exaggeration.

Until I passed the second round of the bar exam, I had insisted on studying every day while the sun was up, and even after my grace period was wasted, I had sat at my desk, exhausted from working all day, with the moon as my only companion.

Those times had not disappeared anywhere, but had remained intact inside of me.

After picking up the textbooks again, I was fully aware of this fact.

Everything was easily absorbed, and when I closed my eyes, the logical system of law would flow like a picture.

But the current audience didn't know my past life. They shouldn't know either.

That was why they were looking at 'Park Yoo-seung,' who had probably been studying law for about the same time as them, with a dumbfounded expression.

"But...... there are ways to walk the right path a little faster and easier."

As if responding to that discontent, I brought up the main point.

"For example, a compilation of materials that is easy to read and neatly summarizes the issues that will appear on the exam. Or, model answers to past exam questions that were created by many people working together."

It was a well-known fact that you could study more efficiently if you had good materials.

Even if you were reviewing the same content and the same range, the time it took to read a professor's book that focused on in-depth descriptions and a summary that was compactly organized to be viewed on the day of the exam was more than ten times different.

Since time was equal to everyone, law school students were always starving for more efficient materials.

Because of a single material, they would go to alumni gatherings or maintain relationships with their seniors, and power struggles would break out among students due to materials that only circulated within specific study groups.

That was also why the rumor was going around that the secret to my skills was those kinds of materials.

In a way, it was unfair, but I was now riding on that speculation instead of denying it.

• You guys are right. I have amazing materials in my hands.

That was the message that I was sending.

"I see......"

"They've treated him like an unwanted child on the outside, but still, he's the son of that Ilseong Group, after all. There must be plenty of ways for him to obtain materials."

Whispers and murmurs.

The atmosphere was flowing as I had intended.

In fact, before standing in this spot today, I had Yoo Ye-seul stir up similar rumors a bit more.

The stories that had already been going around were becoming as good as official, after going through her hands, who was skilled at political maneuvering and public opinion formation.

In the midst of all that, the person involved had made a public statement.

Since I had even revealed a well-made summary, everyone had no choice but to look at me as if I was carrying around a treasure chest.

"But......"

At that moment, someone asked me, with good timing.

"Why are you telling us this now?"

• You've been living well on your own until now. As if you didn't care that everyone was shunning you. But why are you suddenly stepping forward like this?

It was a question that contained a meaning like that.

"I wonder?"

But instead of answering, I shrugged my shoulders.

"Think about it carefully. What does it mean."

* * *

After that, I left the lecture hall without any explanation.

Apparently, there was a huge uproar among the students.

They said that there was a heated debate about why I was suddenly doing that, and whether I had gone crazy because I was craving attention.

"Hmm, in my opinion."

At that time, Yoo Ye-seul had thrown out one line.

"Isn't he telling us to join him?"

When you thought about it, I had already given away one of the valuable materials for free.

That was a message that I had a lot of good things and that I was willing to give them away.

So, wasn't it a message that the perceptive ones should stop being on bad terms with me and join my side?

It was, so to speak, a story like that.

"For reference, I've already joined."

It was a very reasonable explanation.

Only then did the students begin to frantically search for me, and there were also a lot of people who were sending me personal messages after looking up my contact information in the student directory.

It was naturally a matter of pride to lower themselves to Park Yoo-seung, who was famous for being the worst delinquent, but right now, with the exams approaching, practicality was more important.

But I remained consistent in ignoring those attempts to contact me.

I blocked personal messages, and I avoided the people who came to find me directly without even responding to them.

Then, the collective intelligence of the students came to a new conclusion.

• This guy is probably only trying to pick and choose the people who are useful to him.

The people who had gathered around me were also very impressive.

Han Seol, who had been known for being good at studying since her undergraduate days, Yoo Ye-seul, who was second to none in terms of influence, Kim Seung-pil, who was famous nationwide, and so on.

It was a story that said that you wouldn't get included unless you were at that level.

This was also a reasonable deduction, so my golden age of popularity came to an end again in just one day.

"......That's the flow of things so far."

On the way back to the reading room, Yoo Ye-seul reported to me.

"Of course, since it's something that Mr. Park Yoo-seung is doing, there must be a reason, but if you weren't going to accept anyone anyway, was there really a need to draw attention like this? It seems like we just wasted the thesis summary, with no real outcome......"

"No, it was necessary."

From the start, it wasn't something that I had done to make friends.

There was also no way that the people who were going to cling to me for a reward would be the kind of people that I needed.

What was important was making people believe that I had valuable materials.

I had the materials, but I wasn't going to give them to just anyone.

Naturally, the people who wanted them would become anxious.

Among them, I knew one person who would be particularly anxious.

Creak.

I opened the door to the reading room and headed to my seat.

The items on my desk were the same as always.

A few textbooks that could be found anywhere. The professors' lecture notes. Answer sheets that had a lot of traces of practice.

I always put Minmae and the Criminal Law Summary in my bag, so I didn't leave them on my desk.

Therefore, it seemed that only the things that were 'always there' remained.

The problem was that only the things that were 'always there' were left.

'......I got you.'

Before leaving the reading room today, I had created a set of notes that summarized the core legal principles and precedents for each subject, and I had made copies of them and put them on my seat.

But those copies had completely disappeared.

'You took the bait.'