Episode 44

"Of course, I'm going to participate."

There was no room for debate about that.

"Awesome! Then, I'll put your name on the team list?"

"But, I'm not going with you."

"...Huh, wh, why?"

Han Seol looked back with an expression that seemed somewhat hurt.

"D, does that mean that now that I'm a bit better at studying, you don't need me?"

"There's no way that's the case."

There was no team member more reliable than Han Seol among the people that I could get.

The rules of this moot court competition were very similar to the second evaluation in the free spirit state.

They would give us various records and materials related to a set case, and we had to create legal arguments and compete within a short period of time.

An absolute lack of time.

Even if searching was allowed, the side that had a better grasp of many precedents and legal principles was bound to be more advantageous.

I wasn't lacking in that aspect either, but there was a difference in the amount of information compared to Han Seol, who practically swallowed precedent books whole.

"Then, why?"

"It's simple."

I answered.

"You're going to do civil, I'm going to do criminal."

The Jaine Moot Court Competition was divided into civil and criminal fields.

Naturally, the preliminary rounds for each law school were also divided, and a total of two teams, one for each field, were selected as representatives.

In the original story, Han Seol had put her name forward for the civil field.

In fact, not only her, but most of the top students tended to apply for the civil side.

That was because, for the moot court competition, you had to know not only substantive law but also procedural law, and since they would be learning Civil Procedure Law in the next semester, participating in the competition was efficient as it also served as pre-learning.

Criminal Procedure Law was a subject that they would barely get a taste of in their second year, so there was no need to look at it yet... That was the common perception and the tip that the seniors had passed down.

'But, that's not the case for me.'

Pre-learning? I had already done that enough to be sick of it ten years ago.

In any case, I was planning to re-learn all of the procedural law by the end of the first semester and summer vacation.

If that was the case, there was no reason for me to be bound to civil.

A subject that I was more confident in and liked better.

Since that was criminal, I would choose criminal.

Because of that, I couldn't unfortunately participate in the same team as Han Seol, who would be participating in civil.

"I also think it's a shame that I'm losing a reliable ally like you. But since it's come to this, there's nothing I can..."

"I'm going to do criminal too?"

"...Huh?"

What was she talking about now?

"Why?"

"Civil is advantageous for pre-learning the next semester, but choosing criminal doesn't mean that you can't pre-learn Civil Procedure Law."

Han Seol pointed at me.

"And, you need Park Yoo-seung to win."

"What."

"As you know, I'm weak with application. I can confidently write down what I know, but it's difficult for me to analyze and break down a case that I'm seeing for the first time and find an answer."

Han Seol had solved that with an enormous amount of input.

If she was weak with unfamiliar things, then she would just make sure that nothing that she saw on the exam would be unfamiliar.

But in completely new stages, such as the second evaluation in the free spirit state or this moot court competition, there was a limit to dealing with it that way.

"Of course, I'll do my best like I did during the free spirit evaluation... but still, that's your specialty."

She wasn't saying that she was getting a free ride.

It was a story of combining forces because they were best at different things.

As I looked at Han Seol, who was smiling awkwardly, I was lost in thought.

'It's different from the original story.'

Han Seol was destined to participate in the civil field.

And she would also face off against Shin Seo-joon, who had also chosen civil, and would get completely crushed and hand over the spot as the representative of Korea University Law School to Shin Seo-joon's team.

It was a catalyst for the complex intertwining of the narratives that had built up from the beginning of the semester with rivals, colleagues, and even something more than that.

But in this world, since I had been present from the beginning, there had been almost no contact between Han Seol and Shin Seo-joon.

• If that guy tells you to study together or something, put up a wall.

• Why?

• Because that would be safer.

• What are you talking about...

There were also parts that I had intentionally erased.

If I got involved with Shin Seo-joon, I would get swept into the spectacular latter half of the original story and be used as a disposable pawn.

I didn't want to throw away a reliable ally that I had gained in that way.

Han Seol wasn't particularly favorable towards Shin Seo-joon either, so she followed my advice even while being puzzled.

Because of that, the story had already changed a lot from the original story for her, but it seemed that even the moot court competition part was going to unfold differently.

'It's not bad... is it?'

In the original story, Han Seol was just one of the pawns that Shin Seo-joon could move around at his convenience.

Her presence, or absence, had a very small effect on the main story.

You know how there are times when the main character is shown to gain an amazing ally or a precious item in the beginning to stimulate the readers' dopamine, but then they are turned into air and have no presence in the latter half?

Han Seol was that kind of case.

Would there be any problems if Han Seol changed the field that she was participating in for the moot court competition, or if she won?

After weighing it for a while, I came to the conclusion that there wasn't.

"If that's what you want."

I nodded.

"I'm in your care, team leader."

"Yeah. Me too."

With a satisfied smile, Han Seol started to fill out the participation application.

As I was watching her, I suddenly realized one thing.

"But isn't this a team of three?"

"Right?"

"Who are we going to have for the last member?"

Lee Ha-roo was a no-go.

If I took that girl, she would definitely play games until the day before the finals and then fall asleep on the spot.

She barely managed to do what she had to do, so it was still too early to expect her to fulfill her role in this kind of competition.

'Besides, there's no way she would say yes.'

I had already talked to Yoo Tae-woon, but after experiencing the midterms, he had said that he had to focus more on his studies and had refused.

Yoo Ye-seul and Kim Seung-pil also said that they had other plans.

It wasn't easy to find a new member now.

That was because the name Park Yoo-seung was still being shunned by my classmates.

There had been an opportunity for improvement with the Constitutional Court professor's paper, but because I had pushed away everyone who had approached me in the process of resolving the Seo Hee-jin incident, I felt like I had become an even more isolated island than before.

"I have a secret weapon."

However, Han Seol declared confidently.

"You'll be surprised when you find out who it is."

"Who on earth is it..."

* * *

The news that the preliminary round notice for the Jaine Moot Court Competition had been released spread quickly.

Most of the top students were in a mood to consider participating at least once.

That was the same for Shin Seo-joon and those around him.

"Let's do it together. Mr. Jung Min-shik."

Shin Seo-joon tapped Jung Min-shik on the shoulder with a very friendly attitude.

Jung Min-shik, who had consistently been in the third place spot since the free spirit evaluation, was a very valuable resource.

But Jung Min-shik brushed Shin Seo-joon's hand off and curtly replied.

"I'm not."

"Oh, why?"

Shin Seo-joon asked as if he was surprised.

It was something that he hadn't expected.

He knew that Jung Min-shik had a subtle, ambivalent jealousy towards him, but he had thought that Jung Min-shik, who had a strong sense of ambition, would definitely join his team to win.

But Jung Min-shik had his own thoughts.

'I can't just stay hidden in this guy's shadow forever!'

He admitted that Shin Seo-joon was outstanding. And he didn't dislike him as a person either.

He was too perfect and didn't seem human, but even so, Shin Seo-joon was quite nice to Jung Min-shik.

Receiving the trust of an outstanding human being and having other people look at him with envious eyes satisfied Jung Min-shik's self-esteem to a certain extent.

But Shin Seo-joon's existence was also the root cause of the flaw in his pride.

• But both of them are amazing. First and third place on the entrance exam, first and third place on the first evaluation, first and third place in the overall score. It never changes.

• Look at Jung Min-shik. He's looking at multiple-choice OX problems on his phone now. There's a reason for it.

• Seo-joon is first place even when he plays tennis and goes out for drinks.

• He's... just on a different level.

Jung Min-shik recalled the conversation that he had heard in the Legal Clinic before.

'Damn it, I know that too!'

Shin Seo-joon, who was always relaxed and maintained first place with a noble attitude.

On the other hand, he was just an ordinary person who was desperately struggling while putting all of his time into studying, and had barely managed to get third place.

He wasn't even second place.

Right above him was a monster of memorization with a ridiculous memory, Han Seol.

They were studying just as hard, but he was simply lacking in terms of performance as a study machine.

This couldn't be. It shouldn't be like this.

I'm working harder than anyone. I should be the best.

If that wasn't the case, then it had no meaning...

When he turned his eyes away from his books even for a moment, those gloomy thoughts would mess up Jung Min-shik's head.

That was why the Jaine Moot Court Competition was an opportunity for him.

It was practically impossible to beat Shin Seo-joon with grades.

But if it was a competition, then things might be different.

Going with Shin Seo-joon on the same team was a bad move.

Even if he got a good result, there was a high possibility that his performance would be buried by Shin Seo-joon's, and he would be lucky if he didn't get branded with the disgrace of having gotten a free ride on Shin Seo-joon's bus.

That was why Jung Min-shik was trying to participate as an independent team.

If he could beat Shin Seo-joon and win, that would be the best-case scenario, but he knew very well that it was difficult in reality.

If that was the case, then he should at least show that he was on the same level.

"I'm going to do criminal."

That was Jung Min-shik's conclusion.

"You win the civil preliminaries and become the civil representative. I'll win the criminal preliminaries and become the criminal representative. Let's meet at the top."

He was confident.

There was a high possibility that the criminal field was empty.

Since the top students who were diligent and good at studying would mostly be going to civil, where they could do pre-learning.

Even Shin Seo-joon, who had mastered all of criminal law, was participating in civil.

Most of the students who applied for criminal were from the mid-to-lower ranks.

They were trying to use it as a stepping stone to overturn their lacking grades and get appointed to public office.

There was no way that he would lose to those dropouts.

Jung Min-shik knew very well that while he was always looking at the unreachable ceiling and twisting his neck, there were countless people under his feet.

However, Shin Seo-joon poured cold water on that confidence.

"It won't be easy."

"What? Are you saying that I'm going to lose to those idiots who chose criminal?"

"Please stop calling our classmates idiots. They're all smart and capable people."

Rather than that, Shin Seo-joon shook his head.

"That person will probably come out for criminal this time."

"That person? Who are you talking about?"

"You know. That Park Yoo-seung."

"...!"

'Right. Definitely.'

Shin Seo-joon sighed.

Park Yoo-seung was someone who had caught his eye since the beginning of the semester.

That sense of finding hidden clues in the lines of the problem, and weaving answers based on a solid understanding of the basic legal principles.

Even if others didn't know, Shin Seo-joon recognized that his talent was real at a glance.

That was why he had tried to contact him, but because he had heard a disappointing answer, he had excluded him from the list of people to recruit.

Park Yoo-seung's view of justice was the kind that Shin Seo-joon hated, and there didn't seem to be any openings to dig into and use.

But now, after some time had passed, even that was suspicious.

'It's strange.'

His performance in the Legal Clinic was understandable.

In Jang Yong-hwan's mentoring group, they required performance in activities, so he had probably wanted to actively use his talent to get points.

But in the recent theft incident, Park Yoo-seung had acted a bit strangely.

While distributing the summary of Professor Han Il-gu's paper, he could have used it to improve his position as much as he wanted.

But instead, he had pushed away all the people who had come to get the material, and had become even more of a loner.

If that was the case, then why had he shown off the material in the first place?

Was it just that he wanted to be deceitful? That wasn't very likely.

Rather, if you thought about the fact that it was Park Yoo-seung who had tackled Seo Hee-jin's presentation...

'To lure out the culprit, Seo Hee-jin, on purpose?'

He had drawn in the culprit by advertising that he had valuable materials, and had created irrefutable evidence by planting wrong information in the materials.

What if that was the plan?

But what would Park Yoo-seung gain by resolving that incident? It wasn't an action that suited him, who had said that 'doing law well was justice' and acted as if he wasn't interested in right or wrong.

It was difficult to understand.

And it wasn't a good sign to have a human being that was difficult to understand nearby.

Shin Seo-joon had a goal for entering Korea University Law School.

It was something a little different from just working hard and becoming a lawyer, and it was perhaps quite personal.

Therefore, it wasn't welcome to have someone who he couldn't control or use hanging around nearby.

'Should I look into it a little more?'

Maybe by having Jung Min-shik clash with Park Yoo-seung, he could get some more clues about him.

After finishing his calculations, Shin Seo-joon spoke with a worried voice.

"Mr. Jung Min-shik is outstanding, but Park Yoo-seung isn't an easy opponent. You know that he's the type who shines especially on a stage like this."

"Are you saying that I'm going to lose to a guy like that?"

As expected, Jung Min-shik was fuming.

"Don't be ridiculous. Even if it's you, I'm not so incompetent that I would get caught by a piece of trash who has wasted his whole life."

"Of course, I'm cheering for Mr. Jung Min-shik."

"Don't cheer for me, believe in me!"

Jung Min-shik, who had been huffing and puffing, opened the door and left.

'That should be enough.'

Jung Min-shik had a strong complex about not getting results for his efforts.

You might think, how is being in third place in Korea University Law School 'not getting results', but there were also people like this in the world.

Park Yoo-seung was an existence that was directly touching Jung Min-shik's complex.

A human who had been known as a useless layabout had now reached right below Jung Min-shik.

Just the thought of being overtaken would make Jung Min-shik fight with his life on the line.

A life-or-death battle.

If he had a battle where he put in all his effort, he would surely see something.