Episode 63

Come to think of it, Han Seol's high school in the original story was also Seongmun High School.

I'd heard that even after graduating, she often participated in mentoring activities for her juniors, but I never imagined I'd see her name here.

As I was looking at the photo, Kang So-hee snatched the smartphone away.

"Look at you, drooling. Senior is pretty, but she's not someone that a nobody like you can even dream of, so wake up."

Kang So-hee kept muttering, but I cleanly ignored her.

Instead, I pulled out my smartphone from my pocket and made a call.

"Wait, what are you doing..."

"Hey, it's me."

• Hello?

Since I had turned on the speakerphone, everyone in the room could hear the voice on the other end.

"......H, Han Seol senior?"

At that familiar voice, Kang So-hee stared at me with a shocked expression.

"Are you busy?"

• Of course, I'm busy. We always are. You're the one who's out and about instead of being in the reading room...

"I'm just dealing with something. Anyway, let me ask you something."

• What is it?

"Do you know a junior from Seongmun High School named Kang So-hee?"

• Kang So-hee? Hmm...

Han Seol on the other end of the line pondered for a moment before replying.

• I don't really know. Is she someone I saw during mentoring? If so, it's hard to remember. That activity requires counseling so many students that I can't keep track of everyone.

"Is that so? Alright."

• Wait. Why are you asking about a high school junior? Don't tell me you've gone back to your old ways...

"I'm hanging up."

• Hey, Park Yoo-seung!

"She doesn't seem to know me," I said, shrugging at Kang So-hee.

It was as if I was saying that Han Seol, whom she was so proud of as her connection, didn't even remember her.

It was only natural.

Han Seol was generally kind and friendly to everyone, but that also meant that she rarely paid special attention to anyone.

Even if she had treated Kang So-hee well, it was just the same kindness she showed to countless other juniors.

It wasn't like she had acknowledged Kang So-hee as an individual at all.

'If she had paid that much attention, she would have seen through her inner self and kept her distance long ago.'

She was someone who would have cut Kang So-hee off like a knife if she had known about this side of her.

Kang So-hee looked at me with a blank face.

"H, how does Senior Han Seol..."

It was time to drive the final nail in.

"We're classmates."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out two cards.

"In university and in law school."

One was a student ID from Korea University's School of Business Administration, and the other was from Korea University's Law School.

Kang So-hee's face turned pale as she looked at them.

* * *

"Let's get going now, young master."

Choi, who had returned after participating in the event, looked happy.

It seemed that the matter that had been lingering in his heart for so long had been resolved.

He had been holding Choi Soo-bin's hand tightly as he walked towards me, but he was slightly separated from her now, as if he was still trying to maintain some decorum in front of me.

"Are you sure it's okay? Don't you want to spend more time with your daughter?"

"I can't be a burden any longer. We should leave soon if we want to make it on time. Come on, say goodbye."

Then, Choi gently nudged Choi Soo-bin, who was standing next to him.

Choi Soo-bin, who had been hesitating, walked towards me with quick, short steps and looked up at me.

She had a docile impression, but I couldn't forget the scene of her dumping iced coffee on Kang So-hee.

'This girl's no pushover, either.'

Most of the problems related to Kang So-hee had been resolved.

She had begged me not to tell Han Seol about what had happened today, and I had ordered her to apologize properly to Choi and his daughter.

• I'm sorry...

Kang So-hee had knelt down in front of them and begged for forgiveness, and she had promised that she would never do anything to harm Choi Soo-bin again.

Even after realizing that Han Seol didn't even remember her, Han Seol still seemed to be an important person to Kang So-hee.

That was enough. I wasn't expecting a sincere apology anyway.

I was fundamentally a believer in rehabilitation, someone who believed that everyone should have a chance, but when I thought about the harsh words that Kang So-hee had casually thrown out, it was hard to believe that she would be able to come to her senses and become a righteous person.

It was a nature that had been tainted by her flawed education and learning.

It would be great if she reflected on today's events and looked back on her own mistakes, but that was beyond my capabilities.

At least, I had gotten an apology for insulting Choi and his daughter, and I had made sure that she wouldn't be able to do it again, so that was enough.

It seemed that Choi Soo-bin, who was on the receiving end of the apology, felt the same way.

• I won't forgive you. But, this is enough.

After settling it like that, she turned her back on Kang So-hee as if she wasn't going to deal with her anymore, and left the classroom.

"I heard that you helped my father come here today."

"It wasn't me. I just made a call, and the chairman gave his permission."

"Still, thank you."

Choi Soo-bin bowed her head deeply.

"There's more than just that to be thankful for."

Choi interjected.

"Do you remember the workbook I brought last time? The young master here was the one who got it for you."

"Really? My grades went up a lot while I was working through it. I don't know how to thank you..."

That workbook was a resource created and used by a famous cram school's preparatory class.

Since its distribution was prohibited, it was rare for anyone to obtain it unless they were a student at that boarding school.

Even Choi, who spared no expense when it came to his daughter's education, wouldn't have been able to get it if it hadn't been for me.

'And I wouldn't have been able to get it if it weren't for the dietitian's son.'

However, it was a bit tasteless to take credit for a gift that I had given, so I just nodded ambiguously and moved on.

"Then, let's get going."

As I was turning around to walk away with Choi, I heard Choi Soo-bin's voice from behind.

"Um..."

Choi Soo-bin called out.

"I, I'm going to work hard! I'll work hard and become a cool law school student like you!"

It was the second time today that I had heard a declaration about aiming for law school.

Of course, the feelings I had when hearing the first declaration and this one were completely different.

In the midst of that, I found it funny that she had hesitated over what to call me before settling on 'young master'.

Well, her father called me that, so it couldn't be helped.

Instead of replying, I just waved my hand, and we headed towards Park Geon's mansion.

"Thank you so much for today. I'll never forget it for the rest of my life."

"Oh, please, it's nothing. You were the one who worked hard, Mr. Choi. You even had to hear those words from a young kid..."

"Haha, kids don't know what they're saying. They're just repeating what they've seen and heard from the adults. It's our generation's fault."

Choi chuckled, saying that he had heard worse words many times before.

"Then, take care."

After parting ways with Choi in front of the main gate, I headed inside.

Soon, a housekeeper came out and greeted me.

Her face looked vaguely familiar, and then I realized that she was the same housekeeper who had been surprised when she saw me cleaning my room last time.

"I'll show you the way, young master."

It felt like her attitude towards me was much friendlier than it had been last time.

"I'll come back at seven to escort you to the dining room."

After I arrived in my room, the housekeeper bowed and left.

It was the same room as last time, but the atmosphere was completely different.

"......It seems like they've been taking care of it since then?"

There was no trace of the accumulated dust or musty smell that was unique to abandoned rooms.

Rather, the furniture like the bed and the desk were neatly organized, and a refreshing fragrance was floating in the air.

Even though it had been almost a month since I had cleaned it last time, the room couldn't have been in this state if it hadn't been regularly maintained.

It was like a completely different world from its former appearance when it had been left abandoned like a storage room for junk.

'Are you watching, Park Yoo-seung? I've made a place for you in this house.'

It meant that the name Park Yoo-seung was no longer treated as something that was nonexistent or that should be erased in this house.

With a proud heart, I sat down at the desk.

"It's seven o'clock, she said."

It was around 6:10 PM now. There was an awkward gap in time.

Of course, there was only one thing to do at times like this.

"Enjoyable, objective, studying."

As I was pulling out my workbook from my bag, I couldn't help but hum a tune.

It was a good habit to get into, going through multiple-choice questions at my convenience during these pockets of free time.

Although there wasn't much depth to them, multiple-choice questions were something that you were bound to feel burdened by when the exam was right around the corner due to their overwhelming quantity.

If you looked at them even once more on a regular basis, you would be able to enter the exam hall with more confidence and peace of mind.

I opened the workbook to a random page.

[Question 75. Which of the following is NOT a correct explanation of torts? (Based on case law if there are disputes)]

'Torts, huh.'

It was an extremely important concept.

In modern times, civil lawsuits could be broadly classified into one of two categories.

One was a dispute about someone not giving me something that they had promised, and the other was a dispute about someone causing me harm through their bad actions, and therefore, demanding compensation.

The former was a dispute related to contractual obligations, and the latter was a dispute related to torts.

However, the parts that became problematic from an exam perspective were relatively standardized compared to their importance.

In the end, it was enough to determine whether that was truly a bad act, and if it was a bad act, how much damage had occurred as a result, and who was responsible.

I briefly recalled the issues related to each part in my head.

'Illegality, causation, calculation of lost profits, contributory negligence, joint tortfeasors' joint and several liability...'

My condition was good.

I had been worried that I might have forgotten a bit of the Civil Law, especially the Law of Obligations, since I hadn't looked at it properly for a while, but it seemed that the power of repeated practice couldn't be ignored.

① Even if there is no valid employment relationship, the relationship between an employer and an employee can be recognized if a person is effectively under the direction and supervision of another person, and is carrying out a business according to their will, and in that case, vicarious liability may be established.

'That's a correct statement.'

It was a statement related to vicarious liability, which had been an issue in the nursing home incident.

At that time, it had been the actions of a caregiver, an employee of the nursing home, that had been the issue, so whether or not there was an 'employer-employee relationship' wasn't a very important issue.

However, there were cases when there was no clear employment relationship.

For example, let's think about a wife who helps out at her husband's store. Would they have written up an employment contract?

However, if the wife was doing the work of an employee in the hair salon, then the husband, as the owner, would have to be responsible for any problems caused by the wife's actions, just like an employer would be responsible for an employee.

Therefore, they would acknowledge that there was a relationship similar to employment.

'Okay, next.'

② If a minor has the capacity for responsibility and is responsible for their own torts, then even if there is a causal relationship between the violation of duty of the supervisor and the tort, the supervisor is not responsible.

'This is the answer.'

Minors are not responsible if they do not have the 'capacity to understand responsibility.'

Simply put, it meant that they didn't know what they were doing.

You couldn't hold a three-year-old legally responsible for taking a candy on display, right?

However, that didn't mean that the child's parents were exempt from responsibility.

Someone had to pay for the candy, so that the shop owner wouldn't feel wronged.

The concept of the supervisor's responsibility was to make the parents pay for the candy instead of the innocent child.

However, this statement was asking about cases where the minor had the capacity for responsibility.

If the child wasn't three years old, but eighteen, then they should know that taking candy without paying was a crime.

Could the parents still be held responsible in that case?

'Even if a minor has the capacity for responsibility, if the supervisor is at fault, then a general tort is established.'

The conclusion was yes. It was an easy question to solve if you remembered the precedent.

As I was going through more of the statements and checking my answers, I heard a knock on the door.

"I'll escort you to the dining room."

The time had finally come.

It was time to go and demand the reward that I had promised with Park Geon.