Episode 66

"I need to do some investigating."

• Huh?

"The legal issues themselves are simple, but there's a bit of information missing for me to make a judgment. If you give me some time, I'll meet with your friend and the person who adopted the cat separately, and then I'll give you an answer. Do you happen to have their contact information?"

• Oh, um, just a moment.

I had thought that Yoon Soo-ah might get angry about not giving her an answer right away, but surprisingly, she readily gave me both of their contact information. She even seemed a little pleased.

• That means you're taking this seriously, right?

It seemed like it had been worth it to listen to Yoon Soo-ah's complaints, suppressing my annoyance, and even throwing in some meaningless exclamations from time to time.

Psychology students called this rapport, didn't they?

• Then... when can I expect to hear back?

"It's hard to say for sure, but... you can always call this number, and it'll be connected to me through the Legal Clinic."

• That's enough for me.

After I finished the call, Yoo Tae-woon asked me.

"What are you thinking?"

"I can't make a judgment on everything just by listening to the client's story. A hasty piece of advice could lead to irreversible consequences. These kinds of things need to be looked at by meeting the parties directly."

"You're really serious about this..."

Yoo Tae-woon was one of the more diligent participants, but few people, like me, would dedicate their personal time to invest in resolving a case.

Law school life was busy enough just sitting and memorizing books.

"If I'm going to do something, I need to do it right."

But it wasn't something I could approach with a light heart.

Of course, since I didn't have a lawyer's license yet, the weight of my words was smaller than that of a practicing lawyer.

Clients often used the Legal Clinic to 'test the waters' before seeking out a proper practicing lawyer.

Even so, if our advice could be tied to issues that would affect someone's life, then I thought we should at least be prepared to take that responsibility.

"I also try to research materials and write reports diligently... but I can't do it like you."

"It's okay. I don't force my methods on others."

It was just a matter of my values. Imposed ideology was dogmatism and stubbornness.

"Alright, alright. If you're done with your consultations, then go. Don't forget to submit your weekly reports."

As if they had been waiting for it, other groups had also finished their calls with their clients and were slowly gathering, and Choi Sung-cheol waved his hands to dismiss them.

Okay, then, let's go to work.

* * *

"Yoon Soo-ah? Ha..."

The A I met in person, whose real name was Cha Ye-sol, was a woman with a plain appearance, her hair tied back and wearing glasses.

"Yes. I'm the one who sold off that crazy bitch's cat. But."

When I introduced myself as being from the Korea University Legal Clinic, Cha Ye-sol was initially wary.

But when I calmly explained that I wasn't on anyone's side and just wanted to help resolve the problem, she soon started pouring out her story like a dam had burst.

"I couldn't stand it anymore. I was already at my limit."

Stories that she would have wanted anyone to listen to.

In high school, Cha Ye-sol had been a plain and unremarkable student, just like she was now.

Yoon Soo-ah had taken her around, using her as a background prop to make herself stand out.

Cha Ye-sol, who was quite perceptive, wasn't unaware of Yoon Soo-ah's intentions, but she couldn't stop hanging around with her.

Because there were a lot of things that she got by staying by her side.

When she came to her senses, she had already become a maid-like existence who would follow Yoon Soo-ah's every word.

"I was stupid."

Her statement was largely consistent with what I had extracted from Yoon Soo-ah's one-sided claims.

"I don't like cats. I'm allergic to them. But... I couldn't refuse Yoon Soo-ah's request."

She said that it was so severe that she would get hives just by being in the same space, let alone touching the cat.

Even so, she had endured and taken care of Somi, but one night when she was particularly tired, she woke up to the cat's crying and finally exploded.

"I wondered what I was doing. I'm twenty-six years old, being bossed around by someone else. My skin was all red and inflamed, and my eyes were dark from lack of sleep."

Unable to bear her own patheticness, Cha Ye-sol had drunk a lot of soju and, while drunk, uploaded Yoon Soo-ah's cat to a pet adoption site, and as soon as she got a call, she had quickly sold it off.

"The act of disposing of property entrusted by another person could constitute theft."

"Then what about the crime of crushing someone and bossing them around for eight years?"

"......"

"It wouldn't be a crime, would it? I know too. That what I did was wrong. If I had cut off Yoon Soo-ah for sure, if I had said no even once, it wouldn't have come to this."

But she confessed that she didn't have the courage to do so.

"Is the expression 'rebellion' a bit funny? Anyway, I wouldn't have been able to do even a rebellion, not a rebellion, without being drunk. I think it's better this way. No matter what price I have to pay, I wanted to fight properly with that bitch Yoon Soo-ah and cut ties with her, even if it was just once."

"Do you mean that sincerely?"

"Huh?"

"The part about 'no matter what price I have to pay.'"

When I asked seriously, Cha Ye-sol seemed flustered, but she soon nodded.

"Yes, no matter what price I have to pay."

Cha Ye-sol was a person with a weak heart.

Even though she had impulsively committed a major act this time, she judged that she would never be able to go against Yoon Soo-ah if she were sober.

Frankly, Cha Ye-sol confessed that even now, she didn't have the confidence to say everything she wanted to say if she stood in front of Yoon Soo-ah.

"I understand."

That was the part that I wanted to confirm.

* * *

"No matter what, I can't give this child away!"

Seo Hwi-sung, Somi's adopter, exclaimed resolutely.

"The original owner has come forward? That makes it even more impossible. That damned human was practically abandoning her to die!"

Seo Hwi-sung even presented a diagnosis from a veterinarian that he had obtained at some point.

"Look at this. Severe malnutrition. Skin disease due to infection. Kidney disease. This child, she only looked healthy on the outside, but if she had been left like that, she might have died within a month! That's what the vet said!"

"Oh my."

Even I, who was unfamiliar with cats, could tell from the pictures that Somi's health wasn't good.

But for the vet to say that she might have died soon.

"Now... she looks fine."

I pointed behind Seo Hwi-sung.

Sitting on a cozy cushion, Somi, who was purring, looked much cleaner and fluffier than she had in the pictures, and she looked full of life.

"That's because I've been taking good care of her. I've spent a lot of money on treatment, and I've done everything I can for her."

"You've worked hard."

I reassured him.

"I'll say it again, I'm not exactly an agent for the original owner. Think of me as a kind of volunteer who wants to help resolve this situation."

"Well, I understand that... "

Seo Hwi-sung scratched the back of his neck, looking awkward.

"Anyway, I have no intention of returning this child. Leaving her in that woman's hands is no different from abuse."

Seo Hwi-sung's intention seemed very firm.

"I'm asking to confirm, but at the time of the adoption, you had no idea that the seller wasn't the real owner?"

"Yes. I had no idea. I did think that she smelled a bit like alcohol, and that she was a bit strange, though."

'Hmm.'

After meeting Seo Hwi-sung, I felt like I could see how to handle this problem.

"Mr. Seo Hwi-sung."

I asked him.

"Could you perhaps let me make a copy of that diagnosis you received from the animal hospital?"

"Of course, but... what will you use it for?"

"It'll help you to continue taking care of this cat."

"Really? Then I'll give it to you right away!"

Seo Hwi-sung gladly made a copy of the diagnosis.

'One month, huh...'

I had gotten what I needed.

It was time to go back.

* * *

The next day, Tuesday. As soon as it turned 5:00 PM, the phone in the Legal Clinic lecture hall rang without fail.

After confirming it, the administrative staff handed it to me, and I, who had been studying in the self-study room, rushed to the phone.

• How is it? Did you get to meet those two?

"Yes. I met them."

• So... what's the result?

Yoon Soo-ah's voice was excited. It was as if she had no doubt that her wishes would be fulfilled.

What kind of answer should I give?

I organized my thoughts one last time.

The motto of the Legal Clinic was to provide the best legal assistance to the client.

Whether the client was a good person or a bad person was not a factor to be considered here.

That was also in line with the core of what lawyers did.

It was the job of a lawyer to stand on the side of the wronged, but it was also part of their job to help a person who had clearly done something wrong to receive the least disadvantageous judgment possible.

Judging right and wrong was done in the court, through strict procedures.

It was also an act that was not really just to pick and choose cases based on subjective standards.

What a legal professional should do was to enable both sides who were standing in that court to put forward their best arguments, so that the judge could make the right decision after fully considering all elements of the case.

That was why lawyers who defended heinous criminals, or who stood on the side of conglomerates and opposed consumers, were not 'money-grubbing scum,' but were practicing their own professional ethics.

In the end, it was all used as material for a more accurate judgment.

In other words, what I had to do here was to provide advice that would satisfy my client, Yoon Soo-ah, the most, in any way possible.

From the beginning, the satisfaction score that I received from the client was recorded as a performance metric.

It was only natural to do that.

But.

• Ah, ah. Can you hear me? Did the call get cut off?

That wasn't my style.

"You can't get her back."

• ......Huh?

"I said you can't get her back. The person who adopted Somi has acquired ownership of her in good faith."

• Good, what now?