Chapter 29
As soon as I got home, I sat down on the sofa without even changing my clothes.
“What is it about?”
The red eyes were excited, pacing back and forth without even sitting down.
- Oh Jin-ah thinks her death is strange.
“How did she die?”
- They say the cause of death was brain hemorrhage after falling down the stairs.
Accidental falls weren’t unusual, but it wasn’t common for a woman in her 30s to slip, fall down the stairs, and die.
- It wasn’t just a simple slip. She said she felt extremely dizzy that day.
“Dizzy? Did they do an autopsy?”
- Yes. She also found it strange and read the autopsy report herself.
Sometimes ghosts don’t know how they died, so they search for their own autopsy reports or case records.
I had seen that a few times before, so it wasn’t that unusual.
“Then?”
- They found drug substances in her body.
“What kind of drug? Was she taking any medication normally?”
- No. She wasn’t taking any medication. The report said it was tetra… tetra something…
“So someone secretly gave it to her?”
- That’s what she suspects.
If she suddenly felt dizzy, fell down the stairs, and a drug she never took was found in her body, it was reasonable to suspect murder.
“But if the autopsy report came out, why wasn’t it investigated back then?”
- She doesn’t know either. It seems the autopsy results were omitted, and the funeral was carried out immediately after cremation.
“Even if the family wanted it, it’s hard for things to proceed that quickly unless the family testified she had been taking that substance regularly…”
“Then did her husband Han Gu-young interfere?”
Han Gu-young, the representative lawyer of Tae-young, one of the largest law firms in Korea.
His young wife had met a death full of mysteries.
Was someone deliberately giving her that substance? Or was she pushed down the stairs as well? Did someone block the investigation?
What exactly happened?
“Does Han Soo-jin know about this?”
- Soo-jin was too young back then. She probably didn’t know these details. Jin-ah didn’t want to burden her young daughter either.
“But the person who harmed Jin-ah might target Soo-jin next.”
- You mean her half-sister?
“Considering she personally gave Soo-jin the ghostwood, the half-sister seems the most likely suspect right now.”
A simple internet search showed Han Gu-young’s son and daughters. The eldest son, Han Jin-pyeong, 43, and the second daughter, Han Jin-yi, 40.
Both were currently partners at Tae-young, each leading their own teams.
They were actively competing for the next CEO position of the firm.
“Yeah. So what now?”
“I need to learn more about Tae-young. Its representative, Han Gu-young, is also connected to my father’s death.”
“Then he’s your enemy too?”
“I’m not sure yet. I need to find out more.”
What mattered was uncovering real facts and finding witnesses. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t get closer to the truth just by guessing.
After finishing the conversation with the red eyes, I showered and went to bed.
Lying down, I could still feel the sensation of shaking hands with Han Soo-jin.
A clear, refreshing energy had rushed into me all at once.
Was that ability something inherited from her mother, a Reiki healer?
She probably didn’t even realize she was doing it.
Did other people feel the same when they shook her hand?
If so, it didn’t make sense that no one had ever mentioned it.
I couldn’t fall asleep easily, lost in thought.
The next morning, I felt better than usual.
After my morning jog and shower, I arrived at the office, and no one had come in yet.
I opened the blinds and aired out the room.
Soon after, Assistant O came in, followed by Attorney Park Hyun.
Park Hyun walked straight to the coffee machine in the corner and brewed a cup.
“Attorney Yoo, you look good today. Did something good happen last night?”
He smiled, quickly noticing even small changes. His eyes were indeed sharp.
“No, nothing like that.”
“You’re not dating, are you? People say you glow when you’re in love…”
“No, I’m not.”
“Young people get so serious when it comes to dating talk. Haha. You should date a bit. Life gets boring if you only work.”
He laughed while sipping coffee.
Soon, the door opened again and Attorney Kim Chang-su came in.
“Attorney Kim, you’re here? Today is your consultation day, right?”
“Yes, it’s my turn today.”
“Are general consultations coming in these days?”
“Not really. It’s been dry for weeks.”
“Even if winter is slow, things usually pick up around this time. Strange.”
Attorney Park tilted his head.
Attorney Kim set his bag down and walked to the coffee machine.
“Still, Attorney Park, you always seem to get steady cases.”
“I’m always about the same. I heard Attorney Oh has been busy lately. I barely see him around.”
“Right. If you land a wealthy client, cases just keep coming. The client he took last year has brought in over ten cases already.”
“Wow, I’m jealous.”
Kim sighed.
“Hope you land a big client today too.”
“I hope so too. Feels like something good might come in today…”
“You had a good dream?”
“Just a feeling.”
And so the morning at Law Firm Woojung began as usual.
That entire morning, not a single consultation came in.
Since it wasn’t my turn anyway, I stayed relaxed.
Even after lunch, the office remained quiet.
In the late afternoon, just when it felt like the day would end uneventfully, the office door opened.
Attorney Kim noticed first, and Assistant O approached the elderly man who had entered.
“What brings you here?”
“I came for a legal consultation.”
“Please have a seat here.”
He guided the visitor into the consultation room and quickly brought warm tea.
Soon, Chief Kim Han-su, the younger brother of Attorney Kim Chang-su, came in with a preliminary consultation form.
He listened briefly and then went to report to Attorney Kim.
After a few minutes, he came out and knocked on my door.
“Attorney Yoo.”
“Yes?”
“The client is asking for you.”
He carefully watched my expression, but I didn’t react.
The elderly man who had just come in didn’t look familiar at all.
Yet he was asking for me…
Who recommended me?
If it was Ms. Lee Hwa-young, she would have called before sending a client.
I set aside my questions, picked up my file, and went to the consultation room.
When I entered and sat down, the old man looked slightly surprised.
“I was told to meet Attorney Yoo Hyun-jae…”
“I am Yoo Hyun-jae.”
“You’re quite young to be a lawyer.”
It wasn’t really a question directed at me.
He muttered to himself, clearly displeased.
I was 30 years old this year, but in the legal field, that was considered very young.
Most lawyers become attorneys after serving as judges or prosecutors, so younger lawyers were often treated as inexperienced.
The old man frowned, gripping his cane tightly.
I quickly scanned his aura.
It was a pale silver glow mixed with a faint purple.
Silver often appeared in elderly people with deep life experience, while purple indicated strong intuition.
From his aura, I could tell he was likely someone who had mastered his field.
“Who introduced me to you?”
I was curious who recommended me without giving him proper information.
“The security guard at the entrance told me. He said you were the best lawyer in this building.”
For a moment, I doubted my ears.
“The security guard?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know him personally?”
“No, I met him today for the first time.”
I understood now—the guard had recommended me because I had helped his son before.
But for this old man to simply trust a stranger’s recommendation and come directly to me…
That was unusual.
Perhaps sensing my doubt, the old man placed his cane on the table.
“People tend to easily flatter those above them, but it’s harder to earn respect from those below. Sometimes, cleaners or guards see people most accurately.”
“I see. If that’s your belief, would you be willing to trust that judgment?”
I spoke a little challengingly on purpose.
People with this kind of aura were usually confident and stubborn.
A firm, direct approach would work better than a soft one.
The old man stared at me sharply like a hawk.
The room filled with tension.
I calmly opened the consultation file.
“What is your case about?”
He moved his lips as if to speak, then sighed and looked down at his teacup.
He seemed deeply reluctant to begin.
I waited silently, suppressing my curiosity.
But his tightly sealed lips showed no sign of opening.
When the tea had gone completely cold, I decided to break the tension.
“The sunlight today makes it feel a bit warm, doesn’t it?”
“Please defend my son’s murderer!”
“What?!”
The old man finally spoke.
I needed a moment to process what I had just heard.
Defend his son’s murderer?
