Chapter 51: I’m Going to Do It Properly Now

Chairman Cheon was lost in thought, gazing out the window of his study when a knock interrupted his reverie

“Chairman it’s Myung-hoon”

Chief Ha entered bowing his head. He stood near the door waiting for Chairman Cheon to speak

After a moment Chairman Cheon turned from the window and sat in his chair

Seeing his expression Chief Ha began to speak

“About the young master’s friend…”

Chairman Cheon who had been silently listening to the report asked a question when Chief Ha finished

“Yoon Chang-ho used the card he received back then?”

“Yes it seems he used it for personal matters”

“Hmm…”

Chairman Cheon’s fingertips drummed on the desk for a long while

“Are you saying that after pulling out that card all he did was take over one small company and put some people in jail?”

He muttered with a slightly displeased expression

Chief Ha shook his head

“It’s not completely over yet. Let’s wait and see a bit longer”

“Mu-hyeok that brat acts tough but he’s still not ripe. He should have taken everything including his life”

As he clicked his tongue Chief Ha defended Mu-hyeok

“I heard he put the people who carried it out in a salt farm. It’s one we manage so there’s no way they can escape alive”

“Good that’s how it should be. They should be given a fate worse than death. If he thinks revenge is over just because he took the company and made his son the same he’s mistaken”

“Hasn’t the era changed Chairman? It’s quite different from your time”

At Chief Ha’s words Chairman Cheon’s brow furrowed

“It has changed. But even if it’s changed there are things that don’t change. Someone who was once an enemy can always become an enemy again. We need to instill fear in them properly but Mu-hyeok doesn’t know that yet”

However not long after

News came that Jo Hyun-gu had committed suicide in the detention center

A satisfied laugh could be heard from Chairman Cheon’s study

“That’s more like it. Now that’s my grandson”

Chief Ha silently bowed his head before him

* * *

Jo Hyun-gu was treated worse than an animal in the detention center. Frequent beatings from guards and even abuse and harassment from fellow inmates

But no one was there to help him

And it was when his name disappeared even from the media

“Manager Ma end it now. Handle it quietly as a suicide and take everything his family has. Don’t leave even a grain of rice”

Manager Ma faithfully followed my instructions

He bribed a guard and used someone inside to hang him in the bathroom

I thought a lot while handling this matter

That in the end I needed to harden my heart

There was no way I could die so pathetically like in my previous life

Hyeon-seong got his cast removed submitted a leave of absence from school and went down to Busan

“That ignorant kid says he’s going to sort out his thoughts. Leave him be he’ll come to his senses and come back up on his own”

Myeong-su’s words echoed in my ears again. He probably said it out of concern for me but it didn’t resonate at all

I couldn’t help the bitter taste in my mouth

I had been pushing aside other thoughts not wanting to think about anything else before the exam

In the meantime time had flown by and the judicial exam was just around the corner

As I was walking out after class someone tapped my shoulder

“Hey!”

It was Myeong-su

I asked with a nonchalant expression

“Have you prepared a lot for the judicial exam? The others too?”

“Yeah everyone’s overflowing with confidence. They’re all worried about you though. You hardly come to school have you been studying?”

Seeing Myeong-su’s confident demeanor a smile finally appeared on my face

“I’m always prepared”

The first exam tests on the basic three laws: constitutional law criminal law and civil law along with an elective subject

Unlike the second exam it’s a multiple-choice test. If you’ve studied hard assuming you’re at the level to enter Korea University’s law school most pass the first exam by the time they graduate

“Ah you cocky bastard. Come to think of it we’re all meeting up for a meal after a long time. You should come too”

I nodded at his words

As we walked out of the school Manager Ma was waiting in front

Originally I had left Manager Ma behind when coming to school for a normal school life but after handling this matter I’ve been moving with Manager Ma all the time

As Myeong-su and I got in the car Manager Ma started driving

Soon we arrived at the family restaurant where we had agreed to meet

When we went inside everyone was already gathered waiting

“Wow~ Kim Mu-hyeok! Long time no see?”

Starting with Oh Hyeon-woo Yoon Jae-ha and Han Min-kyung also greeted me warmly

I sat down with a smile

“Sorry I suggested we meet up but couldn’t participate much. Now that I have some free time I’ll try to join as much as possible”

After ordering our food we started discussing the judicial exam

“Everyone’s confident about passing the first exam in one go right? I am. Let’s all pass the first and second exams in one go and go to the training institute together”

Seeing Oh Hyeon-woo’s confident appearance I thought I had made the right choice in selecting him as the president

“Mu-hyeok this isn’t the time for you to be smiling. You’re the biggest problem here. Have you studied? You even lost the top spot in the department to Min-kyung recently”

At my words Min-kyung showed a slightly awkward smile

I shrugged my shoulders

“Well I couldn’t attend classes often so this is right. But I’m more than ready for the first exam”

Everyone scolded me saying I was insufferable

The loudest voice among them was of course Myeong-su’s

“Didn’t I tell you? The most useless worry in the world is worrying about Mu-hyeok. We just need to do well. This bastard said from the beginning that he’s only planning to take the first exam and not the second. Let’s not bother about him”

If you pass the first exam you get a total of two chances: the second exam this year and the second exam next year

The second exam was the true judicial exam

The second exam which is held over three days is in essay format. Unlike the first exam which was multiple-choice it’s not a test you can pass just by memorizing the law books

Most people fail at the second exam

There’s also a third exam but it’s an interview test. Unless it’s a really special situation most people pass. It’s a formal interview where you don’t fail unless you praise North Korea and communism in front of them

“Have you all thought about what you’ll do with your career if you pass all three exams?”

Everyone stopped their fork movements and looked at me

“Well? I’ll have to see my training institute grades but I’m thinking of becoming a prosecutor”

It seemed Oh Hyeon-woo was planning to follow the same career path as in his previous life

At the time despite having sufficient grades from the Judicial Research and Training Institute Oh Hyeon-woo had surprised everyone by choosing to become a prosecutor instead of a judge

At Oh Hyeon-woo’s words all the eyes that were on me turned to him

Especially Yoon Jae-ha who cleared his throat as if surprised

“Really? Doesn’t your family want you to become a judge?”

Perhaps because of Oh Hyeon-woo’s grandfather who had served as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Yoon Jae-ha seemed to have assumed he would choose to become a judge

Oh Hyeon-woo frowned and shook his head at those words

“It’s my life I should choose. It’s separate from what the elders in my family want”

“Whew~ I’m envious. I don’t even have the freedom to choose. I have to go straight into a law firm”

Yoon Jae-ha also made the same choice as before

“I’m going to be a prosecutor! Definitely a prosecutor!”

“Yeah everyone in the law department knows you want to be a prosecutor. Stop saying it it’s annoying”

Everyone naturally ignored Myeong-su’s words

The only one left was Han Min-kyung. As everyone turned to look at her Han Min-kyung shrugged

“I haven’t thought about it yet. I plan to go with my grades. If I can be a judge that would be good if I can be a prosecutor that’s good too and being a lawyer isn’t bad either. The priority is passing the exam first”

Originally Han Min-kyung would have worked as a lawyer and then accepted an offer from the opposition party to enter politics. But with Han Min-kyung’s current abilities she would surely compete for the top spot in the training institute

‘Becoming a judge wouldn’t be bad for me either’

I watched the situation while drinking water

“Oh~ Look at Han Min-kyung’s confidence. Almost at Mu-hyeok’s level? She’s the female Kim Mu-hyeok!”

At Myeong-su’s words everyone burst into laughter. I laughed along too

I casually said to Han Min-kyung who was smiling awkwardly

“If your grades are good enough I think you’d suit being a judge Min-kyung. You’ll do well at anything”

“Thank you”

She looked at me and smiled brightly

“What’s with this weird atmosphere?”

Ignoring Myeong-su’s snarky comment everyone got up from their seats

“Then let’s see each other on the day of the judicial exam”

On the day of the judicial exam

We all met in front of the exam hall and went in together

When we came out at 5 pm after the sun had set there were smiles on everyone’s faces

“Ah! I don’t know anymore~ I’ve done as much as I could so that’s enough”

Everyone nodded at Myeong-su’s words

“On a day like this we should all have a drink together right?”

At Oh Hyeon-woo’s words everyone looked at me

I nodded in agreement

“Yeah we should”

We went to a nearby bar with the others laughing and chatting and drinking before parting ways

On the way home

I gazed blankly at the night scenery passing by outside the car window lost in thought

I had been pushing aside other thoughts not wanting to think about anything else before the exam but now it was time to gather my thoughts

As we were almost home I sighed shaking off my musings

“Manager Ma”

“Yes boss”

“I’m going to do it properly now”

“Understood”

Grandfather who saw me come in drunk for the first time didn’t say anything

After greeting him I went up to the second floor and entered my room

The next morning after finishing breakfast I entered the study to talk with grandfather

“I’m going to stop my school life now”

I didn’t avoid grandfather’s gaze which was watching me without any expression at my words

“If I try to do everything I feel like I won’t be able to do anything properly. I’m planning to do it properly now. I’m thinking of either dropping out of school or taking a leave of absence”

“Is that so?”

“Yes I plan to do it properly after coming back from Busan”

“Properly…”

Grandfather silently looked at me tapping the table with his fingertips

In the spacious study grandfather and I looked into each other’s eyes without speaking

“Alright. But there’s no need to quit school. I’ll make sure you graduate just show your face occasionally. You said you’ll do it properly so from now on I’ll see if you’re suitable to be my successor not just my grandson”

“I understand. I’ll stay with grandmother in Busan for a while and then come back up”

I bowed to grandfather who was nodding and left the study

That evening I went down to Busan with Manager Ma

* * *

“That brat Mu-hyeok says he’s going to do it properly”

Chairman Cheon said looking out the window

Outside the car carrying Kim Mu-hyeok was leaving Chairma Cheon’s mansion

“Is that so?”

“When he comes back from Busan hand over your work to him one by one. He said he’ll do it properly so let’s watch him”

“Understood”

Chairman Cheon turned his body from the window and walked towards the chair

“What’s Su-man doing?”

“He’s quiet. He’s just doing his usual work and there’s no special movement”

“What about Ji-soo and Ji-soo?”

“Young Master Ji-soo… is still the same. I heard Miss Ji-soo will enter Il-sung after graduating thhis year”

“Tsk the eldest son still hasn’t come to his senses? What the hell is Su-man doing?”

Chief Ha silently bowed his head

Chairman Cheon who was clicking his tongue with a displeased face added

“Call Ji-soo and Ji-soo home once. And what’s Ji-young doing these days? She doesn’t come to see her grandfather at all”

“I’ll contact them”

“No it’s fine. We’ll talk about Ji-young later let’s meet Ji-soo and Ji-soo first”

“Understood”

After Chief Ha bowed and left Chairman Cheon alone seemed lost in thought with his eyes closed for a long time

* * *

“Grandma!”

“Is Mu-hyeok here?”

The Busan house was always warm

Seeing grandma’s unchanged appearance a smile never left my face

I spent the day eating dinner with grandma and talking

I told her I was planning to properly do grandfather’s work but grandma just silently stroked my back

I didn’t contact Hyeon-seong and spent time sorting out my thoughts alone going for walks with grandma and eating delicious food

Park Dong-su was the one who broke my rest

― Little bro! Are you in Busan?

“Yes but hyung if it’s not urgent can you contact me later? My mind is a bit complicated right now”

― Umm… It’s about your parents’ case. I contacted you because there’s someone who says they know a bit about it

Sometimes you find clues to unsolved matters in the most unexpected places

My parents’ case was like that

“Who is it? Where are they now?”