Once again, only the soft rustling sound of papers being turned filled the office.
Lee Hanyeong slipped a finger cot onto his finger and glanced sideways at Kim Yunhyeok.
Kim Yunhyeok wore a contemplative expression.
'You're wondering why I'm so calm after being handed a Kkangchi case, aren't you?'
When Kim Yunhyeok first heard that Lee Hanyeong had been assigned a Kkangchi case, he must have been simply pleased.
But Lee Hanyeong's calm tone.
For someone who had personally received a Kkangchi case from the Chief Judge to remain so composed meant there was something more to it.
Kim Yunhyeok was racking his brain to figure out why.
'Don't bother thinking about it. You've never met Chief Judge Baek Iseok, so you wouldn't know his intentions.'
Chief Judge Baek Iseok was testing Lee Hanyeong's measure.
They say you can tell a promising tree from its first sprout—rather than giving Lee Hanyeong experience, he was giving him a difficult case and watching.
'He's checking whether to raise me as a hunting dog, keep me as a lapdog, or dote on me briefly and then discard me.'
There was no humanity in how Baek Iseok regarded Lee Hanyeong. He was merely a "dog."
Lee Hanyeong knew this, and he had no intention of ending as just a "dog."
He would somehow catch Baek Iseok's eye and enter their world.
Lee Hanyeong clenched his fist lightly, then relaxed it, and focused on the case file.
A 2400cc midsize sedan hit a guardrail and plunged into a reservoir.
The girlfriend, Kim Seonhee, who was in the passenger seat, died.
The driver, her boyfriend Park Hyeokjun, had the window open to smoke and therefore did not suffer serious injuries and managed to escape.
Whether Kim Seonhee's cause of death was the impact from hitting the guardrail or drowning after falling into the reservoir could not be determined because no autopsy was performed.
After holding Kim Seonhee's funeral, her family filed a complaint accusing her boyfriend Park Hyeokjun of premeditated murder.
The family cited that Kim Seonhee had already broken up with Park Hyeokjun before the incident, that he persistently sought her out to the point of bordering on stalking, and that he had sent threatening messages saying he would kill her if she did not get back together with him.
The investigation revealed that Park Hyeokjun had taken out twelve insurance policies in Kim Seonhee's name, with the payout amounting to 800 million won.
Lee Hanyeong continued scanning through the case file.
The prosecution argued that Park Hyeokjun killed Kim Seonhee for the insurance money.
The defense countered that Park Hyeokjun had no clear motive to kill her, that the two had reconciled before the incident, and that after the incident, Park Hyeokjun had been receiving consistent medication and treatment at a hospital to overcome depression—arguing that it was not murder.
As Lee Hanyeong was reading the file, the phone rang.
It was Senior Presiding Judge Im Jeongsik.
—Come to my office.
"Sit."
Lee Hanyeong bowed to Senior Presiding Judge Im Jeongsik and pulled out a chair at the table in the center of the room before sitting down.
Senior Presiding Judge Im Jeongsik looked at Lee Hanyeong with a slightly apologetic expression. It was only right to feel sorry for handing him a Kkangchi case when he should have been praising him for the Kim Sangjin case.
Senior Presiding Judge Im Jeongsik stood up from his desk and walked over to the table as he spoke.
"Coffee?"
"I'm fine."
"Have you read the file? What do you think?"
Lee Hanyeong slightly furrowed his brow, showing that it was complicated.
"The two sides are sharply opposed."
Senior Presiding Judge Im Jeongsik pulled out a chair and sat down, looking Lee Hanyeong over.
He didn't look unconfident.
But it was clear he was struggling because he hadn't found a clear thread to unravel the case.
"In a case this tangled, no matter what verdict you give, it'll go to a second trial. The prosecution and the defense probably think the same, so they won't fight to the death in the first trial. That means your ruling will just be a step in the process for them. Think of it as gaining experience and proceed with peace of mind."
Contrary to Senior Presiding Judge Im Jeongsik's words, the first trial was extremely important, as it set the tone for subsequent proceedings.
Still, he spoke this way because he wanted to ease Lee Hanyeong's burden as much as possible in the face of such a complex case.
Lee Hanyeong could fully feel that intention.
"Yes, thank you. But I'll do my best."
"I'll keep an eye on the Kim Sangjin trial, so you focus on the Kkangchi case. If anything's difficult, come ask me anytime."
Lee Hanyeong slowly nodded.
It was difficult, yes—but that was a statement that applied to ordinary people.
Senior Presiding Judge Im Jeongsik was only seeing Lee Hanyeong's exterior.
On the outside, Lee Hanyeong was a young judge.
But inside him sat a judge with far more experience than Senior Presiding Judge Im Jeongsik, with tens of thousands of cases and precedents in his head.
Moreover, this particular case had caused a great deal of controversy even after the trial, so he remembered it clearly.
Lee Hanyeong briefly recalled his previous life.
Back then, this trial had not been his assignment.
Another single judge had presided over it and acquitted Park Hyeokjun.
The ruling leaned on the fact that Park Hyeokjun being the murderer was only circumstantial suspicion, with no definitive evidence or clear motive for murder.
Had it ended there, it would have been fine, but the internet erupted over the verdict.
People hurled nonstop abuse, saying how could the court not see that a woman had died unjustly, calling the judiciary trash, and worse.
It didn't stop there—protests were even held in front of the courthouse.
It was only natural that Chief Judge Baek Iseok, who had been quietly waiting to ascend to the Supreme Court, would be furious.
And several years later, this case entered an entirely new phase, overturning every ruling completely.
'I remember that case.'
What Lee Hanyeong needed to consider was how to uncover the truth while also presenting it in a way that suited Baek Iseok's tastes.
Senior Presiding Judge Im Jeongsik seemed to think that Lee Hanyeong, sitting quietly, was deep in thought.
"Submit it to me first before it goes to trial. I'll do the finishing touches."
That meant Senior Presiding Judge Im Jeongsik would revise the judgment after Lee Hanyeong drafted it—again, an attempt to lighten his burden.
Lee Hanyeong bowed his head to Senior Presiding Judge Im Jeongsik.
"Thank you. Thanks to you, Senior Presiding Judge, I feel a bit more at ease."
"So don't worry and proceed. If any problems come up, I'll cover for you."
"I'll think it through as carefully as possible so no problems arise."
Lee Hanyeong left the Senior Presiding Judge's office and walked down the corridor.
A dry chuckle escaped his lips.
He turned his head to look back at the office he had just left.
'Thank you.'
He truly was grateful.
Perhaps because he had met Senior Presiding Judge Im Jeongsik at a young age in his previous life, Lee Hanyeong remembered him as someone who was always angry.
He even felt sorry now, wondering how he had failed to notice this consideration back then.
Lee Hanyeong's gaze returned to the corridor.
'Don't worry. There won't be any problems.'
There absolutely wouldn't be.
'It won't even go to a second trial. With this case, Chief Judge Baek Iseok will look at us differently.'
If the recent Kim Sangjin case was dismissed as luck, then this time would be skill.
Lee Hanyeong clenched his fist tightly, then opened it again.
The future lay in that hand.
'This time, let's grab the lifeline and climb up together, Senior Presiding Judge.'
"He seems to be agonizing over it quite a bit."
At Senior Presiding Judge Im Jeongsik's words, Chief Judge Baek Iseok nodded.
"That's only natural. A judge who has just begun making decisions on his own won't find it easy."
Senior Presiding Judge Im Jeongsik quietly looked at Baek Iseok.
He had no idea what Baek Iseok was thinking.
When he had sent down the tangled Kkangchi case, Im Jeongsik thought Baek Iseok might be displeased with Lee Hanyeong.
Yet now, he was receiving reports about him…
"Do you have something you want to say?"
Perhaps his gaze was too intense, because Baek Iseok asked.
"I know you dislike questions, but I'm curious why you assigned such a Kkangchi case to Lee Hanyeong."
Baek Iseok smirked.
"Go ask Judge Lee Hanyeong yourself. That guy seems to know the answer."
"What? Judge Lee Hanyeong knows?"
"Judge Lee Hanyeong was assigned the Kkangchi case right after meeting me. What happened then?"
Senior Presiding Judge Im Jeongsik tilted his head.
"Judge Lee Hanyeong cut me off and spoke his own words."
"...!"
That moment resurfaced in Im Jeongsik's mind.
When Baek Iseok was reciting a line from King Lear, Lee Hanyeong had cut in mid-sentence.
'He didn't look offended back then.'
But just because he wasn't offended at the moment didn't mean the feeling couldn't sour later. Many things become infuriating when replayed in one's mind.
'Could it be…?'
Senior Presiding Judge Im Jeongsik looked at Baek Iseok with tense eyes.
Baek Iseok continued.
"After that, Lee Hanyeong was given a difficult case. Anyone with half a brain would know it was my doing. Yet you say he's troubled, but doesn't look unconfident? What do you think that means? It means he understands my intentions."
Senior Presiding Judge Im Jeongsik shook his head.
He couldn't understand those intentions at all.
The next day.
"Where are you going?"
Kim Yunhyeok asked as he watched Lee Hanyeong put on his jacket to head out.
"I'm going to check out the scene."
It wasn't widely known, but judges often went to the scene. Sometimes at someone's request, and sometimes, like now, to get closer to the truth.
"What scene? The Kkangchi one?"
Lee Hanyeong turned his gaze to Kim Yunhyeok.
Until recently, Kim Yunhyeok hadn't shown much interest in Lee Hanyeong. Even looking back at his previous life, Lee Hanyeong couldn't recall ever feeling that Kim Yunhyeok paid him much attention while they were at this court.
Yet lately, Kim Yunhyeok had been watching his every move excessively.
'Why? Are you scared? Afraid I'll do better than you?'
But contrary to his inner thoughts, Lee Hanyeong wore a slight smile and nodded.
"Yeah. The case is complicated, so I think I need to see the scene in person."
"It's been so long, you probably won't gain much."
Lee Hanyeong shrugged.
"Still, wouldn't it be better than just looking at photos? Maybe I'll feel something if I go there myself."
"Be careful."
Hearing Kim Yunhyeok's concerned words, Lee Hanyeong left the office.
As he walked down the corridor, the smile that had been on his lips slowly faded.
Kim Yunhyeok's mask was certainly thick.
On the outside, Lee Hanyeong looked like a young man who had just become a single judge, but inside he was a seasoned fox in his fifties.
He had grown sick of hearing the truths and lies of prosecutors and lawyers, plaintiffs and defendants, criminals and innocents alike.
Perhaps it was an occupational hazard, but reading truth from most people's expressions and actions was not difficult.
Yet it was hard to sense the filthy smile hidden behind the mask Kim Yunhyeok wore.
'To have been like that since childhood—it's frightening. If I hadn't lived my previous life, I would've taken your kindness at face value and laughed along, wouldn't I?'
After briefly thinking about Kim Yunhyeok, Lee Hanyeong shook his head.
He didn't have time to keep dwelling on Kim Yunhyeok.
Kim Yunhyeok's sin had not yet ripened.
Someday, when it became a luscious fruit, it would need to be torn apart and crushed mercilessly.
For now, it was time to build a case that would please the Chief Judge.