The weekend with my parents went by in a flash.
We ate out, I treated them to some new clothes, and we enjoyed a movie night together.
It was my first visit since Lunar New Year, so I put some thought into planning our time.
My parents seemed genuinely happy, but a nagging feeling of unease lingered within me.
Was it because I felt I should be achieving more, but things weren’t progressing as I’d hoped?
I lost my parents once because of Wooshin, and I swore revenge because of it.
But now, I’m so consumed by that revenge that I barely make time to visit them.
It’s a classic case of putting the cart before the horse [prioritizing the wrong thing].
I even tried to emulate Kang Min-jae, whom my parents admired, hoping to please them, but it felt forced.
My mother mentioned liking Kang’s outgoing personality, but I suppose you can’t really change who you are at your core.
I even floated the idea of them moving to Seoul, thinking they might appreciate having their distant son closer and seeing him more often.
But my parents made it clear they disliked Seoul and flatly refused, jokingly warning me not to return without a woman to marry if I wanted to see them again.
It seems I need to find a wife to be a good son, but I suspect I’m not destined for such filial piety.
“Good morning, Attorney Cha.”
I was at work early, idly browsing the internet, when Kang Min-jae walked into the office carrying coffee.
“You need caffeine to kickstart your brain in the morning.”
He placed an Americano on my desk and glanced at my laptop screen.
“What are you looking at?”
“Just checking my email.”
“Anything IT-related?”
He peered over my email, tilting his head.
“I wouldn’t exactly call it IT. Just trying to make some money.”
“Stock tips?”
“Not exactly. I’ve entrusted something to someone I know.”
He showed Kang the email on his screen:
“[Mining hard… The noise is too loud, so I’m running it in another room all night; I think I’ve mined about 3000 BTC. (Check the attached screenshot) The karaoke bar’s electricity bill is due the day after tomorrow. Please send the money quickly ^^]”
“BTC? What’s that? Is this Director Kuk’s email? Did you ask him to do something?”
“Look it up. It’s called Bitcoin. If you’re interested, you should try it too. It could be quite lucrative.”
I figured it would be selfish to keep such potentially valuable information to myself, so I shared it with Kang.
Kang Min-jae, taking my advice, returned to his desk, searched online for a while, and then shook his head.
“Is this even legitimate? It sounds like a scam. I’m not interested.”
It was the reaction I anticipated.
I’d had a similar reaction to Kang Min-jae when I first heard about Bitcoin in my previous life.
But Chief Oh, who had a penchant for buying lottery tickets, started investing a little at a time when the Bitcoin boom began, and he filled me in on all the details, so I remembered the key trends.
In particular, he enthusiastically told me when the peak occurred and how much the value of 1 BTC had risen at that time.
Returning to the time when Bitcoin was just emerging felt like a divine opportunity to invest.
I already earn a good income, but it’s always wise to have more resources.
Especially in preparation for what’s to come.
“If you’re still working with me in eight years, I’ll pay your salary with this.”
“Eight years?”
“I plan to sell it in 2017.”
I said, glancing at the calendar.
“Attorney Cha, I didn’t realize you were involved in so many investments.”
Kang Min-jae said, surprised.
How could I not invest?
I’ve earned billions of won [hundreds of thousands of US dollars] in retainer fees thus far.
If I were still the same person, I would have deposited it all in the bank, but it would be foolish to remain idle knowing what I know about the next 10 years.
Aside from the money I used to buy my parents a house in the countryside and the funds I need for current expenses, I’m investing everything.
“I’m going to need a substantial amount of capital in the future.”
I replied, flipping through the calendar.
What I have to contend with is the colossal conglomerate Wooshin, which can neutralize almost anything with its vast wealth.
Of course, I don’t know if I can ever match the scale of Wooshin Group’s assets, no matter how diligently I try.
Regardless, I need operating funds.
“But why do you keep looking at the calendar?”
“I don’t know, I just feel like I’m forgetting something.”
I said, tapping the calendar.
I was lost in thought when the phone suddenly rang.
The caller was Lee Ye-jin.
“This is Cha Joo-han.”
– Cha, can you talk?
“Yes.”
– Are you busy? I heard rumors that you’ve been getting more clients since the news broke.
“That’s true. It’s easier to work on relatively small cases after handling big ones.”
– Really? You must be short-handed.
“Well, yes.”
– Anyway, a very welcome person is heading to your office today. Someone who’s quite fond of you. Enough to make me jealous!
I had no idea who Lee Ye-jin was referring to as a ‘welcome person.’
I briefly considered several people we both knew.
Then, the person I had dismissed as a possibility was…
“Could it be…”
– Ah, you guessed it? It’s you, Cha.”
“I’m sorry, but I decided to end things with Jo Ah-young after that meeting.”
Lee Ye-jin had been trying to set me up with a woman more persistently than my own parents, so I assumed she was trying to rekindle things with my ex-wife.
I figured she would have told Lee Ye-jin’s husband, but this was unexpected.
– What? Haha, hahaha! Hahahahaha!
And as soon as I answered, Lee Ye-jin erupted in maniacal laughter.
You could say it was a crazy laugh that went beyond normal laughter.
I held the phone away from my ear for a moment, then brought it back when her laughter subsided.
– Hey, Cha. You’re a bit arrogant, aren’t you?
“…Arrogant?”
– Yeah! It’s not Attorney Jo! Of course, Attorney Jo seemed to like you very much… But that doesn’t mean she’s the type to cling.
“…”
– If you don’t know, it’s best to meet without knowing. She’ll be there soon. Treat her well. She put a lot of thought into this decision.
Before I could respond, Lee Ye-jin hung up.
She always says what she wants and hangs up, but I stared at the phone for a long time.
‘It’s not my ex-wife?’
If it’s not my ex-wife, who could be the person I’d be happy to see?
This had never happened in my previous life, so I couldn’t even begin to guess.
About 20 minutes passed.
Someone opened the office door and came in.
“How can I help you… Oh?”
Kang Min-jae, who had jumped up from his desk, exclaimed.
I was preparing a brief for a case I was working on, and I looked up at the sound of his voice.
“Haha, how have you been?”
“Chief Oh! What brings you here?”
It was Chief Oh.
He was holding a set of juices in one hand, and it seemed he had come to ask me for something.
I led him to the sofa in front of the consultation table.
“Why didn’t you call before coming?”
“Oh, am I interrupting something?”
“No, I’m just happy to see you.”
Chief Oh smiled warmly at my words.
He took off his coat and placed it on one side of the sofa, and then gulped down the coffee that Kang Min-jae had offered him, as if he was parched.
“I’m glad you’re happy to see me.”
Most of the acquaintances who visit this office for the first time glance around the interior.
He was no different.
Chief Oh looked around the office for a long time, and then suddenly stared at the empty space on the wall near the entrance.
Kang had brought in a plant because he said the space felt too sterile, but it still looked somewhat bare.
Kang Min-jae also noticed his gaze, glanced at the empty space, and spoke up.
“It’s a bit empty, isn’t it? Haha. There are only two lawyers, but the office is quite large. I was thinking of hiring a paralegal to fill that spot if the attorney hires one.”
It was solely Kang’s idea, but I didn’t feel the need to correct him.
Then Chief Oh said with a pleased expression and a brighter tone.
“Is that so?”
“Haha, yes. Of course. Chief, aren’t you still at work?”
“Oh, I took a day off today.”
“You came to see us on such a precious day off? I’m touched.”
Kang pretended to wipe away tears, and Chief Oh smiled awkwardly.
And his gaze slowly shifted to me.
“Attorney. Are you considering hiring a paralegal? You must be getting more cases and getting busier. I’ve never worked at a law firm before, but I did work as a prosecutor’s officer for 20 years.”
Only then did Lee Ye-jin’s phone call from earlier click into place.
He was so close to me that it hadn’t even occurred to me that the ‘welcome person’ she was referring to was Chief Oh.
And I also realized what that welcome person had come to me for.
“I missed my chance.”
“…Pardon?”
Chief Oh frowned and asked back, as if he hadn’t anticipated my response.
“I should have made the offer first, but you beat me to it.”
When I returned to 2008 and decided to resign, I felt a pang of regret that I had to leave Chief Oh behind at the prosecutor’s office.
In my previous life, he had always been a steadfast supporter, remaining by my side until I became a senior prosecutor.
Of course, Kang Min-jae’s arrival had alleviated some of my regrets, but I had always intended to extend a recruitment offer to Chief Oh once the office was stable.
The office had been stable for quite some time, but I had been remiss.
I had assumed that if he and I were to work together again, it would be because I had persuaded him.
I never imagined he would reach out to me first.
“…Attorney.”
“We would be incredibly grateful if you would join us. But before that… Is there something going on at the office?”
He was a prosecutor’s investigator who had never caused any problems.
His generous nature and the impression that he embraced everything made him well-liked by everyone.
Unlike me, he didn’t have any sharp edges, so he got along well with superiors and subordinates alike without making any enemies.
But why would such a person give up his secure civil servant job and come to my office?