novelnext Chapter 177 : Someone Who Needs a Chance (2)
Chapter 177 : Someone Who Needs a Chance (2)
Someone Who Needs a Chance (2)Ma Jun-sang saw the hardened, cold face of his old friend in front of him.
The look in Choi Seungjin's eyes, once filled with determination, now belonged to a completely different person.
"Seungjin."
"Ma Jun-sang..."
"Why on earth did you do it?"
Choi Seungjin attacked Ma Jun-sang with a knife.
If it hadn't been for the shadow bodyguard that Seongjin introduced to him, he really would have died.
The bodyguard subdued Choi Seungjin, then kidnapped him and brought him here.
Although Ma Jun-sang pitied the state Seungjin was in, he couldn't defend him—he'd brought everything on himself.
"Why did you try to kill me?"
To this question, Choi Seungjin just glared silently at Ma Jun-sang.
Even though he was the one who attacked first, he wore a face as if he was the victim.
It was shameless enough that Seongjin, standing to the side, stepped in.
"Dad, people like him don't listen to words. That's why, in Joseon dynasty style..."
"No need. I just want to talk to this guy alone now."
Having once been friends, Seongjin couldn't squeeze into this conversation.
As Seongjin stepped back, Choi Seungjin finally spoke up.
"Mission..."
"...?"
"It was because of the mission. The friend I resented and had to kill was you."
Mission—he meant the quest window that appears above awakeners' heads.
Learning his friend had targeted him for this goal, Ma Jun-sang clicked his tongue.
"You're out of your mind."
"I am?"
"You always said you wanted to save the most pitiable kids... but you almost created those very kids."
Ma Jun-sang pointed at his own son standing behind him.
If he'd died from that knife attack, what would have happened to his children?
It wouldn't have been strange if they'd gone down the wrong path after witnessing their father's death.
Although as long as Seongjin was around, there was no way that would happen...
"It's clear that your words and actions never matched."
Orphans who lost their parents. Kids cast out from home that turned delinquent.
Choi Seungjin always kept those words on his lips.
If protecting them was the goal, then he should've prevented such kids from arising in the first place.
Yet, kids like that almost emerged because of his violence.
"The truth is, you never even cared about protecting the unfortunate."
"Nonsense... Do you know how many kids I've defended until now!"
"Yeah. Just like I did my duty as a prosecutor, you did yours as a lawyer. But what did you think of the kids who were harmed?"
Regardless of who the defendant was, a lawyer's role is to reduce their sentence.
Choi Seungjin defended the attacker simply because it was his job. But he never thought about the victims.
He considered the attacks mere mistakes of youth, and the victim's complaints as petty revenge.
"The kids you defended only got light suspensions. Do you know what happened to the students they hurt when their suspensions ended?"
With The World's help, Ma Jun-sang easily found out.
Of course, as soon as the suspension ended, the victims suffered retaliation and now live with PTSD.
Meanwhile, the guys behind the retaliation did just fine in society.
Some worked as hunters for famous guilds; others became popular streamers.
Hearing this, Choi Seungjin's face brightened.
"Kangseok and Jinyoung... they've grown up a lot. That's great; they adapted to society."
He'd finally gotten news of those kids who had gone dark.
The thought of them rehabilitated and doing well gave him a sense of accomplishment.
Proof, to him, that his defense had been correct.
"Great, huh?"
But Ma Jun-sang grit his teeth at those words. What had Seungjin heard just now?
"Then, what about the victims who are still suffering after the retaliation?"
"...?"
He only cared about those he defended. Nothing else mattered.
Even upon hearing that the victims suffered nightmares and had become recluses, Choi Seungjin said,
"That's just because they're weak."
"What?"
"They took the beating and still managed to get by, didn't they? That's enough."
At that, Ma Jun-sang's eyes trembled violently.
Seongjin, standing behind, was also so shocked he was lost for words.
.
.
"I don't get why they reported it—they should have just stayed quiet instead of seeking revenge. It was just kids playing around."
Hearing Choi Seungjin's follow-up, I was impressed for all the wrong reasons.
The fact that someone like this became a human rights lawyer was remarkable.
Even his face looked calm, unbothered.
"Finally showing your true colors, huh?"
"Aren't you saying that a bit harshly? This is totally normal."
"Normal? Ah... So beating up people suspected of being awakeners was also 'normal' for you?"
"What...?"
Choi Seungjin's cocky expression hardened. Dad had brought up something from his protester days.
"You know why I left back then, right? You called me a traitor, but in reality, I was the betrayed one."
Anti-awakener sentiment had been harsh at that time.
But attacking people just because their parent or sibling was an awakener made no sense.
They even beat up someone just because their ears looked different, thinking they were a Mutamit.
When it turned out the person wasn't even a Mutamit, they just shrugged it off.
"You know better than anyone how wrong your rampages were back then."
Driving unrelated people into group lynchings as 'awakener suspects'—there's no way he didn't know it was wrong.
He lost all sense of right and wrong, intoxicated by that taste of power.
"So you needed to rationalize your actions, find comfort. That's why you did all that."
Having led beatings in the past, Choi Seungjin became a lawyer—to look like a good person.
He singled out 'unfortunate children' to defend. Children just like himself.
Kids from troubled families who went astray, and those drawn to violence.
"You never wanted to 'protect unfortunate students.' You just wanted to protect students similar to yourself."
That was the essence of the term 'unfortunate students.'
Like a child picking only the things that suit their taste, he only attached the label to those who benefited or comforted him.
The ones who really deserved it were someone else.
By defending them, he was pardoning his own past self, making himself look like a lawyer who saved unfortunate youth.
"You never 'understood' anyone else's pain. You just 'used' whatever benefited you!"
"You know nothing, you little brat... What do you think you know!"
"So, the people you beat up in the past—none of them deserve pity?"
"Maybe they do."
Choi Seungjin's lips curled, as if something had stirred in his heart.
His forcibly-smoothed face warped into something unnatural.
"So what? Like I said before, if they just endured, that should've been enough."
"..."
"Why bother getting revenge and dragging things out?"
Choi Seungjin argued that revenge was wrong. But just now, his words revealed his real beliefs.
"It's their fault for letting it happen. Should've been careful from the start!"
His true feelings erupted like a volcano, breaking away from the mask of the lawyer.
"The victim's to blame, huh? Ha..."
Muttering quietly, dad turned to look at me.
Meeting his eyes, I called someone on my phone. When the call connected, I said breezily,
"Vern. Begin."
—You mean proceed as planned?
"My father gave his approval."
—Then, we're going with Plan HQ.
After the call, Choi Seungjin demanded,
"What did you just do?"
"Simple. We're about to reveal the true nature of all those guys you defended to the world."
"What...?"
Choi Seungjin's smile vanished. He broke out in a cold sweat and stammered,
"How could you...!"
"Do you really think those people have been completely rehabilitated?"
On paper, they had decent jobs, but their skeletons were plentiful—embezzlement of guild funds, secret product placements, sexual harassment, illegal gambling, contract fraud. The more you dug, the more crimes you dug up.
"And Song Minseok from the Vajra Guild—I heard he sold rigged equipment and ousted the old Guildmaster to seize the guild for himself."
"That's..."
"All their actions will be broadcast to the world. How does that sound?"
—A spectacular show is about to start!
At that, Choi Seungjin screamed, terrified.
"Stop! They were struggling, pitiful kids but finally adapting to society! Are you going to ruin their lives again?!"
"Adapting to society? Even after hearing their crimes, you can still say that?"
I'd said before: people don't change.
As I thought, people's true nature doesn't change easily. Those pitiful guys... and this man too.
"Most of all, you said it yourself—victims have to endure."
"Huh?"
"So who told them to let it happen?"
—They should have been careful from the start.
Hearing his own words thrown back, Choi Seungjin was left in despair.
He'd always known victims were pitiful, according to his own logic.
Yet, the people he defended were pitiable, too, weren't they?
"Jun-sang... we're still friends, right? Please, help me!"
"..."
"Stop your son! Please, I'm begging you!"
Realizing the situation, Choi Seungjin began to cry and beg my father.
But...
"Seungjin. I thought you were at least 'human'. But..."
Dad walked forward, up to the chained, trembling man.
When Seungjin met his gaze, he seemed to shrink in fear.
"How could you try to kill your own son?!"
"..."
"I've never had a 'monster' like you for a friend."
With those words, dad turned and placed a hand on my shoulder.
As if asking me to take care of what came next, he stepped away.
"Jun-sang. Jun-sang!!"
—Woof!
"Eek!"
When Sangdori appeared, Choi Seungjin recoiled in terror.
He was so afraid of dogs that even seeing a puppy sent him into a panic.
He, too, had fears. Yet he couldn't empathize with others feeling those same fears.
"Don't worry too much. For Seungcheol hyung's sake, I won't kill you."
The crime of murdering your own son is enormous.
Especially since that son had the potential to become a top artisan—a vessel we should have protected. Therefore...
"Instead, you'll wish you were dead."
For him, there is no heaven or hell.
"Oh, almost forgot!"
"...?"
"My puppet, come on!"
When I clapped twice, someone appeared beside me. Seeing that person, Choi Seungjin's eyes nearly popped out.
"You... you!!"
"Let me introduce you. Kim Jae—no, Jade. My puppet."
"So... it was all..."
That brat, believed to have killed himself, was actually my summon.
The fact it was all my doing inspired deep hatred in Seungjin.
"Uwaaaak!!!"
He screamed in rage, then finally lost consciousness.
It was time for surgery.
"Nurse, scalpel!"
—Rrrrng!
"Aww! Good job~"
Sangdori, holding a box cutter in his mouth, brought it to me—cuter than ever today.
Of course, it was useless for the current situation.
****
Choi Seungjin lost consciousness again. Until moments ago, he couldn't remember what happened to him.
When he came to, he was wearing a prison uniform.
"Ahhh..."
He wanted to say something. What were the iron bars before his eyes?
What was the number tag on his clothes? And...
"Ahhh?"
Why couldn't he speak properly? Why had he ended up this way?
"Ahhhhh!"
He couldn't remember anything.
Visits were impossible now.
Yet, one thing remained vivid in his mind.
"Uwaaaaa!!!"
It was the horrific vision of his own son dying by his hand.
****
"In the end, this is how our ill-fated bond ends, huh."
"Any regrets?"
"None. Not at all."
Dad shook his head and sat down in the grass. After sending his old friend to prison, dad and I visited a certain grave.
The headstone bore the name "Choi Seungcheol."
"Hello..."
"He's Seongjin's friend."
"Yes."
Eunseol approached quietly and sat beside us. Since Angel guild had provided this grave, she was with me.
"He was the one who made our excellent equipment..."
Eunseol also mourned Choi Seungcheol's death.
The gear he made is still used regularly for training. The mask he made for me is also carefully kept.
"What happened to his father?"
"Life imprisonment."
Dad's calm answer cast a cold silence.
"Not just parricide—they even found evidence he colluded with the Holy Church."
Killing your own child is horrific, let alone collaborating with a terror group.
He'd likely never leave prison. Of course, that's all that was released publicly.
The Holy Church intelligence he had—all of that, Vern and I swallowed up.
"That's awful."
"Once you've done wrong, you must be punished. Not only him—but also all the people he defended."
Those who seemed to have adapted to society have already been fired from their jobs.
Because all their misdeeds were exposed. It looks like it'll be hard for them to find work in the future.
"Excuse me, I'll go take a call."
When Dad stepped away with his phone, Eunseol edged closer to me.
With a somber look, she swallowed and spoke in a trembling voice.
"Just now, like your dad said... will I also end up that way someday?"
"Why do you think that?"
"Do you remember what I did when we first met...?"
Eunseol recalled the gate incident in Yong-in City from her 1st grade.
There, under mind control, she'd killed and absorbed all the hunters she encountered in the gate.
Even now, their screams remained inside her.
"Being young isn't an excuse..."
If you do wrong, you are punished, sooner or later. Knowing well what she had done, Eunseol trembled in anxiety.
It was only natural.
"Just keep living."
"..."
I placed my hand on her head. Instantly, Eunseol's face flushed bright red.
"People might criticize you if they find out. But if you give up on living, what does that make of the people who sacrificed for you?"
Her late birth parents. Her grandfather, Baek Suhyuk, who took her in as his granddaughter.
All of them worked hard to raise her properly.
"You've been given a chance now. You can't throw away a chance they struggled to create for you."
Some people, thanks to one lawyer, were given a new chance—only to waste it and go astray.
Even as adults, they couldn't shake their ways from youth.
"Going bad is wrong, but becoming a ruined wreck is just as bad."
Both are a waste of the opportunity given. That betrays those who gave you that chance.
"So live."
"Okay."
Eunseol's complex expression gradually softened. That 'opportunity' Choi Seungjin spoke of for juveniles in need—was right here by my side.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Chois Seungjin is near Umbridge level of hateable...
Fucking scumbag...
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】