THE JOB
INTERVIEW
BONG
SANG PIL
THE PAST
HIS
MOTHER’S
UNSOLVED MURDER
A past remembered. Bong Sang Pil brooded over his mother's murder.
   
A flashback scene. The rain was pouring down, ratcheting down like bullets off the roof.
Choi Jin Ae, Bong Sang Pil’s mother, also a lawyer, had rushed back to her law office to retrieve something. It was learnt later that she had been chased by thugs in several cars.
Bong Sang Pil, her young son, missed her and had left home to look for her. The little boy did not realize the danger they were in.
   
Overwrought by the presence of her young son, she suddenly felt fearful for him. Her sixth sense must have warned her of some impending danger. She handed him a photo of herself and her brother taken together as well as a piece of paper with her brother’s address.
In case anything befell her, he was to flee to his uncle in Seoul. Her strict instructions were that he was never to return to the place nor trust anyone in Ki Seong.
          
But, the adult Bong Sang Pil was stubborn and had ignored his mother's advice. How could he forget? He had returned to Ki Seong to solve his mother's murder.
   Ahn Oh Ju, a gangster head, had burst into her office that very night and demanded for a certain memory card that was in her possession. He accused her of having stepped out of line.       
When she denied having it, Ahn Oh Ju rubbed his head threateningly against hers.
It was a form of physical intimidation.     
Deliberately putting on his black gloves, Ahn Oh Ju strove to show the lady lawyer that he meant business. The black gloves forebode evil. His intention was ominous; he was intent on strangling her.
But, his attention was distracted by a child’s umbrella which was dripping with rainwater so he knew her son was there. He yelled out for Bong Sang Pil to come out of his hiding place. Ahn Oh Ju was going to count up to three before he strangled his mother.         
The young boy, frightened out of his wits, crawled out.
Choi Jin Ae rushed forward to protect her son but Ahn Oh Ju dragged him away and threatened to break his neck.        
Compelled to protect her beloved son, she pulled out a thick law book
and dug out the memory card that was hidden in it.
    
When the gangster was not looking, the young boy swallowed the memory card.
Ahn Oh Ju, a most evil mobster, would stop at nothing to get whatever he wanted.
He yelled for a knife to slice the young boy open as they could not wait for him to excrete the memory card from his body. Ahn Oh Ju was the Devil Incarnate!    
A night of evil. Flashes of lightning. Rolling thunder. The frightened, desperate mother was out of her mind. She tried to protect her child but was silenced when the knife came down on her.
Though stabbed, she managed to push her precious boy to safety.
Locked in a room, the courageous boy did a stunt of his own. He escaped through the window and finally landed on some rubbish.
        Rain poured down. In his hiding place, Bong Sang Pil saw Ahn Oh Ju speaking to a woman who turned out to be Judge Cha Moon Sook.   
A police car came by. Bong Sang Pil thought help was at hand. He requested Detective
Woo Hyeong Man for help but to his horror, the detective turned out to be an accomplice of
Ahn Oh Ju.
The helpless, young boy had forgotten his mother's warning not to trust anyone in Ki Seong.     
Ahn Oh Ju instructed Detective Woo to kill the boy and bury him with his dead mother.
It was apparent that the Ki Seong police were working in collusion with the gangsters. No wonder his mother had told him not to trust anyone in Ki Seong.    
While being driven away, the fearless boy attacked Detective Woo and ferociously bit him on his hand.
Some distracting sounds could be heard in the trunk of the car.
The commotion and struggle caused the driver to lose control of the car which somersaulted and landed on its back.
 
The trunk lid suddenly opened and a woman rolled out. She gripped onto the wicked lawman and screamed at Bong Sang Pil to flee.
His saviour turned out to be Ha Jae Yi’s mother. It seemed there and then that the Red String of Fate had linked Bong Sang Pil and Ha Jae Yi.
       
To cut the story short, the boy somehow managed to find his way
to Seoul. He found his uncle who was in the midst of a gang fight on the
rooftop of a building.
       The boy introduced himself but Choi Dae Woong clarified that he and his sister had been estranged for a long time. The young boy tearfully pleaded for help as his mother was dead.   
During their first meal together, the young boy expressed his determination to return to Ki Seong when he was older and stronger in order to avenge his mother’s death.
Bong Sang Pil was aware of his uncle’s way of life and pleaded with his uncle to teach him martial arts. Choi didn't want to be a bad influence on the young boy's life.
Choi Dae Woong admitted that his sister and he were on opposite sides of the law; he was a gang boss and she, a lawyer. That was the reason why Choi Jin Ae, his sister had distanced herself from him.      
Back to the present. To remind himself of the tragedy of his mother’s
death, Bong Sang Pil kept the memory card close to him.
He opened the file in his computer and his mother’s face appeared. She reminded him to fulfil his promise of being a good lawyer.
  Bong Sang Pil sat in the dark with painful memories flooding back from the past. It seemed like yesterday when his mother was murdered. A broken spirit. A fractured heart. Grief and desperation. Pain washed over him; he was suddenly immersed in his suffering. His eyes were red, so was his face. Perhaps, inside he was boiling mad that her life was so cruelly terminated. His stifled feelings leaked out; his tears rolled down. He cried at her memory and over her words. She had exacted a promise from him to be a good lawyer like her.    Bong Sang Pil had to come to grips with his pain. His mission loomed ahead of him.        |
THE
JOB INTERVIEW
BONG
SANG PIL
versus HA JAE YI
Bong Sang Pil had arrived at the Ki Seong District Police Department.
  
He had arranged to visit Ha Jae Yi, who had been locked up in a detention cell. He decided not to press charges against her.
  
Ha Jae Yi was curious about why he was visiting her but he cockily stated it was not a social visit. He was conducting a job interview.
He announced that he was interviewing her for the post of Office Manager. She rolled her eyes; she had not even applied for the position. Certainly not at his office!
In a patronising voice, he artfully revealed that he had chosen her as his preferred candidate.
She scoffed at him. Did he even know what the job of an Office Manager entail?         
The quick-witted and wily lawyer was not easily stumped. He was adept at deflecting questions.
Just in case she hadn't notice, by a flick of the lapel, he pointed to his legal lapel pin on his suit jacket. It was a sign of pride and status. A badge of honour. It was a big deal. He was also a LAWYER.
The unexpected revelation floored Ha Jae Yi. Bong Sang Pil - a lawyer! She floundered, not knowing which witty repartee she could use to disparage him.
 
He drove home the point that her father owed them a huge sum of money. There was no way that he could pay off his debt.
He cheekily commented that he would be less of a gentleman to compel her to pay with her body. So, he demanded that she work as his Office Manager – a fair and honest way to clear the debt.
      
Office Manager? He was beginning to grate on her nerves. She was indignant. She raised her chin. Her eyes flashed. She was a lawyer, she protested.
She implied that she was none other than the    
Bong Sang Pil's retort was sharp. He did not mince his words when he smugly emphasised that she had been suspended from the practice of law and was unemployed as her law firm had fired her.
His implication was that no law firm would employ her now so beggars should not be choosers.
He let the reality sink in.
 
How dare the moronic man! Adrenaline raced through her veins.
What? The idiotic lawyer had the audacity to suggest that she should lower herself to the level of a manager of his rotten office? A certain thought raced through her mind. Imagine being reduced to a crook’s Office Manager and be compelled to work with his team of oafs and clowns!
Ah. She knew the perfect way to belittle him. Ha Jae Yi sneered at his line of work; he was just a common crook and a worthless loan shark. And, a spy who had committed the unforgivable sin of invading her privacy. He was totally garbage.
 
Bong Sang Pil's retaliation was swift. He couldn’t stress enough that she had done poorly as a lawyer and she had taken her frustrations out on the judge in Seoul.
Did making the judge a punching bag make her feel good about herself? What about failing to represent her client who had trusted her implicitly?
What did she have to say for herself?
  
The lawless lawyer had driven her to fury. She continued to be derisive of him. Who the hell did he think he was?
He had no right to lecture her nor judge her. She couldn’t decide whether he was a thug or a lawyer! She had met many inhuman lawyers like him who took advantage of their clients. She did not want to be associated with the likes of him.    
Bong Sang Pil was not in the least slighted. His tone was mocking when he admitted that he was not perfect. He might not be the kind of ‘good’ lawyer that she had in mind.
He argued that some people badly needed his services.
The fiery female lawyer was unrelenting. Quickly interuppting him, she suggested disdainfully that his clients, though rich, were mostly evil.
Undeterred, Bong Sang Pil flattered himself. He boasted that his rich clients favoured him because he was giving the best legal advice in town.
 
She spitefully spat at him for being a thug. Why in the world would he want to study law anyway?
She couldn’t reconcile herself to the idea of a lawyer who was also a gangster.  
Bong's swift rejoinder was one had to be a law expert to be able to manipulate the law. Know the law enough to break it. He was feeling smug with his witty reply.
 
The arguments were going nowhere. They were pointless.
Bong Sang Pil emphasized that he would be the one asking the questions from then on.   The best part was, Bong promised cheerfully, he would promote her to be his partner in his law firm. What he meant was she should look at the bigger picture - the future.      Wow! How did it feel to be called ‘The Partner’? She would not be an associate but a part-owner of the Lawless Law Firm! How flattering!
He sounded so high and mighty. His cloying reassurances failed to put her at ease. She was even more furious.
She yelled. Why in the world would she want to be a partner with a jerk like him?  
To stop her, the lean and hungry lawyer changed tactics. He emphasized that he needed a woman with 'a fighting spirit'.
What he actually meant was he needed a female employee who was both a loud-mouth rowdy and a slugger! She got the picture. It worked. Imagine her reaction.
Shocked, she had to stop. He watched with amusement as she struggled with her words.
A truce. No more evil words could spill from her mouth.   
Then, his eyes sparkled mischievously before he made his big announcement - he would update her on the result of the interview very soon.
  
Not long after, she was allowed to walk out of the police station. The officer who freed her insinuated that she must have plenty of connections to be allowed go scot-free.
 Bong Sang Pil, having recharged his mental and creative energy, texted the frustrated young lady a cheerful message, ‘Congratulations, you’re hired!’  
Imagine her face. In the end, Bong Sang Pil must have rejoiced when the
ill-tempered lawyer finally accepted defeat on his terms.
The scene is hilariously funny.
|
THE LOAN
Ha Jae Yi met up with her dad who was drunk. She was annoyed when Ha Gi Ho divulged that he had actually informed Judge Cha Moon Sook about her being locked up in the police detention cell.
Ha Gi Ho had taken out a loan to finance her law studies. He regretted that the loan sharks had taken out their anger on her when he could not pay off the loan.
He was thankful that Judge Cha    
He was willing to sell his photo studio to pay off the debt but she told him that it was ill-advised to move away.
Ha Jae Ji had been living in the false hope that her missing mother might return home one day. She was afraid in the event her mother returned home, she would be unable to find them.
     
Ha Jae Yi’s rival, Kang Yeon Hee, turned up while she was dragging her father home.
The Prosecutor informed her that she had been instructed by Judge Cha to be her guarantor. That was why she had been freed.
Judge Cha had helped them time and again.   |
THE NEW OFFICE MANAGER
On the first day of her job, the Cat and the Mouse continued to squabble. She was a week late.
Ha Jae Yi felt that being associated with Bong Sang Pil’s Lawless Law Firm had demeaned her but she would work until the debt had been repaid.
When he questioned her about the interest rate, she took up a mop to clean the floor enthusiastically.        
Bong asked her about the scariest part of work in his law firm.
Her answer was 'Someone who steals money'. He disagreed. He joked that it was scary to see debtors like her who show sudden willingness to pay off debts.   
Ha Jae Yi espied a box of business cards on the window sill. It was for her.
Her business card spelled out the name of the law firm, Lawless Law Firm. King of Lawyers was boldly printed on the card. Bong Sang Pil prided himself in being the best in town and he let her know it.
Partly amused that he had overrated himself, Ha Jae Yi lambasted his self-advertisement and gross distortion of the truth. It was the kind of card with an inane sobriquet that perfectly fitted a character like him!
The lawless lawyer needed a hefty dose of modesty!
When she noted the other side of the card that stated her position, ‘Office Manager’, she had to swallow her pride.
  
Bong Sang Pil was the soul of patience and was determined to change her mindset about him. He instructed her to follow him to meet their first client. He wanted to help her hone her lawyering skills.
  
Think bloodhounds and rescue dogs. Hunting and rescuing. They were going to hunt for and rescue a client. It was important to hunt a good prey and discover the truth. For that purpose, Bong Sang Pil brought her to the prison.
Bong the cocky lawyer was a curious Cat. He asked her a personal question; he wanted to know whether she had a boyfriend.
The Mouse asked him about what he was driving at. The cheeky lawless lawyer knew by her reaction that she had none.
Ha Jae Yi told him outright that she was against dating office colleagues.
     
She also impressed upon him that she despised people like him - sleazy gangsters who loved acting like lawyers.
Astonishingly, he blurted out that he felt comfortable in her presence because she had hit him.
Was he joking when he admitted that he derived pleasure from being hit by her? She was exasperated by his mischievous talk.    
Ha Jae Yi wanted to show her identification card at the entrance to the prison. Bong Sang Pil beat her to it. He was trying to best her. She had forgotten herself. Bong Sang Pil was THE lawyer; she was just his Office Manager.
She was furious with him for always stepping on her tail. To her irritation, he suggested that they had good chemistry. Did he imply that they match each other?
   
While walking to the visitation room to meet the accused, the former detective Woo Hyeong Man, Bong Sang Pil filled her in on the case.
He teased her that the case would be an easy one for her. 
Bong laid out the sum total of the challenges they had to face.
First, the accused already had a lawyer. She stated firmly that she didn’t steal other lawyer’s cases. He told her it would not be easy anyway because the lawyer of the accused was the best lawyer in Ki Seong.
Second, they were going against Kang Yeon Hee, the best Prosecutor. She had the highest winning rate in Ki Seong. But, Ha Jae Yi wasn’t surprised.
Third. The Presiding Judge was Judge Cha Moon Sook. Ha Jae Yi was unaware that he was prejudiced against the judge.
    
So, what was the crime? The defendant was accused of the murdering Lee Young Soo, the Mayor of Ki Seong.
She was instructed to study the documents.
 
Seok Gwan Dong the gangster boss from
Seoul had come to town. He had arrived at Bong Sang Pil’s office building.
He seemed to be quite pally with his old friend, Ahn Oh Ju. Seok divulged to the corporate gangster that he was on a mission to find a certain lawyer.      
After reading the case, Ha Jae Yi questioned Bong as to why he was
taking up a losing case.
She emphasized that the evidence pointed to the guilt of the accused.   
When Wu Hyeong Man limped in, Bong Sang Pil introduced himself, stated his profession and handed over his business card.
The accused stated that he did not know him but Bong did not take it as a personal affront.
Bong quickly asserted that he would be taking over the case and he would be his defense lawyer, if he agreed.
    
Wu Hyeong Man, who already had his own lawyer, enquired insultingly whether lawyers had to sell their services these days. It was disparaging as it implied that Bong must have fallen on hard times. Why was Bong Sang Pil stealing another lawyer’s client?
Ha Jae Yi, totally embarrassed to be mired in such an messy situation, bowed her head in humiliation.
  
Wu Hyeong Man stressed that he already had a pretty good lawyer.
Bong Sang Pil noticed scars of teeth marks on Woo Hyeong Man’s arm.
He remembered having bitten the corrupt Ki Seong detective when escaping from him many years before. The accused had colluded with the gangster Ahn Oh Ju who had murdered his mother.
It really served Woo Hyeong Man right for being falsely accused of murder. Bong Sang Pil shared a history with him which he had yet to reveal. It seemed like a cloak-and-dagger business.
Bong Sang Pil was almost impotent with bottled-up rage inside but he tried hard to restrain his emotions. He stifled his hatred and tried hard not to clench his jaws.
     
Letting go of his anger, Bong Sang Pil smiled at the accused and boldly assured the former detective that he would be able to get him out of prison.
Ha Jae Yi stared at him in utter shock.
   |