Lawless Lawyer 3.2 The Target

THE TARGET

BEHIND BARS HOME SWEET HOME FOR BONG SANG PIL Seven Good Men. When the dust had settled, the group of seven thugs found themselves in a nice comfy cell, probably not unlike the one at home. They had friends for company so, unsurprisingly, they were in high spirits. The seven, despite being thugs, were good men. They apologized to each other for having hit each other recklessly in their recent circus show at the courthouse.  Soon, it would be revealed that there were seven baddies outside the jail who were just begging to come inside. Geun Gang seemed to have grasped the rudiments of massages. He was giving Tae Kwang Soo a rub here and there. Was Bong Sang Pil bothered by his incarceration? Nobody knew why but he wanted badly to be in jail. Which lawyer, who was sane beyond reasonable doubt, would want to be associated with an institution for convicts? Surprise, surprise. Bong Sang Pil seemed to be enjoying his stay in prison and he was glad that his boisterous and happy-go-lucky underlings were making themselves at home in the prison cell. To Bong Sang Pil, the environment smelt familiar. He was thinking of the old days when he was thrown into prison for fighting.  It was now his second entanglement with the law. Being the boss, Bong Sang Pil allowed himself to be pampered. One was not the boss for nothing.  Geum Gang took on the job as the masseur with passion and enthusiasm. Bong must have been suitably satisfied  with the pleasant massage.  The next thing they knew, Bong was glowing as he ladled out lavish praise to his creative employees for their fine acting skills just to stop the trial. He encouraged them to keep on doing such wonderful work. Another Twist. The Shocking Revelation. Bong sprang a surprise on his gang. He divulged that he had plotted to be thrown into prison; he had a plan in mind. A target.  Bong Sang Pil didn’t do foolish things without a reason. The jail was not a place to be when the life and death of others outside the jail was at stake.

THE TARGET Bong Sang Pil’s target was another prison inmate, Director Oh In Chul, who had worked in the Ministry of Finance and Economy at the Ki Seong City Hall. A very important man indeed. What was he doing in jail? Bong Sang Pil was on the conspiracy trail. He was on a mission to seek the truth about the Mayor’s murder. What was his modus operandi? Bong could not be considered to be well-mannered; he invited himself to dine at Director Oh In Chul’s table. The newly-arrived thugs gathered around him. Oh was not exactly bowled over by his popularity with the thugs. And, he was wary of lawyers.  Director Oh had a rude awakening. Bong was not slow to point out that he had already done his research on him.  Director Oh had been responsible for the finance of Ki Seong and had colluded with the deceased Mayor of Ki Seong. Bong gestured with his finger when he accused the other man of having laundered money for the Mayor. Bong Sang Pil revealed his mission of getting himself jailed. He went through a great deal of trouble to visit him but Oh had, time and again, rejected his requests to meet him.  Since Bong Sang Pil couldn’t get his own way, he had to find his way into prison to meet Oh. So here he was - in the flesh.  It just showed how fiercely determined and single-minded Bong Sang Pil was; he was not easily disappointed or thwarted. Director Oh stared at him in disbelief. Bong introduced himself and made it clear that he was in a hurry. The lives of many people were in jeopardy. He wanted to glean some information from him to be used for the on-going trial. He felt that Director Oh was in the know about the murder. Director Oh, being antagonistic towards Bong, snapped that he didn’t want to get involved. His life was probably in danger.  The former Director abhorred lawyers. He argued that they used their cunning and wiliness to screw people up but Bong counterargued that lawyers also saved people whose lives were all screwed up. He implied that Director Oh In Chul had messed up his own life. The conversation heated the former public official up. He furiously warned Bong to stay away. Although Bong faced another setback, he was actively scheming on how to make a breakthrough. Time was running out.

HAUNTED BY HIS PAST Two large packages arrived for Ahn Oh Joo. There was neither a sender’s name nor an address. His secretary opened them up for him. My, did he get a shock! The first one was a framed collage of four photographs, which was irrefutable proof of Ahn Oh Ju’s guilt in a murder.  The 4 photos showed Ahn Oh Ju killing a man at night. A dead man and his murderer. Ahn Oh Ju’s face stood out clearly in the pictures.  The gangster Chairman remembered the crime which he had committed 18 years ago. The second package contained a rock with the word ‘Death’ on it. Understanding began to dawn on Ahn Oh Joo that someone knew he was running for Mayor and was threatening him with evidence of his crimes. Who was the perpetrator of such blackmail?  Ahn Oh Joo had his fair share of enemies whom he knew but he was genuinely disturbed by a faceless blackmailer.  How could someone with a criminal background run for Mayor? His criminal past had caught up with him; it would be his ruin. The matter was potentially explosive.  He would have to abort unimportant matters to deal with this urgent matter - to weasel out the blackmailer or else it would be difficult for him to squash rumours concerning his criminal past. Although he had been intent on dealing with Bong Sang Pil, the new threat seemed to have stopped him in his tracks.  He instructed his secretary to call a halt to all devious schemes against Bong. Once he had become the Mayor, he would be able to deal quickly with Bong Sang Pil.

A REQUEST DENIED Ha Jae Yi assumed the role of Bong Sang Pil's protector. She was in Judge Cha Moon Sook’s private chambers.  Judge Cha instinctively knew why she was there. Ha Jae Yi  was too transparent; she couldn’t hide her motives from the shrewd and experienced older woman. She was easy to figure out, everything was written all over her face. Ha Jae Yi wanted a favour, that was, to delay the trial date. She argued that Bong Sang Pil would not have enough time to prepare for the trial since he would be locked up in the prison for 3 days. The trial would be held on the following day of his release. It wouldn’t be fair to him or the defendant. According to the law, the defendant had the right to a fair trial and his lawyer must be given enough time to prepare for the trial. Judge Cha dismissed her request. Her rejection probably stemmed from her personal prejudice against Bong Sang Pil. She breathed enmity towards him.  Ha Jae Yi must have questioned Judge Cha’s ability to be impartial. Ha Jae Yi explained that Bong Sang Pil was not on a smear campaign against her. He was just pointing out that the other judge was unfit to sit on the panel of judges. Judge Cha had a surprising suggestion that Ha Jae Yi took over the preparation for Bong's case while he was vegetating in jail. After all, she was also a lawyer, albeit a suspended one.

BONG SANG PIL AND HIS RIGHTHAND WOMAN Bong Sang Pil was all smiles when Ha Jae Yi paid him a visit.  The man was a tease and even playfully waved to her on the other side of the plexiglas that separated prisoners and visitors. Ha Jae Yi also did not lose a moment to joke with him. ‘You look like you’re in your natural habitat.’ He seemed to have become accustomed to his prison environment and did not look out of place. He wasn’t tense but seemed to be quite relaxed.  Bong Sang Pil declared with aplomb that he had a powerful presence in that place.  And, if she hadn’t noticed already, he looked spectacular all the time, 24/7.  What he meant was he looked breathtakingly handsome not only in his Italian bespoke suits in court but also in his simple wear in prison.  She certainly couldn’t complain about his looks. Then, she revealed her discussion on the postponing of the trial with Judge Cha but was bitterly disappointed that her request was rejected.  Bong Sang Pil was surprised by her proactiveness. She had taken the initiative to do something personally for him. Ha Jae Yi reminded him that the trial would be on the following day after his release from prison. He wisecracked about her zealous Office Manager habit of keeping tabs on his schedules and everything. His air of nonchalance about the lack of time to prepare for the trial was surprising. She leaned towards the Plexiglas to talk to him. He also leaned closer with his arms next to the divider, his action almost mirroring hers. They stared into each other's eyes.  He used his finger to tap on the Plexiglas. Then, pointing at her, he pronounced confidently, ‘I have you, Lawyer Ha Jae Yi.' Well, she was amused. When he needed her legal expertise, he called her 'a lawyer'. Bong Sang Pil complained that she had never managed the office anyway. Most of the time, she acted as if she was a lawyer. He rubbed it in that she was always nosy and liked parking her nose everywhere, trying to do his lawyer’s job for him. He didn’t like her treading on his turf. For the first time, Ha Jae Yi’s feathers were not ruffled. She found that her feelings towards him were generous; she was not irritated with his infuriating comments. She now viewed him in a different light.  It was evident by now that Bong Sang Pil, with his courage and relentless zeal, was different from other lawyers.  But, both were courageous and shared the same views about the law. She had suddenly developed an open fascination for him. ‘Most lawyers in court would find it difficult to point out the fault of the judge. I think you’re great!’. It was the first compliment that she had given him. She must have been reminded of her brush with the unfair male judge in the recent past. His eyes lit up and he chuckled. Finally, the girl, whom he loved from the beginning, had it in her heart to show him some warmth. They were on the same wavelength and had found some common ground.  She was, slowly but surely, gravitating towards him. ‘Do you need anything?’ she asked. He pretended to think. ‘What do I need?’ Since Bong Sang Pil was not forthright about saying that he needed her help, she told him that she was leaving. His message to her as she turned to leave was ‘I trust you, Ha Jae Yi!’  He smiled happily, confident in the fact that she was conducting investigations into the case on her own. With him in jail, she was now in the saddle, in a position of authority and could do whatever she wanted. And she also smiled, happy in the fact that he thought so highly of her.

SINS OF THE POWERFUL A new masseuse, a blind one, had been specially hand picked by Nam Soon Ja for Judge Cha. Reputed to be the best in the country, Nam tested her.  Nam asked the masseuse whether she knew she was massaging the 'Face of Ki Seong'. The blind woman denied knowing her but she spoke candidly about the wrinkles around Judge Cha's mouth.  As the right hand woman of the judge, Nam Soon Ja approached her tasks with passion and enthusiasm. She took all risky jobs on her own shoulders.  One of their cronies was Han Tae Kyeong, the Chief Editor of the Ki Seong Daily.  His sins were plentiful; he had a hand in all manner of corruption - embezzlement, malpractice, property scandals. He was guilty of siphoning 51 billion won from the state coffers. Nam Soon Ja gently admonished him. He could be sentenced to at least 40 years in jail. It was blatant corruption. Nam Soon Ja was practically a lawyer since she had worked for Judge Cha for a lengthy period and she also had a daughter who was a prosecutor. The man enquired whether she could cover up his crimes, a task Nam Soon Ja had no qualms about. She was a willing accomplice.  She would help him in the name of loyalty; she was doing it for the sake of 'Hanju Films'. The man praised her for her loyalty and commitment to the business. But, it was a flagrant violation of the law. Imagine, the right hand woman of the judge had the power to prevent him from landing in prison. Probably, he would only get a slap on the wrist.  They were all working hand-in-glove with Judge Cha Moon Sook. She crowed, ‘There’s nothing I can’t do in the world’. It implied that she was royalty in Ki Seong. But, was it an empty boast? The man was not just plain greedy, he was avaricious. In addition to the previous requests, he further solicited her help in tax evasion for his property in a foreign country. She obliging agreed to breach the rules for him. The man rewarded her efforts with a document that he knew would most certainly raise her spirits. It was a registration certificate for Yoon Su, an intelligent boy from the orphanage.   It wasn’t clear what they were up to but she was fawning all over him for being so thorough.  They were kleptomaniacs on a grand scale and had devoted their lives to fleecing state coffers. But, was the orphanage used as a centre to cover up their crimes?

GRATEFUL BEYOND MEASURE Ha Gi Ho was proudly telling his daughter that the residents of Ki Seong intended to build a memorial statue for Judge Cha Byung Ho, Judge Cha Moon Sook's father,  based on the photo that he had taken of him years ago.  Judge Cha Byung Ho was such a great man, and he, Ha Gi Ho was the exclusive photographer for the Cha family.  Ha Gi Ho was flattered that Judge Cha Byung Ho, a serious and solemn man, would only smile for Ha Gi Ho’s camera. What an honour for him. The humble man thought he owed a debt of gratitude to the older Cha. The money from his photographic work enabled him to pay for his daughter’s tuition.  His daughter was now a lawyer. In Ha Gi Ho's mind, it was all due to the wealthy Cha family.   Being forever grateful to Judge Cha Byung Ho, Ha Gi Ho was convinced that he should take it upon himself to look after Judge Cha Moon Sook, the deceased judge Cha's beloved daughter, until her last trial.