Chapter 304 (1/2)

“As a matter of fact, I did.”

Maru looked at the middle-aged man in front of him, Lawyer Park. He had lost weight compared to when they met last time due to the school matter.

“Is there a problem?”

Lawyer Park asked the middle-aged woman. The woman alternated between Maru and lawyer Park before making an elegant smile.

“It’s nothing for you to worry about, lawyer. Looks like there was a commotion due to a misunderstanding. Sorry about making you worried.”

“How the hell is this a misunderstanding?” Mr. Kim, who had been listening, spoke as he glared at the woman. The woman didn’t become angry when facing Mr. Kim, and as such, spoke calmly unlike before.

“Excuse me. Let us stop now. Bear in mind that there’s a limit to my patience as well.”

The woman glanced at Mr. Kim before going towards where the students and the parents were standing. Mr. Kim, who had been condemned one-sidedly, was about to shout back at her in anger, but the people around him held him back. Mr. Kim didn’t seem to have any intentions of having a big fight so he just turned away his head in anger and just ignored her.

“Sorry for your inconvenience. Well then. Let’s go back inside, everyone,” director Lee grabbed this opportunity to speak.

The TV station staff went back inside the cafeteria first. Director Lee dragged Mr. Kim by the arm and was practically begging him to go back in. When he did so, the others started walking as well.

“Lawyer Park. We’re about to go.”

The woman smiled and pointed at the path leading behind the cafeteria. There was a path to the hill. The students were returning to the main building. It seemed that there was some business that had to be attended by the parents alone.

“Go ahead. I’ll be right behind you.”

“Eh? What do you….”

The woman panicked slightly and looked at his expression. The other parents standing behind her made awkward expressions as well.

“Are you sure you don’t need to go?”

“Help me out a little here. They’ve been dragging me with them since morning, and I’m about to have a headache.”

“They’re glaring at me though.”

When lawyer Park seemed like he had no intentions of moving on, the woman entered the cafeteria after telling him that they’d be waiting inside. The parents were staring at Maru and the lawyer from behind the glass door.

“Uhm, do you owe them money or something? They look quite uneasy.”

“It’s not about money, but ties.”

“Ties, you say?”

“I’m somewhat acquainted with the head director of the school. They’re talking about raising a new building in the empty lot in front of the hill, and they want me to help them out on that.”

“The Parents Association does stuff like that too?”

Lawyer Park looked at the cafeteria before sighing.

“That sounds tiring.”

“I’ll just take care of it and go back and rest. Rather than that, what was that just now? It looked quite serious.”

“There was a dispute thanks to wage issues.”

“Ah, everything in the world is about money problems.”

Maru stared at lawyer Park for a brief moment. This man, who was loosening his tie as he looked at the main building, was the man to go to for help. What was a better way than going to a lawyer for consultation for a legal matter?

“I think you have something to say to me,” lawyer Park asked.

Maru thought about it for a moment before shaking his head.

“It’s nothing.”

Although they were having a conversation right now, strictly speaking, Maru wasn’t sufficiently close to him that he could ask him for help. He would’ve never gotten to know this man if not for Junmin. Asking someone to do something for him was just being shameless. Moreover, being a lawyer was this man’s job. He got paid for doing his work. Maru thought that borrowing his expertise without proper compensation was no different from extortion, so he decided not to say it.

“This came across my mind the last time we met, but you look like you have a lot of thoughts.”

“My talents are lacking, so I have to make up for it in other parts.”

“There’s no way Junmin would employ someone that lacks talent. Rather than that, if you’re being considerate of me, I’d like to tell you that you don’t have to for today. I’m on holiday right now, after all. If I consult you as a lawyer, annoying stuff like non-disclosure agreements and whatnot will have to follow, but I can consult you as just an ordinary civilian and as an acquaintance of a friend of mine. Instead, I have a favor to ask of you as well.”

“You want me to help you run away from those people?” Maru looked at the back before speaking.

“Run away doesn’t sound cool, so let’s name it tactical retreat. That woman over there is so wild, so I can’t bear staying with her.”

Lawyer Park made a refreshing smile. Maru felt this the last time they met due to the matter at his school, but this guy was quite easygoing. He gave off a heavy pressure when consulting him about legal issues, but outside that area, he laughed and joked like a completely different person. It seemed like the strict atmosphere was a form of work as well for him.

Lawyer Park told him to wait before walking towards the cafeteria. Not long later, he came back out. The other parents followed behind him and walked up the hill behind the cafeteria while expressing their disappointment.

“What did you tell them?”

“I told them that you were a child that needs desperate legal advice thanks to a serious issue, and that I can’t ignore you. I also told them that that was it for me today. This is one thing that’s good about being a lawyer. You get to sound serious no matter what you say. I can cut off any annoying matters by saying it’s a legal issue.”

Lawyer Park took off his suit jacket and spoke.

“Well then. Let’s hear it already.”

The two bought some coffee from the vending machine next to the cafeteria and talked about what happened between the staff. Lawyer Park, who had been listening without saying a word, smiled faintly.

“That’s common.”

“It’s common?”

“A colleague of mine was once in charge of a civil case related to this, and I helped him out from time to time. That’s when I found out about this. Do you know how the TV station’s content production is structured?”