The heavy steel door rattled a third time, the thick metal vibrating under the force of a heavy fist. I tightened my grip on the rusted iron wrench, raising it slowly to my shoulder. My heart hammered a frantic, heavy rhythm against my fractured ribs, sending sharp spikes of pain through my chest. I didn't step back."Attorney Jin!" a hoarse, muffled voice yelled from the other side of the door. "Open up! It's Bae! Bae Dong-sun!"The tension bleeding into my muscles snapped. I lowered the wrench, the cold iron slipping slightly in my sweaty palm. I grabbed the heavy deadbolt and slid it back, pulling the door open.Bae Dong-sun stood in the narrow stairwell, rain dripping from the brim of his faded cap. The white medical gauze wrapped around his head was soaked, but his face was flushed with a frantic, burning energy. He wore his bright yellow Hanju Heavy Industries vest over a damp gray jacket. He was completely out of breath, resting his rough, calloused hands on his knees as he gas

After the Bar Association returned my license, a local labor union helped me secure a small, second-floor commercial space above a quiet bakery. The air smelled of fresh bread and damp concrete, a massive improvement from the toxic stench of lighter fluid that had ruined my last sanctuary.I sat at my cheap wooden desk, rubbing my tired eyes. The steady drumming of the monsoon rain against the single window pane was usually a comforting sound, but tonight, it just matched the dull, constant ache in my fractured ribs.My laptop screen glowed brightly in the dim room, displaying a digital case file that made my stomach churn.The client's name was Jeong Da-in. She was twenty-two years old, a top-tier university student who made the terrible mistake of attending a corporate mixer three months ago. She was beautiful, smart, and entirely ordinary. At that mixer, she was approached by Lee Seo-jun.Lee Seo-jun was the youngest son of the JM Media Group chairman. His family controlled three o

The sharp click of my computer mouse echoed in the quiet, dim space of my Yeongdeungpo office.I leaned back in my squeaking desk chair, letting out a long, ragged breath. The stiff athletic tape wrapped around my ribs pulled tightly against my skin, sending a dull throb deep into my chest. The scent of stale instant coffee and damp newsprint hung in the air. Outside the single, rain-streaked window, the morning traffic on the wet streets hummed a steady, distant rhythm.I stared at the glowing laptop monitor.The federal registry portal displayed a bright green confirmation checkmark.I had just filed a civil lawsuit against Lee Seo-jun, the youngest son of the JM Media Group chairman. The complaint was massive, spanning eighty pages of documented cyberstalking, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and criminal defamation. I was suing him for ten billion won.It wasn't about the money. Jeong Da-in didn't care about a payout. She was currently sitting in a secure psychiatric

Oh Si-hwan sat slouched in a worn leather gaming chair, his face bathed in the pale, flickering light of three massive computer monitors. He was the hacker who had helped me track the offshore crypto accounts during the Taeyang Manufacturing fallout. He was a ghost in the machine, a man who lived purely on caffeine and code.But right now, he just looked exhausted."You aren't listening to me, Tae-Rin," Si-hwan said, rubbing his bloodshot eyes. He spun his chair around to face me, gesturing wildly to the dark screen on his left. "When a server is wiped, I can usually scrape the ghost files. But Lee Seo-jun didn't just wipe the server. He took the physical hard drives and dropped them into a commercial incinerator. Fire melts the magnetic platters. It turns data into liquid slag. You are asking me to find a footprint in a house that burned to the ground ten years ago."I stood behind him, resting my hand on the back of his chair. The stiff athletic tape around my fractured ribs pulled

In the witness box, Lee Seo-jun sat with his hands neatly folded in his lap.He didn't wear an expensive tailored suit today. He wore a soft, light gray sweater over a plain white collar. His dark hair was brushed down, falling slightly over his forehead. He looked incredibly young. He looked like a polite, dedicated university student who was deeply confused by the terrible accusations brought against him.His lawyer, Han Seung-jae, stood at the podium."Mr. Lee," Han said, his voice gentle and coaxing. "When you heard about what happened to Ms. Jeong Da-in on the Mapo Bridge, how did you feel?"Seo-jun looked down at his folded hands. A single, perfect tear slipped from his eye, catching the bright overhead light."I was horrified," Seo-jun answered, his voice trembling just enough to sound authentic. "I only spoke to her once at a networking event. She seemed so bright. To hear that someone tormented her on the internet... it breaks my heart. No one deserves that."A soft murmur of