Episode 1
“Remember this.”
A middle-aged man in a sharp suit declared solemnly.
“The law is not a self-contained order. It is not the ultimate definition of justice. It is merely a collection of dusty words. The task of breathing life into those words, of turning them into the force that protects real people with flesh, blood, and bone—that is the duty entrusted to you as trained legal professionals. Do not forget this.”
Silence descended upon the room, as if everyone was overwhelmed by the weight of his words.
But only for a moment.
Soon, someone began to clap, and a torrent of applause erupted. The man responded with a slight bow.
A surge of emotion welled up inside me, and I was about to join in the applause when…
[Thank you for your love of the webtoon ‘In the Law School’.]
A line of text appeared on the screen of my old-fashioned work computer.
“Oh, Senior, are you watching this too?”
The voice startled me back to reality.
“What? When did you get here?”
“Just now.”
I checked the time. It was already five o'clock.
Not five in the afternoon, but five in the morning.
The dim office was slowly being illuminated by the rising sun.
Whether it was the time for starting work or leaving, it was far from normal.
“I didn’t think you were interested in this kind of thing, Senior.”
“What kind of thing?”
“Manga, dramas, movies, novels, and other cultural and leisure activities.”
You’re always just working...
The dark circles under my junior’s eyes were also pronounced.
I thought I was in no position to talk, but if we were being honest, I was the bigger workaholic.
Even if I left work now, I would be back at 9 a.m. when everyone else was starting their day.
“...It was a dream of mine.”
“Huh? Law school?”
“No, to be a lawyer. I studied for the bar exam.”
It was a story from my younger, more passionate university days.
Back when rumors of the abolishment of the bar exam were rampant, I was confident in my studies and thought I could pass before that happened.
In fact, I easily passed the first-stage exam on my first try.
The following year, I even passed the second-stage exam.
The second stage of the bar exam, which many brilliant minds failed after years of attempts.
All that was left was the interview, a formality that didn't really affect the outcome.
But I never became a lawyer.
On the day of the interview, my younger sibling collapsed from an illness.
Having lost our parents early, I was the only one who could take them to the hospital.
After rushing them to the hospital and going through the necessary procedures, it was too late for my interview.
It was okay.
I could take the exam again next year, but my sibling was one of a kind.
Besides, there was a grace period for those who passed the second-stage exam. If they failed the interview or couldn't attend, they could retake just the interview the following year.
But that was just the beginning.
My sibling's illness was a rare, unheard-of disease. There were no hospitals or medications available for it in the country.
Sending them to a hospital overseas would be incredibly expensive.
Our already meager financial situation rapidly deteriorated.
The lack of funds for hospital bills turned into astronomical debt.
I had no choice but to resort to second and third-tier lenders, and unfortunately, the new creditors were not very patient.
With debt collectors showing up daily, I was forced to start working, burning the candle at both ends to earn money.
If I could just hold out until the interview.
Then I would become a lawyer, and I could pay off this debt easily, I told myself countless times.
But the following year, I couldn’t go to the interview either.
This time, it was a car accident. I had taken a taxi early in the morning to make sure I wouldn't be late, but the driver fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a truck in front of us.
When I woke up in the hospital, the doctor said I was lucky to be alive.
I had lost my grace period.
Of course, I couldn't give up there, so I continued to take the exam the following year...
No matter how well I had done before, the bar exam was not an easy hurdle to clear while working all day with a broken body.
Even other talented individuals who were on the verge of passing were glued to their desks until their buttocks were raw.
In the end, I never passed again.
“I missed my chance.”
Years passed, and now here I am.
I'm still working myself to the bone.
Because the debt is still immense.
“So that’s what happened... How’s your sibling doing?”
“They’re gone. Died two years ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, it’s my story anyway.”
My sibling was no longer in this world, but the debt remained.
I had no choice but to live like this until it was all paid off.
Even when I heard that the exam I had been preparing for was gone, and the path to becoming a lawyer was now unified under something called law school.
Even when I heard that, unlike the stigma of “money school” or “a backdoor for the rich,” law school waived tuition and provided living expenses through scholarships for the poor.
It was a story that didn't apply to me.
“They can’t give me scholarships to pay off my debt.”
“So….”
“Yeah. That’s why I watch this kind of manga.”
‘In the Law School’ was a pretty interesting webtoon.
I could see the lives of law students who were walking the path I couldn't take, studying law with dedication.
When legal principles or precedents I learned back in my days as a test-taker appeared in the story, I felt a thrill, thinking, 'Ah, that's how it was.'
Of course, to make it more interesting, they added a lot of conflict between characters and unnecessary romance.
And to create shocking developments, they even had a character get murdered in the latter half, turning it into a thriller.
But despite all that, ‘In the Law School’ was the best webtoon I had ever read. Although, it was the only webtoon I had ever read.
“Well then, I’m going home?”
As I staggered toward the office door, my junior’s voice hit me in the back.
“Senior.”
“Yeah?”
“...If, just if…”
His tone was unusually serious.
“If all that debt was gone, and you had the chance to challenge anything you wanted.”
I turned around without thinking.
“Would you still want to become a lawyer?”
It was a pointless question.
My debt wasn’t going away, and I wasn’t getting a chance to challenge anything I wanted.
And yet, I still paused and pondered because of the unusual gleam in my junior’s eyes.
“...I don’t know.”
I couldn’t answer. I fled the office.
For some reason, I felt like his gaze was piercing my back for a long time.
* * *
“...Ugh, what’s wrong with me.”
I was in the middle of the road on my way back to my lodgings.
My eyelids were heavy as lead.
The strength was draining from my body.
I couldn't hold up my wobbly legs and collapsed to my knees.
“Hey, are you okay!?”
A passerby’s voice sounded like it was coming from far away.
My consciousness was fading in and out.
Finally, I vaguely realized that I was paying the price for overworking my body for so long.
-Senior, do you still want to become a lawyer?
In my hazy mind, my junior's question resurfaced for some reason.
...Actually, you know.
-Yes.
I wanted to be a great prosecutor.
-A prosecutor?
The world isn't fair. There are so many things that don't make sense. But everyone should be equal before the law. Even if reality isn't like that, we should make it so. I wanted to be the one to make that happen.
-…
Whenever I thought about that, no. Only when I thought about that.
My heart still races.
-I see.
Well, it seems like it’s not going to happen in this life.
But I did live my life to the fullest, right? I worked hard. I devoted my life to my family.
So, if there is a next life. If I'm given a chance to live again.
Then... Yeah. I want to be born into a life where I can just study like those students in that webtoon.
I want to chase the dreams I couldn't achieve.
That was what I should have said, was the thought that crossed my mind.
-That's good. Then try it.
Try what?
Before I could even think about that question, my consciousness completely blacked out.