I Became a Law School Genius

Chapter 42

『 Translator – Divinity 』

“Sorry for staring, but that hoodie, it’s the Hankuk University Law School hoodie, right?”

The short-haired girl was right.

The original Park Yoo-seung, despite being accepted by some ridiculous stroke of luck, was extremely proud of entering Hankuk University Law School.

Perhaps because of that, his room was stocked with several law school jackets and hoodies.

I had been wearing them without much thought because they were comfortable, but since the central library was full of undergraduate students, it seemed like I had inadvertently drawn attention.

It would be ridiculous to deny it, so I simply nodded.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Wow, it really is…”

Exclamations of admiration came from behind.

“I’ll definitely follow in your footsteps in two years!”

The well-built guy pumped his fist.

As the law school entrance exam became more competitive, even for Hankuk University undergraduates, their own law school was no longer an easy hurdle to overcome.

I heard that a significant number of graduates were going to other law schools in Seoul or even to the countryside, and there were many who retook the exam two or three times because they couldn’t get a good enough score or weren’t satisfied with the schools they were accepted to.

Therefore, the name of Hankuk University Law School had already become a dream-like goal for these undergraduate students.

Well, it wasn’t strange that it was seen as a guarantee of success, considering that most of its graduates went on to work in the public sector or at large law firms.

‘Thinking about it that way, it’s a bit embarrassing.’

I had become like someone who wore a law school hoodie to show off in front of juniors.

‘It’s not even something I earned through my own efforts.’

The grades I achieved here were solely the result of my own abilities.

But since I was already enrolled the moment I possessed this body, being praised for it only felt awkward.

“Anyway, we’re having a lot of trouble with our studies, and we have nowhere else to turn… It would be great if you could help us, sunbae-nim…”

The short-haired girl trailed off with a pleading tone, and now all four of them were staring at me with wide, hopeful eyes as if I were their savior.

I gently placed the half-read book on the table.

This was a good opportunity.

I wasn’t in the right condition for serious studying, and the level of the Law of Obligations covered in undergraduate lectures would be limited to basic concepts.

It seemed like a suitable warm-up, or rather, a brain warm-up.

Therefore, I readily replied,

“Of course, it’s not difficult.”

“!”

The faces of the undergraduate students brightened immediately.

“But if I help you, what will you do for me in return?”

I added a condition.

“Uh… what?”

The short-haired girl was flustered.

“I overheard that you’re all preparing for law school, right? And that’s why you’re taking Property Transactions Law.”

“Yes, that’s right. That’s why we want to get help…”

“If you want to become legal professionals,”

I declared,

“It’s better to break the habit of relying on goodwill without compensation.”

Legal professionals need to be able to think legally.

Legal thinking, to put it nicely, means being reasonable, and to put it less nicely, it means being meticulous and nitpicky.

The essence of a legal professional’s work is ultimately to compare gains and losses, calculate the severity of negligence, and create a balanced state.

If you want to gain something, you have to be prepared to give something in return.

A just and fair contract.

Exclusion of unjust enrichment.

That is the fundamental principle of Civil Law as contract law, and…

“Property Transactions Law, which you are taking, is ultimately about learning those things.”

It’s the essence of what you want to know.

“Ooh…”

“I’ve never thought about it that way.”

“Th-then what should we give you?”

The four undergraduate students were impressed and then started seriously discussing what they should offer me.

“Well, I just said that to make you think. I’m not actually asking for anything in return.”

I finally smiled and waved my hand.

“When you become law school students and meet juniors who are struggling with their studies like you are now, please help them out. That’s all I ask.”

“Sunbae-nim…!”

It wouldn’t be bad to have more talented juniors. Who knows, maybe these seeds I sowed would come back to me in a good way someday.

“So, which part are you having trouble with?”

“Well, this one…”

When I asked, the short-haired girl handed me a bundle of papers.

It seemed like she was the leader of this group.

Although she was a bit cunning, I didn’t dislike people who were assertive and confident.
“Let me see. This is… a true or false question?”

[16. Even if B forged documents to make it seem like he purchased A’s X land from A and registered the transfer of ownership under his own name, then sold it to C, if C believed B’s transfer of ownership registration to be true, C acquires ownership of the land —– (X)]

As I read the question, the short-haired girl started speaking.

“I don’t quite understand what this question is asking, or why the answer is X. Since it says ‘believed to be true’, it seems like C would be protected as a bona fide third party like in other provisions…”

“The professor is a bit malicious,”

“Excuse me?”

“This isn’t a Property Transactions Law question.”

A wicked con artist fraudulently sold someone else’s land using fake documents.

Can the innocent victim who was deceived be protected?

To an outsider, this question would be interpreted that way. But that wasn’t the essence of it.

“Article 110 of the Civil Act. A declaration of intention induced by fraud or duress can be rescinded. The remedy for fraud is the cancellation of the transaction, not the attribution of ownership. The provisions related to transaction acts are irrelevant to this question.”

Rather, the core of the question was a completely different concept.

“This is a question about the public trust of registration. It’s a concept covered in Property Law.”

It probably wasn’t even taught in class.

Since it wasn’t within the scope and wasn’t taught, how could they know?

It was only natural that they couldn’t find the answer by searching through the lecture materials.

“It’s not that you can’t solve it because you’re not smart.”

“Th-then what about this one?”

The short-haired girl pointed at another question.

[29. If a gift contract is concluded in exchange for an adulterous relationship, this contract is invalid, so the recipient of the gift must return the gifted item to the other party —— (X)]

“Isn’t a gift given in exchange for an adulterous relationship an antisocial contract, making it invalid according to Article 103 of the Civil Act? If it’s invalid, you have to return it!”

Article 103 of the Civil Act (Legal Acts Contrary to Public Order) A legal act whose content violates good morals or other social order shall be null and void.

There’s a principle of freedom of contract in the Civil Act.

It states that a contract concluded through mutual agreement between people is, in principle, valid, and its content can be freely determined.

In a liberal democratic country, the government or authorities do not interfere in private activities.

However, that doesn’t mean that a contract with content that is clearly wrong, such as a contract for murder or prostitution, can be recognized as valid.

The ‘gift in exchange for an adulterous relationship’ mentioned in the question is also a typical antisocial act and is considered invalid.

Therefore, although the short-haired girl’s point was seemingly valid, I shook my head.

“If a contract is invalid due to violation of Article 103, Article 746 on illegal cause payment applies, and the consideration already provided cannot be recovered. The intention is to discourage such bad contracts in the first place and not guarantee any rights… But this doesn’t seem to be within the scope either.”

Considering that it was just before the midterm exams, ‘illegal cause payment’ was a concept that appeared quite late in the Law of Obligations, in the unjust enrichment section.

Unless they were going through the syllabus in reverse, there was no way they would have already learned it.

“These questions are a complete mess.”

“So that’s how it is…”

Undergraduate law lectures didn’t cover excessively in-depth content.

They tended to present only situations that could be solved with articles and basic legal principles, without including complex precedents.

Even so, there was no way that the excellent students attending Hankuk University wouldn’t even be able to understand what it meant.

The problem seemed to lie with the lecture materials.

It was likely a mistake that occurred because the professor, perhaps too lazy to create new materials every year, had just cobbled together existing ones.

“Who is the professor in charge, by the way?”

“It’s Professor Choi Sung-chul.”

“Oh dear, that guy again?”

It seemed like he wasn’t putting much effort into his undergraduate lectures since they weren’t related to law school performance.

It was typical of Choi Sung-chul.

After that, I answered various questions from the four students.

As in the previous two cases, there were questions that included content outside the scope, and there were also parts that required supplementary explanations due to a lack of understanding of basic concepts or legal principles.

“Thank you! We learned so much!”

When it was time to part, all four of them bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle.

I was just explaining things as a way to warm up my brain since I wasn’t in the mood to study seriously, but to receive this much gratitude…

It was rather embarrassing.

“I feel like my blocked arteries have been cleared, hyung-nim! How can I ever repay this kindness… There are many great people in my department, how about a blind date, ouch!”

“Ow, what are you doing to a busy person!”

The well-built guy, who was already calling me “hyung-nim” despite just meeting me, was dragged away by the short-haired girl, his ear caught in her grasp.

That was probably closer to his true nature.

I also waved to them and then turned around to head home.

If fate allowed, I might see them as juniors later on.

I wished them well in their hearts, hoping they would achieve their dreams.

“Come to think of it, I think my dyslexia is cured.”

In the morning, the letters were bouncing off my eyes, but while explaining things to them, I had shown them scans of textbooks and even looked up laws, but I didn’t experience any problems.

As expected, teaching others was the easiest and most enjoyable way to study.

Teaching…

Suddenly, a good idea came to mind, and after returning home, I opened my laptop.