I Became a Law School Genius

Chapter 50

『 Translator – Divinity 』

After confirming our victory, we immediately left the mock courtroom.

Jeong Min-sik was still standing there dumbfounded, but there was no need to worry about him anymore.

Let him deal with it himself.

‘It seemed like Bae Hyun-jung was talking to him as soon as it ended…’

I had a mountain of things to worry about.

I didn’t know what Bae Hyun-jung was thinking by getting involved, or what they were talking about, but it wasn’t something I needed to care about.

Hadn’t I shown enough generosity?

Let bygones be bygones.

It was time for me to look ahead and let those left behind write their own stories.

“Ugh, anyway, that’s one thing over with. Good work, everyone.”

Han Seol stretched as she stopped walking.

“What did I do? She’s the one who did all the work.”

Lee Ha-ru said, pointing at the ‘Effortless’ icon on her laptop screen.

“Ah, speaking of which, did you get any data?”

I suddenly remembered and asked Lee Ha-ru.

Wasn’t her purpose for participating in the competition to collect data needed to improve ‘Effortless’?

“Yes,”

Lee Ha-ru nodded and gave a thumbs up.

“I got a sense of where the errors occur. It seems like it struggles when texts with different formats and grammatical contexts are entered together… but there are ways to deal with that.”

Improving the performance of ‘Effortless’ was a welcome development.

There would be plenty of opportunities to use it in the future.

Right now, it was focused on summarizing complex legal documents, but with enough data accumulated, it could reach a stage where it could provide its own solutions to legal problems.

Then I could use it to review my judgments or get ideas.

Lee Ha-ru needed me to obtain the materials necessary for improving its performance, and I could use her program for free to handle tasks efficiently.

It was a perfect mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship.

“Shall we go to the PC room now that we’re done with one thing?”

“No way, this competition has only just begun. Now is the time when things will get really busy.”

That was an undeniable fact.

We had only just achieved our first victory; to win the preliminaries and become the representatives of Hankuk University Law School, we had to face teams composed of second-year seniors.

Among the second-years who had challenged the criminal division, there was a real monster.

Honestly, even with all our effort, I couldn’t guarantee that we could win.

‘Yes, we’ve only just cleared the first hurdle.’

“Hmph.”

“You’re a law school student, why are you whining like a child? It’s time to act like an adult…”

“Hmph is Hmph.”

Lee Ha-ru stuck her tongue out and ran off.

“Oh, whatever.”

“What’s wrong with that? That kind of behavior suits Ha-ru. It’s healing to watch.”

“What’s healing about that game addict…”

Han Seol giggled instead of answering. I looked at her for a moment and then remembered what I had to say.

“Ah, and thanks to you, we survived this time.”

“Huh?”

“About the confession corroboration rule precedent. To think he would include such an old, non-digitized precedent as an issue.”

“Hehe, my method is quite useful, isn’t it?”

Han Seol puffed out her chest proudly.

‘Quite useful, you say.’

I’ve said it many times, but Han Seol’s study method is the best if you can handle it.

The reason I can’t do that is that I’m not a walking human photocopier with infinite brain capacity like her.

As a mere mortal, I have no choice but to pursue efficiency.

“Anyway, we won thanks to you.”

“90% of it was your victory. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have thought of challenging the legality of the evidence.”

After praising each other’s contributions and setting the schedule for our next meeting, I parted ways with Han Seol and left the building.

As I told Lee Ha-ru, there was still a lot to do.

‘Especially, I need to thoroughly review the special criminal laws.’

Even in this match, instead of a crime under the general Criminal Act, drunk driving under the Road Traffic Act was the issue.

It was a good thing I had studied it to some extent; if I hadn’t known about the Widmark formula, I would have wasted time there as well.

Considering the tight schedule, I had to prepare even more thoroughly.

Just as I was about to hurry on,

Clap, clap, clap.

“That was a splendid argument.”

A refreshing voice, yet somehow eerie, called out to me.

“You, why are you here…”

“It’s been a while since the pre-law program.”

Turning around, I saw the person ranked number one on my list of people I didn’t want to get involved with.

“How have you been, Park Yoo-seung-ssi?”

Shin Seo-joon, the protagonist of this world, was looking at me with an unreadable smile.

‘…Since when has he been there?’

The mock courtroom was located in the basement third floor of the law building.

There were no other facilities there, so it was a place that no one would visit unless they were third-year students taking mock trial classes or students participating in the Mock Trial Competition.

The problem was that the first preliminary match for the civil division, which Shin Seo-joon participated in, was held yesterday.

Shin Seo-joon had overwhelmingly dominated the opposing team and easily secured victory.

So there was no reason for him to be here today.

…Unless he came to observe someone else’s match.

‘I have a bad feeling about this.’

“Didn’t I tell you last time? I have nothing to say to you.”

I waved my hand dismissively at Shin Seo-joon.

“And that goes for you too.”

During the pre-law program, Shin Seo-joon was clearly disappointed in me and left.

He was a person with his own sense of justice, even if it was twisted.

That made him even worse.

Because he firmly believed that everything he did was necessary and therefore justifiable.

I had given Shin Seo-joon a clear message.

That I was an insignificant, materialistic person who only saw the law as a means to an end, so please don’t try to get involved with me.

That was undoubtedly the type of person Shin Seo-joon detested the most.

“Ah, that’s right.”

Shin Seo-joon’s eyes narrowed.

“But… I’ve changed my mind recently.”

A sly, snake-like gaze pierced me.

‘Whoa, what’s with him?’

“That serial theft incident a while ago.”

“!”

“Actually, one of my friends also had their notebook stolen, so they asked me to resolve it. I was preparing to do something about it, but then Seo Hui-jin-ssi suddenly confessed. It was quite fortunate.”

“…I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”

“Is that so?”

Shin Seo-joon smiled slyly.

“Then let’s leave it at that. For now.”

He spoke as if he knew everything.

‘Was I caught?’

It seemed like Shin Seo-joon had noticed that I was the one who resolved the serial theft incident.

He was indeed a sharp guy. Or should I say, he had good intuition.

“If you’re just going to say something pointless, I’ll be on my way. I have a lot to do to prepare for the competition.”

“Ah, wait a minute! Actually, about the competition…”

Shin Seo-joon changed the subject, pretending to be flustered.

“Park Yoo-seung-ssi, you’re aiming for the Hankuk University criminal division representative, right?”

“No.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m aiming higher.”

I spat out.

“I’m going to win this competition. Becoming the law school representative is a given.”

“Haha, as expected…”

Shin Seo-joon let out a small exclamation of admiration.

“That’s a wonderful spirit. But even for you, Park Yoo-seung-ssi, it won’t be that easy.”

“Why is that?”

“There’s a formidable giant lurking in the criminal division of this competition.”

I realized what he was talking about.

“By giant… are you referring to Gu Min-hwan sunbae from the second year?”

“Oh, you know him?”

“There’s no way I wouldn’t.”

Gu Min-hwan.

He was a graduate of the Police University, like Shin Seo-joon, but a few years senior to him.

‘In other words, he’s someone who worked as an active police officer.’

The phrase “worked and then came to law school” had a completely different meaning for those with experience as police officers compared to those from other professions.

Especially for those who graduated from the Police University and worked in the field as investigators with officer ranks.

‘We used the things we only learned from books in our daily work. We’re starting from a different point.’

While ordinary law school students were chanting empty phrases about the requirements for seizure and arrest, these people would smile wryly, recalling their arduous experiences of requesting arrest warrants and arguing with prosecutors.

When someone underlined the concept of ‘notification of the right to remain silent’, a scene would replay in the minds of those with police experience, where they would sit a criminal down and repeat the manual-like phrase, “You have the right to remain silent…”

Realistically, there was no way it would be a fair game.

Those who had worked as active police officers showed exceptional adaptability to studying law, and it was nearly impossible to catch up to them, especially in Criminal Law.

Moreover, if I remember correctly, this Gu Min-hwan person even single-handedly solved a cold case and was promoted to lieutenant for his achievement.

A specialist in investigative practice had thrown his hat into the ring for the criminal division of the Mock Trial Competition.

It was something anyone could predict, that many would be intimidated by that news alone and run away.

“I don’t know much about him. Just that he’s a senior from your undergraduate school.”

But that was all I knew.

Gu Min-hwan was also a character who only appeared in one or two scenes with a simple background in the original story.

In this Mock Trial Competition arc, Gu Min-hwan effortlessly dominated the preliminaries, as expected, and participated in the main competition as a representative of Hankuk University Law School, along with Shin Seo-joon’s team.

His only notable appearance was when he had a slight confrontation with Shin Seo-joon, hinting at some past conflict between them.

He was portrayed with a strong presence, so I thought he might play a bigger role later on, but even in the Mock Trial Competition arc, he became a mere plot device without any further depiction after that.

Therefore, although I knew he was an impressive person, I didn’t know much more than that.

Shin Seo-joon listened to me and then nodded, humming in thought.

“Is that so…”

Then, he suddenly made an offer.

“I personally know that sunbae quite well. Actually, not just ‘quite well’, but ‘very well’. So… if you’re okay with it, Park Yoo-seung-ssi,”

Shin Seo-joon smiled slyly.

“I’m willing to share some information about Min-hwan sunbae… What do you think?”

“…What?”

“As you know, Park Yoo-seung-ssi, the essence of this competition isn’t that different from the debate competitions that even middle and high school students participate in.”

Shin Seo-joon was right.

Pros and cons. Guilt and innocence. They were both similar in that they presented a topic with two clearly opposing stances, and each side engaged in a battle of arguments and logic.

Therefore, unlike ‘exams’ or ‘quiz contests’, this Mock Trial Competition had one unique characteristic.

“In that there is an ‘enemy’, that is.”

Shin Seo-joon nodded at my point.

The target to fight against wasn’t the problem itself.

It was the ‘opponent’ sitting at the podium across from you.

To put it bluntly, even if our team had no clue about the given topic, we could still win the Mock Trial Competition if the opponent spouted nonsense and lost a lot of points.

“Therefore… how well you understand the enemy can also be a key variable that determines victory or defeat.”

‘That’s undeniable.’

What does the opponent know and not know?

Where are they strong, and where do they show weaknesses?

What are their argumentation habits like, and what is their innate personality and background?

Knowing these things makes it much easier to strategize and estimate when constructing your own arguments.

For example, when I faced Jeong Min-sik this time, I had a rough idea of how much he had prepared for Criminal Procedure.

He was passionate and had a good foundation.

Given two weeks, he would have been able to memorize the core articles that formed the framework of Criminal Procedure.

But the schedule was too tight to fully grasp the deeper issues.

Therefore, he could barely respond to the attacks that brought up issues like ‘illegally obtained evidence by a private citizen’ or ‘confessions in court and the corroboration rule’.

In the first place, I had designed the attack strategy that way, expecting that.

On the other hand, I knew nothing about Gu Min-hwan, whom I would be facing next.

Naturally, it was impossible to estimate the opponent and design my arguments.

It was a clear fact that I wished I had more information.

‘The problem is that it’s this guy who brought it.’

I glared at Shin Seo-joon and thought.

“Haha, that’s harsh. Have I done anything to warrant such vigilance?”

‘Yes, you have. A lot. And you’re planning to do more.’

Although I hadn’t seen it directly because I had been deliberately avoiding him, if things had gone according to the original story, Shin Seo-joon would have already started reaching out to the pawns he could use.

Jeong Min-sik was probably one of them.

Perhaps it was even Shin Seo-joon who instigated his complex and drove him into this confrontation.

“The price,”

I asked him.

“What’s the price?”

“Price?”

But Shin Seo-joon just replied nonchalantly,

“There’s no price. Well, if I had to say, I do hope that you, Park Yoo-seung-ssi, will defeat Min-hwan sunbae.”

A strange light flickered in his eyes.

“I don’t like that person very much.”

I knew that, as there was a scene in the original story where they confronted each other with displeasure. The problem was that I didn’t know why, or to what extent they were opposed.

‘Should I take this deal or not?’

The benefit was clear. Fighting against a known opponent was much easier than facing an unknown enemy.

On the other hand, the risks were uncertain. But I wasn’t keen on moving according to Shin Seo-joon’s will, and more than anything, it wouldn’t be good to spend more time entangled with this guy.

I weighed the options in my mind.

Finally, I made up my mind.