Lawless Lawyer 9.1 The Enemy Within

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THE ENEMY WITHIN

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THE ENEMY WITHIN

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Inspite of his intelligence and wealth of experience, Bong Sang Pil had not understood how the criminal world really worked. Revenge begets revenge. Failing desperately to prevent the tragic death of his uncle, he fell into a stupor. Shock had pervaded his whole being.  The police ordered him to put his hands up. Although Bong was warned, he could not move. They could not understand his lack of response.

📷 📷 Below the building, a roar of mocking laughter at Bong Sang Pil’s stupidity could be heard. Seok Gwang Dong instructed the other gangster to throw away the murder weapon. It landed on the hood of a car, a place where it was easy for it to be spotted.

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The police had jumped to their conclusion that Bong Sang Pil was the murderer of his uncle. When the detective who handcuffed him read him his rights, Bong Sang Pil, in his cloudy mind, was unable to fathom what was being said to him. His legs seemed to have caved in under him. Bong’s eyes stared unseeingly at the policemen. His nerves were frozen and his mouth was left gaping.  He was lifted up but he ended up slumped against one of the poles. Bewildered. He would have fallen backwards had his wrist not been held by the police detective who told him that he was under arrest for murder.

📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 Like his legs, Bong Sang Pil’s life had folded under him. He was locked up in jail to await his trial. Ha Jae Yi and the lawless team had been worried about him. The police had queried them about their boss and the lawless gang had given their statements but the police had no desire to believe them.

Ha Jae Yi visited Bong Sang Pil in prison. His worries had not gone unnoticed. He had requested that she should take care of the funeral arrangements but she boldly and compassionately promised him that he would be able to personally supervise his uncle’s funeral. Ha Jae Yi was mulling over Choi Dae Woon’s funeral arrangements and how to get Bong out to attend the ceremony and pay his last respects to his uncle.

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Early the next morning, Ha Jae Yi arrived at Judge Cha’s residence while the latter was having breakfast. A deferential Ha Jae Yi informed the judge that she would be defending Bong Sang Pil. Judge and lawyer had a falling-out earlier; they were not on good terms with each other.

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But, Judge Cha knew that she was there for another reason. Ha Jae Yi, the proud and hot-headed lawyer had greatly humbled herself to beg for a favour. Her grave concern was that Bong Sang Pil should be allowed to tend to his uncle’s funeral. She even bowed very deeply to the judge to plead her case. It was demeaning for the haughty lawyer but she had compelled herself to do it in order to get the judge’s approval. The judge shook her head disapprovingly at her, ‘Because of some worthless thug, you’re here bowing to me. Only the Chief Prosecutor can order his release. Knowing that, why do you come to me?’’ The obvious fact was Ha Jae Yi knew how the whole system worked. Jang Sang Ik, the Chief Prosecutor, would not have allowed it. The situation was such that it demanded that Ha Jae Yi plead with her. The younger woman reasoned that Choi Dae Woong, Bong’s uncle was his last remaining relative and Bong ought to be given permission to pay his last respects.

📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 Judge Cha relished the moment. The calculator was rattling in her brain. Finally, she asked Ha Jae Yi the price that she was willing to pay  for request to be met. Ha Jae Yi was only too willing to accede to any demand - Judge Cha could just name it. To her utter surprise, Judge Cha Moon Sook instructed her to clear Bong Sang Pil’s name and win his case. She challenged Ha Jae Yi to impress her with her best lawyering skills. Judge Cha's motives were not easy to interprete or understand. Perhaps, it was one way for the judge to win the young lawyer over to her side. But, it was learnt later that Judge Cha had also instructed Prosecutor Kang Yeon Hee to win the case as well. Was she playing one against the other? Was it her idea of a excellent court game? Ha Jae Yi knew the wily judge had a reason for the challenge but her priority was to defend her beloved Bong Sang Pil. She would find out her motive once the trial was over. Revealing that she would be the presiding judge, Judge Cha advised Ha Jae Yi to make a good impression in her court. She then phoned Prosecutor Jang to release Bong Sang Pil for that particular ceremony.

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On the day of Choi Dae Woong’s funeral, the church where the ceremony was held was crawling with gangsters from the Dae Woong group and also mourners from other gangster groups, mostly from Northern Seoul, Choi’s power base. The atmosphere was one of gloom and despondency. The church had turned into a gathering place for criminals, a den of iniquity.

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Kwon Man Bae, had assumed the role as head of the Dae Woong group. He seemed ever-ready to believe that Bong Sang Pil had killed his uncle. Tae Kwang Soo bowed to Kwon Man Bae to acknowledge his higher position in the gang of criminals. But, he was punched. Kwon Man Bae reasoned that Tae Kwang Soo was accountable for the safety of their boss when the deceased man was in Bong’s turf. Bong was a marked man. Ha Jae Yi protested. She explained that Bong Sang Pil was caught in a trap. He was not guilty as charged as he had been set up and framed. It was strange that Kwon Man Bae was so presumptuous as to judge that Bong was the murderer even before the trial ended.

📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 Bong Sang Pil was fighting the worst fatigue and sorrow of his life. When he was led by the police to the funeral ceremony, Kwon Man Bae, caught hold of his suit jacket and bellowed at him for being a scum. Bong had incurred his wrath.  Was it a display of his power to stir up rapt attention all for the benefit of his gang members? Perhaps the new gangster head loved the drama and attention.

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Bong Sang Pil didn’t seem to have any fight with him but pleaded with the self-declared new gangster head to allow him to pay his last respects. Even though he seemed spiritless, he stared briefly at the man as if challenging him.  Was Kwon Man Bae, in any way, trying to cloud the truth? It would soon be revealed that Kwon was involved in a conspiracy of lies.

📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 Detective Gong Jang Soo, coming to the beleaguered lawyer’s rescue, showed the gangster head his identification card. The detective didn’t have to bark any orders for Kwon to desist. It worked like a magic wand. Only then, did the gangster release his hold on Bong.  The latter was warned to take only ten minutes to pay his last respects.

📷 📷 📷 As Bong Sang Pil walked into the church, the spotlight was on him, a figure of controversy. All the gangsters were ready and waiting for the star of the ceremony, the nephew of the deceased man. The supposed murderer had come to pay his last respects to his victim. The members of the underworld were watching the grieving nephew with apprehension and distrust.

📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 Although being closely scrutinised like an animal in a laboratory, the uncuffed Bong was oblivious of their stares or suppressed anger. He seemed to have plodded towards the front of the church. He stared sightlessly in front of him.  Flanked by Ha Jae Yi on his left and Tae Kwang Soo on his right slightly behind him, his legs, moving by its own volition, seemed to be heavy and weighted down with an anchor. It looked like he was lumbering forward like a slow-moving truck. Bong Sang Pil’s face seemed to be swollen after a tearful time in prison. Although his eyes were red, his natural good looks shone through. Pausing at the front of the church, Bong’s eyes momentarily strayed to the funeral arrangements and decorations. The framed photograph of his uncle stared him in the face. His nostrils flared as he took deep breaths and he swallowed hard. Fleeting twitches of facial muscles could be detected as sad emotions caught in his throat. 

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Overcome by a horrible aching sadness, he began to speak to his uncle’s spirit which he believed still lingered in the place. Thanking his uncle for raising him, he urged his uncle to rest in peace.

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It was a tragedy that could have been prevented. If only he was less obstinate. His spirit was crushed. He was a broken man.  Tears welled up in his eyes. For the first time in the eighteen years since the death of his mother, Bong Sang Pil felt truly defeated.

📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 Bong Sang Pil dropped quickly to his knees. Hunched, he shrank in shame and his head bowed in sorrow. His whole being rocked in the grip of multiple emotions – sorrow, bewilderment, anger and guilt. His lips trembled and his mouth gurgled, his face scrunched up in pain. The convulsions of pain revealed his broken and shattered frame of mind.

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Memories of his uncle’s advice, ‘Revenge begets revenge’ floated into his mind. Perhaps until then, Bong did not have the foggiest idea that the vengeance of his enemy may not fall directly on him but on someone close to him. He was enslaved and blinded by his vengeful spirit.  Did he need a tragedy to make him realise that his plans for vengeance would backfire? The backlash, a grim finish, was the death of his uncle. Did he realise by then the wisdom of that very important piece of advice? Had the fog finally lifted from his eyes?  Prostrating in front of his uncle’s funeral shrine, Bong’s emotions raged like a whirl storm inside him. He was burdened with the weight of the guilt that rested on his shoulders.  Finally, he cried out, ‘Uncle, I’m so sorry!’ It was a bitter lesson for him.  The floodgates opened.

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At that point in time, Bong Sang Pil was no more the well-dressed, polished and sophisticated, handsome and sexy Defense Lawyer.  His once handsome face was a real mess! It was scrunched up in pain and anguish. He was weeping like the tidal wave. Tears spilled down his cheeks, coalescing with the gooey saliva which spilled from his mouth. Although Bong was an awful sight, the scene was heart-wrenching. His grief clung tenaciously to him.  But, the harsh reality was, the uncle-nephew relationship had drawn to an effective close.

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Ha Jae Yi’s heart went out to him. Tae Kwang Soo tried hard to keep his tears in check.

📷 📷 One cannot but cry with Bong Sang Pil. When it was over, he was handcuffed again by Detective Gong who would accompany him back to Ki Seong.

📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 📷 It would be strange if the deaths of his uncle and Wu Hyeong Man did not snap everything into their true perspective.  The enemy was within. Perhaps, Bong Sang Pil was finally waking up from his dream. Was Bong Sang Pil his own enemy?