Legal Affairs - Chapter 1
Synopsis: A rookie lawyer helps Wonho while he is being investigated for involvement in black market dealings.
Word count: 2.8k
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You walked through the revolving doors to Useungja Law Firm whose name meant “winner.” One of the best law firms in Seoul, it was known for having a high proportion of successful cases, and specialising in commercial law, civil suits and similar matters. Which is why you were surprised at the new case given to you.
“I thought we didn’t do criminal cases?” You asked your CEO.
“We don’t, but this was a special request, from my friend at the TV station. He wants to make sure his station isn’t caught up in these charges, so he discussed it with the idol’s agency and asked me to look into it.” The CEO replied and gave you the file to flick through. He knew you wouldn’t refuse the case, but he could tell you were feeling nervous.
After a long pause, you asked, “So why me? This feels like an important case.”
“I heard you had something of an interest in dark seedy black market crimes. Plus, you took criminal law classes last semester and I haven’t touched that stuff in over a decade.”
“Wow samcheon (uncle), you really had to make it sound like I have personal experience with the black market huh?” You laughed. “But sure, I will take the case.” You even saluted the CEO for good measure.
He laughed, before his face turned serious again. “Alright, but just one more thing sweetheart. Your mum said you missed out on all the other internships, but working at your old uncle’s firm isn’t pity, okay? I know you’re good, so get out there and prove it, because you’re still a skilled lawyer.”
Your client was a Lee Hoseok, represented by Starship Entertainment. He was part of a large number of idols being investigated for involvement with various black market entities, though nobody had been charged yet. You were simply there as a preventative measure to support him throughout the investigation. Following a party with several guests that included dubious and suspicious people, Le Hoseok and several others had been named as persons of interest.
The door to the meeting room opened soon after you sat down, and two men walked in, with one clearly being Hoseok. His hoodie did a pathetic job of hiding his figure which was clearly the result of many dedicated hours at the gym. You reached over to your drink bottle, telling yourself it’s because you are thirsty after seeing the iced coffee he had in his hand, and not for any other reason. The men sat across from you, and you introduced yourself and the plan for the meeting today.
“Hello. My name is y/n and I will be handling your case. Today, I just want to ask some questions based on what’s in the file. But you can keep talking even outside of those questions. I really just want to hear anything that will help your case, that’s all.”
Hoseok’s manager tapped his arm. He had been zoning out all morning since the manager mentioned his schedule for the day. He studied the lawyer in front of him. You seemed very young, probably younger than him, and he felt a small sense of dread that a rookie was handling his case.
“I didn’t do anything. I swear, I never stole anything, took drugs or hurt someone. I didn’t even do it for someone else.” He blurted out.
He didn’t intend to sound desperate, but he had been so lost in his thoughts earlier that he didn’t even hear your question.
Poor boy. He seemed very out of it. “It’s okay, this is a preventative measure for the investigation. We know nothing happened.” He appeared a little calmer once you said that, so you began listing your plan of action.
“I’m going to request surveillance footage from the TV station where this party supposedly happened. If you keep an inventory of what’s usually in your bags, I'd like to see that too, as well as a list of staff members or guests who were present.”
Hoseok simply nodded and his manager who agreed to provide anything you needed.
Then there was one more thing. You apologetically turned to the manager. “Client-attorney privilege only applies between me and Mr Lee. So for our conversations to be protected, we do technically need to have our consults alone. I hope you understand.”
The manager nodded, and with no hostility, left the room after squeezing Hoseok’s shoulder.
You waited for the manager to leave before continuing your interview with Hoseok. You decided to forego your desire to run your gaze appreciatively all over his body by simply looking down at your notes. You asked your first question. “Do you have any exes I should be concerned about?”
Hoseok almost sputtered his coffee when he heard that, and looked at you questioningly.
“Sorry, I wasn’t hitting on you.” This was a bad habit you needed to fix before heading to a courtroom. You often worded things without necessary context. “What I meant was can you think of anyone that would want to hurt you? I won’t tell your manager about these people if you don’t want to me, by the way,” you added, hoping it made him feel safe.
Hoseok didn’t seem to show much emotion when he answered. His voice was monotone and he didn’t even seem to be in the present. “I’ve had some entanglements, but there aren’t any that I think would want to hurt me.”
You tried not to let the initial lack of rapport with your client bother you as you continued you questions. “Can you tell me how much you drank last night?”
Hoseok looked sheepish. “I don’t remember anything from last night, if I am being honest.”
“That’s okay.” You made a small note in the file and continued. “Did you take any drinks given to you by another person? Like something they mixed, not something that came in a can or bottle?”
Hoseok was silent, thinking. “Probably.”
Your first little theory had formed. If the man didn’t remember anything, maybe he was drugged, possibly by one of those suspicious person, and if he was drugged, he may have been unaware of anything he may have done, including at someone else’s orders or under duress. But you needed more evidence for this theory, so you simply said, “I want you to take a drug test, today if possible. I’ll schedule one.”
Hoseok’s eyes widened in shock. Maybe some frustration too, since he had already told you he was innocent, but he nodded. His agency had ordered him to cooperate, though he would’ve done so even without the order.
The last part of your meeting was introducing Hoseok to the CEO. When your questions were done, Hoseok got up and followed you out of the meeting room and into the elevator.
“Mr Lee, if you have any questions at all, you know you can ask, right? I promise I’m not as scary as I look,” you said, laughing a little awkwardly.
You knew you couldn’t possibly look scary to a man that had the strength to crush your bones into a fine dust, but the atmosphere in the elevator wasn’t exactly bright. You could feel Hoseok looking at you, and you hoped he wasn’t stressing too much about the investigation.
Unknown to you, Hoseok was actually admiring your outfit. You were wearing a light blue floral dress that flared out at your hips pared with a very smart-looking white blazer. It was like you couldn’t decide whether to be at the office or at a picnic, and Hoseok thought it was adorable.
After another bout of silence, you spoke. “Mr Lee, could you enter your number and email address please? I am adding your email to a shared calendar for us. That way, we can keep track of things like important appointments, interviews, etc.”
Hoseok obliged, typing his details into your phone, and you silently congratulated yourself on not making it sound like you were hitting on your client when you asked for his number.
Inside the CEO’s office, your uncle introduced himself to Hoseok with a firm handshake. “Hello Hoseok. I am y/CEO/n. Y/n is well versed in black market cases, and I will also be around to support you, so there is nothing to worry about.”
Hoseok felt a small sense of relief hearing that. Surely if you were known to the CEO, you must be good at your job. The CEO then took his phone from his pocket and turned to you, with an amused smile on his face. Hoseok watched the interaction curiously.
“Y/n, I think your plan for the day is great,” the CEO said to you. “However, there’s something I need you to be careful about."
“Yeah? What?” You asked, with far too little honourifics for a CEO.
Hoseok tensed, expecting an outburst from the man, but was pleasantly surprised when the CEO handed his unlocked phone to you. You stifled a laugh with your hand as you checked the CEO’s phone. Hoseok tried to hide his confused expression at this remarkably affectionate relationship between a rookie and the CEO, but he wasn’t quick enough.
Noticing his quizzical expression, you began explaining. “The CEO has been a mentor to me since high school. We’re very close, so he teases me about every single silly mistake I make.”
You turned the CEO’s phone to face Hoseok. On the screen was a text message saying ‘Hi Mr Lee, it’s y/n. I’m excited to work with you and promise to do my best. I look forward to getting to know you more.’
There was nothing wrong with the message, except that you had texted it to the CEO, and not Hoseok. Seeing that, Hoseok cracked his first genuine smile of the day.
After your idol client left, you went to the Starship Entertainment office. The staff had already been informed to collect footage and any other necessary materials for your investigation. Starship Entertainment also forwarded you the schedules of each Monsta X member for you to conduct interviews with should you need to. When you went to Starship’s office, the list of schedules told you that Yoo Kihyun would be available for an interview.
Kihyun stopped by in between practice and his gym session. He smiled pleasantly and bowed before sitting across from you in a conference room at Starship. “Good afternoon y/n.”
“Great to meet you, Kihyun.” It slipped your mind to call him Mr Yoo. “Let’s start by talking about what Hoseok was doing during the party. Who he talked to, what he ate or drank, just really anything at all that you remember.” You fiddled with you phone to find the recorder app and showed it to Kihyun. “You don’t mind right?”
“Well, usually I record in a studio, but for you I’ll make an exception,” Kihyun said and laughed. He seemed sweet.
Hoseok had arrived at the party together with his members, but spent most of his time with Hyungwon, sitting on the couch and chatting with a few people. Kihyun couldn’t remember who, but there was no animosity there. As for what Hoseok drank, he did get offered drinks by a few people there, but he stuck to his own drink. Hoseok didn’t even leave his drink unattended as far as Kihyun remembers. As for Hoseok’s behaviour before the party, during the show, Kihyun couldn’t recall anything out of the ordinary, except that Hoseok left one of his bags behind in their van, and they had to ask a staff member to go grab it sometime after arriving at the dressing room. Unfortunately, Kihyun wasn’t sure who that staff member might have been.
“Well thank you for your time, Kihyun. Is it okay if I contact you again if I have questions?” You asked as you finished scribbling some notes.
“No worries, let me know if you need anything. I really want to help,” Kihyun said earnestly.
As Kihyun reached the door, you suddenly remembered something. “Is there a hair salon at Starship?"
Kihyun blinked confusedly before answering. “Uh yeah, did you need to go there?"
“I saw Hoseok’s schedule said he’s getting his hair done at 4pm, but I need some of his hair for a drug test. I was hoping the hairdresser could cut some for me without making it obvious.”
Kihyun understood your unasked request. “I can definitely take you to the salon. But there’s one small problem.” You raised your eyebrows at him, waiting for him to finish “Hoseok is planning to bleach his hair, so if you want his hair for a drug test, you gotta be quick."
Your mouth dropped open. “Oh shi- I mean godda-,” you tried not to swear. That drug test would prove your client to at least didn’t consume any drugs, and you were not missing that chance. Kihyun laughed at your crude language, before leading you to the salon.
The hairdresser had draped him and trimmed his hair and was somewhere preparing the bleach and colour. Hoseok’s phone buzzed with a message from Kihyun: DONTT FUICKING BLEACH UR HAIRRR
Was this some prank? Shouldn’t you be working out, little munchkin? Hoseok replied smiling to himself.
No I mean it, its for ur lawyer, Kihyun responded.
Hoseok was confused, but as he motioned for his hairdresser to hold off on the bleaching, the doors to the salon swung open. Behind it was Kihyun, with your slightly puffed out face appearing behind him. At the sight of Hoseok’s still unbleached hair, you breathed a sigh of relief. Kihyun moved aside to let you through, and much to Hoseok’s surprise, you made a beeline for him, or more specifically, his hair.
Your fingers first delicately touched it, before stroking their way through it. Then a second and third time. “Oh, Hoseok, thank god,” you murmured. “It’s safe.”
Hoseok met your gaze in the mirror, raising his eyebrows at you. “You okay there y/n? You uh… don’t get off on people’s hair do you?”
You didn’t register the joke. “No, no, I just got worried we wouldn’t be able to do the drug test. I need your unbleached hair.”
“How much? I’ll get the stylist to cut it for you,” Hoseok said, motioning for the hairdresser to come closer.
You ran your fingers through his hair a few times before holding up your desired sample for the drug test. “Don’t stress, you’ll still look handsome on stage Mr Lee.”
Hoseok looked at your through the mirror, smiling. “Why do you call me Mr Lee?”
“Hm sorry?” Your attention snapped to Hoseok’s face in the mirror. For the first time, you noticed his eyes exuded a sense of kindness you hadn’t seen before.
Hoseok repeated himself. “Why do you call me Mr Lee?”
“Do I have to explain that? You’re my client,” you said.
“True, but you called me Hoseok when you first walked in.”
Your face went blank and Hoseok smirked. Unknowingly, your fingers remained wrapped around a strand of his hair, and your elbow rested on his shoulder.
Hoseok reached out his hand from under the hairdresser’s drape to touch your arm. “You walked in and did this.” His hand mimicked the way you touched his hair when you first walked in on your forearm. “Oh thank god Hoseok is what you said.”
You flinched at his touch, equal parts shocked and embarrassed. He wasn’t sure whether to be hurt or amused when you took a small step away from him.
“In my defence, I was addressing myself, not you,” you said, twisting you lips to side in annoyance.
“Last I checked, your name wasn’t Hoseok, so I don’t know why you would address yourself as that,” Hoseok smirked.
You started chewing your lip then sighed. “Fuck, I didn’t exactly leave the best impression as your lawyer there did I?” You laughed as you spoke, but then suddenly covered your mouth with your hands. “Why did I even do that…”
Hoseok couldn’t help but laugh out loud. You had been so perfectly polite and proper all morning, and that demeanour dissolving was absolutely hilarious. “I never knew my lawyer would have such a crude mouth. Hope it comes in handy in the future.”
You stopped laughing and narrowed your eyes. You returned his smirk. “That is a new version of ‘what that mouth do.’ Good job.” You knew this exchange had lost all sense of professionalism now.
Hoseok laughed along with you but then became serious. He asked, “Surely nobody says things like that to you. You’re a lawyer, you probably date other educated men.”
You shook your head. “Mr Lee, educated or uneducated, any man is capable of being an asshole.”
“Just Hoseok is fine, Miss y/n.”
“Just y/first/name, is fine, Hoseok,” you parroted back. Having grown a little more comfortable, you stepped in a little closer to the seat again. “So, Hoseok, can your hairdresser cut some hair for me?”
10 minutes later, you were out the door with Hoseok’s hair in a little ziplock bag. You didn’t know it, but you felt a small buzz as you thought about how you finally established some rapport with your client. Or as ordinary people would call it, chemistry.
