Time Wasting (3)
It can be ignored. But this is the military. If someone is a brigadier general at the Military Academy, they are not of a low rank. They are likely to smoothly earn a star.
‘I don’t want to get tangled up for no reason.’
Noh Hyeong-jin decided to think positively. For now, his goal is to make himself comfortable.
“Then may I ask you for a favor?”
“If it’s a reasonable request.”
He nodded, as he didn’t intend to take advantage of this situation. Moreover, although he didn’t say it, his friend, Lawyer Heo, had told him that this person would do great things once he entered society, so he should get close to him.
“Please help me to be assigned as a prosecutor.”
“A prosecutor? Not a judge?”
In a military court, there’s nothing different. Someone has to be a judge, someone has to be a prosecutor, and someone has to be a lawyer. And naturally, the most prestigious roles are judges, followed by prosecutors, and then lawyers. But a prosecutor?
“With your grades, you could easily become a judge.”
“I just want to try it out.”
From Noh Hyeong-jin’s perspective, it’s not easy to approach a case as a judge. It’s hard to see the truth. This is because judges only look at what someone else has investigated. Of course, Noh Hyeong-jin’s dream is to be a lawyer. But this is the military. It’s not society.
‘The military being dirty is not a new thing.’
In a rank-based society like the military, most cases, or 99% of them, are caused by higher ranks. The cases caused by lower ranks are at most desertion or insubordination. And lawyers play the role of protecting those offenders.
‘Am I crazy to do that?’
In civilian life, it might be different, but in the military, most of those offenders actually committed the acts. And most of it gets swept under the rug. Because it’s the military.
‘It’s not like I’m going to make money from it.’
The virtue of a lawyer is victory. But winning and defending someone you know is clearly a bad person are two entirely different matters. If he takes on a case, he will fight to win, but choosing to take on that case is a matter of freedom. The problem is that there is no freedom in the military. He doesn’t want to defend someone he knows is a bad person, especially when there’s no money involved.
‘And the experience wouldn’t be bad either.’
In any case, he will choose the path of a lawyer once he enters society. In other words, if not now, he won’t have another chance to live as a prosecutor.
“Well, it’s not a difficult request.”
That kind of request is something he can easily grant. It’s not asking to become a judge but to become a prosecutor.
“Then will you tell me how?”
“Please give me some time. I need to look into tax law as well.”
“The taxes are more than I expected.”
Noh Hyeong-jin began to think of ways to avoid taxes.
‘This is more complicated than I thought.’
After hearing about the case properly, it turned out there were actually more issues. He initially thought it was just about the child inheriting, but that was not the case. His father had left behind land when he passed away, and he had not paid attention to it. However, recently, that place had been redeveloped, resulting in a sum of 3 billion won. The problem is that the brigadier general himself has no intention of receiving it. He feels that he doesn’t need to receive that money since he is a soldier and his pension is sufficient. Of course, there’s no problem if he receives it. The issue lies with his wife.
“This is complicated.”
The brigadier general’s request was simple. He wanted his son to be able to inherit the property. And he wanted to exclude his wife from it. This is because they are in the middle of a divorce. He feels it’s unfair to have to give half of the property he inherited just because they lived together. Moreover, the reason for the divorce is his wife’s spending habits, so he is even less inclined to give it to her.
“Is there no way?”
“Ah, General.”
“They said you would have a way?”
“The thing is… it’s not easy.”
If it was something recently inherited, it wouldn’t be a problem. The issue is that he inherited the land from his father quite some time ago. In other words, legally, he has passed the point where the share of maintenance is guaranteed. In fact, she has been trying to sell it rather than maintain it.
The problem is that since they are in the middle of a divorce, legally they are still a couple, and his wife is demanding half of that 3 billion won. If that happens, what remains is 1.5 billion won. From that, he has to give 100 million won to the tax accountant or lawyer. So what remains is about 1.4 billion won, but if he takes that and then gives it to his son, taxes will be deducted again, leaving only about 800 million won.
‘If it were me, I would feel very unfair.’
The wealth built by his parents is being taken by people who are not entitled to it, and the actual blood relative only gets a quarter of that amount, so if one doesn’t feel unfair, that would be strange. From 3 billion won, only 800 million won.
“I also watched the movie …”
“That’s an old method. It doesn’t work now.”
“Really?”
“Yes, and the general’s wife is not someone to be trusted, right?”
“That’s true.”
In the movie , the protagonist tells how to inherit wealth and befriends the prison warden. And in that way, he finds a way to escape.
“Your son…”
Hyeong-jin fell into deep thought. He thought of a way he could do. A way he could do…
“It’s not that there’s no way.”
“No way?”
“Yes, but you need someone trustworthy.”
“Someone trustworthy?”
“How do conglomerates inherit wealth? It’s possible because there are trustworthy people. If someone sneaks in and plays tricks, and then pretends not to know, that would be a problem, right?”
“I see.”
Conglomerates don’t have trouble finding trustworthy people. They can pay, or if necessary, use family as hostages. If the chairman of a conglomerate just opens his mouth, the whole family could die. But this is a general. As a soldier, touching civilians is a big problem.
“If there’s someone trustworthy, is it possible?”
“Yes, but that person must not be a soldier. They also must not be a public servant.”
“Hmm, I understand.”
After a while, Noh Hyeong-jin met a man in the brigadier general’s office.
“Who is this?”
“He is someone who helped my father.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“I’m Noh Hyeong-jin.”
Noh Hyeong-jin inadvertently shook hands with the man and frowned.
“So, is there a way?”
“Well, the thing is, after reviewing it, there’s a serious problem.”
“A problem?”
“The method cannot be used.”
The brigadier general’s expression turned to one of confusion upon hearing that. He had clearly asked for help and come all the way here because he was sure there was a way.
“Cough.”
The brigadier general’s face immediately turned unpleasant. Noh Hyeong-jin bowed his head apologetically.
“I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s not.”
He said no, but his displeasure was quite evident.
“Please leave.”
As Noh Hyeong-jin left, he turned to look back. The man was smiling. He seemed disappointed and began to talk with the brigadier general.
‘What a fool.’
In the legal field, there are three types of easy targets: soldiers, public servants, and teachers. They live comfortably without disputes or competition throughout their lives, so when they retire, scammers immediately flock to them.
“Sergeant.”
“Yes?”
Noh Hyeong-jin looked at the duty soldier as he was leaving. He was wearing the rank insignia of a sergeant.
“Please call me again later.”
“Call again?”
“Yes.”
Although there is a rank difference, since they see each other every day, he had become somewhat familiar with the duty soldier. So, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to convey such a message.
“But…”
The sergeant must have seen the brigadier general getting angry. In such a situation, it wouldn’t be easy for him to speak up.
“There’s a reason for it. If you speak well, you might get a reward leave later.”
“Reward leave…”
The sergeant licked his lips. Indeed, there wouldn’t be much harm in conveying the message.
“Understood, candidate.”
“Thank you.”
“What?”
Whether the sergeant conveyed the message properly or not, the brigadier general called Hyeong-jin again. And Hyeong-jin met him and continued speaking.
“He feels it’s unfair.”
“What’s unfair? He’s someone who has helped his father his whole life.”
He thought that the loyalty of that man could be trusted. However, on the contrary, it became a problem.
“His object of loyalty is not the general, but the general’s father. And he thinks that part of that wealth is something he helped create. If he gets involved, he will take it and run.”
“Hmm…”
That’s true. The one who worked with him was his father, not him.
“Here, the general is respected, but not outside.”
“I see.”
This is why soldiers are easy targets. Within the military, they are treated well because they are officers. So, they don’t notice if others have ulterior motives.
“How do you know that?”
“Do you know about behavioral psychology?”
“Behavioral psychology?”
“It’s a method used by the FBI in America. When a person talks about emotions, there are parts they cannot control that react. For example, when lying, the corners of their eyes might rise, and so on.”
“So?”
“I learned that. He pretends to be close to the general, but in various behaviors, there’s visible hatred.”
“Hmm.”
Of course, part of it is right and part of it is wrong. It is true that Hyeong-jin learned that while practicing as a lawyer in America. And he has that knowledge. However, he is still slightly lacking in applying it in practice. But he has a way to complement that. It’s psychometry. The memories he read when shaking hands with him were filled with hatred.
“Then who…”
“Is there a housekeeper?”
“A housekeeper?”
“If the general’s father lived alone, there would likely be a housekeeper.”
“Oh, there is one.”
His mother passed away early, but his father did not remarry. So, he lived with him, but after he became a soldier, he could no longer do that, so they had a housekeeper living with them to help with his life.
“That person might work.”
“A housekeeper? Why? But that person doesn’t know anything, right?”
“Just because they don’t know makes it more possible. Because they don’t know, they can’t think cunningly.”
“Hmm.”
“Look for her.”
“Understood.”
Finding the housekeeper wasn’t difficult. He had the phone number just in case. And when he met the housekeeper, Noh Hyeong-jin felt that she could be trusted.
‘Yes.’
After working as a housekeeper for a long time, she was older and it would be hard for her to find work elsewhere. Moreover, her two sons were going to college at the same time, so she was feeling the pressure of tuition fees. Additionally, both of her sons would soon be going into the military.
“In my opinion, if you give her a few conditions, she will fulfill our request.”
“Conditions?”
“The general will inherit her employment. After all, if you divorce, you have to employ someone, right?”
“That’s true.”
If nothing major happens, he will likely be promoted to brigadier general next year and receive a significant position. Then he would be assigned a fairly large house, but it would be too big to live in alone.
“And say that you will take care of her two sons.”
“Are you asking to get them out of the military? That’s a bit…”
“No. It means transferring the two sons to the general’s subordinate unit.”
“Ah!”
The existence of a mother is always the same. When her son goes into the military organization, she is bound to spend sleepless nights in tears. Especially if the twins enlist at the same time, it will be even more so.
“I know that it’s not about getting them out of the military, but changing their affiliation shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“That’s right.”
It’s not exactly draft evasion. The important thing is that they are still going into the military.
“From the housekeeper’s perspective, since she works close to her sons, if the general provides convenience, it will be easier for her to visit them on weekends.”
“That makes sense.”
No matter how much he is a general, he is not at the point where he cannot eat the food that has been prepared for him. If he cooks on the weekend and leaves, it’s not difficult to take out side dishes from the refrigerator.
“And although the general will not take care of the housekeeper’s sons, they will be protected from violence and such because they are the sons of the housekeeper working under the general.”
“That’s true.”
The moment they talk to their mother, it will reach the general commanding the unit, and at that time, it goes without saying that it will come crashing down from above. This is what all officers fear the most. If someone coughs from above, a storm will occur below.
“And for two years, the general will legally have them as hostages. In two years, the inheritance issue will be resolved.”
“Oh!”
The biggest problem is trust. That will be resolved in one go. In two years, the inheritance will be finished. And the housekeeper’s sons will be guaranteed a comfortable military life for two years.
“Indeed, there was a reason why Lawyer Heo recommended you!”