LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 29
Chapter 29
『 Translator – Divinity 』
“But… there’s no way the accuracy can be guaranteed…”
Kim Seung-pil raised a valid concern. It was time for me to step up.
“I can guarantee it. The accuracy.”
I pulled out a thick binder from my bag.
It was a printed copy of the very thesis that was currently summarized on the wall.
“I’ve been reading and analyzing this thesis for the past few days. And this here is the summary I’ve compiled myself.”
I took out a few thin sheets of paper from the top of the binder and waved them.
Kim Seung-pil took them and started reading. Soon, his eyes widened in surprise.
“…This is incredible.”
Kim Seung-pil exclaimed in admiration.
“This summary and the summary produced by that program… ‘Effortless’, the core points are almost identical. Most of the content in the text summarized by Mr. Park Yoo-seung is also included in the document on the screen.”
That meant,
“We can use this program.”
Kim Seung-pil was a reporter.
He was more adept than anyone at quickly skimming through text and grasping the main points.
If he had made that judgment after reviewing it, it was trustworthy.
With the cross-checking done, the other study group members seemed convinced and nodded.
‘Of course it is.’
‘Effortless’ was a masterpiece that Lee Ha-ru and I had spent days creating.
I extracted the relevant texts and provided them as data, and Lee Ha-ru was in charge of the actual fine-tuning.
To prove the performance of ‘Effortless’, I even had to select one of ConLaw’s theses in advance, analyze it myself, and write a summary.
Lee Ha-ru, who was doing the programming, pulled all-nighters, but I also had no choice but to stay up for several nights.
Showmanship is important.
Even if you create something new, if you don’t demonstrate its effectiveness in front of people, it’s hard for them to trust and use it.
Especially since it was being used for midterms, which were directly linked to our future careers, it was natural to be extra cautious.
That’s why the process of proof was necessary, even if it took a little more effort.
“Click.”
Lee Ha-ru pressed the button repeatedly.
The rest of the papers were selected in turn and transformed into thin summaries one by one.
“…This is literally effortless.”
Yoo Tae-woon clicked his tongue in wonder.
“It lives up to its name.”
Lee Ha-ru beamed with pride, and I pressed on with the momentum.
“Now you know what to do, right? From now on, the six of us will each take 2 out of these 12 summarized articles and study them.”
Even though they were summaries, reading all 12 from the beginning might feel daunting.
But if each of us studied only 2 and then explained what we understood to each other, it would be a different story.
The speed of reading something you understand is much faster than dealing with something you’re seeing for the first time.
It also becomes easier to read it over and over again.
In this way, we could minimize the effort required for Constitutional Law and reinforce our memory by increasing the number of reviews.
“We don’t have to read hundreds of pages of lecture materials or thick theses anymore.”
“2 articles per person… Yeah, we can do this without much difficulty.”
Kim Seung-pil and Han Seol nodded in agreement.
“As expected of Mr. Park Yoo-seung! Perfect leadership!”
“What?”
“You gathered people to share the work through Ms. Han Seol, employed Ms. Lee Ha-ru to reduce the study load with a program, and had Mr. Kim Seung-pil verify the results. The ability to allocate and utilize people in the right places… As expected, you are…”
“Stop. Please, just stop there.”
Yoo Ye-seul was spouting her strange delusions again.
What was even more ridiculous was that Kim Seung-pil was nodding as if he understood.
“…Okay, okay, let’s distribute the summaries.”
Annoyed, I chose the most difficult and troublesome topics and assigned them to Yoo Ye-seul and Kim Seung-pil.
As we finished distributing the remaining summaries and were about to leave,
‘I almost forgot.’
“Ah, and Mr. Kim Seung-pil, please stay for a moment. There’s somewhere we need to go together.”
“Yes…?”
***
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Oh Gi-tae.”
I lightly bowed to Oh Gi-tae, the client from the Legal Clinic.
Oh Gi-tae, in person, was a middle-aged man with a sturdy build, wearing worn-out work clothes.
“This is Mr. Kim Seung-pil, who will be helping us today. He’s my classmate from law school.”
“Oh, uh, yes! Nice to meet you!”
At Oh Gi-tae’s greeting, Kim Seung-pil asked in a small voice,
“Who is this?”
“Come to think of it, you didn’t participate in the Legal Clinic, Mr. Kim Seung-pil. I sent you the summarized information, please take a look.”
Kim Seung-pil checked the case summary I sent him on his smartphone.
It was the case where Mr. Oh Gi-tae’s father had suffered a fall at the nursing home.
Kim Seung-pil’s eyes curved into a smile as he scanned the screen.
“I understand what you’re thinking.”
I nodded lightly.
“Mr. Oh Gi-tae, how are things progressing?”
“Oh, don’t even get me started. That wicked director, he actually…”
Oh Gi-tae, seizing the opportunity, vented his frustration.
“He told me to take it to court if I had anything to say!”
As confirmed before, the reason for Oh Gi-tae’s father’s fall was that the caregiver had tampered with the wheels of the walker.
Oh Gi-tae had met with the caregiver separately and obtained a confession.
The problem was that the nursing home refused to compensate under employer liability and maintained the stance that if he really wanted to get something, he should take them to court.
However, Oh Gi-tae was in no position to engage in a lengthy legal battle.
He could only fume and fret, despite feeling wronged.
“Honestly, I also want to just take them to court. But I have to make a living… and it’s not easy for me to hire a lawyer.”
“I understand.”
I comforted Oh Gi-tae.
“Actually, I made an appointment to talk to the nursing home director today regarding your case. That’s why I called you here.”
“H-how? Whenever I call him, he just scoffs and hangs up…”
It wasn’t like I had any special skills.
—This is the Hankuk University Law School Legal Clinic. We have something to discuss regarding the unfortunate accident that occurred at your nursing home.
Well, when I mentioned our affiliation like that, he agreed to the meeting, albeit reluctantly.
As expected, people tend to be more receptive when you have a fancy title.
Hankuk University Law School? Legal Clinic? It sounded like something that could cause troublesome, complicated issues if ignored.
“Anyway, let’s go.”
Arriving at the nursing home in question, we were immediately led to the director’s office.
A man with a receding hairline and a protruding belly poked his head out from behind the director’s nameplate.
“Well, I don’t know anything about that.”
As soon as the incident was mentioned, the director feigned ignorance.
“We are complying with all the safety regulations that a nursing home must adhere to. It’s absurd to hold us responsible for the personal deviations of an employee.”
“No. You are responsible.”
I said firmly.
“Even if it was a mistake committed by an employee personally, if it falls within the scope of their duties in a broad sense, the employer is held liable.”
Even the precedents interpret this concept of ‘outwardly falling within the scope of duties’ very broadly.
For example, let’s say a superior assaults or sexually harasses a subordinate at work.
It’s obvious, in any sense, that sexual harassment or assault is not an act included in or related to ‘duties’.
However, if employer liability is denied for this reason, it becomes nearly impossible for the victim to realistically hold the company responsible instead of the perpetrator.
In the end, the employer liability provision, created to protect victims, becomes meaningless.
Therefore, considering the legislative intent and the circumstances surrounding the case comprehensively, precedents have recognized the establishment of employer liability even in cases like the one mentioned above.
“Moreover, there is ample room to argue that managing walkers and maintaining them in a safe condition falls within the usual duties of caregivers. As the employer, you are responsible for this incident.”
“…Ha, this is…”
The director sighed deeply, as if annoyed.
“If you’re so fond of arguing according to the law, I told you to go to court and file a lawsuit! Why do you keep coming here and bothering me?”
“Because legal proceedings take time and money. It will be a tedious and exhausting process for both of us, whether it’s for us or for you. Rather than that, it would be better to resolve this through a settlement…”
“For both of us? No, no.”
The director’s lips curled into a sinister smile.
“I don’t care. I have plenty of time and money. Sue me if you want. If anything, it’s you who will be struggling with the burden of a lawsuit, isn’t it?”
“Y-you heartless bastard!”
Oh Gi-tae, enraged, stepped forward, and Kim Seung-pil held him back.
Indeed, although the nursing home director might be morally corrupt, he wasn’t stupid.
He clearly saw that we were attempting a settlement because of the client’s circumstances.
“You despicable man!”
“Despicable? What can you do about it? Looking at the guardian documents you submitted, you’re a security guard or something, do you even have time to go to court with your shift work?”
When Oh Gi-tae erupted in anger, the director responded with mockery.
Seeing that, I quietly said,
“I will inform the media.”
“…What?”
“A nursing home must give confidence to the families of its residents. No one in their right mind would entrust their precious family member to an institution that can’t even prevent the misconduct of its own caregiver and refuses to take responsibility.”
“Are you threatening me now? Don’t you know this is defamation?”
“Article 310 of the Criminal Act. An act of stating facts is not punishable if it is a true fact and solely for the public interest.”
It was something we covered in Professor Jang Yong-hwan’s class.
“Spreading the truth about a poorly managed nursing home is a beneficial act that promotes the public welfare of countless elderly people and their families.”
“Be-!”
“But if you willingly fulfill your duty, that ‘poor management’ will cease to exist, and there will be nothing for me to expose.”
Saying you’ll expose the truth if they don’t agree to a settlement can be considered a threat.
But it’s a different story to say you’re giving them one last chance to correct their wrongdoing before exposing it for the sake of public interest.
It might sound like wordplay, but words have different nuances.
“Ha, haha.”
The nursing home director, whose face had turned red, finally let out a hollow laugh.
“Hey, student. It seems like you don’t know much about the world because you only study with your nose in a book.”
He spoke in a condescending tone.
“Saying you’ll inform the media, that’s not as easy as it sounds. It’s not like reporters will just write an article because a student like you comes to them with some information and begs them to.”
“Then what?”
“Do you think those reporters have the time to meet with a greenhorn like you? It’s not even a hot topic, it’ll just get buried.”
The nursing home director wagged his finger.
“Or do you have some influential acquaintance who can control the media?”
The nursing home director’s thoughts weren’t entirely unfounded.
A caregiver injuring a resident, and the nursing home trying to cover it up.
It was a topic that could cause public outrage, but it wasn’t that sensational.
Incidents like this happened dozens of times a day.
Not all of them could receive public attention.
Naturally, there was no reason for the media to cover it.
Even if reporters did come to investigate, they might be able to appease them with ‘good treatment’ and send them away.
‘But…’
“Ah, this is… I forgot to mention.”
I gestured to the side with a nonchalant gesture.
“Mr. Kim Seung-pil, please introduce yourself.”
Kim Seung-pil, who suddenly received the baton, widened his eyes but quickly grasped my intention and nodded.
“Wait. Kim Seung-pil? That name, I’ve heard it somewhere…”
“Hello. I’m Kim Seung-pil, a reporter for the Hankook Ilbo’s social affairs department. I’m currently taking a leave of absence and studying law at Hankuk University Law School.”
Kim Seung-pil took out his old business card and handed it to the nursing home director.
“Hankook Ilbo? D-don’t tell me!”
The nursing home director’s face paled instantly.
“Th-the one who reported on the drug club case…?”
“My former colleagues happened to contact me asking for story ideas. It seems they’ve been having fun with the frame of ‘a media company leading the realization of social justice’. The higher-ups have ordered them to scrape up any public interest stories or crime exposures they can find.”
“And,” Kim Seung-pil said with a grin.
“It seems like I’ve just found one. A decent story.”