Chapter 34

Chapter 34 — The Taoist Appears! (1)

Doyul looked down at the unconscious Park Jeongdo and fell into thought.

...It's finally over.

If this had happened in the modern era, there would have been several ways to resolve it.

If the four requirements for creditor's subrogation were satisfied, the creditor could exercise the debtor's rights.

And even without that, property law would allow the true owner to demand cancellation of an invalid registration based on ownership.

But here... there are no registrations, no subrogation, and no compulsory execution.

That made this much harder to solve.

On top of that, Park Jeongdo had left behind no physical evidence linking himself to the fraud.

So there had really been only one path.

"The plaintiff has transferred to the defendants the right to demand the return of the land."

"Therefore, I, Lee Isu, representative of the defendants, demand the return of the land from plaintiff Park Jeongdo on Jeongmu's behalf."

[Article 404 of the Civil Act — Creditor's Subrogation.]

[A creditor may exercise the rights of the debtor in order to preserve his own claim.]

Modern creditor's subrogation was a doctrine developed to prevent unjust harm caused by the inherent limits of contractual rights.

It was complicated enough that beginners often struggled to understand it.

But the core is simple.

What should the law do when a gap in rights leaves someone unfairly harmed?

That was the essence of the issue.

In this case, the central problem concerned the right being exercised through subrogation.

By making himself Jeongmu's legal representative and deliberately engineering his own defeat, Doyul had managed to reproduce the essential function of creditor's subrogation almost perfectly.

"Y-Yulli...!"

Isu approached him.

"I truly cannot express how amazed I am by your wisdom! How in the world did you design every part of this from the beginning?"

Doyul stared at him for a moment, then smiled.

...As if that were possible.

"I couldn't possibly predict everything."

"I simply... did my best and trusted."

"...Trusted what?"

"Ghhhh..."

Doyul glanced toward the groaning Park Jeongdo.

"There were too many things that had to go right for this case to be resolved."

"I couldn't guarantee victory either."

"If the lawsuit in Yeongsan had already ended while I was away, I wouldn't even have been able to try."

"But if someone stood up for the defendants and fought Park Jeongdo..."

"And if that person continued following the right path even when I suddenly acted against them..."

Doyul smiled.

"I thought we might have a chance."

"...!"

"I trusted your kind heart."

"And your courage."

"...Yulli!"

Doyul gave him a warm smile.

"You did very well."

"Far better than I expected."

"......! Th-That..."

Tears gathered in Isu's eyes.

Then they began pouring down like a waterfall.

"I-I wanted to do well!"

"I wanted to set things right and make up for Father's mistakes!"

"I... I..."

"H-Haha..."

I'm... a little tired.

Isu spent a long time babbling through tears and snot, his words barely understandable.

"I thought about it so much, and then I thought again...! And I kept wondering what the Yulli would have done, and then... and then...!"

Some people in the government office smiled at how adorable he looked.

Others quietly wiped their eyes.

"...Sniff! Can't understand a single thing he's saying. What kind of man cries like that!"

"Donggu, wipe your own tears before talking."

And from farther away, someone watched them quietly.

Kim Jiseok looked at Isu and thought of the Ibang.

Ibang.

I'd be lying if I said I knew exactly what to say to you now, or even how I should think of you...

Kim Jiseok's feelings toward the Ibang were complicated.

Until now, he had focused entirely on resolving the matter.

But watching Isu made all those emotions tangle together.

...Still.

I think I can tell you this much.

"From now on! From now on, I-I'll dedicate myself to the people of the county! I-I'll devote... hic! devote my whole life to... to... snrk!"

"......Hmph! What a fool! He's already solved everything and he's still talking nonsense!"

You had... a truly fine son.

Kim Jiseok looked toward a patch of wildflowers stubbornly growing in one corner of the government office.

The young shoots had survived the bitter winter cold.

Now, at the very heart of spring, they stood proudly alive, filling the air with the scent of the season.

Before long, the scorching summer would arrive.

The sun would beat down with heat strong enough to burn everything beneath it.

But Kim Jiseok believed without doubt that those young shoots would survive even that blazing heat.

And after enduring it...

They would rise even faster.

Even stronger.

Helping people like that reveal their full potential...

Perhaps that is my calling.

Kim Jiseok watched Isu's burning enthusiasm with satisfaction.

Then he looked at Doyul and couldn't help letting out a hollow laugh.

...Of course, every now and then, there are monsters who exist completely outside the normal scale.

Kim Jiseok had met countless celebrated geniuses in his life.

Yet Doyul's depth of wisdom was impossible to measure.

He was like an ocean whose bottom could not be seen.

But what does it matter?

All of this is a great blessing that has come to Joseon.

"Ghh... My money... my money..."

Seeing Park Jeongdo beginning to regain consciousness, Kim Jiseok smiled and spoke.

"I will announce the result of the lawsuit."

"Plaintiff Park Jeongdo shall return the land to the defendants."

"...Excuse me? What did you just say?"

Several days later, Doyul's house, which had been quiet for some time, was suddenly flooded by more than a hundred people.

Im Dogyeom bowed respectfully.

"As I said, please accept this money."

"......!"

The land fraud involving Park Jeongdo.

Every victim involved had come together and brought Doyul the money they had originally received from Jeongmu.

Those who had already spent all of it had even gathered other property to make up their original share.

...How much is all of this?

There was so much that Doyul at least pretended to look troubled.

"Elder, this is far too much for me to accept."

Im Dogyeom bowed again.

"No."

"We all know how hard you worked for us, Yulli."

"Please consider this a small token of our gratitude."

"No, but still..."

Doyul was refusing for appearances' sake when Donggu, who had been watching, obliviously interrupted.

"That's right. As Young Master's most loyal servant, I know his heart better than anyone."

"Young Master is more honest and incorruptible than anyone alive."

"No matter how much you insist, he won't take it, so you should just pack the money up and go..."

"Donggu."

"Yes?"

Doyul quickly stopped him.

"I heard there's been some strange man wandering around the county lately."

"A strange man?"

Donggu's face became serious.

"I think I know who it is."

"It's definitely Park Jeongdo."

"He lost all his land and went crazy."

"Oh, is that so? Goodness, I never would've imagined."

"Your instincts really are impressive."

Flex!

"Of course they are!"

"I am the loyal servant of the wisest Young Master in this county... no, in all Joseon!"

"I should be capable of at least this much."

"Yes, yes."

"Why don't you go outside and investigate?"

"Search every corner of the county."

"As you command!"

And just like that, Doyul successfully sent the tactless Donggu away.

Im Dogyeom bowed for the third time.

"Yulli, all of us feel ashamed."

"...Ashamed?"

"All of this began because we became greedy for money."

"Even though you worked so hard for us, what right would we have to keep this money for ourselves?"

If the matter were examined strictly under legal principles, the return of the money Jeongmu had paid while deceiving them about the tenancy agreements could also have become an issue.

But since Jeongmu was absent, the money had remained with the victims.

"Ghh... What am I supposed to do with this...?"

Doyul looked troubled on the outside.

Naturally, however, he had no intention of actually refusing.

...Seriously, how much is this?

The money originally received by more than a hundred victims, which had ultimately come from Park Jeongdo...

Added up to nearly 7,800 nyang.

Park Jeongdo lost all the money and all the land.

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he really did go insane and start wandering around the county.

When Doyul first represented Ppaengi, he had earned one hundred nyang.

Now, from a single case...

He had earned seventy-eight times that amount.

In modern terms, it was not much different from receiving an enormous legal fee worth hundreds of millions of won from one lawsuit.

His financial worries had been erased in one stroke.

Doyul barely managed to keep the corners of his mouth from rising.

"Ahem, ahem! Well..."

"If you're going to insist that strongly..."

The moment Doyul pretended to give in, Im Dogyeom bowed with heartfelt gratitude.

"Thank you very much, Yulli."

"Th-Thank you!"

Beginning with Im Dogyeom, everyone thanked him before leaving one by one.

Putting the money aside...

This really does feel rewarding.

"Thanks to you, Yulli, we protected the land our ancestors passed down to us!"

"Truly... thank you!"

After the last victims finally offered their thanks and departed, Doyul enjoyed a brief moment of peace.

"For a while, I won't have to worry about money."

"I'd been concerned about that, but somehow everything ended well."

He leaned back.

"But now... what should I do?"

The immediate crisis was over.

It was time to begin thinking about his future.

"Should I follow Kim Jiseok to the capital?"

He no longer had to worry about living expenses.

The troubles in Yeongsan were mostly resolved.

Perhaps he should follow Kim Jiseok to Hanyang and begin preparing seriously for the state examination.

Then he stopped.

"...Wait."

A question suddenly occurred to him.

"Come to think of it..."

"How was this case resolved in the original drama?"

This time, Doyul had intervened and exploited the legal loopholes himself.

But Isu alone could never have defeated both Park Jeongdo and Jeongmu.

After thinking about it, Doyul naturally reached one possibility.

"Don't tell me..."

"Did someone else intervene?"

Bang!

"Young Master! It was true!"

Donggu suddenly burst back inside.

"...Huh? What was true?"

"Just like you said, there really is a strange man wandering around the county!"

"What?"

Doyul had only made up the story to get Donggu out of the house.

Hearing that there really was some strange person wandering around left him genuinely confused.

"Did Park Jeongdo actually lose his mind and start roaming around?"

"No!"

"It's just some weird person!"

"I think it'll be faster if you see him yourself!"

And so...

Before he quite knew what was happening, Doyul found himself dragged outside by Donggu.

"It's been a long time."

"Hmph."

"Would you like some tea? Drinking liquor in broad daylight isn't good. You'll get drunk and..."

"You truly haven't changed one bit!"

Choi Sihyeon, Magistrate of Eonyang County, had come to Yeongsan for the second examination of the Ibang's corpse.

After entrusting the examination itself to Eonyang's ojagin, he immediately sought out Kim Jiseok.

"...You sent me quite the insolent little bastard."

The fact that Choi Sihyeon brought up Doyul the moment he arrived made Kim Jiseok smile.

"You seem rather fond of him."

"...Hmph! Kim Jiseok! I hate you!"

The two spoke casually, befitting childhood friends who had known each other for many years.

"So you hurried here just to talk about our Yulli?"

"'Our Yulli'?"

"You're practically dripping honey when you say it."

"Of course that's not why I came!"

"..."

When Kim Jiseok gave him a strange look, Choi Sihyeon grumbled.

"......Hmph! I'm not saying I don't want to talk about that brat!"

"But I have something important to discuss with you!"

"...Something important?"

Kim Jiseok smiled quietly.

He truly is incapable of being honest.

Choi Sihyeon might speak sharply, but he was warmer-hearted than most.

"There are two things I need to tell you."

For someone like him to leave the second examination site almost immediately after arriving in Yeongsan and insist on speaking privately meant the matter was clearly important.

"Very well. As always, I'm grateful."

"Go ahead."

"Is one of them about Yulli Kang?"

"You really are insufferable!"

"I said there are two things besides that brat!"

"All right. My joke went too far. Forgive me."

Choi Sihyeon grumbled for a few moments longer.

Then, as if nothing had happened, his expression became serious.

"...First."

"According to the rumors..."

"It seems the secret royal inspector has arrived in Yeongsan."