Chapter 39

Chapter 38 — The Old Man Is Too Good at Raising Cattle (2)

"..."

"..."

The moment the bright-eyed bull appeared, silence fell over the government office.

"Ughhh, Bangul! My poor Bangul!"

"Mooooooo!"

Of course, stealing a cow was still a serious matter.

Sparkle.

But everyone had thought a child had been kidnapped.

Instead, a gentle-eyed bull had suddenly appeared in the middle of the government office, and all the tension immediately drained away.

"...Pfffft! Hahahahahahaha! Oh, goodness! What is this?!"

The moment Cheongun saw Bangul's innocent, dignified face, he burst into laughter.

...Haah.

Kim Jiseok and Doyul rubbed their aching temples and asked for an explanation.

"What exactly happened?"

"Yulli, Bangul was among the things stolen from me! Fortunately, Lee Cheonbok returned all my other belongings, but Bangul was with that old man, so I couldn't get him back."

"And then that old man started saying all sorts of strange things and refused to return him!"

"I'll explain. Hahaha!"

The old man, Kim Chunbae, clasped his hands behind his back and spoke stubbornly.

"Ahem. Lee Cheonbok paid me to take care of Nureongi."

Lee Cheonbok was the man who had stolen the cow and entrusted it to Kim Chunbae.

Kang Bokman immediately bristled.

"He's not Nureongi! His name is Bangul! Bangul!"

"Mooooooo!"

"P-Pfft! Hahahahaha! Magistrate, have you really been enjoying sights like this all by yourself until now?"

"Haah..."

Cheongun clutched his stomach at the ridiculous scene.

"Ahem. In any case, I had no idea Lee Cheonbok had stolen him."

"He simply brought the cow to me, saying it wasn't eating properly, so I took care of it with all my heart."

Doyul asked,

"If the cow wasn't eating, why did Lee Cheonbok bring it to you?"

"Isn't that obvious?"

Kim Chunbae straightened proudly.

"Because I'm the Cow Taoist."

"The Cow Taoist."

"No one in Yeongsan knows cattle better than I do."

"...I see."

Doyul glanced toward Cheongun, who was watching the proceedings with great interest.

How many Taoists does one tiny county need...?

"Please continue."

"But when I examined Nureongi closely, his condition was extremely serious."

"He's not Nureongi!"

"Bang!"

"Ul!"

"Haah..."

After hearing the name repeated so many times, even Doyul grew curious.

"Why is the cow called Bangul anyway?"

"Can't you tell just by looking?"

Kang Bokman pointed at the bull.

"Moooo!"

Jingle, jingle!

A small, adorable bell hung around Bangul's neck.

"P-Pfft! Hngh! Hahahahahaha!"

Cheongun now looked ready to pass out from laughing.

Doyul did his best to ignore him and turned back to Kim Chunbae.

"What did you mean when you said his condition was bad?"

"Lee Cheonbok knew nothing about cattle and nearly made a healthy animal sick."

"He must have been afraid the theft would be discovered, because he never worked the cow and only kept feeding it fodder."

"Is that really a problem?"

Kim Chunbae's eyes sharpened.

"Yulli, cattle need to work."

"If you lock an animal in a stable, make it do nothing, and feed it fodder at every meal, do you think it will maintain a healthy appetite?"

"...Oh."

"A mountain lord cannot be born a tiger and live like a wildcat."

"Likewise, a bull accustomed to pulling a plow every day will naturally lose its strength if it is confined to a stable."

"I carefully tended Nureongi until he became healthy again."

...Hmm.

I don't know much about cattle, but that sounds plausible.

"Then what's the problem?"

"I cared for Nureongi properly until he recovered. His coat became glossy, and he grew far healthier than before."

"That means I practically saved a dying cow."

"Shouldn't I naturally be paid for that?"

"...!"

Kim Chunbae smiled slyly and stroked Bangul.

"This fellow is my masterpiece."

"I created something I may never see again in my entire life as the Cow Taoist."

"I took a fat, listless beast and turned him into a fine, healthy bull."

"Surely I deserve at least the price of one cow."

"Kang Bokman would still be getting the better end of the bargain."

"You won't easily find a bull this fine."

"Mooooo!"

Kang Bokman immediately protested.

"You used my Bangul to plow your own fields, and now you want me to pay you too?! What kind of nonsense is that?"

"...Ah."

Now that he understood the situation, Doyul nodded and sank into thought.

With Kang Bokman and Kim Chunbae glaring at each other across the government office...

"Mooooooo!"

Bangul's occasional cries echoed between them.

Doyul organized the facts.

Kang Bokman was robbed.

He recovered the rest of his property, but not Bangul, because Bangul was with Kim Chunbae.

Kim Chunbae took care of Bangul and used him for his own farming.

And as a result...

Doyul stared at Bangul's glossy coat.

"Moooo?"

...His value definitely seems to have increased.

With the facts organized, Doyul recalled the relevant legal principles.

There are two issues.

[Article 741 of the Civil Act — Unjust Enrichment. A person who, without legal cause, gains a benefit from another person's property or labor and thereby causes loss to that person must return the benefit.]

First... I need to consider unjust enrichment equivalent to rent for Kim Chunbae's use of Bangul.

Kim Chunbae had used Bangul for his own farming.

That meant it was reasonable to consider whether he owed Kang Bokman an amount equivalent to the rental value of borrowing the bull.

The second issue was more complicated.

The second issue is whether a direct claim against the beneficiary can be recognized.

A direct claim of this kind concerned situations where a third party, despite not being a party to a contract, received a benefit from that contract and was then asked to return or compensate for that benefit.

The terminology sounded complicated.

But applied to this case, the structure was straightforward.

The contract is bilateral.

The contracting parties are Lee Cheonbok and Kim Chunbae.

Lee Cheonbok had asked Kim Chunbae to care for Bangul.

That created an obligation for Kim Chunbae to care for the bull properly.

In return, Lee Cheonbok owed Kim Chunbae payment for his work.

And Bangul became significantly healthier.

So it's obvious Kang Bokman received a benefit.

In other words, Kang Bokman had benefited from a contract to which he was not a party.

The key question was whether Kim Chunbae, having conferred that benefit upon Kang Bokman, could directly demand compensation from him.

Once Doyul identified the issue, he slowly spoke.

"I have a question for defendant Kim Chunbae."

"Why are you asking for the price of an entire cow as compensation for caring for Bangul?"

Kim Chunbae immediately answered.

"As I said, if Nureongi had simply been left in that stable, he would've become nothing more than a miserable lump of fat incapable of doing his job."

"But because someone like me, who understands cattle, managed him properly, he became several times better than an ordinary bull."

"Surely I deserve at least the price of one cow."

"Aaagh! Isn't that too cruel?! How can you call my Bangul a lump of fat?!"

"Mooooooo!"

Doyul looked into Bangul's sparkling eyes for a moment.

All right.

I've reached my conclusion.

Under modern precedent, this sort of direct claim was generally denied.

But some legal systems in the world recognized similar claims.

So merely because one line of precedent rejected it didn't mean Doyul should blindly follow that position.

What mattered was examining the concrete circumstances and reaching a reasonable conclusion.

Some compensation might be fair.

But demanding the price of an entire cow is obviously excessive.

Doyul privately calculated what he considered a reasonable balance, then slowly spoke.

"I can accept that Elder Kim's care was effective."

"Chorong's complexion is excellent, and judging from the shine of his coat, even someone like me who knows little about cattle can tell that he has become very healthy."

"Yulli, forgive me, but his name is Bangul, not Chorong."

"...Ah, yes. Bangul."

Doyul sighed briefly before continuing.

"Since you invested effort and increased Bangul's value, it is reasonable that you receive compensation for that work."

"However..."

"The cost should not be borne by the plaintiff, who owns the bull."

"It would ordinarily be proper for Lee Cheonbok, the person who directly entrusted Bangul to you, to pay it."

Kim Chunbae immediately objected.

"Yulli! Lee Cheonbok is imprisoned for stealing Kang Bokman's property!"

"If you tell me to collect my payment from Lee Cheonbok, how is that any different from telling me not to collect it at all?"

"...Hmm."

Doyul nodded at the reasonable point.

"And another thing!"

"This is no ordinary cow."

"Nureongi is an exceptional bull."

"Kang Bokman managed him so poorly that he even allowed the animal to be stolen."

"Someone else then raised him properly and cared for him!"

"He should be grateful and reward that person!"

"How can it make sense for him to refuse to pay even a single coin?"

Nod, nod.

"Hmm. Quite persuasive."

Cheongun, watching from the side, found himself nodding along with Kim Chunbae.

At the same time, he was intensely curious how Doyul would resolve the dispute.

The old man is pushing back hard.

How will you judge this?

Doyul smiled.

"Elder, your argument also has merit."

"It is certainly difficult in practice for you to recover your fee from Lee Cheonbok."

"And from a moral standpoint, it would not be unreasonable to ask for at least the money spent feeding Bangul and some compensation for your labor."

"Exactly! Exactly!"

Kim Chunbae brightened.

Doyul continued smiling.

"However."

"...?"

"Your demand is far too excessive."

"You cared for the bull, and now you demand the price of an entire bull."

"Isn't that too much?"

"If you had requested an amount within the bounds of common sense, that would be one thing."

"But ordering the plaintiff to pay such a large sum for something he never asked you to do would not be fair."

"......Ghh!"

This youngster really isn't ordinary.

I was hoping to make a tidy profit, but at this rate I might not even recover my costs.

Kim Chunbae had no choice but to back down a little.

"I believe your words are reasonable, Yulli."

"...Since you seem to understand my grievance, if you decide upon proper compensation, I will listen and accept it."

"Ghh... I don't like paying him either..."

Kang Bokman hesitated.

"But I can't deny that Old Man Kim looked after Bangul all this time."

"If I can get Bangul back..."

"...Very well."

There were several reasons modern precedent rejected direct claims of this kind.

But two were especially important.

First, recognizing such a claim could bind a third party to an obligation arising from a contract they never entered into, which directly conflicted with the basic principle that contractual obligations only bind the parties.

Second, in a modern legal system, the original contractual claim against the contracting party still exists.

So normally, the issue is not whether payment can be recovered at all, but from whom it should be recovered.

But the second point is exactly the problem here.

Unlike in the modern world, it would be extremely difficult for Kim Chunbae to recover his fee from Lee Cheonbok while the man was imprisoned.

That meant Doyul needed a balanced judgment that accounted for all of the circumstances.

"Elder Kim, you said you used Bangul to work your own fields while caring for him."

"Is that true?"

"W-Well... yes!"

"But that was only to make Bangul healthier!"

"I'm not denying that."

"However, it is difficult to deny that you also benefited from his labor in the process."

"......!"

Kim Chunbae fell silent.

"So how about this?"

"You benefited by using Bangul for free."

"And the plaintiff benefited because Bangul became healthier."

"Why don't we set those two benefits off against each other?"

"W-What?! That's ridiculous!"

Kim Chunbae strongly protested.

The value of borrowing a bull for free and the value of the care he had provided might be difficult to compare precisely.

But he had expected to receive at least a little money.

He certainly didn't like being told to return Bangul without receiving anything.

"The rental value of using one cow is very small compared with the benefit Kang Bokman received!"

"How can you say they cancel each other out merely because I also gained a little...?"

"No."

"...Excuse me?"

"You clearly said Bangul is several times better than an ordinary bull."

"You said that if we measured his value, he would be worth several times as much."

"Isn't that right?"

"Yes! That's right!"

"Then by the same reasoning..."

"The benefit you gained by using Bangul for free should not be calculated as though you had borrowed an ordinary bull."

"If Bangul is worth several times more..."

"Then the value of using him should likewise be calculated several times higher."

"...Gasp!"

Kim Chunbae had no answer.

"Then let's resolve the case this way."

"..."

The doctrine concerning direct claims for benefits.

The principle of unjust enrichment equivalent to rent.

And the principle of setoff.

Doyul considered all three, along with Kim Chunbae's own greed, and reached his conclusion.

"Magistrate, I humbly submit."

"Instead of ordering the defendant to pay the plaintiff for the value of his use of Bangul..."

"Let the defendant immediately return Bangul to the plaintiff, with neither side owing the other any further payment."

"Y-Yulliiii!"

"G-Ghhhhhh!"

Kim Chunbae's greed had left him unable to recover even his costs.

Kang Bokman, meanwhile, was overjoyed simply to have Bangul returned.

"Mooooooo!"

And then...

Good heavens.

He truly is far beyond what I expected!

Watching Doyul, Cheongun could no longer hide his excitement at having discovered such an extraordinary new talent.