I Became a Law School Genius

Chapter 17
『 Translator – Divinity 』

“Great Yoo-seung, Shining Yoo-seung, God Yoo-seung. Praise and worship. You raised my score from 3 points to 5.”

“Alright, keep the compliments coming.”

“If there are 100 Park Yoo-seung fans in the world, I will be one of them. If there are 10 fans, I will still be one of them. If there is 1 fan, that person will be me. If there are no Park Yoo-seung fans, then I will no longer exist in this world.”

Yoo Tae-woon’s face was beaming with joy.

“Are you that happy?”

“Of course. The second evaluation has a high weighting. If I do well, I might be able to apply for Professor Park Sung-kwang or Professor Choi Sung-chul as my advisor, even if not Professor Jang Yong-hwan.”

“Both are capitalist picks.”

Professor Park Sung-kwang had advantages for joining Jin & Ahn law firm, and Professor Choi Sung-chul for entering the financial sector.

They were choices mainly made by students who wanted to make a lot of money quickly.

“Yeah. I’m from a low-income family. I need to repay my parents who raised me through hardship. And pay for my younger sibling’s tuition.”

“…I apologize. I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry? It’s the score I earned thanks to you.”

Even in the original story, Yoo Tae-woon joined a good law firm and became a successful lawyer, but I didn’t know he had such circumstances since it was only mentioned in passing.

It wasn’t something Park Yoo-seung, who was born with the most silver spoons, should say.

Yoo Tae-woon just laughed good-naturedly, not minding at all.

Feeling a bit sorry, I added,

“You should definitely open your own practice after gaining some experience. You’ll definitely do well.”

“Really? Do I seem like that kind of person?”

“Yeah. Without a doubt.”

He did well in the original story, so if he gets a good advisor and builds a better career, he’ll be able to achieve even greater success.

As I was making amends, something small came hopping towards us like a rabbit from afar.

“Did you do well on the exam?”

It was Lee Ha-ru.

“How about you?”

“5 points. I met that Police University top student and just gave up right away, so he gave me that score.”

“Shin Seo-joon? You’re lucky.”

“What about Master?”

“Of course I got 10 points.”

“Wow.”

“What about Han Seol?”

“I don’t know… Ah, there she comes.”

As she said that, Han Seol was walking towards us. Her steps seemed heavy, and her head was lowered so that her expression couldn’t be seen.

‘Did it not go well?’

I thought it was possible.

If the questions given to other students were similar to what I experienced, just studying law diligently wouldn’t guarantee good results.

While I was contemplating how to approach her,

“I, I…”

Han Seol spoke first.

“Well… don’t be too disappointed. It might be a good thing to experience a setback before the real competition begins after the semester starts…”

“I. Arrived.”

“?”

Han Seol showed me her smartphone.

On the screen was her score for the second evaluation. It was exactly 10 points, no more, no less.

“What? You did well.”

“As expected of Han Seol unnie. I believed in you!”

Hanging out with Lee Ha-ru must have rubbed off some strange speech habits on her.

As I let out a sigh of relief, thinking I had worried for nothing, Han Seol suddenly grabbed my hand and started jumping up and down.

“You were right!”

“Whoa, hold on.”

“My mind went blank as soon as I saw the question. I almost gave up, but then I remembered what you said, and when I looked at the other person, they seemed to be the same! I calmly read through the evidence list one by one, recalled the precedents, and found things to fit together!”

“Okay, calm down!”

The other person couldn’t even find the issue, so they couldn’t even structure their answer, Han Seol excitedly said that she was glad she chose Civil Law.

I was dragged along by her excitement for a while before finally being released.

Yoo Tae-woon watched us with an envious expression.

“Good times.”

“What’s good about this, you punk?”

My wrist almost broke. How could someone who only studied have such strong arms?

***

With the second evaluation, the pre-law schedule officially ended.

After returning home, I shut myself in and focused on studying.

I had to review as much as possible and refresh my memory before the official semester started.

But that was only until today.

“Let the entrance ceremony begin.”

Today was March 2nd, the day of the entrance ceremony.

At a glance, it seemed like almost all the first-year students were present.

Along with the announcements, tedious procedures such as the principal’s address and the national anthem ceremony were carried out.

Of course, this large number of students wasn’t gathered to participate in such formalities.

Everyone’s interest lay in what came next.

“Next, we will have the awards ceremony for the top performers in the pre-law program.”

Top performers.

Everyone had gathered to see who the five glorious individuals were.

The scores themselves had been announced on the website, but the final rankings hadn’t been released yet.

After the awards ceremony for the top performers, another notice would be posted.

‘I wonder how it turned out.’

In the original story, the first evaluation ranking remained the same.

But this time, with the changes in both the group evaluation and the second evaluation, there was a good chance that there would be some changes.

Thump. Thump.

With the familiar sound of a cane, Dean Kang Chang-soo stepped onto the podium.

“First place. Shin Seo-joon.”

‘Well, this remains unchanged.’

It was fitting for the strongest character in the world, requiring no further explanation.

Shin Seo-joon walked onto the podium with a relaxed gait, received his award, and finished his greetings according to procedure.

“Second place. Han Seol.”

“…A bit disappointing. I’ll be back.”

Han Seol whispered softly and headed towards the podium.

Although she received good scores in both the group evaluation and the second evaluation, it seemed she failed to overturn the results because Shin Seo-joon had created such a large gap in the first evaluation.

“Third place. Jeong Min-sik.”

“Fourth place. Choi Jeong-in.”

Third place was also the same as in the original story, and although I vaguely remember, it seemed like fourth place was the same as well.

The guy who came in fourth was only called by name in this scene and didn’t appear throughout the story, so his presence was very faint.

…And then,

“Fifth place.”

Dean Kang Chang-soo’s low voice resonated.

Actually, by this point, it wasn’t my concern anymore.

What I was most curious about was whether Han Seol, who earned points with me, had succeeded in taking first place.

And then, of course, the question was whether I had made it into the top 10%.

Since my first evaluation score was so disastrous, I might not have made it.

I could only hope that the group evaluation and second evaluation scores were enough to overturn that.

So I was just waiting for the entrance ceremony to be over quickly.

I just wanted to hurry out to the hallway and check my score on the notice.

But then…

“Fifth place. Park Yoo-seung.”

What?

For a moment, I doubted my ears, wondering if I had misheard.

“Fifth place. Park Yoo-seung. Is he not here?”

“Hey, he’s calling you.”

“Whoa, you’re fifth? Really? As expected, hard work pays off.”

The comments from Lee Ha-ru and Yoo Tae-woon next to me felt surreal.

Wait, I’m fifth? Even after screwing up the first evaluation so badly?

I got up from my seat in a daze, and when I came to my senses, I was standing in front of Dean Kang Chang-soo.

The old dean was looking down at me from the podium with sparkling eyes.

The certificate of commendation was handed out. Formal questions and answers followed.

I turned around to bow towards the audience according to procedure.

…It was a dazzling sight.

Clap, clap.

Clap clap clap clap clap.

The applause that erupted here and there soon filled the auditorium.

It seemed like it started from Yoo Tae-woon and Lee Ha-ru’s side. Those guys.

I know. This thunderous applause wasn’t just for me.

Even during the awards for first to fourth place, the students applauded as a formality. The same applause, devoid of personal feelings, evaluation, or recognition.

Yes, it was the same applause.

…That day, long ago, when I passed the second round of the bar exam, I wasn’t congratulated by anyone.

My parents had already passed away, and my only sibling had collapsed and been taken to the hospital.

At the moment I should have been most happy, all I received was the heavy burden of reality.

Since then, my life had been nothing but working like an ox to pay for hospital bills.

There were no comparable achievements, no celebrations.

But what about now?

This was the scene I had only dreamed of and envied from beyond the screen.

The characters who had embarked on the meaningful path of law, each standing in their respective positions, shining brilliantly on the grandest stage.

If only I had a moment like this.

Hadn’t I wished that I could achieve my dreams one by one, proudly stand tall in front of many people, and show off my achievements?

I was now standing on the same podium as them.

Bathed in the same light.

Bathed in the same applause.

For the first time, I learned what it meant to be celebrated.

“…Thank you.”

***

I was about to leave the podium after finishing my greetings.

“Soon,”

At that moment, Dean Kang Chang-soo turned off the microphone and spoke in a barely audible voice.

“Brother-in-law will call for you.”

“…Excuse me?”

‘Brother-in-law’ referred to the husband of one’s sister. For Kang Chang-soo, it meant Park Yoo-seung’s father.

Confused by the sudden remark, I asked back, but there was no answer.

‘Suddenly?’