I Became a Law School Genius

Chapter 4

Episode 4

“That’ll be 339,800 won.”

I received the heavy bag of books from the clerk.

The reason I had come to the bookstore early in the morning was simple.

Park Yoo-seung’s studio apartment had barely any legal books, just ‘The Knot of Civil Law’.

It was undeniable that study books were efficient for studying.

However, to properly understand and apply legal principles, you needed several basic textbooks to look up and supplement information whenever you got stuck.

[Principles of Civil Law – Ji Yeon-rim]

[Summary of Criminal Law]

[General Theory of Criminal Law – Kim Sun-don]

[Specific Theory of Criminal Law – Kim Sun-don]

I smiled with a sense of familiarity at the titles that evoked the atmosphere of the Sillim-dong exam-prep district.

After taking the first test, I realized that I was truly lacking in many areas.

I had tried my best to prepare by quickly flipping through study books, but it was impossible to review the entire scope of civil law in just a few hours.

I had no choice but to skip all the multiple-choice questions.

Instead, I focused on the essay-type, or subjective, questions where I could use the law books.

That was because I could solve them by looking at the articles and recalling my memories.

Even then, most of my answers were vague because I couldn't remember the exact wording of the precedents or the academic concepts...

Fortunately, I was able to write down the conclusion reflexively for the last question because it was a type of trap that I had encountered countless times during my test-taking days.

Last night, after returning to Park Yoo-seung’s studio apartment, I spent the whole night comparing the test paper I had taken with ‘The Knot of Civil Law’ to fill the gaps in my memory.

I also searched for and organized a list of books I needed to study.

There was nothing else I had to do or anyone I had to meet anyway.

Park Yoo-seung had been notorious as a hopeless case at Korea University since his undergraduate days.

He had entered a lecture hall drunk and pointed a finger at a professor, or he had hit on a freshman and ended up in a fistfight with her boyfriend, which landed him in a detention cell.

His misbehavior was so severe that there wasn’t a single student at Korea University who hadn’t heard rumors about him.

Therefore, anyone with common sense wouldn't try to associate with Park Yoo-seung.

I was done with the 'friends' of his who didn't have common sense.

In other words, I was like a human island, with no one approaching me.

“Well, at least it’s good that I can buy books without worry.”

It was a large sum of money that I wouldn’t have dared to spend in my previous life, but compared to the money accumulated in Park Yoo-seung's account, it was like a speck of dust.

I hugged the bag of books with satisfaction and left the bookstore.

The second day of the pre-law program would start soon.

* * *

I had to hurry.

[Pre-law Class A Classroom]

From the second day onwards, the program was divided into three classes of 50 students each.

It was only natural since they couldn’t cram 150 students into one classroom.

Park Yoo-seung was assigned to Class A.

The same class as Shin Seo-joon, Han Seol, and Jeong Min-shik, the main characters of the original story.

I opened the classroom door and went inside.

The gazes of the students who were already there briefly turned to me, but they quickly looked away as if they had seen something they shouldn’t have.

Some of them looked at my face and whispered among themselves.

I couldn’t help but smile bitterly at the icy atmosphere.

Among the new students at Korea University Law School this year, 100 were graduates of Korea University.

At least 100 people had heard of Park Yoo-seung's notoriety, even if it was second-hand.

Most of the students from other universities had also interacted with Korea University students in cram schools or joint law societies.

It was more than enough time for the Korea University graduates, who had discovered their university's worst troublemaker in the main auditorium on the opening day, to warn their friends from other universities.

Of course, I didn't need to care.

I wasn't Park Yoo-seung, but I was in a situation where I couldn't prove it, nor should I prove it.

And anyway, studying was a lonely battle that you had to fight on your own.

The cold gazes from around me were as insignificant as dust compared to the dream-like situation of being able to study law again.

I checked the seating chart posted at the front of the classroom and headed to my seat.

The three people sitting around me on this seating chart were the people who would be in my group during this pre-law period.

Of course, if it was like the original story, I already knew who my group members would be.

"...What?"

Sitting next to my assigned seat was none other than Han Seol.

“Why are you here?”

Han Seol’s expression crumpled.

“Because this is my seat.”

“You’re... here?”

As if she didn’t want to believe it, Han Seol counted the seats with her finger. But the ending that was decided from the original story wouldn’t change. After narrowing her eyes for a long time, she soon realized the tragic fact that she and I were in the same group.

“No, this can’t be...”

Han Seol and Park Yoo-seung were classmates in the Business Administration department.

That was why Han Seol knew all too well that the rumors about Park Yoo-seung were not exaggerated, and that he was an unimaginable empty vessel.

She couldn't understand how such a person had graduated from the same university as her and was now in the same law school.

Han Seol, who had been holding her head in her hands, suddenly raised her head.

With a clack, the beam projector shone light onto the blackboard. A screen of light was superimposed on the dark grayish-blue surface.

There, a paragraph of text appeared.

‘A’ is a university student who enjoys using the school community app on a daily basis.

While cleaning the school grounds, he found a flyer on the floor. It contained accusations that ‘B’, a candidate for student council president, was engaging in cheating during exams and assaulting other students.

In response, ‘A’ uploaded the contents of the flyer to the school community with the intention of widely informing the truth about ‘B’ and ensuring a fair election. As a result, ‘B’ lost the election.

And then, Jang Yong-hwan asked.

“Now. What is the issue in this case?”

I glanced to the side and saw that Han Seol’s face was pale.

That was because her strength was her overwhelming memorization skills.

She could answer anything within the scope she had studied, but she didn’t have the flexibility to solve unfamiliar problems when she encountered them.

And this problem was openly asking for knowledge of the specific theory of criminal law.

Han Seol was a monster of diligence who had done pre-studying of not only civil law but also the general theory of criminal law, but it was impossible for even her to have already digested the specific theory.

In fact, it was the same for me.

There were a total of 372 articles in the Criminal Code of South Korea, and in addition, there were countless articles in the supplementary rules and special laws that stipulated crimes and their contents.

All of that was the specific theory.

Naturally, most of it had long floated away down the river of forgetfulness.

The same scene had appeared in the original story, so I knew that he would ask this question and who would answer it, but that wasn’t knowledge as a law student.

It was just my memory as a reader of the original story.

In the end, there was only one person who could answer the question that Jang Yong-hwan had thrown out at this moment.

“What is your name?”

“I’m Shin Seo-joon.”

“Shin Seo-joon... Group 6. Okay, tell me.”

Shin Seo-joon took a deep breath and then continued his answer without hesitation.

“A damaged B's social reputation and caused him to lose the election through a medium on a communication network, the school community.”

The analysis of the case.

“Therefore, we must first review whether the crime of defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act applies... However, that crime requires the ‘purpose of slandering others’ to be established. Since A had a public interest purpose, we exclude it.”

The determination of the legal articles to be applied.

“Then, we must review whether we can apply the crime of defamation by stating facts under Article 307, Paragraph 1. At this time, the issue is whether the facts were stated ‘publicly’.”

The presentation of the issue.

“According to the theory of potential dissemination, which is the position of the precedents, the school community is able to be disseminated to an unspecified number of people, so it meets the requirement of publicity. Therefore, the requirements of Article 307, Paragraph 1 are established.”

A sub-conclusion based on precedents.

“However, there is a special provision in the crime of defamation, Article 310. Even if someone has damaged another person’s reputation, they will not be punished if the content is true and is solely for the public interest. Therefore, in this case, A will not be punished for any crime.”

Lastly, he concludes by pointing out yet another issue.

The classroom became quiet.

The students looked at Shin Seo-joon as if he was an infinitely distant being, and Jang Yong-hwan was also sending him a gaze that seemed to say he was interested.

“Have you studied criminal law before?”

“It would be embarrassing to say that I have studied it confidently, but I have studied it to some extent.”

To some extent?

If that was ‘to some extent’, then what were the rest of the students?

“Excellent. All of the points you’ve mentioned are correct. If I had received it as a midterm answer, I would have given you an A+.”

“Thank you.”

“But it wouldn’t be ‘first place’.”

A gasp came out from among the students.

“It was an excellent answer, but to become the best practitioner and the best legal scholar, there was one more issue that should have been pointed out. If you’re going to say you’ve studied at Korea University Law School, you should be able to do at least that much.”

Jang Yong-hwan asked again.

“Is there anyone who knows what it is?”

There was no way.

Shin Seo-joon was the only one who had reached the level to discuss the specific theory, so there was no way the other students could catch an issue that he had missed.

In fact, I didn’t know what the ‘correct answer’ that Jang Yong-hwan had in mind was in this scene.

In the original story, no one was able to get the correct answer in the end, and Jang Yong-hwan vaguely passed over it, telling them to find the answer during this semester.

A question where the answer sheet was not revealed.

But...

“Oh. Yes, you there.”

I suddenly raised my hand and stood up from my seat.

“Hey, are you crazy!?”

Han Seol, who was shocked, tried to stop me, but I easily ignored her.

In fact, Shin Seo-joon had already solved all of the truly difficult parts.

What article should be applied. And what is the basis that the precedents have taken regarding its interpretation.

To answer these questions, you had to know the vast scope of the specific theory of criminal law by heart.

I couldn’t spit out that kind of answer yet with my current skills.

But, it was easy enough to add a spoon to the table that Shin Seo-joon had already set.

When you knew the answer, it wasn't that difficult of an issue.

“I’m Park Yoo-seung.”

“Park Yoo-seung... Group 10. Alright, what do you think?”

I opened my mouth confidently.