I Got the Almighty Tongue - Chapter 185



Only Noblemtl

185 Am I pretty?

After I got out of the shower, I saw a missed call on my phone. I was probably on vacation, so why was Soyoung calling me?

Ring ring ring.

The phone rings again. It’s Sam’s number.

“hello?”

-Jehee, we have a problem.

Sam’s voice is ominous.

“Sam? What’s going on?

-I’m at the police station because I hit someone.

It’s a realization. It’s not too late to find out the reason later. If you’re indicted, you’ll have to take a detour from the easy path.

“Where?

-103rd Precint in Queens.

“Wait. Don’t say anything until I get there.”

-I have no face.

“You must have had a reason for doing that.”

After hanging up the phone, I hired a criminal defense attorney from Cravath, Swain & Gardner. They charge upwards of $7,000 an hour, but they are effective.

I advised the restaurant staff to let me know first if they had any problems.

The world of chefs is very narrow.

They only know about the house and the kitchen, and most of them do not even have basic legal knowledge. That is why they sometimes suffer unnecessary damages and are often treated unfairly.

I educated them that way, at least to prevent my people from suffering misfortune due to lack of knowledge.

I wore the Italian handmade suit that Joohee had given me as a gift. This suit, which cost over 20,000 dollars, was clearly oozing with wealth. I put on my Breguet watch and shoes, which I hadn’t worn in a while, and got into the car.

After meeting with the lawyer and arriving at the police station, Sam is seen sitting on a chair being questioned. Next to him, Soyoung is fidgeting and biting her thumb, as if she is anxious.

When I nod, the lawyer nods and steps forward in front of the police.

“Hello, this is Steven from Cravath, Swain & Gardner.”

Steven greets me, handing me his business card.

It’s not for nothing that I brought in an expensive lawyer.

This firm has never fallen below the top three in the national law firm rankings for the past 10 years. It is a notorious group of lawyers whose mere mention of the name makes police shake their heads.

“I will speak with my client briefly and then proceed with the investigation. Is that okay?”

“I guess so. There’s an office over there, so go ahead.”

The police officer looks at Sam as if he finds it annoying and points to one side. It’s a simple assault case, so at best it’s a fine, but it’s obvious that he doesn’t want to get involved with annoying lawyers.

Squeak.

As the door opens, Sam goes inside and sits down.

Fortunately, the police did not handcuff him, probably because they thought it was a minor incident. This is a positive sign.

“Now let me explain.”

I threw him a can of cola.

From experience, I find that when I’m being questioned, I feel strangely thirsty.

Sam explains the incident. Soyoung provides additional information, and the facts are quickly grasped.

The lawyer chuckles.

“It was worth it. It wasn’t a small thing, was it?”

dripping.

Then someone knocks on the door.

“Excuse me. My name is Raymond, representing Osteria. Our client has made a generous offer. Would you like to hear it?”

“Let’s give it a try.”

Steven answers, crossing his legs.

“He said that it was not a big deal, so why bother getting embarrased when we were in the same industry? He said that he just wanted to receive the medical expenses and end the case. If he accepted, we would drop the lawsuit. Of course, this would apply to both parties.”

The lawyer speaks as if he is doing me a great favor.

“Raymond?”

“yes,”

“You didn’t hear where I came from. Do we look like fools to you?”

“yes?”

“Your client has committed some very spectacular acts. Kidnapping, confinement, intimidation, racial discrimination, these are just the charges that can be applied immediately.”

Raymond’s expression distorts at Stephen’s words.

“Our client testified that there was not even the slightest contact with the lady’s body. Even if we allow the confinement as a very generous thing, the rest is difficult to accept.”

“She has only been living in the U.S. for five years. She is a foreign worker. Her going there was not a voluntary act, but rather a cooperation to avoid causing trouble. The process of stealing her notebook was also illegal. I plan to review whether assault charges can be applied.”

Their words ran parallel, but it was clear who was in control.

“Just a moment! Let’s stop here so we can organize our position and convey it to you.”

I stopped their argument, which was starting to get heated.

Lawyers are so focused on maximizing their clients’ profits that they sometimes overlook how their clients feel about the case.

“All right.”

After sending the lawyer away, I had a long conversation with both of them.

“So Sam, do you think this is definitely racist?”

“Of course. It must have been so bad that I threw a punch first. The moment I heard the story, my blood boiled and I couldn’t hold it in.”

Sam still seems to be groaning, his excitement not yet subsiding.

“Soyoung, what do you want me to do?”

“I actually understand your position. We had a bad experience not long ago.

“If someone had slandered a restaurant and deliberately lowered its rating, I would have had a hard time with it. I also admit that my actions were enough to cause misunderstandings.”

Soyoung is a typical strong-on-the-outside type of person.

She must have been living alone, away from her family, since she was young, so she was expected to grow up strong by the world. However, inside, she is just a timid and curious girl.

This incident must have been a huge shock to her, but she is already looking around. She is worried that if she insists on a harsh punishment, she will be in trouble.

“But were you scared?”

“yes.”

Soyoung lowers her head and says.

“If we blow this incident out of proportion, it could completely ruin that restaurant.

But as someone in the same industry, I don’t think Osteria did anything wrong to that extent. And there are more than a few employees working there. Still, they should be compensated.”

Everyone nods.

“And Sam!”

“yes.”

“Well done. I would have hit you too. I can’t just stand by and watch my comrades suffer like that.”

“Haha. I have no regrets either.”

Sam looks at us and smiles.

“Okay, Steven. It’s time to get to work. Okay?”

“Of course. You want to get as much as possible without going to court.”

“That’s right. And I need to apologize to Thomas directly.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure it’s taken care of neatly.”

After some discussion between their lawyers, Sam and Soyoung signed a settlement agreement with a long list of clauses.

This incident is not easy to prove that it was racial discrimination because the cause and effect are clear. In fact, many discriminations are carried out in such a subtle way.

In a restaurant, if someone is served a bad cut of meat or overcharges the price of the meal, and then later apologizes and says it was a mistake, the customer clearly felt something and was very offended, but this cannot be proven.

As a competent lawyer, Stephen figured this out early on and added other charges to extract as much compensation as possible. Of course, half of it would go to the law firm.

“Please forgive me. I swear I did not mean any racial discrimination. I was very rude to you, Lady, by making a rash judgment.”

Thomas apologizes politely to Soyoung. Soyoung accepts it coolly.

I asked him about the medical expenses and settlement for Sam’s assault. Of course, it was a small amount compared to the compensation we would receive.

This brought the whole case to a close.

After dropping the two people off at the dorm, it was already evening. The long day was over.

* * *

Soyoung went into her room and took a long bath.

When you get into a hot bath, your muscles relax and your fatigue disappears.

“Eww!”

While taking a bath, he covers his mouth with a towel and suddenly screams.

“You’re crazy. You’re crazy. Why are you hugging me there? Why are you crying again?”

Splash splash.

She kicked high while struggling in the water, causing water to spread in all directions. But she couldn’t stop it.

I didn’t realize it when I was out because I was out of my mind, but when I got home, I felt belatedly ashamed.

Why didn’t I protest properly from the beginning? I felt like an idiot. There’s no point in regretting it now and thinking, ‘I should have said this.’

I can’t tell you how happy I was when he opened the door and came in. The moment I saw Sam’s face, I felt relieved and the tension in my body relaxed, and sadness washed over me.

Sam says with a cool face (no), holding himself in his arms.

‘It’s okay. I’m here.’

His arms were surprisingly wide.

with a plop.

Soyoung slips and sinks into the bathtub from head to toe.

* * *

“Sam, I heard the story. I’m glad it ended well.”

Dominic, who was sitting on the sofa, said as he saw Sam come in. Since the situation was already relayed through messenger, Dominic also knew about the situation.

“It’s just fortunate that it didn’t turn into a big problem.”

“You said you got a good shot at him? I feel sorry for him. If he got hit by Sam, wouldn’t he die?”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

“He ran out in a hurry. Was it because of Soyoung?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Sam sometimes looks at Soyoung with a wistful expression. I’m not the only one who knows that, right?”

Dominic says calmly, as if it’s nothing.

“Is it true?”

“of course.”

“Does Soyoung know too?”

“Hmm… He’s so four-dimensional that I can’t figure him out. He seems like he’d be quick-witted, but what do you think?”

“Soyoung is only 23 years old. At that age, she has a great presence in the kitchen. She is a beautiful chef who shines even in the highest level of dining. How can you not fall in love with her?”

“You’re desperate. You should have confessed sooner.”

“I’m a sous chef. If I succeed, it’s great, but if I fail, the risk is too great.”

“What risk?”

“Soyoung really likes Segreto. I don’t want to ruin that. I don’t want to make it awkward.”

Sam was a responsible man.

I thought about confessing to her many times, but I constantly worried that I might be using my position as her boss to force my feelings on her.

“Are you all dating well? Kim and Jerome broke up, and Samuel is dating Miranda. There must be other couples I don’t know about.”

“Is it true?”

Sam asks, seeming surprised.

“Where do we meet our date? We choose from people around us. Don’t take it too seriously.”

dripping.

Someone knocks on the door. I open it and it’s Soyoung.

“Soyoung?”

A faint citrus scent lingers, as if he had just taken a bath. Sam’s heart rate increases rapidly.

“Yes. I thought about it and I forgot to say thank you. Would you like to come out for a moment?”

“Yeah… yeah.”

Sam hurriedly gets dressed and goes out. Dominic sees him and snickers.

Winters in New York are colder than the thermometer shows. This is probably because the days are short and the wind blows a lot. It also snows a lot, so the roads often freeze.

As they came out of the apartment, Soyoung sat down casually in the flower bed. Sam watched her and then stood with his back to the wind to block her view.

“Thank you so much for coming today. For answering the phone and for coming so quickly.”

Soyoung says she is cold and blows on her hands.

“Of course you should leave quickly. You’re the sous chef. You have a duty to take care of your subordinates.”

“So you came out without even wearing a coat?”

When I opened the door, Sam was wearing only sweatpants and a sweatshirt. He probably ran out without even thinking about changing his clothes.

“Your voice sounds urgent.”

“Sam. Actually, I know that you like me. Whenever I look at you, our eyes often meet. Were you always looking at me like that?”

“Did you know?”

“I’m sorry for pretending not to know even though I knew.

“I hesitated because I am a person with many flaws to like someone.”

“What the heck?”

“Can’t you love others only after you have been loved? The person who loved me the most in my life was my grandmother. She has already passed away. Everyone else treated me like a useless burden.

People who didn’t grow up in normal families make others unhappy. So I lived my life thinking, ‘At least I shouldn’t spread unhappiness.’”

Soyoung speaks quietly as if she is talking to herself.

“The person who said that must have lived an unhappy life. I think happiness also requires effort.

Rather than blaming himself for not trying hard enough, wasn’t it that he was blaming his environment?

“You are the one who works harder than anyone else. And you are also beautiful. You know how to care for others. I don’t know anyone who deserves to be loved more than you.”

Soyoung stares blankly at Sam.

“Am I pretty?”

“It’s so freaking pretty.”

“I might be a bit obsessive.”

“I wish you would do that, please.”

“If I say something different later, you’ll know, right? We’re people who use swords.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Can I hug you once?”

As Sam opens his arms, Soyoung is hugged by Sam. Soyoung’s small body fits perfectly into Sam’s arms. Sam covers Soyoung’s back with his open coat and hugs her tightly.

“warm.”

It was winter.