As Yeonjun was applying eye drops to his eyes, Chaeryeong knocked on his office door. "Come in," he said, setting the eye drops aside.
Chaeryeong opened the door and waited for three seconds before entering and taking a seat.
"Attorney Lee, I've placed the case files over there. Take a look," Yeonjun said.
"Have you heard of Sangjeong Pharmaceutical? It's a pretty well-known pharmaceutical company," Yeonjun asked.
"Yes," Chaeryeong replied, glancing at the evidence records.
"The man has two sons. However, it seems that the younger son beat the older son to death. The chairman and his wife witnessed it themselves. The cause of death was thoracic trauma," Yeonjun explained.
"He had 22 rib fractures that caused internal bleeding in his chest, ultimately leading to his death. They say there's a faint mark on his neck, but it doesn't seem to be life-threatening," Yeonjun added.
"All of this happened because of the younger son's assault?" Chaeryeong inquired.
"Yes, that's what the prosecutor seems to believe," Yeonjun replied.
"Is Yang Jeonghan, the one charged with bodily injury resulting in death, the younger son?" Chaeryeong asked.
"Yes," he nodded. "I'll be handling this case, but I would like you to join me," he added.
Chaeryeong pondered over it for a moment.
"Hey, take a look at the files on the next page. We should consider a psychiatric evaluation for Yang Jeonghun," Yeonjun pointed out.
Curious, Chaeryeong read through the page and couldn't help but ask, "Am I being assigned this case because I'm autistic?"
"Don't you think you would understand the defendant better than I do?" Yeonjun questioned."And having a lawyer with autism on the case would probably put the Chairman's mind at ease," he added.
"Autism is officially diagnosed as autism spectrum disorder. It's a wide range, you know," Chaeryeong explained. "It's like... whales," she said with a smile, imagining the majestic creatures in the ocean.
"Even though they're all whales, blue whales and right whales have completely different ecosystems and social structures compared to humpback whales," Chaeryeong continued.
"What's more is that--" Before she could finish her sentence, Yeonjun interrupted her by raising his hand slightly."Alright, enough about whales. What are you trying to say?" he asked.
"Right. According to this evaluation, Yang Jeonghan is on the severe end of the spectrum, with a mental age somewhere between six and ten," Chaeryeong read from the paper.
"I've never encountered someone like him before," she added."Neither have I," Yeonjun admitted. "You're still ahead of me, who didn't even know the official term for autism," he added chuckling.
Sensing Chaeryeong's nervousness, Yeonjun reassured her, "Let's meet them first, don't be scared."