"Did the booze do something to you? Jesus... You drank all that? Crazy..." (TL Note: The Korean asks whether you're "sworn enemies with alcohol"—drinking it down as if settling a blood feud.)

I came home shaking my head.

The pub had wound down around five in the morning.

We'd burned through the whole night.

It made me wonder whether prosecutors, judges and lawyers earned their posts by drinking.

We'd refilled the side dishes I don't know how many times.

Beer, soju and makgeolli went down their throats by the brainless gallon.

After ten or so, more law alumni had shown up.

Lawyers, judges, prosecutors... and the like.

A lot of them carried business cards with serious titles, too—team leaders, department heads.

There were well over thirty of them.

Between plates, I went around and shook them down.

Attorney Jo and the other law firm big shots, Director Son included, graciously handed over white envelopes.

One by one, the juniors followed with envelopes of their own.

I had to hand it to them—they'd come prepared.

I saw the Hanguk University law department's powerhouse network with my own eyes.

Even the friendly toasts had bones in them.

Information and favors changed hands fast, through a word's shading, the look on a face.

I'd gotten a full, detailed look at how high society plays.

It would come in handy later.

After midnight, the professors got up one by one.

They'd been going since early evening, so they were all staggering.

Once the professors were gone, the foxes and wolves became kings.

Director Son Dae-gyun, Daeseoyang's head Lee Seong-cheol and Attorney Jo received tribute from the underlings.

I saw Attorney Jo in a different light.

Even next to Director Son Dae-gyun, he didn't shrink one bit.

He could hold his liquor, too.

The ex-judge faction and the ex-prosecutor faction formed the core, and a drinking war broke out.

Dozens of cases of beer and well over a few hundred bottles of soju.

If dawn hadn't broken, their war would never have ended.

A good number went to the bathroom, threw up, and came back…