You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 80

The video was, without exaggeration, a spectacle. It was far more extreme than the brief glimpse I remembered from my previous life. I knew it wasn’t just an ordinary sex tape.

As Jung Young-joon had said, the location appeared to be a hotel or residence. It was hard to tell for sure because of the mess, but it didn’t feel like a lived-in space.

The video assaulted the ears as much as the eyes. A fast-paced beat played incessantly, layered with loud shouting, yelling, and laughter. I counted at least ten people.

The most malicious aspect, in my opinion, was that all the other figures had their faces blurred, while only Jung Young-joon was fully visible – even his naked body.

The person holding the camera seemed to be having a great time, occasionally cheering and waving, further encouraging the actions. Surrounded by women in disheveled attire, Jung Young-joon, as he had said, certainly didn’t seem to be in his right mind.

The way he was being hit with various objects looked almost like torture. Even then, he only groaned. He would sometimes let out a ‘hehehe’ laugh, which reinforced my belief that he wasn’t in his right mind. It was difficult to attribute it solely to intoxication.

Although he was engaged in sexual acts, the Jung Young-joon within seemed to be suffering. Perhaps due to the drugs he had taken, his face was smiling, but he didn’t seem to be enjoying it at all.

This was too violent to be called a sex video. Since Jung Young-joon’s will was absent from the actions, it could be considered sexual assault. Moreover, sexual assault committed after drugging him. In other words, a snuff film [a film depicting actual death or violence].

“This doesn’t just look like intoxication; it looks like he was drugged,” Kang Min-jae said, sharing my opinion after watching the entire video.

It wasn’t a difficult guess. Some netizens who had seen the video had occasionally mentioned the possibility of drugs. Of course, the prevailing opinion was that someone could react that way even without drugs if they enjoyed such acts.

However, many also believed that Jung Young-joon must have been taking drugs to maximize his pleasure. “I think so too.”

Jung Young-joon probably thought the same. Even if he blacked out after drinking, he would know to what extent he usually degrades himself. Besides, he must have seen the comments suggesting he was on drugs. He had said he was looking for comments for the first few days.

The reason Jung Young-joon didn’t bring up the drug story was likely because he didn’t want to believe it was true. We could tell from today’s conversation that he had a tendency to avoid reality.

“The person who filmed this is probably the culprit, right? Their laughter was very loud.” “The laughter wasn’t really clear because of the noise and music.”

“That’s right. And the video quality isn’t particularly good either… But seeing how the person filming gets close to Jung Young-joon, brings the camera up to his face, and scans his body, it seems like they were planning to release this video from the start. It’s definitely not something they filmed for fun.”

“It feels more like they staged it to look like it was filmed for fun. Like they made it seem like they were enjoying a party, capturing one day out of many when they usually have parties like this. Like they were making it seem like Jung Young-joon was enjoying being out of his mind.”

I couldn’t properly distinguish other details due to the quality and lighting. However, the camera’s movements clearly showed a strong intention to make sure only Jung Young-joon was recognizable.

I had thought about trying to deduce something from the reflections in the window or the objects in the place, but even that was unsatisfactory. It was filmed in a rather dark setting with only a stand and indirect lighting, which made the quality even worse.

“It seems like the police would really have to grit their teeth and search hard to catch them.” I crossed my arms, listening to Kang Min-jae’s words.

In my previous life, Jung Young-joon eventually got a divorce by mutual agreement, as Go Jin-ah had wanted. Even during that process, and afterward, I never heard any news of the person who distributed the video being caught.

Especially since Chief Oh, who is very interested in how the world works, didn’t say anything, it’s probably true. It’s possible that his in-laws, the Yangjin Group, put some subtle pressure on the police.

Whether the person who did this was his in-laws, a rival company, or someone around him who felt inferior, the Yangjin Group wouldn’t want a situation where Jung Young-joon became pitiful.

If it turned out that Jung Young-joon, whom they had already abandoned, was actually an innocent victim, wouldn’t they face a backlash? They couldn’t avoid criticism for not trusting their husband and son-in-law and abandoning him as soon as the incident occurred.

Some might doubt that they would go that far, but my thoughts are a little different. If Chairman Go Sang-kyung of the Yangjin Group, the 7th largest conglomerate [a large corporation consisting of a number of different companies], didn’t exert that much influence, the title of conglomerate ranking that he had painstakingly built would be in vain.

“There’s a balcony in the video, and glass on the table. It’s not like there’s nothing reflecting, so if the quality were better, we could have at least gotten the silhouette of the person filming.” “To have this kind of quality in 2009, when technology is so advanced. Could they have deliberately blurred the quality? Since all they needed was for Jung Young-joon’s face to be clearly visible, and they could recognize him even if the quality was poor when they zoomed in. It would be troublesome if they uploaded the video with a quality that could be dangerously inferred from and got caught.”

I suddenly wanted to tell them that in just a few years, an era would come when they could count the number of pores on a drama protagonist’s face, and that they couldn’t discuss technological advancements with the camera pixels of 2009. Well, anyway, it’s true that the video quality was very bad even by 2009 standards.

I slowly nodded. The only clues about the person holding the camera were their laughter and hands, but even those couldn’t be properly identified due to noise and quality issues.

“Jung Young-joon was only focused on finding the person who filmed that video, but seeing as he hasn’t even narrowed down the investigation properly, it seems like he doesn’t really know who it is just from what’s shown in the video.” “That’s probably right. But we should still ask him just in case. And we should also talk about the story of the people around him who felt inferior. Honestly, there are probably a lot. When people live, there are moments when they make enemies, right? But if that enemy suddenly marries into a chaebol [family-owned conglomerate] family and becomes a director at a large company, it’s enough to make anyone’s eyes roll.”

Just as I suspect the Yangjin Group the most, Kang Min-jae seems to suspect the people around him the most. The fact that his thoughts and mine don’t align isn’t a bad sign. It’s better to have a broad perspective than a narrow one.

“Ah, right. Jung Young-joon’s Western restaurant that he ran before he got married.” “Yes.” “He said he ran it in partnership with an older brother he knew, right?” “Yes, he did.” “Then it would be good to look into that first.”

There doesn’t have to be a special reason for people to become enemies, but if they’re going to the extent of filming and distributing a malicious video, they’re usually not just ordinary enemies. And with high probability, such enemies are created because of money.

It’s a world where even brothers from the same womb often live their whole lives without seeing each other because of money. It happens simply because someone doesn’t repay a loan, but money problems occur even more frequently in business. If they partnered together, there must have been some money problems involved, even if they were small.

Since it wasn’t an employment relationship, they must have argued at least about the direction of the business. If things like that pile up, it’s a common occurrence for partners to become enemies. What if you add inferiority to that?

It was the icing on the cake in a bad way. “Hmm, that’s true. Definitely.” Kang Min-jae nodded as if he understood my words.

“We can’t be sure until we meet him. Ask Jung Young-joon if he can confirm that person’s contact information.” “But if we meet and ask him, there’s a chance that he’ll lie, right? Like he’ll say he doesn’t have a grudge against Jung Young-joon when he does.” “That’s why we need to investigate first before we meet him.”

“I understand. Ah, and I was just thinking. We should also check Jung Young-joon’s love affairs. Well, it’s been 7 years since he got married, but it could be the work of a girlfriend he dated before he got married. Like he was dating that girlfriend and suddenly went over to a chaebol heiress, so she held a grudge?”

I have a theory that investigations start from ‘writing a novel’ that fits the situation, but Kang Min-jae’s imagination was spreading more excessively than I thought. “There hasn’t been any talk about Jung Young-joon’s ex-girlfriends, but well. It wouldn’t hurt to find out.”

“Um, then I’ll set up another appointment with Jung Young-joon for now. I think I need to hear more details about the people around him.” “It would be better not to set one up right away. You saw his condition today.” Kang Min-jae agreed with my words.

Today, I recommended a neuropsychiatric consultation and added that it was necessary to prove the damage, so Jung Young-joon will visit a psychiatrist soon. He’s Jung Young-joon, who can’t even think properly and list a suspicious list properly.

If we meet him without a break, he will be too busy following the assumptions presented by the lawyer rather than his own will, and he will only be swayed back and forth. I’ve often encountered this 모습 [Korean word for ‘appearance’ or ‘state’] from various victims and witnesses, both when I was a prosecutor and now.

I know too well that their situation makes it inevitable, but it’s extremely difficult for us who have to do their work. “I guess so. I’m going to try to ask about the partner over the phone for now. After he’s a little more stable, I’ll meet him and ask him about the people around him. If there’s anything you haven’t been able to confirm, I’ll ask him together over the phone.”

Even from the client’s point of view, it would be annoying and bothersome if two lawyers kept calling him alternately, even though it’s his own business. However, it is considered difficult to obtain meaningful information from Jung Young-joon right now.

Right now, Jung Young-joon is someone who cannot provide the lawyer with investigation material. That’s why I have to lead the conversation, but in order to do that, an investigation must come first. “Not yet,” I replied, raising my cell phone.

“Yes. Ah, and I think we need to use Tae-shik’s chance this time.” At Kang Min-jae’s words, I showed him Tae-shik’s number that I was just entering on the phone I had just turned on. I was just about to use the Jang Tae-shik chance too.