You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 90

“Wouldn’t it be better if I went instead?”

They hadn’t even identified the culprit yet.

Without any cards prepared on our side, we couldn’t even strategize how to respond to Go Jin-ah’s side.

Jung Young-joon going to work himself to check the personnel records was the most certain method.

“You can’t, Attorney. Your face is a bit too well-known.”

Kang Min-jae said quickly.

“If there are reporters there, they’ll recognize you as soon as you show up. They’ll know that Jung Young-joon has hired you for the divorce suit.”

“What about you, Attorney Kang?”

“Compared to you, my recognition is much lower, and I’ll be wearing sunglasses.”

I sighed.

“It’s 2 PM now… There’s still time. First, Mr. Jung, contact the security team and take a thorough shower. Shave, and fix your hair neatly. We need to consider the possibility of exposure to reporters. Dress neatly too… Where’s the dressing room?”

Jung Young-joon pointed to the opposite room.

I went into the dressing room and checked the section where the suits were displayed.

I chose a suit, a shirt, and a tie and took them out.

It was to avoid attracting attention and prevent reporters from writing articles based on the clothes.

Reporters tend to guess the person’s mood based on the color of the suit or the pattern of the tie.

They claim that the person chose that coordination to convey a non-existent message.

“It’s best not to wear cologne. If reporters catch a whiff of cologne, they might criticize you for paying attention to cologne even in this situation.”

“Understood.”

Jung Young-joon contacted the security team and informed them of his visit plan.

The security team said they would report to their superiors and call back before hanging up.

He hurried to take a shower, and Kang Min-jae cleaned up the traces of his suicide attempt.

He put the hose tied to the curtain rod in a trash bag and returned the dining table chairs to the kitchen.

Listening to the sound of water falling in the bathroom, Kang Min-jae looked around the messy house.

“The kitchen is too dirty. Even a sane person would go crazy in this environment.”

“We’re moving to my parents’ house anyway, so we can empty the house and hire someone to clean it.”

Soon, Jung Young-joon came out of the bathroom wearing a bathrobe.

Drying his wet hair, he smiled awkwardly at us, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“Oh, Mr. Jung. You’re getting a call.”

Just then, his cell phone, which had been placed on the living room side table, began to ring.

The security team was supposed to call back, so I thought it might be them, but.

“It’s, it’s Jin-ah.”

Jung Young-joon said in a trembling voice as he picked up the phone.

Jung Young-joon was about to open the phone, but I grabbed his hand.

“Mr. Jung. Stay calm. Don’t be agitated, and answer calmly. Take the call on speakerphone. No matter what Go Jin-ah says, don’t cry. Don’t argue, and don’t talk about the divorce. Only talk about visiting the headquarters today. And record the call.”

Jung Young-joon looked at me with shaking eyes as I rattled off the instructions.

He nodded heavily and opened the phone.

“…Hello.”

-It’s me.

Go Jin-ah’s voice, coming through the phone’s speaker, was very calm.

Jung Young-joon gripped the phone tightly with his trembling hands.

“Oh, it’s been a while. How have you been?”

-How do you think I’ve been?

Go Jin-ah retorted sharply, and Jung Young-joon flinched.

His ears and the area around his eyes turned red.

It was proof that he was not controlling his emotions.

-I heard you contacted the security team to pack your things today.

“Oh, I did. I’m being dismissed anyway, so I have to pack my things.”

-I’m glad you’ve accepted it now. Then, can I interpret that as you’re ready to accept the divorce too?

Jung Young-joon’s lips trembled.

Kang Min-jae picked up a piece of scrap paper and a pen from the table.

[You must not cry. Turn the topic to visiting the headquarters today.]

Then, he wrote a note and showed it to Jung Young-joon.

Jung Young-joon checked the note and bit his lip tightly.

-Why aren’t you answering?

“…Let’s talk about that later.”

-Later? I know my lawyer contacted you quite some time ago to prepare for the divorce? How long do I have to wait?

Go Jin-ah said in a nervous voice.

Jung Young-joon looked at us as if asking what to do, and I wrote a note and showed it to him, just as Kang Min-jae had done.

Jung Young-joon read the note with trembling eyes and answered.

“Jin-ah. I’ll give you an answer soon. So, let’s stop talking about that. Please convey the message well to the security team. I have to vacate the executive director’s office anyway. If I go to the headquarters and get caught by reporters, it’ll be difficult for you too.”

-Ha, stop talking about it? How long are you going to drag this on? I really don’t want to keep worrying about a problem that’s already over. I hope you make up your mind quickly. That way, I can decide whether to prepare for a lawsuit or not.”

“…Weren’t you already preparing for a lawsuit?”

Jung Young-joon asked.

His voice was somewhat agitated.

Kang Min-jae was startled and showed him a note telling him not to argue, but Jung Young-joon couldn’t hold back.

“After I left your house, you ignored all my calls, but now you’re calling me because I’m going to the headquarters to get my things. I see. You’ve already made up your mind firmly, and you don’t want to go to court through a lawyer, so you keep pressuring me to get a divorce by mutual consent. Aren’t you being too cruel? I said I’d find evidence. I asked you to wait a little longer until then!”

-I told you, I’m firm. I’m really tired of wasting time trying to find non-existent evidence. Just thinking about that video makes me shudder that I lived with someone like you for seven years!

“Jin-ah. You’ve lived with me for seven years, so you know. Do I look like the kind of guy who would do that? Was I really that kind of person to you?”

“…Let’s stop, really. I asked you to divorce me without any conditions back then. I guess you’re worried that you won’t get a penny if we divorce because of your fault. Then let’s do this. You pay me 10 million won in alimony, and I’ll give you 15 billion won in property division. Let’s end it like that.”

“What? Do you think I’m doing this because of that money?”

-If not, then what is it? You’re not loving me anyway, you’re just enjoying having sex with other women after taking drugs like a pervert. Then what besides money is making you hesitate to get a divorce? Do you need more money?

“Go Jin-ah!”

The fight was escalating.

“I told you, I only have you. That video was really someone trying to frame me,”

-I’m really tired of hearing that too. Let’s stop. I’ve already told the security team, so go to the underground parking lot. The security team will be waiting for you there. After that, do as they tell you. Like you said, don’t cause any trouble for me. Don’t be stupid and get caught by reporters.”

With those words, the call ended.

Jung Young-joon called out Go Jin-ah’s name several more times into the disconnected phone, but nothing changed.

Kang Min-jae stopped him from calling Go Jin-ah again.

As he snatched the phone away, Jung Young-joon gasped for breath, his shoulders shaking.

Tears welled up in his reddened eyes.

“I’m sorry, Attorney. You told me not to argue….”

“I understand. It’s the first time you’ve had a direct conversation in a while.”

Kang Min-jae patted him on the shoulder.

Jung Young-joon said he would go dry his hair and went into the room.

“Ms. Go Jin-ah doesn’t seem easy to persuade without proper evidence.”

Kang Min-jae said with a sigh.

Her voice on the other end of the phone was very firm.

The 10 million won in alimony and 15 billion won in property division must have been figures that came out after consulting with her lawyer.

Jung Young-joon shouted that he wasn’t planning to sue anyway, but Go Jin-ah seemed to want a divorce by mutual consent more than I had imagined.

Was it because her image had already been damaged by the video, and if she went to court, she would have to waste at least a year if it didn’t end in the first trial?

No, maybe.

“Go Jin-ah might know that her parents did it.”

“Yes? Why?”

“She seems very reluctant to go to court. What’s certain is that we need to see the scale of her assets, but Go Jin-ah hasn’t taken office as the president of Yangjin Retail yet, so the scale of jointly acquired assets wouldn’t be that much. Stocks and such aren’t subject to division because they’re inherited or gifted. But she offered as much as 15 billion won, and it’s strange that she even said she’d give more if it’s not enough, right?”

“Hmm, that’s true.”

“If she really doesn’t believe in Mr. Jung Young-joon’s innocence, she’s the unilateral victim. Then it’s normal not to want to give a single penny. Even if she coldly judges that property division is a must, I don’t think she’d say she’d give more if 15 billion won isn’t enough.”

Kang Min-jae nodded at my words.

“I’m also concerned that she wants to wrap up the divorce quickly. To the lawyers at Taekwang [a large law firm], Mr. Jung Young-joon is just a son-in-law from a commoner background in a chaebol [family-owned conglomerate] family. So they would have told her to go to court unconditionally to get more property division, or to refuse the divorce until the end in the lawsuit. They would have warned her in advance that it would take a lot of time.”

“That’s right. She must have known that from the start. Seeing that she’s willing to get a divorce by mutual consent even if it means giving more money… Maybe she thought that if the trial dragged on, Mr. Jung Young-joon might eventually reveal the source of the video. Then her parents could be harmed.”

It’s just speculation, but it doesn’t seem impossible.

“Don’t tell Mr. Jung Young-joon for now.”

“Yes. We should tell him when it becomes certain.”

About an hour passed.

Jung Young-joon, neatly dressed in a suit and with his hair styled, came out to the living room.

He had calmed down to some extent, and his expression was also calm.

“Should we leave now?”

Jung Young-joon said, looking at his watch.

It was already 5:30 PM.

Kang Min-jae nodded and got up from the sofa.

“Let’s go in my car. Mr. Jung Young-joon’s car must have been exposed, so if you go in that, reporters might recognize you….”

Jung Young-joon answered that he understood and opened the front door.

After getting on the elevator, Attorney Kang pressed the B1 button.

“Don’t go to the attorney’s office, go home. You must be tired. I’ll report to you from time to time.”

“I was thinking of doing that anyway.”

“I’ll drop you off on the way.”

It wasn’t even 6 PM yet, but because there was so much work, my whole body felt stiff as if I had worked until dawn.

Fortunately, my officetel [a studio apartment often used as both an office and residence] was on the way to the headquarters, so I wouldn’t be delayed much.

“Did I have beer at home?”

I tilted my head from side to side and entered the house.

The feeling of fatigue weighed even more heavily on my shoulders.

I roughly took off my clothes and went into the bathroom to take a hot shower.

The time is now 6:20 PM.

The sun was setting, and darkness had already fallen outside.

I dried my wet hair with a towel and turned on the television.

I flipped through the channels and settled on the news that was currently broadcasting.

[Regarding the allegations of sexual favors involving Chief Presidential Secretary Ji Myung-ho, the prosecution is continuing a high-intensity investigation by summoning a witness for 30 hours.]

Using the news briefing as background music, I opened the last can of beer left in the refrigerator.

I think I put some dried snacks in a drawer somewhere.

I put the beer on the table and opened the drawer.

[…Jo Hyun-seok, who is known to have arranged meetings with female celebrities for Chief Presidential Secretary Ji Myung-ho, has recently become a hot topic as past photos taken with famous celebrities have been revealed.]

Did I eat them all?

I can’t find them no matter how much I look.

[Jo Hyun-seok claimed that the person in the photo was not him, but the prosecution stated that it was definitely Jo Hyun-seok. As evidence, the prosecution presented that the person standing next to Jo Hyun-seok is actor Yoo, and although Yoo’s height, as revealed in his official profile, is 180cm, Jo Hyun-seok in the photo is much taller than him. Jo Hyun-seok’s certified height is 193cm, and he belonged to the Seoul Yangjin Rangers basketball team until 1999.]

“…193?”

I suddenly turned my head towards the television screen and discovered Jo Hyun-seok’s figure filling the screen.

He was standing in the photo line while attending the prosecution.

My eyes naturally turned to his hand.

On his fourth finger, he was wearing a lettering ring with a blue gemstone.