You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 93

“Over here, over here!”

Beyond the back of the employee placing side dishes on the table, a familiar face was visible.

Kang Min-jae jumped up and waved his arm.

“Ah, am I a bit late? Sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. We all know how busy you are, Senior Prosecutor Lee.”

Lee Ye-jin sat down across from him, placing her bag on one side.

She also gathered Kang’s briefcase and the one near me, stacking them together on top.

Not satisfied with that, she busily looked around the crowded restaurant interior before jumping up again.

She pushed through the bustling crowd, seemed to have a conversation with customers at another table, and then brought back another chair.

Placing the chair next to her, she finally focused on us.

“It’s so hard to see your faces, isn’t it?”

“Is someone else coming? Why did you bring another chair?”

Kang Min-jae asked, and she laughed as if it were nothing.

“Oh, yeah, there is. They’ll be here soon.”

“Who is it?”

“Secret.”

She smiled pleasantly and looked around the table.

I guessed it was probably her husband.

I had met him before, and she had briefly mentioned him when we talked on the phone recently.

“No alcohol? Why didn’t you order any?”

“We haven’t even ordered food yet.”

“Oh, come on. At a grilled tripe restaurant, you order two servings of grilled tripe and two servings of large intestine, and then order more if it’s not enough. Don’t you know that? Excuse me, we’ll have two servings of grilled tripe and large intestine each, please. And a bottle of soju [Korean distilled spirit] and a bottle of beer!”

“What kind of soju would you like?”

“Fresh! Oh, and four glasses, please!”

She put a few side dishes in her mouth with an excited expression, then opened her mouth wide as if she had seen a ghost.

“What, the side dishes here are really good. Seriously, Attorney Cha, there was such a delicious place in Seocho [district in Seoul]? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It just happened that way.”

“There are so many people here. The business must be doing really well. The owner must be raking in the money, huh?”

Well, he did, but he loses it all later because of his sons.

I gave him some advice last year, but I doubt he listened.

“The meals here are all good too.”

“I bet. You can tell by the side dishes. Ah, I’m looking forward to it.”

She was hungry, so she kept reaching for the side dishes until the food we ordered came out.

“Didn’t you eat?”

“I barely managed to eat lunch with a cup ramen and a triangle kimbap [Korean rice ball], but then suddenly they said something was discovered at Ji Myeong-ho’s house. I was urgently called to a meeting, but it was nothing. A wasted trip.”

“Ah, you were in charge of the Ji Myeong-ho case, right?”

Kang Min-jae asked with a sly smile.

But Lee Ye-jin was too busy eating side dishes to notice his expression.

“Yeah. Ah, the first case I took on as soon as I entered the Special Investigations Department was the Ji Myeong-ho case. How could this happen? I need to talk to Young-chan. I need to seriously ask him why he suddenly transferred me, if he hates me.”

“Come on, you’re on the elite course.”

“Min-jae, I don’t need to be on the elite course. Living a long and easy life is my goal, don’t you know that?”

“Still, congratulations.”

“Hey, what congratulations? If I don’t do this right, I might end up going to the Nonsan District Prosecutor’s Office or something. There are only four prosecutors there. Sob. All of the 25th class, my immediate seniors, were all promoted to deputy chiefs this time, but when my classmates get promoted soon, I’ll be the only one in Nonsan looking at buzz-cut soldiers going to the army… Ah, I’ll get promoted too, won’t I? Is that a good thing? If you’re a deputy chief in the Nonsan District Prosecutor’s Office, you might be able to become the district chief. That’s great. That’s so great. A district chief!”

I nodded appropriately.

The person who said they were so happy had a tearful expression, but I couldn’t think of anything to say to comfort them.

“Come on, you’ll do well. You’re so good, Senior Prosecutor Lee.”

“No, how can I do this right? If I do it right, they’ll say I’m not paying attention to the higher-ups, and if I do it half-assed, they’ll say I’m not doing my job.”

“It seems like there’s some pressure from the higher-ups.”

I asked, watching the employee put the meat on the heated grill.

“Wouldn’t there be? If high-ranking prosecutors aren’t involved in such shitty corruption, it’s a shame. The Deputy Chief Prosecutor is so afraid that Jo Hyun-seok will say his name that he comes to the interrogation room every time he has a chance to check! I heard that he’s usually someone who never comes, but now he’s acting like he cares because it’s a case that the public is interested in. How ridiculous. I’m going to pull out all the hair I don’t even have.”

Lee Ye-jin took the tongs from the employee and diligently flipped the meat on the grill.

Kang Min-jae said he would do it, but Lee Ye-jin slapped his hand and defended the tongs.

“Did I talk too much about myself? How are you two doing? Are you working on any cases these days?”

“Yes, we’re doing well.”

Kang Min-jae diligently moved the meat that she placed on his plate onto my plate.

“Ah, I’ll give some to Attorney Cha too, so you eat it. As if you’re not Attorney Cha’s fanboy.”

“No, it’s just that you wouldn’t let me grill the meat and gave it to me first…”

“Originally, when adults eat, they take care of the baby’s food first. Eat up.”

“Baby? Have you ever seen a baby over thirty?”

“Here’s one. Here’s a baby over thirty.”

I couldn’t remember when Kang Min-jae was my trainee, so I wondered if those two were that close.

“Ha, you guys are so young and fresh. Looking at you like this, it feels like phytoncides [antimicrobial allelochemic emitted from plants] are coming out of you. I should join your office too. I want to work in a flower garden too.”

It was the first time I’d heard someone call me fresh at thirty-four.

“Flower garden? What are you talking about? We’re really busy.”

“Are you busier than me?”

“……I’m sorry.”

I wanted to ask about Jo Hyun-seok in detail right away, but Lee Ye-jin and Kang Min-jae were having such a pleasant conversation that it was difficult to bring it up easily.

More than anything, it wouldn’t be polite to get straight to the point when we hadn’t seen each other in a long time.

In fact, Lee Ye-jin was eating so aggressively, like someone who had to go on a hunger strike tomorrow, that I couldn’t find the right timing.

Just as we were changing the grill and placing a new order.

“I’m here.”

A man who suddenly popped out from among the bustling crowd sat down next to Lee Ye-jin.

“……Chief Oh?”

It was Chief Oh Yang-hoon.

When Lee Ye-jin said someone was coming, I thought it would be her husband.

“Prosecutor Lee, it’s been a while. Prosecutor Lee said she was meeting you, so I asked her to let me join in. I hope I’m not intruding?”

“Not at all. It’s really been a long time.”

“Prosecutor Kang, it’s been a while too.”

“Chief!”

Lee Ye-jin took the bag and coat from Chief Oh’s hand and placed them on an empty chair, saying.

“Chief, be careful with the titles. I’m the only prosecutor here. These two are lawyers.”

“Ah, right. Sorry, Attorneys.”

“It’s okay.”

Lee Ye-jin evenly distributed the glasses that were placed in one corner.

Then, she mixed soju and beer in a 1:1 ratio and placed them in front of each of us.

“1 to 1? Prosecutor Lee, aren’t you overdoing it? You have to interrogate Jo Hyun-seok tomorrow.”

Interrogate Jo Hyun-seok?

I didn’t know that.

I knew that the Special Investigations Department 1, where she was, was in charge of the Ji Myeong-ho case, but I didn’t know that she was in charge of Jo Hyun-seok.

I might be able to get more out of this than I thought.

“Of course. I’ll never cause trouble for you, Chief.”

“No, I’m worried I might cause trouble……”

Chief Oh said with an unsure face.

Prosecutor Lee Ye-jin just smiled and looked at me, saying.

“Ah, Attorney Cha doesn’t know? Chief is working with me now.”

“Is that so?”

“But, even though I’m also Chief’s prosecutor, I feel like the way he looks at me is a little different from the way he looks at Attorney Cha.”

At Lee Ye-jin’s words, Chief Oh shouted in surprise.

“Prosecutor! What are you saying? Are you saying that I see you as a woman?”

“Huh? No? It’s not that, it’s just that he looks at Attorney Cha with completely loving eyes, but not me, so I’m a little sad.”

Perhaps it was because it was a somewhat sensitive topic.

Chief Oh, who had been shouting with his shoulders shaking, laughed awkwardly as if he was embarrassed.

“What are you saying? You’re all the same prosecutors. And for your information, I have a fox-like wife and rabbit-like children……”

“Yes, yes. I also have a bear-like husband at home. Well, let’s skip the stale toast. It’s a one-shot, everyone. Cheers.”

I had forgotten.

Lee Ye-jin was the most alcohol-loving and strongest drinker in the Central District Prosecutor’s Office.

No one had ever beaten her in a drinking match.

“Ugh, bitter.”

After exchanging a few drinks like that, there were countless soju and beer bottles rolling around on the table.

Kang Min-jae had already gone out to throw up about three times, and Chief Oh’s face was also flushed red.

I was also quite a strong drinker, but I felt like I would get drunk if I drank a few more times.

Only Lee Ye-jin seemed unfazed.

“Seriously, why can’t Kang drink?”

“Can’t drink? Senior Prosecutor Lee is… unbelievably… strong! Huh?! I can hold my liquor, okay? And I’m not a baby either!”

It seemed that Lee Ye-jin calling Kang Min-jae a baby had stuck with him quite a bit.

He couldn’t even hold his head up straight, but his voice only got louder.

I just gently pushed his head against the wall to lean on.

“Oh, thank you… Thanks to you, the world is a little less dizzy… Hehehe.”

Lee Ye-jin clicked her tongue as she looked at Kang Min-jae.

Then she asked me.

“How is working with Min-jae? Do you get along well?”

“He’s smart. He’s also enthusiastic. He’s a bit attention-seeking, though.”

“I wondered why every case he takes on is so large-scale, is it Kang Min-jae’s choice?”

“We also take on many cases that aren’t famous. It’s just that they’re not well-known.”

“I see. Still, it’s a relief. There aren’t many people who open their own practice early like Attorney Cha and do well. It seems like you’ve established yourself quite well?”

“I’m making a living. How about you and Chief? Do you get along well?”

At those words, Lee Ye-jin and Chief Oh looked at each other and laughed.

“Ah, I think Chief’s opinion is more important than mine?”

“No. Prosecutor Lee, your opinion is more important than mine.”

Chief Oh blocked her like an iron wall.

Then Lee Ye-jin narrowed her eyes and said.

“You have no idea how much he sings Attorney Cha’s praises while working on this case. I guess I’m not a very competent prosecutor to Chief.”

“Are you talking about the Jo Hyun-seok case?”

“Yeah. If it were Prosecutor Cha Joo-han, he would have done this, he would have done that. That’s what he says, you know? I’m Senior Prosecutor Lee!”

“No, Prosecutor Lee. You asked me first what Prosecutor Cha Joo-han would have done, right?”

The two bickered for a long time, then soon exchanged drinks and made up.

Watching them, I suddenly felt relieved.

Chief Oh was a seasoned investigator who had been working since before I entered the Prosecutor’s Office, but anyway, I was worried about what would happen if I became a thorn in the Prosecutor’s Office’s side.

“Is the Jo Hyun-seok case going well?”

“Jo Hyun-seok! Jo Hyun-seok, you son of a bitch……”

When I mentioned Jo Hyun-seok’s name, Kang Min-jae, who I thought was sleeping with his head against the wall, suddenly shouted.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Son of a bitch… smack smack. Son of a bitch……”

“He seems to have quite a grudge?”

Lee Ye-jin smiled slightly as she looked at Kang Min-jae.

“Going well? The higher-ups are putting on pressure, Jo Hyun-seok won’t open his mouth. The results of the search and seizure are also bleak. There must be a list, but it’s not coming out. It seems like Ji Myeong-ho has already burned everything.”

Lee Ye-jin sighed.

The words that came out of her mouth were all information that could be confirmed in the news.

“What about the lie detector?”

“I tried it. But targeted investigations aren’t allowed. I can’t directly ask if he offered sexual favors to the Wooshin Group or the Taesung Group.”

Lee Ye-jin answered briefly and put the remaining fried rice in her plate into her mouth.

“Jo Hyun-seok is from the Yangjin Rangers basketball team. There’s a possibility that he received bribes from the Yangjin Group as well.”

“Hmm… well, I don’t think I can say that.”

Lee Ye-jin put down her spoon and asked.

“But Attorney Cha, do you happen to be working on anything related to the Yangjin Group?”

The ever-smiling Prosecutor Lee Ye-jin looked at me with a somewhat serious expression.

“Would you be disappointed if I was?”

I smiled slightly.

I told Jung Young-joon not to reveal to the prosecution that the cameraman in the video was Jo Hyun-seok, but if the situation is like this, the story changes.

Prosecutor Lee Ye-jin is a person who keeps secrets well.

She understands the internal dynamics of the prosecution well, but she doesn’t forget her duty as a prosecutor.

I don’t know what she was like when she later became a chief prosecutor and joined a law firm, but while she was a prosecutor, there were no flaws.

“I think I can give you some information about Jo Hyun-seok.”