You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 102

Your Defense – Episode 102

Lee Ye-jin’s face was filled with shock.

I exchanged glances with Kang Min-jae as I watched her listen to Chief Oh on the phone, barely saying a word.

In the first call, Chief Oh said that the black box footage showed women getting out of Jo Hyun-seok’s Carnival.

Then, in the immediately following call, Lee Ye-jin mentioned Go Jin-ah’s name.

Since Joo Min-ji is Go Jin-ah’s personal secretary, it’s not unusual for Go Jin-ah to be captured on her black box.

However, Lee Ye-jin seemed very surprised and repeated Go Jin-ah’s name.

This means that Go Jin-ah was also filmed with the Carnival in the black box footage.

“Cha, Attorney. I have to go now,”

“Senior. Was Go Jin-ah filmed with that Carnival?”

I looked at Lee Ye-jin, who was about to open the door, and locked the back door.

Lee Ye-jin sometimes only says what she wants to say and disappears, so if I don’t prevent it in advance, I might not hear anything.

“Cha, Attorney, this is obstruction of official duties.”

It was quite a harsh statement, but the tone wasn’t really that harsh.

Lee Ye-jin sighed and said,

“That’s right. It’s exactly as Cha, Attorney, thinks.”

“What I’m thinking is that Go Jin-ah was also filmed in that scene where the women were getting out of Jo Hyun-seok’s Carnival en masse. Is that correct?”

“…That’s right. After those women all went into the building, Go Jin-ah came out of the car about 10 minutes later. Go Jin-ah also went into the building.”

Lee Ye-jin swept her hair back and sighed.

“Even if Jo Hyun-seok and Go Jin-ah are having an affair, it’s a bit strange that Go Jin-ah would be present at a place where Jo Hyun-seok is offering sexual favors. Even if Jo Hyun-seok was offering sexual favors because of Go Jin-ah’s business.”

“That’s right. Usually, they either send them to a second round separately after the meeting, or they offer the favors first before the meeting. There’s especially no need for a woman like Go Jin-ah to go into such a place…”

Lee Ye-jin, who was muttering while taking my words, suddenly raised her head.

“Cha, Attorney, this…”

“The scene that the Chief confirmed might be the day they went to film Jung Young-joon’s video.”

If interpreted that way, all the questions are resolved.

Joo Min-ji only took Go Jin-ah there and probably wasn’t at the scene.

The fact that Go Jin-ah was in that video has already been confirmed.

Jo Hyun-seok, who put the women in the Carnival, arrived at the filming location first, and Go Jin-ah waited in the car before going up to participate in the filming.

“Senior. Can you confirm the location where Go Hyun-seok’s Carnival was filmed?”

“Of course, I can. The black box should have filmed the whole way. I’ll go up and check it out first.”

“I understand.”

She put her hand on the car door again and glared at me playfully.

“Are you going to open it now?”

Ah, was it still locked?

With the sound of the lock being released, she opened the car door.

Lee Ye-jin, who was about to head straight to the Agency, turned back and put her face in the back door, shouting,

“Oh, right. The black box also filmed the faces of the women who came out of the Carnival. It seems like they can identify one or two of them. Congratulations, Cha, Attorney. You’ve got a witness!”

“Senior. When you go into the Agency, please also check if the location filmed by the black box matches the location in the video.”

“Okay. Then can I immediately switch to a public investigation?”

“Let’s talk again when they match first.”

“My mouth is itching, but I have no choice but to keep it a secret. If it weren’t for Cha, Attorney, I wouldn’t have thought that Go Jin-ah was Jo Hyun-seok’s lover even after seeing that black box footage. But I don’t know if the reporters smell something.”

“You have to put an embargo on it.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll contact you again then!”

Lee Ye-jin waved her hand and ran towards the Agency in one breath.

Kang Min-jae, who was watching her leave, leaned deeply against the back of the chair and sighed deeply.

“Ah, it’s finally resolved. Wow, this is being resolved. How is this being resolved? Wow, really… I can’t believe it.”

“It’s not completely over yet.”

“But anyway, isn’t it almost over?”

“Fasten your seatbelt so we can leave. It keeps beeping.”

As I said while grabbing the steering wheel, Kang Min-jae pouted and fastened his seatbelt.

As he said, the case could be considered resolved.

Once the Jung Young-joon video case is officially filed, the prosecution will call in people who can identify the women filmed in the black box as witnesses.

Even if all of those women refuse to testify, it has already been proven that Go Jin-ah was at the filming location.

No, even more than that, that she even participated in the filming.

If it becomes known that Go Jin-ah demanded a divorce, citing her husband’s sexual habits and adultery, public opinion will turn around in an instant.

Go Jin-ah once revealed through an acquaintance that she was shocked because Jung Young-joon’s appearance in the video was so different from the husband she knew.

Because the words don’t match at all, it won’t work no matter how Go Jin-ah makes excuses.

* * *

It was the evening three days later.

On the way back to the office after having dinner with Kang, Attorney, I received a call from Lee Ye-jin.

-Cha, Attorney, it’s me. Is it a bit noisy around you? Are you outside?

“I’m about to go back to the office.”

-The case is almost resolved, but you’re not going home and going back to work?

“It’s not over until I hear from Senior that the location in the black box matches the location in the video.”

-Is that so? Then it’s over now. Go in and rest.

Lee Ye-jin said in a pleasant voice.

“Do they match?”

-They match. And what’s really amazing is that it’s a high-end residence. There’s a unit there under Go Jin-ah’s maternal grandmother’s name. I also checked the interior photos of the same size as that unit under her maternal grandmother’s name, and they match. Even Jo Hyun-seok, who was filmed there, is wearing a navy hoodie. It’s the same attire that Cha, Attorney, found in the video.”

“Is the CCTV still available?”

As I asked in succession, Lee Ye-jin said in a somewhat sulky voice.

-Cha, Attorney, are you going to keep asking like that without showing any joy?

“I thought it would be more perfect if Jung Young-joon’s appearance being dragged into that house in a state of mental and physical weakness came out.”

-Such a high-end residence has a lot of cameras, and it’s an internet storage format, so it’s probably still there. I haven’t checked yet, but even if it’s not there, there’s a witness.

“That’s true. If it’s a high-end residence, it’s not just a simple security office, but an external security company is in charge of security. Have you checked the eyewitness accounts?”

-Hey, Cha, Attorney. I’m out of breath, out of breath. I checked, and as a result of the check, I think this was probably Jo Hyun-seok and Go Jin-ah’s secret meeting place. I also secured eyewitness accounts of seeing the two together.”

Kang Min-jae, who was standing next to me, kept mouthing and asking what kind of conversation we were having.

It was outside and the situation was urgent, so there was no time to turn on the speakerphone.

-Okay, now, informant. I think I’ve been very considerate already. I’m going to start a search and seizure in earnest now. I’m going to switch to a public investigation, and I’ll give you time until 5:00 tomorrow. I have to get a warrant, right?

“I understand. I’ll finish talking to the client by then.”

-Good. Just know that it’s really hard for me to keep blocking the public conversion. Okay?

“I understand.”

-Okay. Then contact me again tomorrow. Ha, I think I should give Cha, Attorney, a nickname or something. You designed the superintendent of education alone without anyone knowing last time, and this time too. I don’t know if I should give this nickname an artist.”

“An artist?”

-Yeah. An artist because you draw big pictures. Hahaha! I’m going to tell the chief about Cha, Attorney, giving me the source after I get the warrant, so keep that in mind in advance. I’m going to hang up now.”

Before I could say anything, the phone hung up.

“What happened? Huh? Huh?”

“I’ll tell you when we go inside.”

As soon as I arrived in front of the office building, I quickly grabbed him as he was about to enter the entrance.

Kang Min-jae turned to me and tilted his head.

“Why?”

“Let’s buy a cup of coffee and go in. It’s been a while since I said hello to Kim Yeon-joon.”

“Ah, it’s not been a while. You said hello yesterday! And Kim Yeon-joon doesn’t come out during the evening time.”

“I want to drink coffee. Come here.”

“Ah, really…”

Kim Yeon-joon wasn’t in the cafe.

Kang Min-jae grumbled, saying, “See?”, but when I ordered an iced Americano at the counter, he quietly shouted for a latte.

“Let’s drink here.”

When I said that while looking at him holding the freshly brewed coffee in both hands,

“…”

Kang Min-jae glared at me as if he was going to kill me.

I ended up taking a seat in the cafe with him and sharing the contents of the call I had with Lee Ye-jin.

Kang Min-jae shouted ‘Yes! Yes!’ as if Ahn Jung-hwan had scored a goal in the 2002 World Cup Italy game [A famous goal that led South Korea to the quarter-finals].

If this place wasn’t a smoking room separated by a glass wall, all the customers sitting in the cafe would have looked at him strangely.

“Ha, honestly, I thought this case might be difficult even for an attorney… I’m sorry for thinking that.”

Kang Min-jae, who had regained his composure, took a sip of coffee and glanced at me.

“You thought so?”

“Yes, a little… There were too few clues. But I feel good because we solved it like this.”

I asked him, looking at him smiling brightly.

“It’s not the time to smile like that.”

“Yes? Why?”

“The fact that Senior Lee gave us time until tomorrow means that we should tell Jung Young-joon the whole story of the case before then. Well, even if we don’t tell him, he’ll end up seeing it on the news. Wouldn’t it be better for him to hear it from us in advance?”

Upon hearing those words, Kang Min-jae instantly slumped his shoulders.

He collapsed on the table as if he was melting and said with a sigh that seemed to make the ground sink.

“That’s right. How do we tell him…”

“Well, but does the way we convey it need such a great method? The truth of the case itself is shocking, but it won’t change whether we say it nicely or badly.”

“…That’s right.”

“We have no choice but to tell him as it is.”

Among the heinous crimes that have shocked the world, the perpetrator is often an acquaintance, a parent, a child, a husband, or a wife.

It will of course be an indelible wound for the person involved, but even so, the person involved must know.

It’s not that I don’t understand the psychology of people who want to be happy without knowing anything.

However, I don’t intend to hide it even if Jung Young-joon can never know this fact.

This is because I also believe that knowing can lead to further maturity.