You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 120

A cold wind whipped across my face.

Kim Jung-woo flinched at my voice, momentarily losing his balance and staggering.

I moved closer to him.

“Mr. Kim Jung-woo! Please come down!”

He definitely turned to look at me, but I couldn’t see his expression.

I fumbled along the wall and turned on the rooftop light.

It was just a couple of old bulbs, but I could see Kim Jung-woo’s face.

I reached into my pocket and grabbed my phone.

I was going to call 119 (the Korean emergency number).

If he knew I was about to report him, he might jump immediately, so I busily moved my fingers in my pocket.

I groped for the keypad and pressed the 119 button.

Even if I didn’t explicitly state the reason for the call, if the call continued, 119 would listen to the conversation and dispatch help.

“Don’t come any closer!”

“…Mr. Kim Jung-woo.”

“Lawyer, just… just pretend you didn’t see anything. I, I…”

Unlike Jung Young-joon, who was trying to hang himself, I couldn’t run up and grab him.

I couldn’t get any closer to him, as he looked like he would jump at any moment if I did.

“Mr. Kim Jung-woo. You are in a very agitated state right now. You probably know that yourself. Right?”

“…No. I’m more clear-headed than ever.”

Since he wasn’t completely incapable of conversation, I had no choice but to keep talking to him and stall for time until the paramedics arrived.

“Weren’t you just crying? You also spoke with your family while you were agitated. You haven’t had time to calm down. Mr. Kim Jung-woo, let’s think about this a little more. There’s no reason to die right now, is there?”

One way to deal with someone in a suicidal crisis is to persuade them to postpone the suicide.

Because telling them not to do it usually doesn’t work.

But Kim Jung-woo reacted from a completely different angle.

“Did you… Did you eavesdrop on my phone call?”

“I didn’t eavesdrop. Remember? When you were on the phone, a neighbor complained. That’s how I found out too. I could hear the sound all the way inside the house.”

“…”

Kim Jung-woo hadn’t even confided in his closest friend, Choi Jong-hyun, about his family affairs.

And when he received calls, he would go outside, saying it was a personal matter.

If I said I had eavesdropped on his phone call, he would resist.

“It’s *saebyeok* now [dawn]. As you know, *saebyeok* is not an appropriate time to make decisions. So… let’s get some sleep and think about it again when the sun rises tomorrow. Whether you really have to die.”

“Please… Lawyer, please don’t interfere!”

Kim Jung-woo shouted.

I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them.

He still seemed to feel threatened by my approaching him, and he was taking a defensive stance.

“I’m not trying to die impulsively. I’ve… I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. So don’t interfere.”

“Mr. Kim Jung-woo. Aren’t you aware of it yourself? You’ve been suffering from the side effects of a *zolpidem* overdose for months. Not taking it for one day doesn’t free you from those side effects. Was your decision to commit suicide really… when you were thinking logically and rationally?”

Kim Jung-woo was trembling all over.

The sound of his teeth chattering could be faintly heard even from this distance.

He barely managed to keep his balance and looked at me with tearful eyes.

“I can’t live like this… I really can’t handle it anymore!”

“You even told Reporter Choi yesterday. If you talk to him, there might be a way. So, first… come down. Let’s come down and talk to Reporter Choi together. You trust Reporter Choi, don’t you?”

“No matter how good Reporter Choi is, how can he do what a doctor couldn’t? Please! Please just go away! You’ve only seen me for a day, Lawyer. What do you know, interfering like this after only seeing me for a day!”

He was clearly thinking of death as an escape.

Perhaps the only fortunate thing was that he hadn’t jumped without any hesitation.

Although his emotions were getting more and more intense.

If he had a strong desire for death, it wouldn’t have mattered if I kept talking to him.

It suddenly occurred to me that if someone had stopped Kim Jung-woo when he chose death in his previous life, such a tragedy might not have happened.

“I’ve only seen Mr. Kim Jung-woo for a day, but I haven’t seen Reporter Choi for a day. I know Reporter Choi well.”

“…”

“If Mr. Kim Jung-woo dies here like this, how do you think Reporter Choi will feel?”

He sobbed.

It seemed that what was holding Kim Jung-woo’s lifeline was not the guilt towards his younger sibling, who would have to take care of his mother with schizophrenia alone, but Choi Jong-hyun.

“Senior… it would be better for him if I disappeared. I’m not helpful to him anyway.”

“Do you think Reporter Choi cherishes you because he received a lot of help from you?”

“…”

“If Mr. Kim Jung-woo dies, Reporter Choi will suffer from great guilt. You know that too. Isn’t that why you haven’t told him about your family situation until now? Because you were worried about Reporter Choi?”

“If he hadn’t found that medicine packet… And anyway, it’s because of my family affairs. So…”

“Mr. Kim Jung-woo knows that Reporter Choi is being pressured by the director because he’s selling Wooshin and Lee Jung-chan.”

At those words, Kim Jung-woo’s eyes widened.

“Also, that’s why you’ve been failing the promotion exam every time, and that you’ve been receiving threatening texts from the director!”

“How do you know that?”

“If Mr. Kim Jung-woo dies like this, Reporter Choi will definitely think it’s his fault. He’ll give up everything he’s been working on and live as a wreck for years. Is that okay with you?”

“…How do you know that! Uh, uh…”

Kim Jung-woo squeezed his eyes shut and shouted.

He momentarily lost his balance and staggered.

Every time he staggered, my heart felt like it was dropping.

I took a few more steps towards him, and Kim Jung-woo grabbed the clothes rack in front of him.

“…How do you know that! Senior Choi will recover quickly. Anyway, I’m…”

“No. Reporter Choi is not someone who can easily shake off a sense of loss. He will definitely suffer from guilt. You know that too. Isn’t that why you didn’t tell him you were being threatened?”

“…”

“You probably heard it from the director. If Reporter Choi digs into the case a little more, Wooshin will definitely try to kill him.”

Kim Jung-woo gasped.

I know the future.

I know exactly what will happen if Kim Jung-woo dies like this.

“The director will frame Kim Jung-woo’s suicide as being Reporter Choi’s fault. He’ll forge Mr. Kim Jung-woo’s suicide note.”

“That’s ridiculous!”

Kim Jung-woo cried out with a tearful voice.

He shook his head violently, as if he had never even considered it.

“Do you really think it’s ridiculous? In your opinion, does the director seem like someone who wouldn’t do that? Mr. Kim Jung-woo, did you write a suicide note? You didn’t. Is Iljung Ilbo not capable of forging a suicide note?”

Iljung Ilbo manipulates Kim Jung-woo’s death, who committed suicide without leaving a suicide note, as if it were Choi Jong-hyun’s fault.

Immediately after his death, a note was found in the notepad on Kim Jung-woo’s laptop, accusing Choi Jong-hyun of how much he had been tormenting him.

There was no truth in the contents of that suicide note.

However, it greatly damaged Choi Jong-hyun’s reputation and eventually led to his dismissal from Iljung Ilbo.

A suicide note written in a computer notepad is not legally recognized as strong evidence, but it can provide sufficient justification for disciplining Choi Jong-hyun.

“Isn’t it the best opportunity for Iljung Ilbo to get rid of Reporter Choi, who is already a thorn in their side? They’re desperate to get rid of Reporter Choi. Didn’t you think they could forge it to look like Kim Jung-woo committed suicide because he couldn’t stand Reporter Choi’s harassment?”

“That’s impossible…”

Kim Jung-woo kept denying my words, but he seemed to think it was really possible inside.

I’m just speaking based on knowing the results, and in fact, just looking at the texts saved on Kim Jung-woo’s phone, you might not think they would go that far.

Seeing him immediately understand shows how intense the pressure he’s been receiving from the director has been.

“If you really have to commit suicide, leave a suicide note. Leave a handwritten suicide note. Then I’ll notarize it. Then at least Reporter Choi won’t be in trouble because of your death.”

It’s ironic that I’m telling someone who’s about to commit suicide what to do before they die.

Even I think it’s ironic, but I have no choice but to do it to get him off the railing.

At that moment, the sound of an ambulance siren was heard in the distance.

The paramedics I contacted seemed to be entering the alley now.

Kim Jung-woo looked back for a moment.

“…Did you call the police?”

He started to visibly waver.

It seemed that it wasn’t just Choi Jong-hyun who was hindering Kim Jung-woo’s suicide.

Perhaps it was the harm that those left behind would suffer because of his death, and the resulting guilt.

“Yes. I confessed that I was going to kill Mr. Kim Jung-woo.”

“What?”

“I confessed that I was going to push Mr. Kim Jung-woo off the roof. So, if Mr. Kim Jung-woo jumps like this, I’ll become a murderer.”

“What does that mean…”

“Because of Mr. Kim Jung-woo’s suicide, Reporter Choi Jong-hyun will lose his job in disgrace, and I will become a murderer. But, if Mr. Kim Jung-woo doesn’t die… nothing will happen.”

Dawn was breaking in the distance.

It was the second sunrise I was seeing from this place.

The bright sunlight shone on his face.

Kim Jung-woo’s eyes were clearly those of someone wavering.

“I’m going to Mr. Kim Jung-woo now.”

“…”

“Mr. Kim Jung-woo, take my hand.”

The siren was blaring loudly right under the building.

I shouted again, thinking that my voice might not have been heard over the noise.

“Take my hand!”

I moved a little closer to him and reached out my hand.

Kim Jung-woo slowly reached out his trembling hand to me.

Taking advantage of the gap, I quickly grabbed his wrist and pulled him hard.

Kim Jung-woo lost his balance and fell on top of me.

“Haa, haa…”

He rolled next to me and lay down on the ground.

I stood up, dusted off my clothes, and reached out my hand to him again.

“You thought well.”

Kim Jung-woo looked up at me, tears streaming down his face.

“I… I’m really *makmakhamnida* [at my wit’s end/overwhelmed]. I don’t know how to live in the future, and I don’t know how to endure this. Really, there was no other way but to die. Really, really…”

He covered his eyes and sobbed as he lay there.

I quietly looked down at him.

I know how much agony a person goes through before deciding to commit suicide.

I sighed deeply.

I had said so many words to get him down here, but I couldn’t think of anything to say right now.

However, a thought suddenly flashed through my mind.

“Mr. Kim Jung-woo. If you weren’t being pressured by the director, would it be a little more bearable to live?”

He looked up at me blankly.

“I can’t do anything about your family affairs, as you said. But, I think I can resolve the pressure you’re receiving from the director.”

“How is that possible? To do that, you’d have to stop Senior Choi’s coverage, but I don’t want to do that.”

“If you want to know, let’s go down with me.”

“…”