You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 295

As Jo Bong-joon and Choi Jong-hyun stepped aside, a man in a suit walked into the studio from off-screen.

Since he had his back to the camera, his face wasn’t immediately visible, but viewers began speculating wildly. They noted that he was quite tall, appeared young, and even from the back, he seemed handsome.

[Kkobbi: Who is it?

Choi Bong-hyun: Could it be C…?

smnak: C…?

Nongonghaengsang: Who is he?

Footcream: He gives off the same vibe as when C appeared on the show before…? Could it be C?

salomus: Wow… he’s a wanted man now, isn’t he? Will the police be knocking on the door soon? ㅋㅋㅋ That would be hilarious]

“Please, have a seat over here.”

“Thank you.”

As the man in the suit sat down, the camera finally captured his face.

“Please give us a brief introduction.”

“Hello, I’m Attorney Kang Min-jae.”

[Rollonoa: …? Did they pass a law that only handsome people can pass the bar exam? lololololololol

WhoOpensTheDoorHwangHyunhee: The interview video from earlier didn’t do him justice at all;; What… is he really a lawyer?

CleoGotPissed: They didn’t hire an actor and pretend he’s a lawyer, did they;; Seriously, this is too much…

RiceBallKing: Didn’t they say he’s from the same office as C earlier lololol. Is it an idol group instead of a law firm?]

The chat room, which had been buzzing with theories about Cha Joo-han being a psychopath or committing impulsive murder, temporarily shifted its focus with the appearance of Kang Min-jae.

Kang Min-jae read the chat and scratched his head, smiling shyly.

“Oh, thank you. Oh my, you’re too kind. We’re not an idol group, just a small law firm. Haha.”

“You don’t have to respond to all of these comments.”

Jo Bong-joon, who had been quietly observing, tried to close the chat window, but Kang Min-jae immediately reopened it.

“Why are you doing that? People are saying so many nice things; I should soak up the good energy.”

[PollonCameToSee: lololol Bong-joon is jealous

IWantToEatGwamegi: He’s flustered because he’s never gotten this kind of reaction lololololololol

LemonCarryingDebtRepaying: Seriously though, he’s too good-looking and tall to be a lawyer; he should be acting ㅇㅇ [Korean slang for ‘agree’]]

“Reporter, the viewers are all such nice people. You must be happy to broadcast with such a wonderful audience.”

“…Attorney, don’t be fooled by these bastards. They’re all children of the devil.”

[WhoOpensTheDoorHwangHyunhee: Let’s get Attorney Kang Min-jae as a regular; my eyes feel refreshed~

JoseonDynastyShilLookShilLook: I don’t know if he’s *that* handsome… I mean, I know he’s good-looking, but why all the praise… Have you never seen a truly handsome person?

olakpla84: ↑ Are you jealous? lol]

“Okay, now that you’ve all admired my face enough, we should get to the main point. Everyone, stop talking about my face.”

Kang Min-jae was pleased by the compliments, but he had a purpose for being there and couldn’t afford to waste any more time.

Besides, the chat reactions had been so enthusiastic that things were already taking longer than expected.

“First, I’ll give a brief introduction. Attorney Kang Min-jae graduated from Seoul National University’s College of Law, worked as a prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, and then as a lawyer at the law firm Taekwang. It’s been about three years since I joined the same law firm as C, right? Is that correct?”

“That’s right. It’s my fourth year now.”

[Bisairomakga: His credentials are insane ㄷㄷㄷㄷ [Korean abbreviation for ‘daebak,’ meaning ‘amazing’ or ‘incredible’]

FormpilteK: Wow, Seoul National University Law School, Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, Law Firm Taekwang lolololololol The ultimate elite course]

“Okay, first, let me assure you that we didn’t just bring in some fake to scam you.”

Kim Jung-woo displayed Kang Min-jae’s Seoul National University graduation certificate, bar exam certificate, prosecutor appointment letter, and Taekwang employment certificate on the screen for viewers to verify.

In the legal world, Kang Min-jae was a well-known figure, at least to those within the profession, so there was no real need to prove his credentials in a situation where he was revealing his identity. However, the viewers were naturally suspicious.

“Everyone, we brought Attorney Kang Min-jae here to explain why it doesn’t make sense that C had a plan to commit the crime from the beginning, or that he brought a knife because he thought he might have to commit the crime. We won’t be taking questions during the explanation to keep things clear, but we’ll answer them afterward. The chat won’t be frozen, so feel free to chat as much as you want.”

Kang Min-jae took a sip from a bottle of water and glanced at the chat window.

Since he had arrived, the number of viewers had already exceeded 5,000.

Perhaps because this case was attracting attention not only from the political and business circles but also from the legal profession, the number of industry professionals tuning in to see Kang Min-jae had greatly increased.

He needed to deliver a flawless explanation.

Kang Min-jae took a deep breath.

“When we first requested an interview, Attorney Kang stated very definitively that C could not have killed the deceased. First, I would like to ask about the reason for that.”

“That’s very simple. It’s because I went to Hwagun Reservoir with Attorney Cha at that time to meet the deceased, and we came back together.”

[SmallBabySquirrelJonghyun: ????????

IWantToEatGwamegi: ??

Traitor: ???

CrazyPersonHere: ?]

The chat window instantly exploded with question marks.

Kang Min-jae’s presence at the scene could be interpreted as him being an accomplice.

With Cha Joo-han already labeled as the culprit, Kang Min-jae wouldn’t be immune to police investigation either.

Why hadn’t this fact been revealed until now, and why was he appearing on an internet broadcast without any apparent concern?

“First of all, I want to clarify something to avoid any misunderstanding. I received a summons the day after the incident became public, and I went to the police and told them everything I knew. The police don’t consider me an accomplice or accessory. I was only a witness. You don’t have to worry too much about that.”

“Yes. Attorney Kang Min-jae, I expect you have a lot to explain.”

“It would be helpful to explain why we met the deceased at Hwagun Reservoir. To do that, I think I should first discuss the relationship between our office, including Attorney Cha, and the deceased.”

It was public knowledge that Jo Bong-joon and Choi Jong-hyun, acting on a tip from a mysterious informant, had exposed Lee Jung-chan’s scam.

Cha Joo-han’s involvement was limited to being Choi Jong-hyun’s lawyer when Choi Jong-hyun was arrested for catching Lee Se-hyung walking on two legs [referencing the scam].

However, when Lee Se-hyung attempted suicide out of despair, rumors suddenly surfaced that Cha Joo-han was the informant, causing him a setback.

Other than that, it could be said that he had no connection to Lee Jung-chan.

That was all Kang Min-jae could reveal at this point.

“After that, we were working on matters completely unrelated to the deceased. Then, a while ago, when the lawyer and I went to the countryside for business, around the time the deceased’s trial was approaching, the lawyer received a text message.”

“What kind of text message was it?”

“It was a text message sent directly by former CEO Lee Jung-chan. It said he would give the lawyer some data and wanted to meet as soon as possible.”

“So, the deceased initiated the meeting.”

“That’s right. The lawyer immediately called former CEO Lee Jung-chan. I was curious about his reasons. We weren’t particularly close to former CEO Lee Jung-chan; in fact, our relationship could be considered adversarial. I have a recording of that call…”

“Ah, PD [Production Director]. Please play it now.”

“-Beep-. CEO.

-It seems you received the text message. So, have you thought about it carefully?

-…Before that, I’m curious as to why you’re giving me this data.

-I thought Attorney Cha would know. I must have overestimated you.

-I understand what you mean. I’d like to meet and talk first.

-I don’t have much time.

-If you’re available early morning today, I can see you right away.

-…Tomorrow night would be better. Not today.

-Okay. Then, if you decide on a convenient time and place, I’ll go there.”

After the recording finished, Kang Min-jae continued.

“We canceled the rest of our schedule due to the unexpected proposal and returned to Seoul. We held an emergency meeting. Why would former CEO Lee Jung-chan offer us this data? We were concerned that he might be setting a trap to put us in a difficult position.”

“A trap? Did former CEO Lee Jung-chan have a reason to set a trap for you two?”

“I’ll explain everything later. Anyway… we decided that if former CEO Lee Jung-chan was genuinely going to give us that data, we couldn’t afford to miss the opportunity. So, we agreed to meet with him and waited for him to tell us the time and place.”

“I see. But Attorney Kang, you haven’t specified what kind of data former CEO Lee Jung-chan was going to give you. Is there a reason for withholding that information?”

“Not at all. If I wasn’t planning to reveal it, I wouldn’t be here. However, if I reveal the nature of the data now, it might distract from the main narrative. I’ll present the evidence and explain why we suspected a trap after I’ve finished telling the story.”

“Okay. Then please continue the story until you met former CEO Lee Jung-chan.”

Kang Min-jae then began to recount the events in chronological order, truthfully.

Except for the fact that he was at Jo Bong-joon and Choi Jong-hyun’s studio right before going to meet Lee Jung-chan, and that he had hired Tae-shik’s family as security.

“On the day of the meeting, a text message arrived from former CEO Lee Jung-chan.”

[Let’s meet in front of Hwagun Reservoir at 23:00 today]

Kim Jung-woo displayed a photo of the text message received on Cha Joo-han’s phone.

He had taken the picture as a precaution before the situation escalated, but Kang Min-jae smiled wryly, feeling saddened that it was now being used in this way.

The sender’s phone number was blurred, but the time the text message arrived was visible.

8:30 p.m.

Just two and a half hours before the scheduled meeting.

“We left for Hwagun Reservoir as soon as we received the text message. Our office members were still together for the meeting, and we had no way of knowing when the text message from former CEO Lee Jung-chan would arrive. It could have been that day or the next. That’s why I said earlier that it was impossible to bring a knife in advance. Attorney Cha was with us the entire time and didn’t even go to the bathroom right before we left.”

“I understand that it takes about an hour and a half to drive from Seoul to Hwagun Reservoir. If you left as soon as you received the text message, you would have arrived around 10 p.m., leaving an hour before the meeting. If you were planning to kill former CEO Lee Jung-chan, it wouldn’t have been difficult to scout the location, even if it was a bit rushed, since you had an hour to spare. What are your thoughts on this?”

“…This might sound strange, but there’s a famous bean sprout soup restaurant near Hwagun Reservoir.”

[Don’tBeAfraid: BeanSproutSoup lolololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololo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The last thing I heard was that the chat room was flooded with messages.