You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 375

You Have Been Defended

After the investigation, Park Jin-sung was dazed.

How could he not be?

He had told the truth as it was, but when everything was denied, it felt as if he had been dreaming.

“Attorney, what do we do now?”

In the visiting room, Park Jin-sung slumped on the table and said in a small voice.

“I thought it would be okay because we had a lot of evidence. Even when you said it would all be denied in advance, but…”

“Don’t lose hope, Mr. Park Jin-sung. We will somehow clear Mr. Park Jin-sung’s name. So, cheer up.”

Kang Min-jae said kindly, but Park Jin-sung shook his head.

“That was all the evidence we had, how can I not lose hope? Everyone is denying it as if they’ve all planned it! Now I’m going to end up in jail! …How can I not lose hope?”

Park Jin-sung said in a tearful voice.

I understand.

To be accused of something you didn’t do, and in a country like South Korea where drug crimes are dealt with severely, to be on the verge of being charged with drug trafficking, how could there not be emotional turmoil?

I, too, feel somewhat bleak.

I have to find a way somehow.

“You’re not going to prison yet. As you know, you’re going to a detention center for pre-trial detainees. Of course, you don’t want that either, but it’s good to assess the situation calmly. If an arrest warrant is issued, we will gather other evidence and proceed with a warrant review. If it’s not dismissed, you can come out again and be investigated as a free man.”

“…If we proceed with a warrant review, will I be released?”

“We have to work hard.”

Kang Min-jae interjected and answered, but I shook my head.

“If we don’t gather useful evidence by the time the warrant review is held, it’s highly likely to be dismissed.”

“Attorney!”

When I answered honestly, Kang Min-jae looked back at me as if surprised and scolded me.

But what can I do when that’s the truth?

The court will already be on Wooshin’s side.

Unless we bring evidence of innocence on the day we apply for the warrant review, it will not be granted.

Park Jin-sung probably doesn’t know that he was used as a trick to get his father to take off his clothes [give up his position/influence].

If he knew, he would have said something resentful, or at least talked about his father even if he didn’t resent him, but he didn’t say anything like that at all.

Perhaps he was suddenly arrested at dawn, and Park Young-ki didn’t come to visit, so there was no time to tell him.

However, if we tell him that fact, it could create a rift between father and son and Park Jin-sung might go astray, so we couldn’t tell him.

But I think it’s better for Park Jin-sung to accurately grasp the situation he’s in now than to give him false hope.

“I can’t say that I’ll let you be investigated as a free man. But I will definitely clear Park Jin-sung’s name.”

“…Is there a way to do that?”

“There will be.”

“You can’t give me a definite answer.”

Anyone who is in an unfair situation wants the person who is helping them to get them out of the quagmire.

But there is nothing more dangerous than giving a definite answer.

Rather, the person who says they will definitely save you is no different from selling drugs [making false promises].

I don’t want to sell drugs to soothe his heart.

But as I have done so far, I just have faith that I will find a way somehow.

“If you ever find yourself in this situation again, be careful of people who give you definite answers. They are people you should never trust.”

“Ha, that’s right. I don’t have anything anymore, so what would they be looking at to give me a definite answer? My question was foolish… Shit, really… Attorney, I’m sorry for cursing, but I’m so frustrated. Really, sob, I’m so frustrated…”

Park Jin-sung started to cry at the end of that sentence.

Kang Min-jae handed him a handkerchief, but Park Jin-sung refused it and wiped away his tears with his palm.

“We both received a lot of help from your father. We will repay the favor even if we have to tie knots [go to extreme lengths]. So, brace yourself. Got it?”

“…Yes.”

After the visit, we took a taxi straight to Real Motors.

I had to pick up the car, and I thought it would be better to ask about Park Jin-sung openly.

“What if Real Motors is closed and I can’t pick up my car?”

“Then we’ll sue and drag it out. Kang Attorney has another car anyway. Use another car.”

Kang Min-jae nodded at my words, then suddenly turned to look at me.

“So, that’s why you told me to leave my car there?”

“What do you mean, that’s why?”

“You knew it might close and I wouldn’t be able to pick it up, so you were trying to use it like that!”

“Well, let’s just say no.”

To be exact, I didn’t think they would close without handing over other people’s cars.

“Let’s just say no! That’s right, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know.”

“I see why Tae-shik calls you a ruthless lawyer! My Boongboongie…” [A playful name for his car]

“Be quiet. I need to make a call.”

I said, taking my cell phone out of my inside pocket.

“Who are you calling?”

“The taxi driver.”

As soon as I made the call, a mechanical voice was heard.

“It’s a non-existent number.”

“He ran away.”

Looking at the time of Park Jin-sung’s investigation, the taxi driver and mechanic, etc., would have been called out today during the day.

If that’s the case, they would have been in contact until then, but suddenly it’s a non-existent number.

That means that now that they’ve been investigated by the police, it’s time to run.

Even if we release Tae-shik, there’s not enough time to catch him before he runs.

“He’s running away really fast. Well, if he’s committed such a thing, he should run away quickly.”

Kang Min-jae answered, grinding his teeth.

Anyway, before long, we got off in front of Real Motors.

Fortunately, it seemed to be still open, and the mechanic who talked to us back then was smoking in front.

“Oh, you’re here?”

“Yes. Is our Boongboongie all better?”

“Haha, of course. Just wait a moment.”

Not long after, the mechanic brought out Kang Min-jae’s car.

Seeing that it was neatly done without any traces of the accident, Kang Min-jae seemed to be in a good mood.

He even made nonsense while stroking the front bumper.

“Boongboongie, don’t be sick anymore.”

“You’re a cheerful person.”

“How much is it?”

“Ah, I’ll show you the receipt first. Just wait a moment.”

The mechanic went inside the store, and I, who was standing outside, was wondering where to start asking.

Even if I ask if they really didn’t repair Park Jin-sung’s car, if I ask who they took money from to do this, they’re bound to be scared.

While I was repeating my worries while waiting, a car came into view from the alley.

A taxi.

With the thought that it couldn’t be, I pulled Kang Min-jae and hid behind a utility pole outside the factory.

The taxi driver played a big role in Park Jin-sung being in this situation.

Starting with the taxi driver deliberately causing a car accident, Real Motors temporarily possessed Park Jin-sung’s car, and while the car was at Real Motors, it went out and brought drugs from Incheon Port.

Of course, the newly appointed person in charge who drank with him at that time was there to prepare for Park Jin-sung picking up the car earlier than expected or being caught on the CCTV in the studio.

His role was to get Park Jin-sung drunk and make him go home and collapse and sleep.

The situation Park Jin-sung is in now is like beads strung together.

All the characters appeared in the right place to drive Park Jin-sung into a corner.

“Shh.”

The taxi that arrived in front of the factory stopped as soon as it entered.

“Huh, isn’t that the taxi driver?”

We knew the taxi driver’s face because we had repeatedly watched the black box while investigating.

I thought he would have turned off his cell phone and run far away with the money he received from Wooshin, but I didn’t expect him to appear at Real Motors.

“President Jung! President Jung!” [A common way to address a business owner in Korea]

Very naturally, he started looking for the mechanic while fiddling with the objects inside the factory.

I took out my cell phone and started secretly filming the taxi driver.

The two said in the police investigation that there was no friendship between them.

But if they’re even talking informally, isn’t that all there is to say?

“Oh, you’re here?”

The mechanic, who came out with the paper, asked the taxi driver, as if he had found the statement he was going to give us.

“What are you doing still not closing?”

“The customer didn’t take the car. Now that they’ve come to pick it up, I can hand it over and leave.”

“Did you pack your bags?”

“I packed them. I’ll wait while drinking a cup of coffee.”

After saying that, the mechanic approached us.

I put my cell phone in my pants pocket and faced him as he approached us.

“Here’s the statement. Check it and tell me if there’s anything wrong.”

“Um… there’s one problem.”

I pretended to look through the statement, and then handed the statement to Kang Min-jae as if I was receiving a sudden phone call.

And I went outside the repair shop and called Tae-shik.

“It’s me.”

─It’s me too. What’s up.

“I’ll give you a job after a long time.”

─What is it?

“Right now, this place is Real Motors, a repair shop in Gangnam. Two men will be packing their bags and leaving from here. I need you to track these people.”

─Really? Okay. But even if I go as fast as I can, it’ll take about 15 minutes to arrive.

“I’ll hold them for that long.”

─Okay. Who should I send?

“Send someone who has a passport right now. They might run overseas.”

─Who carries a passport around, damn it. Hey! Does anyone have a passport?

─I do!

─Wow, you really do. I’ll send him.

I could ask right now if they really don’t know Park Jin-sung, but that method is not good.

If I ask openly here, the taxi driver might run away as is.

For now, it seems like Wooshin gave them some pocket money to play around for a while, and they decided to go together because they didn’t want to go alone.

So, if we follow where they go, we can prove their friendship by saying that they went on ‘vacation’ on the same day.

Of course, the video I just took can also confirm their friendship, but it’s not enough, so it’s better to be sure.

When I returned to the repair shop, the taxi driver was sitting on a simple chair and drinking coffee.

I approached the car and pretended to inspect the front bumper.

“The president here says there’s no problem…”

When the mechanic pointed to Kang Min-jae, I shook my head and pointed to the front bumper.

“It seems like the paint isn’t done enough here?”

“Paint? Oh, it looks fine…”

“And the front bumper was dented… It feels a bit bumpy to say that the entire bumper was replaced.”

“…”

The mechanic looked at me as if he couldn’t understand, then stared at the place I pointed to.

Kang Min-jae looked at me like that, and then stepped forward as if he realized why.

“This here, can’t you see it? I also thought it was okay because I looked at it roughly earlier, but it’s not.”

“I don’t know what the problem is… This is really…”

The mechanic made a frustrated laugh and looked at the taxi driver.

He seemed anxious because we kept holding him back when he had to run away quickly.

That’s how we kept finding fault with things that weren’t there.

It was then.

The cell phone in my pocket vibrated.

“This is Cha Joo-han.”

─Ah, Attorney. This is Jun-beom. I’ve arrived in front of Real Motors. I can see you attorneys!

“Okay? I got it.”

After I hung up the phone, I stood in front of Kang Min-jae, who was still insisting that the car wasn’t properly repaired.

“I’ll entrust it to another repair shop.”

“Yes? We did our best in our own way.”

“Don’t be surprised because I’m not asking for the cost. It seems like it’s not visible to the president’s eyes but only to our eyes, so there’s nothing we can do.”

“Ugh, okay.”

The mechanic brought out the card machine, and I handed over the card.

I sighed as I watched the receipt come out.

Park Jin-sung ended up like this because he paid in cash and received a handwritten receipt.

There was nothing Park Jin-sung could do, but when the case is over, I think I should advise him to use a card for everything in the future so that evidence remains.

“Then shall we go now?”

The car that slipped out of the factory passed by Jun-beom’s car parked in the alley in front.

When we were a little further away, I called Jun-beom.

“Now they’re going to run away together. I don’t know what car they’ll be leaving in. It could be a taxi, or it could be a regular car. Follow them to the end no matter what. Never let them go.”

Later, I’m going to corner them and ask if they’re not friends even after this, to borrow Kang Min-jae’s expression, I’m going to beat them with words [interrogate them intensely].