You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 515

“This is definitely a hospital.”

As soon as the NIS [National Intelligence Service, South Korea’s primary intelligence agency] and Taesik’s people secured the drone, they used it to film the inside of the building.

Reviewing the drone footage, security personnel were always stationed near the front and back gates, controlling access.

Passing through the forest beyond the fence and entering the premises, a fairly large building comes into view, with a sign above the entrance on the first floor clearly indicating it’s a hospital.

The hospital’s name is Reborn Medical Center.

Judging by the English name ‘reborn,’ it seems to imply being born again.

“What is this, being reborn with someone else’s organs?”

Jo Bong-joon, who was looking at the same thing as me, scoffed.

Looking at the building itself, if it weren’t for the sign, one might think it was built by someone with a keen interest in architectural design; it looked quite stylish.

In some ways, it resembles a house, and in others, it looks like a corporate building built with a lot of attention to detail.

Since they reported it as building a house, I suspect they intentionally made it look that way from the outside.

With this design, it might feel a bit awkward to call it a hospital.

But conversely, there’s no law saying a hospital can’t be built like this, is there?

“The sign isn’t very big. And it doesn’t seem to be completely attached to the building.”

As Choi Jong-hyun said, the hospital sign didn’t seem difficult to detach.

Although it’s not very clear, it appears to be made of separate letters, and there are things that look like wheels attached to the bottom.

Perhaps it was made so it could be quickly removed before a warrant is issued if they get involved in some incident.

“It doesn’t look like they’re open for business yet.”

Except for the personnel guarding the gate, there were no people coming and going inside.

Moreover, there are only a few vehicles visible, and the landscaping inside is not yet complete.

There are no lights on inside the building either.

“We might have discovered it by luck before it opened. But why did they build it in our country? It seems like if you’re determined to find it in this small country, you wouldn’t be able to avoid it. What are they going to do if they get caught?”

“Isn’t China and the United States where the most organ transplants are performed worldwide? The United States is far away, but China is relatively close, and from what I’ve heard, it’s practically a mecca for transplant tourism. Is there a reason to specifically entrust it to Wooshin? They seem to charge a lot of money too.”

“If Wooshin was going to do big business with it, they might have built it in China. But Wooshin’s purpose isn’t business. It’s to solidify their cartel, to hold lives as collateral. So it’s a kind of service concept.”

Choi Jong-hyun rubbed his chin and slowly nodded.

They’re right.

Moreover, people who go to China for organ transplants have no choice but to use brokers.

They have to provide them with huge commissions and accept the hospitals and donors they arrange.

It’s a structure where they’re swayed by the brokers.

And although they advertise that security is thorough, the reality is unknown.

You have to pay a lot of money and take on a big risk.

However, in Wooshin’s case, once you become their client, there’s not much to worry about.

In the first place, not just anyone can become Wooshin’s client, can they?

They’ll only select people who are likely to be beneficial.

So they’ve built trust with the thought, ‘Surely Wooshin wouldn’t make a mistake with us?’

They have money to burn, and if they give Wooshin money, they don’t have to worry about anything; they’ll get the best doctors in the best condition to handle everything smoothly.

Also, from Wooshin’s perspective, it would be cumbersome in many ways to build a hospital in China when they’re not going to do that many surgeries.

“The reason for surgery in China is that there are many donors there for some reason. But Wooshin uses children living in Korea. So there’s no reason to go all the way to China for surgery.”

“That’s right. Oh, and it’s a bit unusual that it’s a closed-off form, unlike Okashima Hospital.”

“They must have learned from the trials and errors they experienced at Okashima Hospital and built it in our country based on that. With an open form, you can’t stop anyone from accessing public information if they’re determined to dig.”

“Then wouldn’t it be better to just leave Okashima Hospital as it is and create such a secret place in Japan?”

If they were worried about being discovered in Korea, that would certainly be better.

But they may have seen other problems as bigger.

“To send the children from the House of Angels out, they need to regularly resolve visa issues for study abroad purposes. If the tail is too long, they’ll get caught. Not many people send their children to study in Japan these days, so it’s also strange, isn’t it?”

“Right. Usually, if you’re going to study abroad, you go to an English-speaking country these days.”

“And even if they went to Japan for study abroad, they might have to report a death someday… Even if they send them out with forged passports, it’s dangerous if it’s repeated. Moreover, the former president suspected this during his tenure and investigated it, which they barely got through, but now there are people who are trying to take over this.”

“Us?”

“That’s right. Well, they did some nasty things to stop it, but they wouldn’t have thought that they completely blocked it with that. So they must have thought that they shouldn’t take the risk of sending the kids abroad anymore.”

“That’s right. It’s just, ‘Let the hungry guys come here,’ something like that. The guys who come in can just come and go without a visa unless they’re going to stay for more than three months anyway.”

Everyone’s words make sense.

Anyway, the good thing is that the hospital located in Songju Mountain hasn’t started operating in earnest yet, so no additional victims have emerged since we became aware of this incident.

Choi Jae-hoon didn’t touch the child named Yoo Jong-eun, who was lying in the operating room, to keep his promise with Jung Ji-min, and there have been no changes in the personnel of the House of Angels except for Sohn Jung-min, who called me out, right?

“We have no choice but to keep checking if there are any missing people from the House of Angels while keeping an eye on Songju Mountain.”

“I’m wondering if we should deploy people to Songju Mountain… RND’s land ownership isn’t the entire entrance area.”

“Let’s consider how to monitor it. If we’re going to start by exposing Choi Jae-hoon’s case anyway, we’ll issue a search warrant for that place faster than we think. It seems like it’ll be okay as long as no vacancies occur in the House of Angels until then.”

I wish ICIJ [International Consortium of Investigative Journalists] would approve Choi Jong-hyun’s membership soon.

“Is the ICIJ membership document preparation going well?”

“I’ve prepared the portfolio and scraps, and now I’m going to send them together when the TOEFL [Test of English as a Foreign Language] test scores come out. Of course, even if I submit the scores, there will be a separate interview.”

“When is the test?”

“This week. Ha, I’m studying at this age. It seems like 90 points or higher is considered a high score, so I’m aiming for that much too. But what if I don’t get the score and they don’t accept me?”

“That hyung [older brother or male friend] got all the listening and reading questions right when he tried them alone. You won’t be rejected because of your English skills, so don’t worry about that, Attorney Cha.”

“Hey, writing and speaking are the hidden dangers.”

“Fighting [Good luck/You can do it].”

Choi Jong-hyun ruffled his hair and sighed.

“By the way, what happened to that dump truck bastard?”

“They haven’t filed an insurance claim yet, and they’re out of contact. It seems like they’re not even answering the police’s calls.”

“He’s just dying to be arrested.”

“That’s what I’m saying. It’s good for us. But seeing that the dump truck driver is still holed up in the motel he went to right after the accident, it seems like he hasn’t reached a smooth agreement with Onodera yet. Taesik’s guys have even gotten the room next door to keep an eye on him. Who knows? Now that Onodera is like this, who knows if they’ll try to kill the dump truck driver to silence him.”

“Damn, people’s lives are worth less than flies. Seeing them try to kill him at the drop of a hat.”

“If that situation arises, we need to make sure the dump truck driver doesn’t die, so we’re planning to keep them there for the time being.”

* * *

“How on earth can things proceed like this? Do you think this makes sense right now?”

Onodera slammed the table with his palm and shouted.

I was surprised to see him angrier than ever when I last met him in person, but today his face was flushed red.

It wouldn’t be strange if he exploded at any moment.

Oda Satoshi felt cold sweat running down his back and tightly closed his eyes.

“From what I’ve heard, the former president’s grandson suddenly intruded and took the dump truck… Wasn’t that an unpredictable variable? Please calm down a bit…”

“You!”

Before Oda Satoshi could finish speaking, Onodera pointed at him with a voice full of anger.

Oda Satoshi was startled and stopped in his tracks.

“Whose side are you on! Now that I see it, you sound exactly like Go Sang-joon! You say you have to squeeze as much as possible out of Go Sang-joon, but your actions are no different from being Go Sang-joon’s henchman!”

Go Sang-joon’s henchman.

Oda Satoshi was dumbfounded.

He ended up in a strange position somewhere between Go Sang-joon and the Japanese political and business figures because he became a partner, but he endured it because he was compensated accordingly.

But now he has to hear that he’s Go Sang-joon’s henchman.

His pride was hurt, and he couldn’t bear it.

But on the other hand, it was also true that he had nothing else to say here.

He didn’t want to get involved, so he contacted Go Sang-joon directly and told him to do as Onodera wanted, connecting them so they could talk directly.

That way, it would pass to the problem of Go Sang-joon and Onodera, and he thought he could get out.

However, Go Sang-joon seemed to have warned Onodera that killing Cha Joo-han wouldn’t be easy.

But Onodera was adamant, and in the end, Go Sang-joon cooperated with the thought that ‘It would be good for me if Onodera succeeds in killing Cha Joo-han.’

And the result was, as expected, a failure.

Now that the situation has become like this, Go Sang-joon will try his best to cover it up, but he wouldn’t have started the work with the same naive mindset as he told himself, ‘It would be good for me if it succeeds.’

He must have made a hole for himself to escape.

If things get big, he’ll put the blame on Onodera or anyone else.

“Listening to Go Sang-joon bragging about how great he is, saying that I warned him, that it wouldn’t be easy, makes me furious! Ha, that’s enough. I don’t need to entrust my grandson’s work to you while being treated like this. The reason I came here today is to let you know that we’re over. Got it?”

“Councilor, please calm down a bit…”

“Calm down? Man, ha… I’m giving you advice because I’ve known you for a while. You’re Go Sang-joon’s henchman now. Go Sang-joon will definitely say no. And you’ll think no too. But it’s true! In my eyes, it’s true!”

“……”

“I can just find my grandson’s heart somewhere else! I’ve been holding back until now because I didn’t want to give my grandson a heart from someone who doesn’t even know what they ate or what environment they grew up in! …That’s enough. Tell Go Sang-joon too. Don’t even hope for my support in the future! I told him to take care of that lawyer, but he’s thinking of attaching a guy who stupidly took the former president’s grandson to me… How……”

There will be a leadership election for the ruling party soon.

The person who wins this leadership election will become the Prime Minister.

And everyone is predicting Onodera as the next leader.

If Onodera ends things here, his position becomes ambiguous.

Even if he hurriedly tries to cut ties with Go Sang-joon from now on, it will take time, and even if he tries to approach Onodera then, he won’t accept him.

He’s too entangled with Go Sang-joon, so he can’t cut it off like cutting a radish just by saying ‘I’m done with you.’

No matter how bad he feels, he has no choice but to appease Onodera for now.

“Councilor. Go Sang-joon is a hundred times wrong for not being able to handle that lawyer properly. Of course. Seeing him being swayed by just a lawyer, he’s nothing special either. I think so too, and I was also furious when I saw him postponing Onodera-kun’s surgery. But I was holding back because the situation wouldn’t get better if even I got angry… So I was also holding back.”

It’s not just about Onodera.

Onodera’s entire family is a prestigious noble family.

How else would a married daughter not follow her husband’s surname and keep her own, and even pass that surname on to her children?

He can’t make them an ally, but he can’t make them an absolute enemy.

That’s why Go Sang-joon also put his heart and soul into his relationship with Onodera.

But now it doesn’t matter what happens to Go Sang-joon and Onodera.

Oda Satoshi only had the thought of saving himself first.

“So?”

“The reason I said that Onodera-kun’s surgery should be entrusted to Wooshin is exactly as you said, Councilor. When I looked into it, I heard that if you get an organ transplant, the personality or habits of the previous organ owner are transferred to the person who received the transplant. Well, even if it’s not a proven story, there seem to be quite a few cases like this. So we can’t transplant an organ into Onodera-kun that we don’t know where it grew up or how it grew up. So I clearly told Go Sang-joon. The heart owner who will enter Onodera-kun’s body must not only be healthy! They must also be a child with a good personality, bright, and kind!”

“……”

“Go Sang-joon, we can just throw him away after this is done well. At best, isn’t he just a peddler from the Joseon Peninsula [historical name for Korea]? I think it was too much to expect perfect work from such a guy.”

“So, what are you going to do now? Go Sang-joon is scared of that lawyer, and he says he can’t proceed with the work in a situation where that guy is watching. I’m going crazy right now because I tried to kill that lawyer and ended up taking the former president’s grandson. Moreover, I heard that Go Sang-joon killed that former president too! It’s obvious that the situation has worsened, so would that coward even try to do anything?”

Onodera seemed to have softened a bit after they cursed Go Sang-joon together.

He really seemed to believe that he was on Go Sang-joon’s side.

Oda Satoshi stroked his chest and racked his brains.

The best thing here is to pressure Go Sang-joon to proceed with the surgery, and in the meantime, he should cut ties with Go Sang-joon and come out with his hands clean.

Onodera is particularly clear and picky about people, and he has a petty side, so once a relationship is distorted, it’s difficult to turn it back.

Oda Satoshi straightened his posture and said.

“Rather than trying to kill that lawyer again and only increasing the risk, I think it’s right to force Onodera-kun’s surgery somehow. Moreover, I’m in the middle… Of course, it was a situation where you could misunderstand me enough, Councilor. Of course. But it hurts my heart to be misunderstood as taking Go Sang-joon’s side… I’d rather you talk to him directly. I’ll tell Go Sang-joon to come to Japan and present a proper countermeasure to you, Councilor. If he acts lukewarm, I’ll also pressure him by saying that I’ll end my relationship with Go Sang-joon.”

“……Will that work?”

“Of course. If Go Sang-joon knows his place, he can’t do this! I’m also very angry that he dared to be so rude to Councilor Onodera. Until now, I held back because I thought I shouldn’t show an irrational side either, but you shouldn’t do that to Councilor Onodera! Who did Wooshin, who only sold rice, get to handle that big money thanks to!”

Oda Satoshi spoke loudly.

Onodera’s complexion, which had been flushed red, had improved quite a bit after he thoroughly disparaged Go Sang-joon.

“Then can you properly handle that dump truck driver too? Without any dirt splashing on me. The leadership election is just around the corner. It’s about to be decided whether I can succeed my father and become the Prime Minister again. At a time like this, this stress on me! The guy who inflicted this stress on me will have to beg so sincerely that I can forgive him.”

“Give him a good scolding. You need to let him know who he can live so well like now thanks to.”

Oda Satoshi, who succeeded in appeasing Onodera, clenched his fist tightly under the table.

Now that it’s come to this, Go Sang-joon has to come directly and appease Onodera.