You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 532

You’ve Been Defended

“L-Lawyer, I’m really… I’m so sorry. I have no excuse.”

“So, what exactly are you sorry for? Are you sorry that you accidentally hit Attorney Kang while trying to kill me, or are you sorry that you hit Attorney Kang by mistake while driving drowsy?”

Chun Jong-nam rolled his eyes at my question.

He seemed to be deep in thought.

Well, he would be.

From what I overheard during Chun Jong-nam’s phone call, he didn’t seem to know exactly who had hired him for the job.

In reality, it wasn’t Woo-shin who gave him the job, but Onodera.

Wasn’t it Onodera who approached Chun Jong-nam through a Japanese Yakuza [member of a Japanese organized crime syndicate] deeply involved in the Korean private loan market?

However, Chun Jong-nam had asked the person on the other end of the phone, ‘Do you think I don’t know who’s behind you?’ which meant he was only speculating.

In this situation, it’s incredibly difficult to calculate what would be most beneficial for him.

“Well… I mean,”

“It seems like you haven’t grasped the situation yet, but pretending to be drowsy is over. Chun Jong-nam claims it was a setup, but Chun Jong-nam knows best, doesn’t he? That it wasn’t a setup.”

“…….”

“It would be problematic if you think that’s the only recording. Think carefully. You’ve seen that guy before, haven’t you?”

Chun Jong-nam slowly shifted his gaze towards Woo-cheol.

Woo-cheol strode right up to him, and he seemed frightened, inhaling sharply, but he seemed relieved when nothing happened.

From then on, he began to scrutinize Woo-cheol’s face.

“…That, is he the guy who bought cigarettes at the supermarket?”

Chun Jong-nam muttered.

Even if the team dispatched to Munyeok tried hard to hide their presence, they had stayed in the same building for three weeks.

There’s no way they wouldn’t have been noticed at least once.

Seeing that he mentioned the supermarket, it seems he just thought of him as a local resident and dismissed it.

That must have been what Woo-cheol intended.

“One Parliament Hybrid, please. You don’t have it? Then Marlboro Ice Blast. No, you only have domestic brands? Oh, that’s too bad.”

Woo-cheol said nonchalantly, and Chun Jong-nam’s eyes widened.

It seemed Chun Jong-nam had bought cigarettes while that guy was saying those things next to him.

“Then, since when…”

Chun Jong-nam seemed to be trying to figure out how long he had been followed.

After finishing his calculations, his eyes widened.

He probably didn’t realize they had been listening from the beginning.

“I’m going to hand over Chun Jong-nam and all the people who tried to kidnap Chun Jong-nam to the police. I’ve caught those bastards too. There’s evidence of Chun Jong-nam trying to receive money and those guys trying to get rid of Chun Jong-nam, so you can all pay the price together.”

“I-I-It’s illegal! That, earlier, that recording, recording other people’s conversations is illegal! Wouldn’t that be disadvantageous for you too?!”

It seems he’s heard something about it.

He’s right.

According to Article 14, Paragraph 1 of the Protection of Communications Secrets Act, it is illegal for ‘anyone to record private conversations between others that have not been made public.’

However, as with all laws, the verdict can change depending on how the conditions are interpreted.

Can conversations heard from the next room of a poorly soundproofed inn really be considered ‘not made public’?

If the court rules that recording conversations of a third party within audible range is also illegal, there’s nothing I can do, but we’ll have to see.

“So what if it’s illegal? If it’s illegal, I’ll just get punished.”

Woo-cheol said with a smirk.

I appreciate that he’s prepared for that, but I don’t intend to make it happen.

The punishment for violating the Protection of Communications Secrets Act is not as light as one might think, and it could cause significant harm to Woo-cheol.

Besides, their criminal acts can be sufficiently proven even without the recording.

“Recording? What recording.”

“…The one you just played for me, the one you recorded of my conversation!”

“What are you talking about?”

At my question, Chun Jong-nam laughed in disbelief, “Huh!”

“You played it for me! That fabricated one, that!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Hey, have you ever recorded Chun Jong-nam’s conversations?”

When I asked Woo-cheol, he quickly caught on and shook his head.

“No.”

“He says he didn’t record anything?”

“What kind of lawyer is so shameless?”

“Why? I think I’m better than Chun Jong-nam, who stepped on the accelerator of a dump truck to kill someone and claims it was drowsy driving.”

“…….”

“There was no recording, but even if there was, I wouldn’t hand it over to the police.”

I’ve often used precedents where illegally obtained evidence is still admissible, but it depends on the situation.

It’s better not to use it if the person providing the evidence is likely to be punished.

I only use it when it seems like they can get away with it.

“Even without that, it seems like attempted murder could be sufficiently proven with the stacks of cash in Chun Jong-nam’s room, the guys who knocked Chun Jong-nam out, and this friend’s testimony who unintentionally overheard Chun Jong-nam’s conversation.”

“Mister. Use your head. You’re going down for attempted murder in the end. Decide whether you’ll go in alone and take all the blame, or drag someone down with you,” Tae-shik growled in a low voice, and Chun Jong-nam kept biting his dry lips.

He was planning to get 200 million won [approximately $150,000 USD] and spend a short time in jail for accidental injury, but now he must be scared at the thought of going in for attempted murder without a penny.

I understand his dilemma.

But there’s no way out for him in this situation.

Even if he somehow breaks free and defeats all eight of us, including Sang-gil, Tae-shik, and Woo-cheol’s team, and runs away, that would be even more suspicious, and he’ll eventually be caught.

“…Even if I wanted to drag someone down with me, I don’t even know who those bastards are!” Chun Jong-nam screamed, clenching his eyes shut.

“I know.”

“…You know? I thought it was Woo-shin, is it Woo-shin?”

“It’s similar, but no. Where did you first meet the person who gave you the job, Chun Jong-nam?”

“…….”

Chun Jong-nam closed his mouth again.

He knows there’s no way out, but he must be scared to confess.

Watching this quietly, Sang-gil went somewhere and brought back pliers, then squatted down.

And quickly grabbed Chun Jong-nam’s chin.

“Shall I pull out a molar?”

“D-D-Don’t be ridiculous! You’re a lawyer! I know you won’t do such a thing! Who doesn’t know you’re just trying to scare me?!”

“I am a lawyer, but my law firm partner had to have his head opened and undergo surgery because of Chun Jong-nam. He barely survived.”

It’s been three weeks, and he still hasn’t been discharged from the hospital.

He’ll be transitioning to outpatient treatment soon, but he wouldn’t have been in the hospital in the first place if this hadn’t happened.

“I’m trying my best to calm down right now, but if you keep acting like this, I might just want to bury Chun Jong-nam without anyone knowing. You were going to die anyway if we left you alone, so it’s the same whether I kill you or those guys kill you. I’m confident I can kill Chun Jong-nam without getting caught. And even if I do get caught, I have someone who will go in for me.”

“I’m number 1.”

“I’m number 2.”

“I’m number 3.”

Tae-shik, Sang-gil, and Woo-cheol raised their hands in turn.

Then Chun Jong-nam’s chin began to tremble.

“Wouldn’t it be better to just confess and go to jail quietly?”

“I-Initially, at the mahjong house… The manager there suddenly called me, so… That’s when I met him through an introduction. I had a debt of 100 million won [approximately $75,000 USD] to the capital connected to the house, so I decided to meet him…”

It seems he’s ready to talk now.

The word [Truth] appeared above his head.

Sang-gil put down the pliers as if he was disappointed.

“He said he was someone who could guarantee it from the capital, and if I left it as it was, the interest would keep accruing, so he told me to pay off the debt with this and start a new life…”

“So you met him?”

“Yes… I didn’t know his name, his job, anything, just his face… He gave me a few pictures of the lawyer and told me when and where to go, that everything would be prepared, and I just had to receive the signal and take it… He said he’d give me the money right away after confirming the death…”

“300 million won [approximately $225,000 USD]?”

“…Yes, yes. He said I could go in for accidental death and come out… He said he’d even get Tae-gwang Lawyer for me, so I’d be out soon…”

“And the failure fee was 200 million won [approximately $150,000 USD]?”

“…Yes.”

Chun Jong-nam answered obediently, as if he had given up on everything.

“Were the people Chun Jong-nam met today strangers?”

“Yes, yes.”

“What about the person you talked to on the phone? The guy who guaranteed it from the capital?”

“Yes…”

That’s probably the Yakuza guy Onodera hired.

The guys who came to catch Chun Jong-nam today seem to be Woo-shin’s guys, as expected.

“Those guys were planning to knock Chun Jong-nam out and hand him over to Japan. They were planning to feed Chun Jong-nam to the fish in the Japanese sea.”

“…Yes?”

“Don’t you believe me?”

“N-No… They suddenly attacked and knocked me out, so maybe… Then was that money counterfeit too?”

Is that what’s important?

But it’s understandable that he’s curious.

When I gestured to Woo-cheol, he placed a 50,000 won bill [approximately $37.50 USD] next to Chun Jong-nam.

Then he shined a light on it.

“No hidden picture, no watermark. The serial number should increase in size, but the size is the same. It’s counterfeit.”

At Woo-cheol’s words, Chun Jong-nam sighed.

Since Chun Jong-nam had already suspected it was counterfeit, it wasn’t surprising.

“Ah, I see…”

I’m telling him this to reassure him since he seemed to know nothing, but I didn’t realize Chun Jong-nam was so ignorant of this world.

From hearing his actions at the Munyeok Inn, I thought he wasn’t a professional contractor like the meter reader or the shoulder bump [someone who intentionally bumps into people to pickpocket them] I met before, but…

Chun Jong-nam seemed like an ordinary person except for the fact that his conscience and morals were at rock bottom.

I knew Onodera was underestimating me, but the Yakuza who were instructed wouldn’t have been doing this for the first time or two.

Why did they hire a guy like this?

Even if they underestimated me, seeing that they even mobilized the House of Angels to kill me, it clearly means they consulted with Go Sang-jun.

Even if Onodera is like that, Go Sang-jun would have known that if he touched me like this, the backlash would be significant if he failed.

“Why, why are you looking at me like that…”

But looking at that stupid reaction, I think I know why.

If you know this world too well, it’s not easy to clean up if you fail.

Contractors don’t aim to kill someone and live quietly for a while.

They also value their own safety.

If you hire a contractor, the success rate is high, but if the perpetrator isn’t caught, the public opinion will inevitably be that I was murdered.

Then they have to throw a sacrifice to the investigative authorities to avoid suspicion, but the contractors don’t want to be that sacrifice.

Threats don’t work either.

Rather, they don’t do work without knowing who the client is, like Chun Jong-nam, and they generally know best what people who commission contract killings are worried about.

Therefore, the initiative in the aftermath relationship may be transferred to the contractors.

In other words, there must be a perpetrator who can live quietly whether they succeed or fail to package it as a normal accident, but this method of proceeding is impossible with contractors.

That’s why they probably judged that a stupid guy like Chun Jong-nam, who is blinded by money, is easier to handle.

Since it’s just running him over with a dump truck, it doesn’t require great skill, so wouldn’t Chun Jong-nam, who is easier to handle, be perfect rather than a thorough contractor?

If he were a contractor, he wouldn’t have failed to calculate that the guys who came to the Munyeok Inn to give him money would actually kill him instead of giving him money.

But Chun Jong-nam is an ordinary person, so he didn’t have such suspicions.

Even if they succeeded in kidnapping him, it wouldn’t be easy to kill him if he were a contractor.

However, in the case of an ordinary person like Chun Jong-nam, it’s not difficult either.

The Yakuza guys seem to have put some thought into it.

Except for the fact that they didn’t calculate the possibility of Chun Jong-nam being caught by us.

“Chun Jong-nam. Don’t you believe me? I saved Chun Jong-nam.”

“No, I, I believe you!”

“Then why don’t you say thank you.”

At my question, Chun Jong-nam twitched his shoulders.

“Th-Thank you. Thank you!”

“Yeah, you bastard. Give the lawyer a big bow, you bastard,” Tae-shik added, and Chun Jong-nam twisted his body tied to the chair and said awkwardly.

“I’m tied up…”

“Then tell me how great the lawyer’s grace is.”

“Yes?”

“Tell me what you’re thankful for.”

“Th-That… I, I tried to kill the lawyer, and I even hurt the lawyer’s colleague, but thank you for saving me from d-d-dying…”

Well, I didn’t necessarily want to hear him say thank you this much.

“If you’re thankful, what should you say to the police?”

“Yes?”

“About today. What should you say?”

“Th-That, I almost killed the lawyer, but thankfully he saved me, and he even told me what situation I was in…”

“You can just say that much. Right, Chun Jong-nam?”

“Ah, yes! Yes! I will never talk about what happened today. About you tying me up, kicking me over, saying you’d pull out my teeth, or threatening to kill me…”

“When did I do that? Tae-shik, did I say such scary things to Chun Jong-nam?”

When I glanced at Tae-shik, he shook his head firmly.

Sang-gil and Woo-cheol did the same.

They shrugged as if they were hearing strange things.

“What did the lawyer do? Besides scolding Chun Jong-nam for making the wrong choice…”

“Chun Jong-nam, tell me. Did I treat Chun Jong-nam so violently, threaten him, and so on? There’s no one who saw me doing that, no one who heard me. Aren’t you mistaken?”

Chun Jong-nam began to read the room.

By now, he probably realized what he had to do.

He also shook his head and shouted.

“You absolutely didn’t. I must have been mistaken. My memory must be wrong.”

“Then are you going to say strange things to the police?”

“I will never say strange things.”

[Truth]

The results of the education have appeared.

“If you don’t say strange things until the end, Chun Jong-nam will be safe. Don’t believe it even if those guys somehow contact you and say they’ll get Chun Jong-nam out. Even if they really get you out, they’ll eventually drag you away and bury you. You know that because you saw it today, right?”

“…Yes. Yes, I know. I will do that.”

[Truth]

“If anyone approaches you saying strange things, contact me. I will help you.”

“Th-Then, about my attempted murder charge, would the lawyer defend me, or something like that…”

“That’s not going to happen. I didn’t become a lawyer to defend trash like Chun Jong-nam.”

Chun Jong-nam dropped his head.

“In a few more days, the police will issue an arrest warrant for Chun Jong-nam. I’ll let you go then, so you can be arrested then.”

“…Can’t I turn myself in now?”

“What if they conduct a non-custodial investigation and those guys come to kill Chun Jong-nam? It’ll be safer to be arrested.”

“I’ll wait until the arrest warrant is issued.”

When I gestured to Sang-gil, he grabbed Chun Jong-nam and his chair, which were still tilted back, and straightened them up at the same time.

“Then is our conversation over?”

“There’s one thing left. You have to apologize to the person who got a hole in his skull because of Chun Jong-nam.”

“…Ah, yes.”

“Unfortunately, he’s still in the hospital, so he can’t come here in person. Let’s send him a video message.”

Tae-shik immediately took out his phone and turned on the camera.

Chun Jong-nam, who was in the frame, glanced at the lens.

“Start the video message.”

“…L-Lawyer Kang Min-jae. I’m really sorry. I heard you were badly, h-h-hurt… Because of me… You must have been very surprised to have such a thing happen to you… I sincerely hope you recover healthily… And, p-p-perhaps, would you consider settling…”

“NG [No Good]. Why is there talk of settlement when you’re apologizing?”

When he was tackled, Chun Jong-nam sighed.

He probably doesn’t know that you have to be careful not to let your true feelings come out when you apologize.

“Again.”

“Lawyer Kang Min-jae, I’m really, I have no excuse…”

After three takes, we were able to get a video message that could be sent to Kang Min-jae.

“Feed Chun Jong-nam what he wants to eat so he can fill his stomach before going to jail and take care of him.”

“Yes, Lawyer. But how much can I spend per meal?”

“Ten thousand won [approximately $7.50 USD].”

“Ten thousand won for such trash, you’re really generous, Lawyer. Go in now.”

I came out of the Indeok warehouse, receiving Woo-cheol’s greetings.

It was already starting to dawn.

I’m tired from being awake for so long, but it’s not bad to greet the morning with such a refreshing feeling.

I was about to close my eyes for a moment after getting into the car driven by Sang-gil, but Tae-shik opened his mouth.

“But Lawyer.”

“What.”

“Did you really have any intention of killing that bastard Chun Jong-nam?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Then what about pulling out his teeth?”

“I had no intention of doing that, of course.”

It’s true that my anger didn’t subside as surprisingly as it should have, but would I really do that?

I just made threats that would work well on those kinds of people.

But what if I wasn’t a lawyer?

If I had a little less respect for the law, I might have seriously considered it.

Still, I wouldn’t have inflicted harm that would damage his body so much.

Even in prison, they don’t officially assault inmates.

Would I, as a mere individual, have the authority to do that?

The law did not grant me that authority.

I can’t live my life obeying all the laws, but I’m still constantly trying not to cross the line that shouldn’t be crossed.

Because that’s the only way I can pride myself on being a better human being than Go Sang-jun.