You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 113

“Nothing happened.”

[Truth]

Nothing happened, but why?

Suddenly, I remembered what Lee Ye-jin had said in the phone call earlier.

The words that she had made a decision after much deliberation.

“The kids are in college, and we’ve almost paid off all our debts. Now I want to do what I want to do. Like you, Attorney Cha.”

When he first told me he wanted to resign, Section Chief Oh said he envied me for being able to act according to my conscience.

He said he couldn’t do that because of his family.

That was only at the beginning of last year.

All the worries he had at the time couldn’t have disappeared in the meantime.

“…Section Chief.”

“Working with you on Jung Young-joon’s case a while ago reminded me of the old days. I kept thinking about it. I kept longing for the days when I worked with you at the Prosecutor’s Office.”

Section Chief Oh took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat that had already formed on his forehead.

“It’s a bit gross, isn’t it? Hehe. Because I kept thinking about other things, Prosecutor Lee asked me what was wrong and suggested we talk separately. So I opened up to him.”

Listening to him, I could picture it in my head to some extent.

I think I knew why Lee Ye-jin said that.

Even the expression that he liked me enough to be jealous.

“Then, Prosecutor Lee told me to go see Attorney Cha. He said you’d probably give me a better salary than when I was at the Prosecutor’s Office. Haha. Oh, of course, I’m not asking you to do that! Don’t misunderstand.”

Section Chief Oh waved his hands wildly, as if he thought he had made a slip of the tongue.

Then Kang Min-jae whispered to him with a serious face.

“Section Chief. You can ask him to do that. Attorney Cha will definitely take care of you.”

“I’m not hoping for that. You’ve only been open for a year and a half, and I came to you first without a job posting. I just want to work with you like in the old days. That’s all.”

“In that case, would you be willing to start as an unpaid intern?”

When I asked, Section Chief Oh flinched.

“Well, that’s…”

Section Chief Oh has two daughters.

As far as I know, I heard that his second daughter graduated from junior college this year and got a job.

But even so, if he wanted to marry off his two children and prepare for retirement, it was definitely a better choice to stay in the Prosecutor’s Office.

Because he got married early, he was still in his 40s even with two college graduate children.

“Kang, print out a contract.”

Kang Min-jae looked at me with a horrified expression.

His eyes seemed to be asking if I was really going to use a high-quality workforce like Section Chief Oh as an unpaid intern.

Hmm, was my joke too much?

“As you know, our office is still new, so there may be some uncertainties. If you leave the Prosecutor’s Office and join our office, it means you’ll have to bear some risks.”

“I know.”

Section Chief Oh looked at me with a more nervous look.

“I will give you twice the salary you received in the existing Prosecutor’s Office. Your annual salary will be increased through negotiations every year. Of course, we have to provide the four major insurances [national health insurance, national pension, employment insurance, and workers’ compensation insurance, mandatory in South Korea]. From Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Is that okay with you?”

“…”

“Oh, and Kang is also working as a freelancer, so this is the first time we’re hiring an employee. I’d like to find out more about welfare benefits and other matters and make a proposal, so would you give me some time?”

Section Chief Oh had a dazed expression.

I thought for a moment and opened my mouth again.

“If the salary is not enough, we can increase it further. If you have a desired salary level, please tell me.”

“No, Attorney, no! It’s enough! No, I didn’t think I’d receive that much. I thought I’d be grateful if I could receive a salary similar to what I used to receive!”

Section Chief Oh jumped up and shouted.

It was rare to see him make such a loud noise.

“After you submit your resignation, please let me know as soon as the retirement date is set. Before that, we will prepare the furniture for the office for Section Chief, no… for the Office Manager.”

* * *

And about a month later, Section Chief Oh joined the office.

In the midst of the hectic pace of incoming cases, he had to move quickly as soon as he came to work.

He went to and from the court frequently, organized documents, and greeted clients who came for consultations.

There wasn’t that much of a difference between the work that Office Manager Oh, no, Office Manager Oh, had been doing when he was at the Prosecutor’s Office, so he adapted quickly.

Above all, Kang Min-jae seemed to feel a great sense of satisfaction that he had someone to listen to his chatter.

“Ah, working on the weekend. I really hate it.”

Kang Min-jae stretched as he entered the office.

It was inevitable because of the overflowing work, and above all, he was the one who suggested coming out today.

I couldn’t figure out why he was glaring at me.

“By the way, Office Manager, did you win the lottery last week? Isn’t today the day the lottery numbers come out this week? I forgot to ask you now.”

“If I had won first prize, wouldn’t I have not come to work since Monday?”

“Ah, that’s right.”

“I still got five thousand won [approximately $3.70 USD].”

“You broke even.”

“I’ll win when I buy it this week.”

Office Manager Oh huffed and tore up the lottery ticket he bought last week and threw it in the trash.

When was it that he missed the lottery by one number in his previous life?

“Office Manager.”

“Yes?”

“You always buy automatically, right?”

I don’t remember when, but I know it’s a future that hasn’t come yet.

“Yes, right?”

“From now on, buy two more tickets with numbers that are one number ahead and behind the automatically generated numbers. Manually.”

“Yes? Why?”

“I heard that it increases the chances of winning.”

If it’s within the range I can change, wouldn’t it be better to go in the direction that makes my colleagues the happiest?

“Hey, there’s no such thing.”

Kang Min-jae interjected.

“I’ve never heard of that either.”

“Right? Attorney must have read something strange somewhere.”

I naturally stepped out of the conversation and looked at the calendar…

“I remembered.”

I finally remembered what I had forgotten.

“What is it?”

Kang Min-jae asked, but instead of answering, I picked up my cell phone.

I found Yoon Se-yeon’s phone number in it.

I pressed the call button, but my eyes were still on the calendar.

I don’t remember the exact date.

But what is certain is that he described the time when the incident occurred as a chilly time in 2009.

If it had been full autumn or winter, he would have expressed it clearly.

Judging from that ambiguous expression, it’s definitely around this time.

But I still remember that face, red-eyed as he tilted his soju [Korean distilled rice liquor] glass at a yukhoe [Korean raw beef dish] restaurant in Seocho-dong.

-Aren’t you Attorney Cha Joo-han, who was happily interviewed on News 9?

The dial tone ended, and Yoon Se-yeon answered the phone.

“I’m calling because I want to know the contact information for Choi Jong-hyun, a reporter from the social affairs department.”

-Senior Choi? Why all of a sudden?

The playful voice turned serious in an instant.

-If you have anything to report, tell me! You used to tell me anyway.”

“It’s not something to report, I have personal business.”

“…With Senior Choi? On Saturday?”

Yoon Se-yeon raised the end of her voice as if she was suspicious.

“Yes.”

-He’s not in Seoul right now. He’s on a business trip to Jeolla-do [province in southwestern Korea].”

“A business trip?”

My head started to get complicated.

As he said he was on a business trip to Jeolla-do, the increasingly faint memories began to become clearer.

At that time, there was a person involved in the case in Mokpo [city in Jeolla-do], so I went down there for a while.

[I was camped out there for a few days trying to meet the person involved, but I couldn’t meet him, so I couldn’t cover the story. If that’s the case, would things have changed if I had come up a little earlier? I sometimes think about that.]

“Where exactly in Jeolla-do is he on a business trip?”

-I think it’s Mokpo?

As expected.

It’s around this time.

“How long has he been on a business trip?”

-I don’t know about that. Should I leave a message for Senior?”

“Can’t I get his contact information?”

-I can’t give out personal contact information unless it’s a report. Is it urgent?”

“It’s urgent.”

-Then I’ll ask Senior Choi and tell him to contact you.”

“Please.”

-Okay. But, you’re really not trying to report something, are you?”

Yoon Se-yeon repeatedly urged me to report any incidents to her.

I was about to tell her that this was not something I should report, but something other media outlets should cover, but I stopped.

“…”

If I had remembered right away when I first thought I had forgotten something, I wouldn’t be so anxious.

Maybe it’s already too late.

While waiting for Choi Jong-hyun’s call, I twirled my pen somewhat anxiously.

No.

If the incident had already happened, it would have been on the news, so it wouldn’t be too late yet.

The problem is that I have no idea how much time is left until that incident.

“Attorney, do you have business with Choi Jong-hyun?”

Office Manager Oh put a cup of tea in front of me and asked.

“Yes. Office Manager, do you know Reporter Choi?”

“Yes. Of course.”

This was an unexpected fact.

I stared at Office Manager Oh.

In my previous life, they didn’t know each other until I introduced them.

“He’s the reporter who covered Jung Young-joon’s case a while ago. He was so persistent. They say his nickname is Pitbull.”

“That’s right, Pitbull.”

People gave him the nickname Pitbull because he never let go once he bit.

“Let’s see. I registered this person’s phone number to spam it.”

Office Manager Oh opened his cell phone flip and pressed the buttons for a long time, then handed the cell phone to me.

“This number should be correct.”

I stopped writing down the phone number from his cell phone and picked up Office Manager Oh’s cell phone and pressed the call button.

Office Manager Oh seemed surprised, perhaps because it was an unexpected action.

But I had no time to pay attention to that.

-Section Chief Oh Yang-hoon? Hehe, what’s going on? You’re calling me?

Choi Jong-hyun’s voice was heard from the other side of the phone a few seconds after I made the call.

I was happy to hear his voice after a long time, but this was not the time.

“This is not Section Chief Oh Yang-hoon, but Attorney Cha Joo-han, Reporter Choi Jong-hyun.”

-Attorney Cha Joo-han? …Ah, are you that Attorney Cha Joo-han?

“Can you talk for a moment?”

-I can, but… What business do you have, Attorney Cha, that you’re calling me on Section Chief Oh Yang-hoon’s cell phone?

He asked, as if he was wondering.

“You need to come up to Seoul now.”

-Yes? Now? Do you have anything to report?”

“I have nothing to report.”

-I don’t know why you’re doing this, but please wait a little longer. Or you can tell me over the phone now. I’m out covering a story right now. I can’t just go up.”

“You’re going to fail that coverage anyway.”

“…What did you say?”

He asked back as if he was displeased.

“Come up to Seoul now.”

-Why are you doing this? You have to give me a reason to convince me.”

“Reporter Choi’s beloved junior, Reporter Kim Jung-woo. He’s going to die soon.”

-…Yes?”

“And Iljung Ilbo [fictional newspaper name] will say that all of that is because of Reporter Choi. You’re going to be framed.”