You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 130

It was Kang Min-jae who suggested drinks, but Oh Assistant Manager and I were the ones draining our glasses.

We asked for recommendations for drinks that would pair well with our meal and ordered accordingly.

Choi Jong-hyun was taken aback by the prices on the menu, but when I reiterated that I was paying, he eagerly ordered everything he wanted.

Watching him ask if he could order this and that, he seemed like he hadn’t eaten in days.

“Ah, I’m stuffed.”

Choi Jong-hyun patted his noticeably swollen stomach and reached for a cigarette.

“Oh, Assistant Manager, you don’t happen to smoke, do you?”

He subtly moved the ashtray on the table, indicating his desire to light up.

“Go ahead.”

I sighed, glancing at the ashtray in Choi Jong-hyun’s hand. I had been planning to step outside for a smoke myself.

The law prohibiting smoking in bars would be passed a few years later.

It’s been almost two years since I came back, but it seems I still have some old habits.

“So, Reporter Choi. Did you manage to find out what I asked you to investigate?”

Almost an hour had passed since we met.

It was time to get down to business.

Choi Jong-hyun poured a bit of water into the ashtray and extinguished his cigarette, replying,

“Would I have contacted Attorney Cha if I hadn’t?”

Oh Assistant Manager’s expression subtly tightened at Choi Jong-hyun’s response.

He could have simply said yes, but the way he phrased it felt unnecessarily rude.

Unlike my previous life, he seemed to have formed a negative impression of me from the start, so I was accustomed to his prickly demeanor.

“To be honest, I’m not particularly thrilled with the results of my investigation.”

Choi Jong-hyun said, looking me directly in the eye.

“In what way?”

“Everyone has some skeletons in their closet, but yours are surprisingly few.”

I chuckled.

“There should be plenty of dirt. Especially if you asked around in this industry, you’d hear nothing but complaints.”

“They do say you’re too flashy. That you’re blinded by money and fame.”

As Choi Jong-hyun replied with a smile, Oh Assistant Manager, who had been silent until now, sighed and spoke up.

“Reporter Choi. Watch your words.”

He had been on edge the whole time, and it seemed he didn’t care for Choi Jong-hyun.

From the moment he gave me Choi’s contact information, he mentioned saving it with the intention of blocking him, so perhaps it stemmed from a bad first impression.

Seeing him like this, Oh Assistant Manager seems more by-the-book than I, who was once called an FM robot [a person who strictly follows rules and regulations].

Of course, the nickname FM robot seems to have faded since I left the prosecutor’s office.

“Oh dear. I was trying to add a twist by bringing up the negative aspects first, but I’ve upset you, Assistant Manager.”

Choi Jong-hyun scratched his cheek, observing Oh Assistant Manager’s still-stiff expression.

“I know. The guys who call Attorney Cha flashy are usually the ones with twisted guts. The criticism that he’s greedy for money is usually projection. Most of those who criticize him are the ones who are most greedy for money and went to Taekwang and Jangyeong [prestigious law firms], aren’t they? If Attorney Cha was really after money, he would have joined one of them a long time ago. I heard that Taekwang, with its high standards, was constantly trying to recruit him.”

Choi Jong-hyun chuckled and added, as if making excuses.

“As for chasing fame, well, isn’t that similar? It’s more impressive to say, ‘I’m an attorney with Taekwang,’ than to say, ‘I’m a self-employed attorney.’ Attorney Cha has handled many high-profile cases, but when he first took them on, he was criticized for tilting at windmills [fighting imaginary enemies]. He defied expectations and won frequently, so fame naturally followed.”

What is this sudden praise?

Even though Oh Assistant Manager showed displeasure, Choi Jong-hyun wasn’t the type to hold back his opinions to avoid upsetting someone.

“I understand that there are people who criticize him, saying that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down [people who stand out are often targeted]. I don’t see that as a flaw. It’s common for people with a rebellious spirit. In that respect, I feel somewhat connected to him.”

“Is that so?”

“Should I list more? Perfect score on the college entrance exam. Graduated at the top of Seoul National University’s Law School. Graduated at the top of the Judicial Research and Training Institute [a prestigious institution for training judges, prosecutors, and lawyers]. Never lost a case in court. He’s even rumored to be tall and handsome. It’s full of heartwarming stories to the point of being sickening.”

Choi Jong-hyun shuddered as if he was disgusted.

Even I felt my hands and feet curling up as I listened.

I even started to wish he would go back to criticizing me.

But Oh Assistant Manager’s stiff expression had softened slightly.

…Was this what he wanted?

“Ah, of course, there were people who said they didn’t know his personality well, but let’s disregard that.”

“Attorney Cha has a good personality.”

Oh Assistant Manager retorted.

His face was expressionless, but I, who had known him for a long time, could detect the subtle difference.

His face showed a proud look, like a father who had heard praise for his son.

“But.”

But that was only for a moment.

As Choi Jong-hyun used a conjunction to introduce content that contradicted the previous statement, Oh Assistant Manager subtly raised his eyebrows.

“So, he lacks humanity. I trust him even less. I feel like I’m being deceived by the most eloquent con artist in the world.”

I hadn’t used my ability [likely a supernatural ability to discern truth] on people I trusted recently, but this time I glanced at the top of his head.

The word ‘truth’ was shining, so it seemed he wasn’t saying it to appear aloof.

In the end, his words were structurally symmetrical overall.

Whether he said he wasn’t happy with the investigation results or that he couldn’t trust me, it amounted to the same thing.

In my previous life, he came to me on his own, but trying to bring him in earlier than planned is proving to be more troublesome than I anticipated.

“If Attorney Cha has some ulterior motive and is manipulating me by releasing information bit by bit, I feel like I’ll be completely ensnared.”

He emptied the glass in front of him in one gulp and chewed on a cold side dish.

Then, he rested his hands on his knees and let out a deep sigh.

“But. Honestly, I’m so tempted by Attorney Cha’s information network. So I’ve been thinking about it for days…”

Choi Jong-hyun refilled his glass and gulped down the alcohol.

Drinking alcohol in quick succession while speaking was a habit he displayed when saying something he felt was a little sensitive.

“For the time being, I’ll be on the same boat as Attorney Cha, as he said. But if I feel that this anxiety is justified, I’ll jump ship immediately. Honestly, you can curse me for being ungrateful. I feel a little bad for saying this, considering I owe Attorney Cha a lot.”

“You don’t need to feel bad. That’s separate from this. I wouldn’t want someone I don’t trust involved in something that’s a matter of life and death.”

“I’m grateful that you understand. I want to slightly retract the statement that I don’t know his personality well.”

He chuckled and looked me in the eye.

“Then, since you understand, understand one more thing. I have one request to make of Attorney Cha.”

“Please, tell me.”

“Give Go Sang-jun a punch in the face.”

At those words, I tilted my head.

“Is that a metaphor?”

“Surely you don’t mean to actually punch him in the face?”

“I’d like to actually punch him in the face, but metaphorically punching him is also acceptable. I’m curious as to how you intend to punch him.”

Instead of answering, he took out a photo from the briefcase he had brought and handed it to me.

As soon as I picked up the photo, I let out a small exclamation.

“It’s the person protesting in front of Wooshin Corporation’s headquarters.”

“…Huh? You knew about this case?”

“No, I happened to see it while I was out on business today. I don’t know the details yet.”

At the time, I had only skimmed the headline, but I was able to learn the details through the photo Choi Jong-hyun handed me.

“To put it simply, this protester is a family member of an employee in the apartment business division of Wooshin Corporation’s construction sector. I heard that the employee was severely beaten by Go Yoon-sung [Go Sang-jun’s youngest son], but Go Yoon-sung is now claiming to be the victim and suing the employee. The employee has even been indicted.”

The words ‘crazy bastard’ escaped me without realizing it.

There’s no way a regular employee of a construction company could have beaten Go Sang-jun’s youngest son to the point of incapacitating him.

If that really happened, I would honestly want to commend his courage.

If a dispute arose between Go Yoon-sung and someone unknown, I can say with certainty that Go Yoon-sung would be at fault.

You might argue that as a former prosecutor, I should adhere to the principle of presumption of innocence, but it’s different when it comes to Go Yoon-sung.

Even if the person fighting Go Yoon-sung was Satan himself, there was a high probability that Go Yoon-sung was at fault.

Of course, I can’t deny that my personal feelings are involved, but this is a deduction based on accumulated data.

“Well, when I saw Attorney Cha’s whiteboard, you had written ‘hangman’ under Go Yoon-sung’s photo. I guess you get the idea.”

There were dozens of names written on that whiteboard, and I assumed he wouldn’t have noticed it because he was preoccupied with the House of Angels.

His awareness was greater than I thought.

“Actually, I heard about it from a labor union leader who was close to the victimized employee. The labor union was already in an uproar because Go Yoon-sung’s abuse was so rampant, but in that situation, an employee was even assaulted, so there was strong sentiment to address the issue. But Go Yoon-sung suddenly claimed that the employee attacked him and is now playing the victim. The situation has become convoluted.”

The labor union leaders who had witnessed Go Yoon-sung’s abuse naturally wanted to believe in the employee’s innocence, but they needed objective evidence to gain support.

So even if they tried to capitalize on the situation, it would be difficult to rally support without 100% certainty that Go Yoon-sung was at fault.

“Since the prosecution has even indicted him, some people are saying that there must be evidence, and that the employee is lying. So opinions are divided within the labor union.”

“I see. Perhaps Go Yoon-sung’s side is aiming for this and staging a counter-offensive.”

“I think the same. So I want to ask Attorney Cha to take on this case.”

Unlike targeting Wooshin affiliates, initiating a dispute with his son is akin to directly attacking Go Sang-jun.

The fact that Go Sang-jun continues to give him a position in the affiliate without sending Go Yoon-sung abroad, even though he knows that there is no chance of him reforming, suggests that he hasn’t completely given up on him.

Choi Jong-hyun was testing me.

If I didn’t have a strong resolve to strike at Wooshin, launching a full-scale war would be quite daunting.

If it was clear that the employee was wronged, there wouldn’t be much justification for me to decline.

I could refuse, arguing that a full-scale war with Go Sang-jun was premature, but that would also mean turning a blind eye to someone who was in an unfair situation due to Wooshin’s power.

Choi Jong-hyun wouldn’t want to trust someone like that.

Especially since he was the one who directly witnessed me taking on Iljung Daily to save Kim Jung-woo and him.

“I understand what you mean.”

“Then you’ll take it on?”

“I can’t answer you right now. We need to thoroughly investigate the case on our end as well. If I were to accept the case solely based on Reporter Choi’s word, that would be even more untrustworthy, wouldn’t it?”

“That’s true.”

“Even today, after discovering the protester, we launched our own investigation. I’ll look into it and contact you again.”