You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 139

You Have Been Defended – Episode 139

The entrance to the VIP ward was reminiscent of a hotel reception.

Unlike the other floors, it was decorated with marble and high-quality wood. Even the nurses’ uniforms were of a different, more stylish design.

“How may I help you?”

The staff member at the desk stood up and asked.

“We have an appointment with Mr. Go Yoon-sung in room 1803 at 4:30. We’re from Attorney Cha Joo-han’s office.”

She picked up the internal phone.

It seemed she was verifying our statement.

“May I have your IDs? We’ll exchange them for visitor’s passes, which you can exchange back when you leave.”

*This isn’t the prosecutor’s office,* I thought.

Despite my annoyance, I obediently placed my ID on the desk.

“I’ll guide you.”

“Yes.”

“No, it’s alright.”

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

“I was thinking of having a smoke before going in. Could you just tell me where the smoking area is?”

“Ah, I see. If you go straight down the hallway, there’s an outdoor rest park. There’s an ashtray on one side, so you can smoke there.”

The staff member directed us to the rest park without any suspicion and returned to the desk.

Kang Min-jae looked at me, puzzled.

“You smoked before coming up.”

“If the staff follows us, we can’t figure out the internal layout.”

Like the location of the staff lounge.

Or even the space where the cleaning staff gathers.

Go Yoon-sung had been here for a month and a half.

He might have secretly gone home, but either way, given Go Yoon-sung’s personality, he wouldn’t have been behaving politely here.

In the already boring VIP ward with few patients, the appearance of a patient with a terrible personality would provide them with 24-hour gossip material.

“……”

As we walked, I discovered a small hallway to the left of the rest park entrance.

Perhaps deliberately designed to avoid disturbing the VIP patients, there were no lights.

Moreover, a large potted plant was placed there, so even long-term patients would likely pass by without noticing it unless they looked carefully.

There was a room with light seeping out from inside the hallway.

A sign that read [Female Staff Lounge] was hung.

“Looks like a nurse’s lounge.”

From inside, giggling and chattering could be heard.

“Are you going to ask them something in there? I don’t think they’ll say anything.”

Kang Min-jae looked at me, who was staring at the female staff lounge, and asked.

Of course, they wouldn’t say anything if I asked directly.

I took out a small recorder from my jacket pocket.

Originally, I brought it to record the conversation with Go Yoon-sung, but a phone would be sufficient for that level of conversation.

I placed the recorder inside the potted plant.

Since I had just passed through the reception as Go Yoon-sung’s visitor, the staff would inevitably talk about Go Yoon-sung, even if only briefly.

The staff lounge is already the perfect place for gossip, and if it’s hidden like this, it’s a hundred percent certainty.

At the very least, wouldn’t they say something like, ‘Go Yoon-sung’s room had a visitor?’

If I’m lucky, I might find out what Go Yoon-sung’s usual behavior has been like.

“Gasp. Eavesdropping?”

Kang Min-jae lowered his voice and asked.

*Well, eavesdropping is illegal.*

*But wouldn’t it be okay as long as I don’t use it in court?*

“What are you talking about?”

“The recorder here…”

“I just dropped it. My luggage is heavy.”

“……”

“I’ll pick it up later.”

I roughly tidied up the surroundings and headed to room 1803, where Go Yoon-sung was waiting.

Even if you didn’t carefully read the number on the door, there was only one place where guards were lined up around the door.

“How may I help you?”

As I stood in front of the door, a guard blocked our path.

“We’re Attorney Oh Sang-hyun’s lawyers. We have an appointment.”

Kang Min-jae showed his visitor’s pass and said.

After telling us to wait a moment, the guard went inside the room.

*I don’t know how many checks you have to go through to meet one person.*

*What a VIP.*

“Please come in.”

The room was quiet.

Steam was coming out of several humidifiers, and the smell of disinfectant alcohol lingered.

Go Yoon-sung was lying on the bed in the middle of the room.

He had bandages on his head and a cast on his arm.

Other than that, he was covered by the patient gown, but he didn’t look like he was in pain.

Unlike Oh Sang-hyun, who had lost color and become gaunt after weeks of hospitalization, he looked very lively.

“Hello.”

As Kang Min-jae greeted him, the lawyer sitting at Go Yoon-sung’s bedside stood up and approached us.

After a brief handshake and exchanging business cards, he tried to guide us to the sofa on one side of the room.

“I think it’s more important to greet Mr. Go Yoon-sung first. After all, he’s the victim.”

Go Yoon-sung only glanced at us and didn’t say a word.

The lawyer seemed to hesitate for a moment, then approached Go Yoon-sung.

After whispering something, the lawyer guided us to the bedside chair.

“Director. These are Attorney Oh Sang-hyun’s lawyers.”

At the lawyer’s words, Go Yoon-sung looked at us and nodded once.

“Hello. I heard the lawyer had changed.”

Go Yoon-sung scanned me up and down.

“I heard you were badly injured, but you still seem to be in a lot of pain.”

“How can I get better quickly after being beaten like that?”

Go Yoon-sung replied irritably, clutching his chest.

He didn’t forget to frown as if in pain.

In fact, Go Yoon-sung’s acting was a bit excessive.

An 8-week injury is a serious one, but he should have improved a lot by now, at 6 weeks.

There’s no need to act like he’s about to die.

“I heard your face was injured. It would be a big problem if you were hit wrong. Still, it’s fortunate that it ended like this.”

At my words, Go Yoon-sung frowned.

“Did that bastard admit it? He kept insisting he didn’t hit me even once!”

“Director. Please don’t get excited. I’ll handle the conversation.”

As Go Yoon-sung shouted, raising his upper body, the lawyer grabbed his arm and stopped him.

*He can raise his body up and down well.*

*He looks healthy after all.*

“If Mr. Oh Sang-hyun has finally admitted to the assault, you know that Mr. Oh Sang-hyun kicked the director, causing him to hit his head against the wall. The attendants said the sound was very loud. It’s fortunate that it ended with a concussion.”

The lawyer covered Go Yoon-sung with a blanket and continued.

“We are willing to settle if Mr. Oh Sang-hyun gives us a sincere apology. We don’t think monetary compensation is that important on our side. It’s not like we lack the money for treatment.”

*As expected.*

*He wants a photo of receiving an apology and forgiving generously.*

I nodded slowly.

“We don’t know if Mr. Oh Sang-hyun is scamming or trying to blame the director for an injury he sustained elsewhere. But if he repents now, we are willing to show mercy.”

*Show mercy.*

*There are plenty of other expressions, but to use such a condescending expression.*

*That’s why the chaebol [conglomerate] class doesn’t suit me from birth.*

“I see. We haven’t been in charge of the case for long, so we’re still figuring out the situation. Mr. Oh Sang-hyun admitted to some touching of Mr. Go Yoon-sung, but he didn’t admit to assault.”

At my words, the lawyer’s expression twisted.

“We thought it was time for Mr. Go Yoon-sung to admit that he inflicted a group assault on our client, so we came to see you. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.”

I scanned Go Yoon-sung’s bandaged figure and said.

*I wish I could hit the arm under that cast with a big club to see if it’s really injured.*

*Or, according to the case record photos, his whole body was covered in bruises. I wish I could pretend to get up from the bed and press on Go Yoon-sung’s chest.*

*These are just wishes.*

“……Weren’t you meeting to discuss a settlement?”

“Oh, it seems there was a slight misunderstanding. Attorney Kang is still a rookie.”

I patted Kang Min-jae’s shoulder and said.

“We thought Mr. Go Yoon-sung would want a settlement, not us. Mr. Go Yoon-sung committed a group assault, and as a result, our client suffered a 7-week injury. Unlike Mr. Go Yoon-sung, our client needs treatment costs.”

“Attorney Cha. Are you kidding me? The victim here is Director Go Yoon-sung, and Oh Sang-hyun is the one indicted for injury. Why would we request a settlement from them?”

The lawyer raised his voice, and the guards standing in the room began to watch us.

*This is quite threatening.*

“Mr. Go Yoon-sung still has no intention of admitting the assault.”

I packed my briefcase and picked up my coat.

I bowed to them and tried to leave the room, but I suddenly stopped.

“Actually, there’s something I’ve been noticing since earlier that I really wanted to ask about.”

“……What is it?”

“Isn’t that a PlayStation? I knew Director Go Yoon-sung was a *Tekken* mania, but I didn’t know he liked it this much. Even with a broken arm.”

As I pointed to the joystick behind the television set-top box, Go Yoon-sung’s eyes widened.

The lawyer also seemed quite embarrassed.

The lawyer didn’t seem to know there was a game console in this room.

Go Yoon-sung had a look on his face as if he was wondering how I knew he liked *Tekken*.

Even in his previous life, Go Yoon-sung pretended to be sick before appearing at the prosecutor’s office, but he was caught playing *Tekken* on the PlayStation in his hospital room and was disgraced.

How could I, who collected information about the Go Sang-joon’s children like a stalker, not know his favorite game?

“Did you like *Tekken* so much that you tested whether the techniques worked in real life on Oh Sang-hyun?”

“Pfft!”

As I muttered, Kang Min-jae couldn’t help but laugh.

He quickly covered his mouth, looking around, but the other lawyer seemed to have reached the limit of his patience.

It’s best to leave quickly before I get caught in the crossfire.

“Then I’ll be going now. Please contact us if you have any intention of settling.”

I left the room without looking back.

“The way out is this way.”

As we headed in the opposite direction, the guards standing in front of the door stretched out their arms and blocked our path.

“I’m going to have a smoke.”

I pointed to the rest park.