You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 146

“Sir, you should go home.”

The Site Manager, lost in thought while sitting in the site office, raised his head at the sudden voice.

“Ah, is it that late already?”

The sun was setting when he entered the office, and darkness had already settled all around.

“Haha. Why are you so spaced out today? Is something wrong?”

“What could be wrong with me, you.”

The Site Manager waved his hand and stood up.

“Anyway, go home quickly.”

“Okay, you go home quickly too.”

After ending the call with Cha Joo-han, the Site Manager remained lost in thought.

To be precise, he was recalling the events of that day.

– Site Manager Chu! Site Manager Chu! Open the door!

Immediately after Go Yoon-sung was carried out of the construction site by his attendants, someone frantically pounded on the door of the site office.

It was Kim Eui-cheol’s voice.

As the Site Manager opened the door, Kim Eui-cheol rushed inside in a flustered state.

Kim Eui-cheol was extremely surprised and frightened.

Anyone could see that Kim Eui-cheol was the starting point of the conflict between Oh Sang-hyun and Go Yoon-sung.

– Site Manager, you saw the CCTV footage here, right? Huh? How did this happen? Huh? How did Go Yoon-sung suddenly get carried out? Did Manager Oh hit Go Yoon-sung or something? Huh?

Seeing Kim Eui-cheol pouring out words as soon as he saw him, the Site Manager had no choice but to open his mouth.

– …Yes.

– What happened? Huh? What happened? Why was Go Yoon-sung suddenly carried out? Did Manager Oh hit Go Yoon-sung or something? Huh?

Seeing his wrinkled hands trembling, the Site Manager sighed.

Then, he slowly shook his head.

– Go Yoon-sung hit him.

– What?

– It seems Go Yoon-sung got angry about Manager Oh pointing out Foreman Kim’s mistake and punched Manager Oh…

The Site Manager pressed his forehead as if he was confused.

He had seen a lot, but it was so shocking that he couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud right now.

At that moment, the Site Manager’s phone rang.

It was an unknown number.

– Hello.

The person on the other end of the line was Go Yoon-sung’s secretary.

He told him to control the site so that the agitated workers could return to work normally.

And he said that the workers should all go home when the sun went down, but the Site Manager should remain.

After hanging up, the Site Manager paused to think.

This clearly meant that they would take care of the aftermath after all the workers had left.

The Site Manager said to Kim Eui-cheol, who was fidgeting.

– First of all, Foreman Kim, you seem very surprised, so why don’t you go in first.

– …Even if I go in, it’ll be like sitting on thorns [feeling extremely uncomfortable or anxious].

– Still, if you’re this surprised, you might make a mistake while working and cause a big problem.

– That’s true, but,

– Go in first. I’ll check the situation first.

The Site Manager first gave Kim Eui-cheol some money for transportation and sent him away.

Then, he picked up the megaphone and told the whispering workers to quickly return to work.

Nevertheless, their agitation was not subdued, so the Site Manager had no choice but to threaten to deduct it from their wages if they kept loafing around like this.

The workers hesitated for a moment and then returned to their original positions.

Of course, they seemed to be saying something to each other while carrying their loads, but he couldn’t stop that.

– Site Manager?

Time passed like that.

The Site Manager was left alone at the site where all the workers had gone home.

It was a little past 8 o’clock when a black sedan entered the site.

And Go Yoon-sung’s secretary got out.

– I’m sorry for asking you to stay late. I just want to confirm a few things related to today’s incident. Please write down the Site Manager’s employee number and the access password to the CCTV storage. Oh, are there any other procedures needed to check the CCTV? Like the Site Manager’s employee ID barcode.

The Site Manager hesitated, then took off the employee ID card he was wearing around his neck and handed it over.

– …Is the Director General okay?

The Site Manager asked when Go Yoon-sung’s secretary sat down in front of the computer.

Go Yoon-sung was the one who hit him, but the known facts were different.

He couldn’t tell Go Yoon-sung’s secretary, who clearly seemed to have come to check the CCTV records and erase the footage, that he knew the truth.

The secretary clicked the mouse while keeping his eyes fixed on the screen, and replied in a lackluster voice.

– No. His condition is serious. Oh, Site Manager, you can go home now.

The secretary spoke insincerely to the Site Manager, who was hesitating, and then fixed his gaze back on the monitor.

The Site Manager eventually sighed, took off his jumper, and began to change into his coat.

At that moment.

– Site Manager.

– Yes?

– You have a sneaky side, don’t you?

At the secretary’s sudden rebuke, the Site Manager flinched.

He didn’t even have time to feel offended by the rudeness of the secretary, who looked at least 10 years younger than him.

His heart was pounding.

– What do you mean? Sneaky?

– You knew the Director General was fine, so why did you ask if he was okay?

He was looking at the screen showing the scene of himself running into the site office.

It was the image of Kim Eui-cheol entering the office immediately after Go Yoon-sung was carried out of the construction site by his attendants.

The Site Manager raised the zipper with trembling hands.

– …I’ll go home now.

– Hmm, this person is the one who made a mistake to the Director General earlier, right?

The secretary pointed at the screen and said.

It was the image of Kim Eui-cheol entering the office immediately after Go Yoon-sung was carried out of the construction site by his attendants.

– Ah, do you happen to know this person too?

– What are you talking about?

– …You keep asking even though you know?

A strange light flashed in the secretary’s eyes.

– …Secretary, that person doesn’t know anything.

– You’re not good at lying. It’s better for the Site Manager to just keep his mouth shut.

– ……

– What’s that person’s name?

– ……

– I don’t have time. The golden time is important in cases like this [critical period for gathering evidence or taking action]. You know that if the situation gets worse because of you, you won’t be left alone.

The secretary’s expression changed fiercely.

– It’s Kim Eui-cheol…

– Thank you for your cooperation. You can go home now.

The secretary said to the Site Manager, who was still trembling.

The Site Manager didn’t want to be here any longer.

He hurriedly changed his shoes and opened the door.

– I’ll contact you again tomorrow, but if you say anything out of line until then, you know that you’ll be the one in the most trouble. You know, right?

At that moment, the secretary’s voice pierced his back.

– If you cooperate, there will naturally be a corresponding reward.

The next day, the Site Manager came to the construction site 30 minutes earlier than usual.

Before even changing his clothes, he sat in front of the computer and tried to access the CCTV storage.

[No access rights]

The Site Manager bit his lip.

It seemed that they had blocked access rights first, in case they erased the site footage rashly and were later caught.

The Site Manager went to the site where the assault had taken place.

The CCTV that had been installed at the site had disappeared.

It was clear that Go Yoon-sung’s side had removed it overnight.

They were preparing to cover up the incident.

No, to be precise, they couldn’t cover up the incident, so they were preparing to frame Oh Sang-hyun.

First of all, he would have to talk to Kim Eui-cheol separately when he came to the site.

He couldn’t just let Oh Sang-hyun, who had done nothing wrong, be unfairly victimized like this.

However, the secretary’s eyes, which had warned him with a cold expression last night, were still unforgettable.

He had no idea what to do.

He waited for Kim Eui-cheol to come to work.

But no matter how long he waited, he didn’t come.

– Why isn’t he answering the phone…

Could something have happened?

Surely, Go Yoon-sung wouldn’t have harmed Kim Eui-cheol.

That couldn’t be.

Kim Eui-cheol was just someone who had heard the story, and he was the one who had directly seen the CCTV.

If they were going to harm someone, they should have done it to him first, not him.

Just as he was trembling with anxiety, Kim Eui-cheol called.

– Foreman! Why didn’t you come today? Did something happen? Yesterday, Go Yoon-sung’s secretary asked for Foreman Kim’s name, so I ended up telling him… I thought they would find out soon anyway, so I told them, but I was so worried about whether something had happened…

The Site Manager hurriedly poured out words in a rambling manner, but Kim Eui-cheol didn’t answer.

– Foreman?

– Uh, uh, yeah. Site Manager Chu.

– Did something happen? When I came today, I saw that these guys had blocked me from seeing the CCTV. And they even took down the CCTV that was at the site. These guys. It seems like they’re trying to frame Manager Oh for everything.

– Uh-huh, really?

Kim Eui-cheol’s voice sounded like he was hiding something.

He seemed to know.

What had happened.

The Site Manager sighed.

It wasn’t that he didn’t understand him.

He had already realized it when Go Yoon-sung’s secretary came into the office yesterday and freely viewed the CCTV.

That they were trying to conceal the truth.

However, the Site Manager also couldn’t say a word to him and just left the place.

He also didn’t have the courage to step forward alone.

He felt so bad that Oh Sang-hyun, who had only pointed out injustice, was being unfairly victimized, but even so, he didn’t have the courage to help him at the risk of his own safety.

However, if Kim Eui-cheol said he would help Oh Sang-hyun…

Then he thought that he might be able to speak up too.

– Foreman, I’m honestly scared.

– ……

– But we have to help Manager Oh, right? …But then… we’ll get hurt, right?

Kim Eui-cheol on the other end of the line just kept sighing.

– Haa… Foreman, it seems like you’ve decided to rest today, so rest. I’ll contact you again another day.

The Site Manager hung his head.

“Sir, you haven’t left yet?”

The Site Manager, who had been staring blankly into space and lost in recollection, flinched at the voice he heard again.

It seemed that the worker who had told him to go home quickly earlier had stopped by one more time on his way out after changing his clothes.

Looking at the clock, it was now time to leave.

Even if he hurried now, he might be a little late for his appointment.

“Hoo, it’s cold.”

The Site Manager adjusted his collar and entered the alley.

It was quick to get to the subway station if he cut through this alley, so if he timed the subway arrival well, he might not be late.

‘Does that lawyer really have evidence that there was CCTV footage?’

He had no idea what kind of evidence he had.

The CCTV was removed that night, and the police took the storage, but Oh Sang-hyun was eventually indicted.

Looking at that, it was clear that the CCTV footage of the site had disappeared.

‘But if there really is evidence, if I help a little, could that lawyer really clear Manager Oh’s name?’

If his existence could remain unknown, the Site Manager was willing to help Oh Sang-hyun as much as possible.

He was just afraid of retaliation, but he didn’t want Oh Sang-hyun to become a criminal unfairly like this.

“Ugh, I have to go quickly.”

The streetlights ahead were flickering.

It was a deserted residential alley, so it was somehow eerie.

At that moment, he heard footsteps behind him.

The Site Manager glanced back.

A man wearing a hat pulled down low was walking silently while looking at the ground.

Judging by the way he was crossing his arms and hunching his body, he must have been cold too.

Step, step, step, step.

The footsteps became a little faster.

The presence approached closely behind him.

“……?”

The man, who had been hunching over, stopped behind the Site Manager and raised both arms with all his might.

In those two hands, he held something long and hard.

Thwack!

A dull thud echoed in the alley.