You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 149

I was lucky.

There are many accidents on icy roads in winter, so the orthopedic department is crowded, but fortunately, there was an empty appointment this morning.

I arrived at the hospital when it opened and received treatment soon after.

The doctor put a firm cast on my arm and told me to come to the hospital once a week to check on the progress.

Although it was unlikely, I had hoped that there was an error in the X-ray taken at the emergency room yesterday, and I would receive a diagnosis that my bone was fine, so I was a little disappointed.

My arm had been hurting all night, so I couldn’t sleep properly, so my expectations were actually absurd.

“Lawyer, what’s wrong with your arm?”

As soon as I opened the office door and entered, Secretary Oh rushed towards me in surprise.

I thought Kang Min-jae would have told him all about what happened yesterday as soon as he came to work, but it didn’t seem so.

Come to think of it, Kang Min-jae is nowhere to be seen.

“Didn’t Attorney Kang come to work?”

“Ah, I heard that a client from that fraud case wanted to see him this morning. So, he stopped by there before coming to work… But what’s wrong with your arm?”

“It’s a slight fracture.”

“Did you fall or something?”

“Not really…”

If Kang Min-jae had shared it in advance, I wouldn’t have had to explain yesterday’s events at length.

I usually find him clinging to me annoying, but I feel Kang Min-jae’s absence at times like this.

Secretary Oh took the briefcase from my left hand and placed it in front of my desk, then led me to the consultation sofa.

It’s not like I hurt my leg, and there’s no problem with walking, but he’s fussing over me as if I’m seriously injured.

It seems like only overly worried people gather in our office.

“Come to think of it, you went to meet the director yesterday. I was wondering whether to contact you, but I thought you’d be tired, so I decided to wait until you came to work today. Did anything happen?”

He kept asking questions even before I sat down on the sofa.

“Ah, you rushed out because Go Yoon-sung might have people watching the director. Did anything happen there…?”

“Secretary Oh, you have to give me a chance to speak.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Even while bombarding me with a barrage of questions, his gaze was fixed on my cast.

I briefly explained to him what had happened yesterday.

Starting from the reason why I hurt my arm, to the fact that the director gave me the CCTV footage of the scene, and that I had asked Tae-shik to take care of the director’s safety.

Secretary Oh’s eyes widened at the part where the assailant tried to hit the director in the back of the head with a wooden stick.

Of course, it’s understandable.

It’s an act that deviates from common sense.

Whether it was the prosecution or Go Yoon-sung’s side that bribed the assailant.

“Then where is that CCTV now? Did you receive it?”

“Yes.”

“Where is it now?”

“…Kang has it.”

I couldn’t even put my arms through my suit jacket and coat because I had a splint cast on yesterday, so I had to hang them over my shoulders.

I was worried that the USB might fall out of my pocket, so I told Kang Min-jae to keep it safe and bring it to the office tomorrow morning.

I wanted to check the CCTV right away, but the situation didn’t allow it in many ways, so we decided to check it together at the office today.

“I’ll tell him to come quickly.”

Secretary Oh seemed very curious about the contents of the CCTV, so he urged Kang Min-jae to return to the office quickly.

I couldn’t just sit around twiddling my thumbs until he came back, so Secretary Oh and I went back to our respective seats.

I sat down at my desk and turned on the computer, and now I realized how inconvenient it was not to be able to use my right hand.

The mouse is on the right side, so this is quite a problem.

Beep, beep, beep.

At that moment, the cell phone I had placed on one side rang.

The caller was a welcome name.

“This is Cha Joo-han.”

-Ah, Lawyer. You answered right away. This is Seo Hye-jin.

It hasn’t been long since I returned from meeting her at the Yeongwol Byulma Hospital.

I was quite surprised because I didn’t expect to hear from her so soon.

“Have you been well?”

-Yes. Have you been well too, Lawyer?

“Thanks to you.”

-Ah, actually… I should have told you in advance, but it’s a bit sudden.

“Please speak.”

-I’ve talked a lot with Young-sun since I met you, Lawyer.

I habitually reached for a memo pad, but realized that my right hand was uncomfortable and pressed the phone recording button.

“Yes.”

-Young-sun has made up her mind too. She said she’s going to report Go Yoon-sung. So, I was hoping to see you, Lawyer.

This is welcome news.

Originally, Han Young-sun’s case was needed to use as evidence that Go Yoon-sung was feigning illness.

Of course, now that the CCTV has come out, I can prove that Go Yoon-sung was not hit by Oh Sang-hyun even without her testimony.

However, I was willing to help anyone who had been harmed by Go Yoon-sung, even if it wasn’t Oh Sang-hyun’s case.

In my previous life, I was also a victim who lost my family due to Wooshin Group’s shameless behavior.

And Han Young-sun is also a victim who was demoted to a rural area because she refused to settle, even though she was harmed by Go Yoon-sung.

Even if it’s no longer urgently needed in my case, I can’t just pass it by, can I?

Even thinking very coldly and calculatingly, it felt like Oh Sang-hyun alone was not enough to escalate Go Yoon-sung’s case.

“Is that so? Then we will go to Yeongwol soon. When would be a good time for you?”

-Ah, no. The reason I said it was sudden is that Young-sun and I are actually off today. If it’s okay with you, Lawyer, we were thinking of taking the fastest express bus to Seoul.

“We’re fine with it.”

I said, checking the whiteboard calendar hanging on the wall.

There were no other schedules today.

In fact, shouldn’t I postpone them even if there were?

If I’m going to bring Han Young-sun’s case to the surface, I need to take legal action quickly.

-Then, um, we should arrive at your office around 3 o’clock. Is that okay?

“Yes. That’s good.”

-Are there any things we need to bring?

I went to Kang Min-jae’s seat and rummaged through the bookshelf.

I remembered that he always took out the information documents from here when a client came.

I read out the required documents written there.

-Okay. Then I’ll see you in Seoul later.

When I hung up the phone, Kang Min-jae was standing next to me, having come in at some point.

“Sit down.”

I wondered if he hadn’t come in because I was in his seat, so I took a step aside, but Kang Min-jae didn’t move.

I wondered if he was angry that I had rummaged through the bookshelf without permission.

“Ah, I was checking the required documents.”

I handed him the document in my hand.

But Kang Min-jae shook his head.

“Lawyer.”

“What is it?”

“I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it?”

“…Can I draw on your cast, Lawyer?”

I felt like I finally knew exactly where his gaze had been.

It had been fixed on my white, smooth cast.

“Play the CCTV. I want to check it.”

If I meet clients with scribbles all over my cast, it will undermine their trust.

Kang Min-jae pouted and took out the USB containing the CCTV from his arms and plugged it into the laptop.

“Seo Hye-jin and Han Young-sun are coming to the office around 3 o’clock today, so let’s hurry up and check the CCTV and prepare to contact Oh Sang-hyun.”

“Has Han Young-sun made up her mind?”

“It seems so.”

“That’s a relief.”

Kang Min-jae, who had looked depressed for a moment after being refused permission to draw on the cast, smiled brightly again and brought the laptop to the consultation table.

“I’m a little nervous. Even though I already know what’s inside.”

Kang Min-jae pressed the play button.

* * *

Inside a room where the melody of a shamisen [a traditional Japanese three-stringed lute] flowed, an endless variety of colorful dishes were laid out on a long table.

This was a famous Japanese restaurant that only accepted 20 tables a day and then closed.

All the food in this restaurant is top-notch, but the sashimi is especially superb.

The price is, of course, more expensive than most luxury hotel restaurants, but it’s not even a little bit regrettable.

It’s said to be because it’s been touched by the hands of a master who has been slicing sashimi for 40 years, but among the customers, there are even jokes about whether they secretly sprinkle drugs on it.

Since it’s all live fish sashimi, the best way to eat it is to eat it right away.

“…”

However, the guests in this room were people who didn’t seem to enjoy sashimi very much.

Thirty minutes had passed since the food came out, but the table was still the same as when it was first served.

“Prosecutor Yang. Please say something.”

The lawyer said, sipping sake [Japanese rice wine].

“Was I asking for too much?”

“…”

“I just wanted Director Chu Jeong-wook not to appear in court… Was that such a difficult request?”

The voice was extremely gentle.

However, every time he uttered a word, a drop of sweat ran down Yang Han-seok’s temple.

The lawyer looked at Yang Han-seok with cold eyes, then soon shifted his gaze to the side.

A strange smile flickered across his hardened face.

“Chief Hwang. I told you to take good care of it, but it seems you chose the wrong prosecutor to assign to the case.”

The tone was still polite, but the words contained within were sharp.

Hwang Young-chan placed his hand on Yang Han-seok’s shoulder, who couldn’t even lift his head, and said indifferently.

“It is true that there was a mistake this time. However, I don’t think there will be any major problems.”

“No major problems? With a month left before the trial, you targeted the director who was going to meet the opposing lawyer. Was the opposing lawyer such a fool that he wouldn’t notice?”

“We can’t prevent him from noticing, but there’s no evidence. They know that too. They can’t hold us accountable for this. We’ll handle this quietly on our end.”

“Since Prosecutor Yang is in charge, I hope he will handle it well. I don’t think our Chief Hwang would assign someone who can’t even handle that to our Chief Go’s case.”

“Of course.”

“Since that lawyer saved Director Chu from getting hurt, Director Chu will also try to repay the lawyer’s kindness.”

“…”

“Then Director Chu will appear as a witness in court, right?”

The lawyer sipped sake and stared intently at Yang Han-seok.

“We will prepare so that there are no problems even if he appears.”

Yang Han-seok slowly raised his head and said.

“Is that so?”

The lawyer looked at Yang Han-seok with a subtle smile.

“Can you really do that?”

“Yes.”

Even if the director testifies that he saw the CCTV, there is a way to invalidate his testimony.

With just a few testimonies that the director usually had grievances against Go Yoon-sung, the director can be turned into a liar in an instant.

“I don’t know what tactics Prosecutor Yang has, but you can’t think that the opposing lawyer won’t prepare just as much, right?”

The lawyer narrowed his eyes and met Yang Han-seok’s gaze.

“I will never disappoint you. Although it will never happen, even if they bring out CCTV evidence, I will make sure it is not admitted as evidence.”

“Is that so?”

The lawyer smiled pleasantly for the first time.

He poured warmly heated sake into Yang Han-seok’s glass and placed a piece of sashimi on his plate.

“I’ve been too verbose with such delicious food in front of us. Please take good care of our Chief Go.”

Yang Han-seok turned his head to one side and gulped down the sake.