You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 153

Han Young-sun’s tone was very assertive.

“Witness, what do you mean specifically by ‘perfectly fine’?”

“What’s the point of wrapping bandages and casts all over the body? His movements were no different from someone who wasn’t injured. In my eyes, Go Yoon-sung never looked like he needed eight weeks of recovery. From the first day of his admission until I left.”

“If you have any specific anecdotes, could you share them?”

She testified about how freely Go Yoon-sung lived in the hospital.

Bringing a gaming device that required the use of both hands despite having a cast on his arm, drinking alcohol in his room, ordering outside food, and walking around without crutches despite having a cast on his leg.

Besides that, a few anecdotes I didn’t know about were introduced within a minor scope.

“Even though it’s the VIP ward, it was the first time I saw a patient acting like they were on vacation at the hospital.”

I took the time to explain to the jury what the VIP ward was through a simple inquiry.

In fact, the concept of a VIP ward is not necessarily relevant to discussing guilt or innocence.

However, I was planning to exploit the antipathy that the general public has towards the extravagance of the wealthy.

The VIP ward is a place where one enjoys luxuries that ordinary people cannot afford in their lifetime.

There are people who can’t go to the hospital because they don’t have money when they are sick.

Moreover, being able to be admitted to Wooshin Hospital, where others have to wait months, and staying in a hotel-like room without waiting.

If he had been living so freely in such a place, which a normal patient could not even imagine, it would be impossible to erase the impression of privilege.

It is an effective tool to increase antipathy towards Go Yoon-sung.

“Witness, you said you’ve been watching Go Yoon-sung since the first day he was admitted, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then, were you at the hospital on the day Go Yoon-sung was discharged?”

“No, I wasn’t. I was transferred to a local branch in the middle, so I left Seoul Wooshin Hospital in October.”

“If it’s October, it means you were in the VIP ward of Wooshin Hospital for about two weeks from the day Go Yoon-sung was admitted. Then, the anecdotes you mentioned must have been witnessed during that period.”

“Yes.”

“Is it possible for Go Yoon-sung, who suffered an injury requiring eight weeks of recovery, to live such a life as soon as he was admitted? From a medical point of view.”

“It’s impossible. In Go Yoon-sung’s case, it’s common for him not to be able to chew properly on the first day of admission.”

Han Young-sun explained what kind of treatment Go Yoon-sung received on the day of admission.

She said he had casts on his arms and legs, and after checking the chart, she said he also had fractured ribs.

That was as stated in Go Yoon-sung’s diagnosis submitted by the prosecution at the beginning.

In addition, Go Yoon-sung had a bandage on his forehead, and the chart stated that it was torn and stitched.

However, neither she nor any of the nurses had ever disinfected the newly stitched area or changed the gauze.

“Go Yoon-sung cursed at the nurses for the IV drips hurting, so I wondered how he could endure something that even tough people find painful.”

“Um, so are you saying that Go Yoon-sung didn’t actually suffer an injury requiring eight weeks of recovery?”

“Yes. It’s obvious that he didn’t suffer an injury requiring eight weeks of recovery. I just think he wasn’t hurt at all from the beginning.”

As Han Young-sun finished speaking, I turned to the jury and adjusted the microphone.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. You will remember the photos of the victim’s body presented by the prosecutor. It was such a serious injury that you couldn’t bear to look at it. However, it is absurd that such a patient moved so freely in the hospital room. But what if the premise of this trial, that is, the fact that the defendant assaulted the victim Go Yoon-sung, did not exist in the first place?”

I made eye contact with the jurors and asked a question that would not be answered anyway.

And I answered myself.

“Then this mystery is solved in an instant. If the defendant did not assault the victim and the victim was not injured, he would have been able to move freely. That’s all.”

“Is there any cross-examination?”

The judge looked at Yang Han-seok and asked.

“Yes.”

Yang Han-seok stood up as if he had been waiting.

“Witness, how many years have you worked at Seoul Wooshin Hospital?”

“About three years.”

“I see. You must have felt proud to work in the VIP ward in your third year.”

“…I used to.”

“You said you were transferred to a local branch this October. Where specifically?”

“Yeongwol Byulma Hospital, a branch of Wooshin Hospital.”

“Yeongwol, you must not have been happy.”

“Are there people who like being transferred to the countryside?”

“That’s true. Then, why do you think you were transferred to the countryside?”

Han Young-sun, who had been answering without hesitation, flinched slightly at Yang Han-seok’s question.

She looked at me and Kang Min-jae for a moment, as if uneasy.

However, the jurors had been turning their heads together to where the witness was looking, so I couldn’t send a signal.

In principle, I shouldn’t do that either.

Kang Min-jae bit his lip and turned to me.

But I wasn’t in a very relaxed situation either.

It seemed that Kang Min-jae and I were thinking the same thing.

The words Han Young-sun had said to us secretly, a week before the preliminary hearing, without Seo Hye-jin knowing.

-I’m sorry, lawyers… I don’t want to talk about being almost raped by Go Yoon-sung in court. But I can testify that Go Yoon-sung didn’t act like a sick person in the ward.

-Did something happen?

-My boyfriend might find out.

-Boyfriend?

-Yes. Actually, the reason I hesitated to take legal action before meeting you, lawyers, was because of my boyfriend. The head nurse kept persuading me, and I was briefly swayed to take action… But if my boyfriend finds out, he’ll really break up with me. Is there a way to testify without my boyfriend ever knowing?

Han Young-sun was only a victim.

There was no act of harm.

Even so, if her boyfriend was going to break up with her for this, I thought it would be better for Han Young-sun to let him go first.

But I wasn’t in a position to say such things to her as I pleased.

I could be seen as someone who doesn’t try to understand her situation and tries to solve the client’s innocence by taking advantage of someone else’s misfortune.

-There probably isn’t such a way. If your boyfriend finds out and wants to check later, he can check as much as he wants.

-……I see.

-If that’s the case, you don’t have to come to court. Nurse Seo Hye-jin can testify that Go Yoon-sung was faking his illness. I didn’t mean to put any pressure on you.

-No. …I want to do it. Although I can’t mention my own case, it’s a trial to punish Go Yoon-sung anyway. I want to help in any way I can.

She bowed her head deeply, sincerely apologizing, and I finally said I understood.

And now, Yang Han-seok asked her a truly cruel question, sitting here without losing her boyfriend and without giving up her desire for Go Yoon-sung to pay for his sins.

“Witness, please answer.”

Yang Han-seok urged Han Young-sun, who had closed her mouth.

After a long time of deliberation, Han Young-sun opened her mouth with difficulty.

“I had a trouble with Go Yoon-sung, who was my patient at the time.”

“Um, so you think you were transferred to the countryside because of the trouble with Go Yoon-sung.”

“…That’s right.”

“But the personnel evaluation record of the witness sent by Wooshin Hospital tells a different story. Witness, you were pointed out for your unkindness through the person in charge of personnel, right?”

Han Young-sun raised her head and looked at Yang Han-seok.

“Not only that. Around last June, the witness injected a patient admitted to the VIP ward with a drug different from the doctor’s prescription. Of course, the internal investigation was closed because it was proven to be an unintentional mistake, but the witness was demoted, right?”

After catching Han Young-sun’s agitation, Yang Han-seok quickly drove her into a corner in a rather threatening tone.

Han Young-sun still didn’t answer.

It seemed that she felt ashamed because her flaws were suddenly revealed in a place where she came to testify about the facts she witnessed and the damage she suffered.

Kang Min-jae, who was watching the confrontation between Han Young-sun and Yang Han-seok, jumped up.

“Your Honor, I object. The prosecutor is blurring the essence with stories that have nothing to do with this case.”

I shook my head.

It will not be accepted.

Just as it was rejected when Yang Han-seok said the same thing earlier.

“I reject it. Witness, answer and prosecutor, continue.”

“…That’s right.”

Han Young-sun, who was receiving the attention of the judge, jury, and prosecutor, finally nodded heavily.

“Then it seems that the witness was not demoted because of Go Yoon-sung.”

Han Young-sun bit her trembling lips.

The sight of her two hands trembling under the witness stand was visible even from the defense seat.

It would have been better for Han Young-sun to leave the court as it was.

Since Seo Hye-jin is sitting in the audience anyway, we can hear the rest of the story from Seo Hye-jin by applying for a re-examination of the witness.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. The witness has a considerable antipathy towards the victim Go Yoon-sung. She was demoted from Seoul Wooshin Hospital, where she felt a sense of belonging and pride, to the countryside, so she wouldn’t want to think that there was a problem with herself. I fully understand that feeling. However, you should refrain from venting it on innocent people. Even if it extends to falsely accusing a victim who has done nothing wrong, it is no different from ruining a person’s life.”

“Slander?”

Before Yang Han-seok could finish speaking, Han Young-sun, who had been trembling, opened her mouth.

Yang Han-seok, who was strongly finishing his remarks as if he were giving a speech in the jury box, was interrupted in an unexpected moment.

Everyone’s attention moved back to Han Young-sun.

“Did he do nothing wrong? Go Yoon-sung?”

“Witness?”

“…Am I ruining Go Yoon-sung’s life? By falsely accusing a victim who has done nothing wrong, Go Yoon-sung’s life, me?”

Before she knew it, tears began to flow from Han Young-sun’s eyes.

“My life is ruined. Go Yoon-sung ruined my life!”

“The reason why the witness went to the branch was only according to the witness’s personnel evaluation. Everything is proven by the personnel record. That’s all, I’ll finish the cross-examination.”

Yang Han-seok was most pleased with Han Young-sun’s excitement.

The more she openly revealed her hostility towards Go Yoon-sung, the better it was to appeal to the jurors that her testimony was less credible.

The reason why Yang Han-seok explained Go Yoon-sung as a victim for so long was also to stimulate Han Young-sun.

“Really? That personnel evaluation result came out in June, so why did I stay at Seoul Wooshin Hospital during the personnel transfer in early September? Then, when I was almost raped by Go Yoon-sung in October, why was I demoted to the countryside as soon as I said I wouldn’t agree?”

Han Young-sun poured out her words quickly, as if wailing.

As soon as the word ‘rape’ came out of her mouth, the faces of the jurors, who had no change in expression, were also filled with embarrassment.

It seemed that Yang Han-seok was also hearing this story for the first time.

His surprised expression was a sight to behold.

“I still remember it vividly. About a week after Go Yoon-sung was admitted, Go Yoon-sung tried to rape me. He held down my resisting body with one hand and took off my clothes with the other. He was able to knead my body like he was kneading dough with that hand that should have been broken and unable to move, so what is that if it’s not a feigned illness?”

The cross-examination was over, and now she had no right to speak.

But even so, Han Young-sun did not stop speaking.

She had hesitated for a long time and changed her mind, saying that she could not testify because she was worried that her boyfriend would break up with her.

Unlike the old story, it was not the sun but the strong wind and rain that took off the traveler’s coat [referencing Aesop’s fable, meaning coercion rather than persuasion revealed the truth].

“Are you going to say that I’m committing perjury because I have antipathy towards Go Yoon-sung? Nurse Seo Hye-jin, who is sitting in the audience, is a witness. She is the one who saved me from being raped by Go Yoon-sung. And she is also the one who asked Go Yoon-sung to apologize. But Wooshin Hospital was on Go Yoon-sung’s side and demoted me and Nurse Seo Hye-jin to the branch at the same time!”

“Your Honor. The cross-examination is over. The witness is mentioning new facts that have not been confirmed, and the prosecution needs time to determine the facts. Please order the witness to leave.”

“Unconfirmed facts? Then is it true that I was demoted because I didn’t perform my duties properly and my personnel evaluation was bad? Then what about Nurse Seo Hye-jin? Was Nurse Seo Hye-jin’s personnel evaluation also bad?”

Han Young-sun’s voice, filled with resentment, echoed in the quiet courtroom.

Seo Hye-jin, who was sitting among the reporters and quietly watching the trial, was also shaking her shoulders and wiping away tears with a handkerchief.

“Witness. I know you’re very angry, but you don’t have the right to speak now.”

In the end, the judge, who couldn’t stand it any longer, opened his mouth.

Han Young-sun was still shaking her shoulders, unable to calm down.

As a void was created in the courtroom, the jurors began to write something on the paper in front of them.

And soon after, one of the representative jurors, who had taken the oath for the first time, submitted a document to the judge.

After checking the document, the judge began to discuss something with the associate judges.

It seemed that the left and right associate judges had different opinions, and the judge sitting in the middle was listening to the words of the two people who were constantly talking.

The discussion lasted longer than expected.

Eventually, the judge, who was checking the time, opened his mouth.

“In general, if facts that were not known in advance are revealed, a new trial date is set. This is because time is needed to verify the facts, as requested by the prosecutor. We proceed with the preliminary hearing in advance to minimize such incidents, but sometimes this happens. Um, first, we will adjourn and resume from 1:40.”