You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 155

You Have Been Defended (1)

The chief seemed taken aback, as if he hadn’t expected such a question.

And it wasn’t just the chief.

Hwang Young-chan, sitting in the audience, was also subtly shaken.

If Hwang Young-chan, who was adept at concealing his emotions, was showing signs of unease, it meant this statement hadn’t been agreed upon beforehand.

In other words, Yang Han-seok was improvising.

But that day’s incident was orchestrated by Go Yoon-sung’s side, or more precisely, by Yang Han-seok himself.

What on earth is he up to?

“That’s correct.”

The chief answered after hesitating.

“Could you please describe the events of that day in detail?”

“…I was at the site, on my way home from work. As I turned into an alley, a thug suddenly tried to hit me from behind with a wooden club. Attorney Cha Joo-han saved me, and he was struck by the club instead, resulting in a fractured arm.”

Yang Han-seok turned to look at me with a subtle smile on his face.

“Are you referring to the attorney Cha Joo-han who is present in this courtroom?”

“Yes.”

“Was the witness with the attorney at the time?”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“Then how did the attorney know to be there?”

“We had plans to meet after work.”

“Was that the agreed-upon location?”

“…No, it wasn’t.”

“Then how did the attorney know to be there?”

I stopped the hand that was moving the pen.

I thought I knew what Yang Han-seok was trying to do.

“We had a different meeting place, but Attorney Cha Joo-han said he came to pick me up because he suspected someone might be following or watching me.”

“Following or watching you? What do you mean? Who would do such a thing to you?”

“…Wouldn’t it be the people who were afraid I might reveal the truth, since I was the only one who saw the CCTV footage? It would be difficult for them if I suddenly changed my story after telling the police I hadn’t seen anything.”

“So, you’re saying that Go Yoon-sung’s side did that? Are you sure?”

There’s no proof that they did.

I only suspected it, and I was convinced.

The fact that the thug knew about the contact plan that only the two of us, the chief and I, knew about could only be explained by someone eavesdropping on his phone calls.

“I’m not sure. But realistically, isn’t Go Yoon-sung the only one who would try to harm me?”

“So, you’re testifying differently from what you told the investigators because you’re angry that Go Yoon-sung tried to harm you?”

“It’s not quite that simple,”

“Please answer yes or no.”

The chief sighed.

The reason he changed his mind can’t be expressed simply as yes or no.

But it’s a common tactic used during witness questioning in court.

It’s the best way to elicit the answer you want by taking advantage of the witness’s position, where they can’t commit perjury.

The chief nodded with a pained expression.

“…Yes.”

“Let’s assume that incident didn’t happen. Then, you wouldn’t have testified differently from what you told the investigators, would you?”

He decided to reveal the truth the day I stopped him from being attacked.

Even though he had already contacted Go Yoon-sung and promised to remain silent.

That must have been because of his anger towards Go Yoon-sung for trying to harm him and his guilt towards me for getting hurt instead.

If that incident hadn’t happened, the chief wouldn’t have changed his story, as Yang Han-seok said.

“…That’s right.”

“Your Honor, I request a new witness.”

Yang Han-seok said, turning to the judge.

“What kind of witness?”

“The ‘thug’ who tried to harm the witness. I was going to request the witness beforehand, but the suspect confessed to all the crimes this morning, so there was no way to do so. I apologize for the inconvenience, as I only received this information during the recess. This request is to prove the witness’s perjury.”

“Counsel, do you agree?”

Kang Min-jae looked at me with an anxious expression.

He seemed surprised that I was considering it, as he expected me to immediately object.

I covered his trembling hand with my own.

“I told you not to be nervous.”

And I said to him in a small voice.

Judging from the look he gave me, it didn’t help much.

I took my hand away and answered.

“I agree.”

We are also in a position where we have to present evidence that was not submitted in advance.

If we object to the new witness request here, our evidence may also be rejected.

“It could be detrimental to the defendant. Do you really agree?”

Such kindness to warn the counsel of the disadvantages, rather than the defendant or the witness.

Yang Han-seok must have suborned [bribed or induced to commit perjury] perjury from that thug, and that testimony will corner me.

I know that best.

And it is common to reject unprepared witnesses or evidence in court.

But the jurors will feel differently.

They are likely to think that I am not accepting it because I have something to hide.

“I agree.”

Soon, a man in a prison uniform entered the courtroom.

It was the first time I had seen him.

Of course, that’s because it was dark that day, and the thug was covering his face, so I couldn’t see his face.

After the customary witness oath and self-introduction, Yang Han-seok began the questioning.

“Witness, are you the one who attempted to harm Chu Jeong-wook, the site manager of the Wooshin Construction Centre Apartment construction site, last December?”

“Yes.”

[Truth]

I thought they might have bought an actor, but it seems to be the actual thug.

Apparently, the incident that day was only an attempt, and the injuries were minor, so they made a deal to release him on probation.

Of course, they would have given him more money too.

“Why did you try to harm Chu Jeong-wook?”

“Because I was hired to do so.”

“Who hired you?”

“…”

“Witness?”

The man in the prison uniform hesitated for a moment, then slowly raised his finger.

And pointed it at me.

“That person over there.”

“Are you pointing at the attorney? Which one of the two specifically?”

“Both of them.”

Kang Min-jae stomped his foot at the blatant lie.

“How were you specifically hired?”

“They told me to pretend to attack Chu Jeong-wook, and they would appear and save him. They said it might be difficult to persuade Chu Jeong-wook if no one got hurt, so they would get hurt a little. So, we agreed to inflict just enough force to fracture his arm.”

“Ah. So, you’re saying that day’s events were a fabrication by the attorney.”

“That’s right. And they told me that if I got caught by the police, I should say that Go Yoon-sung hired me.”

“So, you’re saying that they staged the incident to make Chu Jeong-wook harbor ill feelings towards Go Yoon-sung?”

“Your Honor, I object. The prosecutor is leading the witness.”

Kang Min-jae stood up abruptly.

There was a broken pencil in front of him.

He must have been very angry.

“Sustained. Prosecutor, please refrain from that.”

“Then I will rephrase. They staged the incident to make Chu Jeong-wook think that Go Yoon-sung was trying to harm him.”

“That’s right.”

“Distinguished jurors. The attorney deliberately staged the incident to gain favor with Chu Jeong-wook, who had a significant possibility of having seen the CCTV footage at the time, and to make Chu Jeong-wook angry at Go Yoon-sung’s side. However, as I informed you at the beginning of the evidence investigation, there was no CCTV at the scene, and there were no videos of the scene in the CCTV storage that the investigators checked. Can we really trust Chu Jeong-wook’s testimony that he saw the CCTV footage?”

Yang Han-seok moved towards the jury and spoke smoothly.

It’s not a musical, but how can he be allowed to roam around the courtroom and talk like that, even if it’s a citizen participation trial?

“The back of a person’s head has an organ called the medulla oblongata [the lower half of the brainstem]. It is not covered by the skull, so if it is struck strongly with a tool like a wooden club, it can lead to immediate death. At that time, Chu Jeong-wook must have felt the fear of death and was in a situation where he could misunderstand that the victim, Go Yoon-sung, had ordered the thug to attack him. Perhaps, if the thug hadn’t been caught, he would have continued to think that the victim was trying to kill him. It would not be strange if Chu Jeong-wook harbored resentment and committed perjury. That’s all.”

“Counsel, do you have any cross-examination?”

The judge asked.

Just as I focused the trial on Go Yoon-sung rather than Oh Sang-hyun, Yang Han-seok is now trying to focus on me.

I want to tell him that it was a very effective hit.

In the end, the jurors must have lost some of the trust they had in the chief and me.

In this situation, there is no need to drag this matter out.

My innocence can be revealed when that thug receives his trial anyway, and right now, it is more important to prove Go Yoon-sung’s assault.

Since nothing is prepared in this situation, it will be difficult to prove that I did not hire the thug with cross-examination alone.

“Witness.”

After the thug left the courtroom, the chief, who had been temporarily dismissed, stood at the witness stand again.

It is a principle that witnesses are dismissed unless it is their turn.

It was a device to prevent them from being influenced by each other’s testimony.

He still doesn’t know anything.

He doesn’t know that the thug claimed it was a fabrication.

If he knew, he might waver because he is also human, but should I say this is fortunate?

“Yes.”

“Why do you think Go Yoon-sung tried to harm you?”

And Yang Han-seok seemed determined to visually show the jurors that Chu Jeong-wook had considerable animosity towards Go Yoon-sung and to invalidate his testimony.

He called Chu Jeong-wook, who had been dismissed, back to the witness stand until the end.

“I told you. They know that I saw the CCTV footage, so they must have been worried that I would change my story.”

“But there was no CCTV at the scene. According to the data secured by the investigators, there was no CCTV recording of the scene anywhere. How could the witness have confirmed the CCTV footage that didn’t exist in the first place?”

“Yes. But the incident occurred at the Wooshin Construction site, and Go Yoon-sung is a member of the Wooshin Group’s owner family. Isn’t he in a position to steal the CCTV footage? The fact that the prosecutor couldn’t confirm the CCTV footage doesn’t prove that I’m committing perjury.”

“Are you now claiming that the victim’s side stole the CCTV footage?”

“Yes.”

A strange smile appeared on Yang Han-seok’s face.

He thought he had shown that the chief harbored considerable resentment towards Go Yoon-sung because of the thug’s incident and that he had become biased against Go Yoon-sung.

However, I can confidently say that Yang Han-seok’s decision to call him back to this position to completely invalidate the chief’s testimony was the worst self-inflicted wound.

“Can you prove that the victim stole the CCTV footage?”

“…That’s impossible.”

“Then,”

“But I can prove that there was CCTV in the first place. Because I have a copy of the CCTV footage.”

The chief said, taking out a USB from his pocket.

Kang Min-jae and I opened our eyes wide and gaped.

It’s the expression we practiced in front of the mirror yesterday to show that we didn’t know we had such evidence either.

This is the visual effect that Yang Han-seok wanted to show so much to the jurors.