You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 159

After Ko Yun-sung received his prison sentence, Wooshin Group quickly focused all its efforts on rebuilding its image.

Wooshin Corporation, at least, if not other affiliates, neatly settled the prolonged labor dispute and posted an apology from the CEO on the company bulletin board.

As a matter of course, Ko Yun-sung was placed on temporary suspension and underwent complete dismissal procedures.

Filling his position was not a member of the ‘royal family’ [referring to the owner’s family] but an employee who had risen through the ranks.

It was a personnel decision aimed at ending employees’ distrust of the owner’s family members.

“We’ve come this far thanks to you, Attorney. I never thought this would happen,” Han Young-sun said, looking out at the snowy scenery outside the cafe.

“The trial isn’t far off now. I’m still nervous, even though it’s the second time.”

Han Young-sun’s civil trial was approaching.

“I heard Oh Sang-hyun reached a settlement…” Han Young-sun said slyly, lost in thought.

“Yes, he did.”

It was already known.

Ko Yun-sung’s side had been heavily engaged in media play, claiming that Oh Sang-hyun had eventually withdrawn his civil lawsuit.

They also launched a comment campaign, arguing that the victim had reached a settlement and now wanted to live quietly as an ordinary person, so they should stop digging into it.

Various broadcasting channels repeatedly aired current affairs programs with the message of the victims’ right to be forgotten.

It was a pathetic trick.

To me, it read as, ‘Why are you guys making a fuss when the victim is okay with it?’

“The offers to reinstate me at Seoul Wooshin Hospital and provide a settlement are still coming in,” Han Young-sun said, picking up her phone from the table.

After the first trial ruling, Ko Yun-sung expressed his intention not to appeal.

This was because the video of him behaving outrageously towards reporters had spread, leading to criticism that he showed no signs of remorse.

I thought he would wait for things to be forgotten during the gap until the second trial, then pretend to sincerely repent to get a reduced sentence, but it was unexpected.

Well, he probably thinks it doesn’t matter since he can be taken out in various ways before serving the full five years anyway.

But one way or another, Ko Sang-joon must be swallowing hot tears right now.

In Wooshin, where the appearance of spoiled brats was significantly lower compared to other *chaebol* [family-owned conglomerate] families, wasn’t a psycho like Ko Yun-sung, who seemed like ten other families’ brats combined, born as the youngest?

To have such heartache because of a troublemaking son in his old age, it seems that even Ko Sang-joon, who has everything in South Korea, can’t do anything about his children.

“Ko Yun-sung has already said he won’t appeal. Even if you settle now, it won’t reduce Ko Yun-sung’s sentence. The civil lawsuit is really just for compensation. In a way, it’s the only way to get as much as you want, or even more, without a legal battle.”

“I suppose so. Is that why Oh Sang-hyun chose that method?”

He is a man with a family.

He has three mouths to feed: his elderly mother, his wife, and his young child.

For Oh Sang-hyun, it’s better to receive a large sum, even if it slightly helps Ko Yun-sung’s image, than to struggle to get a small amount through a civil lawsuit.

Either way, Ko Yun-sung’s image won’t improve much.

It’s better to make him waste money.

In fact, he received a settlement of 150 million won [approximately $115,000 USD], and with that money, he was able to pay off all of his lease deposit loan.

And he was able to send his daughter to the English kindergarten that his wife wanted so much, and he could buy her pretty clothes.

It would have been better if the incident had never happened, but for Oh Sang-hyun, there could be no greater compensation now.

Of course, I harbor great animosity towards Ko Yun-sung and am relieving stress by proceeding with the civil trial in my own way….

Well, I’m satisfied with putting him in jail.

Therefore, proceeding with this lawsuit was solely to respect Han Young-sun’s wishes.

“But I don’t want to,” Han Young-sun said with a small smile.

“I don’t need the money. I just don’t want to do what they want me to do. And I don’t want to be used for media play either. I’ve already broken up with my boyfriend, so I have nothing to fear. …Reinstatement at Seoul Wooshin Hospital is tempting, though. But I hate doing what they want even more.”

The woman who was afraid to testify because she feared her boyfriend would break up with her was no longer there.

As feared, she wasn’t dumped by her boyfriend.

She was the one who chose to break up.

She said that in her moment of despair, she began to question whether the man who couldn’t be her support and instead made her think he would break up with her really loved her.

That’s right.

If he were a truly reliable man, he wouldn’t have made Han Young-sun feel insecure from the start.

That’s when it happened.

[Bba-bba-ra bba-bba-ra bba~ Bbi-bbi-ri bba-bbi Don’t take pictures, you son of a b*tch! We sentence you to 5 years of refreshing prison time in the summer. Leave the summer heat to us, drugs~ drugs~ drugs~ drugs~ drugs Bba-bba Ko Yun-sung!]

…A familiar song started to play loudly.

I looked around.

This is Kang Min-jae’s alarm sound, but who else would….

“Attorney, you have a call,” Han Young-sun said, pointing to my phone on the table.

Surprisingly, my phone was ringing loudly with the Ko Yun-sung Bapico remix.

“…I’m sorry. I’ll take this call. Hello.”

-Attorney! When are you coming in? We decided to have a company dinner today!

“Dinner? Who decided to have a dinner on their own?”

-Me and the office manager. Haha.

“Well, that’s fine… Did Attorney Kang change my phone’s ringtone?”

-Ah, that? Yes. Haha. You’re just finding out now? Hasn’t your phone rung until now?

“It was on vibrate.”

-Hehe. The ringtone is great, isn’t it?

“Don’t you ever play a prank like this again.”

-Okay, just come quickly. We’re waiting for you, Attorney.

“I’ll be right there.”

After hanging up, Han Young-sun was already covering her mouth and laughing.

I sighed.

“It seems Attorney Kang played a prank.”

“…Attorney Kang is obsessed with finding funny clips these days.”

“It seems like it’s a call for you, Attorney. Shall we head back now? My bus is about to leave too.”

I roughly cleaned up the drink tray and left the cafe in front of the terminal.

I thought I should see her off to the platform, so I decided to take her there and walked side by side.

“How much time do you have left until your bus leaves?”

“I have to wait about 30 minutes before boarding,” Han Young-sun said, looking at the terminal’s electronic display board.

I glanced at my phone.

The time is 4:30 PM.

I clearly said the meeting would end around 4:00 PM, so why haven’t I heard from them yet?

“Attorney, if you’re waiting for a call, you can go ahead, really.”

[Bba-bba-ra bba-bba-ra bba~]

I was about to tell her it was okay, but my phone rang again.

I definitely changed it to something else, so why is it still the Ko Yun-sung remix?

I cleared my throat awkwardly and answered the phone.

“Oh, Dong-jin.”

-Joo-han. Sorry, sorry. Did you wait long? They said the meeting went a bit long.

“It’s okay. How did it go?”

-Our hospital can hire both Nurse Seo Hye-jin and Nurse Han Young-sun. They said they’ll match the pay they were getting before. Judging by the atmosphere, it seems like they’ll match their positions too.

My longtime friend Dong-jin’s Myungwoon University Hospital has been a rival of Seoul Wooshin Hospital for a long time.

They compete by poaching personnel from each other and even engaging in childish attacks through advertising media, with Wooshin Hospital slightly ahead.

This time, Myungwoon University Hospital recorded the highest hospital trust rating in five years, taking advantage of the damaged image caused by Ko Yun-sung’s attempted rape at Wooshin Hospital.

I predicted that if they scouted the two people who were unfairly demoted from Wooshin Hospital and played the media well, they might be able to secure their position as number one.

Dong-jin, who knows the atmosphere of Myungwoon University Hospital well, agreed.

It’s beneficial for Myungwoon University Hospital, and it’s much better for Han Young-sun and Seo Hye-jin than being at Wooshin Hospital, where they’re under scrutiny.

Myungwoon University Hospital is also a famous hospital that ranks among the top 5 in Korea.

So, I conveyed that opinion to the hospital through Dong-jin, and fortunately, things worked out well.

“That’s great. Thanks, Dong-jin.”

-No need to thank me. We’re actually more worried because the people involved haven’t made a decision yet. If the two of them come, they’re ready to roll out the red carpet. They’ll probably put it in the company newsletter. Please tell them.

“Okay.”

After hanging up, Han Young-sun, who had been waiting silently, smiled at me.

I wonder how she’ll react if she knows what we just talked about.

“Han Young-sun.”

“Yes?”

“Are you going straight home now?”

“No. I have dinner plans with Nurse Seo Hye-jin.”

“That’s good. Then, how about discussing whether the two of you should move to the main branch of Myungwoon University Hospital together?”

“…Myungwoon Hospital? The Myungwoon Hospital I know?”

“Yes. They’re interested in both of you.”

I took out Dong-jin’s business card from my wallet and handed it to her.

“If you contact here, they’ll tell you the details. He’s my friend, so feel free to contact him if you want to confirm anything. I’ll tell him to explain everything to you.”

Han Young-sun’s eyes widened as she took the business card from me.

She looked back and forth between the business card and me, as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Was that what you were talking about on the phone just now?”

“Yes. Since it was a socially significant incident, the director couldn’t decide on the hiring alone, so I heard that they would put it to a meeting. I just got a call that the meeting is over. Myungwoon Hospital is waiting for the two of you to come.”

“Attorney, I really, I never even thought about this. Really, I was just… I was just going to look for another hospital after this civil trial ended….”

Before I knew it, tears were welling up in Han Young-sun’s eyes.

“My friend said that the working environment at university hospitals isn’t good, so it would be better to go to a private hospital… Did I do something unnecessary?”

I asked, just in case, although she didn’t seem to be crying because she was sad.

“No. No, Attorney, absolutely not. I’m just so, so grateful. Sob sob.”

She risked many things and bravely came to court to reveal Ko Yun-sung’s crimes in detail.

Although she had already been demoted to a branch office in the provinces, there was no telling what disadvantages she would face in the future for refusing to settle until the end.

Realistically, lawyers cannot protect all clients or witnesses until the end.

So, I just thought of another way.

“I hope Nurse Seo Hye-jin likes it too. First of all, don’t feel pressured and feel free to contact them.”

“She’ll like it. Thank you, Attorney. Really… thank you.”

“It’s time for you to catch your bus.”

I said, pointing to the electronic display board.

She, who had been sobbing while holding the business card I gave her, also hurriedly wiped away her tears and stood up at those words.

“I’ll be going now. Thank you so much, Attorney.”

“You’re going to miss your bus at this rate.”

“Ah, no. I can make it if I go now. I’ll go now. Attorney, please go in quickly!”

“Go safely.”

“Yes! Thank you so much, Attorney!”

Han Young-sun shouted loudly enough to echo through the terminal and ran off to catch her bus.

When she was no longer visible, I also got up from my chair.

Kang Min-jae’s voice, saying we should have a company dinner today, came to mind, and I hurried my pace.

[Bba-bba-ra bba-bba-ra bba~]

“…I’m going crazy.”

I remembered that I hadn’t changed the ringtone setting because I was busy telling her the news as soon as I hung up with Dong-jin. Thinking that I really shouldn’t forget this time, I answered the phone.

“This is Cha Joo-han.”

-This is the National Tax Service.

The National Tax Service?

I took the receiver away from my ear and checked the screen again.

Is this voice phishing? But it doesn’t feel clumsy.

I decided to listen a little more.

“Yes, that’s me.”

-Mr. Cha Joo-han, you have been classified as a subject of tax investigation. You need to submit explanatory data to the National Tax Service. The registered mail will be sent to your registered address today.”

Tax investigation?

I was actually thinking that since the call was from the National Tax Service, maybe they were going to give me an award for being a diligent taxpayer.

I couldn’t help but laugh at the unexpected words.