You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 185

You Have Been Defended – Episode 185

The 200 million I gave to Tae-shik had an immediate effect.

Just three days after asking him to find Yoo Min-hyuk, Tae-shik barged into the office without warning.

“Hyungniiiiim!”

We were in the middle of a consultation with a pre-booked client.

The client seemed threatened by the sudden appearance and booming voice of the muscle pig.

Kang Min-jae also flinched, startled, and glared at Tae-shik.

“Ah, I’m, I’m sorry.”

Tae-shik bowed his head towards Kang Min-jae and the client, who were both giving him resentful looks.

Manager Oh, who had been working at his desk, got up and took Tae-shik outside.

The timing was terrible.

We were just wrapping up the story; if he had come just five minutes later, he would have been welcomed.

We knew best what kind of news he would bring.

“Thank you, Attorney. I’ll contact you again next time.”

“Yes, take care.”

Not long after the client left, Manager Oh brought Tae-shik back into the office.

“Who is your hyung [older brother or respected male figure]?”

I said to Tae-shik, who was trailing behind Manager Oh, and he grinned and replied.

“You are my eternal hyung in my heart.”

“Anyway, judging by how happy you are, you must have found him.”

“Of course. I told the guys to stop everything and find Yoo Min-hyuk first. Still, three days is actually a long time.”

Tae-shik came to my desk and stuck a post-it note with an address on it.

“Yoo Min-hyuk is running a pharmacy now. This is the address.”

“A pharmacy?”

A talented researcher who graduated from pharmacy school and held a responsible position at Myung-hwa Pharmaceutical opened a pharmacy instead of changing jobs.

I searched the address on the internet.

“Jinseong County? Isn’t that the end of the land?”

Kang Min-jae, who had come to my side to check the map, asked.

Just looking at the map showing the location of the pharmacy, there was much more sea than land.

“He went far. It seems like a fishing village there. I found his cell phone number, but he doesn’t answer unknown numbers. The pharmacy’s phone number is written below the address.”

If he changed his contact information, cut off contact with acquaintances, and settled in a fishing village, I think we can guess the answer.

There must be a reason why he had to disappear as if he were being chased.

If we call in advance to express our desire to meet, there is a high probability that he will refuse.

Rather, if we try to make an appointment by phone, he might disappear again.

We have to go down there and confront him without warning.

“Manager Oh, do you have any appointments scheduled for today and tomorrow? I’m thinking of going down there now.”

“Everything can be postponed. You’re taking Attorney Kang, right? I’ll postpone Attorney Kang’s schedule too.”

“I’ll prepare quickly!”

It takes more than four hours by car to get to Jinseong County, located at the end of the land.

Since it’s noon now, we’ll arrive around 5 PM.

Kang Min-jae, who was going on a long-distance business trip for the first time in a while, changed several pairs of sunglasses, trying to set the mood.

I didn’t want to interrupt Kang Min-jae, who was excited, so I just looked out the window and started the tedious journey.

About an hour passed.

Kang Min-jae’s phone started ringing.

“Hey, it’s me. I’m on a business trip now. I can talk. Oh, did you find out? Yeah. Oh, really?”

He answered the phone happily, as if it was the call he had been waiting for.

The call lasted about 20 minutes.

During that time, I was drowsy from the warm sunlight and was trying to fall asleep.

“Attorney Cha!”

Of course, Kang Min-jae called out loudly after hanging up, so I couldn’t fall asleep.

“About the investigation you asked me to do on Prosecutor Jung Chang-yoon. I just got a call.”

For news like this, I wouldn’t mind being interrupted dozens of times.

“It seems certain that Senior Jung received a love call [an attractive job offer] from Taekwang.”

“Really?”

“Yes. But he doesn’t seem to have given a definite answer. Since Senior Jung’s title as a doctor won’t disappear even if time passes, even if he says he’ll join Taekwang in a few years, they won’t have any reason to refuse. And he doesn’t get along well with the people at Taekwang.”

“What else?”

“He’s not one to suck up to superiors, and he’s not very active. He’s not a very noticeable person.”

The reason why I didn’t remember Jung Chang-yoon, even though he was a classmate in the training institute who used the room next door, was simply because Jung Chang-yoon himself didn’t have a strong presence.

“But it seems like he tries not to indict cases where a settlement is possible and makes them settle. Even the troublemakers who were notorious in other rooms would settle as soon as they went to his room. His nickname is ‘Dove.’”

“Dove?”

“Yes. The dove, the symbol of peace.”

On the surface, a settlement might seem like the most beautiful solution, but from what I experienced with Jung Chang-yoon, it’s just covering up the case.

Even if there’s a saying that good things are good, there are situations in the world where investigative agencies must clearly distinguish between truth and falsehood.

This case is one of those cases.

It’s not for nothing that articles about indictment rates come out.

Can that kind of forced settlement be seen as true peace?

It only becomes another seed of discord.

“And he’s famous for having the fewest unsolved cases in the Western District Prosecutor’s Office. Even though he’s in the Criminal Division. It’s an amazing record.”

The number of unsolved cases is usually equated with a prosecutor’s ability.

That means Jung Chang-yoon is a prosecutor who is recognized to some extent.

A doctor, nicknamed the symbol of peace, and the lowest number of unsolved cases.

He must have quite a bit of pride as a prosecutor, and he must be stubborn.

“Attorney, should we stop by a rest stop to get gas? I’m starting to get hungry.”

* * *

We arrived in Jinseong County a little after 5 PM.

Jinseong County was a small fishing village.

The population is smaller than the number of residents in one neighborhood in a district in Seoul, and the proportion of elderly people is high.

There is no trace of children.

Even the coffee chain that was so common in the city that it earned the nickname ‘Cockroach B*’ was nowhere to be found.

The pharmacy was located on the first floor of a two-story commercial building in that small downtown area.

The building was old, but the pharmacy sign was shiny and clean.

Since Yoo Min-hyuk came down from Seoul to set it up, the pharmacy must not have been there for long.

I looked inside the pharmacy through the window.

I saw an old man with a hunched back bowing repeatedly to the pharmacist and handing him a crumpled black plastic bag.

That pharmacist is Yoo Min-hyuk.

“Grandma, be careful going home.”

“Yes, go on in.”

Yoo Min-hyuk quickly ran out and opened the door, and the old man with the hunched back came out, leaning on a cane with trembling hands.

“How can I help you?”

As soon as the old man disappeared, Yoo Min-hyuk looked at me and Kang Min-jae, who were standing in front of him, with wary eyes.

As it would be, the people you meet in downtown Jinseong County are the same people.

Since the aging problem is serious, the sight of two young men dressed in suits like this would be quite unfamiliar.

“Are you Yoo Min-hyuk?”

“…Yes, I am.”

“We’re from Attorney Cha Joo-han’s office. I’m Attorney Kang Min-jae. This is Attorney Cha Joo-han.”

Kang Min-jae said skillfully and handed Yoo Min-hyuk his business card.

He boasted that he would be better at approaching Yoo Min-hyuk, who would be full of wariness, but it doesn’t seem to be very effective.

He glanced at the business card and took a step back into the pharmacy defensively.

“What brings lawyers from Seoul to me?”

“I’m sorry for coming so suddenly. I know it’s rude, but it’s an urgent matter, so we came like this.”

“So, what’s the matter?”

“I don’t know if you know about the recent hot topic. The problem is that Antrozol Alpha, developed by Myung-hwa Pharmaceutical, has major side effects. And the person who first raised this issue is Jo Bong-joon, who is active under the nickname Apollo.”

“Yoo Min-hyuk, you worked at Myung-hwa Pharmaceutical until March 2009, right?”

I interrupted Kang Min-jae.

No matter what, Yoo Min-hyuk’s wariness shows no sign of disappearing.

Even if Kang Min-jae responds with his unique affability, nothing will change.

I decided to get straight to the point.

“You must have known that Myung-hwa Pharmaceutical’s Antrozol Alpha had major side effects. Right?”

“……”

Yoo Min-hyuk didn’t answer.

He just looked at us with trembling eyes.

“Our client publicized the seriousness of Antrozol Alpha’s side effects and was sued by Myung-hwa Pharmaceutical for spreading false information. We are trying to prove that this is not false information and stop the distribution of Antrozol Alpha.”

“……So?”

“You, Mr. Yoo Min-hyuk, directly participated in the development of Antrozol, and you were the one who discovered the effects and side effects of Apilataylene and Lopetamine during the development of Antrozol. You also researched some of Hyizolam. But you did not participate in the final research of Antrozol Alpha.”

Yoo Min-hyuk bit his lip.

I continued without a break.

“After commissioning research on Hyizolam in the United States, you left Myung-hwa Pharmaceutical two months after the results report arrived and disappeared.”

“……I have nothing to say about that.”

Yoo Min-hyuk tried to close the pharmacy door, but I put my hand in the gap and grabbed it.

“It looks like you have a lot to say.”

I said slowly, emphasizing the word [Lie] floating above his head.

“I told you I don’t. Go find out somewhere else. I’ve been out of that research for a long time.”

“Then, I want to hear the reason why you left.”

“It’s a personal matter. I don’t think I have any reason to tell a stranger about that.”

“The fact that a promising researcher suddenly disappeared around that time and came down to this countryside to open a pharmacy seems related to Antrozol Alpha to anyone who hears it. The Antrozol Alpha issue has already been widely publicized to be dismissed as a personal matter.”

“……It’s not related to Antrozol Alpha.”

[Lie]

Yoo Min-hyuk distorted his expression and struggled to close the pharmacy door.

But since I am still young, I had the strength to stop it.

I grabbed the pharmacy door tightly again and said.

“If Antrozol Alpha is released as it is, countless people suffering from arthritis will die from cardiovascular disease. It was none other than Mr. Yoo Min-hyuk who created the original plan for Antrozol Alpha. Even though such a tragedy could happen, are you just going to stand by and watch?”