You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 236

You Have Been Defended – Episode 236

At the sudden accusation, my mind raced.

What had I done to warrant such criticism from Hwang Young-chan?

Since he rarely got angry with me, it had to be something serious.

As I hesitated, I soon heard the answer directly from him.

“The Hanyoung Group’s second son’s case—why are you digging into it? Do you know how much trouble you’ve caused yourself?”

“Trouble? What do you mean?”

All I did at the prosecutor’s office was ask Prosecutor Shin Eun-hye how the case was likely to turn out.

Other than that, I only met with Dongjin privately to discuss strategy and advised him on what to ask his lawyer.

“Shin Pro [Prosecutor Shin] is furious and making a fuss! Don’t you know what could happen if she makes an issue of it?”

“I was merely asking about the case out of personal curiosity. And I believe Prosecutor Shin understood that.”

I played dumb for now.

I didn’t think it would be wise to reveal that Dongjin and I were friends.

“Personal curiosity? Shin Pro understood? Then tell me this: why did the suspect in that case come to your prosecutor’s office the day you met Shin Pro? Explain that!”

Hwang Young-chan’s words left me momentarily speechless.

Come to think of it, he had a point.

Dongjin was already a suspect, and the fact that he was seen coming and going from my office was problematic.

It was an issue I hadn’t fully considered.

That day, I was caught off guard by his sudden visit while I was still half-asleep, and I was greatly shocked by the news I heard soon after. I was too busy trying to help Dongjin in any way I could.

“Shin Pro said that at first, she thought you were just curious when you suddenly asked about the case. But then Shin Pro’s investigator saw the suspect leaving your office. They said you even saw him off and seemed very close.”

“……”

“It’s a good thing you didn’t say anything foolish, but if you had made even a slight slip of the tongue, you could have been accused of soliciting the case. Do you understand?”

It was understandable enough.

I stood with my hands behind my back and lowered my head.

“I’m sorry.”

“I’ve already explained to Shin Pro that it wasn’t like that, so make sure there are no further problems. Got it? You almost got into serious trouble!”

Even when I asked Prosecutor Shin Eun-hye about the case, I was careful not to say anything that could be construed as solicitation.

I thought that would be enough to avoid any misunderstandings, but the investigator saw Dongjin in my office.

“I will apologize to Prosecutor Shin personally.”

“You know I’m saying this because I’m worried about you, right?”

“I know very well.”

“I’m worried you’ll get a blemish on your career for nothing. It’s a relief that Shin Pro came to me first, considering our past relationship when she was under me. Imagine if she had gone to her superior directly. You might not have gotten away with just a scolding. If there had been talk of solicitation and an internal investigation, you would have been finished!”

“……I know very well.”

Hwang Young-chan sighed deeply and rubbed his forehead.

“What’s your relationship with the suspect in that case?”

“He’s a friend.”

“Close?”

“We’re childhood friends.”

Hwang Young-chan clicked his tongue as if he felt sorry for me.

“You should have come to me first. Then I would have looked into it for you.”

“……I’m sorry.”

At the time, I was benefiting from Hwang Young-chan’s favor, and there were no problems between us.

However, I thought it wasn’t a good idea to inform my superior, and my stubbornness—the belief that asking him for something would be a form of solicitation—was the problem.

“After reviewing the case, the facts the prosecution has and the suspect’s claims are completely different. Cha Pro [Prosecutor Cha], do you believe the suspect?”

Hwang Young-chan softened his tone and asked.

He seemed to have grasped the general situation and come to me.

“That friend is not the type to enter someone else’s operating room for personal gain. The director seems to be framing him to cover up his own fault.”

“Evidence?”

“None. The director has allegedly bought off the witnesses.”

“Ha, this is something.”

For the past few days, I had been telling the lawyer and Dongjin to try and persuade the witnesses in any way possible, but they had repeatedly failed.

I don’t know what the director had tempted them with, but Dongjin’s resources couldn’t sway them.

Even the hospital’s internal CCTV footage that had been secured didn’t contain anything that could confirm that Dongjin had been forced to perform the surgery by the director.

Rather, there was only evidence to support the claim that Dongjin had entered the operating room recklessly.

Because the CCTV showed Dongjin running busily to the operating room after ending a phone call.

And at that time captured on CCTV, the person Dongjin called was the director.

This lent credence to the director’s false statement that he had called to insist on performing the surgery himself.

“If what you say is true, I feel sorry for the suspect, but it seems there’s no way out right now. It might be better to aim for a reduced sentence. It seems the Hanyoung Group chairman, with his child as the face, is making a fuss about ensuring the suspect goes to prison.”

It’s not that Dongjin is without fault.

However, Dongjin said that the surgery didn’t go well, but he didn’t make a mistake during the surgery itself.

Since it wasn’t a medical accident, the patient’s death was simply due to their severe illness.

The director knew that there was a high probability that the patient would die even if he performed the surgery, so he didn’t take it on himself.

However, he couldn’t give up the surgery because the VIP [Very Important Person] said he would go to another hospital if he did.

At the time, the hospital director needed a powerful backer to support the establishment of a nursing hospital, and the director, who wanted to help the director extend his term and get promoted, would have been terrified of losing the VIP.

And Dongjin also told the prosecutor about these power dynamics.

However, Shin Eun-hye believed more in the story that Dongjin, afraid of being kicked out to a branch, had rushed into the operating room to grab the VIP.

Even though Dongjin said that he wasn’t even in a situation where he would be kicked out to a branch in the first place.

“Cha Pro, I understand you want to save your friend. I can understand a little how painful it must be. But throwing your life away to save your friend is a foolish thing to do.”

“……”

“It seems you’ve helped as much as you can, so let it go.”

I eventually said I understood.

But I didn’t put it into action.

Until Dongjin’s trial, I talked to Dongjin almost every day, checking and rechecking if there was any evidence.

In the process, I also secured a witness.

With the feeling that there was still a faint light, Dongjin gradually regained his energy.

But one day, not long before the trial.

“……Joohan, what should I do?”

Dongjin came to me.

His voice was choked up, as if he would cry if touched.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

“……The junior who was going to testify said he can’t testify.”

“What? Suddenly? Why?”

“He can’t testify, just… He won’t tell me the reason… Huhu, Joohan, I’m finished now, aren’t I? Is that it?”

“Don’t say that. We have to go find the lawyer and the junior again. This is not the time to despair. We need to know what happened to find a way to call him again.”

“He took a vacation until the trial date. He’s not answering his phone…….”

With those words, he began to cry his heart out.

It was a witness we had barely found.

I didn’t even put him on the list because I was worried that the director would interfere in advance if I put him on the list before the trial, but I was going to apply for him as a witness for the defense.

“Joohan, let me ask you one last favor.”

“Tell me, anything. What is it?”

“Your boss, you said he’s close to my prosecutor in charge. And your boss likes you, right? So… Just once, just once, please ask him to put in a good word for me? It’s not even a completely different department; it’s the same criminal department. If the boss puts in some influence, maybe the prosecutor will change his mind…”

I sighed.

In the process of finding a witness, I had become so desperate that it wasn’t that I hadn’t thought about it.

“If that’s difficult, can’t you at least convey my words to the prosecutor in charge? Huh? Please… My child hasn’t even started school yet. If I’m branded like this, I’ll have to just play around for a few years. Even if my career collapses, I still have to make a living…”

When I couldn’t say anything, Dongjin soon knelt on the floor.

“Hey, what are you doing! Get up!”

I was startled and tried to lift him up, but Dongjin didn’t budge.

“Joohan, please help me just once. Please, I beg you. I’m really finished. If it’s like this, I’m really finished. Please…….”

“Dongjin.”

“I really, really didn’t want to do this to you… There’s nowhere else to retreat. So please, Joohan. Please help me.”

Dongjin eventually began to say words that he would never have said.

His voice was so desperate that I felt like I knew how desperate he was.

Numerous words swirled in my head.

-If there’s talk of solicitation and an internal investigation, you’re finished too!

Among them, the one that tormented me the most was the voice of Hwang Young-chan scolding me.

My goal of maintaining my current reputation, rising to a high position, and taking down Wooshin would also become a pipe dream.

A slideshow of memories flashed before my eyes.

The last thing that decorated it was the image of my father smiling brightly in his portrait.

“I’m sorry, Dongjin.”

That was all I could say.

* * *

At the trial that soon opened, Dongjin’s side argued for a reduced sentence as expected.

However, the judiciary handed down the sentence as requested by the prosecutor, let alone a reduced sentence.

Usually, it is common to give a slightly lower sentence than the prosecutor’s request, but it was a result that seemed to have been strongly influenced by the Hanyoung Group.

As the information ‘Y, a specialist in neurosurgery at Myungwoon University Hospital, graduated from Dongdae University’ spread through news and the internet, Dongjin was quickly identified.

He was sentenced to imprisonment and was arrested on the spot and transferred to prison, and of course, he was also fired from Myungwoon University Hospital.

I spent a painful time as well, feeling guilty for ultimately turning away Dongjin, who had come to me because he had nowhere to retreat.

Eating was like chewing sand, and I had trouble sleeping.

Even when I managed to sleep, it was only nightmares.

I went to visit Dongjin, but I was repeatedly rejected.

I met the lawyer who was in charge of his case to check if he had appealed, but he only gave me an answer that he didn’t know well.

I even went to his house to check if his family was doing well, but I only heard from the security guard that they had moved away as if they were running away.

Every day was a series of pain.

Should I have said something to Hwang Young-chan? Was it my fault that I made Dongjin like that? I knew in my head that it wasn’t my fault, but the guilt didn’t leave.

Then one day, I received a text message.

[Obituary: We respectfully announce that the deceased Yang Dongjin has passed away.]

It was news that Dongjin had hanged himself in prison.