You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 24

“You Have Been Defended – Episode 24”

“Hello, Attorney!”

“Mr. Kim Yeon-jun?”

I spotted a familiar face at the cafe I stopped by before heading to work.

He was standing in front of the counter in his uniform, just like before.

“An iced Americano, right?”

“That’s right. But this time, it’s two.”

“Okay, I’ll prepare it right away.”

As I held out my card, Kim Yeon-jun shook his head.

“The owner told me not to accept coffee payments from you anymore.”

“That’s a separate matter.”

“No, it’s the owner’s strict order. Put your card back. Quickly.”

He looked noticeably better than he did at the final trial.

Still, I didn’t expect him to be back at his part-time job only two days after being released.

He probably hasn’t even properly sorted out his parents’ passing, and there must be so many things he wants to take care of.

“Here you go, two drinks.”

“Thank you.”

“My shift ends at 1 PM. Can I come up to your office after I’m done?”

“Go ahead. There’s someone I want to introduce you to.”

I took the two coffees and went up to the office.

Today is Kang Min-jae’s first official day, but he hasn’t even brought in his desk yet.

I opened the office door, thinking I should order a desk as soon as I got in.

“You’ve arrived, Attorney. Good morning.”

A carrier containing two cups of coffee was on the consultation table.

It looked just like the one I was holding.

“I bought coffee too… Oh? Is one of those for me, perhaps?”

Kang Min-jae asked, staring at me persistently with a sly expression.

“They’re both mine.”

“It’s mine.”

“Mine.”

“Ah, yes. Yes.”

He answered casually and put his coffee carrier in the refrigerator.

And before I could stop him, he grabbed one of the ones in my hand.

“The cafe worker on the first floor, that’s Kim Yeon-jun, right?”

“That’s right.”

“What a connection. The owner of the cafe where Kim Yeon-jun works is Lee Young-ho, the one who testified as a witness? The building owner. Right?”

“Did you even get a copy of the registry?”

“I was looking into buying this building.”

“What?”

“Just kidding.”

I should have used my lie detection ability just now, but the timing was off.

I walked past him, who was always spouting nonsense, and sat down at my desk.

I reconnected the phone line I had unplugged last night and turned on the computer.

Ring, ring!

The phone started ringing like crazy before I could even put down my bag.

“Attorney Cha Joo-han’s office,”

-Attorney! This is really too much!

I briefly took the receiver away from my ear because of the piercing voice.

I wondered for a moment if I had done something wrong enough to deserve such words right off the bat.

Kang Min-jae must have heard the voice even through the receiver, as he suddenly looked up and signaled to me, asking what was going on.

“Who is this calling?”

-It’s Yoon Se-yeon, the reporter. I think I called your cell phone about 100 times, but you didn’t answer even once?

“…Ah. Ms. Yoon Se-yeon. I was a bit busy yesterday. As you know.”

-No, but couldn’t you have at least left a text message after I called so many times?

“I’m sorry about that.”

-Ugh, never mind. I’d rather argue with a wall. Anyway. We still have something to settle, right?

Kang Min-jae handed me a morning newspaper.

The front pages of all the newspapers were filled with the conclusion of the Kim Cheol-hwan and Yeo Hee-sook murder case.

Among them, the *Iljung Ilbo* [a fictional newspaper] had Yoon Se-yeon’s name as the reporter.

Even with a conclusion that foreshadowed a follow-up article.

“I enjoyed the article.”

-Yes. Then you must have seen the preview for the follow-up article?

“I did.”

-You said you’d give me a good source, right? Keep that promise now.”

I seemed to have made that promise in exchange for providing the hospital room where Kim Hyung-joon was hospitalized and the contact information for Yeo Hee-sook’s manager.

I ran my hand over my forehead.

I also remembered the threatening text message saying she would sue me if I didn’t give her anything.

-The trial results have already been covered by all the news outlets. So, what could be a good source?

“I wonder.”

-What do you mean, ‘I wonder’? I’m going to interview you.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to interview Mr. Kim Yeon-jun instead of me?”

-What are you talking about? Kim Yeon-jun has already stated that he won’t do any interviews.”

“Then I’ll also state that I won’t do any interviews.”

-You’re excluded. You have a promise with me. Of course, you have to do an exclusive interview with *Iljung Ilbo*, no, Yoon Se-yeon. Hehehe.

Yoon Se-yeon made a sound of laughter, unable to contain her joy.

“If you send me the questions in advance, I’ll check them and get back to you.”

-Caw! Nice! Nice! Thank you! Oh, and can I interview Attorney Kang Min-jae too?

Kang Min-jae appearing in court with the USB was the turning point that overturned the trial, but was Kang Min-jae that famous?

“Kang, come here.”

“Yes, what’s the matter?”

“It’s Yoon Se-yeon from *Iljung Ilbo*. She wants to interview you along with me.”

“If you do it, Attorney, I’ll do it too. But you don’t usually do things like this, do you?”

He seemed to know me very well.

Well, he wasn’t wrong.

If it were Cha Joo-han from 2008, I would never have done such an interview.

But I’m different now that I’ve returned to 10 years ago.

Doing an interview, as long as it doesn’t come off as too arrogant, can be quite helpful for my career.

“I got some help from Yoon this time. I think I have to do it.”

“Then I’ll do it too.”

“Ms. Yoon, Kang will also,”

-I heard! Caw! Yes! Then I’ll send you the questions by email right away. Please send me your email address in a text message.”

“Ah, just a moment, Attorney.”

Yoon and Kang were making so much noise from both sides that I couldn’t focus.

I turned the phone to speakerphone.

“You two figure it out.”

“Ms. Yoon. This is Kang Min-jae.”

-Oh, I know, I know. Our Kang,

“Ah, yes! So, I was hoping you could send me my questions separately.”

-Ah, I see~ Understood.

Yoon Se-yeon spoke in a subtle tone, as if she had noticed something.

I pushed my chair back, told them to finish talking, and went out to the veranda.

Kang Min-jae sat in my chair and switched back to the handset, continuing his conversation with Yoon Se-yeon.

And after a while, he hung up and came to my side, lighting a cigarette.

“Kang.”

“Yes?”

“Is there anything you’re hiding from me?”

“Hiding? No.”

[Lie]

Kang Min-jae shamelessly talked about the weather, unaware of what the words floating above his head meant.

He was saying clichéd things like the weather was so nice, the breeze was cool, and the sky was high.

“Kang, your lies have increased a lot.”

As I put out my cigarette, he suddenly looked anxious.

“Yes? What do you mean?”

And he followed me out to the veranda.

“You’re not going to cancel my employment or anything like that, are you?”

“No.”

“I’ll tell you everything later. I just don’t want to tell you right now. It’s really nothing.”

[Truth]

Everyone has something they want to hide.

I was no different.

Even if Kang Min-jae was hiding something from me, it didn’t matter as long as it didn’t cause me any significant harm.

“Okay.”

“Attorney, are you angry?”

“No, I’m not. Let’s write up a contract.”

I printed out two copies of the employment contract draft I had prepared at home.

“Read it and tell me if you want to change anything. And did you submit your resignation to Taekwang [a fictional company]?”

“Of course. It was accepted yesterday.”

“Yesterday?”

He must have written his resignation in advance, thinking he would lie down if I didn’t accept him.

“Yes. I’m all about taking action.”

“Let’s go with a freelance contract until the office is stable. We’ll pay a certain percentage of the fees, and when the office is stable, I’ll hire you as a full-time employee. I’ll also provide the four major insurances [health insurance, national pension, employment insurance, and workers’ compensation insurance, which are mandatory for full-time employees in South Korea].”

“You don’t have to. But wouldn’t you be at a loss if we do that?”

“Why would I be at a loss?”

“You’re going to earn a lot of fees in the future, and it would be a complete loss if you give me this much. I told you that you only need to match the minimum wage.”

“How can I only match the minimum wage for a lawyer who worked at Taekwang?”

“Then let’s just change the percentage a little. Just give me 10 percent per case.”

“If we take on a case with terrible fees, you might not even get 100,000 won [approximately $75 USD].”

At that, Kang Min-jae chuckled and replied.

“Taekwang only gives 30% to senior lawyers. I was an associate, so 10% is appropriate. You have to run the office, and you have to take your share too.”

Kang Min-jae crossed out the percentage item, changed it to 10 percent, and stamped his fingerprint on it.

Then he brought it to me and told me to stamp it.

I looked up at him.

I’ve seen people ask for more, but Kang Min-jae is the first to ask for less.

I’ve been arguing about the salary with him over drinks yesterday and today, so I think I should be reasonable too.

In the end, I stamped it.

“There’s nothing else you want to fix. Let’s just modify the percentage and go with this.”

“Sign each document. Write your resident registration number and personal information at the bottom and sign.”

After finishing the processing of Kang Min-jae’s employment contract, I remembered that I had decided to order his desk.

“Should I order your desk?”

“I already ordered it. Matching the office design. I’ve already looked at the location too.”

“…Seriously. Bring the receipt. I’ll process the expenses.”

“It’s okay. It’s a freelance contract, so I’ll take care of the necessary equipment,”

“Kang.”

Kang Min-jae, who was smiling brightly and putting one copy of the contract in his briefcase, looked at me.

“I know you have a lot of money, but it’s office property, so bring the receipt. Got it?”

“…Ah, yes. I’m sorry if I made you feel bad. I just,”

“When you quit later, I’ll give it to the office manager to use.”

“I’m not quitting?”

“That’s something we don’t know yet.”

“I said I’m not quitting!”

Just as a new argument was about to begin.

“Excuse me.”

The office door opened, and a man carrying a desk wrapped in cushioning material came in.

“You ordered a desk, right? Where should I put it?”

* * *

Kang Min-jae set up his space in one of the empty corners of the office.

He even had a nameplate engraved, taking it out of his bag and placing it on the desk.

He seemed incredibly excited.

He plugged in the power strip, put his laptop on the desk, installed a divider to hold documents, and put his law books and documents in place. Then, he stretched as if he had finished his work.

While he was busy moving around, I checked the questions Yoon Se-yeon had sent.

After crossing out various things from the list of numerous questions spanning six pages of the Korean document, only about two pages remained.

Ring, ring!

I was about to take a break, but the phone rang again.

“This is Attorney Cha Joo-han’s office.”

-Oh, you finally answered. Hello. This is the SBC 9 o’clock news team. We would like to request an interview. Would that be possible?

“No, I don’t have time. I’m sorry.”

-We’ll visit you at your convenience. Anytime is fine,

“I’m sorry.”

I hung up the phone.

And as soon as I did, the phone started ringing like crazy again.

It seemed that after Yoon Se-yeon succeeded in getting through, the story leaked somewhere, and the phone rush started again.

“Kang, unplug the phone line.”

“Sigh, here we go again?”

He muttered as he unplugged the phone line.

“How are we supposed to receive client calls like this?”

“They’ll come in person.”

In fact, this Kim Yeon-jun case was conducted almost pro bono [free legal service], so we need to take on new cases to keep the office running.

Still, it didn’t seem likely that we would be able to receive client calls even if we left the phone line open.

The line would just get tangled up with interview requests.

“Attorney, when do you want to have lunch?”

“What time is it now?”

“12:55 PM.”

“Kim Yeon-jun is supposed to come at 1 PM. I’ll have to meet him and then eat.”

“Then should I start looking at the menu? What do you like?”

I was thinking about what restaurants were nearby.

The office door opened, and Kim Yeon-jun and Lee Young-ho came in together.

“Oh, Attorney. Mr. Kim Yeon-jun is here.”

Kang Min-jae jumped up and guided them to the consultation table.

“It’s nice to see you again after this morning, Attorney.”

“Attorney Cha, I came with him too.”

Building owner Lee Young-ho smiled awkwardly and took a seat next to Kim Yeon-jun.

Kim Yeon-jun looked at Kang Min-jae, who was sitting next to me, and widened his eyes in surprise.

“Weren’t you the customer who came to the cafe this morning?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m Attorney Kang Min-jae.”

“Ah, so you work with Attorney Cha Joo-han. Nice to meet you.”

Kim Yeon-jun smiled, responding to Kang Min-jae’s handshake.

“This friend helped a lot in resolving Kim Yeon-jun’s case. He’s starting to work with me today.”

“I see. Thank you so much.”

“I’m the guy who showed up with that video during the recess. Haha.”

“Ah, really? I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you sooner.”

As I felt earlier, Kim Yeon-jun was 180 degrees different from how he looked in the detention center.

He had been criticized by the world even though he had done nothing wrong, and now he was being asked for interviews about how he felt about being wrongly accused.

He could have felt disillusioned with the world.

He seems like a positive person.

“Thanks to Attorney Cha, our Yeon-jun was able to clear his name… Thank you so much. When I said I would meet you back then, I naturally thought you would refuse to defend him, but I was so grateful that you took the case.”

“Mr. Kim Yeon-jun was innocent.”

“Attorney.”

Kim Yeon-jun, who had been looking at Lee Young-ho and me with a pleased expression, suddenly interjected.

“Well, first of all… I heard that you’re supposed to talk about the retainer fee when you hire a lawyer. Usually, you pay a retainer fee first and then a success fee. I couldn’t say anything back then because I was flustered…”

Kim Yeon-jun took a white envelope out of his bag and placed it on the desk.

“Here, I’ll give you the retainer fee first.”