You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 242

A while later, Dongjin returned to the break room with coffee and bottled water.

He checked the seat where Kim Sungwoo had been sitting and looked around.

He had sent Kim Sungwoo away because there was no need to see him anymore, and there was no one else in the break room.

*Could it be because the number of patients had decreased since the previous head nurse’s incident?*

The only sound was the anchor’s briefing on the television.

“What, are you done talking?”

“Yeah, more or less.”

“What did he say?”

“I didn’t ask him directly, so I don’t know for sure. But it doesn’t seem like he’s completely unrelated.”

“Why?”

I summarized my conversation with Kim Sungwoo and shared it with Dongjin.

Dongjin crossed his arms and stared at a point in the air, lost in thought.

His cold, hardened expression seemed to tell me what he was thinking.

Just like before meeting Kim Sungwoo, he was clearly seething with betrayal.

“…It’s not certain yet, right? Honestly, Kim Sungwoo agreeing with my nonexistent memory loss issue could just be him thinking it’s a good opportunity to get rid of me since things have turned out this way. So, he didn’t create this situation himself, right? You know what I mean?”

But Dongjin didn’t seem ready to hate Kim Sungwoo yet.

They weren’t on good terms to begin with, but perhaps he didn’t utterly despise Kim Sungwoo as a person.

Maybe, true to his nature, he still held onto the vain hope that even though they were in a competitive situation, Kim Sungwoo wasn’t such a bad guy.

And I couldn’t tell Dongjin that wasn’t the case.

In the first place, I couldn’t conclude that Kim Sungwoo was the culprit with just that much evidence, and I couldn’t say that I had confirmed it with my ability.

“Even so, the fact that you need to be wary of Kim Sungwoo remains unchanged. Even if he didn’t directly cause this, he’s trying to use it to get rid of you. Both actions are throwing you into a pit.”

“……”

“You should be careful about your actions in front of Kim Sungwoo from now on.”

“Well, that’s a given… So, if we assume that Kim Sungwoo is behind this, it means that Nurse Gu Sojeong didn’t misunderstand my orders, but deliberately distorted them?”

“That’s right.”

“Then isn’t the only answer that Kim Sungwoo told Gu Sojeong to do that? But Gu Sojeong did such a huge thing because Kim Sungwoo told her to?”

“That’s why, what was your relationship with Gu Sojeong usually like?”

At my question, Dongjin sighed deeply.

Then, he chugged the bottled water he had bought and shook his head.

“I don’t know anymore, now. Kim Sungwoo is in a competitive position with me, but I didn’t think he had enough resentment to do this to me. But now it could be Kim Sungwoo’s doing. Then isn’t it the same with Gu Sojeong? I thought there were no problems, but Gu Sojeong was feeling problems with me. Even if I made a mistake, there was no outward conflict at all, but if she went this far, I have nothing to say about what our relationship was like. Just, just… it was a normal doctor-nurse relationship. Nothing more, nothing less. I don’t think Gu Sojeong never felt bad about me. She might hate me. But, to go this far? I don’t know. I don’t know…”

Dongjin seemed to feel disgusted with the existence of humans.

Usually, when something like this happens, everyone starts to worry about even small conflicts that they would normally overlook.

Even if it’s a trivial matter in terms of social norms, once you know that someone might have felt that the problem was like an enemy who killed their parents, you can’t go back to the way things were.

I, too, stopped trusting people after countless such experiences.

But I don’t think this is just a simple distrust of humans.

In reality, there are people who don’t hesitate to kill others for their own purposes or minor emotional issues.

But even so, if you want to see the world beautifully, there are still possibilities.

“Nurse Gu Sojeong might be being threatened.”

“Threatened?”

“I’m just saying let’s consider all the possibilities.”

In fact, I don’t think this is just an effort to see the world beautifully.

I think it’s the most likely possibility.

The risk that Gu Sojeong has to take is too great to have simply received compensation from Kim Sungwoo for this action.

Even if Kim Sungwoo instigated it, Gu Sojeong is the one who actually caused the problem.

Even if all of Gu Sojeong’s words are accepted, she will still have problems.

She is not a nurse assistant who only handles simple tasks.

By following the wrong order, she did not do what she should have done as a nurse.

That’s why Hanyoung Group, which thinks that the problem arose because of Dongjin’s wrong order, is putting pressure to fire Gu Sojeong, isn’t it?

Why would Gu Sojeong have done this to Dongjin, with whom she has no ordinary grudges, while taking all those risks?

Kim Sungwoo will be promoted if Dongjin is gone, but Gu Sojeong doesn’t have that.

“What kind of threat?”

“Well, I don’t know. It’s probably a problem between Kim Sungwoo and Gu Sojeong. It could be a private matter, or it could be a public matter. If Kim Sungwoo has something Gu Sojeong wants to hide, Gu Sojeong has no choice but to do what Kim Sungwoo tells her to do.”

“…That’s true.”

“In terms of public matters, Kim Sungwoo knows that Gu Sojeong made a fatal mistake with another patient… Anything is fine, so you should find out. There are still some people in the ward who trust you, right?”

Dongjin nodded firmly.

“I’ll look into that.”

“Okay. It’s getting late. Go back in now.”

“What about Gu Sojeong?”

“I’ll contact her separately.”

“Alone?”

Dongjin looked at me with worried eyes.

But this is not to be considerate of Dongjin, but to elicit a meaningful answer from Gu Sojeong.

Unlike Kim Sungwoo, Gu Sojeong is a person who is in direct conflict with Dongjin.

If Dongjin is there in person, Gu Sojeong will not let her guard down.

Above all, I plan to contact Gu Sojeong through Kim Sungwoo.

That way, she will sense that I don’t suspect her.

Even if it was something she did because she was threatened by Kim Sungwoo, Gu Sojeong is on the same boat as Kim Sungwoo, at least in this case, isn’t she?

It would be better to meet her knowing that I am on Dongjin’s side but suspect Dongjin.

“Well, since Nurse Gu is on day duty today, she might have already left work by now.”

Dongjin said, checking his watch.

“Okay. Do you still have a long way to go before you leave work?”

“Yeah, I have some things left to do.”

“Then I’ll go first. I’ll contact you again after I meet Gu Sojeong.”

“Hey, have a meal before you go. How can I just send you away when you suddenly came all the way here to help me?”

I looked at Dongjin’s hand grabbing my arm.

In my previous life, Dongjin grabbed me like this, kneeling before me.

I smiled slightly.

“No. I’m paying you back.”

“Debt? What debt?”

Wasn’t it Dongjin who told me that the former head nurse was a broker who helped influential figures’ children get military exemptions?

“What are you talking about, really?”

“There’s something like that. Hurry up and go in. I’m going too. I have to stop by the office too. I ran out suddenly.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, you idiot. Go in.”

Dongjin insisted on following me until I got on the elevator.

I had no choice but to see him off there, and I headed straight to Taesik’s private investigation agency.

* * *

I told Dongjin that I had to go to the office, but in fact, everyone had already left work, so there was no need to do so.

“Lawyer?”

I parked my car on the first floor and was about to go up when I ran into Taesik on the stairs, leading his thugs down.

“What brings you here?”

“I have something to talk to you about.”

He didn’t have any weapons, but he looked like a gangster preparing for a war with another organization.

“Are you going to war?”

“…We’re going to eat.”

“With all of them?”

“Yes. Do you want to come too, lawyer? We’re going to eat pork belly.”

Taesik shook the wallet in his hand and said.

Instead of answering, I snatched his wallet and took out a card, handing it to Sanggil.

Sanggil took the card in a daze.

“You guys go and eat something delicious. I have something to talk to Taesik about.”

“Huh? I’m going to eat pork belly?”

“I made an appointment in advance, what kind of manners is this to go eat pork belly?”

At my words, Taesik tilted his head and asked.

“Did you make an appointment in advance? Why don’t I remember? I must have forgotten.”

“Why do you forget?”

“I’m sorry. Sigh, you guys go and eat. Eat moderately. Be sure to bring the receipt.”

Taesik urged Sanggil, and Sanggil smiled and saluted before leading the thugs out of the building.

Taesik smacked his lips and walked up the stairs with me.

“But when did we make an appointment? I really don’t remember.”

“We made an appointment in your dream last night. Why can’t you remember?”

“Ah, that’s right. My dream! My dream…? Oh, are you kidding me?”

Taesik was very upset, but he seemed very happy when I ordered Dongpo pork [braised pork belly in soy sauce] for him.

While watching him eat, I explained the overall situation to him.

It was a little unpleasant because food splattered every time Taesik cursed in anger, but I still succeeded in making him understand the situation.

“So, what would you like me to find out for you?”

“I need to know about the relationship between Kim Sungwoo and Gu Sojeong.”

“The relationship between the two?”

“I said she seemed to be threatened. If that’s the case, it would be good to find out what problems Gu Sojeong has. Also, since the two are accomplices anyway, there will be some contact, and we need to get evidence of those contacts in advance.”

“Hmm, I understand. But it seems like it will be difficult to tail them because they work at the hospital…”

Taesik crossed his arms and pondered.

But I couldn’t understand.

Why are you worrying when there’s an easy way?

“Have one of your guys get hit by a car and then get admitted to the hospital.”

“…Oh, lawyer, you’re fucking a genius?”