You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 255

Gu So-jeong, unable to sleep, boarded the bus to the hospital with bloodshot eyes.

Since meeting Cha Ju-han, she had been skipping meals and holing up in her room, thinking about Kim Seong-woo all day.

At first, she thought of calling Kim Seong-woo immediately to tell him what she had heard from Cha Ju-han and ask if it was all true.

But she soon put her phone down.

She didn’t have the courage to face the truth.

What if Kim Seong-woo confirmed it?

In her mind, Kim Seong-woo’s bored face, which had seemed listless throughout the dress fitting, floated around.

He had chimed in with ‘Pretty’ and ‘Not bad,’ so she tried to dismiss it as just her mood or pre-wedding jitters, but she was probably right about what she saw.

The helpers who were assisting with the fitting were also embarrassed by Kim Seong-woo’s disinterested attitude.

Looking back now, she wondered why she had ignored Kim Seong-woo’s unsettling behavior until now.

She seemed to have wanted to deny it.

It couldn’t be true.

And even if there was a problem, she could escape this wretched poverty if she just got married, so she should endure it.

Perhaps it was with that thought that she agreed to Kim Seong-woo’s request to administer cephalosporin [an antibiotic] to Seol Hyeong-seok.

If they committed such a huge act together, she would also have Kim Seong-woo’s weakness in her hands, so the marriage would definitely proceed.

Such a naive thought.

‘Should I just not go to work…?’

Gu So-jeong, who got off at the bus stop in front of the hospital, looked up at the towering hospital building.

Her vision blurred.

She was overwhelmed by the urge to go up to the roof of that high hospital and throw herself off.

If she continued like this, she might really become a murderer… no, an attempted murderer.

‘If Seong-woo just reassured me, if he truly wanted to marry me instead of that woman… then it would be okay….’

Should they have never gotten involved in the first place?

The first time she started seeing Kim Seong-woo was because of a momentary lapse in judgment after a company dinner.

The two young adults were drunk, and since they had been harboring feelings for each other, such a situation wasn’t entirely unexpected.

After that day, the two became ambiguously involved.

After naturally spending a few more nights together, Gu So-jeong formally asked Kim Seong-woo to date her.

Kim Seong-woo then accepted the proposal, saying that he should have confessed first.

The two were an ordinary couple.

They would meet on their days off and go on dates, and they would celebrate anniversaries.

However, Kim Seong-woo asked her to keep their relationship a secret because he didn’t want to cause trouble for his father if he, the director’s son, was dating a nurse from the same ward.

Gu So-jeong didn’t particularly mind.

She was thrilled that she was dating the director’s son, and a promising doctor at that.

And indeed, she was as happy as she had expected while dating Kim Seong-woo.

Unlike herself, who was always short on money, he easily swiped his credit card, and unlike the other boyfriends she had met so far, he paid for all the dates as a matter of course.

While she was dating him, she didn’t have to worry about money.

There were no days when she had to limit her dates because she didn’t have enough money, and there were no days when she had to worry about whether she should get him a somewhat valuable gift.

Of course, there were some things she regretted.

But they were trivial.

Perhaps it was just that he called her a nurse even when they were alone in the hospital and didn’t show the slightest hint of intimacy.

Still, he often expressed his affection when they were out of the hospital, so she didn’t think it was a problem.

He had also said in advance that it was because of his father, the director.

As their relationship passed a month, two months, and eventually reached half a year, Gu So-jeong naturally began to think about her future with Kim Seong-woo.

Kim Seong-woo was of marriageable age, and since she was the one he was seeing, she wondered if he was also thinking about marriage.

When she subtly brought up marriage, he didn’t seem opposed to the idea.

Considering Kim Seong-woo’s age, if he was thinking of marrying another woman from a good family, he would have broken up with her immediately and started going on blind dates.

Then, shouldn’t I be his marriage partner? We get along so well.

It bothered her that Kim Seong-woo had never brought up the topic of marriage first, and that they had never had deep conversations.

It was also strange that he preferred meeting in motels or hotels rather than going on outdoor dates.

As she was wondering if he was really serious about her, Gu So-jeong soon realized that her worries were meaningless.

On a belated New Year’s trip they took together on January 2nd, Kim Seong-woo proposed to her.

And about a week later, Kim Seong-woo made such a request.

Could she inject Seol Hyeong-seok with cephalosporin?

“…….”

As she wandered around the hospital, lost in thought, it was already a little past her work start time.

Gu So-jeong reluctantly made her way into the ward.

“Why are you so late?”

“I’m sorry.”

The senior nurse, who seemed to stress her out just by looking at her, scolded her, but Gu So-jeong didn’t care.

She answered casually and was about to start working when suddenly her arm was grabbed.

“Dr. Kim Seong-woo is looking for you. Go see Dr. Kim first.”

“Dr. Kim Seong-woo?”

“Yes. It seemed urgent? He asked why you weren’t answering your phone.”

“…Yes.”

Since she had turned off her phone, it was natural that she couldn’t be reached.

What was he trying to say that he was looking for her so urgently?

Gu So-jeong bit her lip and pressed the power button on her phone, which had been turned off.

There were 10 missed calls and 27 text messages.

Most of the senders were Kim Seong-woo.

‘Is he going to talk about Seol Hyo-seok being called in as a witness…?’

Kim Seong-woo was the least obsessive person she had ever met.

He didn’t care if he didn’t hear from her for a day or so, and he didn’t interfere in her personal life.

But the fact that he had left so many missed calls now meant that there was something urgent.

“What’s going on?”

She met Kim Seong-woo not at the emergency exit they always used to meet, but outside the hospital.

She had been thinking about him all day, but her heart felt like it was about to burst when she saw his face.

That man, he was trying to use me and marry another woman?

He was going to ruin my life and become the son-in-law of a *chaebol* [family-owned conglomerate] all by himself?

She thought, ‘No, no,’ but her expression didn’t match her heart.

Barely holding back the tears that were about to come out, Gu So-jeong looked up at Kim Seong-woo.

“Why aren’t you answering my calls!”

“I was sick yesterday, so I took medicine and slept all day.”

“…Seol Hyo-seok was called in as a witness by the prosecution.”

Kim Seong-woo said urgently.

His expression looked more anxious than ever.

Normally, she would have worried about such Kim Seong-woo, but she just snorted.

It was absurd that he didn’t ask if she was okay now that she was sick, but started talking about Seol Hyo-seok first.

“Why Seol Hyo-seok?”

“Because of the Seol Hyeong-seok case. Actually… before I planned the Seol Hyeong-seok case with you, Seol Hyo-seok contacted Chief Jin first. But Chief Jin is being investigated now. I think he confessed.”

“…Then what’s going to happen to us?”

It was already a story she knew, but Gu So-jeong asked as if she didn’t know.

Then Kim Seong-woo sighed deeply and replied.

“That’s why I asked to see you. Of course, Seol Hyo-seok won’t confess, but if the prosecution starts investigating Seol Hyo-seok, we don’t know when we’ll be exposed. I found out that the lawyer who is Mr. Yang’s friend is a very famous person. I don’t know how much that bastard has found out, but it seems like he has connections in the prosecution as well.”

“…….”

“If the investigation into Seol Hyo-seok starts in earnest, Mr. Yang and you, So-jeong, will also be investigated. If Seol Hyeong-seok didn’t just make a mistake, but did it on purpose, it will be classified as an attempted murder case.”

…Was he so urgently looking for me because he was worried about me being investigated?

That’s right.

I don’t know what the relationship is with that woman Seol Ye-ji, but it seems that Kim Seong-woo’s affection for her is real after all.

Then, wouldn’t it be okay to ask about the story she heard from that lawyer yesterday?

That lawyer might have misunderstood, or maybe he lied on purpose to drive a wedge between us.

That photo might have been taken in such a way by chance.

Or maybe he’s just forced to meet her because of his relationship with Seol Hyo-seok, and he’s still going to marry me.

“Don’t misunderstand me. Really, don’t misunderstand me.”

“I won’t.”

“Yes… I believe that our So-jeong will know my heart better than anyone else.”

“Why are you hesitating so much? Tell me quickly.”

“If that happens… It won’t happen, but really, if. Really, if everything is revealed and Seol Hyo-seok admits it.”

“…Yes.”

“Can you say that you were directly instigated by Seol Hyo-seok?”

Gu So-jeong felt it at that moment.

That the lawyer’s words were all true.

He wasn’t worried about her being investigated.

He was worried that she would confess that she had been instigated by him while being investigated.

He was going to put all the blame on her and survive, and marry Seol Ye-ji.

He didn’t care what happened to her.

It felt like the heat from her fingertips to her whole body was cooling down.

“If you tell my story, I’ll be an accomplice to attempted murder too. Then I have to quit being a doctor, and then we’ll both be on the streets. Who will make money if we get married? One of us has to survive to make a living. You know what I mean, right?”

“…….”

“I really hope you don’t misunderstand me. Anyway, So-jeong decided to quit being a nurse and live at home when she marries me. You said you didn’t want to work. To do that, I have to keep being a doctor so that we can both live comfortably. No, not just the two of us, but our future children too.”

“…….”

“So-jeong, why aren’t you answering? You didn’t misunderstand me, did you? You know I love you. I want to marry So-jeong soon… have children, and live happily ever after. And….”

Gu So-jeong couldn’t hear any of Kim Seong-woo’s sweet talk.

She could only hear the treacherous voice of a vile human being trying to survive alone by stepping on her.

* * *

Ziiiiing-

I glanced at the vibrating cell phone.

[Gu So-jeong]

I was a little surprised to see the letters on the phone screen.

I thought it would take Gu So-jeong more time to make a decision, but I didn’t expect her to contact me so quickly.

“This is Cha Ju-han.”

-…Lawyer. Are you available to talk right now?

Her voice, which was calm and slightly nasal, sounded like she had been crying until just now.

“Yes, I am.”