You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 256

“…I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Doctor. I’m so sorry.”

Goo So-jeong kept repeating the same words in a tearful voice, her head bowed deeply.

Dong-jin just stared at her without any expression.

“I’m so ashamed, Doctor. Really… I’m so sorry. I know my apology won’t erase all the hardships you’ve been through… But I’m really sorry. Really…”

Dong-jin, who would normally have told her to stop and comforted her, just stared at her this time without saying a word.

After listening to her one-sided apology for almost 10 minutes, Dong-jin finally seemed to think he should say something and twitched his lips.

“I don’t know what to say. And honestly… I can’t say it’s okay. Haa.”

Dong-jin, who barely managed to open his mouth, covered his face with both hands.

Seeing Dong-jin in pain, I wondered if it would have been better to tell him everything first and then have him meet Goo So-jeong.

I had been steadily investigating, but I was hesitant to say anything to Dong-jin because I was afraid that if there were no results, it would only give him false hope.

However, when Goo So-jeong decided to confess, I thought the situation was somewhat resolved, so I called Dong-jin to the office on the day I was supposed to meet Goo So-jeong to tell him the whole story.

Dong-jin was shocked to hear the whole situation from Goo So-jeong’s mouth so suddenly.

He repeatedly asked Goo So-jeong if it was true, and he checked with me several times as well.

Of course he would be.

He never would have imagined that he was a victim of a conspiracy surrounding the succession of a conglomerate [a large business enterprise consisting of a number of different companies].

“Juhan, let’s talk for a moment in private.”

Dong-jin, who had been silently watching Goo So-jeong cry, put his hand on my shoulder and said.

“Should I step out for a moment?”

Goo So-jeong, who was wiping away her tears with the tissue I handed her, asked urgently as she fidgeted.

“No. Stay here.”

I took Dong-jin out to the veranda.

After confirming that the door was closed, he leaned against the railing and looked down.

I could feel all the pain he had gone through in the long exhale.

“Are you okay?”

At my question, Dong-jin turned his head slightly towards me and smiled wryly.

“Would I be okay?”

“You must have been very surprised.”

“Surprised, a lot…”

Dong-jin trailed off and came closer to me.

And he hugged me.

“Thank you, Juhan.”

“…”

“Thank you, really… Thank you.”

I’ve known Dong-jin since we were kids playing with dirt, but I don’t think we’ve ever hugged like this before.

At least not that I remember.

It doesn’t happen often, but my mother sometimes hugs me like this when we say goodbye, and I always feel awkward and don’t know what to do with my hands.

But this time, I know it’s time for me to pat him on the back.

Because Dong-jin, who hadn’t shed a single tear in front of Goo So-jeong, started to cry sadly.

“Now that I’m saying this… I was really having a hard time, really… I couldn’t tell my wife and parents because I didn’t want them to worry, so I just pretended that everything was fine… I had nowhere to talk, and it was really hard. It’s not that I didn’t trust you, but just in case… just in case I kept being falsely accused and sued… Yeah, doctors get sued once or twice in their lives, so I tried to brush it off as that, but because the other party was Hanyoung Group, I was really scared… I thought my life was over. Sniff, damn it, I really thought I was screwed.”

Dong-jin cried and poured out all the words he hadn’t been able to say until now.

I also muttered an answer in my heart that I couldn’t say to anyone.

I was scared too.

I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to help you again and that you would be left alone in fear, that I would lose you again.

But I pretended to be nonchalant and kicked him in the shin.

“Why would your life be over, you idiot.”

“Ouch. Hey, I really would have been done for if it weren’t for you. I didn’t know what to do on my own. While waiting for your call, I tried to do something, anything, but nothing came out… Hey, you must be a really great lawyer.”

“What.”

“No, honestly, even if you found out that Seol Hyo-seok instigated it, Hanyoung Group could have tried to cover it up, right? But how did you manage to win over Hanyoung Group too?”

Dong-jin wiped away his tears and couldn’t help but laugh.

I’m glad he seems to be feeling better now.

“I didn’t win them over. It’s just, well…”

“Amazing, really. I should have recognized you from the time you were on TV.”

“Enough, you idiot. Don’t let your guard down completely. It’s going to be classified as an attempted murder case now, so you’ll have to go to the prosecutor’s office for questioning as a witness at least once.”

“Yeah, I have to accept that.”

“It won’t be too hard. From the prosecutor’s point of view, you’re just… an unlucky guy who was falsely accused.”

I’m planning to ask Park Young-ki separately not to harass Dong-jin too much, but it’s better to give him a heads up.

It’s great to have quit being a prosecutor, now that I think about it.

I can even do this kind of favor.

In my previous life, I was tied up by the word ‘favor’ and couldn’t do anything.

“Yeah. Ha. How am I going to repay this debt, Juhan? Oh, right. About the retainer fee. This isn’t something a lawyer usually does, so I don’t know how much to give you. I asked around, but everyone said they didn’t know.”

“What retainer fee? Don’t be ridiculous.”

Seeing him talk about a retainer fee, I should never reveal that I promised to join Lee Se-hwa’s election campaign for this case.

“Still, you’re a high-class professional, so even if we’re friends, we should be clear about this. I’m going to charge you if you get surgery from me, okay?”

“Like you said, it’s not like we had a trial or did any paperwork. It’s hard to set a price. And I just stepped in because it was a friend’s business, I wouldn’t have done this for anyone else. And of course you have to charge me if I get surgery from you. I’m an individual, but if you operate on me, you have to use hospital equipment and mobilize hospital staff.”

“Look at you, still not giving in like a lawyer. Still, you couldn’t take on other cases because of me. Time is money, especially for lawyers.”

“I just didn’t want to work, so I used you as an excuse not to take them.”

Dong-jin glared at me, then shrugged his shoulders.

“Then I’ll take care of it myself.”

“I said it’s okay.”

“You’re not taking small change, is that it?”

“Yeah. I’m not taking small change.”

“This guy, just because he’s rich.”

Regardless of whether it’s small change or not, wasn’t this something I did thinking I was repaying the debt I owed him?

For me, Dong-jin being alive is reward enough.

“Oh, and let’s talk about the remaining procedures later. I called you today to have Goo So-jeong apologize and tell you what happened. Go back in now. It’s almost dinner time.”

“Are you busy today? I should treat you to a meal. I told my family I’d be late today.”

“No. I have some things left to talk about with Goo So-jeong. Next time.”

He had a worried look on his face when he came into the office, but I was glad that his complexion was much brighter when he left.

After forcibly sending away Dong-jin, who said he would wait if the conversation with Goo So-jeong didn’t take too long, I went back to Goo So-jeong and sat down.

In the meantime, she was half-lying on the sofa, flushed red, as if she had cried too much.

“Shall we continue our conversation?”

“…Yes.”

I brought the file holder that I had placed on the desk.

It contained the text messages she had exchanged with Kim Seong-woo, which I had told her to bring today.

“Looking at the text messages that Goo So-jeong brought today, there seems to be some evidence that Kim Seong-woo conspired with Seol Hyo-seok to cause the incident.”

“Then can we use it as evidence?”

“We can use it, but it feels a little lacking.”

Goo So-jeong sighed and drooped her shoulders.

“Of course, Dong-jin will be cleared of the charges because of Goo So-jeong’s confession, and if we investigate the various facts that have come to light, the relationship between Seol Hyo-seok and Kim Seong-woo will also be revealed. But if we create evidence and bring it in the first place, we can shorten the process to some extent. I think Goo So-jeong would want it to be resolved quickly rather than being held by the investigative agency for a long time.”

“…Yes.”

“Above all, Kim Seong-woo will try to destroy the evidence or drag out the situation to survive alone. Of course, he won’t be able to in the end, but anyway, I don’t think Goo So-jeong wants to see that happen, what do you think?”

Goo So-jeong clenched her fist tightly.

The tendons on her thin fingers bulged.

“Absolutely. That can never happen.”

“You said you haven’t told Kim Seong-woo that you know the current situation yet, right?”

“…Yes, that man probably thinks I’m still easily fooled by him.”

“Then, can you get Kim Seong-woo to admit his relationship with Seol Hyo-seok and mention that he instigated Goo So-jeong to inject cephalosporin [an antibiotic]? If we record that and submit it as evidence, we can prevent such misfortunes, what do you think?”

“It won’t be difficult.”

They may have been careful with their words at the hospital, but they are still a couple.

She can create a situation where they are alone, and as she said, it’s not difficult to elicit those words.

If she records it then, Kim Seong-woo will be trapped without any way out.

“I’ll try.”

* * *

Goo So-jeong stared blankly at the calendar on the dressing table.

The upcoming Saturday is their 300th day anniversary.

Kim Seong-woo said that he probably wouldn’t be able to celebrate their anniversary separately until the situation was settled after Seol Hyeong-seok became a vegetable, but at least meeting wouldn’t be difficult.

Anyway, she’s off that day, and Kim Seong-woo isn’t on duty either.

“Hello, oppa?” [Oppa is a Korean term used by women to address older male friends or siblings.]

-Oh, So-jeong.

Since asking if she could take the blame alone if Seol Hyo-seok was caught, Kim Seong-woo has never ignored Goo So-jeong’s calls.

The same was true when exchanging text messages.

Kim Seong-woo was always the one who disappeared first when they were texting, but now he persistently replied until Goo So-jeong didn’t answer.

Was Kim Seong-woo himself worried that what he said sounded like he was trying to get out of it alone?

So he must be being extra nice because he’s worried that Goo So-jeong might have other ideas.

“Oppa, can I go to oppa’s house this Saturday?”

-This Saturday?

“Yes. It’s been a long time since we went on a date. I’ll go to oppa’s house and cook something delicious.”

-Okay. Let’s do that.”

“And… what I couldn’t answer back then. I directly to Seol Hyo-seok,”

-Ah, that?

Kim Seong-woo quickly interrupted Goo So-jeong’s words.

Is he already worried about being recorded?

Goo So-jeong suppressed her anxiety and forced herself to answer brightly.

“Yes. Let’s talk about that that day, us.”