You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 264

You’re Defended – Episode 264

Lee Jung-chan is dead, and I’m the suspect accused of killing him? Am I hearing this right?

“Could you please repeat that? What exactly happened?”

-They’re saying Attorney Cha is the suspect in Lee Jung-chan’s murder, right now.

“That’s not true.”

Putting aside my shock, I realized I needed to at least offer an explanation to the Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Central District Prosecutors’ Office.

As I answered clearly, Park Young-ki sighed deeply and said,

-Attorney Kang is also going crazy saying it’s not true and has gone to pick you up. He should be there by now. So, get out of there quickly. You have to avoid being detained. Absolutely.

I looked at Lee Se-hwa.

Lee Se-hwa was also looking at me with a shocked expression.

She must have heard the same news as I did.

I hesitated for a moment, then got up, grabbing my briefcase.

Lee Se-hwa followed me with her gaze, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

“I understand. Then I’ll head out now.”

As soon as I hung up, I spoke to Lee Se-hwa, who was still holding her phone.

“Madam President, I’m sorry, but I think we’ll have to postpone our meal. Something urgent has come up, so I’ll have to leave first.”

“…Attorney Cha.”

“I’m just saying this because I thought you, who trusted me, might be confused. Whatever you’ve heard, it’s not true.”

“Attorney Cha, just a moment.”

Lee Se-hwa then stood up to follow me, as if trying to say something or apologize for suspecting me.

She had an expression that suggested she wanted to apologize for suspecting me, or something like that.

But I didn’t care what she thought after hearing the news.

I don’t know who she was talking to, but along with the news about me and Lee Jung-chan, she probably said that bringing me into the election campaign was absolutely out of the question.

I understand perfectly.

Even if I were her aide, I wouldn’t have allowed someone like me into the election campaign.

More than anything, even if it wouldn’t happen, even if Lee Se-hwa asked me to stay, I wouldn’t want to forcibly remain for her sake.

No, in the first place, how could I have the time to run around wishing others well when I seem to be in danger of being investigated and detained?

“Oh, Attorney Cha!”

As I left the room where I had been with Lee Se-hwa and headed outside, the people from the Liberty Justice Party, whom I was supposed to meet today, were rushing in.

“Where are you going? You should come in with us.”

“Something urgent has come up.”

I parted them and brushed past.

I felt several pairs of piercing eyes on the back of my head, but now was not the time to worry about such things.

“Attorney!”

As I came outside, Kang Min-jae was standing there.

Next to him was not the foreign car he always drove, but a different car.

“It’s Attorney Soo-il’s car. Just in case. Get in quickly.”

I got into the passenger seat, and Kang Min-jae, who also got into the driver’s seat, put his hand on the gear stick.

But I didn’t get into the car to go somewhere with him.

It seemed inappropriate to talk outside, so I just looked for a closed space.

I grabbed his hand on the gear stick and opened my mouth.

“Attorney Kang.”

“Attorney, you must have been very surprised? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. But if I’m seen with Attorney Kang while I’m suspected of murder, Attorney Kang will be in danger too. Chief Prosecutor Park called and spoke so urgently, so I got in the car for now. But I think it would be better to split up here.”

I thought about the situations that could make me a suspect in Lee Jung-chan’s murder.

The internet portal, which I briefly checked as I left the restaurant, had not yet published the news of Lee Jung-chan’s death.

So, I don’t know the exact cause of death or the time of death, but I’m concerned that he didn’t show up at Hwagun Reservoir.

Wasn’t I the one who suddenly made an appointment to meet Lee Jung-chan, who had been confined to his home, before the trial?

If the National Forensic Service determined the time of death to be then, it’s highly likely that they would assume I met Lee Jung-chan at Hwagun Reservoir and killed him.

If so, Kang Min-jae, who was with me at the time, is also in danger.

“Then where will you be, Attorney?”

“I should be at my house.”

“What if you get arrested while you’re there? Didn’t the Chief Prosecutor tell you? That you must avoid being detained?”

He certainly said that.

But I didn’t kill Lee Jung-chan.

I can prove the time I stayed at the reservoir, as well as other things.

I moved in Attorney Kang’s car at that time, so there’s a toll receipt, and I stopped at a Korean soup restaurant and a convenience store, so there are receipts from those places too.

I didn’t stay there for very long, and Lee Jung-chan didn’t even show up.

Moreover, after that day, I even periodically sent Lee Jung-chan texts asking to reschedule the meeting since it was canceled that day.

With such evidence, isn’t it ridiculous to be suspected of killing him?

If I show them, I may not be completely cleared of suspicion, but I should be able to avoid detention.

“They say it’s a setup.”

“What?”

“Chief Prosecutor Park says Wooshin seems to be deliberately trying to destroy you right now. So, once you’re detained, they’ll try to make you a murderer no matter what.”

I don’t know if Park Young-ki’s words are true, and he’s also making speculative remarks, but I don’t think there’s no possibility at all.

But if I hide to avoid being detained, the investigative agency will inevitably regard it as uncooperative.

Also, if I get detained later, they may not release me because there’s a risk of fleeing.

So, you’re telling me to run away without a plan?

“No, that doesn’t seem right. I’ll get off here, so Attorney Kang too,”

I hadn’t even finished speaking.

Kang Min-jae quickly started the car.

I hadn’t fastened my seatbelt yet, so my body was thrown back and flattened against the back of the seat.

“What are you doing right now?”

“You haven’t received any calls yet, have you, Attorney?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Then at least for now, you can move around in my car. You can just think that you’re moving around with an attorney who uses the same office without knowing anything. Then it’s not the stage of fleeing right now.”

Attorney Kang’s words made sense, but even so, the investigative agency would surely consider the possibility that I heard the information that I was suspected as a suspect in advance, given that I’m a lawyer and have a close relationship with Park Young-ki.

They’ll probably check all my movements after Lee Jung-chan’s death, and if that happens, it may affect not only Kang Min-jae but also Park Young-ki and Kang Kwan-woong right away.

“Tell your grandfather and the Chief Prosecutor to come in and talk together first.”

Kang Min-jae added as if reading my mind.

Anyway, I had no intention of jumping out of the moving car.

“We’re going to change cars in front of that building.”

Kang Min-jae pointed to a luxury villa on the main street.

“What’s that place?”

“It’s Attorney Soo-il’s house. We’re going to switch to my car there.”

Kang Min-jae’s tone was more resolute than ever.

As if warning me not to think about anything else.

“Don’t even think about running away while switching cars. We’re going to switch cars after closing the parking lot shutter, and you can’t enter the villa without a card key. That means you’ll have to be trapped in the parking lot anyway.”

In the end, as Kang Min-jae said, I didn’t run away and got into Kang Min-jae’s car, which was waiting in the parking lot of that villa.

“Attorney Kang, didn’t you hear anything in detail?”

While going to Kang Min-jae’s house, I asked him.

I keep checking portal sites on my phone, but the news of Lee Jung-chan’s death has not been announced yet.

Kang Min-jae tapped the steering wheel and sighed deeply.

“I don’t know either. But they said Lee Jung-chan’s body was found in Hwagun Reservoir.”

It was Hwagun Reservoir after all.

“That’s probably because the only place I’m suspected of contacting Lee Jung-chan is at Hwagun Reservoir.”

“Isn’t it really absurd? How could they think of linking it like this…”

Kang Min-jae said, venting his anger.

“If Wooshin planned it, there’s a high possibility that Wooshin killed Lee Jung-chan too.”

“I think so too. At that time, Lee Jung-chan said he had data to hand over to you about Wooshin, Attorney. So, I think they created this situation to prevent that and to get rid of the troublesome Attorney.”

It’s quite possible.

If they succeed properly, Wooshin would only have killed one Lee Jung-chan, but they would be enjoying the effect of getting rid of two thorns in their side.

“They tried to take you down as a tax evader and speculator last time, but since that failed, they’re using this trick.”

Kang Min-jae muttered, grinding his teeth.

It’s not that I don’t feel wronged by the situation of being framed as a murderer, even suspected of killing Lee Jung-chan, who was once called a leading presidential candidate.

But I’ve already experienced this situation several times.

In my previous life, Wooshin tried to get rid of me somehow, and when I became a chief prosecutor, my qualifications were questioned, and I almost didn’t get promoted.

Of course, it’s the first time I’ve been framed as a heinous criminal, though.

“There must be a lot of people who are grinding their teeth at me. I should have been more outspoken until now.”

Just looking at Go Sang-joon, he put his precious youngest son in jail and thwarted his dreams of a rights offering [a way for companies to raise capital by offering existing shareholders the right to buy additional shares] and becoming the number one card company.

And didn’t he even delist Myung-hwa Pharmaceuticals?

He also replaced several government officials.

The superintendent of education, the head of the Food and Drug Administration, and perhaps even the future president.

Of course, they replaced me from their point of view, but they all stumbled over their own actions.

“Are you kidding me right now?”

“That’s the truth.”

Anyway, if Wooshin designed this case, they would have made thorough preparations to somehow frame me as Lee Jung-chan’s murderer.

So, to counter this, I also need to prepare to refute it.

I don’t know what cards Wooshin has yet, so I don’t know how to counter them.

Still, I need to prepare the data that I can generally do first.

“Do you have the toll, convenience store, and restaurant receipts from when we went to Hwagun Reservoir?”

“Yes. I received them all because you said you were going to provide proof of expenses.”

“Keep them safe.”

“Yes.”

“We stayed at the reservoir for about an hour looking for Lee Jung-chan, right?”

“We did.”

“There must have been witnesses among the people fishing, so we need to find out about that too.”

Kang Min-jae nodded firmly.

“Check if there are CCTVs at the convenience store or fishing tackle store, and look for people who were fishing at that time who saw me and Lee Jung-chan. Don’t move directly, but ask Tae-shik, the office manager, or Reporter Choi.”

“I want to do it myself.”

“…First of all, check if Attorney Kang is safe, and then move on from there.”

No matter how much it is Wooshin, I don’t think they would have touched the grandson of the former president, who is still respected by legal professionals, but it’s never bad to be careful.

“Get off, Attorney. You haven’t had a proper meal, so go up and have some dinner.”

Kang Min-jae arrived at Kang Kwan-woong’s private residence and entered the garage.

The car engine turned off, and I leaned back in the car seat and sighed deeply.

It seems like I’m going to be crazy tired again from now on.