You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 267

Entering the room, a pleasant scent filled the air, just as Chief Kang had mentioned, confirming it had been cleaned recently.

The bedding appeared brand new, and a set of spare clothes was neatly arranged inside the built-in closet.

A laptop sat on the desk, something I hadn’t noticed during my earlier visit.

The bathroom was quite something, boasting an array of toothpastes, exactly as Kang Min-jae had described.

The same went for the collection of skin toners and lotions.

Initially, I was taken aback when I first heard about it, but seeing it now brought a chuckle to my lips.

After washing up, I settled at the desk and browsed several online news portals.

I even searched major search engines to see if any rumors about Lee Jung-chan’s death had surfaced, but as expected, there was nothing.

“……Hmm.”

Chief Kang had informed me earlier that the media embargo would be lifted at 5 a.m. in three days.

It seemed they were planning a carefully orchestrated announcement, anticipating a significant public outcry.

The funeral was also scheduled as a five-day event, commencing after the embargo was lifted. Given that all the chief mourners (the deceased’s children) were incarcerated, the funeral was postponed until their release.

Since neither son was a violent offender, they would likely be granted temporary release [for the funeral], so I didn’t foresee any major complications.

Well, it’s not as if I’m in a position to be worrying about other people’s problems right now.

-Lawyer, may I come in?

Just then, Kang Min-jae’s voice came, accompanied by a knock.

“Come in.”

Kang Min-jae entered, carrying an unfamiliar cell phone and a plate of meticulously cut fruit.

“Sooil hyung [older brother/friend] prepared a burner phone for you, and on the way here, the madam [referring to a high-status woman, likely the head of the household] offered to bring you fruit, so I brought it instead.”

He sat on the bed and placed the fruit plate on the desk.

“You can use that phone without any concerns.”

“Thanks.”

“It’s nothing. Please, eat the fruit.”

I had intended to eat it after Kang Min-jae left, but he showed no signs of leaving.

After spearing an apple slice with a fork and offering it to me, he began eating the fruit himself.

A crunch, a crunch – the only sound was Kang Min-jae chewing the apple in the otherwise quiet room. Finally, I broke the silence.

“Aren’t you leaving?”

“……Am I leaving?”

“Do you have other business?”

“No?”

“Then what is it?”

“No, just, well…….”

As Kang Min-jae hesitated, that familiar feeling resurfaced.

The reason I allowed Kang Min-jae to stay in this house was, admittedly, because I enjoyed the feeling of having a friend sleep over every night.

“I wanted to hear about your plans for the future.”

“What plans?”

“You’re not going to give up here, are you? You have to clear your name.”

“That’s right.”

“You must have a plan for that.”

“I don’t?”

At my response, Kang Min-jae’s eyes widened in surprise.

All I know is that Lee Jung-chan is dead, and the evidence points to me as the last person he contacted and met. Furthermore, the location of our meeting was where Lee Jung-chan’s body was discovered, making it a seemingly ideal place to commit murder.

Identifying me as a suspect based on this isn’t an unreasonable course of action.

Of course, it’s not as if I have no explanations, but the evidence against me isn’t definitively conclusive.

I had already shared these details with Kang Min-jae when I arrived at this house earlier.

“You don’t?”

Kang Min-jae repeated, as if unable to believe it.

“You’re not going to tell me even in this situation? You’re really too much.”

“It’s not that I’m deliberately withholding information; I genuinely don’t have one.”

“There’s no way. You’re the type of person who formulates a plan the moment you take on a case!”

Well, those were cases I knew from my previous life.

Besides, those were other people’s problems.

I could discern whether the person seeking my help was genuinely innocent or lying, and from there, I could immediately devise a strategy for how to proceed.

Above all, the cases that came to me usually involved events that had already transpired to some extent.

That’s why there were always suspicious elements, and I would begin by investigating the inconsistencies in the accounts of clients who were only telling the truth.

If not, it was a case that I had planned from the outset, so naturally, I had a plan.

But isn’t this situation different?

The case hasn’t even properly begun to unfold yet.

I initially wanted to confront it head-on, but after witnessing Park Young-gi’s attempt to stop me, even in his agitated state, I decided to observe for a while longer.

In that situation, how could I possibly have a plan?

This is a case that didn’t even occur in my previous life, so I have no idea how it will develop in the future.

“I really don’t have one this time.”

Perhaps this is the moment of truth that has arrived for the first time in the three years since I began this new life.

What if there truly is an absolute being who granted me this ability and sent me back to the past?

I’ve been flaunting that ability and my knowledge of the future enough already, so perhaps they’re testing to see if I can handle this situation effectively as well?

Of course, it’s nothing more than my own delusion, but what is certain is that this case will mark a turning point for something.

“The case hasn’t truly ripened yet. We have to wait until it ripens.”

“Like a pimple?”

“……There’s even a fruit analogy, do you really have to use *that* analogy?”

“It just suddenly popped into my head. Haha. But it’s funny, right? It’s like Tae-shik, right?”

“Don’t hang out with him too often. It seems to be contagious.”

“Why, Tae-shik is cute.”

Everyone says that, but I get goosebumps every time Tae-shik whines to me.

Similarly, it’s the same when Kang Min-jae acts that way.

“Anyway, I don’t have a plan right now. We have no choice but to wait.”

“It’s strange to hear you say that. You always assigned tasks as soon as you took on a case.”

Kang Min-jae clicked his tongue, feigning disappointment.

I turned to him and said.

“This time, I may not be able to assign tasks because I’m tied up.”

“Then what?”

“Kang Min-jae may have to find something to do. Ah, of course, that’s only if Kang Min-jae helps me.”

“Of course, I’ll help you!”

“Since everyone around me is telling me to stay hidden, I won’t be able to move an inch from here. So Kang Min-jae has to find evidence and meet people.”

I anticipated that Kang Min-jae would become excited and launch into his own theories if I said this, but surprisingly, he wore a worried expression.

“……I’m a little nervous.”

“About what?”

“I wonder if I can do it well.”

“You’ve been doing well so far.”

“Well, I’ve handled almost all of these large-scale cases while receiving instructions from you. The cases I handle independently are usually small.”

“You’ll improve with practice. No one is skilled from the start.”

“I thought you were good from the beginning?”

He seemed to genuinely believe that.

Just considering the nickname ‘FM robot’ [Field Manual robot, meaning someone who follows instructions perfectly] that I unknowingly acquired during my time as a prosecutor, it’s not unreasonable to think so.

“I also went through a probationary period and made mistakes here and there. I’m also human.”

“I thought you weren’t human.”

“If I’m not human, what am I?”

“A robot.”

I was speechless at his matter-of-fact response.

“It won’t be difficult. Don’t categorize the case as big or small. It’ll only make you unnecessarily nervous. Just do what we used to do. Assess the situation, investigate anything suspicious, meet the people involved, and examine the individuals behind them. If you connect the dots, something will emerge. Anyway, I’m here in this house, so you can always come back, show me what you’ve found, and ask for my input. You’re capable enough. It’s just that you haven’t had the opportunity to do it yourself because I always intervene.”

“Do you sincerely believe I can do it?”

“Yes.”

At my affirmation, Kang Min-jae’s expression turned genuinely touched.

I felt a surge of anxiety that he might embrace me then and there, and an ominous premonition that he would call me ‘Juhan hyung’ [older brother] again.

I pulled my chair back, creating some distance between us.

Then Kang Min-jae exclaimed, as if wronged, ‘Ah, I’m not going to do anything!’

“If this case is resolved successfully, will you still aim to catch Wooshin?”

Kang Min-jae asked, popping the last apple slice into his mouth.

It sounded like he was asking out of genuine concern.

Looking at the situation objectively, I was framed as a murderer by Wooshin, but I can’t shake the feeling that Wooshin intended to feed both me and Lee Jung-chan to the fishes together.

That means that even if I clear my name and attempt to apprehend Wooshin, it will be a fight to the death.

“I have to.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t like it.”

“What aspects?”

“The way they act.”

My current parents are alive, but my parents from my previous life have passed away.

I sometimes contemplate this.

Whether the world I inhabit now is truly the same world I once lived in.

Perhaps this place is a parallel universe, as people often speculate, and it’s a different world from the one I knew.

If that’s the case, the parents who raised me for 30 years are already gone, and I’ve only encountered my new parents in this world, whom I’ve known for only 3 years.

Of course, I hope it’s not a parallel universe, but that physical time has genuinely been rewound like a spring.

Regardless, I can’t help but consider the possibility that Wooshin was responsible for the deaths of my parents and others who suffered from the same illness, and that he murdered my colleague.

Of course, if it’s a parallel universe, I realize that even if I exact revenge on Wooshin here, Wooshin in the universe I lived in would remain unaffected.

But even so, I need an outlet to release the pent-up anger I’ve harbored for so long, and doesn’t Wooshin here act in the same manner?

So, even if I alter the situation now, I can’t refrain from taking steps to dismantle Wooshin.

I am an entity that arrived here by traveling back in time, and my body and age have changed.

But the person inside this body is a continuous existence from my previous life and this one.

In other words, my core is not thirty-seven now, but forty-seven.

“Did Wooshin do anything to you?”

Kang Min-jae seemed to have said it as a joke, but I suddenly felt an overwhelming urge.

An impulse to confess, even just once.

And that impulse escaped before I could suppress it.

“Yeah.”

“Yes? Wooshin did something bad to you?”

“Yeah, he did.”

“No, what did he do?”

“Something really bad.”

“……If it’s difficult to talk about, I won’t press you for details. Is that why you left the prosecution?”

“That’s right.”

“When was it? When you were a prosecutor?”

Kang Min-jae looked at me with a mixture of surprise and concern.

“I’m in my second life. It was in my first life.”

“Ah, what is it.”

He seemed to think he had been tricked by me again, and he stood up huffing and puffing.

“If you keep joking, I’m leaving.”

It’s not a joke.

“Good night.”

“……Yes. You too, get some rest soon. Anyway, everything will be alright.”

Kang Min-jae took the empty plate and left the room.

Listening to the sound of the door closing, I turned off the light.

It’s already past midnight.

I should go to sleep soon, and tomorrow I should explain my situation to Secretary Oh, Choi Jong-hyun, and Jo Bong-joon.

Ah, and to Tae-shik too.

Because I need to assign him to Kang Min-jae.

‘I’m tired.’

I lay in bed and gazed up at the ceiling.

But it feels somewhat relieving to have told him.

I don’t think he understands.