You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 275

“Where have you been?”

Choi Jong-hyun waved at Kang Min-jae, who had reappeared at the convenience store.

Jo Bong-joon, who was sucking on the ice bar Choi Jong-hyun had been eating, also waved.

Normally, he would have rushed over, shouting, ‘Why are you eating mine!’, but this time was different.

He shouted urgently.

“That person isn’t an inspector!”

“What? How do you know that?”

“I just confirmed it.”

Kang Min-jae slumped into a chair and gulped down the coffee Choi Jong-hyun was drinking.

“How did you confirm it?”

“There’s an easy way. I randomly went to a few units and asked if they had an inspection that day. The CCTV showed him going to every unit on every floor, so I figured I could find out by checking directly.”

“Wow, look at that brain working.”

“So?”

“They said no. I asked about ten units, and not a single person said they had an inspection.”

Since he wasn’t mixed in with the reporters, there was no need to compare the CCTV footage one by one, but the fact that the inspector was the culprit was somewhat disheartening.

Although the inspector’s face was visible, he was covering his mouth and the tip of his nose, so all that could be confirmed were his eyes behind the horn-rimmed glasses and his build.

Since he probably wasn’t a real inspector, there was no point in asking Hanseong Energy.

In the end, the only way to find him was to check the vehicle.

The problem was, how could they check the vehicle?

“First of all, that bastard wouldn’t have walked all the way here. Let’s check the car first.”

Jo Bong-joon must have had the same thought, as he jumped up.

They headed back to the management office.

First, they needed to secure the CCTV photo of the inspector, and if he came by car, they had to check the parking lot CCTV to see the license plate.

“Oh, why are you back again?”

“Sir, we checked, and that person isn’t an inspector.”

The manager seemed flustered by Kang Min-jae’s assertive tone.

Perhaps he was worried that there might be a problem since someone from the management office had allowed the inspector to enter the officetel [a type of studio apartment common in South Korea].

“There are so many people disguising themselves and committing crimes these days. I just checked ten units, and not a single person said they had an inspection.”

“Then I’ll call the company.”

The manager hurriedly opened a desk drawer and took out something like a notebook.

It was filled with the phone numbers of companies related to the officetel.

The manager copied the number labeled ‘Hanseong Energy’ onto his phone and started a call.

“…Really? They didn’t come that day.”

“Yes. I think that person is a stalker.”

“Then what should we do? Like you said before, should I cut out the CCTV footage so that the young lady can identify him?”

“Yes. And the fastest way is to check the license plate of the car he was driving. If we report the license plate to the police, they’ll find him.”

“Ah, that’s right, that’s right. Just a moment.”

After thoroughly checking the parking lot CCTV with the office manager, they realized how meticulously the culprit had planned everything.

He had even attached a sticker with the words [Hanseong Energy Service] and the company BI [Brand Identity] on the rear window of the white Damas van.

After receiving the CCTV files on a USB drive, Kang Min-jae got into the car.

He took the wheel alone, and a sudden chill ran down his spine for some reason.

He imagined the man entering Cha Joo-han’s house, placing the blood-stained weapon, and then leisurely walking down the stairs, one floor at a time.

What was he thinking as he spent hours in that officetel, 20 minutes on the 20th floor, 20 minutes on the 19th floor?

A person who commits such a crime would want to disappear as quickly as possible.

People instinctively feel fear at the thought of being discovered.

He even knew that the police would raid the officetel to search it.

Yet, he leisurely spent time inside the officetel.

Even if it was to perfectly appear as an inspector.

He had encountered countless criminals who had disguised themselves as various people to avoid suspicion, but this was the first time he had seen someone like this.

This wasn’t his first time.

“Attorney, I’m back.”

By the time he returned home, it was already evening.

Cha Joo-han was sitting at a table in the garden, reading a newspaper.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“It’s nothing. I’m not sure if I did well… Today’s investigation,”

“You must be tired, go wash up first. And greet the elder.”

“Ah, yes.”

Leaving Cha Joo-han, who said he would have a cigarette before going in, Kang Min-jae entered the house.

Kang Min-jae was actually curious.

Since Cha Joo-han had decided to hide in this house, he had been talking to him more than when they were in the same office.

More than anything, now that they were meeting in a private space rather than an office, they were actually sharing more inner stories.

However, even so, Kang Min-jae had never gotten the impression that he had seen Cha Joo-han’s true feelings.

Perhaps it was fortunate that he seemed unfazed, but on the other hand, it was a problem because he couldn’t be sure if he was really okay.

Cha Joo-han said he trusted him and entrusted him with many things, but he had seen enough to know.

He didn’t have the confidence to handle things as well as Cha Joo-han himself.

He wasn’t sure if he had handled today’s investigation properly, and he was worried that he might miss many clues that he would encounter in the future without even realizing they were clues.

Yet, was he really okay with all of this?

* * *

I dozed off for a while during the day.

I hadn’t been able to sleep properly for days, so my body must have finally given out.

In my dream, I was on the sea.

On a small boat that fishermen take out for sea fishing, trapped inside a rusty drum.

In the dream, I didn’t realize it was a dream, but strangely, I also had the memories of this life.

The situation was clearly from my previous life.

-Are you coming to your senses?

-Are you Wooshin bastards?

The man said the same words, and I responded with the same words.

The difference was that I added one more line here.

-You disgusting bastards. How many times do you have to kill me to be satisfied? Damn it, how many times!

I screamed at the top of my lungs.

I couldn’t move because I was trapped in a drum and my arms and legs were tied, but if I could have moved, I would have punched that man in the jaw.

-You shouldn’t have been so reckless. What do you think you can do? Why do you keep acting up? Did you act up because you wanted to be killed? If you didn’t want to die, you shouldn’t have acted up. You’ve experienced it, so you know?

-You guys shouldn’t have done that in the first place if you were bothered by someone like me acting up.

-You’re a lawyer, so you’re only good with your mouth.

-What do you think will change if you kill me? Do you think it will be the same as last time?

-…It’s different from last time.

The man, who was clearly from my previous life, spoke as if he knew me in this life.

-This time, you’re nothing. What’s different just because you’ve become a little famous? It’s much easier to kill a lousy lawyer than killing the Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Central District Prosecutor’s Office. Isn’t that right?

-This time, they’ll know. That it’s your doing. I’ve even made a will saying that I will never commit suicide, and if I die, it’s Go Sang-joon who killed me.

I said with a cold sneer.

Then the man raised a crumpled piece of paper from his chest and asked.

-This?

There was no way he could know where my will was, so I couldn’t understand how it was in their hands.

I couldn’t hide my surprise, and he chuckled as he lit the paper on fire and threw it into the sea.

-Now it’s gone? No one will know now, right?

-…….

-Attorney. Shall I tell you one way to live?

Suddenly, a camcorder appeared in the man’s hand.

I had no idea if he had been holding it from the beginning or if it had suddenly appeared.

Since it was a dream, anything was possible.

But I, who didn’t know it was a dream, was serious.

I really thought I was going to die like that again.

-Tell the Chairman, I was wrong. I will never act up again. I will live like I’m dead. Then the Chairman might feel sorry for you and spare you once.

When the man pressed the record button, a red light came on on the camcorder.

I stared intently at the lens.

The waves were surging.

Seawater constantly entered the boat, and some foam flew onto my cheeks.

I hated the smell of the sea terribly.

When I closed my eyes tightly, different images flashed through the dark vision.

Things that I had nothing to lose before, but now I had things to lose.

The faces of my mother and father, and the people who were worried about me…….

At the end, I suddenly felt overwhelmed by the urge to give up everything.

Black desires that I had barely been controlling flooded into my heart like seawater.

-Hurry up and say it. You never know. You’re good, aren’t you? Who knows, they might give you a good position in Wooshin’s legal team?

-…….

-You’re hesitating? So be honest.

The man mocked my torment.

But funnily enough, the me in the dream thought that it might be okay to have a desk in Wooshin’s legal team and live with a high salary, even if only for a brief moment.

Hadn’t I already died meaninglessly once?

I couldn’t die like that in this life too.

Others only live once, but I was given the gift of living twice, like a gift from God.

And yet, I was going to throw this life away again? What kind of fool would do that?

So, in the end, I opened my mouth.

* * *

“Attorney!”

While I was recalling the dream I had during the day, Kang Min-jae had somehow entered my room.

“I opened the door because you weren’t saying anything and I thought you weren’t here, but you were here.”

He smiled awkwardly, holding a small USB in his hand.

When I turned my gaze towards it, Kang Min-jae said, ‘Ah!’ and approached the laptop on the desk.

After plugging in the USB, he showed me a few videos stored inside.

“I found out who the guy who broke into your house was. He came in disguised as a gas inspector.”

He explained how he found him and replied that he had even confirmed the license plate.

He had seen which direction the car went through the officetel CCTV, but it was difficult to confirm anything beyond that.

He said that he had been thinking about how to catch the inspector while coming home and suggested a few methods.

Of course, they were absurd methods.

But he was very serious and motivated.

“Attorney, but are you listening to me?”

After listening to him silently, Kang Min-jae suddenly stopped talking and asked with dissatisfaction.

“I’m listening.”

“You seem to be thinking about something else.”

Kang Min-jae grumbled.

That was true.

I was just recalling the answer I had given to the bastard who had tried to kill me again in my dream.

At that time, I barely pushed back the words ‘I’m sorry’ that were stuck right below my throat and said concisely.

-Fuck off.

If I had ended up saying ‘I’m sorry,’ even if it was just in a dream, I might not have been able to look Kang Min-jae in the eye right now.