You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 291

“Attorney Cha, if that handkerchief is really the one used in the crime, like Sang-gil says, isn’t it game over?” Kang Min-jae asked, his voice laced with excitement.

Kang Min-jae, who had received the call from Sang-gil, seemed quite excited. During the call, Kang Min-jae mentioned something about giving 1 billion, though the context was unclear. The important thing now was the handkerchief, so I decided to proceed cautiously.

In a normal situation, Kang Min-jae was right; it could be decisive evidence.

“I think you can clear your name now! Then this hiding is over! Over!”

However, I couldn’t share his enthusiasm.

“It’s too early to say it’s over unless the janitor or that bastard’s fingerprints are on the handkerchief.”

“…….”

Kang Min-jae’s expression immediately fell.

He asked, bewildered, “Why? Lee Jeong-chan’s saliva must be on that handkerchief. If we’re lucky, some skin tissue might be on it too. Then isn’t it game over? The homeless man had the tool used in the crime, and the location the homeless man witnessed is completely different from the location claimed by the existing witness, so the existing witness’s statement will be discredited.”

“What if the homeless man and I were working together?”

“……Yes?”

“If there are no fingerprints of the real criminals on it, only Lee Jeong-chan’s saliva and anesthetic will be on it. Then, even if we assume I’m the real criminal, it all fits.”

Let’s consider a scenario where I, Cha Joo-han, am the real killer of Lee Jeong-chan.

I learn that a witness has come forward. This witness saw me killing Lee Jeong-chan and testified truthfully.

Being the infamous villain that I am, I decide to hire an actor to pose as a witness, aiming to discredit the original witness’s statement and introduce false testimony to evade the investigation.

To achieve this, I hand over the handkerchief, containing the anesthetic used to kill Lee Jeong-chan, to the homeless man.

I instruct him to identify a location completely different from the one the original witness described as the scene of the incident and to submit the handkerchief as evidence.

Framed this way, the claim that the homeless man gave false testimony because he was on my side becomes plausible.

Establishing a connection between the homeless man and me isn’t difficult. Sang-gil’s face was exposed during the Hanlim Corporation raid, making it reasonable to assume he’s acting under my instructions. Furthermore, Sang-gil has been frequently visiting Hwagun Reservoir and contacting the homeless man.

“…….”

Kang Min-jae, after hearing my explanation, slumped onto the sofa, speechless.

He stared blankly into the air, lost in thought, before suddenly straightening up and asking, “Would they really go that far?”

“Do I even need to answer that? You know them better than I do.”

“……Yes. They would go that far.”

Even if Woo-shin’s influence doesn’t extend into the police force, it’s unlikely that everyone in the police department would fail to consider such a possibility.

Numerous clues already point to me as the murderer.

Even if we can prove that someone planted the murder weapon in my house, I was already identified as a suspect before the search and seizure.

“Still, we’ve secured evidence that the murder weapon was planted. Regardless of how they interpret it, we have other witnesses and evidence. Just as they suspected you of being a murderer, we have grounds to argue that you’re not. Isn’t it worth fighting for?”

“Then let’s say we hand everything over to the police as is. What if the meter reader gives a different statement to the police about why he put the murder weapon in my house?”

“Differently? In what way?”

“‘Actually, I’m a witness. I saw Cha Joo-han killing Lee Jeong-chan, and I picked up the murder weapon that Cha Joo-han left at the scene. Then, I came across the news that Cha Joo-han was the culprit and learned that Cha Joo-han was on the run. I was worried about what would happen if the culprit wasn’t caught, so, fueled by my sense of justice, I planted the murder weapon I had as evidence.'”

“That doesn’t make sense. Are you kidding me? Why would a guy too timid to come forward as a witness pick up a murder weapon? He’d just leave it for the police to find.”

“I kept it in case Cha Joo-han came back and picked it up.”

“A person afraid to come forward as a witness breaks into someone else’s house?”

“After hearing the news that Cha Joo-han was on the run, I figured he wouldn’t be home anyway. If I disguised myself as a gas meter reader and went inside, no one would know it was me. But I didn’t realize this would be mistaken for me trying to frame Cha Joo-han for the crime.”

“Then why did you take pictures?”

“I thought I’d leave evidence that the crime tool was in Cha Joo-han’s house in case the vicious Cha Joo-han noticed and disposed of it before the search and seizure.”

“Ugh!”

Kang Min-jae ran his hands through his hair and collapsed on the bed.

“It doesn’t really make sense, but I guess I wouldn’t have anything to say. Ah, it’s frustrating.”

It’s not that they’re unconditionally trying to avoid the truth.

However, the evidence we currently possess isn’t strong enough to silence them completely, preventing them from using their cunning.

There’s a loophole.

Enough for them to exploit if they try to avoid it.

If we rashly present such incomplete evidence and it’s discredited, we’ll only weaken our position.

Therefore, it’s better to hold back until we can definitively prove my innocence.

Even if it takes a very long time.

* * *

I woke up, and it was already afternoon.

I usually sleep about 5 hours, but I slept for 9 hours.

I couldn’t sleep until dawn, discussing the new evidence Sang-gil brought, and my body seemed exhausted from the seizure.

Even after sleeping so long, my shoulders, waist, and calves were stiff.

It felt like muscle pain.

I guess it’s because I strained my body during yesterday’s seizure, stimulating muscles that weren’t usually used.

“…….”

I felt uncomfortable, as if I’d shown Kang Min-jae all sorts of ugly sides of myself [unpleasant or embarrassing aspects].

I was drunk and rambling about my second life, and I couldn’t even take care of my body properly, so I had to be escorted home with his help, and then I had a seizure in front of him.

Nevertheless, I think it’s a relief.

What if I had been alone yesterday?

I wouldn’t have been able to cope properly with the sudden symptoms, and I wouldn’t have been able to go to the emergency room, so I would have suffered painfully without being able to do anything.

Come to think of it, Kang Min-jae seemed to know how to handle it quite well when I had a seizure.

He told me to focus on distant objects, placed his hands on my ribs to guide my breathing, and reminded me of where I was and who I was with when I was suffering from strange delusions.

If someone who was perfectly fine suddenly started acting strangely, others might be embarrassed, but Kang Min-jae hesitated only briefly before acting as if he knew exactly what to do.

“……Attorney Cha, do you have panic disorder?”

I remembered what Kang Min-jae said after I calmed down.

From an outside perspective, what I showed was a simple seizure.

I didn’t tell him that I had a flashback [a vivid, involuntary reliving of a traumatic experience].

But if he immediately connected such a seizure to panic disorder, wouldn’t that mean that Kang Min-jae has or had panic disorder?

Of course, even if Kang Min-jae has panic disorder, I have no intention of judging him differently, and that will never happen.

I don’t want to pry into something he hasn’t shared, but as someone who spends a lot of time with him, shouldn’t I be aware of it so I can help him if needed?

Well, maybe I shouldn’t be thinking about that.

“Haa.”

I opened the terrace door and lit a cigarette.

Kang Min-jae is Kang Min-jae, but the biggest problem right now is that I might have panic disorder.

I haven’t received psychiatric treatment, so it’s premature to jump to conclusions.

It’s not accurate, but if I suffered from flashback symptoms, I think it was a seizure caused by PTSD [Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, a mental health condition triggered by a terrifying event]…….

Whether it’s panic disorder or PTSD, if I have a mental disorder, this might happen often in the future.

It’s terrible.

“Still, I have to keep my center.”

Isn’t this a situation where there are already many things to worry about?

Clearing my name comes first.

That’s how I can go to the hospital for an examination or treatment.

Before I knew it, it was past 3 p.m.

I changed my clothes and went down to the first floor.

“Oh, Attorney Cha. You’re up? You’re such a sleepyhead?”

Jo Bong-joon, Choi Jong-hyun, and Kang Min-jae were sitting in the living room; I don’t know when they arrived.

“When did you come?”

“It’s been a while. About 2 hours.”

“Why didn’t you wake me up?”

They were discussing the broadcast, and there were presentation materials on the table that seemed to have been prepared for it.

“I thought you looked tired. Anyway, I figured it would take time to explain the new things we found out this morning. It’s already well-known, so there’s no need to wake you up.”

“That’s true, but…”

I sat down on an empty single couch and picked up a file that was scattered on the table.

“We were talking about starting the broadcast soon. It seems like we’ve gathered some evidence, but it seems too early to reveal it yet. So Bong-joon and I gathered our opinions in this direction.”

They began to explain the broadcast topic to me.

Conspiracy theories are the kind of content that viewers of Jo Bong-joon and Choi Jong-hyun’s broadcasts enjoy the most.

In addition to the fact that the grounds for identifying me as the culprit are not so decisive, they would also discuss how unusually quickly my identity was revealed, etc.

If they, who took the lead in exposing the corruption of Lee Jeong-chan and his son, cover Lee Jeong-chan’s death, I think it will definitely attract attention.

“Attorney Cha appeared on our broadcast for a very short time. So there were a lot of people asking what happened to Attorney Cha, who the media is talking about. We’ve been denying it, but if we do a special broadcast, a lot of people will definitely watch it.”

“You said it would be better not to disclose information until you’re sure, so I think we should exclude those parts.”

“Even the meter reader?”

Choi Jong-hyun smacked his lips as if he was disappointed.

I kept reading the presentation materials and shook my head.

“It’s okay up to the meter reader. Rather than clearly mentioning that the meter reader left a weapon in our house, we can say we confirmed that a suspicious person entered our house just before the search and seizure, something like that. It’s true that Jo Bong-joon was the first to grasp the situation. I think we should avoid exposing the other evidence because it’s a waste of our leverage.”

“Of course. We’re broadcasting to help Attorney Cha, not to get involved in the case.”

Choi Jong-hyun clapped his knees and said.

Then Jo Bong-joon glared at him.

“Hyung [older brother or male friend], let’s be honest. It’s not to help Attorney Cha; it’s because the broadcast hasn’t been doing well lately, so you’re trying to capitalize on Attorney Cha’s situation.”

“Bong-joon, please shut up.”