You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 297

Even after the broadcast ended, viewers continued to chat, searching for those who had disappeared and promising to meet again the next day.

But there were no words of substance.

Most of them were cursing the group for ending the broadcast at such a crucial moment, so there seemed to be no need to monitor the chat further.

I turned off the broadcast screen and accessed a major portal site.

The top real-time search rankings immediately caught my eye:

[1. Lee Jung-chan Wooshin

2. Attorney Cha]

If that broadcast had been on a public network, it would have easily taken the top four spots, but it was limited to second place. Still, taking the first and second spots alone was a tremendous achievement.

The reason ‘Attorney Cha’ ranked second seemed to be because people were curious and searched for my name since I hadn’t revealed it until the end of the broadcast.

Seeing Lee Jung-chan and Wooshin juxtaposed as one search term was satisfying.

[Lee Jung-chan’s murder suspect is Wooshin, not Mr. C?

Lee Jung-chan’s murder suspect, Mr. C, was continuously threatened by Wooshin…

Lee Jung-chan tried to hand over accusation data about Wooshin to suspect Mr. C.

What is the content of the “Wooshin accusation data” that Lee Jung-chan tried to hand over to suspect Mr. C?

Who brought the murder weapon to suspect Mr. C’s house?

Attorney Kang Min-jae: suspect Mr. C is not the culprit…

Iljung Daily, who is responsible for breaking the embargo on Lee Jung-chan’s murder suspect?]

There were countless articles online.

I figured many reporters would have written articles since the number of viewers exceeded 10,000 near the end of the broadcast, but I was surprised to see so many published. They lament that broadcasts aren’t what they used to be, but their ability to generate buzz is still alive.

[pzq***: Please find Lee Jung-chan’s murderer!!

iki***: It’s true that Lee Jung-chan committed national fraud, but that doesn’t mean he deserved to be murdered. He should be governed by law!

lmoi***: What are we supposed to believe in and govern by law when the country is in this state…? Do you mean he should receive a slap on the wrist?

uzy***: Lee Jung-chan was murdered by Wooshin!!!

cau***: Seeing people blindly believing conspiracy theories and rushing to spout nonsense makes me sigh… This is the level of the people… That’s why they get deceived by politicians like Lee Jung-chan… lol

lee***: Conspiracy theories? Quite reliable evidence has been presented, so why is that a conspiracy theory? It’s more reliable than the media and police who identified the suspect in a haphazard way;]

In the portal article comments, arguments arose between people who watched Jo Bong-joon and Choi Jong-hyun’s broadcast directly (or read summaries) and were persuaded, and those who were not.

When I first planned the broadcast, Kang Min-jae was optimistic that most people would believe the evidence presented because it was solid and there were records. But the credibility of an internet broadcast, rather than a formal media outlet, clearly had its limits.

Moreover, many people didn’t believe the story that a conglomerate [a large corporation] that shook South Korea was murdering a prominent politician who was once a leading presidential candidate, saying it was something you would only see in movies.

In fact, their argument was that Wooshin would never have taken such a risk, considering the various circumstances.

It’s not flowing exactly in the direction we want, but at least we’ve succeeded in bringing this discourse to the surface.

“Min-jae is coming home now.”

I was focused on reading the articles on my laptop when Chief Kang came out into the living room.

“The broadcast response seems good. The broadcast was quite interesting, too.”

“Chief Kang, you watched it too.”

“Of course. The Chairman probably watched it too, though he didn’t say anything specifically.”

“Attorney Kang revealed his face and identity, so there might be articles about him. I’m worried that it might cause trouble for the Chairman.”

“It’s okay. He thought it would happen someday. Anyway, people who know, already know. But it won’t become a hot topic right away. Above all, Wooshin probably doesn’t want that. The fact that the speaker is the former president’s grandson gives him power.”

Chief Kang sat on the wide sofa and said, “But this situation might have become a little unfavorable for CEO Lee Se-hwa.”

At Chief Kang’s words, I closed my laptop. I felt like I knew what he wanted to say.

Currently, the presidential election campaign is actively underway, and Lee Se-hwa was a candidate who was almost certain to be elected due to Lee Jung-chan’s death. However, as the fact of Lee Jung-chan’s murder was revealed, sympathy for him was created. Now that it’s revealed that the culprit might be Wooshin rather than me, the sympathy has deepened a little.

In fact, since he was brutally murdered while trying to accuse Wooshin, there’s a possibility that he will be packaged as righteous.

“But there won’t be any problem with her election.”

“Why do you think so?”

“If former Representative Lee Jung-chan had remained affiliated with the Minwoo Party until his death, public opinion might have leaned towards the Minwoo Party due to sympathy. However, the Minwoo Party publicly announced that it would unilaterally expel former Representative Lee Jung-chan when he did not leave the party. Therefore, the stronger the sympathy for former Representative Lee Jung-chan, the greater the resentment towards the Minwoo Party will be. The sympathy for former Representative Lee Jung-chan won’t go to the Minwoo Party, but to the new party created by Lee Jung-chan’s people. But the presidential candidate from the new party lacks power, so it won’t be a threat to CEO Lee Se-hwa.”

“That’s right. The Minwoo Party expelled former Representative Lee Jung-chan. I forgot.”

If I hadn’t lied that Lee Jung-chan had a recording containing content that disparaged the people, and if Kang Jong-myung hadn’t expelled Lee Jung-chan, this incident might have really become a crisis for Lee Se-hwa, as Chief Kang said.

Wouldn’t she be relieved right now, too?

“The election day is already in just a week. I wonder if Attorney Cha will be able to vote.”

The day I first decided to hide in this house was the day after Lee Se-hwa registered as a candidate. The election campaign started the next day, and the election day will come after about three weeks of campaigning, so there is only a week left.

I’ve been watching debate broadcasts when I had time, but I haven’t paid much attention to it because I’ve been busy with my situation. I feel some guilt because I promised to join the election camp, but I couldn’t help it.

I wanted to cast my vote for Lee Se-hwa even if I couldn’t help, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to show myself outside within a week.

Still, I reluctantly accepted Lee Se-hwa’s offer from a skeptical position about entering politics, so I think it’s fortunate that things turned out this way.

“By the way, Attorney Cha, how did you see today’s broadcast?”

As an awkward silence filled the room, Chief Kang cautiously opened his mouth.

“In what way are you speaking?”

“I’m talking about Min-jae. You’ve worked with Min-jae until now, but it seems like he’s never stepped up like this before.”

“That’s right. When I think about it, I feel sorry because it seems like I’ve been monopolizing the spotlight too much, even though he’s doing so well.”

At my words, Chief Kang laughed pleasantly.

“Is that so?”

“Attorney Choi and Jo Bong-joon are usually good at joking around, so I was worried that he might get swept away, but he kept his center well. And he led it well without being boring.”

Chief Kang seemed genuinely happy. He had occasionally shown me that he was worried about Kang Min-jae before, but he seemed particularly worried today.

Now that I think about it, Kang Min-jae, Chief Kang, and even Kang Kwan-woong seem to ask me the same questions a lot: what I think of Kang Min-jae.

Kang Kwan-woong is his only grandson, so that’s understandable, but isn’t Chief Kang Kang Kwan-woong’s secretary?

Of course, he can worry because he’s a secretary, but in some ways, isn’t it something he might not care about?

I didn’t think he would have this side when I first saw Chief Kang.

“Am I worrying about Min-jae too much?”

He seemed to realize the meaning of my gaze and smiled awkwardly.

“You seem to cherish Attorney Kang a lot.”

“Of course. He’s not much older than me, but he’s like a nephew to me. Oh, he’s actually a nephew on the family register, too.”

“Is that so? I thought you were the Chairman’s secretary, but you were his son.”

Chief Kang usually called Kang Kwan-woong ‘Chairman,’ so I didn’t even think he was his son. Is he an adopted son?

“No. I’m his secretary. The Chairman adopted me, so that’s how it is on the family register. If I were his real son, I would have called him father.”

So that’s why the surnames were the same. I thought Kang was not a common surname, so I thought it happened to overlap.

“The Chairman told me to call him father, but I didn’t dare to, so I declined. I’m grateful that he adopted me, but I’m worried that I might not be able to keep the line while acting like a real family member.”

I don’t know about Kang Kwan-woong, but Kang Min-jae really seemed to follow Chief Kang as an uncle or brother.

Then isn’t he family enough?

Well, their relationship isn’t important to me. It’s just that they’ve been continuously observed by me unintentionally as I’ve stayed in this house for a long time.

“This incident is a big crisis for the attorney, but perhaps it’s an opportunity for Min-jae to grow. He’s always worked hard since working with the attorney, but it seems like this is the first time I’ve seen him work this hard.”

Kang Min-jae himself doesn’t seem to know, but he has grown a lot.

Of course, he wasn’t lacking compared to lawyers with the same experience when I first saw him. The only downside was that he tended to get too immersed in the case.

At least in this case, I was the one who was emotional, and I think Kang Min-jae approached it more rationally.

“Attorney!”

I was thinking that it was about time he came when I heard the sound of the door opening and Kang Min-jae’s voice.

I sighed softly, thinking that he couldn’t be a gentleman, and looked at him.

“Did you watch today’s broadcast?”

“I watched it.”

“How was it? Was it okay?”

“It was okay.”

He sat down opposite me without even taking off his clothes.

Chief Kang, who had been talking about the same topic until just now, smiled slightly as he looked at Kang Min-jae.

“Is that all? Don’t you have any other opinions?”

“I don’t.”

I was about to say the same thing I said to Chief Kang, but I soon stopped.

Then Kang Min-jae drooped his shoulders as if he was disappointed.

“Attorney Cha, you’re not very honest either.”

Chief Kang, who had been watching our conversation, added a word.

Kang Min-jae looked puzzled but soon turned his head back to me and asked, “But it wasn’t bad, right?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s a relief. Hehe.”

Kang Min-jae, who I thought would cling to me and ask me to tell him more, got up surprisingly coolly.

As I watched his back as he seemed to be going up to the second floor, Kang Min-jae turned around and said, “I’ll go up first. You should go to bed soon, too.”

“What’s going on?”

“I have to wash up quickly and prepare for tomorrow’s broadcast. I think I’m surprisingly good at broadcasting. It was fun. I checked the reactions on the way here, and although there are some people who say bad things, it’s not bad overall. I think I can drive a wedge tomorrow. I’ll go up!”

Kang Min-jae bowed to me and ran up to the second floor.

Chief Kang crossed his arms as he watched Kang Min-jae’s back.

“He’s really working hard, without even eating. Isn’t he admirable?”

He’s admirable, but I didn’t answer because I wasn’t used to saying it out loud.