You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 302

“Min-jae is very late.”

Chief Kang, glancing at his watch, spoke with a worried tone.

It was almost 3 a.m.

Considering the usual hour and a half commute, or even the 40 minutes on a night with clear roads, this lateness was indeed concerning.

“You should go to bed first. It seems he’ll be late tonight.”

“But I can’t just go to bed when he’s not home yet.”

Was this overprotective?

I’d gotten that impression from this family before, but not to this extent.

Worrying about a grown man in his thirties not being home by 3 a.m., even after he’d said where he was going, seemed a bit much.

Perhaps the rough stories of Kang Min-jae’s past that he occasionally shared were exaggerations, colored by his own perspective.

“Then I’ll head to bed.”

Even if Chief Kang gave up and went to bed, Kang Kwan-woong would be awake soon anyway.

He claimed to have never broken his fixed wake-up time of 5 a.m., even after retiring.

In just two more hours, Kang Kwan-woong would be there to greet him, so there was no reason for two people to stay up like this.

“……”

At my words, Chief Kang looked at me with an expression that seemed to question my sincerity.

I’d seen this look often enough to almost read his mind.

He was probably thinking, ‘Min-jae is working hard for you at this early hour, and you’re just going to go to bed without a care in the world?’

“If you’re so worried, why don’t you call him?”

Surprisingly, Chief Kang hadn’t even called Kang Min-jae yet.

Initially, I thought he was just watching TV because he couldn’t sleep.

“I don’t want to bother him, and he might get annoyed that I’m being overprotective.”

It seemed Kang Min-jae had complained about this more than once.

Since joining our office, he’d been out late for various reasons, whether for work or company dinners.

I wondered how he’d endured it back then.

“Weren’t you staying up because you were worried about Min-jae too, Attorney Cha?”

“I can’t sleep, and I have to go all the way down to the first floor to smoke. I was just here because I didn’t want to go all the way down.”

“You can smoke in your room.”

“I could, but even if I ventilate, if the smell doesn’t disappear before I go to bed, it feels like I’m sleeping while breathing in cigarette smoke.”

Chief Kang sighed at my words.

He seemed to have expected that I, like him, was eagerly awaiting Kang Min-jae’s return.

“……Then go to bed first. I’ll at least wait and see him come back.”

“Okay.”

I was getting sleepy anyway.

I got up from the sofa and took a few steps towards the stairs to the second floor when I heard the sound of the garage door opening.

Chief Kang jumped up.

“It looks like Min-jae is here. I don’t even know where he went, so let’s at least hear what he has to say before you go up.”

He was subtly being prickly.

He seemed to think I would just go up and go to bed without caring that Kang Min-jae had arrived.

Soon, the engine turned off, and Kang Min-jae came into the house.

He was holding a small shopping bag with the logo of the soup and rice restaurant in front of Hwagun Reservoir printed on it.

“Oh, you’re still up? ……Hyung [older brother/male friend] must have been waiting for me.”

Kang Min-jae squinted at Chief Kang and spoke with a hint of dissatisfaction.

Then, he turned his gaze to me.

“Were you waiting for me too, Attorney Cha?”

This time, he sounded quite hopeful.

Without even properly hearing my answer that I wasn’t, he launched into his explanation.

“I bought this from a famous soup and rice restaurant in front of Hwagun Reservoir. Everyone can eat it together tomorrow. I bought enough for the ladies, grandpa, hyung, and Attorney Cha. But Attorney Cha has bad memories of Hwagun Reservoir, so if you don’t want to eat it, I’ll tell the ladies in advance.”

“I don’t have anything like that.”

“That’s a relief. Ha, I’m tired. Then I’ll put this away and go up.”

With those words, he turned towards the kitchen.

“Kang, Attorney.”

“Yes?”

“If you suddenly went to Hwagun Reservoir at this early hour, shouldn’t you share why with me?”

At my words, Kang Min-jae stopped abruptly.

After a long pause, he fiddled with his lips and made a humming sound before shaking his head.

“Because of the broadcast. I was wondering if we could get that homeless man to appear.”

[Lie]

It was a power I hadn’t used in a while.

I watched the letters sparkle above his head and crossed my arms.

Even without the ability, it didn’t make sense to rush out to meet a homeless man at this hour.

Kang Min-jae awkwardly rolled his eyes under my gaze.

“Th, then I’ll go up! Attorney, you should go to bed too!”

He seemed to realize I knew he was hiding something, but he was deliberately keeping it from me.

The reason……

Well, I couldn’t see all of his inner thoughts, so I couldn’t be sure, but it was probably similar to how I hadn’t told Dongjin all the progress while handling Dongjin’s case.

If I mentioned things that weren’t certain, it would give him false hope, and if that hope was dashed, it would be twice as painful.

It could be another reason, but I decided to assume it was something like that.

* * *

“Is there no broadcast today?”

I asked while eating the hangover soup he bought the next morning.

“No. Well, there’s nothing more to reveal.”

From the beginning, we’d decided not to mention the existence of the new witness, the homeless man, and the handkerchief he handed over on the broadcast, so it was true that the content had run out.

I thought it was right to hand over the testimony and evidence secured through the homeless man to the police rather than revealing it through the broadcast.

Revealing it through the broadcast would definitely make things clearer in many ways, but the police wouldn’t like it.

Public opinion would be harsh, criticizing the police’s investigative power for not finding out that there was another witness.

Above all, they might think of us as people who have no shame.

If absolutely necessary, we would have proceeded that way, taking into account that we would be hated, but unfortunately, we were in a position where we had to be mindful of others.

The right to investigate was still with the police.

If it was handed over to the prosecution, there was a possibility that various interests would become entangled, so we had to be on good terms with the police to finish it before that happened.

“I saw the hyungs [older brothers/male friends] posted a notice earlier.”

“What notice?”

I checked while eating, and this time, a notice was posted in a polite tone.

[Hello.

This is Choi Jong-hyun and Jo Bong-joon.

Originally, today is a regular broadcast day, but we will be taking a break for coverage.

In addition, depending on the coverage situation, next week’s regular broadcast may also be canceled.

We ask for your understanding as this is to deliver more accurate and faster information to viewers.

However, information continues to be collected, and the quality is quite good, so we have high expectations.

We will do our best to come back as soon as possible.

Thank you.]

[Xnajkl10: I smell the TA PD [Teaching Assistant Producer] in the notice…. ]

[wjdguddn90: If the hyungs [older brothers/male friends] are being disciplined by the TA PD [Teaching Assistant Producer], report it to the police…!]

[rlaalstjdll: ㅅㅂ [Korean slang, similar to ‘fuck’] I’m tired of the break]

[harry1981: Another break, you crazy bastards, just quit the broadcast]

[togoqhraksgdl: Please stop taking breaks;;;;]

[qkedmtpdy: ㅅㅂ [Korean slang, similar to ‘fuck’] You have no sense of responsibility, you confuse people and then you slip away and don’t broadcast?]

They had thrown a huge topic into the world and posted a notice that the break could continue, causing public outrage.

But I thought it was a public outrage in a good way.

Because it was proof that there were so many people waiting.

“Then I have to go out quickly, so I’ll get up first.”

While I was looking at the broadcast comments on my phone, Kang Min-jae put down his spoon and got up.

“Where are you going?”

“I have to go investigate. That’s how you’ll be released quickly, Attorney.”

“Is there anything to investigate?”

“From now on, I have to think about what to investigate. Finish your meal!”

We’d decided not to inform the police until we found a way to further reinforce the evidence the homeless man gave us.

So if we wanted to present something more, we had to investigate.

“Be careful.”

“Yes.”

He answered quickly and left the dining room.

Originally, he would have asked me for my opinion on where else to dig, but he didn’t seem to have any intention of doing that.

Since we had already received a written oath from the homeless man promising to keep the secret and not to suddenly change his mind, there was no need to be newly anxious that it would take longer.

……No, to be exact, I thought there was no need to be anxious.

The problem was, a week had already passed since I thought that.

Since that day, Kang Min-jae had disappeared somewhere every day.

Jo Bong-joon and Choi Jong-hyun were the same.

They always came to this house with a bunch of documents, saying they had something to discuss, but they also stopped coming.

It’s not that Kang Min-jae didn’t come home, so even if I couldn’t stand it and asked him how things were going, he just kept saying that he was continuing to investigate, so please trust him and wait.

Even when I asked if he had anything to report to me, he only said that he hadn’t found anything new.

In the meantime,

[Lee Se-hwa likely to be elected!]

The presidential election was held, and

[Lee Se-hwa’s election is certain!]

Without any surprises,

[Lee Se-hwa’s election confirmed!]

Lee Se-hwa was elected president.

I didn’t end up casting a vote for her, but anyway, the result was good, so I was relieved.

The Liberty Justice Party succeeded in changing the government, and Lee Se-hwa’s election camp put a necklace of flowers on her and shouted cheers.

I felt strange thinking that if this incident hadn’t happened, I would have been there too.

* * *

“Oh, Lee Se-hwa was elected.”

“Don’t say idle things and concentrate on driving,” Choi Jong-hyun turned off the radio and scolded Jo Bong-joon, who was muttering while listening to the radio.

“No, something happened that has a big impact on the direction South Korea will take in the future, why can’t I listen to the radio! Well, I thought Lee Se-hwa would be elected, but I feel good because she was actually elected. I bought a lot of Lee Se-hwa theme stocks. It’ll go up a lot, right? It’s already gone up a lot, but originally, when this kind of issue is confirmed, it bounces back big again.”

“Hey! You’re driving too fast! What are you going to do if you miss it!”

While the two were arguing, Kang Min-jae, who was sitting in the back seat, crossed his arms and muttered.

“But are the police still thinking of burying it in the presidential election situation? It’s not like we only revealed one or two things on the broadcast back then, but there’s no official announcement.”

After that day’s broadcast, Kang Min-jae thought the police would hold a new press conference.

Since we revealed the text message history, they would have searched Lee Jung-chan’s belongings and home and said that the data mentioned in the text message was not there, or something like that.

Wasn’t the speculation that Lee Jung-chan died trying to hand over Wooshin’s confidential data expanding more and more, with all sorts of rumors rampant?

Wooshin couldn’t directly step in, so I thought even the police would say something.

At the very least, I thought they would push the National Forensic Service to announce the results of the second autopsy quickly.

There was definitely public criticism that the police didn’t know about the meter reader’s existence.

If the police take a lukewarm attitude, the media should continue to add fuel to the fire, but even that didn’t work out well.

But with the presidential election a week away, special broadcasts were continuously scheduled, and the focus of the news definitely shifted to that side.

It wasn’t revealed what Wooshin had specifically done wrong, and it wasn’t confirmed whether the accusatory data Lee Jung-chan mentioned actually existed, so it’s natural that they wouldn’t have anything more to say.

I heard from Yoon Se-yeon that reporters were busy trying to get something out of her, but it’s clear that they also had no results.

So Kang Min-jae was afraid that people’s interest in this case would fade.

It’s something to celebrate that Lee Se-hwa was elected, but anyway, all they can carry is the facts and favorable public opinion.

Clearing Cha Joo-han’s name is more important than Lee Se-hwa’s election.

“Min-jae, but is it really okay?”

Jo Bong-joon, who had started to concentrate on driving, looked at him in the rearview mirror and asked.

“What is?”

“Those bastards.”

They were now driving on a road in the middle of the night.

Behind them, several unknown vehicles were following, pretending not to.

It was a very cautious and skilled movement, so much so that someone who wasn’t quick-witted wouldn’t notice they were being followed.

“What if those bastards suddenly hit us from behind?”

“That’s impossible. If those guys were trying to kill us, they would have killed us a long time ago, and if they were going to hit us with a car and cause an accident, they would have done it a long time ago. At least until we reach our destination, we are unconditionally safe.”

When Kang Min-jae said firmly, they didn’t have anything to say.

That’s right.

It’s been a week since we let the words slip on the broadcast, and the notice of the break also gave off a strong nuance.

So if they wanted to, they could have killed them at any time.

Even if it was difficult for Kang Min-jae, the grandson of the president, it wouldn’t have been difficult for Jo Bong-joon or Choi Jong-hyun.

Of course, even if they wanted to kill them, it was after they had talked too much on the broadcast, so if they died, it would be clear that Wooshin did it, so they did it with that calculation in mind…….

“How much is left?”

“10 minutes.”

“It’s quite far. But I’m worried that we’ll end up losing out in this situation. Are you really okay? Then let’s go somewhere else now.”

“I think we’ve done everything we can do without risk. But even so, the situation where Attorney can be free hasn’t come about. So I think it’s time to proceed, even if there is a risk.”

“You’re right, but…… Wouldn’t Attorney Cha go crazy if he knew?”

“That’s right. You’re going to get scolded a lot.”

“If I get scolded, I’ll have to get scolded.”

Choi Jong-hyun laughed softly at Kang Min-jae’s cool answer.

Already, the Ohsung Landscaping sign was starting to appear in the distance.