You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 313

Although the police had swept through the place once, enough time had passed that it felt much the same as when I last came.

I heard that after the confiscated items were returned, Manager Oh had received them and brought them back to my house, then hired a cleaning company to tidy up the place.

“Hoo.”

Taking off my shoes and stepping inside, I couldn’t help but sigh.

Of course, it wasn’t a sigh of annoyance or regret, but one of relief.

Perhaps because they had aired it out, the air felt refreshing even indoors.

I wasn’t sure if the air was genuinely clean, or if it was just my mood.

“Hmm…”

Looking around, I noticed a few things were missing, but it seemed Manager Oh had separately organized anything broken or damaged during the search and seizure.

Since nothing particularly valuable was missing, I didn’t bother checking everything meticulously. Instead, I grabbed some new indoor clothes and headed to the bathroom.

After filling the tub with hot water and washing up, I changed and suddenly craved a cold beer.

Fortunately, there were a few cans in the refrigerator.

“I hope they’re not expired.”

I needlessly checked the bottom of the cans before opening one and settling onto the sofa.

After lighting a cigarette and slouching back, I quickly felt relaxed, as if the fatigue in my mind and body was melting away.

‘Was I someone particularly vulnerable to hardship?’

I had never considered it that way before, but these small comforts were things I could have easily enjoyed at Kang Kwan-woong’s house.

Maybe it’s because I’m psychologically more stable now that I’ve returned home, but it’s still strange how good such a trivial daily life feels.

Everything isn’t completely over yet, so I can’t let my guard down, but shouldn’t I enjoy this feeling of liberation for a little while?

I basked in the sunlight streaming through the gaps in the blinds and drifted off into a nap.

“Ugh…”

As I woke up, I instinctively reached for the water bottle next to where I thought my bed was.

Thinking about how I would get through another day and clear my name, my head already started to throb…

“Ah.”

I was released.

This wasn’t Kang Kwan-woong’s house, but my own.

Realizing that, I felt ridiculous for instinctively tensing up, as if another difficult day was about to begin.

“Ha, geez.”

I had even come home and taken a long nap on the sofa right after being released, yet I was still thinking about the days when I was hiding.

I chuckled and picked up the remote control.

Following Kang Min-jae’s advice to rest and not contact him unless absolutely necessary, I decided to put my phone aside for a while and watch a movie.

Until now, I had always dedicated myself to the case without bothering to rest until it was completely resolved.

That was just my personality.

No matter how much I tried to rest, I couldn’t relax until I had properly finished something, and I didn’t really want to rest anyway.

But strangely, this time was different.

I wanted to forget about this case with all my might.

I stubbornly turned on the movie.

“…”

However, how could my personality just disappear?

Even though it was a movie I had been interested in, I couldn’t focus on a single scene.

I ended up grabbing my jacket and heading outside.

* * *

“Ah, seriously, this son of a bitch. Damn it, should I just kill this bastard?”

Tae-shik gritted his teeth, swinging his fist at CEO Shin, who was visible through the glass.

“Ah, the place where that bastard stabbed me still throbs. Damn it. Aish.”

After being taken to a ‘back alley’ hospital [an unlicensed or unofficial medical clinic] that day and getting stitches, he had already returned to work with an almost supernatural recovery.

Of course, he wasn’t fully recovered yet since he had just gotten his stitches removed yesterday, but he stubbornly insisted on coming out despite everyone’s objections.

“Hyung-nim [term used to address an older brother or male friend], you’re not fully healed yet. Just go back inside.”

“This is nothing.”

“Still. You must still be in pain. Aren’t you in pain?”

“Wouldn’t I be, you idiot?”

Tae-shik glared at Jun-beom.

Jun-beom pouted after being scolded for his concern, and Tae-shik sat down on a folding chair and retorted.

“Now that that guy has been released, we don’t know when he’ll come barging in. What if I’m not here then? How much would he nag me for slacking off? Huh? If I don’t want to hear that, I have to be here holding down the fort before that rude bastard comes.”

“That rude bastard… you’re not talking about me, are you?”

It was a familiar voice.

A voice that sent shivers down your spine when you heard it suddenly.

Tae-shik stiffened and slowly turned around.

“Attorney Cha!”

“Why? Aren’t you going to call me a rude bastard?”

“Am I allowed to call you a rude bastard?”

“Don’t cross the line.”

At Cha Joo-han’s words, Tae-shik pouted like Jun-beom had just done, then jumped up and hugged him.

Cha Joo-han, who was suddenly embraced, froze with his palms spread out in the air, but Tae-shik didn’t care and hugged him tightly.

“You’re so good at making people worry. You really are a rude bastard. Really. But I’m glad you seem okay. You look like you’ve lost some weight, though.”

Tae-shik smiled brightly and patted his back wildly, and Cha Joo-han smiled faintly and replied.

“You said you weren’t worried.”

“Who said that? Did Attorney Kang say that?”

“Yeah.”

“Attorney Kang saw it right. I just pretended to be worried.”

When Tae-shik let him go, Cha Joo-han ruffled his hair instead of answering.

“Don’t be cheeky.”

“Anyway. Is it okay for you to come here already? You might have people tailing you since you were just released?”

“I switched cars on the way, so it’s fine.”

“That’s a relief.”

“How’s your wound? Are you okay?”

“I’m perfectly fine.”

Tae-shik said, thumping his chest.

Cha Joo-han stared at him for a long time, then placed his hand on his side.

“Ouch!”

“Nope. Go inside and rest. Don’t come out until your body is fully healed.”

“Ah, I’m telling you I’m okay. People need to have their bellies cut open and bleed once in a while. That’s how the dead blood comes out of your body. What’s it called, uh, stagnant blood. Don’t you know stagnant blood?”

“It’s called ‘stasis of blood’, Hyung-nim.”

Cha Joo-han, who had been watching him trying his best to put on a brave face, quietly raised his hand and patted him on the shoulder.

“You suffered because of me. You got hurt when you didn’t have to. The same goes for your guys.”

“Ah, it’s just like getting rid of dead blood. Like what they do at the oriental medicine clinic [traditional Korean medicine clinic]. Anyway, even if it wasn’t for Attorney’s work, I would have asked them to remove my perfectly fine appendix and bleed a little.”

Tae-shik spouted nonsense, but Cha Joo-han didn’t bother to argue.

He knew that this was Tae-shik’s rough and foolish way of comforting him.

No matter how much Kang Min-jae suggested using himself as bait to lure CEO Shin and wage an all-out war, it would have ultimately been called off if Tae-shik had refused.

Just as Kang Min-jae had taken a risk to save him, Tae-shik had also made the decision to take on a great risk because he felt the same way.

Before meeting him again three years ago, Tae-shik was clearly doing well.

He had put his old life behind him and was running a detective agency, which wasn’t exactly a legitimate job, but he was living safely without getting seriously hurt.

Wasn’t it him who sought out Tae-shik because he needed him?

So, Cha Joo-han couldn’t help but sigh, feeling that Tae-shik had been unnecessarily exposed to danger and hurt.

“I’m really okay, I’m telling you?”

“Is that CEO Shin?”

Cha Joo-han deliberately changed the subject and pointed to the man lying with his back turned beyond the window.

Tae-shik nodded.

Cha Joo-han clenched his fist tightly, feeling a sudden cold sweat on his palm.

He had already shown his ugly side as much as he could, so he didn’t want to do it anymore, but regaining his composure wasn’t as easy as he thought.

Cha Joo-han hid his trembling fist behind his back.

CEO Shin’s back view was utterly pathetic.

His posture was limited since he was handcuffed, and the way he was curled up on his side was not at all intimidating.

The memories of his previous life were over in his previous life.

Something that couldn’t even happen in this life.

Cha Joo-han took a deep breath.

Tae-shik didn’t seem to have noticed his agitation yet.

Cha Joo-han barely managed to ask.

“Is he showing any strange behavior?”

“No. He’s just been lying there, curled up. But he’s been starving himself the whole time, and he’s been eating scraps of bread for the past few days. I guess he doesn’t want to die. Did you come to see if that bastard is doing well?”

“I have something to say to that man.”

“Should I open it for you then?”

Cha Joo-han nodded heavily, and Jun-beom ran to open the door.

Cha Joo-han paused for a moment and took a deep breath.

He couldn’t live in fear of such insignificant criminals forever.

To be precise, he was afraid of the image of death projected onto that man.

“…”

As Cha Joo-han approached, CEO Shin glanced up at him.

He widened his eyes in surprise for a moment, but soon seemed to grasp the situation and let out a long sigh.

“Congratulations.”

Then he muttered in a cracking voice.

“Thank you.”

Cha Joo-han replied coldly.

“I have nothing to say to you. Just go.”

CEO Shin said insincerely, but Cha Joo-han didn’t care and grabbed him by the collar.

“Attorney!”

It wasn’t CEO Shin who was surprised by Cha Joo-han’s sudden action, but Jun-beom.

But Tae-shik stopped Jun-beom, who had stepped forward.

He was telling him to leave it alone.

“You may not know it, but you and I have a pretty deep-seated bad relationship.”

Cha Joo-han said, pulling CEO Shin up to eye level.

CEO Shin stared at him, slumped.

“Deep? Because I made you a murderer.”

“Not only that, but you killed me. It really… really felt like shit.”

Cha Joo-han glared at him, grinding his teeth.

In Cha Joo-han’s memory, CEO Shin was always sitting in a place that he had to look up to.

In his previous life, and in his dreams, Cha Joo-han had always glared at CEO Shin, who was sitting in a chair and looking down at him, while he was trapped in a drum [likely referring to a confined or inescapable situation].

But this time, he was hanging by his collar in a place where he could barely be seen unless he looked down.

“Yeah. I buried you. If that’s social death, then you could say that.”

CEO Shin said in a mocking voice.

“So what are you going to do? Kill me?”

Cha Joo-han clenched his trembling fist once again.

And slapped CEO Shin across the cheek.

“Ugh!”

As CEO Shin’s head turned to the side and he let out a groan, Cha Joo-han released his collar.

He hit the corner of the cot once, then plunged to the floor.

“Tsk tsk. Is that going to be enough, Attorney?”

Tae-shik, who had been watching with his arms crossed, smiled and asked.

Cha Joo-han kicked his shoulder, which had fallen onto his shoe, to the side and replied.