You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 321

You Have Been Defended – Episode 321

Visited five houses, test drove five cars.

That’s what Kang Min-jae and I did today, running around busily.

I was so exhausted that I collapsed into a chair as soon as I arrived at the restaurant.

It wasn’t physical exhaustion from running around.

It was just that I was mentally exhausted from being with Kang Min-jae, who kept chattering with real estate agents and car dealers.

“Your stamina is really terrible, Attorney.”

Kang Min-jae smiled, looking at the menu, oblivious to how I felt.

“Say whatever you want.”

“Since you didn’t have a dream car in mind, Attorney, I wanted to take you to many places. But we only saw two brands.”

“That’s enough.”

“Well, if you get tired of it, you can sell it used and buy a new car. But the cars we saw today will depreciate a lot. It’ll probably lose ten million won a year.”

I didn’t answer and was busy checking the menu for meat dishes.

I thought I hadn’t lost any energy, but it seems I lost a lot.

I need to eat meat to replenish my energy.

I have to listen to Kang Min-jae’s chatter while eating, and then I won’t have any energy left to go home.

“Finding an office and remodeling it will take a month. What are you going to do in the meantime?”

“I have to clean up the mess. I only talked to my parents on the phone, so I need to visit them, and meet Dong-jin too.”

“Didn’t you hear from Attorney Lee Ye-jin? She asked me if you were okay.”

“She didn’t contact me.”

“She asked if she could contact you, and I told her you were doing well and that she should try. Did I do something wrong?”

“No.”

I remember when I stopped by the office a while ago, the building owner Lee Young-ho and Kim Yeon-joon, who happened to be at the cafe, rushed over as soon as they saw me.

Kim Yeon-joon had even given a video interview when Jo Bong-joon and Choi Jong-hyun broadcasted to reveal my innocence, so I thought I should meet him to say hello.

In the interview video, he spoke in a very calm tone, so I thought he trusted me and wasn’t too worried, but he teared up as soon as he saw me.

He was a client of the first case I took on when I opened my practice, and we often ran into each other at the cafe, so I thought we were somewhat close, but I was quite taken aback by his reaction.

If a complete stranger reacts like that, I can only imagine how my parents must have felt.

“How did your parents react? They must have been very worried.”

“I couldn’t contact them until after my innocence was proven and released to the media because I didn’t know what might happen. So I called them a bit late.”

That was the first time my mother cried like that, except for when my father passed away in my previous life.

I become especially weak-hearted after seeing my parents.

Because I know that what I do is dangerous.

This case ended here, but I don’t know when or how I might be in danger again.

Perhaps Wooshin, who failed to frame me this time, will try to stop me in a more elaborate or daring way next time.

Maybe they’ll try to kill me like I was in my previous life, like Lee Jung-chan.

So I couldn’t say anything to my parents.

They would definitely oppose it, and I fully understand their feelings.

That’s why I become weak-hearted.

When I’m with my parents, I just want to live a normal life in this world where nothing bad has happened, as if nothing ever happened.

“They must have been very worried, really.”

“They probably were.”

I’ve never been a parent, so I can’t even imagine, but every day must have felt like walking on thorns [experiencing constant pain and anxiety].

Wasn’t it more than a month that their only child was missing, and they didn’t know what was happening while there was an uproar about them being a murderer?

I touched my forehead.

I had to see my parents after going through such a big ordeal, but I didn’t know what to say.

“But they seemed okay. Anyway, it ended well.”

“Actually, I contacted them periodically. I can’t say specifically, but I told them you were doing well and that we were gathering evidence to prove your innocence. I contacted them hoping it would ease their minds even a little, but I was worried that it would remind them of you. I’m glad you’re okay.”

Kang Min-jae smiled slightly and pulled his serving of food closer.

“Wow, that looks delicious. Eat quickly.”

He handed me a spoon.

I stared at Kang Min-jae.

I feel like I know Kang Min-jae, but I don’t really know him.

Is it nosiness, that personality of his?

He’s kind to everyone unless he particularly dislikes them.

But even being kind to others is an energy-consuming task.

Kang Min-jae is no exception.

He must have been busy and tired just from running around to prove my innocence, but it was surprising that he had contacted my parents in the meantime.

Even more so because it was a story I didn’t know.

Even if he felt obligated to do my work for me, it was amazing that he thought of my parents in the midst of that.

I sometimes find him annoying, but on the other hand, there are times when I can’t gauge the size of his character.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Kang Min-jae, who was moving his spoon with his nose buried in the bowl, suddenly looked at me and asked.

Instead of answering, I put seaweed on his rice.

“Eat a lot.”

“You eat a lot too, Attorney.”

* * *

I like the new car quite a bit.

I used to drive an SUV to store various materials, but I plan to use an SUV under the company’s name in the future, so I chose a sedan this time.

My car wasn’t in bad condition, so I transferred my car to the company under the corporate name, as suggested by Office Manager Oh.

Of course, I had to have the company check carefully to make sure there were no strange devices attached to the car.

The road to my parents’ house wasn’t light [easy or carefree], but most of the minor details had been resolved.

The office was newly leased and undergoing remodeling, and I had also disposed of all the furniture in my old house and moved to a new place.

The reason I didn’t use the furniture I used to use was because I didn’t know what Wooshin might have attached to my furniture.

It seemed a bit paranoid, but Jo Bong-joon and Choi Jong-hyun also had the same thought, so I shouldn’t have been too sensitive.

“Are you the one who made the reservation?”

I stopped by a flower shop on the way home.

It was to buy a bouquet of flowers for my mother.

Of course, it wasn’t my idea.

It was the result of adopting Kang Min-jae’s forceful suggestion to stop bringing red ginseng [a Korean herbal medicine] to my mother, who had been suffering from worrying about me, and to give her flowers instead.

He specified everything from what kind of flowers to include, what size, and what design, and I repeated his words like a parrot to complete the reservation.

“…….”

The flower shop owner handed me the bouquet and stared at me intently.

Even while I was paying.

“You look very familiar.”

“I’ve never seen you before.”

“Really? I didn’t think you had been to our store before…….”

He stared at me for a long time while swiping my card.

Then, as if he remembered something, he shouted ‘Ah!’ and asked.

“Are you a movie actor?”

“……No.”

“Then just a celebrity? ……A singer?”

“No.”

“That’s strange. You look very familiar…….”

He muttered as he handed me the card back, and I quickly grabbed the card, thinking I should get out of here.

“Thank you.”

I loaded the bouquet into the car and headed to my parents’ house.

I had called them 30 minutes before arriving, as requested, and before I even reached the house, I saw my father’s figure in the distance.

He seemed to be pacing by the road, looking for my car.

“Father.”

When I opened the window and greeted him, my father came closer.

“You’re here.”

He answered as if nothing was wrong when he saw me, but his eyes were constantly following me.

I parked the car in the garage, took the bouquet that I had put on the passenger seat, and got out.

“What are the flowers for?”

“For Mother.”

“Your mother will like that.”

“Yes.”

“Did you change your car?”

“Yes. The company decided to use the car I was using, so.”

“Good job. The car is cool. I only know your old car, so I was checking when that car would come in.”

“I should have told you in advance.”

“No, I just came out. Let’s go in. Your mother made this and that because you were coming.”

My father patted me on the back and said.

As soon as I entered the house, the smell of food filled the house.

My mother, who was busy cooking in the kitchen, must have heard the sound, and as soon as she found me, she ran towards me.

“Ju-han!”

And before I could give her the bouquet, my mother ran over and hugged me.

I could feel her hand, which was tightly gripping my back, trembling slightly.

I could feel my chest getting wet, as if she was already crying.

“Hic, Ju-han, my baby…….”

“Mother, why are you crying?”

“How can I not cry, you rascal. You rascal, you unfilial son. Making your mom and dad worry like this…….”

I had already heard the story once during the phone call, and I had fully expected it in my head, but it wasn’t easy to see my mother like this.

My mother cried for a long time while holding me.

And the more I saw this, the more I realized how unfilial my actions were to my parents.

Even though my mother, who rarely showed tears, was crying like this, I couldn’t promise that this wouldn’t happen again, and I could only blame myself for not being able to do anything else.

“Hic, hic. What kind of dangerous work are you doing? I saw on the internet that Wooshin was determined to bury you, what’s all that about? Why did Lee Jung-chan give you Wooshin’s corruption data? Huh?”

My mother wiped away her tears and asked.

It wasn’t a topic to talk about as soon as she saw her son after a long time, but I guess she was so worried that she asked this first.

I was relieved that my parents didn’t know because they didn’t know how to use the internet and the television didn’t talk about the story between me and Wooshin, but it seemed like they had been looking for things in the meantime.

“Oh, stop it. It’s all resolved, what. Everyone in the world knows Ju-han is innocent, the real culprit was caught, everything’s fine.”

“……Still, the child is going through dangerous things and a big company is making it hard for him, how can you say it’s all done. Ju-han, don’t do such dangerous things. Mom and Dad don’t need you to make money. Why are you doing such things? Huh?”

“I don’t do such things.”

I had no choice but to lie.

I hated Wooshin so much for killing the two of them that I couldn’t say that I couldn’t stop because even though I was seeing them alive with my own eyes, the resentment from that time hadn’t subsided.

I couldn’t promise that I wouldn’t cause them to worry again.

“Ju-han. Your mom and dad just want you to be safe. We just want you to be healthy and live like everyone else. We don’t want you to make a lot of money or become famous. Just safely, healthily. Got it?”

“……Yes.”

Someday, the day will come when I can be honest with my parents.

I forgave myself for the unfilial act [disrespectful or disobedient behavior towards parents] I had committed once again and answered as if muttering.