You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 323

The moon-shaped pendant sparkled under the light.

I was speechless, just staring up at her.

The word ‘Why?’ kept popping up and disappearing in my head.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

She asked.

Unlike me, who was very surprised, she asked naturally and plainly, as if she wasn’t surprised at all.

“…I didn’t expect to see Ms. Ah-young here.”

Since her family brought it up first, she knew from the beginning that I was the one she would be meeting, but I didn’t.

Two years ago, after a blind date arranged by Lee Ye-jin and my rejection of a second date, I never thought I would meet my ex-wife again in this kind of setting.

Come to think of it, I remember being surprised in my previous life when I took her to meet my parents as the woman I was going to marry, because my father and father-in-law had a mutual acquaintance.

I guess that person was Mr. Young-nam, the friend my father mentioned last time.

I didn’t have much contact with him, so I had completely forgotten about it.

“You seem very surprised. Didn’t you know who you were coming to meet?”

“I didn’t know.”

“Looks like you were pushed into this. Just like last time.”

Rather than being pushed out last time, there was some coercion, but after hearing that she was my ex-wife, I voluntarily went out to clearly *end* the relationship.

My ex-wife shrugged, presuming that I was pushed out because I rejected the second meeting.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. I was also pushed into this… We initially planned to meet at a cafe without any pressure, but I’m a bit hungry. If you haven’t eaten yet, there’s a nice French restaurant upstairs, would you like to have dinner?”

She gave the impression that her personality had changed somewhat compared to when I first saw her in this life.

I don’t know what changed her, but she certainly didn’t have this image two years ago.

“Dinner, you say?”

I replied slowly.

The gap between the two versions of her made my answer slow.

Well, it doesn’t matter.

No matter how much she has changed in this life, it doesn’t matter to me.

Today’s meeting will end here anyway.

I said, getting up from my seat.

“I’m sorry. As you know, I was pushed into this, so I just came out to say hello and leave because I didn’t want to waste your time. I’m sorry for making you waste your time. Then, goodbye.”

She’s not exactly a trauma, but she’s not a good memory for me.

But even so, I sincerely hoped that my ex-wife in this life would be happy.

Because nothing happened.

I was the one who made my ex-wife that way, so she deserved it, since she wasn’t influenced by me.

If she had met and married someone other than me from the beginning, no tragedy would have occurred to anyone.

That’s why I had no intention of meeting her again.

Of course, that meeting includes not only the meaning of dating but also one-time encounters.

“I’m sorry. Just a moment.”

I was planning to shake hands and part ways, but my ex-wife suddenly linked arms with me.

In my previous life, I had naturally done much more than linking arms, so it was nothing new, but I frowned for a moment, wondering why she was doing this when it didn’t apply to this life.

I was half-dragged in that state, avoiding her, and headed towards the hotel elevator.

And as soon as I arrived in front of the elevator, I let go of her and asked.

“What are you doing right now?”

“I’m sorry. I think my brother is watching to see if I’m meeting Mr. Cha well. I know you’re in the same situation, but my family is making a fuss because I’m late to get married. It’s not like I haven’t stood up dates before, so I think he came to check on how it’s going today.”

“…”

“Besides, I heard that you’re also getting a lot of nagging at home about marriage. I heard that your father is friends with my father’s older friend.”

“Yes.”

“How about we pretend that our blind date went well today and escape from that nagging for a while?”

I want to escape too, but why does the other person have to be my ex-wife?

“If you don’t hate me too much, let’s just have dinner today since my brother is watching, and then we can part ways. From now on, I’ll just pretend that we’re meeting well. You can do the same. Then we can just say that we broke up naturally.”

“What if your brother comes to check on us again?”

“I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. Please. I’ve tried this a lot with people who came to blind dates, but they were all so desperate to get married that it didn’t work out.”

“Ha…”

“Oh, if you’re worried that I might want to keep meeting you by using this excuse because of the blind date we had two years ago, I hope you don’t misunderstand.”

My ex-wife said, raising her hand.

“Back then, I also wanted to be in a relationship, and I liked Mr. Cha. Your face was my type. Oh, and your voice too. Oh, and your height.”

My ex-wife used to say this to me a lot when we were dating.

If my appearance hadn’t perfectly matched her taste, she wouldn’t have dated a boring guy like me.

Well, I don’t know if it’s a compliment or an insult.

“But since then, I’ve been busy with work, and I’ve become ambitious, so I don’t have any thoughts of dating. Not even a little bit. Even if you ask me to meet you, I won’t, so keep that in mind. Let’s just have dinner and go back today. How about it?”

Who wants to meet you?

…I barely managed to hold it in.

I usually say everything I want to say, but as I lived this life, there were many things I couldn’t say, so I learned how to hold back.

I didn’t keep it well until the beginning of this life, but it seems like I’ve developed a good habit because there are so many people around me who put the brakes on me.

“I also have no intention of meeting Ms. Jo Ah-young. No matter what happens.”

Ah, cancel that.

It seems like I haven’t developed the habit well enough.

“…Ha, it’s good that we feel the same way, but I’m a little offended?”

“What’s offensive about it? Ms. Jo Ah-young said that she has no intention of meeting me no matter what happens, and I don’t either.”

“…No, I knew you’d be this kind of character. Both on the show,”

“Both on the show?”

“And from the rumors I’ve heard.”

I already knew what the rumors were, so I didn’t bother asking.

But Jo Ah-young didn’t stop talking.

“I heard that you’re a bit emotionally detached.”

“I am when I’m working.”

“I heard you’re like that all the time.”

“I was *under the impression* this situation as Ms. Jo Ah-young ‘asking’ me to pretend to meet her, but I guess I was wrong.”

“That’s right. But I can’t lie.”

“Isn’t that also a type of emotional detachment? You don’t consider how the other person might feel, and you package the things you want to say with the excuse that you can’t lie.”

“Haha. Attorney Cha Joo-han, you have a way with words.”

“Attorney Jo Ah-young, you seem to be the same way.”

As the conversation in front of the elevator dragged on, I could feel the gazes of the people waiting for the elevator *gradually* gathering.

I didn’t care, but Jo Ah-young seemed to recognize the attention and turned towards the elevator, clearing her throat.

“So, are we going to have dinner?”

“Let’s do it.”

At first, I was going to refuse outright, but thinking about it, it’s not a bad offer.

I hate being constantly pressured by my parents to get married, and I hate pretending to meet Jo Ah-young.

But pretending to meet her can continue even if I don’t actually meet her, as long as the brother-in-law’s suspicion that he came to watch disappears.

We’ve already met once, so what’s so difficult about having a meal together?

“I heard you closed your office.”

While waiting for the course meal to be ordered, Jo Ah-young asked, wiping her hands with a wet towel.

“Yes.”

“Are you going to quit being a lawyer? You’re at the peak of your career right now. Or did you get an offer from a good place?”

“No. I was going to switch to a corporation, but it was too much of a hassle to handle everything, so I just closed it down and started a new one.”

“So, are you planning to bring in other lawyers besides Attorney Kang Min-jae?”

“No.”

“Ah, I see.”

A moment of silence followed.

The appetizer came out, and we started eating without saying anything.

“I have a question, can I ask you?”

“Yes.”

“Did you really not know that you were suspected of murdering Lee Jung-chan until the day you voluntarily appeared for questioning?”

“I didn’t know.”

“Were you really in a hermitage?”

“Yes.”

“I see. That’s very unusual. For someone running a business to disappear without saying anything to their employees, without even revealing their destination.”

“Everyone has times when they want to let go of everything.”

“At this timing, when CEO Lee Se-hwa is running for president?”

“What does CEO Lee Se-hwa have to do with me?”

“The story that CEO Lee Se-hwa has marked you as a think tank is already famous.”

“CEO Lee Se-hwa marking me and me actually becoming a think tank are two different things.”

“Ah, I see.”

She didn’t seem to believe me, but she stopped asking questions there.

Even before, my ex-wife was someone who knew how to keep her distance.

Of course, sometimes the line was a little closer than the other person thought, which was surprising, but at least she didn’t *cross* critical points.

I put my fork on the next dish and looked out the window.

I don’t know why I feel a sense of déjà vu in this situation.

Did I eat here with my ex-wife before?

“Oh, do you have any questions for me?”

“No.”

“Then I have some work to do, so I’ll take care of it for a while. Let’s just do our own thing and then part ways.”

Then, she said, taking out documents from her bag.

“Go ahead.”

If I had known this would happen, I would have brought a book.

From then on, she started to focus on her work as if she was done with me.

“Can I get a newspaper?”

“Did you say a newspaper? Would you like a Korean newspaper, or should I prepare an English newspaper?”

“Please give me a Korean newspaper.”

“Which newspaper company would you like me to prepare?”

“Anything is fine.”

“Then I will prepare the Iljung Ilbo.”

“Except for that one, the rest.”

“Puh.”

She, who was busily putting food in her mouth and flipping through documents, burst into a small laugh for a moment.

“I thought you were busy.”

“I’m capable of multitasking, so even when I’m focused, voices still *enter* my ears.”

I read the newspaper, and my ex-wife continued her meal while working.

When we had finished all the desserts, she put down her documents and said.

“You’re not really in the mood for a second round, are you?”

“No.”

“I think my brother would have gone back by now. He would have been relieved if he saw us taking the hotel elevator. Whichever way he imagined it.”

I don’t know which way he could have imagined it other than having a meal, but I didn’t bother asking.

I don’t care what her brother thought.

“Then I’ll tell my family that I’ve decided to meet Mr. Cha again. Please tell them that too.”

“Alright.”

“Oh, my brother might ask around to see if I’m really meeting Mr. Cha…”

If her brother, whom I know, is still the same in this life, he’s definitely capable of doing that.

“But I don’t think it’s a good idea to tell people around you that you’re meeting Mr. Cha.”

“I don’t mind, though.”

“Fortunately, I’m a woman who meets your own standards.”

“Is there any reason why not? It wouldn’t have mattered who it was, even if it wasn’t Ms. Ah-young.”

“Haha, yes. You’re someone who sees the world without prejudice. But it’s still better not to let people know. I hope you don’t tell anyone either.”

“Is there a particular reason?”

She put the documents in her bag and stood up.

And she picked up the bill and said.

“Oh, I moved from Jangyoung to Taekwang. You know what I mean, right?” [These are likely references to powerful law firms or companies, implying she’s moved to a more influential position.]