You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 334

You Have Been Defended – Episode 334

Although Go Sang-jun has no intention of revealing the real culprit, he is genuinely willing to help Kim Hwa-young.

It is also true that a fake culprit is ready.

If the real culprit confesses before the second trial, Kim Hwa-young will be free.

If the case drags on, there is a high probability that the media will unnecessarily interfere and damage Kim Hwa-young’s image.

It is my job to wrap things up here and ensure their safety.

I wanted to send a text to elicit a few more questions and answers, but I stopped.

In fact, once Kim Hwa-young is completely free, I did consider pointing out that the person who confessed was not the real culprit and escalating the case.

However, if that happens, it will be revealed that Kim Hwa-young was once again framed as the culprit, which would be a significant burden for Kim Chan-young and his mother.

“Well, I’ll be going now. It would have been nice to have dinner together, but it’s a shame,” Go Sang-jun said as he got up.

Kim Chan-young also stood up after him.

“Um, Father.”

Go Sang-jun was about to leave the room when Kim Chan-young stopped him.

Did he have more to say?

Well, it’s only natural for him to want to say a few more words of caution in this situation.

“You said you don’t know who the real culprit is. Do you perhaps have any idea who it might be? I’m sure you had someone you suspected while reviewing the CCTV footage…”

“……”

Go Sang-jun didn’t answer and looked back at Kim Chan-young.

His eyes showed annoyance.

Kim Chan-young is not directly involved in the case, but he is representing Kim Hwa-young, who is, so he is as good as a party to the case.

It is not an unreasonable request for Kim Chan-young to want to know the details of the case.

Yet, Go Sang-jun looked as if he was asking, ‘How dare you?’

“It’s just personal curiosity. I’m just wondering who killed the butler… Not many people know about the Jo Yeon-dong residence besides the people you hired. At most, it’s just my brothers and my stepmother…” Kim Chan-young, sensing Go Sang-jun’s mood, quickly added in a softened tone.

“What are you trying to say?” Go Sang-jun, who had been consistently speaking in a gentle tone, raised one eyebrow.

Kim Chan-young responded to Go Sang-jun with a smile.

“I’m worried.”

“What are you worried about?”

“If a family member is involved… I think Father should know. It happened at home. There shouldn’t be anything Father doesn’t know.”

And Kim Chan-young spoke with astonishing intelligence.

He was appealing to Go Sang-jun’s pride, making him believe that he should be at the top of every group he belongs to.

“There was Yoon-sung *hyung’s* [older brother or male friend] incident, and recently that lawyer has been spreading nonsense, causing Father a lot of worry… If a family member is involved, and they might worsen the situation to avoid being caught by Father, who knows when a bomb might explode… I’m a little uneasy. I don’t want Father to be stressed, and I don’t want Mom to become so unstable that I can’t handle it. But even in this situation, the thing I hate most is that I still think of my mom as a shield… so that Wooshin’s name won’t be tarnished…”

Kim Chan-young said, lowering his head.

Go Sang-jun then softened his defensive expression.

And he stroked Kim Chan-young’s hair.

“If all my children were like you, I wouldn’t have anything to worry about.”

“…No. My brothers and sister probably feel the same way. They’re just not good at expressing it.”

“Haha, yes. Don’t worry. It has nothing to do with family members.”

[Lie]

“I don’t know who the real culprit is, but the most likely candidates are the employees.”

[Lie]

Someone in the family did it, and the employees are unlikely.

“There’s an employee who can’t be reached among those caught on CCTV…”

[Truth]

“I think it might be that person.”

[Lie]

“That’s why it took so long to find him. But your mother’s condition is getting worse, so I thought it would be better to wrap up the case before the second trial, so I decided to prepare a fake culprit. The lawyers will report to you soon.”

[Truth]

“It’s a shame that your mother and you are suffering because of this unfortunate incident at home. Just bear with it a little longer, Chan-young. I’ll compensate you enough.”

[Truth]

Oh, my.

Such a huge gain from Kim Chan-young’s hypocritical words.

“Thank you, Father. Don’t worry too much about me and Mom. I’ll take good care of Mom. Please let me know if you find the employee.”

“Okay.”

Go Sang-jun slowly nodded and checked his wristwatch.

“Ah, that’s right. There’s still some time left. Do you have anything to do today?”

“Ah, today,”

“I’ve been thinking of getting you a suit since you joined the company, but I’ve been putting it off because I’ve been busy. It’s already been so long.”

As he said that, Go Sang-jun got closer and closer to the closet.

Kim Chan-young, who was hastily following behind him, turned pale.

And so did I.

“I have a lot of suits, Father.”

“You do? I’ve seen you wearing the same one several times.”

“I like that one, so I wear it often,” Kim Chan-young said, passing Go Sang-jun, but Go Sang-jun smiled and grabbed the closet doorknob.

“If you keep refusing your father’s gifts, your father will be disappointed.”

With those words, Go Sang-jun opened the closet wide.

“……”

I covered my mouth, crouching behind the densely packed coats and padding.

When I hid in the closet earlier, I covered the lower part where my legs might be visible with boxes that were in the closet…

“…Well, it looks like you have a lot of clothes. But the brands aren’t very good,” Go Sang-jun said, checking the tags on each piece of clothing.

My heart started beating like crazy at the thought that he might see me if he leaned his head in a little further.

I couldn’t see Kim Chan-young’s expression, but he was probably feeling the same way.

I pressed my hand a little harder against my mouth.

Damn it…

“Should we go to the department store?”

“No. Even if I have a personal shopper and go shopping, it’ll cause unnecessary talk.”

Kim Chan-young said as if nothing was wrong.

Unlike when Go Sang-jun headed this way earlier, there wasn’t a hint of trembling in his voice.

“You can say I’m a scholarship student from a foundation I sponsor. We’ve done that before, haven’t we?”

“…No. Thank you so much for the offer, but Mom is still sleeping, so I don’t want to go out alone. Please buy it for me after everything is resolved. Mom might get angry if I show up with new clothes in this situation.”

I was mentally simulating that if I were to be caught here, I would have to make it seem like I had unilaterally sneaked into this house without Kim Chan-young’s knowledge.

“I guess so.”

Go Sang-jun turned around, closing the closet.

I almost let out a sigh of relief, but the distance wasn’t far enough yet.

I remained in the same position, still covering my mouth.

“I’m disappointed that I couldn’t even have a meal with you after meeting you after so long.”

“Next time. I did buy you a tie pin with my first paycheck, but I still wanted to buy you a meal. Please let me buy it then.”

“You?”

“Yes. I make good money now, Father.”

“Haha, okay. Then I’ll look forward to it.”

“Yes, Father. Be careful going back.”

“Okay. Take good care of Mom, and don’t bother seeing me off. I’ll find my way out.”

With those words, I heard Go Sang-jun leaving the room.

Along with the sound of the door lock opening in the distance, the front door slammed shut.

Kim Chan-young also seemed to leave the room for a moment.

Perhaps to make sure that Go Sang-jun had really left, he soon returned and opened the closet door.

And he parted the coats and padding and looked at me sitting behind them.

“Haa… I thought my heart was going to shrink [feel extremely anxious or scared].”

Kim Chan-young said, touching his forehead, and held out his hand to me.

“Me too.”

I thought my heart was going to explode.

I doubted my memory, wondering if I had taken my medicine.

“Did you get anything? How was it?”

As I took Kim Chan-young’s hand and stood up, Kim Chan-young asked as if he had been waiting.

I dusted off my clothes and slumped into a chair.

“His words about helping you and your mother seem genuine. He also said that the lawyers would report before the second trial, and the second trial isn’t far off. You haven’t applied for a postponement yet, have you?”

“No.”

“At least we can see how much the lawyers have prepared before the second trial. If the report is unsatisfactory or there seems to be a problem, I can either tighten the screws on Go Sang-jun again or postpone the second trial and take over the case myself.”

“Anything else?”

“I don’t know.”

I couldn’t say it.

It’s true that one of the employees was at the annex at the time when the butler was presumed to have been murdered on CCTV, but that person is not the culprit.

The real culprit is someone in the family, and Go Sang-jun knows this.

In the end, Go Sang-jun is using Kim Hwa-young as a shield to protect a family member.

Kim Chan-young may not have said it knowingly, but Kim Hwa-young is being an excellent shield for them.

If that’s the case, then Yoon Sung-hee is most likely the real culprit.

It would be great if I could take on the case, but I have to make the choice for Kim Chan-young as I initially intended.

“Anyway, the most important thing was whether Go Sang-jun was willing to protect your mother, and he seemed sincere when he said that. When he said that to you, he spoke quite specifically without you even asking first. He talked about the CCTV footage and that the lawyers would report before the second trial. The additional things you said to Go Sang-jun seemed to be effective. It seems to have made Go Sang-jun trust you even more.”

There was no sincerity in those words, but what matters is that Go Sang-jun believed them.

It was even pitiful to see how Kim Chan-young had endured and survived under Go Sang-jun until now.

“If you’re worried, get a report from the lawyers before the second trial and contact me. Until then, I’ll keep an eye on things too.”

“Okay. Thank you, Attorney. I’m sorry that you’re wasting your time on me when you’re such a valuable asset.”

“It’s okay. I’m just glad that your mother seems to be getting through this without any major problems.”

“…Wow, that sounded like a very social comment. What’s wrong, Attorney?”

“It’s not a social comment.”

“Then was it sincere?”

“What do you think?”

“I’m a little touched?”

If Kim Chan-young finds out that he used Kim Hwa-young as a shield to hide a family member…

No, even if Kim Chan-young is quite rational, if Kim Hwa-young finds out, she will never stand idly by.

She will feel a terrible sense of betrayal and is likely to cause a scene, saying that even the fake culprit prepared for the second trial is unnecessary.

As I left Kim Chan-young’s room and headed to the front door, I glanced at Kim Hwa-young’s closed door.

It’s amazing how many people have been exploited by Go Sang-jun, and how diverse the methods and stories are for each person.