You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 342

“Weren’t we taking up too much of your time because of us?”

“No. It’s because we didn’t manage our time well.”

When we returned to Kim Chan-young’s house, Kim Hwa-young was not in the living room.

“She seemed to be feeling dizzy, so I told her to rest.”

“Good job.”

“Oh, and Attorney. I couldn’t say it in front of Mom earlier, but Go Sang-joon said that the employee in that CCTV footage was the culprit. Then, that…”

“You want to say that the housekeeper’s boyfriend might be the culprit, right?”

“Yes.”

It’s a relief that Kim Hwa-young isn’t here.

If she were here, Kim Chan-young might not have brought it up, but if the culprit is within our deductions, she would definitely be greatly shaken.

I told Kim Chan-young, as I had told Kang Min-jae, why the gallery employee couldn’t be the culprit.

Of course, it wasn’t a completely impossible reason, so Kim Chan-young seemed somewhat doubtful, but she nodded and didn’t say anything more about it.

Anyway, there’s no need to waste time discussing the possibility of the Umi Gallery employee being the culprit.

The culprit is from the Go family.

“Shall we continue our conversation?”

“Ah, yes.”

“First, we need to find that Umi Gallery employee.”

“Then we’ll need their identification.”

“That’s right. Can you get their personal information from Go Sang-joon?”

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

“Once you get their personal information, I’ll pass it on to my informant and have them look into it. If the Umi Gallery employee was there that day, they might have witnessed the incident. If they didn’t just run away in surprise after encountering your mother, they would have spent time with the housekeeper anyway.”

“That’s right. I’ll get it somehow.”

“While you’re at it, ask them to check when the Umi Gallery employee left the safe house. If Go Sang-joon suspects anything…”

“I’ll say I had something I wanted to confirm.”

* * *

[Kim Hwa-young, Increased Chance of Acquittal]

[Lack of Evidence in Kim Hwa-young’s Manager Murder Case]

[Kim Hwa-young’s Defense Attorney, Only Entry Records Exist… That’s Not Enough]

[Why Did the Prosecution Indict Kim Hwa-young?]

As the second trial approached, Tae Kwang began to publish articles suggesting that the problem was the indictment of Kim Hwa-young itself.

It seemed like they were preemptively setting the stage to create an atmosphere of ‘Kim Hwa-young was not the culprit after all’ by having a fake culprit confess soon.

What was certain was that this barrage of articles was effective.

The public, who had unanimously criticized Kim Hwa-young, suddenly began to sympathize with her.

[la****: They indicted her without proper evidence… The prosecution is truly disgusting. They ruined someone’s life.]

[mi****: It’s sad to see someone who was living quietly face such turmoil… They should have investigated properly before putting her on trial. The reporters who broke the story are terrible too;;]

[ba****: Wasn’t it Iljung Daily that released the first article? Iljung Daily also ruined someone before with Attorney Cha Joo-han. They’ve become a third-rate media outletㅋㅋ]

As far as I knew, there was no solid evidence other than the CCTV entry records and the photo of her strangling him.

Moreover, they hadn’t even been able to determine when the strangling photo was taken.

I wouldn’t have indicted her with just that.

That’s why I suspected that Go Sang-joon’s influence, who wanted to intimidate Kim Hwa-young, was at play in this case itself.

Well, this part can be considered after finding the Umi Gallery employee.

In any case, seeing that the overall atmosphere is turning more favorable for Kim Hwa-young, I feel relieved on one hand.

The problem is.

“No, *ssiba* [a Korean swear word]! Where is this bastard?! I can’t find him. I can’t find him!”

Jang Tae-shik burst into my office, shouting.

It had already been ten days since I received Kim Chan-young’s call and passed the information to Tae-shik to find him.

Go Sang-joon said that the Umi Gallery employee was indeed the employee shown in the CCTV footage.

He even emphasized that the gallery employee was the culprit, so how deceptive is this behavior?

“I told you to contact me if you found him. You didn’t have to come if you couldn’t find him.”

“No, *ssiba*. You know that if Jang Tae-shik is determined to find someone, he’ll bring them in within two days, right?”

“I know.”

“But I’ve been looking for ten days and still can’t find him! Everyone says they don’t know! No one knows, *siba*. Ha… I’m going crazy. He’s not already dead, is he?”

“If Wooshin found him first, he might be dead.”

“Ha… Then we don’t know if Wooshin killed him or not?”

“We don’t know, that’s for sure.”

Since then, there had been no opportunity to meet Go Sang-joon, and there was no excuse to explain it to Kim Han-young if I did that again.

However, if they had found him, they would have contacted Kim Chan-young, and if they had killed him on their own, they would have said that they found him already dead.

Kim Chan-young didn’t say anything other than that she was scheduled to hear a briefing from Tae Kwang’s lawyers soon about how to wrap up the case, including the fake culprit.

“Can’t you ask me to find something definite? I was excited to get a job after a long time, but you’re giving me such a difficult task…”

“I’m paying you guys a salary now instead of per job.”

“…That’s true.”

“Then it doesn’t matter what kind of work I give you, right? It’s not like I’m asking you to drink sewage or fast for a month. I’m just asking you to do what you used to do.”

“…”

“Go find him instead of wasting time here.”

“Ha… I really want to hit you.”

“Me?”

“…Ah, no. My own stupid head.”

Then, Tae-shik pretended to tap his head.

“Hit it harder.”

“This much…?”

Tae-shik looked at me pitifully, tapping his forehead with such force that his forehead muscles seemed to deflect all the pain.

“Harder.”

And then, with a *bbak!* [onomatopoeia for a smack] sound, Tae-shik left a red mark on his forehead.

“Ha… Can’t I report this as workplace violence or something? It seems a bit unfair?”

“You hit yourself.”

“…”

“You hit yourself and call it workplace violence.”

“…It’s so frustrating, really. I’m enduring it now, believing that someday I’ll sew your mouth shut, Attorney.”

“You’re looking for him without Sang-gil, right?”

“As you said, Attorney, Sang-gil seems too exposed, so I sent him somewhere to become a martial arts master and come back.”

“Martial arts master?”

“I’m having him exercise to use his body nimbly when he returns. He seemed to feel his limitations when he fought with that meter reader the other day. He’s working hard.”

“Tell him not to overdo it. That won’t happen.”

“How do you know, people’s affairs. It’s better to train his body and not die than to die a dog’s death there. Don’t you think?”

Tae-shik said it casually, but his words implied that he was prepared for death.

Was it because of the Ohsung Landscaping incident back then?

Even just hearing about it was a dangerous moment….

I sighed.

“I said that won’t happen.”

“Just saying, what if you suddenly get kidnapped by those Wooshin bastards? Then we have to go save you again. That’s why we’re building up our muscles, you know.”

“Why would they kidnap me.”

…I said that, but I can’t say that it won’t happen.

Because I had a history of dying like that.

Ah, thinking about it makes my heart rate feel like it’s speeding up.

“Exercise is good for you anyway, so tell him to work hard.”

“Yes.”

“If other employees want to learn to exercise, let them learn. Charge me for any money you need.”

“Then give me 200 million won to buy a sports car.”

“I said money you need.”

“Hehe, I was just kidding. Then I’ll be going.”

Tae-shik waved his hand and disappeared, and I leaned back in my chair.

If a fake culprit confesses before the second trial, Kim Hwa-young will be released, but the fake culprit will be tried and the sentence will be confirmed.

We have to bring the real culprit before that….

I ran my hand over my face.

Even if the Umi Gallery employee witnessed it, it’s questionable whether we can get a witness statement from him, who hasn’t appeared as a witness already.

We need to consider various methods.

* * *

“Wow, it’s nice. Attorney, the flowers are blooming here.”

Kang Min-jae and I were invited to the presidential inauguration ceremony held at the National Assembly.

Lee Se-hwa said she was leaving the National Cemetery earlier, so she will arrive at the National Assembly soon.

Until then, congratulatory performances by singers for the public invitation seats were continuing, creating a somewhat noisy atmosphere.

“What about the Elder?”

“I don’t know. I came out first to come with you, Attorney.”

Kang Min-jae turned on DMB [Digital Multimedia Broadcasting, a South Korean digital radio service] and checked the screen.

As the former presidents and their spouses slowly entered the National Assembly, Kang Kwan-woong appeared in the distance.

“He’s here. Grandpa looks good on camera, hehe.”

I was quite surprised when I first received the envelope with the Blue House [the South Korean presidential residence] insignia, as I didn’t expect invitations to be sent to Kang Min-jae and me.

She has a truly mysterious charm, showing persistent obsession with me, who didn’t want to be a spokesperson, didn’t want to join the party, and even failed to join the election camp.

It’s burdensome, but on the other hand, it doesn’t make me feel disgust beyond the burden, even if she continues to be so burdensome.

Of course, it’s not just her own charm, but also because she’s in that position that it’s packaged as charm.

In fact, I wasn’t planning on coming to the inauguration ceremony.

Of course, I haven’t forgotten the many debts I owe her, which I haven’t paid back yet.

But now Lee Se-hwa is not the party leader, but the president.

It’s right to avoid private contact, and it’s right to stop the favors I’ve been doing privately.

Considering what my ex-wife, whom I met before, said about her marking me as a think tank, it seems that the relationship between me and her has already become somewhat widely known.

In such a situation, if I continue to show my presence around her, I don’t know what kind of uncomfortable things will happen in the future.

Especially since the fact that my father passed away due to the side effects of Antrozole while undergoing the Wooshin special investigation in my previous life became an obstacle.

Now, it’s right to end the minor relationships and draw a picture of mutually beneficial cooperation through investigations related to Wooshin during her term.

It’s also right to finish paying off the debts I haven’t paid off yet by catching Wooshin and highlighting her achievements.

That’s what I was thinking.

The reason I came here anyway was because of Park Young-ki’s words.

-I don’t want to say that the idea of cutting off private contact because you’ve become president is wrong. But is it necessary to see this politically? The inauguration day is just an important new beginning in a person’s life. It’s like a wedding. No one can criticize you for showing your face and congratulating them at such a time. Representative Lee probably sent you an invitation because she wanted to be congratulated by Attorney Cha. Not to show off to people that you are her person by inviting you.

Of course, she was someone who gave me a burdensome impression, but she was someone I would turn to when I needed something.

In the end, I came here to attend the inauguration ceremony, thinking that simply eliminating contact was not the only solution.

“The folding chair is a bit uncomfortable.”

Kang Min-jae said, sitting in the chair.

I felt a great burden sitting in a seat that was even for honored guests, but when I came, there were more people than I thought, so I didn’t stand out.

“I saw on the news on the way here that a lot of residents gathered when the Representative, no, the President, came out of her private residence. The President even remembered everyone who came out.”

She frequented the neighborhood so diligently that there was no one among the residents near her private residence who had never seen her in person.

She could be easily encountered at the mart or in the neighborhood park, and judging from the press releases that often came out saying that it was good to see her with her husband and that they were like a pair of mandarin ducks [a symbol of marital harmony in Korea], she certainly took care of her image properly.

Even in the broadcasted screen on the news, the sight of her remembering all the residents who came to the farewell event and calling them out one by one was impressive.

“It feels strange because someone we knew is becoming president.”

“Kang Attorney, your grandfather was the president.”

“Ah, I don’t even remember that. I was young, and I didn’t even live in the Blue House. My mom and dad lived quietly.”

-President Lee Se-hwa has now arrived.

At that time, the broadcast came out.

Applause followed, and soon Lee Se-hwa appeared.

In contrast to earlier, the atmosphere turned solemn as the main ceremony began.

“I solemnly swear before the people that I will abide by the Constitution, defend the State, endeavor to promote the peaceful reunification of the Fatherland, the freedom and welfare of the people, and the development of national culture, and faithfully perform the duties of the President.”

Watching her safely take the seat of the President, I felt it once again.

In my previous life, I couldn’t start the Wooshin special investigation until Lee Se-hwa was elected after Lee Jung-chan was president.

This time, that opportunity came five years earlier.

It’s the same as if I brought those five years forward.

Therefore, I must use that time meticulously.

Perhaps Kim Hwa-young’s case could be the beginning.

* * *

“Oh, I had a call from Chan-young.”

It was around the time I got in the car to go home after the inauguration ceremony.

Both Kang Min-jae and I had our cell phones turned off, and as soon as we turned them on, they were filled with missed calls.

“I have a lot of missed calls too.”

“Call her. I don’t know if something’s wrong.”

Kang Min-jae said with worried eyes.

“First, then, should we go to Chan-young’s house just in case? If she says everything’s okay, we can go back to Seocho-dong.”

I switched to speakerphone and made a call.

I was about to put on my seatbelt while the call was ringing, but Kim Chan-young answered the phone without giving me a chance to do so.

-Attorney.

“Ah, Chan-young. There was something going on, so both Kang Attorney and I turned off our phones. What’s wrong?”

Kim Chan-young was scheduled to receive a briefing on the fake culprit tomorrow.

Also, the inauguration ceremony was held in a solemn atmosphere that required turning off cell phones for only an hour or two, so I thought there wouldn’t be any major problems.

-I got a call from the Umi Gallery employee.