You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 345

“So, Go Yoon-seok and Go Yoon-ho did it…”

Back in his room, Kim Chan-young slumped onto the bed, looking drained.

Kang Min-jae, having confirmed that the gallery employee had left, returned to the room as well, his face still etched with shock.

“I naturally assumed it would be Go Sang-jun or Yoon Seong-hee, given their family history. But why suddenly Go Yoon-seok and Go Yoon-ho…?”

Kim Chan-young looked bewildered, his gaze sweeping across the floor as he touched his forehead.

I know nothing about those brothers.

During the special investigation, my opponents were Go Sang-jun, his aides, and even Go Yoon-soo.

“What did the photo look like?”

“Just like the gallery employee said, the caretaker was collapsed with blood all over the floor. Go Yoon-ho and Go Yoon-seok were flustered beside him. It’s enough to be used as evidence. But according to the gallery employee, it doesn’t seem like they killed the caretaker intentionally, right?”

“It looks like it’ll be classified as manslaughter.”

“Why did they even go there and do that to the caretaker? Why did they hit him? I don’t understand. That place is only used by Mom and Go Sang-jun, and Go Sang-jun is very particular about its security…”

“…Maybe they were looking for something in that house, or they had some other purpose.”

Kang Min-jae cautiously offered.

“That’s true. Was there some document there? But if they just needed to find it, why attack the caretaker?”

“Well, the caretaker was in the pool, right? Maybe they got angry that he was acting like it was his own home in their father’s house?”

“You think they’d slap, push, and yell over something like that? Those guys would rather exploit the caretaker’s actions as a weakness.”

Kim Chan-young stated with conviction.

“Do you know them well? What else do you know?”

“No, just… Oh, Go Sang-jun said they’re very good to Yoon Seong-hee? But all the people in that family are like that, finding weaknesses and acting sneaky. Go Yoon-seong, who just charges headfirst, is the odd one out. And I wouldn’t do that there either. Anyone with a brain would use the caretaker. From their perspective, it’s the place where their father has affairs. They’d use the caretaker to get information and manipulate him.”

“Yeah, that’s something brainless Go Yoon-seong would do.”

Kim Chan-young is right.

Go Yoon-seong was the odd one out in that family.

According to the information Chief Reporter Choi Jong-hyun mentioned in my previous life, all the children except Go Yoon-seong had been competing to please Go Sang-jun.

Go Yoon-seong was the only exception.

Even if Go Sang-jun was openly having affairs, the children wouldn’t dare say a word.

What else could it mean to go to a place where Go Sang-jun’s private life is on display and act recklessly, other than wanting to be hated by Go Sang-jun?

“Do you think Go Sang-jun knew it was those bastards who did it?”

Kim Chan-young asked, looking at me.

Suddenly, all eyes were on me, who had been silent until now.

Go Sang-jun knew.

It was likely the result of checking the CCTV, but I can’t know for sure.

What should I say here?

If I say Go Sang-jun knew, Kim Chan-young might be consumed by revenge and refuse Taekwang’s defense.

But if I say Go Sang-jun probably didn’t know, would he accept Taekwang’s defense that Go Sang-jun arranged?

…I don’t know either.

“Does it matter?”

“Why wouldn’t it matter?”

“Go Sang-jun is a son of a bitch in your eyes anyway. If Go Sang-jun knew those two did it and acted so hypocritically in front of your mother, then a son of a bitch did a son of a bitch thing. If he really didn’t know, then the son of a bitch didn’t do a son of a bitch thing this time. It’s nothing more, nothing less.”

“…That’s true.”

“What do you want most?”

“I want to save my mom and screw that family over at the same time.”

That’s been Kim Chan-young’s stance from the start.

It’s not impossible.

And it’s not necessarily something that can only be done if I take on Kim Hwa-young’s defense.

We should prioritize finding a way to have both, rather than giving up one to get the other.

“There are two options right now. One is to continue receiving Taekwang’s defense. That way, you can maintain your relationship with Go Sang-jun. You said you want to take everything from Go Sang-jun. Doesn’t that mean you need to maintain your status as Go Sang-jun’s beloved son?”

“That’s right.”

“If we get a fake perpetrator to confess, then while the investigation into the fake perpetrator is ongoing, I can approach the gallery employee, get that photo, and release it to the world. Then Go Sang-jun won’t suspect you or your mother, and I’ll fight instead. After all, I’m Go Sang-jun’s mortal enemy.”

“Then what’s the other option?”

“Isn’t the other option to get that evidence and hand it over to the prosecution? Well, that can be done anonymously. Like how the gallery employee initially reported the photo to make them search the villa. What else is there? Then the prosecutor will immediately drop the charges against your mother.”

Kang Min-jae interjected.

But I shook my head.

“It’s dangerous to hand that photo over to the prosecution as is.”

“Why?”

“There needs to be a subject to reveal it. Hand it over to a trustworthy reporter, or we reveal it ourselves.”

This case is under the jurisdiction of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office, Criminal Division 3.

And Hwang Young-chan is still the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office, Criminal Division 3.

He’s the one who directly stole evidence to save Go Yoon-seong and disguised an assault on a witness to prevent them from testifying.

Moreover, it’s even easier to conceal if it’s an anonymous tip.

If we just anonymously throw a photo, they can just say that the investigation revealed that the photo wasn’t taken on the day of the incident.

The photo is presumed to have been taken right after the caretaker hit his head on the landscaping stone.

So his complexion wouldn’t have been as pale as a corpse yet.

They can just say he had been injured before and there’s a record of him visiting the hospital and getting stitches, so it was determined that the photo wasn’t from the day of the incident.

And Wooshin Hospital is waiting to fabricate the records.

Besides, Wooshin is controlling the crime scene.

If the employees, the prosecution, and Wooshin Hospital all agree, it’ll be easy to make that photo from some time in the past.

We can’t put Go Sang-jun’s two sons in jail with an anonymous tip.

Eventually, we’ll have to reveal our identity.

“But will that gallery employee do that? They’re probably just scared of Wooshin and want to give up the photo and testimony and run away.”

“We’ll have to think about the method. The other option I mentioned is this: I enter the second trial. So I apply for the gallery employee to be a witness and have them testify and submit evidence. But I don’t really recommend this method because it seems like Kim Hwa-young and Go Sang-jun’s relationship will be at its worst.”

“That’s true. But the moment Mom finds out that Go Yoon-ho and Go Yoon-seok killed him, Mom will… probably not want to see Go Sang-jun. So the moment we screw that family over, Mom and Go Sang-jun are over. Whether it’s plan A or plan B, Mom and Go Sang-jun are ending up the same way.”

“It’s still different. If I enter the court as Kim Hwa-young’s lawyer, Go Sang-jun will try to corner Kim Hwa-young. In plan A, the only enemy is the prosecution. But the moment we choose plan B, the prosecution and Go Sang-jun become enemies.”

“That’s true. Go Sang-jun has to protect his sons and punish the mom who betrayed him.”

With that, the conclusion was reached.

The primary goal now is not to punish Go Yoon-ho and Go Yoon-seok.

The most important thing is for Kim Hwa-young to safely clear her name.

There’s no need to put obstacles in the way.

Punishment is the next thing.

“First, let’s get Mom acquitted with Taekwang’s help, and then have the lawyers use that evidence to take down Go Yoon-ho and Go Yoon-seok. That seems right. Even if Mom and Go Sang-jun break up, at least it’s better if it’s Mom’s decision. If Go Sang-jun abandons Mom, her life will be difficult.”

* * *

First, Kim Chan-young decided not to tell Kim Hwa-young that Go Yoon-ho and Go Yoon-seok were the culprits.

He thought the safest way was for Kim Hwa-young to safely escape through the fake perpetrator, and then we would use various media outlets to reveal that Go Yoon-ho and Go Yoon-seok did it.

Of course, the shock Kim Hwa-young would receive would be indescribable, but there’s no reason for Kim Hwa-young, who is relatively weak, to wage a full-scale war with Go Sang-jun.

Kim Chan-young told Kim Hwa-young that the gallery employee seemed to be lying to extort money.

And fortunately, Kim Hwa-young believed Kim Chan-young.

“You said you’re going to Taekwang today for a briefing, Chan-young?”

Kang Min-jae asked, opening my door.

“I told you to knock.”

“Between us?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“We even postponed the briefing date because of the gallery employee, but now that we’re getting the briefing today, the fake perpetrator will confess soon. Then Kim Hwa-young will be relatively free.”

“I guess so.”

“I’m glad, though. I was worried because Kim Hwa-young’s condition was so bad. I think it would be better for Kim Hwa-young to be abroad when we expose Go Yoon-seok and Go Yoon-ho.”

“I think so too.”

“But, Attorney.”

“What.”

“You’ve always been terse, but today I can sense a slightly troubled feeling in your terseness? Is it just me?”

Kang Min-jae asked, leaning against the door with his arms crossed.

As he said, I do have concerns.

I kept thinking about why Go Yoon-ho and Go Yoon-seok broke into the villa.

It’s not premeditated murder, and it’s not accidental murder, so there would be no motive.

There was a loud noise and they assaulted the caretaker, so the assault might have been accidental.

“The gallery employee ran away, so they wouldn’t have seen what the two did with the caretaker’s body.”

“Probably.”

“Anyway, Go Sang-jun always gave the employees a vacation whenever he wasn’t there, so it wouldn’t have been difficult to erase the traces of the murder.”

“Yes.”

“Then what did they do with the body?”

“They must have taken it out somehow, whether they put it in a car or something? So when Go Sang-jun went missing and they searched the house, the body wasn’t there.”

“Then when the gallery employee reported to the police that Kim Hwa-young and the caretaker had a bad relationship, and a search warrant was issued, they immediately put it back?”

“…Doesn’t that make sense? The two of them killed him, so they must have moved the body too.”

“Then why did they put the body back? If they had just thrown the body into the sea, it would have ended as an accidental fall.”

“…Could it be.”

“Could it be that they were trying to frame Kim Hwa-young?”

Just then, my phone started ringing.

The caller was Kim Chan-young.

“Hello?”

-Attorney, it’s me.

“Did you get the briefing okay?”

-…Ha, this might be sudden, but Attorney.

Kim Chan-young’s voice sounded quite exhausted.

“Speak.”