You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 351

“I set the meeting place as the Han River. He wanted to meet there first. When I called him to Chan-young’s house, I wasn’t caught, and judging by the gallery staff not saying anything else, it seems the burner phone wasn’t detected either. He seems to be hiding pretty well, so I said okay.”

Kang Min-jae said as he drove towards the Han River.

Unlike me, who came out late, he seemed to have been busy since morning.

From what I heard, he had roughly briefed Oh’s assistant manager about the case in the morning, and Oh’s assistant manager seemed to have grasped what tasks needed to be done accordingly.

“You’re coming because you think you’re meeting Kim Hwa-young, right?”

“Yes. He doesn’t know she’s hospitalized.”

“His information network isn’t that outstanding. Well, he’s a fugitive now, so there’s no way he can get private information.”

I leaned back deeply in the passenger seat and muttered.

Since it was better to meet secretly, the appointed time was after sunset.

Along the Han River visible from the road, there were many groups of young people in their 20s setting off fireworks.

But if you go a little further in, there’s a secluded space.

It’s not for nothing that characters in movies meet by the Han River.

It’s not only sparsely populated, but there’s also no lighting, so even people passing by on the road right in front may not know there’s someone there.

“His name was Byun Seung-min, right?”

“Yes. But how are you going to get him to hand over the evidence without 400 million won [approximately $300,000 USD]? Are you not going to tell me either?”

“It’s not a grand plan.”

“Yes?”

“I’m going to blackmail him.”

In the United States, lawyers are often compared to swindlers or gangsters.

Of course, I’m not American, but I think it’s somewhat true in Korea as well.

Just looking at my ex-wife from yesterday, you can see how much the profession of lawyer has deteriorated from its original meaning.

Lawyers called swindlers or gangsters are largely divided into two types.

Those who defraud people who are intimidated by the absolute power of the law, or those who try to make money by stimulating fear.

Or, like Tae-kwang, those who use connections built up over a long time to turn the law, which seemed absolute, into a currency that can be commercially traded in an instant.

I don’t want to be either of those, but when dealing with a gangster, shouldn’t you be something similar to a gangster?

“The other side is coming out dirty, but even if I use clean methods alone, no one recognizes it…”

I lit a cigarette and replied.

“I support your actions, Attorney. If the other side gets dirty, we need to upgrade our weapons too.”

Kang Min-jae shook his fist and said.

In the early days of opening my practice, I think I tried.

To be clean myself.

To not be dirty when others are dirty.

But as the people I deal with use increasingly dirty tactics, I feel the limitations of my idealistic method of trying to remain untainted.

I try to realize my ideals, but I don’t want to be trapped in the desire to realize my ideals and give up on my goals altogether.

I need some degree of expediency.

The illegal search and seizure of the meter reader the other day was also part of that.

There will be more such incidents in the future.

I can’t feel guilty every time.

The media doesn’t follow the press guidelines when dealing with me, and the other party, who should be dealt with legally, plays above the law and manipulates the case, so I think it’s a loss to try to be clean alone.

Well, that doesn’t mean I’m going to confine the gallery staff like the meter reader.

“What about Tae-shik?”

“He’s already arrived. I can see him over there. The van.”

“I told you not to act like you know him, in case they’re watching, right?”

“Yes.”

Calling Tae-shik doesn’t mean I’m going to confine him either.

Really.

“Here it is.”

The place where Kang Min-jae parked the car was inside a dark tunnel by the Han River.

It looks like a passage to somewhere, but judging by the dark end, it doesn’t seem to be in use now.

When I turned on the headlights towards the inside, it was clearly revealed.

Kang Min-jae got out of the car and started looking around inside.

Then, he suddenly shone his cell phone light and shouted.

“Huh? Who are you!”

In a place where building materials were piled up, or rather, behind a motorcycle parked in front of it, a person’s figure could be seen.

He was wearing a helmet, so it wasn’t certain, but judging by his build and height, it seemed to be the gallery staff, Byun Seung-min.

“Ah, I’ve been caught.”

And indeed, Byun Seung-min dusted off his leather jacket and appeared in front of the headlights.

“Who are you? Who are you to be here?”

“Are you Byun Seung-min?”

“…I asked who you were.”

“Kim Hwa-young sent me.”

“Are you sure?”

Byun Seung-min raised his helmet visor and looked up at Kang Min-jae crookedly.

Then, Kang Min-jae took out the attorney appointment letter he had prepared in advance and showed it to him.

“…Cha Joo-han? I’ve heard that name a lot somewhere.”

Listening to the story, I got out of the car and approached them.

I thought Byun Seung-min, who was on the run, might be suspicious, so I took out my lawyer’s license and showed it to him.

“I’m Cha Joo-han. I’m currently in charge of Kim Hwa-young’s defense. This is Attorney Kang Min-jae. Attorney Kang Min-jae and I are Kim Hwa-young’s new attorneys.”

“…Originally, it was Tae-kwang, right?”

“He was fired as of yesterday. Because of Byun Seung-min.”

At my words, Byun Seung-min chuckled.

He, who was a staff member of Umi Gallery, would have known better that Tae-kwang moved according to Ko Sang-jun’s words.

That’s why he contacted Kim Hwa-young directly instead of Tae-kwang.

If Tae-kwang was fired after the call with Kim Hwa-young that day, it could only be said that it went according to Byun Seung-min’s intentions.

Byun Seung-min, as someone who directly witnessed who the real culprit was, knew that Kim Hwa-young wouldn’t need him as long as Tae-kwang was defending her.

So, he must have revealed who the real culprit was first, so that Kim Hwa-young would no longer trust Tae-kwang and Ko Sang-jun.

He used his head quite meticulously.

“You’re really handsome. You don’t look good on screen at all.”

Byun Seung-min walked around me, scanning me up and down.

“I saw you on the internet. They say you’re an attorney who only digs into Wooshin. You’re famous as an attorney who got covered in Wooshin’s crap.”

“Then the conversation will be quick. Tae-kwang wanted to hide the real culprit, but I’m someone who wants to reveal the real culprit and prove Kim Hwa-young’s innocence. Also, I’m not someone who can kidnap or kill Byun Seung-min like Wooshin. Am I a sufficient negotiating partner?”

“That’s right. I was hiding for nothing.”

“Why were you hiding?”

Kang Min-jae asked, standing crookedly.

“Since the Madam had that incident, I thought her son might try to do something to me. So I was watching just in case.”

Saying that, Byun Seung-min winked mischievously.

Kang Min-jae’s expression hardened in an instant, but Byun Seung-min shrugged as if it were nothing.

“Let’s talk in the car for now.”

“You’re not going to kidnap me, are you?”

From someone asking if they’re not going to be kidnapped, I couldn’t feel any fear of being kidnapped.

It’s because he knows how big of a card he has, the photos containing the murder scene of Ko Yoon-ho and Ko Yoon-seok.

He’s holding the decisive card that can prove Kim Hwa-young’s innocence, and he has the confidence that you guys, who are a small law firm and not Tae-kwang, can’t do anything to me.

He got in the back seat, and I took a seat next to him.

“Oh, wait a minute. I’d like you to sit in the passenger seat.”

As Kang Min-jae was about to get in the driver’s seat, Byun Seung-min waved his hand and said.

Kang Min-jae sighed and looked at me.

It was a look as if asking if it was right to listen to those words, so I nodded.

I don’t like his attitude, but anyway, it’s a negotiating table, so there’s no need to add any elements of anxiety.

“Okay, I’m sitting in the passenger seat. Is that okay?”

“Yes. Well, then, the important thing now is money. As you heard from the Madam, I’m giving Wooshin the middle finger, so if these photos are released, Wooshin will try to kill me. Running away is only temporary, and I can’t keep living like this. It’s more comfortable to run away overseas.”

“I know. You’re saying you want to exchange 400 million won for the photos, right?”

“Yes. That’s right. Wow, this attorney is as cool as he looks.”

Byun Seung-min gave Kang Min-jae a thumbs up and said.

“Did you hear how far the conversation with the son went? It was roughly okay to give 400 million won. But because we don’t trust each other, the conversation kept getting longer because of the problem of whether to give the money first or the photos first. As you know, the more time we waste, the worse it is. You’re in a hurry too, aren’t you, Attorney? As you said, you want to reveal that Ko Yoon-ho and Ko Yoon-seok are the real culprits, right?”

Byun Seung-min seemed very satisfied that I was Kim Hwa-young’s new legal representative.

He seemed to think that I was someone who was selling Wooshin, so he was even more desperate for the evidence and would move as he wanted.

“I have one question.”

“What is it?”

“If you have such photos, why didn’t you take them to Wooshin? 400 million won is nothing to Wooshin. Since you’re a staff member of Umi Gallery anyway, it wouldn’t be difficult to meet Ko Sang-jun through that side, and if you hand over the photos and write a blood letter saying you’ll live like you’re dead, you can get 400 million won and live in Canada as you want. Why did you propose such a negotiation to Kim Hwa-young, who may or may not have 400 million won?”

“Do you ask because you don’t know? No matter how much Ko Sang-jun is, isn’t 400 million won money? If Ko Sang-jun thinks it’s better to just kill me and destroy the evidence than to give me 400 million won. Then what can I do besides being killed without being able to do anything?”

Byun Seung-min raised his voice, getting heated as if asking something obvious.

“Am I supposed to negotiate with someone who can’t even think of this? Ha, it’s really frustrating.”

Saying that, he even hit his chest hard.

I nodded slowly.

It wasn’t that I asked because I didn’t know.

What other reason could there be?

In reality, no matter how much Byun Seung-min goes overseas and says he’ll live with his mouth shut, groveling, Ko Sang-jun is someone who will choose to kill Byun Seung-min, saying he can’t trust him.

“I also think it’s dangerous to give Byun Seung-min the money before receiving the photos first.”

“…Ha, even after doing this much? What reason do I have to take the money and run away?”

“Even if you go to Canada, you’ll still be worried that Ko Sang-jun will find Byun Seung-min. Then the best thing is not to hand over the evidence in the first place. And if you can get money on top of that, there’s nothing better than that.”

“So you’re saying I’ll take the money and not give you the photos?”

“You can just run away, right? We’re not a big law firm like Tae-kwang anyway, and Kim Hwa-young is also an individual. You’re running away from Wooshin’s eyes well now, so we’re easy to deal with, right now.”

Byun Seung-min frowned.

“Then what are you going to do? I can’t give you the photos until I get the money. Unless I get some of the money as a deposit.”

“Attorney Kang, move to the driver’s seat.”

It wasn’t a pre-arranged word, but Kang Min-jae understood my words and immediately moved from the passenger seat to the driver’s seat.

“What are you doing now?”

“Let’s go to Ko Sang-jun as we are. Since I know that Ko Yoon-ho and Ko Yoon-seok are the real culprits anyway, I’ll investigate with those keywords and reveal the real culprit. Since you said you can’t give me the photos first, I’ll hand Byun Seung-min over to Ko Sang-jun and tell him not to make Kim Hwa-young too tired. I heard that Ko Sang-jun was very angry because I took the case, but he’ll be happy if I hand over Byun Seung-min.”

“Wh-what?”

“Ko Sang-jun was desperately looking for Byun Seung-min too. That’s good. Attorney Kang, what are you doing? Let’s go.”