You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 353

I had returned home and was in my study, reviewing the documents needed for the trial.

I hadn’t requested a postponement of the trial, eager to free Kim Hwa-young as quickly as possible, but that meant a mountain of documents to review.

Fortunately, Secretary Oh had moved quickly and prepared most of the documents, except for those that took time to prepare, so it seemed I wouldn’t be too delayed in understanding everything.

It was when I felt a tingling in my fingertips, despite wearing a thimble.

Zhee-ing-

A call came in from Tae-shik, accompanied by a vibration.

I wondered if they had already arrived, so I looked at the clock and realized that three hours had passed since they had left.

So, I had been poring over documents for two and a half hours…

No wonder my eyes hurt.

“Did you arrive safely?”

-Yes. Right now, Byun Seung-min said he wanted jajangmyeon [Korean-Chinese noodle dish with black bean sauce] and sweet and sour pork, so I ordered it for him and came out. He’s eating like a pig.

“You were careful not to be followed on the way, right?”

-Of course. Do you think this is my first time doing this?

Tae-shik’s voice was full of confidence.

Why wouldn’t it be?

Until now, we had evaded countless tailing attempts, becoming experts in that area.

In particular, the period when that ability was most maximized was when I was falsely accused before, when I hid the meter reader in Ohsung Landscaping.

Coincidentally, this has become a similar situation again.

“Hang in there.”

-Yes. Oh, and about that bastard’s phone. Are you sure we don’t need to take it away? What if he tries something?

Tae-shik said in a dubious voice.

When we confined the meter reader, it was a literal confinement, so we had to restrict all of his actions.

But Byun Seung-min is a slightly different case.

It’s not a pleasant ride, but we’re in the same boat, after all.

Byun Seung-min also judged that it was better to hand over the photos to us and receive money than to be handed over to Wooshin, so he followed us without any resistance.

So, there’s no reason for him to do anything rash.

The fear he had of Wooshin was real.

He’s seen things while working at Woomi Gallery, so he won’t do anything foolish.

Even if he has his phone, all he can do is ask the people around him to help him get out of here, but where would he go if he got out like that?

He’s still in a situation where he’s running away from Wooshin, and he won’t try to go outside where there’s no reward.

The reason he didn’t try to hand over the photos wasn’t because he didn’t want to, but because he just wanted to secure a means to protect himself.

Rather, Byun Seung-min himself would want to hand over the photos more than anyone else.

“It’s okay.”

-Oh, by the way, Byun Seung-min was on the phone with someone for a while on the way here.

“A phone call?”

-He was getting really angry. What did he say? Something about what does it matter if the trial isn’t over yet?

“Who was he talking to?”

-I don’t know. He was using polite language.

“Do you have a black box? In the car.”

-Yes.

“Get the recording of that phone call and send it to me.”

-Okay.

Not long after I hung up, an email arrived from Tae-shik.

It was a short audio clip.

I pressed the play button.

[Yes. Yes? I’m having trouble talking right now. Yes. No, what are you arguing about again? I don’t understand now, no, I don’t understand? It’s already happened, so what does the trial result matter? It has nothing to do with me. The person who’s helping, no, anyway, they didn’t say that. I’m sorry, but I’m having a hard time talking right now. I’ll call you back when I can.]

Byun Seung-min’s nervous voice ended, and the playback also ended.

At first glance, it sounds like he’s dissatisfied with the delayed handling of a task he entrusted to someone.

I pressed the repeat playback button.

I intended to check if there was anything I missed while listening to it several times.

[What are you arguing about again? I don’t understand now, no, I don’t understand? It’s already happened, so what does the trial result matter?]

According to the investigation into Byun Seung-min, he is not currently directly involved in any trial.

The only trial he’s related to is his girlfriend, the housekeeper’s trial.

So, does “already happened” refer to the housekeeper’s death?

[It has nothing to do with me.]

The statement that it has nothing to do with him when his girlfriend died is not a common expression.

However, the reason Byun Seung-min said that is because the other party said they would proceed with the matter after seeing the trial results.

The conclusion drawn from Kim Hwa-young’s trial now is whether or not Kim Hwa-young is the culprit.

In other words, whether Kim Hwa-young is the culprit or not, the housekeeper is already dead, and he is saying that he has nothing to do with this.

[The person who’s helping, no, anyway, they didn’t say that.]

Son?

Is he talking about someone with the surname Son?

Judging from the fact that he’s saying “the person who’s helping,” it seems like he’s referring to a specific person.

For now, it seems best to skip over this point since Byun Seung-min seems to have deliberately changed his words to prevent information from leaking to our side.

In conclusion, the information we have so far is that Byun Seung-min is telling the other party, who is considering whether to proceed with the matter depending on the outcome of Kim Hwa-young’s trial, that he cannot understand because he has nothing to do with this case.

Byun Seung-min wants things to proceed quickly, whatever it is.

That’s why he’s getting annoyed with the other party for saying they’ll wait until the trial results come out.

What does Byun Seung-min want most?

To leave Korea, which is under Wooshin’s influence, as soon as possible.

And the reason he can’t do that now is because of money.

Money……

“Insurance?”

If we think of it as insurance and match the pieces, it makes sense.

It’s just a guess, but let’s try to match the words.

Byun Seung-min took out a life insurance policy in the housekeeper’s name, and the insurance company postponed the execution of the life insurance money until after the trial because it was not clear who killed the housekeeper.

However, Byun Seung-min believes that he is not a suspect, and since someone else killed her anyway, the insurance money should be paid to him quickly regardless of the outcome of the trial.

Because of this, he is in conflict with the insurance company, and if so, the word starting with ‘Son’ that he was about to say is……

“Insurance adjuster.”

It feels like the puzzle is coming together.

Even why Byun Seung-min handed over the photo of Kim Hwa-young strangling the housekeeper to the police, everything is understood.

Byun Seung-min was the person with the strongest motive for this murder case not to be buried as it is.

Since he took out insurance on the housekeeper, this murder case must be reported to the police in order to receive the death benefit.

Whether Kim Hwa-young is misunderstood and falsely accused of being the murderer who killed the housekeeper or not, it doesn’t matter to Byun Seung-min.

Because he needs to reveal the news of the housekeeper’s death as soon as possible and demand the execution of the insurance money from the insurance company.

The fact that Byun Seung-min, who had been hiding well, suddenly contacted Kim Hwa-young is also naturally explained.

At that time, or rather, even before that, the fact that Kim Hwa-young was indicted for murder was reported in the news, and the atmosphere was that people were driving Kim Hwa-young as the real culprit.

However, public opinion was overturned by Taekwang’s machinations.

Kim Hwa-young’s indictment was too hasty, and public opinion was in favor of Kim Hwa-young being acquitted.

Byun Seung-min wouldn’t have known that he was preparing a fake real culprit, so he must have thought that even if the trial ended, the culprit would not be caught.

Since the insured was set as Byun Seung-min in a simple lover relationship, not a married couple, the insurance company could not rule out the possibility that Byun Seung-min killed her, and they would have tried to postpone the payment of the insurance money until the culprit was caught for sure.

Knowing this, Byun Seung-min told Kim Hwa-young who the real culprit was, and if Kim Hwa-young was about to be released, he threw a somewhat dangerous move, hoping that even Go Yoon-ho and Go Yoon-seok would become the culprits and the case would be closed.

A move that provides clues to prove that Go Yoon-ho and Go Yoon-seok are the culprits.

Thinking about the time when the insurance money might be delayed, with the option of overseas relocation costs attached.

“This is a son of a bitch you can’t even associate with?”

The fact that he didn’t step in when Go Yoon-ho and Go Yoon-seok were assaulting the housekeeper, even though she was his girlfriend, is also naturally understood.

Of course, it’s not homicide by assault, but manslaughter, but he must have thought it would be beneficial if she died like that.

No, maybe from the moment he took out insurance on the housekeeper, Byun Seung-min was trying to kill her.

But fortunately, Go Yoon-ho and Go Yoon-seok caused an accident, so he didn’t have to get blood on his hands.

Anyway, a truth test came up on Byun Seung-min’s statement that Go Yoon-ho and Go Yoon-seok killed the housekeeper.

It’s just speculation……

Personally, I hope it’s not.

“……Anyway, it seems like he took out insurance.”

I know it’s difficult to take out life insurance with someone who is not a direct family member as the insured.

I don’t know how he did it, but I don’t think he could have done it secretly.

If the bereaved family knew that life insurance had been taken out for someone claiming to be her boyfriend, and that the boyfriend was now out of contact, they would have definitely made an issue of it somehow.

However, the bereaved family has nothing to say other than ‘Our daughter, who we thought was missing, was found at Kim Hwa-young’s villa, please clear her injustice.’

It’s also questionable how he got the insurance.

I can’t be sure unless I use my ability to check whether Byun Seung-min really had no malice, but if Go Yoon-ho and Go Yoon-seok become the culprits as they are, Byun Seung-min will receive a huge amount of insurance money.

This is a problem in itself.

‘First of all, I have to get him to testify at the trial.’

I want to inform the bereaved family of this fact and ask them to check the situation when they took out the insurance, but right now the bereaved family firmly believes that Kim Hwa-young is the culprit, and I am their lawyer, so I don’t think I can step in right now.

I think it would be better to contact them after it is confirmed that Go Yoon-ho and Go Yoon-seok are the culprits.

‘Where did he get the insurance?’

I want to check if possible.

It’s definitely not Wooshin Life.

Perhaps Byun Seung-min chose the place where he could receive the most insurance money within the limit of the monthly payment he could afford.

I should look for an insurance company with good value for money.

“Haa.”

After organizing all the domestic life insurance companies based on the disclosed insurance money, another two hours had passed.

I leaned back in my chair and sighed deeply.

The number one life insurance company with good value for money, which I picked after a long labor, was none other than Hanyoung Life.