You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 382

“Please reschedule.”

“Then, how about tomorrow? I promise to bring my brother tomorrow so you won’t have to make a wasted trip.”

“Alright.”

“What time would you like to set it for?”

“Around 1 PM.”

*They won’t be bringing my brother at 1 PM tomorrow.*

*Because they’ll be arrested today.*

Kang Min-jae packed the money bag and stood up, and the tattooed man came to the club door to see off the big client—me.

“Drive safely! See you tomorrow!”

We exchanged eye contact with them as they bowed deeply, and we walked to the nearby parking lot without saying a word until they were far away.

“I’ve been to a lot of clubs, but I’ve never been around *those* kinds of people, so I was a little nervous.”

Kang Min-jae said, patting his chest as soon as he got in the car.

“You wanted to go to the criminal division when you were a prosecutor, but how can you be scared of those guys?”

“I know, right? Aren’t you scared, Attorney Cha?”

“I’m not scared. I’m tired of seeing them.”

I had become skilled at dealing with those kinds of guys since my days as a prosecutor.

Tae-shik was one of those guys.

Of course, Tae-shik is a well-reformed case, but when he was first caught, he was even more ferocious than these guys.

“If I had experienced that back then, I wouldn’t be scared today, right?”

“I guess so. Didn’t Attorney Kang fear Tae-shik at first too?”

“I did. But Tae-shik looks scary to anyone. He’s tall, has a big build, and has a fierce face.”

“But you’re not scared of him now. He’s the same person; they’re all the same, essentially.”

“Those guys tear people apart with knives.”

“Is he a bear? Tearing people apart?”

“Come to think of it, there was a fight when you were falsely accused, Attorney Cha. When you grabbed the knife with your bare hands, I wasn’t that nervous. I guess I’m strong in real situations, haha.”

“I guess so.”

I chuckled and called Heo Min-woo.

-Yes, Attorney Cha. Should we enter the club now?

“No. The plan has changed. Kkangchi is meeting someone at a restaurant called Wolhwajeong [a traditional Korean restaurant]. It’s not far from here. Considering they said it would take about 2 hours, it seems like the conversation at Wolhwajeong hasn’t started long ago.”

-Wolhwajeong. Just a moment, I’ll search it up. Hmm… Is it the Korean traditional cuisine restaurant near Gyodae [Seoul National University of Education]?”

“Yes. It’s a restaurant with separate entrances and exits. If you deploy people to block the entrances and exits, you’ll be able to catch him.”

-Should we raid Wolhwajeong as soon as we arrive?

*When Kang Min-jae and I arrive at Wolhwajeong, the employee will surely say they can’t guide us there.*

*Saying they haven’t heard anything separately.*

*Hwang Young-chan wouldn’t meet Kkangchi without taking that much into consideration.*

*So, we can say we have company inside and go in, then enter the room where Hwang Young-chan is.*

*I know very well which room Hwang Young-chan always uses.*

“No. It would be better to surround Wolhwajeong, guard the entrances, and catch Kkangchi when he comes out.”

Like smoking them out of a cave.

If the police rush in first, it will only cause a commotion and give Kkangchi a chance to escape.

It’s most efficient to enter the room with Kang Min-jae first, confirm that Kkangchi and Hwang Young-chan are together, and then catch Kkangchi when he tries to leave Wolhwajeong.

-Understood. We’ll deploy personnel there.

“How many people are there?”

-Six. If it’s not enough, I’ll request support from the nearby police station.

“It would be better to request support to catch him for sure.”

In my memory, Wolhwajeong is a restaurant consisting only of private rooms.

Each room has windows, but they are sliding windows that can’t be opened wide enough for a person to get through.

There’s no way to escape through the windows in the room.

So, there’s a high probability that he’ll try to escape through the entrance.

If Heo Min-woo’s police and the support requested from the police station are deployed at the entrance, they won’t miss him.

“We’ll head to Wolhwajeong right away. We’ll enter the building once the police deployment is complete. Oh, and please send me Kkangchi’s photo or composite sketch on my phone right away.”

-Yes, I’ve sent it. But Kkangchi is not an ordinary person and it might be dangerous… Are you sure you’ll be okay? Maybe it would be better for us to enter…

“No. The person Kkangchi is meeting right now is someone I know well. If I want to catch that person too, it’s right for me to enter first.”

When I said firmly, Heo Min-woo hesitated and sighed.

-Hmm…

“Didn’t you say you trusted me?”

-Did I? When did I say that…

*I think I heard similar words.*

*Was that in my previous life?*

*I definitely said it in my previous life.*

-Yes, understood. If you need help after entering, please call right away.

While I was talking to Heo Min-woo, Kang Min-jae had already started the car.

“Do you know where Wolhwajeong is?”

I asked, checking the photo of Kkangchi that arrived on my phone messenger.

“Yes. I’ve seen it while passing by. It’s next to the church, right? A big traditional Korean house.”

“That’s right.”

It only takes about 10 minutes to get from Gangnam [a district in Seoul] to Gyodae at this time.

Kang Min-jae heard the conversation next to me, but I gave him a short briefing one more time to make sure.

“He’s going to be with Hwang Young-chan? That former chief prosecutor, right? You knew Hwang Young-chan well?”

“That’s right. He’s a henchman of Wooshin [likely referring to a corporation or organization]. If we can reveal the relationship between Hwang Young-chan and Kkangchi, we might be able to touch Wooshin.”

Of course, Wooshin will cut ties, saying they have no relationship with Hwang Young-chan, but if Hwang Young-chan becomes a subject of investigation, we can at least capture the circumstances related to Wooshin.

If that happens, just as I have been chipping away at Wooshin’s executives with various incidents, Wooshin will not be able to lose nothing.

“……”

I clenched and unclenched my hands, watching the city’s night view blur outside the window.

It’s true that I’m a little nervous.

If Hwang Young-chan is meeting Kkangchi as I expected, an opportunity to weed out Hwang Young-chan from the prosecution has come.

It is natural to remove corrupt prosecutors.

Like the 4th Division Chief, Hwang Young-chan must have thought of Park Young-gi as a thorn in his side.

He’s been a chief prosecutor for a long time, so he should have been promoted to deputy chief, but he’s still stuck in the chief position.

Park Young-gi is an ally to protect.

Moreover, all the things he did under Wooshin’s orders have failed because of me, so he must be grinding his teeth at me.

I must completely bring down Hwang Young-chan this time.

And… I was betrayed and killed by Hwang Young-chan in my previous life.

So, this is also my revenge.

“I think we’re almost there.”

I was lost in thought for a moment, and already, I could see the traditional Korean house in front of me.

A valet employee gestured, and Kang Min-jae and I got out of the car.

It seems the police haven’t arrived yet.

They must have come in plain clothes since they have to raid, but I couldn’t see the van that the police would have come in near Wolhwajeong.

I called Heo Min-woo again.

-Yes, Attorney Cha. We’re on our way now.

“How long will it take?”

-We’ve entered the alley where Wolhwajeong is, so we’ll be there soon.

“We’ve arrived.”

-Ah, I see you there.

A van entering from the alley was visible.

Pretending to smoke before entering, I waited for the van at the stone wall outside Wolhwajeong, and the police quickly parked the car in the alley and got out.

“Attorney Cha!”

As Heo Min-woo, who recognized us, approached, I pointed to the front of the Wolhwajeong building visible over the wall.

“That’s the entrance. And the exit is over there. Do you see people coming out?”

“Yes. Is there no way to come out through the window? The police station has contacted us that they’re almost here. Should we just guard all the windows?”

“In my memory, there’s no way to get out of the room through the window, but there’s a possibility of coming out of other windows, so it would be good to go around the building and check, and if you see a large window, deploy people there.”

“Understood.”

Heo Min-woo checked if the police standing behind him had heard my words well and briefed them again.

“We’ll go in first. Please deploy personnel right after we go in.”

“Yes. Oh, and this is a walkie-talkie. Please keep one. If you need help inside, a walkie-talkie will be faster than a phone call.”

Heo Min-woo handed me a walkie-talkie and said.

“Do you know how to use it?”

“Yes. Then I’ll go in.”

Kang Min-jae and I entered the entrance of Wolhwajeong.

“Welcome.”

As we went inside, the manager wearing a modernized hanbok [traditional Korean dress] greeted us.

“Are you two…?”

“We have company inside.”

“Ah, is that so? Please tell me the name of the reservation holder and I’ll guide you.”

“I know which room it is. We don’t need a guide.”

“Ah, yes.”

Fortunately, the manager let us pass without much suspicion.

I walked quickly along the hallway with long rows of rooms, scanning the room names one by one.

*I think it was probably the ‘Mae’ room.*

*I remember it being at the innermost part.*

“It’s there.”

“How do you know Kkangchi is in that room, Attorney Cha?”

“I’ve been here a lot with Hwang Young-chan. It’s the room Hwang Young-chan always uses.”

Before I knew it, I had reached the front of the innermost room, and I grabbed the doorknob and opened it to the side without hesitation.

“I didn’t call for… Cha Joo-han?”

There sat Hwang Young-chan, looking flustered, and Kkangchi, looking back and forth between me and Hwang Young-chan with a bewildered expression.

I took out the phone I had put in my pocket and turned on the photo app.

And said.

“Smile, please.”