You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 390

You Guys Are Defended

A complete mess unfolded.

To protect Hwang Young-chan and the Chief of Staff as they fled, men in black suits surrounded the back door, forming a line to block the entry of the police special forces.

However, the wall of men in black suits quickly crumbled under the relentless assault of the police special forces.

The police arrested them one by one, and the police special forces went out the back door to chase after the Chief of Staff and Hwang Young-chan.

“Cha Attorney, are you alright?”

Heo Min-woo, having confirmed that the situation was under control, approached me, who was standing in front of the chainsaw, and asked.

My fingertips were trembling slightly.

Although I had never had my limbs severed by a chainsaw, witnessing something reminiscent of what I had experienced caused my anxiety to surge.

If I hadn’t taken medication beforehand, I would have definitely had a seizure.

But I couldn’t show that to Heo Min-woo.

“I’m fine. It seems Kang Chi-hyun is more surprised.”

I said, pointing to Kangchi.

Kangchi, tied up and abandoned inside the abandoned factory amidst groans and curses, seemed quite frightened.

Only then did Heo Min-woo check on Kangchi and untie him from the chair.

“Ah, Detective… Thank you so much, really thank you…”

“What did I tell you? I said Hwang Young-chan wouldn’t leave you alone once you got out of the police station.”

“…Wasn’t I arrested because that lawyer lied and said I told you everything?”

Kangchi said, looking at me.

“I don’t think I would have been arrested if it weren’t for that lawyer…”

“Ha, haha, anyway, Kang Chi-hyun. Has your mind changed at all? About telling the truth about everything.”

“I have to! I have to tell everything! Those guys tried to cut off my arm… But you’ll definitely catch them, right? Hwang Young-chan, I mean. What if they retaliate later? I was so scared I almost peed my pants.”

“We won’t let that happen.”

Police officers, receiving a signal from Heo Min-woo, covered Kangchi with a blanket and put him in a police car.

Kangchi strongly insisted on staying in the detention center, but since they couldn’t detain a suspect who had been released without an arrest warrant, the police decided to protect him separately.

He was going to be a key witness to catch Hwang Young-chan and the Chief of Staff, and that operation would start now.

Heo Min-woo and I confirmed that the car with Kangchi had departed.

Then, Heo Min-woo looked at me and chuckled.

“It turned out just like you said, Attorney Cha.”

“It’s a good thing.”

As we exchanged somewhat awkward words, Heo Min-woo’s phone rang, as if to break the awkwardness.

“Yes. Yes. I understand. Yes.”

Heo Min-woo hung up and smiled brightly at me.

“They’ve arrested Hwang Young-chan and Chief of Staff Go Sang-jun.”

“That’s great.”

“Your contribution is significant. No, it’s practically all your doing.”

Well, that’s not wrong.

I had suffered quite a bit, being talked about by countless people for days for today.

Besides, I almost threw up trying to please Hwang Young-chan and the Chief of Staff.

The whole story of this incident is as follows.

* * *

“Now that we’ve caught Kangchi, everything will be fine, right?”

It was in Kang Min-jae’s car on the way home from Wolhwajeong, where Kangchi and Hwang Young-chan had met.

I looked out the window, organizing my thoughts, and suddenly turned to Kang Min-jae and said.

“Kang Attorney.”

“Yes?”

“I don’t think catching Kangchi is a solution.”

“What do you mean?”

“It seems like Kangchi was prepared to be caught by the police from the beginning. Jung Yong-man said that back then too. He said that in case of an emergency, Park Jin-sung would hand over the drugs to Kangchi.”

“…Did he?”

“Kangchi was eventually caught. What does that mean? All that’s left is for him to falsely testify that Park Jin-sung handed over the drugs to Kangchi.”

“…I see.”

“It seems like the Third Criminal Division will be in charge of this case from the start, and seeing that Hwang Young-chan is involved, they’re definitely planning to release Kangchi on probation through a judicial deal and catch Park Jin-sung.”

“Then Kangchi shouldn’t have been caught. Did we fall into a trap?”

“You could say that.”

Kang Min-jae tore at his hair and shouted.

“Then what do we do?”

“So I thought of a way.”

“Ah, you’ve already come up with a solution? You should have told me sooner. My heart was pounding.”

Kang Min-jae said, placing his hand on his chest.

“When I was alone with Hwang Young-chan earlier.”

“Yes.”

“Hwang Young-chan threatened me, saying I would die if I kept going like this.”

“Wow~ How scary~.”

Kang Min-jae mocked Hwang Young-chan.

Of course, I wanted to mock him in that moment too, but I pretended to listen seriously.

To be honest, I was a little scared of dying, and I wanted to confirm if they had a plan to kill me.

“Hwang Young-chan seemed to be trying to bring me to his side by stimulating my fear.”

“He’s full of crap.”

“So I was wondering what it would be like if I really became Hwang Young-chan’s ally.”

“Yes?”

Hwang Min-jae looked back at me in shock.

I nonchalantly took out my phone and called Heo Min-woo.

“Detective Heo, this is Cha Joo-han.”

-Ah, yes. What brings you to call at this hour?

“It’s a bit late, but could you come to my house?”

-Is it serious?

“It’s something that requires your help.”

-Alright. Send me the address and I’ll leave right away.

After hanging up, I immediately called Secretary Oh and summoned him to my house as well.

Then, feeling a strange sense of fatigue, I leaned back in my chair and lay down.

“What is it? You’re becoming Hwang Young-chan’s ally, what’s next? Why won’t you tell me?”

“I’ll tell you all when everyone’s here.”

“Wow, you’re making me curious. I really hate this, you know?”

“I don’t care what you hate, Kang Attorney.”

“Wow, that’s so mean.”

“I’m always mean.”

Not long after arriving home, Heo Min-woo and Secretary Oh arrived one after another.

Kang Min-jae seemed sulky that I hadn’t told him first, but when the guests arrived, he opened the refrigerator, poured four glasses of juice, and placed them on the table.

As if he were the homeowner.

“What brings you to call us at this hour?”

I told them the facts that I had explained to Kang Min-jae in advance.

“You’re saying that their goal was to catch Kangchi in the first place?”

“That’s probably it. It’ll become clear when you start investigating Kangchi. It’ll be 100% if he points to Park Jin-sung as the mastermind.”

“…Haa, this is awkward.”

“That’s why I asked you to come here to discuss whether I should become Hwang Young-chan’s ally.”

“Yes? Hwang Young-chan’s ally?”

Secretary Oh exclaimed in surprise.

I nodded.

“When Hwang Young-chan warned me that I might die, I showed a little bit of anxiety. Hwang Young-chan told me to return to the prosecution. It was like a promise that I wouldn’t go after Wooshin anymore. He probably thinks I’ll make some kind of decision after thinking about it. And Hwang Young-chan wants me. Since I left the prosecution, he’s been looking for someone to replace me, but he hasn’t been able to find anyone.”

“…So you’re saying you’re going back to the prosecution?”

“No. I’m just going to apply and not take the exam. The case will be over before the exam anyway. If I apply for the experienced prosecutor recruitment, Hwang Young-chan will be relieved and trust me. He threatened me with death, he saw me wavering, and just the fact that I abandoned the law firm I worked so hard to build and applied will make him think I’m somewhat sincere.”

“What’s next?”

“Kangchi will claim to the police that Park Jin-sung is the mastermind. Here, I’ll pretend to be a spy who’s digging up information from Detective Heo and lie that Kangchi told me everything. If Detective Heo makes a fake statement here and shows it to Hwang Young-chan, he’ll think Kangchi betrayed them. Since it hasn’t been sent to the prosecution yet, he won’t be able to see the real statement anyway.”

Heo Min-woo nodded slowly.

So did Secretary Oh and Kang Min-jae.

I seized the momentum and continued.

“And if Kangchi is released because he testified to all the facts, Wooshin and Hwang Young-chan will try to kill Kangchi, thinking they betrayed them. If the police raid them then, we can reveal all at once that Hwang Young-chan and Wooshin were the masterminds behind Kangchi’s actions.”

“That’s right. If Kangchi gives false testimony anyway, we’ll have no choice but to be defeated. Attorney Cha, you’ll have to put in some effort, but this seems like the best way. What do you all think?”

“I agree. It seems like a good opportunity to cut off Hwang Young-chan.”

When Secretary Oh spoke, Kang Min-jae tilted his head and licked his lips.

“But will Hwang Young-chan believe it so easily? I’m a little worried about that. I’m worried that you’ll be in danger, Attorney.”

“Hwang Young-chan will probably install listening devices in our office and house. To make sure it’s real.”

The reason I’m so sure is because I spent a long time under Hwang Young-chan.

Of course, in my previous life.

I completely broke up with him when I was excluded from the special investigation team, but while investigating Wooshin in earnest, I found listening devices all over my room.

At first, I was curious about who was doing it, but when I was excluded from the special investigation team, I realized.

That it was all Hwang Young-chan’s doing.

“If I apply for the experienced prosecutor recruitment, the rumor will probably spread in an instant. After Kang Attorney hears the rumor, he’ll confront me first. And if we fight and enter a cold war, Hwang Young-chan won’t suspect anything anymore.”

“Me, you want me to fight with you, Attorney?”

“Then who else is there besides Kang Attorney? Secretary Oh isn’t that kind of character.”

“I’m not either! How much do I respect you, Attorney!”

“The attorney you respect suddenly betrayed you, so you’re angry.”

Heo Min-woo patted Kang Min-jae on the back.

Then Kang Min-jae sighed and replied.

“I’ll try my best.”

And Kang Min-jae acted out the fight with me better than anyone else.

Every time we fought fiercely and parted ways, Kang Min-jae would send me a lot of texts.

[ㅠㅠ]

[I’m sorry, Attorneyㅠㅠ]

[I got emotional without realizing itㅠㅠ]