You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 399

You Have Been Defended

Heo Minwoo was walking down an alley when he was suddenly attacked and killed in a ridiculous manner.

The assailant indiscriminately swung a knife, killing Heo Minwoo, and then went straight to the police station to confess.

He said he was just hiding in the alley hoping someone would come along, and then he ambushed Heo Minwoo as he passed by.

But I think Heo Minwoo’s death was caused by Wooshin.

I don’t know what it is, but it must be because Heo Minwoo pricked Wooshin’s soft spot in the process of looking for Yerim.

Choi Jonghyun, who smelled of money laundering and frequented the House of Angels, is still alive, but Heo Minwoo, who was investigating to find a missing child, is dead, which suggests that Yerim has a secret we don’t know about.

It’s early August 2011 now.

Yerim was in an accident and taken to Wooshin Hospital, then went to the House of Angels in mid-August 2011.

First, I have to protect Yerim.

That’s how to protect Heo Minwoo.

“…….”

I stared at Heo Minwoo, who was sound asleep.

This is why I didn’t want to run into Heo Minwoo.

I was afraid that if he acted with me, who was moving to catch Wooshin, he might become a target more quickly.

More than anything, in the current situation where I don’t know why Heo Minwoo became Wooshin’s target, I was worried that Heo Minwoo would be in more danger if he moved with us.

But there’s no way to avoid it now.

In the previous life, Heo Minwoo’s death began while investigating Yerim, so the only way is to make it unnecessary to investigate Yerim in the first place.

I covered Heo Minwoo with a blanket and went into the bedroom.

For some reason, I couldn’t fall asleep, so I called Taeshik, whom I was going to contact tomorrow morning.

-Who the hell is calling at this hour and making a fuss…….

Taeshik was asleep, and he answered the phone with a cracking voice.

“I have something for you to do.”

-Ah, Attorney?

He suddenly seemed to come to his senses and answered in a clear voice.

-Who do you want me to find?

“It’s not about finding someone.”

-Then what is it?

“You have to protect someone.”

-Who?

“I’ll hang up and text you the personal information and address. It’s a 7-year-old girl. Prevent anything from happening, whether it’s a traffic accident or a kidnapping.”

-That’s a strange request. Until when?

“Well…… Let’s watch until September, and then decide whether to extend it or stop depending on the situation.”

-Okay. But I hope you refrain from calling at this hour in the future. I was having a really sweet dream? I was having a really fun dream too…….”

“What dream were you having?”

-A dream where I was flying around with ‘ddiyong ddyong’ [onomatopoeia for a flying sound] sounds everywhere, ssibal [Korean slang, similar to ‘damn it’]. It was really fun.”

“Are you a kid…….”

-Anyway, I’m going back to sleep to continue my dream. Good night.

“Ah, and.”

-Ah, I have to continue my dream!

“There’s one more person to protect.”

-Who is it?

“Detective Heo Minwoo from Gangnam Police Station. Watch him carefully from behind without being noticed.”

Taeshik was silent for a while at my words.

Then he asked quietly.

-You’re talking as if it’s predetermined that a 7-year-old kid and Detective Heo Minwoo will have an accident?

Was Taeshik this sharp?

“I’m worried they might be killed in a staged accident.”

-Ah, I understand. I’ll tell the guys in the morning. To trustworthy guys.”

“Okay. Go back to your dream.”

-I’m wide awake now, damn it. Anyway, go in.”

I felt a little relieved after hanging up the phone.

I will prevent anyone from dying at the hands of Wooshin in this life.

Definitely.

* * *

Knock knock.

I was turning on the computer after coming to the office when I heard a knock from outside.

“Yes.”

In response, Secretary Oh opened the door and came in.

“I have a call from Attorney Park Seungho’s office. They want to talk to you, Attorney…….”

Attorney Park Seungho?

It’s the first time I’ve heard that name.

I didn’t know what he wanted from me, so I asked Secretary Oh.

“What’s it about?”

“I don’t know. They just said they need to talk to you, Attorney.”

“Then connect me.”

“Yes.”

Not long after Secretary Oh left, the intercom rang.

I picked up the receiver.

“This is Cha Joohan.”

-Hello. This is Attorney Park Seungho.

“Yes, what’s the matter?”

-Do you know Lee Sehyung?

Park Seungho went straight to the point.

Lee Sehyung is the son of the dead Lee Jeongchan.

He staged a national fraud with a fake story about overcoming disabilities and is now in prison.

“Yes, I know him.”

-I am Lee Sehyung’s attorney.

Originally, Taekwang was in charge of Lee Sehyung’s defense, but after Lee Jeongchan’s death, he broke up with Taekwang and seemed to have appointed a new attorney.

-The thing is, Lee Sehyung said he wanted Attorney Cha Joohan to visit him, so I’m calling to let you know.

“Are you sure Lee Sehyung is talking about me?”

I had no reason for Lee Sehyung to want to meet me, so I had no choice but to ask this.

Wasn’t Lee Sehyung the one who even put on a show of attempting suicide because of me?

-Yes. It’s definitely Attorney Cha Joohan.

“I understand.”

-Will you come to the visitation?

Park Seungho asked.

I don’t know why Lee Sehyung wants me to come to the visitation, but I thought there might be something to gain, so I answered briefly.

“Yes.”

-Thank you. Then I’ll hang up now.

The call ended, and I came out of the room and went into Kang Minjae’s room.

Perhaps because I went in without knocking, Kang Minjae was dozing off.

I clapped once in front of Kang Minjae’s face.

“Ugh!”

Kang Minjae woke up with a strange groan.

“I wasn’t sleeping. I was lost in thought.”

“It doesn’t matter if you were sleeping. A person named Attorney Park Seungho just called.”

“Who’s that?”

“He said he’s Lee Sehyung’s lawyer.”

“Why is Lee Sehyung’s lawyer calling you?”

Lee Sehyung probably thinks that his fraud was exposed to the world because of me, so he must resent me greatly.

But if he was going to say bad things to me, he would have done it right after he was imprisoned when he was furious, not now.

A lot of time has passed, and he’ll be released in a few months, so I’m curious as to why he asked to see me.

“He asked me to come for a visitation, Lee Sehyung did.”

“Visitation?”

“I’m going to go anyway because there might be something to gain.”

“I’ll go too!”

“Then get ready. We’re going now.”

“Now?”

“You’re curious, right? We have to go quickly.”

At my words, Kang Minjae smiled and got up.

“I am too.”

Then, he picked up the car keys.

We headed straight to the prison where Lee Sehyung was being held.

Not long after applying for the visitation, we were guided to the visitation room.

We sat side by side with Kang Minjae and waited for a moment, and soon Lee Sehyung, wearing prison clothes, appeared beyond the glass wall.

Lee Sehyung, who used to be of average weight, was very thin, and I wondered what had happened to him while he was imprisoned.

In addition, the dark circles under his eyes and the downturned corners of his mouth made him feel somewhat gloomy and haggard.

“Why did you ask me to come for a visitation?”

At my question, Lee Sehyung sighed, touching his forehead.

“I get so angry when I think of you that I can’t sleep…… But there are even more infuriating people.”

He’s clearly talking about Wooshin.

Lee Jeongchan and Wooshin were once on the same boat.

However, as Lee Jeongchan fell due to the national fraud and Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals, Wooshin abandoned Lee Jeongchan.

Moreover,

Lee Jeongchan was going to hand over data containing Wooshin’s corruption to me, but he was killed by Wooshin before he could deliver it.

Of course, at that time, only the people who directly killed him and Chief of Staff Ko Yoonsoo were brought to light and punished, but Lee Sehyung would have fully grasped the situation.

The fact that Lee Jeongchan tried to inform me of Wooshin’s corruption in order to take revenge, but was killed by Wooshin.

So he asked to meet me, who was jumping on the corruption related to Wooshin.

Then what will Lee Sehyung give me?

“I’ve been thinking a lot while I’ve been in here. Why did I end up like this, why did my family fall apart…….”

Are you asking because you don’t know?

It’s because you committed a crime.

“I, and my father, have committed so many sins. Because we deceived the people. Of course, I resented you a lot too. If it weren’t for you, my family wouldn’t have been ruined.”

“I think you’re blaming the wrong person.”

“…….”

“You’re being punished because you did wrong, as Lee Sehyung said.”

“But…… That doesn’t mean my father had to die!”

Lee Sehyung shouted, slamming the table.

“Then you should resent Wooshin. Wooshin killed Lee Sehyung’s father.”

“Yeah, I know. So I hate you so much for ruining my family, but I asked to see you because there are even more fucked up bastards.”

Lee Sehyung said, panting with anger-filled eyes.

“What’s the point?”

Lee Sehyung stopped panting and slowly opened his mouth, now that he had calmed down a bit.

“……My father always carried a pocket watch.”

“A pocket watch?”

Kang Minjae asked, thinking it was a뜬금없는 말 [tteungeumeomneun mal – out of the blue].

“There’s an SD card inside. There will be data containing Wooshin’s corruption on it.”

“Does Lee Sehyung have it now?”

At my question, Lee Sehyung snorted and retorted.

“If I had it, I would have given it to you a long time ago. It wasn’t there when my father’s body was found.”

“Then what’s the probability that Wooshin took it?”

“Would Wooshin take it? I’m the only one who knows that there’s an SD card in that pocket watch. The guys who killed my father left the cell phone as it was, so there’s no way they would have taken the pocket watch.”

Lee Sehyung’s attitude was somewhat twisted, but the information he was telling was quite useful.

I was already curious about what Lee Jeongchan was trying to hand over to me, and I thought I had to find it, but Lee Sehyung was giving me a hint like this.

I got help in an unexpected situation.

“What does the pocket watch look like?”

“It’s silver, and there’s an engraving on the back. The Chinese character for plum tree, Lee. I gave it to him as a birthday present.”

“I understand. I’ll look for it.”

As I was getting ready to get up, Lee Sehyung added in a small voice.

“Please take down Wooshin.”

“…….”

“Take down all the sons of bitches who made my father like that.”

He said, clenching his teeth.

“It’s funny that I have to ask you guys for this favor, but it seems like you’re the only ones who can take down Wooshin. Sibal [Korean slang, similar to ‘damn it’], it’s funny that I’m doing this to you guys too…….”

“I’ll do it even if it’s not Lee Sehyung’s request.”

I got up, ending those words.

The visitation was over, and Kang Minjae and I left the prison.

“I think we should go to the Hwagun Police Station and look for lost items.”

“We should.”

“But won’t they show it to us if we go by ourselves?”

Kang Minjae said, starting the car.

I fastened my seat belt and replied.

“First, I have to report the loss of that pocket watch to the police as if it’s mine. Even if the police have it, it won’t be classified as Lee Jeongchan’s, so it’ll be okay to report it as if it’s mine.”

Lee Sehyung said that it wasn’t among the lost items that came out in Lee Jeongchan’s name, so it’ll be okay.

First, the watch is expected to be kept as a lost item at the police station or the fishing site, or it may be buried in the reservoir.

So we can check with the police first and then track the remaining places one by one.

“Should we ask Detective Heo Minwoo?”

If we ask Heo Minwoo, we can easily get our hands on the lost items that the police are keeping.

The reason why I said I needed a police colleague is precisely this.

It’s much easier to solve when faced with this situation.

Especially since I came out of the prosecution and none of us have colleagues belonging to the investigative agency, it’s even more necessary.

But the fact that it’s Heo Minwoo is not welcome to me.

At least I need to make sure that nothing happens to Yerim differently from the previous life, and then make sure that Heo Minwoo is safe before I can feel relieved.

“No, let’s look for it ourselves first, and if it doesn’t come out, then we can think about it.”