You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 406

#407

“Hello.”

It had been two months since Choi Jong-hyun last visited the House of Angels.

In the interim, Choi Jong-hyun had been a frequent visitor, coming at least once a month, or quarterly at the very least, to donate school supplies to the children and volunteer his time.

Of course, along with the donations and volunteer work, he would hand out his business card to the staff of the House of Angels, requesting news stories whenever he visited. Most of these cards ended up discarded or gathering dust in drawers.

However, the staff couldn’t prevent Choi Jong-hyun from coming.

The director claimed that the reporter was simply a nuisance, spreading strange rumors with his visits. However, since he brought gifts for the children and helped out, they should just tolerate him.

The director seemed weary of the situation.

Choi Jong-hyun’s primary target upon arriving at the House of Angels was always the director.

It was only after the director threatened to ban him from the premises that he began targeting the staff instead.

Today, Choi Jong-hyun once again set his sights on the director after a prolonged absence.

This time, he carried a file full of photos instead of school supplies.

“Where is the director?”

“Ah, the director is out at an external meeting.”

Before the staff member could finish her reflexive response, the director’s office door swung open, and she emerged.

“Mr. Choi, come in for a…”

The director abruptly stopped speaking upon seeing Choi Jong-hyun.

She froze momentarily, realizing her slip of the tongue, but quickly brushed her hair back, feigning fatigue and acting as if nothing were amiss.

“What’s going on now? Stop bothering the staff and go peddle your stories elsewhere. There’s nothing wrong here. Can’t you see that the children are healthy and playing happily?” the director said, her tone sharp with irritation.

It seemed the staff’s complaints had finally reached a boiling point, forcing her to intervene.

Choi Jong-hyun, noting the director’s raised voice, pointed towards her office.

“Let’s talk for a moment.”

“No, we have nothing to say to you, reporter. We haven’t stopped you from coming because you play with the kids and they like you, but if you continue with this behavior, we’ll have to take action.”

“Really? Then how about we discuss the hospital and school in Warrap State, South Sudan, in front of all the staff?”

At Choi Jong-hyun’s words, the director’s eyes widened in surprise.

‘You know too, don’t you? You awful director. And you dare call yourself a director?’

A torrent of curses flooded her mind, but Choi Jong-hyun simply smiled and crossed his arms, as if daring her to make a scene.

The director hesitated for a moment, then quickly regained her composure and addressed Choi Jong-hyun as if nothing were out of the ordinary.

“Why? The school and hospital are being built well there. Is there a problem?”

Choi Jong-hyun opened the file and presented the photos to the director.

“You claim to have been building a hospital and school for several years, but when I visited, I found nothing but ruins. There were no construction workers, no doctors, or teachers, not even working in tents. And you still insist it’s being built well?”

“Did you visit on a day off?”

“A day off? There wasn’t even a trace of construction. What day off are you talking about?”

“Ha… Superficially, we’re managing the project, but we’re also outsourcing it to other construction companies. I’ll contact them and provide you with the information, so please leave now.”

“Outsourcing it to other construction companies? Isn’t Wooshin Corporation handling the construction anyway?”

“There are other local companies besides Wooshin Corporation! I said I’d check and contact you. Please leave now.”

The director said, pushing Choi Jong-hyun’s arm as if she was fed up.

Other local companies.

I had confirmed that none existed, but since she insisted otherwise, I would have to gather evidence to prove their absence before returning.

In any case, today’s visit was merely an opportunity to give her a chance to repent beforehand.

From what I could gather, she was likely preparing excuses, claiming that the construction of the hospital and school, managed by the Wooshin Welfare Foundation under the House of Angels’ umbrella, was ‘delayed due to problems with local construction companies’.

Regardless, I had plenty of material prepared, and the scope of the investigation was much larger, so it didn’t matter.

“I’m going to report it.”

“Report it! Please do!”

Choi Jong-hyun smirked at the director’s sarcastic retort.

The director seemed visibly annoyed by his smirk, but Choi Jong-hyun ignored her reaction and exited the building.

“Uncleee!”

Just then, a child playing in the playground spotted Choi Jong-hyun and ran towards him.

With so many volunteers visiting the House of Angels, it usually took time for the children to recognize Choi Jong-hyun’s face. However, this particular child had recognized him instantly after seeing him only once.

She said he looked like her dad.

“Did you have a good time, So-eun?”

“Uncle! Have you seen my dad?”

Choi Jong-hyun picked up So-eun, who blinked her clear eyes and asked the question.

“What should I do? I haven’t seen him. If I meet So-eun’s dad, I’ll tell him to come pick you up quickly.”

“That won’t do. Dad has to come quickly.”

I often visit the House of Angels, but the sight of children longing for their parents always tugs at my heartstrings.

Instead of answering, Choi Jong-hyun stroked So-eun’s hair, and So-eun exclaimed ‘Ah!’ as if she had remembered something.

“Uncle, is So-eun going to study abroad?”

“Study abroad?”

“Yes. So-eun is a prodigy. So she’s going to study abroad.”

“So-eun was a prodigy? Wow, that’s amazing!”

“I have to see my dad before that…”

“If I meet So-eun’s dad, I’ll make sure he comes. Don’t be too disappointed.”

“Yes!”

So, she’s going to study abroad?

I’ve seen many cases where scholarship foundations select outstanding children and send them to study abroad, but I didn’t realize this also applied to young children.

Was this child truly that exceptional?

“So-eun, where are you going to study abroad?”

“Japan!”

“When are you going?”

“Next month!”

“I’ll have to come see you again before that.”

Of course, the House of Angels would likely be in turmoil due to other issues before then.

Would So-eun still be able to study abroad then?

That was a problem in itself.

I didn’t want to deprive the child of the opportunity to broaden her horizons.

‘Well, the scholarship foundation will take care of it.’

* * *

We decided to report on KDL Company and L&B on Jo Bong-joon and Choi Jong-hyun’s internet broadcast.

Of course, that wasn’t our initial intention.

We had created everything, from the planning to the data, but it was clear that it would be more effective to have the mainstream media break the story, so we had intended to pass it on to them.

But they all refused.

This time, Jin Hye-kyung couldn’t even use her connections, and News9 was strongly opposed.

However, we didn’t give up, so we decided to report it ourselves and build momentum from the ground up.

In my previous life, initiating a special investigation wasn’t easy, so I wasn’t as disappointed as Jo Bong-joon, Choi Jong-hyun, and Kang Min-jae.

“If the slides are finished, show them to me.”

Kim Jung-woo, Choi Jong-hyun, Jo Bong-joon, and the members of the law firm Jeongdo were all gathered in the studio, working on the slides.

We collaborated to create a draft, developed the draft into a complete version, and Kim Jung-woo created a template to facilitate external use.

We also categorized all the photos into high-quality and low-quality versions and organized them into separate files.

This was because we anticipated that smaller media outlets would report on the broadcast content, requiring separate data for their use.

I planned to upload the files to a web hard drive and share the password for easy access.

“I’m worried. News9 cut us off completely. What if even the smaller media companies don’t use this?”

“News9 is so large that the repercussions would be significant, so they’re hesitant to get involved for fear of losing their positions. Smaller media companies, on the other hand, will be eager to take it on. Don’t worry.”

“I guess so.”

I think I understand their concerns.

I’m not without my own anxieties.

This case only gained prominence in 2018 in my previous life, and now it’s 2011, so I can’t predict the kind of repercussions it will bring.

Even if it’s only been seven years, it’s almost a decade.

Even mountains and rivers change in ten years, so people’s reactions to the case may also change.

“I think the preparations are roughly finished? The script is also finished.”

Jo Bong-joon waved a stack of cue cards.

I reviewed the slides one last time and felt quite satisfied.

Kim Jung-woo was undeniably skilled.

He had captured everything from readability to design.

“Do we need a rehearsal?”

“What rehearsal? When have we ever done that? Today is Thursday. Should we broadcast tomorrow? Friday is better. It’s good for people to watch after work.”

“No. Thursday is better. There’s a higher probability that people won’t watch on Friday evening because they’re going out. If we broadcast today, it will become a topic of conversation for people after they go to work tomorrow, and the rumors will spread like wildfire. Then we can increase the momentum until the weekend and anticipate Wooshin’s response on Monday.”

“Cha’s words are right. Then I have to post a notice that we’re broadcasting today.”

Jo Bong-joon began typing a notice on the internet broadcasting station page.

His typing wasn’t very fast.

“Did you post the notice? I told you to show it to me before you posted it!”

When Kim Jung-woo realized something was amiss and rushed to Jo Bong-joon, he had already posted the notice.

[Hi friends

We’ve caught a jackpot

The topic is Wooshin

The reason why the two letters Wooshin are the end is because it’s content that will just destroy Wooshin itself lol

We’re going to do it from 7 pm today, so come and watch a lot

Reporters, please come a lot, the press release sharing is ready

Then see you later bye bye]