You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 412

Hearing a clear account of everything that had happened from the time I was kidnapped until now, my curiosity was satisfied, and my complicated thoughts felt somewhat organized.

“A lot has happened.”

“A lot doesn’t even begin to cover it! How could something like this even happen! What if you had died, Attorney Cha!”

At my words, Kang Min-jae shouted as if dumbfounded.

“But I didn’t die.”

“Easy for you to say with those bruises on your face.”

Choi Jong-hyun said, looking incredulously.

*He seems to be in a good mood, though.*

*Judging by the silly grin after he spoke.*

“If Attorney Cha had died, people might have just thought he was missing or committed suicide.”

“That’s not the case. I have a will that will be made public if I die or disappear.”

“A will?”

“It states that I would never commit suicide, so if I die or go missing, it should be assumed that someone killed me or harmed me. I wrote it in advance, just in case.”

“Wow. I didn’t know that. Who did you entrust it to?”

Kang Min-jae asked.

“Manager Oh.”

“Why not me!”

Kang Min-jae spoke as if he felt betrayed, but it was the best choice for me.

Of course, as long as Kang Kwan-woong is still around, no one would dare to touch Kang Min-jae, but even so, if I die or am in danger, it means Kang Min-jae is also exposed to similar risks.

And even if nothing happens to Kang Min-jae, he would just be a sobbing mess if I died. How would he even remember the will?

“Anyway, what happened out at sea? The guys who did this to you have been caught, so we need your statement as the victim,” Heo Min-woo asked, taking out his notebook.

The most rational person in this room was Heo Min-woo.

Of course, the caught guys would never say that they were ordered by Woo-shin, so we can’t catch Woo-shin with this.

I’m also a little hesitant to release an article about my kidnapping because my parents would worry.

It will probably be concluded that someone who had a grudge against me tried to kill me.

“I woke up on a boat, feeling a bit dazed. It’s probably because of the drug they injected me with… So at first, I wondered if I was dreaming. There were about five people, and they were preparing cement on one side. There was also a drum… They were planning to put me in the drum and seal it with cement.”

“…That’s horrible.”

Kang Min-jae said, grimacing.

Yeah, it’s horrible.

The feeling of that cement entering every pore of my body is a hundred, a thousand times more horrible.

“They told me they would spare me if I knelt down and apologized to Go Sang-joon.”

“Fucking hell, what a load of crap!”

Jo Bong-joon shouted.

“So what did you do? Did you kneel?”

“Would Attorney Cha do that? He probably ignored them.”

“Actually… I told them to fuck off.”

Everyone burst into laughter at my words.

I seemed to be the only one who didn’t find it funny, and I stared at them, bewildered.

“Attorney Cha knows how to curse like that?”

“I feel so relieved.”

“It’s relieving, but what if they get provoked and act even more violently?”

“That’s right. That’s why I got beat up. You can tell by looking at my face.”

It wasn’t just getting beat up; my neck was also trampled on, and I even had a seizure there.

“When they tried to put me in the drum, I jumped off the boat, and that’s when one of them seemed to stab me in the stomach. After that, I sank into the sea and don’t remember anything.”

Heo Min-woo frowned upon hearing that.

“You almost died, Attorney Cha.”

“I’m alive, so it’s okay.”

“The guys have been caught as criminals and will be transferred to Gangnam Police Station for investigation. I’ll be handling it myself, so don’t worry,” Heo Min-woo said, putting his notebook in his pocket.

Heo Min-woo is going to investigate himself. It reminded me of Heo Min-woo’s end in my previous life, making me a little uneasy.

But now, it seems I can’t stop Heo Min-woo’s involvement.

I’ve been feeling the need for a police colleague, and Kang Min-jae relies on Heo Min-woo quite a bit. He also wants to be involved in our work, so no matter how much I try to cut him off, there’s no way.

Even this time, Kang Min-jae contacted Heo Min-woo as soon as I disappeared.

“I understand.”

I finally nodded.

“I’m getting tired. Everyone, please go home. I can be alone.”

I pulled up the blanket and suddenly realized that I didn’t have my phone.

“Kang, do me a favor.”

“What is it? I’ll do anything. Just tell me,” Kang Min-jae was always over the top, but it seems to have gotten worse after this incident.

“Check if my phone is at my house and bring it if it’s there. I have two, so one should be left…”

“Where did you leave them?”

“I usually leave the one I use most next to my bed, and the one I use as a backup should be in my study.”

“I understand. But are you sure you’ll be okay alone?”

“I have Tae-shik.”

I said, looking at Tae-shik, who also slapped Kang Min-jae on the back and said.

“This is your chance to protect Attorney Cha with your life. Kang, hurry back.”

“You make it sound like something’s going to happen to Attorney Cha! Take it back. Spit, spit, spit!”

In the end, Tae-shik had to ‘spit, spit, spit’ [a Korean superstition to ward off bad luck] before he could send Kang Min-jae away.

It was finally quiet after everyone left.

As I sighed, exhausted, Tae-shik covered me with the blanket and said.

“Attorney Cha, get some rest. I’ll guard you fiercely!”

“Don’t be so dramatic.”

“Yes, sir.”

* * *

The painkiller didn’t work until yesterday, but it’s been pretty good since today.

The doctor also said that the surgical site is healing well without any problems, so I succeeded in getting up.

I needed Tae-shik’s help to get up, and I felt pain, but once I got up, there was no problem walking.

Even though it’s a spacious private room, I felt stuffy being stuck inside, so I was able to slowly go out to the small park on the same floor with Tae-shik.

Most of all, the best thing was that Kang Min-jae wasn’t there.

I scolded him for how long he was going to leave the office empty, and only then could I barely stop him from coming today.

If Kang Min-jae were here, he wouldn’t even let me get up.

It seems Kang Min-jae is worse than my parents.

“Those guys won’t come to the hospital to harm you, will they?”

“They might. That’s why you have to guard me well.”

“Hmm… If I’m the only one sticking to you, I can’t guard you 24 hours a day, so I was wondering if I should assign another guy to you. What do you think?”

“You should. Do you have anyone good?”

“How about Sang-gil? You said before that Sang-gil was too exposed and it would be better not to use him for a while, but a lot of time has passed, and since we’re openly guarding you anyway, Sang-gil seems like the right person.”

“Wasn’t Sang-gil a skinny guy?”

“He’s bulked up a lot since then. His build is probably similar to Jung-hyuk’s. I heard he learned several martial arts and even won first place in an amateur boxing competition. You probably won’t even recognize him if you see him.”

“Really?”

“I’ll have him guard you only while I’m sleeping, and I’ll be in charge while you’re awake.”

If he won first place in an amateur boxing competition, he should be able to guard me while Tae-shik is sleeping.

I’m curious to see how much Sang-gil has improved.

“I’ll tell him to come tonight. It’s better to take turns guarding like that.”

“Okay, do that.”

“If you don’t trust him after trying it out, tell me. I’ll replace him with someone else.”

“No. Sang-gil is trustworthy enough. He’s done a lot of good work.”

“He has, hasn’t he? Haha.”

As I walked slowly to the park with the IV drip, I smelled cigarette smoke carried by the wind.

I remembered the doctor telling me not to smoke, but I desperately needed nicotine after not having it for a few days.

I glanced at Tae-shik and asked.

“Do you have a cigarette?”

Tae-shik reflexively took out a cigarette from his jacket pocket but stopped and looked at me.

With narrowed eyes.

“The doctor told you not to smoke.”

“Shut up and give it to me.”

“The doctor said no.”

“I’ll count to three. 3, 2…”

“Here.”

Before Tae-shik could move, a cigarette was in my hand.

I turned to see Dong-jin standing there.

“What, how did you know I was here?”

“I went to your room and you weren’t there, so I figured you might be here.”

“No, Attorney Cha’s friend, the doctor. The doctor in charge told him not to smoke,” Tae-shik said, frustrated.

“You won’t get better quickly if you do that!”

“You got stabbed before and smoked while getting treated by a quack, but you’re so strict with me.”

“I have a healthy constitution, and you don’t seem to have a healthy constitution, so that’s why.”

“You don’t have to have a lot of muscles to have a healthy constitution. Anyway, go back. I need to talk to Dong-jin.”

At my gesture, Tae-shik pouted.

Dong-jin and I went to the smoking area and lit our cigarettes.

It felt so good.

“But you seem to be doing better since you’re walking around?”

“You must be doing well too, coming to see me at this hour?”

“I made time to come, you jerk.”

Dong-jin raised his hand as if to hit me, then chuckled and lowered his hand.

“Are you eating well?”

“I’m eating the meals that come out regularly, what else.”

“But what happened to you? How did you end up stabbed on a boat in the sea?”

I usually don’t hide things from Dong-jin, but I didn’t tell him because I didn’t want to worry him. It seemed he heard about it in the emergency room.

“It’s nothing much, I was kidnapped.”

“What? Kidnapped?!”

“Announce it so everyone can hear.”

“Oh, oh, sorry… But kidnapped, by who? Why?”

“I stole the slush fund that Woo-shin had hidden. I think that’s why… But when I think about it, there might be something more than just the slush fund. I don’t think they would try to kill me just for a slush fund.”

“Woo-shin… Yeah, when I look up your articles, all I see are articles related to Woo-shin. So, the time you were framed as a murderer…”

“You don’t watch the news much, do you?”

At my words, Dong-jin laughed sheepishly.

“I’m too busy to watch the news. I have to take care of myself. I only look up your articles sometimes.”

“Yeah, that’s a good way to do it. I only get tired when I start paying attention to the world’s affairs.”

I was serious.

I’m trying to take down Woo-shin for revenge, but on the other hand, there are times when I long for a normal life.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I regret what I’m doing now or what I’ve done, but after I take down Woo-shin, I wonder if it would be good for me to return to a normal life.

I’m only human.

I think half of my actions, which I take risking my life, are for the sake of justice, and half are for revenge.

I don’t even know my own heart exactly, but I’m honestly not just striving for justice alone.

So, I don’t know what will happen after Woo-shin falls.

I’m even receiving death threats, and I don’t want to make my parents, whom I worked so hard to save, parents who have lost their child.

But on the other hand, I’ve lived with the mission of realizing social justice in my own way, so just as pine caterpillars only eat pine needles [a Korean saying meaning people only do what they are used to], I don’t know if I’ll find another social evil and live combatively.

“But aren’t you too dangerous? You almost got killed.”

“It is, but I’m alive, right?”

“Hey!”

“I have to finish what I started. You should cheer me on too. Until the day Woo-shin goes down.”

“Hey, do you have multiple lives or something?”

I seem to have at least two…

I couldn’t bring myself to say it, and I just smiled faintly.