You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 415

You Have Been Defended – Episode 416

#416

Choi Jong-hyun and Jo Bong-joon returned home and turned on their laptops.

They started searching with the keyword ‘Angel House Kim Seung-hee’.

They figured there would be press releases about someone who went to study abroad from Angel House and then came to work for Wooshin Group.

[]

…

Ms. Seung-hee, who was selected as a prodigy at the age of 13 and went to Japan, graduated from the prestigious Hitogaku University in Japan with excellent grades and is working at the Wooshin Electronics Research Institute after returning to Korea.

Ms. Seung-hee smiled, saying that if she had gone to another orphanage instead of Angel House, she would not have received such a high-quality education and many opportunities. Of course, it would have been better if she had lived with her parents, but she felt lucky to have gone to Angel House among so many orphanages.

“Hmm, looking at the interview, it seems like she’s grateful to Wooshin. I don’t know if she’ll even meet us.”

“Right. But if Song Hye-ryung knows our purpose and still told us to meet her, maybe she’s dissatisfied with Wooshin, or forcibly held at the Wooshin Research Institute, or something?”

“Could be. But, hyung [older brother/male friend], you trust Song Hye-ryung too much?”

Choi Jong-hyun sighed, looking fed up.

“Are you bringing that up again?”

“No, I’m not teasing. I’m just saying you seem to trust her too much.”

“I went to Angel House for years. She was the best person there. Other supervisors would get annoyed just seeing me, but Song Hye-ryung felt like she wanted to say something. Eventually, she told me things after leaving Angel House.”

“True, the people at Angel House would freak out and tell you to leave as soon as you walked into the office.”

It was almost comical that they told Choi Jong-hyun to leave like that, but still accepted the school supplies and toys he donated every season.

“Let’s call her first. It’s almost quitting time, so she’ll probably answer.”

It was almost time for people to leave work, even at places where 6:30 PM was considered a slightly late quitting time.

Choi Jong-hyun displayed Kim Seung-hee’s phone number on the screen, put it on speakerphone, and made the call.

The phone rang about twice, and Kim Seung-hee answered immediately.

─Hello?

“Hello. Is this Kim Seung-hee?”

─Yes, it is. Who is this?

“This is Choi Jong-hyun, a reporter who got your contact information through Song Hye-ryung.”

─Ah, yes. Hello.

“To get straight to the point, I’d like to meet you. When would be a good time? The sooner, the better, but we’ll 맞춰겠습니다 [adjust to your schedule].”

─Um, how about now? I’m on my way home from work.

“Should we meet near your house? Or near the company?”

─It would be better to meet at a cafe near my house. I’ll text you the cafe address.

“Okay. See you there then.”

They left as soon as they hung up, but Kim Seung-hee arrived earlier.

Although they didn’t know what she looked like, Kim Seung-hee recognized Choi Jong-hyun and Jo Bong-joon first and stood up from her seat.

They bought Kim Seung-hee a cup of coffee, just like they did with Song Hye-ryung, and sat at a secluded table.

“I was surprised to get a call from Supervisor Song so suddenly. I haven’t been able to contact her often since she left Angel House, but when she called, I answered right away.”

“Is that so? We were also surprised to get Kim Seung-hee’s contact information so quickly.”

“I heard you had some questions about studying abroad from Angel House. What specifically would you like to know…….”

The two explained the strange aspects of Angel House’s study abroad and gifted education programs to Kim Seung-hee, just as they had done with Song Hye-ryung.

“And gifted people aren’t that easy to find, but Angel House sends two or three, or even four, students abroad every year under the guise of gifted education, which is also very strange.”

“Um……. I think so too. Actually, I’m still wondering if I was really gifted.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. When I was in elementary school, they held gifted selection tests, and I took a test that gifted students supposedly take, but I didn’t understand any of it, so I guessed almost everything. But I was still selected as gifted.”

Indeed, sending students abroad under the guise of gifted education must have been a tool to hide something.

“And you mentioned that it’s strange that mostly girls are selected, and I thought similarly. Because there was a middle school oppa [older brother/male friend] who didn’t go to academies and got perfect scores on tests, but he wasn’t selected as gifted. That’s not to say that boys didn’t go to study abroad, but…….”

“Hmm, that’s really strange.”

“And there’s more. It’s embarrassing to say myself, but most of the girls were pretty.”

This was another new fact.

All children are pretty, but it seemed like Kim Seung-hee was talking about being outstanding in terms of appearance.

“Are you saying they were outstanding in appearance?”

“Yes. Not all of them, but among the boys, there were many who weren’t very rugged… more delicate?”

“I see. Can you tell me about your life abroad?”

Kim Seung-hee tapped the table as if recalling her memories, then opened her mouth.

“At first, I was assigned to a dormitory where Angel House children stayed, and I learned Japanese there for a few months. Then I entered school, and those who learned Japanese quickly and studied well continued to study at that school, and those who couldn’t keep up left the dormitory and moved to other schools, I think.”

“So there are two schools that have sisterhood ties?”

“I don’t know about that. I stayed at that school and studied, but there weren’t many kids left in the dormitory, so I was quite lonely. So I desperately tried to mingle with the Japanese kids. I also got good grades. That’s how I got into a good university, and Wooshin Electronics offered me a job, so I came back to Korea.”

There was nothing different from a typical study abroad life.

Perhaps Kim Seung-hee’s case was a successful one with no major problems in her study abroad experience in Japan.

However, they began to wonder about the children who couldn’t keep up with their studies and moved to other schools.

“Then, do you know how the children who moved to other schools are doing?”

“Most of them lost contact, but there’s one who I contact by email. Even that’s not often, but I think we contact each other about once a quarter.”

“Is that person still in Japan?”

“Yes. I don’t know what she’s doing, but she says she’s having a hard time.”

“Is she about the same age as you?”

“She’s two years younger than me.”

“Hmm, then can we contact her?”

“I’ll ask her by email, but I don’t know if she’ll agree. Um, my feeling is that she’s having a very hard time. She seems a bit depressed…….”

“I see.”

Kim Seung-hee entered a prestigious university based on her excellent grades and returned to Korea, but what about the children who couldn’t keep up with the gifted classes and were sent to other schools?

It was presumed that their lives were very different from Kim Seung-hee’s.

“Is there anything else suspicious? Strange?”

“Humm…….”

Kim Seung-hee crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair.

It seemed to take time to recall things from her childhood.

Choi Jong-hyun and Jo Bong-joon waited quietly.

Kim Seung-hee soon tilted her head and began to speak slowly.

“I had a slightly unpleasant experience.”

“An unpleasant experience…….”

“I think it was when I first arrived in Japan, and I only knew ‘Arigato Gozaimasu’ [thank you] in Japanese. At that time, I went to meet people called sponsors with three other children who went to study abroad together.”

“Sponsors? Was it L&B by any chance?”

“I’ve never heard of L&B before.”

“It’s a company that funded the Angel House children’s study abroad program, don’t you know it?”

“No. I don’t know. Anyway, the sponsors were Japanese. I don’t remember well, but I went with the children who came to study abroad together to a magnificent tiled-roof house built in the Japanese architectural style to greet the sponsors.”

There are sponsors who are not related to L&B.

Not just one, but several.

They must be people related to Wooshin, and if they are receiving greetings, they are making quite a lot of support for the study abroad program.

At that level, it could be a group, but the only information that can be confirmed in Korea is that Iljoong Ilbo and L&B are the only places that can be called sponsoring organizations.

“And then?”

“We stood in a row in front of those people and greeted them as they told us to, but they didn’t tell us to sit down.”

“Yes.”

“So we were standing there awkwardly, and the sponsors looked at us for a long time, and then told me to leave.”

“They told you to leave?”

“Yes. So I remember grabbing the hand of the person who was in charge… a person from Angel House who managed the children studying abroad locally, and leaving. I didn’t say anything, and everyone just froze and greeted them, but I don’t know what they didn’t like about me, but they told me to leave.”

“That’s upsetting.”

“I never had a chance to meet those people after that.”

“I see.”

“But I can’t forget the way those sponsors looked at us. It felt unpleasant……. Not because I was kicked out, but I felt bad from the moment I was put in front of those people.”

Kim Seung-hee said with a stiff expression, as if she was still feeling bad.

“Anyway, I’ll send an email to that friend who’s still in Japan again. But don’t wait too long.”

“I understand.”

“Then I’ll get up first. I have to go to work early tomorrow, so I have to eat and sleep quickly.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you for your time.”

After sending Kim Seung-hee off, Jo Bong-joon turned off the recorder.

“Should we go to Attorney Cha right away?”

“Let’s do that. But, hyung [older brother/male friend].”

“Why.”

“The more I hear, the worse I feel……. Could it be that they’re making the kids do sexual favors?”

“I was thinking the same thing……. I was just staying still, thinking, ‘No way, it can’t be,'”

“Me too……. Let’s talk to Attorney Cha first. Our opinions might be different…….”