You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 423

#424

When I returned to the intensive care unit, Kang Min-jae was pacing around the bench where he had been sitting, likely because visiting hours were over.

As my footsteps echoed in the hallway, Kang Min-jae suddenly looked my way.

“Attorney…”

His voice, calling me weakly, was hoarse, as if he had been crying for a long time.

His eyes and the tip of his nose were red, and he still had tears clinging to his eyelashes. It seemed he had been crying even after leaving the visitation.

“Kang, are you okay?”

“…No.”

Of course, he wouldn’t be.

I asked a pointless question.

I handed Kang Min-jae a can of coffee I had bought on the first floor.

Kang Min-jae accepted it and sat down on the bench.

“Attorney, you should go back. You’re not feeling well. I’ll stay with Soo-il hyung [older brother or close male friend].”

Kang Min-jae’s gaze was directed at my abdomen.

The surgery site hasn’t completely healed yet, but it doesn’t interfere with my daily life.

I shook my head and sat down next to Kang Min-jae.

“The elder [Kang Kwan-woong] could have suffered this because of me. How can I comfortably go back alone?”

“Why do you think that way? Why is this because of you?”

If this is really Woo-shin’s doing, it’s my fault for dragging Kang Kwan-woong into my affairs from the beginning.

But if I said that, Kang Min-jae would surely say it was his fault, and arguing like that wouldn’t be good for Kang Min-jae right now, so I decided to change the subject.

“Are you going to stay here all night?”

“I have to. Until Grandfather wakes up… Oh, by the way, where is Manager Oh?”

“Because of the elder’s incident, reporters who know that Kang is an attorney affiliated with Jungdo and that he is the elder’s grandson keep calling the office. So, Manager Oh went back to the office first during the surgery. I told him to say that we have nothing to answer for now.”

“Yes…”

“What about Chief Kang?”

“Hyung is also getting a lot of calls and is constantly on the phone. Haa… I’m really drained. I’m not doing anything but crying. I feel like a very useless person. Soo-il hyung, the attorney, the manager are all busy…”

Kang Min-jae trailed off, forcing a bitter smile.

“The elder is the only relative Kang has left, and he suffered something like this. How can you be in your right mind? When something like this happens, you’re supposed to lean on the people around you. And how can you not cry?”

“…If it were you, Attorney, I think you wouldn’t cry and would handle it calmly.”

Kang Min-jae glanced at me.

I suddenly thought of the time when my father passed away in my previous life.

“No, I wouldn’t have at all.”

As the chief mourner, I couldn’t even stay at the funeral home and was holed up in an internet cafe with bloodshot eyes, searching for information about Antrozole side effects for hours.

When I became convinced that my father had died from Antrozole side effects, I blamed myself and cried out, and then I ran blindly, thinking only of revenge, and met a dog’s death [a meaningless or unfortunate end].

Kang Min-jae seems to think of me as something incredibly great, but in the end, I’m just a person, and even insignificant.

He doesn’t know that I’m living my life for the second time, so in Kang Min-jae’s eyes, I may seem very insightful and calm.

“Min-jae.”

At that moment, Kang Soo-il put his cell phone in his inside pocket and approached us from the end of the hallway.

As soon as Kang Min-jae saw him, he asked in a hurried voice.

“Hyung. How are the external reactions? Has the police contacted you additionally?”

“Everyone’s very shocked. For now, I released an article saying that the surgery went well and we’re waiting for him to wake up, and the police said they received the perpetrator’s confession, so they’re checking the CCTV to see how the crime was committed.”

“…Yes.”

“Are you having a hard time?”

Kang Soo-il placed his hand on Kang Min-jae’s head and asked.

Kang Min-jae nodded, but then answered in a small voice.

“Still, compared to hyung, I’m just crying and not doing anything. Hyung must be having a hard time too…”

“I’m the one who’s supposed to do this kind of thing. Just focus on getting your mind right. And the elder is a strong person. He’ll wake up.”

“…I hope so.”

Kang Soo-il looked up at the ceiling for a moment and sighed deeply.

Then, he checked his wristwatch and looked out the window, which had already become dark.

“Min-jae, go home first. Visiting hours are over anyway, and nothing will change right away even if you stay here.”

“How can I go home? I don’t know when Grandfather will wake up.”

“Then get a hotel nearby and rest. I’ll contact you immediately if there are any changes.”

Kang Min-jae shook his head and insisted.

Then Kang Soo-il glanced at me.

He seemed to want me to persuade him together.

“Chief Kang is right, Kang. Visiting hours aren’t allowed anyway, so don’t wear yourself out here. You need to get enough sleep if you want to visit tomorrow morning too.”

“Still… how can I leave everything to hyung and the security team and rest alone?”

“Such a thing should never happen, but if something happens, you’re the one who has to make all the decisions. You need to conserve your energy. Hyung will be here. Don’t you trust hyung?”

“No, that’s not it…”

While Kang Min-jae was hesitating, I searched for nearby hotels on my phone.

Fortunately, there was a hotel right in front of the hospital that looked to be in good condition.

“Kang, there’s a hotel right in front of the hospital. It’s within walking distance. You can rest there and come right away when you get a call from Chief Kang. Let’s get up for now.”

As the two of us persuaded him together, Kang Min-jae looked at me and Kang Soo-il with a confused expression.

“I think Min-jae will be able to gather his thoughts well if Attorney Cha is with him…”

Kang Soo-il gestured to me with his eyes.

I was also somewhat uneasy about leaving Kang Min-jae alone, so I readily nodded.

“I understand. Kang, let’s go.”

I patted Kang Min-jae’s shoulder, but Kang Min-jae didn’t move.

Then Kang Soo-il sighed, grabbed Kang Min-jae’s arms, and lifted him up as if pulling him out.

“Come on.”

“Hyung, still…”

“Min-jae, Attorney Cha thinks the same way. There’s nothing you can do here right now anyway. It’s better to get some sleep. Huh?”

But Kang Min-jae didn’t budge.

Kang Soo-il looked at me as if asking what to do, and I sighed and straightened Kang Min-jae’s disheveled tie, saying.

“Kang. Chief Kang has to monitor the media’s reaction, communicate with the Blue House, and check on the elder’s health. But if Kang keeps staying here, it’s just adding to Chief Kang’s work. Even if Kang rests comfortably, other people can work with peace of mind. You can just sleep a little and come back to see him. So let’s go.”

Kang Min-jae looked at me with eyes that were slightly wavering at my words.

He seemed to think that his being here could be a burden.

I didn’t want him to have such thoughts because he might only have helpless thoughts, but it was unavoidable if I wanted Kang Min-jae to rest.

Kang Min-jae bit his lip and soon nodded.

“Hyung, you have to contact me, no matter what. Even for trivial things.”

“Of course. Don’t worry too much and go rest quickly.”

I took Kang Min-jae out of the hospital.

The fact that Kang Kwan-woong was attacked was reported in great detail, and Jungdo received many inquiries, so interest in Kang Min-jae would have increased as well.

So, I bought a mask in case people recognized Kang Min-jae and put it on him.

Avoiding the main gate and the back gate, where reporters were gathered, we moved to the exit that the security team had scouted, and fortunately, we were not caught by the reporters.

Kang Min-jae’s steps seemed heavy, but I didn’t rush him.

I don’t think it would be easy to make cold-hearted judgments and act in a situation where he might lose his grandfather.

It took 15 minutes to reach the hotel, which was a 5-minute walk from the hospital’s main gate.

“Room 2215.”

I stood in front of the elevator and checked the room card.

Kang Min-jae didn’t say anything.

“It would be good to order room service and sleep after going up. You haven’t had dinner yet.”

“…How can I eat anything?”

I understand, but…

Was this how Dong-jin felt when he saw me losing my father in my previous life and not being able to eat anything at the funeral home, and nagging me to eat something?

I knew he didn’t want to eat, but the thought that I had to feed him something collided.

“Come in.”

When I inserted the card key, the lights in the room turned on.

Kang Min-jae entered the room with slow steps.

And he immediately headed to the window overlooking the hospital’s main gate.

“There are still many reporters.”

“I guess so. The elder’s news wasn’t known to the world unless it was a national event, but such news broke out…”

Kang Min-jae sighed.

He didn’t take off his coat and just sat on the chair in front of the window, hanging his head.

Tears were mixed in with the sighs Kang Min-jae occasionally let out.

He covered his forehead with his hand and said in a trembling voice.

“…What if Grandfather really dies?”

There was nothing I could say.

Kang Kwan-woong’s attack in 2011 was something that didn’t happen in my previous life.

That was one of the reasons why I thought this was Woo-shin’s doing.

If it was really the work of Lee Sang-woon’s supporters, it should have happened in my previous life as well.

But in my previous life, Kang Kwan-woong didn’t pass away until 2016.

And that was due to old age, not such an attack.

“…”

I stared at Kang Min-jae.

Did I involve too many people in catching Woo-shin?

Kang Min-jae said it wasn’t my fault, but I couldn’t escape the guilt.

Until now, I had been fearless in my actions because I knew most of the future.

But at some point, the snowball I rolled grew bigger than I thought, and it rolled to points I didn’t even think of, changing many things.

That snowball eventually hit Kang Kwan-woong, and Kang Kwan-woong might be crushed to death by the snowball.

Like Kang Min-jae said, what if Kang Kwan-woong dies like this… what should I do?

I’m scared too.

I wanted to protect the people around me from Woo-shin and fight against Woo-shin.

But haven’t I failed to protect the most precious person to Kang Min-jae?

“Attorney.”

At the voice calling me, I turned my head towards Kang Min-jae.

“If this is really Woo-shin’s doing… if it really is, then… I will never forgive Go Sang-joon.”

Kang Min-jae clenched his pants and raised his head.

“Never… I will never forgive him.”