You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 443

You Have Been Defended – Episode 444

#444

“We need to look into this man in detail.”

I said, reviewing the profile and family photo that Secretary Oh had attached.

According to Secretary Oh’s summary, Oda Satoshi has a son and a daughter, both of whom graduated from Tokyo University and are now elites in society.

One is a bureaucrat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the other in the Ministry of Finance.

They are steadily taking courses to enter politics, following in their father’s footsteps.

“Was his wife’s age not confirmed?”

“No. Only her name.”

If the 13-year-old child in the personal information I checked is Oda Satoshi’s new wife, she would only be 46 years old this year.

She couldn’t have had children over 30 years ago.

They must be the children Oda Satoshi had with his ex-wife.

“We don’t know her age, but here’s her name. It’s written at the bottom. Oda Tomiko. We’ve only confirmed that she’s a professor of fine arts.”

“Tomiko… Is the notation next to it the Chinese character representation?”

“Yes. You see the Chinese characters ‘小田美子’ next to it, right?”

“Yes. If we read it in Korean, it’s Mija. And coincidentally… the woman in this personal information also has the name Kim Mija.”

“It seems right, doesn’t it?”

Like Im Hyun-il, she seems to have named herself by reading her Korean name as is in Japanese.

According to Japanese customs, where married women take their husband’s surname, she seems to have changed her surname to Oda Satoshi’s.

If the appearance is similar, the age range is similar, and even the name is the same, the possibility increases further.

We can’t rule out the possibility that they are not the same person, but it would be good to proceed with the investigation assuming they are the same person.

“Did you say she’s a professor of fine arts?”

“Yes. Shall we look into it further?”

“I will.”

If I can’t find out more details after obtaining this much information, I’m an idiot.

Secretary Oh said he would also try hard to find out and left the room, and I immediately accessed the international search engine.

When I put Oda Tomiko’s name in the search box and clicked, information about her came out immediately.

She is a professor of art history at a prestigious Japanese university and seems to have been actively involved in various activities.

I also easily found information that she worked as a curator at a famous Japanese art museum before being appointed as a university professor.

In addition, she seemed to be running a small gallery herself.

Along with the gallery name, I was able to find an interview in a women’s magazine.

I can’t interpret Japanese fluently, so I’ll have to look at the interview later, so I saved only the link and went to the website of the university where she is currently a professor.

When I searched for her name in the faculty list, I could immediately check her photo, the university she graduated from, and the email address where I could contact her directly.

“Graduated from Youngjin Women’s University in Korea with a degree in Fine Arts, and a master’s and doctoral degree in Art History?”

From Youngjin Women’s University?

She went to Japan at the age of 13.

Since there is a possibility that she was forced into sexual favors, she may have been noticed by someone from a young age and received sponsorship to attend university.

But in that case, it would have been smoother to attend university in Japan.

Assuming that there was someone who sponsored her, who would send her to her home country, from which she had to leave as if she was being dragged away, while paying for her to attend school with their own money?

Korea is a place where their influence does not reach.

What if she leaves and never comes back?

‘Is she really from Youngjin Women’s University?’

It was inevitable that doubts arose.

If she was to be appointed as a professor, the university would have thoroughly verified her academic background at the time of appointment, but they may have just accepted her graduation certificate.

Isn’t it easy to forge a certificate?

Her husband is a five-term congressman, so if he gave her the certificate, there is no reason to dig deeper.

Her husband is as good as a guarantor, and there may have been pressure.

I pondered for a moment and sent a message to the group chat where Choi Jong-hyun and Jo Bong-joon were also together.

[Is there anyone around you who graduated from Youngjin Women’s University?]

Soon, the numbers disappeared as if everyone had checked the message, and replies arrived one by one.

[Kang Min-jae: I do.

Choi Jong-hyun: I have one too. Seyeon graduated from Youngjin Women’s University. There are many others besides Seyeon.]

I didn’t know that reporter Yoon Se-yeon graduated from Youngjin Women’s University.

In that case, it would be better to ask Yoon Se-yeon for confirmation than to investigate through Kang Min-jae.

[I understand.]

I sent a simple reply and was about to call Yoon Se-yeon when another message arrived.

[Jo Bong-joon: What’s this? Why Youngjin Women’s University all of a sudden?

Choi Jong-hyun: What’s at Youngjin Women’s University?

Kang Min-jae: What is it?]

I was about to explain about Oda Tomiko, but it seemed too long, so I deleted the message I had written with a few letters.

And I replied simply.

[Secretary Oh will explain it to you.]

I left the chat room as it was and called Yoon Se-yeon.

─Oh, lawyer. It’s been a while! Did you have a good New Year?

“How would I know if I had a good New Year or not?”

─It’s just a saying. But what’s up? You’re calling me.

“Are you outside? It’s a bit noisy.”

─Ah, is it noisy? I’m driving. Should I call you back later?

“No. It won’t take long.”

─What is it? You only call me when you need something, so you’re calling to ask for something again, right?

“That’s right.”

─You seemed to be plotting something interesting when you went to the House of Angels with Senior Choi. Are you going to give me the first report?

“Well, I don’t think you’ll be able to report it even if I give it to you.”

─Huh, why?

“Because it’s Iljung Daily [a fictional newspaper].”

At my answer, Yoon Se-yeon trailed off with a self-deprecating tone, saying, ‘Well…’

─But I’ll still help you. It sounds like it’ll be fun.

“It will be fun.”

─Tell me quickly. I’m curious.

“Listen to the details from reporter Choi. I heard you graduated from Youngjin Women’s University. Is that right?”

─Yes, that’s right. Why Youngjin Women’s University?

“Then can you confirm one graduate? There are often cases where the department office doesn’t confirm, so I think I need help from a graduate.”

─I can confirm. What year did they graduate? What department? What’s their name?

“I don’t know the year. I’ll put two profiles in an email soon. Their names are different, but they are presumed to be the same person. She graduated from the Department of Fine Arts at Youngjin Women’s University and has a master’s and doctoral degree in art history. Can you identify her with this much information?”

─Hmm, I think I can. Is she an older graduate?

“She’s 45 years old.”

─I think there’s data for that age. If not, well, I can inquire with the alumni association. By when do I need to find out?

“The sooner the better.”

─Okay. I’ll check and contact you!

As soon as I hung up, I organized Kim Mija’s personal information that I had and Oda Tomiko’s information that I found on the Internet and sent it to Yoon Se-yeon by email.

After about 20 minutes, I received a confirmation and a message arrived from Yoon Se-yeon saying that she had received the email.

While Yoon Se-yeon is investigating, there is one more thing to do.

[Hello, Ms. Lee Ga-yeon. This is lawyer Cha Joo-han. I expect you’ve heard about me through reporters Choi Jong-hyun and Jo Bong-joon. I have a question for you. Please contact me.]

I sent a message to the mobile phone that Choi Jong-hyun and Jo Bong-joon paid for in Japan.

When I heard the story when Jo Bong-joon and Choi Jong-hyun asked if they could take a picture of the Hall of Fame at Okashima Hospital, I heard that they can be contacted smoothly after 10 a.m.

It’s 10:20 a.m. now, so I don’t think I’ll have to wait long.

While waiting for Lee Ga-yeon’s reply, I entered the chat room where unread messages were piled up, wondering if Secretary Oh had explained Oda Tomiko in detail.

They were still talking about Oda Tomiko.

[I contacted reporter Yoon Se-yeon to confirm whether Kim Mija graduated from Youngjin Women’s University.]

[Choi Jong-hyun: Suspecting academic forgery?]

[Jo Bong-joon: I’m searching, but it’s difficult to find because it’s a Japanese site…]

[Kang Min-jae: Isn’t there a high possibility of academic forgery? The situation is the situation… She’s a person who went to Japan through that route. It would have taken at least 10 years to get a bachelor’s degree and a master’s and doctoral degree in Korea… Is it possible to live in Korea for such a long time… There’s no way Woo-shin would have let that happen.]

[Oh Yang-hoon: That’s right. If it’s true that she forged her academic background, it seems like she would have deliberately said that she graduated from a school in Korea because it would be difficult to reliably verify that she graduated from Youngjin Women’s University in Japan.]

[Choi Jong-hyun: Well… If you lie that you graduated from a university in Japan, testimonies will pour out, so it’s better to say that you graduated from a school in Korea.]

[Kang Min-jae: Since he’s a five-term congressman, he probably wanted to say that the person he’s remarrying is someone with a certain level of specs [specifications, meaning qualifications]. Looking at Secretary Oh’s data, his children all took the elite course…]

When I checked the messages up to this point, a reply arrived from Lee Ga-yeon.

[Lee Ga-yeon: Hello. I’ve heard a lot about you. You’re the one who’s helping us, but I’m late in greeting you. I’m sorry. What do you want to ask?]

Indeed, Lee Ga-yeon sent a quick reply.

I immediately sent her a photo of Oda Tomiko and Oda Satoshi together.

[Have you ever seen this person? According to our understanding, the woman was sent to Japan by Woo-shin 32 years ago. Her name is Oda Tomiko, and the man next to her is Oda Satoshi, a five-term congressman.]

Kim Mija is a person who is expected to have been sent to Japan through a similar route to Lee Ga-yeon and provided sexual favors.

I don’t know when Oda Satoshi met her, but the possibility that she belongs to Woo-shin’s sexual favor targets cannot be ruled out.

Although Oda Satoshi was not on the list of people Lee Ga-yeon directly saw, the record of donating a large amount of money to Shingaku University Hospital certainly exists.

Considering both the relationship with Kim Mija and the fact that he donated to Shingaku University Hospital, the possibility that he is a customer of Woo-shin cannot be ruled out.

Considering the age difference between Lee Ga-yeon and Kim Mija, even if Lee Ga-yeon doesn’t recognize Kim Mija, there is at least a possibility that she saw Oda Satoshi.

There’s no way a person who received hospitality once wouldn’t receive it twice.

About 10 minutes passed.

Lee Ga-yeon sent a reply.

[I was late in replying because I was showing it to other friends. I have never seen Oda Satoshi, but I have seen Oda Tomiko. I even had a conversation with her… A friend said she saw Oda Satoshi.]

[A conversation?]

[Yes. There’s a Japanese restaurant where we provided sexual favors… That’s where I was first dragged to, and I continued to provide sexual favors there until I escaped. I met her there.]

[When, what kind of conversation did you have?]

[When I was 17 or 18 years old… She told me to run away… to run away no matter what…]