You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 447

You’ve Been Defended – Episode 448

#448

As soon as the event ended, Kang Min-jae came to my house.

Originally, we were thinking of gathering at the office and waiting for Kim Mi-ja to contact us, but since we figured the only reply we’d get that day would be a message with the date and time, we decided to call it a night.

So I told Kang Min-jae to go home and let me know when he heard from her.

“Why are you here?”

Dressed smartly in his party suit, Kang Min-jae naturally brushed past me and headed into the living room, looking tired.

“Just in case the contact comes in a different form, I thought it would be easier to respond with a lawyer present.”

He had a point.

I told her to contact me without informing Oda Satoshi, but if Kim Mi-ja didn’t listen, we might get a different kind of contact than we expected.

In that case, we needed to be able to respond in real-time.

“Where’s Chief Kang?”

“He dropped me off and went home.”

“So you don’t have a car?”

“No. Oh, don’t worry. I’ll take a taxi home.”

I wondered why he wasn’t saying he’d stay over, then I noticed Kang Min-jae’s attire.

He couldn’t go to work like that tomorrow, so he had no choice but to go home.

Good.

“How was the reception?”

“Ugh, it was such a farce. Packed with opposition party folks. You could say I’m biased, but even though everyone knows I’ll get flak [criticism] for it, I think the ruling party people who at least pretend to be cautious and don’t go to those places are much better than the opposition folks who go there knowing they’ll get caught, even if I don’t know what they’re really like inside.”

Come to think of it, Kang Min-jae was extremely worried about his attendance being exposed to the media.

Was that not a problem?

“Oh, luckily, I stuck right behind Soo-il hyung [older brother/friend], so I didn’t get photographed. I kept my eyes down inside the venue too, so I don’t think any pictures were taken. I saw some opposition figures getting caught by reporters and questioned.”

Kang Min-jae answered as if he’d read my mind.

I had told Kang Min-jae that it didn’t matter if he got photographed, but as he said, it wouldn’t be good for him to be criticized for attending such events.

“That’s a relief.”

“Kim Mi-ja came wearing a kimono. But you know how it is? Foreigners might think we all look the same and can’t tell the difference, but we can tell that even among East Asians, people from different countries look different.”

“I know.”

“Kim Mi-ja definitely looks Korean. Even in a kimono, she really looks Korean.”

“Looks don’t show everything about someone’s identity.”

“Oh, like how even though you look like a celebrity, you’re a lawyer, not a celebrity?”

“…….”

Kang Min-jae laughed when I ignored him.

He seemed amused that I didn’t know how to respond to compliments about my appearance.

I briefly thought about how Kang Min-jae reacted to compliments about his own appearance.

─Haha, thank you.

─Really? That makes me feel good!

─Oh, I ended up showing off without even realizing it. I can’t exactly wrap my face up in bandages.

……I don’t think I could do that.

“Identity is… hmm, I don’t know. When I first saw her, she looked so happy laughing and chatting with Oda Satoshi. Really. She seemed to be having a happy married life? It’s only been about five years since they got married, so they’re still newlyweds. That made me feel anxious about whether she would cooperate with us.”

“Well, since she has a job where she’s exposed to the public, she’s probably good at putting on a show.”

That was what I hoped, actually.

If she was satisfied with her current situation and didn’t feel guilty, contrary to my expectations, it would be more difficult.

Well, it’s not hard to figure out what’s on her mind.

I can find out when I meet her and use my ability.

“Ah, Tae-shik.”

Kang Min-jae, who was drinking water, waved at Tae-shik as he came in from the terrace after smoking.

“Oh, Kang. What are you doing here?”

“Am I not allowed to come here?”

“No, I didn’t hear you were coming from the lawyer.”

“What, am I included in the list of people to be wary of?”

Kang Min-jae narrowed his eyes and glared at Tae-shik.

Tae-shik shrugged and plopped down on the couch.

“If the lawyer tells me to be, I will be?”

“Wow, that’s harsh. I thought we were getting close.”

“We are close. Don’t worry. The lawyer hasn’t told me to put you on the list yet. I hope you don’t get on the list. It would be kind of sad to beat you up.”

“Wow, I’m touched. Really?”

“Of course. I even got stabbed because of you, Kang. We’re comrades who bled together. Comrades!”

“You haven’t even been to the army, stop talking about comrades.”

I snorted, and Tae-shik’s face turned red as he jumped up.

“The reason I didn’t go to the army! It’s not because there’s something wrong with me!”

“You didn’t go because you had a criminal record. That’s your problem.”

“I washed my hands of that!”

Tae-shik said, raising his hands.

“Yeah, go wash your hands. You reek of smoke.”

“You’re a smoker yourself.”

Tae-shik grumbled and got up.

He seemed to be heading to the bathroom, but Kang Min-jae asked.

“Hey, Tae-shik. How’s the search for Kim Mi-ja’s parents going?”

That was what I had instructed Tae-shik to do when we decided to contact Oda Tomiko.

Considering that Oda Tomiko went to Japan at the young age of 13, it seemed likely that she didn’t have parents or was abandoned, but you never know.

Back then, there was no Angel’s House [orphanage].

Of course, there might have been childcare facilities similar to Angel’s House that supplied children to Wooshin, but according to Kang Soo-il, they usually took them under the pretext of employment, and 13 was too young.

If they were around high school age back then, there were many young female workers who worked the sewing machines at the Pyeonghwa Market [Peace Market, a famous garment district in Seoul] while attending night school, so it would make sense that they would be interested in high-paying jobs, but not 13-year-olds.

We had no idea how she was caught by Wooshin, but I thought finding her parents would be quite meaningful.

“I’m looking into it, but it’s taking a lot of time because that era wasn’t properly computerized. I told the kids to focus on finding Kim Mi-ja’s parents for now.”

“Yeah, it won’t be easy. Besides, so much time has passed…”

Tae-shik went to wash his hands, and Kang Min-jae looked at his watch and sighed.

“One hour left.”

“Did you eat?”

“No. There was a buffet with all sorts of things, but it wasn’t the time to eat that kind of stuff.”

“Want to eat something?”

“You don’t have anything to eat at your house.”

“Ramen? Ah, Tae-shik ate it all. I told Sang-gil to buy some more, I wonder if he did.”

“Ah, I don’t want ramen. I don’t want to order anything. I want to eat something like home-cooked food.”

Kang Min-jae waved his hand.

Home-cooked food is good.

Come to think of it, it’s been too long since I went to my parents’ house.

I should make time to visit soon.

“Ah, I want to eat the soybean paste stew your mom makes.”

“Why do you want to eat that?”

“Do I need permission to want to eat something?”

“That’s not it, but your housekeeper is a good cook too.”

“Yeah, but it’s different.”

Come to think of it, my parents asked me if Kang Min-jae was okay after hearing about Kang Kwan-woong’s death.

Like Cha Min-jae, my parents seemed to think of Kang Min-jae as somewhere between a nephew and a son.

They’d be happy if I brought him along.

Kang Min-jae is so affable, all I have to do is keep my mouth shut and they’ll be all smiles.

“I’ll take you with me sometime when I have time.”

“Wow, really? I’d really like that. Really.”

“My parents are worried about you.”

“I’m really touched… I need to show them that I’m doing really well thanks to you!”

“Why is it thanks to me?”

“You made the big decision to tell me you’re a time traveler, so I’m doing better. Ah, but I don’t want to interfere with your happy time with your parents…”

“Suddenly?”

“Well, you know. In the past… um, um, there was something bad that happened… Every day you spend with your parents must be precious. I shouldn’t interfere.”

“You’re being cheeky.”

He’s talking about time travelers again.

I’m tired of saying I’m not.

“Lawyer, I’m suddenly anxious, you’re not going to abandon me and warp to another time, are you?”

“I can’t do that.”

If I could, I would have gone back to the past and prevented Wooshin from ever existing.

“Why? Is the time machine broken?”

What would happen if Kang Min-jae found out that I had the ability to distinguish between truth and lies?

Maybe he’d change his mind and think I was an alien.

I must never let him know.

Above all, there’s a big risk if someone else finds out about this.

Who knows?

Someone might find out about my ability and never say a word in front of me.

“Oh, it’s 11:55.”

We were just joking around, and quite a bit of time had passed.

She said to contact us by 12, not at exactly 12, but there’s still no contact.

I don’t think the threat didn’t work.

From then on, we put Kang Min-jae’s phone on the side table and stared at it silently.

Tae-shik tried to turn on the TV in the middle, but Kang Min-jae slapped his hand holding the remote.

He said the phone’s ring might be drowned out by the TV’s sound.

And so time passed again, and it was 11:59.

The phone rang.

“I’ll answer on speakerphone.”

“Record it too.”

Kang Min-jae nodded and answered the phone.

“Yes.”

─This is Oda Tomiko.

“Yes, Kim Mi-ja.”

Kang Min-jae pressured Kim Mi-ja skillfully.

Kim Mi-ja seemed a little flustered when her Korean name, which she thought had been forgotten, was called.

There was a moment of silence.

─…I looked into your company.

“When and where shall we meet?”

─You’re the grandson of the former president, aren’t you?

“I told you to decide when and where we should meet and let us know.”

─Haven’t you considered that there would be big problems if I told my husband?

“So you haven’t told him yet. Good job.”

─…….

Kang Min-jae was quite good.

Kim Mi-ja opened her mouth again after a long time.

─Really… why are you doing this to me? You don’t want money, do you?

“You said you were going back to Japan right after the event today, but you’re still in Korea, so you must have changed your schedule. The number you called from is also…”

While Kang Min-jae was talking, Tae-shik searched for the phone number on the portal [search engine].

Tae-shik showed me the search results.

“It’s the WS Hotel.”

It’s a Wooshin affiliate.

There was no reason for Oda Satoshi, who is close to Wooshin, to stay at another hotel.

“Did your husband go to Japan first?”

─…….

“Well, since you’re not together at this time, I guess he left first. I don’t think he’d have anything to do alone in a foreign country with his wife suddenly having a schedule change. Ah… since he has bad hobbies, he might have gone to have a good time.”

─What are you talking about!

“I want to talk to you in person. If you don’t know the Korean geography well and can’t decide where to meet, frankly, we don’t mind meeting at the Japanese Embassy. You might not be okay with that, Kim Mi-ja.”

─Are you coming too, Lawyer Cha Joo-han?

Since she looked into the degree, she must have gotten a sense of it.

She knows that we handle issues related to Wooshin.

And that we’re quite famous in that field.

So she’s bringing up my name, and she probably has a rough idea of why she’s needed.

Since she has a secret relationship with Wooshin, she might have considered asking Wooshin for help.

But I don’t think she did.

If she had asked Wooshin for help, Wooshin wouldn’t have let her contact us.

They would have told her to go back to Japan and that they would take care of it.

“Yes. If you’re anxious, Kim Mi-ja, tell us who you want to bring with you. Of course, it has to be someone who can know all of Kim Mi-ja’s secrets.”

─…Let’s meet tomorrow.

“You keep not mentioning a place, so can we decide? As you said, I’m also in a socially prominent position, so there will be no physical actions that could be a threat to Kim Mi-ja. I just want to talk.”

─…Okay.

“Do you have any plans tomorrow?”

─Why are you asking?

“I thought it would be good to meet somewhere close by.”

─I’m meeting the director at the National Museum of Korea.

So that’s the excuse she used to send Oda Satoshi ahead.

Oda Satoshi could have stayed longer, but he must have had other plans.

“Let’s meet at the Cosmopolitan Hotel near the National Museum of Korea. What time is good for you?”

─Let’s do 5 o’clock.

“Okay. Is there anyone who will be joining you?”

─…Why are you asking when you know? No.

“We need to know in advance in case there is. Where should we contact you later? Should we contact you at the hotel?”