You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 458

You Have Been Defended – 459

#459

I wouldn’t prepare this much food even for a holiday.

I subtly lowered my head to check if the table legs were about to buckle.

Mountains of LA ribs, japchae [Korean glass noodles stir-fry] resembling rolling hills, and a pyramid of grilled croaker, along with dishes that clearly required a lot of effort, were endlessly laid out.

We could roughly figure out where to sit by looking at the rice bowls, as Tae-shik’s bowl looked like the legendary ‘gobong rice’ [a large serving of rice] that servants used to eat.

“Mother, Father, please sit down quickly.”

Kang Min-jae cautiously got up, watching my mother diligently working in front of the gas stove, ladling soup, and my father placing the soup bowls she handed him on the table.

He hovered around, asking if there was anything he could help with.

Tae-shik seemed determined not to be outdone and tried to jump up, but I gently pressed down on his leg and shook my head.

“Just relax. Kang, sit down. I’ll help.”

As I got up, my father placed a soup bowl in front of me and sat across from me.

“No, it’s all done. Juhan’s mom, come on over.”

Being the only son, it was typical for the three of us to sit and eat in silence when the family gathered.

But with two guests, it became quite lively.

The table, which I thought was big enough for just us, even seemed a bit cramped.

“Mother, when did you prepare all this? If we had known you were preparing so much, we would have come earlier to help.”

My mother waved her hand at Kang Min-jae’s words.

“No, we don’t make pancakes for holidays. Just making some delicious food? When else would I cook like this?”

“Oh, you must have worked so hard. Next time, let’s eat out nearby. I saw a lot of good restaurants on the way here.”

“Even so, I don’t get to see you often, so I have to cook for you with my own hands. Now, let’s eat quickly. Tae-shik, eat a lot too.”

Thanks to Tae-shik, who bowed deeply again as soon as he came into the house and met my mother, she was feeling extremely pleased.

Although she wasn’t showing it, both of them must have been full of question marks.

Who is this friend and why did my son bring him home?

“Is the food to your liking?”

At my mother’s question, Tae-shik, who was gobbling down food, covered his mouth and replied with difficulty.

“It’s really delicious, Mother!”

“You can answer after you’ve finished chewing.”

“Haha, I’m glad you like it.”

“Tae-shik, my mother’s cooking skills are amazing. If my mother ever opens a restaurant, I’ll quit being a lawyer and be the manager there.”

Of course, my mother’s food is delicious, but hearing those words from Kang Min-jae, who employs a live-in housekeeper who is really good at cooking, made me wonder if it was *that* good.

“By the way, Tae-shik, how do you know our Juhan? You said you were indebted to him earlier.”

At my father’s question, Tae-shik, who was drinking water, smiled and replied.

“I am the lawyer’s guard…”

“He’s an informant for our office.”

I quickly cut him off, thinking my parents would worry if Tae-shik said he was guarding me.

I was so tired that I forgot to give Tae-shik a heads up.

“Informant? What kind of informant?”

“Ah, we take on clients, and there’s a lot of information needed for the trial. There’s a limit to the information a lawyer can find, so we hire informants like Tae-shik. Tae-gwang also had informants.”

“Ah, I see. I didn’t even know there was such a thing as an informant.”

“Haha, yes. But Tae-shik has been very active lately, so we’ve been getting a lot of help. That’s why the lawyer wanted to invite him, I guess.”

Kang Min-jae was truly eloquent.

Tae-shik seemed to realize that he shouldn’t reveal that he was a bodyguard and nodded at Kang Min-jae’s words.

“I didn’t do much… I’m just glad I can be of help to the lawyer!”

“You’re a young man, but you do such work. That’s impressive.”

At my mother’s words, Tae-shik smiled awkwardly.

He probably couldn’t say that his experience from running a private investigation agency was still useful.

“When did you start working together? I don’t think I saw you at the opening ceremony back then.”

“Ah, I find those kinds of events a bit *b 부담스러워서 [burdensome/uncomfortable]* so I didn’t go. We’ve been working together… um, when was it.”

“Almost the same time as me. We started working together from the second case. Do you remember the copyright lawsuit? That, the Jung Hye-jin drama.”

“Ah, I remember. It’s been a long time. You’ve been working for a long time, but we haven’t heard anything about Tae-shik. Juhan is so quiet… Juhan treats you well, right?”

“Of course, he treats me very well.”

I was dumbfounded to hear those words from Tae-shik, who usually calls me a jerk, but I continued eating without saying anything.

“Oh, right. Juhan, how is Dongjin doing?”

“Dongjin? He’s probably… just living as he always has.”

I didn’t go into detail, so I don’t know if he’s doing well.

But since there were no other issues, I think he’s doing fine.

“Dongjin is doing great.”

“Oh my, do you know Dongjin too, Tae-shik?”

“Yes. I was indebted to Dongjin a while ago…”

“Tae-shik had a big accident and got hurt! So he was hospitalized in Dongjin’s hospital.”

Kang Min-jae quickly took over before Tae-shik could say anything else.

He seemed to think that if Tae-shik said anything else, he might bring up the time I was kidnapped, which was the last time he saw Dongjin.

Tae-shik isn’t the type to think quickly, so even if he tried to hide it, his words would have holes in them, and he would be exposed if the questions and answers continued.

“How did you get into an accident… Are you okay now?”

“Ah, yes. I’m perfectly fine now!”

“That’s a relief. Oh, you’ve already finished eating? Would you like more rice?”

“Yes, Mother.”

By the time Tae-shik started eating his second bowl of gobong rice, I hadn’t even eaten half of my rice.

It seems like the idiom ‘eating like a whirlwind’ was coined for Tae-shik.

“By the way, when can we visit Juhan’s new house?”

My father opened his mouth.

Actually, they had visited my old officetel [a small apartment often used as an office] before, but they had never visited the villa I live in now.

I’ve been busy since I moved to the villa, and now that Tae-shik and Sang-gil are living with me, it’s even more impossible to have them over.

“Later.”

“Always later. Mom and Dad should go and clean up too.”

“We have a housekeeper who cleans.”

“Still. You should show us around the house.”

“When I have time later.”

“Mother, would you like me to show you some pictures I took of the house?”

Kang Min-jae asked, taking out his phone.

When did he take pictures of my house?

Before I could ask, Kang Min-jae went between my mother and father and started showing them pictures.

“The house is nice.”

“But it feels empty because the house is too big.”

“It has everything we need.”

“If we lived in Seoul, we could go anytime we had time. Since we live far away, it’s not easy to go up there unless we make up our mind.”

I came down to be a good son, but I’m about to become an unfilial son and go back up.

“How have you been, Min-jae?”

“Me? I work, go home, and sleep. Same as always.”

Kang Min-jae replied with an awkward smile.

He knew what the question was intended to mean, so he was being vague.

“Are you living alone?”

“No, as you may have seen on the news, my grandfather adopted an uncle. I call him *hyung* [older brother], but anyway, I’m with him.”

“That’s good. That’s a relief. You must be very lonely if you’re alone.”

“It’s okay. Haha. And the lawyer treats me well, so I don’t think about it much anymore.”

“Juhan treated you well…?”

My mother looked at me as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Yes. When I was having a hard time, he helped me not to have a hard time.”

“Juhan knows how to do that too.”

Even my parents…

What do the people around me think of me?

“Anyway, I’m glad, it’s good to see you doing well. I was really worried.”

“Thank you. But I’m really okay.”

“I’m sorry if I brought up something I shouldn’t have.”

“No! Not at all! It’s okay, really. I’m going to live thinking of you as my parents now. Haha.”

“Okay. From now on, Min-jae is Cha Min-jae.”

“…Can’t I become Cha Tae-shik too?”

Tae-shik slipped in and asked.

Then my mother started laughing loudly.

“I’ll think about it if you erase your tattoos.”

As she said that, my mother pointed to his neck.

Indeed, if Tae-shik hadn’t bowed deeply, neither of them would have noticed the tattoos.

“I’ve heard it’s very painful, but I’ll go get some laser treatment.”

Anyway, after the long meal ended, my mother brought out the desserts she had prepared.

She said she had received a coffee machine as a gift and brewed several cups of coffee, which tasted quite good.

Thanks to Kang Min-jae and Tae-shik’s antics, the smiles never left my parents’ faces.

Are they that happy?

Even though it’s late, should I start practicing too?

“Oh my, it’s already this late. Juhan, can you show Min-jae and Tae-shik to their room? I’ll do the dishes.”

“Mother! I’ll do the dishes!”

Tae-shik quickly rolled up his sleeves and went into the kitchen.

Then the ominous tattoos covering his arms were revealed.

“You have tattoos here too.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Aren’t there a lot of people with tattoos these days? But didn’t your parents say anything?”

“I don’t have parents.”

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

“Oh, no! From now on, you are my mother! Please scold me!”

Then my mother gently tapped Tae-shik’s butt and said.

“You rascal. How dare you get so many tattoos without my permission!”

“Sob, I’m sorry.”

“Your punishment is to do the dishes.”

“Yes…”

“I’m just kidding. Go upstairs and rest. I can do the dishes.”

“No. I’ll do it! I’m very good at doing dishes.”

“It’s okay. Hurry up.”

Tae-shik eventually followed me upstairs to the second floor at my mother’s insistence.

I roughly found a vacant room for guests and opened the door.

I checked if there were any other empty rooms, but they were piled with luggage, so it didn’t seem like anyone could sleep there.

“You two can sleep here.”

“The bed is too small for the two of us, isn’t it?”

“One of you will have to sleep on the floor. Decide that yourselves. I’m going to rest, so you two do whatever you want.”

I left them alone and went into my room.

It’s a room that I use maybe once or twice a year, so I just told them to use it as needed, but they insisted that their son should have a room in the main house, so they stubbornly left it there.

They must have changed the bedding to new ones because I could smell fabric softener.

I changed into my training clothes and lay down on the bed.

Sleeping right after eating isn’t good for acid reflux, but I’m still tired.

* * *

─Lawyer, Lawyer!

I slowly opened my eyes at the voice calling me.

Judging by how dark the room was, it seemed like the sun had already set.

I checked the time and it was already past 8 o’clock.

Did I sleep for over 6 hours?

Well, I had a headache from tossing and turning all night, so it’s understandable.

I rubbed my eyes and opened the door, and Kang Min-jae came into the room.

“What?”

“Your mother asked when we’re going to have dinner.”

“I’m not hungry yet.”

“Still, get up. You can’t keep sleeping.”

“I should. What did Kang and Tae-shik do?”

“We just chatted with your mother and father.”

Is it fun to talk to other people’s parents?

I think I would be too uncomfortable.

“Okay. I’ll go down.”

“Yes.”

I checked the phone I had left on the side of the bed.

There were several messages, including one from a phone number that wasn’t saved in my contacts.

[Lawyer, this is Kim Mi-ja. Are you available to talk around 11 tonight?]