You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 464

You Have Been Defended – Episode 465

The taxi arrived in a residential area distinguished by its striking blue roofs.

Even before the taxi turned into the alley, an elderly woman was visible on the narrow road.

As soon as she saw the taxi, she waved, and the driver steered into the alley, parking haphazardly.

“Here we are.”

The driver got out, engaging the parking brake, barely giving me time to pay the fare.

I took out a 10,000 won bill from my wallet and placed it near the gearshift before exiting the vehicle.

“Oh my, what’s going on? Do these people really know Mija?”

“That’s what I’m saying. What about Mija’s parents?”

“I didn’t tell them the full story yet, fearing it might give them a heart attack, but I did mention that there was someone important they needed to meet. But who are these people to know Mija?”

Listening to the conversation between the taxi driver and the old woman, I gathered she was his mother, the one he’d spoken to on the phone earlier.

“Hello, Mother.”

Kang Min-jae stepped forward and greeted the old woman.

He then produced a business card from his pocket and handed it to her.

“I’m Kang Min-jae, an attorney with the Jeongdo Law Firm.”

“Oh my. A lawyer, sir?”

“Yes. He says he knows Mija. I was so surprised. He came all the way here to find Mija’s family.”

“Really? Then does that mean Mija is still alive?”

“Mom! Watch your words. We’re in front of Mija’s house.”

While the taxi driver spoke with his mother, I examined the gate of the house where Kim Mija’s family supposedly lived.

A nameplate was affixed to the gate.

Kim Seok-woon.

Likely Kim Mija’s father’s name.

“Gil-du’s mother.”

Just then, the gate of the blue-roofed house creaked open, and an old woman with a stooped posture peered out.

She looked aged, but it was immediately apparent that she bore a strong resemblance to Kim Mija.

It seemed to be Kim Mija’s mother.

She appeared to have come out due to the commotion outside the fence, and she slowly scrutinized us, who were blocking the alleyway.

“Madam! Your back must be hurting; why did you come out?”

“Well, it’s noisy outside… But, are these the guests who are coming to our house?”

Kim Mija’s mother looked at me, Kang Min-jae, and Tae-shik in turn and asked.

I gestured to Kang Min-jae, and he immediately began recording a video with his phone.

As before, he ensured the time was visible on my phone screen, capturing the exact moment the filming commenced.

This was to provide irrefutable proof to Kim Mija of the truth.

“Yes. They are lawyers from Seoul.”

“Lawyers, why did they come all the way here?”

The conversation, excluding us, continued, so I decided to intervene to prevent the taxi driver from saying anything unnecessary.

“Hello. I’m Cha Joo-han, an attorney with the Jeongdo Law Firm. Are you Kim Mija’s mother?”

The moment the three syllables ‘Kim Mija’ left my mouth, her pupils began to tremble slightly.

With her hands clasped behind her back, she leaned against the peeling gate for support.

“Did you… Did you just say something?”

“I asked if you are Kim Mija’s mother.”

“Mi, Mija? Why Mija…?”

Having heard news of Kim Mija for the first time in decades, she seemed to be trying to remain composed, as if not to raise false hopes.

I recognized it as a natural defense mechanism, born from repeated expectations and disappointments during her search for Kim Mija.

“We know Kim Mija.”

“…Oh my.”

Her legs seemed to give way, and she began to sink to the ground.

Fortunately, before she fell, Tae-shik swiftly caught her small frame.

“Oh my… Oh my… You know Mija…? Sirs, do you know our Mija?”

“Yes.”

“Madam, let’s go inside and talk. It’s not good to be standing out here like this.”

“Ah… Yes, yes.”

Seeming very flustered, Kim Mija’s mother turned and went into the house.

Then, the taxi driver’s mother patted us on the back, urging us to go inside.

We stepped through the narrow iron gate and entered the property.

The inside of the house was exactly as one might imagine a ‘country house’ [a traditional rural home] to be.

As soon as we entered, a white Jindo dog [a Korean breed of dog] tied to a stake barked at us, and on a wooden platform on one side, there was a pile of dishes still wet, as if they had just been washed.

After crossing the yard where unidentifiable vegetables were drying, we were led to the wooden platform.

We removed our shoes and stepped up, and Kim Mija’s mother took out a handkerchief with trembling hands and wiped her brow.

“What, what is going on, really…? Gil-du’s mother, is it true that these sirs know our Mija? Huh?”

“Madam, don’t ask me; ask the sirs.”

“Ah, well… Our Mija… Is she doing well? Our Mija must be forty-six years old now… I hope she met a good husband and is living well… With rabbit-like children [a Korean expression for cute children], eating what she wants, and living well in good health, right?”

“Kim Mija is doing well now. She is married and living comfortably in a nice house, wearing nice clothes.”

“Oh my…”

She covered her forehead as if she felt dizzy and leaned her head back against a pillar.

“Madam, she said Mija was alive. She said Mija was alive!”

“Yes… Our Mija was alive… But… But why didn’t she come home even once? Huh? We didn’t even move, thinking Mija might come home… If the sirs were sent to me, doesn’t that mean Mija was also looking for her family? But why didn’t she come to Baekgeumdo [likely the name of the island or region] even once…? Sir. This, this is where Mija was born. I gave birth to Mija here. The elementary school Mija went to is over there, and our Mija caught clams and played in the sea in front of here… Why didn’t she come here even once? Is she sick? Did she get a serious illness? Is that why she’s not getting better?”

It sounded like a resentful question, but there was no resentment in her tone.

She seemed genuinely curious.

And on the other hand, she seemed anxious.

She was clearly worried that something might have happened to Kim Mija.

“No. Kim Mija is healthy.”

“Then, did she forget her home? Does she not know this is her hometown?”

“That’s not it either. Kim Mija told us that this is her hometown, so we came here.”

“Sir, I feel like my insides are burning up. Is Mija far away? Huh? Why didn’t she look for her parents…? Why…? She left home at the young age of thirteen, but how could that young child not want to see her parents until now?”

“Kim Mija is currently living in Japan.”

“Japan?”

I found Kim Mija’s recent photo on my phone and showed it to her.

“Oh my… Mija, our Mija. She’s grown up like this. She’s become such an adult.”

She stroked the phone screen for a long time with her wrinkled hands.

Before long, tears welled up in her eyes and flowed down.

“What should I do… Our Mija. It’s definitely our Mija… Oh my, what a pretty girl. Oh my, my baby is so pretty. She’s dressed stylishly and looks so cool, really…”

She stroked Kim Mija’s image on the screen for a long time.

“Gil-du’s mother, you have to see this. It’s our Mija. This is our Mija.”

Then, she showed the phone screen to the taxi driver’s mother, who was sitting on one side and sobbing.

“Oh my, oh my! Madam, it’s Mija. No matter how I look at it, it’s Mija. She’s the same as before. Oh my god… How could she have grown up so beautifully?”

“Sir, can’t… can’t I see this bigger?”

Kim Mija’s mother, who was touching the screen, asked me.

I zoomed in on Kim Mija’s face, and as soon as she saw Kim Mija’s face filling the screen, she began to cry sadly.

“I thought she was dead because I couldn’t find her for over thirty years, but our Mija was really alive… Our Mija has grown up so well… Oh my, sir. Thank you. Thank you so much. I have no regrets now. I don’t care if I die like this. I saw our Mija alive, so I’m okay to die now…”

“Madam. The reason we found you is because of a misunderstanding that Kim Mija has.”

“Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?”

As if she had heard an unexpected story, Kim Mija’s mother looked at me with her eyes wide open and full of tears.

“Kim Mija thinks she was abandoned by her family.”

“…Abandoned? What does that mean? Did I, did I abandon our Mija?”

“I know that’s not true. But Kim Mija firmly believes that.”

“What does that mean! Why does Mija misunderstand that way? If I, if I abandoned Mija, why… why…”

As soon as she heard those words, Kim Mija’s mother went into the room.

Kang Min-jae seemed flustered and tried to follow her into the room, but I told him to wait a moment.

There was a crashing sound from inside the room.

And not long after, Kim Mija’s mother came out to the wooden platform again with trembling steps.

She was holding a zipper bag in her hand.

“Sir, do you know what this is? My eldest son applied to those programs that put pictures of lost children on snack bags in Seoul, and I have the ones with our Mija on them. I’ve only eaten this snack in my life. I’ve eaten dozens, hundreds of bags, and sometimes when Mija’s face comes out here, I wash them all one by one in water, dry them, and collect them like this.”

She was somewhat incoherent, but there were several snack bags from famous brands in the zipper bag, spread out stiffly.

Come to think of it, it seems that missing children’s photos have been printed on the back of snack bags for some time now.

Listening to her, it seems that her eldest son in Seoul applied for this program.

Kim Mija’s face may not have been on all the bags, but it seems that when Kim Mija’s mother saw Kim Mija’s picture while eating this snack, she collected them all.

The expiration dates on the snacks were 2011, 2010, and the oldest was 2009.

This was proof that the family had been trying to find Kim Mija for at least three years.

Kang Min-jae started filming the snack bags one by one.

“Don’t think this is all. My Mija’s father goes out to Mupyeong [likely a nearby town] every season and puts up banners here and there to find our Mija, and there must be dozens of them. My Mija’s father even collected all the torn and damaged banners because he felt sorry for them and brought them home… Now there’s a mountain of torn and worn-out banners in the warehouse… If we abandoned Mija, why would we live like that? My Mija’s father, even now, when he drinks, he keeps looking for Mija and says Mija comes out in his dreams every night… How can we abandon Mija when we live like that?”

“I know, I know, madam. I know that best.”

The taxi driver’s mother patted Kim Mija’s mother’s shoulder, who was becoming increasingly agitated.

“We also believe that Kim Mija is misunderstanding the situation.”

Not only was there physical evidence, but the word ‘truth’ seemed to hover above Kim Mija’s mother’s head.

Even the neighbors who had been watching had given the same testimony.

There was no reason to doubt.

Now all that remained was to clear up Kim Mija’s misunderstanding.

“But madam, where did Mija’s father go? He’s the one who would be most happy to hear this news…”

“He said he had business in Mupyeong and left this morning… He said he would come back on the night boat, but I have to call him right now. Tell him to come back immediately.”

“No, madam. We also have to take the evening boat out. We need to meet Kim Mija and tell her the news as soon as possible.”

“Ah, that’s right. That’s right…”

“Madam, if you give me your phone number, I’ll send you the picture of Kim Mija you saw earlier and a few more pictures.”

I sent a few pictures of Kim Mija to the number she provided.

It took some time to send because it was an MMS [Multimedia Messaging Service], but she soon confirmed that the text message had arrived.

“Sirs, are you going to meet our Mija?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Then can’t I go with you? I want to see our Mija too…”

I understood her urgent desire, but we hadn’t told her family the details about Kim Mija.

How Kim Mija had lived, what she had decided now.

In that situation, if we let her meet her mother first, saying that everything was a misunderstanding, we couldn’t predict Kim Mija’s reaction.

“Madam, we’ll meet Kim Mija, clear up the misunderstanding, and bring her back to Baekgeumdo.”