You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 465

#466

“I think this is the place.”

Kang Min-jae compared the photo on his phone screen with what we were seeing in front of us.

This was the university in Japan where Kim Mi-ja had been appointed as a professor.

We came straight from Platinum Island to Seoul on Sunday, and the next evening, we met with a psychiatrist to discuss Kim Mi-ja’s situation and seek advice.

Of course, Kang Min-jae insisted that I talk about my seizure symptoms and get a new prescription first.

In any case, the doctor made a consistent argument.

Kim Mi-ja was clearly at risk of suicide and had to be taken to the hospital unconditionally.

Since hospitalization was necessary, he said that if we took her to the emergency room of a large university hospital that runs a psychiatric department, they would provide the necessary treatment.

Even when we said that Kim Mi-ja would refuse to go to the hospital and that hospitalization might be difficult because of her social position, the doctor remained consistent.

He said that anywhere in the world, Kim Mi-ja’s situation would require hospitalization.

Still, as a tip, he told us to keep listening to her so that Kim Mi-ja could pour out all the pent-up feelings inside her.

At the same time, he emphasized that even if she couldn’t be hospitalized afterward, she should at least go to the hospital and get a prescription.

Anyway, since the expert’s opinion was firm, I was determined to try as much as possible.

Even if I had a mesmerizing way with words, I didn’t think I could persuade Kim Mi-ja with words alone, since I was a non-expert.

Still, I cautiously predicted that the new information we learned on Platinum Island and the videos we secured would calm Kim Mi-ja’s wavering heart to some extent.

The doctor also said that it would be of great help to Kim Mi-ja in regaining her composure.

“Japanese universities don’t have campuses all in one place like in Korea. Is this the right campus? I don’t know where to go. Hyung [older brother or a term of endearment for a close male friend], did we come to the wrong place?”

Kang Min-jae looked at the campus map in front of the main gate and spoke to Kang Su-il, who was standing next to him.

Kang Su-il came here with us as an interpreter in case of any unforeseen circumstances.

Kang Su-il hesitated for a moment and then approached the van we had gotten out of.

After exchanging a few words with the driver who was waiting, he came back to us.

“He said this is the right main campus. When I checked the site earlier, it said that Kim Mi-ja’s department is on the main campus.”

“Hmm, then which way should we go?”

“According to the map, this way.”

Kang Su-il, who was fluent in Japanese, looked at the campus map and took a big step forward.

We were practically illiterate [unable to read the Japanese map], so we had no choice but to follow Kang Su-il.

He walked a little and then asked a passing student again, who guided us.

“Isn’t Chief Kang bad at directions?”

Just when I felt that he was asking the students too often, I asked Kang Min-jae quietly, and Kang Min-jae replied in a small voice.

“Not too bad, but a little bit……”

Still, since the campus was spread out, it wasn’t too big, so we soon arrived in front of the college where Kim Mi-ja’s lab was located.

Since we had made an appointment in advance, it was not difficult to reach the front because Kim Mi-ja had told us how to get to her lab from the building.

“But are we all going in?”

Kang Min-jae, who was about to knock, suddenly withdrew his hand and asked.

There were five of us, including me.

Considering the possibility of Kim Mi-ja acting out, someone who could use force had to accompany us.

However, I didn’t think it was necessary to take both Tae-shik and Jeong-hyeok, so I told Jeong-hyeok to stay outside.

After sorting out the situation, the lab door opened almost as soon as I knocked.

“Ah, you’re here.”

Kim Mi-ja, who opened the door, looked more modest than the last time I saw her.

Her clothes were like that, and her makeup was also very light.

Especially if even I, who don’t know much about makeup, felt that way, I think it was a big change for her.

Her appearance even gave me the feeling that she had let go of what she was holding onto.

“The lab is a bit messy. I’m in the middle of organizing it.”

Kim Mi-ja gave us an embarrassed look and led us to the sofa inside.

As she said, books and files were piled up like mountains everywhere in the lab.

She had also put things like unnecessary knick-knacks in front of the door, which really looked like she was preparing to move out of the lab.

“Would you like some tea? I have oolong tea, green tea, and black coffee.”

“Just water will be fine.”

I didn’t want to waste time with so many people, so I didn’t ask for other people’s opinions and answered.

Then Kim Mi-ja took out small bottles of mineral water from a small refrigerator and placed them in front of us.

“This person is……. Ah, I think I saw you at the celebration party. Am I right?”

Kim Mi-ja recognized Kang Su-il and greeted him.

At that time, Kang Min-jae said that he had a one-on-one conversation with Kim Mi-ja to pressure her, but it seemed that Kim Mi-ja had already carefully examined the inside of the venue from then on.

“I didn’t expect you to see me. Yes, I saw you there.”

“Did you come with Attorney Kang at that time?”

“Yes.”

“Are you his secretary?”

Kim Mi-ja turned to Kang Min-jae and asked.

“Ah, it’s not that, and it’s complicated to explain……”

“He was a secretary to former President Kang Kwan-woong.”

“Ah, I see you’re former President Kang Kwan-woong’s son. I saw it in an article. When Attorney Kang approached me, I searched for related articles as much as possible.”

“I came here as an interpreter today. These two don’t speak Japanese.”

“You said you needed someone to interpret astrology because you don’t speak Japanese, but you already had an interpreter.”

I was trying to stop Kim Mi-ja by any means, but it seemed that she remembered it.

“I don’t think I need to interpret astrology.”

Kim Mi-ja smiled slightly and leaned back on the sofa.

“Attorney, you said you would create a reason for me to live. Did you make it?”

“We went to Platinum Island on Sunday.”

“I guess you went to find a place to throw my necklace.”

“That was also the purpose, but in the end, we couldn’t find it and came back.”

As if my answer was unexpected, Kim Mi-ja tilted her head.

“Why? Anywhere in the West Sea would be fine.”

“Because we found something unexpected there.”

I opened the bag that Kang Min-jae was carrying, took out the laptop, and placed it on top of the pile of documents stacked on the table.

While the laptop was booting up, a cold silence filled the air, and only the whirring fan sound echoed in the lab.

Kim Mi-ja seemed to be trying to guess what I had found, and Kang Min-jae was drinking water as if he was very nervous.

I was also worried that Kim Mi-ja, who said she would stab her family in the stomach as soon as she saw them, might refuse to watch it.

That’s why I came to Japan on purpose.

If I didn’t come to Japan and sent the video and asked her to check it, I had to consider the possibility that Kim Mi-ja would turn it off without watching it until the end.

“Kim Mi-ja.”

“Yes?”

“I’m going to show you something from now on.”

“What are you going to show me? Don’t tell me……. You’re going to show me the scenery of ‘beautiful island’ Platinum Island where I was born and raised to stimulate my nostalgia……. Is that it?”

“That’s not it. I went to Platinum Island, but I didn’t have the luxury to appreciate the beautiful scenery.”

“Then what is it?”

“Whatever I show you, please bear with it and watch it until the end, even if it’s hard to endure. Promise me you won’t do anything rash.”

“What is it that requires such a promise……”

Before she could finish speaking, Kim Mi-ja frowned.

She seemed to have noticed that what I was going to show her was related to her family.

Her eyes changed to defensive in an instant.

“No, I won’t promise.”

“Kim Mi-ja, it’ll only take a moment.”

Kang Min-jae said in a voice close to pleading.

Kim Mi-ja tilted her head and sighed.

“……I’m not curious about those people’s news. And aren’t you here to stop me? On the contrary, those people’s stories only stimulate me.”

“I know that too. But I’m asking you to watch it even while enduring that.”

Kim Mi-ja started to bite her nails.

Come to think of it, her nails, which had been painted with a neat tone of nail polish last time, were bare.

I was briefly lost in thought about what she was thinking when she removed the nail polish.

“Ha, okay. I’ve already seen all the good and bad things in my life, so one more scene like that won’t change anything before I die. If possible, I hope those people are living a miserable life barely making ends meet. Then I’ll feel a little better.”

When Kim Mi-ja answered, I moved to her side, which was located opposite, and played the video on the laptop.

The very first scene was the clock showing the time and the ticket to Platinum Island.

“We took the 2 PM ferry last Sunday, that is, the day before yesterday, and arrived at Platinum Island around 2:50 PM. And because Kang Attorney was suffering from seasickness, we rested at a convenience store for a while and then immediately took a taxi. We were originally planning to go to the police station, but the driver asked us what the purpose of coming to the island was. While talking about it, we mentioned Kim Mi-ja. Then the driver said he knew Kim Mi-ja. Since we weren’t filming at that time, I asked the driver to tell us again what he had said just before filming. The video starts from there.”

I briefly explained the situation just before.

The time difference between the time we got off at Platinum Island and the time recorded in the video is not that big, but just in case, Kim Mi-ja might misunderstand that she had induced the taxi driver to give false testimony in that short time.

[So……. You just have to say what you just said, right? Mi-ja noona [older sister or a term of endearment for a close female friend] is watching this?]

The video showed the taxi driver looking back at the back seat along with his voice.

Kim Mi-ja seemed to be startled by the title ‘Mi-ja noona’.

She trembled slightly and stared intently at the taxi driver on the screen.

[Mi-ja noona! It’s me! Gil-doo! Are you watching this!]

“……Gil-doo?”

Kim Mi-ja seemed to be trying to remember.

“Do you remember?”

“I can’t tell if it’s the same Gil-doo because I’m seeing his face too……”

“I’ll play it again for now.”

[Ahem, ahem……. After Mi-ja noona disappeared, the whole neighborhood was turned upside down. The only daughter disappeared overnight. It’s been over thirty years, but I still remember that commotion. Oh my, I can’t even talk about it. Mi-ja noona’s father didn’t even catch fish and went around from house to house, rummaging through other people’s houses, saying that if they hid our Mi-ja, they should bring her out right away…….]

Kim Mi-ja didn’t seem to believe the taxi driver’s words.

Rather, she sneered.

“He must have put on a show after selling me off. Well, I guess so. If a young daughter disappears and you don’t make a fuss, what kind of human being would that be? If you don’t want to be misunderstood by your neighbors, you should do that kind of show.”

It didn’t seem to make sense to say anything now, so I continued to show the video.

[Since we’re going straight to Mi-ja noona’s house now, we don’t have to go to the police station, right?]

There wasn’t much meaningful conversation while moving in the taxi, so we stopped filming for a while.

I played the next video.

We started filming again as soon as Kim Mi-ja’s mother came out of the house, so we recorded the time on the screen at that time as well.

“We arrived at the house where your family lives about 20 minutes by taxi. As you can see by checking the time. Your mother appears right away. I’ll tell you in advance because you might be surprised.”

When Kim Mi-ja nodded, I played the video again.

“…….”

As soon as her mother’s appearance came out on the screen, Kim Mi-ja trembled.

However, only anger was not read in her eyes that she had checked for a moment.

No matter how long she had resented them, the feeling of longing for her parents must have remained deep inside.

Especially since Kim Mi-ja doesn’t have a harsh personality, it might have been even more so.

“She’s gotten so old.”

Kim Mi-ja muttered while looking at her mother’s appearance on the monitor.

“Well, a lot of time has passed. The house is still the same. The roof has changed, though.”

“The roof must have been replaced because of the improvement project.”

“Everything else is the same. I don’t know where she spent all the money she got for selling me without buying a new house……”

She started watching the video with a hollow laugh.

She was already carefully examining her mother’s appearance in the video.

She kept clenching and unclenching her fists as she listened to the words her mother poured out while longing for Kim Mi-ja.

Judging from the way she was biting her lower lip, it seemed like she was about to burst into tears.

With her attitude until just now, she would have refuted every word her mother said, but she didn’t open her mouth once and focused on the video.

[Teacher, do you know what this is? My eldest son in Seoul applied for people to apply for these magnetic people in that snack bag, and I have the ones with our Mi-ja on the snack bag. I’ve only eaten this snack all my life. I’ve eaten dozens, hundreds of bags, and sometimes when Mi-ja’s face comes out here, I wash them one by one in water, dry them, and collect them like this.]

“…….”

Kim Mi-ja suddenly pressed the space bar to stop the video around the time her mother took out the zipper bag containing the snack bags.

She hesitated for a moment and then played the video again.

Then, the scene of checking the expiration date mark in the snack bag containing Kim Mi-ja’s childhood photos one by one appeared on the screen.

“The oldest product had an expiration date until 2009. When we checked separately, we found that this company started the business of putting photos of missing children on snack bags in 2008. It seems that as soon as the eldest son found out that he was starting the business, he applied for it right away.”

“Just……. Just……. After selling me off, she felt guilty as time passed, so she tried to find me, right…….”

Kim Mi-ja seemed to be swept away by various emotions.

The hope that her family might not have abandoned her, and at the same time, the suspicion that she might be deceived by her parents’ hypocritical appearance.

I understand enough.

For over 30 years, she lived resenting her parents, thinking that they had sold her.

But now, if that’s not the case, it would feel like her existing world is collapsing.

Instead of answering, I played the video again.

[Then can’t I go with you too? I want to see our Mi-ja too…….]

“Sob…….”

As soon as the scene of her mother saying that she should take her too came out, Kim Mi-ja finally sobbed.

Perhaps it was because her mother suddenly came closer, filling the screen with her face.

That face, full of age spots and wrinkles, felt the traces of more than thirty years, and even I, a stranger, was moved.

“The taxi driver in front and your mother just now kept talking about the banner, so we checked it ourselves after the conversation ended.”

The video continued as it was and reached the warehouse located behind Kim Mi-ja’s house.

When we opened the warehouse door, a huge pile of banners appeared behind various items.

We unfolded them one by one.

[Please find Mi-ja!
Kim Mi-ja (Female, 13 years old)
Born on March 12, 1967
Appearance at the time of disappearance: Bobbed hair up to the ears.
Wore a floral T-shirt and black pants.
Has a mole on her nose.
Missing location: Platinum Island]

[Please find my only daughter, Mi-ja!
Kim Mi-ja
Born on March 12, 1967
Age at the time of disappearance 13 years old
Current age 14 years old]

[Mi-ja! I miss you!
Kim Mi-ja
Born on March 12, 1967
Age at the time of disappearance 13 years old
Current age 17 years old]

The oldest one was faded a lot because the ink had flown away, but it was enough to identify the letters.

These banners were continuously shown on the screen every year, updating the current age.

And the very last scene was the new banner we found near Mu-pyeong Port after returning to Mu-pyeong.

[Please find the missing Kim Mi-ja!
Kim Mi-ja
Born on March 12, 1967
Age at the time of disappearance 13 years old
Current age 46 years old

]

It was a banner that printed the photo at the time of disappearance and a virtual photo that inferred the current appearance using a program side by side and hung it up.

After filming this banner, we went straight back to Seoul that day.

And the next day, Monday, we contacted the eldest son’s phone number that Kim Mi-ja’s mother told us and met him.

We took one more video there at the request of the eldest son.

It was the last video we prepared.

[Mi-ja. I don’t know if you’ll remember me. It’s your eldest brother. I remember reading you books when you were young and teaching you how to tell time. The lawyers didn’t tell you the reason why you think you were abandoned, so I don’t know the specifics. But I swear to God……. I really swear, we’ve been waiting for you for over thirty years. I’ve never forgotten you for a moment. Mi-ja! If you see this, please come back. Mom and Dad are getting old now. If you can’t come back, I hope you can show Mom and Dad your face just once before they leave for a distant place! Mi-ja, I miss you.]

“…….”

“Your eldest brother said that he immediately put Kim Mi-ja’s photo on the advertising banner on a large portal site in 2007 when he heard that he could put photos of missing children on it. We also confirmed it as a fact. I know that Kim Mi-ja can’t easily believe it from her point of view. But I think you need to check it yourself at least.”

Kim Mi-ja’s face was already covered in tears.

She covered her face with both hands and cried silently for a long time.

Kang Min-jae, who was watching her, also secretly turned his head and wiped away tears.

“I miss you, sob, Mom and, Dad and, sob, I miss all my brothers…….”

Soon after, she burst into tears, shaking her shoulders like a thirteen-year-old child who had lost her parents.