You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 47

You Have Been Defended – Episode 47

We didn’t file for a retrial.

Instead, we simply told Blue Island Media and Jung Hye-jin that we had something to discuss and wanted to meet.

Yoo Jung-won seemed to think we were desperately grasping at straws, hoping to withdraw the lawsuit in exchange for the 300 million won promised earlier.

-Okay. I’m curious to hear what you have to say. But keep in mind that the bus has already left, Attorney Cha.

Yoo Jung-won’s triumphant voice still rang vividly in my ears.

“Oh, Mr. Na Eun-sung! This way.”

Na Eun-sung, whom we were supposed to meet in front of the Blue Island Media headquarters, appeared before us in a suit.

“Let’s go in.”

Blue Island Media was bustling in the morning.

The busy employees rushed past us, strangers who had suddenly appeared, without even noticing us.

Even though we had made an appointment in advance, so the receptionist should have guided us, the receptionist didn’t even acknowledge us.

It was clear that they weren’t ignoring us because they didn’t know who we were, but deliberately pretending not to know.

This felt like treating a defeated nation that had come to sign a humiliating treaty.

“They told us to go to the seminar room, so I think we should head that way, Attorney.”

Kang Min-jae said.

I moved my feet, thinking that this place felt like a stage created by Yoo Jung-won to get revenge after being outmaneuvered by me in front of Na Eun-sung.

No one was in the seminar room.

I suppressed the laughter that was about to burst out and sat down at the desk.

“Attorney.”

Na Eun-sung, who was sitting between Kang Min-jae and me, quietly opened her mouth.

When we turned our gaze to her, she blushed and asked softly.

“…Will it work out?”

She asked anxiously.

Then Kang Min-jae smiled and replied.

“Of course. Absolutely.”

However, Na Eun-sung looked at me with an unchanged expression.

“What do you think, Attorney?”

“Ms. Na Eun-sung.”

“…Yes.”

“I explained everything thoroughly before coming here. At that time, did you think we didn’t have enough cards to play?”

I could see them coming this way in the distance down the hallway.

I moved my lips while following them with my eyes.

“No.”

“Then there won’t be any problem.”

Then Na Eun-sung smiled and nodded.

“Yes. I trust you, Attorney.”

As she answered, Kang Min-jae tilted his upper body back as if he couldn’t understand, and secretly signaled to me.

It was like he was asking why she was so hesitant with my words but answered so vigorously to yours…

[I don’t know either.]

I just answered with lip movements.

“We’re a bit late.”

The door to the seminar room opened, and Yoo Jung-won’s voice was heard.

She entered, followed by the CEO of Blue Island Media, Jung Hye-jin, and an associate attorney.

The associate attorney’s expression was quite arrogant, as if saying, ‘My boss is going to tear you apart, so look forward to it.’

Kang Min-jae was once an associate attorney at Taekwang [a large law firm] like him, but I was relieved that he wasn’t like that guy.

“Since we all know the situation, shall we skip the preliminaries and get straight to the point?”

Yoo Jung-won said.

“Let’s do that.”

“You seemed to be planning to file for a retrial, but it seems you’ve withdrawn that intention.”

To Yoo Jung-won’s confident question, I replied briefly.

“Yes.”

“Then, things will move a little faster. Attorney Cha and I know best what kind of conclusion the court will reach in this situation, don’t we?”

I know very well.

Since I haven’t submitted any of the cards I hold, if this case isn’t resolved by the judgment date, our claim will naturally be dismissed.

“That’s right.”

“Although it’s a bit late, do you have any intention of settling?”

Yoo Jung-won looked at Na Eun-sung and asked.

Suddenly faced with a question directed at her, Na Eun-sung looked at me, startled.

I nodded.

“Yes. We have an intention to settle.”

As Na Eun-sung answered, Yoo Jung-won raised the corners of her mouth and said.

“Good. However, you already know that we’ve already had one trial, and our client has been unfairly subjected to public criticism due to Ms. Na Eun-sung’s reckless claims, right?”

She put a lot of pressure on Na Eun-sung and scanned the documents with her eyes.

“Originally, we should be claiming damages, but Blue Island Media and writer Jung Hye-jin are considering that Ms. Na Eun-sung is an aspiring writer and still a young member of society, and they feel sorry for her.”

They couldn’t be more benevolent.

I didn’t interrupt and let Yoo Jung-won run wild as much as she wanted.

“So, if Ms. Na Eun-sung withdraws the lawsuit and publicly declares that this whole situation arose from misunderstandings and coincidences, and confirms that has nothing to do with Ms. Na Eun-sung’s … they’d like to provide about 50 million won in creative support and end things well.”

If they really had nothing to hide, they could just claim damages.

After winning the case, they could have made Na Eun-sung bear all the litigation costs and played the victim to the media.

Moreover, giving Na Eun-sung money under the guise of creative support was a bit ridiculous.

Even if they put a beautiful name like creative support on it, the essence of it being a settlement fee would not change.

Anyway, I knew that Jung Hye-jin was focusing more on restoring her ruined image.

“What do you think, Ms. Na Eun-sung?”

Yoo Jung-won urged Na Eun-sung, who was reluctant to answer.

“That’s something we need to discuss with our client. So, before we answer, I’d like to ask a few questions.”

As I opened my mouth, Yoo Jung-won smiled and looked at me.

“Go ahead.”

“Even when settling, it’s good to confirm information in advance. Ms. Jung Hye-jin.”

I shifted my gaze to Jung Hye-jin.

“I’d like to briefly ask about the inspiration notes you wrote when you visited Samchang-dong, Iyang-gu [neighborhoods in a specific city].”

“Yes.”

“The inspiration notes contain a description of the Myungseong Building. Ah, Myungseong Building is this building.”

I put a photo of the exterior of the Myungseong Building on the desk and said.

Jung Hye-jin glanced at it and nodded.

“You described that there were fifteen red lights installed in this building.”

“Yes, I did.”

“On the day Ms. Jung Hye-jin visited Samchang-dong, Iyang-gu, there were 16 lights installed in the Myungseong Building. The only time there were 15 lights was during the month before the trial, when the lights were temporarily broken since the building was built.”

I placed a written statement I received from the building official on the desk.

“…”

Her face turned pale at the unexpected words, and she urgently looked at Yoo Jung-won.

Yoo Jung-won was also very embarrassed and examined the document I presented in detail.

“Listen while you look. And Ms. Jung Hye-jin. When the ballpoint pen ink bleeds through to the back of the page, you have a habit of skipping that part and using the next page of the notebook.”

I opened the copy they gave me and showed it to them.

“…What’s that supposed to mean?”

Jung Hye-jin’s voice was trembling more and more.

She also knows what we’re trying to say.

She knows best that she has such a habit, and she herself used that point to use the inspiration notes as evidence, as if they were old diary entries.

“There’s also ballpoint pen ink bleeding here. Considering all the facts, Ms. Jung Hye-jin’s inspiration notes could not have been written in 2006, and the conclusion is that they were fabricated.”

Yoo Jung-won’s face turned bright red.

“Even if she has a habit of not using the parts where the ink has bled, it could have happened if she was writing in a hurry. You can’t assert that’s evidence of fabrication.”

“Then let’s forget about that and just say it was fabricated based on the number of lights.”

I said firmly.

Yoo Jung-won gave a hollow laugh.

She seemed embarrassed that I gave up so easily.

However, I just judged that there was no need to insist on one thing and argue when there was another way to prove the fabrication.

“May I ask the next question?”

“…”

“I’ll take that as a yes and continue. Did Blue Island Media put our client, Na Eun-sung’s manuscript on the second selection round? Also, did writer Jung Hye-jin directly review that manuscript?”

“I’m sure I answered that it wasn’t, right?”

Yoo Jung-won answered irritably.

“Then why did Unil Printing, Blue Island Media’s printing house, print Na Eun-sung’s manuscript?”

“What are you talking about? We never printed it!”

“Is that so? Then why is Na Eun-sung’s manuscript in the external storage used by Unil Printing?”

Kang Min-jae took out his laptop and prepared a simple video.

The video contained the circumstances in which all the manuscripts that Jung Hye-jin had copied, including Na Eun-sung’s manuscript, were stored in the printing office.

Of course, it was disguised as if the files had unintentionally remained without being deleted, in order to hide the fact that the printing office president was deliberately collecting them.

“The fact that Ms. Na Eun-sung’s manuscript was sent to the printing office in the first place means that it was selected for the second round and printed. However, Blue Island Media has falsely claimed that Ms. Na Eun-sung’s manuscript was not included in the second round. What do you think about this?”

A heavy silence fell for a moment.

Then, Jung Hye-jin, who had been leaving everything to Yoo Jung-won all along, said urgently.

“It must have been accidentally leaked. I’ve never seen it!”

“Is that so? Then, after checking all four works other than Ms. Na Eun-sung’s manuscript remaining in this folder, they all failed in the first selection. Were these scripts, which had no reason to be printed, all accidentally leaked as well?”

“…That’s right. That’s what the person in charge does, so I can’t know.”

Even though she should be opening her mouth with the help of an agent, Jung Hye-jin was so desperate that she started answering herself.

Yoo Jung-won seemed to be signaling her under the table not to do that, but neither of them was a difficult opponent for me.

“Then, what do you think about the fact that all the works remaining in this folder are excessively similar to Ms. Jung Hye-jin’s past works? The similarity summary data is here.”

Kang Min-jae took out a thick file from his briefcase and placed it on the desk.

It was a summary of the similarities between the other works in that USB and Jung Hye-jin’s previous works, which we had analyzed until we came here today.

I wouldn’t have been able to complete it all in time without the assistant director’s help.

“Let me summarize. Because the evidence has been fabricated, the claim that was written before Ms. Na Eun-sung’s manuscript was accessed has not been proven. Contrary to Ms. Jung Hye-jin’s claim, Ms. Na Eun-sung’s work was included in the second selection. There are numerous similarities in the works. Also, there are excessive similarities between the works submitted to the contest other than Ms. Na Eun-sung’s work and Ms. Jung Hye-jin’s previous works. Therefore, I am planning to contact all of those writers and ask for their testimony. Of course, if they wish, they can file a lawsuit separately from this case.”