You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 480

You Have Been Defended – Episode 480

According to the information confirmed by Heo Min-woo, Jeong Ji-min, a host using the alias Jiwoo, is currently not working and is holed up at a friend’s house.

Heo Min-woo first went to the host bar where Jeong Ji-min worked to find out his whereabouts. It turned out that the madam was furious because Jeong Ji-min had run away without paying off his *seonsugeum* [an advance payment or debt to the bar].

Fortunately, Jeong Ji-min was staying at the place of a waiter from another bar, and it seemed that the madam had finally managed to contact him after searching everywhere using her connections.

The madam coaxed Jeong Ji-min, saying that he didn’t have to come to work, but to at least meet her, and they agreed to meet at the bar sometime the day after tomorrow.

So, Heo Min-woo told her that he would go to the bar that day as well, and asked her to hold Jeong Ji-min without telling him.

The madam was reluctant, but she eventually agreed, thinking that the other party was a police officer and could find fault with her business at any time.

“So, you’re meeting the day after tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“Is it possible for us to accompany you?”

Kang Min-jae asked with a hopeful expression.

However, Heo Min-woo’s answer did not meet his expectations.

“I don’t think that would be possible. Um, if you have any questions, I can ask them for you, or I might be able to arrange a meeting with Jeong Ji-min.”

“That would be enough.”

Even if Heo Min-woo had heard the briefing from us, he hadn’t seen all the detailed data.

I could give him a list of questions in advance, but it would be difficult to ask additional questions depending on the situation.

“Then, please share that blog post with us now.”

Jeong Ji-min was one thing, but I was a little more interested in this blog post.

It was true that Choi Jae-hoon had shown violence towards Jeong Ji-min, but he wouldn’t have thought that Jeong Ji-min would leak what he said to others.

However, the blog was a space that Wooshin could never find unless they knew of its existence.

Choi Jae-hoon likely chose the blog because he was looking for a place where he could say things he couldn’t say to others.

A physical diary could be stolen by someone, and a phone memo pad wasn’t safe either.

To borrow Heo Min-woo’s expression, it was closer to venting than a diary, so the information we were looking for would be there.

“If you open the Choi Jae-hoon folder in the USB I gave to Jeong-woo, there will be a folder called ‘Blog.’ Inside, there are files saved as PDFs of the blog posts. There’s quite a lot, so it will take some time to review them.”

“Jeong-woo, please check it out.”

As soon as Kim Jeong-woo found and opened the folder, a list of PDF files appeared.

There seemed to be hundreds of them.

“It seems like he’s been writing a diary for a long time. There’s everything from 2005 to recently. He didn’t write every day, but he uploaded one or two posts a week.”

“There are 531 files in total.”

Kim Jeong-woo shook his head as if he was fed up.

“Ah, I guess I won’t be sleeping tonight. Jeong-woo, please divide them up roughly into 5 each. Tell the chief clerk to look at 106 each.”

“Hyung [older brother/male friend], did we have artificial tears at home? Did we use them all? I feel like my cornea is going to tear.”

“I think we used them all. I’ll have to buy some on the way home.”

106 each.

At this rate, my eyes will be ruined before my body is.

Kang Kwan-woong’s personal information sheet, checking the thesis left by Im Hyun-il, and even searching Japanese sites that I don’t know how to use were all difficult.

“Should I help you? Then you only have to look at about 90 each.”

“Damn, 106 or 90. You just prepare to make a template when we give you the data.”

“Why are you excluding me? Jeong-woo and I can look at them together. I have to see them anyway.”

Heo Min-woo raised his hand and subtly intervened.

Then, Kang Min-jae tapped on his phone calculator and shouted in a bright voice.

“Then you only have to look at about 76 each!”

“Oh, that’s right. It’s definitely good to have Officer Heo on the team. We should ask for help like this in the future.”

“Hyung, Officer Heo has a day job unlike us. Don’t forget that.”

We are focusing all our efforts on uncovering Wooshin’s corruption, but Heo Min-woo also has to do his job as a detective.

He’s already busy, but if he has to work with us, he’ll be exhausted.

But does he want to?

This is a job that gnaws at your mind.

I glanced at Heo Min-woo.

He was busy laughing at the jokes Jo Bong-joon and Choi Jong-hyun were making.

I can’t help it.

Now that things have turned out this way, I have no choice but to try my best to ensure that everyone can safely reach the ending they desire.

“Wow, the level of swearing is a bit strong.”

Kang Min-jae, who was sitting close to Kim Jeong-woo and skimming through Choi Jae-hoon’s blog posts, shuddered as if he was fed up.

The screen they were looking at was being projected onto the screen, and even I was surprised at the level of swearing.

If we asked experts to analyze his mental state based on these blog posts, they would react quite seriously.

“The old posts are okay, but his condition gets worse as you go back. I guess it’s because things are getting harder.”

“Maybe it’s because he has a lot of pent-up feelings that he can’t release.”

The people at the hospital who worked with him would say that Choi Jae-hoon didn’t write these blog posts if they saw them.

Who would have thought that someone who was known as a saint would use such profanity?

* * *

“Oh, we’re not open yet.”

When Heo Min-woo opened the door of the bar, a skinny man ran out from inside after hearing the ringing bell.

“I made an appointment with the madam. Didn’t you hear about it?”

“Ah, did you? I didn’t hear anything about it… Just a moment.”

He moved quickly and slipped into Room 9.

Then, he came out of the room with the madam.

The madam checked Heo Min-woo’s face, bowed her head, and went back inside.

Heo Min-woo wondered if she had anything left to say, so he looked around the bar while waiting for the employee to come out again.

He had been to many establishments because of cases, but this was his first time at a gay host bar.

He was idly thinking that there was nothing special about it, when he heard the sound of the door opening as he waited for the employee to come out again.

The madam quietly closed the door and came out, then gestured to Heo Min-woo with her finger to her lips.

As Heo Min-woo approached, the madam gestured again as if she wanted to whisper in his ear.

He bent down to match the employee’s height and put his ear to her mouth.

“I’m going to lock the door as soon as you go in, so knock when you’re done. In Korean rhythm. You know? Dae~ Han Min Guk! [Great Korea!]”

“Pardon?”

“It’s because that bastard Jiwoo looks like he’s going to run away.”

Heo Min-woo nodded.

Then, he carefully opened the door just enough for his body to fit through and squeezed himself in.

In the meantime, the madam outside slammed the door shut as she had announced, and there was a click.

“What? Who are you?”

Jeong Ji-min, whose face he had identified with his ID photo, was sitting in the room.

He looked noticeably wary at the sudden appearance of a stranger.

As if he was thinking of smashing Heo Min-woo’s head with the crystal ashtray on the table if necessary, he grabbed the ashtray in one swift motion.

It was amazing how such an aggressive person had been beaten by Choi Jae-hoon all this time.

“I’m a police officer.”

Heo Min-woo placed his business card on the table.

Then, Jeong Ji-min looked at Heo Min-woo with suspicious eyes and carefully checked the business card.

Then, he quietly put down the ashtray.

“Wh-why is the police here for me?”

He glanced around, slowly pulling down the sleeves he had rolled up, as if trying to hide the tattooed arms.

“You know Choi Jae-hoon, right?”

“I don’t know him.”

“You know him.”

“I told you, I don’t know him.”

“Let’s make it easy, okay? You were caught on CCTV coming out of Choi Jae-hoon’s house, there’s a record of you calling Choi Jae-hoon on your phone, and we’ve checked the text messages you exchanged.”

“……”

Jeong Ji-min nervously bit his lip.

Heo Min-woo crossed his arms and just stared at Jeong Ji-min.

Feeling pressured by his gaze, Jeong Ji-min finally opened his mouth.

“What is it? What do you want? I don’t want to get involved with that guy. I feel so relieved that he’s dead. That bastard is like a trauma to me, so please ask me what you want to ask and leave.”

“Is it because of the assault and verbal abuse you suffered from Choi Jae-hoon?”

“……How did you know that?”

Jeong Ji-min scratched his cheek awkwardly.

“Is that a bruise mark faintly left on your neck right now?”

“Ah, this? Yes.”

“Did Choi Jae-hoon do that too?”

“……Well, yeah. It’s lasting longer than I thought.”

“How long have you been seeing Choi Jae-hoon? Were you in a relationship?”

“Um, a relationship… Actually, you’re a detective, so you came here because you know everything. I’ll just tell you the truth. Choi Jae-hoon was a customer here, and I was trying to scam him, and somehow, well… it became something similar to that. I think we met for about two years.”

“Then when did Choi Jae-hoon’s violence begin? Did you get that feeling from the first time he came as a customer?”

“The first time he came as a customer? He wasn’t such a son of a bitch then. Oh, I’m sorry. For swearing.”

Jeong Ji-min quickly covered his mouth with both hands.

Heo Min-woo shrugged because he didn’t expect much refinement from Jeong Ji-min.

“It’s okay.”

“Anyway, he was gentle. Our bar had only been open for about half a year when he first came, and he came alone. I didn’t know because I didn’t go to the choices then, but the guy who went in said that a really good customer had come. He gave good tips, and there was a guy who was caught throwing away alcohol, but he didn’t say anything then either… All the guys who saw Choi Jae-hoon’s table said they wished only customers like that would come every day.”

“I see. So?”

“So? Ah, so… Then one time he sat me next to him. He said I was the most eye-catching when he was choosing, and he was very good at saying cheesy things and giving good tips, so I liked him too. I told him to come often, and he really came often. Then he asked me how much my *maiking* [host’s debt to the bar] was and paid it off for me.”

“Choi Jae-hoon paid off Jeong Ji-min’s *maiking*, so why did you have *maiking* again? The madam said that Jeong Ji-min ran away without paying off all of his *maiking*.”

“Ah, I borrowed more again. How can I be satisfied with that? It’s not like Choi Jae-hoon is responsible for my whole life.”

Jeong Ji-min, who was saying that, had an expensive watch on his wrist, and rings with famous luxury logos were dangling from his fingers.

Now that I see it, the hat he was wearing, the T-shirt, and the cardigan he was wearing were all luxury brands.

Jeong Ji-min, realizing that Heo Min-woo’s eyes were scanning his clothes, waved his hand and said.

“Choi Jae-hoon just bought this for me. It’s not like I extorted him or anything… No, in the first place, I’m the one who’s getting beaten, so how can I extort him?”

“So you kept seeing Choi Jae-hoon even while being beaten?”

“…Well, yeah. To be honest, Choi Jae-hoon was the first guy to spend so much money on me. So I just put up with it.”

“Then Jeong Ji-min wouldn’t have a motive to kill Choi Jae-hoon.”

“Kill? Me? No, detective. Did you come here thinking I was the culprit?”

Jeong Ji-min jumped up and raised his voice.

Heo Min-woo sighed.

“Of course, Jeong Ji-min is a person of interest, but personally, I don’t think you’re the culprit.”

“I’m really not. I’ve been sticking around even while being beaten like that, so why would I kill him! If I had sucked all the sweetness out of him, I would have moved to another bar and ran away, why would I even kill him! Do I have any reason to ruin someone’s life?”

“Please calm down first. Then I’d like to hear when Choi Jae-hoon started showing violence.”

Jeong Ji-min glared at Heo Min-woo, then crossed his legs and answered.

“I don’t know. Well, at first I thought swearing or something was originally that bastard’s taste. Before that swearing spread to everyday life.”

“You’re saying he wasn’t like that from the beginning?”

“That’s right. Choi Jae-hoon hated me going out to the bar so much, but I somehow managed to persuade him. I agreed to not go out to the bar, but no, after agreeing, he started swearing at me as if I was a whore. I was so dumbfounded.”

I don’t know what he was dumbfounded about, but Heo Min-woo slowly nodded and wrote in his notebook.

Listening to him, it seems that he approached Jeong Ji-min gently and then slowly revealed his true colors while finding fault with him.

“But the next day, he apologized and bought me gifts and took me to good places, so I got over it. We fought a lot… Anyway, as I went on like that, I was suddenly getting beaten?”

“Was there a point when you felt it got particularly worse?”

“It got particularly worse? Um… It was a bit of a gradation, but there was a time when I thought, ‘Is this bastard going to do something?’ I felt like his anger was fully charged. It felt like he went from a dog to a dog-son-of-a-bitch?”

“When was that?”

“Ah, when was that…”

Jeong Ji-min fixed his gaze on the air and moved his lips.

“I don’t remember the exact time. Roughly… Ah, what month was it? It was last year? It was when a new professor came. I thought, ‘Did that professor scold him so much that this bastard went crazy?'”

“When a new professor came? Did you ever mention the professor’s name?”

“What Im, Im, what is it…”

“Im Hyun-il?”

“Yes! Im Hyun-il. After that professor came, really… Ha, I originally thought he was a crazy bastard, but after that professor came, I almost called the police. To be honest, other people would have called a long time ago, but I put up with it. So I was really thinking about breaking up with this bastard and was slowly preparing. That’s why I borrowed more *maiking*. But Choi Jae-hoon died, so just…”

“Just what?”

“…Just, ran away. I didn’t want to get involved, and I was scared… I thought strange rumors would spread in the bar…”

Jeong Ji-min rolled his eyes and hesitated.

When Heo Min-woo didn’t answer, he suddenly became anxious and suddenly sat right next to Heo Min-woo, who was sitting across from him.

Then, he put his hands together and begged.

“I really didn’t run away because I had anything to hide. I really just didn’t want to get involved and wanted to live a new life. You detectives eventually found me, but I don’t like meeting the police and talking like this… So please don’t suspect me. Okay? I’m actually a victim. My clothes and shoes that I left at that house were all burned in the explosion! They were really expensive!”

“…Okay, get away from me.”

When Heo Min-woo sat away from him, Jeong Ji-min bit his lip and returned to his seat.

He actually had more questions he wanted to ask, but he didn’t want to leave the impression that the police were digging into Im Hyun-il obsessively.

If it became known that the police were focusing on Im Hyun-il, pressure would be applied in some way.

Anyway, Cha Joo-han will ask the rest of the questions.

Heo Min-woo closed his notebook, thinking that he had asked almost all the questions he could ask for now.

“I’ve asked you everything I wanted to ask for now. I’ll contact you if I have any additional questions. Make sure to answer the phone number on the business card. Even if you don’t answer, I’ll find you anyway.”

“Ah, of course. As long as you don’t think I’m the culprit.”

Heo Min-woo nodded his head slightly and approached the door.

And knocked.

Knock, knock, knock.

It was the rhythm of *Daehanminguk* (Korea).