You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 499

You Have Been Defended – Episode 499

#499

It was truly insane, reckless driving.

I even thought I might get reported for reckless driving at this rate.

Even with my eyes squeezed shut, the scenery changed so quickly that there was no point in looking ahead.

Tae-shik changed lanes multiple times in an instant, moving forward, ever forward.

“Losing them is good, but at this rate, are we going to Muyeok or the afterlife?”

“I told you, I’m a best driver. Other cars might hate it, but I’ll never cause an accident.”

“What, have you ever raced or something?”

“I used to a bit back in the day.”

“When?”

“At the arcade. I set a new record five years ago, and no one has broken it yet.”

“Is that even a game where you can set records?”

“If you don’t know, just be quiet.”

I’d been in reckless driving situations to shake off pursuers before, and I’d been in cars driven recklessly, but this was the first time I’d seen numbers like that on the dashboard.

“Wow, feels like I’ve racked up about ten tickets so far!”

I kept checking the side and rearview mirrors, watching the road conditions as we drove.

If there were any cars trying to chase us, they’d have to drive just as recklessly to even keep up, but seeing how calm the road was, it seemed we’d either shaken them off or they’d given up on following us.

Of course, with the sounds of car horns and screeching tires everywhere, it was a bit difficult to call the road calm.

I feel a considerable sense of responsibility for instigating actions that disregarded traffic laws, created a sense of danger for other drivers, and increased the risk of accidents.

If I get reported and a penalty is imposed, leading to a suspension or revocation of my license, I will humbly accept it.

Of course, that penalty will be given to Tae-shik.

“This should be enough.”

It was around the time Tae-shik started driving normally again.

After 25 minutes of deathly fear, I thought of Kang Min-jae.

Come to think of it, Min-jae must have been followed too. He’d be thinking and coming, but he might be too flustered to remember, so I should tell him.

I called Kang Min-jae.

─ Ah, Attorney!

“Hey, where are you right now?”

─ I’m currently… where is this? It says 1 hour and 10 minutes left.

“That’s similar to us. Did you hear from Dae-cheol?”

─ Yes.

“So, did you meet up?”

─ I’m about to reach Hongjeong Rest Stop, and we agreed to meet there.

“You couldn’t meet in Seoul?”

─ Ah, I already entered the highway, so I couldn’t meet. But Dae-cheol has a long way to go before reaching Hongjeong Rest Stop, so won’t I be late?

“It’s okay to be late, just come safely. And were there any people following you? Kang took my car, so he definitely would have been followed.”

─ But those guys would have seen me get out at the noodle restaurant, so they’d know it wasn’t you. They’re not idiots, they know what the person they’re tailing looks like. I wonder if they suspect we’re doing a diversion.

“Even if they knew it was Kang, he’s still a high-priority target, so you need to be careful. They might have attached something [a tracking device] in Seoul, so go while faking them out.”

─ You use words like that, Attorney?

Ah, I think I caught it from Tae-shik.

I told Kang before that he seemed to be catching weird things from Tae-shik and told him not to hang out with him too often, but I didn’t look back at myself and blamed others, so I’m reflecting on that.

“Anyway, I’m saying be careful coming. You’re meeting Dae-cheol at Hongjeong Rest Stop, so that’s good. Come in Dae-cheol’s car. Leave my car at the rest stop.”

─ Don’t worry. I’ll do it without getting caught.

Kang Min-jae isn’t a child, and it’s not that I don’t trust his judgment, but strangely, I’m not relieved.

Usually, he handles things rationally, but sometimes he ignores his own safety and just runs forward.

I was about to turn on the messenger app to check where Choi Jong-hyun and Jo Bong-joon were when the phone rang.

[033–123–4567]

It was an unsaved phone number, starting with 033, which is the area code for Gangwon Province.

I checked the time.

It was roughly the time I expected Son Jeong-min to arrive at the Muyeok Health Center.

So, he must have called me from a public phone as soon as he arrived.

It would have been nice if I could have looked up the public phone number before answering, but unfortunately, the system isn’t set up yet, so I couldn’t check.

“Hello.”

─ This is 1663 collect call.

─ Attorney, it’s Son Jeong-min! Please accept!

Son Jeong-min’s urgent voice came as soon as the collect call announcement was over.

I pressed the receive button and continued the call.

“Where are you now?”

─ Th-the public phone booth inside the Muyeok Health Center you mentioned.

“Did anyone follow you?”

─ Followed me? Uh, no, there wasn’t anyone like that.

“Are you sure?”

Since there’s no one out there, our people can’t directly confirm it.

It’s ridiculous to ask a student if he’s sure there’s no one following him, but there’s no other way.

So, even if Son Jeong-min says there isn’t anyone, I have to keep thinking about the possibility of being followed.

─ Yes. There really wasn’t anyone. The health center is closed now, and there aren’t many people around. There’s really no one. I can’t believe there are so few people…

“That’s good. Just in case, be careful not to be noticed. And the car I’m in right now is white. The car number is 9176. Do you know what I look like?”

─ Ah, I’ve seen some articles and photos…

“If a car comes into the health center, check the license plate. If it’s not my car, lower your posture or become a bush and hide as much as possible. You must not contact anyone other than me.”

─ Yes.

“You haven’t turned on your phone at all, have you?”

─ I haven’t turned it on since I turned off that hamburger accident thing.

“Good job. And if a suspicious person approaches you at the health center, run away. Go anywhere and call me again from there. I’ll pick you up there. Of course, you must never turn on your phone. Under no circumstances. Borrow a phone from someone or contact me in another way.”

I emphasized several times not to turn on the phone, but it’s still not enough.

People lose their ability to make rational judgments in a crisis.

Just for a moment, it’ll be okay, it’ll be fine in this urgent situation, they keep allowing gaps, and in the end, those small gaps often ruin things.

─ Yes. I’ll do that.

“It’ll take about an hour to get from here to Muyeok Health Center. It seems inefficient to keep holding the phone, but can you check the time now?”

─ Uh, I turned off my phone…

“There’s no clock in the health center?”

─ The health center is closed… Ah! There’s a big digital clock inside. I can check it!

“Then, can you call me like this every 10 minutes from now on? If I don’t get a call after 10 minutes, I’ll assume something has happened and find a way to deal with it.”

─ Yes, thank you…

I wanted to tell him more specifically where to go if he had to move to another area, but I didn’t and hung up.

Reading Son Jeong-min’s emails, it seemed like he didn’t know what studying abroad specifically meant and simply ran away because he didn’t want to go to a strange place.

He may have had an instinctive aversion to being forced to go even though he didn’t want to, but he wouldn’t have noticed the terrifying conspiracy lurking behind it.

So, if I come across too desperately, Son Jeong-min might become anxious.

I didn’t want to instill anxiety in a student who didn’t know anything.

The situation is already urgent, and if the anxiety grows, I don’t know how things might go wrong.

“Is this Muyeok?”

Around the time I had two more calls with Son Jeong-min, the car that passed through the tollgate with Muyeok written on it entered the city.

Maybe it’s because we didn’t pass through a place that could be considered a downtown area, but it felt like we were in a ghost town.

From the start, Hojung, where Son Jeong-min first went, was a remote area, and Muyeok, which is near that area, couldn’t have many people due to its geographical characteristics.

If Son Jeong-min wanted to leave some emergency money and move to another area with the money he had, he couldn’t go far.

If there are too few people, I’m worried that there won’t be anyone to stop the people from the Angel House from forcibly taking Son Jeong-min, but if you think differently, there’s also the advantage that it’s easy to find if there’s a commotion.

There will be no chance of missing people in the crowd, and there will be no chance of not being able to chase because the car is stuck.

“Isn’t that Muyeok Health Center over there? Looking at the bus standing across the street, it looks like an intercity bus terminal.”

Tae-shik said, pointing to the far side of the intersection.

Matching it with the navigation, it seems about right.

It’s still at a level where you can barely see the shape of the building from here, so I couldn’t confirm if Son Jeong-min was there.

I talked to Son Jeong-min just 3 minutes ago, and I confirmed that he was doing well, so even if the people from the Angel House rushed in during that time, I would be able to intervene.

“Phew, thankfully, we managed to come somehow.”

Tae-shik sighed deeply and stretched his upper body on the backrest.

He had been driving non-stop to this place with great tension, so it was understandable.

I nodded and took out my phone to check where the others were.

[We’re almost there. Where is everyone?]

And it was when I started typing a message in the group chat.

“What, what the hell! What the hell!”

At the same time as Tae-shik’s sudden voice, a screeching, ear-splitting friction sound rang out.

Because Tae-shik suddenly turned the steering wheel, the car body shook violently, and I dropped the phone I was holding.

At the same time, I reflexively checked the front windshield and saw something with a huge mass getting closer.

It was too bright, so I couldn’t see for a moment, but as my vision adjusted, the shape slowly revealed itself.

“…….”