You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 510

“Min-jae, aren’t you bored? Someone as active as you having to lie here all the time.”

“Well, honestly, I really want a cigarette right now, but they said absolutely no way, so I’m trying my best to hold back.”

“Of course, you have to quit smoking for a while. Same with alcohol. Though I’m sure the Chief will be keeping a close eye on you anyway. Besides that, anything else?”

“Hmm… Just wanting to get some fresh air? Other than that, I don’t really have any complaints.”

“But Min-jae, you haven’t really tried walking yet, have you?”

“Not really, but after moving to a regular room today, I moved my legs a bit in the air, and it felt okay. They told me to stay lying down since I might still be dizzy, so I haven’t walked yet, but I think I’ll be fine.”

With that, Kang Min-jae pulled back the blanket and shook his legs in the air.

It’s just a playful action, but I can’t help but carefully observe if there’s anything unnatural about his movements.

Just because there are no immediate aftereffects doesn’t mean I can completely relax.

Aftereffects can manifest in so many ways, and they’re such nasty things that you might not even know they’re there until they suddenly hit you.

I guess I should do some more of those tests I couldn’t finish earlier.

“Is there anything that smells off to you?”

I asked, looking through the shelves and drawers inside the room.

“Smell?”

Choi Jong-hyun, who had been checking his pockets, tilted his head and pulled out a crumpled cigarette pack.

“How about this?”

“I have cigarettes too.”

“I bet Cha’s cigarettes don’t smell much. Hyung’s [older brother/male friend] cigarettes probably reek.”

“You little….”

I rummaged through the bag Tae-shik had brought.

And found the shampoo Kang Min-jae had been using.

“Kang, cover your eyes for a second.”

“Ah, why again? I’m really okay, I tell you!”

Tae-shik covered Kang Min-jae’s eyes with his hand as he struggled.

I took the shampoo out of the bag and held it under his nose.

“What does this smell like?”

“Hmm… It’s very fragrant. It smells like the shampoo I use. I think I bought it recently.”

So, there doesn’t seem to be any problem with his sense of smell either.

As I put the shampoo back in the bag, Kang Min-jae sighed.

“Seriously, if you’re so suspicious, just ask Dong-jin hyung [older brother/male friend].”

“Cha doesn’t even trust Dong-jin right now.”

“Why wouldn’t you trust Dong-jin hyung [older brother/male friend]? You two are so close.”

“Dong-jin knows that Cha was half out of his mind until you regained consciousness. He probably thinks Dong-jin might be lying to him for his own mental health.”

I admit that my mental state wasn’t normal.

But I can’t possibly admit that it was only half of what it usually is.

“It wasn’t that bad. I was just worried like everyone else.”

“That’s a joke.”

“Dong-jin hyung [older brother/male friend] roughly told me, but I didn’t know you were that worried, Attorney Cha. You were so calm when you called 119 [Korean emergency services number] after the accident….”

“Don’t you know Cha yet? Cha might seem like he’s okay on the outside, but his craziness leaks out through his actions. Isn’t that right? In today’s terms, it’s called a mental breakdown. Or is Cha going to ask again, ‘What’s a mental breakdown?’ What Cha did is the abbreviation of mental breakdown, a ‘menbung’ [Konglish slang for ‘mental breakdown’]. Got it?”

Choi Jong-hyun puffed himself up as if he wanted to show that he knew slang quite well and that his mind was very young despite his age.

“……Well, someone could have died. I’m a person too. Of course, I’d be worried.”

“It was beyond just worrying; your mental state collapsed. Jong-hyun hyung [older brother/male friend] and I went home and ate that day, right? Cha didn’t eat until Min-jae woke up. Tae-shik was really worried that Cha wasn’t eating, too. How is that just worrying like everyone else?”

I turned to look at Tae-shik, who was standing quietly behind me.

I couldn’t figure out when the two of them had teamed up to leak the information that I wasn’t eating.

“Ah, I thought you’d be worried about me, Attorney.”

Kang Min-jae shrugged.

“I meant the car.”

“…….”

They teased me as if they had been waiting for this moment.

They looked so excited that I wouldn’t have trusted them to keep my condition a secret from Kang Min-jae even if I had drunk the multigrain latte back then.

“When I heard that the car had to be scrapped, I was seriously considering getting on my knees. I should have been in my car instead of Attorney Cha’s. Ha, but then I probably wouldn’t have survived in one piece.”

“Okay, let’s beautifully conclude that Kang Min-jae was going to sacrifice himself for Cha, so Cha’s car sacrificed itself instead. An endless cycle of sacrifice. And Min-jae will buy Cha a new car.”

“Ah, of course. Attorney, just say the word. I’ll get you a really good new car. Is there any car you’ve been wanting?”

“Bugatti.”

“……Excuse me?”

“What? You said you’d get me a really good car. Get me a Bugatti.”

“No, that’s too expensive……. I’ll check if I can even afford it first…….”

Kang Min-jae said with a crestfallen face.

“You wrecked my car without being able to buy me a Bugatti? Who told you to crash into it?”

“Umm, instead of that Bugatti, I’ll get you something twice as expensive as the one you used to drive! There was a car I thought would suit you anyway. How about that? Should I show you a picture?”

“Yeah, get something like a Lamborghini instead of a Bugatti. The kid’s still admirable, right? He’s the one who crashed into a dump truck to protect the boss! Where else would you find such a loyal subordinate? Instead of giving him a reward, asking him to buy you a Bugatti is like punishing him.”

“I don’t know when a Lamborghini became a reasonable car, but anyway, get something like that. Oh, right. I heard you scolded Min-jae so hard that he cried as soon as he woke up. Did you thank him? Who knows if Cha and Tae-shik would both be in coffins right now if Min-jae hadn’t taken the hit.”

So, who, who told him to appear in my life without permission?

He just passed by in my previous life, so why did he suddenly appear as a variable in this life?

If that hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have to feel sorry, and Kang Min-jae wouldn’t have been hurt.

If he hadn’t barged into my office and begged me to take him in, Kang Kwan-woong would still be alive.

If he hadn’t burst through my door that day, I wouldn’t have to have this sense of indebtedness and guilt.

“……No, I didn’t do it to be thanked. I just took the hit thinking I’d get a small bonus. I didn’t try to sacrifice myself or anything? I was just planning to get out of the car looking cool after stopping the accident and then beat up the dump truck driver.”

Kang Min-jae said something ridiculous and made everyone laugh, probably worried that they would keep telling me to thank him.

……Ha, how unsightly.

He can’t even handle his own emotions and just throws them around.

What did Kang Min-jae do wrong?

If it was wrong, then isn’t it also my fault for not pushing Kang Min-jae away and reluctantly accepting him?

“Anyway, it’s really fortunate that Min-jae woke up okay. Even though he’ll have to be stuck in the hospital for a while.”

“It’s good, though. It’s a chance to rest. And isn’t this the kind of opportunity you need to get a comprehensive check-up and find out if there’s anything wrong with your body? Haha.”

“Classic Min-jae. Insanely positive.”

As we were having that pointless conversation, an hour had already passed.

Just then, Kang Soo-il opened the hospital room door and came in.

I was just checking the time, wondering if I should leave soon.

“Min-jae, aren’t you tired?”

“Tired? How long have I been sleeping? There’d be a problem if I was tired after sleeping that much.”

Kang Min-jae seemed to be trying to laugh it off, but Kang Soo-il looked at him with a stern expression.

Kang Min-jae clicked his tongue as if he couldn’t help it.

“Hyungs [older brother/male friend], will you come again tomorrow?”

“Do you think your hyungs [older brother/male friend] are unemployed? We’re busy.”

“You are unemployed…….”

“What, you punk?”

“If you can’t come, I’ll be showing up in the messenger chat a lot, so please play with me.”

“Is your phone even working?”

“Would it be? It flew away a long time ago. The paramedics picked it up at the scene, but it wouldn’t turn on, so Soo-il hyung [older brother/male friend] bought me a new one. The secretary invited me to the group chat earlier, didn’t you see it?”

“Really? I didn’t see it. Is the number the same?”

“Yeah. Getting a new phone is a win.”

“His mental age is still stuck in childhood. Anyway, got it. Don’t act like you’re okay and cause trouble; just rest.”

“Yessir.”

Everyone was getting ready to leave, so I got up from my chair as well.

I’ve been feeling fine since I regained consciousness in the intensive care unit, but a patient is still a patient.

“Attorney.”

As I was about to leave the room with the others, I heard Kang Min-jae’s voice from behind.

I turned around.

“I have something to tell you…….”

Kang Min-jae also glanced at Kang Soo-il.

It seemed like he was asking him to leave.

Kang Soo-il nodded and left the room with Tae-shik.

I went back to the caregiver’s chair and sat down.

“What is it?”

“Well……. I was debating it, but I decided to just say it. After listening to Soo-il hyung [older brother/male friend], Dong-jin hyung [older brother/male friend], and the others, I thought I should say something.”

Kang Min-jae had an unusually serious face.

He had been trying to brush everything off with jokes since he regained consciousness, so did his thoughts change in the meantime?

If so, I hope it’s a reflection and resolution that he will never do such reckless things again.

That way, at least the chances of being scammed in this life will decrease.

“What?”

“I was lying in the intensive care unit spacing out after I woke up yesterday.”

“Yeah.”

“So, I kept thinking, and I came to the conclusion that there’s no point in worrying about it alone, so I should just ask you……. I think you’ll say it’s nonsense and won’t answer, but I still hope you’ll tell me honestly.”

“…….”

“Never mind. You don’t have to tell me if it makes you uncomfortable. Ah, but I still wish you would tell me…….”

“Why are you beating around the bush so much? Stop stalling and get to the point.”

Kang Min-jae’s roundabout way of speaking made me feel uneasy for some reason.

I don’t know why.

Kang Min-jae hasn’t made me feel uneasy very often until now.

He’s mostly been honest, after all.

Well, it’s true that even though he seems honest, there were times when it was difficult to judge what he was thinking deep down.

Is that point suddenly hitting me hard?

“By any chance……. Was I not in the world you originally lived in, Attorney?”