You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 538

“What is it? Attorney Kang, I thought you went home earlier? Why are you back?”

“I didn’t go home, I went to get some *kalguksu* [Korean noodle soup].”

“*Kalguksu*?”

“The one I promised to buy back then.”

Kang Min-jae held up the plastic bag, shaking it as he spoke.

He headed straight for the kitchen.

“It hasn’t been long since we ate, so should we eat this for dinner later? Did Tae-shik eat?”

“No. That’s why I can’t wait until dinner.”

“Hmm, then have something to eat first. We’ll eat this for dinner. But don’t eat too much. I bought a lot of *kalguksu*.”

“Should I?”

“Then I’ll go change and wash up. Anyone have laundry? I’m going to do a load.”

Kang Min-jae put the contents in the refrigerator and headed to the room he used to use.

I blocked him before he could open the door.

“What are you doing?”

“What do you mean? I’m back from the hospital, so I need to clean up, do laundry, and wash up, right?”

“I’m asking why you’re doing it here.”

“Well, because I live here?”

Kang Min-jae looked at me as if wondering why I was asking something so obvious.

“What was the reason you started staying at our house in the first place, Attorney Kang?”

“Hmm… It’s just fun to live together.”

“There’s another reason besides that.”

“There isn’t.”

[Lie]

I used my ability, but it wasn’t really necessary.

Of course, what Kang Min-jae said now, though he never said it to me, was one of the reasons that held considerable weight, judging from his actions so far.

But it wasn’t the most important reason, was it?

“What was the most important reason?”

“It’s fun to live together.”

“Don’t make me say it twice.”

“No, w, well, I also wanted to be a human shield in case of an accident! But that was really secondary, and I made it up to persuade you, Attorney…”

[Lie]

“One time as a human shield was enough. You don’t have to do it anymore, so go home.”

What should I do with this guy?

I don’t even know how many times I have to tell him for him to understand.

I denied it, but everyone, including Dong-jin, told Kang Min-jae endlessly about what my condition was like from immediately after the accident until I regained consciousness.

And yet, he’s coming here again to be my human shield?

“Don’t make me serious.”

“…Well, those guys already failed to run you over with a truck, and you didn’t die in the end, but you scheduled surgery. And Go Sang-jun was also skeptical about killing you. Don’t you think I don’t need to be a human shield anymore?”

“Are you 100% sure? That there won’t be any threats to me anymore?”

“Not 100%, but about 99%…?”

“Then that means you’re willing to be my human shield in the 1% case.”

“…I do think it would be good to have that kind of distraction in case of an emergency. But I just came here because it’s fun to live here, okay?”

“Then say that. Don’t have any weird ideas about being a human shield, even with a 1% or 0.1% chance.”

Kang Min-jae bit his lip and glanced at Tae-shik, who was standing behind me.

He’s trying to get advice from Tae-shik on how to answer, but I have no intention of accepting him until he stops thinking like that.

It’s true that my state of mind has changed a lot through conversations with Kang Min-jae since the accident.

I’m trying not to be obsessive like before, and I’m trying to be resilient to some damage, so I’m reviewing the realization at that time whenever I have a chance.

But even so, I can’t stand to see Kang Min-jae or anyone else die in my place.

The same goes for Tae-shik and Sang-gil.

The reason I entrusted them with security duties was to reduce the total amount of damage as much as possible.

It’s not to make sure that I’m not the one who has to die when someone has to die.

I will use the best method to ensure the safety of my colleagues.

To the extent that my ethics allow, as much as possible.

“I won’t think like that.”

[Lie]

“You are.”

“How do you know, Attorney? I really won’t!”

“I know. Kang, you still haven’t given up the idea of being a human shield in the 1% situation.”

“Are you Gung-ye [a historical Korean figure known for his supposed clairvoyance], Attorney? Are you using clairvoyance? How can you say that so definitively!”

“I know.”

Honestly, I think I’m more accurate than Gung-ye.

“I’m sure there’s no one coming to kill you at this stage. But there’s no 100% in the world, so I left 1% to keep the possibility open.”

“Who told you to calculate the probability of me being murdered? If that tiny probability occurs, are you going to try to be a human shield? You told Choi, the reporter, that you know your body is precious now. Was that a lie?”

“I won’t! I won’t, okay!”

[Lie]

“Go. You’re banned from entering our house from now on.”

“Ah, I really won’t!”

[Lie]

Kang Min-jae still doesn’t seem to have come to his senses.

I can’t let such a dangerous element stay in my house.

“If you don’t give up the idea of being my human shield, I’ll decide to be your human shield too.”

“…I really won’t be a human shield.”

[Truth]

[Lie]

[Truth]

[Lie]

What is this?

Why do the letters keep changing whenever Kang Min-jae speaks?

This is the first time this has happened, so I was caught off guard.

Is it because his thoughts keep changing while he’s talking?

“Why? Is there something on my head?”

Kang Min-jae swept his hair, asking if it was because I kept staring at his head until the letters disappeared.

“No, I was looking at your bald spot.”

“…Geez, really.”

“Anyway, as long as you’re determined to be a human shield, I’ll be your human shield too, so choose wisely. Remember that you’ve already accumulated one human shield point, so I might try to be a human shield next time.”

“I really won’t. I’m sorry.”

[Truth]

This time the letters don’t change.

But now that I’ve confirmed that Kang Min-jae’s thoughts can keep changing, I’ll have to test him from time to time whenever I get the chance.

“Go. Take a shower. Do my laundry too if you’re going to do laundry. It’s in the washing machine.”

I’m getting tired.

Because I’ve lived 14 years longer than others, my mental age is already close to fifty, but my body is still young, so it’s been okay so far.

But if Kang Min-jae keeps making me angry, I feel like even my body will age rapidly.

“Yes, sir!”

Kang Min-jae shouted energetically, as if he was happy about something.

That guy is making me old, old.

* * *

“Hmm hmm, hee hee hmm~”

And until dinner time, Kang Min-jae wandered around the house, humming.

I thought he could only do laundry, but he even took off the bedding covers and ran the washing machine three times.

Not only that.

He said that dust had accumulated while he was away, so he brought all sorts of tools from the storage room and started cleaning the room.

“What on earth do you have so much to do?”

I was reading a book in the study, but I couldn’t stand the noise and came out to ask.

“You don’t like dust, Attorney. I have to live cleanly before I get kicked out.”

That’s true, but…

I shouldn’t have accepted that guy.

The repeated humming is also annoying.

When Kang Min-jae lost consciousness, I thought for a brief moment that if he could just wake up healthy, I wouldn’t mind if he sang loudly in my house, but it’s clear that I couldn’t think logically because I was driven to the extreme.

“I’ll boil the broth!”

After suffering like that, it was already dinner time.

Kang Min-jae, who had finished all his errands in the meantime, began preparing to cook *kalguksu*.

Tae-shik, who had only satisfied his hunger with sweet and sour pork and *jajangmyeon* [Korean-Chinese black bean noodles], sat down at the table as if he had been waiting.

“Is that all the noodles?”

Tae-shik asked Kang Min-jae, who was throwing what looked like 6 servings of noodles into the pot, as if he was wondering.

“Yes. I bought 4 servings for you, Tae-shik. Do you think it’s not enough?”

“It’s just a normal amount. It’s okay. If I’m not full, I’ll have a late-night snack after work.”

“You eat so much, but why are you so muscular?”

“Because I work out for 3 hours every day after work.”

If it were me, I’d be too busy collapsing and sleeping, but he’s cutting back on sleep to work out like that.

I was surprised again.

“Please put the pot coaster in the middle!”

Kang Min-jae, who had brought a huge pot precariously, groaned and put it on the table.

Except for Tae-shik, we each took as much as we wanted into our bowls.

It’s easier to give the rest to Tae-shik.

“But why did you suddenly buy *kalguksu*?”

“I got into an accident on the day I went to buy this. So I couldn’t eat it in the end.”

“That’s true, but I didn’t think you’d remember. It was such a hectic day.”

“And according to Sang-gil, you said you wanted to eat *kalguksu* when you weren’t eating or drinking, Attorney.”

Kang Min-jae glanced at me and said.

Being mentally weak is not good for this reason.

Especially in my situation, where there are people everywhere who never miss a chance to make fun of me, it’s like throwing me to the wolves.

In the future, I will have to work harder to not be distracted by my inner pain and try to digest it myself.

“But I’m asking a bit late.”

“What.”

“Son Jeong-min, you know. The kid who was used to lure you to Munyeok back then. What happened to her?”

I’m still looking for Son Jeong-min.

She’s probably not even old enough to have an ID card yet, so it’s not easy to track her location.

Even when I dispatched college students to the House of Angels, I constantly checked to see if there were any children who knew Son Jeong-min’s whereabouts, but no one seemed to know.

But I’ve confirmed that she’s alive, even though I don’t know where she’s currently staying.

It’s because I keep missing her, but I keep hearing sightings of Son Jeong-min.

“I think she’s in Seoul now.”

“Oh… So she’s not dead, then?”

“She’s not dead. The latest sighting was 3 days ago. But sightings keep popping up all over Seoul, so I don’t know exactly where she is.”

“But the fact that there are sightings means that Son Jeong-min isn’t locked up somewhere.”

Son Jeong-min said that she was ‘being forced to go to study in Japan by the House of Angels, even though she didn’t want to.’

When I first received Son Jeong-min’s email, I didn’t think it was strange because if you searched for the House of Angels, you would naturally come across the story of Choi Jong-hyun and Jo Bong-jun, who exposed the House of Angels’ overseas school establishment corruption, and then you would naturally come across articles related to me.

But in reality, Son Jeong-min was just being used, so she probably still doesn’t know why the story of studying in Japan is being used as bait.

“Even if she doesn’t know the details, she probably noticed that something was suspicious from the way things were going, even if she’s a minor, so it’s strange that they’re letting her wander around like that.”

I gave Son Jeong-min various escape plans to contact her.

That method would have seemed like a spy operation from the student’s point of view, so Son Jeong-min must have thought that there was something going on.

That’s why I thought that Son Jeong-min might die.

Of course, Woo-shin is not a fool who kills indiscriminately without thinking about the consequences just because information was leaked.

However, I don’t think he would have felt so burdened about killing children who were under the care of the House of Angels.

“No, she must be locked up. And maybe they spared her life because the plan failed.”