You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 539

“Are you saying he was actually imprisoned? And why did they keep him alive after the plan failed?” I asked.

“If the plan had succeeded, it would have been known that I received the email, went to Munyeok, and had an accident. Then Sohn Jung-min would have just been criticized for saying, ‘I just didn’t want to go study abroad, and Chae Ju-han seemed to have a bad relationship with the House of Angels, so I just asked for help.’ Those guys would have thought that once I was dead, there would be no more threat, so they would have thought that was the end of it.”

“Of course, if it had succeeded, there would have been no reason to kill him. But since you didn’t die, from their perspective, Sohn Jung-min shouldn’t be alive. What if Sohn Jung-min gets upset and runs to you? Killing him would prevent future problems.”

“Now that the plan has failed, they have to prepare to deal with the backlash. So they can’t kill Sohn Jung-min because they’re worried we’ll try to make a big deal out of it.”

The reason Koh Sang-jun was skeptical about killing me must have been this.

A typical high risk, high reward scenario.

The moment it failed, it was so obvious that I would bite back, so they would rather try to stop me in other ways than deal with that.

But now, thanks to Onodera, the time has come when they have to bear the risk.

They will think they shouldn’t do anything that could get them into more trouble.

“That makes sense,” I said.

Kang Min-jae put down his chopsticks and nodded slowly, as if he understood.

“Actually, the best way to avoid giving me ammunition is to just send Sohn Jung-min back to the House of Angels [an orphanage]. Then it would really seem like nothing happened.”

“That’s right. Actually, it would be easier to have him go to school and come straight back so they can keep an eye on him… It wouldn’t look suspicious to others either. Well, if sending him to school seems dangerous, they could make him look sick so he doesn’t have to go. Like you said, there were more natural ways to do it.”

“Right. But they didn’t do that. It’s probably because if he’s in the House of Angels, he might tell the other kids what he did while he was away, and when you put all the situations together, they probably thought that was more dangerous.”

Besides, right after the accident, wasn’t it still the time when the volunteer club students were coming and going from the House of Angels?

Just showing that Sohn Jung-min had returned safely would eliminate the need to prepare for a fight over whether Sohn Jung-min was alive or dead, at least.

They must know that too, but there’s a reason they didn’t do it.

“And there’s another reason why they can’t kill Sohn Jung-min. If we question whether Sohn Jung-min is alive or dead, they can immediately get rid of suspicion by proving that Sohn Jung-min is alive and well. Rather, it becomes a card to paint us as delusional. So if they can’t keep him in the House of Angels and they can’t kill him, the only answer is imprisonment.”

“Ah, so the sightings all over Seoul… They do have Sohn Jung-min, and they’re intentionally making him be seen here and there so we can’t pinpoint his location, right?”

“That’s what I think, anyway. But when I heard the sightings, there weren’t any reports that he was in bad shape, so at least he doesn’t seem to be abused.”

“But,” Tae-shik said.

Tae-shik, who had been listening to our conversation without a word, tilted his head and opened his mouth.

“I’m just asking out of curiosity. Sohn Jung-min’s actions almost got you killed, Kang. But are you that worried about him?”

“I’m worried. Of course, he knew he was doing something shady, but he didn’t know it would involve killing someone. And he grew up in an orphanage, so he must have been worried that if he didn’t do what they told him, he would be at a disadvantage.”

“He should be punished only as much as he did wrong. It’s not okay for him to be imprisoned and killed just because he acted as bait.”

“That’s right. I think so too. But somehow, I think you guys are angrier at him than I am.”

I have no personal feelings about Sohn Jung-min.

I’m just angry that a minor had to be part of their dirty plan.

And as an adult, as someone who has the means to help him, I think I should try to ensure his safety as much as possible.

Kang Min-jae doesn’t seem to disagree with that point either.

“I was going to say they wouldn’t do bad things to a kid, but when I think about it, they’re the ones who do the most bad things to kids, so I’m worried. We need to find him quickly…”

* * *

“How much longer do we have to wait?”

Sung-yoon’s voice echoed loudly in the counseling room.

Kim Young-ji couldn’t hide her surprise at Sung-yoon’s change in attitude, as he rarely raised his voice.

“Sung-yoon, I told you. If you wait a little longer…”

“Do you know that ‘a little longer’ has already turned into a month? Did I ask you to let me out right away? Is it that hard to let me see Jung-min once?”

Sung-yoon got up from his chair, stomping his feet.

As if he was about to leave the counseling room, Kim Young-ji quickly ran to Sung-yoon and grabbed his wrist.

“Sung-yoon, why don’t we calm down and talk?”

“If I say that Hyun-jong hit me, you’ll let me live with Jung-min, right? You said that if I just said I would, you would start preparing right away. If you count from then, it’s been more than a month. You know that, right?”

“It’s not as easy as you think to create the documents. Both Jung-min and you are leaving the orphanage even though you’re not old enough to be independent yet. To prevent problems later…”

“Yes, I know. That’s why I’m not saying I want to leave right now. I’m waiting for that, okay? But before that, I want to see Jung-min’s face once. What’s the reason why I can’t? I haven’t heard that explanation yet, have I?”

Sung-yoon clenched his fist.

Since they were young, Jung-min and Sung-yoon had promised to live together when they left the orphanage.

It is very common for students of that age to have a romantic idea about living on their own.

Even children who were born and raised in ordinary families are like that, but especially for orphanage children who have to live in groups with dozens of people all day long, that romantic idea was even greater.

They wouldn’t have to listen to the teachers’ nagging like now, and they wouldn’t have to live with children who didn’t get along with them.

Being guaranteed freedom and not having to be conscious of others was the greatest happiness Sung-yoon could imagine.

The only problem is that such a future does not come just by waiting until they become adults.

This is because the self-reliance support money given to children who have to leave the orphanage when they become adults is woefully insufficient.

It is difficult to create a deposit for a decent studio apartment with that support money, and living in a *goshiwon* [a type of tiny, inexpensive room often used by students] is the most realistic way.

To such a strict Sung-yoon, the offer to rent a studio apartment where he could live with his closest younger brother, Sohn Jung-min, and to provide him with ample living expenses until he found a decent job was too sweet a temptation.

Enough to betray the volunteer club teachers who had always taken care of him like a real older brother.

“Are you worried that the teachers won’t keep their promise?”

Kim Young-ji put a Choco Pie in front of Sung-yoon and asked.

It was his favorite snack, but Sung-yoon was angry because he thought she thought she could soothe his heart with just this.

“Wouldn’t you be worried if you didn’t give me a plausible reason and kept putting it off? Besides, Hyun-jong has the evidence that I acted alone, right? Then, of course, I would think that I’m just going to be a weird person and get nothing.”

“I see. I understand how you feel. I think I would have thought the same way if I were you.”

Even though he was still young, Sung-yoon seemed to know what kind of mission Kim Young-ji was in charge of.

It had always been Kim Young-ji’s job to soothe the children by pretending to be kind and considerate in conflict situations.

But Kim Young-ji herself doesn’t seem to know it well.

Her tone may be kind, but her expression is very stiff.

“If you understand, please solve it. You’re annoyed that I keep doing this, right? I said I’d wait quietly if you let me see Jung-min, but why do you keep putting it off?”

“I’m not annoyed at all.”

“Ha… Can’t you understand what I’m saying?”

“Sung-yoon. There are many circumstances in the world. If it were easy, I would have done it a long time ago. But realistically, it’s difficult…”

“No, damn it, who’s asking you to repeat the same thing over and over? What’s realistically difficult? What circumstances are preventing me from seeing Jung-min? Just tell me this, why do you keep talking nonsense? I feel like I’m talking to a wall, really.”

Until now, Kim Young-ji had been handling Sung-yoon’s complaints in this way.

However, Sung-yoon had no intention of going back as usual, saying he understood.

“What kind of language are you using to your teacher?”

“Do you even know where Jung-min is now? No, is Jung-min okay?”

“What are you talking about? You talked to Jung-min last week.”

“How can I figure everything out with a short 5-minute call? You didn’t do anything weird to him, did you? What did you make Jung-min do? You made me ruin Hyun-jong’s life. Did you make Jung-min do something like that too?”

“Sung-yoon, what are you talking about? The teachers told you. There’s a reason why they kicked out those club students. But if they kicked them out for no reason, the image of the House of Angels would be tarnished, and other children would be harmed, so they asked Sung-yoon…”

“You really think I’m a complete idiot. Do you think I said I would because I’m stupid? It’s all because of money. I just closed my eyes because you gave me money. Do you think I’m a kid and don’t know anything?”

“……”

“If you keep doing this, I’m just going to go to Hyun-jong and tell him everything. That the director told me to do it. You promised me this and that, and you let me talk to Jung-min. I don’t know where Jung-min is, but it seems like the teachers at the House of Angels have him. If I just tell him everything and apologize to Hyun-jong, I’ll feel better.”

At Sung-yoon’s words, Kim Young-ji, who had been pretending to be a nice person all along, hardened her expression.

Of course, Sung-yoon had a lot of thoughts, even though he just blurted it out.

Whether he should threaten like this.

Or rather, whether that threat would come back to him and make his life even more difficult.

But if the situation is like this anyway, shouldn’t he try as much as he can?

If it becomes difficult to stay here, he can look for a youth shelter.

He’s 18 years old, so he doesn’t need to stay long.

Even if he can’t find a place to settle down, he’ll soon be an adult if he wanders around a few places for a short period of time.

As for school, he can just drop out.

He wasn’t interested in studying anyway, so he can take the GED [General Educational Development test] later if he needs a diploma.

“Ah, hurry up and decide. Am I going to Hyun-jong?”

“…Wait a minute, Sung-yoon. I’ll talk to the director. Just wait until tomorrow.”

Kim Young-ji bit her lip.

If it were normal, she would have locked him up somewhere until he didn’t even dare to act up….

She had firmly told the children not to contact the college students personally, but she knew that she couldn’t completely stop them.

If Sung-yoon doesn’t show up in the current situation, they will soon smell something.

* * *

“Sung-yoon.”

It was on the way home from school the next day.

As soon as he left the school gate, Kim Young-ji blocked Sung-yoon’s path.

“Why are you here, teacher?”

“I contacted you. Didn’t you see it?”

At Kim Young-ji’s question, Sung-yoon took out his cell phone from his pocket.

Then she quickly snatched the cell phone from Sung-yoon’s hand.

“What are you doing!”

“Follow me.”

“No, what is it? Why are you taking my cell phone?”

“You said you wanted to see Jung-min. Let’s go.”

“…Really?”

“Yes.”

Kim Young-ji headed to the alley behind the school.

Sung-yoon silently followed her.

As soon as they turned the corner, he found a black van and two large men.

“What is it… Are we really going to see Jung-min? Who are these men?”

Sung-yoon asked in a trembling voice, as if he was a little scared.

Then Kim Young-ji pointed to the van.

“Get in.”

“Are we really going to see Jung-min!”

“If you don’t believe me, don’t get in. I’m trying to let you see him because you asked me to, so what do you want me to do?”

“…You’re not going to do anything weird to me, are you?”

“What are you imagining… Ha, okay. I knew you were suspicious of the teachers, but I didn’t know it was this much. If that’s the case, why are you in our facility? Just go out and live.”

“Don’t you think it’s the teachers’ fault for making me suspicious like this?”

When Sung-yoon shouted, Kim Young-ji rubbed her forehead irritably.

Without saying a word, she knocked on the van window twice.

Then the window opened a little, and someone stuck their face in.

“Sung-yoon, what’s wrong? It’s me.”

Jung-min, whose eyes were darkly stained, smiled.