You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 55

After checking on all the urgent patients, the doctors began Jin-cheol’s detailed examination.

His right arm, which had taken the brunt of the fall, was fractured, and his left arm also had a crack.

His previously broken leg was fractured again in the same spot, while the other leg was fine.

Additionally, one of his ribs was cracked.

Besides that, he had bruises and abrasions from the fall.

Considering the nature of the fall, it was fortunate that he wasn’t more seriously injured, but the hospital recommended he be admitted for treatment.

Jin-cheol’s mother seemed relieved and agreed, likely recalling her concerns about him being exposed to school violence again while she pursued legal action.

He would be excused from school due to his injuries, and since it was less than one-third of the total class days, he wouldn’t be held back.

After all the examinations were completed, Jin-cheol still hadn’t spoken, even when his father, who had been attending a conference out of town, urgently arrived at the hospital.

“Ah, this is so frustrating…”

Leaving Jin-cheol, who was asleep, with his father for a moment, his mother and I went to the lounge.

She seemed to have many worries.

Jin-cheol had come home beaten up many times, but this was the first time he had been injured so badly that he needed to be hospitalized for an extended period.

The homeroom teacher said he fell while reaching for something, but everyone knew that didn’t make sense.

“I talked to your father briefly, and we agreed that if Hyuk-min really did this to Jin-cheol… there’s no point in holding a school violence committee.”

She rubbed her forehead, looking exhausted.

She looked haggard after crying so much for half a day.

“Your father looked into it a bit. Apparently, there were a lot of whispers that the school wouldn’t even hold a school violence committee in this situation… and even if it did, the disciplinary action wouldn’t be properly carried out. What the lawyer said was all correct.”

If the perpetrator wasn’t properly punished, Jin-cheol would spend the rest of his school days in pain.

Instead of enjoying his school life, he would have to endure it.

“Do you know anything about the homeroom teacher who came by earlier?”

“Not in detail. Since the school is private, I heard she started her teaching career here and is now in her sixth year. She’s thirty years old.”

“What impression did you get when you first went for a meeting about Jin-cheol’s situation?”

“She was kind. Even though I went there suddenly, she didn’t seem bothered.”

When I first met her, I didn’t get a particularly bad impression of the teacher either.

Even though she must have been taken aback by the sudden accident, she didn’t seem to be trying to avoid responsibility.

She apologized at the right time and even tried to calm Jin-cheol down when he was swearing.

However, I was bothered by her assertion that there were no problems with Jin-cheol’s school life.

If Jin-cheol was subjected to such violence, he must have been ostracized from the group for a long time.

When you’re ostracized from a group, it doesn’t end with simple isolation.

It’s common for them to subtly mock you in front of the teacher, embarrass you for no reason, or giggle among themselves.

If she had been teaching for at least six years, there’s no way she wouldn’t have noticed those subtle signs.

Is she hiding something?

Or was Hyuk-min bullying Jin-cheol so meticulously that it didn’t show at all?

“Lawyer.”

“Yes.”

“You don’t think today’s incident was just an accident while grabbing something, like the teacher said. I’m not being paranoid, am I?”

“In my opinion, it is suspicious. But the situation hasn’t been clearly grasped yet, so there’s nothing we can definitively judge at this point.”

The only thing that’s certain is that it wasn’t a trivial matter, as Jin-cheol claimed.

Someone might have pushed Jin-cheol, or there might have been another situation.

So, it wouldn’t be too late to offer an opinion after confirming what the teacher says about the situation and what Jin-cheol says.

“…Anyway, even before this happened, I was determined to make sure those guys who did this to Jin-cheol were punished. You said we could file both civil and criminal charges, right? I want to do all of that to help Jin-cheol have a good school life. Regardless of why this happened, we’re going to take legal action.”

The mother said, clutching the receipt tightly.

If the client wants it, we, as lawyers, can only help to ensure the best possible outcome.

“I understand. We’ll go back and discuss what we should do. Please contact us if you get a call from the homeroom teacher.”

We wrapped things up and got up.

It would be best if we could hear all the details from Jin-cheol, the victim, but it seemed difficult right now.

Even his parents didn’t seem to know how to handle Jin-cheol, who was swearing and shouting.

“Lawyer, where are you going?”

“Home. Drop me off in front of the office.”

“Okay.”

I returned home, had a quick bite, and sat down at my desk.

I carefully organized in my mind what I needed to do next.

If the client were an adult, like in the cases I’ve handled so far, I could achieve some results just by running around busily.

But this situation, where the victim is a student, raises the difficulty level.

The people I need to get statements from are teachers and classmates.

But they will feel that their job and the school they have to go to every day are more important than legal action.

There was a high possibility that they wouldn’t say anything even if they knew something.

Even if I use my ability [referring to a supernatural or unique skill the lawyer possesses], it’s something only I can know, so it’s just an indicator and doesn’t have any significant legal effect.

‘What if I report it to the police right away?’

I briefly had that thought, but I shook my head.

If the police get involved from the beginning, it might be easier because the scope of investigation widens, but other problems arise.

This is a time when awareness of school violence is severely lacking, so there was a high possibility that the police would also take the situation lightly.

The police wouldn’t move cautiously.

They would definitely come to the classroom and start the investigation by asking the students in front of everyone whether they had ever seen Jin-cheol being bullied.

For students, the teacher they face every day at school or the class leader is scarier than the police.

Unless a strong punishment is confirmed at the end of the investigation, the students will have to continue living with Hyuk-min and endure the aftermath.

In that case, the students will shut their mouths even more, and in the meantime, Hyuk-min’s parents will take care of the children and the school so they don’t say nonsense.

That’s why I need to obtain complete evidence before the police get involved and then hand over the complaint.

And if a guilty verdict comes out, the most appropriate response is to proceed with a civil lawsuit accordingly.

* * *

The next day, as soon as I got to the office, I looked up more precedents and articles.

It wasn’t that there had never been legal responses to school violence, it just wasn’t outwardly visible.

Looking at a small article, it said that the parents went straight to the law firm without reporting to the school violence committee or the police.

They collected legally effective evidence through a lawyer and proceeded with a criminal complaint, which resulted in a good outcome.

“The most concerning thing is that Hyuk-min’s father is the head of a public institution. Even if we gather evidence well and file a criminal complaint… the police might not hand it over to the prosecution, or it might be cut off at the prosecution level.”

“If the evidence is solid, the police will have no choice but to hand it over to the prosecution. The problem is the prosecution.”

If Hyuk-min’s father had connections in the prosecution, there was a high possibility that he would downplay the situation in court.

There’s nothing I can do in a criminal trial, so I couldn’t guarantee what would happen.

“That’s not something to worry about at this stage. Securing evidence comes first.”

I looked away from Kang Min-jae and back at the monitor.

I’m also concerned that Hyuk-min’s father is the head of a public institution, but I can determine whether I need to keep this in mind depending on which institution he heads.

It’s foolish to not do what I need to do now because of such worries.

“Yes, this is Cha Joo-han’s law office.”

At that time, I heard Kang Min-jae’s voice as he picked up the phone as soon as it rang.

“Ah, yes. Jin-cheol’s mother.”

When I looked up, Kang Min-jae switched the phone to speakerphone.

“Yes, lawyer Cha Joo-han is also listening.”

– “The homeroom teacher just called. She said that Jin-cheol’s indoor shoes flew out the window while they were just playing around, and Jin-cheol ran to catch them and fell. I’m just speechless…”

If it was something really precious to Jin-cheol, I could consider the possibility that it was as she said.

But if it was just indoor shoes, it was hard to believe.

“Have you talked to Jin-cheol?”

– “The child won’t talk. Really… He keeps his mouth shut and doesn’t say anything. I asked him several times if he was really playing around with the other kids with his indoor shoes, but he just…”

“Mother, if you don’t mind, may I visit the hospital room now?”

If Jin-cheol reacted violently like before and gave some kind of answer, I could use my ability to check the situation.

With nothing given to me right now, if even the victim is keeping his mouth shut, nothing will work.

– “Yes, I understand.”

After hanging up the phone, I took a long sigh.

In Jin-cheol’s anxious state, I suddenly wondered if it was okay to force him to open his mouth for the sake of solving the case.

As I hesitated for a moment, Kang Min-jae, who was getting ready to put on his jacket and go out, looked at me.

“Lawyer, is there a problem?”

“I know what I need to do to solve the case, but I don’t know if I’m allowed to do it.”

Kang Min-jae looked at me as if he didn’t understand.

“What are you trying to do?”

“I want to get Jin-cheol to open his mouth. Because I need to find out something.”

“…Will Jin-cheol open his mouth? Even if he does, only violent reactions will come out.”

“That’s why. I think that would have a worse effect on Jin-cheol. I was wondering if I should tell him to get psychological treatment. If he gets psychological treatment, he might slowly open his mouth.”

Kang Min-jae, who had been listening to my words, shook his head.

“He won’t want to get psychological treatment. In Jin-cheol’s position, that would make him feel worse. He’ll think, ‘What’s wrong with me that I have to get psychiatric treatment?'”

Kang Min-jae’s words were quite firm.

I looked up at him in front of me.

“On what basis?”

“…”

Kang Min-jae didn’t answer.

But he added briefly.

“Let’s go for now. Because we need to find out something.”

He subtly followed my words and took out my jacket hanging on the hanger and handed it to me.

Kang Min-jae had a face that seemed to be contemplating something.