You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 550

You Have Been Defended – Episode 550

The operation to make it appear as though Sung-yoon was acting alone proceeded smoothly.

I heard from the student Yoo-kyung about the director’s reaction. Considering she was trying not to show it in front of the children, she seemed quite pleased.

Of course, to someone who didn’t know the truth, it would seem like she was happy to hear news of Sung-yoon, whom she had been worried about. But in reality, she was probably excited about capturing and taking revenge on Sung-yoon.

“Oh, hello, Attorney.”

Sung-yoon, whom I hadn’t seen in a few days, seemed to have gained some weight.

He used to be on the skinny side, but now he looked to be at a normal weight.

I guess he had been emaciated from the stress he had been under.

His eyes also seemed softer.

The staff said he was laughing, eating well, and sleeping well. He finally looked his age.

“Is something the matter? What brings you here…”

“Nothing’s the matter. I just thought it was about time for Angel’s House to contact you.”

“Angel’s House is going to contact me?”

“You acted like you were moving alone, and they know you have a friend you contact separately. They won’t want to wait indefinitely, and it’s about time they wanted to reach out to you.”

I watched the employee plug the power cord back into the desktop, then took out my phone.

[Attorney, Yoo-kyung has been called to the director’s office]

I had just received a message from the college student three minutes ago.

The timing was perfect.

“It looks like they’re going to have Yoo-kyung contact you. Now we should start preparing to meet Jung-min.”

“Jung-min? Finally…”

Sung-yoon’s face lit up instantly, but at the same time, he looked nervous.

“Yes. Open your notepad. Change what I’m about to say into your own words and write it down.”

“Yes. I’m ready.”

“Bring Jung-min to the cafe in front of Gangnam Station Exit 12 at 6 PM on July 26th.”

Sung-yoon continued typing after my words, then turned to me as if he was done.

“And numbering. Number 1.”

“Yes, number 1.”

“Allow Jung-min and me to talk alone in that cafe for 10 minutes.”

“Talk alone… allow… Yes, I wrote it down.”

“Number 2. Take Jung-min to the hospital for a checkup as soon as you leave the cafe.”

“Checkup… I don’t think my tone is much different up to this point.”

“Okay, do it comfortably. And number 3. Find a studio apartment within a week and get me out of Angel’s House. They keep saying they can’t let me out because of paperwork issues, but you know that you guys are preparing the necessary documents, and even if the person in question is needed, you can set a date and handle it all in one day.”

“Um… I don’t mind if they only grant up to number 2, but if the demands increase, won’t they refuse to grant anything out of spite?”

Sung-yoon asked while typing.

Of course, Sung-yoon was right.

But I had to keep spreading bait to make them believe that Sung-yoon had no backing.

If he hadn’t met us, would Sung-yoon have been able to give up financial support?

Besides, Angel’s House had been ignoring Sung-yoon because he was a minor, so it was good for Sung-yoon to appear as if he didn’t know what he was doing.

When they saw this message, they would laugh at Sung-yoon for rattling off demands without knowing how dangerous they were, and for irritating them.

And they would think that there was definitely no one around to point out that fact.

I was about to explain this to Sung-yoon, but I stopped.

There was no need to ruin his mood.

“They’re desperate to take you back anyway, so they’ll show up even if there are many conditions. Don’t worry.”

“Ah, yes. I wrote it all down. Is that it?”

“No, number 4. Pay the previously promised living expenses.”

“Yes, I wrote it down.”

“Finally, if even one of these conditions is not met, I will contact the police immediately. If no one is at that location at 6 PM on the 26th, I will go to the police station as well. From now on, I will not receive any contact from the children of Angel’s House, and I will not access this email account.”

After finishing typing, Sung-yoon showed me the notepad.

I checked the contents and nodded.

“Go into Facebook Messenger. You probably have a message from Yoo-kyung.”

“What did she say…”

“It’s obvious. The director is trying to coax you into meeting her, saying she’ll give you whatever you want.”

As soon as I accessed Messenger, there was indeed a message from Yoo-kyung as expected.

[Yoo-kyung: Oppa… The teachers told me to tell anyone who can contact you that they’ll give you whatever you want, so please just meet them once…ㅠ I wasn’t going to tell you, but I thought you should know… Are you really not coming back?]

The student Yoo-kyung was a good actress, even through text.

I expected her to say she would give me whatever I wanted and just meet me once, but the part she added before that felt like she had put some thought into it.

She naturally didn’t hide the fact that Yoo-kyung had shown the message to the director first, in order to continue using Yoo-kyung, who was the only one who could contact Sung-yoon from Angel’s House.

“Should I send the email now?”

“No, another *hyung* [older brother or trusted male friend] will send the email for you. We can check the IP address with the email. If you send it from here, they’ll know where you are.”

“Oh, does it have that function?”

“Can you write down the ID and password of an email you use that Jun-soo *hyung* can log into? And send what you wrote in the notepad to Jun-soo *hyung* now. Jun-soo *hyung* will send it for you.”

* * *

“Among these photos, the man in the blue shirt, the *hyung* in the gray shirt, and the *hyung* in the baseball jacket are police officers. And the other seven are all *hyungs* you know, right?”

Heo Min-woo said to Sung-yoon, showing him the photos.

Sung-yoon carefully checked several photos and nodded.

“If something happens, run to any of them. Ten people are watching over you, so don’t be afraid. Got it?”

“Yes…”

“And Angel’s House might not bring Jung-min.”

“What?! What should I do then?”

“Then just don’t show up until they bring him. The *hyungs* will check and let you know if Jung-min came or not.”

“But then won’t the director realize that there are people helping me inside the cafe…”

“It’s okay because the entire interior is visible through the glass windows. The attorney chose the place well.”

Heo Min-woo said, looking at me.

Meanwhile, Sung-yoon checked the photos of the cafe’s exterior again and seemed relieved.

“If Jung-min doesn’t come, you have to call the director with the phone Jun-soo *hyung* gave you. Ask why they didn’t bring Jung-min, say you were going to the police, and tell them to bring him within 5 minutes. Something like that.”

“With Jun-soo *hyung*’s phone? If Jun-soo *hyung* gets caught…”

“It’s a burner phone, so it doesn’t matter. And if the director asks what this number is, say you borrowed it from someone passing by.”

“A burner phone…?”

Was it because the word ‘burner phone’ came out of a police officer’s mouth?

Sung-yoon glanced at Heo Min-woo.

I felt sorry for dragging Heo Min-woo into a world where illegal methods were rampant.

“It’s okay because we’re using it for investigative reasons. After making that call, the *hyungs* will let you know when Jung-min shows up. Then go into the cafe and meet the director. The rest is as we said. Ask to talk to Jung-min alone, show Jung-min the pre-written sticky note, and lead him to the bathroom. If the people from Angel’s House keep trying to sit close, be a little firm. Since there’s only one exit in the cafe, they’ll sit at a reasonable distance if it looks like you’re going to cause a scene. There will also be a safety device.”

“A device?”

“The director is probably listening to all your conversations with Jung-min. And they’ve planted people in the cafe, so they’ll let you sit a little further apart. So just have everyday conversations. Just say, ‘How have you been?’ And when you hand over the sticky note, hide it well so the people from Angel’s House can’t see it, and show it to him as if it’s your phone number.”

“I suspected Jung-min of doing drugs, so wouldn’t it be weird if I just asked how he’s been?”

“That’s true. Well, it’s okay to say something like, ‘Are you okay?’ Keep the conversation short and lead him to see the sticky note right away. Got it?”

Sung-yoon nodded heavily and took out the sticky note he had put in his pocket.

It contained the message that someone was going to give Jung-min drugs, so he should go to the bathroom. It was the most important item in this operation.

Then Heo Min-woo checked his watch and prepared to get out of the car.

“If anything happens, be sure to find the men. When you go into the cafe, the man in the blue shirt will go in soon. That man is a 3rd-degree black belt in judo. He’ll sit close to you on purpose, so don’t be nervous. Also, if there’s a loud noise in the bathroom, move to the seat next to that man right away. A loud noise means that the man has arrested Jung-min, so you don’t have to worry.”

“I’ll do my best.”

It was still 8 hours before the appointed time.
The Angel’s House side would have sent employees to this cafe in advance, but there were hardly any people inside yet, as if they hadn’t arrived yet.

I couldn’t inform the cafe about the investigation details, so I felt sorry and ordered 70 cups of coffee.

With the menu that had the most profit left.

We gave it to those who were on the list of police personnel that we had selected in advance, as they had agreed to help with this operation.

The rest was distributed to Tae-shik’s employees.

The cafe employee who received the order looked desperate at this sudden bulk order, but I thought this was enough compensation for the owner for interfering with their business.

It looked like it would be over in about an hour, but just in case.

[Director and Kim Young-ji showed up. Jung-min is not here]

And time passed, and it was 5:55 PM.
A message arrived from the employee.

But I didn’t share the contents with Sung-yoon.

There was no reason to make him anxious already when it wasn’t even 6 o’clock yet.

[Jung-min not here]

However, the message that arrived at 6 o’clock contained unpleasant news.

“Sung-yoon. It looks like they didn’t bring Jung-min. Call the number Jun-soo *hyung* gave you.”

“Jung-min didn’t come?”

“He’s probably somewhere nearby. The director is trying to see if they can take you without showing you Jung-min.”

At my words, Sung-yoon swallowed hard and took out his phone.

Then he called the director.

– Hello.

“This is Sung-yoon.”

Since it was on speakerphone, I could hear the director’s voice as well.

Knowing the director’s sharp and rude tone, I felt sick at the fake tone that came through the entire call.

“…If Jung-min isn’t here in 5 minutes, I’m going straight to the police station. And don’t contact me with this number. I borrowed it from someone passing by, and this time, there will be no exceptions after 5 minutes.”

Sung-yoon hung up the phone and leaned back against the backrest, catching his breath.

He had practiced in advance, but Sung-yoon acted quite well.

Now all that was left was to wait for Jung-min to appear.

“Did Jung-min come?”

Sung-yoon urged me once every minute.

But I hadn’t received any contact yet either.

A message would have come as soon as he appeared.

Surely they didn’t just not bring Jung-min at all.

Vibration.

Was it 6:04?
The phone in Sung-yoon’s hand started ringing.

The caller was the director.

It seemed they didn’t believe that he had borrowed it from a passerby.

I handed the phone in Sung-yoon’s hand to the employee next to me.

“Hello?”

When the employee answered the phone in a blunt voice, the director said in that fake voice.

– Ah, yes. I was wondering if you were still with the student who lent you the phone earlier.

“I’ve already passed by.”

– Where did you meet that student?

The director asked as if he was pressing.

Does he still not know his place?

I wrote a message on the phone and showed it to the employee.

[Intimidate him a little]

Then, as if he had been waiting for it, the employee frowned and pressed the director.

“Hey. Who are you? Judging by what that student was calling you, you’re a director somewhere. You’re talking about the police, so what’s going on with that student?”

– No. That student had a little fight with his friends, and the parents asked me to mediate, so I was going to meet him. I’ll hang up now since you’ve already passed by.

Lies were coming out so easily.

You could say he was good at improvising, but since he wasn’t someone I wanted to praise, I decided to dismiss him as a liar.

Less than a minute had passed since he hung up the phone.

[Jung-min arrived]

A message arrived from the employee inside the cafe.

“Sung-yoon. Jung-min came.”

“Jung-min?! Th-then should I go out now?”

“Yes. I might be noticed by them, so I’m going to withdraw in advance. Don’t forget to go to the man in the blue shirt as soon as you hear a loud noise in the bathroom. After Jung-min is arrested, Detective Heo will take you back home. See you at home later.”

Sung-yoon nodded heavily and got out of the car.
The back view of him in the dirty school uniform he was wearing when he first came out of Angel’s House slowly walked towards the cafe entrance.