You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 552

Heo Min-woo genuinely wondered why these people were lawyers.

Wouldn’t it be better for them to just become novelists?

Moreover, their skill in weaving together stories within the given conditions to evade their problems was truly remarkable.

Not even knowing how to manage his expression, Heo Min-woo asked,

“Those college students verbally abused Jung-min?”

“Yes. In fact, Jung-min even asked the staff at Angel’s House if he didn’t have to participate in the programs run by the college student volunteers. At the time, we just thought Jung-min didn’t want to study, and we let it go because the request only happened once. So, the staff at Angel’s House also feel a considerable amount of guilt.”

“Then, what do you think is the reason Sung-yoon framed the college students instead of the director?”

“That’s where it connects. We don’t know if those volunteers verbally abused Sung-yoon or not. But if the volunteers did such a thing to Jung-min for no reason, we can’t completely rule out the possibility that they did the same to Sung-yoon, can we? Besides, Sung-yoon was quite close to Jung-min. Isn’t it obvious where Sung-yoon’s anger would be directed?”

“You mean it was those volunteers?”

“I mean we can’t rule out that possibility. As I’ve been saying.”

‘If things went wrong, their appalling act of instigating a child under their care at the orphanage to do bad things, and then drugging the child to silence them and undermine their credibility, was about to be exposed, so I understand their desperation,’ Heo Min-woo thought.

‘The problem is that they are shaking up innocent college student volunteers for this desperate act.’

Heo Min-woo mused, ‘I don’t know how Jung-min will testify right now, but whether Jung-min says their words are true or false, those volunteers will inevitably become subjects of investigation.’

Of course, if Jung-min had never been verbally abused by the volunteers, and the volunteers had never said such things, it could end cleanly.

But considering their methods, there is a high probability that they will continue to bring up the volunteers, presenting non-existent witnesses.

‘And this will be another homework assignment for Cha Joo-han.’

Since Cha Joo-han was the one who brought in the volunteers as surveillance, he will surely try to prove their innocence if they are in danger of being falsely accused.

‘Well played,’ Heo Min-woo thought with a hint of reluctant admiration.

“Then, after the incident where Sung-yoon tried to frame the volunteers, what happened to the volunteers?”

“We dismissed them.”

“You mean they didn’t come to volunteer anymore?”

“That’s right.”

“Then, why do you think Sung-yoon would go so far as to threaten the director to leave Angel’s House? The volunteers don’t even come anymore.”

“Well, when I met Jung-min at Angel’s House, Jung-min refused to return even after hearing that the volunteers no longer came to Angel’s House. And when I suggested that it would be better to go to another shelter, he refused as if he had something to rely on. Later, I found out that Sung-yoon’s threat was successful, and they had promised to live together once he left the house.”

“So, Sung-yoon and Jung-min were in cahoots? According to Sung-yoon, he didn’t even know if Jung-min was alive or dead after Jung-min ran away from home. He repeatedly asked Angel’s House, who could contact Jung-min continuously, and was barely able to talk to him briefly, and had a chance to meet him once briefly. He said that Jung-min showed symptoms of drug addiction at that time.”

At Heo Min-woo’s words, the director and Kim Young-ji let out a dumbfounded laugh.

It was the point where the lawyer’s guidance was revealed.

They must have been told to act as if they had never heard of this content, and that it would be natural to even feel betrayed by Sung-yoon, whom they had cared for so much.

They would have been told to show a corresponding reaction when the police told this story.

“I don’t know about being in cahoots. But I am considering the possibility. This is just a guess.”

“Then, what is the reason why Angel’s House, which had been in regular contact with Jung-min, did not notice the drug addiction that Sung-yoon noticed?”

“Angel’s House did its best to protect Jung-min, but there were days when Jung-min would meet us, and days when he wouldn’t. Moreover, according to the staff at Angel’s House, Jung-min had been responding in a way that said, ‘If you’ve seen that I’m alive, now go away,’ so all we could do was check Jung-min’s life and outwardly visible health status. So, we knew that Jung-min had lost weight, but we just assumed it was because he was having a hard time living outside.”

“So, apart from meeting Jung-min briefly, Angel’s House didn’t know anything about how Jung-min was doing?”

“That’s right. All we found out was what kind of money Jung-min was living on.”

“If Jung-min was so defensive, how was it possible to let Sung-yoon make phone calls or meet him? I think it would have been difficult to bring him to the cafe at the time of the arrest, given that he was so desperate for Jung-min.”

At Heo Min-woo’s words, the lawyer opened his mouth as if he had been waiting.

“He said that Jung-min might be the only one who could calm down Sung-yoon, who seemed to be somewhat twisted. So, he pleaded with Jung-min to make a phone call, to meet him, and coaxed him to make it possible. The same goes for the day he brought him to the cafe.”

In a situation where Jung-min’s reaction cannot be predicted, Sung-yoon’s statement and Angel’s House’s statement, which have already been secured, completely conflict.

However, neither side has a way to prove that their words are all correct.

They will check the black box or public CCTV to find out the route, as they tried so hard to meet Jung-min at Angel’s House, but they would have prepared for it as well.

In a situation where claims are so sharply divided, the police’s judgment becomes the most important.

Heo Min-woo was planning to send the case to the prosecution unconditionally unless evidence came out that Angel’s House was innocent.

However, it is unknown how the prosecution will handle this.

No matter how successful Cha Joo-han was in cutting off Hwang Young-chan, who had been Woo-shin’s dog, there couldn’t be only Hwang Young-chan in the prosecution who was receiving Woo-shin’s money.

‘I wonder if Deputy Chief Prosecutor Park Young-ki can use his power a little bit,’ Heo Min-woo pondered.

“Let’s summarize. Jung-min was stressed because of the volunteers’ verbal abuse, couldn’t stand it, and ran away from home. Angel’s House struggled to find Jung-min and suggested that he return, but Jung-min refused, citing those volunteers as the reason. And in the process, Jung-min only showed his face for a very short time, so he couldn’t suspect drugs at all. Even when Sung-yoon suspected Jung-min’s drug addiction, they dismissed it because he thought there was no way to get drugs or funds…….”

“‘Dismissed’ seems a bit strong. Rather than dismissed, it should be seen as thinking that the possibility was very low.”

“Yes. And Sung-yoon also tried to frame the volunteers for some reason and failed, and threatened Angel’s House, saying that he would expose that he had been instructed to frame them by Angel’s House. Then, Sung-yoon ran away from home because his opinion was not accepted. Is that correct?”

“That’s correct.”

Since the investigation began, Kim Young-ji and the director have never made a proper statement.

It is safe to say that everything was conducted in a way that the lawyer with the smooth tongue blocked all the questions raised by Heo Min-woo as if he had been waiting.

Heo Min-woo took his hands off the keyboard and sighed.

‘This is not going to be easy….’

* * *

“At this point, you could say it’s a blessing in disguise,” Go Yoon-soo said.

Yoon Won-hyung nodded.

“Knowing Cha Joo-han’s personality, he won’t be able to just let it go if he brings up the college students. The police will soon try to investigate the college students, and the college students will immediately send an SOS to Cha Joo-han. Then Cha Joo-han will be busy saving the college students. While saving the college students, he will want to prove that Angel’s House abused those two high school kids.”

For a while, Tae-kwang and Cha Joo-han didn’t have much to run into each other.

This is because Cha Joo-han did not show any outward actions.

But thanks to that, Tae-kwang was able to accumulate a lot of data on Cha Joo-han.

Besides, hadn’t they been conducting a wide range of investigations to recruit him since before Cha Joo-han opened his law firm?

Their conclusion is that Cha Joo-han is obsessed with playing the hero.

‘Justice-seeking disease’ often appears in rookie lawyers, and if it is not cured and progresses, it leads to ‘hero disease’.

It is questionable that Cha Joo-han, who is far from a rookie and has a considerable amount of legal experience, has not yet recovered from the disease, but that is the only thing that can be thought of now.

Of course, his cleverness and financial power contributed to worsening his illness.

The panacea for justice-seeking disease or hero disease is usually ‘reality’, but he has tasted achievement by breaking through the wall of reality, so he must still be doing it.

But rather, it’s a good thing.

The more people like this, the more they cannot just pass by the weak or the wronged.

Even if they are wronged by being caught up in a conspiracy because of him, they will never be able to ignore it.

Even if they ignore it, it doesn’t matter.

Then those college students will feel betrayed and drag Cha Joo-han into the mess.

Can he, who is obsessed with playing the hero, stay still even when his image is in danger of plummeting?

“The lawyers that CEO Yoon attached this time seem quite useful. It’s a perfect scenario for stalling for time.”

“I’ve been worrying the chairman a lot, so I have to show him a good side now. And I have to show a good side to our CEO Go, too. Isn’t he a future partner?”

“A future partner? Aren’t you partners now?”

Go Yoon-soo poured whiskey into a glass with round ice and placed it in front of Yoon Won-hyung.

The times are changing rapidly.

And Go Sang-joon is a person who spent his youth in the era before the change.

It is often said that brain growth ends in youth.

Go Sang-joon is the same.

He cannot accept change, so he cannot keep up.

“Our CEO Go will be able to fly higher once he gets rid of the lump [a metaphor for a problem or obstacle].”

Yoon Won-hyung wiped the water droplets clinging to the surface of the glass with his fingertips and subtly let the words flow.

“While Cha Joo-han is busy saving the college students, we should quickly have the surgery or whatever it is and get rid of it. Originally, I was planning to clean up Angel’s House when my father retired from the management front. It doesn’t matter if Cha Joo-han is there or not, even if he bites at Angel’s House and wins.”

Go Yoon-soo has not forgotten a single day since the day he knelt in front of Onodera due to Go Sang-joon’s coercion.

Fortunately, Onodera, who Go Sang-joon invested in, has become the prime minister this time, so if the surgery goes well, there will be things that can be received during his term….

In the old days, it was difficult for companies to grow without Japan’s help, but now it’s different.

The world has now clearly recognized that there is a country called Korea in East Asia besides China and Japan.

Now there are many options even without Japan.

A springboard does not need to be stepped on again after leaping.

We will maintain the relationship, but we no longer need to try to win their favor by bearing the risk of sacrificing the children of Angel’s House.

Isn’t it because Go Sang-joon is trembling because of Cha Joo-han, after all, because he has weaknesses?

Moreover, now that people around the world are making a living, they are looking for ethics.

The era has come when companies that used to just make money, pay huge taxes to the country, and promote economic growth now have to take care of ethics and act like clowns.

Above all, the truth that could have been concealed by blocking only a few people’s mouths can now be accessed by too many people.

I cannot leave the risk factors created by the by-products of the old era in Wooshin, which I will inherit.

“While Cha Joo-han is taking care of the human rights of the volunteers because of his ridiculous sense of ethics, we should quickly take care of our business.”

“I’m a little worried about the truck driver. He almost killed Cha Joo-han himself, and even Kang Min-jae was seriously injured, so he must be very angry. I don’t understand why he hasn’t used that card yet if he has the truck driver.”

At Yoon Won-hyung’s words, Go Yoon-soo also slowly nodded.

“I think the same way. It’s been a while since the wanted notice was issued, but there’s still no news. Cha Joo-han must think it’s safer to have them surrender and be arrested than to have them with him.”

“Maybe the negotiations with that truck driver aren’t going well.”

“If the negotiations aren’t going well, in what way?”

“Knowing Cha Joo-han’s personality, he’ll tell him to confess the truth as it is and be punished according to the law. If that driver keeps insisting that he just dozed off, the level of punishment will be reduced. The sentence for attempted contract killing is much higher. So, maybe he can’t let him go yet because his opinion doesn’t match.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter. After all, it was the Yakuza [Japanese organized crime syndicate] guys who instigated that truck driver, and it was Onodera who instigated the Yakuza guys. Oh, I heard that the kid who was caught with drugs this time was bait to deliver Cha Joo-han in front of the truck driver. Maybe he’s waiting to tie them together when he’s caught. The truck driver will also make Cha Joo-han mess up with the Angel’s House case.”

“We should quickly release the report on the Angel’s House case to make those college students get some hate, and when Angel’s House is getting hate, we should release some entertainment articles. Then Cha Joo-han will think that CEO Go is desperately trying to stop the Angel’s House case.”

It becomes difficult to deal with Cha Joo-han if you try not to lose anything like your father.

You will be chased by Cha Joo-han forever unless you give up something and gain a big profit.