You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 563

“As you know, the lawyers at Jungan Law Firm are assisting a volunteer group that falsely claimed student A was abused at an orphanage. We need to find out why these false claims were made. So, we met with the students from the volunteer group and asked them some questions.”

At Jo Bong-joon’s signal, Kim Jung-woo played the next video.

The location in the video was a studio conference room.

The people appearing were Choi Jong-hyun, Jo Bong-joon, and the high school student leaders from the House of Angels volunteer team.

[─Please give us a brief introduction.

─Hello. I’m [Name redacted] from the [Club name redacted] club, and I was on the education volunteer team at [Orphanage name redacted] Orphanage. I’m [Name redacted] from the Department of Mathematics Education at [University name redacted] University. I was in charge of high school mathematics education.

─I’m [Name redacted] from the Department of English Education at [University name redacted] University. I also helped with English studies in the high school department.

─I’m [Name redacted] from the Department of Educational Engineering at [University name redacted] University, and I also helped with English studies in the high school department.]

The public’s criticism of the university student volunteers had disappeared, and fortunately, there was even sympathy for them, so they readily agreed to the interview.

Their identities were protected with mosaics and voice alteration, and they were all wearing T-shirts distributed by the club, so they wouldn’t be identified even if the broadcast went out.

[─I’d like to ask you about [Student name redacted] student. What was [Student name redacted] student like usually?

─Just ordinary. They liked playing more than studying. They weren’t very outgoing, but they weren’t quiet either. Just like a student their age.

─Then, there must have been a point when [Student name redacted] student stopped showing up at [Orphanage name redacted]. Can you tell us when that was?

─I watched your broadcast. [Student name redacted] student sent an email to the lawyers saying they ran away from home and needed help, which was in May. I don’t remember the exact date, but it was a Saturday.

─Yes, that’s right.

─When we checked, [Student name redacted] was there the day before [Student name redacted] sent the email to the lawyers, which was Friday. And when we went to volunteer the following Monday, [Student name redacted] wasn’t there. So, we asked the students, and they said [Student name redacted] suddenly disappeared on Friday night.]

Before leaving for Munyeok on Saturday, I had asked Choi Jong-hyun to find out if Son Jung-min had really run away from home.

At the time, a volunteer contacted a student at the House of Angels directly to ask about Son Jung-min and received an answer right away on Saturday.

But it wouldn’t be good for our relationship with the students to be known now, would it?

So, I embellished it a bit.

[─So, can we say that [Student name redacted] ran away from home on Friday night and contacted the lawyers on Saturday?

─Yes, that’s right.

─The lawyers couldn’t contact that student. [Student name redacted] disappeared with adults that day in Munyeok. And you’re saying [Student name redacted] didn’t return to [Orphanage name redacted] on Monday either?

─Yes. They were gone until we finished volunteering.

─Did you ever ask [Staff name redacted] about [Student name redacted] student’s running away?

─Yes. Some people said they didn’t know, some said not to worry about it. And some said they were looking into whether [Student name redacted] could go to another facility because they were having a hard time living at [Orphanage name redacted].

─They said they were looking into another place? So, that means [Staff name redacted] was looking into it?

─Well, that’s the feeling I got. They told us not to try to find out, so I couldn’t ask in detail. I was worried, but it could also be meddling.

─When did you get the answer that they were looking into another facility?

─Monday. The day we confirmed they ran away.]

As soon as Choi Jong-hyun finished speaking, the chat room, which had been flowing slowly, began to explode with reactions.

[WantToEatPacificSaury : Didn’t [initial consonants of the orphanage] say the kid suddenly ran away and they were looking for them?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Kim삿갓삿갓 : They said it was really hard to get in touch with themㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Looking at the interview, it looks like it took at least a weekㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

kim hyun-ah : Why does [initial consonants of the orphanage] lie so much… ?]

[─So, we confirmed that [Student name redacted] student was with adults on Saturday, the day [Student name redacted] student sent the email, and after that, [Student name redacted] student disappeared from the orphanage, right?

─Yes.

─Then honestly… Of course, we confirmed that [Student name redacted] student was with adults from the beginning, but let’s put that aside for now. If those adults are orphanage officials, then at least from Saturday, the orphanage people were in contact with [Student name redacted] student, right? So, well, they had in-depth conversations all weekend and concluded that they would look into a new facility. Can we think of it that way?

─That’s what we thought.]

At this point, Choi Jong-hyun paused the video.

“Now, everyone. It’s in the news, but the orphanage said they were searching for the runaway student A and finally got in touch with them. So, through the conversation, they learned that A had been working at a construction site to cover living expenses. Then when did A student work at the construction site?”

Jo Bong-joon immediately displayed a calendar on the screen.

“Okay, let’s talk while looking at this. They ran away on Friday night and were with some adults on Saturday. Construction work usually starts at dawn, right? So, they couldn’t have worked on Saturday. Then did they work for one day on Sunday? Then the orphanage contacted A student, at the latest, on Monday afternoon, right? Because the volunteers heard that story from the orphanage on Monday afternoon. Then they used the wages they received on Sunday until Monday morning. Is that what you call covering living expenses, generally? It doesn’t seem like it’s even 24 hours.”

“I have so many questions. Then who are the adults who contacted them on Saturday? Did those adults not have the compassion to give a runaway teenager some pocket money?”

[WhoOpenedTheDoorHwangHyunHee : Ahㅋㅋㅋㅋtoo muchㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

JungMinwookMan : ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋAh who are those adults~~~ Too much~~~~

korea11 : [User ID] You have so much money, but you’re stingyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

While viewers were criticizing the adults who didn’t have the compassion to give even 50,000 won [approximately $37 USD], Kim Jung-woo resumed the paused video.

[─Ah, but you guys continued volunteering for another month after [Student name redacted] disappeared. I find this a bit strange. Let’s say they dramatically found [Student name redacted] on Sunday or Monday morning, and the facility officials had in-depth conversations with [Student name redacted]. Then [Student name redacted] would have said it, right? That they had been harassed by you guys. That’s why they can’t go back.

─That’s right, assuming what those people say is true.

─Then didn’t [Staff name redacted] question you about the harassment on Monday?

─Not at all. So, we were very surprised when we first saw the report that [Student name redacted] ran away because of us.

─Then I know you volunteered for a month after [Student name redacted] ran away and quit recently. You’ve been volunteering for quite a long time, so why did you stop? Everyone knew that volunteering ended because of the [Student name redacted] abuse case.]

At Choi Jong-hyun’s question, the male student sitting in the middle sighed deeply.

Although it’s impossible to identify in the post-processed video, it was Kim Hyun-jong.

The one who was almost falsely accused of violence against Sung-yoon.

[─Something happened.

─Can you tell us in detail?

─There was a friend there who had been close to [Student name redacted] for a long time. Let’s just call them Min-soo as a pseudonym.

─That friend Min-soo is also a student living in that facility with [Student name redacted] student?

─Yes. They were very close. They relied on each other a lot. But after [Student name redacted] ran away, Min-soo seemed to be having a hard time. Other kids told me that Min-soo was worried about [Student name redacted] a lot.

─Have you ever talked to Min-soo about [Student name redacted]?

─Yes. Min-soo didn’t expect [Student name redacted] to disappear, and they haven’t been able to contact [Student name redacted] at all since then. Anyway, we were a bit concerned about Min-soo. They became noticeably quieter.

─But, did something happen?

─One day, Min-soo called me separately, saying they had something to say.]

Sung-yoon’s story has not been revealed to the outside yet.

If Woo-shin fails to tarnish Jung-min, he will plan to make Sung-yoon the next sacrifice.

In that they need to make them lower their guard and proceed with So-eun’s surgery, it might be better not to bring up Sung-yoon’s story.

But in Jung-min’s case, their personal information was revealed faster than I expected.

There’s no guarantee that Sung-yoon won’t be the same.

That must be prevented.

[Min-soo took me to the end of the hallway, and there, they suddenly harmed themselves.]

As soon as the word self-harm came out, the chat room was flooded with question marks again.

[WhoOpenedTheDoorHwangHyunHee : ??????????

ㅗMyungHwaPharmaceuticalㅗ : Self-harm????????????

Kim삿갓삿갓 : ?

JinRamenMildFlavor : ???

Enlistment D19 : ??????

Leesooyoung : Self-harm is too much;]

[─Self-harm? You mean self-harm in the sense that I know it?

─Yes. But there was no blood or anything. They hit their head really hard and slapped their cheeks until they were red… They probably got bruises. They hit themselves really hard.

─Ah, it’s a relief that there was no bloodshed. So, what did you do?

─Of course, I stopped them. How could I just watch them hit their face until it was swollen? So, I grabbed their arm and stopped them, and Min-soo was yelling at me to let go. We were wrestling like that when suddenly the director appeared and shouted, what are you doing?

─To whom? To Min-soo?

─I thought so too, but it wasn’t.]

I was exchanging messages with Kim Hyun-jong at the time of the incident and heard the story in real-time, but seeing the video again, I was still speechless.

Is an orphanage director who orders a child to hit themselves until their face is swollen to frame someone really in their right mind?

In the midst of all this, the thought that it’s a relief they didn’t tell them to self-harm in a way that draws blood is also absurd.

[─Then, could it be that the director misunderstood?

─That’s right. Coming late, it looks like I’m trying to subdue the child indiscriminately, and Min-soo’s face was bright red, so it’s understandable that they wouldn’t understand.

─So what happened?

─The director asked me on the spot if I had hit the child, and I said no. Then they asked Min-soo. Until then, I was thinking that Min-soo would tell the truth, so I should talk to the director separately, Min-soo seems to be psychologically cornered, so I should suggest treatment… I was thinking something like that. But suddenly Min-soo said that I did hit them.]

As soon as the story that Sung-yoon affirmed came out, the viewers’ opinion rapidly deteriorated.

[KimSeungHyun : Are you crazy?

FriedEggWithGreenOnions : ????? Min-soo is crazy?

Minhyuk : Why is Min-soo like that?;;;;

JeongAhPapa : Wow… are they determined to ruin an innocent person’s life?;;

WantToEatPacificSaury : It’s not just Min-soo’s fault, I smell something…]

“Everyone, stop cursing Min-soo for now and I recommend you keep watching the video.”

As Sung-yoon began to be excessively cursed, even though it was a pseudonym, Choi Jong-hyun and Jo Bong-joon stepped in to calm the viewers.

[─So the director told me to follow them for now. While following, I really felt like my head was turning white. If I can’t clear up the misunderstanding with the director… The orphanage has a reporting obligation, right? They’ll definitely report me. Once a report is filed, even if the investigation results clear my name, it’s still a bolt from the blue for me.

─So what happened?

─We went to the director’s office to talk, but they didn’t listen to anything I said and just hurled abuse at me. No matter how much I said I didn’t hit them, they didn’t seem to want to listen… Honestly, it seemed like they had already made up their mind and kept saying they would report me.

─But it seems like the situation has been resolved now. You’ve cleared up the misunderstanding, right?

─Yes. Since they kept saying they would report me, I didn’t think I could talk anymore, so I gave them the video.

─Video, what video?

─A friend in our club must have heard something. It was a case where they were falsely accused of abuse and suffered. So, they said that something might happen to us too, so I was wearing glasses with a camera that day. Ah, I also checked to see if there were any legal issues, just in case. I made sure there weren’t any and wore the glasses. I hope there were no misunderstandings.

─There was a scene of Min-soo harming themselves, and you showed that video to the director?

─That’s right. Then they became speechless.]

The chat room, which had been full of curses towards the director, gradually regained its vitality.

[ㅗMyungHwaPharmaceuticalㅗ : Wow, so refreshing!!!!!!!!!!

JungMinwookMan : If they didn’t have a camera, they would have been screwed for real;;

chris park : I have to buy that friend who suggested wearing the glasses camera some beefㅋㅋㅋ

cownew : They almost ruined their life for real…

FriedEggWithGreenOnions : They should have listened to people properly, it was too much to drive them away with a predetermined answerㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

LemonDeliveringAndPayingOffDebt : Did you get an apology from the director??????????]

Apology, what apology.

Far from an apology, it was rather a case of chutzpah [shameless audacity].

[─Ah, they weren’t speechless. Rather, they were furious, saying that filming was illegal. So, I explained that it wasn’t illegal, but they still claimed that Min-soo was trying to frame me even to the point of self-harming, so they must have felt some dissatisfaction with us… Honestly, if I were to say it outright, they claimed that we might have emotionally abused Min-soo and insisted that we should end our volunteering.

─So, they blamed the club until the end?

─That’s right. They came out like that until the end without a single apology, and we were very attached to the [Orphanage name redacted] kids, but there was no reason for us to continue volunteering at [Orphanage name redacted] while being treated like that. So, we ended it.]

The director’s senseless response was enough to provoke everyone’s anger.

Of course, most people seemed to limit the director’s problem to just ‘rudeness’.

Some viewers seemed to infer that the director’s attitude was suspicious from that short conversation, but I also thought that they might be overly suspicious because they were angry at Woo-shin.

So, we decided to let them know that their suspicions were not excessive.