You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 573

[Breaking News – Driver in Moon-Yeok Dump Truck Accident Admits to Contract Killing]

Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office cafeteria.

People eating while watching the TV in the middle of the cafeteria stared blankly at the breaking news that suddenly appeared as subtitles.

“It was a real contract killing?”

“Hey, check out the breaking news on this program.”

“Is that even possible?”

Even those who had been focused on their lunch turned their attention to the TV as others did, murmuring as they checked the breaking news.

“I naturally thought Cha Joo-han was just trying to latch onto Woo-shin to make a fuss.”

A young prosecutor said, as if in disbelief.

“Me too. Looking at the previous articles, it seems the broadcast kept implying Woo-shin was the one who commissioned the hit. What do you think, Yoo Pro [Prosecutor Yoo]? Does it seem right?”

The senior prosecutor, who was clicking through related articles hoping to find more detailed news online, asked.

He even put down his spoon, seemingly ready to engage in serious gossip.

“Well, I don’t know. But why would Woo-shin bother? Cha Joo-han has become famous, but he’s not exactly a big shot. From Woo-shin’s perspective, he’s just like a gnat. There’s no reason for him to go that far to kill Cha Joo-han.”

“It’s obvious it’s not Woo-shin but just a personal grudge. The case where Cha Joo-han was kidnapped and nearly cemented alive too. I have a friend in the Incheon District Prosecutor’s Office, and I heard the story. Even after investigating all the suspects, there was no evidence connecting them to Woo-shin. It was just Cha Joo-han’s claim. Still, his storytelling must have been amazing. People are going wild. Everywhere you go, it’s all about Woo-shin and Cha Joo-han.”

Before long, every table near them had fallen silent, eavesdropping on their conversation.

Whether they knew it or not, they didn’t stop talking.

“Why is Cha Joo-han so desperate to take down Woo-shin? I mean, I get that Woo-shin might be annoying. But what’s going to change if he does that? He’s up against Woo-shin. There’s a truckload of senior lawyers who are much more famous and capable than Cha Joo-han in that legal team, and even Tae-kwang is involved. What can he possibly do…?”

“Looking at it, it seems like he’s trying to get into politics. That’s why he keeps appearing on TV, stirring up people’s interest. A righteous lawyer fighting against a big corporation. It’s a topic people love. But well… seeing as he hasn’t secured a decent position yet, it seems like achieving his goal is a long way off.”

“I heard Lee Se-hwa put a lot of effort into trying to recruit Cha Joo-han before.”

“If the President put that much effort into it, why is he still at a law firm with only two lawyers? He should have joined the President’s Secretariat or something a long time ago. It’s just a rumor. And it doesn’t make sense in the first place. He’s not the type adults would like.”

“Why, what’s he like?”

“I was with him briefly at the Western District Prosecutor’s Office, and his personality is really… not great. He’s too upright and gets a lot of hate. Well, there’s talk that he was favored because of his good performance, but he’s basically not a likable character. How much worse would the old fogies in politics be?”

“Oh, Prosecutor, were you with Cha Joo-han before?”

The senior prosecutor, who had been continuously unloading his stories in response to the junior prosecutor’s question, shrugged and replied.

“Well, briefly. He might look cool to a clueless newbie. But I thought that guy was doomed to fail. He was already out of favor with the seniors.”

“That’s not true?”

Startled by the voice of the uninvited guest who suddenly barged in, the senior prosecutor, who had been chattering away until his lips were dry, dropped the phone he was holding.

With a splash, the phone fell into the soup bowl, but unfortunately, he didn’t have a chance to retrieve it.

“…Gasp!”

As soon as he identified the owner of the voice, he turned as white as a ghost.

It was Special Investigations Unit Deputy Chief Lee Ye-jin.

“Who said Cha is out of favor with the seniors?”

This scene was all too familiar to Lee Ye-jin.

It had happened more than once or twice.

So, it was time to make a scene again.

Lee Ye-jin pulled a vacant chair from the next table and placed it between the two men.

Then, she put her own tray between their trays, squeezing in to make herself at home.

“Yes? No, I….”

“Son Pro [Prosecutor Son], Yoo Pro. What class were you?”

“33rd class….”

“…I’m 35th class.”

“Oh, really? 33rd, 35th? So, that’s 4 and 6 classes below Cha?”

“……”

“But do our juniors call their seniors by their first names all willy-nilly, not even in private but in the prosecutor’s office cafeteria? Making the seniors who are listening uncomfortable?”

“……”

“In my opinion, it’s not Cha who’s out of favor with the seniors, but our juniors here? Maybe our juniors are calling my name all the time too, saying Lee Ye-jin, Lee Ye-jin?”

Those who had become the focus of Lee Ye-jin’s scolding were still unable to escape from their fear.

“S-Senior, there’s some misunderstanding… I’ve never called Cha Joo-han Senior by his first name like that, if I did, it was unintentional, without thinking….”

“That’s not what it sounded like. I’ve been listening since earlier, and you kept saying Cha Joo-han, Cha Joo-han. I didn’t hear you call him Cha Attorney or Senior even once.”

A prosecutor who had been quietly eating his meal at the next table chimed in.

Lee Ye-jin, who turned to see who the unexpected ally was, was surprised to find an unexpected figure at the end of her gaze.

It was a senior who had previously spoken negatively about Cha Joo-han.

‘Why is that bastard Kim Jong-seok suddenly helping?’

Unfortunately, he was senior to Lee Ye-jin in both class and school year, so she couldn’t say anything.

She had only vented her frustration by flipping him off behind his back when no one was around….

‘Well, back then, every prosecutor hated Cha.’

Lee Ye-jin decided to accept Kim Jong-seok’s change in attitude.

He might have hated him back then.

There was a bit of an annoying feeling.

Anyway, he helped today, so she decided to stop flipping him off.

“Our Deputy Chief is saying that? So, did the Deputy Chief and I both have auditory hallucinations?”

Lee Ye-jin asked, but they kept their heads down and remained silent.

“Son Pro, you were with Cha Joo-han at the Western District Prosecutor’s Office? In the same department?”

Just as she was about to start scolding them in earnest, Kim Jong-seok made the first move.

Having been called out so directly, the Son Prosecutor had no choice but to answer in a barely audible voice.

“……Yes.”

“There’s no one who was in the same department as Cha Joo-han who didn’t get help from Cha Joo-han. Here too, and at the Western District Prosecutor’s Office too. Especially back at the Western District Prosecutor’s Office, I know a guy who was in the same department as Cha Joo-han back then? Cha Joo-han took on almost all the unsolved cases by himself. So, Son Pro must have been a bit more comfortable thanks to Cha Joo-han. Isn’t that right?”

“……”

“Are you underestimating him because you hear people badmouthing Cha Joo-han everywhere? Do you think it’s okay for you to do that too because the seniors are badmouthing him?”

“……No, Deputy Chief.”

“The seniors are just feeling inferior. I’m so jealous of Cha Joo-han that I could die. Why am I not as capable as him? I’ve been in this longer than Cha Joo-han, so why can’t I do as well as Cha Joo-han? It’s just pathetic whining. Is that what you have to imitate?”

“……”

“Cha Joo-han is out of favor with the seniors? Cha at least doesn’t go around spreading unconfirmed rumors while calling the seniors by their full names like you guys do. Who do you think the seniors think is worse, you or Cha?”

For now, Senior Lee Ye-jin thinks those guys are worse.

“When prosecutors hear that Cha has received death threats several times, shouldn’t they be curious about who the culprit is, rather than criticizing Cha? I was skeptical when I first heard about the contract killing, but after seeing the breaking news that the dump truck driver confessed, I became solemn.”

Kim Jong-seok looked around the cafeteria, which had become as quiet as a mouse.

Everyone was awkwardly starting to eat again, as if they had never eavesdropped on their conversation.

Nevertheless, their ears were entirely focused on Kim Jong-seok.

“Isn’t what Cha did originally what we should have been doing? I was wondering how a lawyer could even do such a vast investigation. Ah, I guess you’ll think Cha did it alone because he wanted to become famous instead of asking the investigative authorities for help?”

“……”

“Is Cha stupid? He was in the prosecutor’s office himself, if that would have worked, he would have done it a long time ago. The public thinks the same thing. What is the country doing that a lawyer has to do this much? If you want to criticize that as a desire for fame, I have nothing to say. How many people can do that while risking their own lives for fame? I hope the prosecutors will stop bursting with inferiority behind the scenes and at least feel a sense of guilt. At least we live without worrying about our lives like Cha does.”

Somehow, Kim Jong-seok’s voice volume seemed to have gotten a bit louder.

Was it just her imagination?

“Straighten up. There are many ears listening. Don’t think that others share your opinion.”

Kim Jong-seok picked up his tray and stood up abruptly.

At the same time, the people who had been sitting with Kim Jong-seok also stood up and left for the dish return station.

The two men, who had been scolded by their senior in front of everyone, turned bright red and swallowed their trembling breaths.

“Ahem…….”

Lee Ye-jin, who had been robbed of everything she was going to say, became awkward.

She quietly picked up her tray and stood up.

“Senior! Would you like to have a cup of coffee with me?! I’ll pay!”

Then, she quickly walked towards Kim Jong-seok.

She couldn’t act cool because of Kim Jong-seok, but she felt pretty good.

Ever since Cha Joo-han left the prosecutor’s office, there had been more than one or two times when she had been furious because of the guys who were spouting nonsense whenever he became a hot topic.

It seems that people are now recognizing his true worth.

* * *

“My ears are itchy.”

“Someone must be badmouthing you, Attorney.”

Kang Min-jae said as if he had been waiting for me to say that.

Kang Min-jae always makes that joke whenever I say my ears are itchy, but I have a feeling that it might be true this time.

With Chun Jong-nam admitting to the contract killing, I was once again the center of attention.

And the seniors in the legal profession didn’t look kindly on me.

I confidently told Lee Se-hwa that there would be seniors who would join the special investigation team, but honestly, even then, I couldn’t really think of anyone besides Lee Ye-jin.

Well, there must be a way.

“I had to take an important call. I’m sorry.”

At that moment, Heo Min-woo, who had gone out to take a brief phone call, returned.

“Where were we? Ah, it was my turn to talk about the opinion of the doctor in charge of Jung-min.”

“Yes.”

“The craving symptoms have improved a lot, but there are no signs of improvement in the mood disorder. We can’t help the depression or irritability, but… the doctor says he’s showing some delusional symptoms.”

“Delusions?”

Kang Min-jae shouted in surprise, and Heo Min-woo sighed as if he was also feeling sorry.

“I thought it was closer to denial of reality… but I guess it means the same thing in the end. Jung-min now knows what consequences his actions have brought about, and what situation he is in. And now that he’s not doing drugs, he has to face the abuse he suffered sober. So, his psychological state, which was already weakened by the drug addiction symptoms, is refusing to accept reality and defining the situation as he wants to think.”

“Wasn’t he okay when he first confronted Sung-yoon before?”

“Yes. But when we tried another confrontation, he seemed to think that Sung-yoon had been bought off by the adults. He said he couldn’t trust Sung-yoon either. If Jung-min is to give a proper statement, we must first normalize Jung-min’s distorted perception. According to the doctor, it seems like it’s a problem that will be solved together once his condition improves further.”

I nodded.

Jung-min had been confined and living on drugs for about two months since the incident at Moon-yeok.

This situation was too sudden and frightening for a 17-year-old to accept.

“Jung-min needs to open his mouth quickly. That way….”

“I want to give Jung-min some more time. To put it coldly, Jung-min’s statement is just a means to an end for us. It would be good to have it, but it’s not a big problem even if we don’t have it. But for Jung-min, his life is at stake.”

Heo Min-woo was momentarily stunned by my words, as if surprised.

Then, he soon laughed self-deprecatingly.

“That’s right. I… I was forgetting the most important thing. Jung-min’s life is at stake. I was only thinking about our plan and the investigation.”

“There’s a golden time for investigations, so it would be good for him to open his mouth quickly if we want to search the House of Angels before they destroy the evidence. It’s hard to see the Inspector’s thoughts as just cold-hearted. But even for the sake of the investigation, I think it would be better for Jung-min to open his mouth later.”

“Why?”

“If Jung-min opens his mouth, the conditions for searching the House of Angels will be met. But as the House of Angels has been postponing the surgery because they see us as an obstacle, we don’t know how Woo-shin will react when the search of the House of Angels begins.”

“Are you saying they might postpone the surgery again?”

“Whether they postpone the surgery or drastically revise the plan, there will be variables anyway. And if that happens, we may fail to stop the surgery. They no longer conspire in places where Kim Mi-ja can eavesdrop. Then we have no way of knowing the revised plan. It’s the worst-case scenario.”

“That’s right.”

“So, I thought it would be better to hold back even if Jung-min makes a statement.”

Even if Jung-min had to open his mouth as soon as possible, he should be given enough time.

Even if we have a noble cause, we can’t force sacrifice on someone who doesn’t have the will to sacrifice.

We’ve come this far to catch Woo-shin, who has sacrificed countless people for their own noble cause.

* * *

As Onodera’s grandson’s surgery was just around the corner, whether or not we could get our hands on the design drawings became important.

Kim Chan-young must also be feeling the pressure, and I didn’t want to push him, but I had no choice.

If we can’t see the design drawings, we need to find a way to compensate.

“If it’s within the next two weeks, then time is really of the essence.”

Kim Chan-young also tapped the table with a serious expression.

“When did you schedule the meeting?”

“The day after tomorrow. That’s the fastest I could get it scheduled, is it too late?”

It’s not too late yet.

In the email he sent tonight, Kirihara said that Onodera’s grandson had not yet been admitted to Okashima Hospital.

Just because he’s admitted doesn’t mean he’ll go straight into surgery.

We also need time to conduct various tests, and above all, So-eun and Im Hyun-il are still in Korea.

Ding-dong.

At that moment, the doorbell rang.

“Huh?”

At the same time, Kim Chan-young was startled and flinched.

“What is it? I don’t think anyone’s coming, right?”

He was instantly wary, as if feeling anxious.

He seemed to be reacting this way because he was afraid that Woo-shin’s side would find out that he was in contact with me.

“I called them. An informant. The background check on the architecture firm’s CEO was completed today, so I called them to see and hear it with you.”

“……Ah, you surprised me. You should have told me in advance.”

I didn’t expect Kim Chan-young to be so surprised.

When I opened the door to the room, Tae-shik’s employee came inside.

He took out a file from his bag and placed it on the table, starting to explain.

He knew everything about the architecture firm CEO’s daily routine, as well as his personality and tastes, the people he met, and even what books he read.

“He’s crazy about supercars?”

“Yes. Almost all the time, except when he’s working, he’s busy washing and maintaining his supercars. He has a lot of supercars. There doesn’t seem to be anything to wipe, but he keeps wiping them. I thought he was crazy. The clubs he goes to are all supercar clubs.”

“Hmm, I know you’ve worked hard to investigate, but it doesn’t seem like there’s any information that would be particularly helpful….”

Kim Chan-young looked worried as he started to read the document carefully from the beginning again, which he had already read once.

He seemed to be trying to find any weaknesses.

I snatched the file that Kim Chan-young was holding and put it back on the table.

“Stop looking.”

“There might be something we missed. I need to read it more….”

“No. I have the answer.”

“Yes?”