You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 574

“Nice car.”

Kim Chanyoung, after parking his car in the outdoor parking lot on the first floor, whistled as he looked at the sports car parked right next to him.

It was the same model that his friend had shown him pictures of, calling it his dream car, so he immediately recalled even its complicated name.

He had said that if he lived only to breathe and worked hard at the company, he might be able to buy it in 20 years.

It seemed to cost about a billion won [approximately $750,000 USD].

“……”

Passing the car and entering the building, he saw a small wooden sign hanging next to the door.

[Song Hyunseop Architect Office]

In a high-end residential area, there was an architect’s office introduced by Go Sangjun.

It wasn’t a large architectural firm.

However, the architect himself was quite famous and highly recognized in the industry.

When searched online, quite a lot of information came up.

The CEO had been selected for major architectural competitions from a young age.

The buildings that had passed through his hands were located in various areas known as domestic hotspots.

Even if people didn’t know the architect’s name, they would likely react with ‘Ah, that place?’ when the building’s name was mentioned.

When he first received a call from the architect, he was quite surprised that such a person had been working closely with Go Sangjun.

He wondered why someone who didn’t need anything would do such a thing.

“Are you Kim Chanyoung?”

At that moment, an employee sitting on the first floor stood up and approached him.

When he nodded, the employee tapped on the tablet he was holding and guided him to the elevator.

Kim Chanyoung waited for the elevator, looking at the architect’s portfolios displayed on the wall.

He had already checked the portfolios published on the architect’s website, but he wondered if Okashima Hospital, Reborn Medical Center, or Go Sangjun’s house might be there.

Of course, they weren’t.

“Do you like any of the portfolios?”

When he got on the elevator, the employee asked.

Kim Chanyoung smiled slightly and replied.

“I like them all.”

“That’s a relief. Our CEO put a lot of effort into preparing the drafts for you, so I hope you like them too.”

‘Since he’s Go Sangjun’s nephew, he must have put in a lot of effort,’ Kim Chanyoung thought.

No matter how their deal was made, he must be paying a considerable amount for hush money.

“CEO, Mr. Kim Chanyoung is here.”

When he entered the conference room, the CEO had already arrived and was waiting.

He bowed to Kim Chanyoung and offered a handshake.

“We’ve talked on the phone several times, but this is the first time we’ve met in person. Here’s my business card.”

“Ah, yes. I didn’t prepare a business card, what should I do?”

“Haha. It’s okay. Please, have a seat.”

Only Kim Chanyoung and the CEO remained in the conference room.

“I’ll prepare for a moment. I should have done it in advance, but the client’s call was too long. I’m sorry for making you wait.”

“No, I have plenty of time. Take your time.”

Only the sound of the laptop fan and the clicking of the mouse filled the conference room.

Kim Chanyoung kept his mouth shut in the sudden silence and looked around the conference room.

“Shall we start by looking at the concept materials?”

“Yes.”

The CEO turned on the laptop and connected the external hard drive in a pouch made of luxurious material.

‘How precious is that external hard drive that he carries it in such a pouch?’ Kim Chanyoung wondered.

Kim Chanyoung crossed his arms and watched him prepare the presentation.

“Here it is.”

There were numerous folders in the external hard drive.

The names were all combinations of alphabets instead of words, so it was impossible to know what was in the folders.

However, the folder name he entered to find Kim Chanyoung’s was W.

Kim Chanyoung watched the CEO go through several folders and tried to guess what the alphabet stood for.

W…….

Wooshin?

“Okay, it’s ready. Could you please look at the screen in front?”

When the CEO approached the screen, Kim Chanyoung applauded.

Then the CEO smiled awkwardly and bowed his head.

‘He’s good,’ Kim Chanyoung thought.

As the employee had said earlier, he had put a lot of effort into preparing various materials based on the references Kim Chanyoung had sent.

There were several versions of the building’s exterior, and each had a different meaning.

He even designed various routes from the entrance to the inside of the house.

He wondered if they always worked this meticulously, and he was genuinely impressed.

Thump!

At that moment, a collision sound came from outside the building.

The soundproofing was good, so the sound inside was small, but it must have been quite loud outside.

The CEO seemed a little surprised by the sound and looked out the window for a moment, but he didn’t find anything special and returned to the screen.

“It seems like there was a car accident outside.”

“I guess so. Ah, but in the first plan, on the second floor, how about making a large window towards the garden? Would it feel too open because of the courtyard?”

“There is a way. I had a feeling you would ask that, so I made that version as well.”

When Kim Chanyoung asked, the CEO showed a simulation video of how the illuminance would change by time if a large window was made, as if he had been waiting for it.

It was then.

Knock knock.

Someone knocked on the conference room door.

The CEO tilted his head and said to wait a moment, opening the door halfway.

It seemed to be an employee.

They had a quiet conversation in small voices that could barely be heard.

Then suddenly, the CEO shouted loudly.

“How much?!”

He realized that he had made a loud noise without realizing it, and he looked back at Kim Chanyoung awkwardly, then hardened his expression again and went out of the conference room altogether.

Kim Chanyoung checked his phone in the meantime.

[I hit it and it seems more dented than I thought]

Kim Chanyoung put his phone face down on the table and listened to the sound outside the door.

With a deep sigh, the door reopened and the CEO came in.

Kim Chanyoung’s gaze was fixed on the external hard drive connected to his laptop.

‘That seems to be the most important thing, and it would be troublesome if the CEO took that and left,’ he thought.

“Customer. It seems someone hit my car that was parked. I think I need to go check it out for a moment……”

“Oh no, who would do such a thing……. Of course, you should go.”

“I’ll be right back.”

“You can take your time.”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

Fortunately, the CEO of the architectural firm, who was said to be pouring all his wealth into collecting cars, seemed to be solely focused on how much his precious supercar was damaged, rather than the thought of protecting the external hard drive.

Perhaps he was a little careless because he was Go Sangjun’s nephew.

The sound of him hurrying down the stairs could be heard from here.

Kim Chanyoung was still silent.

[Seems like he’s coming out now? I’ll hold him as much as possible. When I call, think that you should go back up]

A text message arrived.

Kim Chanyoung quietly took out two small devices from his bag.

A radio wave receiver detector and a device that reacts to camera lenses.

He checked the conference room and found no listening devices or CCTVs [closed-circuit televisions, i.e., security cameras].

It would have been fortunate if there were no surveillance devices, but it was fortunate.

Kim Chanyoung slowly approached the glass wall of the conference room with the blinds drawn.

Then he slightly opened the blinds and looked outside.

There was no one in the hallway.

Kim Chanyoung approached the laptop while making a phone call.

“National Intelligence Service agent, are you ready?”

─I’ve been on standby since earlier. Did you plug in the USB?

“I’m about to plug it in now. But I think the external hard drive has more to see. The file I requested was also on the external hard drive. There were a lot of folders too.”

Kim Chanyoung plugged the USB into the laptop and moved the installation file inside the USB to the laptop as the National Intelligence Service had explained, and then installed it.

The front of the laptop seemed to flicker black for a moment, and soon the mouse started moving on its own.

─Then we should hack the external hard drive first. The capacity is a bit large.

“Then shouldn’t we take the drawing files first?”

─We should. The program runs really well, whoever designed it. Hmm. Let’s see. Still, it will take about 20 minutes to transfer all the external hard drive files. The laptop SSD [solid-state drive] will take 3 minutes. There’s not much in it.

“So, a total of 23 minutes?”

─Yes. While waiting, there might be something on the web hard drive, so I’ll hack that too. Chanyoung, just sit in your original seat.

“Shouldn’t we delete the program when the work is done?”

─No, no. I’ll erase the traces myself. I’ll call or text you when it’s done.

The National Intelligence Service hung up the phone.

Kim Chanyoung returned to his seat and waited anxiously.

Then, he thought it would be natural to look at the outside situation through the window, so he approached the window.

Since the CEO didn’t notice that there was a car accident when he looked from this side, maybe he could see it if he went to the opposite window.

‘I can see it. It’s quite dented.’

The purple sports car and the black sedan that Kim Chanyoung had seen while parking were touching.

Still, perhaps because it was expensive, the black sedan’s front bumper was completely dented, while the sports car was in better condition.

However, the situation wasn’t good.

Not only black and purple fragments but also glass shards were scattered on the floor.

Perhaps because of the soundproofing, he couldn’t hear what the CEO was saying, but he was raging.

Sitting down, getting up, getting angry, shining a flashlight on the accident site, taking pictures.

He was out of his mind.

‘That was the best car in that person’s collection, that’s too bad.’

The architectural firm’s CEO owns a total of 8 supercars and 5 imported cars.

He spends hours managing his cars when he’s not working and is actively involved in supercar club activities.

His hobby was meeting other supercar owners and running on the track.

In fact, Kim Chanyoung didn’t think that the architectural firm’s CEO being a car collector was a very useful source.

However, Cha Joohan said clearly without much hesitation.

─It’s easy. If you hit his car, he’ll come out crying to see the condition of the car. In the meantime, if you plug the USB into the computer, the National Intelligence Service will take care of it.

‘Is this how Cha Joohan usually works?’ Kim Chanyoung wondered.

He is cooperating with him, but he doesn’t contact him often because he is a spy.

Naturally, he didn’t have much chance to see how he worked.

Later, he only heard the results in a compressed way, so he just thought he was competent.

‘Looking at the lawyer, he has a bit of a crazy side.’

Kim Chanyoung chuckled without realizing it, suddenly remembering his appearance shrugging his shoulders, saying that it didn’t matter because the set property damage compensation limit was high.

[Done. I erased the traces. Just collect the USB well ㅅㄱㅅㄱ~] [Korean slang, similar to “good job” or “thanks” with a playful tone]

Looking around, 23 minutes must have passed.

A message arrived from the National Intelligence Service.

Kim Chanyoung pulled out the USB plugged into the laptop, put it in his pocket, and returned to his seat as if nothing had happened.

About 5 more minutes passed, and then the phone rang.

When Kim Chanyoung pressed the reject button, a message arrived.

[It’s a wrap The National Intelligence Service agent contacted me and said it’s over, is that right?]

[Yes. It’s over. Thank you for your hard work.]

Kim Chanyoung immediately sent a reply.

Knock knock.

And not long after, the CEO returned with a knock.

“Did you wait long? I’m really sorry. The perpetrator was so brazen that the conversation got long.”

“No. By the way, I saw a nice purple car while parking earlier. Is that your car, CEO?”

“Ah, you saw it. Yes. I bought it with a big heart, but the accident was big……. I was out of my mind. This is the first time I’ve left my seat for so long with a customer here. I apologize for the inconvenience.”

“I would be angry too. If someone hits someone else’s car and comes out brazenly……. So, did the conversation go well?”

“Well, he hit a parked car all by himself. I called the insurance company, so I hope they’ll take care of it.”

“No, why did he suddenly come and hit a perfectly parked car?”

“I don’t know. According to him, he was trying to park in the building in front, but the space was narrow, so he came into our parking lot and tried to back up. But since our parking lot is a bit sloped, he must have stepped on the accelerator. But he stepped on it too hard and it went out with a whoosh……”

“That’s why the driver’s license test should be more difficult.”

When Kim Chanyoung clicked his tongue, the CEO laughed.

“You’re taking up too much of the customer’s time. Shall we continue the conversation now?”

‘I don’t know how great the design is, but I’m not going to build it anyway,’ Kim Chanyoung thought.

However, Kim Chanyoung turned his body towards the screen as if he was looking forward to it.

Thinking that he should let him talk to his heart’s content and go home quickly.