You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 577

Kang Min-jae, having confirmed that I had received Dae-cheol’s call, was now reviewing the accumulated messages. His expression grew increasingly serious, suggesting significant movements were being detected on the ground.

“What makes you think So-eun was moved?”

─A delivery truck entered Angel’s House a short while ago and then left.

“A delivery truck?”

─Yes. The license plate matches the usual one, but the truck’s condition was subtly different.

“What do you mean by ‘different condition’?”

─The vehicle type is the same, and the license plate is the same, but the part painted with the delivery company’s logo looked brand new. The license plate also seemed newly issued. So, I was pretty sure it was a disguise and was getting ready to follow it.

As my call dragged on, Kang Min-jae showed me his phone screen.

It was a GPS display.

A red dot was blinking at an intersection near Angel’s House.

“Is that So-eun’s GPS?”

When I asked Kang Min-jae, he nodded.

Thanks to the college student volunteers, one of the GPS tracking chips hidden in So-eun’s belongings was still functioning.

The chips were attached to So-eun’s favorite dolls, clothes, hairpins, and headbands.

They were designed so that small chips could be inserted with a syringe, so there was little risk of discovery, but they were vulnerable to damage, so I didn’t have high expectations.

Besides, there was a possibility that all of So-eun’s belongings would be removed from Angel’s House on moving day.

In fact, most of the numerous receivers attached had stopped working.

But it seemed that one of them had survived.

“It looks like So-eun’s location is right at the intersection in front of Angel’s House. Is that right?”

Kang Min-jae asked, and Dae-cheol immediately replied.

─Yes. I was following the truck because it looked suspicious, and seeing that the truck’s location and So-eun’s location are the same, it seems like today is the day they’re moving So-eun to Okashima Hospital.

Even as I was talking to Dae-cheol, my phone vibrated.

I took the phone away from my ear to check, and Heo Min-woo was calling.

“Kang, keep getting reports while talking to Dae-cheol. The Chief is calling. And let’s move out too.”

I ended the call with Dae-cheol and switched to a call with Heo Min-woo.

─Attorney Kang, I just heard the news that So-eun was moved. Should we head to the airport first?

“Where are the police personnel from the list departing from?”

─Three of us, including me, will be going from Gangnam Station, and one of the remaining two is from Seocho, and the other is from Gwanak.

“That’s not too far from So-eun’s location. It would be good to move according to So-eun’s location. It’s not certain that we’re going to the airport right now.”

─Understood.

After hanging up, I quickly spoke to Lee Ye-jin, who approached us with a puzzled look.

“Something urgent has come up, so Attorney Kang and I will have to leave first.”

“Something urgent? Is it serious?”

“I’ll contact you again later. If the other seniors are looking for me…”

“I’ll cover for you. Go quickly.”

As soon as we left the banquet hall, Kang Min-jae and I ran towards the entrance.

Screech!

Tae-shik, having received the call, had already pulled the car out of the parking lot, stopping in front of the hotel entrance with a sharp metallic sound.

We quickly got into the back seat, and I said to Jeong-hyeok, who was sitting in the passenger seat.

“Let Tae-shik see So-eun’s GPS location right away. We’ll move according to So-eun’s location. Let’s go right now.”

Vroom!

Tae-shik started right away as soon as we closed the back door.

Honk! Honk!

Perhaps because the car moved roughly in front of the quiet hotel lobby, the taxis entering the hotel from the opposite driveway honked their horns.

“What the hell do you want me to do,” Tae-shik muttered under his breath, and then immediately navigated the long driveway and entered the main road.

“Attorney, I left vests there. For Attorney Kang too. Put those on first while we’re moving.”

Even while frantically maneuvering the steering wheel and changing lanes, Tae-shik shouted, pointing to our feet with his right hand.

I felt something obstructing my feet; it seemed to be bulletproof vests.

Kang Min-jae and I put down our phones for a moment and put on the vests over our shirts.

I hadn’t finished checking all the contacts that had been pouring into my phone, but I couldn’t postpone protecting ourselves, as I had felt the need for it all too keenly until now.

“Hyung [older brother/male friend] Jong-hyun just sent the organ trafficking-related data to Hyung Min-woo’s email. He said that if today isn’t the day, the information might leak to the police for no reason, so he sent it to Hyung Min-woo’s personal email instead of the official police email.”

The reason for transferring the data to Heo Min-woo was to avoid people questioning the procedure later.

If Heo Min-woo could create the justification that he was acting on a report from a reliable person, it didn’t matter whether it was an official email or a personal email.

He was already in charge of the investigation related to Angel’s House.

“What about Im Hyun-il?”

“Im Hyun-il went to Wooshin Hospital this morning and hasn’t come out yet.”

If So-eun is going to Japan today, Im Hyun-il will be soon too.

But I haven’t heard from Lee Se-hwa that Im Hyun-il has booked a ticket.

That means Im Hyun-il is planning to go to Japan by means other than a plane, or he’s going to use a fake passport, or he’s going to buy a ticket right at the airport.

Means other than a plane are unrealistic, so it’ll be a fake passport or on-site ticketing.

“He doesn’t seem to be moving?”

“Yes. The car is still there, and more than anything, if he were going to Japan today, he would have packed a simple bag at home, but it doesn’t seem like he did. So-eun might be going over first, and Im Hyun-il might be going over tomorrow.”

Kang Min-jae summarized and briefed the messages from the employees monitoring Im Hyun-il.

Beep, beep, beep.

Contacts poured in during that time.

[Choi Jong-hyun: I’m moving according to So-eun’s GPS location. The person departing from Gwanak seems like they’ll arrive the fastest, and then us.]

Heo Min-woo’s message that he had departed towards So-eun’s location.

[Dae-cheol: Because it’s a delivery truck, I can’t use any feints and I’m just going straight. I don’t think they know they’re being followed. I don’t know if it’s Gimpo or Incheon, but they’re continuing towards the airport.]

Dae-cheol’s real-time report, chasing the disguised delivery truck carrying So-eun.

[Employees: No other vehicles or people have come out of Angel’s House since the delivery truck left. It seems like they’re all in that truck and moving all at once.]

Contact from the employees remaining in front of Angel’s House, checking to see if any related people are following behind.

From now on, information will continue to pour in from the numerous watchtowers we’ve set up everywhere.

Just collecting the information and making the right judgments will be more than enough, so we need to set a clear goal now.

First of all, it’s right for the main force to move with So-eun.

Even if Im Hyun-il has been designated as the surgeon, he can be replaced depending on the situation, but So-eun cannot.

That’s because So-eun has long been marked as the heart donor for Onodera’s grandson at Wooshin.

Without a donor, surgery cannot be performed.

In other words, if we prevent So-eun from going to Japan, the situation will end unless they proceed at the risk of being discovered.

“Chief, where are you right now?”

Having organized my thoughts, I immediately called Heo Min-woo.

If So-eun is going to Japan right now, only the police can reliably stop it.

─We’ve narrowed the distance quite a bit. Assuming they’re going to the airport, I think we can arrive before they get past the departure hall. Dae-cheol is chasing right behind, so if you can figure out So-eun and the Angel’s House people’s location inside the airport and let us know, we can chase them right away.

“Did you receive the data that Reporter Choi sent?”

─Yes. But if the people moving So-eun are related to Angel’s House, we can stop their departure without disclosing that data. Angel’s House is still under investigation for Jung-min’s case, and it’s been confirmed that the statements of the Angel’s House people keep contradicting each other. It wouldn’t be strange to say that an investigation is needed.

“It’s highly likely that they’re not officially affiliated with Angel’s House.”

─That’s right. In that case, we should search first and then use the data that Reporter Choi sent when we get a warrant later. But even if they’re not affiliated with Angel’s House, it seems likely that they’ll use a fake passport. Angel’s House is in such a mess, I don’t think even outside personnel would leave the country under their real name. We could request cooperation from the airport police, report a fake passport, and conduct a search. I received the data just in case, but isn’t it best to postpone disclosing it as much as possible?

“That’s right.”

─Attorney Kang, are you also moving along So-eun’s travel route right now?

“Yes. I’ve come to Yeouido now.”

Looking out the window, I could see the National Assembly building near the green dome.

─We’ll arrive similarly. I’ll decide whether to contact the airport police depending on the situation. I’ve told them not to act alone until we arrive, and I’ve already sent them So-eun and the truck’s photos and vehicle number. What about Attorney Kang’s side?

“We’re still a bit far. It’ll take about 30 minutes to reach where So-eun is.”

As soon as I answered, Tae-shik shouted.

“I’ll speed up a bit more!”

Vroom!

As soon as Tae-shik stepped on the accelerator, I grabbed the handle.

“Wait.”

─Just a moment.

While talking on the phone, I, who was watching So-eun’s travel route, opened my mouth, and Heo Min-woo shouted the same word at the same time.

On the GPS, So-eun’s location suddenly turned sharply to the right.

“If we go this way now, it’s not towards the airport, is it?”

─No. It’s not towards the airport. It looks like they’ve turned onto a different road now.

Around the time I exchanged short conversations with Heo Min-woo, a long vibration rang again from my phone.