You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 589

You Have Been Defended

Heo Min-woo returned to the police station first thing in the morning, and Choi Jong-hyun and Jo Bong-joon also went home.

The time: 7 a.m.

Kang Min-jae said he needed to wash up and went to his room. I sat on the terrace and lit a cigarette.

Kim Mi-ja, who left from Narita [an international airport near Tokyo], should be arriving in LA about now.

I heard that after contacting the official in LA, they would travel to Washington together.

I had talked to her right before the plane took off, but I can’t let my guard down until I receive confirmation that she has safely left Japan.

Bzzzz.

After waiting for about ten more minutes,

I received a call from Kim Mi-ja.

“Did you arrive safely?”

─ What happened to the child, Attorney?

Kim Mi-ja shouted without answering my question.

“She is safe. And we’ve caught all the remaining people involved, including Onodera Shizuka and Im Hyun-il.”

─ Haaa….

Kim Mi-ja sighed deeply.

It sounded like a groan, and I could feel how anxious she must have been during the ten-hour flight.

─ That’s a relief.

“It’s all thanks to Kim Mi-ja’s help.”

─ No. If I had known sooner, I could have prepared in advance… I feel bad that the child had to go through unnecessary hardship.

“I don’t know if I should say this is fortunate, but the child was under anesthesia, so she doesn’t remember anything that happened. And as a result, we were able to raid the scene and charge them with attempted crimes, so you could say it turned out well.”

─ Is that so… Anyway, I’m really relieved.

“Have you heard from Oda Satoshi? I’m sure the news has reached him, but I was wondering if he might suspect you.”

─ No, I haven’t heard anything. Oda Satoshi is probably overwhelmed after hearing from Onodera. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s calling Go Yoon-soo or Go Sang-joon right now and making a fuss….

Come to think of it, Wooshin [likely referring to a company or organization] must be in chaos right now.

Onodera and Oda Satoshi are already giving them a hard time from both sides, and on top of that, Wooshin officials were caught by the police.

They must be having a terrible time.

It’s a shame I can’t see it with my own eyes.

“I see. What time are you scheduled to meet the person who’s picking you up?”

─ They said they’d be at the airport when I arrive in LA and to call them when I land. I should call them now. I wanted to know how the child was doing, so I called you first, Attorney.

“Then you should call them right away. And try to relax, though it won’t be easy.”

─ Why wouldn’t it be easy? This is the most relaxed I’ve been since I was thirteen years old.

“Is that so?”

─ Yes. Oh, I’m at the immigration checkpoint now. I’ll call you again after I meet with the official.

“Alright.”

After the call with Kim Mi-ja, I finally felt a little relieved.

It’s just the beginning, but I finally felt like I had made a good start.

I need to call Lee Se-hwa too, but it seems too early.

She probably already received the operation results report from the police anyway, so there’s no need to call her so early.

“Good morning, Attorney.”

Tae-shik was there, having relieved Sang-gil after I took a shower.

“I told you to rest more. Why did you come so early?”

“Then that bastard Sang-gil would have to stay until late.”

“Sang-gil came to work late because you worked overtime yesterday.”

“That’s true, but if it keeps getting pushed back, someone will have to sleep less when things go back to normal later. It’s better if it’s me.”

Tae-shik shrugged his shoulders.

I wondered if he always had such a mature side to him.

There must have been a reason why Tae-shik’s employees had such high loyalty.

“I have great stamina. That bastard has a long way to go to catch up to me. Even if he’s not now, he used to be a weakling.”

He just wanted to show off.

I shouldn’t have reevaluated him so easily.

Anyway, Tae-shik relieving me at the usual time means it’s past 8 a.m.

It’s a good time to call Lee Se-hwa.

─ Good morning, Attorney Cha.

Lee Se-hwa answered the phone after only two rings.

Her voice was brighter than ever.

It was only natural, since she would have received the report on the operation results at Ribbon Medical Center.

─ I knew you’d be busy, but I’ve been waiting for your call, Attorney Cha. How come you haven’t called?

“Didn’t you receive my text message?”

─ I did, but did you text me because you thought I might be sleeping? I was going to call you right away, but I held back because I thought I might be bothering you. Then, about ten minutes later, the Commissioner called me, and I finally got the report.

“I’m sorry.”

─ No excuses?

“It was too late after handling urgent matters.”

I could hear Lee Se-hwa’s low laughter over the phone.

She wasn’t really looking for an excuse, but she seems to enjoy putting me in a difficult position.

─ I heard someone was injured.

“Ah, yes. Detective Heo Min-woo sustained a laceration, but it’s not a serious injury.”

─ Is the victimized child okay?

“Yes. We’ve decided to protect her in a safe place.”

─ That’s a relief. You’ve worked hard too, Attorney Cha.

“It’s all thanks to the President’s help in every way.”

─ Wow, am I hearing flattery from you, Attorney Cha?

I was sincere.

If it weren’t for Lee Se-hwa, the raid on Ribbon Medical Center wouldn’t have been successful.

─ Well, you’ve been name-dropping me so much that it’s been a bit of a problem. I need to hear something like this to feel like cleaning up the mess.

“I apologize for that.”

─ I didn’t tell you to apologize. I told you to use my name.

“Then, while I’m at it, can I ask you for one more favor?”

─ Haha. I was a little sad that you weren’t asking me for favors, but were you waiting to pile them all up and drop them on me at once?

That’s not wrong.

So, I avoided answering and went straight to the point.

“We need to create a TF [Task Force] team as soon as possible. Special forces were dispatched, and it’s a heinous crime. Moreover, a significant number of people were mobilized, and it’s not the first time this has happened. We can even charge them with organized crime. The scale is large, so we need to form a TF team to speed up the investigation.”

─ And because Detective Heo Min-woo in the Narcotics Division can’t participate in the investigation, you want to put him in charge of it?

“That’s right.”

Even though I deliberately gave the model answer, she read my mind.

As she said, the most important thing is that Heo Min-woo needs to be at the center of this investigation.

Fortunately, another detective who went with him is participating in the investigation because he belongs to the relevant department, but that’s not enough.

Besides, we don’t know when or where a Wooshin mole might get involved.

Even though we’ve gathered a lot of evidence, it’s still not enough, and as the investigation continues, there will be a lot of evidence that only investigative agencies can obtain.

The investigation is already so large that it’s difficult to manage meticulously, and it would be troublesome if a Wooshin mole buried evidence.

─ I was planning to talk to the Commissioner again anyway. I’ll tell him that we’re taking this case seriously and that we need to uproot and severely punish those involved, and he’ll set up an investigation headquarters. If I say it would be good to proceed by getting recommendations from Detective Heo Min-woo for people he can trust and rely on, would that be enough?

“Of course. Thank you for your consideration.”

─ No thanks. You’re going to be very busy in the future, so you’ll have a hard time too, Attorney Cha. Oh, I visited a military unit a while ago. They said there’s a perfect saying to use in situations like this.

“What do you mean?”

─ Bust your ass.”

After hanging up the phone, Kang Min-jae came out of the room and asked,

“Were you talking to the President?”

“Yeah.”

“What did she say?”

“…She told me to bust my ass.”

“Even if you’re going to bust your ass, you should rest a bit before the news comes out.”

Kang Min-jae sprawled on the sofa, hugging a cushion.

I was also quite tired because I hadn’t slept yet.

I was staying awake to see the news come out, but my eyelids are heavy because I’m relieved.

Bzz, bzz, bzz.

“…….”

The phone in my hand vibrated three times quickly.

I reflexively sat up a little.

Only then did I realize that I had dozed off.

When I checked the time, I had slept for about an hour.

“It’s Detective Min-woo.”

Kang Min-jae, who was awake, checked the message first and said.

[Heo Min-woo: tf team is formed so i am joining the investigation too

Heo Min-woo: and it seems like the article is out look it up

Heo Min-woo: will do a briefing soon ㅇjiㅔbusy so it will be hard to contact you]

It was a message with a lot of typos, unlike Heo Min-woo.

It seems like he’s saying he’ll be busy and it’ll be hard to contact me.

Everyone in the group chat read the message in an instant, and Secretary Oh immediately posted the link.

[Head of Surgery at Major Hospital Arrested at Organ Trafficking Site… Beneficiary is Grandson of Influential Overseas Politician]

They tried to pick out stimulating keywords to attract traffic.

[A group that kidnapped a child from an orphanage and attempted illegal organ transplants to foreigners at an illegal medical facility has been arrested.

The Gangnam Police Station in Seoul announced that it has made an emergency arrest of all those involved, including the foreigners who attempted organ trafficking, medical staff at the scene, and other related individuals.

The police received a tip that organ trafficking was taking place at an illegal medical facility located in Miseong, Gyeonggi Province, at around 10:20 p.m. on the 26th and raided the scene.

Police special forces, riot police, and detectives were deployed to the illegal medical facility, rescued the kidnapped victimized child, and arrested all those involved.

The group that attempted illegal organ trafficking and transplants consisted of the children of influential overseas politicians and medical staff from major domestic hospitals, causing shock.

It has been revealed that Mr. Im, who was arrested while trying to escape from the scene, is currently the head of surgery at a major hospital, and the children of influential overseas politicians entered the country with forged passports.]

The article was straightforward.

It contained quite a bit of information for the first article.

“The articles keep coming out? They’re getting more and more sensational.”

Kang Min-jae put his laptop on the table and started exploring the articles in earnest.

[Hostage Situation with Victimized Child at Organ Trafficking Site… Police Subdue with Live Ammunition]

[Only 80+ People Guarding Organ Trafficking Site↑ Possibility of Criminal Organization]

[Victimized Child’s Orphanage in ‘Illegal Organ Trafficking’ Revealed to be Under Same Foundation as Arrested Medical Staff’s Hospital]

[‘Illegal Organ Trafficking’ Victimized Child Has No Health Problems]

[Organ Trafficking Site, Security Personnel Blocked Police with Weapons and Blunt Instruments]

[Organ Trafficking Group Continues to Exercise Right to Remain Silent]

Articles came out one after another in the blink of an eye.

Each article focused on different content, so the details were slightly different.

“Didn’t Detective Min-woo say he would announce it as soon as the article came out?”

Kang Min-jae said, turning on the TV.

After flipping through the channels, a screen with the official emblem of the National Police Agency on a blue background caught my eye.

A familiar person came up to the podium, and at the same time, subtitles appeared at the bottom of the screen.

[Detective Heo Min-woo

Seoul Gangnam Police Station

Head of Organ Trafficking Organization Investigation Headquarters]

He bowed his head in front of the gathered cameras and calmly opened his mouth.

[I am Heo Min-woo of the Organ Trafficking Organization Investigation Headquarters. I would like to talk about the attempted child abduction and organ trafficking case that occurred last night.]

After a brief flash of light, he continued.

[Our Gangnam Police Station arrested all those involved in the attempted organ trafficking after abducting a six-year-old child from an orphanage to an illegal medical facility located in Miseong, Gyeonggi Province, at around 11:41 p.m. yesterday, the 26th.]

Listening to the briefing, it seemed like they had checked all the CCTV footage in a short period of time.

So-eun was being prepared for anesthesia inside the operating room, and her being carried away in a carrier was also captured when the police raided the scene.

He also said that they had secured evidence that they were preparing for a heart transplant based on the data confirmed inside the building.

[…In addition, Mr. Im, who was in charge of the surgery among the arrested medical staff, is a foreign national as the head of surgery at a major hospital, and the beneficiaries of the heart transplant and the foreign medical staff at the scene were also confirmed to be of the same nationality as Mr. Im.]

As the focus shifted to the story of Im Hyun-il, Kang Min-jae, who had been joking about how well Heo Min-woo looked on camera, shut his mouth.

He seemed to be lost in thought, clenching his fists tightly.

[Our Gangnam Police Station has determined that this is an organized crime, considering that the illegal medical facility was equipped with the appearance of a full-fledged hospital despite the building’s intended use as a residence, that there were spaces in various parts of the building that did not exist on the blueprints, that the number of personnel mobilized was in the dozens even excluding medical staff, and that they were equipped with weapons and blunt instruments as if preparing for a police raid. Accordingly, our Gangnam Police Station has decided to form a dedicated investigation headquarters to respond quickly.]

Listening to Heo Min-woo’s presentation, I had a feeling.

It’s difficult to mention the details because it’s right after the incident and the investigation is in its very early stages, so he’s saying to turn on the broadcast and spill the beans instead.

I was thinking of watching the public opinion for the next two days or so before turning on the broadcast, but I might have to move faster than I thought.