You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 600

You Have Been Defended – Episode 600 (600/641)

The creation time of Evidence File 12 is April 11th, 3:31 PM.

It’s the day before the gas explosion.

As the file plays, there’s a brief rustling sound, followed by the sound of a door opening.

[─Director.

─Oh, Mr. Choi. Have a seat.]

I haven’t listened to all the recording files, but Choi Jae-hoon’s voice was consistently tense.

I don’t know what his original voice was like, but just listening to a few files, I could guess his psychological state.

However, Im Hyun-il was very calm, despite urging the young doctor to make a harsh decision.

[─Would you like a cup of tea?

─No, thank you. A patient’s guardian requested a consultation soon, so I have to go quickly.

─Really? Then we don’t have much time to talk. What do you want to say?

─I… I’ve made a decision.

─I hope it’s a decision I won’t be disappointed with.]

The sound of leather rubbing could be heard.

Someone seemed to have adjusted their posture.

[─I think you’ll be disappointed. I’m sorry.

─…Is that like you, Mr. Choi?

─Yes.

─Why, because of your conscience? The Hippocratic Oath, or something?

─……]

When Choi Jae-hoon didn’t answer, Im Hyun-il sighed deeply.

The silence grew longer.

It was Im Hyun-il’s voice that broke the silence, which lasted for nearly two minutes.

[─Where are you now? Yes. Yes. Oh, really? Then can I come see you now? Yes. With Mr. Choi. Yes.]

Im Hyun-il seemed to make a phone call to someone and ended the short call.

[─Get up. We’re going somewhere.

─Where to……

─Just get up for a moment. Someone wants to meet Mr. Choi.]

Choi Jae-hoon asked, seemingly flustered, but he didn’t care and just told him to follow.

Again, the playback time passed without any conversation.

The sound, presumed to be the noise of a busy ward, continued for about 3 minutes.

Knock knock.

The sound of knocking and the door opening and closing could be heard.

[─Hello.

─Oh, oh. Yes. Mr. Choi. Long time no see, right? Sit down.

─Yes, Chief. But what brings you here……]

Choi Jae-hoon asked in a dumbfounded voice.

Judging from the title of Chief, the voice that has newly appeared now seems to be Oh Jun-hong, the Chief of the Planning Office, one of the main characters in the folder name.

The sound of Im Hyun-il and Choi Jae-hoon sitting down in turn could be heard, and then Oh Jun-hong opened his mouth.

[─Mr. Choi, you said you can’t do it?

─……

─Tell me honestly. What’s the reason?

─Chief, this is……

─Yes. Tell me. There must be a reason why Mr. Choi refused. If we know that, we can solve it well through conversation, like this. If there are parts that don’t match, we can adjust them and compromise well, right?]

Compared to Im Hyun-il, Oh Jun-hong was using a much softer tone, but even so, the underlying perception of organ trafficking could be seen.

It felt like there was no ethical awareness to be found in the organ trafficking business, the very word itself.

That we can solve it through conversation, that we can compromise.

I didn’t know if he recognized Choi Jae-hoon as a perfect member of his group, or if he didn’t know that people have an instinctive aversion to organ trafficking.

[─Isn’t it illegal……? And I don’t know if the organ seller voluntarily appeared and responded to the transaction. But the person I saw at that Miseong Hospital was a minor……

─Was that it?

─……

─Ha, Mr. Choi. How do you know if that person voluntarily said they would sell it or was forced to lie there? How do you know if they are a minor or an adult?

─Then isn’t it?

─That’s unknowable. So, Mr. Choi, it’s okay if you’re in an unknowable state. You didn’t know, did you?

─……

─You don’t need to know a lot. Just think of yourself as a machine and do it. Frankly, if there was a machine, we wouldn’t even suggest it to Mr. Choi. Isn’t that right? Our technology is not there yet, huh? So, people with skills like Mr. Choi are needed.

─……

─It’s not like you have to do it every day. Just think of it as making a lump sum of money once in a while and spending a few hours. And Mr. Choi, don’t you have big dreams? It’s hard to achieve that dream without anything.

─Chief, I……

─Listen to me more. It’s true that there are more doctors who want to open their own practices. But there are also many people who want to become professors. Really many. Yes, professors or directors can get promoted if they stay at a university hospital for a long time. But is Mr. Choi’s goal just to end there? It’s not. Can you survive competing with people who are struggling to climb high? Can Mr. Choi compete with people who have connections? You can get it if you have skills? In fact, skills are only needed above a certain level. Unless you’re really outstanding, having good skills isn’t that big of a merit.]

Im Hyun-il brought Choi Jae-hoon to Oh Jun-hong to catch Choi Jae-hoon [persuade him to join their scheme].

He seemed to think that it would be easier for Oh Jun-hong to persuade him by promising various conditions than himself.

[─Are the people who come to Miseong for surgery ordinary people? It’s not like we’re asking you to do difficult things. Mr. Choi, do you have a lot of experience in transplant surgery? Have you ever failed? You haven’t. You get paid a few bucks a month at the hospital and do what you always do, and once in a while, you get a lump sum of money and even make connections. So, what’s the reason to refuse?

─Chief, but that’s too dangerous. If there’s a problem later……

─We wouldn’t tell you to do it if it would cause a problem. Both Director Im here and I. Are we both stupid idiots doing this? That Miseong Hospital building. Does it look like it was built by me and Director Im alone? Who do you think will cover for us if we have a problem?

─……

─Ha, Mr. Choi. I’m just sorry that you can’t seize the opportunity I’m giving you. How can a young person live so inflexibly? Mr. Choi, you have to become a professor, a director, a chief of the planning office, and a director. Isn’t that right? You have to prepare from now on.

─No matter what, it’s illegal……]

Choi Jae-hoon said, squeezing out the words.

Then Oh Jun-hong laughed heartily.

[─My friend. Who in the world lives without ever breaking the law? Have you never littered or thrown a cigarette butt on the street?

─That’s different from this…… Still, isn’t organ trafficking something that harms others? It’s a matter of human life.

─What about throwing trash on the street? Isn’t it possible that someone could step on the trash you threw and fall and crack their head and die, just saying? Isn’t that harm? I don’t know what’s so different.]

It was an absurd logical structure.

When Choi Jae-hoon didn’t answer, the sound of patting could be heard.

[─So, Mr. Choi. Think about it a little more.

─…No, Chief. I… I can’t do it.

─Mr. Choi.

─There will be other suitable people. So…… I’ll pretend that everything that happened until today, I didn’t see it and didn’t hear it. I’ll pretend I don’t know anything. I’m sorry.

─Mr. Choi. Are you really going to do this?

─……I’m sorry for not meeting your expectations. I have a patient guardian consultation scheduled. I’ll get up first. I’m sorry.]

What was presumed to be Choi Jae-hoon’s footsteps was heard at a faster pace than before.

The door opened and closed, and the sound of rustling could be heard, and then the playback ended.

Clap!

Jo Bong-joon clapped once towards the camera and muttered.

“Wow, damn it…… What did I just hear? Isn’t that guy crazy?”

Jeong Ji-min had already unfolded his frowning face and drank the bottled water placed next to him.

Listening to Choi Jae-hoon’s confused voice, Jeong Ji-min also seemed to be emotionally shaken.

“Are you okay?”

Jo Bong-joon asked Jeong Ji-min.

Then Jeong Ji-min wiped the water from his mouth with the back of his hand and said in a small voice.

“……I’m not okay.”

“Can you continue?”

“Um, were you trying to edit out the applause just now? What was it, were you catching the editing point?”

“Yes.”

“Then can I swear for a moment?”

“Go ahead. I did too.”

“How can there be such assholes in the world? No, honestly, I too…… I’m not a guy who makes a living conscientiously. Choi Jae-hoon too…… You can say that I met him to rip him off, so why are there so many words. But still, isn’t that a bit too much? Even ignorant guys like me know that’s not right, so why do guys who have learned so much live like that?”

Jeong Ji-min expressed his resentment in a trembling voice.

He bit his lip and suppressed his emotions for a moment, then clapped towards the camera and said.

“The last file. The one that starts with 20120412. Listen to that quickly.”

The title of the file is 201204121411.

It means that the recording started at 2:11 PM on April 12, 2012.

The creation time that can be confirmed with the file information was also similar.

The gas explosion occurred around 3 PM on April 12th.

So, this is probably the only file containing the situation just before the accident.

[─Chief, did you call me?

─Sit down.]

The person talking to Choi Jae-hoon was Oh Jun-hong.

Im Hyun-il’s voice was not heard.

[─What did you call me for…… If it’s because of yesterday, I remember saying that I would pretend it didn’t happen.

─Yes, you didn’t say anything to anyone, as Mr. Choi said.

─Yes, to no one…… I’m grateful that you believed me, but may I ask how you can be so sure?]

Choi Jae-hoon was maintaining a calmer tone than yesterday, but in the conversation just now, he reacted sharply, perhaps sensing something strange.

[─Don’t you remember what Director Im said? He said that if Mr. Choi leaks the words anywhere, there’s a way to find out.

─What does that mean……

─You need to take a closer look around you, Mr. Choi. Especially your house. It seems like you mostly rest at home on your days off. You need to look even more closely at places where you spend so much time.

─I don’t quite understand what you’re saying now. What does that mean?

─That handsome friend of yours. I thought he was just a close younger brother, but you two are in a very passionate relationship?

─……

─But Mr. Choi, I thought you were smart, but you’re completely foolish. It doesn’t seem like that friend likes you very much, so wouldn’t it be better to stop seeing him? Well, you curse and use violence so much…… Ugh, who would like someone who treats them like that. Isn’t that right? That friend is going to die like that? You hit him too much.]

It’s about Jeong Ji-min.

Jeong Ji-min, who was listening to the file, also turned pale.

He had already listened to the file, but even so, the shock would not easily subside.

Jeong Ji-min bit his lip and couldn’t keep his hands still.

“Shall we stop playing it for a moment?”

“……It’s okay.”

Jo Bong-joon also paused the playback for a moment and checked Jeong Ji-min’s complexion, but he stubbornly told him to keep listening.

[─Did you put something in our house? Like a bugging device?

─But why can’t you take out organs from the body of a stranger you don’t even know, even though you treat that loving friend like you’re going to kill him? I don’t understand, really.

─Are you just saying that?

─If you’re so suspicious, go check it out. I saw that you don’t have any separate schedules today.]

With a crashing sound, the sound of running footsteps could be heard.

[Damn it, damn it, damn it. Are you crazy, these guys. Crazy bastards, why my house, ha, how much did you hear, really! Should I have just closed my eyes and said I would do it, damn it, damn it. No matter what, how can I do something like that……]

Choi Jae-hoon muttered and ran wildly.

There were people who greeted him in the middle, but Choi Jae-hoon didn’t accept them and kept running.

[─Driver, please go to Yeomseong Station intersection.

─Yeomseong Station intersection.

─Ha, damn it…… I’m going crazy.

─Yes?

─Ah, I wasn’t talking to the driver.]

Once again, a rustling sound was heard, and the playback ended there.

The file playback time is a total of 18 minutes.

The recording started at 2:11 PM, so it ended at 2:29 PM.

Considering the afternoon traffic conditions, it takes about 15 minutes from Seoul Wooshin Hospital to Choi Jae-hoon’s house.

The gas explosion occurred around 3 PM, so it’s safe to say that the accident happened as soon as Choi Jae-hoon entered his house.

Even after the playback ended, none of us could easily open our mouths for a while.

Then Jeong Ji-min, who was pale, said in a tearful voice.

“Now that you’ve heard it, please make a judgment. Choi Jae-hoon was murdered, it’s an overreaction…… It’s an overreaction, right? Please tell me it’s an overreaction…… That doesn’t make sense…… It’s an overreaction, right!”