You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 615

You've Been Defended

“What’s the matter?”

I asked concisely, and Ko Yun-soo chuckled.

─Do you really not know?

“Well, I’m starting to think you called me out here to try and kill me again.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Ko Yun-soo sighed, and Sang-gil, who was beside him, widened his eyes and rushed into the room to call Kang Min-jae.

─Let’s talk in person. We’ve never met face-to-face, have we? I’m sure your lawyer has a lot to say, too.

“I don’t really have anything to say in this situation.”

─I have something to say. I’ll meet you wherever you want, under any conditions. I know you’re at home now. You don’t have any other appointments, do you?

I already knew I’d been followed for a long time, but Ko Yun-soo didn’t seem to be trying to hide it.

[Who is it?]

Just then, Kang Min-jae stood next to me and showed me a note on a sticky note.

I wrote Ko Yun-soo’s name on it.

Kang Min-jae gestured for me to put it on speakerphone with a stern expression, so I put down my phone and changed the settings.

“You’ll meet me wherever I want, under any conditions?”

─Yes.

“Can you come alone?”

─I will.

Ko Yun-soo answered without a moment’s hesitation.

─If you’re worried about being recorded, you can search my body. Let’s just meet and talk.

“I think you’re the one with a lot to say, Mr. Ko Yun-soo, not me.”

─That’s right. So, what are you going to do?

Kang Min-jae repeatedly drew X marks on the sticky note.

He meant I shouldn’t meet him.

I also don’t think there’s any need to meet Ko Yun-soo in this situation.

I’ve already got the evidence and made it public.

There’s not much to gain from them. [“Them” refers to Ko Yun-soo and his associates.]

When the special investigation team is launched, we’ll meet during the investigation anyway.

But I also wanted to see Ko Yun-soo at least once.

I was curious what he would say and how he would act, going out of his way to meet me in private and agree to all my conditions.

“I’ll call you back.”

As soon as I hung up, Kang Min-jae spoke as if he had been waiting.

“No way. It’s dangerous.”

“We’ll meet at a hotel, and he’s coming alone. He even said he’d let us search him.”

“Still.”

“What’s the expected danger?”

“What if it’s a trap? It hasn’t been officially discussed yet, but there are already a lot of people saying that a special investigation should be conducted just because Ko Sang-joon’s slush fund flowed into the Minwoo Party. There are quite a few people talking about you as a special prosecutor. What if Wooshin is aware of that? They could plant a bag of money in your car and expose that you met Ko Yun-soo in private.”

“In that scenario, they can frame me whether I meet Ko Yun-soo or not. Besides, Wooshin would have to take responsibility for all sorts of crimes, including bribery. Are they going to commit suicide like that? If they release the recording of what we talked about, I can explain it.”

Kang Min-jae was silent for a moment at my answer.

“Besides, the timing is good. The circumstances of Onodera and Ko Yun-soo working together to kill me were revealed today. I’m the victim in this case. Ko Yun-soo is the perpetrator. It’s the perfect time for the victim and perpetrator to meet, when the perpetrator can no longer deny the facts. Kang has been to many of those meetings.”

Generally, the purpose of such meetings is settlement.

Of course, Ko Yun-soo’s reason for wanting to meet me wouldn’t be for a petty settlement limited to the contract killing.

The purpose would be a broader settlement and persuasion.

There’s no reason for him to want to meet me if he’s not going to say those things.

And if he said those things and it was made public, it would be even more disadvantageous for Ko Yun-soo.

Ko Yun-soo knows it too.

If this meeting becomes a problem, it’s Ko Yun-soo, not me, who will be harmed.

He’s willing to take that risk to meet me.

“You want to, don’t you, Attorney Cha?”

Kang Min-jae suddenly asked.

“So, it’s more of a choice of Cha Joo-han as a person than a strategic choice. Right?”

He stared at me intently.

To be exact, he was looking at me, who had spent 14 years, including my previous life, not the me who had spent 4 years chasing Wooshin.

* * *

The place where I was to meet Ko Yun-soo was a hotel near my house.

Tae-shik, who had been at the gym taking over from Sang-gil, rushed over, and more security personnel were added in case of an emergency.

In case Ko Yun-soo broke his promise and didn’t show up alone.

“It’s funny.”

I had checked into the room first, and when I saw the staff busily preparing, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Why? It’s only natural to prepare like this after everything that’s happened.”

Kang Min-jae seemed to think I thought these preparations were a fuss.

“That’s right. But look at Ko Yun-soo. It’s easy for him to say he’ll show up alone. Even with all these preparations, I have to think about all the ways I could be in danger.”

“…Those bastards haven’t been through it. I see. It’s funny, like you said. They ignore the law and threaten others, but when this happens, they rely on the law to feel safe.”

Kang Min-jae checked the time on his watch, then chuckled and said.

“Ah, should we have just kidnapped Ko Sang-joon and tortured him until he told the truth? I heard Sang-gil is good at pulling teeth. There are a lot of technicians around. Ko Sang-joon and Ko Yun-soo were lucky. It’s just our luck that we’re lawyers.”

Just then.

A call came in from the staff outside.

─Ko Yun-soo is here. He’s alone.

I could hear them talking in low voices for a moment, and then the staff spoke again.

─We’ve checked him with a detector and confirmed all his belongings. Should we let him in?

“Yes.”

As soon as I hung up, I heard the sound of a card being scanned outside.

Kang Min-jae reflexively stood up with a tense expression.

Creak.

The door opened, and Ko Yun-soo, dressed in a suit, entered alone.

An expressionless face.

I had seen him in photos many times, and I had even met him in my previous life, though it was a long time ago.

He was so familiar that there was no reason to feel any new emotions.

But the problem is that face.

He made an even stronger impression in person.

He looked disgustingly like Ko Sang-joon.

I hadn’t noticed it in my previous life because Ko Yun-soo wasn’t very noticeable to me.

I’m glad I took the medicine in advance. [Likely refers to medication to manage anxiety or a similar condition.]

I could feel my palms turning cold in an instant.

“…….”

Ko Yun-soo’s gaze was fixed on the couch where Kang Min-jae and I were sitting.

He had probably never said, ‘I’ll meet you wherever you want, under any conditions’ to anyone in his life, but he didn’t seem to feel particularly humiliated.

Instead, he approached leisurely with a faint smile.

“We’re not going to shake hands, are we?”

Then he stood in front of me and asked.

“I guess not.”

“That’s too bad.”

Ko Yun-soo lowered his outstretched hand to his lap and sat down.

In my previous life, I had sat across from Ko Yun-soo in the interrogation room in the same position.

That image overlapped.

At that time, he was in his late 50s, but this time, he’s 6 years younger, so he’s still in his early 40s.

But he wasn’t much different.

Perhaps it was because he had lived a life without any major problems, so his appearance didn’t reflect the passage of time.

“It’s been a while, Attorney Kang Min-jae.”

Kang Min-jae’s eyes narrowed sharply at Ko Yun-soo’s words.

“Oh, don’t you remember? It was a long time ago. We met at an event. You were this tall, and former President Kang was there too.”

Ko Yun-soo raised his hand to his shoulder height.

“We didn’t meet to chat about trivial things. Let’s get straight to the point.”

Kang Min-jae’s fist was trembling as he said that.

Among the contents of their conversation that had been edited out because they couldn’t be released at this stage, there was also something about Kang Kwan-woong’s death.

Ko Yun-soo probably knows this too.

When the recording file was released to the world, Onodera and Oda Satoshi must have turned pale and said something.

Nevertheless, he treated Kang Min-jae shamelessly without changing his expression.

“Now that we’ve met like this, let’s talk openly. You two here, and reporter Choi Jong-hyun and Mr. Jo Bong-joon. You’ve accomplished something amazing. I sincerely think you’re great. You’re better than most investigative agencies.”

He still seemed to think he had the upper hand.

He casually made evaluations.

He was extremely arrogant.

“You probably have something I and others don’t know yet. You’re very thorough. You must have a great technician. This is the first time I’ve been caught off guard like this.”

Wooshin’s management executives, who he uses like his own limbs, routinely follow and eavesdrop, so this confession seemed easy for him.

“There are probably many other things I don’t know. Just looking at Oda Tomiko, or… Kim Mi-ja, it seems like you have connections in places I never even imagined.”

“…….”

“But, does that mean Wooshin will collapse?”

I could feel the conviction in every word.

“You probably know better than I do. With that one voice recording, it’s not enough to completely pin the charges you want on me. We need physical evidence. But will it come out? The police still haven’t found it, even with the excellent foundation of overseas accounts submitted by L&B [Law & Business] and KDL Company [Korea Data Logistics], and Executive Director Kim Soo-chan. Investigating overseas slush funds is never easy.”

Ko Yun-soo is right.

In a special investigation conducted a long time ago, the special prosecutor who was reporting the results casually said, ‘We excluded the investigation of overseas slush funds because it’s virtually impossible.’

If the government requests cooperation from foreign governments, the investigation will speed up.

Nevertheless, it’s hard to expect the governments of tax havens to provide information cleanly.

If they give it to one country, they have to give it to other countries too.

If that happens, good customers will lose trust and take their huge deposits to find a new nest.

“If that happens, there will be years of tedious trials. It will be far less than what you expected, but you will eventually serve time. But you’ll be out soon. After spending two or three years in trial, the current administration will be coming to an end. Do you think the president won’t think about a special pardon then? They have to prepare for the end of their term. Even if the president holds out to the end, what about the next president? Will we live as long as you’d like us to?”

Even with the heinous crimes of human trafficking and murder, he was confident that he would be out soon.

“…Well, I don’t know why you’re doing this to us, so I don’t know how much it will take to satisfy you.”

“Ha.”

Kang Min-jae let out a hollow laugh as if he was fed up.

“Ah, now that we’ve met like this, I’d like to ask you. Why are you going this far? I really don’t know, no matter how much I think about it.”

Ko Yun-soo really seemed unable to understand me.

I could read pure curiosity in his eyes.

It was amazing that he could feel such a simple emotion even in this situation.

“Both of your parents are healthy. Your father didn’t work for a company related to Wooshin, and he had a smooth career without any unfairness. The same goes for your friends. Even the women you used to date didn’t have any problems with us. I’m curious why you’re doing this. I couldn’t sleep some nights. I wanted to know.”

Ko Yun-soo laughed as if he himself was dumbfounded, then looked me in the eye and said.

“Now that I see it, I think you’re probably going to answer that it’s for justice. But I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about the really deep inside. I’m curious about the motivation inside.”

Both of my parents are healthy now.

But that’s not the case in my memory.

Initially, this was the biggest motivation.

The source of my power was only revenge.

That’s why I’m angry at unjust means, processes, and results, but I don’t think this is my sole purpose.

But listening to Ko Yun-soo’s question, it becomes clearer now.

At some point, I sincerely hoped that no one would have the same experience as me.

To do that, those who use unjust means to achieve results must be punished.

No one should give up being human because they think it’s easier than walking the right path.

We must prove that this society still has the power to make those people pay the price and exclude them.

This is the best way to defend everyone who has had or will have the same experience as me.

It’s impossible to clearly define justice.

But now I know that my motivation and what I’m pursuing are no longer revenge.

I also know that all of that is within the scope of justice.

“It sounds like it’s strange to say that the inner motive is also justice.”

“I see. Good. Then what’s your goal? I’ve really thought a lot about you. Your goal is Wooshin, right? But you know that it’s impossible to destroy a company like Wooshin, so would you set such a goal? So I thought again. It must be our family. You’re trying to clean up Wooshin. If so, then your first goal is obviously my father, and my siblings and I are just stepping stones or secondary goals to get to him. How is it? Am I right to some extent?”

Funnily enough, Ko Yun-soo really couldn’t understand me.

To think he’s worried so much about a bug like me.

When I didn’t say anything, Ko Yun-soo swept back his hair and sighed.

“Attorney Cha. I’m also sick of the unreasonable and outdated things my father has mobilized. To be honest, I don’t have the unrealistic goal of realizing justice. However, I didn’t want to manage the company in a dishonest way, desperately trying to hide something. So I became a part of it to end that bad habit, but I think it was a foolish choice. Even though our goals are different, your goal and mine are essentially the same. I can’t tolerate this kind of thing happening repeatedly within Wooshin either.”

“What’s the reason?”

I asked.

Then Ko Yun-soo asked back as if he had received an unexpected question.

“The reason?”

“Why can’t you tolerate it? Is it because the act of breaking the law and committing vulgar crimes itself is intolerable? Or is it because you broke the law over something useless and got caught by someone like me for no reason?”

Ko Yun-soo, who had been listening to my long question, laughed as if sighing.

“Of course, it’s the former.”

[Lie]

“I’m also a human being. I know what’s right and wrong.”

[Truth]

“So, Attorney Cha, we might get along surprisingly well.”

[Truth]

Seeing the letters floating above his head made me want to vomit.

Ko Yun-soo doesn’t tolerate the fact that he was caught, not the fact that he committed a crime.

At the same time, he thinks he knows how to judge what’s right and wrong.

Of course, Ko Yun-soo knows how to judge what’s right and wrong within a universal range.

The problem is that it’s just a mechanical judgment through learning, and the truth is different.

In other words, he’s a sociopath no different from Ko Sang-joon.

You Have Been Defended [EN]

You Have Been Defended [EN]

너희들은 변호됐다
Status: Completed Author: , Native Language: Korean
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[English Translation] Prosecutor Cha Juhan's relentless pursuit of the corrupt Wooshin Group ended in betrayal and death at the hands of those he trusted most. But fate, it seems, has other plans. Granted a second chance, reborn as a Wooshin sniper, Cha Juhan vows to bring the entire Wooshin family to justice, no matter how many lifetimes it takes. Trading his prosecutor's badge for a lawyer's gavel, he embarks on a path of vengeance, armed with extraordinary abilities beyond human comprehension. They told him to know his place in the next life? He'll show them exactly where they belong – behind bars. Prepare for a thrilling saga of revenge, justice, and supernatural power as Cha Juhan targets Wooshin once more, turning the courtroom into his battleground.

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