You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 62

You Have Been Defended – Episode 62 (62/641)

I arrived at the cafe in front of Korea University and looked around.

Kim Dae-sung’s face, which I had seen on Cyworld [a popular South Korean social networking site], was found not far away.

“Hello. I am Attorney Cha Joo-han.”

“Ah, yes. Hello.”

Kang Min-jae had arranged the meeting time with a brief explanation of the situation via a note, and Kim Dae-sung readily agreed to meet.

I had 미리 [miri – beforehand] checked some personal information through the brief conversation Kang Min-jae had with him when making the appointment.

He graduated from the Department of Education at Korea University, and his career path was completely different from being a teacher.

He was currently preparing to join a private company.

It was fortunate, as such a conversation would not have been comfortable if he were also a teacher.

“But, specifically, what kind of story would you like to hear…”

Kim Dae-sung asked cautiously.

Perhaps he thought I had come to hold him responsible for the situation during his student teaching.

Reading the anxiety in his eyes, I replied simply.

“There was a student named Lee Hyuk-min in the class that Mr. Kim Dae-sung was in charge of last year. Do you remember him?”

“Ah, of course. I remember him.”

Kim Dae-sung replied without hesitation.

Even though they spent a month together, it had been over a year, and there were nearly 40 students in the class.

If he remembered him immediately upon hearing his name, it meant that he was quite an impressive student to him as well.

“Actually, I found Mr. Kim Dae-sung by seeing the comments you left on Lee Hyuk-min’s Cyworld page.”

“Comments?”

“Yes.”

Kim Dae-sung pondered my words, then soon smiled and replied.

“Well, he was a student I taught at one time, and he asked me to visit after leaving a photo on my Ilchonpyeong [Cyworld’s version of a guestbook]. So I left a comment.”

“Do you still keep in touch?”

“No. There’s no way. Back then, it was shortly after my student teaching ended, so we exchanged greetings on Cyworld, but now, not at all. He wasn’t a student I particularly liked either. Haha.”

[Truth]

I nodded, watching the letters floating above Kim Dae-sung’s head.

The content of today’s conversation would not reach Lee Hyuk-min’s ears.

“Then I’ll ask you a question. If there was anything impressive about Lee Hyuk-min, please tell me.”

Kim Dae-sung replied coolly.

“He was the boss of the class. The kids were all over him.”

“Does the expression ‘boss’ mean he was a so-called 일진 [Iljin – a school bully or delinquent]?”

“That’s a bit ambiguous. He was too good at studying to be an 일진. It was impressive how he used the 일진s like his own limbs.”

“Did Lee Hyuk-min ever commit any misconduct?”

Kim Dae-sung sighed deeply.

After taking a sip of cold coffee, he tapped the table as if trying to recall his memories.

And after a long while, he opened his mouth.

“He did commit misconduct. But no one could touch him. It felt like he had extraterritorial rights. That’s the impression I got. He didn’t openly cause trouble, but he smoked and drank after school. He did a lot of things like that.”

“Did Mr. Kim Dae-sung witness that?”

“Um, I saw him smoking once. Actually, I was talking to a teacher for a long time and was walking home with them, and Hyuk-min was smoking in an alley near the school. But the teacher told me to pretend I didn’t see it and pulled me in another direction. I was a bit surprised then.”

“Anything else?”

“I didn’t witness it, but the teacher told me about it. Oh, now that I think about it, that’s not all.”

Kim Dae-sung raised his voice slightly as if he had remembered something.

“He was the leader of the bullying.”

“Did you see that directly?”

“No, not that… There was an incident back then.”

That was the purpose of my visit here.

Kim Dae-sung fiddled with his coffee cup and slowly continued.

“There was a kid named Han-joon in the same class as Hyuk-min. He had been bullied since before I went to student teaching. But Han-joon hardly came to school, so I don’t have much to say. But a parent came to the 교무실 [gyomusil – school administration office] and turned it upside down, saying they would open a school violence committee. I remember that clearly. That happened in the first week of my student teaching.”

“So, was the school violence committee opened?”

“It wasn’t. The kid transferred schools around the end of my internship, so… It was a shame.”

Kim Dae-sung clicked his tongue.

“Han-joon’s parents took pictures of the bruises where he was hit and scattered them in the 교무실, making a fuss and demanding that Lee Hyuk-min be brought in. The pictures fell in front of me, and I saw one. It was unbelievable. It wasn’t just kids fighting, it was like they were trying to kill him…”

Kim Dae-sung’s expression clouded over.

“I don’t know the details of how the incident unfolded because I was just a student teacher, but the parents were threatening to report it to the Office of Education and the media if they didn’t open a school violence committee. So, they seemed to have done some kind of investigation, but as I said before, the school violence committee wasn’t opened in the end. So, the other student teachers and I speculated that Lee Hyuk-min’s parents must have given a lot of 촌지 [chonji – illicit money or bribes]. I felt bad for Han-joon. I heard he transferred to Jusan-gu. It’s a good school district there, so I hope he does well there…”

“I see. By any chance, what is that student Han-joon’s full name? Is his last name Han and his first name Joon?”

“Ah, no. It was a two-letter surname… Namgung, Sunwoo, something like that…”

“If it’s a two-letter surname, it could be Dokgo, Sagong, Hwangbo…”

“Ah, Hwangbo. It’s Hwangbo Han-joon.”

The word [Truth] had not left Kim Dae-sung’s head until now.

He didn’t seem to be downplaying the incident, nor did he seem to be exaggerating it.

In school, student teachers are treated as neither students nor teachers.

Therefore, no matter what incident occurred in school, if a student teacher tried to find out, they would only be told not to interfere.

Anyway, I met him to find out the name and information of the student who transferred schools back then.

I could hear the details from that student.

“Thank you for your time today.”

“You’re welcome. But, what’s going on? A lawyer is coming to ask about this… Did Hyuk-min do something again?”

“A lawyer is not in a position to freely talk about such things. I’m sorry.”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I was just asking. Then, go in.”

After exchanging light greetings, I got into the car and called Tae-shik.

-Yeoboseyo [Korean for ‘Hello’].

Tae-shik’s voice, along with the sound of him munching on something, came through the phone.

“Tae-shik, you should answer the phone politely.”

-Ah, ah! Attorney-nim [term of respect for an attorney]. Aigoo [expression of frustration or exaggeration], Aigooo! I have committed a sin worthy of death~ Aigooo~

He was getting more and more cheeky as he became more comfortable.

Come to think of it, he was a man who had a habit of being cheeky and sarcastic even in my previous life.

One of the reporters who worked with us once tried to punch Tae-shik in the jaw, but he chickened out because of his muscles.

“…”

-I’m sorry. Anyway, what’s up?

“About that transfer student I asked you to look into.”

-Ah, yes. I’m looking into it now, but there are too few clues, so it’s taking some time. I’m sorry.

“Hwangbo Han-joon. He transferred to Jusan-gu. Can you find him with that much information?”

-Huh? Hwangbo Han-joon? That’s a really unique name.

“Can you do it by tomorrow?”

-If you have the name and the region, it’s game over. Just wash your neck and wait until tomorrow.”

“Are you coming to kill me? Why wash my neck?”

-……Is that what it means?

I sighed and hung up the phone.

* * *

The next afternoon, as expected, Tae-shik found out Han-joon’s contact information, the school Han-joon attended, and all other information.

In my previous life, I had asked him how he found out this information, and Tae-shik had replied, ‘You’ll get hurt if you know.’

I suspected it was an illegal route.

As a lawyer who had to realize legal justice, I wasn’t exactly happy about it, but I couldn’t not use it.

I decided not to ask this time either and sent Tae-shik back.

“Kang Byun [short for ‘byeonhosa’, meaning lawyer].”

“Yes.”

After being told to step down from the case, Kang Min-jae mainly did things that could be done in the office.

I hadn’t told him to do that, but he seemed to be trying to reflect in his own way.

He occasionally talked to Jin-cheol’s mother and checked on how Jin-cheol was doing.

Fortunately, Jin-cheol seemed to be doing well.

His violent tendencies hadn’t completely disappeared, but it seemed to have stopped at the level of getting annoyed.

I thought it was a great change just that he didn’t swear.

“And, Jin-cheol’s homeroom teacher is coming to the hospital tomorrow, I think. At 5 PM.”

He said casually.

I looked at the calendar.

Had time already passed that much?

“Contact Hwangbo Han-joon’s parents.”

I said, putting the memo with the contact information Tae-shik had written on his desk.

As my hand left with a thud, Kang Byun quickly picked up the note.

“Should I make an appointment right away if possible?”

Kang Byun asked, holding the phone to his ear and dialing the number.

“Why do you ask everything? It’s obvious.”

“I’m just afraid I might make a mistake.”

He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

I sighed.

Was being told to step down from this case such a big shock?

Even when Tae-shik came earlier, he didn’t chatter loudly like usual and remained silent.

“Make an appointment, preferably in the morning or right after lunch. I have to go to the hospital in the afternoon.”

“Yes. Then what should I do while you’re meeting Han-joon’s parents, Attorney-nim?”

He tore off the memo while holding the phone between his shoulder and ear.

“Aren’t you coming with me?”

“……Yes?”

“I need a driver. I’m tired and don’t want to drive.”

“Oh, oh! Driver! I’m good at that! I can do that really well! Can I come with you? Can I? Really… Hello? Ah, are you Hwangbo Han-joon’s mother? Haha, yes. Ah, it’s not that, but…”

Kang Min-jae stopped jumping up and down and quickly composed his voice and started answering the phone.

I left the happy-looking Kang Min-jae behind and went out to the veranda.

I leaned against the railing and smoked a cigarette.

Suddenly, I had a lot of thoughts.

Jin-cheol’s homeroom teacher was coming to the hospital tomorrow.

And Jin-cheol’s mother said that the homeroom teacher still hadn’t contacted her.

Then it was clear that he intended to tell her the results of the investigation tomorrow.

Whether there would be a student in that class who would help Jin-cheol would be revealed tomorrow.

‘There will be at least one.’