You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 81

I didn’t call Tae-shik beforehand; I just showed up at his office.

I wanted him to experience the annoyance of unannounced visits, since he does it to me all the time.

But as soon as I opened the door to the detective agency, I was met with an… interesting scene.

“Whoa, hyung [older brother or male friend]. Is this for real?”

“Looks like he’s on something. Dude, this is insane. Talk about a lifetime of embarrassment.”

“Wow, he’s totally lost it, hyung. His stamina is crazy. Did he take Viagra? Hehe.”

Tae-shik and his employees were huddled together on the sofa in the middle of the office, glued to a video on a laptop.

It was Jung Young-joon’s video.

“Tae-shik.”

They were so engrossed they didn’t even hear me.

Kang Min-jae looked at me with an expression that seemed to say, ‘What can you do?’

I sighed.

Kang Min-jae, who desperately wanted to watch the video but was trying to hide it, and Jang Tae-shik, who was watching it without any shame.

I suddenly wondered why my life was filled with people like this.

Well, Kang Min-jae at least knew that watching such a video was a form of harm.

Jang Tae-shik clearly had no clue.

“Tae-shik.”

My voice was drowned out by the sound coming from the laptop.

“Hmm? That sounds like Ssagaji’s [a rude or cheeky person] voice.”

“It’s just your imagination, hyung.”
Tae-shik seemed to catch the muffled voice and nodded at his employee’s words.

But he still didn’t bother to turn around.

“It seems they usually call you Ssagaji, Attorney.”

Kang Min-jae chuckled.

I had no choice but to approach them.

And I lifted the laptop off Tae-shik’s lap.

“What the… Oh, hello, Attorney.”

“Yes, Ssagaji is doing well.”

I looked at Tae-shik, who had turned pale, and closed the laptop.

“No, Ssagaji? Who called the Attorney Ssagaji! Who was it! You? Huh? Was it you?”

“It sounded like your voice to me, but I guess not?”

“Ah, no way. It couldn’t have been me. Why would I call the Attorney Ssagaji!”

“Really? Then did Dae-cheol call me Ssagaji?”

“Huh? M-me? N-no, it wasn’t me.”

“Is that so? Then was it Sang-gil?”

“H-hyung did it. Attorney. Hyung did it!”

Sang-gil shouted and quickly returned to his seat.

The other employees did the same.

“…Ha, these bastards, really.”

Tae-shik, who was left alone, glared at them, then started hitting his own mouth as he looked at me sitting across from him.

“Mouth, you damn mouth! You really are a Ssagaji mouth!”

Just as the corner of his mouth turned red and swollen, Kang Min-jae quietly lowered Tae-shik’s hand that was hitting his mouth.

“…Anyway, what brings such an important person to our humble office?”

“Yes, Tae-shik is wondering why a humble person like me came.”

“No, no! It was a slip of the tongue. Hyung, no, Attorney. Ah, really. This time, really.”

He seemed to have said the same thing last time, but it wasn’t important, so I decided to move on.

I should get straight to the point.

“It’s good that you watched the video.”

“No, Attorney. I’m sorry. I was just too curious to resist. Dae-cheol said he got the video, and I really told him not to, but…”

That’s not what I was trying to say.

“I told him not to, but he kept wanting to watch it. Dae-cheol is a son of a bitch.”

Dae-cheol, who was far away, stood up and gestured as if he was wronged.

“That’s not it, Tae-shik. Our client for this case is the person in that video.”

I was going to watch Tae-shik’s one-man show a little longer, but Kang stepped in.

“Yes?”

“Mr. Jung Young-joon has hired us for the case. So, I came to ask Tae-shik for some help.”

Tae-shik looked at me.

His face seemed to be asking if it was true.

I nodded.

“But isn’t video distribution a matter for the police? Why did the Attorney take on that case?”

He didn’t seem to know that Jung Young-joon was on the verge of divorce because of the video.

That’s how gossip always is.

People want to know the sensational details, but they aren’t curious about the damage the victim suffered or the progress of the case.

“His wife is demanding a divorce.”

“From YJ Mart?”

“Yes, well, to be exact, Yangjin Group, which is the parent company of YJ Mart. Anyway, we were appointed because of that divorce. But Jung Young-joon claims that the video was made by someone to slander him.”

Kang explained the situation to Tae-shik.

Tae-shik, having heard all the circumstances, crossed his arms and pondered.

“Well, it’s understandable that his wife is demanding a divorce. Of course, she’d be pissed. If she found out that her husband not only slept with other women but was also a pervert. If Jung Young-joon is telling the truth, then Jung Young-joon must be really frustrated too. But how do you know if Jung Young-joon is lying or if he’s really wronged?”

Tae-shik asked.

Kang shook his head.

He also didn’t completely believe that Jung Young-joon was innocent yet.

Only I, who had perceived Jung Young-joon’s true feelings with my ability, could be sure.

This is something I can’t force, and I can only let him come to believe it himself as the case progresses.

I decided to cut it short.

“If you don’t believe the client, who are you going to believe?”

“That’s true. But if he really doesn’t have that kind of taste, has never done that before, and doesn’t have any memory of it, how could he stand it without going crazy? The whole nation saw his naked body and his dangling thing. Even his face is known. How is he going to walk around outside in the future? Ugh, I would just die,”

“Enough. Anyway, you have work to do, so get ready.”

I knew what Tae-shik was going to say.

It’s not that I didn’t think the same thing.

That’s why I recommended he go to the hospital even more.

“Well, I’ll do it if the Attorney gives me work. What is it?”

Anyway, Tae-shik smiled, seemingly excited about the new way to make money.

Then Kang opened his mouth.

“I’d like you to investigate someone.”

“Ah, that’s totally my specialty. I’m tired of saying it. Who do you want me to find out about?”

“His name is Im Hyung-oh, he’s 38 years old. He ran a Western restaurant called in front of Korea University with Jung-joon until seven years ago. He’s said to be a senior from Hansu High School with Jung Young-joon.”

“Hmm, that’s more specific than I thought. Do you have his phone number?”

“Yes, but when I called, someone else answered. I sent you a picture by text. It’s a picture taken with Jung Young-joon, but the quality is a bit bad because it was taken with an old phone.”

“Well, you can check the picture with the graduation album. It doesn’t matter if it’s a little bad.”

Tae-shik nodded confidently.

Unless it’s a vague request, there’s no way Tae-shik wouldn’t be able to find out with such specific information.

“When I asked Jung Young-joon on the way here, he said he was too busy to contact him even once after he got married. So, he doesn’t know if he’s still running the Viva Pasta store…”

“If they were partners, was the investment cost half and half?”

When I asked, Kang Min-jae nodded.

“Yes. So, when Jung Young-joon got married, he couldn’t be a partner anymore, so Jung Young-joon took out the money he invested and turned the rest into a loan.”

“Was there any conflict in the process?”

“He said he agreed willingly. He said he couldn’t contact him, but he’s a really good hyung [older brother/friend], so don’t suspect Im Hyung-oh.”

Since there was no clue as to who was behind it, it wouldn’t be strange to suspect everyone around him.

Even the younger sibling who came to the office holding hands.

But it seemed that he still had trust in him.

Well, unfortunately, such people are easily targeted in these kinds of cases.

Because they seem easy to take advantage of.

“Okay, then I’ll find out about a person named Im Hyung-oh. You want me to find out his contact information, address, and workplace, right?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

The two smiled brightly and shook hands.

Tae-shik checked the notes he had written down on the paper again while Kang was talking, and then got up coolly.

“Then is it over now? Have you two eaten? I was thinking of ordering Chinese food. Do you want to eat together?”

As soon as Tae-shik finished speaking, Dae-cheol ran up, opened his flip phone, and waited.

As if he would call the Chinese restaurant and call out the menu as soon as the order was given.

“Wow, that’s great. I’ll have japchae rice [glass noodles with vegetables and meat over rice].”

“Kang will have japchae rice. I’ll have yusanseul rice [a dish with seafood and vegetables in a thick sauce]. What about the Attorney?”

“I’ll have the NIS.”

“Yes?”

Tae-shik and Kang turned to me, wondering if I was talking nonsense.

“I’m talking about the NIS [National Intelligence Service]. Your friend.”

“My friend the NIS? …The NIS? Huh? How does the Attorney know him?”

Tae-shik looked at me in surprise.

“Did the Attorney put someone on me? How do you know that I had soju [Korean distilled beverage] with the NIS at a gopchang [grilled intestines] restaurant a week ago?”

I was introduced to ‘NIS’ by Tae-shik in my previous life as well.

Of course, in my previous life, it was much later that I met the NIS, just like Tae-shik.

If I remember correctly, he said he had known him since Tae-shik opened the detective agency, so it seemed like there would be enough exchange by now.

I didn’t know he had met him last week though.

“I’ll eat yusanseul rice next time; I need to meet the NIS.”

“Why does the Attorney need the NIS? He’s a guy who has nothing else to make a living with. If you’re going to put him somewhere, even if you’re the Attorney, I can’t do that as a friend…”

“You keep forgetting, I’m not a prosecutor, I’m a lawyer.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

I threw the car keys that Kang had put on the table to him.

“Let’s go see the NIS. Take me there.”