You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 82

The car Tae-shik was driving navigated the busy downtown streets before turning into a narrow, winding alley.

Despite the proximity to the bustling main street, the alley felt instantly deserted.

The car struggled to maneuver through the tightly packed vehicles lining the alley, eventually stopping in front of a run-down commercial building.

“This is where I had tripe [a Korean dish made from the stomach lining of an animal] with the NIS [National Intelligence Service] agent last week. It’s nothing special, but we go for the cheap eats.”

On the ground floor of the building, a tripe restaurant displayed a dilapidated sign.

Besides the restaurant, there was a hardware store and a small, rather unclean-looking pub.

Kang Byun, after exiting the car, surveyed the surroundings.

“Why would an NIS agent come all the way out here to meet you?”

“You’ll see when you meet him.”

Tae-shik led the way into the building.

A turned-off neon sign reading ‘Singing Bar’ hung from the ceiling of the hallway leading to the basement.

The walls were plastered with karaoke song lists from various companies.

It was March 2009, and judging by the fact that the most recent song list was from February 2008, the place wasn’t being well-maintained.

Or perhaps it was no longer in business.

“Ah, I wonder if that NIS bastard will throw a fit when he finds out I brought someone to his turf. That skinny, anchovy-like guy throws a real tantrum when he gets mad.”

Tae-shik muttered in front of the singing bar entrance.

Instead of replying, I gestured for him to open the door. Tae-shik sighed and kicked the door hard with his foot.

The metal door crashed open with a loud bang.

The noise made Kang Min-jae wince and cover his ears.

Soon, the sound of someone running towards us could be heard, and the door opened a crack.

“We’re closed. Go somewhere else.”

A scruffy-looking, skinny man spoke gruffly.

The NIS agent, looking as though he’d just woken up, didn’t even recognize Tae-shik.

As he tried to close the door again, Tae-shik jammed his foot in the opening.

“Hey, wake up. The sun’s high in the sky, and you’re still sleeping.”

“Huh? Jang Tae-shik?”

Only then did the NIS agent rub the sleep from his eyes and look at us.

When I first met the NIS agent in my previous life, he had long hair, but now it was cut into a shoulder-length bob.

He must be growing it out, but I seriously wanted to tell him that long hair didn’t suit him.

From his perspective, he was probably wondering why I, a stranger, was meddling.

“Who’s that incredibly handsome guy behind you? He doesn’t seem like he’s in your league. Is he a movie star?”

The NIS agent asked Tae-shik, visibly wary.

Tae-shik glanced at me and whispered to the NIS agent.

“Honestly, aren’t I better looking?”

“Shut up. Anyway, what is it?”

“This guy wants to see you. How long are you going to keep us standing outside? Move. We know your territory is terribly shabby, so there’s no need to be embarrassed.”

Tae-shik shoved the door open, and the NIS agent, unable to resist the force, stumbled and fell to the floor.

He scrambled to his feet, hopping around with his skinny frame, glaring at Tae-shik and muttering.

“Just brute strength. You son of a bitch. When is that guy going to die? Sigh, I don’t know who you are, but come on in.”

The NIS agent switched on the lights in the dark interior.

A single orange light bulb illuminated the room enough to make out the objects within.

It didn’t appear to be operating as a singing bar anymore, but the karaoke setup remained.

What seemed to be the counter was piled high with cup noodles, and the commercial refrigerator was stocked with packs of soju [a Korean distilled beverage].

“Anyway, what business does that handsome guy have with me? He looks much younger than me; can I speak informally?”

The NIS agent lit a cigarette with a match and asked me.

“I’m six years older than you, you rude bastard.”

Tae-shik smacked the NIS agent on the head, knocking the cigarette from his mouth to the floor.

The NIS agent seemed more surprised that I was older than him than by Tae-shik’s blow, and his jaw dropped.

I couldn’t help but smile.

Surprisingly, the same conversation was unfolding as when I first met him in my previous life.

“Ahem. Sorry, *hyung-nim* [an honorific term used to address an older brother or male friend]. Can I call you *hyung-nim*?”

“What *hyung-nim*? Call him ‘Attorney’. Just call him ‘Attorney’.”

I didn’t know why Tae-shik, who usually called me a rude bastard, was acting like a drill sergeant, but we couldn’t waste time with meaningless chatter.

“You look about six years younger than me; can I speak informally?”

“Ah, yes. Attorney.”

The NIS agent, now polite, nodded obediently.

“It’s nothing much; I just wanted you to analyze a video. I’d like you to improve the quality a bit.”

“Hmm, improving the quality. That’s quite difficult. I need to see the video properly to know, but anything under 10 minutes starts at a minimum of 1 million won [approximately $750 USD], and anything longer than that is whatever I say it is. No discounts. And the deadline depends on the condition of the video. But you’ll need to give me at least two weeks.”

“Even if you have two weeks, you’ll spend them playing around and then rush it on the last day, right? Shouldn’t one day be enough?”

At my question, the NIS agent stared at me with wide, bulging eyes.

Then he glared at Tae-shik.

“Did you tell him? Do you want to die?”

“No? I, I’m really innocent this time? How does the attorney know that?”

“I guessed.”

The NIS agent sighed deeply and stood up.

Then he glanced back at me and asked.

“Did you bring the video?”

When I held up the USB from my inner pocket, the NIS agent nodded.

“Come this way.”

The NIS agent led us through a hallway lined with rooms and into the one marked ‘The End’.

There were no lights inside, but the monitors on the large karaoke table glowed brightly.

Not only that, but the main units lined up behind the monitors pulsed with blue and red light that was painful to the eyes.

I felt like my eyesight was deteriorating just from being here for a moment.

The scattered snack bags, crumpled soju packs, and the mold growing on the leftover cup noodles were disgusting to look at.

It didn’t seem this bad when I met him in my previous life, but did I have to endure this just because I met him a few years earlier?

“Ugh!”

Kang Min-jae actually gagged as he took in the interior.

“Give me the video.”

The NIS agent, having squeezed his rear into the small space available between the piles of garbage, held out his hand.

When I placed the USB in his hand, he plugged it into the main unit and opened the video.

“Oh, this! It’s Jung Young-joon’s video? Ah, I sent this to you yesterday, you bastard. You kept begging me to get it for you!”

The NIS agent chuckled, and Tae-shik sighed.

He seemed embarrassed that I remembered his excuse about Dae-cheol, but I had never believed his pathetic excuse from the beginning.

“But… What do you want me to analyze here? I thought you were a lawyer, so maybe it was CCTV footage needed for a trial, but maybe you just like porn…?”

Kang Min-jae asked, looking disgusted, and the NIS agent rubbed his prickly stubble.

“Hmm. Jung Young-joon is denying that he knows anything about it, so you’re defending him?”

“Yes, well… That’s how it is.”

“What specifically do you want to check? I need to know so I can focus on improving the quality of that part.”

“Well, I want to identify the man who filmed the video. And where the video was filmed.”

“Just improve the quality of all 24 minutes and give it to me.”

At my words, the NIS agent turned to me as if I had said something completely absurd.

“Excuse me? Attorney. You don’t seem to know, but in this industry, there’s a law of immutable originals. No matter how good my skills are, if the video quality itself is low, there’s a limit to what I can restore.”

“Hey. NIS agent. You seem to be pretending you can’t do it and trying to negotiate.”

“…Yes?”

“You can do it, right? Of course, the deadline I said earlier, one day, won’t be enough. But if you exclude sleeping and eating, you can do it within a week, right? You have that much skill, don’t you?”

“Yes? No, no….”

The NIS agent looked genuinely flustered.

He kept repeating ‘No, no’ and looked at me.

Then, he shifted the blame to Tae-shik, who was standing next to him.

“Damn it! What the hell is this guy! Jang Tae-shik, you told him everything, didn’t you? Huh? I thought you were hooking me up with a customer after a long time, but you’re screwing me over like this?”

“No, you crazy bastard! I’ve never told that guy anything about you! But suddenly today he asked me to meet you, so I brought him!”

“But how does he know everything? Is he cheating?”

The NIS agent bit his dirty fingernails, looking confused.

“Don’t worry. I’m planning to pay you well. If the result is good.”

“…Really?”

“Representative Jang. Have I ever been late with a payment or not done it properly?”

When I asked Tae-shik, Tae-shik shook his head.

“Hmm, seeing that cheapskate acting like that, it seems trustworthy. First, give me the 1 million won down payment.”

He still couldn’t trust people and wanted a down payment first.

In my previous life, he said it was because he had been burned before, but it seemed he’d already been burned now.

I had anticipated this, so I stopped by the bank in advance to prepare.

I took out a 1 million won check from my wallet.

I roughly pushed the snack bags on the table aside, cleared a space, and signed the check.

“I’ll give you exactly one week. I’ll pay the rest as soon as I receive the video, but if you’re late, I’ll deduct 200,000 won [approximately $150 USD] per day, so make sure you meet the deadline.”

“Excuse me? Where does that come from? No, this guy is funny. I was going to cut you some slack because you’re handsome. Who said anything about deducting 200,000 won at will?”

“Just don’t be late.”

“No, that’s true, but… If there’s such a condition attached from the beginning, how can I even work? I can’t work with such a condition, I can’t.”

“Really? Then should I report you to the district office now and have you shut down your business? What district is this again? Was it Yeongdeungpo-gu?”

“I’m sorry. I’ll contact you in a week.”

He said, sliding the check towards himself.

I nodded.

Now the business was concluded.

I’d already wasted a lot of time, so I needed to get back to the office.

“Take care, Attorney.”

The submissive NIS agent followed us not only to the singing bar door but also to the building entrance to see us off.

As Tae-shik’s car pulled away, I checked my phone.

There was a new text message notification from Jung Young-joon.

[Attorney, this is Jung Young-joon. Attorney Kang seems to suspect Hyung-oh *hyung* [an honorific term used to address an older brother or male friend]… I’m very anxious… I want to believe it’s not true… But I hope it gets resolved somehow. It will be resolved, right?]

It was a very anxious message.

Jung Young-joon probably hadn’t sent this message to me right away.

He must have hesitated several times, carefully choosing his words before sending it.

‘Whether it’s the video or Im Hyung-oh, something has to come out.’