You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 83

“Lawyer, are you there?”

Three days after entrusting the task to Tae-shik, he came to the office again without notice.

“Mr. Tae-shik!”

Kang Min-jae, who was preparing to leave work, greeted him happily.

Seeing him welcome the person who disturbed his punctual departure so much, it seemed Kang was also showing signs of workaholism.

“I was just about to leave; you would have found an empty office if you were a little later.”

Kang smiled and sat down on the sofa opposite Tae-shik, who plopped down heavily.

*Since my business is with the National Intelligence Service, he probably brought the investigation results about Im Hyung-oh.*

He follows me with his eyes as I approach, smiling as if he wants to be praised.

“Did you find Im Hyung-oh?”

“Of course. But his condition is a bit so-so.”

Tae-shik said, placing the envelope on the table.

Kang Min-jae quickly emptied the contents of the envelope.

Inside were documents with Im Hyung-oh’s personal information and several photos.

*I already know enough about his personal information, but I couldn’t just skip over the photos.*

As Tae-shik said, his condition was bad, and his appearance in the photos was completely different from the photos I had seen before.

“He’s addicted to gambling. A fixture at Kangwon Land [a large casino resort in South Korea].”

“Hmm, that’s very different from what Jung Young-joon said.”

After realizing that we suspected Im Hyung-oh, Jung Young-joon would occasionally call and insist that Im Hyung-oh was not that kind of person.

Perhaps he was like the last line of trustworthy people around him.

There was even desperation in Jung Young-joon’s voice as he argued for his innocence.

“A diligent, ungreedy, good-natured person who doesn’t expect luck is holed up in Kangwon Land. The gap is too big.”

I recalled the character of Im Hyung-oh that Jung Young-joon had described.

According to Tae-shik’s investigation, it was completely the opposite.

Even if we put aside being diligent and good-natured, how could someone who is ungreedy and doesn’t expect luck be addicted to gambling?

Isn’t it a bit ridiculous?

“What’s his current location?”

“A motel near Kangwon Land. He pawned his watch at a pawnshop this afternoon. The pawnshop owner says he’s a regular customer. He said that he bought a down jacket for 200,000 won [approximately $150 USD] a while ago, and asked if he could pawn that instead because he had nothing else to pawn.”

In the photo, Im Hyung-oh had sunken eyes and disheveled hair.

His emaciated body, as if he hadn’t eaten in a long time, was reminiscent of a skeleton.

“He’s been living in the motel on a monthly rent, but it seems like he can’t even pay that anymore. The motel owner says if anyone knows him, they should pay his rent and take him away. Seriously.”

Tae-shik shook his head.

“Since when has he been stuck in Kangwon Land like this?”

“When I asked around, the longest anyone has seen him is a year. I don’t know the details. And Viva Pasta? The restaurant they ran together closed about two years after Jung Young-joon left.”

“Viva Pasta.”

“Papa or Pasta.”

Jung Young-joon said that Im Hyung-oh continued the business after he left, taking out loans.

Since it was a business they invested in equally, perhaps it became too difficult to maintain when half of it suddenly turned into a loan, and he closed the business.

Korea University is in an area with a highly developed commercial district, and the rent would be high, so it wasn’t impossible.

Then, would he have a reason to resent Jung Young-joon?

He might resent Jung Young-joon for suddenly becoming the son-in-law of a conglomerate and no longer being able to partner with him, but it didn’t seem like enough resentment to produce and distribute a sex video.

Above all, Jung Young-joon closed the business two years after he got married, and the video was distributed seven years after he got married.

Five years is enough time for another incident to occur.

Maybe not.

“Oh, I forgot to mention the most important thing. Im Hyung-oh is constantly badmouthing Jung Young-joon.”

“Badmouthing Jung Young-joon?”

“Yes. He badmouths Jung Young-joon so much that the pawnshop owner and the Kangwon Land dealer know about it. But no one seems to have listened carefully. When I asked what he was saying, they only said it had something to do with money.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Oh, and of course, he also took out some private loans. The principal is 50 million won [approximately $37,500 USD], and now it’s about 100 million won [approximately $75,000 USD].”

Jung Young-joon said that there were no incidents between them, and although I couldn’t use my ability because the conversation was over the phone, it didn’t seem like a lie.

If there had been an incident, Jung Young-joon wouldn’t have hidden it, and he was too generous in his assessment for someone who was hiding something.

Even so, he might be hiding it for some reason, or there might be a story of Im Hyung-oh that Jung Young-joon doesn’t know.

Even so, it wouldn’t have been easy for him, living in poverty and taking out private loans, to mobilize such a large number of people to film the video.

“Either way, I have to meet him.”

“The motel address is in the documents there.”

“Kang.”

“Yes?”

“Cancel your 퇴근 [quitting time/leaving work]. Let’s go to Gangwon-do.”

* * *

“When you say Gangwon-do, I immediately think of buckwheat noodles and 감자전 [potato pancake, a local specialty]. How about some buckwheat noodles before we go down?”

“Sure.”

I parked the car in the motel parking lot that Tae-shik had told me about and got out.

When I went inside, the old man sitting at the counter was engrossed in watching television.

He didn’t even seem to notice us coming in.

Tae-shik’s words that he would ask Im Hyung-oh, who he knew, to pay the overdue rent came to mind, so I didn’t bother to talk to him and went up the stairs.

Perhaps Im Hyung-oh is in the casino right now, or maybe he is wandering the streets of Sabuk at night.

Still, I knocked on the door first.

“There’s no response. I kept calling him while coming here, but he didn’t answer.”

Im Hyung-oh’s phone was turned off.

However, it is difficult to think that he is absent.

Hadn’t Tae-shik’s employees seen him in Sabuk until this afternoon?

Above all, he had plenty of reason not to answer the phone.

He must be under considerable pressure from debt collectors right now.

Seeing that Im Hyung-oh even tried to pawn his down jacket, it seems like he is trying to raise money by squeezing a dry rag.

In that case, he would have reached out to daily lenders or acquaintances.

He would be getting dozens of calls a day, so it would be better to turn it off.

“Hmm, no response. I don’t hear any other sounds either.”

I put my ear to the door and waited, but there was no sign of anyone.

He might have already gone to the casino.

“Should I go ask the old man at the counter if he saw him leave?”

I don’t know if the old man who is engrossed in television would know, but he might be watching him since he is a person of interest with overdue rent.

“Go ask.”

About ten minutes after Kang Min-jae went down to the first floor.

Kang Min-jae and the old man appeared from the bottom of the stairs with panting sounds.

In fact, the old man looked like he was in very good condition.

When I glanced at him earlier, he had a lukewarm face, but did something good happen in the meantime?

“Lawyer, the old man says he’ll open the door for us!”

Kang Min-jae said, standing next to me.

The old man rummaged through the bunch of keys for a long time.

Then, he put the key he finally found into the hole and said.

“Of course, I’ll open it for you since you paid all the overdue rent! I’d even bring you the stars in the sky.”

“Ah, grandpa. I told you to keep it a secret……”

Oh dear.

It seems to be the price Kang Min-jae paid for relieving the old man’s biggest worry.

I knew he was the type to spend money easily, but it was a somewhat rash action.

“Kang. I never told you to use that method?”

“Well, the old man thought I was a debt collector and said he couldn’t tell me until he received the rent first. I couldn’t help it……”

“Ah, of course, I’d think you’re a debt collector! Do you know how many people have asked me to open that room so far? They were all debt collectors. What if that guy has a little money he won at the casino and pays off the debt collector? I have to pay the overdue rent first!”

The old man agreed with Kang Min-jae and threw the door open.

“Hey, you son of a bitch! Are you hiding in the closet again?”

The old man strode into the dark room, turned on the light, and opened the closet as if he was going to break it.

Then, Im Hyung-oh, who was skinny, fell to the floor along with the piled-up blankets.

The musty smell of blankets that hadn’t been washed for months was a bonus.

“Now that you’ve found him, it was worth spending the money, right?”

Kang Min-jae pointed to Im Hyung-oh and smiled awkwardly.

“Get a receipt for the motel fee.”

“I’ll just pay for it with my own money. I didn’t get your permission, lawyer.”

“Get a receipt.”

I emphasized once again and approached Im Hyung-oh.

Even though he received all the overdue rent, the old man was still cursing at him, as if his resentment towards Im Hyung-oh had not disappeared.

I sent the old man out first.

And,

“Damn it, I don’t have any money, you bastards!”

I grabbed the back of Im Hyung-oh’s neck, who was trying to run away quickly, taking advantage of the gap.

I almost missed him.

“I came because I wanted to ask you something.”

“What? Did you come to ask about my bank balance? I don’t have any! I don’t have a penny! But who are you guys, I’ve never seen you before? Do you think I wouldn’t know if you sent new faces? Who do you think I am, a fool?”

He was so skinny that I could easily subdue him without Kang Min-jae’s help.

“I didn’t come to collect debts; I came to ask you something. I’m a lawyer.”

“Lawyer? Ah, did CEO Baek finally sue me? Oh, what should I do? I already filed for bankruptcy? You can’t get me, you bastards.”

“Mr. Im Hyung-oh.”

“What!”

“We came to ask you about Mr. Jung Young-joon. We’re not interested in Mr. Im Hyung-oh’s debts.”

Im Hyung-oh, who was sticking out his tongue and repeating ‘You can’t get me,’ closed his mouth for a moment at the mention of Jung Young-joon.

“Wh, who?”

“Mr. Jung Young-joon. I’m talking about Yangjin Group’s Jung Young-joon.”