You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 84

The mention of Jung Young-joon’s name had an immediate calming effect on Im Hyung-oh.

Considering he usually threw tantrums when debt collectors came around, it seemed he hadn’t borrowed any money from Jung Young-joon.

If that was the case, what could this be about?

“A lawyer asking about that bastard, Jung Young-joon? What do you want to know?” Im Hyung-oh asked, dusting off his shoulders.

He swept aside the scattered empty soju [Korean distilled rice liquor] bottles on the floor and sat up straight.

Kang Min-jae looked around, picked up a newspaper, spread it on the floor, and sat down.

He offered me a newspaper as well, but I waved it off and focused on Im Hyung-oh.

“It seems you harbor some deep resentment towards Jung Young-joon. I’m here to understand the story behind it.”

“Resentment towards Jung Young-joon? Why would I?”

When I didn’t answer immediately, Im Hyung-oh nodded as if he understood.

“Ah, are you a lawyer from Yangjin Group? I vaguely heard that his wife is filing for divorce. Sounds like you’re digging up dirt on Jung Young-joon?”

He became cooperative, even switching to polite language.

It seemed he was misunderstanding the situation, but there was no need to correct him.

If he held deep resentment, who knew how he might react if he knew we were defending Jung Young-joon.

I chose silence as my answer.

In fact, the quickest way would be to bluntly ask Im Hyung-oh, ‘Did you film and distribute Jung Young-joon’s video?’ and use my ability [referring to a supernatural ability the protagonist possesses].

However, with Kang Min-jae watching, I would surely be questioned about how I knew, unless the reason for my judgment was justifiable.

I briefly wondered if I should have left Kang Min-jae behind, but even then, he would have annoyingly pressed me about why I thought that way.

Since we weren’t short on time, I decided to listen to the whole story.

Regardless of whether he distributed the video, his account might be helpful for the case.

“As you may know, I was in business with Jung Young-joon until seven years ago.”

“You mean the Western-style restaurant you ran in front of Korea University.”

“That’s right. But then Jung Young-joon said he was marrying into a wealthy family and would have to close the business. I had mortgaged my mother’s house to get a loan of 60 million won [approximately $45,000 USD], treating it like an advance inheritance, so I was desperate. I was really bummed out.”

“But I heard there weren’t any major conflicts when Jung Young-joon left.”

“That’s right. There weren’t any big problems with switching to a loan either. My credit wasn’t as bad as it is now.”

“Then how did the conflict arise?”

Im Hyung-oh smiled bitterly and pulled a crumpled cigarette from a crushed pack.

After taking a long drag, he exhaled a sigh with the smoke.

“He said he didn’t know that bastard would turn out like this, and he was sorry. He told me to contact him anytime if any problems arose because of his departure or if I needed help. He said he was marrying into a rich family, so how could he not help his brother-like friend?”

Im Hyung-oh repeated Jung Young-joon’s words, chuckling in disbelief.

I hadn’t heard anything like that from Jung Young-joon, but Im Hyung-oh’s words seemed genuine.

“Well, about two years later, the lease was about to expire. But the landlord had changed in the meantime, and suddenly, they were asking for an absurdly high rent increase.”

A sudden rent increase is the biggest problem for small business owners.

Even in my previous life, the rent problem became increasingly prominent over time.

There were even cases where once-thriving streets collapsed in an instant due to rent issues.

“That was around the time Jung Young-joon joined Yangjin F&B. I found out the landlord was a director at Yangjin F&B. I’m not part of that family, but I had a connection with Jung Young-joon, right? So I tried to ask Jung Young-joon for a favor. I wasn’t planning on asking for a big favor. I was just going to ask him to lower the rent a little.”

“And then?”

“No reply. I tried calling him, but the number didn’t exist. That’s when I felt betrayed. I thought all the things he said to me when we broke up the business were sincere, and honestly, I lived thinking I had someone to rely on. But damn, it turned out I didn’t have anyone to rely on.”

Kang Min-jae nodded with a sympathetic expression, as if he understood Im Hyung-oh’s feelings.

Jung Young-joon also said that he hadn’t contacted Im Hyung-oh after getting married.

I thought it was due to unavoidable circumstances, but listening to Im Hyung-oh, it seemed like Jung Young-joon had deliberately ignored him.

However, it was difficult to completely trust the word ‘Truth’ that constantly floated above his head [referring to the protagonist’s ability to see a word above people’s heads indicating their truthfulness].

Since the truth Im Hyung-oh firmly believed was that, even if Jung Young-joon hadn’t intentionally ignored him, the result would still be output as [Truth].

“I was running the business without a loan, but suddenly I had a 60 million won loan, so I had to pay interest every month. I had to pay back the principal as well. And since it was a business in front of a university, I couldn’t charge high prices, and I had to keep selling cheaply because that was the goal from the start, right? The ingredient costs kept rising, so I raised the prices by 500 won [approximately $0.38 USD] or 1,000 won [approximately $0.75 USD] once or twice, and the customers stopped coming. What could I do when the rent went up in that situation? I just had to close the business.”

“Is that why you hold a grudge against Jung Young-joon?”

“I felt betrayed and terribly disappointed, but if I held a grudge just because of that, I’d be a narrow-minded guy. Damn, I really thought of Jung Young-joon as a true brother. Even towards that bastard who ignored me after marrying into a rich family, I still had good feelings.”

He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and rubbed his forehead.

“I thought he must be busy adapting to a completely different world, and he must have changed his contact information because there were so many people asking for favors. So he probably forgot to give me his new contact information. That’s what I thought.”

“How have you been since then?” Kang Min-jae carefully asked Im Hyung-oh, who had a somber expression.

Im Hyung-oh glanced up at Kang Min-jae and let out a hollow laugh.

“How have I been? I’ve been living in hell. I sold the store to pay off the debt, and I was wondering what to do with the remaining 50 million won [approximately $37,500 USD] or so. Suddenly, my mother was bedridden, and damn, it was a terrible disease that wasn’t covered by insurance.”

“Oh, dear…” Kang Min-jae, who had been listening intently to the story, let out a short sigh.

He seemed to have momentarily forgotten that the man sitting in front of him might be the culprit our client was looking for.

“I had already used up all my money to start the business, so I couldn’t get a secured loan. But if I sold the house, I’d be out on the street right away. So I used all my 50 million won for my mother’s hospital bills. Ha, really… It was a stupid thing to do if you think about it. She was going to die soon anyway, so I shouldn’t have taken out loans for surgery and life-sustaining treatment…”

“What kind of debt are you talking about?” When I asked, Im Hyung-oh readily answered.

“Credit loans, card loans, cash advances, I took out everything I could. When that didn’t work, I started borrowing from people around me. In the meantime, I had to pay damages because my brother beat someone up and I couldn’t send him to jail. My brother is a scoundrel. Damn, it was hell, living. I was just breathing! But money kept disappearing!”

“You must have gone through a lot.”

“More than just a lot. Ha, let’s not talk about it anymore. It just hurts to talk about it.”

“Then, what made you resent Jung Young-joon?”

“Hehe, that’s… After I tried to get some help with the rent and was completely ignored, my pride was hurt, so I didn’t contact him. As I took out credit loans and card loans, the amount I had to pay back snowballed, and I didn’t have any money. I quickly became a credit delinquent. My mother was barely alive, and my brother wanted 5 or 6 million won [approximately $3,750 – $4,500 USD] in settlement money for the guy he beat up. Damn, there was no way out. So I went to see Jung Young-joon. At the Yangjin F&B headquarters. I went there directly because I couldn’t contact him.”

“And what happened?”

“They wouldn’t let me in on the first floor, so I told the lobby staff to let me see Jung Young-joon. I said I came on urgent business. I told them to say Im Hyung-oh, he’ll know who I am. I told them it was too urgent, so please let me see him even for a moment, even for a minute.”

Im Hyung-oh frowned deeply as he said those words.

He seemed to be dredging up a very painful memory.

“And do you know what the answer was?”

“…”

“The answer that came back from the managing director’s office was that they didn’t know me, and I should leave.”

Im Hyung-oh had never lied, but neither had Jung Young-joon.

But with an incident like this, there’s no way Jung Young-joon wouldn’t remember.

I frowned.

I’d have to ask Jung Young-joon directly to know what happened, but I knew that the amount of misery Im Hyung-oh felt was by no means small.

“But if Jung Young-joon didn’t help me, there was no other way but loan sharks. I went there a few more times, but they kept saying Jung Young-joon wasn’t there. What do you mean he wasn’t there? They just meant to tell me to get lost. In the end, that’s when I gave up and turned to loan sharks. If I had abandoned my mother and brother earlier, damn, this wouldn’t have happened… Sniff.”

Im Hyung-oh finally shed tears.

In fact, Im Hyung-oh didn’t try to get the money he had entrusted to Jung Young-joon.

He wanted him to do him a favor, but he was rejected.

He may have felt a great sense of betrayal from Jung Young-joon, but it would be a problem if he thought it ruined his life.

But this is just my opinion as a third party, and Im Hyung-oh may have felt differently.

“So… did you want to take revenge on Jung Young-joon?”

“Revenge? Yes. Revenge. I wanted to. That bastard who treated his old connections like trash and despised them just because he became the son-in-law of a chaebol [large family-owned conglomerate], I thought I should make him suffer the same way later on.”

Im Hyung-oh wanted Jung Young-joon to be despised as much as he had been.

So, did he film that video?

From the moment that video was released to the world, Jung Young-joon became the laughingstock of the century.

People despised him.

Perhaps the result was what Im Hyung-oh wanted, or even more.

“So, did you drug Jung Young-joon and forcibly film a sex video?”