You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 92

An hour later, Kang Min-jae returned to the office.

“Did you see Jung Young-joon home safely?”

“Yes. His parents live not far away. I figured his family must be very worried, so I went inside to say hello and make sure Jung Young-joon didn’t wander off somewhere else.”

“Good job.”

Kang Min-jae chuckled and took off his coat.

He pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and pointed to the veranda.

I nodded and went out to the veranda with him.

Kang Min-jae lit a cigarette, leaned against the fence, and sighed deeply.

“Now that he’s back with his family, he won’t try to kill himself, right?”

Kang Min-jae looked quite depressed.

It’s not every day that someone witnesses a suicide attempt.

Fortunately, he didn’t see Jung Young-joon struggling with a hose around his neck, but it must have been quite shocking nonetheless.

“I’m really worried. I’m afraid something might really happen.”

“Still, he revealed who the cameraman was today, and we clearly told him there’s a way to find out, so Jung Young-joon won’t be completely hopeless. He’ll have hope.”

“I guess so?”

To be honest, even I’m not that relieved.

“I should tell Tae-shik to keep an eye on Jung Young-joon.”

“Ah, you’re right. Like with Na Eun-sung before. When Tae-kwang suddenly approached Na Eun-sung and did what they did…”

Listening to Kang Min-jae, I was reminded that we were facing Tae-kwang as an enemy again, quite coincidentally.

I wonder how CEO Yoon Won-hyung is doing.

Knowing his personality, he must have been plotting against me ever since I rejected his offer last year.

“Since he’s with his family, I don’t think he’ll do anything rash. Before going into the house, he carefully checked if there were any hose marks on his neck and even put a handkerchief under his shirt collar to hide them.”

Seeing that he lived separately because he didn’t want to show his family a terrible sight, it was clear.

I threw the cigarette, burned to the filter, into the ashtray and went back into the office.

As I sat down at my desk and grabbed the mouse, Kang Min-jae glanced at my laptop as he passed by.

“Were you watching the video again?”

“The NIS [National Intelligence Service]… well, it’s not really a home. Anyway, I was wondering if there was anything I missed there.”

“I see. I should watch it too. Ah, why don’t we watch it on the big TV screen? Wouldn’t that be easier to see?”

Kang Min-jae, who was heading to his seat, turned towards the sofa and said.

I glanced up at him.

“Like the NIS said, it feels weird for two guys to sit side by side and watch something like that.”

“…Geez. When you say it like that, it sounds like I’m asking you to watch porn together. I’m not a high schooler.”

Kang Min-jae huffed and turned back to his seat.

“Kang, Attorney.”

“What?”

“I couldn’t say it in front of Jung Young-joon earlier, but when you and Jung Young-joon went to the headquarters, you said there were a lot of reporters there.”

Kang Min-jae nodded casually.

“Yeah?”

“Isn’t that strange?”

“Well, reporters are relentless and follow you no matter how you hide, so I didn’t think it was that strange. But… since you say it’s strange, it is strange.”

He crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

He seemed to be recalling the situation at the headquarters earlier.

“If there were so many reporters, shouldn’t the security team have contacted us? Told us there were reporters here and to go somewhere else, or not to come at all.”

“That’s right.”

“But there was no such contact at all. Go Jin-ah told Jung Young-joon not to get caught so she wouldn’t be bothered, but wouldn’t someone like that have given such instructions to the security team? If she thought Jung Young-joon being exposed to the media would bother her, she should have kept checking whether there were reporters on the route Jung Young-joon was supposed to take.”

As I nodded, Kang Min-jae’s eyes widened as if he had thought of something.

“…You’re thinking Go Jin-ah did that on purpose to expose Jung Young-joon to the media?”

“Just a thought.”

“Then why? It’s a minus for her, why would she do that?”

Kang Min-jae shook his head in disbelief.

But it wasn’t something that unbelievable.

“What’s the downside for Go Jin-ah if Jung Young-joon is exposed to the media?”

“…Um, damage to the company’s image? Anyway, some time has passed since the incident, so the attention has faded a bit, but it’s getting noisy again.”

“We’ve already confirmed that Jung Young-joon’s image damage doesn’t lead to image damage for the Yangjin Group.”

“That’s right. Then, what benefit does Go Jin-ah get from Jung Young-joon being exposed to the media?”

“Jung Young-joon breaking down mentally.”

Kang Min-jae didn’t say anything for a while after hearing my words.

But his expression showed what he was thinking.

He must think Go Jin-ah is very cruel.

“After Jung Young-joon’s video was released, Go Jin-ah knew, at least for a few days, how mentally broken Jung Young-joon was. Go Jin-ah lived with Jung Young-joon, who was already worn down by his in-laws, for seven years. She probably had a rough idea of how Jung Young-joon would react if he broke down.”

“…You’re saying that if Jung Young-joon breaks down like that, he might be too exhausted and eventually accept the divorce, so she might have done that?”

“It’s just a guess. But there’s no real reason why there would be so many reporters on the route Jung Young-joon was supposed to take. Even if Go Jin-ah leaked it to the reporters on purpose, or if the security team made a mistake. Or even if Chairman Go Sang-kyung’s side received a report from the security team and deliberately placed reporters there. If Go Jin-ah really didn’t want Jung Young-joon to be exposed to the media, she should have kept checking, as you said.”

Kang Min-jae frowned, pushing his hair back with his hand.

“Earlier, at Jung Young-joon’s officetel [a Korean term for a multi-purpose building with residential and commercial units]. You said Go Jin-ah might know that all of this was her parents’ doing.”

“I did.”

“That might be the case. Seeing how far they’re going…”

“Go Jin-ah might have thought that a negotiated divorce might not be possible, seeing Jung Young-joon continuing to find evidence during today’s phone call. So she took a strong stance.”

In fact, it might be better to confront Go Jin-ah and use my ability than just making assumptions like this.

Then I could quickly find out if Go Sang-kyung was the one who instigated Jo Hyun-seok.

But the problem was that Jung Young-joon didn’t want Go Jin-ah to know that he had hired a lawyer.

“It’s already this late. You can go home first. I’m going to watch the video a bit more.”

“No, I’ll watch it too.”

After that, silence fell in the office.

He was also staring intently at the video, leaning forward as if he would be sucked into the laptop.

I was watching the video, played at 0.5x speed, for the fourth time already.

In the video, Jo Hyun-seok was waving his arms excitedly, and then a ring was faintly visible on his quickly lowered arm.

‘There was a hand here too.’

Compared to the hand that appeared at the end of the video, it was much shorter.

In fact, the hand was barely visible, and the arm was more visible.

The color might look different because of the lighting, but based on the video alone, it looked like he was wearing a navy blue hoodie.

There was banding on the wrist.

If it’s not a hoodie, then a zip-up hoodie or a sweatshirt.

I don’t know which one it is, but it’s one of those.

I don’t know when or how it will be used, so I’ll write it down for now.

“Huh?”

As I replayed the video, I suddenly noticed something light-colored brushing over Jo Hyun-seok’s arm.

“It’s a hand.”

“Yes?”

Kang Min-jae asked abruptly as I muttered to myself.

“Come here.”

As Kang Min-jae approached, I rewound the scene I had seen for him.

“It is a hand.”

“But, this here is Jo Hyun-seok’s arm.”

“Yes.”

“Then, if Jo Hyun-seok grabbed his own arm with his hand, the fingertips should be facing outwards.”

“Huh? But it’s facing towards Jo Hyun-seok’s body?”

“And if he grabbed his own arm, he wouldn’t be able to hold the camera.”

There was someone next to him.

It’s not one of the women who had sex with Jung Young-joon.

In the video, those women never came close to Jo Hyun-seok.

Then, it means it’s someone who went to film with Jo Hyun-seok.

In other words, an accomplice.

I immediately called the NIS.

-Ah, what is it again? Attorney, stop using me, seriously.

The tired voice of the NIS agent came from the other side of the phone.

“I just sent you a picture by email. Analyze it. And check the color of the clothes the cameraman is wearing.”

-Now? Is it urgent? I’m eating right now?

“It’s urgent.”

-Geez. Wait then.

The NIS agent hung up the phone irritably.

And exactly 15 minutes later, an email arrived from him.

“[(Large Image File)

Final_ReallyFinal_DamnFinal_SendWithThis_NoMatterWhat. jpeg

The attached image is an upgraded version of the screenshot you sent. As I always say, it’s pushed to the limit. (I guarantee that no one in the world can push it further)

I’ll write down everything I found out because I think you’ll keep asking.

The color of the clothes is navy blue, and looking at the silhouette reflected in the balcony window, it looks like there’s a hood.

The hand in the picture you mentioned looks like a woman’s hand based on its size. They’re wearing the same ring as the cameraman. They must be a couple. (A couple doing this together lol) But the letters engraved on the woman’s ring are not visible because of the light reflection.

Ah, and I’ll tell you in advance because I think you’ll ask me to find the woman’s silhouette in the balcony window.

The woman’s silhouette is not visible. It seems to be hidden by the cameraman’s bulk.

ps. If you ask me to increase the image quality or compare anything again, I’ll charge 100,000 won per requestㅡㅡ]”

“…Did he go to film with his girlfriend? Is he going on a trip, this bastard. Wow, what a pervert!”

Kang Min-jae shouted as he read the email.

But my thoughts were different.

“What if Jo Hyun-seok’s girlfriend isn’t a pervert, but someone under the Go Sang-kyung couple, as we originally suspected?”

“…Secretary Kim Eun-ha?”

“I don’t know if it’s Secretary Kim Eun-ha or not, but if we find out who that woman is, we can find out if it’s Chairman Go Sang-kyung’s doing or not. We just need to find out who Jo Hyun-seok’s girlfriend is.”