You Have Been Defended

Every moment of our conversation, he had been on the side of Wooshin. Or perhaps, from the very beginning, since he decided to mentor me, he had been aligned with power. Could there have been a longstanding connection between Wooshin and Hwang Youngchan? If not, did he suddenly shift his stance, blinded by the lure of becoming Prosecutor General?

At this point, the reason didn’t matter. What mattered was that I had blindly followed him for 15 years, and Hwang Youngchan had betrayed me.

 

“Ah.”

 

Hwang Youngchan’s single utterance stopped me as I was about to leave the office. 

 

“That ‘someone’ still likes Cha Juhan. They want to continue walking the same path together. If you change your mind, even now, you and that ‘someone’ can rebuild the friendship you once had.” I barely suppressed a scoff. “Cha Juhan thinks that ‘someone’ is spouting nonsense and should consider visiting a psychiatrist. I wonder what that ‘someone’ would think about that.” Without looking back, I left the office.

  

It was quite a gripping story. The media that once loudly called for special investigations were now mocking a prosecutor for bringing personal emotions into court. Broadcast stations were no use either. Although I succeeded in scheduling interviews with reporters, the meetings never materialized. “Sorry, Prosecutor. Higher-ups shut it down.”

“Prosecutor, please don’t try to use the media for personal purposes.”

 

I received variations of the same response dozens of times. The only outlet willing to meet me was a women’s magazine that covered celebrity gossip.

 

“Ha…”

 

A forced vacation and a modest severance pay. My private life was completely exposed. Even my father’s name and my ex-wife’s address.

Yesterday, my ex-wife called me. She said she couldn’t step outside because of me. I had no excuses. I had spent years uncovering Wooshin’s corruption, neglecting even my own family. All I could say was, “I’m sorry.”

 Bzzzz

“Yes, this is Cha Juhan.”

“Ah, yes, Deputy Chief. This is Secretary Lee from Representative Lee Jungoh’s office of the Korean Freedom Party. Just confirming your attendance at tomorrow’s hearing. And we’ve received the materials you sent us.”

“I’ll be there. I’m reviewing the materials again now.”

“Understood. Thank you for your hard work.”

 

The only silver lining was that the opposition party preparing the confirmation hearing had reached out to me. The moment I was dismissed, I began reviewing my 15 years with Hwang Youngchan, gathering clues here and there. Eventually, I managed to compile enough evidence to testify at the hearing.

Tomorrow was the day of the hearing. It was my chance to take down Hwang Youngchan and expose his connection with Wooshin Group.

 Bzzzz

[In front of your officetel. Let’s grab a drink.]

 

The sender was Secretary Oh Yanghoon. Since I became a prosecutor, Oh Yanghoon had been my closest colleague. Except for a brief provincial assignment, we had spent most of my career together. After my father’s death, he had even become like family to me. Still, tomorrow was the hearing. It was best to avoid alcohol. I decided to simply join him and talk while he drank.

It’s raining heavily.

As I stepped outside the officetel, torrential rain pounded relentlessly. Since it was just out front, I decided to run for it.

 

“Deputy Chief Cha Juhan?” Before I could leave the building, I was surrounded by men in black suits. I immediately realized they were Wooshin’s men but had no chance to question them.

“Mmmpf!”

“Please, come with us for a moment.”

 

A handkerchief covered my mouth and nose, and I lost consciousness in an instant.

 

Clattering, clattering—

I felt like throwing up. It was partly because of the drugs, but it also felt like motion sickness.

 

“Feeling a bit better now?” I couldn’t move. My hands and feet were completely bound.

 

Even if I wasn’t restrained, I wouldn’t have been able to move. Because I was trapped inside a drum.

 

“Are you from Wooshin?”

“What’s the point of knowing when you’re on your way out anyway?”

One man chuckled, and another joined in laughter. “No matter what kind of fuss you make here, no one will hear a thing.”

 

An endless black sea stretched out around me, without a trace of light. I was on a small, rattling fishing boat that was irritatingly loud. The only light visible was a distant, faint lighthouse from an island far away.

 

“You stayed holed up at home and didn’t come out, but as soon as you got a message under your secretary’s name, you came crawling out right away. What a simple trick.”

 

So the message wasn’t really from Secretary Oh Yanghoon? I hadn’t suspected a thing because I frequently met him in that spot.

Was I in such deep despair that my thoughts were paralyzed? I had been foolish.

 

“See? This is what happens when you overstep your boundaries.”

 

They approached, carrying well-mixed cement. The grayish-white substance began to fill the space between me and the drum, sealing me in tightly.

 

“Do you even know what happens if you kill a prosecutor?” That was all I could manage to say. My words made them laugh again. They were men moved by money, and the logical approach would have been to bribe them. But damn it, I wasn’t in a position to promise them money. I’d kept my financial dealings clean while working as Ushin’s sniper to avoid leaving any trails. Ironically, despite all my caution, they still found another way to trap me.

“Smoke one before you’re completely covered.”

 

One of them shoved the cigarette he was holding into my mouth. The damp filter was disgusting, but I took a long drag. I smoked it until the tiny stub burned down to the filter. It was a desperate attempt to buy time.

 

“Prosecutor, in your next life, learn to know your place.”

 

But it was all meaningless. Cement poured over my head.

 

“Ugh—!”

 

I couldn’t breathe. Cement seeped into every pore and cavity of my body. I felt them rolling the drum across the boat, ready to toss it overboard. Perhaps it was for the better.

 

It seemed I would die before the drum hit the sea. I instinctively knew I had only one breath left. And in that moment, countless memories flashed through my mind. When I got accepted into Seoul National University’s law school. When I passed the bar exam. When I became a prosecutor. When my father passed away from side effects of Antrazole. When I decided to become Wooshin’s sniper. When I joined hands with countless victims of Wooshin and vowed to fight. When I worked alongside my comrades to establish a special investigation team against Wooshin. When the arrest warrant for Wooshin’s chairman was approved, and I jumped for joy. The first time I faced Wooshin’s chairman.

Wooshin…

 

They said I should know my p

lace in my next life. No, in my next life, I would still live as Wooshin’s sniper. No matter how many times I’m reborn, I won’t stop until I’ve thrown every member of the Wooshin family behind bars. I will never stop until the name Wooshin disappears from the world.

 

Crash—splash!

“Prosecutor.”

“…”

“Prosecutor, wake up. Aren’t you hungry?”

“Gasp!” I woke up with a convulsive start.

Instinctively, I scanned my surroundings. “W-where am I?”

 

A mountain of piled documents. A sofa so worn out its leather was torn. A flip phone in my hand. A tube TV broadcasting the news. Lee Yejin, the prosecutor next door, often dropping by to chat. On my cluttered desk sat a nameplate: [Prosecutor Cha Juhan]. And in front of me, grinning as if it was absurd, a much younger-looking Secretary Oh Yanghoon.

 

“Where do you think? You’re in your office. You must have had a pretty elaborate dream. You still seem out of it. What do you want for lunch? I’m about to order.”

 

A massive prosecution calendar hanging on the wall of t

he office. <March 7, 2008>

“What do you want to eat?” 

“W-where are you ordering from?”

“Where else? From the Korean meal place.”

“…Order me the mackerel set meal.”

“Got it. Go wash up in the meantime.”

 

My fingertips and toes felt icy. No matter how many times I thought about it, there was only one conclusion. If this wasn’t a dream, then I had returned to 10 years ago. My parents were still alive, and I hadn’t lost anything yet.

If things have come to this…

 

I had fought to bring down Wooshin, covered in blood. Comrades who fought alongside me began disappearing one by one, only to be found as corpses. Seven years of living in such agony. So maybe, just this once, I could live like everyone else.

  

The news on TV snapped me out of my thoughts. Angel’s Home. It’s where Go Sangjun’s secret accounts were hidden. He used the names of the children at Angel’s Home to open accounts and manage stocks.

The problem was that after it was revealed the children had been used this way, they met with tragic accidents. Yes, it was Wooshin’s doing.

 

“That bastard…”

 

On the screen, Go Sangjun was playing in the water with the children, splashing and laughing.

 

“What did you say?”

 

Secretary Oh, or rather, Clerk O

h, who was pushing a cart full of documents, looked at me in surprise.

 

“It’s nothing.”

 

It seemed I couldn’t dream of a peaceful life after all. If I had died in that drum, I would have haunted Go Sangjun for eternity.

Returning to 10 years ago. This was another chance given to me.