A Father's Silent Struggle
During his military days, Yoo Kang-soo had known... lawyers who were former military justice officers... who had stepped forward to help him... But in reality, there were no sharp solutions available.
It was because a foreign national, not Korean, had died instantly at the scene from Yoo Kang-soo's killing strike.
Born without knowing the face of the father who had sired him... He was a child of fortune in this world.
Others received sebaetdon every holiday from relatives... and gifts of new clothes... But Yoo Kang-soo... had none of that.
In this world, there were only his mother who worked in the market and himself. In his very early childhood, he hadn't known what poverty was... Or what pocket money was.
But when he was in the upper grades of elementary school, he realized that the kids from other houses were very different from him. But... he always had good grades and was good at sports.
The sight of the older brothers in the neighborhood wearing dobok and practicing hapkido was cool, so it was the first and last time he asked his mom to go to the hapkido academy. For the first few months, he paid the fees, but the director noticed right away that Yoo Kang-soo came from a disadvantaged environment and generously allowed him to come exercise anytime without paying, sensing his difficult situation.
In the detention center... while doing push-ups... Yoo Kang-soo... was thinking about those past days.
Originally... he had grown up with nothing... like that. He thought that even if he spent a few years in prison... He wouldn't give up. He would start from the bottom again.
The only regret was... not being able to face his son Pil-jun... Because he had become the son of a murderer. But... to his son Pil-jun, the father... had not committed murder... But had exercised lawful force in self-defense against an attempted extortion murder... He planned to explain in detail, even if it took some time.
Yoo Kang-soo... ate well, and rather than when working in society... He was actually doing much more exercise... Because to live in prison, physical strength was essential.
It was his first time in a regular prison... But during his days as a military police investigator... He had been in and out of the military prison like a ghost. He knew the situation there well.
Yoo Kang-soo... did push-ups at all times... morning, noon, evening... He lived with eight people in one cell of the detention center. It was narrow and uncomfortable... But honestly, because he had experienced the bottom of life several times... He had quickly adapted.
While eating danpatbap or other snacks he bought from the detention center shop using the deposit money his wife Ji Hye-in had put in... He continued exercising so his physical strength wouldn't decline.
"Brother... your whole body is really solid...
You must have used your fists a lot in society..."
A man who looked over sixty years old was talking to Yoo Kang-soo... showing friendliness.
"To endure... you need to build up your body... If you don't exercise, you won't be able to last. Since you're going to prison anyway... You should manage your body from the detention center days..."
Yoo Kang-soo... was replying while drinking milk. The detention center was still a place where unconvicted prisoners gathered... So the atmosphere wasn't particularly bad.
Everyone... had just passed through before going to prison... So how long they would stay was unknown.
Yoo Kang-soo... more than anything... His family was his top priority. Now... if income stopped... he had to start repaying the principal and interest on the remaining apartment loan... and his son's academy fees... And there were more than one or two places where official money was being deducted every month... He couldn't help but worry about how to handle all that.
While carefully thinking about how much was saved in the bank account... he was exploring various plans.
A new lawyer had been appointed again. First... right after being detained, he had hastily appointed a lawyer he didn't know well... Because he had to appoint a lawyer immediately upon arrest.
He knew several lawyers at the insurance company who handled insurance fraud lawsuits... But they were all civil lawyers... not experienced in criminal cases. But even if it was criminal or civil... they were lawyers he knew and had connections with... It seemed no lawyers had come to visit or worry about him.
The insurance company he had switched to was the same. No one had come to find him. Yoo Kang-soo... knew the cold world of society well... But after retirement, he felt again that his life was just like a consumable for making money... But... it wasn't the connections he had made during his military days.
The lawyers who were former military justice officers... whom he had known during his military police investigator work... Had heard about Yoo Kang-soo's situation and voluntarily offered to defend him. Two lawyers who had passed the bar exam, completed military justice service, and were now lawyers... Had teamed up to agree to defend Yoo Kang-soo.
Yoo Kang-soo... had tears blocking his vision. He was even thinking that if it came to this, he should have driven a stake into the military... Lawyers and he had prepared for trial almost every other day. The goal was... to reduce the sentence within three years.
He thought that probation was impossible... and even if he got three years... Compared to the death of a person... It was still a good result. They were lawyers and Kang-soo who thought that because it was injury manslaughter rather than murder, this was a possible sentence.
If it had been charged as murder instead of injury manslaughter... Getting three years... was honestly close to an impossible sentence.
Yoo Kang-soo... had cooperated with the prosecution as much as possible... And had told them everything: that he had almost been extorted to death by the thugs... and that the thug had mentioned his son at the time... He was doing everything to convince the prosecutors.
"Hye-in... I heard the news. Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Chairman... Thank you for calling, but... I'm really overwhelmed right now... I don't know what to do."
Wang Gil-nam chairman had heard about Yoo Kang-soo's situation in the news, but didn't know it was Ji Hye-in's husband. But when he heard that Ji Hye-in had asked a lawyer who was a colleague of hers at the association for help... Wang Gil-nam, the chairman, called Ji Hye-in right away.
"Hang in there... It will be okay. Your husband... wasn't a bad person, was he?"
"Thank you. Chairman... Once I sort my feelings, I'll call once."
"Hye-in... Are you going back to work at the office? Let's work together again... You have to earn money until your husband gets out..."
"No... It might be difficult for a while. I have to visit my husband every other day. The trial is coming soon... I don't know how it will turn out..."
While talking on the phone, Ji Hye-in eventually burst into tears.
"Hey... I heard the news... Are you having a really hard time... How did something like this even happen..."
Seeing Ji Hye-in's haggard appearance without makeup... Hwang Jeong-geon's heart wasn't good either. He hadn't heard the news from somewhere. Using the netori cafe... he had learned what happened to Ji Hye-in... And that her husband had gone to prison after fighting and killing someone... Hwang Jeong-geon and the cafe operators were the ones who knew. Of course... they only knew the facts... They didn't know that behind it... there was Park Young-ho's scheme... Or that only two people knew the truth: Park Young-ho executive and broker Jang Ki-tae.
"Hey... Hye-in... The operators pooled this together. We didn't tell the members... We just let a few of the operators know. When you sort your feelings, please contact us then..."
Hwang Jeong-geon was handing a thick white envelope to Ji Hye-in.
"Oppa... Thank you for coming up..."
"It's okay?"
"Of course... I have to endure this... Thank you for deliberately coming up to cheer me on... But... I'm really having a hard time... How did something like this even happen..."
Ji Hye-in, who had met Eom In-soo again... Was sighing deeply while speaking. Eom In-soo was sitting on the opposite side of Ji Hye-in with a troubled expression.