Chapter 21
Kang Minjae set down his coffee cup and bolted out to the veranda. I stubbed out my cigarette and hurried after him.
"You said they pull all-nighters a lot, so there should be staff in the editing room right now."
"Finding that footage is gonna take forever, though. We'd have to comb through every bit of that day's shoot."
We arrived at the broadcasting station without a plan and contacted the assistant director, who led us up to the editing room. Inside, amid stacks of instant ramen cups and coffee cans, sat the hollow-eyed assistant director and the editor.
"What brings you here so early?"
"I know you're busy, but I have just one favor to ask."
"What's that?"
"When you were filming the episode with Kim Cheolhwan and Ye Heesuk, did the director ever say anything harsh to you, Assistant Director?"
The assistant director gave me a puzzled look, then let out a hollow chuckle, as if to say why ask about that now?
"That's just how broadcasting stations are."
"I'm talking about the shoot day specifically—did it happen on set?"
"Of course."
"Do you remember what time?"
"What, you mean all the usual 'fuck this, fuck that'? That was constant."
"No, I mean like the day I first came asking questions—one-sided, like that."
The editor still looked baffled as he stared at us, while the assistant director hummed thoughtfully. It seemed like it had happened more than once or twice, as he put it.
"Yeah. Every time we cut, Ye Heesuk would check the footage, so he'd call me over and chew me out for letting her keep doing it."
"Do you remember when that was?"
"Of course it didn't make the edit. All I remember is it was nighttime."
"Then could you let us check all the cameras that were running at night?"
"Huh? All of them?"
"It's essential for the trial."
"You mean the unedited raw footage? Everything?"
"Yes."
"That's hours of material."
"Doesn't matter."
The editor gave us a quick rundown on how to pause, rewind, and fast-forward. Kang Minjae and I settled into a corner of the editing room, splitting the footage between us to hunt for scenes of the director berating the assistant.
Time passed, and station employees started trickling in. They gawked at us—two guys in suits hunkered down in the editing room—as they passed by the windows.
"Lawyer! 9:48. It's 9:48. The director's shoving the assistant's head and shoulder!"
The assistant director, listening from behind, whipped around with an irritated glare. I shot Kang Minjae a hush gesture.
"Show us the footage from the master bedroom and living room cameras starting at 9:48."
It was already 8:30 a.m. Trial started at 10, so we had to leave in thirty minutes. Heart racing, I watched the playback the assistant director queued up and quietly hit pause.
"Here."
In the screen, Ye Heesuk trembled at the director's bellowing curses. She glanced around anxiously and fled into the master bedroom. Approaching the bookshelf, she rummaged between the volumes and pulled out a massive encyclopedia. A cavity gaped deep enough for a camera inside the thick pages. She extracted it—a tiny hole in the spine just big enough for the lens. You could feel how much thought she'd put into hiding it.
"No wonder they couldn't find it. Wow..."
Ye Heesuk powered on the camera, slipped it back inside, and left the room. In the hallway cam footage, she paused mid-stride, hand against the wall, as if struck by a realization. She shook her head with a deep sigh, pressed a hand to her chest, took several deep breaths. Then she returned to the bookshelf, retrieved the camera, and pocketed it.
"Thanks. We got what we needed."
"Oh, good. Glad we could help."
As I gathered my things to leave, I paused and added, "If someone hurls abuse in front of others, it can constitute insult. Depending on the content, even defamation. A criminal conviction opens the door to a civil suit for damages. If you need help, call the number on the card I gave you."
"Hey, what are you doing? Hurry up!"
Kang Minjae yanked me along. The assistant director stared in confusion as I turned and dashed down the hall with Kang Minjae.
"Head to the scene, secure the camera. Check if it recorded the incident, and if there's footage of Kim Hyeongjun assaulting her over the past two months, save it. I'll stall in court."
"Got it."
"Text when you find it. Once it's edited for submission, call me the second you reach the courthouse. Prep a written chain of custody. Oh, you know how to edit video?"
"I know someone who can help. But can you really drag it out that long?"
"I'm good in court."
I nearly added, I've handled how many trials over fifteen years? but bit it back. In 2008 terms, I only had five years under my belt.
"Yeah, sure, but hearing you say it kinda jinxes it, you know?"
Kang Minjae grinned and tossed me his car keys.
"Take this. I'll grab a cab."
We split up. Exactly at 11:31, Kang Minjae handed me the USB with the footage. And now, at 12:23 p.m...
"It's fabricated! All of it—it's all fake!"
Kim Hyeongjun shattered the silence with a yell. He lurched up from the gallery, shoving toward the exit as if to charge me. Court officers blocked him. I met his eyes and continued.
"Based on the evidence presented, we assert the defendant's innocence. We'll submit the chain of custody in writing."
I handed the prepared documents to the clerk, who passed them to the presiding and lay judges. Judge Go Ilguk turned to the prosecutors after conferring.
"Prosecutors, evidence proving the defendant's innocence has been submitted. Will you continue the trial?"
The lead prosecutor stared at the floor, troubled. He glanced at Hwang Youngchan in the back of the gallery. Hwang stormed out irritably.
"...Your Honor, we withdraw the charges against defendant Kim Yeonjun."
"By the court's authority, Kim Hyeongjun is remanded into custody."
As Judge Go Ilguk spoke, officers swarmed Kim Hyeongjun and cuffed him amid his fierce struggles.
"Let go! Get off me!"
He was dragged out. The courtroom fell into a stunned hush, like the aftermath of a storm.
"Defense, anything to add?"
I looked at Kim Yeonjun. Tears streamed down his bitten lip. I approached and murmured, "Kim Yeonjun, say everything you want."
He searched my face, as if unsure it was allowed. His bound hands shook. I nodded heavily, holding his gaze.
"...I."
Kim Yeonjun forced out the words.
"I didn't kill my parents. Sob, huh-huh, heuk."
He broke into wrenching sobs. I gazed at him with pity, feeling the weight of misunderstandings he'd endured.
"In preparing the defense, I was appalled by the prosecution's hasty investigation. Dr. Yoon Taeyoung, the psychiatrist who treated Ye Heesuk, says prosecutors never contacted him once. Even for non-insured care, this proves they botched basic procedure. Failing to check Kim Hyeongjun's multiple life insurance policies on the victims further underscores their incompetence."
The prosecutor couldn't lift his head. A natural reaction for any human.
"Relying on a single fingerprint and the scene upon police arrival, they pegged the defendant as the perp and ignored alternatives. They let a wolf in human skin roam free, while an innocent young man might've had his life ruined as a murderer."
Once fingerprints surfaced and the perp was nabbed, prosecutors leaked it to the press without checking for others or embargoing it. Public opinion naturally swung their way. Then they got dragged along by their own sloppiness and hero complex. Pathetic.
The criminal division, basking in praise from the Jo Jintae murder case, couldn't resist repeating the blunder.
"I hope no innocent ever suffers from prosecutorial shortcuts again. Defense rests."
The courthouse entrance swarmed with reporters. They blocked me and Kang Minjae, thrusting mics and cameras forward.
"Attorney Cha Juhan, a word on the trial!"
"Did you believe in Kim Yeonjun's innocence from the start?"
"Resigning to take on a head-on clash with your old office—was that intentional?"
They hemmed us in so tight we could barely move. They wouldn't budge without a comment.
"I believed in his innocence from the start, and I didn't target Criminal Division 3 specifically. Pure coincidence."
Coincidence. A word the press never buys. I hadn't aimed at Division 3, but if they thought so, fine by me. I knew the rough road ahead for a lawyer openly defying prosecutors, but it didn't scare me. Hadn't I survived pissing off the chaebols who run Korea?
"Enough—move it!"
Kang Minjae shoved through the crowd. Seizing the gap, we made it to the parking lot unscathed.
"Lawyer."
"What."
"Victory drinks tonight? Call?"
I gave in to his gulping gesture with a reluctant nod.
"Call."