You Have Been Defended - Chapter 27
"There is definitely a problem."
It took two days to finish comparing the drama with Na Eun-seong's documents. Whether I should be grateful that no new cases came in during that time, I wasn't sure—but at least, with nothing else on our plate, Kang Minjae and I could focus entirely on the drama.
In the middle of it all, Yun Se-yeon the reporter barged in demanding interview answers, but she didn't take up too much time.
Kang Minjae and I combed through copyright law precedents in between. I even jotted down a few cases I'd vaguely remembered from the future. Sure, it felt a bit like cheating, but if this was cheating, wasn't my truth-detection ability an outright scam to begin with?
"I don't know what you think, Lawyer Cha, but I see a solid chance of winning. The only hitch is the likelihood of power and money meddling in the trial. And Jeong Hyejin's reputation as a writer doesn't help."
We compared the 12 episodes with scripts by playing the drama and checking side-by-side. For episode 13, we matched it against the one-page A4 synopsis per episode. Na Eun-seong's synopses included key lines of dialogue per episode, so we could even spot overlapping dialogue there—about 15 instances, all highlighted in fluorescent pen. Counting full scenes, it came to around 20. On top of that, the two protagonists had similar personalities and even dressed alike.
It didn't differ much from the comparison document the client had prepared. She was remarkably objective, with no bias in her analysis.
"The female lead's name is off by one character, and the male lead's is identical. Talk about shameless."
The female lead was Ji Yun-young in the original, changed to Ji Yun-su. The male lead stayed Sun Woo-jun—exactly the same. They must have really liked that name.
"The setups for both leads are identical too. Common tropes, sure, but she copied around twenty details straight from the settings alone. Add in the episodes, and it's absurd."
"That fictional rich neighborhood overlooking the slum hillside—that contrast feels like a big deal to me."
Settings could be common, but the original script had special staging for it. Different camera setups adjusted the color tones, creating a sharp divide like a drawn line. The rich area even had long iron fences—officially for accident prevention, but the female lead perceived it as a "keep out" boundary.
Even if ideas weren't protected, matching the direction beat-for-beat would hold up in court.
"The contest rules say all judges read every entry personally."
"And since she's a judge, she definitely read it. Plagiarism is clear."
"They probably skimmed synopses in round one, filtered some, then read full scripts in round two for the promising ones?"
"Likely. Can't realistically read everything. And the rules say the full Blue Isle Media production team reviews round-two finalists."
I looked up Blue Isle Media's number and dialed. After the greeting, it connected right away.
"Hello, Blue Isle Media."
"Hello. I have some questions about the script contest you hosted."
"Yes, go ahead."
"Your last contest listed ten judges, and round-two finalists get reviewed by the full production team besides them."
"Yes, that's right."
"Do you know how many people are on the production team?"
"About twenty."
"You produce such great dramas, you must be busy. Do you really have time to review scripts? Unlike other contests, yours asks for eight episodes—practically a whole book. Is it feasible for everyone to read them all? I'm thinking of entering the next one, so I have questions."
"We bind them and pass them around so everyone can read in their spare time. No need to worry."
"I see. Will Jeong Hyejin be a judge again next year? I'm a big fan—I'd love for her to see my work."
"Uh, not sure. We have plenty of great writers anyway. Please enter even if she's not judging. Haha."
"Thank you."
I hung up, and Kang Minjae stared at me blankly.
"What."
"Your tone, your voice—I didn't recognize you as Lawyer Cha. You could be an actor."
Perfectly casual inquiries were a basic tactic. I'd used it countless times on contacts while digging into Wooshin corruption in my past life. They all bolted when they saw it was actually me, though.
"Blue Isle seems aware they plagiarized."
"Why?"
"They hinted Jeong Hyejin might not judge next contest."
The employee was vague, but mentioning uncertainty suggested another angle. Maybe their feet were getting hot, or they'd seen the client's complaint via tip-off.
"And ten judges plus twenty producers reviewing round-two entries. Bound copies."
"Not many make round two, then."
"Probably not."
In 2018—or even 2015—they'd use phones or tablets, but this was still analog days.
"Kang."
"Yes."
"If we sue Blue Isle Media, what do you think they'd say?"
"Deny plagiarism, claim settings are common. Though settings are hard to deny outright. Still, minor ones get dismissed in proving substantial similarity. That rich-slum contrast you mentioned might be the big issue. They'll fight the plagiarism angle hardest."
"How? They entered the contest—hard to deny access."
"Hm."
Kang Minjae pondered. But I knew the answer.
"Claim they filtered it in round one, only skimmed the beginning. Saw the synopsis and leads, but later similarities are just coincidence since they're common."
"Could be."
"Or say the email got lost, never saw it."
"But it was marked read."
"Blame server issues."
"True. But round-two got bound copies—find those?"
Not a bad idea. If they plagiarized a contest entry into a drama, it likely passed round two easily. The original would be bound too. But the contest was last year, drama aired March this year. Bound copies were probably trashed by now. For reference, Jeong Hyejin's computer file would suffice. No warrant for that, and she might've wiped other devices.
"Too much time passed since printing, and once they decided to plagiarize, they'd ditch them quick out of paranoia."
"Makes sense. Ask binding shops if they've done work for them?"
"Don't even know which one. Owner wouldn't remember contents anyway—too busy."
No shop would admit dealings outright. Yun Se-yeon couldn't help here either.
"I'll call binding shops near Blue Isle anyway. Key for proving access."
Wooshin affiliate or not, Wooshin had no printing arm. Internal binders? Inefficient. They had to use a shop.
"Split the area. You take this zone, me that. Chungmuro's full of print shops."
Blue Isle was in Chungmuro, print central—one had to hit.
We burned through calls for thirty minutes. Kang Minjae sighed, set his phone down, and looked at me expectantly.
I shook my head.
"Lawyer Cha."
"What."
"You'll take the case, right?"
Hunting binding shops meant we were already in. I nodded heavily.
Wooshin ties made it tempting, sure. But separately, this trial looked promising. Client might want cash settlement before court. I hoped for media humiliation, but duty as lawyers meant minimal damage to her—fans' backlash she could've foreseen anyway.
"Of course."
Before I finished, Kang Minjae sprang up, phone in hand, heading to the balcony.
"Ah, hello. Cha Juhan Law Office here. We've decided to take your case. Haha. Calling to let you know. Yes. Yes. Come by whenever convenient to discuss details. Oh, sure. Yes. Thank you. Hanging up!"
His sheer excitement left me speechless. I recalled his boasts: big case, spotlight, office growth. In 2018 terms—the future I knew—he was a total attention seeker, wasn't he?
"So, the client comes tomorrow?"
Kang Minjae, across from me inhaling jjajangmyeon, nodded vigorously.
"We need something to show her by then."
He nodded again, face buried in his bowl.
"At least find that binding shop."
"Ahh, so full. Right, binding shop."
"Jjajang sauce on your nose."
"Oh, yep."
He wiped sheepishly. I leaned deep into the sofa, arms crossed.
"How to track the binding shop... Can't just grab an employee."
"If they catch us sniffing around shops, they'll smell the lawsuit and shred evidence fast. Secure what we can first."
"Yeah. What now?"
A familiar face flashed in my mind.
"Got someone for that."
"Who?"
"Get the car."
"Who is it?"
"You'll see."
Working with him was supposed to start two years from now, but a little early wouldn't hurt.