You Have Been Defended - Chapter 79
Jeong Yeongjun was visibly shaken, his agitation plain as day. To calm him down, Kang Minjae brewed some tea by steeping a teabag in hot water and brought it over.
"Mr. Jeong, have some warm tea first and try to relax."
"What if it really was my father-in-law and mother-in-law? If they did this on purpose, proving it was them won't be easy at all... And if Ko Jina finds out the truth, would she choose me over her parents? No matter what, they're still her parents..."
"Mr. Jeong, I was just mentioning one possibility among many. We can't confirm it's your in-laws right this second."
"Ah, no, you're right, Lawyer. Aside from the in-laws, who else has a clear motive for the crime? It makes sense. It really does..."
"In that case, consider this scenario. From what I've learned, Yangjin Retail is currently in the convenience store business, right?"
"Convenience stores? Yeah, that's right. But what does that have to do with anything?"
"You were planning to transfer from Yangjin F&B to Yangjin Retail."
"Yes, because my wife is set to become president of Yangjin Retail..."
"I've heard that with the 24/7 chain pulling out of Korea, several companies—including Yangjin Retail—are in a fierce bidding war to acquire their Korean operations."
"Right, the winner gets to claim the top spot in the domestic convenience store market share. That's why the competition's so intense, and why my wife is heading to Yangjin Retail. And me too..."
"Exactly. So, doesn't it make sense to consider that a rival bidder might have targeted you? From the articles, Yangjin Retail was planning to sell some treasury stock to fund the acquisition—right up to the limit of their controlling stake. But with the stock price tanking because of that video, they might not hit their target acquisition budget."
Jeong Yeongjun blinked rapidly. He pressed a hand to his forehead, lost in thought for a long moment, as if sifting through the confusion. I watched him silently until he gathered his wits.
"You're right. I guess I really am the dimwit my in-laws think I am. I never even considered that..."
"Not at all. The situation itself is clouding your judgment right now. That's exactly why people like us exist—for times like these."
Kang Minjae chimed in to console the downcast Jeong Yeongjun. With a heavy sigh, Jeong replied,
"So we're back to square one? I need to know who did this so I can at least tell Ko Jina I'm being framed..."
"Divorce proceedings aren't as straightforward as you might think, Mr. Jeong. There's still time—don't rush it."
"If I don't cling to the hope that divorce is off the table, my head fills up with that video over and over. After the first few days, I stopped checking news articles or going online, but those initial waves of malicious comments and mockery are driving me insane. I'm humiliated, suicidal. I can't do anything. Unless I tell myself I have to save my family, I just..."
Now that I thought about it, his put-together appearance yesterday might have been for his younger sibling's sake. The sibling looked to be in their early-to-mid twenties at most, and he probably didn't want to crumble in front of them. It was a perfectly natural reaction in this hellish situation, but Jeong was suffering severe mental damage.
"Mr. Jeong, if it's too much to bear, I recommend seeing a psychiatrist. You'll need a diagnosis for proving emotional damages later anyway."
"Ha... Yeah. I will."
"It's only natural to feel disoriented so soon after the incident, but you can't stay scattered like this. We want to deliver the results you're hoping for, and that requires your clear testimony."
"Got it. Really... thank you so much, Lawyer."
"For now, we need time to review the video ourselves, so you should head home today."
"Okay."
"Make sure to visit the hospital, and if Ko Jina's side contacts you, let us know. They said they only want to communicate through lawyers, so we can handle talks with them if you'd like."
"No, not yet... I don't want them knowing I've hired counsel. That might make divorce seem inevitable."
What he wanted most was to prove the video was fabricated before things escalated to court. But coldly speaking, that wasn't the job of a typical divorce lawyer. The previous attorneys he'd seen had probably nudged him toward divorce—telling him it was okay to come clean—precisely because fulfilling his wishes would take far too much effort. Convincing him to go for an amicable divorce meant they could pocket fat fees from the asset split.
"I just wish I could have one honest talk with my wife about what she's thinking. She won't even have a proper conversation with me since the video came out. Haah."
In cases like this, if it went to court, Jeong—the at-fault spouse—would have to pay damages. But even if he were at fault, that didn't exempt asset division. Ko Jina's side claimed they wanted an unconditional divorce, but they'd know at the negotiation table that assets had to be split. They didn't truly want a no-money-changed-hands divorce. Ultimately, Ko Jina was waiting for Jeong to accept it and negotiate the split. She had no intention of preserving the marriage from the start—hiring lawyers was just pressure to make him give up faster.
Whether it went to litigation or settled amicably, our duty was to minimize Jeong's losses. Especially since we knew he hadn't actually cheated.
"Understood. Take care going home, and call anytime something comes to mind."
Jeong nodded weakly and shuffled out of the office. Kang Minjae watched until he boarded the elevator, then returned once the doors closed.
"This case looks like it'll be tough."
"Yeah."
"What do you think, Lawyer? Who leaked the video?"
"Hard to say—nothing solid yet."
"You floated the in-laws to Mr. Jeong, then rival companies."
"Sure, but those were just on-the-spot examples of potential variables. I wanted him to give me a list of suspects, but he's not thinking straight, so I led with hypotheticals."
"And he latched onto every one like it fit perfectly. Guess you didn't get that list."
"Right. Plus—and I didn't say this because the timing was off—Jeong's an ordinary guy from a normal family. Marrying a chaebol heiress might have sparked jealousy from people around him."
"That could be it. The in-laws thing does feel a bit too dramatic... Your angle seems more realistic."
Kang Minjae nodded. But to me, the in-laws didn't seem that far-fetched. As I'd explained to Jeong, Yangjin Group hadn't suffered major image damage. If anything, they worked subtly online—spreading viral nicknames for the chairman or personal anecdotes to build familiarity. Now, people were openly saying Chairman Ko Sanggyeong had picked a dud son-in-law who dragged him down. Ko Jina's image had even improved somewhat. Borrowing a phrase from my past life, she'd become a sort of "tragic love warrior."
The stock dipped temporarily, but since it wasn't an operational issue, it'd rebound fast. If a family member wanted more shares, they could buy treasury stock cheap during the dip for a profit. From Yangjin's perspective, it was a win-win. They ditched the thorn-in-the-side Jeong, humanized the untouchable chaebol image, and shed some public disdain. And if they swept up all available treasury shares to bolster control—as I suspected—it'd be a triple win.
Of course, how they'd fund the 24/7 acquisition remained to be seen. We'd have to watch that to confirm if it truly was three birds with one stone.
"Anyway, we told him not to contact their lawyer for now, so we'll dig around on our own first."
I nodded. I suspected the in-laws too, but maybe my bias against chaebols was coloring it. We needed a broad, objective view.
"Alright, then..."
Kang Minjae picked up the USB from the desk and gingerly plugged it into his laptop. When I glanced at him, he set the laptop on the consultation table and looked at me.
"So, no avoiding it... We really have to watch that video, huh?"