Chapter 88
"I... I have no drive left to keep living. You're just saying that because you see how pathetic my situation is, Mr. Lawyer. I don't even have the time to think about revenge. Just trying to get back what I've lost feels overwhelming enough."
"I live for revenge. Right up until the moment I die—even if I have to come back as a ghost—my mind has been filled with thoughts of getting even. That's why I'm still alive now. Jeong Yeongjun, dying like this would be no different from a dog's death."
I spoke as I lifted and straightened his legs. What Jeong Yeongjun was trying to do right now wasn't suicide. It was letting the chaebol kill him themselves. Even if Yangjin hadn't been the one to produce and spread that video of his, the fact that he'd been driven to this point wasn't his fault as an individual. Before marriage, his relationships had been spotless. The only reason Jeong Yeongjun was cornered like this was because he was the son-in-law of Yangjin Group.
"Lawyer Cha! Heuk, Jeong Yeongjun!"
At that moment, Kang Minjae burst into the room where Jeong Yeongjun and I were. He looked utterly shocked, but in this situation, I couldn't afford to let him stand around gaping.
I turned to him and said, "Kang, there's scissors on the floor. Climb up on the chair and cut the hose."
There were scissors on the floor—likely the ones Jeong Yeongjun had used to tie the hose to the curtain rod. Kang Minjae snatched them up, set the chair upright, climbed on, and snipped the hose. Jeong Yeongjun plummeted straight to the floor, and I tumbled down with him, feeling his weight crash onto me.
"Lawyer Cha! Jeong Yeongjun! Aigoo, what the hell happened? Should I call 119? Yeah?"
I crawled out from under Jeong Yeongjun and checked around his neck. He'd started breathing again while I was holding up his legs, and aside from the marks from the hose, he looked okay. I stood up and gazed down at him as he lay there on the floor, gasping for breath.
"You should probably get to a hospital."
"I'm fine. My neck's pretty tough—it's only been a little while since I last strained it."
"Even so, you need to see a doctor. I'll take you."
Kang Minjae offered as he helped Jeong Yeongjun struggle to sit up. But Jeong Yeongjun still shook his head.
"If I go to the hospital, it'll be all over the news that I attempted suicide. Truth is, even up until you kicked in the front door, Mr. Lawyer—no, even until you were trying to open this room's door—I was hesitating the whole time."
Jeong Yeongjun pressed a hand to his forehead. Cold sweat trickled down his temples.
"But once I realized you were outside the door, I thought if I didn't kick the chair away quick, I might chicken out. That's when I finally did it. But you kicked the door open right away. So I was only hanging there for a few seconds..."
I gave Kang Minjae a look as Jeong Yeongjun mumbled on like a drenched dog.
"Get him some water."
"Got it."
Once Kang Minjae left the room, Jeong Yeongjun—still clutching his forehead and staring at the floor—finally spoke quietly.
"I felt like I had to die."
"..."
"I was going insane, so I searched how other celebrities got through scandals like this... All I found were stories of stars who'd killed themselves after rumors hounded them. I got sucked in, reading those posts. There were even videos from their funerals. Celebrities I'd only glimpsed on TV, people I barely knew by face, had all shown up to pay respects."
Jeong Yeongjun sighed, fiddling with the reddish skin around his neck.
"One of them had even gone through a nasty divorce after a big fight... She chose death for other reasons, but her ex-husband still came to mourn, looking all somber."
Tears welled up in Jeong Yeongjun's voice again. Color had returned to his face, but now it flushed red. Veins bulged at his temples as tears streamed down.
"Seeing that made me want to die too. I don't know why. I don't even have fans who'd weep for me like they did for those stars."
Unlike the steady flow of tears, his voice choked as he tried to stifle the sobs.
"If I died too, sniffling... even if she'd lost all affection for me... wouldn't Jina come? After seven years living face-to-face, wouldn't Jina at least cry for me? Sniff, if I left a note saying I'm not that person in the video, heuk... wouldn't people believe me...?"
But he couldn't hold back for long. He broke down wailing like a child.
"Revenge? Haa... I can't even dream of it. Because, sob, I'm such a moron, so spineless. Over those seven long years, I never adapted to that family. I couldn't even win a scrap of approval from my in-laws. Hng... Hell, I can't even give you lawyers a single solid lead. All I do is whine. How could someone like me dare dream of revenge?"
Jeong Yeongjun wiped his tears and looked up at me with reddened eyes.
"Only someone capable and strong like you can dream of revenge, Mr. Lawyer. I'm incompetent and weak as hell... I can't do that stuff."
"Even if you were incompetent and weak, you still have something you want, don't you? You said you wanted to protect your family."
"..."
"I don't think you're incompetent or weak. I think the situation just made you look that way for a bit."
In my previous life, I'd tasted bitter failure. Before the Wooshin special prosecution began, I'd been powerless against their influence, losing everything time and again. Colleagues vanished, only to return as cold corpses. The first few times, I felt just like Jeong Yeongjun—wanting to let it all go. I couldn't escape the vicious self-loathing. Just drop it all. What glory is worth this? I've already pissed them off, and black cars tail me wherever I go. No freedom anywhere. Might as well join Mom, Dad, and the team—be at peace. But people always pulled me back. Sometimes yelling, sometimes coaxing. Without those colleagues trying to lift me up, in that past life, I wouldn't have ended up mixed in cement—I'd have hanged myself somewhere like Jeong Yeongjun.
"...That's what my little sister said."
Jeong Yeongjun pondered my words, then let out a wry chuckle.
"She told me something like that once. That I'm not some pathetic loser—it's the environment around me making me look that way."
He staggered to his feet and gazed out the window at the midday sky.
"I thought without Jina, I'd be left all alone in the world."
His world had been swallowed by his wife's family. After marriage, he was no longer just Jeong Yeongjun. He had to live as Go Jina's husband or Yangjin F&B executive director. So when his wife left, he figured his whole world collapsed.
"Honestly, I still don't know. My moods swing back and forth several times a day. Talking to you now, my choice feels so stupid... But I don't know when it'll change again."
"Jeong Yeongjun."
"...Yes."
"Go back to your parents' and sister's place. Stay there."
When he'd first come to the office, his sister had been with him. When I called her today to open this house's door, she'd been deeply worried about him. At least his family genuinely cares. Right now, Jeong Yeongjun needs to be around people who can support him.
"Haa."
Jeong Yeongjun let out a sigh that seemed to cave the ground beneath him.
"That way, at least you won't think your wife is your whole world."
Those seven years with his in-laws had stripped away his self-esteem. Relying solely on Go Jina had made him unable to endure her absence. Truth be told, from the moment I took this case, I hadn't trusted Go Jina much. Even if she learned everything was slander from her parents—as Jeong Yeongjun feared—I doubted she'd choose him over them. From start to finish, I never bought that she was some miraculous mutant born into that arrogant chaebol family.
I'd told Jeong Yeongjun he had to live if he wanted to protect his family, but reality wasn't so optimistic. Even if everything went perfectly, I couldn't see him holding it together. The biggest worry was that if things stayed like this and he couldn't reunite with Go Jina, he might try to end it again. Lawyers have no duty for postmortem responsibility, but I didn't want to hear that news. I didn't want to see anyone else murdered directly or indirectly by the chaebol. Especially not someone who'd come through me.
"Um, I got the water."
Kang Minjae's voice broke the silence, as if he'd been waiting outside for his cue. Fetching water shouldn't have taken that long.
"Thank you."
Jeong Yeongjun took the cup from him. Kang Minjae watched him drink, then spoke cautiously.
"I agree with Lawyer Cha. It'd be best to stay at your parents' place."
"...Alright."
"Thank you."
"I'm always causing trouble. Can't even help with the investigation, and now you have to watch me try to kill myself..."
"Aish, don't say that."
Kang Minjae waved it off. I walked over to him, picked up the briefcase he'd tossed on the floor, and pulled out the holder inside.
"If you feel like you're imposing, then look at this. Rack your brain—have you ever seen it before?"
Inside was the photo of the ring we'd printed at Gukjeongwon's karaoke bar today.
"What's this?"
"The ring the cameraman who filmed your video was wearing. Seems custom-made."
"Was this in the video?"
"It showed up after we restored the quality and adjusted the brightness."
Kang Minjae explained our guesses about the ring. He also relayed all the opinions we'd had while watching the video.
"You ever seen this ring before?"