You Are Defended - Chapter 524



Only Noblemtl

Episode 524

“Wow, I didn’t know Jonghyun hyung was that good at English. Even if listening and reading are basic skills, he’s also really good at speaking. He even jokes around.”

Choi Jong-hyun’s ICIJ membership has finally been approved.

Cho Bong-jun was also present during the video interview, and he seemed quite impressed by Choi Jong-hyun’s English skills.

While sitting together in Kang Min-jae’s hospital room and eating, they praised Choi Jong-hyun for speaking English so well.

“Hey. Stop it. You’re annoying.”

“What’s wrong? They say you’re good at what you do.”

“No, he went to high school in America, and this guy… … I don’t know why he’s so good at it, but he’s damn good. My pronunciation sucks and my intonation is totally Korean.”

“Wow, since you’re good at English, you should call it accent, but you call it intonation. People who are good at English are different.”

The ‘him’ that Choi Jong-hyun is talking about is Kang Min-jae, and the ‘this guy’ is me.

As he said, Kang Min-jae went to school in the United States, so of course he will do well.

But I have never spoken English in front of them, so I have no idea why they included me.

“I’m good at everything, but I’m just so-so when it comes to speaking.”

“I’m pretty good at it.”

Kang Min-jae answered while busily shoving food into his mouth.

He had been eating only hospital food for a while, but it seems he can’t stand spicy food full of MSG.

I was busy stuffing my mouth with food and chewing until my cheeks were swollen.

“But I’m sure you’re good at speaking, too. When you went to Liechtenstein, you spoke German really well.”

Kang Min-jae, who had swallowed all of his food, waved his chopsticks in the air as if he was thinking about what to put on his plate.

“I just looked at a conversation book on the plane and said a few words.”

“I just looked at a few conversation books, and if you can do that, then your English, which you’ve studied for over 10 years, must be at a native speaker level.”

“I told you not to do Yongbieocheonga.”

“It’s not a Yongbieocheonga, it’s a fact. Besides, German has a unique pronunciation, but you were able to converse without any trouble. Everyone understood you right away without asking you to repeat yourself. In taxis, hotels, and restaurants, you could say whatever you wanted without hesitation.”

“German is similar to English, so it was helpful.”

“That’s right. Since you’re good at English, you’re also good at German.”

There is no communication.

Actually, what I said was nothing special.

“Look at this. These guys are better at it, so don’t show me off. If I ever have to use English in front of them later, if my English sounds really bad to them, I’ll be embarrassed.”

Choi Jong-hyun looked genuinely embarrassed.

I’m the one who’s in an awkward position, being lumped together with Kang Min-jae and being treated as a native speaker.

“Anyway, I’m still really proud of you. You’re the only Korean member of the ICIJ.”

But Jo Bong-jun didn’t care.

“That’s true, but… … There are probably quite a few people in our country who could join. But they just don’t do it. Belonging to an organization is a bit burdensome, especially for reporters. I’m going to spend my life on the path of exploration, so it doesn’t matter to me, but if Cha Byun hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have joined either.”

“Your case directly confronts human rights issues. I think the ICIJ will be quite interested in this issue. There will be Japanese reporters there, too. I wonder if they will be willing to work with us. It would be perfect for expanding the scale on a global scale.”

“I think I’ll just let it slide for now. I’ve got another video conference with the core members next week. What do you think?”

I don’t know everything about the ICIJ because I didn’t follow their work closely in my previous life, but they have been investigating issues all over the world.

He has covered corruption in various countries, as well as dirty money from dictators, arms dealers, and tax evaders held in Swiss banks, and has also investigated organizations around the world that smuggle and trade in corpses.

In that sense, I think the human trafficking that Wooshin engages in is a subject that they would find very interesting.

“I also think that if the ICIJ were to turn this into a project, it would be a great help to us. Of course, it would be difficult to get new information from them, but at least it would be effective in expanding the work.”

“We might be able to get more information by cooperating with Japanese reporters.”

“That’s right. But on the other hand, I have to worry a bit because of the Japanese reporters.”

“I looked it up and it turns out he’s a reporter for the Kyokuto Shimbun. He’s been working for 25 years. I think he’s currently teaching at a journalism university.”

“I think I’ve heard of the Kyokuto Shimbun. Isn’t it written as Far East in kanji?”

“That’s right. It’s one of the four major media outlets in Japan. In terms of our country… … .”

“It doesn’t feel like the Ilbo, right? Then you’ll be busy praising the conglomerates and the Minwoo Party.”

Choi Jong-hyeon shrugged his shoulders in response to Kang Min-jae’s question.

“It’s a bit different from the Nihon-Chung Ilbo. Well, all newspapers basically have their own basic stance on the political world, but the Kyokuto Shimbun is considered quite innovative in Japan. Of course, if you look at it by international standards, it’s a bit too much to call it innovation! They’ve also reported on the parts of Korea-Japan relations that they’ve done wrong. Of course, it’s a big deal in Japan, so that in itself is something to be praised.”

“I looked it up last time, and it’s the ruling party that Satoshi Oda and Onodera are enemies of. There’s been a lot of talk about it shifting to the right recently. So is the Kyokuto Shimbun criticizing it?”

“Oh. That’s why you must have been a victim of terrorism from an extreme right-wing group. If you had a tendency like the Iljoong Ilbo in the first place, you wouldn’t have joined the ICIJ.”

“Then that’s perfect. If we blow up our work, Onodera and Satoshi Oda will be the ones getting bombed, but I’m sure they’ll chew us up really well.”

While Choi Jong-hyun was speaking, I went to the official ICIJ website and checked the profile of the Japanese reporter he mentioned.

Sachiko Kirihara.

I have been a journalist for 25 years.

It would be a good idea to first learn more about this person and then decide whether or not to share the project internally with ICIJ.

You never know.

If it becomes a project handled by the ICIJ, it will naturally be shared with her as a Japanese member, but we need to make sure that she is not someone who would leak information to Onodera and cause trouble.

The reason I asked Choi Jong-hyun to join the ICIJ is not because I completely trust the organization and all of its reporters.

I feel sorry for them, but I only brought in the ICIJ to get the British Virgin Islands nominee account list first.

“The reporter that Reporter Choi was talking about is Sachiko Kirihara, right?”

“Oh, right. Did you go to the site?”

“Yes. First, let me find out a little about this person.”

I plan to ask Kim Mi-ja.

Satoshi Oda is a member of the ruling party that the Kyokuto Shimbun has long criticized, and although he has only been elected five times in Japan’s Diet, which has overflowed with ten-term members, he is someone who receives a lot of attention.

So, the criticism from the Kyokuto Shimbun must have been quite strong as well.

If such a person speaks very negatively about Sachiko Kirihara, it can be seen that she has lived correctly.

“If you went to the site, I guess my picture was uploaded too.”

“There is also a photo of the reporter.”

The Journalist tab originally did not include Korea, but it was created when Choi Jong-hyun joined.

And Choi Jong-hyun was seen standing awkwardly, smiling against a white wallpaper background within a circular frame.

“How is it? It looks like it was taken at a photo studio.”

But Choi Jong-hyun doesn’t seem to know that he is being photographed in front of wallpaper.

If you don’t know, you should keep it a secret so that you can be happy.

“No. Wasn’t that taken in your brother’s room?”

Kang Min-jae has no clue.

* * *

“honey.”

Kim Mi-ja, who was applying skin care products in front of the vanity, looked at Oda Satoshi coming out of the bathroom through the mirror.

“why.”

“I have a question.”

“If it’s not urgent, ask me later. I’m tired. I’ve been running around meeting people all the time because of Mr. Onodera.”

“Because of the presidential election?”

“Yeah. Saito gathered the young members of the Diet and gave a long speech. It was supposed to be a place to encourage the future leaders of Japan. Who do you think is stupid? It’s obvious. He must have told us to vote for that bastard Kobayashi.”

“Congressman Kobayashi… … .”

“Just call me Kobayashi.”

Oda Satoshi didn’t seem to like the fact that Kim Mi-ja was using honorifics toward him, so he sat on the bed and responded annoyedly.

“Oh, yes. I heard that Kobayashi has fewer supporters than Representative Onodera.”

“That’s why I’m saying it’s not the same. You don’t even know the topic.”

“It will be fine. The people around me also thought that you would become Representative Onodera.”

“The people around you are all so obvious. Well, I think even those people would be like Onodera-san, but it’s funny how Kobayashi keeps complaining. His blunders are also top-notch. I should just ignore him and follow him around.”

He often ignored Kim Mi-ja.

Thanks to Oda Satoshi’s pressure, Kim Mi-ja is a professor at a prestigious art university, and naturally, the people around her are also respected in Japanese society.

Even if that’s the case for you, it’s hard to tolerate people around you being ignored as well.

What is so noble about you… … .

“By the way. What are you asking?”

“If you’re feeling uneasy, I’ll ask you next time.”

“Okay. I already caught it. What is it?”

“Do you know a journalist named Sachiko Kirihara?”

“Sachiko Kirihara?”

Satoshi Oda frowned sharply when he heard that name.

“Why that girl?”

Kim Mi-ja almost burst into laughter without realizing it.

Cha Ju-han said that he was considering whether or not he should work with Sachiko Kirihara, and that he wanted to find out what kind of person she was.

Satoshi Oda asked me to subtly describe her, saying the worse the better… … .

Looking at the rough expression, it seems like it will be able to deliver the result that Cha Joo-han wants.

“No, it’s nothing special… … I got an interview request. He contacted me as if he wanted to know about my art gallery, but he was a political reporter. There’s no reason for a political reporter to want to know about my art gallery. I thought he’d naturally talk about you.”

“Interview? That’s ridiculous. Never meet him. If he contacts you, ignore him.”

“I haven’t replied yet because I don’t feel good about it since you said you were a reporter for the Kyokuto Shimbun.”

“You don’t need to talk to that trashy newspaper reporter. Do you know what article she wrote about me?”

Satoshi Oda, who was lying on his bed, seemed to be having a nightmare just thinking about Sachiko Kirihara.

In an instant, his face turned bright red and he raised his voice.

Satoshi Oda recited articles written by Sachiko Kirihara for 30 minutes.

Of course, all of these were things he did that deserved to be cursed at.

In addition, there was also this minor thing:

Satoshi Oda is known to use Facebook frequently to appeal to the younger generation, and once posted a rather lengthy article on a certain issue.

It seems that he revised the article more than ten times before uploading it, and showed it to his secretaries to check if his logic was weak before uploading it.

But then Sachiko Kirihara left a very short comment.

[The weaker the dog, the louder the bark.]

And he said he was completely embarrassed when his comment got 20,000 likes.

Come to think of it, Kim Mi-ja had heard that story too.

It was a big deal in its own way.

Thanks to this, his nickname for a while was ‘Weak Dog’, and he is still often called that.

Because of that, Satoshi Oda was furious and cursed at Sachiko Kirihara for ten days.

I wasn’t interested at the time so I didn’t even remember the reporter’s name, but it was him.

“Never give me an interview!”

“Okay, I’ll decline. I forgot to water that plant, so I’ll go and water it right away.”

Kim Mi-ja went outside and took out the cell phone she used to contact Cha Ju-han.

I just sent him a recording of our conversation.

I thought it would be better to get to the conclusion quickly, so I decided to send it without a translation.

Since Kang Su-il is good at Japanese anyway, we can just ask him for the information.

She added a brief comment at the end.

[I think reporter Sachiko Kirihara could be your best friend.]