The Trial

Hyuk's trial was finally set.

After two months of investigations, a trial has finally been scheduled for Hyuk. Since Hyuk had already admitted to the murder, the court decided that one trial was sufficient, for now.

It was the day when his fate would finally be decided.

Gun came in as both the witness and as Hyuk's family member. Although Yeo Ri wanted to come, the doctor did not allow it under the basis that she was still not physically fit enough to handle the pressure of going to court.

Actually, it was not Dr. Jin who didn't allow her to go. It was actually Heo Woo Seung. He didn't want her to enter the spotlight and wanted to hide her so that the reporters wouldn't find out about her identity. He was already doing his best to suppress Hyuk's identity from leaking, and this was the only way he could think of to prevent Yeo Ri from entering the media's eyes.

In the end, she could only anxiously wait for the news regarding Hyuk's verdict to come out.

In Guk and Jin Goo were also in attendance. They sat at the defendant's side which was practically empty except for the few of them. Hwang Se Jin sat at the back row, intending to watch quietly.

The door opens, and amidst the flurry of reporters wishing to enter the venue, Hyuk came in, escorted by two guards. His face was covered by a black face mask, and a cap concealed his hair.

As the man passed his little brother, he stopped to ask, "Where's Yeo Ri?"

"Hospital. She's not well enough to come," Gun explained briefly.

Hyuk was about to reply, but the guard holding his arm did not allow him to. The man tugged his arm somewhat roughly, leading him to the defendant's seat.

Hyuk sent a scathing glare at the man, frowning. However, the trial was starting so he could only stuff his anger inside.

The prosecutors came in, followed by the judge. Then, the trial began.

The public prosecutor started with his opening statement, recounting the charges against Hyuk: Article 250, murder of one's lineal ascendant, and Article 136, obstruction of performance of official duties. Of course, his murder charge ended up being the highlight of the trial.

"—According to the evidence submitted to the court, it is clear that the defendant had intended to save his little sister, who, at the time of the incident, was being taken advantage of by the victim. It is clear that the defendant is simply exercising his rights to private defence. Therefore, I plead self-defence for his charges under Article 20 of the Penal Code," the defence attorney justified. His client had already confessed to the act, and the only thing he could do now was to justify it and mitigate his punishment.

"Correction, your honour," the public prosecutor refuted. "It is too excessive to call a murder 'self-defence'. The defendant already had a motive to kill the victim from the get-go, which can be proven by the witness statements. It is said by a witness and I quote, 'That man has never been kind to my brothers,' which tacitly referred to the domestic abuse that was happening in their home. This proves that the defendant intentionally killed the victim—his ascendant—as revenge. The number of wounds left on the victim's body was also a clear evidence of his motive. Your honour, it was not self-defence, but straight-up murder."

"Objection!" Hyuk's attorney yelled. He was beginning to grow incensed at the public prosecutor. What the heck? The victim was clearly the worst of the two criminals, so why was he pushing his client to get punished so badly? "While it is true that the defendant has killed the victim—out of self-defence—it was ultimately the victim's behaviour that had led to this occurrence. What kind of father rapes his own daughter?! The defendant had no choice but to save the young girl from being ruined! Is that not part of humanity? The defendant is no criminal; he simply did what he did to protect his precious younger sister!"

"Objection! It is clear from the defendant's criminal record that he was not a good person to begin with. The defendant had a history of aggressive behaviour and dozens of run-ins with the local police due to fighting. Even if he did not kill his father, he was bound to kill someone else sooner or later!"

"Your honour, may I request to call upon a witness to the stand?" The attorney on Hyuk's side silently clenched his jaw, his face darkening. His opponent was too biased. So what if he had a criminal record? He could only push forward with the self-defence motive.

The judge accepted the request. Moments later, Gun was called to the stand as the first witness. After stating his name and swearing to tell the truth, the attorney began asking questions.

"Lee Gun, did you witness the incident when it happened?"

"Yes. I arrived later, but it was after I arrived that Hyung knocked down the door and got into the room."

"Did you see it when the defendant stabbed the victim?"

"...I don't know. My memories are a little hazy."

"Can you try to recall?"

"I-I didn't? At that time, Yeo Ri was bleeding a lot so I couldn't think straight."

"So after witnessing the same scene, do you think that the defendant become angered and fought with the victim? And unable to control his strength, he accidentally killed him?"

"Yes. Hyung is very protective of our little sister. Hyung... is a good older brother. Our little sister had a bully some time ago and he lost his temper and beat the girl up all because the bully tripped her. It wasn't on purpose—Hyung loses his cool whenever our sister is involved. He doesn't think about how strong his punches are until he calms down. It's inevitable that people gets hurt."

"So what you're saying is, the defendant lost his mind when he saw his sister hurt?"

"Yes. It was really not on purpose—Hyung can be a little violent when triggered."

Then, it was the prosecutor's turn to ask questions.

"Did you remember the murder weapon? The knife? It was said that it belonged to you?"

"Yes." Gun unblinkingly answered. His palms and back were sweating but he forced himself to keep his cool.

"Why did you even have a knife? Were you also thinking of murdering the victim?" He asked, accusing Gun of being an accomplice.

"It was for self-defence. And also, I have a friend who had a knife collection so I became interested in it and bought one from him."

"I see." The prosecutor smiled strangely. These kids must really want to kill their dad that badly.

"Why? Are you saying that I'm an accomplice?" Gun tilted his head provocatively, but his heart was beating so loudly it felt as if it was about to fall out of his chest.

"Oi! That knife, I stole it from him!" Hyuk yelled, standing up abruptly. He wasn't going to let Gun get caught. Accomplice or whatever, who cares? As long as the boy was outside and free with Yeo Ri, he'd be happy to serve any length of sentence.

"Order! Order!" The judge shouted, knocking the wooden hammer on the desk. The guards near Hyuk hurriedly held him back so he wouldn't make a ruckus.

"The defendant says that the knife was stolen from you?"

"...Yes. I hid it somewhere in our room but I guess he found it."

"Is that so?"

"What's so strange about that?" Gun feigned nonchalance, "In our household, it was normal to have a weapon hidden somewhere. Just in case that man crossed the line. Yeo Ri hid one herself under her bed."

"The second witness did?" The attorney exclaimed in surprise. Even the judge was surprised by this revelation. They didn't find one, though?

"Yes. But I threw it away. Like an idiot." Gun grimaced. "If I hadn't thrown it away, she would probably have been safe back then. But I didn't want her to become a criminal, so I threw it away and replaced it with a taser and pepper spray. They were still useless, though."

"My brother is not as evil as you think. The only one who didn't think about getting a weapon was him. He had no intention to kill that man, he only wanted to... protect," Gun added. Heaving a deep breath, Gun quietly muttered, "He'd sacrifice even his life if it was for Yeo Ri's sake."