FIFTY: NOT A MAN
YUURI POV
"I am Attorney Byun Baekhyun representing SAN company in this case," Byun Baekhyun said and Yuuri stood as she looked at him.
"I am Kang Yuuri, the attorney representing the defendant of the case, Mr. Kim Yeon," I replied.
"Recently, it has been recorded that the death of Mr. Kim was inside the SAN building. But the company refuses to compensate the worker as it was an accidental death of cardiac arrest which was announced and released to the public," Baekhyun said.
"Objection! Mr. Kim did not die of cardiac arrest, rather he was killed in the SAN building. The victim did have a history of heart disease in his medical record, but it is not justified or proven that his death is caused by that," I replied as I lifted my glasses up my nosebridge.
"Objection! What makes you say that Mr. Kim was murdered? Do you have solid evidence to prove that his heart disease was not a reason that he died?" Baekhyun asked.
"It was proven in the hospital records in Seoul Medical Hospital that he was precripted with medicine for his disease. At 7:00 P.M. nighttime after supper, Mr. Kim took the tablets and died at 7:15 P.M. So it can be concluded that someone has switched out Mr. Kim's tablets and has given him a drug toxic to his body," I replied.
"And how do you prove your resolve that someone in SAN truly did the deed? Your honor, may I have the permission to call on our witness for today's trial?" Baekhyun asked and the judge nodded.
"May we call on the witness in the scene, the cafeteria clerk, Ms. Song Jia?" The judge asked and the witness stepped up to speak.
"It was in 7:00 P.M. that Mr. Kim took his medicine after dinner. I was certain that he clutched his heart and started coughing. Mr. Kim has always said that he had heart problems, and I was the one who called an ambulance on him," The witness said.
"Objection! How are you officially certain that it was because of his heart disease? According to the report, Mr. Kim's medicine is a fast-acting, and a very effective and first-class medicine that soothes his heart. Would he not have died at that point, right after taking his medicine?" I asked.
"Objection! Mr. Kim's finances are said to be rough especially as his family cannot afford to have a stable life. What makes you say that Mr. Kim can afford such first-class medicine? Unless he bought a cheaper one which led to his death?" Baekhyun asked.
"This is the container that has Mr. Kim's medicine in it. It has been diagnosed that the pills are nothing like the pills he had purchased. Rather, they were pills filled with potassium cyanide. The pills contained inside the container are blue pills and are nothing like the white pills Mr. Kim takes. And it is found out that the potassium cyanide powder matches that exact same ingredient mixture with SAN Pharmaceutical's pills," I said.
"We also conducted a scan and found Mr. Kim's daily logbook found in his locker in SAN. It appears that Mr. Kim worked in SAN lab and was under one of your workers, Kim Namjoon," I said.
"Kim Namjoon has always been assisting SAN Lab despite being an underaged man that is not fitting to be in a lab full of chemicals. It has been written in Mr. Kim's log that he had angered Mr. Kim Namjoon because of a certain information he found out which was not supposed to be disclosed, and it was recorded on the same day he died," I said.
"Objection! Mr. Kim Namjoon has not interacted with Mr. Kim at all in that day. And you say he angered him? Do you have sufficient evidence?" Baekhyun asked.
"Objection! Surveillance camera footage from 6:50 P.M. was seen that Mr. Namjoon was walking past Mr. Kim's locker that night. It was also closely seen that he was holding a white container in his left hand, and at 6:55 P.M. he was seen entering the cafeteria right before Mr. Kim," Yuuri said.
"A new person has been added to the trial. Mr. Kim Namjoon, please take a stand," the judge said.
"I did not do anything to Mr. Kim that day, I may have been angry with him, but I would not resort to such measures," Namjoon said.
"Then would you like to explain this? With the permission of the police, I was able to search the cafeteria, the area Mr. Kim died and found a white container filled with white pills, and after further scanning, it has been revealed to be the exact same prescription pills Mr. Kim would have taken for his disease found in the disposal bin of the cafeteria kitchen," I said and Namjoon's eyes widened.
"Y-you... Ms. Song was the one who had heart disease. It can be anyone in the building who can have those pills, not only Mr. Kim, why are you accusing me?" Namjoon said and I smiled as I crossed my arms.
"I have also reviewed copies of every worker and their health checks which was renewed just last week. None of the workers have signs of heart disease except for Mr. Kim. Are you saying that Ms. Song was the one who intended to kill Mr. Kim?" I asked and Namjoon looked at the ground.
"If Ms. Song would be the perpetrator of the case, then Ms. Song would have already done the deed in killing Mr. Kim weeks and years ago as she was the one always preparing Mr. Kim's meals and always saw him taking his medicine, it would be a perfect opportunity for her to murder Mr. Kim. But why was it executed right at the time you came in to the cafeteria? Plus, surveillance also showed that you were whispering to Ms. Kim before leaving," Yuuri said and Namjoon ducked his head down.
"I... I...," Namjoon said.
"Mr. Kim Namjoon was already sentenced to juvenille jail for murdering people with a toxic gas. If proven guilty he will have an increased sentence in juvenile jail," the judge said as Namjoon stood there in his prisoner's uniform.
"It wasn't me.... he told me to do it," I heard a muttering and my eyes widened a bit as I heard Namjoon say something.
But if he was told to do it, what I should be focusing on is Mr. Kim's case and not him.
"It was also officially stated that Mr. Kim's cause of death was heart disease as a reciept by the Department of Health in South Korea, are you doubting the work of professionals who have studied this cause?" Baekhyun asked.
"In all due respect to them, but it was also found out that you have forged the statement yourselves, when in truth... you were the ones who burned the official reciept, didn't you? It has also been discovered by the police that there were ash remains of paper at the very back of SAN building," I said as I showed him my solid evidence, and Baekhyun's eyes widened.
"And to sum up all my evidences, a scan also was performed on the white container thrown away in the bin, and it matched the exact same fingerprints as Kim Namjoon's. And no one in the logbook has ever had hatred towards Mr. Kim, and was rather respected except for Mr. Kim Namjoon. Mr. Kim has not gotten an autospy because his death was speculated as "accidental", but I also gathered a reciept from laboratory scan that what Mr. Kim did consume was a product of SAN's potassium cyanide," I said and the judge looked at the evidences I gathered.
What is this feeling?
A feeling of adrenaline inside me?
It is the thrill of being in court trial, and me itching to serve justice for those with no voice.
Yes, the court is where I belong.
"I'm sorry! I'll speak up!" Ms. Song Jia said as tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Mr. Kim did not die of heart disease. That night, Kim Namjoon told me about the pills and I was told not to tell anyone about it! In reality, he switched the pills in Mr. Kim's locker. I'm sorry! I may be loyal to SAN, but I will never forgive myself for the rest of my life!" Ms. Song said and Baekhyun looked at his client, who stayed silent, and Namjoon closed his eyes as he sighed.
"With the judge's decision, it has been concluded that SAN company is entirely responsible for the death, now murder of Mr. Kim, and is now expected to pay a monetary compensation to the victim's family," the judge said as he looked at me.
"Court adjourned."
Baekhyun stared at me as the people watching the trial applauded. And Baekhyun gave me a cold stare before walking away with his client, and I couldn't help but ask myself.
Did I do something wrong? We were just doing our jobs as attorneys.
"Woahhh! That rookie attorney is a monster! She literally destroyed SAN's attorney?"
"Kang Yuuri, interesting indeed," one of the audience said.
"The way she got a witness from the other side turn to her statement. I haven't seen anything like it in 25 years of my career," he chuckled.
"Kang Yuuri is like a wolf clothed in sheep's clothing. She seems innocent, but will always wait for the right time to bite, she makes the court belong right in her palms."
-
"Baekhyun," I called as I walked towards him, and he glanced at me before staying silent.
"Baekhyun? Are you.... alright?" I tried to ask, and Baekhyun furrowed his brows as he looked at me.
"What's your problem?" Baekhyun asked as he put some distance between us before looking the other way.
"You went to Harvard, right? Do you... want to talk about it? You can also tell me about your new girlfriend, if you do!" I smiled, and Baekhyun looked at his phone before sighing.
"I have nothing to talk to you about, Yuuri. In fact, you've changed," Baekhyun said as he burrowed his hand in his pocket.
"You're not the Yuuri I used to know," Baekhyun said as he looked at the window.
"You were totally different now that you graduated, don't you think so?" Baekhyun asked as he looked at her.
"How did you end up so... violent and hostile? You wanted to win so badly like your life depends on it," Baekhyun said.
"So it is true," Yuuri said quietly as she looked down at the floor.
"The saying where men fear powerful women, it's true, right?" Yuuri asked as she looked at him.
"We both promised that we weren't gonna let our personal feelings get to each other if ever we face eath other on court, and it was broken," Yuuri said and Baekhyun stayed silent.
"I changed because I knew what I wanted to do. Back then, I was solely still finding myself with your support, but then I realized that I would be doing much better after all those years with you gone," I said as I looked at him painfully.
"I've changed, but what about you, Baekhyun? You've also changed, I thought you wanted to work for good, never knew you turned into a slave," I replied and Baekhyun's eyes widened.
"Slave...?! How dare you call me a slave? It was them who wanted me to defend them in the first place," Baekhyun gritted and I stared at him.
"And you think that's reasonable? You think you won't feel guilty carrying someone's murder as a natural disease while letting the killer loose? You've changed," I said as I took my bags.
"In the end, I'll keep calling you a slave, Baekhyun. Because I thought you were nothing like those men who see me as a vulnerable person who'd break so easily, turns out you don't even deserved to be called a man," I said coldly before walking away.
TWO YEARS LATER
THIRD PERSON POV
"Ms. Yuuri!" A voice called through the echoes just as Yuuri was about to leave the venue.
"Yes?" Yuuri replied as she came face-to-face with an unfamiliar highschooler, about a few inches shorter than her, a bowl cut, anf he wore a uniform.
"Ms. Yuuri, you were... so amazing!" He said as he looked at her in amazement and awe.
"Actually, I'm studying to become a lawyer as soon as I graduate, and I-I didn't know what to do with myself," he smiled as he did a bow of 90 degrees infront of her.
"Yuuri Kang! Please! Please be my mentor!" He shouted in the halls, and Yuuri was taken aback as she stared at this student who was chasing after her.
"But.... I'm still a fairly new senior attorney, I don't think I'm fit-"
"Ms. Yuuri! I've watched all your tapes, and saw you in the news and you won all of them! And I want to be like you, Yuuri noona!" He said as tears rolled down his cheeks.
"I... I wanna be someone great that helps other people too!" He sobbed, and Yuuri's eyes widened as she felt something in her chest as she stared at the boy.
"Someone who always serves justice, makes sure the truth is revealed, I'm ready to be your number two!" He said as he bowed again.
"What's your name, boy?" Yuuri asked as she looked at the boy.
"Choi Yeonjun, ma'am!"
4 YEARS LATER
"Ms. Kang Yuuri, it's a pleasure to see you again after so long... you came back to the alma mater, haven't you?" The director smiled kindly and Yuuri nodded as she got out of her car.
"I'm here to pick up my student from his classes, I also heard you wanted me to do a certain task," Yuuri smiled as she walked beside the old director.
"Actually, we have the list of SNU Department of Law applicants to choose this time of the year, we were wondering if the pride of our law department, Ms. Kang can use her outstanding knowledge in choosing one the students this year," he smiled as he handed her a bunch of files and USB flashdrives.
"The flashdrives?" She asked.
"They're videos of the applicants telling why they want to be law-related workers, Ms. Kang," he beamed and she nodded.
As she sat in the director's room, plugging in and sorting the drive and the files, her ears caught a specific question and answer portion from one student.
"Why do you want to be a lawyer?"
"I want to become a lawyer because I aspire a world where no lawyers are needed anymore."
"A world where attorneys aren't needed to clean up the dirt and reveal the truth, and a world where people have their rights and voice to speak and defend, I know it would be impossible, but atleast it wouldn't hurt for me to help the world be a step closer to that, right?"
"Mr. Director, can you tell me who this individual is?" Yuuri asked as her ears perked up in interest.
"Her name is Bae Soujin, ma'am."
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(UNEDITED)
A/N:
Vote or u will turn into an egg
I hope this clears a few points but dont worry I'll put a few more bits in the upcoming chapters for more explanation! <33