"Eunchae please don't play with my uniform," Yunjin groaned for what felt like the hundredth time when she felt the kindergartner start to fiddle around with the couple shiny silver badges adorning her chest. She was excited, Yunjin knew, Eunchae had never seen Yunjin in her actual dress uniform. For good reason too, Yunjin hated the thing, it was stiff and scratchy, she much preferred the jeans and jacket with her badge hanging from a small chain getup, she wore nearly every day. Eunchae complied, instead, wrapping her arms around Yunjin's neck as the detective carried her into the courtroom. Eunchae was nervous, the reappearance of Peng sandwiched between her and Yunjin just proved that to Yunjin. Originally she was going to tell Eunchae that she shouldn't bring it, it would be unprofessional, but Chaewon stopped her before she left telling her to let her bring a stuffie, a blanket, and her journal with some crayons. It was going to be a long day, and for Eunchae to have some comfort could be the difference between her testifying or her completely shutting down on the stand.
After finding the correct room, Yunjin let herself in, spotting the small gathering of their friends quickly. Sakura was there, also dressed in her dress uniform, Kazuha next to her, Hanni, Wonyoung, and Kyujin as well. Chaewon was contemplating having Kyujin testify for nearly a week, ultimately deciding that the five-year-old had been the closest to Eunchae throughout the year and she knew a lot. Yunjin made her way over to them, offering a quick hello as Wonyoung helped take the rolled-up blanket and notebook out of Yunjin's free hand. Eunchae let her head lay on Yunjin's shoulder as Sakura smiled up at her, "Hi Chae, you look pretty today."
She better. It took nearly a half-hour to convince Eunchae she couldn't go to court in her favorite pair of jeans and sweatshirt, another to actually get her into the nice clothes and hair brushed. Eunchae just nodded and tucked her face into Yunjin's neck, Yunjin sighed, "She's a bit nervous right now."
"That's fine," Sakura brushed off taking her seat, Kazuha sitting next to her. Kazuha was quiet, but she didn't look angry. Right now wasn't the time to try and resolve any sort of issues between the two. Yunjin took a seat as well, smiling as Kyujin unrolled the blanket and tucked it on Eunchae who looked back at her and offered a smile.
"Here, I brought some gummies because I know how much you like them." Kyujin smiled, holding up a plastic bag with quite a few gummies inside, she opened the bag and held one out to Eunchae which the girl scrunched her nose up in disgust before eating it. "I also brought the coloring book and Mommy said we can play games on her phone too. I downloaded the one with animals because you said it looked interesting and-"
"I tried to explain what was going on," Wonyoung leaned over and whispered to Yunjin, "I told her she needs to be nice to Eunchae because today was going to be rough, I didn't think she would be like this though."
"It's okay, she just wants to show Eunchae she cares. I think Eunchae likes it." If the wide smile on Eunchae's lips was any indicator, Yunjin was right. She seemed calm right now, Yunjin hoped it would stay like that the rest of the time.
Then they brought Eunjung in. Eunchae nearly bolted out of her seat towards the woman as soon as she saw her, Yunjin only catching her by her wrist as Eunchae tried to make her way to her mother.
"Mommy!" Yunjin tightened her grip on Eunchae's wrist as the girl tugged to try and get over to the woman who looked over in her direction, her expression dropping when she saw the child. This was the first time she saw the woman with her own two eyes, she looked better than she did in the photo, her long black hair tied back and a certain life back in her eyes. The young mother suddenly diverted her eyes, focusing on her shoes instead. Eunchae didn't seem to like that very much, "Mommy it's Eunchae! You remember me right?"
"Eunchae," Yunjin cut in, "You can't talk to her right now."
"But- I haven't talked to her this whole time." Eunchae pouted, looking up at Yunjin who just nodded in understanding. She sent another look at the mother who just looked scared and confused, nervously biting her fingernail. Her sleeve rolled down and Yunjin saw it; the snake wrapping around her wrist. Wait a second. Yunjin didn't have time to dwell on it because the judge was already entering and opening statements were beginning.
Joohyun was every bit as good as she heard, standing up and presenting the case as she knew it. Showing pictures of the terrible state the house was in and even some of the bruises on Eunchae's body. Telling how she put drugs over the safety of her daughter, exposing her to unspeakable horrors and abuse. Eunjung's lawyer tried to paint the picture that Eunjung was a victim too, and that she actually wasn't the perpetrator.
After those were finished it was witness time, which meant Yunjin was up first. After nearly prying Eunchae off of her and letting her sit with Kyujin who made sure to cuddle her and wrap the blanket around the older girl's shoulders and fed her snacks. Yunjin made her way to the witness stand, made her oath and let the process begin.
"Can you please state your name for the record." Joohyun started, adjusting her microphone gently.
"Detective Huh Yunjin."
"Alright, and Hong Eunchae has been in your care for about three months now, is that correct?"
"Yes."
"Can you share with the court how you and Ms.Hong met?"
Yunjin cleared her throat, the feeling of everyone's eyes on her was never something she enjoyed, "I got off of work and went to get some pizza, Eunchae was staring at my piece from outside. It was cold and late so I invited her in to eat and then brought her to the station. I had done a demonstration at her school prior in the day, and her teacher had asked us to do a wellness check, but I did not interact with her at that point."
Joohyun nodded, "What was Ms.Hong's state when she first came into your custody?"
"Physically she was very skinny and had bruises all over her body. Mentally-" Yunjin trailed off thinking back to it, "She used to walk around like all of the weight was on her shoulders. She got scared of men very easily and would cry whenever someone new came over our house. She wasn't in a good state."
"Has Ms.Hong ever talked to you about anything that happened in her old household?"
"Yes." Yunjin spoke, "Eunchae only opened up once, and she told me how her Mom used to have friends over and they would play games . She spoke about how she didn't like them and how they would hurt her. She also said that her mom made her help her get medicine."
"Do you know what helping meant?"
"I do not know for sure."
Joohyun hummed and gave the signal for the defense lawyer to question her if she wanted, he withheld. He could probably tell Yunjin wasn't about to speak in the way he wanted her to.
This was going to be a long day
***
Both Hanni's and Kyujin's testimony went fairly quickly, just a few questions about Eunchae and what she had disclosed with them. Both of them seemed eager to help, and answered clearly to whatever Chaewon asked them, Kyujin especially, almost skipping back to her seat with pride feeling like she defended her friend.
As much as she didn't want it to come, Eunchae was called up. Gripping onto Yunjin for dear life, the detective managed to bring them both to the stand, situating Eunchae in her lap and gave her a reassuring smile. Eunchae insisted on having Yunjin there with her as soon as the option was presented, and neither party had any objections if that meant Eunchae would speak. This was going to be a balancing act, trying to gently prod Eunchae into giving information, and back off before she decided she was done talking. Eunchae looked terrified, fumbling around with Peng looking around the courtroom with her big eyes trying to get a grip on what was going on. Chaewon almost wanted to question Eunchae, but Joohyun insisted and Chaewon complied. She trusted Joohyun.
"Hi, Eunchae," Joohyun smiled, stepping in the opposite direction of Eunchae's mother and her defense attorney trying to distract her, "How are you feeling right now?"
Chaewon could see Eunchae was tense, fiddling around with Peng in her arms. She held the penguin's wing in her mouth, muffling her response, "Scared."
"Don't be scared, I just need to ask you a few questions and then you can go home," Joohyun always had this comforting aura around her, Chaewon was thankful for that. This seemed to relax Eunchae the smallest amount, even though she took Yunjin's arm and wrapped it around her. "So Eunchae, did you use to live with that woman over there?"
"Yes."
"Who is she?"
"My mommy."
Joohyun nodded, "Has your mommy ever hit you, or hurt you in any way?"
"One time."
"When was that?"
"When she didn't get her medicine," Eunchae spoke, really softly Yunjin had to reach over and adjust the mic, "She told me that I needed to help her friends, but she didn't want me to at first but, but they wouldn't give it to her so she let them."
"How did you help them?"
Eunchae shook her head, bring her hands over her eyes, almost crying. Joohyun shot Chaewon a quick look, trying to see if the woman knew what that meant. Chaewon had no clue. Yunjin tried to pry Eunchae's hands away to no avail, Eunchae was making herself clear that she didn't want to talk about it.
"Okay, okay," Joohyun backed off, "What happened after you helped them."
Eunchae's eyes had this haze to it when she removed her hands, it was honestly scary. It was clear Eunchae was traumatized, even so, the point of even trying to formulate what she wanted to say sent her reeling because she had to think about it. Sneaking a peek over at Eunjung, she could see a tear dripping down her cheek as well. Whatever happened probably would stay between the two forever, especially if both of them were adamant about not speaking. "She gave me a bath because she told me I was dirty and disgusting. And-" Eunchae took a deep breath tightening her grip on Yunjin's hand, "She got distracted because she had her medicine and Mr.Viper did it, but he held my head under the water until she cried and tried to get him to stop."
All the air felt like it had been sucked out of Chaewon's lungs. She looked up to see Yunjin's horrified expression along with their friends. Chaewon could almost see it, the dingy bathroom she had agonized over through photos, whoever Mr.Viper was holding Eunchae underwater as her mother screamed and cried. Joohyun looked equally as disturbed, having to collect herself before moving on with her questioning, "What happened after?"
"He hit her and screamed at her. She cried." Eunchae sniffled, "I tried to stop him but then she hit me and told me to leave. So I did, I went over Kyujin's and she snuck me in her window and went and got food from her fridge without her mommies knowing."
"Did Kyujin give you food often?"
"She would share her lunch with me and I'd go over her house for dinner sometimes."
"Why didn't you just eat at home?"
"There wasn't any food, and I wanted to be good so I didn't ask."
"Did you feel safe?"
"No."
"Why?"
Chaewon watched as Eunchae tightened her grip on Peng, shaking her head. She let out a sigh, 'C'mon Eunchae, you can do it.' Eunchae looked like she had so much to say, but not enough words to describe what she wanted to say. In any other situation, Chaewon would think about how similar Yunjin and the child were, but right now Eunchae needed to answer. She looked like she was about to burst into tears at any second, her bottom lip trembling, to her credit though she was holding back quite well. Eunchae kept glancing over at her mom, before leaning close to the microphone again, "I was scared. I just wanted to be good! But-But-"
This wasn't going anywhere. Joohyun relented and gave the signal to the defense attorney to start his line of questioning. Chaewon watched Eunchae retreat into herself as soon as he stood up and stood in front of her adjusting his cheap JCPenny suit, granted a good distance, but gave her a smile, "Hello, I'm Mr.Shin. I just need to ask you a few questions."
Hesitantly Eunchae nodded but buried her face in Yunjin's uniform-clad shoulder, she was trembling. This wasn't good. Chaewon knew Eunchae well enough to recognize when the girl was head towards a meltdown, and if this questioning didn't stop soon then it was going to have to if Eunchae refused to cooperate. "Now, was it your Mommy who hit you usually?"
Eunchae shook her head.
That motherfucker. At that moment Chaewon realized his whole plan, first, he was going to paint the picture of Eunjung as being as scared as Eunchae was, then he was going to get the child abuse charge dismissed because Eunjung didn't regularly hit Eunchae, only allowed others to do it, and ultimately have her serve a lesser time for only child neglect, drug possession, and resisting arrest because the judge would take pity on her. Chaewon rubbed her face, this wasn't good.
"Who is Mr.Viper?"
"A bad guy."
"How?"
"He hurt us and would bring mommy her medicine. I don't like him." Eunchae's voice was starting to get strained and she was starting to fidget in Yunjin's arms not even looking at him anymore, just trying to hide away in Yunjin's embrace. "I don't want to talk about this."
He clenched his jaw a bit, shaking his head, "But he was the one to hurt you not your mommy."
"She just let us play games."
"What type of games?"
"We would play catch and he would throw the ball really hard. Or we would play hide and seek and if he found me he could kick me." Eunchae was starting to cry now, and Yunjin was concerned as well, it was written all over her face. "Please stop talking about it."
Chaewon sent Joohyun a look, she looked concerned biting the tip of her pen. He pressed once again, "But it wasn't your Mommy right? She didn't actually hurt you?"
"She did hurt me! She let them hurt me!" Eunchae was starting to get frustrated.
"Did she actually do anything herself though?" He pressed. Chaewon could almost see the exact moment Eunchae shut down completely. It was probably a mix of things, the stress of this all, the pure panic when she saw that man in the supermarket, this man she had no idea asking her a lot of questions, having to remember things she would much rather forget, but everyone heard Eunchae's first cry as she dug her face deeper into Yunjin's shoulder. "Ms.Hong?"
The kindergartener suddenly covered her ears, shaking her head as she squirmed in Yunjin's arms, the detective just trying to bounce her gently and calm her down. It took everything in Chaewon not to walk over there and comfort her, but Yunjin looked like she had a good grip on it. Lawyer Shin let out an annoyed huff, "We are done with questioning the witness."
Yunjin was quick to take Eunchae out of the room, sending Chaewon a text that she was in the bathroom with her trying to calm her down. Sending her a picture of Eunchae sitting on the floor coloring next to her, and a message not to worry and wrap things up. They only reemerged about two hours later after final statements and when during the break for the judge to deliberate. Apparently Eunjung was about as talkative as Eunchae, they even shared similar nervous habits during her questioning.
Her lawyer's final statement was quite powerful, telling the narrative how a nineteen-year-old girl desperate to take care of her daughter was scammed into coming here, and this 'Mr. Viper' stole her passport, got her hooked on drugs, and then made her work for him. That she wasn't a monster, just a mother trying her best. To an extent, Chaewon guessed that was true, but she deserved to pay for not protecting the person who couldn't protect herself.
Ten years. As soon as the verdict escaped the judge's mouth, the atmosphere in the room changed as everyone let out a collective breath. Ten years felt like a long time but somehow not long enough. Eunjung seemed to have accepted it, just nodding her head slowly as she was about to be led out. But this time Yunjin wasn't fast enough to stop Eunchae.She slipped under the divider and threw herself at her Mom's legs, the mother melted down to the floor to give her a hug.
"I miss you," Eunchae admitted, her voice muffled by how she had her face buried in Eunjung's shoulder. "I broke my promise, I'm sorry."
"It's okay." Eunjung comforted, looking up at the ceiling trying to will away her now glossy eyes, she grabbed onto Eunchae just as tightly as the young girl was holding her. The tension in the courtroom was thick, Chaewon could tell the guards on either side of Eunjung would jump in if anything went wrong but they were just watching like the rest of them, Yunjin also looked stressed, standing still staring at the scene. Eunjung broke away first, waiting for Eunchae to look up, a few fat tears running down her chubby cheeks. The expression on her face was something Chaewon couldn't describe, staring down at her child with this sad but almost relieved smile as she let herself look at Eunchae's state, eyes full of remorse. Eunjung's bottom lip trembled as she ran a hand through Eunchae's hair, before wiping away one of her tears, "Are they taking care of you?"
Eunchae sniffled and nodded, "I live with Chaewon and Yunjin now, can you come over soon? Chaewon makes really good food and reads stories to me, and Yunjin is so cool, she gives me cuddles and catches bad guys!"
Letting out a slight watery laugh, Eunjung smiled a few tears slipping down her cheeks, "I'm glad they're taking care of you, that's all I want-" Her voice cracked, "I can't come over, Mommy needs to go away for a long time now."
"Where? You can just live with us, it's safe."
"Mommy needs to go to jail now baby."
"W-what?" Eunchae furrowed her brows, "Only bad guys go to jail. You're not a bad guy, the uncles are the bad guys."
Opting to be quiet, Eunjung just stroked Eunchae's hair a few times gazing at her child. Chaewon could tell she was trying to memorize the girl's face, it was going to be a very long time until she would ever see it again. "Mommy wasn't very nice to you. I-" Eunjung let out a choked sob, struggling for breath, "I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry Eunchae, I hurt you so bad. I-"
This time it was Eunchae's turn to wipe away her Mother's tears, "It's okay, I still love you."
That's all it took for Eunjung to break, letting her upper body fall down to the floor in a full bow as she sobbed. Empathy, That was always the thing that Chaewon's parents had always instilled in her. Being able to put yourself in someone else's shoes, as Chaewon stared at the young mother's hysterical form she tried to do just that. Young, and desperate, she got tricked and scammed into a life she didn't want. Eunjung still needed to face the consequences of her actions, what happened wasn't acceptable, but Chaewon felt pity still. The young mother just offered broken apologies that were barely coherent before Joohyun motioned for the guards to take her away, Eunchae didn't need to see all that. They did so surprisingly peacefully, Eunjung letting them help her up and out of the courtroom trying to send Eunchae one last reassuring smile, trying to have her daughter's last image of her something good, not the pathetic woman she had become.
Just the quiet murmur of people leaving and the soft rustle of the lawyers organizing their papers pertained, as Chaewon made eye contact with Yunjin before they both made their way to Eunchae who just stared in the direction that her mother left. Eunchae sounded almost angry when she spoke up, "You said you sent bad guys to jail."
"Eunchae-"
The child whipped around, angry tears streaming down her face. "Why does she have to go away but Mr.Viper is still out there! It's not fair!"
"Eunchae, she hurt you. She deserves this." Sana just sat down, letting her head rest against the wooden divider separating where the crowd could spectate and where the action happened. "Mommies make sure their kids have food and clothes, and mommies shouldn't have made you do the things she made you do. She's a bad guy too."
Eunchae just sat there stared at her, betrayal written across her features. Peng was clutched in her arms, her lip wobbling. "You lied."
"I didn't-"
"You didn't catch the bad guys!" Eunchae sounded angry, but Chaewon wasn't entirely sure what at. Sure she was saying this, but Eunchae had a habit of hiding what she felt behind fake anger or sadness for something else. They'd let Sunmi handle trying to explain this to Eunchae, now they just needed to get her home and maybe to bed. She looked exhausted. Yunjin stood up, reaching down to pick Eunchae up, but was met with resistance.
"Don't touch me." Eunchae growled, pushing Yunjin's hands away. The detective obliged, moving her hands back to her sides as she just let out a sad sigh. Eunchae walked past her to where Kyujin was, the girl didn't say much, just held out her hand for Eunchae and the older took it.
Yunjin looked heartbroken at that, ironing her face to its usual flat expression in a few seconds, turning to Chaewon and motioning that they should start heading home. They did the right thing, but now the challenge was to get Eunchae to see that.