"Mr. Kim, how long have you known the defendant?" Mr. Chyeong questions Taehyung and his signature boxy smile shows.
"Ever since she moved to Korea, we were in the same classes together ever since."
"How old are you now, Mr. Kim?"
"17."
"So you've known each other for over 9 years?"
"Yes."
"How long have you been dating Miss Sullivan?"
Taehyung scrunches up his face as he thinks, he looks over at CiCi and a playful grin grows, "Our 4 year anniversary will be in December."
"So you've been with her for a relatively long time?"
"Yes."
"How long have you been helping Miss Sullivan with kidnapped victims?"
"Almost three years, I found out what she was doing when she came to school one day with new bruises and a black eye. She told me about Mr. Lee." Taehyung's expression changes and he takes in a deep breath, "At first I thought she was being mistreated by our classmates, but when she told me about how she saved those two girls and how Mr. Lee attacked her. I felt like I needed to protect her, I felt awful that she was hurt like that. She told her parents that she was just being bullied, which wasn't a lie. She was being bullied.. she just.. didn't tell the whole truth."
"So you agree to Miss Sullivan being a compulsive liar?"
"Do not put words in my mouth." Taehyung snaps, "I never said anything of the sort, I do not appreciate you trying to manipulate what I say to your advantage. I say what I say, and mean what I say."
Mr. Chyeong looks shocked at how Taehyung responded to his accusations, "You really do care for Miss Sullivan, don't you?"
"With all my being." Taehyung relaxes back in his seat, "I'd lay my life down for her, she knows that. She doesn't like it, but she can't stop me."
"Would you ever... lie for her, Mr. Kim?"
"Now that all depends on the situation," Taehyung hunches over the stand and presses his fingertips together, "Here in court? No, I would never lie for her. But out there in the streets, if some random guy came up to me and asked if I knew her whereabouts or if I've ever seen her, I would lie. If I had the sense of danger I would lie. Here, I have no reason to, I have nothing to hide and neither does CiCi."
"Just to clarify, you said you would lie for Miss Sullivan?"
"If the circumstances forces me to." Taehyung drawls out and Mr. Chyeong smirks.
"Would Miss Sullivan ever lie for you?"
"You'll have to ask her that yourself, I can't answer for her."
"I see, but she can answer for you?"
Taehyung stirs in his seat, "I don't know what you mean."
"Well it's apparent who runs this operation, I wouldn't be surprised if Miss Sullivan lied on your name to save her own hide."
"You take that back you miserable piece of—"
"Mr. Kim," the judge glares down at the young man, "I'd advise you to control your temper."
"My apologies, your honor, but I don't appreciate how Mr. Chyeong is being disrespectful towards Miss Sullivan." Taehyung looks up at the judge with a softened gaze before he looks back to the attorney.
"Now like I was saying, Miss Sullivan seems to be the brains of this operation, which makes you the brawn. You seem like a strong young man, and you have no reason to go against Miss Sullivan's word, you love this girl, do you not?"
"I do."
"And you would do anything for her, wouldn't you?"
"I would."
"So perhaps, by chance, she would use you for her own benefit?"
"Never." Taehyung glares at the man in front of him, "Why would she ever use me?"
"Why wouldn't she use you, Mr. Kim? You're a young and naïve man, she could have you wrapped around her little finger and you wouldn't even know it!"
CiCi has been forcefully biting her tongue during the entire altercation, she wanted to butt in, she wanted to scream at Mr. Chyeong for trying to confuse Taehyung, for trying to make her seem like a bad person. But she knew she could jeopardize her case, so she bit her tongue harshly and waited for this mess to be over.
"Do you have any point?" Taehyung raises his brow, "All you've been asking me is my relations towards Miss Sullivan and trying to accuse her of brainwashing me. If you don't have anything left to ask, I would like to go back sitting next to my girlfriend, please."
"I do have plenty of questions to ask you, Mr. Kim." Mr. Chyeong giggles like a school girl, "What made you want to stay in this business of man hunting?"
"It's not a business," Taehyung deplored and he held his hands tightly together, "How many times do we have to tell you? There's nothing about this that makes it a business! And to answer your question, Mr. Chyeong, I stayed in this because I not only wanted to protect CiCi, but I wanted to help her help others. We didn't just save women, we've saved men as well! Almost half of those victims were men, and unlike you, they appreciate the help that we gave."
Mr. Chyeong didn't know what else to say, all of his questions were answered, but not in the way he had hoped. He hoped that Taehyung would fall for the word play, he hoped that if he planted the thought of possible betrayal from CiCi that Taehyung would go against her, but his plan failed, Taehyung was smarter than he thought.
Taehyung was dismissed back to his seat and CiCi was called to the stand next. As CiCi was standing up, Taehyung pressed a discreet kiss to her cheek. Although it was something she was used to, she found confidence and security in his actions.
Mr. Chyeong went first again, CiCi raised an unamused brow as she stares at the man.
"The star of the show, the woman who brings the kidnapped victims home and kills the kidnappers on sight, Korea's precious savior, Miss Ciline Sullivan." CiCi's blank expression didn't phase as she glares daggers into the man, she was beyond enraged, but she had to keep her cool, just a little bit longer. Once this was all over, she would be able to search for you, to bring you back home.
"Are you not the least bit guilty of your crimes?"
"What crimes do you speak of? I know nothing on what you proclaim." CiCi holds her chin up and lightly presses her tongue to the inside of her cheek.
"Thievery, murder, deceit, forgery, stalking, whichever you prefer, Miss Sullivan. Are you not guilty on any of them?"
"No—"
"Of course you aren't," Mr. Chyeong waves her statement off and continues his ramble, "You weren't ever guilty of those crimes because you believed you were doing the right thing."
"I did do the right thing."
"The right thing by stealing information? Killing people? You think that's the right thing?"
"I didn't steal anything, and I wouldn't have killed anyone if they didn't try to kill me first!" CiCi digs her nails into her palm, "I had to protect myself as well! My life is important, too!"
"But what about those who kidnapped? They're still people, they're still humans. Do they not get any of the same rights to life as you or me?"
"I gave them the opportunity to stop, I told them to just stay still and not try to do anything else! To just accept the fact they were going to jail and for it to be the end of it! But they tried to attack me again, so I shot them, and they turn out to be fatal wounds. I didn't want them to die!" CiCi's voice cracks as tears build up in her eyes, "I wanted to save them too! I wanted everyone to be alright, but it doesn't work like that! I can't save everyone, I wish I could but I just can't! I stay up every. Night" CiCi smacks the stand with an open palm in beat with her previous two words, "thinking what I could've done different, what I could have done to make sure that something like that would never happen again! But no matter what I do, the kidnappers always end up dying! You think that doesn't upset me? You think I'm some cold hearted bastard who doesn't have remorse?"
CiCi swipes angrily at her eyes and clears her throat, her face was red and a vein in her neck begins to pop out. She counted to ten in her head as she tries her best to control her temper. She never had a great hold on it, but what other choice did she have at the moment? CiCi was certain she's bound to pop a blood vessel.
"Miss Sullivan, I apologize for you feeling as such, but it still doesn't heal the fact that you've played judge, jury, and executioner! You've taken people from their homes just like a kidnapper! The only difference between you and them is that at least when they're kidnapped there's a chance for them to come back home, you killed, there's no going back home!" CiCi lets tears spill down her face as she takes in the truth. Mr. Chyeong was correct, there was no going back for those men and women she killed.
Mr. Chyeong smiles proudly, he could tell that CiCi was an emotional person, knock down her walls and she's as vulnerable as a baby bird. He's broke her, she's weak, and now for the real killing blow.
"Don't you think you should serve time for the crimes you've committed? Do time for taking the lives of people's children?" CiCi lowered her gaze as more tears flowed down her cheeks. Mr. Chyeong does a victory dance in his head, he's won this case.
But CiCi picks her head up and a determined passion burned in her brown eyes, "If I do time, who's going to save the victims that are still out there? Scared, alone, missing their families? If I go to jail, if Taehyung and I go to jail, who's going to save these people in the same amount of time as we do?"
"The police. It's their jobs to find people—"
"And that's what's so wrong with the world! We have to be paid to do the right thing! Why can't we just do the right thing and be ok with accepting a 'thank you' in return? Taehyung and I don't expect anything from these people, we just do the right thing, like how we're supposed to be doing... the right thing."
Mr. Chyeong nods his head, "No further questions, your honor."
CiCi lets out a shaky breath and Mr. Byun stands up and raises his chin.
"Miss Sullivan, there are some people here I would like you to meet." Mr. Byun speaks and a row of people stand, CiCi blinks slowly and her mouth hangs open, "I'm sure you remember them, Miss Sullivan. Can you all introduce yourselves?"
"Kim Ki,
Park Misun,
Han Raewook,
Kang Sanghee,
Dae Hyungjae,
Min Kiyoo."
Mr. Byun turns his attention back to CiCi and the shock on her face evident.
"These are some of the people that you have saved, Miss Sullivan, not all of them could make it because they had work."
"Objection! Can they do this?"
"I'll allow it." The judge's booming voice echos in the room.
"I am Kim Ki, Ciline, you saved my life. If it weren't for you, Lee Iseul would've held us until the day we died. You gave me my life back! I owe you everything!"
CiCi shakes her head and holds a proud smile, "You don't owe me anything. It was what I'm supposed to do."
~*~
"In the case of the people versus Kim and Sullivan, how do you find Mr. Kim?"
"We find Mr. Kim not guilty on all accounts."
The judge stirs in his seat, "In the case of the people versus Kim and Sullivan, how do you find Miss Sullivan?"
"We find Miss Ciline Sullivan....
Guilty."
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A/N: They found CiCi guilty because regardless of what she's done for the better, she still 'stole', so they still found her guilty.
I was going to do a double update... but I feel like you guys have waited long enough.