“Drop your weapon now!” a policeman yelled. They knew there was a gun in the box. While the police surrounded us, the fear overtook my face and I glanced at Changwook.

“Now!” another cop yelled. Changwook carefully put the box on the ground as he kept his gaze at the police. “Put your hands up!” he demanded and we did what we were told.

“SoHee-ah,” he whispered, “You have to listen to me, okay?” he glanced at me and said, “Whatever they will say or ask you during interrogation, just say you don’t know. They might make up some bullsh*t to scare you so they can get information out of you. That’s one of their tactics. ”

“I’m scared…” I murmured.

“I know you are, but don’t worry. You will be fine. Just remember what I said,” he assured and from the corners of my eyes, I could see the cops were slowly coming closer to us.

“What are they going to do? What’s going to happen to us?” I asked nervously.

“They will arrest us,” he answered and my eyes widened in shock, “Don’t worry, they will release you soon.“ he told me.

“But-“ the cop interrupted me and grabbed my wrist. I shifted my gaze to the cop who was holding me and to Changwook again.

“You’ll be fine, SoHee. Remember what I said, okay?” he reminded me again. Then I witnessed a policeman grabbed his arm, forced him to put his hands behind his back and handcuffed him.

“Ma’am,” I heard the cop called and I looked at him, “You are under arrest for possession of a firearm. You have the right to retain and instruct counsel without delay. We will provide you with a toll-free telephone lawyer referral service if you do not have a lawyer. Anything you say can be used in court as evidence. Do you understand? Would you like to speak to a lawyer?” he asked as he handcuffed me.

“Yes,” I nodded.

As the police pulled me away, I turned around and looked at ChangWook. He gave me a half smile and nodded his head to assure me that everything would be okay.

While we were on our way to the police station, the police had already started questioning me about the gun.

“Whose gun is it?” the cop in the passenger seat asked.

“I don’t know,” I answered as I stared at the handcuff on my wrists.

“You don’t know? We caught you with the gun,” he stated.

“I don’t know anything,” I replied.

“You know you’re charged with possession of a firearm, right?” he reminded me.

“Yes, sir,” I responded.

“Then do you know what’s the sentence would be for having a gun illegally?” he asked.

“No…” I said.

“Have you ever been arrested or charged before?” he questioned.

“No, sir,” I replied.

“If this is your first offence, the punishment would be maximum three years in prison,” he informed, “And if there’s any bullet, each bullet is addition one year in prison,” he continued. I clenched my fists as I closed my eyes in fear. “The person you were with, is he your friend or boyfriend?” he asked.

“Boyfriend,” I answered.

“Well,” he paused, “your boyfriend said it’s your gun,” he lied. I remembered what ChangWook had told me, so I knew he was lying to me.

“That’s not true,” I responded.

“It’s true,” he said and continued, “I just received a message from an officer, who’s with him now, told me that your boyfriend said it’s your gun.”

“He’d never say that. Don’t lie,” I confronted him.

“Look, I’ve been a cop for many years. I’ve witness many people who got arrested end up turning their backs on each other. I’m just trying to help you here, missy. Or else you’d end up in jail and ruin your life. So, you better say something now before it’s too late,” he warned.

Later, the police notified me that we had arrived at a police station, which I wasn’t aware of because we entered the station through a garage instead of the front entrance. They took me out of the vehicle and guided me inside the station. A female officer approached me and repeated the Miranda rights to me again. Then she told me that she’d had to do a body search on me before they could take me in the interrogation room.

After I was body searched, a female officer took me in a small room. In the room, there was nothing except a chair. As soon as I sat down, and I began feeling very anxious because I didn’t know what would happen to me next. I was already mentally and physically drained. The only thing that was in my mind was ChangWook. I believed he was probably going through the same thing as I was, which was being locked up in a room.

‘This is all my fault…’ I thought as I ran my fingers through my hair.

Then I heard a knock on the door. The same female officer, who took me in this room, came in.

“Do you know why you are here?” she asked.

“Yes,” I answered.

“Then could you tell me anything about the gun?” she questioned.

“I don’t know,” I replied.

“Well, you better tell me something,” she demanded and said, “You’re charged with possession of a firearm meaning if you’re found guilty you’d be sentenced to three years in prison. And do you know if there’s any bullet in the gun?” and I shook my head. “I’m going to give you some time to think about it,” she said and closed the door.

“Oh god…” I whispered and buried my face in my hands.

I wasn’t sure how long I had been waiting in the room. There was no clock in the room, and I didn’t have anything on me because the cops took all of my belongings; so I had no idea what time it was. I paced back and forth as I waited, and I had no idea what I was waiting for because I had never been in a situation like this before; I wished someone could tell me what to do. Finally, someone knocked on the door. It was the same officer again.

“So?” she started, “Do you have anything to say?” she asked again.

“I’ve told you already. I don’t know anything, I answered.

“Okay, Well, I have to let you know that you will have to appear in court tomorrow morning. So, you will have to stay here tonight,” she informed me.

‘,’ I cursed in my mind.

“You are allowed to only make one phone call,” she told me, “Who do you want to call?” she asked.

“My mom,” I responded.

“Okay, give me your mom’s number. Oh, and also you might want to tell your mom to appear in court with you so she could bail you out,” she advised and I gave her my mom’s number.

After a while, the officer came in and handed me a phone. She told me it was my mom.

“Mom?” I answered the phone.

“SoHee-ah, what happened? Are you okay?” the tone of her voice, I could tell she was very concerned.

I told my mom everything and let her know about I’d need her to go to court the next morning to bail me out. After I spoke with my mom, a male officer came in and told me he had to take my photographs and fingerprints. After that was done, he took me to a different room which appeared more like a cell except there was no