Leo was sitting in his ninth grade classroom, paying attention for the most part, but staring out the window when things got too boring. The door to the room opened and everyone glanced up, eager for a distraction.

This distraction would prove to be an unwanted one, as the men who walked in were wearing police uniforms. The teacher stopped talking mid-sentence and looked at them in astonishment. Leo looked away from the window and at the officers curiously, wondering what on earth necessitated them to come into a middle school classroom.

His silent inquiry was answered when one of the officers strode right up to his desk and asked, “Jung Taekwoon?” Leo nodded, bewildered. “Stand up please, Taekwoon-ssi.”

Leo did so slowly, eyeing the officer suspiciously. He had every right to be suspicious when the man took out a pair of shiny handcuffs and told him to turn around. He felt the weight of the silver bracelets pulling his thin arms down and he faced the officer again; this time when he looked at the man, his eyes were blazing with anger and confusion.

“Let’s go.” With a hand on his shoulder, the officer rejoined his partner in the front of the room with Leo and the three of them walked out of the school together, the classroom breaking into whispers behind them, and into a police car parked outside the building.

When they got to the station fifteen minutes later, Leo still had not a clue why on earth he had been arrested and he wasn’t going to open his mouth to ask. He had a go-with-the-flow attitude even then. He was deposited in an interrogation room unceremoniously and left alone to wait. Eventually, with nothing to do, Leo put his head awkwardly on the table in front of him and closed his eyes.

He was roughly shaken awake about an hour later and he blinked in the bright lights confusedly, unsure for a moment where he was. He was reminded rather quickly when he tried to rub his eyes and found his hands shackled together behind his back. He looked across the table at a different officer staring at him, waiting patiently for him to get his bearings.

“Do you know this girl?” The officer slid a picture in front of Leo and he looked at it, taking in the girl’s pretty features disfigured by a beating. She looked to be around his age, maybe a little younger. Leo looked away and back at the officer. He shook his head. “Take another look. Are you sure you don’t know her?”

Leo nodded, completely sure he’d never seen this girl in his life.

“Well she seems to know you. When we asked who beat and her, she specifically said your name and where you go to school. Now I’m going to ask you again, do you know this girl?” Leo shook his head vigorously and sat back in his chair, sure that this was just a misunderstanding.

“Where were you last night at 9:30 PM, Taekwoon? Were you at Seo Joohyun’s house, beating and her?” Leo’s eyes widened in shock at the outrageous accusation. I’m only fourteen! But now that her name had been said, he did recognize her. She went to his school, but she was in the grade below him. He shook his head again, trying desperately to tell the officer without words that he was not the one they were looking for. The officer seemed to be getting tired of his silence and leaned forward. “Answer me, dammit, where were you at 9:30 last night?”

Leo screwed his eyes shut as tightly as he could, as if by sealing himself in darkness it would make the situation magically disappear. Finally, the officer gave up and left the room. Before the door shut all the way, Leo could hear voices outside, both sounding angry.

“You can’t question an underage kid without his guardian or a lawyer present! Anything he said just now can’t be used as evidence.”

"Then it looks like we’re both in luck, sir, because the kid hasn’t said a word.”

The door closed and Leo was locked in silence once more.