Yunho tried to keep himself from fidgeting in his seat knowing that Jaejoong was observing him. He watched with bated breath as Leeteuk finally emerged after a quick deliberation with the judge in his chambers along with  Siwon. He waited as the two took their seats behind the respondent’s and plaintiff’s tables respectively. He leaned over as Leeteuk silently conferred with him about what was agreed upon inside the chambers. He nodded his head in agreement and decided to give Jaejoong a smile of assurance knowing how worried the other was.

The judge entered the courtroom and so they all stood up. After banging the gavel, the court was resumed to session and their second day of trial was on its way.

“Your honor, the plaintiff would like to call Mrs. Choi as its witness.” Siwon said in a loud clear voice as Mrs. Choi, Yoochun’s school teacher was called to the stand.

After being sworn in, Mrs. Choi sat on the witness stand and waited as Siwon shuffled some papers in his desk before standing up and proceeding in front of her. “Mrs. Choi, would you please tell this court your occupation.”

“Ah yes, I am Mrs. Choi, Yoochun’s school teacher and advisor.” She stated.

With a nod of his head, Siwon looked at Mrs. Choi with a smile and asked, “Mrs. Choi, would you care to tell this court what kind of student Yoochun was at the beginning of the semester?”

“Yoochun was a silent boy. He didn’t say much, preferring to be on his own barely associating with his classmates.” She said.

“According to Mrs. Yoon, it seemed that Yoochun seemed to get in trouble a lot.” Siwon stated.

“He did.” She said slowly nodding her head. “He seemed to be bullied heavily by some of his classmates especially at the beginning of the school year.” She added.

“What were the reasons for the bullying Mrs. Choi?” Siwon asked.

“For a while it was on account of his being extremely quiet. Kids can be mean to those who are new and unusual. However, later according to some it was because of his brother being gay.” Mrs. Choi answered matter of factly.

“Objection your honor, hearsay.” Leeteuk interjected.

“Sustained,” said the judge. “Rephrase your question counsel.”

Siwon nodded. Heading back to his desk and taking a file folder from the table he approached the bench and said, “Your honor, this is Yoochun’s file from the school psychologist that Mrs. Yoon and Mrs. Choi agreed to send Yoochun too. Mrs. Choi and the school psychologist would have weekly visits to assess how Yoochun was doing. I ask that this be put as Exhibit A for the plaintiff.” Siwon stated.

“Bailiff, please label the document as Exhibit A, so ordered.” Said the judge after a quick perusal of the document.

Siwon then opened the file folder and revealed a copy of Yoochun’s drawing, the exact same drawing that earned him a trip to the principal’s office the afternoon of his birthday. “Mrs. Choi, will you kindly tell us what this picture is about?” he asked.

“This was the drawing that Yoochun showed to the class when asked to draw and describe his family.” Mrs. Choi answered.

“Will you tell us how Yoochun described his family then?” Siwon said.

“According to him, the man to extreme left is his brother Yunho and next to him is his Jaejoong hyung followed by himself, Junsu and his youngest brother Changmin.” The teacher stated.

“Seems like an unusual family.” Siwon said.

“Some of his classmates seemed to think so. They started asking Yoochun questions about who Jaejoong and Junsu were. So Yoochun answered them by saying that Yunho acted like the appa and Jaejoong acted like the eomma of the family.” She stated.

“And how did your students react Mrs. Choi?”

“Well some of them were a bit confused saying that it was impossible to have a guy be the eomma. It caused an argument in the classroom since one of the students stood up and said that his father said that gays weren’t supposed to raise children.” She recounted.

“What happened then Mrs. Choi?” Siwon asked.

“Well, a fight broke out between Yoochun and that particular classmate. Yoochun said that the other boy was wrong and actually hit him in the face.” She added, a look of horror crossing her face.

And so Mrs. Yoon, Yoochun, a silent and peaceful boy at the beginning of the semester became violent after having been teased for having a gay brother.” Siwon stated with flourish.

“Well… yes.” The teacher answered.

“Your witness.” Siwon said curtly before taking his seat.

Leeteuk stood up slowly and said, “Good afternoon Mrs. Choi.”

“Good afternoon.” The woman answered.

“According to your story, it seems that the docile Yoochun who was silently being bullied at the beginning of the year was the one who ended up being violent because of his Yunho hyung’s ual preference. Am I right?” Leeteuk asked.

“Y-Yes.” She answered hesitantly.

“May I know the identity of the boy that Yoochun punched?” Leeteuk asked.

“Well, it was Lee Yu Wo.” The teacher answered.

“Lee Yu Wo?” Asked Leeteuk as he headed toward the respondent’s table and began shuffling through some papers before landing the one he was searching for. Reading off of it he said, “The same Lee Yu Wo who has been bullying Yoochun since the beginning of the year?” Leeteuk said in surprise.

“T-That would be correct.” The teacher replied.

“Your honor, let the records show that the Lee Yu Wo that Yoochun punched is the same Lee Yu Wo that has been bullying Yoochun since the beginning of the year as evidenced by the Principal’s Office’s reports requested on behalf of Yoochun as presented to the court.”

“Sustained.” The judge ruled.

Leeteuk nodded and turned back to face Mrs. Choi, “So Mrs. Choi, based on your story, am I correct in saying that Yoochun, who has been continually bullied by this Lee Yu Wo, decided to step up to him the afternoon that he was teased for having a gay brother.”

“Well, he didn’t have to punch him now did he.” Mrs. Choi said defensively.

“And Lee Yu Wo didn’t have to bully Yoochun in the past either now did he?” Leeteuk said quietly.

Mrs. Choi pursed her lips but remained silent.

Leeteuk gave her a small smile. “Tell me Mrs. Choi, how did this Lee Yu Wo bully Yoochun in the past?” He asked.

“Well, you know how kids are.” She started.

“Why don’t you humor us and tell us Mrs. Choi.” He said.

“Well, Yu Wo would supposedly throw stones at Yoochun’s forehead or sometimes would push him over.” She stated.

“That is correct isn’t it Mrs. Choi as evidence by the countless of times that Yoochun would come home with lumps on his forehead?” Leeteuk asked.

Mrs. Choi shifted in her seat awkwardly. “W-Well, yes.”

“According to the statement taken by Mrs. Yoon the afternoon that this fight occurred, this Lee Yu Wo supposedly told Yoochun that because Yoochun’s hyung was gay that he had no right to be taking care of him and his brother. Is that correct Mrs. Choi?” Leeteuk pursued.

“Yes, he did.” She answered.

“This statement supposedly came from Yu Wo’s father is it?” Leeteuk asked.

“Objection, hearsay, your honor.” Siwon blurted.

“Sustained.” The judge ruled.

“Do you agree with the statement Mrs. Choi?” Leeteuk asked.

Mrs. Choi paled. “Well… I… ah…” She stammered.

“You don’t have to answer that Mrs. Choi. The respondents rest your honor.” Leeteuk stated.

“The plaintiffs rest your honor.” Siwon replied.

“Very well. Plaintiffs call your next witness.” The judge ordered.

Mrs. Choi was excused and the nurse Hwang Eun Jung was called to the stand. “Please state your name and occupation.” Siwon asked after the woman was sworn in.

Jae looked a little worried when Leeteuk suddenly called one of his legal aides and began to whisper instructions to him in a hurried manner. Jae glanced over to Yunho who looked at him and gave him a reassuring smile.

“My name is Hwang Eun Jung and I am a resident nurse at the pediatric ward of the Angel of Mercy hospital.” The woman said.

“Good morning Hwang Eun Jung-shii.” Siwon said.

“Good morning.” The nurse answered.

“Will you tell us what is your relation to Changmin, the respondent’s youngest brother?” Siwon asked.

“I was in-charge of overseeing Changmin’s care while he was in the hospital.” The nurse replied.

“Will you tell us Hwang-shii what have you observed between Changmin’s relationship to Jung Yunho-shii and Kim Jaejoong-shii?” Siwon asked.

“Well, it seems like the two are extremely close to the little boy.” The nurse stated.

“Would you say that they seemed to act like the boy’s parents?” Siwon asked.

“I would say yes.” She answered.

“Will you then tell us what you overheard Jaejoong-shii and his brother Junsu talk about when they were visiting in the hospital.” Siwon asked.

Jae’s eyes widened. He quickly looked over to Yunho for fear that the nurse’s statement might be damaging. He had a sinking feeling that the nurse’s statement wasn’t going to be in their favor.

“Well, one day while I was about to change Changmin’s drip, I overheard the little boy Junsu tell his older brother Kim Jaejoong-shii that Changmin doesn’t know how to talk because all he is able to say is ma.” She stated.

Jaejoong’s stomach dropped when he realized what she overheard. This was not going to be good.

“Ma?” Siwon asked a puzzled look on his face.

“Well, apparently, Changmin calls Kim Jaejoong-shii his eomma.” She said.

“How are you able to confirm this?” Siwon asked.

“After I overhead that conversation, I began talking to Changmin, asking him simple questions that a normal boy of his age would be able to answer. Unfortunately, he would only look at me and not say anything.” She said.

“But have you ever heard him babble?” Siwon asked.

“Oh yes, but he doesn’t really say anything understandable which is curious for a boy his age.” She answered.

“What do you mean?” Siwon asked.

“Well, developmentally, toddlers are able to communicate even in the most rudimentary level. Simple words as such should be able to be spoken clearly.” She stated.

“And it seems that Changmin does not have these skills?” Siwon asked.

“It seems not.” The nurse stated.

“Could it be because of his hearing?” Siwon asked.

“Objection, leading, your honor.” Leeteuk said.

“Sustained.” The judge ruled.

“What do you think caused this problem then Miss Hwang?” Siwon asked.

“Well, the simplest answer would actually be that he was never taught.” She stated.

“And what kind of parent wouldn’t teach a child? Am I right?” Siwon said.

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KABLAMO!!! *throws yunjae confetti on each and every commenter!!!* holy crap you guys are wonderful!!! and because of that you get a ninja update :) i must remind everyone that this is fic was really meant to have angst and so if i were you i would prepare myself for the next chapter... i went through it this afternoon and... aaah... i'll just let you read it when it's time *hides from bricks and boulders thrown my way* 30+ more comments gets yunjae something sweet on the next chap :)