dedicated to gingersnapz03

--because this was written for her school project.. it's not in first person POV because ginger said so.. demanding? young girl, you would definitely pay for this.. LOL.. evil sister alert

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Created: 2/26/'12

It was almost midnight when she got out of work. Overtimes were giving her loads and loads of stress every day. It wasn’t easy for a hotel receptionist to sit there and operate the things that were going in and out of the entire twenty-four floors of the huge building. Not to mention, speaking a different language every time a foreigner comes in just made her tongue twisted.

And then her co-worker who was supposed to take over the shift next to hers wasn’t available due to family issues. And so, she had to extend her shift to take over her co-worker’s shift as well.

As a result, there she was, walking alone in the midst of the dark streets with only one lamp post illuminating the place. She had a hard time looking for a cab as the time of the night was spent for rest for a lot of people, so she decided to just ride the bus and walk from the bus station to her house. Good thing she was living alone, so no one would worry for her going home late at night.

As she was taking her time walking slowly along the street, she accidentally fell on her knees when one of her heels broke, making her stumble.

“OUCH!” she yelled when her thighs made contact with the ground.

She removed her shoes and thought of heading home without them.

‘It’s not that far anyway,’ she said in her mind.

While she was standing up, she heard faint screams coming from around the corner. She shook her head as she thought that she was just hallucinating. But the sound kept on bugging her, until she decided to take a look.

She crawled over to the bushes as one of her foot was swollen and she couldn’t get up properly. She popped her head through the leaves of the small plants and tried to see what was there.

“Hmp!” she gasped as she put a hand over .

There in front of her, a young man was being stabbed repetitively by an unknown man. The man quickly ran after making sure that the other was not breathing anymore. Shock took over her being as the pool of blood scattered on the same land where she was sitting on. She nudged her mind to think straightly back to the situation. She didn’t move a bit to let the crime scene remain on how the criminal left it, and she called the police.

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“And then what happened? Tell us everything from the very beginning,” the investigator asked the one and only witness to the cruel crime that happened a week ago.

They were in a secluded place that only the investigative team knows.

“I was on my way home, walking on Baker street. One of my heels got broken, so I struggled standing up then I heard faint screams coming from a corner,” she paused for a minute to catch her breath which was getting heavier each second that passed by. The memory was just too much to bear.

“At first, I thought my brain was creating some illusions as I was really tired from work. But when I crawled to the area where the sounds were coming from, I—I—“ she didn’t finish what she was narrating as she began crying loudly.

“Then what?” one of the two investigators questioned further.

It was clear in his tone that he was getting impatient as he really wanted to know the full details of what occurred. He was an arrogant server after all, who just wanted to boast around about his achievements in work.

His partner, on the other hand, understood how exactly the witness felt at that time. Well, not exactly as he hadn’t experienced observing a crime right in front of his eyes. What he understood was the fear she felt, and even if it has already happened, the trauma was still present.

Being the gentleman that he was, he came over and sat beside her. He gave a glare to his partner. “Would you please stop?” he asked him.

“What?” the other party asked bemused of how he was acting. “I’m just doing my obligations!”

“I know! But don’t you forget that it is included in those obligations to make the witness feel comfortable and safe during the process of interrogation!” he snapped back angrily.

The poor girl just remained sitting there, trying to make her tears stop. The arrogant man didn’t say anything more as what his partner just told him was correct. He stood up and headed to exit the place.

“I will buy us food. I’ll be back in a while,” then he was gone followed by the thud of the door.

The two were left sitting beside each other. His arms automatically did their work as they leaned closer and pulled her towards his body.

“Cry all you want,” he told her soothingly. “We won’t leave you out there only to fall to that criminal’s hands.”

She tried her best to calm herself as she felt the warmth and sincerity from the solacement he provided her. The impact of what she saw was repeating all over her mind and she was becoming more and more scared, thinking that the criminal would go and get her. Or worse, do the same thing he did to that young victim.

“You can tell us what happened later, or you can say it tomorrow, or in the next days when you’re ready. We’re not in a rush for this. Your condition is all that matters. Do you hear me?” his consoling voice spoke again.

She smiled bitterly against is muscular chest. “Thank you,” she said faintly.

“What’s your name again?” he asked after realizing that he didn’t know what and how to call her.

“It’s Jung So Min,” she responded with her weak, broken voice.

“Kim Hyun Joong here,” he told her even though she wasn’t asking for it. “I’ll you to your room first. I’ll just call you when the food is here. And oh, by the way,” he removed his arms around her and stared at her eyes. “Don’t mind that jerk earlier. He’s always like that when it comes to work  Other times, he’s really kind and approachable. And the name’s Jasper. Jasper Park.”

She nodded in agreement. She actually didn’t mind the bad behavior that the man showed earlier. She was just deeply drowned in her emotions that she didn’t notice the irritated note of Jasper.

“Let’s go.”

She went back to reality when she heard Hyun Joong’s voice and his hand hanging in front of her face. She smiled sheepishly and accepted his hand offer. She stood up from her seat and gladly followed him as he led her to her room for the mean time.

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As days passed by, the two men made sure that the precious witness was safe until the judgment day. Even the lawyer of the victim’s family wasn’t allowed to see her face because they were all aware that telling a lie is a part of an attorney’s job. Who knows who betrays who in this dirty game of being “fair.”

The days turned to endless months of scrutinizing the case. Hearings were scheduled in the presence of the accused together with his lawyer, as well as the Goo’s (the victim’s family) and also their lawyer. The man was confused of how he was captured and being blamed for the sin. He consistently denied it every time he was being interrogated. Little did he know that there was a voice behind those charges that were given to him.

The stories were unfolded and the graphic sketch was revealed. All that’s left to do was to hear the statement from So Min herself in the trial court.

As So Min, Hyun Joong and Jasper entered the court, the suspect eyed So Min madly. She was wearing a veil that concealed her entire face except her eyes. Her identity should not be known to anyone except the members of authority that handled that case.

The crowd settled themselves on their respective seats. The trial started until it reached the point where So Min has to be the one to speak in front. She reluctantly let her feet drag her entire body to the hot seat.

To tell the truth… and nothing but the truth

That was the pledge that every person swore before they spoke.

“... He was screaming for help. His voice was getting softer and softer until I only heard a mere whisper from him…”

Her tears gradually made their way down her face as she told everyone what happened that night. The cloth that was covering her face became wet with tears.

“… I heard the suspect’s laughter while doing the nefarious rackets of an organized crime. He was like a maniac who just freed himself from a mental hospital…”