March 12, 2015  
9:07 AM

With her curvy black hair pulled back into a ponytail, Han Gain was studying the packet of reports in one hand while holding a glass of black coffee in another. The bags under her eyes showed that she has been up all night working. As a punishment for showing up at a crime scene and arguing with detectives, she was to review closed cases from five years ago .With her eyes glued to the proportion before her, she was oblivious to the person entering the room. “Oh, you didn’t go home again?”

The twenty five year old lass finally diverted her focus and eyed her guest, a prosecutor from another team. “What can I help you with?” Gain asked as the man moved over to her desk.

“Is Team Leader not here yet?” He asked. Gain lowered her glass onto the dark, wooden desk before answering him with a sigh.

“He’s in the storage room, why?”

The man shrugged, “Nothing much, it’s just I thought I could show him something.”

Gain raised an eyebrow, “Like what?”

Gaiin followed the prosecutor into the courtroom on the top balcony. They looked over the rail the moment they were seated together, from above they could see the judge, juries, and those involved in the case. Gain noticed that a young man was leading the trial as he set proofs on the overhead projector. “What case is this?” Gain whispered to her fellow co-worker.

The man leaned toward her and whispered, “This is the murdered case of Kim Taehee, her mother is the woman sitting right there. She’s pressing charges against Mr. Lee Sungjae, vice president of Jeju resort for murdering her daughter.”

“You wanted to show Team Leader this case?”

“No, you see the young guy talking?” The man asked, gesturing toward the young lawyer. Gain nodded at that, thus he quickly explained, “That’s the Lawyer Yoo Seungho, they say he’s probably one of the youngest lawyer in South Korea. The other day your Team Leader, my Team Leader, and I was talking about him.”

“Isn’t he from Incheon?”

“Yeah, they said he came all the way here just for this case. Can you believe it? There are so many lawyers and prosecutors like ourselves in Seoul, but Kim Taehee’s mother hired an Incheon lawyer.”

“What’s his winning rate?” Gain questioned right after.

“39:0 they say, he has never lost a case before.”

Gain focused on the man as he placed the last piece of his paper down. “The time Taehee’s body was discovered was when Lee Sungjae checked into a hotel in Maine. But there has been reports that Ms. Taehee has been dead for at least twenty hours. From the time it take from Incheon to Maine is at least 18 hours. That’s all I have to say.”

Her peer beside her elbowed her, “What do you think? I think at this rate his winning score would be 40 to zero.” Gain didn’t said a word as she looked down upon the expression of the male.

Confident. He seems to have too much confidence for a young lawyer. Gain thought to herself.

After the man was announced guilty and sentenced to a life in prison, Gain found her way back to the office. Inside she noticed the body that sat in the black, leathered chair with his shoes on the table. “Team Leader?” She called softly toward the older male. His coal black hair was slicked back and the bony structure of his face gave him a sharp appearance. His skin color has a nice dark tone to it, giving it an oily look. Despite being good looking, his height made him even more of an attractive thirty two year old man. The man opened his eyes to the sound of her entrance and removed his feet from off the table. The older then got to work as he shuffled some files around.

Gain made her way toward her desk, which was across from his in the messy office, without wanting to bother him. But before she could take a seat, she hurried back to the front of his desk. “Team Leader, can I ask you something?” She began. The man slowly looked up from his work to see her. When their eyes met, Gain felt nervous for a moment. She wasn’t sure why but she knew that her team leader would object her idea, thus she quickly covered it with an errand. “Since we stayed up all night earlier, is there anything you’ll like to eat? I find it helpful to eat something sweet when you’re lacking sleep.”

“You know I don’t like sweets.” He simply answered. Gain cleared and proceed.

“Then, is there something you’ll like instead? I’ll go out and get it for us.”

After having to work with Gain for some years, the man knew what she was up to. “If there’s something you need to do then go do it. You don’t need my permission today.”

Upon hearing so Gain perked up, “Oh, sure, okay. Thank you Team Leader Wonbin. Still, if I see anything you’d like I’ll buy it for you.” She said in a hurry before heading out. Out in the halls Gain tried to locate the lawyer from Incheon. She noticed that the man was heading out the front door, hence followed after.

If she can get him to help her, maybe she would be able to avenge her sister’s death. “W-wait!” She called the first time but the man were deaf to her voice. As Gain make her way toward the glass door and managed to push it open, she came to a stop when she saw a woman approaching the lawyer. It took her a brief moment to recognize the lady from behind. Isn’t that Judge Park Siyeon from earlier? Why is she talking to the lawyer from her case? Gain thought to herself as she watched.

She noticed how the atmosphere between the two was way different from what they let on earlier in the courtroom. Before they were simply a judge and lawyer. But in the moment, they seemed friendly around one another. What connections did a Seoul Judge and Incheon lawyer have was Gain’s question. Until the end Gain couldn’t get a word with the lawyer as he left with the woman side by side. Though it was strange, the thoughts of what could their relationship be didn’t bother her. She was more interested in the abilities and skills that the lawyer may possessed.

Back in the room Gain was scrolling through the net, reading up on Yoo Seungho as she bit her thumbnail. While reading, she was also reading in a whisper.

“Han Gain?”

Gain flinched a little at the sound of Wonbin’s voice, “Y-yes Team Leader?”

She noticed how Wonbin wore an expressionless face as usual and how he was tapping the surface of his table with a ballpoint pen. “I’m heading to the lab, would you like to come along?”

“Uh, I’ll stay here for the time period, unless, you needed company?” She asked even when she knew it was a silly question. Kim Wonbin was known for his independence and one-man team in the department. He would rather do everything by himself if it wasn’t for the pressure from the higher ups telling him otherwise.

“Carry on, I’ll go alone.” Was all he said before leaving the room. Gain sighed in relief once he was gone. If he knew that she was still working on her sister’s case from five years ago, he would definitely stop her.

At the most fired her.

Gain scrolled all the way down toward the page when she saw the lawyer’s contact number. She took out her phone and dialed the number into her phone, before she could make the call, a thought crossed her mind. “Can it be, maybe he’s still with Judge Siyeon? If I call now, then she would probably know…?” She heft out a heavy sigh before putting away her phone. “I should wait until later.”

Gain thought her eyes were going to pop out from the back of her head when night was closing in and she hasn’t left the office since the afternoon. On her last two packets, Gain opened up the second to last where she was immediately familiarized with the case. 2010 - Han Eunjung’s Murdered Case was imprinted on the front of the packet. As she opened it up, memories of the twenty two year old Han Eunjung from five years ago poured in and dominated her mind.

“Gain, isn’t this dress pretty? Your brother in law and I chose it before he went to Paris. How does it look on me?” Eunjung asked as she wore the white wedding dress with nets sewn onto the dress as sleeves. Gain was standing in front of her older sister as the young adult spun and turn for her.

“It’s so pretty Eunjung, brother in law chose a really beautiful dress!” Gain said, even more excited than her sister as she clapped her hands together. Gain was in her casual blue jeans and t-shirt, a common fashion for college students.

“Right?” Eunjung said, revealing her straight, white teeth as she stepped forward to grab Gain’s hands. “Gain, I’m going to tell dad about me and your brother in law’s wedding tonight over dinner, how does it sound? You’ll be there for mutual support right?”

Gain couldn’t hide the smile, Eunjung was always the same. No matter how much older she was, she would always rely on Gain for support and encouragement. “Of course Eunjung! Let’s tell dad together. He’ll probably be shocked when he hear the news.” Gain joked.

“You bad girl, don’t jinx it.” Eunjung replied in a playful tone. Gain chuckled briefly before taking a step back.

“But Eunjung, isn’t your dress tail a little too long?” Gain asked, Eunjung’s eyes widen as she glanced back behind her.

“Is it? It’s okay, the longer the prettier.” The two giggled in the wedding store, forgetting everything and everyone around them for a moment.

Gain shut the packet and set it off to the side as she exhaled sharply. Before she could continue to think of her older sister, she noticed the last file on her desk. On the front read “2010 - Yoo Sunmi’s Case” As Gain opened it up, she was shaken by the content of it.

“Forty three Yoo Sunmi from Incheon, cause of death: mystery, body retrieved by the Han River….Family, one son, freshman at Seoul University….Seventeen year old, Yoo Seungho….” Gain stopped herself from reading aloud. “This case….” Gain searched through the pages when a thought crossed her mind, “No witnesses, body discovered by fishermen…? Five years ago, 2010….” Gain said aloud, recalling it as the same year her sister’s death. “Yoo Seungho…, why does this sound so familiar?” Gain glanced up toward her computer and saw that the page to Yoo Seungho’s public information was still opened.

On the screen she saw the line “He attended Seoul University at the age of seventeen.”

Gain then quickly recalled what her peer had said before. “Yeah, they said he came all the way here just for this case. Can you believe it? There are so many lawyers and prosecutors like ourselves in Seoul, but Kim Taehee’s mother hired an Incheon lawyer.”

“W-what is this…? He became a lawyer?” Gain whispered before opening up her phone again to see that his number was still dialed on her screen. Gain quickly pressed onto the calling button and pressed the phone against her ear.