CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 

Taehyung sat impatiently on his chair. His blonde hair had been pushed back and he had borrowed a gray suit from Jungkook. They had about the same stature and wore similar clothing. He had no suits and could not afford one at all. His friends insisted on buying him a suit but he did not agree with them. He did not want to own them anything and he knew he would not be able to pay it off. Jungkook understood his financial situation and agreed to let him borrow a suit. He watched as his lawyer had taken a seat next to him. The man older man in his 50s fixed his round spectacles as they kept falling from his face. They no longer fit his slim face and we're too big for him. 
"Last day..." the man whispered as his focus stayed on the pieces of paper in his hand. "You are going to be a free man Taehyung." 
"I hope so," Taehyung whispered. He looked around the room and his gaze fell to his friends. Jimin sat patiently on the far end of the row, his eyes were glued to the ceiling. He seemed cold and stressed. He knew he was going through some trouble as he no longer had that bright smile. Namjoon sat next to Yoongi, they were whispering to each other and glancing occasionally at their phones. They looked around for a couple of seconds and would nod their head. Seokjin sat next to Hoseok. He had a small beanie that covered his head as he also wore a suit. He looked around the room and noticed all their friends gathered together. Hoseok smiled when Taehyung glanced at him but did not wave. He tried to be professional and made sure not to act childish. 
Taehyung watched as Minhee arrived with Jungkook. Jungkook tried holding her hand but she flinched away. He could notice her baby bump as she was 15 weeks pregnant now. She wore a baby blue deep v neck high low dress with small heels. She had dyed her hair back to her black hair. She looked very beautiful but there was a sadness to her as she noticed Jimin sitting on the other side of the room. 
Taehyung's eyes immediately adverted to the Jungmee as she walked in the room to sit as close as possible to him. She had dyed her hair to a chocolate brown hair color and wore a gray knee-length sheath dress. She had styled it with some black d'Orsay heels. His eyes widened when she looked back at him with a sad smile. She was anxious as she brought her hand to fix her hair. He smiled at her and turned his attention back to the front as he waited for the judge to walk inside the door. 
"As I conclude Kim Taehyung is innocent." The lawyer began his conclusion as he walked around the podium. "He tried protecting his mother but he did not kill the man. This man had abused his mother and put Taehyung in danger as well. Taehyung was just a child and had no other way to protect his mother. The man was quickly sent to the hospital where he passed away from lack of oxygen. He was not properly watched and from the evidence gathered we know Taehyung is innocent and the death of this man was caused by someone else. Kim Taehyung has served a crime that he was wrongly accused of." 

"This concludes the ending of the state vs Taehyung case." The judge called. "We will be taking a recess for jurors to decide on the plaintiff. We will come back at 5:30 for the final decision." The judge hit the podium and dismissed the room. The jurors walked out of the room to discuss their decision. 
Taehyung exhaled deeply. "Oh my." He looked up at the ceiling. 
"It's okay." Mr. Kwon whispered as he got closer to Taehyung. "Everything will be okay." 
"Thank you," Taehyung stated he immediately stood up when he noticed the security guard approaching him. The security man marched Taehyung back to a quiet room in the court building. It was separated from everyone and he was not allowed to contact anyone. He sat quietly on his chair and stared into the distance. The cars drove through the city, trying to get to their destination. Taehyung bit his lip as he watched the city. It was November already and it was starting to get cold out there. He sighed and began to shake thinking about the results of his case. He wanted to be a free man, he wanted to hug his friends and family tightly. He missed everyone and wanted a regular life. As much as he hates to admit it prison life was horrendous. Although he was protected by an alliance gang of Yoongi's he was still beaten and tortured by others. Thankfully they never ually assaulted him or tried to kill him but they did beat him and cut him multiple times. He could never get a good night's sleep as he always woke up drenched in sweat and tears. 
He heard a knock on the door. 
"Come in." He stated as he shifted his body towards the door. 
"Mr. Kim here is your lunch." The man smiled bringing a plate of warm food into the room. 
"Thank you." Taehyung bowed. He moved closer to the table getting ready to have his meal. Prison food was not the best. He had their meals and they all consisted of white rice, milk, and occasionally meat with a piece of old white bread. He had been tired of eating that every day for more than three years but he was grateful he was receiving something to consume. 
He grabbed a spoonful of his seaweed soup and swallowed it whole. "Woah." He whispered to himself. Although Seokjin and Jungmee had brought him food these past couple of months, he would share the food with his cellmates. He was never greedy and would feel bad if he was the only one eating good food. They all got small portions since they only were allowed to bring a portion for one adult. 
He could not believe he would be able to eat a whole meal for himself. It struck him and he was grateful for the meal. 
Taehyung sat quietly in the room for hours. He was not allowed to communicate with anyone. There was water, tea, and coffee on a corner table for him. He had a small bathroom for himself with no access to WiFi or anything. There was a small plasma tv on the wall. He occasionally looked up and watched the news broadcaster explain how the weather was going to be getting colder. He did his best to avoid looking at the clock on the wall. He watched it for a couple of minutes but it felt like it would take forever to move. It seemed as though time was slowing down for him. He felt like he was going to be trapped in this room forever all by himself. What if they never find him innocent and grows old in this room? All these dark thoughts ran through his mind. He sat still and continued looking out the window. He paced himself to calm down and only thought positive thoughts. 
"Mr. Kim" his security guard stated. "It's time." 
Taehyung glanced at the clock. It was 5 pm. "That was early." 
"Yeah." The security guard began "they made their final decision quickly." 
"Awesome." He whispered as he walked towards the door. They went down a hallway and reached the end where their case was occurring. He marched quietly to his seat and avoided making eye contact with his friends and family. He could feel their gaze and knew they wanted to talk to him but could not. 
"All stand for the judge." They called out as everyone stood and watched the judge slowly walk inside the room. She took her seat on the podium and pulled out her spectacles. "State vs Kim Taehyung case is in session. We have come to a conclusion for this case. The jury has made their decision." She pulled out an envelope from her