The rest of Seungwan’s week was spent similarly, her days spent at the office and her evenings spent with Joohyun. After the first two nights spent at the park and then out to dinner, the last three days of the business week were spent at Joohyun’s apartment. They would go there right after work and stay until nearly eleven at night, when Joohyun would remind Seungwan they had work the next day and take her home. As far as their time together went, they spent most of it getting to know each other, telling each other stories and finding things they had in common. Seungwan never felt as though she ran out of things to talk to Joohyun about. On Friday night, as eleven o’clock had neared, neither paid any mind to the time, and by the time they noticed how long it had been it was nearly one o’clock in the morning.

    “Do you just want to stay over?” Joohyun had asked as her hands ran through Seungwans hair. Seungwan was laying with her head in Joohyun’s lap.

    “If you don’t mind.” Seungwan had said back quietly.

    “I never mind.” Joohyun had told her. So, they went upstairs to Joohyun’s bedroom, a room of the apartment Seungwan had never been in. It was cozy looking, the walls painted a cream color, the bed covered in a light purple duvet. Joohyun gave Seungwan clothes to sleep in, and as Seungwan slipped them on she breathed in the scent of lavender on them and it made her feel wonderfully calm. They had gotten into bed, finding each other’s arms immediately, and sleep took Seungwan quickly.

    The next morning, Seungwan woke up slightly disoriented. She opened her eyes and was confused by the fact she was not in her own room until she felt the arms wrapped around her waist and the feeling of Joohyun’s face pressed against the back of her neck. She relaxed, enjoying the warmth of being held so closely like this. A few moments later, she felt soft kisses being placed on the back of her neck and she smiled, saying hoarsely, “Good morning.”

    “Morning, sweetheart.” Joohyun said back. Seungwan turned so she could face Joohyun.

    “Thank you for letting me stay over.” She said.

    “Anytime.” Joohyun replied. Her phone dinged two times from it’s place on the nightstand and she sighed, moving away from Seungwan and sitting up. She slipped her glasses on and picked her phone up, still squinting slightly to read the texts. Seungwan sat up as well and moved closer to Joohyun, who moved the phone to show her the texts. They were from Sooyoung, and they read:

    Up for brunch with Seul and I?

    You can bring Seungwan too ;)

    “Thoughts?” Joohyun asked.

    “If you’d like to go I wouldn’t mind.” Seungwan answered easily.

    “Are you sure? We don’t have to.” Joohyun assured her, but Seungwan waved it away.

    “I love Seulgi and Sooyoung, I don’t mind at all.” Seungwan replied with a smile. “I will feel a little odd wearing the clothes I wore to work yesterday, but whatever.”

    “Oh, well you can borrow clothes.” Joohyun said, slipping out from under the covers and going over to her closet. Seungwan followed her, watching as she picked out a pair of jeans and a flowy, light blue top. “Is this okay?”

    “Yes, thank you.” Seungwan said sincerely. She stepped away as Joohyun searched for her own outfit and changed quickly; she figured it would be okay, considering they changed in the same room the previous night when getting ready for bed. She spent a few moments adjusting the top to sit correctly on her shoulders, as it was a little big on her, but she didn’t mind. She liked knowing what she was wearing were Joohyun’s clothes. When she turned back around Joohyun was already changed as well, wearing a plaid shirt tucked into her jeans.

    “The top compliments you so nicely.” Joohyun remarked with a sweet smile.

    “Thank you, you’re kind.” Seungwan said back. Joohyun quickly texted Sooyoung telling her they were coming and asking for details. They continued getting ready and by the time they were, Sooyoung had told them where to meet. It was not a far distance from Joohyun’s apartment, and the weather was warm again so they decided to walk. When they arrived, Seulgi and Sooyoung were already there saving a table. Joohyun sat in one of the chairs across from them and Seungwan sat beside her, moving the chair slightly so they were close.

    “Good morning!” Sooyoung said cheerily, smiling at them.

    “Morning Soo.” Joohyun said back with a small grin. “Thank you for inviting us.”

    “It’s nice to get to see you both together.” Seulgi remarked. She and Joohyun exchanged a glance and Seulgi smiled in a proud way. Seungwan watched them, thinking of what it must be like to have a friend you’ve known as long as they had known each other. Seulgi must practically feel like a sister to Joohyun. Seungwan longed for a friendship like that, though she was finding one in Yeri as time went on.

    “How has your weekend been?” Joohyun asked to both Seulgi and Sooyoung.

    “Great.” Sooyoung said, looking at Seulgi with a grin. “I almost have her convinced that we should get a dog.”

    “I said I’ll think about it.” Seulgi amended. Seungwan chuckled a little at the exchange.

    “You might as well give in now, Seul. You always cave and give Sooyoung whatever she wants.” Joohyun teased.

    “Oh please, like you aren’t completely whipped for Seungwan already.” Seulgi poked back, which brought a slight rosiness to Joohyun’s cheeks. Seulgi and Sooyoung giggled, and Seungwan laughed along with them. A waitress came by and took their drink orders, bustling off and bringing them back quickly.

    “How are you liking the office, Seungwan?” Sooyoung asked as Seulgi and Joohyun struck up their own conversation.

    “I love it. This is the best job I’ve ever had.” Seungwan answered honestly. “Do you enjoy being a lawyer?”

    “It’s hard sometimes, but it’s so rewarding.” Sooyoung said. “I’m only a general practitioner, so I handle more mundane cases but still, there are some cases that feel so good to win. There was a case where a young girl was suing her school because they had a policy where two girls couldn’t go to prom together as a couple and winning that case was amazing. It felt like I had helped to shape the world somehow.”

    “That’s awesome.” Seungwan replied. “I admire the work you guys do so much. You guys make such a difference in people’s lives.” Sooyoung smiled at her and Seungwan grinned back. She was glad Joohyun’s friends liked her, and she was equally glad she liked them.

    “Hyun, when does the Davis case start again?” She heard Seulgi ask. Seungwan and Sooyoung both turned to face Joohyun and Seulgi, joining the conversation.

    “March twenty seventh.” Joohyun answered. “I have a meeting with the victim’s family on Monday to prepare them for the trial.”

    “This one will be a doozy.” Seulgi remarked with a sigh.

    “It really will be. I hope it will go as quickly and as painlessly as possible.” Joohyun sighed as well. “But I doubt it will. No matter what deal we offered the suspect will not change his plea to guilty.”

    “Which case is this one again?” Seungwan asked, mentally filtering through the files she knew were on her work computer, trying to remember the contents of the one about Davis case.

    “Joann Davis, who was murdered last June.” Joohyun answered. “The suspect on trial is her neighbor. This is so much evidence against him but he refuses to admit he did it.”

    “Oh god.” Seungwan let out a low breath.

    “Are they bringing in a psychiatrist?” Sooyoung asked. “To try and plead insanity.”

    “I haven’t seen anything of the sort, but I wouldn’t doubt it. It’s the only way they could even try at getting a lesser sentence.” Joohyun said. “Wan, have you gotten any emails or calls about a psychiatrist evaluation for this case? Something could have slipped past me.”

    “No, I haven’t heard anything from the defense attorney on this case.” Seungwan answered.

    “Odd.” Joohyun remarked quietly. There were a few moments of silence and then Joohyun asked, “Do you want to come along to this case? It’s been awhile since you’ve done that.”

    “Sure.” Seungwan agreed easily. “I’ll actually take decent notes this time.”

    “What’s been going on with your latest case, Seul?” Joohyun turned to the woman opposite her.

    “Oh don’t remind me of that.” Seulgi groaned softly. “The mother is still trying for sole custody even though when Child Services searched her home they found it completely unfit for children to live in. It’s terrible. She doesn’t care at all about the kids, she just knows she’ll be able to rely on child support money if she has sole custody.”

    “That’s terrible.” Joohyun commented in reply. “When is the official hearing?”

    “Not until early April.” Seulgi answered. “I hope this case goes in our favor but I’m not sure. The judge seems to already want to just hand the kids off to their mother because of the unspoken mom rule.”

    “Well I hope it goes well for you.” Joohyun said. The conversation flowed into another topic, and soon they ordered their food. The morning was spent filled with conversation and laughter, and Seungwan was glad to have finally found a group of people she loved to be around. Things were looking up, and Seungwan was not taking that for granted.

    ~

    The morning of March 27th, when Joohyun picked Seungwan up, they drove straight to the courthouse. The trial was beginning at nine o’clock, and they were set to arrive at around eight thirty. As they drove, Joohyun tried to prepare Seungwan for what was going to come that day. “This is a very high profile case.” She said. “There will be a lot of reporters and people taking pictures everywhere. It’s very hectic and overwhelming, but just ignore them. Keep walking into the courthouse, don’t look at them, don’t talk to them. We’re not there for them, we’re there for the trial.” Seungwan nodded as she listened. “This trial will be very hard to get through. If you continue to come along as it goes further, there will be a lot of disturbing things you’ll see and hear. Are you still okay with coming along?”

    “Yes.” Seungwan said firmly. “I can handle it.”

    “Okay, good.” Joohyun gave her a quick glance and smiled. “Thank you for coming.”

    “I’m always happy to come and support you.” Seungwan said. “Plus, this is technically my job.” Joohyun let out a small chuckle at that as she pulled into the parking deck across from the Center City Courthouse, taking her parking ticket and pulling farther into the deck. She parked on the first level and she and Seungwan got out of the car quickly, walking out to the exit. Across the street, the courthouse was swarmed by camera crews and reporters, approaching everyone who entered.

    “Are you ready?” Joohyun asked softly as they walked to the crosswalk, waiting to cross the street and enter the swarm. Seungwan nodded, though she was nervous suddenly at the sight of all the reporters who were so aggressively approaching people. Joohyun reached and took her hand, interlocking their fingers. “We’ll get through the crowd together. It’s not as bad as it seems, I promise.”

    They stepped out into the street, hurrying across the crosswalk and onto the sidewalk in front of the courthouse. They walked up the walkway, hands still clasped together, and as soon as their feet hit the pavement reporters were all around them. Cameras flashed in their face as they climbed the courthouse steps hastily. Seungwan gripped Joohyun’s hand tightly and Joohyun ran her thumb over Seungwan’s skin comfortingly. It felt like a sea that would never end, the swarms of people with cameras trailing them as they went up the steps, ignoring any semblance of personal space. People were yelling questions in unintelligible voices and Seungwan was thankful when they finally made it into the quietness of the courthouse’s main lobby.

    “It’s crazy out there.” She remarked.

    “It always is with cases like these.” Joohyun said with a sigh. “Come on, let’s head up to level four.” They went to the elevator and went up to level four alone, stepping out and walking briskly down a long hallway of marble flooring. The only sound now was the rhythmic click clack click clack of Joohyun’s heels on the floor. They reached a door at the very end and Joohyun pushed it open, letting Seungwan go in first and following behind her. The victim’s family was waiting in the first row of the gallery and Joohyun made her way over to them, saying hello and reviewing what the proceedings would be like today. She introduced Seungwan, who shook all of their hands. Seungwan recognized some of their faces, remembering them from their many visits to Joohyun’s office.

    “Where should I sit, Hyun?” Seungwan whispered as Joohyun walked over to her table and set her things down.

    “The second row, probably. The first row will be filled with the family.” Joohyun answered quietly. Seungwan nodded. She clutched a pen and notepad in her hands, prepared to take notes as opposed to her previous time accompanying Joohyun.

    “Good luck.” Seungwan said, and then, “Is that what you say in situations like this?”

Joohyun gave a half smile. “I’m not sure what would be appropriate, but I think good luck is fine. Thank you. I’ll see you after.” Seungwan walked back to the second row of the gallery and took her seat, watching Joohyun as she settled in her own chair, organizing her files on the table.

“All rise.” The bailiff said and they all followed the instruction as the judge entered the room. He was an older man with thick framed glasses settled on the tip of his nose.

“You may be seated.” He said in a gravelly voice. “Today we are here to begin the proceedings in the case of the death of Joann Davis, the main suspect being Henry Archibald Fredrickson the third.”

The court proceedings began, and Seungwan scribbled notes as she watched and listened, no longer thinking of the reporters hovering outside the building or the world outside of the courtroom she was in.