As a type ‘A’ personality, she didn’t think that what she accomplished is anything out of the ordinary. 

Although to be fair, what she could accomplish in one day would make anyone wallow in their own feelings of inadequacy and complacency and maybe…. just maybe, a tiny sprinkle of self-pity.

Graduated high school when she was sixteen, graduated law school by the time she was 21, and now, the newly made junior partner in Jung, Kwon & Co., one of the oldest and, what most people would say, the most prestigious law firm in Seoul.   

Becoming a junior partner in only six years’ time was not an easy feat, what with the proliferation of law students graduating out of the ever-increasing law schools, adding to the abundance of practicing attorneys, yet the one thing that set her a notch above the crowd was her productivity and her winning ratio.

A workaholic in her own rights, Moon Byul Yi has a lot of billable hours. A lot. And those billable hours had contributed heavily toward her fast track into partnership status, while her winning ratio ensures that those billable hours will keep on piling up.

Making her way past the receptionist, breezing through the bowing associates and interns with a slight nod of her head, she entered her newly furnished office. Dropping her briefcase onto the marble desk, she took her sweet time to look out of the expansive floor to ceiling windows in her large, partner-sized office. The day of sharing an office with other associates was long gone.

ing her gray Thom Browne woolen jacket, she draped it casually onto her leather seat before taking a seat, and that's when her attention zeroed in on the closed manila folder and the attached Post-it Note.

Byul,

I have to go to Busan this week, so this one is all yours.

He’s Chosun group’s youngest grandson.

First time felony, so should be able to get it dismissed.

All the data is in there. Call me if you need anything else.

Cheers,

Jung

She scanned the files quickly as she ed and rolled up her sleeves. Misdemeanor possession, possession with intent to distribute…. Her eyebrow raised when she saw that he was only in his second year of high school. Kids nowadays. Such a waste.  

Sighing heavily, she picked up the folder and began to read. There was a ton of work to do, and she only had 24 hours to prepare for the first trial.

***

Kim Yong Sun would recognize the tall slender figure anywhere.

She waited patiently at the courtroom entrance, briefcase at hand, as she watched the hotshot lawyer made her way through the crowd toward her.

“You?”

At the sight of Yongsun familiar face, the statuesque expression on Byul’s face warmed and a smile swept across her lips, realizing that most likely, Yongsun would be the one trying the case, “Me.”   

Yongsun nodded, “I was expecting old Jung, but hey, his best lieutenant will do. Ready to lose again?”

Byul snorted at the smiling assistant district attorney. It was not the first time they went head to head with each other, so she was familiar with Yong’s repertoire. 

Looking impossibly wholesome with her long wavy dark chestnut hair, sparklingly clear intelligent eyes, and cherubically beautiful features, the Assistant District Attorney was every parent's dream daughter. Her good looks and girl-next-door charm made her a favorite with the judges, yet, contrary to her soft and feminine appearance, she was a tough lawyer who actually knew her criminal law.

“Selling and doing drugs at the bleacher of his school stadium, one count of assault, one count of assault with weapon, you got yourself a live one here, Byul.”

And also one of the very few people who referred to Byul by the shortened version of her name.

Byul shrugged nonchalantly, “Everyone is young and stupid once, it was his first offense, and let me remind you that the police provoked him first. It was self-defense.”

Yongsun clucked her tongue, “The police did everything by the book and you know it. My office already sent you the plea bargain, it was more than fair considering his underage status and, his juvenile record will be expunged by the end of his sentence. Take it.”

A small commotion at the end of the alley distracted both attorneys before Byul could reply. Eight stern-looking men, outfitted with black tie black blazer uniform, cut a swath through the crowd, surrounding a smug-looking teenager.

Her client has arrived with a bang. Park Seo Joon has chosen to parade his bodyguards for all to see as if to show the world that he was untouchable.

“Does he look like someone that will take a plea bargain?”

Yongsun snorted and gave Byul a pitying look, then with a gentle squeeze on Byul’s arm, she preceded Byul into the courtroom, “I’ll see you inside.”  

***

"That concludes the State’s case, Your Honor." Yongsun nodded to the Judge, confident that the rich-boy delinquent wouldn’t get away with his crimes. The State’s case had been carefully laid out, no details being left to chance. It was a slam dunk.

Byul calmly watched as Yongsun put out a nearly flawless case and waited patiently as Judge Kim removed his wire-rimmed glasses, rubbing tired eyes. In a clipped, serious tone, he spoke. "Thank you, Counselor." And turned to look at Byul, "Ms. Moon, are you ready to proceed with the defense?"

She briefly flashed a look over at the ADA, who gave her a tiny tight smile.

“Yes, Your Honor.” 

Rising, Byul buttoned up her jacket. Her eyes were still scanning her notes as she made the perfunctory motion.

“All the State has is a classic they said / he said.” She paused, letting the weight of her opening sentence settled and seeped through.

“Did he smoke pot? Yes. Did he share them with his friends? Yes. Did he intended to sell pot to his friends?” Byul shrugged slightly, "No money has ever changed hands."

A smile formed on Byul’s face as if taunting the prosecution, “So, aside from witness statement from his so-called 'clients' – whom by the away, gotten away with nothing but a slap in the wrist courtesy to a very lenient plea bargain, in exchange to giving such statement – the State, cannot, for all intend and purposes, prove that my client in anyways or forms intended to sell the substance.”

"As for the assault…" she chuckled lightly, "They were in the baseball field, the so-called weapon – a baseball bat, I might add – was there because they were in a baseball field. My client was not purposely carrying an assault weapon. My client was there, with all of his friends, to practice baseball.”

Byul trailed her fingers on the cherry wood desk and softly knocked it with her knuckles, as if to make a point, “My client came from a very notable family. Just last month, there was an attempt to kidnap him for ransom. Suffice to say, if the polices did not spook him into thinking that he was attacked, he would not, in his conscious mind, put up self-defense and hit the police who were trying to subdue him, by force."

Byul looked directly toward the Judge and calmly said, "Based on the evidence presented by the Prosecution, Defendant moves for a directed verdict of acquittal."

Silence.

Byul took another glance at Yongsun, who was now leaning forward, intently watching the Judge, who already went silent for a full-on minute.

Yongsun was visibly growing more and more agitated. One of her fists was clenched in a tight ball. Her knuckles were turning white, and a slight flush began to appear around her collar. The pure disbelief that the Judge would even consider acquitting this defendant was plainly written across her face.

The murmurings from the gallery increased steadily as Judge Kim remained silent. Finally, he cleared his throat, and the courtroom went quiet.

"Based on careful consideration of the case presented by the State, save for the misdemeanor possession charge, this Court has no choice but to dismiss all counts of assaults and the count of possession with intent to distribute. With the evidence presented, it is clear that a finding of guilt on those counts would be impossible."

The courtroom exploded.

Yongsun was stunned.

Park Seo-Joon immediately jumped to his feet and grabbed his attorney in on a hug.

"ORDER! Keep it down." Judge Kim cracked the gavel five times before silence descended in the courtroom once again, so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.

His face was deadly serious and slightly flustered by the commotion, "Counsels approach the bench," he commanded and clicked off the bench microphone.

Yongsun was still trying to compose herself as she slowly made her way around the counsel table and approached the elevated wooden bench.

The Judge quickly raised a placating hand to forestall the A.D.A questions, when he saw that Yongsun was on the verge of badgering him with protest, "Save it. I’ve made my ruling. All reasoning will be in my Order. The only thing left to discuss is what you are going to do about the misdemeanor possession."

"I won’t drop the charge," Yongsun stated stubbornly.

"No one is asking you to, Counselor." The Judge turned to Byul. "Counsellor, we all know your client needs help. Isn’t there any way to get him to take a plea so we can all go home?" The Judge’s voice sounded tired, and his red-rimmed eyes appeared watery.

Avoiding direct eye contact with Yong, Byul shook her head, "He won’t accept jail time under any circumstances."

"This is a lousy misdemeanor possession charge," the Judge groused. “Who’s talking jail time?" The Judge was now solely focused on Yongsun. The inference was clear. "What about rehab?"

Yongsun briefly closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. Angrily, she stuffed her fists into her trouser pockets and murmured, "Minimum of 15 drug counseling sessions with a court contracted rehab center. He misses even one session, he sees jail."

Byul nodded. "I’ll talk to my client. It shouldn’t take long." The tall attorney made her way back to the defense table and a clearly pleased Park Seo-Joon.

"Five-minute recess." CRACK!! The sound of the gavel boomed through the small courtroom. Judge Kim leaned back in his dark leather chair and started to shuffle through criminal files' contents, still waiting to be processed.

"Why should I plead guilty to anything? The Judge tossed out the other charges," the young heir protested arrogantly.

Byul looked hard into his muddy brown eyes and prayed that the teenager would not be stupid enough to refuse the very forgiving offer. 

"Because the Judge knew you were using. Trust me on this. You won't skate on the misdemeanor too. Look, there will be no jail time involved, just a couple months of drug counseling with a court-appointed rehab center."

He leaned in towards Byul and grasped her arm tightly. "No jail, right? I won't do actual jail time?"

"No jail time. You just have to attend fifteen counseling sessions. And I mean all fifteen. If you miss even one, then you’ll be right back here. Understand?"

"Yeah, sure, Beautiful, I understand." He flashed his most charming smile, and his grip on Byul’s arm loosened. His hand slowly made its way down to her wrist.

Jerking away from his hand, she stared at him coldly. "Sit back down and wait."

Smoothing the sleeve of her jacket, the attorney visibly straightened her posture and made her way to the opposing counsel's desk.  She stopped next to Yongsun and spoke quietly, fully knowing that although the day was a raving success for her client, it was a complete failure for her friend. "He’ll take the deal, Yong."

Yongsun nodded and spoke softly to Byul, her smile softening her eyes, "Make sure he attends all those rehab sessions, drag and cuff him if you must. Next time I won't be so lenient."

Nodding, she went back to her desk and gave the clerk a slight signal to continue the trial.

"Are you ready to proceed Ms. Moon?" Judge Kim had just finished cleaning his glasses and looked impatient.

"Yes, your honor."

***

Byul's voice was raised in exasperation as she paced the Senior Partner’s office back and forth in her tirade, "He's guilty. You and I both know that he's guilty and possibly a sociopath, but then again, all of those Chaebol probably are. No offense." She cringed and chanced a look at the older man, who, by all means, also came from old money.

Jung Doo Hoon, one of the founding father of the Law Firm and a mentor to Byul, simply shrugged off her throw away comment and motioned for her to carry on, listening patiently as she continued.

"I'm serious here. I've got six trials lining up and a warehouse worth of documents waiting to be reviewed. I need help, not another headache. Assign this to someone else. Someone else can find time to handhold him and actually make sure that the rascal will attend every single counseling session. Take me off the case. I've got too much else going on right now."

Byul's somewhat agitated voice became calm once again as she looked straight into the older man’s eyes, "You know I'm right."

The old Jung pondered her plea for a brief moment. As one of the firm's most gifted lawyers, her arguments hold merits. It will be such a waste of time if she has to babysit that ungrateful rascal.

"Okay, what if we do this. Seon Ho will deal with our young heir, and I'll assign you one of the new associates for added assistance. Happy now?"

"Much. What’s the catch?"

"Winning all of those trials, of course."

Byul quirked an eyebrow cockily as if she couldn't believe that he even question her ability. "Of course.”

She then met his eyes mischievously, “So, which associate do I get? I promise I won't torture whoever it is mercilessly. Much." she stated with a devilish grin.

It was a well-known fact that volumes of documents had to be reviewed in all standard litigation cases. It was also a well-known fact that no one, absolutely no one, who cares about their mental health, wanted in any way, shape, or form to spend countless hours holed up somewhere reviewing documents. Lots and lots of documents. Lots and lots of boring documents. It was, quite frankly, inhumane and beyond torture, just to put it mildly.

"Well, let's see.” Tapping fingers on his lips in ponder, his eyes light up slightly when he found just the perfect assistant for Byul.

“Ahn Hyejin. She's new but tough. A little wet behind her ears, a little brassy but ballsy. Yep," he chuckled slightly, already imagining what the Duo can do, "This one, I'm sure she can take whatever you dish out." He winked. "I’ll let her know, then you two can meet and strategize."

Byul inclined her head slightly, trying to figure out the mischievous glint in her mentor's eyes but failed.

She heard that name before, but cannot quiet put her fingers on where and also came up empty when she tried to recall how she looked like, *Ahn Hyejin, I wonder whether she would be an ally or another nightmare?*

***

Although not exactly fresh out of law school, Ahn Hye Jin was more than a little nervous to start her career at the prestigious law firm of Jung, Kwon & Co.

She knew they were impressed enough to hijack her out of her previous law firm, but she needs to prove to them that it was the right decision.

She stopped short in the doorway of the office that she shared with three other associates when she saw Jung Doo Hood stood there with a pleasant grin on his face. She smiled back at the veteran defense attorney. He was a little bit on the small side, with a full head of graying hair and a warm open face. His dark eyes twinkled with an always present excitement. In short? She likes him.

"Miss Ahn, you got a minute? There's something I wanted to talk to you about."

He took a seat on the couch and sat back in a relaxed posture as he spoke.

"I'm going to assign you to work with one of our junior partners, Moon Byul Yi.” He stopped a bit to gauge her reaction and continue when he found none, “She has several cases coming up for trial in the next few months. I've asked her to come to see you about what she needs to get done. I'll give you a little heads up, though."

He leaned in conspiratorially, "I think there's a document review involved in there somewhere."

Keeping a smile on her face, Hyejin nodded enthusiastically, "Of course, whatever Ms. Moon needs, I'll be happy to assist."

"She's one of our top litigators, and I think working with her will benefit you. It's really something to see her in action," he said a bit wistfully. "She has a reputation for winning even the toughest case."

“I’ll look forward to working with her then.”

Nodding, the older man stood up and headed for the door. Looking back at her, he spoke in a sincere tone, which she somehow found endearing. "Oh, and Miss Ahn, if you need anything, I want you to come to see me. Okay?"

"I will. Thank you, sir." As the Senior Partner retreated into the hallway, Hyejin sat back and thought about the new work assignment and could not believe her luck. Moon Byul Yi. Wow.

It was already late morning when Hyejin took a break from her research, got a cup of coffee, and returned to her office. She was feeling a bit tired as the result of staying up late the previous night reading up on summation. *These cases are not directly on point. I need more to go on.*

A brief knock on her door brought her attention from her case law. A slender form stood in the doorway, and Hyejin couldn't help but notice the woman's dark, almost black hair and very, very beautiful face.

"Hi, Miss Ahn. I'm Moon Byul Yi. I don't believe we've met." Byul extended her hand to the new associate.

Hyejin quickly stood up and shook her hand gently. "Ms. Moon. Your reputation precedes you."

"Did Old Jung speak to you about working on some cases with me?"

"Yes, he did. What do you need help with?"

Byul regarded the new associate. She was petite yet curvy, with short pixie hair and a small beauty mark on her right cheek. Striking. There was an air about her that Byul couldn’t quiet put her fingers on. Confident. Good. 

"I have a couple of cases set for trial in the next few months, and we've got a lot of discovery to complete at the moment, and then trial preparation further on down the road. I have a document review scheduled next week that I really need help with right now." Byul gave the new associate a wry smile and a slightly quirked eyebrow.

She knew full well that most new associates hate document review with a vengeance. They want the thrill of the court-room. They want to go out and argue. In short, they want to be on the field and not stuck inside, drowning in papers.

Couldn't resist testing the waters, she stared intently across the desk. "The document review should be a perfect opportunity for you and very challenging. Think you might be interested?"

“I'll be happy to help in any way I can."

"Please, call me Byul." Byul debated with herself whether to test the new associate just a little bit further. Why not, right?

Again, she looked intently at the new associate. "I think it'll be quite an exciting time. Don't you agree?"

Hyejin wasn't sure whether she was being tested or the Junior Partner just being obtuse. But, this was a Partner with whom she would be working closely, and she really did need to get along with her, so....

"Yes, I can't think of anything else I'd rather do," she said rather thoughtfully.

At this, something between a curious and bemused expression crossed the junior partner's face. Clearly, this was not the reaction she'd expected and not the response she usually received. Sparkling dark eyes questioningly regarded the new associate. "You can't think of anything else you'd rather do than go to a document review?"

The new associate smiled sweetly, "Yes, especially since it equates to billable hours. Who knows, I might break your record as the fastest associate to make Partner.”  Hyejin couldn't help the full grin spreading across her face and the barest twinkle in her eye when the Junior Partner simply nodded her head slowly in understanding and grinned.

Touché.

"I guess I deserved that. I think.” With that, Byul stood up and walked toward the door. "Alright then, I want to fill you in on the strategy we're looking at, and then you can spend some time reviewing the complaint and discovery requests, which are due at the end of this month. I'll need your help in drafting our responses after you've seen the documents." She stopped and checked her watch. "If you're free for lunch today, we could grab a bite to eat and discuss the case further."

"Yes, I'm free."

"Good. Let's meet at the elevators in 15 minutes, and we'll head out."

Byul made her way down the corridor toward her office, thinking to herself. That new associate, surprisingly not like all the rest. You might just be in for more than you know. She smiled slight and left that thought to ponder for another time.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Author's Note: 

I do not plan to write a Charmed prequel. I repeat. I do not plan to write a prequel. But, if any of you is on twitter, you would know that there was a tweet flying around with Moonsun being lawyers and i JUST REALLY MISS LAWYER MOONBYUL!!!

So anyway, a Charmed prequel will have no romance, but will have plenty of love between the characters. Because friendship is love too! It will follow the life and cases and friendship between Assistant District Attorney Yong, Junior Partner Byul that still work as a criminal law litigator instead of corporate, and also the sassy and ballsy new associates Ahn Hye Jin and it will of course culminated in the one case that broke them all apart. Yes, anyone that read Charmed before will be familiar with THAT case. 

Idk, I just want to be selfish and make a case-fic hahahaha what do you guys think?