It's going to be okay.

Daehyun fidgeted as he caught sight of the jurors walking back in. He in a breath, folding his hands across the table as he watched the security guard bring Yonghee back in, seating her in the chair before the jury panel; she glanced at him surreptitiously, only to be responded with a curt nod and a brief, reassuring smile. After that, then, Daehyun casted his eyes back towards the front, where he awkwardly made eye contact with the stoic judge for only half a second, before he respectfully lowered his gaze, bowing his head uncomfortably. 

"Have our jurors reached a unanimous decision?"

The spokesperson, or the foreman, stood; he was a stout man draped sloppily in khaki slacks and a light blue polo. There was a ketchup stain near the collar of his shirt, on the left. He was sweating, palms clammy as he fumbled with the paper dwindling in between his fingers. "We-we uh," he muttered.
"Please speak up," the judge ordered patiently.
"We.. we're calling it a hung jury."

The judge, even, blinked back with surprise; Daehyun nearly fell back in his chair. The lawyer situated at the adjacent table beside Daehyun's grimaced scornfully as her lips pulled back into a taut scowl. The judge cleared his throat. "Please state the reason."
"There was not a sufficient amount of evidence pointing at the suspect's innocence or guilt," the foreman stammered nervously, clearing his throat as he pulled away his sticky shirt collar. His head glistened as he locked eyes with Yonghee, whose eyes were wide and doe-like, penetrating with worried curiousity and penetrating confusion. "We also believe the doctor-slash-lawyer that is representing his client, Bang Yonghee, was not properly cross-examined by the people's defense attorney. We call for a retrial, with a new panel of jurors."

Calamity erupted from the crowd then, juggling back and forth from Yongguk's glaring to the outbursts escaping the victims' families. Daehyun sat still in his seat, nodding gratefully to the judge and security guard for their humble services. He shook hands curtly with the lawyer before slipping back into the contemporary cell Yonghee was to be located in until the next hearing.

"What's going on?" she demanded, rising to her feet instantaneously upon sight of Daehyun's sullen look.
"It's a hung jury," he whispered apologetically, sitting her back down. He leaned his head tiredly against the brick wall of the confinement room, exhaling deeply. "Three whole hours of going back and forth on evidence and cross-examinations, only to have them declare it a hung-jury?" Daehyun spat contemptuously.
"What.. what does it mean?" Yonghee questioned softly.

Daehyun kept his hands to himself, clenching his fists tightly as they rested limply at his sides. "They couldn't unanimously decide on your verdict," he explained coldly.
"So?"
"So we're going to have to go through another trial of the same exact ," he growled angrily, running frenetic hands through his hair. "With a new panel of jurors, with the same defense attorney, with the same methods of cross-examination, and same display of evidence." He released a frustrated sigh, burying his head into his hands, shaking his head lightly as he whimpered dismally into his sweating palms.

He looked back up at Yonghee before throwing his head back with exhaustion. "I'm really sorry it has to be so complicated," Daehyun muttered nudging Yonghee light-heartedly. "But I promise you it's going to be okay... you just have to be strong, alright?"
Yonghee nodded. "When's my retrial?" she asked meekly.
Daehyun shook his head slowly, giving a shrug to his broad shoulders. "I'm sorry," he whispered, looking intently at Yonghee. "You'll probably be staying here for another long while... but at most, hopefully, it'll be in two weeks -- and that's the latest. They can't keep you here too long."

"How are they going to find jurors in such a short amount of time?" Yonghee returned harshly.

"They're going to have to somehow," Daehyun tittered contemptuously.
"Or what?"
"Or I'm going to wreak havoc 'round here," he smirked, bumping his shoulders with Yonghee's. "Get some rest, okay? It's been a long afternoon for all of us. I have some paperwork to file out, so you'll probably be having dinner with Yongguk-hyung tonight."

Yonghee blinked incredulously at Daehyun, raising an accusing finger at him; in return, she received a confused, arched brow and an awkward chuckle. "What?"
"You called my brother hyung," Yonghee whispered cutely, a small smile forming at the corner of her lips. "Are you guys amidst a bromance?"
"I sure hope not," Daehyun whispered, feigning a secretive voice. "He's not my type.. at all."

Daehyun chuckled lowly, tossling Yonghee's hair before excusing himself. "See you tomorrow, okay?"
"Bye, oppa."

"I am just so tired of this ," Daehyun groaned, banging his head tiredly against his desk.
"I can tell; you normally don't even curse this much.. it's really getting to you, isn't it?" Yongguk retorted, filing his documents neatly into his desk drawer. In return, Daehyun nodded limply, eyes half-shut. "Gross," Yongguk snorted.
Daehyun beared his teeth, in a harsh breath, before sitting up with his back erect and fingers sprawled out across his desk. "I have to do this," he whispered silently to himself. "For Yonghee."

Yongguk rose a brow, jaw clenching slightly. "Dude," Yongguk leered, "seriously."

"Too soon?" Daehyun seethed.

"A bit."

"That lawyer is a messed up , I'm serious," Daehyun growled, scattering his papers across his desk. Hues of whtie and manilla strew across the mahogany surface of his desk as he leaned back, neglecting the messy scattering of the flyers that were once tucked neatly in his hand. He placed his sore hands tautly behind his neck as he stretched out the knots in his back and shoulders. "She doesn't even know how to properly cross-examine us."
"Isn't that.. a good thing?" Yongguk inquired confusedly.
"She doesn't deserve to be a lawyer," Daehyun rambled. He glared tiredly at Yongguk, the dark circles under his eyes growing deeper and darker. "Why was she even appointed to this case? This is a federal case; does this case look like a civil-type trial to you?" Daehyun whispered incredulously. "I don't think so."

"You know what I think?" Yongguk returned awkwardly, shooting Daehyun a weird look. "I think you're totally losing it."
"I haven't slept an hour in two days, nor have I eaten --"
"Yonghee's going to be really upset abouut that."
"-- and I don't plan on eating or sleeping until she's proven innocent," Daehyun muttered.

"She really doesn't deserve the sentence the people are striving for," Daehyun confessed honestly, burying his head into the crook of his elbow. His rambling eventually diminished into mindless murmurs, before they vanished all together until inaudible snores were escaping the folds of his gaping lips.

Yongguk snorted, cocking his head knowingly. "Pabbo."

"This is from Daehyun," Yongguk mumbled warmly, ing a bento into Yonghee's hands. "He bought it from the Japanese market, and remembered you've always wanted to try sushi, I guess."
Yonghee nodded. "He's not coming today?"
"Would you rather have him here than your own oppa?" Yongguk blinked.
"Ani-aniya," Yonghee giggled. She playfully nudged him, smiling kindly up at her elder. "I just worry about him; he's been looking really worn out, is all."

Yongguk nodded understandingly. "So you have noticed," he recalled briefly to himself. "How observant."
"Of course," Yonghee whispered. "Who wouldn't notice a drastic change in weight and appearance like that?"
"He's just concerned about you.. it's not your fault, so don't even think that. He just really needs you to be innocently proven in this type of case, Yonghee," Yongguk informed her warmly. "I really don't have much say in the trial, since I'm a biased party, but honestly, as much as I believe so, Daehyun also thinks you deserve to be free."

He ruffled Yonghee's hair softly, picking at her orange jumpsuit. "Must to be in these all day, huh?" he retorted wittily.
Yonghee's signature giggle escaped the back of as she nodded. "Well," Yongguk smiled kindly, "don't worry. You'll be out of here in no time."

Yonghee held out her pinky and thumb, a hopeful look gliding across her irises as she stared up benevolently at her older brother. "Promise?"

He grinned, interlacing their pinks together, pressing his thumb againt hers. "Promise."