“And you and Detective Kim apprehended him?”

“Yes,” Changmin answered affirmatively from his seat in front of the entire courtroom.

Yu Hwan, the prosecutor and an old acquaintance of Changmin and I's, nodded. “No further questions.” Changmin was dismissed and made his way to take his seat by me again. He managed a reassuring nod before Yu Hwan turned towards the audience. “I'd like to ask Detective Kim Jin Ae to come to the stand.”

I closed my eyes, regaining my courage as I rose. I tried not to think that this trial was being publicly broadcast; everyone wanted a look at the mercenary UKnow and his demise. Park, Junsu, Jaejoong...I saw their faces briefly. Lastly, I passed the defendant table, trying hard not not look at the two beings seated there. Yunho was shackled, blue uniform placed on his healing frame. I felt his eyes on me, but refused to look as I took my seat at the stand.

Yu Hwan stretched his arm towards Yunho. “Is this the man that you identify as UKnow?”

“Yes.”

“This is the man that matches the sketch that you were asked to produce?”

“Yes.”

“Is this the man that you saw attempt to murder your partner?”

“Yes.”

“Did he kidnap your brother, Kim Jaejoong, and threaten his life?”

“Yes, he did.”

“Is this the man that shot you?”

“Yes.”

“Is this the man that you faced in order to retrieve Kim Junsu?”

“Yes.”

“Is this the man that held this,” Yu held up a bag with the activating cellphone inside, “and was on the brink of setting off a series of bombs in Ilsan?”

“Yes.”

“Is this the man that held you hostage for two weeks time?”

I swallowed and glanced over at Yunho. His face remained neutral. “Yes, he is.”

Yu turned to the jury, pointing at Yunho again. “This man's DNA, that was never in the system before, has been matched with the DNA left at several crime scenes, one of which being a blood sample found from the scene of where he assaulted Detective Kim and Detective Park. This man has no fingerprints.” A photo appeared on the board off to the side. It was of Yunho's hand, the tips of his fingers completely blank, probably from serious self-inflicted injuries to induce the destruction of his fingerprints. I cringed. “Why would an innocent man destroy his own fingerprints?” Yu looked about the crowd; their tension was easy to see.

“Though there is little evidence to solidly prove all fifty-seven murders and over a hundred thefts he has been accused of, we can prove that he is responsible for the kidnapping and assault of Kim Jin Ae, Kim Jaejoong, and Kim Junsu, and the attempted murder of Detective Shim Changmin. Is that not enough to prosecute this man for life?”

“Objection!” Yunho's lawyer stood to his feet and my fist clenched. If it couldn't be bad enough, Yunho's defender was Uk Yong Dae, one of the most hated lawyers in Seoul.

And my ex.

I was drunk most of that relationship, I swear.

Silence fell over the courtroom before the judge said, “overruled.”

“No further questions,” Yu said and Uk was almost instantly on his feet.

“Detective Kim, how was your treatment while you were in Mr. Jung's custody?”

“I'm sorry?”

Uk came to stand in front of me, an arrogant look reverberating in his eyes. “How did Mr. Jung treat you while you were in his custody?”

“He handcuffed me to a pipe in the wall during that whole time period,” I answered shortly.

“Did he feed you?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of food?” he asked.

“Food...” I answered.

Uk rolled his eyes, sighing as if patience was drawing thin. “Was it rotten? Stale? Was it food that a human shouldn't digest?”

“I don't see the point of these questions, your honor,” Yu stated(I completely agreed with this), but he was quickly reprimanded.

“It was good food,” I said.

“So you were fed well?”

“Yes.”

“Did he ever verbally attack you in anyway? Did he threaten you?”

“No.”

“Did he physically assault you?”

I my lips, seeing where this was starting to go. “No.”

“Did he ever ually assault you?”

My eyes skimmed over Yunho before I answered. “No, he did not.”

“So you were treated rather well while in Mr. Jung's custody.”

“I wouldn't say that,” I said.

“But he fed you, kept you confined, but comfortable.”

“I suppose.”

“Detective, you've been in this career for many years and you know how to read criminals fairly well,” said Yong Dae. “Why do you believe Mr. Jung took you hostage?”

I exhaled shakily. “I...I don't know. Good people do bad things sometimes. It--”

“Good people?” Yong Dae inquired. “You're referring to Mr. Jung as a good person?”

“No!” I objected.

“That's what it sounds like.”

“That's not what I meant.”

“But you said 'good people do bad things'. Did the court not here this?” He turned to the people before us. “Detective Kim refers to this criminal as a good person. Don't you think her judgment might be in question?”

“Objection!” Yu snarled.
“Overruled.”

A murmur traveled through the room and I felt my stomach boiling. I glanced over at Changmin and Park. They were staring at me, Changmin mouthing the words, “what are you doing?”. I looked away, sliding my sweaty palms down my pants.

, , , !

“So, Detective...” My eyes shot up at Yong Dae's pur. He was smiling. “Can we truly trust your judgment? Is this really the man that is to blame?”

“Of course it is,” I snarled. “All the evidence is right here.”

“Are you sure? This isn't just some way to try and quench the legend that is UKnow? This isn't some sort of way to gain fame?”

“Objection!” Yu was on his feet, teeth gritted. “Detective Kim made a slip of the tongue, your honor. This is—”

“Yu, sit down,” the judge commanded and the prosecutor grudgingly obeyed.

This wasn't anything new. Uk was notorious for finding the smallest of flaws in someone's statements and making others doubt. He was good at it, playing mental games. Yunho and him would get along swimmingly.

Yong Dae was looking over at the jury, who were whispering amongst themselves. He turned to me and I wanted, more than anything, to punch the smirk right off his face. “Do you have any further statements, Detective?”

My eyes narrowed. “Jung Yunho is guilty of every thing he has ever been convicted of.”

“And how do you know?”

“Because I've seen it. He's admitted to me.”

“But only you. There's no other witnesses, except those you could persuade and yourself, Detective. How can we trust the word of someone who has a reputation of having mental instabilities?” My jaw clenched as another uneasy murmur passed through the crowd.

“I'm just as sane as you are,” I growled. “You just have to trust me.”

“I don't think we can do that,” Yong Dae said and turned back to the audience.

A movement caught my eye. My eyebrows furrowed. Yunho was on his feet, face set in a neutral and carefree fashion. “If I may,” he said, his gaze never leaving me. “I'd like to plead guilty to all the crimes that have been set against me.”

An uproar went up in the courtroom. Yong Dae gasped, rushing over to him. He began to snarl at Yunho, but it was a one-sided argument. Yunho simply sat back down and didn't say another word. Everyone was in a state of shock, including myself. The judge was hammering away with his gavel, shouting “order!”.

When things finally quieted down, Yong Dae slowly turned back to the judge and said, “no further questions,” before seating himself beside Yunho. He looked alarmed, pale. His own defendant had just him. Oh, what a sight to behold.

The judge was at a loss for a moment. He cleared his throat. “Then, we'll take a short recess while the jury discusses the charges.”

Outside the court room, I found a small hallway and leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. My stomach was flipping around in my gut; I felt sick. I was in shock, unsure how to take Yunho's statement. No one knew how to take it.

Changmin and Park came up beside me. “What the hell was that?” Changmin demanded. He looked far from pleased. “'Good people do bad things'? What the were you thinking?”

“I wasn't!” I snapped. “I just...I need to use the bathroom.” And I hurried off.

I stumbled into one of the stalls just in time to let loose whatever I had digested that morning. My whole body shook, hands trembling. What the hell was I doing? My whole mind was spinning out of control, dizzying my sense of balance and clarity. I vomited again.

“Jin Ae?” It was Hana's sweet voice that echoed off the bathroom walls. She found me with my head in the toilet, retching uncontrollably. Without word, she took my hair in her hands and held it back.

Finally, when I was done, I reemerged. “Thank you,” I mumbled, wiping the sweat from my clammy forehead. “Stress levels...”

“I know,” she said softly. “You've handled it all so well.”

“Not today.”

“You're not perfect,” she said and I felt another wave of nausea coming over me. “You try too hard to be.”

“Because my brother always was.” That was a low blow, but I really didn't care.

“But he's not. He knows that. Do you know how worried he was when you were missing?” My answer was another round of puking. “He would pace most of the night. When there still wasn't any word, he'd go searching. He was so guilty.”

“That doesn't make me feel any better.”

“When we got the news that you were found, he cried.”

I said nothing and continued to kneel in front of the toilet until I knew it was safe to leave the range of it. We walked out of the bathroom in silence. Jaejoong, Junsu, Changmin, and Park were speaking amongst themselves. Jaejoong looked up at my approach—I hadn't seen him since I returned.

“Its good to see you,” was all he said.

“You too,” I answered. “I'm sorry for my screw up.” I directed this to all of them. “I don't know what I was thinking and I apologize for anything that could lead to it that wouldn't be on our favor.”

“Its fine,” Park said. “Yu worked very well in our favor. As did Yunho.” His eyebrows shot up. “A very surprising turn of events.”

“What was that about?” Jaejoong said.

We all shook our heads. “No idea,” Changmin said, “but no doubt that bastard's up to something.”

“Or he truly just plead guilty to all of it,” I said, earning a glance from the four of them. “Yun—UKnow works strangely. You never know what's going to happen.”

“If he wanted to plead guilty, why didn't he do it before the trial?” asked Jaejoong.

I had my own thoughts on the matter, but I didn't voice them. It was probably wrong and whatever had gone on in Yunho's mind was something only he would know. It had saved us, saved me, and I was thankful for that.

I noticed Junsu's constant gaze upon my frame. I glanced at him, showing that I could see his look. “You don't look well,” he said.

“Stress levels,” I said again. “Too much in too short a time.”

In that moment, we were called back into courtroom. I took my seat between Changmin and Park. My insides were shaking and I instinctively gripped at Changmin's arm. He looked at me, offering a reassuring look, but I could see the uneasiness in his eyes.

The room fell into edged silence as the jury filed in. The only one who looked unperturbed was Yunho. He was seated back in his chair, shoulders slack and relaxed. I wanted to know where he got his ease from.

One of the jurors stood and my hold tightened on Changmin's arm. The man cleared his throat. “We find Jung Yunho guilty of all charges set against him: premeditated and contracted homicide, assault, assault of an officer, kidnapping, attempted murder, theft, and futile acts of terrorism.” An audible sigh passed through the room.

The judge nodded. “Very well. Jung Yunho will be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Court dismissed.”

Again, I was frozen. Changmin and Park had launched to their feet and I was pulled to mine. Changmin wrapped an arm around me, grinning. They were talking amongst themselves, celebrating the good news. People were being ushered from the courtroom, but my eyes were locked on Yunho as he was escorted out. He glanced over his shoulder at me. A small smile flickered over his face before he was gone.