Tuesday Morning

"I still don't think it's a good idea that you come to this trial."

Kai stood in front of the mirror hanging on the bedroom wall. It was a ridiculously small thing, and he had to twist his body every which way to get a glimpse of the part he wanted. He adjusted the tie hanging around his neck and the jacket of his suit. This was a very important affair, and he wanted the members of the court impressed.

Kyungsoo settled for something less elegant. While Kai wore the well tailored suit he found in the closet and still fit in to, Kyungsoo wore his regular apparel. A tee shirt and jeans with no holes completed his look. Everything in the closet was too long for him because of his height, and thus he was forced to wear something far from appropriate.

But that wasn't the reason why Kai didn't want him at the hearing today. The boss' soon to be NOT son was not fond of the idea of having Kyungsoo in the same room as that lunatic. It was bad enough that he himself had to be in there, but Kyungsoo? Aish. Kai would have to watch Mr. Kim's every single ing move. One wrong step and he'd snap the boss' neck. No regrets.

"I want to be there," Kyungsoo muttered. "I mean, this affects me too, doesn't it?"

"Well yes, but I don't need you in my father's presence." Kai attached new cufflinks to his sleeves. "Somehow I feel like he wouldn't be afraid to shoot you in court."

"Kai, I'm going and that's it, alright? I'm sure he's not stupid. Who would pull out a gun when they're amongst police officers and body guards and a judge who can condemn them right then and there?"

"I suppose you're right," Kai sighed. "I just..I just don't want you hurt, ok?"

Kyungsoo nodded. He understood the level of Kai's uncertainty about this. After all, he was feeling probably the same amount of it too. He bit his lip while watching Kai finish up the finishing touches on his ensemble, wondering how he was going to face Mr. Kim in court today. At least he wouldn't have to talk to the guy.

Kai stuffed his hands into his pockets and turned to the side. He in his stomach a little. Nah, what was the point? He looked good anyways. If he was going to leave the company, he had to go out looking great. Go out with a big bang.

He turned around and offered a hand to the boy sitting on the bed watching him. "Hopefully everything will turn out peachy. If not, well, we tried." He let out a low chuckle, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't work.

Kyungsoo took his husband's hand and stood upright. His gaze fell to the floor as he felt some sort of heavy burden weigh down onto his shoulders. He really prayed the extra day they gave Kangin was enough. Surely the lawyer had everything prepared. And as for Mr. Kim, who had immediately replied he would attend the hearing after it was issued, they knew he was ready to go from that moment.

The two walked slowly down the stairs. Silence reigned supreme in the atmosphere. Neither boy knew what to say. Should they start saying goodbye to one another? Was this it? It had to be. There was no way, with the amount of respect he recieved, that Mr. Kim would lose today. Kai was already starting to kiss his freedom farewell.

They made their way out the country house's front door and towards the Baekhyun's car. Kai gripped the door handle of the passenger's seat, looking to Kyungsoo for approval to open it. He really didn't want the doll to attend this. Nevertheless, Kyungsoo motioned for Kai to either open the door or step out of the way. The younger chose the first option.

Once sure Kyungsoo was properly seated, Kai shut the car door and walked around to the other side of the car. He pulled on his jacket, nervously tugging on the buttons. He took one look at the house before opening his own door. He hoped this wouldn't be the last time he saw this house.

Kai got inside and placed his hands on the steering wheel. He didn't move a muscle for a few moments, trying to calm his breathing. He was going to start hyperventilating if he didn't slow his heart rate. So nervous. His vision clouded, only to regain itself when he felt Kyungsoo's hand giving his own a small reassuring squeeze.

Taking a deep breath, Kai fired up the car's engine and pulled out of the house's driveway. Kyungsoo pressed his nose to the glass of his window, trying to catch a glimpse of the house before they'd ride away into the forest. This house felt safe to him. He could see why Kai wanted it as one of the assets he hoped to gain.

The trees once again cast shadows onto the car as they drove on the narrow road connected to the one leading to the house. Kai made a point to lock the car doors. They didn't know if something was lurking in the shadows. Maybe, unlike last time, someone was watching them. Someone like Mr. Kim. Kai wasn't taking any chances.

They rode slowly, almost at the pace of a turtle. When the car rolled onto the main road over the mountain, Kai forced speed to match that of a raging bull. They wouldn't want to be late for the court hearing, would they? 

Kyungsoo latched himself onto the handle of the door beside him, holding on tight as Kai sped along. He was terrified knowing that in just a few more minutes (Kai's speed was great enough to arrive at their destination in mere minutes) they'd be back in the heart of Seoul, easing their way into a court room. The doll shivered.

And just as expected, it didn't take them long to arrive. Kai swore under his breath when they pulled up to the town hall and saw a mass of reporters crowding the entrance. He gritted his teeth, trying to move the car through the toil of people. He had to get somewhere where he and Kyungsoo could exit the vehicle in peace.

No such luck. The reporters blocked every side road that led to the town hall house. Kai managed to pull the car over and forced the door open. He was immediately recognized. Flashes from cameras blasted in his face, and the young man went temporarily blind. Never had so many cameras flashed at him at such a close proximity.

Kai forced his way through the reporters to Kyungsoo's car door. The doll jolted when he heard the screams and snaps of cameras once it was open. Kai held onto the older's elbows and pulled him out, burying Kyungsoo's face in his own chest. He covered the boy's face with his jacket and led the two of them towards the stairs to the entrance.

The attention was slightly diverted from them when another car pulled up. Kai turned around. It was the limo. Baekhyun got out of the front, looking melancholy for having been forced to come back to drive the man. It was all part of the image. Kai's hold around Kyungsoo tightened as Baekhyun walked over to the passenger door and slowly opened it.

Mr. Kim stepped out, dressed as finely as his son. He buttoned the bottom few buttons of his jacket, offering the photographers and reporters a smug smile. Baekhyun stood still, head down, hat covering the pained look on his face. With a snap of his boss' fingers, the boy began to push through the reporters to clear a path for his boss.

Kai screamed internally for his legs to move. With each step that Mr. Kim took closer, the need to flee grew larger. And yet, it seemed as though he was suddenly paralyzed from the waist down. Kai was forced to watch as Mr. Kim came ever closer, his eyes locked on the bundle his adopted son held in his arms.

The man passed by then. He stopped for a moment at the entrance to look back at Kai, then glare at Kyungsoo. The doll shifted in Kai's hold so he could see what was going on, and as soon as his face was visible, Mr. Kim snarled at him. Kyungsoo hid himself again, relying on Kai to protect him. The younger wanted to hide too.

As soon as Mr. Kim went inside with Baekhyun, Kai's legs succumbed to his demands. They pushed forward, leading him inside the town hall. He let go of Kyungsoo when they got in, and a security guard shut the main entrance's door with their arrival. Kyungsoo was happy that the closure drowned out the sounds of the reporters.

Kyungsoo looked around the town hall's main lobby. His mood lifted when he saw Chanyeol, Jongdae, and the butler's kids sitting on a bench on the far side. He was about to run over to them when he felt a tug on his shirt. He glanced back, only to see Kai shaking his head slowly.

"We're in court, not the playground. Behave, doll face."

Kyungsoo nodded. He turned to look at the boys on the bench once more. Chanyeol's eyes were on him and the accountant gave him a small wave, to which Mihee soon joined in. Jongdae and the twins kept their heads low, just like their spirits. The boys were scared of Mr. Kim, and their father the fate before them all.

Kai took Kyungsoo's hand, not caring if anyone judged them. He slowly walked towards the courtroom at the end of the lobby, waiting to be permitted inside. Mr. Kim was being allowed to go in first. Then he was to get settled. Only then would Kai and the prosecuting party be allowed to enter. The young man hated this favoratism.

He turned his head at the sound of rapid footsteps and the opening of the main door again. Kangin was rushing towards Kai and Kyungsoo, his handy suitcase firmly in his grasp. He bowed politely at his clients, and when he stood upright again, Kai saw the fear behind his eyes. Was the pressure getting to Kangin too.

"You will not believe what your friends told me over the phone last night," Kangin said. "It scared me to death. Did you know that your father locked them in a room with no food or water for six hours? And that he threatened to shoot your butler's kids more than once. And you guys didn't tell me he tried to shoot you! That's attempted murder! That needs to be reported!"

"I don't want this turning into a scandal," Kai whispered.

"It'll be a scandal no matter what!" Kangin hissed. "Listen to me: you want to win this, don't you? If yes, I need your permission to enter your friends' testimonies in as evidence. It'll end it quicker, and I guarantee a win."

Kyungsoo pulled on Kai's sleeve. "Kai, wait. Maybe this isn't such a good idea. I mean, I doubt anyone will believe a bunch of young kids talking about such abuse which hasn't even been reported 'til this day."

Kai bit his lip. Kyungsoo had a point. Who would the judge and jury believe? Him, the son, who was basically suing his father. Or Mr. Kim, successful, powerful business man, owner of Kim Industries? It seemed as though the odds were rather largly more favoring to Mr. Kim. Kangin would have none of it.

"There has to some sort of physical evidence. Boys, I need to include this in the witness examinations. I know who the judge is going to be, and we better have some pretty darn good evidence to get this guy to like us."

Kyungsoo suddenly got an idea that could be the solution to their problems. He moved away a portion of his shirt to reveal the wound inflicted by the bullet from Mr. Kim's gun on his shoulder. Blood still oozed from it, and even an idiot would recognize that a bullet had been the cause. Kangin nodded. That would do.

"Kim Jongin?"

Kai turned his head in the direction his name was called from. He found himself face to face with a security guard. "Yes?"

"You may go in now."

~*~*~

Kyungsoo sat himself down in the second row from the front, directly behind Kai. He shifted around in his seat uncomfortably for a few minutes, trying to get accustomed to the attention directed at him. Everyone's eyes, on both sides of the courtroom, were momentarily at him. He felt like an object on display in a museum.

He cringed from the comments floating around him. 

"So this is the boy Jongin is giving everything up for?"

"Ugh, what a hideous little thing."

"What's wrong with his eyes? Why are they so abnormally large?"

"Is Jongin blind or something? Why can't he see that his money is worth far more than this pathetic piece of commoner trash?"

"Do Kyungsoo, eh? He's ruining Jongin's life."

Am I? Kyungsoo thought to himself. He watched Kai sit down beside Kangin at the desk in front. Is it really my fault all of this is happening? That he's losing everything? That noone will see him as the respectable young man he used to be? He's a commoner like me now. And it's all my fault.

For a moment, Kyungsoo hated Joonmyun. He hated the boss' assistant's rotting guts. It wasn't Kyungsoo's fault! No! It was all Joonmyun's fault! That moron was always clumsy, and if he just hadn't been himself for five minutes perhaps, none of this would be happening. This nightmare would have never had become reality.

But neither would the dream, right? Kyungsoo suddenly loved Joonmyun again. Without the destruction of D.O, Kyungsoo would be as sad as he was right now everday for the rest of his miserable life. At least now he had Kai to wash that sadness away. The doll sighed, and tried to drown in happy thoughts.

Someone threw him an unwanted life preserver when he felt eyes digging into him. He swurved his head around, gasping when he saw Mr. Kim staring him down. The doll politely gave him a curt nod and a smile, only to be returned back a frown. So, Kyungsoo had not charmed his father-in-law. What a shame.

Kangin opened up his suitcase and started taking out everything he needed for the trial. He stacked all of his papers in neat towers. In the meantime, Kai took the opportunity to turn around. He rested his cheek on the top of his chair and looked at Kyungsoo with warm eyes. The doll felt the color rise to his cheeks.

"I just want you to know that you look handsome," Kai told him.

"And why say this now?"

"Because you look like you don't think so. Don't let what the idiots around us are saying to get to you. I'm sure half of them are just saying what's been shoved into their mouths. It's not their real opinions."

And he turned back around again. Kyungsoo leaned forward and grabbed Kai's shoulder, giving it a squeeze. He felt the tension in Kai's body slowly dissipate, and the younger seemed to relax a little more than before. Kyungsoo smiled at that.

The bailiff near the judge's seat suddenly stood up. "All rise."

It's starting?! Kyungsoo began to panic. Was Kangin ready? Was Kai ready? Was he himself ready? The answers to those questions were probably no, no, and no. Kyungsoo stood up, eyes closed.

"Please rise for his honor Park Leeteuk."

The judge, at the announcement of his name, made his grand entrance into the court room. He looked extremely young, and yet, extremely firm. He gave Mr. Kim a bob of the head and a glance to Kai before sitting himself down in his seat. 

"You may be seated," he ordered, and the entire court room sat down in sync. Leeteuk leaned back in his chair. "Court is now in session. Counselor, you may begin your opening statement."

Kangin stood up. Kai looked up at him from his seat, praying with all his heart that the lawyer knew what he was doing. The thing is, Kangin had no idea what he was doing. Everything he had prepared suddenly flew out of his head. He bit his lip.

"Couselor?"

"Yes, yes, your honor." Kangin cleared his throat and walked around the desk. "Ladies and gentlemen, my client who's name you all know has called his trial today not to ask for a share of what his adopted father owns, but to claim what is rightfully his: his freedom. Kim Jongin has been locked away in his father's house, obeying his father's rules like any other normal child, since the day he was brought into the household. However, during this court session, we will hope to show you that what has been going on behind the Kims' walls is not all that it seems to be. We intend to prove that Kim Jongin is not safe in such an environment. That his dismissal from the establishment his father has created be urgent." Kangin cleared his throat again. "Kim Jongin, also known as Kai, is not a happy soul ladies and gentlemen. He is a prisoner, and after today, we hope that will be not so. Thank you."

Kai gave Kangin a pat on the back when the lawyer sat back down. He then turned around to Kyungsoo to see what the doll thought of the opening statement. Kyungsoo gave it a thumbs up. If there was something that Kangin needed to do, it was get those people's hearts to feel for Kai's situation. Emotion is greater than reasoning.

Kai watched as Leeteuk took down some notes, then focused his attention on Mr. Kim's lawyers. "Counselors, your opening statement."

Kai didn't listen to most of the speech from his father's side. All he made out was that it was something about him being well cared for, and how it was stupid of him to leave all of that behind for a boy he had met a few weeks ago. Kai hated, simply despised, how Mr. Kim was pulling Kyungsoo into this.

After the lawyer was done, Leeteuk leaned forward in his chair, addressing Kangin again. "Counselor, your witness?"

"Yes, um, the prosecution would like to call," Kangin fumbled around with his papers, "uh...B-Byun Baekhyun, to the stand, please."

Baekhyun, who had been sitting in the very back beside Chanyeol, slowly stood up. He looked like an egg shell on the brink of cracking, and Kai felt awful for having the chauffeur go through this. Baekhyun tipped his hat at Kai as he passed by him and made his way towards the witness stand. The bailiff stood up to face him.

"Please raise your right hand." Baekhyun did so. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God?"

"I do," Baekhyun whispered. He sat down when told to do so, fidgeting around with his fingers. 

Kangin picked himself up again, straightening out his suit. Kai gave Baekhyun a pleading look, begging the young man not to succumb to the tears he knew were threatening to escape. Baekhyun had to be calm and clear about everything that was asked of him. The chauffeur knew it, and tried to calm himself down.

Chanyeol's hand was on his mouth, trying to stifle the scream about to rip from his throat. Seeing his Baekhyun sitting up in that chair, shivering from cold that didn't exist, broke his heart. He knew he wouldn't be in a better position once he himself was put up for questioning, but he couldn't stand to know Baekhyun was growing through this kind of pressure.

Kangin leaned on the stand. "Baekhyun, tell me, when did you start working for Mr. Kim?"

"About three years ago," Baekhyun coughed. He cleared his throat and leaned in towards the microphone, repeating the sentence louder with more dialect.

"And during that time, have you felt happy as an employee?"

"It depends," the chauffeur replied, shrugging. He flashed the lawyer a nervous, cute smile, and Kyungsoo heard a few 'awwws' flutter around the court room. Baekhyun was adorable.

"What do you mean by that? Elaborate for us."

"Well, it depends on my boss' behavior and his mood. When he's feeling happy, he's a good boss and it's nice to work for him. But when he gets mad, he loses his temper and--" He stopped.

"And what, Baekhyun?" Kangin pressed. When Baekhyun didn't respond, he added, "you're under oath, remember that."

"He can hurt us," Baekhyun whispered.

"How so?"

"Well, as an example, he slapped Jongin so badly once that he made his nose bleed. And it wasn't an accident; it was in a fit of rage."

"So on purpose?"

"Yes."

"No further questions, your honor." Kangin buttoned up his jacket and returned to his seat.

Leeteuk raised an eyebrow and looked down upon Baekhyun before turning towards Mr. Kim's representations. "Couselor? Your witness."

The lawyer, one different from the man who read their opening statement, approached Baekhyun with an air of a king. Kyungsoo saw the chauffeur shrink in his seat, and for once in his life, he thought Baekhyun would snap in two. The pressure was pressing down on the boy more than on anyone else in this room.

"Mr.