I Need You

Court

Chae-sul/Jihya's POV

"Aren't you glad you came?" Solar asked as we walked through the park. "I know I'm glad I finally got you out of the apartment."

"No. I want to go back to laying on the couch." She slapped my arm.

"Ow!"

"Don't say that! It's a nice day."

"Whatever." Her phone rang.

"Hey, give me a minute." She walked just out of earshot to answer her phone. A moment later, she came back, looking very relieved.

"What's with the face?"

"Nothing." From the look on her face, it was definitely not nothing.

We walked for a while longer before sitting getting drinks from a cart and sitting on a bench. I closed my eyes, leaning my head back and feeling the sun on my face.

"You look like you're enjoying being outside." I lightly smacked her arm and sat my drink on the ground.

"Shut up." I went back to enjoying the sun.

"Who's that?" she asked a moment later.

"Who's who?"

"The guy standing right in front of you."

"Wha-" I opened my eyes, freezing when I saw who was standing just a few feet away. As if my legs had a mind of their own, I got up and sprinted to him. I jumped into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist as we fell to the ground.

"Are you happy to see me or something?"

"I guess you could say that," I giggled. We locked eyes for minute, and I could feel myself leaning closer to his face.

"Ok, you two," Solar interrupted. "People are starting to stare." I rolled my eyes and stood up, then helped Chan get up.

(-)

"So are you staying here tonight?" I asked Chan when we got back to the apartment.

"No, I have to stay at this hotel the police department is paying for. I have to be there by eight tonight. If I'm not there by then, they come looking for me."

"You still have a curfew," I laughed.

"Haha." He was silent for a moment. "I actually need to talk to you about something."

"And this is where I leave," Solar exclaimed, disappearing to her bedroom.

"What?" We sat on the couch.

"Well, the reason I left was because I was in a witness protection program."

"Why were in witness protection?"

"Well, I met someone who knew you from a long time ago. And we figured out that you were not left on Jin-young's doorstep. So we decided to go to the police. And the police told us that we had to hide because Jin-young had the resources to... well they said he could make us disappear."

"Wait, what who did you meet? And what do you mean I wasn't left on his doorstep?"

"I'm not legally obligated to tell you who this person is. You'll find out soon enough. Hopefully."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He sighed.

"You're going to have to appear in court."

"For what?"

"You'll find out tomorrow."

"What?"

"But if anyone asks, I didn't tell you anything."

"Chan!"

(-)

I walked into the courthouse behind Chan. I was honestly terrified, I still had no idea what was going on. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, squeezing them gently.

"It's gonna be ok. Don't worry."

"Can you please tell me what this is about?"

"I'm not allowed to. But you're about to find out. And the best part about this is today's the last hearing, so you get to hear everything." We walked into the courtroom and sat down on the right side. I saw Jin-young sitting at the table on the left, and a woman I didn't know in front of us. She looked extremely familiar...The judge smacked her gavel, signalling the start of the hearing.

"First witness, Park Chae-sul, also known as Kim Jihya." I turned to Chan, confused.

"What does he mean?"

"You'll see." He nodded toward the front of the courtroom. I tentatively walked toward the witness stand. I swore on what I think was a Bible (Jin-young wasn't religious so I never learned anything about religion) and sat down. I noticed Jin-young was staring daggers at me, but the woman was staring at me with a look in her eyes that I couldn't explain. I took a deep breath as the woman's lawyer started asking me questions.

"Miss Park, or would you like me to call you Miss Kim?"

"Um, I guess just Chae-sul. I've never known any other name."

"Alright, Chae-sul. As we have come to understand, Mr. Park is your adopted father?"

"Yes."

"But he has no proof of your adoption?"

"Not that I know of."

"And you said the name's Kim Jihya, Ahn Ara, and Kim Sung-ho all seemed familiar?" Why did these names keep coming up?

"Yes. They all seem extremely familiar, but I have no idea where I've heard them before."

"Do you remember anything from before you lived with Mr. Park?"

"No, I was much too young to remember."

"How young were you when he took you in?"

"Um, he said I was about a year old."

"There was a little girl who went missing about seventeen years ago, she was about a year old. My client is that girl's mother." I looked at the woman that was sitting at his table. She looked as if she were about to cry. "Does this woman look familiar to you?"

"Very." He nodded.

"I have no further questions, Your Honor." He walked back to the table and sat down. Jin-young's lawyer approached the stand.

"Chae-sul, Kim Jihya went missing when you were very young. It was all over the news. Do you think it could be possible you heard that name and it just... stuck in your head?"

"I don't think so. I was never allowed to watch the news." He nodded.

"And your father took you in, raised you in his own home, and even put you through his own school, correct?"

"Yes."

"Did you ever ask for any of these things?"

"No."

"And even though you never asked for these things, he still took care of you? Never hurt you?" I looked at Jin-young, who was staring me down as if daring me to say anything but yes. Then I looked at Chan, who gave me a small, encouraging smile.

"No." The room filled with quiet chatter. The judged smacked the gavel a few times. "Jin-young was usually too drunk to take care of me, I actually took care of him most of the time. And if I didn't do something right, he would often hit me." I tear slid down my cheek as I looked down at my hands folded in my lap. The lawyer sighed in defeat.

"I have no further questions."