Only You✔️

Chapter 6

   Taehyung kept his eyes fixed on Li. He looked fairly well for someone who had been in prison for 15 years. His hair was combed back, and he was wearing a nice blue suit. He honestly looked like he was heading to a model photo shoot than here in the court room appealing his sentence for murder.
He smled at her. It was a threatening smile, it wasnt an uncomfortable smile. It was the smile she was famaliar with. The one he use to give to her when they were together. Before something in him snapped and everything went wrong.
She looked away from his eyes and cleared her throat. Jimin took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"You okay?" he mouths to her.
She nods and tries to steady her heart by deep breathing. But it wasnt working. Her eyes trailed back over to where Tae was sitting. His smile was gone now and his eyes were glazed over with anger. He looked between her and Jimin and cocked his head to the side. Trying to figure out what was going on between the two of them.
Tae's lawyer then tapped him on the shoulder and he winked to Li before turning around.
Li didnt realize she was holding her breath now until he stopped looking at her and she felt like the room was finally coming into focus, instead of bluring around.
The baliff then annouces the judge was entering the courtroom and everyone stood up and waited.

After an hour of listening to everyone's testimony. From the several doctors arguing that he was a scorned teenager who didnt think rationally after years of seeing a pyschiatrist and being medicated, he was truly rehabilitated.
Li scoffed quietly at this and looked down.
And then her father was called to the stand. After swearing under oath, Tae's lawyer immediatly started with the questions.
"What makes you think he is still a threat to society?"
"Well, given the nature of his crimes." Ran says as he crosses his arms across his chest.
"Can you elaborate?"
"I have worked dozens upon dozens of scorned lover cases, a handful of them being young teenagers. While yes, the doctors are correct they do act irationally, they also act then and there.
Mr. Kim Taehyung took the time to plan out the murders for revenge. And documented them well and sent them to Choi Li as proof that he was doing this to get back at her, as you can see here."
Ran says as he points over to a still picture of Yoongi tied to a chair.
Li looked away from the picture and tried to hold in her tears. She hadnt seen those images since her last court appearance. Seeing them again brought a painful feeling back to her chest and she tried really hard to keep it shoved down.
"And to continue, during his interview at the station, he happily admitted he killed them. And he laughed the whole interview. He stated enjoyed the feeling of killing them, and that he would do so again, and threated Choi Li's life."
"You think maybe he enjoyed them because he got a relief he had bottled up inside of him from how hurt he was?" the lawyer counters, sitting on the edge of his desk.
Li looks up now to her father. Waiting for the answer.
"I am sure he did. What murderer doesnt? But usually irational thinkers after the adrenaline high comes down, begins to second guess and regret their decisions. Most even tried to hide or cover them up. Kim Taehyung didnt even attempt to try. Infact we werent even aware of Kim Mina's death until he proudly confessed to that in the interview. We found her car and body that night still at the bottom of the cliff that he ran her off of. And he happily showed us that he had documented proof of that as well." he points again to the projector screen that switched to a picture of Mina's body laying tangled next to her car.
Li turned to Mina's mother who was looking down to the ground. The pain clearly written on her face. She wanted more than anything to reach out and comfort her, but she still felt responsible for what had happened. Had she never left Taehyung, this would have never happened. Maybe had she told her father sooner of this behavior, this all could have been avoided.
"Choi Ran, is it possible you are biased because your daughter was the only victim to survive the attacks?"
Ran sighed heavily and looked over to Li. His eyes apologetic, his body language uncomfortable.
Li nodded, hoping he would take that as the okay to tell the truth.
"Yes, Choi Ran is my daughter. But I am also a detective and officer. And this is my job. My job is to protect the innocent." he responds.
"Where is the original detective that was on this case?" the lawyer asks, flipping through his notes.
"He passed away 5 years ago of a sudden heart attack. And since I am cheif, I am here speaking in his place." Ran nods.
"No further questions."
Ran then steps down from the stand and takes his seat at the front of the room.

"Is there anyone here who would like to say a few words before we break for lunch and then resume with the verdict?"
Li stands up and bows respectfully to the judge. "I have a few things to say, sir." she says through a shaky voice.
"Miss Choi Li? Yes, come up to the podium to address the court." he says motioning to her with his hand.
"Begin whenever you are ready. I know this is very difficult." 
Li begins to tremble terribly as she looks up to see Taehyung staring at her, smiling. And then she felt her tears fall as she tried to being speaking.
Ran stood up and walked over to her and held her around her back to keep her steady. "You dont have to do this, its not required." he whispers down at her.
"No...I need to do this." she says keeping eye contact wth Taehyung. His smile faded now, and his face almost looked grim and saddened.
"I am not here to speak on my behalf." she begins as she tries to calm the shaking in her voice. "I am not here to repeat the story over, when we all know it well. But I will speak for those who cant speak." she looks over again into Taehyung's eyes as she speaks this part. "You took the lives of two people who had done nothing wrong to you. Out of your jealousy. You tried to hurt me, but you didnt just hurt me, you hurt others as well.
My son will never know his father, you took that from him. You planned and documented what you did, and made sure I saw it. I was in the room with Yoongi, I witnessed it all. You are cold and you dont deserve to be back in society. You should sit and live with your decisions for the rest of your life. For the better of everyone involved in this."
Tae was the first to look away this time. His jaw clenching, his hands balled into a fist. He didnt know that she had had a son. And this information was an absolute shock to him.
"Thank you Choi Li, if that is all, you may take your seat again." the judge says. Li turns to bow to the judge and then makes her way back down to where she was sitting.
"I will call an hour lunch break here and then when we return I will deliever my verdict."