Fire & Silk

6. Court Room 3

All that Jeongyeon could hear in the court house was the sound of her heart beating like crazy. She stood at the entrance with Nayeon beside her, still unable to process that she had made it here. It had been a while since she'd been inside, but it was just as she'd remembered it. Jeongyeon looked around at all the men in their suits and the police officers stationed strategically around corners as well as beside several doors.

"Are you ready to go Jeongyeon?" Nayeon waved a hand in front of her coworkers face, making a mental note to ask the girl about her attention issues after their day in court was done.

"Oh y-yes. I'm sorry. I just got a little lost in thought. It's been a few years since I've been in this court house and I was feeling a little sentimental." Jeongyeon apologized to Nayeon, bowing quickly before following the older woman into court room 3. Jeongyeon was surprised at how many people were already there. Since J.Y. Park Law was 10 minutes from the court house, it was only 11:30 am. Jeongyeon followed closely by Nayeon, examining her surroundings.

   Nayeon and Jeongyeon bowed to President Park before taking a seat beside him. Jeongyeon nervously bounced her leg up and down, stopping once she realized she had been shaking the whole table. She gave a small smile to apologize and looked behind her. Immediately, her eyes grew wide.

   Myoui Mina checked her watch as she walked down the middle of court room 3. She smirked and looked forward, greeting President Park and Nayeon. She just gave Jeongyeon a small nod before walking a row back to the public gallery, sitting behind President Park.

   Jeongyeon whipped her head around to face the front of the court room. She felt her ears burning. What the hell is she doing here? She thought this to herself, trying to come up with any good reason Mina would be sitting behind her. Jeongyeon pulled a blank piece of paper out of her briefcase and wrote something down, casually passing it towards Nayeon. She gave the older woman a nudge in the arm, quickly moving her eyes down to the paper and back to the front of the room.

Why is Myoui Mina here? Is she supposed to be a part of the team?

   Nayeon took Jeongyeon's pen from her, writing back and setting the pen down.

   Jeongyeon took a moment, pretending like she was looking through her notes again before looking down at what Nayeon wrote.

President Park wants her here. He wants another set of eyes on the case.

   Jeongyeon nodded and took the piece of paper, putting it back in her briefcase. She understood why President Park wanted another person since she's still so new to the office. But why Mina! Out of all the experienced prosecutors he had to pick Mina. She sighed and closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths to get her in prosecution mode. She had to remind herself that she was here to argue this case and not to worry about Mina.

Nayeon and Jeongyeon quietly discussed the case but stopped once the bailiff began to speak. "Please rise. The Court of the Fourth Judicial District, Criminal Division, is now in session, the Honorable Judge Nam Iseul presiding." Everyone stood as Judge Nam entered, taking his seat.

   "Everyone may be seated." Judge Nam organized the things in front of him before the bailiff swore in the jury.

   Jeongyeon felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest at this point. She had never felt that her adrenaline had ever been this strong. Although she'd been in court several times, she had never been the one who was going to argue a case.