Law School Crossover Hidden Identity FanFiction Series

Chapter 19: A Path Forward

Min-joo remained in the conference room long after the meeting dispersed. She sat back in the swivel chair, resting her head on a hand. She stared down at the place Geon-woo had fallen or collapsed. Min-joo wanted him back. She wanted to take him—whoever it was—home to her place.

Footsteps from behind, snapped her from replaying Geon-woo's...or was it Ara's panic attack; she couldn't tell. She turned to Joon-hwi standing at the end of the conference table, giving her space.

"Oh, you're still here?" Min-joo faintly asked.

"Detective Min and Professor Yang are with Sang-woo, speaking to him in private. Giving him legal counsel—talking to him about plea bargains in exchange for being an informant." He took a pause changing his mood, "I thought I'd see if you needed help..." He looked at the cluttered table. It looked like a tornado had passed through, "Some help...cleaning?"

Min-joo gave him a half-hearted nod, lifting herself up. How did I miss this mess? She quickly brightened. "That would be great! Thank you!"

Joon-hwi got to work, "I thought we'd get more information today. I was sure he would name names and confirm so many things with what we brought to the table."

"In time. It'll all make its way out in time."

"I can see why you get along with Jae. Or...rather...he gets along with you. You two are alike in some ways."

Min-joo stacked papers, aligning them. She narrowed her brow, "Hmm? Jae? Like him? I just don't think it's productive to act harshly towards him."

"No, I mean...I can see why you get him? You both are able to turn it all off."

Min-joo got what Joon-hwi was saying. She wanted to snap at him—

In this line of business, you have to...

She caught her thought before her mouth ran. Min-joo wouldn't give him the satisfaction of being right. She wasn't some traumatized person who compartmentalized her emotions or separated herself from her past by creating some other conscious part. But she often did. She had done so after she watched her mother murdered in front of her, and the disappointment of hearing her father would not come to save them. She wanted a new identity right away. Min-joo wanted to make sure she'd be safe and able to protect herself when her parents didn't. Then...without fully reconciling with her father, he was shot in front of her, dying in her arms as she struggled to forgive him, and he apologize to her. Min-joo did understand Jae a bit, at least, his personality to turn himself into a happy little camper. Nothing wrong and everything okay. That was often her mantra, too. Stuffing it all down to get on with the show.

"How are you? Hmm...Joon-hwi? How are you holding up?" Min-joo was sincere, yet she wasn't going to be psychoanalyzed by Geon-woo's twin. He was a prosecutor. It was his nature to dig deep into people. It was likely harmless, but she had just witnessed him crunched down on the floor remembering something horrible. Joon-hwi hadn't seemed to really bounce back, or rather, his mood persisted and was consistent unlike Geon-woo.

Joon-hwi wanted Sol A. He didn't want to share anything with anyone else. "I don't think anyone would be okay in this situation. I'm exhausted but I want answers. I've been wanting to speak to my brother alone. Everyone keeps protecting him and guarding him like his alters do. Maybe you don't see what your team is doing, but you're still controlling what comes out of him."

"No, we're not! Were you not present in the meeting today?" Min-joo stopped collecting papers. "Did you not see how we pushed him? We worked together well. We were able to locate something meaningful to this investigation; why ruin it? Why try to rush it? He's your brother." She put a hand on her hip, bracing herself against the table. "We all want answers. We all want to see justice served. That doesn't mean we selfishly push your brother into a padded cell in some psych ward."