BLOSSOMED | SEOKSOO FF

PART 33

The courtroom buzzed with quiet
whispers before the judge called for
silence, his voice a gavel of its own.
Seokmin stood alone in the dock,
shackled but unbowed. His face
bore no trace of the charming, bright
smile his friends once knew. Instead, his expression was etched with raw torment, as though each breath dragged shards of glass through his soul.

He didn't glance at the gallery filled
with people who had once been part
of his life -people he had cherished,
wronged, and hurt beyond measure.

He stared straight ahead, his hands
trembling as they gripped the edge
of the stand.

When the judge gave him the dock, Seokmin closed his eyes for a brief moment, steadying the hurricane inside him.

When he spoke, his voice was low,
steady, and tinged with a sorrow so
profound that it silenced the room.

"I stand here today," he began, his
Adam's apple bobbing as he
swallowed hard, "Not as a man
looking for mercy. I am here to
confess to every sin, every crime I
committed. Not because I deserve
forgiveness -because I don't.. -but
because the people I've hurt deserve
the truth."

His voice wavered, just slightly, as
he raised his eyes, scanning the room for the first time. When they landed on Jisoo, he froze. Jisoo's face was streaked with tears, his lips trembling, but his eyes were locked on Seokmin with an intensity that nearly broke him. Seokmin swallowed thickly and forced himself to continue.

"I was thirteen when I killed my
father and grandfather," he said, the
weight of those words settling
heavily over the courtroom. Gasps
rippled through the room, but
Seokmin didn't flinch. His voice grew rough, his throat tightening around the memories.

"They tried killing the only thing I ever wanted for myself. A stray cat I called Dandelion, My father said it was dirty, a distraction. My grandfather called it
a pest. I came home one day, and they... they had poisoned him. That's what I thought, but he ran away smelling poison. I saw his foot prints going out of yard. I remember holding him, petting him, talking about my days to him. And then... something in me snapped. I put rat poison in their
tea the next morning. I watched them
drink it, watched them die, and I didn't feel guilt. I felt relief."

He paused, his breath shuddering as
tears began to spill freely down his
face. He didn't wipe them away.

"I was a child," he continued, his
voice cracking. "I didn't understand
what I had done. No one even
suspected me. My mother and Jihoon named it an accident. But it wasn't.. We knew that... I killed them. And I've carried that with me every day since then."

The gallery sat frozen, the weight of
his words sinking deep. Jihoon
clenched Soonyoung's hand tightly, his face pale. Jisoo stifled a sob, his shoulders shaking. Jeonghan reached over, gripping Jisoo's arm like a lifeline.

Seokmin took a breath, trembling
His lips quivered, and for a moment,
it looked as though he might stop,
but then he pressed on.

"And then I met Jisoo." He let out a watery chuckle. "Not met.. Just saw him from a distance."

Jisoo's name fell from his lips like a
prayer, and Seokmin's knees almost
buckled under the weight of it. His
voice softened, trembling with
emotion.

"He was the most beautiful person
I'd ever seen. The way he laughed the way he moved -it was like he had light pouring out of him. But I didn't know how to love him. I thought love was about keeping him safe. About control. I took pictures of him without his knowledge. I followed him. I sent him gifts he didn't ask for. I invaded his life, manipulated him, suffocated him, abused him. And I told myself it was because I loved him. I had all rights on him. But..."

He let out a shaky breath, his voice
cracking. "But it wasn't love. It was
obsession. It was selfish. And I destroyed him because of it."

Jisoo's sob broke through the room
like a thunderclap. He buried his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking as Jeonghan wrapped an arm around him, whispering words too soft to hear.

"And then... there Seongwoo came in picture." Seokmin said, the name catching in his throat. "He was Jisoo's
coworker. He mocked him,
humiliated him. I when revealed myself at Jihoon’s house that I am in Seoul, I heard Jisoo cursing Seongwoo, I felt like my chest was being torn open. And I told myself the only way to protect Jisoo was to get rid of Seongwoo."

His voice dropped to a whisper, thick
with shame. "I followed him after
he decided to shift his house. I waited until we were alone. And I...I strangled him. I killed him with my own hands, and I let his body drown in the small pond,  I dumped his ID in my car so no one would trace it back to Jisoo. I told myself it was love. But it wasn't. It was my sickness, my obsession, my darkness."

The silence in the room was deafening, broken only by the muffled sounds of sobbing
Seokmin's own tears flowed freely
now, dripping onto the dock.

"And then the cashier," he whispered,
his voice barely audible. "He flirted
with Jisoo. I saw the way he looked
at him, and I thought, 'If he can't see,
he won't look at him anymore.' So I
blinded him. I ruined his life, too."

Seokmin's knees buckled, but he
caught himself on the dock, his
body shaking. "I am a monster," he
said, his voice breaking completely
"I hurt everyone I claimed to love. I
destroyed lives because I couldn't
control my own pain. And I deserve
every punishment this court gives
me."

He raised his head, meeting the
judge's eyes with a look of raw,
unflinching remorse."I don't ask for
mercy. I only ask for justice. Justice for who deserves truth."

The judge deliberated for what felt
like an eternity, the courtroom heavy
with the echoes of Seokmin's confession.

When the sentence was delivered-
twelve years, with the possibility of
parole after eight-Seokmin nodded
his face streaked with tears but
resolute. As the bailiffs moved to escort him out, Seokmin turned one
last time, his eyes finding Jisoo.

"I'II prove it to you," he whispered,
his voice trembling with the weight
of his vow. "I'Il prove I can change."

Jisoo wiped at his tears, his lip
trembling as he whispered back, "I'Il
wait."

The words hung between them
fragile and uncertain, as Seokmin was led away. For the first time in years, his tears were not just of guilt but of something faint and fragile- hope.