By the Will of Love (A KaiSoo Fanfic)

Chapter Forty

When the courthouse came into sight, it all became real to Kyungsoo. The past two weeks felt like nothing more than a dream or fairy tale, meeting with the lawyer and the detectives to finalize all of the details.

And with that realization came fear. Fear of the judge and how they would perceive him when he was called to speak, fear of seeing Daeyoung and Jungho for the first time in so long. Jongin attempted to console him with all the sweet and lovely words he could possibly think of, but the reality was, no sweet gesture of any kind could take away the fear Kyungsoo was feeling as he stared at that courthouse.

Kyungsoo gripped Jongin's hand tightly as they followed his father up the set of stone stairs and into the courthouse. As soon as they stepped inside, reporters from nearly every broadcast station in Seoul flooded around them, pointing their spongy microphones in their faces and spitting all sorts of questions at them. This startled and scared the young couple, who just wanted to go in, tell their stories one more time and leave.

"My clients do not wish to make any comments at this time," Mr. Shin said from in front of the boys, trying his best to get the reporters to move away from them. "Perhaps, after the hearing is finished they will say a few words, but they are very nervous right now, so your cooperation is much appreciated."

Some of them respectfully backed away at these words, but others only continued to surround them, asking them what they hoped the sentence of the suspects would be and how they felt about going up against the best lawyer in the city. It didn't take much for Jongin to see how uncomfortable all the attention and flashing cameras were making Kyungsoo, so he unlatched their hands and encased his arms around him instead, allowing him to burrow his face into his chest and away from the reporters.

They walked into the courtroom and were led by Mr. Shin over to the table on the prosecution side. "I'll be right behind you guys, okay?" Mr. Kim said, earning a nod from the two boys in response. He gave each of them a brief hug, telling them not to worry as he pulled back. Jongin smiled and nodded at his dad before continuing to walk over to the table, pulling out a chair for Kyungsoo to sit in first.

"There's still a few minutes before it starts," Mr. Shin said as he turned to them, "so you can just sit tight, okay? Don't be nervous, just answer the questions truthfully and you'll be fine, I promise. The truth will take you a long way, especially in court."

They chuckled at this a little, nodding and thanking him again before taking a deep breath. Jongin then turned to Kyungsoo who gave him a sigh and a weak smile, which prompted him to lean forward and press a chaste yet compassionate kiss to his temple as a form of comfort.

As the minutes passed, Kyungsoo and Jongin let their eyes wander around the courtroom as the vacant seats behind them became occupied, a few of them by their friends but most by people whom they couldn't recognize. But what brought the most shock to Kyungsoo is when he saw his parents walk in with Xiumin trailing a few centimeters in front of them, giving him a small but warm and encouraging smile.

He caught eyes with his mom and with his dad and smiled at each of them, mouthing the words "thank you" to which they responded with faint, weak smiles.

Daeyoung and Jungho showed up soon after that with Mr. Park, but Jongin tried not to make any sort of eye contact with them as they walked to their seats, their hands cuffed together. Daeyoung shot a glance Kyungsoo's way, but the boy turned away almost immediately.

Then, a minute later, the courtroom doors were shut by the guards on either side and the crowd behind them quieted down as the judge entered the room.

That's when the panic began to set in for Jongin and Kyungsoo, making their hearts start to race and pound loudly and roughly against their chests. They looked at each other once more and locked hands from underneath the table.