Aldrose (KevHwall) (DISCONTINUED)

Eleven

Hwall

Three days later, I was able to leave the police's custody. They heard back from the court and thankfully, my case got accepted. My first court appearance was to take place in a month, the arraignment where my punishments or trial date will be decided depending on how I plead to my charges. There would be no jury or audience, just me in cuffs under the watch of the judge, alongside my lawyer, Defense Attorney Choi Hyunjoon, and the prosecutor, District Attorney, Im Yeona. Hwayoung was going to be there as well under the name of a "possible defendant", but I was the one to be standing in front of the judge, not her.

Leaving the station with no cuffs on my hands didn't mean I was off the hook. The police report or in formal court terms, "complaint" was still hanging in the air waiting for me on the day of my arraignment. Not only that but I was put on house arrest until then and would be between every possible court hearing. I was allowed on any grounds of my apartment complex but the split second I stepped off it, I would be forced to stay in a holding cell until the trial was over.

The judge had to space out my trial if one was decided in the arraignment, for there was another case he was dealing with as well. This would push back my potential trial longer, which I hated because I wanted to get it over with. All I wanted to hear was the jury's final verdict and go through with the outcome. I resented the fact that I had to wait agonizingly long. I would go crazy in the time it took for the jury to decide whether they could tell past someone's lies or recognize the truth.

Sitting around, waiting for the date of my arraignment was stressful enough, the actual setting would be torturous. When I was informed of when and what time to show up for the arraignment, the words didn't register in my head. All I could hear was nothing, incoherent words going through one ear and out the other. I couldn't stop shaking and fiddling with my fingers and pacing back and forth afterwards. What was I supposed to do? What was going to happen? The questions wouldn't stop spinning vigorously like a blender. It was dizzying, I felt light and saw spots in my vision continuously. Q tried to calm me down as best as he could but nothing worked, nothing was going to work.

I reminded myself that I could only be honest and hope for the best despite the panic that bubbled in my stomach and chest. My lawyer said the same thing but it rendered no emotion for they were the same, plain words my mind played tricks with me with.

I did what I could to stay positive speculating on how I was able to get across to a police officer, maybe I could do the same to a member of the jury or two. In the back of my head, I knew though that the prosecutor would crush me and any other witness taking the stand for me, making any evidence the DA put forward as worthless. I had hope, but at the same time, I expected the worst. I felt like with someone as Hwayoung on the prosecutor's side would create a double force against me, and I would walk out of the courtroom an even guiltier man that when I first walked in. I already had a splitting headache and my thoughts didn't help whatsoever, nor did the ankle monitor. If she showed today, I needed to know why. What was all this mess for? Was it going to be worth it in the end?

I ended up here, a few hours from my very first court appearance. I sat on my couch wearing a casual black suit, minus the tie and dress shoes. My legs were propped up on the cushions, the bulky bracelet creating an odd-looking gap between the end of my jeans and my sock, revealing the slightest amount of skin. No matter how much I hated to look at it, I couldn't take my eyes off of it. Sudden raps on my front door caused me to jerk in surprise. I opened the door to reveal Q on the other side.

We exchanged quiet 'hey's as I let him enter my apartment. Once we settled down, we sat at my kitchen table, across from each other.

"I'm so sorry," I started solemnly. I didn't know what else to say. What was I supposed to say? I tried to rummage through my brain for the appropriate words to express condolence but it was awkward thinking about it when I was in the middle of his friend's murder. That wasn't even in my fault, but no one believed it but me. Maybe I was playing tricks with myself, contorting my thoughts to accept the reality I chose to.