Looking around the courtroom, the shop owner was overwhelmed and nervous. Then, yesterday as he was laying around in his house, his door got knocked, and when he opened it, he noticed it was a police officer. After going to the police station so many times, he was now pretty proficient in telling who was an officer and who wasn’t. 

The guy looked at him and simply said to come to this courtroom at 10 sharp and that if he didn’t, he would regret it. After a restless night, he slowly got up, wore better clothes, and came to the courtroom. The police then asked him to take a seat in the audience and that after a while, when his name is called, he needs to go to the witness stand before answering all the questions asked. He was terrified as he heard him. Speaking in front of everyone was naturally frightening, and he knew the culprit would also be there, making it even more terrifying.

Swallowing hard, he sat and continued to look around until he saw a few lawyers walk in and the police behind them bringing an old man in a prisoner’s uniform with them. He looked at the guy going towards the defendant’s seating area with a lawyer and police beside him. Seeing him, the shop owner knew the police must have arrested the guy for the kidnapping case they were so eagerly trying to solve. 

After a while, the judge walked in, and everyone stood up before sitting down.. The judge announced the start of the trial as he sat down. Then the lawyers started going against each other as the shop owner tried to keep track of what they were saying but just gave up as he couldn’t understand them.

The debate continued for a while as several people were called up for witness on each side, and each time he heard either of the lawyers say, ‘Your honor, we would like to call up a witness.’ made his heart tremble a little thinking they were going to ask him to step up. 

But the inevitable is bound to happen as he heard the lawyer from the police side stand up and say, “Your Honor, I would like to call up two people in the stands. One as evidence of the very crime happening and the other who followed the others to do it.” The judge gave him a simple nod as he called up the shop owner and the kidnapper he identified the other day to the opposite stands.

Wiping the sweat on his forehead, the shop owner slowly stood up and walked up to the stand on the left as the kidnapper went to the right. As he was walking, he could feel the cold gaze of the kidnapper on him, which made him flinch a little. But, on the other hand, he was a crazy dude who wouldn’t think twice while doing hideous things, so getting on his radar was a bad thing. 

He slowly stood on the stand, right opposite the kidnapper. He coincidentally looked him in the eye and instinctively swallowed his saliva. It was like he knew what the guy was thinking about, ‘When I get out of here, you are DEAD.’ He knew it had to be that, and so he immediately looked down.

Just as he looked down, he heard the lawyer who called him up to talk, “Mr.Han Hi, there is no need to be terrified of anyone in this room. No one is going to do anything to you. You just need to answer the questions I ask, and you can go back to your seat. Is that alright with you?” 

The shop owner, who was still staring down, slowly nodded, and the guy continued, “So tell us what happened that day, Mr.Han Hi. Tell everything the same way you told the police. Do not leave a single remark.”

Slowly nodding once again, “I saw the kidnapping happening that night. They came in a black van, and a few people wearing black masks rushed out of the van before coming back a few minutes later while carrying a woman.” 

He said that he could feel two deathly stares intensify towards him, making him take a step back. However, he didn’t dare look up and just continued to look down.

The lawyer once again tried to comfort him, “Don’t feel scared. So what happened after that? Did they drive away?” 

The shop owner shook his head and continued, “No. After they got in, one of the guys came towards my shop and threatened me with a gun. He said if I didn’t stay silent, they would kill me. He said they will have someone watch him every day and so that I better be careful and quiet.”

The lawyer nodded as he said, “So you are saying the man threatened you with a gun. Now look at the man across you and tell.me if this is the man you saw that night.” 

The shop owner slowly looked up for a second before immediately looking down and nodded. 

“Objection, your honor. Things don’t match up. The witness said the people were wearing a mask. But how does this man tell it was him when he couldn’t see the face.” The other lawyer stood up to disagree with the shop owner’s entire statement. 

The lawyer in front of him laughed and said, “Please, don’t be in a hurry. I knew you would say that, so we have something to solidify this assumption. Now let the man continue. Now tell us, Mr.Han Hi. How did you identify this man?” 

The shop owner stuttered under the threatening gaze of the kidnapper as he replied, “The guy put his hand around me when he was threatening me with the guy. I then noticed he only had 4 fingers on a hand. So by that and his familiar voice, I pointed him out when the police showed me a few people.” 

“Now, before there and objections about this man’s statement once again, along with this strange coincidence with this man. We also found a key piece of evidence that tells that this man was indeed the kidnapper. These are the masks and gloves he wore during that day. The police found them in his basement. After running a few tests, we found the victim’s hair on the gloves.” The lawyer immediately started speaking without giving the other lawyer a chance to present another crucial piece of evidence. He took out a plastic bag along with a few papers and passed them onto the judge.

He then turned towards Han Hi and said with a smile, “You may go back now, Mr.Han Hi.” The shop owner quickly nodded and ran off the stand. He only took a deep breath after sitting back with the audience once again. He looked at the kidnapper and noticed his stare before looking down once again. 

The session continued as the shop owner looked down most of the time, only looking up when he heard a few decisive statements on each side. He truly wished that the kidnapper and the culprit would go to jail. Not only for the victim but also for his own sake. If any of the two gets out, he is dead. Joining his hands, he silently prayed to all the gods he could remember to make his wish come true.

“Please, I know I’m really unlucky. But this one time. Just grant my wish. I’ll go to all the nearby temples for an entire week if it’s granted. So please.” As he murmured to himself. He had no one except god that could save him.

After another hour of debating from both sides, the judge tapped his hammer and said, “Silence, Silence. After carefully considering the arguments on both sides and looking at the witnesses and evidence brought up. The court has believed that both were indeed the cause of the events that happened to the victim. Both of them are sentenced to life imprisonment. The court is now adjourned.” Banging his hammer as he gave out his final statement.

The shop owner almost cried out loud when he heard the judge. His eyes were tearing up as he realized both the people would never come out of jail again and that he didn’t need to worry about them again. 

“Good job up there, Han Hi. You managed to prevail until the end. If you weren’t there, those bastards would have gotten away.” He heard the female officer behind him. 

He turned towards her and replied, “No, no. If it wasn’t for you. I would have never come forward. All the credit should go to you. Alright then, officer, it seems like you guys are busy. I would take my leave.” before quickly running away.

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“ALRIGHT, THAT’S IT! GOOD JOB ONCE AGAIN.”

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