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twenty six | flag.

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You woke up to a phone call the next morning, and you quickly answered when you saw it was your lawyer. "Hello?"

"Sorry if I woke you, but the court date has been moved to today. I know this is super last minute, but his lawyer demanded it be moved." She sighed. "Can you be at the court house at nine?"

You moved your phone away from your face and saw that it was already seven. "I'll try."

"Okay. I'll see you later."

You hung up and forced yourself out of bed. You were extremely tired. Between exams at school and getting the circus back together, you had been very busy with no breaks.

You were hoping that today you'd get the chance to introduce Yeaji to the guys, but it would have to wait for a bit.

You walked out of your bedroom door and jumped when you saw Hyunjoon pop around the corner. "What are you doing awake?"

"My court date got moved to today." You whispered. "You can still come to testify right?"

"Of course. Who's watching Yeaji?"

"I'll call Jacob and see if he doesn't mind."

He nodded and walked back into the kitchen. You went into the bathroom and called Jacob.

"Good morning." He answered.

You could tell that you woke him up. "I'm sorry to call you this early, but my court date got moved to today and we need someone to watch Yeaji. Do you think you could help us out?"

"Of course, love. The guys are coming over later though, is that okay?"

"She wants to meet you all." You smiled. "I think she'll like that. She'll be shy without me or Hyunjoon though."

He hummed as he got out of bed. "Let me get dressed and I'll be on my way."

"Thank you."

You hung up and took a quick shower, trying to get everything done in time. As you were blow drying your hair, Yeaji walked in and gave you a hug.

"Joon said that Jacob would be watching me today?" She asked.

"Yeah, and you'll get to meet my other friends, too. Don't worry, they're really nice." You ruffled her hair. "I wouldn't let them watch you if they were mean."

She nodded and stayed in the bathroom with you while you did your hair. Light curls to give a professional feel, and you planned on wearing a grey suit with your black heels.

Before you could get dressed though, Jacob showed up. You told Yeaji to grab whatever she needed and Jacob stood in the doorway of your bedroom while you laid your clothes out.

"Come here." He said

You looked at him for a second before walking over to him. He wrapped his arms around your waist and gave you a sweet kiss on the head.

"You're shaking." He whispered. "Are you nervous?"

"Kind of. I feel like something is going to happen and I won't win the case."

"What makes you say that?"

You looked up at him and shook your head. "I don't know, Jacob. That's what scares me, because I have all my facts straight and I have proof. I have Hyunjoon, a witness. I just feel like he's going to pull something."

It was quiet, but you heard him sigh. He rubbed your back for a moment, then said, "There's nothing he could say to make the whole case turn on you. I promise."

"Thank you." You whispered.

He smiled and you noticed how he glanced down at your lips. "Do you want me to take Bug as well?"

"Yes, please." You checked your watch and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I appreciate this."

"It's no big deal, Minji. I'll see you later?"

You nodded, and then he was on his way to gather Bug and Yeaji. When they were gone, you and Hyunjoon finished getting ready and headed out of the house.



"Minji Han to the stand."

You stood up and straightened your blazer as you walked to the stand and sat down. "Please give us a detailed account of everything Jaesang has done since he's been here."

"He found me and my friends at an arcade," you began and went into as much detail as possible until the end. "Most recently, he showed up to the park when I was with my little sister. Luckily, two of my friends and Hyunjoon were there to stop him from getting too close."

"Do you need protection from him?"

"No, I can handle my business myself, however, I was with an eight year old that didn't need to hear whatever he had to say to me." You replied.

"Your brother was a witness to some of the things that Jaesang has done, yes?" The judge continued questioning.

"Yes sir."

"Let's get Heo Hyunjoon to the stand, please."

You sat back down as your brother went to the stand.

"What all have you seen Jaesang do to Minji?"

You saw him take a breath. "Back home, I caught him watching her sleep-"

"And here it says you called the police on him after threatening him?"

"I didn't threaten him. I grabbed his collar and told him not to bother my little sister ever again." He corrected. "It's part of my job as a big brother to protect her, no?"

"And what about here in Korea?" The judge prompted.

"At the time, Minji had a fractured shoulder. Jaesang grabbed her arms and pulled her forward as hard as he could, just to hurt her, and it worked."

The judge nodded and your stomach dropped as soon as you saw his expression. He wasn't buying what you or Hyunjoon said. Did Jaesang's lawyer make that good of a defense?

"Jaesang to the stand, please."

You watched him walk up to the stand with a certain stride in his steps that told you he was about to get what he wanted. From behind you, Hyunjoon saw your shoulders drop and he knew you were giving up.

"It says here that Miss Han broke your nose after you confronted her about something?" The judge asked.

"Yes sir. I confronted her to give her my condolences because her tiger died in the tent fire." He looked at you and it made your blood boil. "She went crazy, blaming me for killing her tiger-"

"Your honor, may I step in?" Your lawyer stood up.

"Yes ma'am, go ahead."

"That tent fire was set by someone, most certainly Jaesang. The fire killed her tiger in the process, so she went to a field that she's fond of to calm down. He showed up and began provoking her, asking if she liked his surprise." Your lawyer clarified. "He did not go there to give his condolences."

"Are there any witnesses to back you up?"

He looked at you. "No, your honor, but it's clear that Jaesang isn't innocent. You have the case file from the officers back in America-"

"I don't need all of that. Just a simple yes or no was fine."

You crossed your arms and sat back.

"When did Minji start getting violent with you, Jaesang?"

"When I told her that I liked her. She began getting overly aggressive every time I tried to talk to her, or say good morning to her."

"But you were caught watching her sleep?" He asked, and you felt a little bit of the heaviness on your chest get lifted.

"I never even knew where Minji lived back in America. Her parents were strict about who knew their address."

The judge nodded. He was clearly reading the information in the case file, and he was clearly seeing that Jaesang wasn't innocent. He was holding back information and asking all of the wrong questions so that the jury would prove him innocent. Hyunjoon knew it too, and if looks could kill, the judge would've kicked the bucket by now.

"Your honor, there's clearly information being withheld. You have the case file in front of you-"

"Wait your turn."

Your lawyer sighed angrily and shook her head. You were starting to think that the judge was taking Jaesang's side because he was a man - that's truly what it felt like.

"To recap, Jaesang was accused of setting fire to a tent, killing an animal, assault, stalking, etc., with no proof-" Hyunjoon shook his head as he listened to the judge talk. "While we have medical record proof of Jaesang having a broken nose at the hands of Minji. We'll let the jury take it from here."

The judge stood up and walked over to Jaesang and his lawyer, shaking their hands. It blew your mind at how blatantly crooked he was being in front of the gallery, in front of reporters and officials.

He continued walking towards your table, but didn't even spare you a glance. You looked at your lawyer and she shook her head.

You put your head in your hands while the judge sat back down. "Has the jury made their decision?"

"Yes, your honor." One of the men said. "It was five to seven, and we find the defendant innocent."

The jurors who said he was guilty felt for you when they saw the utter disappointment on your face.

"You're all released."

The gallery started to get up, reporters started walking towards you, but your lawyer and Hyunjoon helped you rush out of the courtroom and to your brothers car.

"We're coming back. He's not getting off like that, not on my watch. You hear me?" Your lawyer said.

You nodded, and she shut the car door. You put your sunglasses on as reporters started rushing to the car.

"That was so wrong." Your brother whispered. "I hope he gets fired after this case gets resolved."

He finally got out of the parking lot, and you were headed to Jacob's place. You couldn't really find your voice, so the ride was quiet, and Hyunjoon honestly didn't know what else to say. He knew he couldn't say much to help the situation.

Only when you got into the elevator to go to Jacob's floor did you talk. "He's going to make me go back to America." You whispered, suddenly emotional and tearful. "I don't want to leave, Joon."

You hugged him, and he realized how fragile you really were in that moment. "You're happy here. Don't let him ruin that for you."

"I'm scared."

"I know." He patted your head. "But you have me, the guys, even Emiko."

The elevator opened and you tried to stop crying, but you couldn't. You wanted to stop so badly, but you couldn't. "Will you just walk me to the door?"

"And have Jacob bring you and Yeaji home?"

You nodded, so he walked you to the door, and left when you shut Jacob's front door behind you. You put your back against the door, trying to gather yourself as you took your shoes off.

You looked up just as Haknyeon was rounding the corner, and he jumped when he saw you at the other end of the hallway.

"When did you get here?"

"Just a second ago." You told him. "Where's Yeaji?"

"Sleeping in Jacob's bed, who is also asleep on the couch. Only Younghoon, Eric, and I are awake."

You nodded slowly. You needed time away from home. Jaesang didn't know where Jacob lived - you were safe.

"Come in here."

You followed him into the living room and smiled at how everyone was sleeping. Yeaji must've worn them out.

You sat on the floor next to Eric and took your blazer off. You put it in your lap and started playing with your bracelets.

"Jacob said that was one of your nervous habits." Younghoon pointed out, and you stopped. "What are you nervous about?"

It took you a second, so Eric jumped in. "How did court go?"

You looked down and bit your lip. You wanted the tears to stay at bay, you didn't want to cry in front of them, not again. You couldn't stop them.

You looked up and Younghoon pouted when he saw your watery eyes. "The jury declared him innocent."

"How?" Haknyeon questioned. "There's no way the jury thought he was innocent."

"The judge didn't share any incriminating evidence of Jaesang, but he shared the fact that I broke his nose. The jury thinks I did it for no reason, and we tried-" you stopped talking to keep your voice level. "My lawyer tried to tell the judge, but he wouldn't listen. He did it on purpose."

You shook as an odd chill ran through your body. Younghoon pulled you into a hug and you balled the sides of his shirt into your hands. Eric and Haknyeon didn't know what to do, but they knew you needed to get it out of your system.

"What happened?"

Jacob had woken up. He was groggy, but the first thing he saw was you crying. You were too much of a mess to get words out, so Eric jumped in.

"Jaesang got to walk." He told the other. "The judge made sure the jury would let him walk."

Jacob rubbed his eyes and kept his hands there for a moment. He was frustrated - there was a distinct change in his body language.

"Will there be another trial?" He asked, to which you nodded in response. "We'll testify next time. There's no way they'll say he's innocent then."

"It's so frustrating." You mumbled into Younghoon's shoulder - he was warm. "He's done so many things and he got to walk out of that court room with zero charges."

Jacob put his hand on your cheek and you made eye contact with him. He could see so much in your eyes - fear, a distinct sadness that he's never seen before.

"We're here with you, Minji. Nothing's going to happen." He said.

You reached out and grabbed his shirt, so Younghoon let go so you could go to Jacob. You sat in front of him and put your head in the crook of his neck. You closed your eyes and listened to his breathing as he put a gentle hand on the back of your head.

You stayed like that for a few minutes as the guys quietly talked, then Haknyeon tilted his head. "Is she asleep?"

Jacob looked down and smiled. "Yeah."

"I feel bad. She's always so busy." Eric mumbled. "It's sad to see more bad happening to her than good."

"Why do I have the feeling that it's about to get worse?" Younghoon stated.

They got quiet. Why did it feel like something was going to happen?

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