“Ha! I suppose you’re too scared to say anything when I shout like this, aren’t you?”
“Who do you think you are, you little runt? Hey, are you even listening, kiddo?”
‘What a talker.’
“Four… five…”
‘Given such a vile personality, it’s no wonder he used to beat those poor animals mercilessly.’
“What are you mumbling about? Speak up, you bastard…!!”
“Six.”
I turned up the microphone’s volume.
Now, he would surely hear me clearly.
“Yes! You’ve just spoken six times, and not once did you use the ‘nyang’ speech style!!”
“Therefore, uh… five plus six is…”
Deliberately to provoke him, I slowly extended my fingers, demonstrating the addition.
“That makes eleven!! Congratulations on your eleven years in prison!!”
I clapped softly, offering my congratulations.
A satisfied smile spread across my face as I observed the defendant, who appeared utterly dumbfounded.
“I’m only ten years old, yet your prison sentence is longer than my age, isn’t it? Oh, will it get even longer since more years will be added?”
Had he finally realized?
The animal abuser, who had just grasped that his sentence would increase every time he spoke, trembled his hands and clamped his mouth shut.
“It seems you have no further complaints. Oh, and I’ve been told that the penalty you received from me cannot be appealed.”
In other words.
It meant that from now on, he would either have to use the ‘nyang’ speech style for the rest of his life, or simply keep his mouth shut.
‘What was the National Assembly thinking, enacting such a ridiculously unfair special law just for me?’
The lawyer hung his head low, while the defendant glared at me as if to kill, barely suppressing his rage, and the prosecutor offered a faint smile in my direction.
And finally, the flashing cameras and numerous spectators came into view.
I wasn’t particularly concerned whether these people approved of my verdict.
After all, wasn’t it enough if I was satisfied with my own judgment?
I had achieved my goal of ensuring I wouldn’t have to see that scoundrel in society again, and for that, I was very pleased.
“Unnie, is it all over now?”
I whispered the question to Seon-ah in a small voice.
Seon-ah, who had been merely observing, then switched on her microphone.
“This concludes the trial.”
In response, I also announced to everyone in the courtroom in a cheerful voice.
“Thank you all for your hard work!”
Against a backdrop of countless camera shutters clicking, we exited the courtroom.
Hmm, hmm.
Considering how nervous I had been, it had gone better than expected.
Seon-ah had handled all the difficult aspects, like managing the trial proceedings.
Since all I had to do was comfortably deliver the verdict, it was much easier than I had anticipated.
My footsteps felt light as I walked down the corridor after leaving the courtroom.
“Heh heh. It was nothing, really!”
I hadn’t made any particular mistakes, and I was quite fond of the verdict I had delivered.
Would the animal abuser choose to keep his mouth shut, or would he speak using the ‘nyang’ style for the rest of his life?
Given his personality, it seemed unlikely he would choose either option.
I suspected he would simply add decades to his sentence every day with his cheap talk.
“Well done, Ha-yeon.”
Seon-ah met my gaze, a somewhat sympathetic smile playing on her lips.
“You worked hard today, so as a reward, how about Unnie gives you a hug?”
“No, a hug isn’t really necessary.”
However, Im Seon-ah completely ignored my words and used her adult strength to pull me into a tight embrace.
‘I can’t breathe…’
“Hey. No… Unnie, st-stop…”
My weak protests seemed not to reach Seon-ah.
The arms embracing me tightened even further.
“I said… stop it…?”
Just as I was about to try and push Seon-ah’s arms away, feeling too constricted,
I suddenly heard Seon-ah sniffle.
‘Hmm?’
‘What? Why is she crying?’
“I’m sorry… It must have been so difficult, handling the trial today, wasn’t it?”
“…Huh?”
Seon-ah crying was quite disorienting, and I struggled to comprehend the situation.
‘What’s wrong with her…?’
“It broke my heart seeing you, who’s usually so stoic, suddenly acting and speaking so strangely today.”
“Wh-what…?”
She then released one arm from around me and began gently stroking my head.
“You must have been so nervous and scared about your first trial today, weren’t you?”
“Judging someone is truly not an easy task. We’re so sorry for making a young child like you do something like this…”
“And that bad person saying such harsh things to you earlier…”
Ah.
I had been wondering what was wrong with her.
It turned out she was just worried about me.
I barely managed to suppress a laugh.
‘She really is Im Seon-ah, I suppose. Her habit of worrying unnecessarily is just as strong here.’
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t have to lie like that. You can be honest with Unnie.”
Even my truly heartfelt words seemed to Seon-ah as if I were merely trying to pretend I was okay.
‘No, I really am fine…?’
‘After all, you handle all the difficult parts like the trial proceedings, and all I have to do is click to deliver the verdict.’
‘What’s so hard about that? If anything, I gained a bit of confidence during today’s trial.’
“I’m really fine, so could you let go of my arms now?”
“Tsk. I told you not to lie, Ha-yeon.”
Seon-ah then hugged me even tighter, to the point where her chest was pressed against me.
“…”
‘At this point, it just seems like she wants to hug me, no matter how I think about it.’
“How does it feel? Isn’t it nice when Unnie hugs you like this?”
“Mmm…”
The sensation wasn’t bad, so I didn’t bother to deny it.
‘But how long are we supposed to stay like this…?’
****
Six o’clock in the afternoon.
“Ha-yeon, is there anything you’d like to eat?”
‘Hmm… something I’d like to eat…’
“Dakgalbi… I want dakgalbi.”
The reason for specifically choosing dakgalbi was simple.
It was because dakgalbi was both Seon-ah’s and my favorite food.
Even though Seon-ah no longer knew the ‘original me,’
I was certain that the Seon-ah here would also love the dakgalbi we used to eat almost every day when we were students, which was why I chose it.
“Great!! Let’s go get some dakgalbi right away.”
See?
She was probably already salivating just thinking about dakgalbi.
We set off in Seon-ah’s car for a nearby dakgalbi restaurant.
Prosecutor Im Seon-ah didn’t have a car.
But Judge Im Seon-ah here had one.
‘It seems you were destined to be a judge, not a prosecutor, Seon-ah.’
“Alright. Stay still, Ha-yeon. Unnie will buckle you in.”
“Okay.”
‘I was nervous and scared before the trial, but it turned out to be nothing special…’
Seon-ah seemed convinced that I was merely pretending to be unfazed.
Ever since she hugged me in the corridor, she had been fussing over me to an almost burdensome degree.
“Ha-yeon, should Unnie go to the restroom with you?”
“Can you walk by yourself? Should I carry you?”
“Can’t you show me the aegyo you usually do? Like this… you always acted cute around me.”
‘You yourself said the original Ha-yeon was stiff.’
‘Though some strange tactics have been added.’
In any case, Im Seon-ah had followed me around all day, doting on me.
Thus, even when she offered to buckle me into the seatbelt, while the original me would have sworn at her, asking what she was doing,
I found that having Seon-ah spoon-feed me everything wasn’t so bad after all.
“Alright, all done. Shall we get going now?”
“Yeah, let’s go quickly. Hehe.”
“Did Ha-yeon like dakgalbi? I don’t recall us ever eating it together. How did she pick that specifically?”
I smiled inwardly, watching Seon-ah quietly mutter to herself.
‘How many years have I spent with you, you fool?’
‘Well, now it’s a past only I remember. Still, I didn’t feel overly sad about it.’
‘Because building new memories from a slightly different position didn’t seem so bad.’
“Dakgalbi, the spiciest flavor… Oh. Since Ha-yeon is here, maybe the spicy flavor won’t be good…”
“No, I’m good with spicy food. You can order that.”
Both of us enjoyed spicy food, though my tolerance level was slightly higher.
“Really…? I thought you always ate incredibly bland food…”
I gave a bright smile to Seon-ah, who was scratching her head with a bewildered expression.
It was a smile that meant, ‘Just order it already.’
“Well… Ha-yeon said it was okay…? Auntie, three servings of the spicy flavor, please!!”
Greedy Im Seon-ah… To think she planned to eat a whopping three servings of dakgalbi, including my small portion.
‘Well, it’s not like I’m paying anyway. It’s not my concern.’
****
Meanwhile,
In a corridor of the courthouse, after the trial had concluded, a man was being escorted away by a court bailiff.
The man’s name was Kim Sung-won.
He was the defendant in the most talked-about trial in South Korea that day.
He was the criminal who had received a unique verdict from Special Judge Lee Ha-yeon: an additional year of prison sentence for every instance he failed to use the ‘nyang’ speech style.
Currently, his sentence stood at 27 years.
Anyone could easily surmise why his sentence had increased since earlier.
“Argh… Hey, you damn guard. Go easy with the handcuffs…!!”
Court Bailiff Kim Do-won glanced discreetly at the criminal who was spewing insults at him.
“What are you looking at, you gorilla-like guard bastard?”
“That’s an additional two years. I’ll inform the Judge later.”
“Argh, damn it, I’m going crazy. Where did that bastard lawyer run off to again…!!”
“That’s an additional year.”
“Argh, stop that already!!”
During his approximately ten years as a bailiff,
he could confidently say that working as a court bailiff, hearing criminals’ voices up close, was by no means an easy job.
Yet, for some reason, every time he heard the voice of this animal abuser before him, the bailiff felt a surge of dopamine.
“That’s one more year added.”
