Zero-Wins

I settled into the lawyer’s seat as if it were my own and gave a slight nod to the client beside me.
He returned the gesture with a short, silent bow, a sense of resignation palpable in his movements.

‘He’s probably heard the rumors about Cha Yohan.’

This wasn’t a lawyer he had chosen.
I was simply assigned to him.
It seemed Cha Yohan had judged that a jury trial was the only way this case had even a sliver of a chance.

‘Still, it looks like he tried to do something.’

While Cha Yohan was running around in every direction, people probably mocked this client.
Saying that his lawyer was trying, but in the end, he was doomed to become a convict for meeting the wrong one.
Since sitting down here, I had already heard the word ‘Zero-Wins’ twice in this courtroom alone.
I could infer this from the fact that the client showed no signs of curiosity despite it all.
People always leave behind evidence.
Even in moments they aren’t aware of.
I tilted my head slightly and whispered to the client.

“Is your arm okay?”
“Ah, this. Yes, well. It’s a little restrictive.”

I had asked after seeing the bandage wrapped around his arm, and he answered as if it were nothing.
As our conversation ended, the judge entered, and the trial began.

“Case number 20…. Defendant, Lee Ilwoo.”

Hearing his name, Lee Ilwoo nodded.
The white-haired presiding judge adjusted his glasses and began to speak.

“At the defendant’s request, this trial will proceed as a jury trial with the participation of jurors.”

The judge gave brief instructions to the jury.
Things like raising a hand and passing a note if they had a question, or that causing a disturbance would result in the forfeiture of their juror status.

“The defendant may choose not to make a statement during this trial, or refuse to answer questions…”

The judge then slowly informed Lee Ilwoo of his right to remain silent.

“You may state facts that are favorable to you, and any statement you make in this court may be used as evidence of guilt. Defendant, do you understand?”
“…Yes.”

After that, the judge’s ‘identity confirmation’ followed.
The only information I had on Lee Ilwoo was from the case file.
Lee Ilwoo, 29, former Taekwondo national athlete, currently a bodyguard.
Similarly, questions and answers confirmed the information I knew about Lee Ilwoo, such as his name, age, and address.

“What is the defendant’s current occupation?”
“…A bodyguard.”
“Confirmed. The prosecution may speak.”

The prosecutor, who had been sitting opposite me with a confident expression, rose from his seat with a similarly pleased look on his face.

“Defendant, do you admit to the fact that you have been charged with inflicting special injury upon the victim, Kim Hojung?”

As Lee Ilwoo’s lawyer, I answered the question.

“I admit it.”

The presiding judge spoke again.

“Defendant, do you share the same opinion as your lawyer?”
“…Yes.”

Lee Ilwoo answered as if spitting out the grief that had pooled within him.
I looked at the jurors and opened my mouth.

“However, the defendant had no intent to harm the victim. The defendant was merely trying to save himself in a situation of duress, and therefore, we claim self-defense.”

Self-defense.
What a righteous-sounding phrase.
In a way, it seems as though the law itself supports the age-old adage, ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.’
But in this country, the Republic of Korea, the most difficult cases to handle were precisely these self-defense cases.

‘Although the scope of self-defense has been loosening recently compared to the past…’

It is commonly believed that ‘martial artists’ like Lee Ilwoo are ‘uniquely’ disadvantaged in these situations.
But this is all a myth.
Nowhere in the law is there a provision for aggravated punishment simply for being a martial artist. It is taken into consideration, but…

‘What I’m worried about are the circumstances.’

Within the scope of the law, the circumstances are that the robber, Kim Hojung, is the victim, and the one who got attacked, Lee Ilwoo, is the assailant.
There was one thing that was disappointing.

‘A case of this level could have been dismissed by the prosecutor without ever going to trial…’

The text of the law does not change, but the world does.
Depending on the circumstances, it could have been a good case to be featured as a heartwarming story in the media… The fact that it wasn’t gave me a sense of the direction this trial was headed.

A courtroom is no different from a battlefield.
You have to prove your competence at every moment and crush your opponent. Or at least be good at sucking up to the right people.
Jin Jaehyun, who could do neither, had nowhere lower to fall.

‘He’s here. My savior.’

But today, it felt as if the goddess of victory was shining her light upon him.
Today’s opposing counsel was the infamous ‘Zero-Wins.’
He had already chewed, torn, tasted, and enjoyed that ‘Zero’ several times.

‘…Though I almost didn’t recognize him today.’

Still, he had checked no less than five times to see if the man sitting at the defense table was indeed Zero-Wins.
Because the man’s appearance today was completely different from the face Jin Jaehyun knew.

‘I double-checked several times, thinking I had walked into the wrong trial for some celebrity.’

But this wasn’t a romance comic; could taking off glasses really give someone skills they never had?
And so, Jin Jaehyun confidently laid out his hand.

“Now, here are photos of the victim.”

With a few flicks of his fingers, a picture of a blood-soaked head appeared.

Click.

Next was a photo of Kim Hojung’s face, bruised black and blue.
The jurors and the audience stirred.

“The first photo was taken when the police, who responded to the report, were transporting the victim to the hospital with the paramedics. Now, when do you think this second photo was taken?”

Jin Jaehyun looked at each of the jurors in turn before speaking again.

“It was taken a few days ago, after the victim, who had been unconscious for a week, regained consciousness.”

Click.

A close-up of the facial injuries appeared enlarged on the monitor.

“The signs of the assault are still vivid. As anyone can see, this is not the level of assault the defendant claims was self-defense. As proof, the victim is still unable to move.”

Cha Yohan carefully observed Jin Jaehyun’s actions as he slowly pointed to his own face and the back of his head for emphasis.

“The victim was diagnosed with injuries requiring 12 weeks of recovery due to shock from multiple facial fractures, as well as a direct impact to the back of the head.”

Jin Jaehyun confidently returned to his seat and picked up a few documents.

“I submit the attending physician’s medical report, which proves the victim’s injuries as stated above, as evidence.”

He then returned to the center of the courtroom and looked at Cha Yohan and Lee Ilwoo.

“Furthermore, although the defendant has claimed self-defense from the beginning, defendant.”
“Yes.”
“Your occupation is a bodyguard.”
“…Yes.”
“And before that, you were a Taekwondo national athlete? Is that correct?”

Jin Jaehyun deliberately listed Lee Ilwoo’s credentials.
He was planting an image in the minds of the judge and everyone else in the courtroom.
That the ‘defendant’ was a person accustomed to subduing others with force.
Lee Ilwoo answered with difficulty.

“…Yes.”
“In that case, as a current bodyguard, you would know very well how to subdue a person, wouldn’t you?”
“I can’t deny that. But!”
“Defendant, do not raise your voice! This is a sacred courtroom!”
“……”

Lee Ilwoo thought to himself.
Even as the prosecutor cornered him like this, why was the lawyer next to him doing nothing?
Even when he had heard the rumors about this lawyer, a faint glimmer of hope had remained.
But after meeting him in person, even that had vanished.
The prosecutor before him opened his mouth again with a triumphant look.

“The incident occurred in a place very familiar to the defendant. It was his family’s store.”

The defendant’s family’s store.
Cha Yohan noticed Lee Ilwoo flinch ever so slightly at those words.
The prosecutor, not noticing, continued.

“I heard that the defendant often helped out at the store. Is that correct?”
“…That is correct.”

Jin Jaehyun deliberately glanced at the judge’s bench and the jury as he spoke.

“Hmm, in that case, the defendant, who is skilled in various martial arts, could have used the familiar terrain to move the victim where he wanted, couldn’t he?”

At that moment, Cha Yohan, who had not said a word until now, moved his hand.
He bent Lee Ilwoo’s microphone towards himself and answered calmly.

“Objection. Leading the witness.”

Cha Yohan kept his eyes fixed on the judge’s bench and spoke clearly. The judge nodded.

“Sustained. Prosecution, please be mindful.”
“Yes, Your Honor.”

Jin Jaehyun replied verbally while looking at Cha Yohan.
It was the first time.
The first time that Cha Yohan, who always stood frozen and unresponsive to any leading question, had reacted so calmly.

‘He must have prepared a little, since it’s a jury trial.’

Jin Jaehyun cleared his throat with a cough and continued as casually as possible.

“But nevertheless, numerous circumstances still exist.”

Jin Jaehyun pointed the tips of his fingers at Lee Ilwoo.

“The defendant used his professional knowledge on a civilian, Kim Hojung.”

He continued, as if the man next to him, Cha Yohan, wasn’t even there, then asked a question.

“This is excessive defense, an act that directly contradicts the self-defense the defendant claims. Is that not so?”

Jin Jaehyun finished his statement, looking around at the jurors and the judge’s bench.
A few jurors nodded and scribbled on the papers in front of them.
Confirming that Lee Ilwoo had lowered his head, he finally looked at Cha Yohan with a scornful expression.
But then.

‘…His expression.’

Isn’t it too clear right now?
Is a halo suddenly shining from behind his shoulders right now?
It was different from his usual self.
By now, he should have been fidgeting, adjusting his thick-rimmed glasses, and checking his documents over and over.
But that Cha Yohan was gone, and in his place sat a different-faced Cha Yohan, who looked at Jin Jaehyun as if to ask with his eyes:

‘Is that really all you’ve got?’

So, was that really all?
Special injury.
A serious crime with a sentence of one to ten years in prison, with no option for a fine.
Therefore, I had naturally assumed the prosecutor would have very solid evidence.
Especially in a jury trial.

‘Is he playing games? Is he going to say the main part hasn’t even started yet?’

But it seemed that really was the end of it.
Because my turn came quickly.

“Lawyer Cha Yohan, you may speak.”
“Yes, Your Honor.”

Step.

I rose from my seat and stood where Prosecutor Jin Jaehyun had been just a moment ago.
It was a position directly facing the jurors.
I bowed to them and then stretched out my arm to point at the monitor.

“First, shall we look at the CCTV footage submitted as evidence to prove my client’s self-defense?”

Click.

The moment I pressed the button, the quiet courtroom was filled with the desperate screams of a woman.

[Help, help me! Aaaah! Help me!]
[Shut your mouth! Before I kill you!]

In the video, a man with a knife was repeatedly brandishing it at a middle-aged woman who was crying and begging in fear.
That woman was the client Lee Ilwoo’s mother, Jeong Eunyoung.

Whoosh!

[Give me the money, now! Give me all of it!]
[This is all there is. This is really all… Please save me. Please….]

Jeong Eunyoung was now on her knees, begging with her hands clasped together.
From the CCTV’s overhead view, a figure could be seen in the storage room.
It was Lee Ilyoung, Lee Ilwoo’s younger sibling, the one who made the report.
Kim Hojung brandished the knife recklessly.

[I know you’ve hidden it, so bring it all out, you f*cker!]

Whoosh!

The knife swung by Kim Hojung cut off half of Jeong Eunyoung’s long hair.

[Aaaah!]

CRASH!

[Mom!]

At that moment, Lee Ilwoo rushed into his mother’s store, immediately grabbed a chair, and wedged himself between the two.

[F*ck, who the hell are you!]

Whoooosh!

After that, a one-sided attack and defense ensued.
Kim Hojung repeatedly swung the knife, and the chair Lee Ilwoo held was soon riddled with knife marks.
Lee Ilwoo was even cut several times by the knife while shielding his mother.
Blood splattered on the floor and walls, drawing red lines.

[Aah, no! Ilwoo!]

In the video, Lee Ilwoo, with his bleeding arm, struck Kim Hojung in the stomach, and when Kim Hojung still didn’t let go of the knife, he punched him in the face.
Only then did the robber, in shock, drop the knife and stagger.

Clang!
Kick!

[Mom!]

Lee Ilwoo didn’t miss the opportunity, kicked the knife far away, and then embraced Jeong Eunyoung, who was trembling in a corner.

Thud!

And at the same time, a dull sound was heard.
Kim Hojung had hit his head on the corner of the dining table and could no longer get up.
Soon, the police rushed into the store.

Click.

I stopped the video there.
Intentionally.