The Court of Public Opinion, Part Two

“Alright, we’re starting the shoot! Three, two, one!”

Clap!

With the light and cheerful sound of the slate, the filming began.
The MC, with his seasoned skill, delivered the opening line.

“Directly with the viewers! <Current Affairs Investigation Q>, where we look back on the week’s events! Thank you to all the ‘Q’s who are with us today.”

Clap, clap, clap!

“Thank you.”

At the MC’s words, the panelists clapped with serious expressions and bowed their heads.
The show continued.

“Last week, as always, many ‘Q’s sent us stories and videos. Shall we read the most impressive story among them?”

Following the MC’s words, a screen appeared behind him.

[I hope it’s a world where parents and families can protect their children.]

“What kind of situation is this? There’s a word that has become a hot topic these days. It’s ‘juvenile delinquent’.”

The MC skillfully lightened the mood with a natural gesture.

“But everyone, have you heard of a ‘delinquent minor’?”
“Yes, I think I’ve heard of it. But the difference is…”

The MC nodded once at the panelist’s answer and then opened his mouth again.
In line with that, the words on the screen disappeared, and two black pictograms of children appeared.
The picture on the right was slightly smaller than the one on the left.

“The child on the right is a little shorter, right? Like this, a delinquent minor refers to a minor under the age of 10, younger than a juvenile delinquent, who is between the ages of 10 and 14.”
“Ah.”
“However, the problems of delinquent minors are also gradually coming to the forefront, just like juvenile delinquents. The reason for this is that criminal punishment is not possible.”

The panelists each let out a sigh.
The middle-aged actor who was sitting at the very front opened his mouth.

“As a parent who is also raising a child, I can’t believe that such young children commit crimes, and the fact that we can’t punish them is also a big problem.”
“That’s right. The video you will see today can be seen as having this problem in its most acute form.”

The MC added, nodding with a sad expression.

“<Current Affairs Investigation Q>, this week’s video, cue.”

The two black pictograms scattered, and at the same time, a tearful voice was heard.

[What can I do from now on? Lawyer. Please tell me.]

The man who was pleading with a cry was Cha Yohan, who was sitting opposite him.
The man’s intentionally shown back and back view filled the screen.

[Many children were unilaterally bullied under the leadership of ‘that child’. They were not only bullied, but also assaulted.]

“Assault?”

A murmuring sound cautiously spread throughout the set.

[When I found out about this and went to see the perpetrator’s parents, they not only didn’t apologize, but they also reported me to the police, saying they would sue me.]

In the video, Cha Yohan asked the man.

[Have you secured any evidence?]
[Yes. I’ve been running around in all directions.]

As Cha Yohan nodded, a new video appeared on the screen.
The children’s faces were pixelated, but their voices were sporadically audible.
Only their names were muted when they were mentioned.

[Hey! Tattle one more time! I’ll break your legs then!]
[You, you’re the one who’s wrong.]
[You’re still talking back. I can do whatever I want. Should I make you live without your dad too, since you don’t have a mom? I’ll kill you all!]

“Oh my…”

Unlike the small physique of the children who were clearly visible, the lines that were flowing out were quite harsh.
By the time some of the panelists were covering their mouths in shock, a voice with a modulated tone flowed from the blackened screen.

[If you keep coming here for something that was just kids playing around, I can’t help you anymore.]
[How is that playing around? Would you still say that if it were your child who was hurt?]
[Hey. My child has no reason to be hurt. Because he’s the son of —.]
[Does that make any sense right now?]
[To my eyes, it just looks like you’re doing this, selling your child for money. If you come here one more time, then there’s no leniency or anything.]
[Leniency? Is that a word that should come out of your mouth? How can a person be like that!]
[Hey, Secretary Choi! Report him!]

The lines that were moving along with the voice disappeared, and the man’s back appeared again.

[Was this how you used the power given to you by the citizens? Was it the reality of this South Korea that a powerless parent can’t do anything even when their child is beaten? Lawyer…]

A lot of emotions were contained in the man’s question.
Even though only his back was visible, it was as if his face was visible.
Cha Yohan handed him a handkerchief.

[No, sir. You will be able to show your child. That the reality you will live in and the world are not like that. I will definitely help you to do that.]

As the man’s crying sound faded, the video also ended.

Thump, thump, thump.

Light came in one by one in the darkened set.

“Is this a ‘reality’ that makes sense? We will be asking ourselves this question without even realizing it.”
“Really… it’s a heartbreaking story. The children in that video are delinquent minors, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. This video is also currently a hot topic on the internet. It’s because the lawyer in that video is Lawyer Cha Yohan, who mainly takes on such public interest cases.”

This MC was the same MC who had hosted Cha Yohan’s broadcast last time.

“Thanks to that, the video has already surpassed 1 million views. When our ‘Q’s first reported this video, it was only about 10,000 views.”
“Did it become a million in a week?”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s a heated debate, and now we’ll hear the opinions of the experts. Professor Han Cheolwon of the Police University, please say a word.”

The man with neatly styled graying hair bowed his head once and opened his mouth.

“Hello. I’m Han Cheolwon. We often describe children as growing sprouts. For such children, the law must also be a very important boundary line.”
“A boundary line?”
“Yes. Because it is a simple indicator and boundary that distinguishes between good and evil, and the law is what does that.”
“But aren’t the boys in the video unable to be held legally responsible?”

The MC asked with a sad expression, his brow furrowed.
Professor Han Cheolwon answered with a serious expression.

“Because legal responsibility is not the only responsibility. Isn’t there a saying like this? ‘Man is a social animal’.”

[…And that concludes this week’s <Current Affairs Investigation Q>.]

I watched the broadcast from beginning to end with the others in the office.
A smile naturally formed on my lips.
And it wasn’t just my lips.

“Now that it’s been on broadcast, the repercussions will only get bigger.”

As Won Youngoh opened his mouth, everyone’s heads moved.

“The other channels are all trying to guess Councilman Oh’s identity.”

Everyone was desperate to find out the identity of the muted ‘–‘ in the video on our ‘Dike’s’ channel.
There were people who were simply using it to get views for their own videos, but there were also people who were really trying to find out the truth.

“The community reaction is the same.”
“Lawyer Cha, when do you expect the news to break?”
“I think it will be around the time that the concrete evidence of Councilman Oh comes to light. It could be after the trial. It could also come out with the news of the trial.”

There were exactly three days left until the trial.
I opened my mouth again, looking at the countless posts that were coming up.

“I changed my voice and even pixelated it, but they’re still fast.”
“Because they are the absolute majority. In a way, they’re experts at this kind of thing.”

Jeong Donghyeok said that and pointed to the laptop screen.

“Councilman Oh Uiseong’s name is already starting to appear in some comments.”

That was the beginning.
Less than an hour later, even the evidence that we hadn’t been able to secure began to surface on the internet.
Like the air that rises to the surface from the things that have been thrown into the water.

[Exclusive! Video of the father in today’s <Current Affairs Investigation Q> being arrested by the police!]

That was the beginning.
The evidence, which had instantly taken over all the top rankings, proved the name of a single person.

[Video of City Councilman Oh Uiseong’s habitual abuse of power]
[Assault of a secretary by a certain City Councilman Oh]

How many people even knew Oh Uiseong’s name and face?
He had now become a famous person who was known to everyone who used the internet.

[We should probably send him a gift since his recognition has gone up thanks to us.]

I agreed with Gram’s clearly sarcastic words and smiled.

‘Well, he’ll be enjoying a different kind of fame from before.’

But the expression of Won Youngoh, who was checking the ever-increasing views and new videos next to me, was not very bright.

“Are you worried?”
“I can’t say I’m not. I didn’t think it would be resolved easily, but I didn’t think it would get this big… But thank you, Lawyer Cha.”
“For what? I had to do my best since it was your request.”

Only then did Won Youngoh’s face relax.
I hadn’t planned on using the channel from the beginning. But my mind changed after meeting Judge Jang.

“Because sometimes the world outside the law feels just.”

Well, I’m sure Judge Jang didn’t say that to me with this intention.
But Councilman Oh was a local dignitary, and his election so far was also due more to money and connections than to public support.

‘He seems to be the only one he trusts, so it’s funny that he’s a church elder. And a respected one at that.’

And he had become a nouveau riche in an instant as the land he had bought for a cheap price had gone into redevelopment several times.

‘This is suspicious too.’

When I found out about this, I thought about asking for Im Suho’s help, but in the end, I didn’t choose that method.

‘It’s not good to owe Im Suho anything.’

But even without him, there were so many people in the world who wanted justice.
It was just that people like Oh Uiseong had forgotten, treating themselves as special.

Thump.

I closed the laptop and stood up.
Now I had to finish preparing for the trial.

A different crowd than usual had gathered in the courtroom.
Because it had been publicly known that today was the trial of Oh Uiseong and the other parents.

‘He must have wanted to get over this quietly, but I won’t let him.’

[Your face was really evil just now.]

‘I know.’

As Gram said, I was the one who had secretly leaked the fact to the reporters who were chasing after scoops, through Baek Soeun.
Thanks to that, it was a very heated trial.

“Oh Uiseong lost! Post the article quickly!”
“Don’t you know that speed is life in this kind of thing? Hurry up!”

The reporters, as if to announce Oh Uiseong’s loss, spoke into their phones and contacted their respective companies.

“Wooyoung’s father, you’ve worked so hard!”
“Eunji’s mother, you’ve worked hard too. And thank you so much, lawyer!”
“Thank you, thank you!”

The parents of the victim children encouraged and cheered each other, holding my hand or hugging me in joy.
And so, except for the parties involved, the people for whom this trial was profitable in a different sense had all left.

“Now we can be proud of ourselves in front of our children.”
“For the past few days, I couldn’t even look at my child’s face properly…”
“It’s all over now, really.”

In the courtroom, where sounds of happy laughter and relieved sobs were heard, I approached the only two people who were silent.
It was Oh Uiseong and his lawyer, Kim Hyunwoo.