Chapter 18
"My parents gave me a lot of financial support for my business. When they even started considering selling the house in Dogok-dong, that's when he began yelling about handing everything over to his brother.... He threw a fit, screaming that they weren't leaving a single thing for his own share."
Striking first, are we? It seemed he'd received the report that Kang Minjae had visited the factory. The management distress report for Lirin Fashion factory, which we'd included in the evidence list, had become worthless in an instant.
"When Yeonjun said he wanted to live independently, our parents didn't oppose it since it wasn't far from home. But Yeonjun stubbornly moved into a goshiwon anyway.... He often yelled at them, asking why they would fund my business but not cover his rent.... Even though they gave him a million won a month in allowance, he screamed for more at times."
"Is that what you believe was the motive for the murder?"
"Yes."
"How frequently did the defendant assault them, and to what extent?"
"Yeonjun lived elsewhere, so he came home about once a week. The intervals grew longer over time, but whenever he did come, he assaulted our parents."
"I see. Your Honor, I request Kim Heeja, the neighbor who reported the incident and lives next to the defendant, as the next witness."
At the prosecutor's words, Kim Hyeongjun stepped down, and the neighbor woman I'd met once during the investigation walked to the witness stand.
"Witness, you reported the incident to the police on the night it happened, correct?"
"......Yes, yes."
"How did you know something was happening next door and decide to report it?"
She testified in detail about that night's events and the disturbances from next door she'd heard through the walls over time, just as she'd confided in me.
"I see. You said this wasn't the first time you'd heard noises from next door, meaning it happened regularly?"
"Not exactly regularly, just occasionally...."
"Do you remember when?"
"I don't remember all of them. Early March weekend, and February 15th, my husband's birthday....... Oh, I don't recall the exact dates, but it was the day in the weekend drama Our Family when Yoo In-jeong slapped Seo Gang-hee. That day too."
"Early March weekend would be the 1st or 2nd. February 15th was a Saturday, and the scene in Our Family aired on February 2nd. All days when the defendant, who lived away from home, had returned to the Dogok-dong house."
Prosecutor Yang turned toward the judge with a subtle smile.
"Coincidentally, every day the neighbor heard sounds of assault was a day the defendant, living away, had come home. She says it was quiet on days he wasn't there. This matches Witness Kim Hyeongjun's testimony that assaults happened only when the defendant occasionally visited home. That's all."
Prosecutor Yang looked at me with an arrogant expression.
"Any cross-examination?"
"Yes."
I approached Kim Heeja closely. She seemed to still harbor a bit of resentment for me ignoring her request to introduce her daughter. Her face quickly soured into a pout.
"Witness, you said you heard sounds of assault, shouting, and groans from next door."
"Yes."
"Did you know who was shouting?"
"No idea."
"You've now heard both Witness Kim Hyeongjun and the defendant's voices. Still can't tell them apart?"
"Yes. Young men shouting all sound the same...."
"That's all. Cross-examination of Witness Kim Hyeongjun."
Kim Hyeongjun was called back to the stand. His hands gripped the podium tightly, trembling with rage he couldn't direct at me. It was probably visible only to me.
"You testified that the defendant assaulted your parents every time he came home."
"Yes."
"Witness Kim Heeja heard shouting, but couldn't identify if it was the defendant or someone else who might have been in the house. Correct?"
"......And?"
"Suppose, hypothetically, someone else in the house was the perpetrator. Purely hypothetical, of course."
Kim Hyeongjun's face twisted sharply. He knew I was positing him as that someone.
"That someone meticulously planned to frame the defendant. And committed the assaults only on days the defendant visited."
"Objection! Your Honor! Counsel is introducing unproven facts to confuse the court."
Prosecutor Yang shot to his feet, shouting.
"The testimonies are ambiguous, leaving room for alternative interpretations. I'm clarifying that with the witness."
"......Proceed for now."
Judge Go Ilguk looked uneasy but didn't stop me.
"The defendant stated that Witness Kim Hyeongjun would pick fights with your parents only on days he visited. He said the visits became less frequent because he thought avoiding home would stop his brother from assaulting them."
The judge busily flipped through Kim Yeonjun's statement. The court clerk handed it over, pointing to a section. Judge Go Ilguk nodded as he confirmed it.
"That's Yeonjun's one-sided claim!"
"But your claim that the defendant assaulted the victims every visit is also one-sided. No one witnessed it, and Witness Kim Heeja couldn't identify whose voice it was."
"Kim Yeonjun didn't just assault—he murdered them and was caught red-handed! Are you suspecting an innocent man now?"
"No. I'm asking your view on this situation, which can be interpreted differently alongside the defendant's statement."
"......Ridiculous."
Kim Hyeongjun replied as if incredulous. The same situation could yield different meanings from different perspectives. The proposition that assaults happened only when Kim Yeonjun visited, and the house was quiet otherwise, so he was the culprit—could be flipped like this: Kim Hyeongjun assaulted the parents only on days Kim Yeonjun visited.
Initially, Kim Yeonjun thought his brother lashed out impulsively upon seeing him. But now that premeditation was clear, even that was part of the plan.
"Next question, witness. You said the favoritism was mostly about money. Yes or no."
"No, also petty things—"
"Yes or no."
"......Yes."
"Look at the screen. The defendant's student loan and savings records."
Bankbook copies and loan records appeared on screen, leaving Kim Hyeongjun baffled.
"What about it?"
"The defendant didn't want to burden the parents who raised him, so he saved every bit of the college tuition they gave him and took out student loans to cover it. He didn't touch the million won monthly allowance either, earning living expenses through part-time jobs."
Preparing that evidence, I finally understood why the landlord had first told me, "Yeonjun's not the type."
Despite being raised like their own son, Kim Yeonjun always felt he was a burden. Grateful, he vowed to repay the favor someday.
"I find it hard to believe such a defendant coveted your parents' wealth. Do you believe it, witness?"
"......I can't know everything in Yeonjun's heart."
"I see. Now I'm curious about Kim Yeonjun's reputation among those around him and his spending habits."
After Kim Hyeongjun returned to his seat, a new witness took the stand.
"Witness, please introduce yourself."
"I'm Lee Yeongho, self-employed in business and real estate rental."
"Your relationship to the defendant?"
"I've known Yeonjun since his orphanage days—I volunteered there regularly. We stayed in touch after his adoption, and until recently, he worked part-time at my shop."
Lee Yeongho, who said it was his first time in court, spoke more calmly than expected.
"What did you think of the defendant generally?"
"A good kid who appreciates everything. Despite his parents' wealth, Yeonjun tried not to rely on their support. He didn't want to be a burden."
"Did Kim Yeonjun have a strong greed for inheritance? Or money in general—testify as you know."
Lee Yeongho paused, breathing deeply, reflecting on how Kim Yeonjun appeared to him and his usual behavior.
"Yeonjun wasn't very greedy for money."
Lee Yeongho calmly explained. When asked about future dreams, he'd say he wanted enjoyable work even if not highly paid; he'd lent money to fellow part-timers and forgotten about it. He shared little anecdotes.
"......Oh! Once, he even asked me if, when his parents passed, he could forgo inheritance and give it all to his brother."
"Witness, perjury in court is punishable. Is this true?"
"True. Not a word of lie! He said he was grateful just for being raised, and taking huge inheritance too would be too sorry. Without him, it would all go to his brother anyway—he felt like a nuisance."
Lee Yeongho insisted emphatically. Kim Yeonjun shed tears hearing these evaluations of himself. In a situation where even relatives branded him a parricide, his self-esteem must have plummeted. Lee Yeongho looked at the sobbing young man with pity.
"That's all."
"Prosecution, cross-examination?"
"None. Next witness."
The relatives packed in the gallery murmured briefly, then the courtroom door opened and a middle-aged woman entered—Kim Yeonjun's aunt.
Since all relatives had badmouthed him in the prosecution's investigation, her words were predictable.
"That punk Yeonjun griped endlessly about how his parents favored me. He'd yell and rant at them."
"Did you witness it?"
"At family holidays, if there was food I liked, Hee-sook would push it my way. Yeonjun's face would harden. He thought she only cared for me. Couldn't stand it, so he'd storm off home first, even with relatives there."
"Any other anecdotes?"
"Not sure about anecdotes, but since all parents' money went to me, he hated seeing me. Face would sour if I spoke; no reply. Anyone could see he was jealous."
"Interesting. Witness Lee Yeongho describes one defendant, relatives another. That's all."
Prosecutor Yang shot me a subtle glance and returned to his seat. He seemed desperate to beat me. Maybe not just him—Hwang Youngchan smiled from the gallery too.
I ignored them and approached the stand.
"Witness, you said the defendant ranted at parents over favoritism. Did you see it yourself?"
"......No, not directly."
"Then why assume so?"
"Hyeongjun consulted adults about it."
"So you believed Kim Hyeongjun's one-sided claim?"
"No, it's—"
"All relatives claimed Kim Yeonjun was disrespectful to the victims, but none saw it— just heard from Kim Hyeongjun?"
"How often do we see them directly? Only holidays, occasional check-ins. So yes, we heard from Hyeongjun....... But it was obvious even to us that Yeonjun acted that way, so we...."
The aunt's voice trailed off. She seemed to question why her poor image of Kim Yeonjun had formed.
"So Kim Hyeongjun often badmouthed Kim Yeonjun to relatives, planting that image."
"Your Honor! Counsel is leading the witness."
Prosecutor Yang jumped in. Leading? Guilty. But saying it plants the seed—even if rebuked, it lingers, framing the narrative.
"Admitted. Counsel, restrain yourself."
"Apologies. Next: Why believe Kim Hyeongjun when you never saw the defendant disrespectful?"
"Otherwise, why would his face sour like that at holidays when they served him?"
The witness flushed, raising her voice angrily. Apparently, the favoritism came from relatives, not parents. Already biased against Kim Yeonjun, they wanted to believe Hyeongjun.
Judge Go Ilguk subtly frowned too.
"What food did Ye Hee-sook push to Kim Hyeongjun?"
"Buckwheat pancakes. Hyeongjun loves them."
"Kim Yeonjun has a buckwheat allergy. His expression hardened because of that—why assume favoritism?"
"......W-Well."
"You knew Kim Hyeongjun's favorite food but not the defendant's allergy. Weren't you showing favoritism, assuming how he'd feel?"
The relative's testimony lost credibility. Knowing Hyeongjun's tastes despite infrequent meetings showed bias. The "parricide" image built on relatives' claims of "he's always been like that," but those were just echoes of Kim Hyeongjun's words.
Now reduced to his alone, clashing with Lee Yeongho's upright youth image. Solid gain.
"Next, Witness Choi Hyeonsuk. Please come forward."
The murmuring relatives in the gallery fell silent. Choi Hyeonsuk was Ye Hee-sook's mother—Kim Yeonjun's maternal grandmother.
I'd subpoenaed her but had no firm commitment. Especially now that Kim Hyeongjun had exposed his business troubles, her testimony about lending him money might not hold.
As the judge's voice grew louder calling her, my composure waned.
"Witness Choi Hyeonsuk? Not present?"
"......"
"Witness Choi Hyeonsuk."
No grandmother in the gallery.
"Not attending?"