Chapter 41
Just before the trial began, I received a text from Director Jo saying he'd be a bit late, so we couldn't meet beforehand. I scanned the gallery. But he was nowhere to be seen.
"Has the witness failed to appear?"
"...Your Honor! Please give us just a moment. We've received word that the witness is running a little late," Kang Minjae shot to his feet and shouted. A strange smile crept onto Yoo Jeongwon's lips. Was he simply pleased that a threatening witness for us hadn't shown up, or was there some ulterior motive? In my view, it was the latter. They'd pulled strings to keep Director Jo from testifying.
I patted the tense Kang Minjae's hand. When he turned to me, I quietly shook my head.
'Why?' he mouthed clearly at me.
I couldn't answer here. We had to turn this around before the courtroom atmosphere soured.
"Your Honor, it seems the witness won't be appearing. We'd like to call Seong Minjeong, whose testimony was submitted as Evidence 5-A."
Kang Minjae looked uneasy at my words. With the cooperative Director Jo a no-show, he probably figured Seong Minjeong wouldn't make a difference.
"Very well. Seong Minjeong. Are you present?"
A solemn silence fell at the judge's words. She wasn't in the gallery either.
"What do we do, Lawyer?"
Na Eun-seong stayed silent, already down from the first disappointment, while Kang Minjae was the one freaking out. Seong Minjeong hadn't even shown up during the recess.
And then—
"Present!"
Seong Minjeong's cheerful voice rang out as the courtroom doors swung open.
"Sorry I'm late. Some punks tried to mess with me on the way here."
She glanced at the defense table as she spoke.
"But I took them down in one go."
"Witness, maintain decorum."
The judge's face hardened at Seong Minjeong's joking tone. She was probably referring to the Blue Island Media people she'd mentioned yesterday.
"No, did you hear? Blue Island Media called me. Said they'd give me 100 million if I don't testify. I mean, seriously, I'm speechless. What a load of crap. Might as well split the profits from Secret House with me. I'm just floored!"
Seong Minjeong had turned down 100 million and shown up to testify. Her determination to bring down Jeong Hyejin burned fiercely.
"Witness, you were originally Jeong Hyejin's assistant writer, correct?"
And the witness examination began.
"Yes."
"But I understand you've since quit. Why?"
"Because Jeong Hyejin would lash out at her assistants with verbal abuse and violence."
"Verbal abuse and violence? Shocking. What was the reason?"
"She couldn't write well. From her debut hit through her sixth work, she was on a roll, but starting with the seventh, no matter how hard she racked her brain, ideas wouldn't come, and she'd throw hysterical fits."
Jeong Hyejin's face twisted.
"How exactly did she carry out this verbal abuse and violence?"
"Your Honor! This is irrelevant to the case!"
"It's to prove that the defendant's counsel's earlier statements deviate from the facts."
"Overruled. Plaintiff's counsel, stick to the matter at hand."
I'd hoped to undermine Yoo Jeongwon's claim that the defendant was emotionally fragile and lower her credibility. But it didn't go as planned. Truth be told, Seong Minjeong's attitude wasn't playing well in court. Judges like this elderly chief—old enough to have been promoted long ago yet still stuck in civil settlements—were the epitome of what young people called "boomers." Especially Kim Honggil. I'd looked into him: he'd sided with a Wooshin affiliate in a minor lawsuit despite public backlash. He was clearly cozying up to Wooshin now for a late promotion. This case wouldn't be any different. He wouldn't even entertain reasonable arguments...
Director Jo's absence is a big blow.
I figured Kim Honggil wouldn't side with us on mere similarities. That's why I planned to tie it to her general conduct. Director Jo was key for that. Still, with Seong Minjeong here, it shouldn't be a total disaster.
"Witness, was there another reason you quit as the defendant's assistant?"
"Yes. Because Jeong Hyejin stole my work."
Seong Minjeong answered clearly. Jeong Hyejin half-rose in an instant, but Yoo Jeongwon gripped her hand tightly, keeping her seated. Still, Jeong Hyejin's hand trembled. Without Yoo Jeongwon, the courtroom would've erupted into a low-class shouting match: 'When did I ever!' 'You did!' 'Never!' Good call on her part.
"The defendant stole your work? Please elaborate."
"Your Honor! Irrelevant."
"It's relevant to prove this isn't the first time the defendant has plagiarized or appropriated others' work."
The judge fell silent for a moment. He clearly wanted to shut it down, but common sense dictated he couldn't ignore this testimony.
"Plaintiff's counsel, proceed."
"Witness, go ahead."
"Jeong Hyejin's other mega-hit drama, Secret House, was actually a project I was preparing. I'd always admired her dramas and dreamed of becoming a drama writer under her. But there were too many assistants like me under her."
Seong Minjeong bit her trembling lips in rage, pausing to compose herself.
"With so many waiting for debuts, I worried when my turn would come. All I could do was show her my scenario for advice and to pitch my potential."
She glared at Jeong Hyejin and continued.
"Then one day, she called me aside and said she'd write it for me. At first, I thought she meant debuting me and was thrilled. But it turned out she wanted it for herself. In exchange, she spouted empty promises: since I had potential, prepare something else and she'd debut me right away. Ahead of the other assistants... even sooner."
Seong Minjeong's voice grew choked with tears. Her anger and sense of betrayal amplified with Jeong Hyejin right there.
"Witness, are you alright?"
"So I gave it to her! That script became the drama Secret House and won the nation's love. But I remained just an assistant. It was bitter, but I thought if I could debut soon, it'd be fine. But a year passed, then two, three... I had to watch other assistants debut first..."
Tears streamed down Seong Minjeong's face. Na Eun-seong looked sympathetic, drawn into the story.
"I couldn't take it and confided in the other assistants. Turns out many had been screwed over like me. Some had handed over scripts even earlier, pushing my turn further back. That's Jeong Hyejin! Is it any surprise she'd do it again? She can't even write a proper line herself!"
Seong Minjeong cried out. I'd heard all the necessary info. And she was getting too worked up. I quickly handed her tissues and ended the examination.
Seong Minjeong left the stand, and the defense's witness took her place immediately.
"Witness, please introduce yourself."
"I'm Lee Hayeong, assistant writer under Writer Jeong Hyejin for 10 years. And a colleague of Seong Minjeong."
"Ten years with the defendant means you know a lot."
"Yes. Among the assistants, I've worked with her the longest. I mostly mediate between the assistants and Writer Jeong. Both sides rely on me a lot. They come to me first with misunderstandings or issues."
"So, did Seong Minjeong ever mention Secret House to you?"
"No."
A [Lie] hologram floated above her head.
"Witness, have you ever seen Jeong Hyejin steal another assistant's script because she couldn't create? Or had one stolen from you?"
"No. I can say for sure because I was always with her when she brainstormed. When she was busy, assistants showed drafts to me. But I never saw overlaps."
Proving Seong Minjeong as the true creator of Secret House wasn't hard—I had the file timestamped from when she started. But claiming Jeong Hyejin copied it verbatim was tricky. She had taken it, yes, but back then she wasn't as blatant. She'd changed dialogues, tweaked plot points, altered keywords—a bit of effort. Emboldened by not getting caught, she'd grown sloppier over time. So even showing Seong Minjeong's file, they could dismiss it as a similar but distinct work. Without prior preparation, that's the reality. Besides, our goal with Seong Minjeong wasn't to sue over Secret House—it was to expose Jeong Hyejin's character.
"Then why do you think Seong Minjeong is slandering the defendant with lies?"
"Looking back, she always had a massive inferiority complex toward Writer Jeong. She'd badmouth her behind her back—'Talentless hack recycling clichés, what kind of writer is that?' We'd frown at it."
[Truth]
Sigh. Given Seong Minjeong's personality, she probably did trash-talk Jeong Hyejin—but this only hurts our case.
I sighed.
"Even so, Writer Jeong tried to carry Seong along, but when she kept souring the mood, she was given a recommended resignation."
That reminded me of Seong Minjeong saying she'd submitted a resignation to Blue Island Media but been fired instead, qualifying her for unemployment benefits.
No way they'd planned this far ahead. If so, Jeong Hyejin was no ordinary villain. According to Seong, all assistants stuck around despite the abuse, hoping for debuts. She was the only one who'd quit. Maybe Jeong saw her as a loose cannon and insured against backlash.
"So, witness, you're saying all of Seong Minjeong's claims are lies born of inferiority, meant to frame the defendant?"
"Yes."
I stared at Yoo Jeongwon impassively. She was staring right back at me.