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Chapter 37
“Why is it a problem that this is my first time testifying?”
“It’s not a problem. Witness, since you drive a taxi, your car must have a dashcam installed, right?”
After noticing Tae-jun’s distorted expression, Attorney Kim confidently continued questioning the witness.
“Yes, it does.”
“Then the accident scene and the moment you were with the defendant must all be recorded on that dashcam.”
“Yes, but…”
“Did you submit that file to the detective or the prosecution?”
Attorney Kim cut off the witness’s words sharply and continued.
“As I said earlier, I arrived early this morning. I was planning to submit it to the detective before coming to court…”
“So did you submit it?”
“Well… that is…”
The witness hesitated with an uncomfortable expression.
“That file could be a crucial piece of evidence in this trial. Of course you submitted it, right? Then could we check the file here right now?”
Seeing the opportunity, Attorney Kim leaned forward over the witness stand and pressured him.
“Well…”
“Stop hesitating and answer. Don’t tell me… you haven’t submitted it yet?”
“I mean… the thing is…”
The witness kept swallowing nervously, his face growing more distorted.
“Witness!”
“…It’s gone.”
With a deep sigh, the witness lowered his head like a guilty man.
The audience in the courtroom began murmuring again.
“Gone? What do you mean by that?”
Although she asked the question, Attorney Kim looked as if she already knew the answer.
“Well… when I checked this morning, it had disappeared.”
The witness spoke in a weak voice.
“So you’re saying there is no evidence to support your testimony?”
“No… but everything I said is the truth!”
The witness raised his voice in frustration.
Meanwhile, Seung-beom lowered his head to hide the smile escaping from his lips.
Everything was going exactly as planned.
In fact, this was the moment his almost obsessive perfectionism shined.
It was true that he had been surprised when the taxi driver suddenly entered the courtroom.
He hadn’t expected that at all.
But the dashcam memory card the witness was desperately searching for was safely hidden in Seung-beom’s secret place.
There was nothing to worry about.
Memorizing the taxi’s license plate that day and preparing in advance had truly been a brilliant move.
Just in case the driver might testify during the trial, he had even sent the man on a fake overseas trip by arranging a “prize travel win.”
During that time, he had someone secretly replace the dashcam memory chip in the taxi.
He admired his own foresight.
Now that the key evidence supporting the witness’s statement had disappeared—
He was certain that victory belonged to him.
“Witness, when you say it disappeared, do you mean someone stole it?”
“No… the video files are all gone.”
“Then someone tampered with the files?”
“I’m not sure. The detective is currently investigating it urgently. We’ll find out soon.”
The witness glared suspiciously at Seung-beom.
“And why are you looking at my client like that?”
Attorney Kim asked with an annoyed expression.
“Well, honestly… if my dashcam footage disappears in this situation, who would benefit besides the man sitting over there?”
The witness raised his voice angrily while staring at Seung-beom.
But Seung-beom didn’t even blink.
“Do you realize how dangerous that statement is?”
Attorney Kim stepped closer to the witness.
“What?”
“Because of that statement, we may meet again next time—not here—but in a defamation trial, with you sitting in the defendant’s seat.”
She pointed toward the defendant’s chair and smiled coldly.
The witness’s bold expression instantly froze.
“Your Honor, the defense attorney is threatening the witness.”
Tae-jun stood up and shouted.
“Objection sustained. Defense attorney, please be careful.”
“Then we’ll see during the investigation whether the file really disappeared or never existed in the first place. We’ll talk about this again later.”
Even after the judge’s warning, Attorney Kim delivered one final remark before returning to her desk.
Then she exchanged glances with Seung-beom and walked toward the front of the courtroom.
“As many of you can see, the defendant is a famous bestselling author with many fans here today. But where there is light, there is also darkness.”
She paused briefly.
“Just as there are many people supporting him, there must also be people who dislike him. And I believe the witness sitting there belongs to one of those two groups.”
Her calm gaze suddenly turned toward the witness.
“That kind of black-and-white thinking is inappropriate. Please avoid statements unrelated to the trial.”
Tae-jun quickly objected.
But Attorney Kim continued without hesitation.
“I am 100% certain that this witness dislikes the defendant.”
“Your Honor, the defense is insulting the witness without evidence.”
“Objection sustained. Defense attorney, be careful.”
“Understood. Then let me ask differently. Witness, do you often leave comments online?”
“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
“Please answer yes or no.”
“…Yes. Sometimes.”
“What kind of articles do you usually comment on?”
“Your Honor, this question has nothing to do with the case.”
“Objection sustained.”
“Your Honor, this question is extremely important in evaluating the credibility of the witness.”
Attorney Kim insisted.
“Witness, answer the question.”
“Well… when I read online news and feel like commenting, I do.”
“Your Honor, please review this document.”
The moment the witness finished speaking, Attorney Kim handed a prepared file to the judge.
“What is this?”
“It is a comment posted on October 25, 2018, on a portal site article titled:
‘Bestselling author Kim Seung-beom secretly donates to disadvantaged children.’”
Attorney Kim calmly read the document aloud.
[ID: dlkjl – That bastard killed his parent’s lover and lives off the insurance money. What a disgusting world.]
The witness’s face instantly turned pale.
“And next, a comment from November 10, 2018, on another article titled:
‘An intimate interview with author Kim Seung-beom, who heals people’s hearts.’”
[ID: dlkjl – That trash reporter must have been paid by that murderer scammer to write this. Disgusting.]
“Th-that… I…”
The witness stammered nervously.
“Witness, that ID ‘dlkjl’ is yours, right?”
“Well…”
“Here are hundreds of malicious comments posted under Kim Seung-beom’s articles since 2017. You wrote them yourself, didn’t you?”
Attorney Kim raised her voice.
“…Yes.”
The witness lowered his head again.
“Your Honor, the document I submitted contains over 100 malicious comments written by this witness against the defendant.”
The judge frowned slightly while reading.
“Can we truly trust testimony from someone who clearly holds deep resentment toward the defendant? I believe it is impossible.”
“Even if the witness behaved poorly online, questioning the credibility of his testimony based solely on that is unreasonable.”
Tae-jun argued desperately.
“Unreasonable? Then how about this?”
Attorney Kim slowly smiled.
“Witness, you were previously punished for perjury, weren’t you?”
The courtroom erupted into murmurs.
“What?”
The witness’s face turned completely white.
“I’ll ask again. You were convicted of perjury before, correct?”
“Your Honor, the defense is violating the witness’s rights with irrelevant information!”
Tae-jun shouted.
“Objection sustained. Defense attorney, stick to relevant questions.”
But Attorney Kim ignored the warning.
“Witness, answer the question. Have you ever been punished for perjury?”
“Well…”
“Answer truthfully!”
“…Yes.”
The witness’s head dropped again.
Murmurs filled the courtroom.
“As everyone just heard, this witness claimed earlier that this was his first time testifying in court.”
Attorney Kim looked at the audience confidently.
“But in reality, he has already been punished for perjury in the past.”
Tae-jun sighed deeply.
In the witness profile, there had been a tiny line:
[Previous conviction for perjury.]
He had failed to notice it.
A fatal mistake.
“Can we trust someone who repeatedly posted malicious comments against the defendant and has a history of perjury? And on top of that, the witness claims that the dashcam footage suddenly disappeared this morning. Does that sound reasonable?”
Attorney Kim passionately argued to the judge and audience.
“Your Honor, the defense is making baseless accusations.”
Tae-jun shouted urgently.
“If anything, the witness here is the one committing perjury and insulting the court.”
“What evidence do you have that he is lying?”
Tae-jun shouted angrily.
“Prosecution, wait a moment.”
The judge interrupted.
“Witness. Is what the defense attorney said true?”
“I may have made mistakes in the past… but now I am telling the truth. Please believe me.”
The witness stomped his feet in frustration.
But now—
The witness who was supposed to turn the trial around had become a useless card.
In fact, he had become a joker for Seung-beom’s side.
Unless something drastic happened—
Seung-beom walking out of the courtroom as a free man was almost guaranteed.
“Why is it taking so long…”
Tae-jun muttered while checking his watch nervously.
Just then—
His phone vibrated in his pocket.
After reading the message, Tae-jun walked toward the judge with a determined expression.
“Your Honor, I would like to file additional charges against the defendant, Kim Seung-beom.”
Everyone in the courtroom gasped.
“What additional charge?”
The judge looked surprised.
“I am charging the defendant with murder—for the death of Hwang Jung-sik on December 13, 2018.”
The courtroom erupted like a storm.
But the most shocked person of all—
Was Seung-beom.
A murder charge?
It was something he had never expected.
“Prosecutor… are you truly filing a murder charge?”
The judge asked again.
“Yes. Under Article 250 of the Criminal Law, I formally charge the defendant Kim Seung-beom with the murder of Hwang Jung-sik.”
Tae-jun answered in a firm, confident voice.
