Chapter 2

Gimcheon Juvenile Prison (1)

“Hey!! Cuff him!! Hurry!!!”

“Ambulance!! 119!! 119!!!”

I turned my head slightly and saw Hong Chang-sik's face lying in a pool of blood.

It was an utterly surreal sight.

Just a minute ago, Hong Chang-sik had been pleading about his livelihood while claiming, “I sincerely repent.” Now, bright red blood was gushing from his chest in thick spurts.

—Click.

Cold metal dug into my wrists.

I didn't bother resisting.

There was no reason to resist. The moment that drunk driver crushed my family beneath his 15-ton truck, I might as well have died too. All that remained here was the wreckage.

The solitary cell in the courthouse detention center was quiet.

I remembered reading an article recently about how detention centers were overflowing, yet here I was in solitary confinement. I suppose firing a gun inside a courthouse really was quite a big deal.

But thanks to that, I had time to analyze this chaotic situation relatively rationally.

[Within the Temple of Justice, watched over by blind Justice, Candidate Jeong Bareum has carried out his own self-righteous justice according to his personal standards. The Scales of Karma (Unique) have been unlocked.]

[The first judgment has been completed. Karma will now be calculated.]

[Weight of the sins punished (3 unjust deaths): +1,500 Karma]

[Justified Revenge Multiplier (x2) applied ➔ 3,000 Karma]

[First Judgment Bonus: +3,000 Karma]

[Penalty: Public disturbance and injuries caused by the ensuing chaos: -500 Karma]

[Final Calculation: 5,500 Karma acquired]

[Current Status]

Strength: 5

Durability: 6

Stamina: 4

Karma Held: 5,500

The letters floating before my eyes could mean one of two things.

Either I'd gone insane, or this was a sign that the world was coming to an end.

Awakened One.

I knew what that was.

How could I not? The term “Awakened One” appeared so frequently in countless web novels and webtoons that popped up whenever I opened my smartphone that I was sick of seeing it.

But the problem was that all of those were fiction.

The world I was standing in right now was nonfiction.

I quietly closed my eyes.

If this had happened a few months ago, I probably would have been jumping around in amazement. But now, those hallucinations barely caught my attention. An inexplicable sense of lethargy swallowed my entire body.

Did I regret taking revenge?

No. Of course not.

Revenge had been satisfying. Far more satisfying than I had imagined. But what came after that satisfaction was an unbearable emptiness, the realization that I truly was all alone now. Wouldn't it have been better if the security guards had shot me dead right there, allowing me to return to my family?

[Yonhap News] Gunshots Ring Out in Courtroom··· Bereaved Family Member Shoots Perpetrator Dead Immediately After Four-Year Prison Sentence

[Exclusive] Judicial Order in Shambles··· Supreme Prosecutors' Office Forms Special Investigation Team for 'Homemade Gun Murder in Courtroom'

[Editorial] "Vigilante Justice Will Only Return Society to Barbarism"··· Growing Distrust of Judiciary Must Be Guarded Against

[KBC] Family of Slain Truck Driver Weeps: "He Only Had a Drink with Business Associates Because He Had to Make a Living. My Husband Was Such a Good Man, He Could Have Lived Without Laws"

[Kukmin Ilbo] "Might as Well Have Acquitted Him" vs. "Clear Act of Courtroom Terrorism"··· Online Public Opinion Sharply Divided

[Sports Seoul] Famous Rapper A Says, "With That Verdict, Even I Would Have Shot Him"··· Controversial Social Media Statement Sparks Widespread Reaction

The world was in an uproar over what I'd done.

I couldn't have known about any of this from my solitary cell, but the man who introduced himself as my court-appointed attorney told me during one of his visits.

“Murder. Violation of the Firearms Act. Serious crime committed in a public place.”

“I'll get straight to the point. This case is hopeless.”

“Not guilty? Self-defense? Diminished mental capacity? We're not making those arguments. No, we can't. They wouldn't work anyway.”

“You fired a gun inside a courtroom, and the victim died instantly. Under normal circumstances, there's almost nothing a defense attorney can do in a case like this.”

“The only things working in our favor are that you, Jeong Bareum, are still a minor, and that the public understandably felt outraged by a four-year sentence for a drunk driver who killed three people. But conversely, that's precisely why the judges and prosecutors will be furious. Because you 'dared' to do such a thing inside a courtroom.”

“Oh, and there's one word you must never say. 'Justice.'”

“Jeong Bareum, you're no longer a victim. The moment you pulled that trigger, you crossed the line. From now on, your best option is to demonstrate as much remorse as possible in court.”

“The judge handing down your sentence is human too. The fact that your entire family died and you're the sole survivor will certainly be taken into consideration.”

“The fact that the previous verdict may have been legally correct but emotionally difficult to accept. That's something we can argue.”

“Let's do our best.”

Frankly, compared to the court-appointed attorneys in movies and dramas who said things like, “Do you know how much I get paid to defend this case? Three hundred thousand won. Three hundred thousand,” this man was remarkably passionate and diligent.

Perhaps the fact that my case had attracted nationwide attention had also fueled his enthusiasm?

But regardless, I couldn't bring myself to care. My days passed remarkably quickly, as though I were dreaming.

“Here are the results of the defendant's psychiatric evaluation. Your Honor, I ask that you please examine the specialist's opinion on page three of this report.”

The attorney paused to catch his breath, drawing the courtroom's attention.

“The defendant, Jeong Bareum, is currently suffering from 'severe acute stress disorder (ASD)' and 'dissociative emotional blunting.' Simply put, his brain has forcibly switched off all emotions to protect itself from unbearable psychological pain. This is a state known as 'emotional shutdown.'”

“Just a few months ago, the defendant was an outstanding student attending a prestigious foreign language high school, maintaining grades near the top of his class and serving as a model for his peers. He was a boy who had never committed a single act of misconduct, who simply dreamed of a bright future surrounded by the love of his warm and caring family.”

“However, the defendant was forced to witness that ordinary, loving family being crushed beneath an enormous truck, their bodies mangled beyond recognition, right before his eyes. And this seventeen-year-old boy, already tormented by the guilt of being the sole survivor, a condition known as 'survivor syndrome,' ultimately had to endure the horrific sight of another person dying from a gunshot he himself had fired.”

“At present, the defendant cannot feel sadness, anger, or even fear of the future awaiting him. He perceives reality as something unreal and has fallen into a state of extreme lethargy, doing little more than breathing. Your Honor, the defendant's current lack of response is by no means an indication that he takes his crime lightly or is attempting to deceive this court.”

“Before this incident, the defendant was the very embodiment of the ideal, diligent student our society hopes to nurture. The fact that such a child committed such a horrific crime is itself evidence that he suffered a trauma so devastating that it completely shattered his capacity for reason. Your Honor, I earnestly, sincerely implore you to consider, when determining his sentence, that this tragic incident began with an earlier crime that took the lives of the defendant's entire family.”

The attorney finished speaking.

And the stern-looking prosecutor seated across from him abruptly rose to his feet.

“Your Honor. The prosecution also expresses its deepest human sympathy for the devastating tragedy the defense has just described.”

His voice was calm, devoid of emotion.

“However, we are here to discuss law and reason, not emotion. The defense speaks of 'survivor syndrome,' attempting to suggest that the defendant's emotional condition at the time of the crime was akin to diminished mental capacity. But his current mental state cannot be assumed to be identical to his mental state at the time of the incident.”

He lightly placed the psychiatric evaluation submitted by the defense on the table.

“Let us revisit the facts of this case. The weapon used by the defendant was a homemade firearm that he personally manufactured using a 3D printer. Obtaining blueprints through obscure channels on the internet, printing the components, assembling them, and completing a lethal weapon capable of killing a human being. This process requires at least several days, and potentially several weeks.”

“Can this truly be considered an impulsive act committed by a boy who could not control his emotions? No. This was an exceptionally cold-blooded and calculated 'premeditated murder,' meticulously prepared over an extended period with clear intent to kill. The sheer persistence demonstrated by the defendant throughout his preparations makes it impossible to explain this crime as merely the result of psychological distress.”

“Above all, the defendant pulled the trigger inside a courtroom, the very heart of the Republic of Korea's judiciary, at the precise moment the state's authority to impose punishment was being exercised. This was a grave act of terrorism that mocked the very foundations of the rule of law in the Republic of Korea and ridiculed the entire judicial system.”

For the first time, emotion appeared on the prosecutor's face.

Anger.

And a resolute expression.

“The Republic of Korea is a nation governed by the rule of law. No matter how tragic or sympathetic one's circumstances may be, they cannot serve as a license for personal vengeance. If our legal system were to overlook this incident out of compassion, our society would inevitably regress into an uncontrollable age of barbarism. Therefore, the prosecution strongly requests that the court impose the harshest punishment permitted by law, taking into account the premeditated nature and gravity of the defendant's crime.”

A heavy silence settled over the courtroom.

Having heard both sides, the presiding judge straightened the documents before him and slowly opened his mouth.

“This case is an extremely serious matter that has shaken the very foundations of the Republic of Korea's judicial order.”

His firm voice echoed through the microphone.

“The defendant meticulously planned his crime, abusing his considerable intellectual abilities to obtain blueprints for a homemade firearm through the internet and manufacture the weapon himself. Furthermore, carrying out personal vengeance within the sacred courtroom where the state's authority to impose punishment is exercised constitutes a grave act of terrorism that goes beyond simple murder and directly rejects the rule of law. Such conduct can never be justified under any circumstances.”

At the presiding judge's severe rebuke, the court-appointed attorney's expression stiffened.

“However, this court also feels profound human sorrow for the devastating tragedy that the defendant, Jeong Bareum, was forced to endure. The despair and suffering of a seventeen-year-old boy who lost his entire beloved family overnight and was left completely alone are beyond anything we can presume to comprehend.”

“Furthermore, this court has given full consideration to the mitigating circumstances in the defendant's favor, including the fact that he suffered from severe survivor syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder, and that prior to this incident, he was an exemplary student attending a prestigious foreign language high school, diligently pursuing his studies without any history of misconduct. Accordingly, this court shall determine his sentence by applying every possible discretionary reduction in punishment.”

The attorney squeezed my hand tightly.

I could sense a trace of relief in that gesture.

But the judge's next words quickly transformed that faint relief into burning anger.

“Case number 2022 Gohap 5892. Charges: Murder and Violation of the Act on the Safety Management of Firearms, Swords, Explosives, Etc.”

“This court hereby sentences the defendant, Jeong Bareum, to an indeterminate term of imprisonment, with a minimum of four years and a maximum of eight years.”

Bang, bang, bang—

As the gavel struck, murmurs erupted simultaneously from the gallery, where everyone had been holding their breath.

“A minimum of four years? A maximum of eight?”

“I mean, even if he killed someone, he's a first-time offender, a model student at a prestigious high school, and a kid who was receiving psychiatric treatment because his whole family died. But they gave him a maximum of eight years?”

“Normally, even when juvenile offenders commit murder, unless they're truly vicious, their maximum sentences are generally around five to ten years. But with all those mitigating circumstances, four to eight years? The judges were so furious that he fired a gun in their courtroom that they threw the book at him out of sheer resentment. They only pretended to show mercy. In reality, they handed down a harsh sentence.”

The reporters' whispers reached my ears with perfect clarity.

I could feel an indescribable anger through the tightly clenched hand of my court-appointed attorney.

“An appeal must be filed within seven days······”

I barely heard the presiding judge's continuing explanation.

Instead, the only things filling my mind were those numbers: four years and eight years.

That murderous bastard who had crushed my dad, mom, and younger sibling, three human beings, into lumps of meat while driving drunk had received a sentence of just four years. Yet I, who had avenged them, was supposed to serve a minimum of four years and a maximum of eight years after receiving the 'greatest possible mercy' the law could offer?

—BANG!!!

“My father, who always tried to spend at least the weekends with his family no matter how busy he was. My mother, who always made sure we had breakfast even though both my parents worked. My younger sibling, who was always fooling around, excited about starting middle school soon.”

Every gaze in the courtroom instantly turned toward me.

“Remove the defendant from the courtroom.”

The presiding judge instructed the correctional officers standing beside me.

Overwhelming physical strength pressed down on me.

The anger inside me, which I had thought had already died completely, suddenly reared its head.

And at that moment, familiar letters appeared before my eyes.

[Current Status]

Strength: 5

Durability: 6

Stamina: 4

Karma Held: 5,500

'All of it into Strength.'

[Current Status]

Strength: 5 => 50 (First Limit)

Durability: 6

Stamina: 4

Karma Held: 5,500 => 1,000

Countless explanations appeared before my eyes in an instant.

But none of that was particularly important right now.

“And the court's ruling that those three lives were worth the same as the life of a murderer who crushed three people to death and then shamelessly talked about his livelihood. No, that their lives were worth even less.”

The corners of my mouth twisted upward before I knew it.

“I will respect it.”

“G-Guards!! What are you doing!! Remove him immediately!!”

Panic flashed across the judge's face.

The correctional officers gripping both my arms strained with all their might, but it was useless.

The strength that I had been powerless to resist just moments earlier now meant nothing to me. And so, standing between the red-faced correctional officers, I calmly spoke my final words.

“When killing someone, don't use a gun. Run them over with a 15-ton truck instead. No, even if it's not that specifically, make sure to find a 'method permitted by law.' I'll engrave that lesson deep in my heart.”

I had no need for the correctional officers' help to leave this nauseating courtroom.

I turned my back on the courtroom and walked out on my own two feet.

Jeong Bareum.

Minimum four years, maximum eight years.

Imprisonment at Gimcheon Juvenile Prison confirmed.

© Myoyeop#12ipk

Author's Note

Thank you!!