Judge Park called the afternoon session to order at 2:31 PM.
Heeyeon stood at the defense table with her notes in front of her and her posture straight. She had washed her face during the break and fixed her hair, and nothing about her showed the forty minutes she had spent in that conference room pulling herself apart.
"Attorney Hwang," Judge Park said, "the defense may call its first witness."
"Your Honor, the defense requests a brief recess to confirm witness availability."
Kim Daeshik turned to his assistant and smiled. The assistant covered his mouth and looked down at the table.
"A recess." Judge Park took off his glasses and set them on the bench. "Court resumed just a minute ago, Attorney Hwang. You had ninety minutes to confirm your witnesses."
"I understand, Your Honor. I am requesting fifteen minutes."
"You have five." He put his glasses back on. "Use them."
Heeyeon stepped into the hallway and dialed. The line rang through. She dialed again and got the same result. She stood with the phone at her side and looked at the far wall for three seconds, then went back inside.
She sat down. Baki glanced at her face and read it without asking.
"He is not answering anymore," she said quietly.
Baki straightened in his seat. "Don't worry. Just buy as much time as you can."
The five minutes passed and Judge Park looked at her. "Attorney Hwang. Your witness."
Heeyeon stood. "Your Honor, the defense calls Dr. Yoon Sujin, forensic pathologist."
Kim leaned back in his chair. He could see exactly what she was doing.
Dr. Yoon took the stand. She was in her mid-forties with short hair and a steady voice, and she carried her files in both hands.
"Dr. Yoon," Heeyeon said, "you reviewed the autopsy report prepared by Dr. Lee Minho. Did you reach the same conclusions?"
"On cause of death, yes. On interpretation, no."
"Please explain the difference."
"Dr. Lee testified that many of the injuries were delivered after Mr. Choi could no longer defend himself. That is accurate. However, the earlier injuries tell a different story. The damage to Mr. Choi's hands was consistent with someone who had been striking another person with significant force before the fatal encounter. The bruising patterns on his forearms suggested he had also been blocking incoming strikes. Mr. Choi was not a passive victim before the footage begins. He was already in the middle of a fight."
"With someone other than the defendant?"
"The DNA evidence supports that. The skin under his fingernails did not match the defendant. Mr. Choi was in physical contact with at least one other person that night."
Kim rose from his seat. "Objection. The witness is speculating about events outside the scope of the forensic record."
"The forensic record is exactly what I am describing," Dr. Yoon said flatly.
Judge Park looked at her. "The witness will address the court, not opposing counsel." He turned to Kim. "Overruled. Continue, Attorney Hwang."
"Dr. Yoon, is it forensically possible that Mr. Choi was attacking someone when the defendant intervened?"
"It is not only possible. The physical evidence is consistent with that scenario."
"Thank you. No further questions."
Kim stood and buttoned his jacket. "Dr. Yoon, you said the evidence is consistent with that scenario. Is it also consistent with Mr. Choi simply having been in a separate altercation earlier that evening, completely unrelated to the defendant?"
"Yes."
"So your testimony does not actually tell us what Mr. Choi was doing at the moment the defendant began his attack."
"No single piece of forensic evidence tells us that."
"Thank you," Kim said and sat down. "That was my point."
The gallery stirred. One of the reporters in the front row wrote something and underlined it.
Heeyeon called a second witness, a criminologist who testified about the angle and sequence of the blows shown in the footage. He argued that the initial strikes were consistent with someone stopping an active threat, not pursuing a defenseless person. Kim dismantled the argument in under four minutes by pointing out that the witness had only seen the same forty seconds of footage that everyone else had seen.
By 3:45 PM, Heeyeon had gone through every witness she could use without Bakugo or Jichang. She stood at the defense table and looked at the last page of her notes. The bottom was blank.
Judge Park watched her over his glasses. "Does the defense have any further witnesses?"
Kim Daeshik had stopped pretending not to enjoy himself. He sat with his hands folded on the table and waited.
Baki sat with his eyes forward and his cuffed hands in his lap.
Heeyeon looked up from the blank page. "Yes, Your Honor. The defense calls Noh Bakugo."
The room went quiet.
Judge Park looked at his records. "The same Noh Bakugo listed as a missing witness?"
"Yes, Your Honor."
Kim was already on his feet. "Your Honor, this individual was listed as unavailable. The prosecution has had no opportunity to prepare for this testimony. We object to this witness being called without prior notice."
"Your Honor," Heeyeon said, "Mr. Bakugo is present and available to testify. The defense could not confirm his availability until this moment. We ask that he be allowed to take the stand."
Judge Park looked at her for a long moment. "Is Mr. Bakugo in this building?"
The doors at the back of the courtroom opened.
Noh Bakugo walked in. He was an old man with a weathered face and slow steps, and he wore a plain grey jacket.
The gallery turned. The reporters in the front row straightened.
Kim stared at the doors. His assistant leaned over and said something in a low voice. Kim did not respond.
Bakugo reached the front of the room and stopped. He looked at Baki. Baki gave him a short nod.
Judge Park sat back in his chair. "The witness will be sworn in."
Heeyeon watched Bakugo take the stand, fold his hat on his knee, and raise his right hand for the oath. She did not look surprised.
---
One hour and thirty minutes earlier, a police car moved through the streets with Noh Bakugo sitting in the back between two officers, and a third officer driving.
Bakugo kept his eyes on the road ahead. Then he saw a man standing in the middle of it.
At first glance he looked like an ordinary middle-aged Korean man. Black hair, unremarkable build, the kind of face that does not register in a crowd. The car slowed and stopped. One of the officers stuck his head out the window. "Hey! Why are you standing in the middle of the road? Move aside!"
But the officer wearing glasses saw what the others did not. Underneath the ordinary surface, the man was extensively muscular and in peak physical condition, and his fingers carried hundreds of small cuts.
The officer with glasses smiled to himself. "Is he here to help Noh Bakugo?"