Lawless Lawyer 5.1 Bong Sang Pil: Smart, Sophisticated and Sexy Giant In The Courtroom

BONG SANG PIL
SMART 
SOPHISTICATED 
SEXY 
GIANT
IN THE COURTROOM

THE MAYOR MURDER TRIAL Although the car chase had left a trail of destruction in its wake, Bong Sang Pil wasn’t disturbed. He had woken up excited on the day of the murdered mayor trial. Bong Sang Pil was, as usual, impeccably dressed and smelling of elegance and style in his smart bespoke double-breasted suit with his lawyer’s lapel pin.  Bong had bid farewell to standard colours for his suits in the courtroom. The perfect cut of his olive-coloured suit, which was worn over a white shirt, moulded sensually around his athletic body, making him look more handsome and sexy than ever. It wasn’t just anybody or any lawyer  who could look so amazing in such an unusual colour but Bong Sang Pil was different – he had that special magic touch! Bong would put the fixer as the witness in the dock to answer some questions. The fixer or broker who had introduced the dead hitman to Ah Oh Ju’s secretary was his ace card in the trial. As he strode from his seat at the defense table to the witness table at the beginning of the hearing, he gestured towards the fixer and asked him pointedly, ‘Do you know the hitman, Jo Boem Jin?’ Bong looked serious and solemn. The witness's answer, a flat no, didn’t ring true. Bong Sang Pil knew he was unquestionably lying. He had evidence to prove it but his evidence which was illegally obtained could not be used in court. Bong’s expression of doubt was clearly etched on his face. The fact that he was in close proximity to the witness unsettled the latter. The liar refused to meet his gaze. Bong stared piercingly at the witness, willing him to reveal the truth.  He turned around to look at Ha Jae Yi for inspiration. Then, staring down at the fixer again, he verbally pounced on him, ‘Did you hire Jo Beom Jin to murder Mayor Lee Young Soo?’ The witness, upon looking up, denied committing such a crime. Bong Sang Pil, with his hands in his trouser pockets, exhaled in exasperation at the lie.  None in the court could have been blind to Bong’s amazing full-length body profile, with his majestic bearing and his straight shoulders. Bong Sang Pil dominated the courtroom with his very presence. Then, turning to Judge Cha Moon Sook, Bong Sang Pil declared dramatically that he had made a mistake. He put his hands together as if to plead to be forgiven. Bong’s innocent look was entirely unconvincing; he was a  special breed of lawyer who was clever and strategic in his game.  Bong wanted to rephrase his question which he deemed to be ineffective. By then, he was commanding everyone’s attention; he was playing everybody into his hands. Had he really forgotten that the witness was a well-known fixer? He had not. He had set the stage for his most exciting question. He was trying to emphasize a point. He turned to his audience in the public gallery. His eyes held their attention. He was at pains to emphasize that the witness was a known broker. Turning back to face the witness, he asked, with a pointing gesture of his hand, ‘Did someone hire you to connect him or her to Jo Boem Jin, the hitman?’ His rephrased question was direct, crystal-clear and on point. The question clearly implied that the witness was not the hirer of the hitman but only a sort of middleman. He didn’t hire the killer to kill the mayor but his job was that of a fixer or a sort of broker - a person who introduced a killer to someone else. Prosecutor Kang raised a strong objection to his question and accused him of trying to delay the court proceedings with groundless suspicions. She stated that Bong Sang Pil, the Defense Lawyer, was also at the scene when Jo Beom Jin died. Her objection was senseless. She was trying to thwart the Defense Lawyer from getting a direct answer from the witness. Shockingly, Judge Cha Moon Sook, not hiding her discriminatory attitude, swiftly agreed with the prosecution. Prosecutor Kang’s objection should have been overruled instead of being sustained. Judge Cha requested him to ask only the necessary questions. Wasn’t that a crucial question? Not one to dwell on the injustice of Judge Cha Moon Sook's action, Bong Sang Pil practically ignored her.  Bong Sang Pil looked in Ha Jae Yi’s direction, mentally warning her to be heedful of Judge Cha Moon Sook’s devious way of obstructing justice. Outside the courthouse, a car had arrived. Geum Gang had brought a woman to attend the trial. Holding a sheaf of papers, Bong Sang Pil emphasized the point that the witness was a broker or fixer who was well-known in the underground scene. In a display of examining the contents, he flipped through the documents, and declared that the witness’s rap sheet was ‘clean’.  Blank records. His official criminal record did not display any arrests, prosecutions including charges or convictions. That meant that he had no records of runs-in with the law. The fixer had outsmarted the police and the prosecution. Bong declared that the fixer excelled at his job as he had left no loose ends, which was paramount to his survival. ‘Is that correct?’ the Defense Lawyer questioned. Prosecutor Kang objected and advised the witness not to respond to the allegations. Judge Cha Moon Sook instructed Bong to return to his seat if he didn’t have any more questions. By then, Bong Sang Pil, although outwardly calm, was indignant at the blatant injustice of the court. Fortunately, the arrival of Geum Gang with a lady, the mother of the witness, raised his spirits. Calmly, he faced Judge Cha and boldy pronounced, ‘To reveal the true nature of this trial, I’ll ask one more question.’ Those words spoke volumes about what he thought of Judge Cha Moon Sook. Bong turned to face the witness and shook his papers at him. Moving his head ever so slightly as he spoke, Bong stated, ‘Four years ago, you were almost indicted for criminal possession and use of drugs. How did you get out of it? Bong was trying to show how much the Ki Seong District Court reeked of injustice and foul play. The court was under the jurisdiction of Judge Cha Moon Sook. A thin veil of fog seemed to have rolled over the court. Judge Cha Moon Sook, seemingly anxious, advised him that he needn’t answer, which was practically a tactic to discourage him from responding to the lawyer. Her words were calculated to block Bong from getting an interesting narrative which would expose the unjust goings-on in the Ki Seong District Court. Bong Sang Pil could not help but pursed his lips when he turned to glance at her. She must have felt the weight of his eyes on her but she was not one to feel uneasy. Judge Cha Moon Sook ordered Bong to return to his seat but Bong Sang Pil, an experienced and worldly-wise Defense Lawyer was not easily intimidated by her tyrannical ways.  His strategy had been carefully devised. Turning to face his audience in the public gallery, Bong revealed the witness’s guilt in other crimes. ‘You committed crimes 4 years ago, 7 years ago and many other countless times.’ However, he turned to face the witness when he questioned, ‘Are you at peace with your mother knowing all the details?’ It was a question aimed to strike at the emotional weakness of the witness. The witness visibly grimaced. Guilt and pain flashed across his face. The prosecution objected. Prosecutor Kang again accused him of asking unrelated questions to side track the court proceedings.   Unnoticed by her, the witness was making hand signs to the woman who appeared to be his mother. Was his mother hearing-impaired? Judge Cha warned Bong again to cease and desist. But, she was not an opponent that he was afraid of. Bong Sang Pil would not stand down. With a determined look, he persisted. ‘Answer me! Who did you connect the hitman with?’ Prosecutor Kang rose to protest. Judge Cha sided with her and loudly warned Bong. Putting his hands aggressively on the witness’s table, Bong stared intimidatingly for a few seconds at the witness. Known for being persistent, Bong’s aggressive stance was unsurprising. His cold, steely eyes bored into the witness’s. In a commanding tone, Bong drove home the threat, ‘You listen to me. ‘You may be the witness now,’ Raising his brows, he continued, ‘But you’ll be in the suspect’s seat next.’ He looked at and pointed in the direction of the Defense Table. Bong’s expression seemed to have morphed several times in seconds. Judge Cha Moon Sook ordered Bong to return to his seat but Bong refused. His job was not done; he would not allow all his efforts to be negated by their objections. Victory was near. Bong Sang Pil continued unabashed. ‘I heard that your mother is suffering from a heart disease.’ At this point, the witness was almost in tears as he looked at his mother who was seated in the gallery. But, Bong was relentless. With knitted brows, he questioned, ‘Do you want to be reduced to a criminal in her sight?’ Judge Cha Moon Sook warned Bong yet again. She would hold him in contempt of the court. Bong Sang Pil ignored the judge; he wanted to get his man. ‘Tell me, who gave the order! Tell me, now!’ Judge Cha repeated her warning. Obstruction of justice again. The criminal finally decided to answer. But, Prosecutor Kang advised him that he need not answer. Geum Gang guided the witness’s mother away from the courtroom to prevent her from watching the witness’s further distress. She had mistakenly thought that her son was there to help someone else. Bong Sang Pil had not shied away from using the fixer’s mother to force the truth out of him. Bong had piled up the guilt and laid it on thick in his mind. The witness finally confessed that he was the one who introduced the hitman to someone for a fee. That someone was the secretary. By now, Bong Sang Pil had straightened himself. ‘Whose secretary are you talking about?’ ‘Chairman Ahn Oh Ju.’ There was a cry of surprise in the audience. ‘I didn’t know he was going to kill Mayor Lee. I did wrong and I’m sorry!’ A slight smile touched Bong Sang Pil’s lips. A glow of satisfaction lit up his eyes. ‘That’ll be all, Your Honour,’ Bong Sang Pil concluded, giving Judge Cha Moon Sook a meaningful and complacent stare.  It was Bong Sang Pil's moment of triumph over his real adversary. Judge Cha Moon Sook bowed her head in defeat. Bong's accusations had been borne out in evidence.  Bong Sang Pil was not only a sophisticated and sexy lawyer but most importantly, also a brainy giant in the courtroom! Complacent in his victory, Bong returned to the Defense Table and settled down comfortably in his seat. Wu Hyeong Man, the defendant was all smiley. The trial was adjourned. Judge Cha’s final judgement would be delivered at the next hearing. On leaving the courtroom, Ha Jae Yi commented that even a fixer wanted to be a good son to his mother. Bong said that everyone had someone they wanted to protect.  That he didn’t want to hunt the witness down like an animal in his mother’s presence was an indication of Bong's warm-heartedness. It was wisdom tempered by his own personal experience that he had been unable to protect his own mother.  Gazing lovingly at Ha Jae Yi for a few seconds, he wanted her to know that he would protect her with his life. Although she might not have fully understood his thoughts, she smiled cutely at him.