Chapter 240 - Judgement-III

Not long after, the other six judges arrived. The amount of judges that came today was even more than the time they came to judge her. The people began to chatter but it died almost instantly when a man entered the room. Seoyeon's eyes followed the man, and she noticed that despite the man looking older than fifty, his posture stood straight, and the way he held his poise was akin to a General who was about to enter a war. His hair was peppered in black streak amongst the white lock, and despite being stern, he also looked gentle.

"Who is that man?" Seoyeon questioned because out of all people in the courtroom she could feel how this man was set differently from the rest.

Chung Gon leaned forward to see who she was pointing at. "That man is our superior, the head of the Associates, Gwe Jeoknim. A close friend of Jung Hwa's grandfather."

"Jung Hwa's grandfather," Seoyeon whispered subconsciously.

Chung Gon turned to look at her face, trying to read what her expression had to say, "You haven't meet him? I thought as Jung Hwa's girlfriend you must have seen him before. You know that out of all his family members who Jung Hwa is very close to?"

Seoyeon responded with a nod of her head, "I know." She had heard about Hwa's grandfather from the person himself when he mentioned about him lightly. "But how do you know about this?"

"Well as a person who had worked for decades as an Associate member, I have seen Sir Jung and Mr. Gwe together in a few occasions. They even drank together in the room," answered Chung Gon but Seoyeon shook her head.

That wasn't her question, "I mean how do you know the closest person Hwa has is his grandfather? You sound-"

"Shush," Chung Gon stopped her from saying further as if knowing what she was about to say, "Don't anyone ever told you that you are not fun to talk with? I know him since he was a baby. That's the extent to it."

Before Seoyeon could ask more, the man turned his face toward the court, silently refusing to explain her further about the relationship he had with Jung Hwa. She asked in her mind, does Hwa know that the man had known him since he was a baby? What was his relationship?

She turned her head to Jung Hwa who was silent. He was sitting at the lone chair placed in front of the judges, his hand appeared to be bound before he sat there. Seoyeon didn't know how strong the silver handcuff that secured Jung Hwa's hand was. If it was a normal handcuff, she could tell that if Hwa yanked the cuff lightly it would break. But she doubted the the cuff would be that simple.

Most judges must have known the power Jung Hwa had, that he was a first generation vampire who could use his blood as power. She suspect that the cuff bear a magic that could seal his power, possibly it was made by the only white witch in the Associate.

"We will now begin the court," started the judge on the far left while standing. "The court will begin under the supervision of the Associate Head, Gwe Jeoknim. The rules of the court have to be followed, no exception and it goes as followed: All the witness are expected to say the truth and help the process of investigation. The person under the investigation would also be given the chance to speak, and people who are concerned to the case have been called. There should be no disorderly as each person will be given the chance to speak in turn."

The man then turned to Gwe Jeoknim who have him a nod. "Bring the witness first."

Seoyeon heart grew weary, unlike the unconcerned Jung Hwa, her heart was at unrest. She moved closer, at the same time the first witness came.

One of the judge then spoke, "Mr. Rye, you are the one who found the body. In what state have you found the body."

The man was nervous. No one knows when there would be a chance where the witness turn to be the suspect. There had been a time where it happened, and the man was even more nervous because he had drawn the short stick by being the first person to find Chu Sunji's body, which gives him more of a reason for being the suspect even when he knows nothing about it.

Apprehensively the man spoke, "At the first time I came to the cemetery it was dark, I didn't see anything much. It was the time when I passed by the three did I see something like a branch sticking out from the ground. But when I come closer, it was actually a hand! Soon I asked others to come with me and found M...Mr. Chu buried under the ground with a hole on his chest."

"Did you see anyone there?" asked the other judge for the man to shook his head quickly. 

With how quick the man shook his head, the other asked, "Isn't it possible that you didn't see the culprit there because you were the one who killed him?"

The man's face twisted in horror when suspicion fall toward him, "No! I do not know Mr. Chu until that day when I found his body. Also, at that time I didn't come to the cemetery for personal reason. The day before my superior asked to take care of the hole on the wall near the cemetery!"

"What else have you seen?" This time it was Lee Young who had asked and the man shook his head. Receiving the answer, he then pointed out his hand toward Jung Hwa. "Then have you ever seen this gentleman before?" 

The man looked at Jung Hwa closely, noting his feature, "N..No, I don't know him. B-But I did felt as if someone was near the cemetery, although I saw nothing."

After another round of discussion which only prolonged the suspense, Seoyeon was on the edge of her seat. At that time she saw not far from her seat, at the place where Mrs. Chu was, Gu Manyeong was staring at her. Their eyes met and the man smiled toward her before his gaze was broken as Mrs. Chu wailed next to him.

That man again, why was he watching me? asked Seoyeon in her mind. She can't say for sure, but there was something in the man that made her felt uncomfortable. Not only because how his gaze seemed to linger for too long on her, but also because despite it was their first meeting in the hallway, somewhere she felt like she had known the person before, even though she was confident she had never seen him before, there was an unknowing feeling in her that told her she knew this person.

Was it due to that Gu Manyeong had been staring at her?