THE JUDGE WHO NEVER JUDGED
535 Words
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*EPISODE 9: "THE JUDGE WHO NEVER JUDGED"*
_∼2150 words_
_6/12. The one who sold verdicts._
_Warning: This one is bloody._
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*1. THE LIST*
Rain. Peach tree.
Blood dripping from the leaves.
Tae-hyun: "6/12. Judge Seo. Minister of Law."
Min-ho: "His crime?"
Tae-hyun: "Sold verdicts. 100 gold for guilty. 500 gold for innocent. 2 brothers died for a crime they didn’t do."
Min-ho wipes rain off his sword.
"Where?"
"The courthouse. He’s judging tonight."
*2. THE COURTROOM*
Torchlight. Wet stone.
The courthouse is full.
Commoners on one side. Nobles on the other.
Judge Seo sits high. Red robes. Gold hammer.
Fat. Smiling.
He calls a case.
"Guilty. 5 years. Next."
He never looks at the accused.
Tae-hyun and Min-ho are in the crowd.
Black cloaks. Rain on their shoulders.
Tae-hyun leans in.
"Wait for the gavel."
*3. THE VERDICT*
A girl. 14.
Accused of stealing bread.
Her mother is crying in the front row.
Seo doesn’t even read the file.
"Guilty. 2 years labor."
Gavel comes down. _CRACK._
That’s the signal.
Min-ho moves.
In 3 seconds he’s on the bench.
Sword at Seo’s throat.
The courtroom explodes.
Guards draw. Nobles scream.
"ORDER!" Min-ho roars. His voice echoes.
Everyone freezes.
*4. 6/12 - THE RED ONE*
Seo pisses himself.
"Y-you can’t— I’m a judge—"
"You were," Tae-hyun says. Steps up onto the bench.
Rain drips from his hair onto Seo’s robes.
Red on red.
He pulls out a scroll.
"Case 47. Two brothers. Age 12 and 13.
Accused of stealing grain.
Verdict: Guilty. Execution.
Payment received: 500 gold from Lord Jae."
He throws the scroll in Seo’s face.
"They were innocent," Tae-hyun says. Quiet.
"And you killed them for money."
Seo starts bawling.
"Please! I have a family! I can pay you back—"
"You can’t pay them back," Min-ho says.
The sword moves.
*Red.*
On the white stone.
On the red robes.
On the gavel.
Seo drops.
The courtroom is silent except for the rain on the roof.
*5. THE MESSAGE*
Tae-hyun dips two fingers in the blood.
Writes on the judge’s bench:
_“6/12. For the 2 brothers. For everyone you sold.”_
He takes the gold hammer.
Slams it down on Seo’s ledger.
Cracks it in half.
Then he looks at the crowd.
At the mother of the 14-year-old girl.
At the guards.
At everyone.
"From now on," Tae-hyun says. "The law answers to the people."
He drops the broken gavel.
Walks out with Min-ho.
No one stops them.
*6. THE CITY BLEEDS*
By dawn the courthouse steps are red.
People are leaving bread there.
And notes: _“Not guilty.”_
The Emperor declares martial law.
But the guards are scared.
Because the Glass Boys killed a judge... in his own court.
In the market, someone writes in chalk:
_“The law is blind. But we see.”_
Back at the peach tree.
Tae-hyun’s hands are shaking.
Not from fear. From the blood.
Min-ho grabs his wrist.
Washes it in the rain.
"You good?"
Tae-hyun nods. "I am now."
They press scars.
Blood and rain mixing.
_“Blood oath?”_
_“Blood oath.”_
*END OF EPISODE 9*
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