the first step | p a r t o n e

"and that's a slam dunk for this one too!" min yoongi, one of namjoon's closest friends who just happened to be his superior in court, exclaimed as he slammed the folder onto namjoon's table, a smirk taking over his expression. "it was a pain in the ass, but i did it!"

namjoon didn't bother looking up from his own case file he was skimming, eyes glued to the assault case that was passed on to him by his superiors. "oh? is this the infamous fraud case you were working on, the one with the old lady from the burnt down convenience store?" he asked with little interest evident in his tone.

yoongi sighed as he sat in his chair, sinking back into the chair. "hell yeah. and i won."

namjoon gave his older friend a smirk as he looked at him from the side. "so that poor old lady will go to jail, huh? you must be proud."

"hey, don't try to spin this on me. she shouldn't have burned the store down if she didn't want to go to prison." yoongi joked, slightly glaring at namjoon for bringing back the memories of mrs. kim begging for another chance as she was dragged away, tears streaming down her face.

"yeah, i guess." namjoon sighed as he leaned into his chair.

namjoon never liked this side of his job — in fact, he was pretty sure no one did. the prosecutors and judges all seemed all high and mighty, telling themselves that it was all in the name of justice, but no one could ignore the fact that most of the time they were taking away the lives of normal human beings who made the wrong mistakes.

besides the occasional murders and rapists namjoon had the pleasure to helping put away, most of the time it was innocent people who still ended up with worse outcomes.

of course there were the so-called "fat cats" of the system who didn't care what the outcome was as long as they got their money, but namjoon thought surely even for those people it takes time to harden.

namjoon remembered when he was still in university, dreaming of becoming a prosecutor and working in the name of justice. he remembered the butterflies in his stomach when he was finally realizing his dream after passing the bar exam.

cut to half a decade later and he realize what a grimm reality the prosecutor's office really held.

in between piled stacks of cases, the tiring "social" life between businessmen always trying to one up each other, and the messed up political hierarchy pulling the strings within the system, there was no room for justice. not really.

sighing, namjoon went back to his stack of paper, reading about his newest case on the attempt on the life of a sixteen-year-old high school girl. it made his stomach churn when he reread all the horrible injuries the attacker (an unemployed thirty-something year old man) had put on the girl's body. it made his blood boil even more thinking of the intent the attacker seemed to have after rendering her weak and in the restraints of the ropes he had bound her in.

"ya, close that up already." suddenly interrupted yoongi's voice, "you've been reading over that thing for over an hour, put it down and relax already. the papers aren't going anywhere." he reasoned as he leisurely strolled around the office, taking his suit jacket off and throwing it on one of the many sofas.

namjoon heard his older friend say from behind him. if he were to take a glance at yoongi, he's probably see him lounging on the leather chair behind him, propping his feet up on the coffee table in front of it. namjoon always wondered why yoongi would just casually rest in the lounge area of his office.

the department namjoon was a prosecutor — the violent crime division — was much different to the field yoongi chose to prosecute in, which was fraud and taxes. even if they'd been friends for over a decade and had passed the bar together, it still felt weird that no one else seemed to question it.

though, he could probably blame it on his older friend's approach. at first meeting, yoongi would always seem disinterested and bored, but once you became his friend (to the point where you were allowed to invade his personal space, whether it be a hug or going to his home) he would nonchalantly stay with you through thick and thin, even if he were just there to throw insults at you.

that was one of the many reasons why namjoon stayed friends with him. despite their difference in interest, they both seemed to carry the same kind of energy and maintain a relationship where they understood one another.

snapping back to reality, namjoon could hear shuffling from behind him as yoongi got up off the sofa and made his way to him, peering at the documents in his hands.

quickly ducking them, he sheilded them against his chest. "hey! 'case confidentiality' is still a thing!" he said simply.

yoongi simply waved it off. "yeah, yeah, calm down grandma. is that that assault attempt on gangnam? with the sixteen year old girl from hanneum state two days ago?"

namjoon arched an eyebrow. "yeah, how'd you know? it's not supposed to be shared with the public until the trial day." he asked, doubt laced in his tone.

"relax joon, i just knew a person who knew people who were related to the girl." he stated simply.

but, at this point, namjoon wasn't even surprised. "to think with your lack of social skills you somehow found this out," he spoke sarcastically. "tell your connections to quit gossiping, the poor family might get pulled into it."

yoongi let out a laugh. "chill. she wont, i told her to put a lid on it." he paused, a weirdly concerned look crossing his face. "anyways, is it?"

"yeah. i cant say more than that this guy is a real creep." namjoon let out a heaved sigh as he slapped the documents onto his desk and leaned back into the chair.

yoongi sat on the corner if the desk, crossing his arms together. "shouldn't this be a slam dunk too? why're you stressing over this so much?" he asked as he rolled a scrap piece of paper into a ball and threw it into the trashcan in front of him as if he were throwing a basketball.

namjoon sighs once again, loosening his tie. "i thought so too, but the asswhipe knows how to cover his trails with fingerprinting, and it doesnt help that the cctv was messed with. and for an unemployed guy, he's got some really good lawyers too. if not for the witness who said she'd take the stand, i would have really been in a slump." he huffed out, completely forgetting the confidentiality clause in the case contract.

"shit, man." yoongi groans. "i'm feeling annoyed, and i'm not even in this department."

"yeah, thanks for all the help and comfort, man." namjoon deadpanned as he got up off his chair and wore his jacket. he opened his briefcase and put in the documents.

"where're you going?" yoongi inquired as he watched his friend put his things into his bag.

"dude, it's past nine. i'm gonna go get a drink, wanna tag along?"

yoongi looked at his rolex watch on his wrist, eyes slightly widening as he looked at the time. "shit, i can't. i have this other thing the chief's making me finish by tomorrow." he groaned as he walked to the leather sofa and grabbed his discarded jacket, pulling out his phone from the pocket.

he began typing away as soon as he unlocked it. "just go without me," he said without once looking at his younger friend.

but this is my office, namjoon questioned, never bothering to say it aloud.

he simply grabbed his things and walked to the door, saying a simple "bye." as he left.