Innocent Until Proven Guilty: Seungcheol
ꗃꄗsummary: seungcheol is on trial for a crime he didn't commit, and you and your friends have to watch him in cuffs as the real criminal sits beside you
ꗃꄗwarnings/tags: no smut, slight angst, reader is referred to as 'you' (no use of 'y/n'), reader and seungcheol are not explicitly dating (but it can be read as if they are), reader is friends with the other members (mingyu, minghao, joshua), all members and reader are minors (17), takes place on an island (like outerbanks (i know...real original of me loll)
ꗃꄗparings: choi seungcheol x fem!reader, kim mingyu x platonic!reader, xu minghao x platonix!reader, hong jisoo x platonic!reader
ꗃꄗauthor's note: Hi!! This is written when this GOSE episode came out (GOSE ep. 142-143, Innocent Until Proven Guilty), and I was immediately hooked by Seungcheol's acting. I think the only time we've seen him in a villain role like this was that one Bad Clue where he was the killer (GOSE ep. 62-63, Bad Clue II). This was also heavily inspired by Outer Banks and the episode where John B is in court and being sentenced. This was not really proofread, so I'm sorry for any typos/mistakes. Enjoy my lovies!! xoxo, gyucheolgirly😉
ꗃꄗword count: ~1.9k
ꗃꄗdivider and photo credit: pinterest, twitter, & @gr33n33
You knew who really killed the sheriff. You and the others even told the investigators about the case, but it didn’t matter. The true murderer was the son of a rich man, one of the island’s most favorite. Anyone who was anyone on the island knew about him and loved him, unknowing horrid actions. He was never going to step foot in a courtroom unless it was as a witness or in the audience, acting as the victim. He sat on the opposite side of you and your friends with his wife. His expensive suit looked ironed for the special occasion, his wife wearing a designer dress with real pearls around her neck and wrist. You guessed that her wedding ring alone could pay off your house.
It was segregation at its finest. Your side was lower class, dressed in jeans and tank tops, bandanas and beach jewelry littered your body. The other side dressed business casual in slacks and button-up shirts. it was obvious the women wore pantyhose under their interviewer skirts with pumps that were so shiny you could see your reflection through them.
You had never seen a dead body before. It was different than seeing your family members pass in the comfort of their home. The sound of the gun firing so close to you, it rang in your ears, the bullet wound in the sheriff’s chest still visible every time you closed your eyes. Her blank stare at you as you held her in your arms for her last breath. You haven’t washed the blood-stained clothes you were wearing that day yet, debating whether or not to clean or burn them from the trauma.
You begged the investigators to keep searching for evidence, anything that would prove the one on trial was innocent.
Seungcheol was taken into custody weeks before today, his charges unknown until today. He wasn’t allowed visitors, calls, or any connection to the outside world. It had been weeks since you’ve seen your boyfriend, and the first look at him you get is in an orange jumpsuit with hand and foot cuffs strapped to him. He looked tired and disheveled with a large bruise surrounding his eye socket. A cut on his lip is red and scabbing.
Seungcheol found you instantly in the crowd. You were easy to spot, with big curly red hair in the first row. Even in his situation, he still thought you looked beautiful, wearing his zip-up hoodie, with sadness lacing your face.
You wanted to smile at him, to let him know that you were staying strong, but that was far from the case. All you could do was stare at his condition, thinking about the situation he was in. It took everything in you not to burst into tears and run to him, but you knew that would only make things worse.
Innocent until proven guilty. You clung to those words for dear life.
Seungheol gave a nod to your friends beside you before he was escorted to stand in front of the judge. His lawyer standing beside him, another rich guy who couldn’t care less whether your boyfriend rotted in prison or not.
The actual courtroom process went quicker than expected, but all time stopped just before Seungcheol was taken back to his cell.
The judge smacked his gavel, and the room became silent. “Choi Seungcheol, you are charged with murder in the first degree with aggravated circumstance. If convicted, the maximum sentence would be the death penalty.”
The courtroom erupted with gasps and discussions, both of happiness and disbelief. The camera shuttered, getting every reaction from the judge, defendant, and the audience.
Seungcheol stood frozen in time, silent. His expression was unreadable to those who didn’t know him, but you knew. He was scared. There was a very real possibility that he could be sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t commit, and knowing who ran the island with its mayor and representatives, that decision would come quicker than expected.
Your hands shook, hearing the charge and sentence possibility, eyes filling with tears. Seungcheol’s close friend, Minghao, wrapped an arm around you, but nothing could take away the emotions you were feeling. It was painful, and you weren’t even the one standing on trial.
A voice behind you snapped you out of your frozen time. Another close friend of yours, Mingyu, stood up and yelled loud enough for the whole courtroom to hear. “He’s 17. He’s 17! You can’t sentence a minor to death!”
This only caused the audience to get more riled up. Many individuals from both sides stood up, voicing their opinions, causing security guards to push people away from the judge.
Still, despite how much pain he was mentally and physically in, Seungcheol still looked for you the moment the sentencing was read.
You stood up immediately, Minghao following your lead. Your lip quivered, silent tears fell from your eyes and onto your already red cheeks.
Seungcheol mouthed something to you that you caught before officers grabbed him and led him back to his cell. He took one last look at you, trying to memorize every piece of you that he could.
You stepped in front of Minghao and out of the stands, trying to follow Seungcheol. You yelled out his name, and when he looked back on the first call, you began to fight whoever was in your path. Guards gripped your arms hard, keeping you in place, but not being able to shut you up.
The harder they gripped, the more you tried to fight, knowing that their hands would leave bruises on your arms the next day. The officers only released you after Seungcheol was out of the courtroom and Minghao stood in front of you. He grabbed your hand and, along with your other friends, led you to the exit.
The sun shone brightly through the trees. If a photo was taken, it would be seen as beautiful, but the humidity left you feeling sticky and gross. Many other audience members followed you out of the courtroom, continuing their discussions on the topic of Seungcheol and the murder he was being charged with.
Mingyu shook his head. “They’re gonna kill him, you guys, I know it.”
Looking through the crowd of people, your eyes fell on one person. The man with his wife. The rich man in a suit, with his wife, whose wedding ring could get you and your family out of debt.
Your blood boiled. Anger, rage, sadness, pain, every emotion that passed through you during this experience came to a head. You stormed away from your friends, keeping eye contact with the man whose son was the actual killer.
The man’s friend intercepted you to talk to him. “I’m so sorry, you guys, for what you and your family have gone through. Thank god the system works.”
You yell from across the lawn, grabbing his attention, along with your friends and many other bystanders. “Can you please shut up! Of course, you think the system worked because it was made for you and people like you.”
The man puts his hands in his pockets, nonchalantly. “He’ll have his day in court. A jury will decide.”
“He shouldn’t even be in court! You should!” You point to the killer’s father. The most respected man on the island. An accusation like this wasn’t to be taken lightly, and it was not something that happened often. Someone from the wrong side of the tracks is challenging one of the wealthiest men on the island. “‘Cause you’re a murderer! You have a lot of nerve showing up to court.”
He pulls away from his wife, who’s still holding onto his arm for comfort. “I know you’re upset. I understand you’re upset, okay?”
His talking down to you only fueled your fire more. Your voice got louder, attracting more attention. “Upset?!”
He interrupted you, trying to dominate the conversation. He looked and talked down to you with ease. It was obvious the different social and economic status between the two of you. But the look on his face wasn’t anger; it was a slight grin that only you could notice, looking straight at him. He enjoyed your reaction. He wanted you to have a meltdown, to freak out in front of the press and strangers. It only proved his point more. To him, you weren’t worth the breath it took to sigh out of annoyance. “Look, I know he’s got you fooled. He’s got you all fooled-“
You couldn’t take it anymore. The way he was talking to you, about Seungcheol, who was innocent and wasn’t there to defend himself. You, a teenage girl, were arguing with the man who basically owned the island you stood on.
You moved closer to him, raising your arm to strike.
Two male officers who heard the commotion from inside the courtroom intercepted and grabbed you. You were upset to say the least, trying to push yourself off of them to continue to argue, but when they started holding you tighter, your thrashing around was to get free.
Minghao was the first to intervene, putting themselves in between you and one of the officers once again. Another friend of yours, Joshua, was the second to free you from the other officer’s grasp.
The man yelled at you about respect, pointing in your face as his wife clung to his arm still.
You stood behind Minghao as Mingyu confronted one of the officers. This officer, in particular, was one you had come in contact with multiple times, whether it was for noise complaints from parties or fights with the rich kids on the island. He always had an issue with your friends, and it seemed like it all came to a point during this issue. “Why don’t you take the rich ones down for a change?”
The officer yelled at Mingyu, ignoring the question he asked. “Do you want to get arrested? Get out! You need to go.”
You shook your head from behind your friends. “This is bullshit.”
“Come on. Come on, it’s not worth it.” Joshua and your other friends led you in the opposite direction from the courthouse.
Walking away from the group of people, you hear a female officer apologizing to the man and his wife, feeling sorry for their experiences.
You yell one last thing at him, which catches his attention more than anything you had ever said before this moment. “It’s not a coincidence that your son isn’t here!”
His son. The same son who pulled the trigger on the sheriff. The gun, laced with his DNA, was taken by his father and thrown god knows where.
The man knew his son was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. And that made his blood boil. For a small moment, his emotions matched yours perfectly.
He stops walking, pulling away from his wife. For the first time in this altercation, the rich man broke. His expression was completely readable. He was angry. More than that, he was pissed at your comment.
But his wife gripped him harder, leaving him frozen as he watched you walk away with your friends.
You got further away from the courthouse, tired, angry, and wanting justice for everything the rich people of the island have done to the people you cared most about.
You would get your revenge soon enough, but the price to pay would be beyond anything you had ever experienced before.
